Anne's Note reminds us that Doing Isn’t Being. The main article, Calmness Practices, emphasizes the need for calmness moments throughout the day and provides 5 examples. Healthy Living discusses the need for Magnesium: the Zen Mineral. The Anne Talk, A 3rd Conversation with Anne Sermons Gillis, is another interview by Dennis Tardan,  The Featured Product this month is EZosophy: The Art and Wisdom of Easy or At Least Easier Living.

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

  A Note From Anne

Dear ,

We are not defined by anything other than being, but our conversations are dominated by our “to do” lists, our fears, our hopes, and dreams. We become so identified with these things that we lose focus on what is real and what are just thoughts traversing our minds. It’s important to make that distinction because as long as we identify with things and thoughts, we suffer. EZosophy is about coming home and landing in reality. It may sound strange, but reality is easier than fantasy.

Anne

  Calmness Practices

There are many ways to live our lives. We live amidst endless choices and navigate through more opportunities than we can keep up with. Modern life has become a series of complexities and, rather than making our lives EZier, these endless, choice-packed openings are experienced as burdens. Yes, we have enough water to drink. Yes, we have enough food. Yes, we have a roof over our heads, unlike our ancestors whose daily lives were filled with struggling to provide these basics. But we suffer much more psychologically and emotionally than our ancestors. We are drowning in complication.

Unfortunately, we are addicted to this fast-paced, choice-based life. We have to be going forward, solving problems, and juggling three projects to feel alive. We don’t seek stillness. We seek thoughts; we seek activity; we seek thrills. We try to validate ourselves through an ongoing flurry we call life. When things calm down, even slightly, we either suffer from boredom or create some kind of drama or intensity to give us a little fix.

As a society, we need to understand and experience that calmness and fulfillment are safe, honorable, and okay conditions. They are not the enemy of a well-lived, productive life; they are the foundation from which meaningful structures arise. Thousands of people go to seminars to motivate themselves to be all that they can be. Often these seminars give people the jumpstart to do the things they don’t want to do, but think they should do, to be successful. When people act passionately about something they don’t care about, in order to fit in or gain a sense of self-importance, self-help can turn into self-destruction. It takes wisdom and insight to realize when motivation turns into devastation and when “doing to be” must give way to just being.

The following five practices help one to develop calmness. Practice them at intervals during the day to shake off your burdens and to learn to be comfortable with a goal-less moment:

1. Count silently to 60. Stay on task and keep the mind focused on this one simple activity. It’s a quick and easy timeout for the mind.
2. Belly breathe for ten breaths. Fill the lower abdomen with air, then the chest, then exhale with a sigh.
3. Massage each finger on both hands. This brings us into the present and it gets energy going in the body.
4. Ask frequently during the day, “Am I making this easy?” “Can I do this in an easier way or experience this without suffering?”
5. Make a fist with both hands and tap the spot under the belly button using alternate hands. Do this 100 times. This moves our awareness from the head to the body.

Here is a PDF copy so you can print out the 5 practices and keep them handy. There are three copies on the page so you can have one at work, one in your purse or notebook, and one on the refrigerator. Practice for a week and you may find that you want to keep doing them as a part of your regular day.

Anne

  Quotes

"There is  never enough of that which does not satisfy."
— Nirmala

"Do your desires lead to deep satisfaction or are they a pathway to a stream of endless desires."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

"Most of the time we are on a "mine" trip. We cherish the Me Maker and all it contributes to our sense of separation."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

  Featured Product This Month

  What is EZosophy?

Click the graphic above to learn more.

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

  Healthy Living

Magnesium: the Zen Mineral

Recently I picked up Happinez, a new, brightly colored, soul soothing magazine. I was so taken by one article that I paid $18.00 so I didn’t have to leave the joy juice at Barnes and Nobles. Another piece grabbed me, entitled, “Magnesium: the Zen Mineral.” I was smug when I started reading about one of my favorite minerals until I discovered I was not as magnesium savvy as I thought.

The startling new information was that there are different forms of magnesium and some are more perfect than others. Even though I took additional magnesium, I suffered from magnesium deficiency: I wasn’t absorbing the magnesium. One form of magnesium gives regular bowel movements, but it doesn’t do so much for the heart and other muscles.

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include insomnia and muscle twitching, two things I know too well. Other symptoms include nausea, anxiety, and muscle cramps. The symptoms start out mild then progress.

An online source claims 70% of sleep problems can be alleviated by restoring magnesium levels. While some medical professionals say that magnesium deficiencies are rare, another claims that 80% of us are magnesium deficient. Dr. Norman Shealy claims, "Every known illness is associated with a magnesium deficiency" and that "magnesium is the most critical mineral required for electrical stability of every cell in the body. A magnesium deficiency may be responsible for more diseases than any other nutrient."

Happinez magazine reports that magnesium oxide and chloride have a highly laxative effect on the body while magnesium citrate, taurate, and glycinate are more easily absorbed or bioavailable.

Calcium and magnesium work as a team, so be sure to get them in a 2 to 1 ratio: 2 calcium to one magnesium. Calcium, like magnesium, needs to come from a bioavailable source. I use a food based calcium supplement from Rainbow Light. It says take one, but I take two.

The above information is not meant to tell you what to do. It is written to encourage you to investigate your magnesium intake and to determine if you have a magnesium deficiency so then you can figure out what you want to do about it.

Go to this link for a detailed list of deficiency symptoms.

Anne

  Anne Talks

This talk, S02-08 A 3rd Conversation with Anne Sermons Gillis, is an interview of Anne by Dennis Tardan on Blog Talk Radio. Listen for more great examples of how to apply EZosophy in your life. Time: 57:45

  Anne Art

Moon Flower
Click the image to see a larger view.

Collage1
Click the image to see a larger view.

  Anne's Schedule

All times here are Central Time.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015
7 PM, "EZosophy"
Creative Life Spiritual Center
5326 Spring Stuebner Rd. Ste. 200
Spring, Texas 77389
Phone: 281-350-5157

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.