A Note From Anne

Dear ,

Today is a travel day for me. I’m rested up and ready to be where I am. I was once asked by an interviewer, “What’s next for you?” My answer, “I’m focusing on being here right now so I won’t miss this moment. Where I am today is the point that used to be next. If I keep nexting, I will never be here.”

The action is always here. Now is the point of power. The mind is like a wave that wants to leave the ocean, but if the wave would just allow itself to see the totality, it would have no need to separate. Can you imagine that the wave wants more water, when it is already more water than it can imagine?

It’s time to quit waving (separating) and to start joining the tremendous power of now. Now is always fresh and new. When we are totally present, the slate is wiped clean. We can’t drag the past into the eternal now because there is no room. Even just a glimpse of now is refreshing. Carrying the past can be debilitating and shaming, so if you want your life to be EZier and EZier, then stop that mind, if only for a moment, take a deep breath, and drop the past.

Anne

  Happiness

There is a happiness theory that says we have a happiness set point. The thought is that 50% of our happiness is determined by genetics. Most people are familiar with the concept of having a weight set point. We can go below our weight set point, but it takes ongoing work. The happiness set point is the same: if our parents were not happy, we are going to have to work more than some to be happy. We will have to make it a part of our daily routine if we don’t want to sink down to sad sack status. Most people believe that the happiness they experience is circumstantial, but how attractive we are, how successful we are, and where we live, only accounts for 10% of our happiness. The good news is that there are ways to be happier.

Eastern philosophers and yogis are experts on happiness. They create practices to support and bring forth bliss and states of joy. What they have discovered, their cumulative wisdom of thousands of years, is that most of us have to work at happiness. These practices are called sadhanas.

Psychologists have come up with an activity fitness test (take the test) to determine what kind of activities seem natural and bring a more permanent state of happiness to a particular individual. The activities they believe can contribute to happiness are:

• Expressing gratitude
• Cultivating optimism
• Avoiding overthinking and social comparison
• Practicing random acts of kindness
• Nurturing relationships
• Developing strategies for coping
• Learning to forgive
• Doing more activities that are truly engaging you
• Savoring life's joys
• Committing to your goals
• Practicing religion or spirituality
• Taking care of your body

Certainly the above practices offer openings to greater happiness. Even a happy person can enjoy happiness practices.

Bruce Lipton, in his ground breaking book, The Biology of Belief, tells us that genetics is not all it’s cracked up to be. He says our beliefs and choices play a larger role than genetics.

So whether we listen to those who favor genetics over choice or not, we are in luck, because both sides of the argument say it’s possible to be happy.

Happiness practices such as the ones listed above, are powerful and even common place in our culture, but here’s a happiness practice that’s unique. It involves placing new parental memories in our brains. If all your efforts aren’t as effective as you would like, maybe this practice is for you. When you wake up in the morning, get into the fetal position. Cross your arms and draw them close to your upper body. Imagine you see your mother when she was young smiling and saying to you, “I want you to be happy.” Feel how good it feels. Don’t think about it, just feel it.

Repeat the process, only this time with your father saying those words, “I want you to be happy.” Next see your mother and father standing together and smiling at you, saying, “We want you to be happy.” Then just imagine your mom being happy; no words, just see her as happy – see it, feel it, then do the same with your father. Maybe you don’t remember seeing them happy together or separately, but this is the purpose of the exercise. You are making up happy memories. The mind will store these memories as if they really occurred in the past. You are recreating your present by recreating your past memories.

The above exercises are aimed at getting our upsets and life denying memories out of the way so we can tune into the ongoing bliss of life. Some will come across this bliss naturally and others will have to work at it. Happiness is possible, and with ongoing work, we can not only be happier, our lives will also be easier and easier.

Anne

  Quotes

"Like a current underwater, change comes without a sound, and any lull you may now be experiencing is just the calm before a storm of coincidences, happy accidents, and serendipities that will bring about your next thrilling transformation. Always, something wonderful is brewing." – Mike Dooley

"Nonviolence is the summit of bravery." – Gandhi

"Look outside for confirmation, but look inside for truth." – Alan Cohen

  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.

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. 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

“The Eyes Have It”

I tend to have mild eye problems; sometimes they seem a little infected, sometimes they itch. When my eyes are out of sorts, I calm them down with a boric acid eyewash. I buy pharmaceutical boric acid from the drugstore. Here’s my recipe.

• One cup of filtered boiling water
• One teaspoon of boric acid

Mix and let cool. Pour a little in a small bowl and dampen two organic cotton balls (they sell these at CVS). Store the remainder in a sterile glass bottle. Wash each eye, eyes closed, two times a day, until eyes return to normal. This should take no more than 3 days.

Check out this site for other interesting treatments.

  Anne Talks

Important Question 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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