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.

Why the Blog?

Lynne Dee

On February 28^th, 2011, I started this blog on the suggestion of a good friend, Marla Martenson. I started by picking the name Spiral Happy. The explanation for that title is found in the page I call “Why the Spiral”?

Originally the intention was to showcase my unique art cards & jewelry. Though it does give me a way to display my creations, it’s been a wonderful exercise in organizing my thoughts on a topic to share with readers. Through sharing, even with strangers, we find a way to connect.

Writing has always been an activity I enjoy and respect. It’s challenging to develop this skill and it gives opportunity to go outside one’s comfort zone and two steps beyond.

The technology of the Internet allows us all to have a voice.

Who knows where the road leads us?

That’s exciting!!

One of my favorite quotations goes like this: “When you've come to the edge of all the light you know

And are ready to step into the darkness of the unknown.

Faith is knowing one of two things will happen.

There will be something solid to stand on

Or you will be taught how to fly”.

Lots of love to you the reader!

Happiness is an inside job.

Have faith in where you are at this very moment.

MY APPOINTMENT with a PSYCHIC specializing in FOOD

Greeting Card by Lynne Dee

 It was right after the New Year began in 1996. I had been saving the name and phone number since 1990 when I first came upon the existence of a British woman living here in Los Angeles, who through word of mouth, had a nutrition practice. Unlike others in her field, she may not have had any formal training or even a credential to her name. But when a friend went to her, instead of to a doctor, to treat her Candida and was helped, I made a mental note that she was special.

It was January 1996 when I made an appointment to see Ms. Poole at her home office in Brentwood, California. I was told I would spend one hour with her. The hour would cost $175 and it would be audio taped. I would get to keep the cassette. I had never been to a nutritionist or a psychic before but in moving to California from New York it was my intention to remain open to new ideas. I had a good feeling about this woman.  As I drove up and parked at her home, I took notice of the beautiful surrounding area. She had a wonderful view. She was enveloped in trees and lots of nature. I felt good as I rang the bell. I had brought with me a list of health concerns I wanted her to know about. The list helped me to organize what I needed addressing. I was concerned with at least half a dozen conditions known to be inherited by members of the same family. Included were arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and allergies to animals. I had included my recent bout with tendonitis, a ganglion cyst and periodontal disease. At the very bottom was written; perhaps lose a few pounds too. I had moved out from NYC carrying an extra 15 pounds on my small frame that always made me self-conscious. Food and weight had been an issue for me since my college days. That was two decades earlier.

Ms. Poole walked in the room and sat down and took my hand. She never asked me what I ate. Instead she told me. Back then I was eating a lot of chicken. Chicken in every way it was processed and sold. I remember thinking that it was a good form of protein and affordable.  I had no idea at the time this was not a good diet. She looked at me and said I had too much sugar and salt in my system as well. I could not disagree. So what diet would she put me on I thought to myself. The answer came. She pulled out a sheet of paper with food by categories and began checking off foods. She explained as she did this, that when she first began seeing clients, she checked off which foods they had to avoid. She soon realized this was a negative way to approach things. Instead why not check off the foods to include, and if the food didn’t have a check, then avoid it for the first 6-12 weeks. This was not forever, she explained. Eventually foods would be introduced back into the plan but for now, it had to be strictly followed. Have a problem, call her. She was available to all her clients on the phone.

So what had she checked off?

She had a category called GREEN & LOW STARCH VEGETABLES. There were 42 items with only 9 check marks. It was okay for me to eat artichoke, asparagus, bok choy, green beans, parsley, summer squash, yellow squash, zucchini, and Swiss chard.  I didn’t even know what Swiss chard was. Though it wasn’t checked off, I had never even heard of kale, leek, mustard greens, to name a few.  Her next category of foods was called VEGETABLE STARCH. Who knew that those two words were related? Not me. She had not checked off one food item in that category. She wrote AVOID FOR THIS TIME next to that list. FRUITS was the next category. She had 35 fruits listed and 4 checked off. I was to bake the apple or pear before eating those and not to have more than 2/3 cup daily.  Nothing was checked under MILK PRODUCTS.  Never before in my life had I gone without some form of dairy. This was going to be an adventure for sure. She got around to PROTEINS and looked at me. I remember her saying.. You will be surprised when I tell you what you are to eat in the way of protein. I had not shared with her that I had been diagnosed with anemia in my past. She checked off organic beef. Fish and lamb but sparingly. Next came GRAINS. I was to avoid all wheat and yeast. She checked off kamut and a few other grains. I had never heard of the kamut grain before. Under FATS she had written: use sparingly.

So there it was. What seemed like a very limited diet to me was what she wanted me to follow for 6-12 weeks.  I decided that if I was going to pay her fee, which for me was no small amount, I was going to follow it exactly. And I did. I lost weight and changed my shape through regular exercise. I got healthier. I came to believe in the importance of what we eat or don’t eat is crucial to our quality of life.

As I look back on that experience, I can say that it was only the beginning of my education into food and healing. I am still evolving in my awareness of what a healthy lifestyle is made up of.  Whereas once I tried to use food to fill a void but to no avail, I have enjoyed the pleasures of eating without that feeling of guilt or worry for over 15 years. It’s liberating. Learning about healthier foods and lifestyles is a life long process. There’s much to learn.

Love fills the void I once felt could only be filled with food. I have come to understand that the more you give love and kindness to yourself, the more you can love and be kind to others.

The Journey of Spiritual Transformation

Greeting Card by Lynne Dee

We are all connected to all other living things. We all come from the same Source.  We are all energy in physical form.

Energy is defined in the dictionary as: the capacity for doing work or being active. Vibration and frequency are terms associated with energy.  I believe we are also responsible for own vibration, the high or low level energy states we find ourselves in. When we raise our vibration, we seem to attract what we want or need into our lives.  Therefore, when things don’t seem to be working out, wouldn't it stand to reason our vibration is low? This is a good time to look within ourselves. It is here we may find negative thoughts and negative thoughts are typically rooted in fear. Fear lowers our vibration. When our vibration is low it is hard to connect to the source, the power of intention that allows us to attract what we want to bring about more joy in our lives. I guess my point is that we limit ourselves often through our own devices.

While we are in our bodies in physical form, we get to experience life through our senses. We also get to experience a connection to our higher selves if we are tuned in and look within while staying present, in the moment.

I do believe we are spiritual beings having a human experience and not the other way around, which is to say a human being having a spiritual experience. Though when I connect to another human being through communication, which is different from talking, I love to hear how they are applying what they learn about themselves and others in their growing spiritual awareness and in any spiritual transformation taking place. Though we may have stopped going to school years ago, our learning and growing as spiritual beings can continue for as long as we want. Attracting new people into our lives and reading books relating to spiritual transformation are just 2 ways to enhance growth.

Seek and thee shall find.  

Just one of many quotes I like to repeat.

Mother’s Day 2011 is coming up on the 8th of May

Mom with her Mom & Aunts

Mother’s Day means different things to different people.

I would like to share my own personal story of this particular holiday.

The year was 1989.  In February of that year my Mom was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. Within three months of that diagnosis she was in the hospital spending what would be the last week of her life. Both my sister and I were told that the end was near so we got on a plane to be at her side. We had previously taken turns going down to visit her but this time we were both there.

With Mother’s Day approaching as we arrived to be at her side, I had a card for her that I wanted to be able to give her. I knew that this would be my last Mother’s Day card for her. Little did I know then that my Mom had saved many of the cards I had made for her over the years. Some went as far back as 6 years old.  I now have those cards in my possession and I treasure them. After our loved ones pass on, cards and photos are reminders of our time shared on this earth.

If Mom were alive today she’d get a kick out of the fact that I continue to make Greeting Cards as a way to express myself. I love that others want to give the special people in their lives an art card that I have made.  I get to learn something about the person giving, as well as the person receiving, that card. When I learn enough to add that special something to the card, there’s a great feeling.

I wish all the mothers around the world a very Happy Mother’s Day.

Tourist for a Day

Wax figure of my right hand

I admit it. I did a touristy thing in my own backyard recently. I had help though. I bought a groupon aka discount ticket, to Madame Tussauds Hollywood so I could check out just how good or bad the wax figures were of all those famous people we have come to recognize so easily.

Upon approaching the entrance, one is greeted by none other than Nicholas Cage. Who knew that he would be in the news as of late, not for starring in a new movie but for charges of domestic violence. Well they say any publicity for actors is better than none, so OK.

I tried asking Nick for his side of the story but all I got was a cool stare from him. At least I got my photo op with him.

There are three levels to explore on one’s own inside the wax museum. There are worse ways to spend an hour and a half I suppose. I was amazed at how good a handful of figures are. Some looked very real. Others, not so real.

With a hundred photos in my camera, I was ready to have my right hand preserved in wax. Did I mention that the groupon included a complimentary wax figure of one’s hand? I stood in line waiting my turn for that. The little boy ahead of me started crying uncontrollably when they lowered his hand into the tank of water filled with ice cubes to set the wax. It’s the longest 30 seconds. For a moment I had to ask myself if I really needed this waxy souvenir to bring home.

But then I saw how wonderful the finished product looks. One can be very creative. You choose the color of the wax and the way the fingers are held. As an artist I could not resist the opportunity to create. So when it was my turn, I gave up my hand to the young man, trusting that he’d do right by me.  And yes. The little boy was right. That water was very cold. Fortunately numbness sets in pretty quickly.

The Blue Eye Amulet

Blue Eye Amulet Choker/Necklace by Lynne Dee for Spiral Happy

I got curious about the blue eye amulet.

I have to admit I didn’t know that much about it before googling the term. 

Here are some excerpts from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike. The term also refers to the “power” attributed to certain persons of inflicting injury or bad luck by such an envious or ill-wishing look.

The idea expressed by the term causes many cultures to pursue protective measures against it. The concept and its significance vary widely among different cultures, primarily the Middle East. The idea appears several times in translations (of the Old Testament). It was a widely extended belief between many Mediterranean tribes and cultures: It started in Classical Greece and later passed to ancient Rome.

Attempts to ward off the curse of the evil eye have resulted in a number of talismans in many cultures. As a class, they are called "apotropaic" (Greek for "prophylactic" or "protective," literally: "turns away") talismans, meaning that they turn away or turn back harm.

Disks or balls, consisting of concentric blue and white circles (usually, from inside to outside, dark blue, light blue, white, dark blue) representing an evil eye are common apotropaic talismans in the Middle East, found on the prows of Mediterranean boats and elsewhere; in some forms of the folklore, the staring eyes are supposed to bend the malicious gaze back to the sorcerer.

A blue eye can also be found on some forms of the hamsa hand, an apotropaic hand-shaped talisman against the evil eye found in the Middle East. The word hamsa, also spelled khamsa and hamesh, means "five" referring to the fingers of the hand. In Jewish culture, the hamsa is called the Hand of Miriam; in some Muslim populated cultures, the Hand of Fatima. However, it is considered a superstition to practicing or religious Muslims that any symbol or object protects against the evil eye. In Islam, only God can protect against the evil eye.

In Brazil, the equivalent for the evil eye is called olho gordo or "mau olhado" (loosely translated as "fat eye"). It is said that, when a person compliments something that someone else has, the owner should be cautious about who the other person is. That means, if the compliment is sincere, there's no harm done; if it's not, then the other person intends that thing to be either theirs or gone. Usually, it is believed that a future damage to the thing complimented comes from the envious person who complimented it.

In closing,

May all your compliments, given and received, be sincere. (-:

Earn Your Growth

What do you do when you come upon a wall also known as fear? Do you retreat or do you climb it to get to the other side?  To be human is to have fears. But fears serve a purpose.  They are there to allow us to make a choice. Face them and you realize they are no longer a fear. Instead you have done something you didn’t know you could do and you feel more confident. But if you choose to retreat and not climb that wall you will miss out on an experience.

Becoming aware of the wall is really the first step in challenging yourself to grow.  Fears come in all sizes. Sometimes they are masked as something else. Procrastination and laziness may be the mask. Whatever stops us from leaping into unknown waters can be fear lurking its head.

Ask yourself this question. What did I do today I was not sure I could do? And remember that when things are too familiar, we don’t challenge ourselves.

Challenge yourself and you will grow!

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Wearing the earrings I eventually lost from one ear

              If asked the question, who would I like to have dinner with, I would probably say Wayne Dyer. I am currently reading his book “THE POWER OF INTENTION: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way.” From the moment I opened this book I was hooked. No one told me to read it but once I got the book and started telling others about it I got the same response. “Oh, I read it.”  Considering how many books are out there in the world I am awestruck once again as to the way this book found its way into my hands. This is my story.

              I read in the newspaper that Border Books was closing many storefronts here in California and filing for bankruptcy.  I had a store credit I knew had to be used soon so I decided to visit the Glendale location. When I walked in I knew this would be my first and last time here. This was a large store.  Many shelves were already emptied. I went immediately to the second floor to browse. I went through the aisles and found a couple of books maybe I might like to own and held on to them. Then I made my way to the ground floor and felt drawn to a stack of books not far from the stairs I had used to go up and down. Why these books were not on a shelf on the second floor I do not know. But when I looked down I saw THE POWER OF INTENTION. I saw lots of color blue on the cover and in the pages. I had heard of Wayne Dyer but never read his books. Recently I had been thinking that I would like to know more about setting an intention so when I realized here was a book on the subject it was like winning a lottery. I wanted this book and one of the two from upstairs. Now I was ready to go to the cashier.  My credit covered both books and a couple of Sharpie pens. I owed a penny. As the cashier handed me my receipt, he said, there couldn’t be any returns on this purchase.  It is FINAL. I smiled back at him. Fortunately I have no desire to return my lucky finds that day. This is one book I can read and re-read.

DRIVING IN L.A.

USA Forever Postage Stamp w/floral accents CARD by Lynne Dee

One Motorist Story: Justice Denied

I have been driving in L.A. for the last 20 years.

On Saturday January 16^th of 2010, I was stopped and pulled over in my car at 8:30 in the morning by an LAPD traffic cop on a motorcycle. I had one passenger in the car. What I didn’t know then but came to learn was that an undercover LAPD traffic operation sting was being carried out on W. Washington Blvd. at the intersection of Lovelace on that early morning in January. But that’s getting ahead of the story.

On that day, I had just turned onto Washington Blvd. off of Vermont to travel the straight mile and a half to Broadway. As soon as I turned onto Washington Blvd. the road was all torn up and gravelly. All lanes and crosswalks were gone. It appeared that the road was undergoing a prepping for re-paving. I would observe later that some time would pass before the road would be re-paved. Here I was on this January morning worrying that I might blow a tire. I slowed down to less than 25 mph. But there was another problem. Dust from other cars also made driving hazardous. Had I been more familiar with the area I might have turned off the road completely but I had only my directions for where I was going using Washington Blvd, to arrive at Broadway.  I noted a police car to my left traveling in the same direction. When we got the green light, the dust created by that police car to my left made me want to slow down a bit more so as to get a bit more distance between us. The torn up road and the dust together made it such a challenge to drive on this very early Saturday morning.  I had a green light at the point a motorcycle cop stopped me.  Was anyone concerned for driver safety and think to block off this part of Washington or was it only the agenda of the LAPD to “catch” drivers putting pedestrians at risk by not stopping as they crossed? In a culture whereby the LAPD must be questioned on their agenda vs. safety, I want to draw attention to what I feel may be more of an agenda than safety concerns by the LAPD.

Contemplate this: the LAPD, and I don’t know who or at what level, authorized this sting and at that “exact” location on Washington Blvd at Lovelace… to catch drivers not yielding to plain clothes cops. So let’s get this straight… We have a torn up road that poses a danger to drivers and then have at the very first crosswalk after the gravel ends, along w/the dust, undercover cops pretending to be pedestrians crossing the street.

When I asked what I was being cited for I honestly had no idea. When he said failure to yield to peds I was in shock. There were no pedestrians. My passenger said she saw no pedestrians. In hindsight I have to question if the plainclothes cops were on a break… and the cops in uniform were on a roll just to make the quota for JANUARY PEDESTRIAN SAFETY MONTH. It took 11 months from the time I got the ticket to face my accuser and a judge. Never having gotten a moving violation before I was new to the procedure in court. But I did have a timeline and some photos for the judge, as I pled NOT GUILTY. Once there we were told to find the cop who ticketed us and show him our defense. That was when I first learned about the sting and the phony peds. What I realized at that point, and I think this is crucial, is that if this was a sting, why weren’t there videos or at least photos of the pedestrians in the crosswalk. How about bringing in the cops who pretended to be peds and have them under oath. Here is an ideal situation where a video would be proof and yet there was none. I asked the cop, well, do you have some proof for me that a sting was ordered. He said no. When I asked where exactly these peds were, he claimed they were in the middle of the crosswalk. I asked him, “so if a car was traveling at the slow speed I was going, they would see these peds clearly and that 2 people in the car would see them” and he said yes. I knew at this point he was telling a lie. The judge doesn’t seem to connect the dots that this sting was conveniently set up so close to a torn up road that these variables would favor the LAPD in their sting. I never had a chance at justice.

I wrote down the name of the judge or at least the name on the plaque on the judge’s bench. Turns out this wasn’t even the right name of the judge. My judge was a light skinned black man. The judge on the plaque, when goggled, was a white man.

The entire experience of traffic court smells rotten. I know I am not alone in my observation. In closing, I have to ask these two questions. 

Why do we tolerate such unfairness in a court of law? Who, if anyone, will care?

ALL ABOUT THE MOON

Greeting Card by Lynne Dee for Spiral Happy

     In honor of the SUPER MOON that occurred on Saturday, March 19^th, 2011, it is a good time to reflect upon what the phases of the moon can mean to us here on Earth. The following information is just an overview. I suggest, for those interested in knowing more, to do some research on their own. Over the years I have kept a journal to include topics I have an interest in and have often included what other people have written as well. The following is from my journal.

The FULL MOON enhances intuition and psychic vision. It is a time of revelation. It is known as the best time for Divination, 3 days before (waxing) and 3 days after (waning) for a total of 7 days. This is a good time to ask about family, love, motivation of others, competition, money, fitness and health, decisions, and self-improvement. Issues are often clear at this time, sometimes painfully so. Dreams of a prophetic nature tend to occur here.

The WAXING MOON is on its way to FULL from NEW MOON. Energy & Strength increase.

The WANING MOON is on its way from FULL MOON to NEW MOON. It starts the 4^th day after the Full Moon and continues for 7 days. It is not the best time for divination.

The NEW MOON is also a good time for divination, 3 days before and 3 days after, for a total of 7 days. It is considered the beginning of a new cycle. It is a good time to begin new endeavors or make changes to existing ones. Questions about relationships or projects recently started or just ending are perfect subjects to bring up at this time. Questions focused on health, beauty, creative endeavors, money, legal matters, jobs, love and romance can be raised at this time. Analyze the significance of certain dreams you have at this time as well. Feel free to read an earlier post entitled “WHY WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS?” for some guidance on dreams.

In ending, I want to leave you with this last thought.

Many religions have used the phases of the Moon to determine a “holy day” aka holiday. 

Can you name any?

LIVING IN THE LIGHT

Pink Button & Gold Spirals Greeting Card by Lynne Dee for Spiral Happy

There is darkness until the light enters the room.

Over twenty years ago I came upon a book entitled “Living in the Light”, by Shakti Gawain. I have since passed that book on to the next reader. I kept a journal and in it I copied down the following sentences from that book. I dated the entry Saturday, July 28, 1990, just four months after moving to California. It goes like this: “Individually and collectively, we are shifting from a position of fear and control into surrender and trust of the intuitive. The power of the feminine energy is on the rise in our world. As she emerges within us and we acknowledge and surrender to her, the old male within us is transformed. He re-emerges, birthed through the female, as the new male, the one who goes all out in his trust and love for her. He must grow to become her equal in power so that they can be the lovers they are meant to be.”

“The birth of the new male is synonymous with the birth of The NEW AGE. The new world is being built within us and mirrored around us as the new male (physical form) emerges in all his glory from the feminine power (spirit).”

Now some twenty years later I have in my possession another book.

“Seat of the Soul” by Gary Zukav. 

I quote from his Foreword: ”Who among us is an expert on the human experience? We have only the gift of sharing perceptions that hopefully can help those on their journey. There is no such thing as an expert on the human experience. The human experience is an experience in movement and thought and form, and, in some cases, an experiment in movement, thought, and form. The most we can do is comment on the movement, the thought, and the form, but those comments are of great value if they can help people to learn to move gracefully, to think clearly, to form--like artists, the matter of their lives.

We are in a time of deep change. We will move through this change more easily if we are able to see the road upon which we are traveling, our destination, and what it is that is in motion.”

As I continued to read through The Seat of the Soul, the author, Gary Zukav, seemed to be saying some very similar things about the shifting from fear into love. I felt an excitement grow within me that I was reading a book that methodically explained this shift going on in the human experience. I found myself wanting to be a part of it.

Besides Gawain and Zukav, there are others who address the shift going on in our human evolution. The important thing is that we continue the work of understanding our connections within and without.

We are all students on this journey of life. It helps to understand how we can transform our everyday lives to live our best lives.

Let us together LIVE in the LIGHT!

CAN WE TALK?

Euphorbia Plant w/Crescent moons

A friend that had passed on many years earlier and then came to visit me in a dream inspired my last post. Upon waking from this dream I thought about how she didn’t look as I remembered her in life but just the same, I knew it was she in the dream. It was at that point I had the thought, we recognize people we have known in our dreams by their energy and not their appearance.

I spoke at her Memorial in Los Angeles as she was laid to rest in her hometown in New York. I had never spoken at anyone’s Memorial before this but I overcame whatever fear I had of speaking in public because I wanted others to know what she meant to me. Having written about this one friend who passed on at the age of 36, it reminded me of another friend that passed on some years later in 2003 but also at the age of 36. Though I was not asked to do so, I found myself writing down a tribute to Lisa in the event her family would ask if anyone wanted to share. I never got the opportunity but now I would like to share what I wrote down about her as I re-visit it now.

July 11, 2003

Lisa was one of the first people I met and befriended when I first moved to Los Angeles from NYC 13 years ago. I remember it was at an industry networking function and from the moment we met, we hit it off. Lisa and I had things in common, in particular, our sense that one didn’t have to exclusively befriend only those in our immediate age range. For us, there were 13 years between us. It didn’t hurt that Lisa was mature for her age and I marveled at how much she accomplished and experienced in so short a time. Lisa was such an easy person to talk to and talk we did. We spent many an hour on the phone just chatting away. I will surely miss our long conversations. Some of those in the last 2 years surrounded her entering the world of lawsuits as she had 3 going on at the same time. She got a crash course in lawsuits. I joked with her that she had gotten so knowledgeable she could go into law. She paid me a compliment when she told me that when she first contemplated the whole lawsuit thing, she thought of me. Don’t get me wrong. I never sued anybody nor been sued, but for some reason when she first entertained the idea of pursuing a lawsuit on principal, I popped into her head. She asked herself the question, what would Lynne do? For some reason this helped give her the motivation to jump in and take charge. She relentlessly hung in there for the 2 years and went to deposition after deposition. In the end she won and got great satisfaction that she had prevailed.  Lisa also got a crash course in health insurance. Anyone who has had the experience of dealing with insurance companies and health providers will tell you it can be frustrating to no end. Lisa became so knowledgeable in that area, I again told her that she could go into that business. When I experienced the frustration first hand of the nonsense health insurance companies put you through, Lisa was the first person I called for help. She was wonderful. She even went as far as offering to be me on the phone and calling up my insurance company to get some answers when I couldn’t.

We became much closer in this last year, discussing things she chose to share with very few, if at all. It’s so hard to say goodbye to a good friend. I am thankful that I have many memories of a happy and smiling Lisa who will remain in my memory forever. Lisa, if you’re up there in spirit looking down on all this, know that you are loved by so many people who have come here today to remember and pay tribute to your zest for life and the goodness you spread around so naturally.

Three days after I wrote this tribute, I attended Lisa’s funeral in Los Angeles. When I got home later that day something strange happened. A thank you card I had received from her, less than a year earlier, that had been placed, along a string, to hold it up with a bunch of other cards from her and others I had saved, went flying as the string came down from where it was attached at 2 ends. This had never happened before to the string. I had used it for years as a way to hang cards in my room. Call me crazy but I took this as a sign from Lisa that she had gotten the message I had called on the day she died. I was hoping for one last talk.

EVER NOTICE WE RECOGNIZE PEOPLE WE'VE KNOWN BY THEIR ENERGY AND NOT THEIR APPEARANCE?

 Box Medley Greeting Card * Design by Spiral Happy

Sometimes people in our lives who have passed on come to visit us in our dreams. Often they don’t look like themselves in the dream. Yet we know exactly who they are.  I came to realize that we recognize people by their energy and not their appearance.

I had a friend, who at the age of 36, died from lung cancer. But before that, she and I shared six years of friendship. I learned a lot from her. When we met she had already lost half a lung to cancer at the early age of 14. She was all for alternative therapies. In all the time I knew her, not once did she go in for traditional treatment. Instead I saw her embrace alternative therapies, including a stay at a clinic in Mexico for experimental drugs.  Perhaps she did extend her life longer than she would have had otherwise. We’d walk through a grocery store and use applied kinesiology to determine if a particular food was good for her. Basically she would stand there in the aisle and hold the food item in one hand while I would push on her other outstretched arm to try to lower it. If she was able to keep her arm up, the food was ok. If I was able to force her arm down, then it was bad for her. This might sound crazy but the practice of applied kinesiology is based on muscle strength. There is a belief that the body has wisdom of its own. We just need to pay attention more. So much of the time we are on automatic pilot.

So although she died at the relatively young age of 36, I had a lot of respect for her doing it all on her terms. She lived a lot in those last six years. I always wrote her address and phone number down in pencil in those days. She moved six times in six years. She wanted to experience as much as she could. She lived each day in gratitude. Up until the very end she was an uplifting force of energy. Never once she did ask why her. She made the most of what time she was given on this earth. That is a lesson I learned from her.

WHAT IS FENG SHUI?

Choker by Lynne Dee

Colors of the Bagua

WHAT IS FENG SHUI?

(Pronounced fung shway)

The ancient Chinese practice of Feng Shui translates into “wind and water”.

Wind and water symbolize the relationship between the seen and unseen forces of nature.

You can see water. You cannot see wind.  Yet both exist. Chi, or energy, exists in everything.

We can see the “effects” of wind on water.

Each interacts and influences the other.

What is the wind to your water in this life?

What are the unseen forces that influence your life?

Those who embrace Feng Shui know that the goal of this practice is achieving harmony & balance in their lives. It can also be defined as the way to arrange your environment to enhance the quality of your life. It is the balance of the chi that determines health.  “Your health is your wealth.” When one’s in balance, they know good health. When one is out of balance, they experience “dis-ease”  aka  disease.

I recommend to anyone interested in bringing more harmony and balance into their lives to learn about Feng Shui. Perhaps you are already using some of the principles behind this practice. It incorporates the tool of using positive affirmations as a way of connecting within to the power of intention, one of those unseen forces of nature.

The Chinese have a saying: “One learns new things by reviewing old things.”

I could not agree more. In writing this post, I re-visited a book I had on Feng Shui. I reflect on how I came to possess this book.  I want to share the story with you. I had planned to meet my friend Kumi at her Tai Chi class one Saturday morning a few years ago. It was located in an area I was not familiar with. I must have gone to the wrong location because when I got there no one else was there. I got back in my car and drove away.  Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a yard sale. I rarely stop at those. I passed it by and then a nagging thought appeared. I turned around and went back and parked. As I approached the house with the yard sale, I saw a table with a stack of books piled high. I could not see the titles of the book but I was drawn there. I had been “thinking” just prior to this day that I would really like to learn more about Feng Shui. When I reached the table of books I looked at the one on top of all the others. It was Feng Shui: Harmony By Design. This was synchronicity. This was a meaningful coincidence. I smiled and asked the lady how much she wanted for that book. As I drove home that day I could not stop myself from smiling.

The following affirmation has since become one of my favorites and goes like this: ‘I attract the perfect people, places, and things into my life everyday. I am always in the right place and meeting the right people at the right time. I welcome you into my life.”

I now welcome you the reader into my life.

WHY WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS?

Art Card by Lynne Dee

“Dreams are a conversation with oneself, a dialogue of symbols and images that take place between the unconscious and conscious level of the mind.”

 Quote taken from THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF DREAMS by David Fontana.

 We all dream in our sleep. Quite often, I find myself going through periods of time whereby I cannot remember upon waking any of the dreams I had during that night’s sleep. Then there are those mornings I wake up and cannot shake off the memory of a dream I just had. I am one of those people that believe in writing down a dream when it is remembered. I subscribe to the notion that even if the dream makes no sense to me at the moment, I should describe it as best as possible for later re-visiting. I know that we dream in symbolic terms. Perhaps at a later date, I will understand what the dream was about.

I read somewhere that once you describe a dream you’ve had, give it a title, just as you would a movie. Then write down the theme. Ask yourself then, how did you feel in the dream? And finally write down a question the dream may be asking you to think about?

I also like to date the dream entry with the month, day, and year.

Here is a dream I had on November 29, 2006.

 At the time, this is what I wrote upon waking up from it.

I realized I couldn’t find my packed suitcase and handbag at a hotel I was soon to leave from, to return home from a trip. I was to fly home that night and had 2-3 hours before departure. As I only had a limited time to find my belongings, I felt devastated realizing my loss. But I did meet another girl who had just arrived and we had something in common. She couldn’t find her luggage either. In talking, I discovered we had the same birthday on January 18 though she was younger by 6 years. She was going to help me. We realized that the last we had seen our luggage was in the hallway corridor. I felt she was psychic.

TITLE; Looking for Missing Luggage

THEME: Losing Focus

EFFECT:  I was upset at first, but making a discovery was uplifting.

QUESTION IN THE DREAM: Can a loss lead to good elsewhere?

Now it is some four years since writing down that dream. As I re-visit it now, I can see why I might have this dream. I am reminded that some losses are a blessing in disguise.

I wrote an earlier blog post SOMETIMES LOSING IS WINNING. I can see this theme emerging. Making the connection between loss and gain is what I felt so uplifting in the dream.