Anne's Note shows us some more ways we can Make Life EZier. The main article, Open Your Mind, asks us to look beyond our narcissistic wants toward the ever-present sustenance life provides. Healthy Living gives us some simple exercises to help us Wake Up every morning. The Anne Talk is a beautiful meditation with music entitled Love Is Now. The Featured Product this month is Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic.

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

Living EZosophy, September 15, 2015
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 281-419-1775
Email: anne@annegillis.com

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  A Note From Anne

Dear ,

 I just watched an impactful video of a young Buddhist poet. He tells the story of how as a child, he didn’t wave to an 8 year old peer. He told his father he didn’t wave because the girl was gay. He was actually just being cruel. This young Buddhist poet does a great job of retelling his experience and challenging us to heal our emotional fears. Take a look by clicking the image below.

I am in Asheville looking for a home. I am on the tail end of a 10 day journey. I hope all is well with you and that you are finding new and different ways to live the EZosophy philosophy.

Just in case you didn’t know, the newsletters are archived. If you need a little inspiration, just go to The Archive Page and pick an issue at random, read it, and see if your universal synchronicity vibe is on. It’s a great way to see how the universe is able to pair us with the advice we need just at the right moment.

We are not alone. We are a part of a great, imminent source that supplies us with what we need when we need it and, if we are lucky, we have the wisdom to know the difference between wants and needs.

Take it EZ.

Anne

  Open Your Mind

This morning I felt disconnected. I looked out my window and murmured silently, “Show me something beautiful. I’ll settle for an anole (a green lizard with a red throat). I love those.” I strained to see movement and my inner voice nudged, “It’s beautiful to be able to see.”

I had recently watched a YouTube video about a $300 surgery that most blind Indian children do not get because their families cannot afford it. In the video two blind sisters had the simple surgery, gifted by a non-profit organization, and subsequently experienced sight for the first time. Amazing. “Yes,” I thought, “being able to see is beautiful.” I felt the reconnection and the gratitude of living with the privileges I no longer notice.

Later, as I walked my dog, Lucy, I remembered when a former partner experienced debilitating pain after his appendectomy. As he suffered, it dawned on me that I was pain free and fortunate. It was an aha moment. I was young and had never thought of feeling good as a gift. Until then, health was an entitlement. As he suffered, I felt a deep appreciation for my health. There’s a miracle to this story. When I met my friend, he had no health insurance. I was concerned and was relieved when his job offered him a policy. His appendicitis occurred the week his health plan was underwritten. All the time when he didn’t have the insurance, he was fine, but when he really needed insurance, it was there. What a gift that he didn’t have to worry about how to pay his bill, while he had such intense physical pain.

Today I went to the kitchen to get breakfast. I couldn’t find anything. An inner voice prompted me to look deeper. “You have a house full of food. People are starving around the world and are happy to get a small piece of bread. Some people spend all day just finding enough food to survive. Thousands die from hunger.” It wasn’t a punitive reminder; it was a compassionate reminder. “I didn’t have anything to eat” really meant I was out of bananas and didn’t want to eat an apple and nuts for breakfast. I immediately saw coconut milk, chia seeds, and frozen cherries and mixed up a tasty breakfast drink. Being out of my favorite breakfast food meant, in no way, that I was out of food. There was plenty and I felt grateful for the abundance of food.

It is easy to get boxed into a narrow reality. When life centers exclusively on my needs and excludes everyone else’s, it’s a lonely world. Sometimes needs get refined to the point that they are narcissistic. When everything is all about “me,” the box gets narrower. When we turn our attention outward and begin to serve others' needs, the box expands. This doesn’t mean to exclude one’s needs and become a martyr; it means to have a wide range of inclusion. I matter, others matter, and if I allow myself to be of service to that, I’ll be grateful for what I see. I’ll do favors for others and live my life in a way to uplift and appreciate the ongoing flow of good in life.

As my acquaintance, Nick Giglio, once said, “We must learn from our pain, but be led by our joy.” We can’t stay focused on what we don’t have or be so personally absorbed in our needs and what we don’t have, that we miss the overshadowing good of our lives. Life supports us in so many ways, and, while it’s not sensible to ignore all the wrongs of the world, it is tragic to focus on them completely. Life is a synthesis of privilege and pain, but we have an obligation to look deeper than what we see in this world, because, when we do, life is EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

"Life is not a straight, short journey: it’s a circular expression of creativity and diversity. It is a collection of beauty, love, and blessing, punctuated by amnesia."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

"Love is like a free fall into our good. Not falling in love, but being immersed in love – feeling loved, loving, and lovable. We should teach love practices in school."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

"Over prepare, then go with the flow."
— Regina Brett

  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

Wake Up

Here’s a great way to up your energy in the morning.

• Say "Wow" 20 times, opening your mouth as wide and high as it will go. You will feel the rush of energy in your face. This also helps keep wrinkles away if you do it daily.
• Tap on the top of your head in a spiral pattern. Do 5 times.
• Pull your ears down 5 times by holding your earlobes with you thumb and index finger.
• Pull your ears up 5 times by holding the top your earlobes with you thumb and index finger.
• Bat the sides of your ear lobes forward using your 4 fingers.
• Form a fist with each hand and tap firmly 2 inches below your belly button. Alternate hands when tapping. Start with 25 and work up to one hundred.

Try these exercises. You will feel fantastic, wide awake, and ready to start your day.

  Anne Talks

Here's Anne's beautiful meditation with music on Love Is Now. It helps you realize that love is always with you and that it truly is available Now. Time: 14:55

  Anne Art

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  Anne's Schedule

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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.