24 Seven October 2021

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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
ON THIS MONTH’S
COVER
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
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
PHOTO CREDIT: CHRISTOPHER BRISCOE
24 SEVEN MAGAZINE

NEED NEW AD

ISSUE
NO.132
OCTOBER
2021
THE
POWER
AND
POTENTIAL
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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ISSUE NO.132 OCTOBER 2021
THE
BENEFITS
OF KNOWING
YOUR LIFE
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