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EDITOR IN CHIEF Joan Herrmann —
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lindsay Pearson —
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Matt Herrmann —
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Chris Giordano Andrea Valentie Oliver Pane —
CONTRIBUTORS Michael Goddart Gayle M. Gruenberg Joan Herrmann Linda Mitchell, CPC Doris Zito
FROM THE EDITOR — Many people today are experiencing feelings of fear, hopelessness, emptiness and sadness. Life often feels like it’s more than they can handle, but they don’t know what to do. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Gary Zukav, author of the legendary New York Times best seller, The Seat of the Soul. For decades Gary has helped millions of people around the world realize their soul’s greatest potential. In our conversation, Gary shared that he believes we are at a turning point in which a new era of humanity based on love instead of fear is upon us. But, only we can bring it into being. Gary contends that no matter what we experience in life, we each have the ability to transform everyday pain into fulfillment, meaning and joy. And, he offers direction on how we can get started. Over six million copies of Gary’s books are in print and translations have been published in 32 languages. He is co-founder of The Seat of the Soul Institute, and he has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show 36 times. Gary’s new book is Universal Human. Listen to the conversation with Gary: www.cyacyl.com/shows/gary-zukav
— Joan Herrmann
GARY ZUKAV
ISSUE NO.132
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE THE POWER AND POTENTIAL OF EQUILIBRIUM BY MICHAEL GODDART
PAGE 12
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE BY JOAN HERRMANN
PAGE 18
THE BENEFITS OF KNOWING YOUR LIFE PURPOSE BYLINDA MITCHELL
PAGE 22
ON THIS MONTH’S
C OV E R GARY ZUKAV SHARES HOW WE CAN TRANSFORM EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES OF HOPELESSNESS, EMPTINESS, AND PAIN INTO FULFILLMENT, MEANING, AND JOY. GARY HAS INSPIRED MILLIONS TO REALIZE THEIR SOUL’S GREATEST POTENTIAL. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE LEGENDARY NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER, THE SEAT OF THE SOUL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE SEAT OF THE SOUL INSTITUTE. OVER SIX MILLION COPIES OF HIS BOOKS ARE IN PRINT AND TRANSLATIONS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN 32 LANGUAGES. GARY APPEARED ON THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW 36 TIMES. HIS NEW BOOK IS UNIVERSAL HUMAN. LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION WITH GARY: www.cyacyl.com/shows/gary-zukav
HOW TO EAT A WAFFLE WHILE ADHD BY GAYLE M. GRUENBERG
PAGE 30
CONFUSING AND PREDATORY HOSPITAL BILLING BY DORIS ZITO
PAGE 32
OCTOBER 2021 P H OTO C R E D I T: C H R I S TO P H E R B R I S C O E
24 SEVEN MAGAZINE
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ISSUE N O. 1 3 2
OCTOBER 2021
THE P OWE R AND P OT E N T I A L OF EQUILIBRIUM Equilibrium is dynamic balance, a spiritual center that you can live in and learn to return to again and again. Being in a state of equilibrium is wonderful. It enriches your life and helps you feel good and supports your health.
Written by Michael Goddart
What are the characteristics of equilibrium? Here are five key ones. • Quiescent ego • Even temperament • Grateful contentment • Healthy independence • Balanced desires Quiescence is a state of repose, being tranquil. When your ego is quiescent, it isn’t raging for something it needs desperately. When your ego is quiescent, it isn’t inflated, self-justifying, self-pitying, or wallowing in injury. It isn’t driving you to take actions or say things that aren’t in your best interest. Being unaware of your ego, letting it ride roughshod, is self-defeating, knocking you about in dis-ease. The antidote to ego is humility-welcome, revitalizing oxygen. When your temperament is even, you are not anxious or angry, negatively critical, upset, leery, or fearful. Your instincts are accessible and you’re open to inner promptings. You realize that most people are entirely run by their minds and have no control over what they say and do. People who are run by their lower minds do, say, and write things that are unkind, hurtful, stupid, destructive. Their actions can readily set off your reactions, which can be angry, fearful, or one of their myriad expressions, such as annoyance and worry. Have you ever felt or thought that you have everything this moment that you need? One aspect of wise, clear thinking is not mistaking where you think or hope you’re going for where you are now. With acceptance comes contentment. You may yearn to understand what you could do with the rest of your life, but embrace the perfection of who you are now and the intention to take each next step in your life as consciously as possible. Acceptance is a key element of consciously living in reality. Acceptance is not resignation. It’s being here, now, rather than allowing yourself to be run by envy or disappointment. Grateful contentment is a feeling of ease, of peace, of everything in its own time. Regardless of your circumstances, if you attain periods of grateful contentment, more and more, in your state of equilibrium, you will cherish these simple, luxurious feelings. When you are able to live in a state of healthy independence, your life is not ruled by attachments. You realize that everything is ultimately temporary. People must leave your life and at times that can be unexpected. You are not the center of the solar system, with everyone revolving around you. You have a great storehouse of resourcefulness that you can access to enable your life to proceed well without unhealthy neediness that inhibits your growth. When your desires are not inflated or squelched down, you are aware of them, and moving at the right time and speed
toward realizing them in a way that serves your growth and unfolding. We are desire machines - the mind is constantly spewing out desires. You can learn to be aware of how your desires want to drive you, and you can mentally detach from them, as well as you can, and make mental adjustments that balance your urges and put them in perspective. Being the driver of your desires creates more space for gratitude. By cultivating mental detachment from your desires, you can more readily be present in an expansive now in which you can experience a healthy independence and grateful contentment. Wisdom and equilibrium go hand in hand. Being in equilibrium is an optimal state in which you can best access your power and develop your potential. You more readily enjoy a positive, confident attitude because when you are in equilibrium that comes naturally. You can more easily deal with and rise above distractions. Being in equilibrium and learning how to achieve and return to it is a necessary adjunct to mastering wisdom. It facilitates the accessing and growth of wisdom. The more you realize and embody the five characteristics of equilibrium, the more you reduce stress. Tomes can be written on the benefits of reducing stress. Some doctors believe that stress is the root of all disease. Some spiritual masters say that ego is the root of all disease. Stress and ego are intrinsically linked. This is because when we think then feel that people and things have to be a certain way, and they’re not, we stress. If you think you need to get three things done before you leave your home and you rush to get them done, that likely creates stress. You are letting yourself be run by a belief that is undermining your health and state of mind. Why not pause and ask yourself if you can let go of one or two of the things until the right time after you return? It’s not the end of the world if, for instance, dishes remain in the sink filled with water until you can attend to them in a good frame of mind. It’s important to notice what feels good, what feels right. Value your equilibrium. That is being wise. That is helping to prepare the field of your spiritual foundation.
About The Author
MICHAEL GODDART Michael Goddart, MFA, is the author of A New Now: Your Guide to Mastering Wisdom Daily, Achieving Equilibrium, and Empowering Your Nobler Self. To Learn More Visit: www.Goddart.com
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October 2021 Issue
Take Responsibility For Your Life Written by Joan Herrmann
A
A friend’s father passed away a few weeks ago. When I learned about his death, I immediately reached out to people who knew the family as I thought they would want to know what happened. At that time, I didn’t have information about the funeral arrangements. In the days that followed, I got busy with work and didn’t follow up with any of those people. The services were held and the people that I notified, except for one person, were in attendance. The day after the funeral, that person reached out to me with a nasty text stating that she was angry because she couldn’t attend the wake. She said she had no way of knowing when it was being held because I didn’t get back to her. She blamed me. At first I felt horrible. She was right, I didn’t get back to her with details. But then I began to ask myself why it was my job to notify her, she could easily have learned the information on her own. She knew the man’s name so a quick internet search would have turned up the obituary. She is Facebook friends with the family, most of whom posted the obituary online. She could have contacted any family member with her condolences and asked about the funeral arrangements. But instead of taking any responsibility for her life, she chose to blame me. Taking responsibility of your life is understanding that you are fully in charge of your own destiny through your own decisions. Each one of us is responsible for our own life.
For many people, everything is someone else’s fault. Every problem is explained away with excuses or blame. But when you take 100 percent responsibility for your life, it moves you from victim to victor! You learn that you are the creator of your life and not someone who is just reacting to it. It puts you in the driver’s seat of your journey. Taking responsibility for your life means that no one has the power to determine how your life turns out – not your parents, not your spouse, not your boss, not your friends. Stepping up and taking responsibility for what’s going on in your life is one of the most important things you will ever do. When you take responsibility for your life you: Stop blaming others or making excuses and accept responsibility for your actions. Stop relying on others to help you live your life. You become aware of the opportunities around you and strive to enact change by taking necessary action. Don’t feel overwhelmed by the negative experiences. You don’t waste your time complaining about why everything is so unfair and why you are not able to achieve your goals. Realize that you have the power to steer your life in the right direction. It is not anyone else’s responsibility to hold your hand or do the job for you. The sooner that lesson is learned, the happier and more successful you will be. Remember … the moment you take responsibility for everything in your life is the moment you can change anything in your life. Now that’s power!
About The Author
JOAN HERRMANN Joan Herrmann is the creator of the Change Your Attitude… Change Your life brand and host of the radio show and podcast, Conversations with Joan. She is a motivational speaker and the publisher of 24 Seven magazine. To Learn More Visit: www.JoanHerrmann.com
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OCTOBER 2021
ISSUE NO.132
THE BENEFITS OF KNOWING YO U R L I F E PURPOSE Written by Linda Mitchell
D Do you know your life’s purpose? Most people recognize the need to get clear when they hit a point where they recognize they haven’t truly focused on themselves or their own goals. This often happens at pivotal moments – something creates a pause in their usual activity. A job or relationship loss. Becoming an empty-nester. Feeling burnt out or unsatisfied and deciding to start over more intentionally. Many life transitions bring this question to the forefront. Exploring your life’s purpose doesn’t have to be a struggle and the payoffs for discovering it are big. Not only are the rest of your days more exciting and fulfilling, but it makes life easier, more exciting, and satisfying. The nagging feeling that you should be doing something else with your life dissipates. Imagine being excited to see each day unfold! Don’t spend your week waiting for the weekend. Below are a few reasons why discovering your life’s purpose is worth your time and energy. Your path is clear so it’s easier to plan your day. Most fill their days with mundane and obligatory tasks. Without a clear objective and purpose, it’s easy to veer off course. Your life’s purpose is compelling, so distractions are easy to resist. Your ability to focus is enhanced when you know your purpose, therefore, you’re much less likely to take a detour out of confusion about what’s right for you. Ease and joy prevail when you know exactly what you want to achieve each day. It’s easier to make good choices. Your purpose is the overriding consideration. Decisions are much easier when you clearly understand what you’re trying to accomplish. Your list of essential goals, objectives and mission are well-defined, making saying no to the wrong things without guilt, a breeze. You have more fun. For most people a fun activity is simply a pleasant distraction. When you know your purpose, the activities and goals associated are more enjoyable. Knowing
you’re living the life you’re supposed to is the ultimate source of pleasure. Imagine having fun achieving goals! You make meaningful progress with enthusiasm. You feel more motivated and experience less internal resistance. Knowing your purpose unleashes your enthusiasm, passion and emotion. Those feelings are clues that you’re living your purpose. Are you enthusiastic about work each day? You will be when it’s your passion and purpose. Happiness is largely the result of making progress toward meaningful goals and living on purpose. Setting and achieving goals becomes natural, easy and exciting. You’re more interesting to be around. Your social life may improve because others want to be around you, your energy, and your enthusiasm. Have you ever known someone who was clearly pursuing what they wanted from life? It’s exciting to be around them. You become much more magnetic when your life has clear direction. People want to be in your energy field because you emit ease, joy, passion and enthusiasm when asked about your work. You may even prompt them to follow their own passion because your excitement is contagious. Your creativity is amplified. Pursuing anything meaningful involves overcoming obstacles. When you’re fully energized, your creativity is effortlessly enhanced. You’ll be surprised by your new resourcefulness and ability to solve problems from a fresh perspective. The world is full of people drifting through life without a clear purpose. Most have never taken the time to discern what they truly want their life to be about. It’s a sad omission, because of the myriad benefits and joy of knowing and living your life purpose. If you’re not yet clear on your life’s purpose, schedule time to give it some serious thought. You’ll enjoy contentment, liberation and tranquility - the top three feelings we all desire. You only have one life to live, make it exciting and fulfilling!
About The Author
LINDA MITCHELL Linda Mitchell is a board-certified coach, speaker, intuitive healer and LMT. She empowers people who are stuck, overwhelmed or ready for change to move through life’s transitions and challenges with more ease, clarity, confidence and purpose as they release stress and struggle and step into their highest purpose. To Learn More Visit: www.LivingInspiredCoaching.com
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October 2021 Issue
How To Eat A Waffle While ADHD Written by Gayle M. Gruenberg, CPO-CD®, CVPO
A
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a brain-based condition that affects all aspects of a person’s life. Often attributed to an understimulated pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain that governs executive function, someone with ADHD may experience inattention, hyperfocus, and the feeling of having a brain with a Ferrari motor but bicycle brakes. These challenges can make even the simplest task feel like a Herculean obstacle. Let’s use making breakfast as an example. Someone with a neurotypical brain will wake up, feel hungry, and decide to have breakfast. She’ll go into the kitchen, open the freezer, take out the box of waffles, close the freezer, pull out two waffles from the box, put the waffles into the toaster, close the box of waffles, put it back into the freezer, close the freezer, take a plate out of the cabinet, take a fork and knife from the drawer, go to the refrigerator, take out butter and syrup, close the fridge, put everything on the table, set it, take the toasted waffles from the toaster, sit down, and eat. Someone with an ADHD brain will wake up, feel hungry, and think, “I should make something to eat.” She’ll go into the bathroom, brush her teeth, and go downstairs to the kitchen. She’ll see yesterday’s mail on the counter, smack herself on the forehead, and remember an unpaid bill. She’ll go into the room where her laptop should be, hunt through the piles of papers on the floor, find it, take it back to the kitchen, and put it on the counter. She’ll remember she’s hungry and open the freezer,
intending to have waffles. She’ll see the salmon filet she bought the other day and think, “Yum. I’ll have salmon for dinner tonight.” She’ll take the salmon out of the freezer and put it on the counter, where she sees the laptop and remembers she needs to pay that bill. She’ll open the laptop and turn it on. Her stomach will growl and she’ll turn back to the freezer, noticing she left the door open. Again. She’ll pull out the box of waffles, close the door, walk to the toaster, take out two waffles, put them in the toaster, and put the box on the counter. She’ll go back to the laptop, log into the bank website, see her account is overdrawn, groan, “Not again.” She’ll search frantically for the log-in information for her investment account, find it in a digital list she made five years ago, and schedule a transfer to the bank. It’ll take three days to clear. Her bank session expires and she’s logged off the website. She smells something burning. The waffles! She goes upstairs, searches for her purse and keys on the floor next to the bed, finally finds them, comes back downstairs, goes out the door, remembers to lock it, gets into her car, planning to get a bagel, finds she’s out of gas, goes back inside and crawls into bed.
About The Author
GAYLE M. GRUENBERG Gayle M. Gruenberg, CPO-CD®, CVPO™ is the chief executive organizer of Let’s Get Organized, LLC, an organizer coach, and the creator of the Make Space for Blessings system. To Learn More Visit: www.LGOrganized.com
Confusing And Predatory Hospital Billing Written by Doris Zito
Are there any large hospital bills looming over you in your life? A recent article from Axios, How America’s Top Hospitals Hound Patients with Predatory Billing, caught my eye as it speaks to the reality of how insane hospital medical billing processes can be. It is a real pressure cooker for those caught in the crosshairs. At HealthLink Advocates, we see a lot of these situations. Most often, we get involved when a patient is hit with a huge hospital bill and becomes panicked when he or she is unable to immediately pay the bill, or disagrees with the bill. The entire situation can quickly become intimidating, as hospitals have zero personal relationships with patients and can be brutal in their efforts to collect funds due. While most patients are uncomfortable calling out their private physician or any physician on a larger than expected bill, they will eventually make those calls to physician’s billing offices to talk about the bill. Often that will lead to some negotiation for a payment plan, correct a billing error, or just leave them with a better understanding of how the bill amount was arrived at. Telephone calls to hospitals about a large bill are a different challenge. A hospital bill can be a big unknown – with very little assistance from the hospital billing service to help you understand what you are looking at.
The hospital billing services are big machines themselves – their only purpose is to have the bill paid - either by the patient or their insurance company. There is no middle. They do not want to hear that you think the bill is too high or incorrect. In order to have an effective conversation, one needs to understand exactly what the bill entails, what the coding means, and what their own personal contract with the medical insurance covers. In the above-referenced Axios article, the patient wound up with a $2,593.43 bill for a visit to the Emergency Room. The billing dilemma was caused as the patient left the ER – without even so much as having had his temperature taken. Assumedly the patient received a bill, felt that they had not received any services, and thus refused to pay the bill. The hospital later filed a summons against the patient to collect on the bill. Also of note is that this billing spread went on for years (February 2018 to June 2020). I can just imagine how those months went. Call after call, threatening letter after threatening letter from the hospital biller, looking to collect the funds. That is a lot of pressure – and all of it stressful! Hospital billing is also very different from physician billing, as there are systems in place, especially within the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which mandates parameters under which hospitals can bill, especially for low and middle-income patients. The regulations target aggressive collection efforts and systems by which patients can apply for financial relief. The trick is for the patient to understand that they have rights. HealthLink Advocates has had many patients/ clients with inordinately high hospital bills that they do not understand, and/or are unable to pay. What most patients/clients do not understand is that there are circumstances under which these bills can be reduced. The ACA mandates apply to everyone – not just those who fall into the category of lowerincome. If you have been out of work, kicked onto COBRA, and are collecting unemployment, you are absolutely covered under the ACA.
From The Story
“Many non-profit hospitals mark up their costs as much as 7 times the cost of the service, and private, for-profit hospitals can mark up costs as much as 12 times.”
More Confusion Hospital bills are tough because there are a lot of charges, all detailed by CPT codes, which help the professionals identify the services and costs, but are just a jumble to patients. Additionally, there are three billing types of common hospitals – Voluntary (nonprofit), Proprietary (for-profit), and Governmental (funded by the Government). All three bill at different mark-ups, all three inflate the bills so that they can maximize what the insurance companies will pay. Horrifying for the patient who receives the inflated bill, does not understand the costs, and is overwhelmed with the process. The Axios article is also interesting as it offers some research - compiled by Johns Hopkins University - that details charity care ratings, as well as providing information regarding court actions and amounts from each, and average bill markup. As mentioned in the article, medical debt makes up 58 percent of all debt collections in the US. Many non-profit hospitals mark up their costs as much as 7 times the cost of the service, and private, for-profit hospitals can mark up costs as much as 12 times. Hospitals defend these outrageous markups by claiming that they are a tactic to negotiate with insurance companies. Pity the patient who receives these bills and has insurance that will not extend coverage to the bill, and they are paying these large amounts by default. According to the article, the charges are “almost never the actual price paid by insurers, but they can be used for uninsured patients”. In plain language, if you do not have an insurance company backing you up, and you receive one of these inflated bills but do not know how to go about fighting the bill, you, the uninsured, pay a higher price. You are caught in the game.
About The Author
DORIS ZITO Doris Zito is the insurance advocate at Healthlink Advocates, Inc., a company founded to assist clients with all aspects of their healthcare. As nurse and insurance advocates, they help clients navigate the very complex healthcare system. Also, as board certified health and wellness coaches, they partner with clients seeking more balance, less stress, increased energy and improved health outcomes. To Learn More Visit: www.HealthlinkAdvocates.com