Anne's Note reminds gives us a tip for Holidays and Holy Days. The Main article, From Thoughts to Presence, reminds us to move our awareness from our thoughts to the Presence. The Healthy Living article, Silica Gel Packs, provides tips for using these moisture absorbing goodies. The Anne Talk, The Voice In Our Head, gives some tips on handling pesky thoughts. The Featured Product this month is Anne's book, Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic.

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

Living EZosophy, March 22, 2016
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

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

Anne's Websites:

  A Note From Anne

Dear ,

Easter comes at the end of the week. On Wednesday we will see ashes smeared on the foreheads of the devout. Children will eat their fill of sugary eggs. I’ll be on the way to see my grandbabies and will spend Easter with them.

My Grandbabies
Click the image to see a larger view.

For some this holiday is about bunny rabbits and egg hunts, and for others it is about having their slates wiped clean. Regardless of whether you are a person of faith or someone who walks another path, I’m wishing you a wonderful holiday. It’s always fun to celebrate.

In the words of someone whose name I’ve forgotten, “Rejoice, rejoice, there is no choice.” Maybe that phrase is not technically true, but since we’ve all done our share of grousing, it’s a catchy phrase and an uplifting thought.

Anne

  From Thoughts to Presence

I lie in my bed. It's dark; I'm in familiar territory. It's night and I'm awake. My awareness tracks my thoughts. The thought train zooms and I become aware of the limit thought places on my mind. My mind is droning on about senseless things. I release the words and focus on Presence. Two words surface: Thought Power. I listen as thoughts lead me. My thoughts take awareness and narrow it down. What I am is unlimited, but thoughts cage my mind. They steal reality. Rather than experience reality, I watch the thoughts, hypnotized by their diversity, more interested in the mind play, than in life. I'm in the playground. The mind is the playground for thoughts.

Thoughts can be verbal or preverbal. Preverbal thoughts have no words attached. They come as insight. Insight comes in a flash. Insight is not word bound. If we had to put our insight into words, we would have to stretch to translate our experience, aha, or insight into words. The knowing, the understanding, comes from infinite thoughts. Silent thoughts direct us to turn left in our car without us hearing the words, "Turn to the left. Lift your arms; pull the steering wheel to the left." Words take infinite thought and drops it off at the finite. There's nothing wrong with limiting our awareness through words, but in order to be free, we cannot identify with the limiting capacity of thoughts or words. Words can be magnificent and I don't want to denigrate them, but we tend to let words use us rather than letting them be the guides they are meant to be. Words can have an uplifting quality, but we grasp at them, turning them into worry and stress.

Once I attended a weekend Vipassana workshop. The leader spoke of the nature of the mind and how it works.  What a breath of fresh air to hear about how the mind works rather than the normal chatter on how we need to control our minds or think positively. While positive thinking has its place, it is still a form of controlled thinking manufactured by a frightened mind. Until we know the nature of mind and can flow with its true nature rather, than its egoic nature, we are trapped at death's door. Not physical death; we encounter mental death, psychological death, death of depth, and the death of spontaneity.

I recommend Vipassana meditation and Walking Papassana. These practices take us beyond our self-imposed limits. When I left the weekend Vipassana retreat, my mind was clear and focused. It was an expansive feeling that allowed me to be more present and effective.

It doesn't matter how we move beyond the chatter, but it does matter that we move away from our limits. Most self-help is about rearranging our thoughts and attitudes and this makes a great contribution to our freedom, but self-help is only a stepping stone to our release. We can't stay on the stone and tidy it up. We must move forward into our deeper capacity. While no one can tell us where to go or how to free ourselves, we can follow the signs that point inward and call us to be present, to live in awareness, and to pay attention. It seems scary to move into the uncharted territory of infinite mind, but when we do, we find that our weary hearts are uplifted and that our lives always get EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

"Enlightenment is freedom, but it is also the ongoing knowing that the kingdom is at hand, not in the future. This is the food of the mystic, a deep knowing that everything is okay and it will always be okay. The egoic mind lives on creating panic, urgency, emergency, and struggle. It is an emotional entertainer, but deeper than these amateur distractions, is the Source, the real professional, and we are a part of that Source."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

Affirmative Statement
"Miracles abound in my inner world. Old judgements dissolve as new perspectives emerge. There are ah's, a refined sense of peace, and a heightened sense of awareness. My perception arises from the source of love and I can see clearly. All that looked daunting, now appears easier. My outer world is the out picturing of the miraculous inner world. I rest in this ever-present sense of awareness, Presence, and love."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

"Life itself is your career, and your interaction with it your most meaningful relationship."
— Michael A. Singer

  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

Silica Gel Packs

The cat is out of the bag. Those silica gel packs we find in our vitamins, our new shoes, and with leather products are actually useful. Better to save and use those little packets, than put them in the land fill. Stockpile them so they can work their magic.

Here are some uses for these little packets:

• Store them in a zip lock bag with your razor. The packets absorb the moisture and your razor blade will last longer.
• Dropped your phone in the water? Take it out as fast as you can, as if I have to tell you that, and place it in a Ziploc bag with plenty of silica gel packets. The packets absorb the water and if you are lucky, you'll be texting your honey in no time.
• Keep them with your photos. You gotta' admit, that's a good idea!
• Help preserve your Christmas ornaments, especially if you store them in the garage or basement.
• Keep them in your underwater camera case.
• So you want to take one quick swim before the plane leaves? Put the wonder packets in a plastic bag with your wet suit.
• Put them in your silver chest or jewelry box to keep jewelry from tarnishing.
• Put them in your stored seeds so they won't mold.
• Put one in your stored bulk dried dog food. Remove before you feed your dog!

The Feral Turtle commented that you can reuse these packets once they are full of moisture!! She says "We save our silica gel packets too! They will collect moisture and quit working, though, so we regenerate them in a 200-degree oven for about two hours and store them in an airtight Ziploc bag until we need them."

  Anne Talks

Today's Anne Talk is her brief reminder about how to handle The Voice In Our Head. Time: 0:41. Click the image above to go to the video page, and then click above the black line on the right of the screen to reveal the video player. Then press the Play button to watch.

  Anne Art

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  Anne's Schedule

Tuesday, March 22, 2016
1 to 3 PM, EZosophy Two: The EZ-U Process and the EZosophy Vows
Thomas A. Glazier Senior Educ. Center
Houston, Texas
For information contact:
Lisa Rice at lrice@pct3.com

  Call or Email Anne Now to Schedule
  Your Next Meeting with her.

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.