Anne's Note talks about The Grinch and The Shepherd. The main article, Ease is Now, talks about how ease is natural and available to us. The Healthy Living section discusses Anne's Eye Washing practice. The Anne Talk is Twas the Day Before Christmas. The Featured Product this week is Anne's I Am Affirmations CD.

The EZ Mantra: "Everything can be EZ or at least EZier." -- Anne Sermons Gillis

  A Note From Anne

Dear ,

There’s a holiday word rumbling around in my head. It seems to be seeking someone or something. The word is “Grinch.” The word first appeared in a 1957 Dr. Seuss book about a character who stole Christmas. It’s a catchy word, but I don’t want a Grinch in my head stealing the Christmas spirit.

I want a shepherd. A shepherd makes sure each lamb or animal gets home safely and is protected from harm. I’m inviting a shepherd into my mind to keep my thoughts safe and sound and to make sure I get home safely. Even though home is where the heart is, I need a little guidance when my heart is lost and lonely. We all have an inner Grinch and an inner shepherd. When we listen to and count on our inner shepherd, our lives become EZier and EZier.

  Ease is Now

Ease is the natural, abundant flow of life. When we quieten our minds, withdraw from the obsessive drama of fixing, analyzing, and worrying, ease flows. The Aramaic reference to the process of relating to the infinite is referred to as “The Way.” Ease is the way. The Taoists speak of “The flow.” Ease is the flow. All the ease that will ever exist is available for the taking; ease is here and now. Fortunately, we can tune into this ongoing process of ease at any moment. The ease is an inner ease, a response to life, not the ability to manipulate life to behave on our terms.

Unfortunately, after thousands of years of mental struggle and physical suffering, humanity’s mental default setting is that of suffering, stress, and strain. Enlightenment, although sometimes instant, often involves the process of whittling away the struggle, so the ease can surface.

There is a story about a Buddha statue, made from pure gold, which was covered with clay so the enemies wouldn't pilfer it. The enemy eventually left, but everyone who knew the truth was dead. The true nature of the Buddha statue was concealed under layers of mud. Hundreds of years later someone discovered a crack in the clay and saw a brightness beneath. The townspeople came and removed the clay and found the priceless golden statue. The true nature of the Buddha was finally discovered.

Ease is like the Buddha. The true nature of ease is who we are and it is where we are, but unless we remove the clay of struggle and strife, the secret of ease remains shrouded by mental mud. Ease is obscured by our need for drama and suffering.

You may think this doesn't apply to you, but struggle is the human condition. The brain is habituated into a way of thinking that primes our lives toward stress. Enlightenment is the immediate willingness to cease and desist from struggle. We have the right to remain silent, and we need mental silence to stop suffering in its tracks.

It’s important to use dependable methods to quieten the mind, such as meditation, prayer, affirmations, or conscious breathing. These techniques constitute the practice of ease. Now is the time to shed the shackles of our collective past and the time to move fully into the presence of ease. Join the EZosophy Movement and make a movement toward EZ. When we are armed with mental stillness,­ our lives become easier and easier.

Anne

  Quotes

"Love is a pre-existing condition." – Anne Sermons Gillis

"Try now; give up the trial and error of illusion."
– Anne Sermons Gillis

"Don't go on a mine trip." – Anne Sermons Gillis

  Featured Product This Week

  Anne Art

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  What is EZosophy?

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  Healthy Living

Eye Washing

I am a health hound. I sniff out ways to make my body feel enlivened and follow the trail of physical well-being. Fortunately I enjoy relatively good health, take no prescription drugs, and feel humble in the face of such great fortune. I say relatively because I have plenty of little physical annoyances.

I have a condition known as dry eye. I have homemade eye drops I use at night; night is when I have a problem. Then, when I awaken in the AM, I often have crusty little eyes on the outer corners. Maybe it is dried up eye drops. Who knows, but I’m ready to clean up my eyes when I get up.

I keep a bottle of filtered water on my sink so I can use it to wash my eyes. The eyes are sensitive, and since I don’t have a filter on my bathroom sink, I use filtered water to rinse out my mouth when I brush my teeth and to wash my eyes. I don’t want that harsh chlorine or who knows what else on my eyes or in my mouth any more than necessary. Maybe I’m a fanatic, but I must admit, the water tastes terrific and I feel as if I’m pampering myself. It doesn’t seem like a sacrifice to perform these rituals; it seems like a privilege.

I close my eyes and dampen my fingers and stick them into my pink Himalayan sea salt. I gently rub the salt over my eye lids and outer corners of my eyes. I then rinse the salt away from my eyes with the filtered water. My eyes are ready for the day and I don’t have to be concerned about catching an eye infection since salt is a natural bactericide. I used to have eye infections on a regular basis until I started this practice.

This technique came from Micho Kushi’s book, The Book of Do-IN: Exercise for Physical and Spiritual Development. Kushi recommends you open your eyes and blink them in the water. I usually don’t do that.

Anne

  Anne Talks

Click the graphic to hear Twas the Day Before Christmas.