Anne's Note today is Embracing Life. The Main article, Taming The Ego, show us ways to control the ego and make our lives EZier. The Healthy Living article, Healthy Living Tips, provides some healthy tips and a quick and easy salad dressing recipe. Today's Anne Talk, Powerful Use of Affirmations, reminds us to not use affirmations as an escape mechanism. The Featured Product this month is Anne's new reprint of EZosophy: The Art and Wisdom of Easy or At Least Easier Living. Click here to learn about Anne's newest book.

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

Living EZosophy, November 29, 2016
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

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

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  A Note From Anne

Embracing Life

Dear ,

I love Christmas decorations, but I'm not always in love with putting them up. I skip decorations some years, especially when I'm not going to be around for the holidays. I haven't decided what I'm going to do this year – decorations or no decorations, but I will only do what seems fun. When we have fun doing something, it's not hard, and having fun while doing a task actually increases our energy.

We met Linda at a Thanksgiving potluck. She is an RV'er and an author. After much conversation, we made a date to visit her in Livingston at the RV park. On Saturday, at the appointed time, Jim, my friend Sherry Blades, and I went to Escapees RV Park for a tour. This park was bigger than I had imagined. There were permanent homes with covered spaces for your RV, and permanent spaces for people who lived in their RV's. There were spaces one can rent by the day, week, or month, and there was a clubhouse and dining room, not to mention a service for older adults that is like assisted living. They even have a nurse.

There are many lifestyles, and while some are mainstream, others are offbeat and allow us to create and recreate our lives. I'm not sure where we will land, but for now it's enjoyable to see what others do with their lives. I'm always about making life EZier and EZier and it looks like others have figured out that less is more. The secret is out. Remember that happy days are here and more coming our way. The inalienable right to life itself is here and brings with it a shower of blessings. Let's embrace them. Our mission, if we chose to accept it, is to enjoy our lives.

Happy holy days,

Anne

  Main Article

Taming The Ego

The ego is layered with a thin coat of panic. It keeps us off somewhere in time. The ego makes plans to be in the now — only it plans to be there sometime in the future. I'll be there when I'm retired, happy, safe, wealthy, or when I find my soul-mate. The ego never lets us rest, is never satisfied, and it is always pushing us to do more, get more, or to be more. The ego makes us believe that problems are based on how things are going in our world.

External problems are not the culprit. The true dis-ease lies in how we perceive and interpret what is. When we let go of our need to struggle, we begin to see anew. Circumstances that used to get us down no longer have the same debilitating impact. Choosing to operate in ease and letting go of our suffering addiction is one of the most powerful decisions we will ever make. Do it now. Ease can only live in the eternal present. It is time to fire the ego. It's not management material.

Ease is a universal principle. Ease is the sacred right of all spiritual beings. If you are willing to drop the drama and flow into ease, the following ten steps can return you to the ease of your being. We do not get out of struggle by struggling; instead, we tune into another reality where drama, intensity, and pain do not exist. This process accesses the power of surrender. When the ego mind falls, ease emerges. Use this process to access the power of ease and you will learn that there's no business like flow business.

The EZ-U Process
Ten Steps to Get Out of the School of Hard Knocks!
(Short Version)

Step 1: I admit that today, in this moment, my life is a struggle.

Step 2: I am willing to consider the possibility that my life can be easier.

Step 3: I dedicate my mind and heart to discovering an easier way to perceive and create my life.

Step 4: I am willing to be aware of any conscious or hidden need to suffer or struggle.

Step 5: Anything other than ease is fear.

Step 6: I release my need to control and fix this situation.

Step 7: I relax my body and become aware of my body's needs, then attend to them.

Step 8: I face my emotions.

Step 9: I surrender my situation, problem, or feeling to GUS (God/Universe/Spirit).

Step 10: I write down any reaction or feeling I have as a result of letting go (or reflect silently).

The long version of the EZU process appears in, EZosophy: The Art and Wisdom Of EZ or at Least EZier Living.

The "Taming the Ego" article is excerpted for EZosophy: The Art and Wisdom Of EZ or at Least EZier Living.

Anne

  Quotes

"Gradually my life's unremitting pleasure ceased to satisfy me, leaving me exhausted from the last indulgence while anticipating the next. At the age of 26 I had already become fatigued by the world, knowing that even at the moment of gratification, the seed of new desire was being sown."
-- Gita Metta, excerpt from A River Sutra

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
-- Matthew 6:19-21 (A good holiday reminder)

"We can't just have devotion; there must be right knowledge so one can navigate the world and serve. Without right knowledge, even love (Devotion) can go astray."
-- Annie Besant

  Featured Product This Month

At last, the reprint of EZosophy: The art of EZ or at Least EZier Living, is out. If you've been wanting an EZier life, this book provides a clear path toward EZ.

EZosophy:The Art and Wisdom of Easy or At Least Easier Living is a simple philosophy that radically changes lives. It is a book for the spiritually-based reader who no longer values the ego driven struggle of contemporary life.

EZosophy will help readers:

• Give up Hard Attacks. Hardaholic no more.
• Drop the drama.
• Make your life EZier. Ease is not indolence. Rather, ease is the art of accomplishment without struggle.
• Learn to identify ego driven suffering (EDS).

  Healthy Living

Healthy Living Tips

It takes more effort than ever to live a healthy life. We sit too much. I have friends who tell me, "I live in my car." We sit in front of our computers and get to watch the latest movies online. How tempting. Our markets are flooded with products that bring out the worst in our bodies, from fatigue to fat. That's why I'm always interested in the best recipes, the best moves (Think exercise.), and the best mental content. We've heard the phrase, "We are what we eat." And right along with that phrase we need to hear, "We are what we think." If we chose to be healthy, we must face more complexities than ever before, without taking on those complexities as the fodder for a Hard Attack.

A few weeks ago I mentioned the benefits of walking ten minutes after each meal. That's why I started walking, because I had indigestion – and it works! I am happy to report that when I walk those ten minutes, I never have indigestion. I told a friend, who is prediabetic. She started walking 10 minutes after each meal and found her blood sugar levels went down significantly. I don't remember the numbers, but they were impressive.

A friend of mine has been dealing with kidney problems. She switched to a plant based diet as an experiment and, upon testing, she found her kidney function had increased dramatically. Animal products, including dairy, are hard on the kidneys.

What we do, how we think, and what we eat can affect our health. I get excited when I find an easy to implement idea that improves my health.

Here's a great salad dressing that brings in the health benefits.

Salad Dressing

• 1 cup Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother (Health benefits of the mother)
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 2 tablespoons Whole Grain Mustard, Dijon mustard, or powdered mustard
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme or Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Mix all ingredients together in a jar and shake. It's ready. You can adjust any of the ingredients to your liking. For example, you may want to skip the salt; just make the recipe your own. A two-part oil to one part vinegar recipe is always good. This recipe is better the second day, when flavors have had time to mix.

Salads are a great way to add fiber and enzymes to our diets. I love my daily salad.

Eat good food, keep the body moving, think healthy thoughts, and your body will surely become healthier and healthier.

Anne

  Anne Talks

Powerful Use of Affirmations

Today's Anne Talk, Powerful Use of Affirmations, reminds us to not use affirmations as an escape mechanism. Time: 3:06.

  Anne Art

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