EZosophy

Free Teleseminar The Secret for EZier Relationships

2012-01-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Do you know the secret to good relationships? If you don't know the secret, then you can know that when things are going well in your relationships, you are using the secret even if it's a secret to you! Join me, Anne Sermons Gillis, on Wed. Jan 25 at 2 PM CST and I will reveal THE Secret for easier and better relationships. Until you know the secret and implement it in your relationships, no amount of counseling, communicating or reading can make your relationship work. Call (209) 647-1600 enter the Access Code 539554 and then enter #

Join me for The EZ Secret: EZier Relationships with Anne Sermons Gillis
http://theezsecret.com/
http://www.annegillis.com/
Wed. January 24 2 PM CST call (209) 647-1600 Conference Call Number Access Code 539554 #

Sound Exercises

2012-01-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

Recently I read an article in the Natural Triad by Sandy Seeber. The article is in the Oct. edition. You can get back editions. Seeber spoke of a sound practice/exercise that helps heal the body. It is based on Emilie Conrad’s work. Conrad uses sound to grow neurons in injured areas in the body. She has worked with success to alleviate or mitigate severe pain and made progress with people with spinal cord injuries.

Sound actually expands cells and does all kinds of things I’m not going to touch on, but I will recommend this great exercise. I do it first thing in the AM. There are two elements: sound and breath. The exercise is actually a detox because whenever the exhale is longer than the inhale, we release toxins from the lungs. It is also meditative. If you have problems keeping your mind focused in meditation, try a breath/sound mantra.

Lie down and be aware of your body, the aches, tightness and any other sensations. Next move your right foot back and forth to the sound of “E.” make the sound deep in the body. DO it this three times in total and then repeat on the left side. The sound “E” relaxes the body. Next go up the body and do the sound “O” three times while holding these areas. Make the sound “O” deep in the body as well. Make it resound!

Bottoms of foot the middle with fingertips

Behind the knees – fingertips

Groin area fingertips face each other

Both collarbones with fingertips

Both sides of the neck

Both ears (Little finger and ring finger in front of ears and thumb and remaining fingers behind ears.)

Now relax for a few minutes and let the body do it’s work. Repeat the exercise two more times. Use this as a daily morning practice. I recommend it first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. Doesn’t this SOUND like fun?

Walking in the Rain

2012-01-15T15:13:00.000-08:00

I usually walk as a part of my morning ritual, but today it was pouring rain. The rain is like manna. Our water tables are low, we need this, but it doesn't do too much for my walk. I wanted to take my dog out so I put on rain boots and headed out. She didn't like it so we returned quickly, but I liked it. I had plenty of rain gear and it was an adventure. So I went out again in the pouring rain. What a delightful experience. I love seeing the water fill the ditches and the rushing away to the creek. I felt like a pirate sloshing around in the rain - "Shiver me timbers." I imagine pirate at sea fighting the storm.

How many times I forget to examine my assumptions - this time it was my assumption that I don't walk in the rain. I remembered times spent in other countries when I went out rain or shine. If I stayed in during the rain, I would miss seeing the country. I've been in several rain forests. I've been to countries during their monsoon season. I had forgotten that I do walk during the rain and that walking in the rain is fun.

It looks like Gene Kelly took the same walk. This is such an uplifting video.

Will You Marry Me?

2012-01-12T10:25:00.001-08:00

Will you marry me? Not in the conventional sense. I mean will you think of me with love, respect me, and value me in mistakes or in my brightness. Will you think good thoughts about me and say wonderful things about me? Think about your answer. If your answer is yes that we can have a wonderful union.

I know it's not up to you to make me feel good, so I'll just commit to love you, think good thoughts about you and to continue to think well of you even when you are snarky and make a mistake. I know we may only be cyber friends, so why would I speak of such emotional intimacy? How many times do we cater to a voice that cares what others think? These are the others we will never know. So if I am going to have thoughts about people I don't know, and what they may think of me or my ideas, I might as well think they love me and are on my side. See my point. I benefit in two ways. I get too feel how it feels to send out love and affection and in my imagination I can receive it as well.

Check out the website linked. It's about making people feel good. Happy people are not only nicer, they are healthier as well.

Eat well and prosper. Yum Yum. Rejoice, rejoice - there is no choice. Be too blessed to be stressed. I guess I've made my point. Love ya.

No Goals

2012-01-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

While many plan for the New Year, I am not on the goal standard. My cause is the BE cause. I am not a goal digger. Being here now is the greatest show on earth. I’m semi joking here. I have nothing against goals, it’s just in the paradigm of non duality, we stand in an area that doesn’t require getting things accomplished in order to be okay. The okayness appears first then the doing follows from that space. When our doing flows from a natural inner knowing, it flows easily and doesn’t require the traditional methods to bring forth accomplishment.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

What the Opposite of Making a Difference? A Be Cause

2011-12-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

My cause is a be cause. I don’t want to be all that I can be. No army for me. If I spent my life being all that I could be, would I have anytime left to enjoy my life – to live my life?

We live in a productive society. Indolence is not a virtue, but many of our values, those get-ahead, make-somebody-of-yourself; make-a-difference values, are not conducive to life itself.

I am not trying to make a difference because who I am is the difference. In living and being open to the next encounter, a difference is made. If I wasn’t there, things would be different. Difference is everywhere with or without me. Life itself is full enough and arranged so that I don’t have to get in there and clean up a mess. Life is not a mess. If there are any messes around, maybe I’ d be the mess. But even saying that I am a mess is another attempt by the mind to create a problem. The mind creates its value and meaning by fixing our messes. We love messes. It’s the mind that messes with life. We act like our messes are tragedies, but our messes are our messes and we guard them closely. We intellectually and emotionally guard our stash of drama and mayhem. Our mess makes us special.

Drop the drama, drop the pain - realize we’re all the same.You’re not broken, you’re not wrong - life is perfect; sing it’s song. There is something right with us. Let’s get in there and look for that. Life is beautiful, let’s look for that beauty. Pathology (Pathology is the study and diagnosis of disease and I using this word to describe our mental states) is not all it’s cracked up to be and it’s a lie. Lives are not pathological, they are mythological. We are a part of a grand story. We don’t need to be reduced to the “what’s wrong, fix it” game when we can tune into the presence of what’s right. And in the words of songwriter and singer, Tim Bays, “life had many speed bumps, its detours and its sorrows, but a thousand things went right today and will again tomorrow.”

Making a Difference?

2011-11-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

All of my life I had dreams of making a difference. I wanted to change the world. The journey started when I was a junior in High School. I wrote a paper on US Latin American affairs, studied US Latin relations and was chosen as a church delegate to visit Washington, DC and New York City. In Washington I met with my congressman and with my senator’s aid. I toured the congressional and senatorial building and even had lunch in the congressional dining room. I looked around and tried to imagine who those important people might be. In New York City I met with UN officials and studied the process of world cooperation in government.

The seeds of ambition were nurtured over the years through my participation in politics as a teen Democrat. My father was a member of the NC House of Representatives, so I had a blast as a page when I was only 13. I campaigned for zero population growth in my early twenties. I started attending national and international gatherings for planetary healing. In the early 90’s I was one of the hosts of a small international event held in rural Texas. We decided to take a break from the business and I put together a spur of the moment talent show featuring conference participants. I was the master of ceremonies. Due to some intense mystical occurrence, I entered an altered state of consciousness. It was the realm of divine comedy. The show was awesome and somehow the boundaries and borders melted between participants and we became a global family. The experience did not end for me at the close of the show. All night I lay awake filled with the most incredible energy. It was the light of comedy. It came in waves. It seemed like comedy heaven.

I was so inspired that I started a campaign to have a court jester type person in the US House of Representatives. In my altered state it seemed like terrific idea. I wanted to perform for the president in the congressional building for a joint session of the senate and the house. I vividly imaged that occurring. When I came off my visionary mountain, I dropped the idea. Some things that seem to make sense when I am on a spiritual high seem ridiculous when I re-enter the ordinary world.

The next year I was invited to a conference in The Philippines. It took place in the congress building in Queson City. There was a parallel conference which included theater people from around the world. They put together a show to be held in the congress building. I was hanging around watching practice when group leader asked me if I would represent the indigenous of North America and do a performance. I said responded affirmatively, but explained that it would be an offense for me to represent another culture, but I would do something appropriate to honor the American indigenous. I gave a dramatic depiction of how the early settlers depended on the indigenous for survival and how later we met them with a sword, decimating their people, lands and culture. I asked for forgiveness and begged again that they show us the way to a sustainable planet. There were thousands of people in the audience including diplomats, ambassadors, cabinet members, the heads of the military, indigenous datas (that’s the leaders), the members of the house and senate and the president. It was not exactly as I had pictured it, but the key ingredients of my dream were there: performing in the congress, a joint session and a presidential attendee. For me it was a powerful demonstration of the mind and heart in unison to create and manifest a dream. It seems that in wanting to make a difference, I was the one who benefitted the most. This was one of many extraordinary experiences that have taken me from pillar to post of life’s adventure.

PS… A friend, who had international prominence, told me I needed some impressive pictures and news stories in my PR kit. She had her picture on the front page of the Sun (England). I thought, why can’t I have my picture on the front page of an international newspaper? This little adventure birthed a picture with the president, the international delegates (and you could really see me) on the front page of all the major newspapers in the Philippines. So goes my “Law of Attraction” story. We called it manifesting in those days, not the LOA, but thinking, creating, allowing and receiving were the same then as they are now.

Life and Lovers

2011-08-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

Life goes by so fast. I wrote the following piece in 1999 – it seems like a just few minutes ago- when my relationship with my then lover and now husband was fresh and shiny. I’ve heard it did that three bad relationships can do more for your awakening than one easy comfortable relationship. Somehow I think I’ve wrapped several tough relationships and a few good relationships into this one and have manufactured both pain and pleasure. For those who think relationships are the answer; they are not. For those who think being alone and single is Mecca, forget that also. Each state, alone or in a relationship, has its fire and its pleasure. Nothing in form, whether it be health, people, success or accomplishment, offers permanence or lasting satisfaction. What we seek through the acquisition or disposal of things, people and circumstances never delivers us to the Promised Land. All that said I couldn’t resist sharing the following. Here’s to life and lovers:

I am undergoing an experiment. Is life there to support me if I let it? If I stay in the moment will each succeeding now be enough? Will I give up the need to be guided anywhere because there is nowhere to go? Can I give up the need to have things different because I know deeply that the world of satisfaction is not reached through self improvement? Can I give up the need for change and variety long enough to undo my inability to see what is already here. What is here is enough, but because of my conditioning I look outside to others, to the possibility of money bringing freedom and to success as the conductors of happiness.

I cannot fault myself for this journey. True I have frequent failures.. I have enough frequent failure points to take my mind anywhere in the land of doom and gloom. Even free trips are often too expensive. I can no longer afford the luxury self criticism. It eats away at my aliveness. The mind can be like a reckless drive. I get in my mind, turn it on and then go for a ride, but it’s not a joy ride. I become a reckless thinker and my reality crashes. I believe that life is a series of problematic occurrences that need fixing. Oh what an endless web we weave when once we practice mental disease. Mental dis- ease is a practice and I have gotten so good at it that I forget there's any other way of perceiving. I suffer from perception deception.

So it’s true, "I am not soaring away into the boundless bliss of infinite love," but I am soaring. I have acted on the courage to free myself from my latest prison. I am roaming in a life that is more dictated by wants than by needs. I have met the challenge of my heart and have become open to new love.

When I was young it was so easy to surrender to love. I did not know who I was. There wasn’t much to give up or to give from. I gave myself in order to become someone. Now I know who I am and so when I surrender, I give into much more than hoping I will become someone. I know I am already someone. Now I give into allowing that I can become even more if my heart is open. I have known how to be who I was when alone, now the risk is the vulnerability of being myself in the presence of one who can see me.

I am both honored and afraid of this journey into intimacy. Sometimes my mind spins in a mad dance of potential outcomes. I get dizzy and spin out of control. Other times I rest in a deep contentment. I feel dizzy when I look into my lover’s mind and heart. There is excitement in the newness, but as I glimpse the purity of the daily encounter, my mind relaxes. I watch the tea cup brush his lips. These things are becoming familiar, but none the less they are sacred. Does familiarity breeds contempt? Who can look upon the sun closing her eyes and not be touched again and again? So it is with he and me, those familiar things I long to see and repeat for me a thousand times.

So here’s to all you lovers – a little mushiness, a little sanity and plenty of “when it comes to relationships, the experts don’t exist!”

Time

2011-08-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes time seems so big it just stretches out giving me a forever feeling – it takes a noble stand behind me. What a spacious gift, a queen’s delight.

Sometimes time stands before me shrinking while issuing frantic demands; it runs away and gives itself to others, leaving me with toppling tasks and breathless beginnings. I get a paupers gift, but never enough time for anything.

If I could seize the clock and make it give and never take, then I suppose I’d be awake. I’d live in now and not beyond, time would not march, it would just sing along with me in perfect time. © 2009 Anne Sermons Gillis

Is Freedom Doing Your Own Thing?

2011-07-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Recently I cleaned out some old files. I found delightful little snippets of insights tucked away; they were forgotten over time. Today these quotes would be online, but in the old days we received our quotable wisdom "Xeroxed" on a piece of plain white unrecycled paper.

I thew some of them away, but this one - I have to share. Unfortunately, as with many of those quotes, the author is unknown.

This one is entitled "Doing Your Own Thing - Is That All?"

There is to me a terrible agonizing loneliness in trying to live for the self alone. Fritz Perl's declaration of freedom has often been quoted, "I do my thing and you do your thing." The quote is actually:

"I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I; If by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.

There is some valid truth in those words as well as some extortions as well. To me there comes an underlying sadness as I read them. How much more appealing is the version written by Gestalt psychologist, William Tubbs:

BEYOND PERLS by WALTER TUBBS

If I just do my thing and you do yours,
We stand in danger of losing each other
And ourselves.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations;
But I am in this world to confirm you
As a unique human being
And to be confirmed by you.
We are fully ourselves only in relation to each other;
The I detached from a Thou
Disintegrates.
I do not find you by chance;
I find you by an active life
Of reaching out.
Rather that passively letting things happen to me,
I can act intentionally to make them happen.
I must being with myself, true;
But I must not end with myself:
The truth begins with two.

Back to my insights:

When I was young, ideas flowing from Perl and Ayn Rand were exotic. As a kid working on my need to individuate and break away from limited beliefs, I counted on it being okay for me to be me, and I thrived on rugged individualism. I did not want to be a compilation of others' expectations or needs. But now I am an adult; I do as it says in First Corinthians 13, "When I became an adult, I put away childhood things. " As an adult, I clearly understand the interdependence of friends, families, communities and countries and understand that me doing my own thing was an integral step in growing up - but it was only one step of many. If I started walking over a bridge and stopped in the middle and stayed there, I would never get to the promised land.

It is sad to see those whose growth was stumped, those people standing on the bridge. They are emotionally challenged especially when they see the world only through the eyes of me, my, myself and mine. This mindset is the genesis of the need to control, power grabbing and the fear of lack.

Sometimes I am afraid of people that seem to be in life only for themselves. I forget that they are still like children, clutching to ideas and actions, that they believe will make them safe and lovable.

Freedom for me arises when I give up my fear and forget about protecting myself from people who differ from or disagree with me. Mind me, I am not talking about living in a physical war zone, I am speaking of living in an ideological war zone. Freedom comes when I choose to love first. Freedom comes when I choose to love before the other person understands me or likes me. Safety comes when I show up in life undefended, unwilling to put up walls or to erect verbal angry righteous walls.

Our country is polarized. One of the talking points in a certain belief systems is, "Freedom is not free." This is a great truth; however, freedom for one cannot come at the expense of another. Freedom is not free because freedom means giving up our need to be right, our need to win and our need to triumph over others. Ultimate freedom is an internal state. Freedom is more about not being washed around by emotions or not freaking out over world events and conditions. Freedom comes when we live by an internal code of ethics that makes no ones existence wrong. Freedom can not be bought, legislated or fought for. It was imperative to free slaves with a legal decree, but prejudice and hate still haunted the lives of then freed slaves as it does today for those of color.

I'm skipping around here with the word freedom - it is a word we use so often - we casually throw that word around, but to me freedom is what I seek. I am not seeking a freedom from the oppression of others, I am seeking freedom from the oppression of me. Freedom to me is about freedom from the ego. And I will say that the more I remain present and open to life as it is, without mentally figuring everything out and just letting what is, be - the more freedom I feel.

So back to us - together. We are not islands. We think we are independent as a unit, but how many of us grow our food or provide fuel for the cars we need to take us to work. Where does our money come from? Other people. We are woven together in our physical needs and in our emotional needs. I thank William Tubbs for reminding me and hope that you know that I know that we are in this together. For better or worse.

You Never Get Anywhere When You Go on a Guilt Trip

2011-05-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

We have riots, murders, war and people starve to death. There is real suffering everywhere. Is it okay to have it easy, when people are suffering and dying?

When I was growing up one critical issue was the children in Africa. Information about their plight was disseminated at mealtime. I didn't know whether the kids were actually starving or if the story was fabricated to force me to eat. Sound familiar?

It took almost thirty years to realize that being a member of the clean plate club was no longer desirable and that my eating habits would in no way affect the amount of food available to African children. I stopped forcing myself to eat everything on my plate, (actually I started taking only amount I wanted to eat) but the guilt of having in a have not world remained. As an EZosophist I question the value of that kind of guilt. Guilt about Africa or other under advantaged populations qualifies as Ego Driven Suffering (EDS). Concern and compassion are very different than guilt.

Today, I know that children, and their parents, are starving to death, not only in Africa, but in other places as well. Women are beaten, crowded prisons are commonplace, drugs abound on the streets and teachers live on small salaries.

There is instant impetus via TV, newspaper and radio to trigger guilt and upset. Television allows us to be at the crime scene minutes after a shoot out and turns war into entertainment. Newspapers give the necessary statistics to support lack thoughts and make us believe that the economy is going to fall apart tomorrow. People have the information to make nuclear bombs in their garages.

Is it possible to have an EZosophist outlook when the planet is operating in a state of emergency? Can urgent times be met without urgent attitudes? Can we develop an easy attitude in uneasy times?

Yes, not only is it possible to have an easy attitude, it is desirable. In times when the outer world is changing, the population is exploding and children have taken up arms, it is necessary to cultivate an easy inner environment.

While growing up we made decisions that subconsciously guide our current perception. Many of were taught that life is a hard proposition, work is to be dreaded and taking time off to play requires guilt rather than enjoyment. Everything is serious including getting up in the morning and exercise.

Given the belief that life is hard, we made a decision, now forgotten, that life is hard and that suffering is necessary to be human. This is the birth of Hardaholism.

The Hardaholic Mind (HAM) goes on a mission to prove it's case. The HAM searches for the evidence that life is hard. The mind overlooks all the evidence that supports joy, aliveness and ease. No matter that we don't have to hunt bears and grow our own corn, we have the insufferable task of unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash.

Not to mention having to answer the phone when a sales person is perched at the end of the line waiting with a pre-approved credit card. What difficult situations!

HAM feast.

Our media reports evidence that supports the life is hard and dwindling down to a few endangered resources. The HAM loves the news because it isn't looking for the creativity, compassion, wisdom and power of the people. The HAM stalks poverty, pain and struggle and finds it. "There is pain and suffering. People are starving. How do we handle it? We can't just shut our eyes. We must be informed. “This is the mind trip the ego delivers. “Do not to think of ease - because there is real suffering on the planet.” The mind drones on.

Is there a solution? What can an EZosophist do to be responsible and yet avoid martyr like suffering and useless pain?

Of course, there's an answer. The master told us of an inner-directed state called the peace that passes understanding. EZosophists rest in the inner state of peace while dealing with the outer commotion.

The EZosophist learns to distinguish between genuine suffering and EDS. Suffering is germane to some circumstances, but when suffering occurs as the result of a life script decision, aliveness diminishes
.

EDS fuels our guilt, makes us feel sorry for ourselves without just cause and allows us to stay powerless, hopeless and helpless. Awareness of self-manufactured suffering is the first step to choosing out of it. Drop it. EDS is an addiction that robs us of the pleasure and ease of life. We must opt out by lifting our thoughts out of the mental gutter.

Often when intense feelings are triggered by the plight of starving children, it points to personal feelings of starving for attention, time off or affection. When we stop projecting our pain onto other s and turn attention to ourselves, we can provide the attention and care we need for ourselves. Thus we empower ourselves with the energy needed to help in external crises.

We are innocent. We don't need to suffer about every little thing. We are privileged people. Becoming underprivileged will not help anyone. One of the best things we can do for those who suffer and have pain, is to appreciate what we have, count our blessings and be thankful rather than being guilty .

The EZosophist feels compassion for those who suffer poverty, pain and physical peril without taking on the pain.

Again, the answer is easy: Identify the EDS; Drop it; Appreciate what you have; be compassionate towards others suffering, but don't take on the burden. Remember, if you take on other’s suffering, then you probably are not dealing with your own. Do your work and you will make life easier. And remember the eight word miracle mantra; everything can be easy or at least easier.

Excerpted from "EZosophy: The Art and Wisdom of Easy or at Least Living."
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EZosophy Interview

2011-05-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

If you would like to make your life easier, listen to this EZosophy interview. Life is hard, but it is not hard all the time.

EZosophy Interview With Anne Sermons Gillis

This interview was sponsored by Robin and Gregory Mascari of Enlightened Networking. To sign up for access to interviews go to Enlightened Networking/

Every week they feature top business leaders, speakers or authors who share what it takes to live a richly fulfilling life.

Don't Be Careful

2011-04-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

“Being present means living without control and always having your needs meet. For people who are tired of the pain, nothing could be worse than trying to control, what can’t be controlled. If you want real control, drop the illusion of control. Let life live you. It does anyway. You’re just telling yourself a story of how it doesn’t and that’s a story that can never be real. You didn’t make the rain to the sun or the moon. You have no control over your lungs or your heart or your vision or your breath. One minute you are fine and healthy and the next minute you are not. When you try to be safe, you live your life being very very careful, and you may end up having no life at all. Everything is nourishment. I like to say. ‘Don’t be careful, you could hurt yourself’.”*

*Byron Katie excerpted from “A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony With the Way Things Are.”

Yesterday we drove about 300 miles as we did the day before. As I’ve grown older, I find myself being more fearful of traffic. My vision is not as it was in my youth, but I seem to be cautious even when I am not the driver. I sometimes avert my eyes when we get what seems too near a car; I anticipate problems, my adrenaline flows as if I am in danger. Jim drove the whole way. I decided to be fully present to what was occurring. I realized how fear was my “protection”, it takes me away from the reality of the moment. My mind thinks that to meet reality where it is, provokes danger. The joke was that the only danger around was my fear. My fear is like a poison I take to make myself healthy. I got into this reality thing, dropped the fear and looked out with/through awareness. I tuned in with deep curiosity and all of the sudden it was all a miracle. The posts rising from the soil. Consciousness looking out a body and speeding along through space. Wow, the noises, the new images swiftly appearing and disappearing. I cannot say that I remained in this heaven on earth but I can report that heaven is alive on the freeway and it is alive now. This stillness, this peace, is bigger than the noise, the fear, the tractor trailer trucks, the smog, the halting traffic and flashing red, yellow or blue lights. Maybe some enlightened soul named it the HIGH WAY because right in the middle of the chaos, the sizzling asphalt – amidst the clamor of people rushing towards or away from home, rises life, and it is sweet.

EZosophy as Spoken at Unity Church in Wimberly, Texas

2011-03-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Want to make your life easier. Tired of the drama - take an early retirement from the theater of your life, jump off stage and join the reality of life. No more dramarama - make life easier.

Listen to these ideas and turn down the mental intensity. It's time to get out of the asylum! Be free. Just click the link below for fun listening and remember the eight word miracle mantra, "Everything can be easy or at least easier."

http://unitywimberley.blogspot.com/2010/10/ezosophy-living-in-ease.html

Never Clever

2011-02-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

Just a few words today. Doing a regular blog has become an irregular event. With all immodesty I can say that the lack of motivation to write new material has its cheerful place in my life these days. I have been putting old handwritten notes and writings on my computer. Some of the stuff of the past is pretty catchy. I always have a problem with most of the stuff because, as beautiful and clever as much of it is, the thoughts are based on the belief that there is something to improve or fix. I just don’t believe that. Yet I am amazed at how readily that kind of self-help material just almost writes itself. So rather than resist, I just write it.

This morning I was reading a prayer written by Ramana to Ganesha. I was thinking “What in the heck was Ramana doing, writing that prayer?” I was looking at Ramana’s picture, which was in the article, and I could swear he winked at me and said, “I’m just like you. I write what flows. Some people love that and so why not write it?” It was clear to me that he knew the prayer was unnecessary, no need to pray when life and all its events are the highest prayer of all. Amen.

I've been working on some new CD's for sale. The first one turned out okay but the second one was defective - meaning I sounded like a sing song school teacher who could not read well. I will redo it. When I say life is perfect, with no fixing necessary, I don't mean all events and endeavors turn out perfectly, I mean that peace is always present regardless of the unfolding drama before us.

Adopt a Country: A Metaphysical Program of Healing and Support

2011-01-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I decided to adopt a country. Just as people adopt children, we can adopt a country. Well maybe not “just like.” This is, of course, metaphorical. The point is to use our minds to champion other countries. Have you wanted to make a difference? Here’s a great opportunity to do spiritual service work.

No country is a standalone proposition. The entire world is sewn together in our hearts, though our finances, through trade, travel and family. So here’s your part if you choose to become a part of this mission possible. You can adopt a country and hold them actively in your heart for a period of time or maybe you want to take this on for the rest of your life. Choose a country. Study your country; see the faces of the people, learn the greatness in the country and of their problems and challenges. Find out the relationship your native country has with your adopted country as well as the history with the country. Lookup their flag and listen to the music of the country. Eat a meal from your country. What are their customs? What languages or languages are spoken? Pray in your own way for the country or use one of the two affirmative prayers below.

Affirmative Prayer for The Well-Being of the Country

I acknowledge the creative potential within me as a potent force of peace, prosperity, and sustainability in (Name of Country). I call forth the essence of the people of (Name of Country) and surround them with the light of well-being. I call forth the infinite within the citizens of (Name of Country) to create vision, joy and passionate aliveness with themselves, their neighbors and good relations with all global citizens. I bless the people and their thoughts. I bless the land, the waters, the animals, the plants, and the air of (Name of Country). (Name of Country) is a country built on wisdom, compassion, vision and love. You and your people will grow and prosper in all of your affairs. The political systems of (Name of Country) are economically healthy, sustainable and serve the people for their highest good. (Name of Country) is an integral and well-respected member of the global community. Unexpected good comes to you day by day, unobstructed by events and circumstances of the past. The people of (Name of Country) know who they are as infinite wise creators of a powerful nation under good. It is with deep pleasure that I present (Name of Country) to the world as a safe, healthy nation. So Be It. ©2005 Anne Sermons Gillis

Affirmative Prayer For Prosperity

I (and the name of the country you choose) give up all worry or struggle about money. I release all destructive negative family and cultural patterns of lack, struggle and stress around money and abundance. I turn my mind away from doom and gloom reports concerning money, the economy and finances. I refer to my personal self-images of wealth and well-being. I will not let the Dow get me down. Stocks, bonds, currency, inflation and/or devaluation of the dollar, none of these can touch the true source of abundance that flows through the universe and through me. Market predictions, economic upturns and downturns are the effect of consciousness and I refuse to participate in the wild effects of human mind because the God-mind its abundant nature is constant and unchanging. I will not worship the false God of lack. I am not concerned in accumulating mass wealth as a means to make myself important and to gain approval. I will not participate in the addictive spending to numb out uncomfortable feelings. I will conserve not disturb my planet. I can have a consciousness of abundance that includes me as a part of the universe rather than one that sees the universe as mass resources ready to serve me.

Affirmation for the country you choose to pray for

You are a great nation, one under God with my nation __________________. I see (name of the country you are praying for as a prospering county – abundant in love, resources, good relationships and in good relationship with the earth. So Be it.

A Few of My Favorite Things - Easy Holidays

2010-12-26T15:41:00.000-08:00

Fortunately I had an easy Christmas with just the right amount to do. I was out of town until around Dec 14, then went on a 3 day retreat, so I decided not put up a tree.–but I wanted to hang my favorite tree ornaments; Ho, Ho, I hung them on the pulls to my secretary and other furniture. I hung my stockings on the stairs

I only gave two gifts - one to a friend who lives on a fixed income; I knew she would really appreciate the presents. She appreciated the earth friendly detergent I gave her – enough to wash her clothes for months (I knew she was out of detergent!) and a ceramic knife she was longing for. The other present was to my best friend who had already bought presents for me (too late for the no gifts speech) and I easily found something for her.

My daughter prefers me not give her anything and not having to buy a gift for me, makes her life easier too. If I want her to have something, I can buy/make it for her without having a holiday as the reason. I love being a mother, a friend, a wife, a person, rather than being a harried consumer vying for the next bargain.

Making holidays difficult and rushing through life, are not on my to do list. Savoring the moments, the holiday songs, cooking a few luscious dishes – these are the things I love. Seeing friends, drinking in the beauty of each moment – these are my things. Recently a New York Times article said that the people who are happiest are those who don’t think a lot – those who keep their minds still. I laughed when I heard that – the mystics have known for eons, but when the truth hits the Wall Street Journal, my insides tingle. Holidays bring a certain delight and yet life in its fullness is so amazing. Life itself is a permanent gift. Kirtana’s song, “Deathbed Song,” states, “If I had the chance to do it over – I would open each day like a present. Tender toward what ever came my way, every texture, joy or pain, searing sun or healing rain… for I have seen the mask of my beloved.”

I love you and appreciate the role you play in my life – that makes us playmates; life is our playground and it’s time for recess. Happy New Year.

http:www.ezosophy.com
anne@annegillis.com

Silly Holiday Songs

2010-12-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

Joy to the World

Joy to the world the time has come to have a little fun.
We frowned and frowned, our smiles are upside down, we’ve been too serious, we’ve been too serious, we’ve been, we’ve been too serious.

We came to earth to have some fun and laugh and sing and dance.
We brought our light to bring delight and not be serious, and not be serious, and not and not be serious.

We lost our way forgot to play, and acted like adults, we worked and worked
Forgot life's perks
We been too serious, we've been too serious, we been, we've been too serious.
We choose today to come alive and joke and laugh and play
We pledge our light to shine so bright
And not be serious, and not be serious and not, and not be serious.

Happy Mind Tune “Jingle Bells”

A day or two ago
I thought I’d lost my way
But then my ego disappeared
And I began to play
I heard my happy thoughts
and felt a great big smile
And then my ego jumped back out
and acted sort of wild.

Oh, ego thoughts, ego thoughts,
ego ain’t the way
to have fun in a safe healed mind
that does not want delay
Oh ego thoughts, ego thoughts,
ego ain’t the way
to have fun in a safe healed
mind that does not want delay.

Playing with my friends
on this most important day
I feel my courage jump right in
and I just want to say
I like you very much and
hope you always know
that I’ll love you no matter what
through wind and rain and snow.
Just happy thoughts, happy thoughts,
happy every day
I make choices with my mind
in a very helpful way
Just happy thoughts, happy thoughts,
happy every day.
I make choices with my mind
in a very helpful way.

Hark the Harried Angel Sings Codependent Version

Hark the harried angel sings
Two more days and I’ll have wings.
If I’m good and help you out.
I’ll get wings without a doubt.
If I’m nice and do not fuss
If I help clean up the dust
If I make my presence bright
I’ll be one of God’s true lights.
Hark the Harried angel sings.
Two more days and I’ll have wings.

Hark the harried angel sings
I’m so tired of doing things
I’m so tired of being good
I am tired of all those shoulds
I just want to take a rest
I just want to be the guest.
I am tired of all this stuff.
I am feeling mighty rough.

Hark the harried angel sings.
Two more days and I’ll have wings
I gave up my heavenly chores
It won’t be hard any more.
I gave up being nice.
I gave up the heavy price.
No more sacrifice for me.
I am feeling very free.
Hark the Happy Angel sings
Now I have my holy wings

Silent Minds (tune of Silent Night)

Silent Minds
Holy Minds
Thoughts of Light
Give us peace.
Heavenly states of consciousness
Innocent states of love and bliss
Christ is born in our hearts
Christ is born in our hearts.

Abundant states of consciousness
God our source Gives us all
Life and health and peace of mind
Joy and fun and plenty of time.
We are blessed by our source.
We are blessed by our source.

We are love. We are peace.
We are light. We are joy.
We are gifts of love itself.
Bearing light and sharing wealth.
Christ is present within.
Christ is present within.

It Came Upon My Mind to Clear

Tune: “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”

It Came Upon My Mind to Clear
Those pesky thoughts of doom
to cancel all the shame and guilt
and give God’s love more room.
A good thought here
and good thought there
an affirmation or two
and I can join with my Holy mind
and keep love shining through.

Let joy ring out in all my thoughts
and then my mind will sing
and peace within will come at last
and I can have my wings.
I thought my mind was doing fine.
I loved my inner child.
I loved my neighbor as myself
and had stopped acting wild.
But then the bottom fell out.
I acted like a jerk
projected fear and blame on friends
and focused on their quirks.
The ego thoughts were rampant
the holy thoughts were gone
And I forgot my sacred self,
felt lost and all alone.

I wanted to find a way
to restore love and light
to sing with angels heavenly choir
and sleep real good at night. I prayed, affirmed, and asked for peace
in every way I could,
then love came down and pulled me back
and transformed ego’s shoulds.
A flash of light, the sound of joy
came flooding into my mind
and love’s pure innocence took my thoughts
and I was no longer blind.

The love of God had pulled me out
and taught me how to sing.
It kept me safe and far from harm
clutched tightly in angels wings.
A sane thought here a sane thought there
the holy mind marched on.
Now I can rest and feel God’s love
‘Cause I have found my home.

There’s peace inside where stillness lies
there’s joy deep within and I am blessed many ways
with abundance, health and friends.

Tune We Three Kings

Change your thoughts, yes turn on the light
Keep the faith and things will be right
Inner knowing gets you going
Toward the truth that sets you free.
Ego’s world can get you down
Kick your butt and make you frown
Keeping you waiting eradicating
All the good that you have known.
Take your mind and let it be
Filled with great prosperity
Christ’s love shinning
No denying life is full of mystery,

© 1998 excerpts from Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic by Anne Sermons Gillis

Doing V Being

2010-11-29T22:36:00.000-08:00

I wrote this on Nov. 17, 2006. This was before I was a bloggin’. It is so funny and irreverent, I just wanted to share. I’m still irreverent, but in so many ways I don’t even think like this anymore. Thank God, I grew up some or maybe I grew down.

Here we go-

I think we are here to discover who we are and then to rest in that blissful knowledge. From the starting point of Self we naturally create a non-efforting lifestyle that provides safety, joy, peace and adventure. To think that doing will finally uproot our souls into a place of statue and meaning is the logical conclusion of the ego. Fortunately we weary of the doing drama and either through depression, illness or mental weariness; we give up and allow that presence of being its rightful place. When the mind gets out of the way, God steps in. God, God, God.

Not the God of our fathers, not the warring God who sanctions countless acts of violence in the name of peace. Not the God that favors one religion over the other, one people over the other or even who favors of all things a particular football team. Get real. No not that God, but the God of living presence…The presence that pushes aloneness out the door and bestows the soul with a sense of completeness. Only when that God comes in, that Goddess, that being, can our doing mean anything at all.

Doing, as a cure for meaning, has miserably failed me time and time again. Personally, the dance of life has flip-flopped in an irregular sort of fashion, something like a bowel movement. Just when I think I am regular, I step into a holding pattern and I am no longer in touch with who I am. I become an ego frozen in a contemplative pattern of bull shit. It is not until I notice the stench that I realize how my thinking immobility is calling for a mental laxative. I think I need to re lax and the universe sends ex lax. Ex lax is the unexpected seemingly dramatic end to life as I am attached to it being. It is as if life proclaims, “No More, we will have no more of this bull shit.” Then the relationship ends or the illness takes over, or what ever comes along....there's a radical turn over or turn away from that and I emerge like a scared rabbit in a tiger’s body and my mind exlaxes into a new pattern. The bull shit comes out and I reclaim my spiritual heritage. Strange plan. So whether I am kicked in the butt or held by the hand, my soul always provides a space for getting out of the fire and out of the frying pan. Amen.

The News is Not So Good. How About Joy to the World?

2010-11-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

By Anne Sermons Gillis

Joy is a master teacher. If you want to tune into joy, then you must attend joy class. Joy is not a serious matter, but being in joy (enjoy) requires attention and attendance. What we attend to, we attract and create. Meditate on the word joy. Contemplate the word joy. Be still and know that I am joy. Joyful thoughts create joyful results. One cannot fill his or her mind with resentment, pain, and disaster and then expect joy to surface on life’s horizon.

Les Brown says that secondhand violence is as dangerous as secondhand smoke. Thinking along these same lines we realize that secondhand pain, suffering, and struggle are detrimental to the way of ease.

The news, Hollywood, and the Internet offer a steady stream of secondhand suffering and pain. All suffering affects the mind and heart, whether it originates from the inside or from an outside source. It’s best to take news in small doses, but if you watch the news on television or read the newspaper, do it consciously. When you see blood and gore in the news, stop internally and see the situation in its perfection, with all grievances healed and bodies in radiant health. You may want to pray for a good outcome from the situation. When we drink in bad news day after day, we begin to feel powerless, helpless and hopeless.

The mind absorbs what it sees as if it is happening to the viewer. The mind records television and movie events as real events. Even what we hear on the radio is indelibly etched in the mind. We listen to the economic forecast or news and go down with the Dow. It’s best to picture the economy as strong. When we imbue what we see and read with consciousness, we are no longer at its effect. Most people think what they hear and see has no affect. This is uninformed thinking. Everything we see, hear, smell, and touch is recorded at some level in our bodies and mind. That television noise we might use to lull ourselves to sleep or to keep us company is programming us to take drugs, eat fast foods, buy cars, and to have heartburn, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and headaches. Only someone who does not know the truth can say, “The TV doesn’t affect me.”

A daily diet of pain and suffering, even though it may not be our personal suffering, leads the way to depression, skepticism or fear. The mind should be our servant. We must use our minds rather than letting our minds use us. Even though simplicity may be difficult for twisted minds, now is the time to lighten up and recreate our lives.

Sing these little songs to brighten your day*:

Joy to the World Tune “Joy to the World”

Joy to the world the time has come to have a little fun.
We frowned and frowned, our smiles are upside down, we’ve been too serious, we’ve been too serious, we’ve been too serious, we’ve been too serious.

We came to earth to have some fun and laugh and sing and dance.
We brought our light to bring delight and not be serious, and not be serious, and not and not be serious.

We lost our way forgot to play, and acted like adults, we worked and worked
Forgot life's perks We been too serious, we've been too serious, we been too serious, we've been too serious.

We choose today to come alive and joke and laugh and dance.
We pledge our light to shine so bright.
And not be serious, and not be serious and not, and not be serious.

Happy Mind Tune “Jingle Bells”
A day or two ago
I thought I’d lost my way
But then my ego disappeared and I began to play
I heard my happy thoughts
and felt a great big smile

And then my ego jumped back out and acted sort of wild.
Oh, ego thoughts, ego thoughts, ego ain’t the way
To have fun in a safe healed mind that does not want delay

Oh ego thoughts, ego thoughts, ego ain’t the way
To have fun in a safe healed mind that does not want delay

Playing with my friends
On this most important day
I feel my courage jump right in
And I just want to say
I like you very much and hope you always know
That I’ll love you no matter what through wind and rain and snow.
Just happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy every day
I make choices with my mind in a very helpful way

Just happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy every day.
I make choices with my mind in a very helpful way.

*Excerpted from Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic © 1998 Easy Times Press

Use your mind as a joy-seeking instrument and bring joy-filled thoughts and ideas to your mind throughout the day.

Aclaim at the beginning of the day:

Today is a great day. It is full of wonderful unexpected surprises. My Higher Power (The Universe, Source, Life) is in charge: therefore I am safe and at ease. I let go knowing that good is her now and around every corner. I am no longer addicted to the drama drug. Ease is honorable safe and available. I chose to allow more and more ease into my life. I turn away from the external drama of the world into the inner stillness of my being. Yes!

Avoid the mental crashes of the obsessive mind. When you travel through life on joy’s highway, you attract and create a life that’s easier and definitely more fun. We’ve been too serious. We strive to be personally successful or bust our guts to make a difference. Both sides of this coin build despair. Striving is heavy. When we do what comes naturally and tune into life’s ever-present joy, the world changes; we become naturally abundant. EZ (pronounced ease) is an idea whose time has come; EZ is our natural state. Joy and ease are an integral part of the same tapestry of life. EZosophy is a philosophy that pulls us into the non-efforting comfort of an organized and friendly universe. Don’t struggle; be at ease, and remember the 8-word EZosophy affirmation: “Everything can be EZ or at least EZier.”

Go Green Cake Bake

2010-10-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

I posted my intention to bake a cake on Facebook last night and Mary Valk asked for the recipe if it turned out well. I won't taste it until tonight, but it smells great so I'm sharing the making if the cake, now. This is not the healthiest cake in the world, but I'm going for a natural cake without chemicals. I did make and exception with the cherries.

Bottom Layer for Cake

Heat oven to 350 Degrees. Put about 1/2 stick of organic butter in a 9 X 13 inch pan and melt it in oven. Take pan out cover the bottom with as much raw turbinado sugar as you want (or use organic brown sugar). Slice fresh pineapple and place in pan. Put Maraschino cherries in pineapple holes. Fill in other spaces with chopped pecans.

Set aside and get out three bowls

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Bowl one - Fill with 3 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour ( I used King Arthur white whole wheat)

1 ½ tsp. baking powder (Use non aluminum version - regular baking powder has aluminum which is linked to Alzheimers)

½ tsp. baking soda

Mix all these ingredients and set aside

Bowl two - fill with one cup of plain yogurt (try Horizon with the fat - be sure to stir the cream in from the top before using - this is the best yogurt I've ever tasted - I only eat milk products on special occasions - most people do not do that well with dairy products) and two teaspoons of real vanilla (notice the imitation is made of chemicals). Set aside.

Bowl three - Two sticks of salted organic butter, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I like pink Himalayan sea salt - Celtic sea salt is good too).

1 ½ cups organic sugar (fair trade evaporated cane sugar) http://www.greenamericatoday.org/proGrams/fairtrade/products/sugar.cfm

Whip these together until fluffy - or do the best you can. Fluffy might be an overstatement of what's possible here.

Add four room temperature organic locally produced free range eggs (help end factory farming for chickens - the chickens suffer unmercifully in these big farms, not to mention how unhealthy the eggs are - chemicals, etc injected in hens).

Add 1/3 flour mixture to sugar mixture, then 1/3 yogurt mixture and continue until all ingredients are mixed. Put mixture on top of the pineapple concoction.

Time to tasty - wow gooood!

Put it in the preheated 350 degree oven on top shelf. Smell the wonderful kitchen aroma. Wait about 30 minutes and check the middle to see if it's done. My oven cooks pretty fast but put it back if it's not done. Pardon me on this, I'm sure you have this much sense.

Baking away.

It's a done deal.

Will turn it over later tonight before I go to my friend's home.

And don't forget to compost the waste.

http://www.howtocompost.org/

Now this is a healthier cake. Healthier for my friends and myself and healthier for the planet. Go green.

WARNING - do not cook in a glass pan. The outside gets done too fast. Use metal pan. I dumped the cake out and found the center to be raw. I didn't find this out until it was cool. It passed the toothpick test so I didn't know there was a problem. I did not want to turn it over again - one time over was a feat. So I then cooked it 40 minutes longer with the pineapple side up. I just kept putting butter (it seems if I add butter or rum to anything it tastes great) on it so it wouldn't dry out and it tasted yummy. I think I used three sticks of butter in this cake so you know it was rich.

Posted by Anne Sermons Gillis

No Post Ends in Environmental Rant

2010-10-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Do not toast my post for no post is near.
But I’m having a good time; I’m in good cheer

And soon I’ll get back to quips and words

But for now I’m content just looking at birds

By the river, by the pond and by the lake

so check back again and make no mistake

I’ll be back to add my voice or just forget this blog it’s all your choice.

Okay maybe a I’ll write a little something.

I really have been looking at the birds. Yesterday we turned the sprinkler on our parched garden and backyard. Within just a short time the birds came in mass. I’ve never seen so many cardinals in one place. They just sit in the trees and water showers them. We have a little bird bath and I saw a big – ish bird bathing there – a thrill for me. Today I see honey bees at the bird bath.

Since last week my husband and I have been in Wimberley, TX in a cabin, on River Road, tent camping on the Guadalupe, gotten in a short visit to Palmetto State Park and a day at Huntsville State Park. Since Jim retired we have had plenty of time to drink in the magic weather and to spend time in nature. Our little dog, Lucy, got a piece of the action and today she road in a canoe for the first time. She did great and we think we have a good boat dog. Well, we haven’t tried her in a motor boat.

Tonight I’m going to another meeting about stopping the toxic injection wells in Conroe, Texas. As the crow flies, that’s pretty close to me and it’s in a urban setting. http://www.stopthetoxicwells.com/ We have been working for years to stop this egregious crime against our water, the air and the people who live in this area. Our governor, Rick Perry, appoints the commissioners to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. They rubber stamp every application for new business unless there is enough outcry to defeat them. Certainly that wasn’t enough for the Baytown citizens who just lost on the new coal mine issue. Yes, we need more mercury in the air, more acid rain. We have the support of all the politicians in this area, thousands of citizens and reports that prove this is a bad move. People and agencies against the wells have spent well over a half million dollars in protest. And people want get democracy in other parts of the world. I’m waiting for it in our country.

What's the Difference Between Being Nice and Just Keeping My Mouth Shut?

2010-10-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

False "being nice" means unconscious behavior that keeps us stuck in avoidance of how we feel, how it is for now and what is really going on.

True "being nice" flows - it's a natural behavior that doesn't require much thought. When we feel safe and no longer need other people to feed our need, we are genuinely nice.
Keeping our mouths shut can be the conscious decision to see things another way - to define the situation so we decide to forgive the other for their unconscious behavior or perhaps we put our inner reality on the shelf at the time and then take time when we are alone to see what bothers us about the situation and how the situation might serve us.

Keeping our mouths shut can also be avoidance. If we keep out mouths shut and work through our issues about the circumstance, we are freed, but if we keep our mouths shut and never deal with the issue, we add to the numbness of our souls.

If keeping our mouths shut helps us not to blame others or take their inventory, it's a good thing.

If keeping our mouths shut means not to yell and scream at someone, it’s a good thing.

It is our responsibility in our healing process to find a compassionate way to express our feelings. Giving unsolicited feedback to others is usually not a good idea. Most people complain so they can work through their feelings. The solutions they seek are on a feeling basis not an action basis. All these ideas are slippery because each action and behavior has a light and shadow side. It takes consciousness, compassion and awareness to determine which action to take.

I think the topic could be a book something like: "What I Thought and Didn't say Keeps me in Perpetual Trouble."

Life is Not Serious

2010-10-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

I have a slogan, "I'm sincere, but not serious." It's easy for me to write little sing-song poetry. It's trite, yet I like the whimsical nature of the rhythm and rhyme.

So here's one of my little ditties.

I am okay but I forget

That I am whole and hold regret

For things I’ve said and all I’ve done.

Why can’t I let the past alone?

I am not bad or wrong or crass

I am a wonder not my past!

I’m not an outcast, I want to see

that all the world belongs to me

and yes in turn I want to know

that I belong to it also.

I’m sane and smart and I am one

with everything under the radiant sun.

I am one with sky so blue

With friends, strangers and family too.

I’m not alone, I hold your hand

And together we’re more, we take a stand

To love, protect and cherish life

To end our struggle, toil and strife.

I take my freedom, it’s my choice

Not to listen to that imprisoned voice

I can not do my life alone

I have to live in a welcome home

of care, good-will where life abounds

where no one’s lost where all are found.

Empowering Messages

2010-08-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

http://empoweringmessages.com/visitors/AnneGillis.shtml

This comment on ease was made a few years ago; letting go of suffering has no time limit.

Anne Sermons Gillis
annegillis.com

I'm in Mood for Food

2010-08-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Seoul Food

My friend called today from Florida. She's at a health institute. Much of the focus there is on food. The plan suggested for her is virtually impossible for her to manage at home unless she was wealthy or had hands that worked. She has rheumatoid arthritis. Her hands - not so good. She calls them claws. There are not going to be able to grow sprouts and to juice. But maybe those hands will fool her. She wants off the toxic meds. She believes her healing path is through food. I know food is seminal in healing, but when you can't get the recommended food for healing - what does that do for your heart, your hope, your dreams?

My husband and I fast on Tuesdays. My friend the chiropractor says it’s not a fast. The new definition of fasting is “to reframe from certain foods.” But he is old-fashioned so according to the old version of fasting, I guess we’ve doing a cleanse. I'm hungry. I'm not grumpy or agitated but I'm dreaming of eating a whole wheat homemade cracker that I made yesterday. This tasty little cracker has seeds in it along with olive oil and salt.. Tomorrow I'll be back on my regular food plan and in the morning I will barely think about food. I'll down a ground flax seed, apple juice, cranberry juice and spirulina concoction and be off on a one hour bike ride. I'll return home and eat or maybe I'll wait until after I walk the dog. Food is not such a big deal the day after “cleansing” because it is no longer the forbidden fruit.
I grew up in a food obsessive family. When someone in my family talks about a party, a vacation or a wedding you’re going to hear about the food. I did a picture book of my trip to Korea and Thailand and it is full of food – street food, eating on the floor food, seafood, food before it’s cooked, food in paradise, bakery food – it’s nuts this food thing I have.

Our favorite restaurant closed recently and my husband and I are bereft. We heard the rumors of closure but we had to see for ourselves. We rode our bikes down to Teasars and peered into the darkened rooms. Until recently this was a chandelier-filled den of pleasure. Now nothing is left except the ghosts of delicacies. We have to find a new place to spend our anniversary. It’s like we lost a family member.
I believe in food magic. The right food can cure anything, it can ease pain – we’re talking chocolate here, food can make you hyper, lift your spirits or soothe you. Food can win friends, make life more social.

I have a position on food. It’s not good, it’s not bad. Life is my oyster and I’ll have a little butter on them, if you don’t mind. And pass the hummus please.
Anne Sermons Gillis annegillis.com

You Can Smell the Peace

2010-08-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

This morning I went to the Unitarian church to hear my friend, Tony George, play drums. He did an outstanding job. Our friend Paul Klein led the pact and a handful of musical masters shared soul and rhythm with the congregation.

I returned and found my tail-wagging wildly enthusiastic dog, Lucy, waiting. As I often do, I went for the floor and we rolled around together. We had a grand time and in between our antics she managed a sniff or two. I watched her smelling me. It was so intimate. She’s sniffs me all the time, but until today, I really didn’t take part. Today, I offered no resistance and became a co-conspirator in this animal act of recognition. “Oh I know you, this is your smell.” In the past, I’ve smelled her too, but not to recognize her, just to manage her health. Does she smell, does she need a bath, do the inside of her ears smell funny? She’s the only living animal I smell.

With a few exceptions – I smell people’s breath, their B.O. and their gas, and that’s not pleasant. I don’t intentionally smell others, no sniffing and drinking it in. No smell and tell. Their odors just happen to be in line with my olfactory receptors. These human odors don’t have much character. I can’t ever remember thinking, “You have such lovely breath.”These are not terms of endearment. I can’t imagine living 300 years ago. Smelling was not an elective. Every day was a smellathon. If you were near anyone, you knew it. Now we’re sanitized, scrubbed clean and antibacterialized.

I read somewhere that if you lick your arm, and wait 3 seconds and then smell it; you can smell your breath. It does work. I think that’s why I brush my teeth three times a day. And in full disclosure, I admit I do smell under my arms frequently because I don’t use deodorant. This is my maintenance smelling.

This reminds me of a smell joke. Can you believe I actually know a smell joke? Actually I know two. A janitor is in the elevator. He is alone and lets out a big one. It was one of those stinky ones so he sprays some Pine-sol. When the next person get in the elevator he exclaims, “What the heck? It smells like someone shit a Christmas tree.”

I can’t resist. My mom told me this next smell joke. It was so uncharacteristic of her; she was a little on the prim and proper side until she got Alzheimer’s. Then all that propriety sort of leaked out. “The blind man passed a fish market. ‘Good evening ladies.’” I think that was the family dirty joke.

Now, back on track. I wish people were not so standoffish – you know that 18 inch rule - too close and we’re in someone’s space. I wish people could get close enough to recognize each other’s fragrance, that one identifying odor unique to him or her. I remember that deep time of intimacy with a new lover when I wanted to drink him in. I would smell his clothes – his chest - I just wanted to be closer. I wanted my breath to bring him into me.

I wonder if we knew each other intimately - I knew your smell and you knew mine, could we call ourselves enemies? Could we forget that primal musky call to life? Could we go to war and kill each other? If I was intoxicated by your essence, what would I do? What would you do? What would we do? If were that close, would we go to war?

Bike Ride

2010-07-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

This morning I rode my bicycle. When I looked at the drop off on the path's edge, I was afraid, but when I kept my eye on the center of the path, where I wanted my bike to go, I felt confident. When you look for danger, the world is a dangerous place.

BTW I'm going for the smart, sassy, old geezer look here. How am I doing? This is my new Giant bicycle. It's the Suede model. It came with a faux leather cell phone holder. I have a three wheeler but it takes too much energy to ride in the southern heat. My new model has the high handle bars. I can ride with my back straight. I had a two wheeler, but all two wheelers are not created equally. I was tired of my hands going to sleep when I rode my old two wheeler and having a hunched back. The ride on this thing is amazing. My husband and I ride bikes everywhere we can. This way we get exercise and reduce our carbon footprint. We can get to the bank, grocery store, numerous restaurants, concerts in town and the grocery store by bike.

Since my husband and amazing partner Jim retired we have the time to bike, swim and live a slower-paced life. Life is good.

2010-06-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

I Googled myself today and came across an interview made in 2003. The interviewer is Ken Keis. It's an hour - just to warn you, but if you want to make your life easier, it is worth the time.

The art and wisdom of easy living – Ken Keis / Anne Sermons Gillis

MP3 search on MP3hunting

The Truth Contest - Check it Out

2010-06-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail from a group of college students who have a web site devoted to Truth. They wanted to link my web site to their site. http://www.annegillis.com/ Of course this roused my curiosity. Examination revealed a cool site. As you read their words below maybe your heart will rise in love. They are our greatest hope - an amazing synthesis of possibility and vision. In the midst of the greatest darkness let us see the shining light of this new generation. They see the truth so many us us have carried in our hearts forever.

The students who developed the site say:
"As young people, we are disappointed with how adults have run this world in the past and are running it now. They are stealing our future with their irrational and irresponsible behavior. It has to stop now.

Everyone should be interested in spreading a universal truth, a truth that can be checked, that can unite all mankind. We cannot survive the divisions that separate us. They result in wars and destruction of the environment. We need to find our common ground.

With honesty, open minds, an open exchange of ideas, good will and the power of the Internet, we will find and spread the truth about life and death.
Check out the entries at the truth contest and send your comments to the site, or leave a comment on this blog."The site is a terrific resource for truth seekers. The Truth Contest - The Truth Contest is really not a competition with a winner. It is just the best way to find, define and spread the truth. The only mission is to find, define and spread the truth, and the main page and comments page show what has been found so far The Truth Contest.

PS It's the third year my orchid's bloomed. It looks like a check mark.

Broken Foot; My Right Foot, Not My Left Foot

2010-05-30T08:18:00.001-07:00

Today marks the eight week since my life turned upside down. It was the day I broke my right foot. As an avid walker, the broken foot halted life as I’d known it. But, yesterday I went for my first bicycle ride in two months. I’ve walked my dog the past few days. Life goes on.

My husband retired one month ago. Yesterday was the third month we’ve had sweet little Lucy. This is the same dog I was attached to when she chased a cat. That’s the brief version on how I broke my foot.

I sit in bed and write this thankful that sitting in bed is a choice – when I first broke my foot it was more of a necessity. My foot doesn’t feel one hundred percent right but with more time I’m expecting the body miracle to continue to heal it.

As I write these words it’s with ambivalence. Sometimes when people write of themselves there’s truth shared or compassion unveiled, but some words about me and my life and what I do sound like narcissistic ramblings. Some words refresh, some boggle the mind while other words leave us wanting more. Maybe all things written cannot be a home run. Maybe some words can be mundane, flippant or garish. I honor words. They can take us from the ordinary into sacred space. Maybe I expect too much from my words but I know the possibility. I know how words can dance and prance past our minds and into blessing. I want to care for my words. I don’t like to waste them on broken foot and token mind spasms. I want them to live and be free. But in the other hand I cannot live in a word prison. I must be free to speak of daily living and dogs chasing running cats and broken feet.

As I said “today marks the eight week since my life turned upside down.” No word dread, enough said.

Don't Miss Your Bliss

2010-05-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

We look for happiness in people and circumstances. We track down seminars and therapists to relieve pain and birth joy. Sometimes what we think is our finest hour, is our greatest mistake. In the endless looking, we engage in a mentalness that keeps joyful bliss behind the clouds. We forget, that happiness, joy and bliss are now. And only now.

Bliss is life. Freedom comes when we stop looking for others to change or for the world to catch on or wise up. Even if our mate changes, and treats us like royalty, we will not experience bliss. The mind fabricates another story. The job becomes the robber baron or the breaking-down aging body dominates our mindscapes. Maybe we wrap ourselves with second hand drama, such as our mates’ or kids’ lives. In most lives, story time lasts forever. It’s time to stop, even for just a moment. If we don’t, we miss our bliss.

Most people tell you to follow your bliss. If you have to go anywhere other than now, you are going away from the immediacy of life’s bliss. Don’t tell me about your life, how bad things are. I’m not talking about your life. Your real life is covered with the tale of your emotional and physical history. Take away the “my” story and you have life. And life is good. Life is Source.

Your bliss is really not even your bliss. Bliss is just bliss and it shines in everything just as the sun shines down on the planet. One doesn’t get up and say, “Is my sun going to shine today?” It’s everyone’s sun and really no one’s sun because ownership doesn’t apply.

Don’t think you can’t experience bliss, that it’s reserved for mystics, gurus, masters and holy people. Bliss is for you and it is for you now. Forget the mental directive that tells you to clean up so you can experience bliss. Bliss is not a future possible event. Can you imagine getting up in the morning and saying, “I shouted at my friend yesterday, I don’t deserve for the sun to shine on me.” Or “Due to my family history, my past, my unresolved anger, my lack of self esteem, or my inability to sustain healthy relationships, the sun will no longer shine on me.” Thinking that bliss is not available to you now is a story so strong that it obscures your ability to experience what is here and now. Remember the fish who went looking for the ocean and when told he was in the ocean he replied, “Oh this is just water. It can’t be the ocean. I’m going to look somewhere else.”

We love our thoughts, nothing’s wrong with them, but if we just listen to the sound of words rattling around in our heads all the time, we lose life. Have you ever been with someone who talks nonstop? It’s draining. Yet that’s what our minds do, they go nonstop. I’m asking you to stop, just for a moment and look deeply into life, the life that is here and rest in that. Don’t effort to do it, just look whenever you think to look. Make it easy. Do it as an experiment and see what happens. Watch your mind trails, where do they go? Most of the trails are old and worn. They form the trance. Wake up. Just do it. NOW – just for a second. Don’t miss the bliss. It’s now. No exceptions.

Affirmations for Getting Out of the Box

2010-05-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

• Today I refer to the present, not the past, in order to truly see my life as it is now.

• Today is a new day and I face this day with an attitude of expectancy.

• I encounter miraculous circumstances today.

• Regardless of what I thought and felt in the past, today is a new day. I eagerly expect and receive my good.

• Today I think out of the box as I release worn out behaviors, patterns and beliefs.

• I consistently refer to a self-image of being wise, intelligent and lovable.

The Green Spot

2010-04-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

My daughter called the Charleston (SC) Green Taxi Company to take her to the airport. How about that? Hybrid taxis.

We were to meet in San Francisco. Denver Flight F9 696 was delayed, and it was a close connection even if I had been on time. And to top that off I had to pick up and then recheck my bags with the new carrier. After speaking with several people about my situation, I was told I could not make my overseas flight. I thought of my daughter and I having to take separate flights. I wouldn't take no for an answer. I pictured both of us making the trip and then spoke to the right person. A Frontier flight attendant took up my cause and made the impossible happen.

In San Francisco, another jack rabbit Frontier employee, raced with me to my daughter (who had a late Delta connection- when I was on the plane in route to San Francisco, I thought she would be on time and waiting on the plane), took us through barriers, under ropes and delivered us just in time to make our flight. Two winded, but happy women, sat down and embraced. We arrived safely in Seoul, spent a few days, and headed for Thailand.

Following are green observations from my travels.

• Seoul, S. Korea and Bangkok, Thailand are major metropolitan areas. Greater Seoul sports a whopping population of 24.5 million, and the Bangkok area is home to 15 million people. Seoul is clean and one feels safe to roam around town. The traffic should be horrific, but the streets seem orderly, even during the busy times. What makes a city of 24.5 million orderly, clean and easy to travel? Public transportation. The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is one of the most heavily travelled in the world with more than eight million trips made daily. More than 70 percent of the subway is underground.

• The Bangkok Skytrain opened in December 1999. It revolutionized travel within the congested Thai capital for millions of city commuters. Trips that previously took an hour now take minutes.

• The Bangkok Metro, officially called the Mass Rapid Transit, opened in July 2004. More than 180,000 persons ride the metro daily. Wouldn’t you love to travel from The Woodlands to downtown in 10 to 15 minutes and save tons of CO2 emissions? The metro serves the areas not serviced by the Skytrain.

• Seventy percent of Thailand’s energy source is natural gas, which burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels. It has fewer emissions of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen than coal or oil, and when it is burned, it leaves almost no ash particles.

• Neither country uses chorine or fluoride in their water. Of course the people don’t drink the water, but I don’t drink unfiltered water here either. My hair shined for the first time in years. Other countries that do not use fluoride or stopped using it when the toxicology reports came in are: West Germany, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Italy, and Scotland. This is a controversial subject, but I use reverse osmosis to filter out those chemicals. The fish and micro organisms, which get our runoff water, have no choice as we continue to poison them with the chemicals. My friend, Dr. Anthony George, says, “We live in a chemical stew.” And unfortunately we are in the stew pot.

If you are interested in the toxic effects of chlorine or fluoride you will find over five million articles on the internet. Here are a few links.

http://www.toxicfluoride.com/
http://www.wholywater.com/fluoride.html
http://www.nontoxic.com/water/moreonfluoride.html
http://www.nontoxic.com/nontoxic/chlorine.html
http://www.lightparty.com/Health/DangersOfChlorine.html

It looks like green is a turn on near and far. I saw recycling, green attitudes and general conservation. How refreshing. Let’s continue to join the global community as green citizens.

Green Tip

What can we do to put more green in our lives? Use beeswax candles with cotton wicks, soy candles or other vegetable based waxes. Paraffin candles are toxic when burning and 40 % of our candles have lead in the wick. For more information read http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/realmoney/articles/candles.cfm

Waiting: Make it Count

2010-04-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

Do you fidget when you wait? Do you see waiting as a major inconvenience? People get irritated or hostile in traffic jams. Waiting before events or meetings, is inevitable. We wait in the doctor's office, the grocery store, the department store and the automotive shop. Waiting is a part of our culture. For many, waiting means wasting or lost time. Do you really want to take a large segment of the time in your life and waste it? One thing you can bet on, the more you resist waiting, the more of it you will receive. Like Job, what we fear befalls us. Let's look at new ways to experience waiting.

1. Waiting is a call to slow down.

Life has a way of providing slowdown when we hurry. Waiting is one of these slowdowns. Use this time to breathe, be still inside and to center. Think about your life. Am I doing what I want to do with my life? Am I having fun? Can I do something to change the things so I can get more of what I want? “Life is great when you like to wait.” You make waiting what it is. You give the experience of waiting all the meaning it has for you. What will you choose?
Which One are You?

There was an old woman who stood in a line
She whined and pouted as she waited her time
She stuck out her tongue
And acted the part
Of a put out female with out any heart.

There was a great woman who stood in the queue
Good naturedly smiling, her grace she imbued.
She beamed and sparkled in sheer delight
Patience her virtue, she was happy and bright.

2. Be open to synchronicity (meaningful coincidence). You might have a close encounter with a person in line that provides a lesson for you. The spiritually aware understand that no encounter is accidental. Treat the person who is next to you with awe, knowing the encounter is not a mistake. Become alert while waiting; don't go unconscious. “The more you wait the better your fate!”
Once upon a time, before cell phones, my car broke down in rural Mississippi. I went to the closest home to use the phone. A wonderful woman greeted us and invited my husband and me in. She fed us, entertained us and captured our hearts. We waited for a tow truck for several hours, then left promising to keep in touch. We actually corresponded for years. We wrote of our trials and joys. I drank in her words. Her courage, to get out of her go nowhere life, start her own business and to strike out as a single mother was dear to me.

3. "Slowliness is holiness." The eastern mystic Babaji says that slowliness is sacred. In our culture, we value rushing, expediency and productiveness. The subtle nature of the heart reveals itself when we slow down. When we rush around in we stay of the outskirts of life. We are around but not in our lives. Use waiting as a time to be. Question your driven-ness always to be doing or accomplishing. “Meditate while you wait.”
4. Redefine WAIT: Wonderful Adventure In Time (WAIT). Every moment is precious. Each here and now offers the entry into infinite peace, love, prosperity and joy. Being present and alive in the here and now moves us into a timeless reality. The only time we are free is in the now. At last, at last – free from the past!

Glad to Wait

If you get mad when you wait
Your life will be full of hate
Irritation and frustration too
You’ll go through life without a clue
Of all the gifts you might have had
By staying cool and being glad.

So next time you have to wait
Be with it, don’t hesitate
Relax, smile and be of cheer
Connect with self and those who’re near.
Life’s too short to throw away
Enjoy the wait and make it pay.

We define the quality of our lives moment to moment. Let's transform the thought of waiting from
one of inconvenience and wasted time into one of possibility, wholeness and rest. When we do this, our lives become easier and easier.

Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
The end.

Anne Sermons Gillis is an author, speaker and life coach. Contact her at 281-419-1775 or at annegillis.com

I Love Lucy

2010-03-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

What started out as a Saturday bike ride, ended up as an adoption outing. My husband and I rode by the Animal Shelter dog adoption in front of the theater. I just wanted to stop and look. Here's what I looked at - Lucy and she's in my bed right now - scared little girl. She'd been lost, found by the animal shelter, spayed, fostered and adopted in the last three weeks.

My Spiritual Oddyssey

2010-03-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

I began my spiritual journey when I was around four years old. In grade school, I ventured from church to church, looking for the truth. My neighbors were always glad for me to tag along, and I received a broad base education on the ins and outs of religion, hope and spiritual styles. As a teenager I read Edgar Cayce and stories on reincarnation; I hoped to reach a level of understanding and wisdom that would serve me as well as others. My mom had her finger in metaphysics, as did my grandmother and great aunt. Their open minds provided me with a thirst to explore, question and examine life.

In 1973 I started meditating. This opened up other worlds, new dimensions. In ‘76 I had my first awakening. Experiences come and go but waking up is more of a change of paradigm and a new permanent way of living. Since I then have stringently followed the inner trail to truth. I ventured to India in 1989 to be near a powerful guru. I spent years in that discipline. In 1995 I met a woman who turned my mind around. She was a Cherokee elder. I understood things about creation that I had only glimpsed in the past. I felt a lot of personal power – the infinite possibility we have as creators and my ability to create things beyond my wildest imagination.

In 1997 I met Gangaji, who moved life to another level – personal power could be helpful and certainly could change the world for good, but there was something more. That something is difficult to put into words. I again traveled to India and brought home every book I could haul back on the topic of non-dualism and vichara. Ramana Maharshi’s grace filled me. I went beyond that which can be taught. I stumbled across John Sherman’s work. I was looking for someone who was familiar with vichara. I found that John had been changed by Ramana and Gangaji. I read his words and felt as if I’d met a kindred soul. Life can only be only experienced, not learned, controlled or rehearsed.

So naturally, I’ve wanted share that which cannot be taught, with others. Fools rushes in - you know the drill. I’ve hesitated many times because the place I point to is easily overlooked and too often marginalized in the westerners need to learn, grow, pigeonhole, compare and produce, but regardless, I decided to share the message in the best way I can. The books I have from India are not available in the USA, but I did remember a book that touched the truth. The book is confrontational, iconoclastic, challenging and hilarious. It is Anthony Demello’s Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality. That’s why I signed up for the Wednesday night spot – wanting to share the wisdom lurking in the corners of our souls with souls who are open to the perils and opportunities of reality.

No book is perfect and sometimes I think DeMello’s message narrows and loops us back to the old paradigm, but just when I think that, he seems to unlock the mind in new and exciting ways.

I hope to see you in class. Know that I love you and that the I that loves you is bigger than time, form, emotions and bodies. The I that loves you is not the body of Anne Sermons Gillis, even though that body and all bodies live in that. I am that. You are that and that’s all folks! 5:15 Creative Life Center, Spring, Texas. Call me for information. 281-419-1775.

The New Money Magicians

2010-02-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

I explored the alternative spiritual path for years. It was lonely because I thought I was the only one. I took a Silva Mind Control class in 1978. The training took place in a church. “What kind of place is this?” I asked the instructor. It’s a metaphysical spiritual church. She gently nudged me to attend. I cried at the first service; I was no longer alone. There were more like me and they were everywhere.

My childhood was average; meaning dysfunctional. I grew up as a normal neurotic. Money confusion as a tradition.. Money was worshipped on one side of the cultural altar while being demonized on the other. Money lived in me as a tantalizing creature who offered pleasure and pain. People at my new church, didn’t chant the proverbial money is the root of all evil axiom. I found solace in the idea that money was not my source; rather there was a principle, AKA God, that provides for my needs. Money was neither glorified nor disparaged; there was a clear message about money; my attitude could either attract or repel it. I could stop being a victim and become a victor. It was my spiritual heritage. I learned to manifest material things, paid off my debts, harmonized relationships, attracted money and created a wide array of spectacular experiences. As I spiritually matured I realized that my happiness was contingent on circumstances and acquisitions. Even when I did great things to make a difference, I returned to suffering. I wasn’t suffering so much about money: I just rested in that lonely question “Is that all there is?” The normal progression of confusion, knowledge, attainment, clarification and spiritual growth occurred. I learned that as Eva Peron said in Evita, “and as for fortune and as for fame… They are just illusions … they are not the solutions they promised to be.”

Today I find a disturbing phenomenon. It’s money magic. The new money magicians don’t defame money; they deify it. I was happy when “The Secret” came out. It is nifty for people to learn those old time laws of attraction. We are creators, not victims. Yet something sticks to my craw over the new found sorcery that breeds from the supermarket to the stock market. Spiritual people buy the idea that more or better stuff or even more and better experiences bring happiness. Please tell me who needs, deserves or should have a 10,000 square foot home or a shiny gas guzzler? Our trees are slaughtered and resources compromised, while money magicians get more of everything. Like Jesus, I want the money changers out of the church. People commercialize spirituality – and we are the people. It’s not morally wrong, it’s just spiritually devastating.

It’s easy to get sucked into the new frenzy of Master Minding, group incantations and positive thinking. People, new to the ideas, are on a metaphysical honeymoon and the energy is enticing, but really, if you are still just finding parking spaces after 20 years of study, I think there’s a maturation problem. Unfortunately many of the law of attraction activities, focus on spiritual materialism. Money and then more money mean success. Even gratitude can be valued as a commodity, rather than a state of being.

People focus more on getting than receiving or giving. Receiving is an effortless art and true giving feeds the soul, but getting more things or more spiritual experiences, leads back to suffering. Getting and getting more, better or different, is ego’s plan to scare the fear away, but it never works.

Metaphysics is based in mind. Spirituality is based in the heart. Trying to get more gives us a metaphysical “to do list” which can never be completed. The ego demands more action, more planning and more control. The ego analyzes every situation and buys or rejects ideas based on keeping the body or certain mental constructs safe. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all else will be added unto you.” It is exhausting to couch everything in positive terms. Spontaneity suffers as ego controls. The Jesus plan is so much easier than using the mind as our ruler, decider and conflict generator.

Even though words have meaning, it is our total energetic makeup that attracts or repels our good. Actually you can spot people who are putting out bad vibes. Sorry, I couldn’t resist that 70’s term. I don’t like it when the word police interrupt me to change the way I’m saying things or to point out the problematic nature of my communication. I don’t want to be stopped to hear a word lecture. The lecture is not helpful; it is codependent. Get out of my business! As a 47 year consciousness student, I am aware of what I am saying and how I’m saying it; I just don’t always choose to use those perfect positive magic words. For me, authenticity outweighs perfection.

We start our spiritual journeys as unconscious victims; “He made me angry.” At some point we realize we have choices. We learn to reframe our views and change our perception. Hopefully, we turn from systematic dehumanizing thinking. We move to positive thinking. We move away from primal fear.

Yet regardless of how much we control the negative, insert the positives, or create convenient parking spaces, health, friendships and wealth – we still experience a yearning. We think our thoughts can solve the problem. What we think is not the problem. Positive thinking and negative thinking keep us evaluating reality rather than experiencing it. Positive thinking is a stepping stone to wholeness but when we reach the promised land we no longer need the path.

When we immerse ourselves in omnipresent goodness, the need to change, manipulate, dissect, control or get more, dissolves. We enter the kingdom and rest in the peace of being.

Manifest; it’s a part of conscious living. Take care in your mind. If hungry; eat. If thirsty; drink. If you need to pay bills; attract money. The problem arises when the ego drives us to continually get more. With ego at command central, there is a dominating restlessness that keeps us driving toward meaningless acquisitions and goals. When manifesting is the central theme of one’s life, it is neurotic. The spirit rises in being not in doing, getting or having.

If money magic worked, I would know. It does work to gain more money, but it doesn’t work in the arena of spiritual satisfaction. Money magic dulls the soul and takes us from the present onto a hope that money will provide the means to power, love, importance, or that we can buy the spiritual experiences we need to self-actualize.

If we must question or take action, our effort might best be spent finding out who we are; rather than what we want. We could practice the presence rather than milking it for personal gain.

We heal lack thoughts and feelings when we live in the ever-present state of abundance. Abundance is our natural state. Trying to stomp out fear about money fuels the fear. As these illusions appear on the screen of life, we normally work hard to fill the void. As we fill one void another appears on the horizon. When we stop and realize that the void is mental and that lack is the fiend of dualistic thought, we bring forth the wholeness of present reality.

The mind, when not aware of its true nature, stalks reality with an agenda. It is in the decision to stop the mind, so that it might surrender and rest in a deeper stillness, that we become peaceful. When we can be still and know that I am God, we find a dynamic spiritual rest, which refreshes, restores and renews our lives.

Palindrome

2010-02-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward. This video reads the exact opposite backwards as forward. Not only does it read the opposite, the meaning is the exact opposite.

This is only a 1 minute, 44 second video and it is brilliant. Make sure you read as well as listen forward and backward.

This is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20-year old. The contest was titled "u @ 50" by AARP. This video won second place. When they showed it, everyone in the room was awe-struck and broke into spontaneous applause. So simple and yet so brilliant. Take a minute and watch it.

Water in Slow Motion

2010-02-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

water is fascinating. After a drought, rain is magic. Dew in the early morning shines up Mother Earth. This morning's bath - a luxury. A waterfall brings awe. Huge waves bring humility to surfers. Check out water in slow motion.

EZosophy Philosophy - The Power of Ease

2010-01-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

Check out the power of ease. Click link for an empowering message about living an easier life. http://empoweringmessages.com/visitors/AnneGillis.shtml

Think and Grow Up

2010-01-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

What we think about, we bring about. We use our thoughts to create separation or closeness with others.

I spoke with friend this morning. She was returning from a doctors visit. It was clear that his opinion on one issue was different from hers. She purred when she shared the good news. "I was aware when I was with him (as in present and thinking) and I didn't react. When I left, I told him he was a kind and compassionate man. It was true"

What a great feeling. What freedom. It is easy to be loving when we are with people who think and feel as we do. The real test of character comes when we encounter those with opposing ideas and beliefs.

What will I do when I think of you? Will I use your beliefs to build an inner conversation that keeps me walled in behind my judgments? Or will I look at you, you as you - not what you do, nor how you think, but just you as you.

A few days ago I went to two stores. I spoke with three employees in one store and one in the other. When I left, I felt light and happy. I felt connected to those people. Why do I feel as if I'd been touched by an angel? - then I knew. While with each person, the inner conversation was silent, you know the one that thinks about how they look or how they smell or how they are dressed. The one that looks up at them or down at them. The voice that pigeonholes them and puts them in that, "I've got your number space." That voice was silent. No opinion. No category - just presence. After each encounter I felt like I was in love.

It's time to think and grow up. Growing up means looking for love in all the right places, looking into the heart and keeping the chattering mind harnessed. Growing up means giving up the idea that life is a problem. Growing up means we can be contented even when things don't go our way. Growing up means not having to be the center of attention. Growing up means learning the balance between giving and receiving. Growing up is not about being serious or adult like. Growing up means laughing and crying at the joys and sorrows of life. Some people are grown up at 20 while others are brats at 70. Regardless of our age, now is the time to think and grow up.

Word Drip

2010-01-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

I like to be silly and write willy nilly. I like how words sound, they’re so profound. I like how words flow, they come and they go. Yes, it’s time to write. Don’t be contrite. Words are little pieces of hope, of cynicism, criticism and praise. They are magic. They weave spells, create hell and amaze. Words are helpful when not profane and precious when not insane. Really, how silly can you be with this? There’s not enough silliness. Words are too serious. Drop it. Lighten up.

Words, hopping too fast, spell chaos. Words slowly dripping into awareness, feel soft and light. The breath eases when sweet words cross my mind. A peaceful word crossed my mind. Finally. Where have you been? Who could have known that words could be so kind?

Words are symbols of what almost is. They point to an experience, to life; they are but substitutes, not life. Words hold reality away as they swing and they sway. Words drag worn out thoughts and forget the truth. We get caught in wordmires, in the word show and “It’s a really big show.” Words steal our minds. Word robbery. Words capture mind when they play and we think that we are the thoughts, emotions and beliefs they convey. We forget who we are. Socrates pines, there’s no divine. My way robbery. My way is obscured by these wandering, pesky, darting words that nail me thought by thought to a mental coffin.

I built a word door and used words to open mind, to know and flow into a deeper place, a grace place, where velvet words flow into the void. It’s not an empty space, but a place where life brews itself expanding back into words. Words stretch and then contract, taking us out and in. Blessed words that you might be, an opening unto me, so I can stop and look and see, all there is and how to be.

All we need is love.

2010-01-04T15:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. Here's a video to start out the new year right.

More Than Words Can Say

2009-12-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

Some days words speak to me. They already know what they are going to say. They come like a well rehearsed play giving a perfect performance. But most of the time the words are like old grade B movies. The film is worn, the picture faded. I get lost in the wording. I’m in a trance spinning reality into useless web. I forget to look, to notice. The film occupies my mind; there’s no light..It’s just a thought bath.

I like it when words are soft, when they bring sweetness and ring out truth. Often they turn into well-loved songs. What grace, such peace. Why not? Why not now? Why not get a peace of the stillness? What words bring laughter and hum me to sleep? What words give rest to the tired and a sense of sufficiency to the poor? What words harm and hurt?

Who am I in the midst of all this mental movement? Can I even be present when so many words speed by? Do I want to wisely choose my words or should I let them bubble through? What should I do?

When choosing words I’ll take the words “fortunate, lucky, grace, wonder, curious, infinite and possible.” These words I love. They expand me. Me to me thoughts, but what words do I avoid? Is it really the words or is it the intent from which they flow? I don’t like harsh words. Sarcastic words, cruel words, name-calling. I don’t like hour after hour of someone else’s TV words . I get lost in TV words. They have too much power. I become a dying soul not a sole survivor. – a numbed out façade of a person- a compilation of other’s thoughts.

There’s more, something deeper. There’s a wordless place that means more than all I seek to control and know. It’s a mindless state – not a space of ignorance but the space where my mind lets go of strongholds and melts into a deeper source.

It’s big this space. The admission - mental surrender. The place is inside and out there too. I catch myself wanting it – really deeply longing for the infinite mind. A mind that works in ways my limited mind can’t imagine. Can that mind, all I call me, understand how limited it is or does it take a touch from infinite mind to look back at its limits and know that it is here? I want to talk about “It,” the greatness of everything. I get bored with just the exchange of history – of lists of things to do – of worn out stories and ancient hatreds. I tire of surface chatter all those things that just don’t matter.

I light up with kind words. I come alive when heartfelt words find their way home. I love heart to heart – I love brilliant conversation even if it is mental and lends itself to “latte drinking liberals.” I love the eye to eye silent words that only we understand.

And I love you – you who come in many faces – you who graces plants and animals and fish – you the mountains and the seas. I love you – you that is me. I and you, not really two. Different forms – same source. I love you and that’s enough.

Christmas Rewrite

2009-12-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

It was the day before Christmas and all through the center
Anticipation was growing for all those who entered.
Our consciousness was raised to an all time high,
‘Cause we knew that the Christ mind would soon be nigh.
Our hearts’ lights were shining, our faces were cheery,
No room in the mind for thoughts that were dreary,

And all of the sudden there arose the mind chatter,
That said we were stupid and that we didn’t matter.
The voice of the ego had popped up again,
And said we were guilty and all born in sin.
It ranted and raved and caused such a fuss,
That we doubted our Christ minds to the point that we cussed.

On guilty, on sleazy, on dummy, on lazy,
The ego drove our minds till we felt sort of crazy.
Then depressed and deflated we sat in a heap,
With all our enlightened thoughts going to sleep.

We started to pray, we started to ask,
For a different perception, for freedom at last.
Forgiveness was offered and innocence too
And before we all knew it our Christ minds renewed.
In one holy instant our knowingness came
And we felt the presence of Christmas again.

1984 Anne Sermons Gillis Excerpt Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic
published by Easy Times Press
http://www.annegillis.com/Books-CDs-Etc.html

Have Green Christmas

2009-12-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

We stand in the midst of holiday season. Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa are around the corner. It's odd how that corner gets closer every year. This means more time to celebrate and enjoy the festivities. Are you willing to take small steps to make it a greener Christmas? Regardless of whether you've been green for a few months or taken ecological care for years, there's always the next step we can take in our commitment to conserve our resources and respect our planet.

Green holiday ideas:

Buy energy-saving "LED" holiday lights. Now you can decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season! LED lights are available at many major retailers, including Target, CostCo, and Ace Hardware. * Source the Sierra Club

Make your own wrapping paper from items in your home - maybe some old fabric.

Wrap gifts with a gift such as scarves, handkerchiefs or bandannas. Wrap with old posters and maps or pages from a child's coloring book taped together (especially nice for relatives who would enjoy the artwork). Use old sheet music, home-sewn cloth bags or wallpaper scraps.

Give gift memberships to green organizations for presents such as The Sierra Club http://www.sierraclub.org/ , Green America http://www.greenamericatoday.org/ or http://webecoist.com/2008/09/24/25-environmental-agencies-and-organizations/ ( a list of 25 environmental organizations).

Give gifts to charities rather than to your spouse. My husband and I give a donation to a cause on holidays, anniversaries and birthdays, usually in lieu of a personal gift. We already have too much stuff and if either of us needs anything we just buy it as needed.

Buy fair trade items. This assures the people involved in the production were not harmed, the earth was not harmed and the people who manufactured or crafted the item received fair wages.

Buy carbon offsets to cover your holiday travel http://www.carbonfund.org/

Buy eco friendly gifts such as things made of bamboo or recycled glass. Give cloth napkins.

Pack gifts in popcorn with a note inside asking the recipient to feed it to the birds.

Let's be creative about being green. It's fun to get on the bandwagon and feel as if we're making a difference.

This article originally appeared in the Dec. 2009 Montgomery County Democratic Party Newsletter.

Letter to President Against the Troop Escalation in Afghanistan

2009-12-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr President,

I want to thank you for all the hard work you are doing to reverse the damages of the previous administration.

Today I write you on the gravest policy decision you will ever make - the decision to escalate a senseless war or to put an end to this madness.

I am sure you realize that everyone who has perpetrated war in or on Afghanistan has miserably failed. Why would we be different? We stand on the edge of financial and environmental collapse. Are you going to place us into moral collapse? The casualties of American soldiers and innocent civilians must weigh heavily on your soul. Please do not let the military force you sell your soul.

Kennedy stood up against the generals in Viet Nam controversy. We would not have gone into that war had he lived. Now is the time for your courage. McChrystal is not our leader - you are.

As long as we kill others, we are not free. Freedom exists when we can stop looking over our shoulders because we know that we have created more friends than enemies. The more we fight, the more enemies we have. Let's end this cycle. Let's become a country built on real jobs, not military dollars. Let's give up the need for war and oil as the foundation of our economy.

Mr. President, please serve the people not the military.

I worked long hours to support you and to get you elected. Now I expect you to work long hours to support the American people and myself.

Respectfully, Anne Sermons Gillis

The Sweet Spot

2009-11-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

It's evening. My husband is upstairs. He's fighting a cold. I sit at my desk and glance across the room. I see a tri colored glass vase. Its beauty fills me. I glance to the right and feel warm when I see the clothes on the drying rack.

There's something so sweet about the night. My home is warm. It's clean. Silent. Flowers and plants take their place in this living collage. But I know the beauty and peace are not from my home or the vase or the drying clothes. Sitting in the sweetness of life, I just happen to be in this home, but the sweetness is always here. It is life itself.

Being awake to life is the only answer. It doesn't matter the question. Being awake is the only answer. The more I let go. The more I keep my mind in a relaxed non driven state - the more I experience my emotions as sensations- the sweeter the spot. The spot is here and now.

The picture is me in an interesting spot. I'm walking on the equator in Ecuador. I've traveled the world only to find the sweet spot is here. Whether it's the here in Thailand or the here in my office, it's here and I'm so glad I'm here.

Weird Stuff Happens on Posts and Phones

2009-11-17T16:06:00.001-08:00

I am aware that some of the posts look weird. These are ones I've taken from Word and done a cut and paste. Who wants to retype an article into a blog box? I rework the article and when I've made corrections and reformatted some things, I press publish icon. That's when it gets weird. I've worked on all kinds of fixes, those I've thought of, those my friends thought of, and those the blog problems page recommend. These fixes do not work. Some of the fixes work for a while but they stop working.

Is a blog a reflection of life? Life has rules but they are merely suggestions. Once you find out how things are, either the things change or the how they are changes. We get back to the one life constant. "Change."

The course I would not take in high school was typing. I thought if I learned to type, I would have to be a secretary. That was one of three jobs available to women when I was young. You were a teacher, a secretary, or a wife. I chose wife, hobbled into sales but really ended up as a sales secretary. I am my own hunt and peck secretary. Gee I wish my secretary could type. Then she could easily retype the article from Word into the blog box and when I hit publish, the blog would be correctly formatted. I could press the publish icon and have a uniform font size and the words wouldn't go off in their own direction.

Now to top that off, I'm getting several phone calls daily for a toll free number that is one digit off from my toll free number. It's just started happening, so I'm going to guess it's a new number. It's for some kind of drug plan for an RX partner. I just talked to Jane from Michigan who was happy to give me the scoop. She called her insurance company and I answered. I was really good, no existential lecture. The number to dial is 800-711- 4550 and my number is 800-711-4580. One call is not a problem, but if I get several calls a day every day, I get to pay a nice little sum for all these misdialed calls.

I think this serves me right for thinking about receiving several business calls a day. I receive the calls but my mental pondering was not as succinct as it might have been; I now receive business calls for someone else. If you don't know what I'm talking about - here's a short lesson. Here I go with my lesson - now I'm into the third choice - teacher.

I believe that what you think about, you bring about. When I think hateful thoughts - I draw hate to me. When I think in peaceful thoughts, I draw peaceful circumstances into my life.

So what I've learned from all this is that if I maintain a peaceful demeanor than I will not get upset over blog improprieties, strange callers that I pay to call me or changes in life. When I do this I find that my life can be easier and easier.

And just to stay weird, the picture was taken in a German restaurant in Southern India. I can still remember that cake. One of the best I've ever had. Food again. It's a family thing. You know my family - the human family.

Anne
Web Site http://www.annegillis.com/
Products for an Easier Life http://www.annegillis.com/Books-CDs-Etc.html

I Had a Flat Tire

2009-11-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

One perfect spring day, I loaded my car and headed for a spiritual gahtering in Ohio. It was a ten-hour drive from Memphis.

Mystical journeys often come with hurdles; mine came in the form of a flat tire. Fortunately when my tire gave way, I was close to an auto shop. The owner was straight with me, “Little lady, your tire cannot be fixed and your other tire is about to go. You need two new tires.” The tires were rough. Only a month away from the end of my car lease, I had not wanted to buy new tires. He was right. The car needed new tires, which were not in stock, so I had to wait for their delivery. This was going to take a while.

Undaunted by the delay, I took stock of my surroundings. The shop was orderly and everything sparkled. Rather than read a magazine, I met the owners and workers, explored, and asked questions. The shop opened its doors two weeks ago. This place was special. It was someone’s dream come true.

We talked of business and babies and serving others. They glowed with a sense of pride. It felt as if I was talking to our countries founding fathers. Each worker had a story, a family and big dreams.

When I left, six men stood waving and wishing me luck, “Come back, don’t forget us.” My interest in them flowed back to me. I felt inspired, cherished, and loved. Life incorporated the inconvenience and made it an integral part of my journey. What a trip.

Ordinary sacred moments continue to outshine my planned special events. The Ohio spiritual gathering was expansive. I walked on fire, and studied with indigenous elders, but when people asked about my trip, I answered “Well, I had a flat tire.”

Originally Published in The Science of Mind Magazine June 2009

From Green to Groan

2009-11-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I attended the Bioneers Conference in downtown Houston. It was one of those days had been a dessert; it would be a chocolate torte. A delicious day. The sun danced on lake water, children sang on an outdoor stage, and animals ran in the dog park.

After taking in the Bioneers Conference (Promotes green, social justice and human rights) we headed to the streets of Houston for adventure. As my husband and I made our way from site to site, we ran into three bewildered teenage girls. "Do you know where Sam Houston Park is?" Aren't those cell phone GPS's grand? A few key strokes later, we pointed them in the right direction. But before they left we asked for their story. Short version-they were attending a fund raising event to end world poverty. I could feel my interest rising.

We strolled around for a bit and found ourselves at the Sam Houston Park entrance. Hundreds walked the grounds. It was open to the public so without a clue we entered into what would be for me, one of the greatest educations of my life.

Who were these people? Either from India or Pakistan. Maybe they weren't Indians. These people were more Pakistanis, or perhaps Afghanis. We looked out of place and it seemed as if a few people stared at us. Poverty, illness and tragedy are universal and as I talked with people, any concepts of differences I held, dissolved. The people who looked different and distant now looked open and compassionate. One world - one family. We're in this together.

This unique fund raising event engages would-be donars in a compelling way. We went to a sectioned off area. First we entered and then stood in a dark tent. Immediately, we heard a loud noise, smoke pours in. We are in a simulated earthquake. We run. The guide opens the tent door and we emerge on a road with injured people who need help. An injured man asks if anyone is thirsty. Several hands go up and he gives pretend water. We each receive a stick-on colored dots to represent our drinking the water. The guide says, "You've just been contaminated by the water you've ingested. You have to get to the hospital.” The nearest hospital is ten miles. I'm already fighting the tears. It seems so real. The injured have ripped clothes and what looked like real blood on their bodies. They were good actors and appeared desperate and hopeless. I felt desperate for those who meet similar circumstances and never receive help. My throat hurt.

Our roles change, we go to a hospital setting and become medical personnel who operate on injured people (not real people, dummies of sort). We receive tools that can't do the job. We start the operations and if anyone does something to worsen their conditions, a bell rings. It was impossible to do the job with the tools we had. Before long we hear bells ring. We receive proper instruments and find how much easier it is to accomplish our tasks. The organization putting on the fund raiser provides medical supplies to the rural clinics they build. My nose drips. Snort, snort. My heart aches.

We go into class rooms and experience what traditional education is like in these impoverished countries. We sit in a class room covered in graffiti - in austere conditions. The teachers were harsh, dogmatic. Then we go to a classroom like the ones the Aga Khan Foundation (the organization sponsoring the fund-raiser) provides in these countries. Their teaching techniques are innovative and compassion rooted. We sing some of the lessons. We paint part of a tile to represent what we've learned. The tiles are later donated to a business and used to in a commercial building. I painted a little yellow sun.

There were movie theaters in several areas. We lay on the floor of a dome tent and the ceiling was the screen. Face after face, situation after situation, cascaded before us in an unspoken haunting plea for help.

We go to an area that depicts micro finance. We learn of the work conditions of the people. We do some of the work that the people have to do and experience the difficulties they face daily. We see a man (via movie) who builds doors. It takes months to build a door. Then he delivers the door in a small car. He hopes the building will still be there when he arrives. One movie highlighted workers in Tajikistan and the micro financing efforts of Aga Khan in that country. A few days earlier I loaned money though a micro lending program (Kiva) to a woman in Tajikistan. Small world. I felt an inner warm spot.

For birthdays and holidays my husband and I have a tradition of donating money to causes. We don't need any more stuff. His birthday was earlier in the month and we had not made his contribution yet. Now it was an easy decision. We gave to Aga Kahn. I salute the organization for their innovation, service and humanity. http://www.akdn.org/akf
That Saturday I attended the most innovative fundraiser of my life. It was another reminder. We vote with our dollars, time and attitude. We have the daily opportunity to cast votes for justice, equality, compassion and humanity. Don’t forget to cast your vote.

Fresh Eggs

2009-11-13T20:50:00.001-08:00

Do you know what's unique about these eggs? They have never been in the refrigerator. Marilyn picked them from her hen house then I took them from her apron. I don't eat too many eggs. I don't support the industry that stuffs sweet little birds in cages and uses them until they drop dead. But these chickens I know and when I say they are free range and organic, they are free range and organic.

Look at the different sizes and colors.

Breakfast on the Back Patio

2009-11-13T20:27:00.001-08:00

A great breakfast of fresh eggs, raw radish greens and toasted Ezikiel bread topped with flax seed oil, raw apple and fresh ground cinnamon.

It's Friday. Each week slips by so quickly that I wonder if it was there. Eastern philosophy speaks of Maya - illusion - and I wonder if there's any evidence that life even happened this week. Really there's only now.

Demonizing Food

2009-11-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Addictive behavior is an integral part of our cultural norm. We often live in denial. We believe our behavior is normal and healthy. Normal and healthy are not the same. Much of so‑called normal behavior is really addictive behavior. We think what we grew up with is normal. When everyone is sick, sick becomes normal. One of the lesser‑examined areas of addiction is food addiction. Some authorities believe that over 65 percent of women and 45 percent of men in this country have disordered eating patterns. This is another way to say that our relationship with food is sick.

In years past 50 years, the American diet has dramatically shifted. People turned away from nature and turned to the high‑tech world that touched and changed all areas of human consumption. Demeter and Ceres no longer blessed our crops; instead, the Goddess became a steel‑winged angel spraying poisons on crops. This activity supposedly insured an economically plentiful harvest. We exchanged the loved‑filled chicken of Grandma for the convenience of the Colonel.

Some people believe poor health is a direct result of pesticides and herbicides‑‑ nearly all processed food contains sugar, white flour, fat or salt. I challenge this idea. We are not unhealthy because of the changes in our food production or because of our fast foods. We allowed our food to be mass‑produce, poisoned and lose quality because we were already sick. The sickness of our souls reflected in the sickness in our foods. Sick people grow and eat sick food. People in harmony with themselves grow healthy food and eat healthy food.

People think they can straighten out their lives by embracing healthy foods. A change in diet alone is never sufficient to heal the body. Our diets and eating habits can not be corrected from the outside in ‑‑ they must change from the inside out. As we begin to love ourselves, to appreciate our uniqueness and to accept our dharmic (dharma is structure or form in our lives that most supports our souls) place in the universe, our food regains its place of sacredness in our lives.

American culture embraces a philosophy that pits good foods against bad foods. We turned our foods into demons. The problem with demonizing food or making certain foods bad is that the demons end up biting us on the butt. The age‑old story is told in Genesis: When Adam and Eve were instructed to leave the apples alone; apples became the most desirable fruit in the garden. Remember, they could have eaten anything in the garden except apples, but what did they go for? They made a beeline for the apple tree. Adam and Eve revealed the forbidden fruit syndrome...what you can't have is, what you will want the most.

Can you see why diets that cut out certain foods are likely to eventually fail? I have a friend who tries every new diet on the planet. When she gets ready to go on a new diet, she starts eating more junk food ‑‑ and greater quantities of food. It only takes the anticipation of a diet to spark her binging behavior. Diets are self‑imposed starvation. My friend knows she won't be allowed to eat certain foods, so the forbidden foods became even more appealing. Then she diets tolose the weight gained as a result of going on the diet in the first place.

Grandmother Rosa is a South American born indigenous elder. Her animation captured the spiritually hungry at a medicine gathering in the nineties. Grandmother’s spirit told her to stop making food her enemy. “Love all the food you eat.” It didn't matter whether she ate bean sprouts or chocolate, she was to respect and love it all. Her change in attitude created amazing results. Not only did Grandmother Rosa lose weight, she lost the desire for many foods that didn't support her physical health. There is a big difference between sacrificing and losing desire. When we approach food from a point of sacrifice, we thwart our ability to achieve our goals.

I suggest an alternative to dieting and to believing in food magic (food magic - good food is like magic it will instantly cure everything and make my life work). Love all food you eat. Bless your food before you eat. Spend time each day discovering who you are through prayer, spiritual reading and by being still and listening to inner wisdom voice.

The following prayer is from my book "Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic." I took the prayer that my father and grandfather said and created a contemporary version. Use this prayer or find another creative and expressive form of prayer that will allow you to reestablish a healthy and holy attitude about your food and your life.

New Grace

Not only are we grateful for this food, but we are grateful to the essence that gave it form. We give thanks to that life force within the food that brings us vitality. May this food become a celebration of the immortality of life itself. May we be ever grateful for all of life's creations.Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. Bless these bodies to the service of our spirits.

AMEN

Quantum physics delivered us from victimhood; it reveals that energy affects energy. Our thoughts are energy. Our food is energy. When done in openness, authenticity and humility, prayer is a higher form of energy that affects our lives both physically and emotionally. Bring Spirit into your relationship with food. Don't pray like a beggar. "Please, please, help me help me help me." Don't whine. Bless your food. Bless your relationship to food. Let your trips to the grocery store be spiritual pilgrimages rather than burdensome everyday tasks. When eating out, be a radiant, joy‑filled consumer rather than a holy terror to your server

Recently, when checking out at the grocery, I had one of those quirky inspirations. I made a smiley face out of the fruits and vegetables I placed on the conveyor belt. I told the check out woman, “Look, I made a present for you”. She was delighted and shared her enthusiasm with fellow onlookers. I began to make a practice of honoring my food as I purchased it. Yesterday I made another face. I used broccoli as the hair and used cucumbers as the horns. The check out lady asked if she could disturb it to ring me up! Sometimes I just line up the groceries to look orderly and bless the food as I place it on the conveyor belt. The first time I did this I was particularly prayerful. The man standing behind me said “I like the way you place your groceries, you have a special way.” It never occurred to me that someone would notice what I was doing.

When so much of our day and lives are consumed by eating, planning to eat, shopping for food and cleaning up after we eat, it is important to be in harmony with food. Food is not the demon. The real demons are inside us. Our demons are the rejected and unloved parts of our Self. As soon as we can become the powerful works of spiritual art that we actually are, the demons in our foods disappear. We will no longer need to project our inner pain onto our outer worlds.

I follow the food supplies in grocery stores. I am a food reader. The quality of our restaurants and grocery stores reflects the spiritual qualities of our lives. In the early 70's, I cultured my yogurt or went to the health food store on Thursdays. Dannon yogurt was delivered only one day a week, and if I didn't get there in time, I wouldn't be able to get any yogurt that week. About fifteen years ago, a grocery store opened in my neighborhood. I walked the aisles looking at fresh whole wheat breads without preservatives. Fresh herbs nestled beside organic fruits and vegetables. In fact, the vegetables and fruits made up the largest section of the store. This scene would be the norm in the west, but this store was in Memphis, Tennessee... home of Billy‑Bob and barbecue. I cried in gratitude. I cried because we are blessed by so many choices, because we are changing as a culture. I cried for those who will never see such opulence. I remembered the raging results of hunger and the look of sheer desperation in the faces of the children. I cried with compassion for those who cry lack in the midst of such great abundance, and I rejoiced for all that I had. The grocery stores of today are our new temples. I have some of my greatest visions and deepest spiritual insights in the grocery store.

So now you have it. You have asked for a better way... and here it is. For those who have eyes, let them see, for those who have ears, let them hear and for those who are hungry, let them worship. Food is sacred, it is not our enemy! Give thanks and rejoice.

* This article was originally published in 2003 in several magazines, but since I'm on the food trail - I thought you might enjoy it.

Thursday's Dinner

2009-11-13T19:59:00.001-08:00

Still no word on the easy front. I am having so much fun with my camera that I'm writing with my pictures. I can say with wild abandon that life is easier when you have fun.

We have lettuce greens, dandilion greens, grape tomatoes and a raw nut cheese made with Brazil nuts, cilantro, lemon and garlic. Write me at anne@annegillis.com if you want recipe.

The End - Garden Dining

2009-11-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

To read this in the right order, go archives on the left start with the post "Breakfast." Then read up and you will see the progressive steps of breakfast.

Fall is here. Leaves fall and I quietly join the Mother Earth who gives me nourishment. Thank you for this meal.

Top That

2009-11-12T15:15:00.001-08:00

Place the cashew - raisin topping over the chipped fruit and top with about a table spoon of fresh squeezed lemon. The lemon gives the dish a tang. Oh this looks good.

Nuts to You

2009-11-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

Add a little coconut. Why do they call it a nut? Great taste and it adds those MUFA's. monounsaturated fatty acids we heard were bad for us. Then we heard they were good for us. All this food good bad flip flop can drive you nuts.

Cutting Up

2009-11-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

I love to eat in wooden containers. I even like wooden utensils. I often carry my own utensils, therefore reducing my forkprint.

Ground Round

2009-11-12T09:54:00.001-08:00

This is funny because when I start posting at the beginning of my process, then the post goes backward to how I prepared my meal. I can't seem to get but one picture to a post so I'll continue backwards. I couldn't even get the picture on the last post.

I am a very good unprofessional blogger. My mantra is practical not perfect. If I wait the get this perfect it, will never be.

Ground nuts and raisins.

Grind and Dine

2009-11-12T09:40:00.001-08:00

Grind up the nuts and raisins. You can use walnuts or pecans if you prefer. Use raw nuts. I soak my hard nuts (Not pine nuts or cashews) about eight hours in water, then dry them on my kitchen table using the overhead fan. When they are dry we're ready to roll.

Getting There - A Little Mixer

2009-11-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

First I put a small bowl, about 1/4 cup of raw cashews and 1/4 cup of raisins and our them into my Mini Prep Cuisinart Plus. If I used a larger food processor, the mixture wouldn't mix.

Breakfast

2009-11-12T09:18:00.001-08:00

I love to eat. I love to prepare food. I feel the abundant nature of everything when I mindfully interact with my food. I do a liquid fast of Wednesdays. It's usually the lemonade fast - lemon, maple syrup, cayenne- but sometimes I drink a little fresh juice.

Thursdays I am ready to eat. So here's a step by step replay of my meal this morning. Above are the ingredients for my morning treat.

I Believe in Ghosts

2009-11-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

I believe in ghosts – mental ghosts. The faint memories of times gone past take away my life and pen me down to a reality that sucks. It sucks the life out of me and I can hear it coming. I feel the clamp close my heart. Vlap! It’s like a heart shade that shuts out the light. I’ll be minding my business and the ghost comes. She cuts me down and I become a pitiful waif – an orphan cut off from familiar ties and comfort zones – a crying babe wanting some attention – some sense of safety.

It is bazaar. Yes, a mind bazaar of horrors – those deep crevices of inner entertainment. It’s better than a Boris Karloff dig. Just dig down and scare the hell out of myself – just blast away those tiny safe spaces and stand naked once again. And the older I get, the more I wish I could stand on solid ground. But the falling becomes flying and the darkness gives way to light and suddenly I’m soaring over the ego - over the entrapment. I’m glad there was no solid ground because I was made to fly, not stand my ground.

The dark night becomes a knight in shining armor and the armor gives way to a peaceful surrender. The white flag waves away the ego “I surrender, I surrender. No more war. I am at peace.” The hunger satisfied, the thirst quenched. I no longer hunt the mental prey that keeps me everywhere but here. The mental drone has lost its way and mind melts and in its place a love of life.

I feel as if I had a jar of fireflies on a shelf and suddenly compassion gave me the wisdom to let them go, to realize that in a jar they could not light the way of lovers and children and saints and in the jar they could not play and be the opening and closing God eyes they were meant to be.

Yes, let freedom ring. May I be the bell-ringer. May I be the one who marches past prison walls and flings open locked doors. May I stand in my heart and give food to the hungry and have the courage to look into pain-filled eyes without recoil – embracing everything.

May I be present without constant internal assessment. May my mind be at rest and may I be tolerant of everyone and rise in a compassion that is so deep that all creation worships at the same alter. May I hear that alter call and alter my thoughts. May my deeds indeed become the helpful hand that takes us to the promised land. Holy and free, sacred and safe I take the first step to here. One step from mind to heart. A men, a women, a mountains, a rivers, a partheid, a mass, a master, a wake, a gain, a men.

Make it Easy Tip

2009-11-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

We know that everything can be easier. It's an attitude. But if we want to live ease to the max then it's time to realize that right here, right now, we have to everything we need to know ourselves. Nothing can be easier than knowing who you are. Only when we know ourselves can we sip the wine of ease.

Wake up. No more pettiness of spirit. No more self-righteousness or sense of entitlement. No more poor me, I'm not what I'm meant to be. No more, I am my drama or I am my emotions. It's time to drop the act and become the me I am.

Now is the time to open up to life. Forget the past, forget the dreams if just for one short moment. Try it. I tried fixing my life, planning my life, controlling my life, controlling others' lives. Only when I gave up my plans and focused into the presence of now did any of my doing make sense. Only when I rested my mind did my work bring peace with it. I began to work from peace rather than doing things so I could find peace.

Whenever I remember – when awareness dawns - I drop my line of thinking. Most lines of thinking are old worn out repeats of the past. I listen to my breath, feel my feet, and expand my awareness to my surrounding. I check out my body sensations – no judgments, no trying to process feelings or make them go away. I just become present and sink into presence. I do this dozens a time a day. And that makes my life easier and easier. This is how I drop the drama. The drama is my mind.