Anne Heche - Call Me Anne

CALL ME

Anne

CALL ME

Anne

ANNE HECHE

Copyright 2023 by Anne Heche.

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or online reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Viva Editions, an imprint of Start Midnight, LLC, 221 River Street, Ninth Floor, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030.

Printed in the United States

Cover design: Jennifer Do

Cover photo: Maiwenn Raoult

Author make-up: Gregory Arlt

Author hair: Jon Lieckfelt

Text design: Frank Wiedemann

First Edition.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Trade paper ISBN: 978-1-62778-331-6

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62778-544-0

This book is dedicated to Homer Heche, Atlas Heche Tupper, and Heather Duffy the proof that love is real.

I believe in life everlasting. I believe it is ours to choose.

For all the rest of my time on this earth, I choose to live to the fullest of my potential. I wake each day to another adventure and seek the wisdom it offers. That is the truth of me. The joy I feel in that commitment has provided me with purpose, love, meaning, and excitement. This is what I share.

This is what I care about.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How To Use This Book

N o one chooses the circumstances they are born into. I was born into a family culture of abuse. It took years to come to terms with that, and honestly, its a lifetimes work that will always be ongoing. This book is meant to give you a glimpse into that lifetime. Its a guidebook to some of the lessons Ive learned over time and contains suggestions about how to put those lessons into practice in your own life. Every phase of life has had lessons for me, and my hope is that what Ive learned might help ease the way for other people.

Even those fortunate enough not to be born into difficult situations experience trauma through their time on this earth. But in learning from your life, you dont have to reinvent the wheel. There are situations that you cant control; all you can control is how you react to them.

The lessons I share here come from my own life. Experience is the best teacher, and everyone learns from their own mistakesbut you can also learn from mine. Each chapter in this book is divided into three parts: a lesson, a practice, and a challenge.

The lessons are stories from my life. The practices are behaviors I learned along the way, which I hope will be inspiring for you and help shape the way you think about your own reactions and responses. The challenges are exercises, often creative, to help you process your own life and experiences and to help you think of ways to amplify the joy in your life.

This book is meant to be fun! While the practice of joy as I try to live it is a serious philosophy, it is also a process of finding happiness and laughter in your life and making these gifts a more central part of your days. I hope you will find the challenges interesting, thoughtprovoking, and fun as you bring a new lens to bear on your own experiences.

INTRODUCTION

Start With The Heart

FLIPPING THE DIME: A WARRIORS CHALLENGE

T here is no proof that your voice matters in this world. Theres no confirmation that what youre doing is right or what you think matters. In fact, mattering is the challenge. How we know we matter is by the way we make people feel in our presence.

If you were raised in an environment similar to mine, mattering was not at the top of the list of priorities. With my parents, when it came to the children, we were the fault line that allowed them to escape responsibility for the very fact that theyd had us.

Great. Someone to blame. It seemed to work so well, I learned to want someone to blameother than myself. I want that. I want the luxury to give up responsibility for my own actions, too... But that would have been too easy, and I have never done things the easy way.

Why do I have to answer to myself? From before I can remember, I took responsibility for others. For everybody. For anybody. Its still a habit of mine I find hard to break. If youre fucked up or an underdog, I love you. Ill do anything for you! I could be having dinner with the most famous person on the planet, but Ill probably end up knowing more about the waitress by the end of the night.

My mothers favorite (and only) story about me as a girl is that I spent so much time cleaning toilets at home that when I was lucky enough to be in a restaurant, Id clean the sinks in the bathroom as perfectly as I did at home. I did it so that the next customer would get the full experience of the restaurant. She cleans so well at home, my mother would brag, she does it in public!

I always did everything I was asked to do, to the best of my ability. In my childhood, it meant my survival.

One of the hardest things to put into practice is that who you are is not defined by the hand you were dealt. And the most complicated relationship between doubt and trust that you will be called to answer is the question of who you are. The stories I share here are the ones Ive asked my higher power to illuminate for me that will hopefully allow the opening to freedom and risk within yourself, to become wholly who you are, if thats what you want. Im only on the path, guided by honesty and belief, that if I listen, I will be rewarded with love.

And it is so. Everywhere I go, everywhere I seek, I am greeted with angels of goodness. I am greeted with joy because I give it and I am always looking for itits my hope that you will, too. I am committed to delving deeper into myself so that I may continue to engage in lifes offering, that I may have more stories to tell. More acceptance to behold. More compassion to give.

More love.

Love is confusing. It means something different to everyone. No one knows anothers definition. Were forced to wonder when we encounter another whether they agree with us. Yet, have we even decided for ourselves? What are our guiding principles? How do we act upon them? Are we interested in theirs? Do they know ours? Have we shared? Do others care about what I feel? What does love mean to me? Are they interested in whether or not I care about what love means to them?

Are we different? Are we the same? Have we bothered to ask? Does love have a meaning to us? To others? Is love a foundation we seek? Is love the most important question to ask ourselves, and is loves meaning the one and only answer were seeking? It may not be for everyone, but it has been for me. Whats meaningful to you?

Ive come to believe we have everything we need to make a life of joy, if only we embrace it. Live in loving kindness. Seems like a simple practice, yet how many have agreed to abide in misery or discontent? How many have gone along to get along at the expense of their own happiness?

I seek totality, unity, and harmony. I do not have all the answers, but I have found some through years of working to overcome the struggles I was born into. I am guided by both my higher power and by the importance of bringing more love and kindness into the world. I serve the wisdom that I have learned, what I have sought, and what I believe to be true. Love is all, and consciousness is the one and only guiding light. I am not for those who believe in a redemption society; no person is less than in my religion. I am for all those present, conscious, and loving beings who seek a world of unity and peace that demands loves totality: all for one. We must look out for ourselves and one another. We must make choices that are guided by truth, love, and kindness.

Love is a commitment to yourself. Love is the key that triggers the consciousness to decide just what it is we are here to accomplish. Loving consciousness is the agreement that empowers our bodies to activate the interaction with the universe that allows us to see another with clarity, nonjudgment, and compassion. We can join together in the greatest gift life offers: the activation of love and kindness to each other that is a heaven on earth.