Anne's Note asks How Are You Creating Your City? The Main article, Perfection Isn't Required, reminds us that even though we strive for enlightenment, we don't have to be perfect. The Healthy Living article, Heal Yourself with Qi Gong, by Shanthi Jessa, provides an introduction to this beneficial ancient health practice. The Anne Talk, The Voice In Our Head, asks us what our voice is telling us. The Featured Product this month is Anne's book, Standing in the Dark.

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

Living EZosophy, April 19, 2016
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

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

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  A Note From Anne

Dear ,

As many of you know, we are planning to move to the Asheville, N. C. area. Someone told me that the winters there were "abysmal." I looked at the number of sunny days where I live and compared it to the sunny days in Asheville. Surprise. Ashville has more sunny days than the Houston area.
Some things in life seem so apparent, but most of the things we think are one way, are actually another way, and there's always another way. I read about people's experience in Asheville and they complained about the humidity, the snakes, and the high prices. Some people love that area and others despise it.

Do you remember the story of the traveler who asked a stranger about the next city he was planning to visit? The stranger asked, "How did you find the city you just left?" The traveler replied, "It was dark and dingy, and the people were rude." The stranger replied, "You will find the same in the next city."

Another traveler, who was making the same journey, came across the stranger. The traveler inquired about the city. The stranger asked, "How did you find the city you just left?" She replied, "The people were friendly, the food was amazing, and I felt very safe." The stranger replied, "You will find the same in the next city."

I plan to be like the second traveler. I will create Asheville to be friendly, safe, and fun. Where do we live right now and how do we create the way we view our lives and our habitats? It's a powerful question.

Anne

  Perfection Isn't Required

This morning I listened to a YouTube on Shri Ramana Maharishi. Ramana was not only a wise spiritual advisor; he was a lover of animals. He had a way with animals that is compared to that of Saint Francis. His cow, Laxshmi, was given an afterlife sendoff ceremony normally reserved for humans. The master understood snakes, monkeys, birds, and other animals. Animals not only flocked to him, they obeyed him. The Ramana video ended by talking about his transition. When I looked at the date today, I saw his transition date or mahasamadhi day was today.  (That was last week now.) I felt a chill. Ramana is one of my favorite holy people.

I was fortunate to visit his ashram in southern India a few years ago. The town was filled with spiritual seekers of all sorts, ashrams, and markets.

He lived in one village, Tiruvannamalai, his entire adult life. I suspect he never drove a car, yet his influence was felt all over the world. When my mind criticizes my uneasiness when driving, I think, "Ramana was a great man and he didn't drive anywhere." I then congratulate myself for driving at all. I avoid driving into Houston and would never venture out during the commuter hours. When the inner critic chides me for not traveling as much as I might like, I think, "Ramana stayed in one town through his entire adult life and he was one of the greatest men who ever lived. Not only was he self-realized, he was wise and capable."

Sometimes we play small and don't realize our potential, but frequently, we expect too much. We demand perfection, consummate wisdom, an ageless body, and a 24-hour positive attitude. It is refreshing to know that most advanced masters can’t live up to the standards of our modern world.

Ramana's teachings were practical and easy to understand. Three things can reveal the truth of who we are.

• The first is meditation. It calms the mind and uncovers what lies beneath our words, beliefs, and emotions.
• Next is the breath. Learning to master the breath, or live with breath awareness, brings us to deep stillness as well.
• Finally, his favorite was self-inquiry. It is known in the east as vichara. The self-inquiry refers to the seminal question, "Who am I?" It is not a question to be answered in words. It is answered in the heart, when we stop the mind and feel or experience who we are. Ramana said that vichara created the fastest path to realization.

The above are my three favorite practices, although I do mantra as well. My practices are not set in stone. They vary. I lose track of time and it gets too late to do my spiritual and physical exercises. I get tired of some of the exercises sometimes and want a change. While some people can arrange their lives to exercise, meditate, and eat well every day, it may not be practical for everyone in today's modern life.

We are stretched to do more things and be more things than ever before. While the above practices are powerful, not everything is for everybody. Each has a path that calls to them, and that path can be different for each person. We do not need to live under the tyranny of any belief system, any religion, or other set of standards. Our lives are our lives. We answer to no one. The Universe is always saying, "Decide and I will back you up." We don’t have to do anything to be loved and accepted. We already are unconditionally loved and accepted. I don't do my practices to be good or to gain favors with GUS (God/Universe/Spirit). I do them because I feel better. But it is important not to become the prisoner to perfection. I can deviate from the norm and still have a healthy, happy, life.

When we accept ourselves as we are, help ourselves when we can, and give ourselves a break, we always find that life can be EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

"We live in a time of great change. People long for the good old days. But the way we used to get things done, the ways we used to earn a living, and life as we knew it, is gone. We can't go back. Our country is no longer a manufacturing hub and our economy is stacked against the middle class. Our rivers are dirty and you must have a driver's license to drive. We can get upset or we can get creative. We can feed the drama or we can feed the opportunity."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

"We have a tool we can use when we don't like what others are doing to us. We can use it when we feel marginalized or when we are treated poorly. We can use it when we are wronged. It's called forgiveness, and it dissolves our victimhood and allows us the freedom to move on. Forgiveness doesn't let others off the hook. It lets us off the hook."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

"Is there anything you can do to make your life easier? If so, do it. Is there anything you can think that will make your life easier? If so, think it. Is there anything you can feel that will make your life easier? If so, feel it. There's always a way to lighten any burden."
— Anne Sermons Gillis

  Featured Product This Month

  What is EZosophy?

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  Healthy Living

Heal Yourself with Qi Gong
By Shanthi Jessa

What was once a secretive practice passed down by masters is now easily available and can be enjoyed by everyone today. Like any other practice, to reap the benefits of Qi Gong, one has to be persistent and consistent. Only then will you begin to feel the health benefits of the exercises.

What is Qi Gong?

Qi (pronounced as “chee”, as in cheese) is the life-force energy of the body which is responsible for our vitality. Gong means work or skill. Qi gong is therefore the practice of cultivating, restoring and circulating vital life-force energy in the body to create a balance. Qi Gong is composed of three essential components: (1) physical exercises, with emphasis on proper posture and alignment; (2) deep, abdominal breathing; and (3) meditation and visualization, both of which are considered practitioner’s “mental intention.” This ancient health and healing art has a time-tested history of producing health, healing and youthfulness, as far back as 4,500 years.

We are all familiar with the martial arts aspect of Qi Gong. We have seen marital artists such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee demonstrate extraordinary skills and abilities because they developed an understanding of how to use the power of chi. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Medical Qi Gong is the cultivation of energy specifically to preserve and restore health. It consists of techniques that relax and integrate the mind and body and strengthen the body’s tissues and organ functions. It promotes flexibility, stability, and mobility. It is a self-healing therapy that gives the practitioner a greater degree of control over the aging process. Qi Gong practices have been linked to improved circulation, reduced stress, lowered blood pressure, reduced chronic pain, and improved immune function (Sancier 1996b).

Proper posture allows the body’s energy to flow more freely through the body. Proper breathing calms the nervous system while providing the body’s cells with more oxygen to use as fuel. Visualization (guided intention) involves using the mind’s eye to direct the flow of energy to a specific part of the body, such as the organs of the digestive system for improved digestion. Within the human body, chi is said to have many major functions: it protects the body from disease, supports and sustains all movements, supports the body’s transformation, retains fundamental substance, and maintains normal body heat.

Read more and learn how to do the practices....

Shanthi Jessa is a certified Medical Qi Gong Instructor who provides private/public classes, in-person or via Skype sessions. She can be contacted by cell: 832-283-1563 or email: snjessa@gmail.com

  Anne Talks

Today's Anne Talk is The Voice In Our Head. What's your voice telling you? Time: 0:42.

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