Anne's Note is on Radical Honesty and Living in the Present. The main article, The Spirit of Joy, reminds us that joy is always present, regardless of external events. Healthy Living provides a recipe for delicious Date Candy. The Anne Talk is Anne's Relax, Don't be Serious, Let Go Meditation. The Featured Product this month is Anne's Special December 2015 Offer.

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

Living EZosophy, December 8, 2015
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 281-419-1775
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  A Note From Anne

Dear ,

If I conveyed my deepest thoughts, they would be a mixture of the pleasant, unpleasant, brilliant, inane, and nonsensical. Thoughts dart all over the place and by some mystery emerge in a symphony of conversation. Naturally, if we have a good social intelligence, we censor what comes out, and take into consideration our listening audience.

Once, when I was a newlywed, a neighbor asked me how married life was going. I felt like a trapped animal. Jim and I had a rough day, yet my neighbor was so positive and anticipatory, I didn’t want to take a macabre stance, but I wasn’t about to lie. Then a great response emerged. “Some days it’s so wonderful and other days it’s like hell.” A toothy grin emerged, “I know what you mean. Mine’s the same way.” I left the conversation with no regrets. My answer was honest and in some small way we connected.

When people ask when we are moving, I have mixed thoughts. I say the sale is coming soon, but we don’t have a buyer yet. I want to move. Our grandchildren are growing so fast. I want to open the next chapter of my life, but I must admit, life is so sweet right where I am that I am not dragged down by longing. The power of now is reality, and wanting to move on, places the mind in fantasy mode. It’s fine to dream, but to live in that dream is not helpful to our souls. If there is longing, our souls long that we will wake up and undergo the journey without distance: the journey to now. My heart sings today, and when we move, it will continue to sing, and with a happy heart life is always EZier and EZier.

Anne

  The Spirit of Joy

The holidays are here. To officially verify this, tune into the Hallmark channel and you will be besieged with endless Christmas movies. According to a Forbes headline, “Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday Results are Bleak for Retailers.” This headline is a recipe for drama soup. Amazon reported 500 sales per second. Last year cyber sales topped $2 billion, whereas this year sales topped $3 billion. That doesn’t sound bleak. I was hoping that the bleak for retailers might be a sign that people who already have more than they need, refrained from buying more. Unfortunately, when it comes to the economy, there’s only one spin, “It’s bad.”  We always ask, “What does this mean for the economy?” Maybe a better question would be, “What, if anything, does this mean for my soul?”

People are spoon feed disaster day after day. Millions, maybe even billions, drink the haterade and not so cool, Kool-Aid. We feed on fear burgers. We need a fear strike. Whenever we hear something bad about the economy, we just smile and say, “Isn’t this interesting. Since everything always works out for my highest good, it will be interesting to see how this will work out.” How would you like to read these headlines, “Millions of people don’t give a _______ about Black Friday or Cyber Monday Sales” or “Millions enjoy the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas?”

Recently I had a dream. I was at Connection Church (my former church in Memphis, TN), talking to my congregation. I had prepared a message, but an inner voice took over. I became passionate as I belted out, “Joy is an always present, always available, experience. This is the most important message you will ever hear.” I spoke for a very long time on joy, as if to drill into their heads that this was not a flippant discourse; this message was vital to their survival. “Words, thoughts, and emotions get in our way. When we keep our minds still, we can hear the sound of joy. We can feel the joy of being.”

When I awakened I focused on the center of my chest and then began to picture and feel joy. Joy came alive: it felt like a soft, warm spot. Throughout the day I focused on the joy and the stillness of mind. It was a refreshing day, and the power of the dream continues to live in me.

Drama, ego driven suffering, and emotional intensity are ego’s designer drugs. They make life worth not living and keep us safe from imagined harm. They allow us to hide, to cover our brilliance and creativity, and they assist us in living a Milquetoast life.

I recently read Breakfast with Buddha, by Roland Merullo. The main character, Otto Ringling, drives a famous Rinpoche across the country. The 6-day trip moves Otto from cynicism to surrender. Otto’s words describe the process. “There were phonies and charlatans claiming to know the way, but at some point you had to stop closing yourself off because of them. At some point you had to risk the ridicule of the mob, of your own internalized voices, and try to see clearly what had been set in front of you in this life and try to act on that as bravely and honestly as you could, no matter what kind of rules you’ve previously been living by. At some point … you’d be asked to believe in some possibility that transcended newspaper headlines and TV shows and the opinion and assumptions of your friends, and how you responded to that would have a greater impact on your life than anything else you’d ever decide to do or refrain from doing.”

We stand at the perpetual crossroads of life; we can stand still at its juncture or we can bravely move toward life. My dream called me to continuously move in the direction of the truth and reminded me that joy is at the root of life. It’s the tap root, and when we tap into joy, we find that our lives become EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

“There’s a difference between being busy and being present. We can be physically busy and still be present. We can be physically still but not present. The present is our only point of power. Be present.”
— Anne Sermons Gillis

“Egoic thoughts can be stimulating, enticing, thrilling, depressing, or uplifting, but they are immaterial to reality.”
— Anne Sermons Gillis

“There is no limit to what can be accomplished when the ego is set aside and you are aligned with that which moves all of creation.”
— Gina Lake

  Featured Product This Month

  What is EZosophy?

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  Healthy Living

Date Candy

I love stuffed dates. They satisfy my sweet tooth and provide nutrition as well. Healthwise, date candy is a healthier choice than a candy bar or brownie. Dates are high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium and vitamins A, B-6, and K. They reduce bad cholesterol and contain high amounts of fiber.

Dates grow in the dessert and most likely originated in Iraq. They can be eaten fresh or dried. Wow your holiday guests with this luscious candy.

Date Candy Ingredients

• Whole dried dates
• Whole pecans or walnut halves
• Dark semisweet chocolate (I like Kirkland's 51% cocoa brand.)

Take one pitted date and insert a pecan half (any nut will do). At this point the nut should be hidden in the date. Dip the stuffed date in dark, melted chocolate. I use dark chocolate chips. Cool for a few minutes and eat. It’s delicious.

Allow for two stuffed dates per person if you are serving them after a meal. This is one of those recipes that tastes better than it sounds. People get excited when they try the first bite. They won’t believe it’s a date. It tastes like an exotic treat.

  Anne Talks

Take a few minutes to listen to Anne's Relax, Don't be Serious, Let Go Meditation. Presented at Unity of North Houston, TX, on May 3, 2015. Time: 4:32

  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.