Spiral Happy Art Cards on You Tube HD Widescreen

 Spiral Happy Art Cards, designed by Lynne Dee, set to "Pennies from Heaven", sung by Cynthia Speer and time lapse photography by M.T. Workman, will lift your spirits high as you enjoy the collaborative efforts of these 3 artists.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkxkNNxyZx8

Be Heard!

Be Heard!  Art Card by Lynne Dee

 I am not one who regularly calls the offices of politicians or writes to journalists but I feel it is my duty to get involved when I see a wrongdoing affect so many, including me.

The letter arrived in the mail recently. Before I even opened the envelope I knew it couldn’t be good news. The sender was Anthem, my health insurance carrier. Anthem inherited me a few years ago when they took over Blue Cross of California.

With trepidation I opened the letter. It was worse than I ever imagined. Not that two increases within a 7-month period were bad enough, but this notice of change was yet even worse. I was being notified, along with thousands of others, that Anthem would no longer be providing automatic credit card payments for premiums. But do not stop there. They decided, after careful consideration, that if you still insisted on paying for premiums with a credit card, you could only do so by calling their number, waiting to be connected to a live person, which is no easy feat, and then be charged an additional $15.00 which they graciously are calling a “convenience” fee.

What a slap in the face!

I should include here that Anthem went on to say that they welcome you to go to their web site and sign up for electronic debit from your checking account monthly. How kind of them.

I re-read the letter several times to absorb this. Something didn’t feel right about this “convenience” fee. I knew from years ago when I tried to pay a dentist visit with my then American Express card, the office told me that if I used my AE card, I would have to pay an added fee. I didn’t want that. I gave them my Visa card instead. That they said would not incur an extra fee from them. But I did call A.E. after that. I explained what I was told by the Dentist office. They explained that it is not allowed. When a merchant signs up with them, they agree not to charge a surcharge of any kind. This dentist was breaking the agreement. I fired this dentist by never going back for their services.

So here I am in a similar situation. The only difference is that unlike the dentist, they don’t want to accept any credit cards and are discouraging that use by slapping on a surcharge of $15. I also cannot change health carriers as easy as changing dentists. And they know it.

In David Lazarus’ June 14^th LA Times Business section article about Anthem’s decision to charge a convenience fee when a credit card is used to pay for premiums, he reported that Anthem denies it is breaking the “surcharge rule”.  For those who don’t know, California Civil Code 1748.1 states “no retailer in any sales, service or lease transaction with a consumer may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check or similar means”. I recommend googling CA Civil Code 1748 for more info.

So there it is. Anthem thinks that they can just re-name the “fee” that is being added on to the premium and this will fool everyone. I hope our State Attorney is not fooled. According to Lazarus, the California Attorney General’s office is looking into whether Anthem may be violating state law.

We only have until August 1 when then the new payment system kicks in. For now, I am not signing up at their web site per their invitation. Thank you but no thank you.

FYI: The CA State Assembly House has passed the bill AB52. The California Senate will be voting on the bill AB52 in the upcoming weeks that would give our CA Health Insurance Commissioner some power to regulate the unfair increases in rates on our premiums. Yes, let’s not forget that battle is still on.

Why Meditate?

"Gold Leaf & Flowers" Card by Lynne Dee

I have always heard that meditation is a really good thing to do for oneself. It became one of those things on my LIST TO DO, but I just never seemed disciplined enough, in that way, to actually practice sitting still and being quiet with my eyes closed for say, 30 minutes. That always seemed like an awfully long time not to be doing anything.

Well, I have changed my mind on that. One needs direct experience of regular practice of meditation to understand the benefits of this journey. It is a process.

It’s like trying to explain the benefits of yoga to someone who has never tried it. You just have to give it a try yourself. Direct experience is the best gift to give oneself.

I was at a friend’s place two weeks ago when I picked up a book sitting on a small side table.  The title: Learn to Meditate by David Fontana. I opened up to a random page. I saw this paragraph under the headline: Levels of Thought

“…it is helpful to identify four levels of thinking. The first and lowest level is negative thought, which includes feelings of anger, fear, sadness, regret, and unease. Negative thought makes us egotistical and lazy. The second level is wasteful thought, when we waste our time worrying about things that might not happen, or about things that are outside our control. The third level is necessary thought, such as, “I must not forget to pay the electricity bill,” or  “I must remember to send a birthday card.” The highest level is positive thought, which encourages peace, harmony, creativity, love and happiness. In meditation we can free our minds from negative and wasteful thoughts and elevate them to the highest level”. 

I was intrigued. That was all I got to read on that day but it stuck in my mind that I would have to read that whole book someday. Today I borrowed the book and began to read from page one.

Over the last two weeks I have meditated in the park with a group of fellow yogis. I have discovered that my perception of time has undergone a change. Right now we are sitting still for 30 minutes, up from 15. When I began I thought 30 sounded like a long time. There are people who meditate for an hour or longer and I suppose at some point I too will feel like doing that. The combination of meditating and yoga is fantastic. There’s a calmness that comes over one. Mindfulness sets in. According to the author, mindfulness means putting the mind fully into the present, so that we are engaged with what we are doing. Mindfulness can therefore be thought of as a process of self-monitoring. It should flow continuously throughout our waking life, so that meditation is not confined to our sessions of sitting, but rather becomes a way of being.

For now we are, as a group, meditating in nature. What I love about being in a park is that there’s always the sound of birds chirping away to recall us to the present moment or perhaps an occasional breeze. Staying present can be very challenging. There are so many distractions in life, especially our own thoughts, which keep us from the present moment. Hooray for the park and nature as a backdrop for group meditation. It’s such a wonderful journey when each of us can challenge ourselves with doing something new or different outside of our comfort zone. Growth occurs there.

Back in March of 1996 I read Deepak Chopra’s book called “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind”.

I copied from his book into my journal back then: “The very act of paying conscious attention to bodily functions, instead of leaving them on automatic pilot, will change how you age.

By inserting an intention into your thought processes, such as, “I want to improve in energy and vigor everyday” your intention not to age is triggered and the body carries it out. It’s the mind body connection at work, and the power of your intention”.

In India, the flow of intelligence is called Prana. The ability to contact and use prana is within all of us. In place of the belief that your body decays with time, nurture the belief that your body is new at every moment.

There is much to learn from Deepak Chopra as well as other spiritual teachers and the Eastern philosophies regarding health and mind/ body/spirit connections. WE are lucky in the West to have such wise people share their wisdom with us and have the access to books and other materials to aid us in this journey of self-awareness.

Father’s Day 2011 is coming up on the 19th of June.

Father's Day Card by Lynne Dee

Who has been the most influential person in your life?

My answer to that question really surprises me. Before listening to a recorded LIVE Event seminar of Wayne Dyer’s recently, I would not have thought to say “my father”. After hearing Dr. Dyer share the story of how his life began, I started to shift my thinking quite a bit. I doubt anyone who knows about Wayne Dyer would disagree that he is a successful author, lecturer and spiritual guide. He’s been writing books and public speaking since he received a doctorate back in 1970. The man, when he speaks to audiences, makes a lot of sense. His words resonate with me. So what exactly did he say that made me shift my thinking about a father I would not hesitate to admit had a lot of flaws when it came to communication and understanding.

He explained that ten days after he was born, his own father abruptly left his mom and two older brothers, never to return home again. No phone calls, no financial support, nothing over the span of the next 15 years. Wayne never had the opportunity to meet his biological father. Only after the man was dead and buried in a pauper’s grave for ten years somewhere in another state, did he come upon a realization at the foot of this grave, that could add some perspective to his view of this man he hated all his life.

After he cursed and vented his anger for three hours standing at the grave, he settled down and a sense of peace came over him. He realized this man was the most influential person in his life. He realized that his father gave him a great gift. Learn to be self-sufficient. And he did. In foster care until his mother could reclaim him and his brothers, he learned how to rely on just himself. As an adult, Wayne reflected on the conversation his Dad might have had right before his incarnation into this life. “God, give me a situation in this life, whereby, I teach someone else forgiveness. If it means becoming an alcoholic who treats women badly, so be it. Forgiveness and compassion are important virtues and I want to be that instrument for teaching that to even just one person in my life”. So there it was. Wayne Dyer thanked his father for giving him the path to forgiveness and compassion. A lightness came over him. He never again would have to feel hatred and anger towards this man. Instead he knew that this gift was what enabled him to be this successful person who could help others see the wisdom where once none was to be seen.

As I listened to Dr. Wayne Dyer speak, I too came upon a realization. I pictured my father saying to God just before his incarnation, “let me help even just one person to learn the importance of sharing through communication. Even if it means I have to refrain from talking to my own child for three months at a time over the course of many years”. 

And so it goes. I was given this gift of understanding the power of connecting through sharing and communicating.

I wish all the Dads around the world, including my Dad up in heaven, a Happy Father’s Day 2011.