A Note From Anne

Dear ,

I write for myself. When I write of life’s little vicissitudes, it’s because I’m either drowning or swimming in them. The hope is that we can swim in them, but one thing that always works for me is to walk away. At least for a while. When nothing is working, it’s time for a break.

I used to have a lawyer friend. His clients would call and be so upset. I could hear his messages when he replayed them. They sounded so urgent. “Aren’t you going to call them back right away?” “No, I’ll get to it. Nothing’s urgent when it comes to the law. Most of these calls are from lifers and they aren’t going anywhere.”

I really liked that attitude, but instead of thinking there’s nothing urgent in the law, I like to think, “Nothing’s urgent in life.” There’s always time for a little break. Be sure to take your breaks this week. It’s sort of like recess and you know how fun recess was when we were kids. We’re never too old for recess and you deserve a break today.

Anne

  Changes and Rearranges

Recently my husband woke me up to say, “You’re a grandmother.” It was too early for the babies to come, but he assured me things were okay. I made travel plans and soon joined everyone in the hospital. The preemie ward looked like something that vaguely resembles Star Trek.

This is the third extended stent I’ve had in the hospital world in less than a year. You might remember my staying with my sister Lois, in LA last summer, when she had a heart attack. With the lights and bells going off, it was like a carnival for the infirmed. I pulled many overnighters sleeping in a bed chair. It was my ringside seat. Then there was fetal care here in Houston. You can see an unborn babies’ bladder while there - something I never thought I’d ever see. It’s the most contact I’ve had with hospitals since my daughter was born.

I feel like Alice in Wonderland when I step into a medical setting: I go down the rabbit hole into a different world. I expect to see some kind of rocket floating by, maybe Yoda. Different worlds are so close and everywhere, yet we tend to repeatedly return to the same worlds. It feels safe to travel familiar territories, yet it’s good to venture outside to unfamiliar spaces and try on a new world for size.

Being addicted to having new and different experiences is not what I’m addressing – geographical cures, experience junkie. When we consciously go into new territories, it helps us realize how little in control we really have. We think we are in control when we go the same route each day; the familiarity makes us think we have things handled, but in new surroundings, we are forced more into the present. We have to pay attention and not operate from habit.

Life forces us into different worlds. We don’t have to book a flight to Jamaica to enter into a new world; life provides new worlds every day. We must expect that life will not always be like we plan, so when these things come into our lives, we can let go and flow into what is happening.

When we resist life’s current direction, we suffer. We act offended when things don’t go our way, when people make mistakes, when there’s a slow driver in front of us when we’re late. The thing you thought you did, has to be redone; not enough information. This is called life, and the things we label as inconveniences are just as much of life as all the other parts.

Is there an easier way? How can we stay expanded when life surprises us in small ways?

• Don’t be angry at the situation. Anger is drama and it sends physically destructive chemicals to our bodies. Anger is stress on steroids. Anger is an adult tantrum. Grow up.
• Resist the fear; stay present, and sing, “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes.” (You will want to sing silently, as in your mind, if you are in an office setting or around others.) Silliness is fear’s enemy.
• Don’t grieve the loss of your desire to have your world fit a particular mold. Let it be as it is. Most of our grief is habitual. It’s like a kid whining, “I can never have it my way.” This is a Hard Attack. Just face life without the drama.
• Imagine that there’s a gift in the situation as it is and see if you can find it.
• Ask yourself why you are so easily bent out of shape. “What am I trying to prove?”
• Say to yourself, “I'm always aware that something unanticipated can happen, and it has, right here; right now. So rather than getting upset about it, I'll just deal with it.”

None of these solutions have any magic; they are just ways to keep the mind from going into overload. We can do that. We can usually stop overwhelm in its tracks when we’re facing life’s small changes. This week, something unexpected will happen. Not once, but many times. Will you be a spiritual warrior or a spiritual worrier? You don’t have to be perfect; don’t worry about a little slip up here and there, but don’t cry to the universe for something in your life to change if you’re not willing to put in the time to make changes in your reactions. Don’t be one of those people who will save the world, but if you step on their corns, watch out. Don’t be the one people have to watch out for; be the one who watches after others,  and remember to make life easier and easier.

  Quotes

"Hope is only for people who cannot stay in the present moment."
– Richard Moss

When asked what she had to say about aging, Maya Angelou responded, "Do it if you can."

"Your crown has been bought and paid for. All you have to do is put it on your head."
– James Baldwin

  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.

  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.

NOTE: If you are viewing this on a cell phone, be sure to scroll to the right to see the other column.

  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 here are Central Time.

Wed. & Fri. Sept. 17 & 19, 2014
10:00 AM-Noon, “Synchronicity”
Lone Star College ALL Program
Montgomery Campus
3200 College Park Drive
Conroe, TX 77384-4500
936-273-7000

Wed. & Fri. Sept. 24 & 26, 2014
1:00-3:00 PM, “Alive, Awake, Aware”
Lone Star College ALL Program
Kingwood Campus
20000 Kingwood Drive
Kingwood, TX 77339-3801
281-312-1600

Wed. & Fri. Oct. 29 & 31, 2014
1:00-3:00 PM, “EZosophy”
Lone Star College ALL Program
Kingwood Campus
20000 Kingwood Drive
Kingwood, TX 77339-3801
281-312-1600

  Healthy Living

A Clever Tip for Cleaning Your Ceiling Fan

I always feel a bit of luxury when I clean or straighten something – a small drawer, a piece of jewelry, or a dirty shoe. My body relaxes and expands. Cleaning can be enlivening, when we don’t resent it.

So how about those ceiling fan blades? Here’s one simple way to reduce the dust in your air and clean your fan blades too.

Use a pillow case to clean the blades. Pull the case over the blade and use the inside to catch the dust while you swipe it off the blade. Remove case with dirt on inside. Use one clean case on each blade. Throw in the laundry and you are finished with those blades for another year.

Happy cleaning.

  Anne Talks

"What Are You Thinking? The Nature of Thought" video with Anne Sermons Gillis (28:20).

Click image for a larger view

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

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