A Note From Anne

Dear ,

Who are you to doubt the universal plan of good? Do you think just because you’ve closed your eyes that unlimited universal good is absent in your life? The light no longer shines on your world? These and other questions like this are designed to make the ego take pause.

Whatever I can do to stop the mind flow that keeps me mired in a familiar consciousness rut is what I’m about. I’ve designed my life to call into question the destructive results of the limited mind.

Recently those questions inspired me to drop some of my responsibilities and to simplify my life. It’s helped some and yet it is still the quality with which my mind meets each moment that determines the outcome. Actions simplify my life, but it’s only when I dig down into the deepest part of me, that ease and simplicity reveal themselves.

In my daily life, I’m still on the road, exploring the world in a Prius. We have a tent, a dog, a bag of homemade goodies, a Master Card, and a cooler. I think that will do fine for the moment and later get us back to Texas by August 20. Sending you loads of love and ease and hoping you will send some out to me.

Anne

  The Wrong System

The Wrong System: Do You Have to Right It Out?

This morning I awakened and my left arm was asleep. My mind started spinning a story about it being a problem. My concern was that it was not the arm I was sleeping on, but the free one. I have some quirky discs in my neck and figured it was some kind of nerve damage. “Maybe I could just observe the arm being asleep and not see it as a problem.” I thought I should write an article on making this wrong and I remembered I did write one in 2012 on The Wrong System. I love this article and don’t think I can improve it, so rather than write again, I’m going to share these ideas that transcend the duality of making things right and wrong.

What’s in your wrong system? Is life itself wrong? Is life a problem that requires your assistance? Is it a mystery to be solved? Are you wrong? Do you work hard to be right? Do you have to win arguments or convert others to your way of seeing? Do you go to extremes to prove others wrong or gossip about their shortcomings?

Maybe you have a “wrong system.” A wrong system starts with the belief that life is wrong. Life is a consortium of disconnects, and if life is wrong, then someone must right that wrong. The wrong system is popular among heroes and fixers, a paradise for problem solvers and for those who love challenges. Whether you are a bright-eyed optimist or a naysayer, the wrong system is perfect for you. If nothing was wrong, then you couldn’t be an optimist. If there wasn’t a negative, then you couldn’t be so darn positive!

The wrong system gives meaning to life. “I can fix life, I can fix me, and I can fix others.” I’m a wrong quester. I can see the problem in all situations, circumstances, and people. If I have a problem, I always have a purpose. No one can live without a purpose. You know, without a vision the people perish. If I’m the problem, then even better. It gives me an eternal occupation. My life is then about analyzing me, what I do, and my relationships. When I get it all figured out, I can then dig deeper and find another layer of problems. You know, life is like an onion.

What is in your wrong system? You know. You live there. Most wrong systems come second hand. We can thank parents, professors, and culture for conferring such meaningful constructive data. And we buy it, love it, relish in it. Enchanting.

Enough. Convinced? See how we manipulate reality to suit our distorted purposes? Want out? Where is the answer? How does one give up the familiar pattern of wrong? Can it be as simple as just looking for what is right? Looking for what is right is an antidote. We often call that gratitude; we can call it the glass half full. Really anything that stops the mind in its tracks and turns it away from wrong. This is the classic solution, yet to look in the opposite direction of wrong, proves to the mind that the wrong exists.

Changing our perception, which again proves there was something wrong, is different from changing our experience. Perhaps the most direct path to recovery is to remove the wrong system all together.

Let It Be

If we can allow things to be as they are, then no suffering ensues. Emotional suffering is a product of not accepting things the way they are. Resisting reality creates suffering. This doesn’t mean we don’t change things in the future, but we cannot change what already is in the present. As the old adage goes, “Resistance causes persistence.” And suffering exists in that resistance.

I sing the wrong song. I may sing it in a positive way, but until I acknowledge and dispel the underlying assumption that life is a problem – and have the courage to give up the need to define myself as anything, any thought, or any belief system, the life I construct is a house of sand. There is no firm foundation.

Life is radically concept-free. Life is the awareness of the eternal wellspring of being. The living heart sutra, a teaching of the Buddha, is that form is emptiness and emptiness is form.

That which we are is not wrong. Wrongness is a construct that floats in the collective unconscious. As we expose that thought and bring it to awareness, it disappears. When our wrong system crumbles, it takes with it the burdensome thing we call our lives, and brings us life itself. This is reality – life without meaning. You think everyone wants meaning? We have to have it. Think anew; the moment we setup meaning, we reenter right and wrong. Meaning takes time and belief systems that ultimately lead us away from “Now.” There’s nothing “wrong” with meaning. I just ask you to put all things aside in just this moment and see what is here without such concepts as meaning. What is here is enough; it takes away ancient and limiting memories and delivers pure consciousness.

Get It Now

Do not be fooled into believing you cannot get this now. Now is when it is available. The state of full living and life itself is not reserved for masters, saints, or great beings. Don’t think you will fix yourself up enough so that at some unspecified time in the future you will get it. It’s now; only now. The future is a psychological concept of the mind. Forget what you know and enter the awareness of now. Do this and you can’t “go wrong.” This is not the “right” thing to do; we do it because our inner wisdom draws us to now.

I’ve found that trying to fix my junk thoughts is an endless task, and letting things be the way they are, without rising to the drama of mentalizing, brings me back to life. Following thought trails and fixing the mind is such a habit. I prefer taking my mind to a resting place. Just focusing on the breath can tip the mind off its perch into the light of life. Almost anything that brings us into our bodies and out of our head deposes the mind. When we get into our bodies we expand our awareness.

Moving out of the head starts the opening. As we open, we bathe ourselves in the awareness of who we are, in the direct experience of life. As this occurs, all searching, longing, planning, fixing, and analyzing ceases. We are free at last from the ego’s stand - free from restlessness, free from longing. And the more we dip into this universal, ever-present me-ness, the easier it is to remain present to life.

You will be able to find many times when what I’ve written is not true for you. This is a habit of the mind. It takes us up and down blind alleys, using our best reasoning, but just for a moment, read this with an open mind. This is written about a new dimension of experience; it is not a doctrine to be applied as salvation. It is written to expand the mind, not to refute or support what you already know. Life is full of miracles and grace, and only you can move past the words and into the mystery these words point to.

Anne

  Quotes

"Your awakening is for all; it spreads. It is contagious."
– Gangaji

"When you are perfectly established in peace consciousness, all beings around you cease to feel hostility."
– Patanjali

"Peace can only be created by those who are peaceful. If you are just talking about it, then you become an angry peace activist."
– Deepak Chopra

  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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  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.

Thu., Aug. 28, 2014
Anne interviewed by Robin Blanc Mascari in Wise Woman Series. More details later.

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

White Tongue

I just went to the acupuncturist. I overheard the doctors talking about my white tongue. I didn’t ask them about my tongue but when I returned home, I headed for my computer. I typed the words “white tongue” and Google came back with plenty of pertinent information.

What could this white tongue mean and how can it be alleviated?

• It could be a yeast infection – it’s called thrush.
• It could be due to mild dehydration, which can lead to a buildup of bacteria and dead cells on the tongue.
• Long term inflammation.
• Fever.
• Dry Mouth.
• Alcohol consumption.
• Result of taking certain prescription drugs.

What can one do for white tongue? Try a variety of cures.

• Use sea salt. Brush the tongue with salt.
• Take a daily oral probiotic and empty a capsule of probiotic out into your mouth before you sleep and don’t swallow. Go to sleep and allow it to stay in your mouth as long as possible. This is also helpful to the sinuses. It helps the probiotic migrate to the sinus cavity. Healthy bacterial balance is necessary for the sinuses. People with chronic sinusitis tend to have a different mix of bacteria in their sinus cavities.
• Drink more water.
• Rinse after you brush your teeth with your homemade mouthwash. Use ½ cup of water and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. This changes an acid environment in the mouth to a base and helps eliminate bad breath. Here are some more mouth wash recipes to try.
• Tongue scraping - you can buy a tongue scraper online or at Whole Foods.
• I haven’t been doing the pulling I’ve mentioned before for very long, but I bet that will help the white tongue problem. Pulling is about getting rid of unhealthy bacteria in the mouth.

If you cannot cure your white tongue, you might want to check with a physician. It can be a symptom of other health issues. I just brushed my tongue with salt and I admit, I’m feeling good. White tongue can also affect your taste buds, so if you want your food to taste better, your breath to be sweeter, and your health to improve, do what you can to restore tongue health! This is so easy everyone should want to do it.

Happy healthy living. My favorite health affirmation today is, “I have every reason to believe I can have a healthier body. I can be healthy or at least healthier.”

  Anne Talks

Chemical Man. Short one minute video. Move pointer to the right to display the video player and press the Play button.

  Anne Art

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

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