A Note From Anne

Dear ,

Sending you easy vibes for the coming days. You can be an angry, righteous terror this week or an EZosophist. Too often acting like a jerk comes naturally and living down to our worst expectations is familiar. We live in a culture fraught with endless complaining, worry, and drama. We can stay asleep, defend our right to suffer, or we can wake up. We can have an uprising of our ego or an upwising (Thanks, Swami Beyondananda, for this luminous word) of our souls.

I’m counting on the grass root EZosophists to rise in wisdom and peace. I’m counting on the grass roots EZosophists to rise in ease. We don’t have to be Pollyannas to come alive to that which is bigger than the drama. We just have to be courageous enough to walk away from the charm of drama. Don’t defend, talk back, get indignant, or nurse your wounds this week. It doesn’t work. Walk away from the thoughts that guide you away from your self. I don’t really like McDonald’s, but I agree with them, “You deserve a break today.” A break from suffering, stress, struggle, and strain.

Anne

  Sacred Space

One Saturday night in 1989, as I prepared for my Sunday morning sharing, seven vows landed on the computer screen. I wasn’t thinking about what I was writing; I just banged away. The vows were neither complicated nor profound. They were simple ideas designed to point people away from suffering and towards easier living. These vows were the genesis of the EZosophy philosophy.

Vow six was, “I will create a sacred space.” It seemed rather odd that this would be included in ideas for easier living, but as I’ve matured, I have come to appreciate the soul nourishing quality of sacred space. Sacred spaces come in different forms, but the most important aspects are that they are convenient, easily accessible, and that they touch us.

For years I carried a small box when I traveled. It contained a decorative cloth, a candle, a small stone, and a picture of a calming face or loved-one. It was comforting to have something familiar with me in a hotel room, at a friend’s home, or even at a campground. I would lay out my cloth, light a candle (It was in a glass container and I would never leave it burning for long. I practiced fire safety.), and put my rock, picture, and maybe a piece of jewelry on the portable altar. It was my sacred space. That little spot of me was my temporary claim of the room, if for only for a night.

Altars

My latest, greatest sacred space is my new chair. It is over-sized; has no arms, and it is paired with an aging ottoman. It’s a mini inspirational office, and meditation/study center. I sit to meditate, draw, listen to music, and just chill. I am excited when night comes and I can head to my sacred space. It’s in my bedroom. I’m sitting in it now, rather than in my office, because it’s such a sweet space. My office seems like business, but this space seems playful. I’m surrounded by an iPad, iPod touch, paper, and drawing pens. It’s cozy. It’s not that attractive to others; the chair doesn’t quite go with my décor (however it’s not that far off), but it does what I want it to do.

My chair and I start the day together with meditation, a little reading, and writing. I gave away my old chair about five years ago. I was satisfied to have wicker chair replace it, but one day I realized I needed more. My relationship with the wicker chair was never that good. I had settled, but now I finally have the perfect chair. Many of my friends knew of my chair quest and would ask, “Did you ever find your chair?” and finally I can say yes.

Create Your Sacred Space

I want spaces and places that support ease, aliveness, and joy in my life. Nature provides so many sacred spaces – places that need nothing, but in our homes spaces require adjustment, tweaking, and management if we want to personalize them and make them sacred for us. If you don’t have a sacred space, it’s time to get one. If you do, I can assure you that your life will become easier and easier. The better you feel, the easier life becomes.

Make it easy.

Anne

  Quotes

"Whenever a project starts to flow too well, or things become too easy, your inner-self emits an energy that says, 'Warning, warning. This is too simple. Let us self-destruct this project or relationship and come at it the hard way, so we can experience circumstances that are congruent with our inner belief that life is a struggle.'"
  – Stuart Wilde

"Truth must be realized first hand. Second-hand information may be all right for a bridge, but finally, you're not satisfied with just standing on the bridge and reciting what you have heard about the other side. Finally, you must know for yourself."
  – Gangaji

"Awakening is experienced as complicated only because you believe depth is revealed in complication. When you're ready to be simple, you'll put your ideas aside. You will stop stewing in complication."
  – Gangaji

  Houston Theosophical Society

Anne Sermons Gillis currently serves as the president of the Houston Lodge of the Theosophical Society.

We encourage our members to live a life in service to humanity, in stillness through mediation, and in study of ancient wisdom.

"Recognition of the unique value of every living being expresses itself in reverence for life, compassion for all, sympathy with the need of all individuals to find truth for themselves, and respect for all religious traditions."
   --The Theosophical World View

Meetings are held on the first and third Saturdays at 10 AM Central Time in Houston, Texas.

For more information visit The Houston Lodge or visit our national organization at http://www.Theosophical.org.

  Anne's Books

Standing in The Dark

EZosophy

Offbeat Prayers

Click here to see all three of Anne's books

What people are saying about Standing in the Dark:

"Standing in the Dark, by Anne Sermons Gillis, isn't just another positive thinking book. It's a book about the difficult times in life and what we can do to make it through them. It does, however, give us positive ways to make life easier. It's a short book, but it's one that may just turn your thinking on its head, which will probably be the best thing that's happened to your thinking in a long time. It's about how to bring more ease into a life that isn't easy all of the time. Anne discusses six main areas of life: Ease, Mission, Health, Relationships, Money, and Loss."
  – Charles David Heineke

Now available on Kindle. Click for details.

What people are saying about EZosophy: The Art and Wisdom of Easy or at Least Easier Living:

"Although most conscious people understand that life doesn't have to a struggle, the "how to" has been missing... until now. Anne's book makes it "easy."
  – T. Harv Eker - Bestselling author and Founder of Peak Potentials Training

Now available on Kindle.
Click for details.
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What people are saying about Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic:

"I love your book. It is filled with much wisdom, humor and heart. Really beautiful."
  – Alan Cohen author, Enough Already, mentions Anne and EZosophy on page 99

Now available on Kindle.
Click for details.

  What is EZosophy?

Click the graphic above to find out.

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Editor/Publisher: Charles David Heineke of TheDoorway.org.

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  Anne's Services

  Schedule Anne

You may reach Anne by phone at 281-419-1775 or click the button below to contact Anne by email. Anne is also available to officiate at weddings and funerals.

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  Anne's Schedule

All times below are Central Time.
Sun., April 27, 2014, 1:00 PM
"Health and Wellness" group
Northwoods Unitarian
Universalist Church
1370 North Millbend Road
The Woodlands, TX 77380
281-298-2780

Thu., May 1, 2014, 7:00 PM
"Co-Creators Convergence” Telecall
More information later.

  Healthy Living

Create a Treasure in Your Pleasure

I love to create. It can be a small piece of art or rewriting the lyrics to a popular melody. I cook most things without a recipe. I know how ingredients combine. Even when I make an individual salad for my husband and myself, I am aware of which one is his and which one is mine, and that’s using the same ingredients. It’s my connection to the food. My meal is not just something I can eat; it’s something I create. Sometimes I can almost hear creation calling with an idea. Words, sentences, sayings, and stories pop into my head. Tuning into the source of creation is profoundly pleasurable.

My husband likes to play the guitar. He’s a perennial novice, but he is a music connoisseur. He listens to a song on Youtube, starts strumming, and looks up the performers and songwriters. He gets lost in the magic of how he pieces together an ensemble of enjoyment, and it’s all for his pleasure. If you are a music lover, and you don’t listen to one song a day, what’s going on? If you love to read and rarely pick up a book, what’s going on? If you love to draw and haven’t picked up a sketch pad for years, what killed your passion?

Today’s world is fast. Even our train of thought is on the fast track. We multitask, overwork, and lose the desire to live our passion. Yet, is imperative to be in love with life. We need things to do that are not just productive; we need to do things that are creative.

Saturday I rode my bike for about 20 minutes. Fortunately, from my house, I can be in the woods in a few minutes. I shot the picture below and crafted a little saying. It was my hot spot for the day - my little treasure. It commemorates the beauty of the flower and the moment I saw it. Such simple pleasure. The art work in the newsletter is a product of my creative time. I do them 10 or 20 minutes at the time.

One of the biggest excuses we have about enjoying our lives is what I call the “no time mantra.” Simply put it goes, “I don’t have enough time.” Even with our fast lives, we can be creative. Do what you love to do for 10 or 20 minutes at a time. If you don’t have 10 or 20 minutes of discretionary time, time you can take for yourself, then get ready for the crash. It will come. Your creative, fun-loving side will take you down, with an illness, accident, or through insanity. We are not machines and we cannot run like them. This probably sounds like a lecture, and I suppose it is, because in this time of relative freedom, there’s something wrong with our pickers. We keep picking the wrong things to do! Fix that picker. Take a few minutes to create your treasure of pleasure and I know your life will be easier and easier.

Click for larger image.

  Anne Talks

Relax to the soothing music and guided Now Meditation by Anne Sermons Gillis (10:36)

Click for larger image