A Note From Anne

Dear ,

It’s the week of fear and horror. People pay money to be scared. Horror is quite a business. It’s funny, considering how much free fear and horror abound, that people actually pay to be scared out of their wits. Horror is spell binding, and when it comes to emergency and fear, we are spell-bound. Halloween is the holiday of drama. It can be fun, but the idea is to be scared.

Forget the fear; let’s take the fun part of Halloween. Celebrations and festivals create opportunities for us to step out of the terminal seriousness of life so we can step into the joy. I’m putting on my witch costume and answering the door in full uniform. It’s fun to play and to act like children again. Join me in being festive on Halloween and I’m sure our lives will be EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Are You Doing Too Much?

Are we doing too much? People often feel as if they should be accomplishing more or that they could have chosen a better path or taken more risks, but is that a valuable conversation? Life is not about what we accomplish; it’s more about our ability to be present now and to enjoy and luxuriate in the Radical Presence of existence.

Do we really need to measure our lives? What is important is what is now. What is the quality of the moment I am living now? Great people keep doing the next thing on the table of life, and when others take a look at what they’ve done, it looks amazing or admirable. They don’t set out to be great; they set out to do what’s in front of them to do next and then do it. They live in a flow; they are not under the gun to perform.

Who we are is much bigger than what we do. My dear friend, Judy, passed away two years ago. Her life was not measured in accomplishment and success. Her life was one of great compassion, wisdom, offbeat humor, and generosity. Even if we were to accomplish great things, we are not fulfilled until we live the virtues contained in love and share them with others, as Judy did. She gave up on wishing she had done more and eventually came alive to life.

It’s wonderful when people accomplish things, but the need to accomplish becomes the sword of Damocles that hangs over our heads, creating tension, peril, and disappointment. Maybe we should give up trying to make a difference. That idea seems like the ego’s ploy to make us feel better about ourselves. Maybe we are better off when we give back than when we try to make a difference. Giving back seems to flow from what we have received, from what we’ve gained from life. We give back from a full space. Maybe I’m picking on words, but I’m trying to convey that when we try to earn our space on earth, to earn our right to exist, we can get caught in mental schemes that promise fulfillment but deliver emptiness.

Our space on earth needs not be earned; our right to exist is unquestionable. Regardless of our past, the present gifts us with the full right of existence. Rather than listen to the inner urge that says there’s something we need to do that we’re not doing, let’s tune into the stillness of the present.

I just spent many days doing that in Costa Rica. I walked back and forth to the corner store; I walked on the beach; spent hours sitting in the clear water and breathing consciously. My mind was clean and uncluttered. When I returned home, the stillness continued, but the more I focused on my activities, the less aware I was of the stillness. It’s tempting to believe that activity gets us somewhere, and in a practical sense that’s true, but to tune into activity as a way of life leaves us barren.

Waking up is not about a change of activity; it’s about a change of awareness. Do we tune into the activity of life or into the space that holds all activity? These concepts are double-sided because on one side there’s being a slug, while on the other there is doing and being more. Doing or trying to be more gives us less life. This a message of slow down, wake up, not a message to get you off your butt. This is a call to those who have been “off their butts” so long that they are empty. It’s not a call to take care of yourself; it’s a call to be aware of what’s present, what lives, what is valuable, who matters – this is the call.

Again, are we doing too much? Maybe and maybe not. Here’s a potent secret: what we do is irrelevant. It’s what we are in touch with while we do what we do, that’s powerful. Life is not about tasks. Life is a non-efforting flow of wisdom and grace that guides us into stillness and peace. Are we in touch with that flow? That stillness? If we answer yes, then certainly life will be easier and easier.

Anne

  Quotes

"The nonviolent voice of Gandhi appeals to man’s highest conscience. Let nations ally themselves no longer with death, but with life; not with destruction, but with construction; not with the Annihilator, but with the Creator." – Yogananda

"I am nailed to two spots. One in which I feel ashamed and not enough; the other in which I feel a false sense of superiority and pride. Even though the ego is a poor carpenter, it can still make a good cross. Ego driven suffering nails us to the past, sucks the life out of the present, and spits us out in the future. Fueled by misperceptions, the ego stays poised to help us stay in our misery. Only love can remove these false egoic opinions and return us to our true nature. Love dissolves the ego and delivers us home. And there’s nothing like homecoming. Come home to love now. Stop, if only for a moment, and drink in its ever present essence."
– Anne Sermons Gillis

"When nothing works, do nothing until you feel a touch of inspiration. Don’t try hard. Just wait. Don't control. Lean back into yourself and let that which needs to be done guide you." – Anne Sermons Gillis

The Twins are ready for Halloween. Click to enlarge.

  Featured Product This Week

  Your Suggestions, Please

I am working on a book of Affirmations and Visionary Statements. I am now on the chapter on Planet Earth. Would you please take a few minutes to contribute to the conversation about a healthy sustainable planet. Send me your highest thoughts on the planet, visionary statements, or affirmations. I would like to consider them for my latest book. Examples of affirmations would be:

• I envision lush green forests covering the planet.
• I am a caretaker of Mother Earth and I take care in my actions and life style.
• Mother Earth is alive and thriving.
• Earth’s waters are running clean and clear.
• More and more people are conserving water.
• We thrive on renewable energy sources and resources.
• Greed recedes and sustainability succeeds.
• More and more people recycle.
• Recycling is becoming more and more profitable for businesses.

Please respond to anne@annegillis.com.

  What is EZosophy?

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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 here are Central Time.

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

Halloween Treat for the Grownups

I live in the south. We still celebrate Halloween by distributing candy to costumed draped children on Oct. 31. There’s always some leftover and though it’s easy to succumb to a taste of the vile, chemical laced, high fructose based, practically artificial “treat,” I find it best to give away the leftovers. I take the leftovers to a meeting and always find there’s a sugar addict in the crowd or someone who missed the latest meal, ready to indulge. Maybe I should buy those organic, fair trade, 80 percent chocolate bars for the kids, but I don’t think they would like them and even if they did, my frugal tendencies would veto the idealistic notion.

But why not have a Halloween treat for Jim and myself? The following recipe is from the Food Babe although I’ve tweaked it a bit. Thank you to Charles Heineke for sending it in. I have my nuts in a clear jar on my kitchen island. I love my treats and grab two or three nuts as I whiz by.

Roasted Pumpkin Spice Nuts

Ingredients

3 Cups mixed nuts, mixed or one kind, (almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews)
1 Tablespoon of coconut oil or butter
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix oil, spices, salt, and syrup. Pour over nuts. Distribute nuts on baking sheet. Cook in preheated oven at 225 degrees until done, which is about 45 minutes to an hour. Cool, very important step, and store in an airtight container.  The original recipe called for 1 teaspoon of salt, which I thought was too much, so I’ve cut that down, and it called for 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spices, but I made my own so you can substitute if you have it on hand.

I hope you will try this and have a wonderful Halloween. Get in that celebratory mood and make and eat your treat. Forget the trick. Life is tricky enough without any extra contributions.

Click here to see more of Food Babe's recipes.

  Anne Talks

The Opposite is True 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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