Dodo, Love and the Cabbage Patch Doll

Back in 1984, my then 2-year-old niece Emily was very excited about Christmas, as most 2-year-olds are. Staying at her grandma's house with much of the family, she made sure to try and stay awake as long as possible. She also got up perhaps before everyone else, barely allowing Santa enough time to scoot out of the living room. As soon as she entered the room, you could hear her announce with a loud voice, "He came!" Under the tree were an array of gifts for the young one. Her eyes lit up as she opened them all.

Now, whereas all the gifts were important to her at this time, there are two specific gifts I bring to your attention here today. And for a wonderful reason.

• A Cabbage Patch Doll - This was the popular doll of this time, part of the Cabbage Patch Kids collection, involving the folklore of the creator named Xavier Roberts, whoever the heck he was. The gift of this doll came, I believe, directly from Santa.
• A Special Doll - This one, fashioned after the popular doll of the day, was actually made from scratch by Emily's mom, my sister Mary Lynn. She spent days on this doll, doing her best to make it similar to one of the Cabbage Patch forms. She did her best since, if I'm not mistaken, the actual dolls were quite expensive, out of the price range of Mary Lynn this holiday season.

The Famous Dodo

So this Christmas morning in 1984, Emily was to first open the special doll that Mary Lynn made. She embraced it, enjoyed it, celebrated it. Well, up until she opened the next gift ... the actual highly-priced, professionally produced Cabbage Patch Doll. All of the sudden this newer doll - which had its own distinguished name - took its rightful place in the arms of the child. And what happened to that other special doll? Well sure, it found its way face down on the ground. When Mary Lynn, probably a bit distraught over her overlooked gift, asked about the first doll, Emily announced in a very clear tone, "That one is Dodo."

Though Mary Lynn has quite a good sense of humor and could find the levity of a 4-year-old naming her gift after an 18th Century extinct bird, it had to hurt just a little bit.

Over the years, we have all had smiles about the story. Over the years, the story has been kept alive. And over the years, the perspective on the story has shifted, from one of humor and silliness to one of warmth and beauty. For me anyway.

Emily with her own kids.

And the reason is because of a conversation I had with Emily about a year ago. Somehow, the conversation turned to the days of the 1980s, living in Huntington Beach and of course ... Dodo. "I still have Dodo! I have saved it," she said. Oh really? And what of the other high-priced Cabbage Patch Doll that Santa brought? Not sure where that one ever went off to.

It's a beautiful world, isn't it? It's the ultimate choice of a child, the choice of the wise, the choice of the heart. Not for the store-bought product that shimmers and shines in the fashion and fad of public opinion, but rather for the home-made gift created by the hands of a loving mother.

It is a beautiful world, one that knows of love over gold, quality over quantity, heart over head, and nothing - no nothing - over "Dodo," a wonderful and delightful doll who will live on as long as there are gifts given directly from love.    

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer who has saved his own Dodo's over the years. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

Who Will Win The Battle Over Your Mind?

So many ways the media points you in a direction away from what is true and what is sane. This prose endeavors to return to you what belongs to you.

THE BATTLE OVER YOUR MIND

There is a battle you may not see

A battle for silent slavery

One opened and one closed door

The great Armageddon tug of war

The pull of hatred, the pull of love

To determine finally, what you’re made of

They want you; they need you

To question everything that you do

To turn from inner guidance proof

To buy the vile and distorted truth

To side with dark shadows of fright and fear

Hoping your hope will disappear

Cut into brown, red, white and black

Painting a future, preparing for attack

There is a battle you may not see

Cashing in on your slavery

Media mayhem makes you nuts

Mental bruises, bleeding and cuts

Lost are the sacred and the sanctity

You scream in your search for sanity

News forecasts are drizzly and dreary

You collapse in a crush, down and weary

There is a battle for your mind

They need you deaf, dumb and blind

But even in darkest night of the soul

There is something they can’t control

You have your choice; you have your will

That lingering voice … small and still

It never left; it was there at the start

The very first breath, the first beat of your heart

When children ran on simple playground

The smiles and giggles on merry go round

Before grades, punishment and lessons in hate

Before we found reason to hesitate

Learned over time, the dissonant note

Off rhythm and rhyme, a hole in this boat

Though deep inside we know what is real

It goes against what they’ve taught us to feel

So we do away with “they” – we take us back

And return the limited view of lack

For, there is no red, white, blue or black

We end the tug of war and endless attack

We’re left with a lingering ally and friend

One who never has to retreat or defend

It’s all right here, in me and you

We need not question what we do

We need not wonder who we are

The inner message now not too far

We can curtail this mind control today

The media blasts no longer hold sway

We can escape the invisible slavery

In bypassing the battle we can now finally see…

Freedom - You Don't Know What You Got Until You Lose It

So what are we talking about here when we look towards our "freedom?"

For five years, my wife an I have spoken with various guests on our radio show "Freedom For All" (blogtalkradio.com/freedomforall) with each guest giving us his or her viewpoint on this multidimensional topic. Healers, political pundits, meditaters, social activists, authors, actors and even one free-spirited kid - they all had their various takes on "freedom."

What I am left with after all these encounters with the topic is that freedom doesn't really have a true definition. Without an opposing force upon this reality, there is no such thing as freedom. You must have oppression, slavery, force, attack, sickness before you come close to knowing the definition of freedom.

You don't know you are free until something comes along to take that way-of-being from you. Freedom is our natural state, and it's merely the limitation, stifling, censoring or enslaving that reveals what we have always held deep in our soul.

Freedom goes beyond our having a "choice" on matters. It's an identity that goes unnoticed until something unnatural comes along to compromise us.

For a nation that espoused freedom as a foundation, the declaration included the line about mankind being "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." These rights and freedoms are not granted by men or kings or cops or any society laws. The overriding principle for humanity? Basic human rights that have existed as time began in the realm of what has been termed "natural law."

We are born free. And it's all we'll ever have. We have freedom within each one of us. We don't need to establish it. It is already there ... as an identity. We must merely watch for those elements in society - control, abuse, manipulation - that would attempt to suppress that which already exists.

May we be aware enough to recognize those alien forces, strong enough to turn from them, and wise enough to realize our true nature ... that can never truly be destroyed.

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer living in San Diego, pulling for the freedom for us all. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

162 - I Thought I Could Do It!

Hennessy catching some zzz's with a plump Ellis.

162!

Yup, 162.  That's what I said.

Who knew it could happen? I guess I could. For it was a very strong intention. And it happened.

At one point in my life, I was pretty darn fat. Not fat fat, like out of control fat. But the sort of fat that comes from being married to a a very awesome Italian who loves to cook.

Now I'm not blaming my wife for my outrageous form. It was my idea to ask about "seconds" and then make sure there were NO freaking leftovers in the home. I loved the cooking, and I wanted to partake in this awesome food. I wasn't exactly svelte before getting together, but I sure let myself go after we met and married.

All on me.

And yes, I mean ALL ON ME. At 5'7" I was weighing close to 190 pounds. That creates a situation where pants don't fit, a belly is ballooning and the naps on the carpet with my dog come fast and hard. Also, as shown in the above picture, the midsection wouldn't even deflate! You know that phenomenon when your stomach appears smaller when you lay on your back, how all the guts fall towards the ground? Well, it wasn't happening in my condition. My packed gut would only allow for the appearance of Mount Ellis.

But then came 162. It wasn't just a number. It wasn't even just an intention. It was a thought-form that grew more and more powerful as time went on. You see, I put it in my mind that the goal of weighing 162 would be a cool goal. I told my wife about it, and best of all I challenged my dad to a race to that number.

162!

My dad, who also was packing on some poundage, had playfully joined me on the race to 162. Every time I mentioned my weight, I would bring up the number 162.

Here is where the magic happens, if you are open to it. When you continually place a number in your head and hold some emotion and drive around it, then that reality has more and more of a chance at becoming real.

And over time, it did become real. I did change. It wasn't through dieting or focusing on the scale. It was simply through the constant energy of "162." Though life experiences came along to help me towards that goal - some dental work, curtailing the gluten intake (which helped create those impromptu naps with Hennessy) - the real life-changer was the intention and the holding of 162 in my head.

Whereas before I would look down at the scale and see it hovering just over 180, now I look down at the scale and often see 162. I am hovering over 162. Yup, 162!

So glad to be skinnier. So glad to be lighter. So glad to still be able to partake in some great Italian cooking. And so glad that a Universal Law can be in place where our own intent, focus and attention can create what we really want in life.


James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer living in San Diego. He and Hennessy can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

The Reunion - A Poem for My Mother and Her Mother

My mother passed in July 2014. Though 100 miles away when it happened, I felt the time stand still. I couldn't help but realize the miracle of life and death and the fact my mother was met by her own mother at this fateful moment. 

I know this to be true, as I know the Sun
I know it as sure as time has begun
Though time stood still for this here son
I felt the reunion that was sure to come
My mother and grandmother, they met once more
One stood for the other at illumined door
In the heavenly heights, where only angels soar
This was the embrace grandma had waited for…

The reunion is here for all to share
The reunion is for those with the call to care
The reunion is home to everyone, everywhere

Unimagined joy for this here boy who only wished for her release
From the shackles and chains, the aches and pains that would never seem to cease
Merely wanting for sure, holding out for the pure, the eternal path of peace
Happiness for my mom, kindly come along, I dearly begged God please
And it came to be, a miracle to see, this story I am writing
The beauty of souls who could take the stroll upon their reuniting
Ready to tell the tale – beyond success and fail – of a family uniting
I saw the end, within these forever friends, of the struggle and the fighting

The reunion is here for all to share
The reunion is for those with the call to care
The reunion is home to everyone, everywhere

When crisis calls in all our falls, and safety is torn and tattered
And man and beast, none the least, is beaten down and battered
And we are scared, as in nightmare, our dreams are sliced and shattered
Finding in the end, with every mend, only kindness matters
Only kindness matters …
The message I would hear, it was so dear, my mother would send to me
Finding at last, awakening so fast, a vision I could not see
She came through song, I would sing along, her spirit flight so free
A precious jewel, goodbye to the cruel, hands building eternity
So if you are lost, at all cost, do come and seek what’s yours
Just like my mother, all sisters and brothers can find illumined doors
Blasting past barrier, you’ll be the carrier, beyond all ceilings and floors
Taking the trip, on your sacred ship, towards familiar shores

I know this to be true, as I know the Sun
I know it as sure as time has begun
Yet, time can stand still for everyone
There’s always the reunion that is sure to come
For each enemy and ally, we shall meet once more
There’s a guardian for each of us at heaven’s door
An unlimited unity we all have in store
This is the embrace we’ve been waiting for…

The reunion is here for all to share
The reunion is for those with the call to care
The reunion is home to everyone … everywhere

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer who can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org. 

Impact - Yup It Happens

Impact.

There is indeed such a thing as "impact" in this world. Yes there is. We have to all admit it. You have an impact on others. Others have an impact on you. There is impact happening everywhere around us. Heck, there's even a word for it: "impact."  

DEFINITION:
noun -  "the job losses will have a major impact:" effect, influence, significance, meaning; consequences, repercussions, ramifications, reverberations.

So what does this look like, and why do so many people seem to have trouble with it?

Basically, our actions, our words, our non-verbal cues and even our neglect will have rippling effects upon the world around us. Our acts of kindness and love land upon another and then gently soothe and caress a soul. A harsh and violent act forced upon another will bring a sense of destruction and harm on a very real level.

However, there are the detractors to this idea. There are the highfalutin philosophers who say, "No one but me affects me." "What anyone thinks or says about me has nothing to do with me." "Don't take anything personally." "I am in complete charge of my life; I live at cause and not effect." I can grasp those ideals and see how these all can work perfectly ... IF YOU'RE JESUS!

Or if you are dead.

Let's get real folks. You can have the fancy philosophies, ideals and notions. And yes, you can choose how you respond to life, even in the face of negative actions and attacks. And you can do your best to create a giant mote around you, protecting you from those nasty and icky humans. You can do your best to bring your best foot (and mind) forward in the face of any hardships. This is indeed empowering on a certain level.

Expanding outward, you can also simply surrender to the fact that we are here on this awkward planet - as humans - all bumping into each other, bringing the rippling effects of the good, the bad and the ugly. And we can simply make that part of the dance. 

At this level - some outlandish designation called "physical reality' - we can admit that the impact is all around us.

• The smash upon your head, courtesy of Maxwell's Silver Hammer, has its harsh result.
• The shooting of an unarmed woman on the street has a rippling effect on her family and a community.
• Kids playing with matches creating a large brush fire that takes out the homes and old photo albums of several families will create a stir.
• The father who chooses to leave or is forced out of the life of a son or daughter will have its impact on the two young ones ... no matter how strong their minds "live at cause." 

Most recently, I couldn't help but notice a minor news story that came out of the Nevada desert where a 17-year-old girl was reported missing, helping to put some of the 70,000 attendees of the Burning Man event smack dab into a 9-plus hour traffic jam. She was OK. Though these open-minded folk may have had a choice to frame their experience, it can't be denied some of the 70,000 may have been impacted a bit.

Though I realize this may be challenging for some of the more skittish folk in our world to grasp or handle, the truth remains. We all have an impact on each other. It happens. It's OK. I think it's part of the reason we came here - to a physical world of duality, where bodies and cars and dance partners could maneuver amidst each others reality ... gracefully or not. It's in the grace where we are freed to recognize our brothers' and sisters' beauty; it's in the harsh attacks where we ultimately discover that we have lost our brothers and sisters ... and therefore ourselves.

I believe those who refuse to accept this reality are just afraid to take on the mighty (and scary) responsibility that confirms our actions do have real consequences. That can be too much weight to carry - especially those trying to escape the pain of what they have brought upon others and themselves. But even so, no matter how any of us try to escape it, the ominous, formidable and exacting responsibility exits.

Impact. Yup it happens. And yup, it's beautiful. 

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer hopefully causing positive vibrations around the world. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductons.org. 

Am I Doing Enough? Shut Up!

There is this dreadful voice that bangs at my head constantly. Not sure where it originally arose, but it sure has been persistent over the years. And yes, I mean years. It's been around as long as I can remember, even as a kid. The voice is bothersome, cruel, incessant and rushed.

The voice says: "You are not doing enough."

I read this as I am not doing enough work, enough writing, enough creative endeavors, enough anything. It doesn't exactly tell me what it is I should be doing, but the voice is very clear that whatever it is I am doing and whatever it is I have done just does not cut it. It is not enough.

This has me believing that somehow I am not enough. If I haven't done enough, perhaps that means that I too am not enough, as in "smart enough," "talented enough," "rich enough," and the all-time favorite on the hit parade "good enough,"

I wonder if others can relate to this. Does anyone else have a voice that pushes them on and on, relentless, no matter how much has been accomplished? I have in fact accomplished a lot in my life, as I review my resume of eight books, 25 plays, hundreds of articles, tons of poems and 70-plus video productions. But even though I have written and produced so much, somehow it isn't enough ... apparently.

Reminds me of that John Mellencamp song "Void in My Heart."

There's a void in my heart I can't seem to fill
I do charity work when I believe in the cause
But in my soul it bothers me still
Hey, Lord, well, you made me like I am
Can you heal this restlessness?
Will there be a void in my heart
When they carry me out to rest?

Where is the rest for the creative spirit? Would we stop writing and creating if we had that sense of satisfaction? Is there a good reason we can't seem to find that peace of mind with the amount of work that has been produced? Perhaps it's our soul destiny to continue chasing that happiness and contentment, like a carrot on a stick, like the rabbit out in front of the greyhounds.

Now, I must admit there have been a few moments of creative satisfaction. The moments after a gigantic play production or a huge video release. I even give myself the next day off, where I can sit back a bit, sleep in, and rest in the knowing I've accomplished something. But only one day later there is that voice: "You haven't done enough."

Shut up!!!

And ... so I rise again and get back to work, with the devil nipping at my heels. I guess I can take solace in another set of lyrics. These were recited to me back in 1990 by a friend who saw some of my anxiety. She was trying to help me release some of that self-imposed pressure when she played this song for me.

John Hiatt, in the song "Through Your Hands," sings of a different kind of a voice - one of an angel.

And you ask, "What am I not doing?"
She says "Your voice cannot command.
In time, you will move mountains,
And it will come through your hands."

So just maybe I can follow this angelic voice rather than the other rushed one. Do not ask what I am not doing nor put so much attention on all that I haven't done yet.

In time, I can make my mark ... through these hands, through these words. I will stay faithful to them as they arise ... in the moment ... just in the right time.


James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer who can be found either stressing out or writing, but always at www.LegacyProductions.org.

Interpretations: How to Perceive Prediction and Prophecy

Below is an excerpt from the book "Preparing for the Best," available HERE, which focuses on our challenging world and ways to address this reality. There are 55 sources that are quoted along the lines of prediction and prophecy. But the question arises how do we interpret such predictions?

It can be tricky, this thing called prophecy, prediction and precognition. According to one explanation, definitions pan out this way:

• Precognition: A gut feeling about the future, some psychic sense about what is to come.
• Prediction: A declaration – using a psychic sense, dream or vision – about a specific action or event that will take place in future time.
• Prophecy: A message from God about what is to transpire in the future, used as a warning or as an inspiration to prepare.

In each case, all are related to a concept quite difficult to grasp when living in the here and now. And that concept is: the future. For, such questions arise: What is the future? How can you see it? Has it already happened? Can free will change it? Is there free will? Is it all destiny?

I have my own thoughts on the matter. I see predictions as a way of relating a trend, a sensing of the path that one is on and where it's headed. Predictions inform people of where their chosen path will take them. Predictions say: "If you keep going down the road you're on, you will end up A, B or C." It's like a diagnosis.

For example, if you have a sugar habit and refrain from brushing your teeth, you could develop a tooth problem. A prediction would be: "I see you at the dentist; you are in pain; there is this whirling, buzzing, drill sound; also I hear screams for mother."

Upon hearing this warning, this foresight, this "prediction," the person then has the awareness needed to change the behavior in order to change the outcome. The person could see that tooth brushing would alter the destiny he or she was creating.

Now this is a simplistic example. Realities that we are creating for future times may be deeply entrenched in previous times eons old or a collective consciousness miles thick. How easy it is to change a destiny is up to the awareness, commitment and fortitude of those creating it. The reality of war or planetary destruction involves the accepted notions of millions of people. Do all these people wish to work on changing that? Can they see that they can? If they did see they could change the trend, would they still wish to?

Perhaps a good percentage of the population receives some benefit from war, global disasters, depletion of nature. Perhaps it's all a part of the lessons of life. We've all destroyed, killed and depleted before, in ways small and large. The two basic questions are:

1. Do we wish to change the trend of battle, strife and separation?  
2. Is there a large enough percentage of people who want to change that?

With the recent predictions – from psychics, spirit beings, futurists and scientists alike – we are given the warning that answers to these questions are required now.  There is no way that this Earth can withstand the treatment it has received. Even the woman so tied to an abusive husband will leave, if just to save her life. We are being told now about the end of the road for which we've been aiming for thousands of years.

The predictions tell of economic gloom, ecological doom, planetary boooooom. Some predictions have given dates and windows of time for their manifestation. Of these, some have missed and some have hit. We're left wondering about the accuracy of dated predictions.

I have found, through my association with psychics and other forecasters that actual predictions and their actual manifestation don't always match. The reasons are five-fold:

1. As noted previously, predictions offer a wider awareness of a trend so that you have time to change what is being created.
2. The timing of the prediction can be changed due to the free will of those people involved in its manifestation. Also, I have heard that spirit time and human time are different. Whereas spirit sees events, humans see time, and combining the two can bring on confusion.
3. The prediction is a misconception, a misperception, a "miss."
4. The prediction is something that can be interpreted in different ways: literally, figuratively, symbolically. For example, the predicted "three days of darkness" might not necessarily mean three days without the Sun, but could mean three days without electric power or three days of warring.
5. Similarly, by the time the predicted material is manifested, it could appear different than what your logical mind imagined it to be. Sometimes, people will take a prediction and then, with their own projected expectations or imaginings, make it into something of their own creation. In a simplistic example, something like "You will find love" can turn in someone's head to say, "You will marry a man and have children."

Along the same lines as this last point, there is the popular view that we, as creative beings, produce the reality we are expecting all along. This can be seen in the example of the cult leader who predicts battle and bloodshed and then makes it happen in a fight-out with police. But I wonder how deep this view can go. Do we create EVERYTHING in our experience? Or is it the case that an external force, like a new vibration or a New Age, can be impressed upon us or brought into our experience to change (i.e.: adapt or die)?

Likewise, I wonder if this could mean that only I and those who attune to a prediction – as in the example of the three days of darkness – would make something like this happen for us only, in ways that would make sense to us only. For example, if I'm the only who believes in such a reality, perhaps I will end up locked in a dark closet for three days in 2017.

So many questions and quandaries arise with the notion of prediction and prophecy. And here, then, is one more: How can we take them?

I would say take prediction and prophecy like you would any other input from this world. Take it as a gift, an offering from one aspect of the universe to another. It doesn't mean you have to accept it all or discard it all. It doesn't mean it has to be The Truth or The False. Just hear it; take it within; let it open doorways inside of you; allow it to trigger a deeper awareness within.

For that is the true purpose of all of life's input: to trigger and inspire a deeper internal awareness. See where it works or doesn't work for you. But in any case, do keep open to what is being said. Keep listening; keep searching, keep reflecting.

Oh, and keep reading; there's still more ahead.



James Anthony Ellis is a producer and writer whose new book "Preparing for the Best" outlines predictions and prophecies for a new world, as well as survival tips and uplifting inspiration to get us through whatever comes our way. Book found HERE.

You are Free to Choose - Cultivating Discernment in These Challenging Times

Below is an excerpt from the book "Preparing for the Best," available HERE, which focuses on our challenging world and ways to address this. The one major point-of-power during times of change is the power of choice, a power available to all beings that claim the freedom that has always been theirs. This discernment will be necessary to cultivate and fine-tune as we move forward into any challenging times.

You are free to choose. To choose your friends, your foes, your furniture, your work, your home, your life. There is nothing outside of you that can really stop you or make you do anything you wish not to do. You don't have to be downtrodden. You don't have to be under fire. You don't have to be Joe, Sam, Jane, Sue, Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother. You don't have to be here … or there or over there in that relationship. You don't have to be anything, anywhere. The bottom line: You are free.

Can you feel that? Can you sense it? Somewhere inside – deep in the heart, way up in the higher reaches of mind – such a freedom sings and rings loud and clear.

But for so long, so long: "I just can't do it." "I want to, but I just can't." "I can't leave this job, even though I'm unhappy." "I guess I'll be sad my whole life." "I know I'll be mad my whole life." "My boyfriends are all the same." "My wives are all the same." "I'm stuck." For so long, we have placed ourselves in boxes, neatly wrapped in definitions given us by those who wouldn't know. We have remained in the boxes – stuck, trapped, defined – letting life move on. We've let it flow all around us as on the banks of the river, in anemic pathos, we've sat in our boxes. We have accepted definitions and imprisoned ourselves, choosing to remain in an unconscious state, miles below our potential, feeling low, unfulfilled, and thinking we had to stay since we knew no other way.     

But the word now? You don't have to be stuck. How many times must we hear it before we know it to be true? You are not trapped. You are not imprisoned. You are not held back. You are free. You are free to choose and make your life.

For the chains that bind us are our own. Yes, this is true, no matter how we'd rather find a victim's comfort in blame, denial and passivity. The chains are negative thought-forms and unresolved emotions that we've acquired through our own experiences. The chains are ours. We've done it to ourselves, even when our own beliefs about life, the world and ourselves come at us by way of the actions of those parents, siblings and acquaintances.

Basically, we are responsible for the unfolding of our lives, whichever way they move. It's this very notion that allows us the freedom to remove ourselves from the negativity, the boxes and the chains. If we put ourselves there, then we can free ourselves. There are ways. And there is time. But the time is now to clear. The time is now to see you can get out of the prison you've entered voluntarily.

You built the prison, and you are the guard. All you must do is truly get to know these guards. See why they’ve been guarding you, keeping you locked inside. See what makes them tick. See what makes them mad, sad, guilty, tense, uptight. And most of all see what makes them cry.

All you must do is search within this keeper and get to the truth of the matter, get to the roots of those issues blocking the flow of love and life. You must use whichever path or tool works best for you to reach your blockages. And once you get to the blocks and blow past them, you'll see that you can be lighter. You'll see you can be outside of the definitions, traps and boxes.      

Then here, at this time, you'll see that you never were really stuck at all. It was just a deception, a lie you made up because you didn't want to see the truth, a truth that forever knows … You are free.

James Anthony Ellis is a producer and writer whose new book "Preparing for the Best" outlines predictions and prophecies for a new world, as well as survival tips and uplifting inspiration to get us through whatever comes our way. Book found HERE.

"Why?" - The Question My Dog Never Asks

Puppy Hennessy alert and ready for life.

"Why?"

It's a question I often ask - to myself and before others.

• Why is the third hand on the watch called a second hand?
• Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?
• Why do I eat when I'm not hungry?

And deeper questions:

• Why are we born?
• Why do we have to get old?
• Why do the Miami Dolphins often tank at the end of a season and fail to make the playoffs? 

I heard it may be a Scorpio thing - this incessant digging, probing and questioning ... to get to the bottom of things, and to discover their purpose.

The other thing I noticed is that my dog doesn't ever do any of this.

I bet you even Scorpio dogs don't hold the question of "why" on their minds. I believe it's a very human endeavor ... and one that can be as uplifting and expanding as it is exasperating and depressing.

Just look at my pooch. The picture of her as a puppy shows a very alert and attentive, as well as incredibly cute, canine. Nowadays, she will often sit there on her lovely dog bed perch and just exist. When there is someone on the porch, she will bark and race towards the door, routinely sliding into it in her haste to protect the household and all its inhabitants. When she's hungry, she'll get up and sit before her mother and just stare. It's her way of saying "Hello, I'm hungry; it's time to get up and feed me." When she has an itch, she scratches. When she's tired, she sleeps.

Never once does she, I imagine, ever ask the question "why" for any of these endeavors.

Hers, like for many animals, is a world of instinct. Need followed up by action. I don't see a hesitation between the arising need (gotta pee) and the complimentary action (stand by the door). She doesn't have to ponder deeply the purpose of what she does. It's instinctual, and the activity of questioning it would only delay the satisfaction of a filled belly, an empty bladder or a scared intruder.

And then there are us humans. The heavy plodding along to find purpose in our world. The why's and wherefores of all the slings and arrows. It's enough to send us all over the edge. It can't be as simple as a need, a feeling and then an action. We must find the underlying purpose for these behaviors and endeavors. It's not enough for us to just be ... to love what we love and to turn from that which doesn't serve us.

• A beautiful sunrise to become a smile on our face.
• A gentle hug from a friend to become joy in the heart.
• A lovely meal from a spouse to become a satisfied hunger. 

Can it be enough to live life, observe the observable, experience our desires and wants and then act upon them ... with the result being more observation, wants, needs and then actions.

Can it be that way? Can it be so effortless and free? If you say that it cannot, I just have to ask...

Why not?

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer living in San Diego, California, don't ask him why. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

What the Child Wants! ... And other Musings over Milk and Meatloaf

If only you could go back, like in the play “Our Town,” and be present for your childhood, knowing then what you know now. Such little bodies, such newly developing minds, we didn’t know how to put words to match our feelings, needs and hearts’ requests. We didn’t know how to communicate our desires, our confusion, our misgivings, our utter distaste for milk and meat loaf.

Well OK, maybe, we found a way. Crying, stomping our feet, pushing that meat loaf onto the floor. But those other communications – those tender subtle, and hidden things we may understand now, but not comprehend back then. All we knew – many times – was that something felt right or wrong inside.

We wanted things. I wanted things. For it's true 40 … 45 years ago, I was a child. And, if I could have had it my way, as I know it now, I would have wanted to say certain statements and hear certain statements.

Hear certain statements like:

• Good job Jimmy.
• That elephant picture you drew could be hung in a museum of art.
• Oh, it sure looked like an elephant to us ... well, it STILL could go in a museum of art.
• We want to hear from you, and know what you are thinking, believing and feeling.
• We value your individuality and unique perspective on the world.
• Tell us what you see.
• Show us who you are.
• What is your dream today?
• We love you with all your different ways of being.
• What a joy it is to have you with us.

Say certain statements like:

• No more milk please – I am lactose intolerant.
• I am not believing these vaccinations are helping me – look at my poofed-up arm.
• I have much to say and much to learn, and I really need the space and patience to grow.
• I am not alone in my growing pains, am I?  Can we all share with each other what is really going on with us?
• I wanted to be born, and I chose you all for a purpose. Can we find that purpose, honor it, cherish it, live it and then celebrate it?
• I love being here – you people are a treasure to me.
• I love you all.

But alas, the days are past. Over 40 years later, the time has come and gone. The bodies have grown bigger, the minds and hearts have developed as they did. What we can do with those statements now? Now that time has past, our bodies have grown, our crying out loud only coming on lonely nights in the dark alone? 

It must be too late. 

Or is it? Do we still have the time and space to use such sentiments for the good of not only ourselves but the collective as well? What can be done with expressions wanted so long ago from a voice that could not yet be heard? I would say ... speak them now. Say to another what you wanted to hear! Use those statements, don’t let them go to waste. Whatever they are for you. We can still use them – even the milk and meatloaf ones – not for the past times but for the present times, with those in front of us today.

We can bring it to our birth family; we can bring it to our new family – our own children, nephews, nieces and cousins. We can bring it to young ones we meet at parties, gatherings and events. At the market. Everyone – the young and the old – can be gifted with the sentiments we always wanted share. For a “new family,” seen every day, in every face, we can say what we’ve always wanted to say, hear what we’ve always wanted to hear, be what we’ve always wanted to be.

James Anthony Ellis - writer and producer living in San Diego - now enjoys soymilk and Tofurkey. His next book about "miscommunication" arrives October 2016. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

I Am Your Toothache - Listen

Hello there. Welcome. I would like to introduce myself.

I am your toothache. I throb like a bitch and yell at you until you can no longer think straight ... until you curse the day you were born. I convince you to hold that mouth of yours hard, and to get something cold to press up against your cheek. I have you wincing and grimacing, and then finally calling the dentist in a mad plea for relief. I originated with a mother's plea for you to brush up and down, and then a family dentist's suggestion to floss and floss often. Now I'm your toothache, and I'm one mean ass-kicker. 

Hello.

I am your weeds in your garden. I grow somehow despite the lack of rainwater and despite the death of all other green and growing things. I grow and grow in your garden, to ultimately take over the beauty there. I show up real ugly in an otherwise pleasant garden setting. Among the pretty flowers and blossoming shrubbery, I look like drab, lifeless green and brown thorny leaves. I'm an inconvenient truth in your yard, and you hate me. Too bad. I'm here. And I'm here because you let the garden go, you silly person.

Hi.

I am the ants in your kitchen. I am a mass of small black rolling insects that troll up and down the counters eating up the crumbs and crap you've left behind. I just know when you leave the space and when you've said the magic phrase: "Oh, I'll clean that up in the morning." Once I hear that sloppy sentence come slobbering out of your lazy-ass mouth, I am charged into action. Time to get the army and charge full steam ahead, straight for your butter knife, your sugar bowl and all those pie crumbs that didn't make it into your pie hole. So have a rest. We'll see ya in the morning.

Hello fine sir and madam.

I am the pain in your heart. I am the longing. For something better. For something new. I am the hurt that resides in the chest as you wish for something different. Something different than the way it is. Perhaps it's a longing for something familiar, known such a long time ago. Peace. Harmony. Abundance. Wealth. Health. A natural state of being. The way it was, and the way it truly is deep down. I am the pain you experience when you let the attention slip away towards other distractions, to judgments and to scorn and to blame. I'm the pain you have when you've neglected the good or the other messages that would have kept you on track: free of weeds, pesky insects and tartar on the teeth.

I am the Universe. I give you messages all the time. Unemotional. Unattached. But loving you all the same. And all the time. I mean ALL the crazy flippin' time.

Listen...

I am here...

I am the weeds in your garden. I am the ants in the kitchen. I am your neck-ache, your heartache, your side-ache, your wrist-ache, your headache.  I am your toothache. I am the one trying to get you to move, to do something ... for yourself, for others, for a community and for humanity.

I am the Universe.

I am you.

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer living in San Diego, CA. He just went to the dentist and is doing much, much better. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

Spell Check Ruined Me

I used to be so good.

I used to receive happy faces, stars, A's and even E's ... remember E's?

I guess you could say I was "excellent."

My spelling throughout grammar school was really good, even though I wasn't an avid reader and even though I'd get confused with those tests with exercises displaying four misspelled words alongside one correctly spelled, where we had to pick the right one. I mean, what was that about? Surviving that mind-bender, I also spelled well in high school and college. I even knew the very vital difference between "its" and "it's" and "there" and "their." I was on the school paper in high school. I was also an editor on the college paper "The Daily 49er." I had it going on.

Then along came spell check. The son of a bitch.

 

It arrived, of course, with the word processing programs, showing us the easy pathway to spelling all words correctly. The computer programs were even set up so that if a word was misspelled, a red squiggly line would underscore it. All life looked bright and cheery, especially for us writers. Never again would a mishap befall us with a wretched misspelled word.

But what has happened over the years as I have been supported so strongly with my spelling ability? Has it made me a better speller, a better writer? No, I have gotten lazy and sloppy. I have become one of the worst spellers out there. I have rested so heavily on the red squiggly lines and even the faithful auto-correct, that I've come to the point now that I'll just throw a bunch of letters out there like a bucket of paint onto a porch. At first I hold out for the auto-correct to clean up my mess, and then if that doesn't fix it, I next rely on the red squiggly line wherein I can right-click and "search a word" in order to grab the correct one. This spell checker functionality comes to save the day!

But wait a minute! Save the day? What am I? Some slacker who can't do things on my own? Some bully who has someone else do my term paper? Some immature king who needs a bunch of slaves to do my grunt work? Some kid who needs a maid to come behind me and pick up my dropped clothes? Some lazy litterbug who can't take care of my own trash?

That's what happens when you have OTHER people do things for you, or when you have to rely on some other system to do what you could be doing with your own skill and effort. What happens over time is you lose the functionality yourself. You lose the abilities, the drive and the motivation to grow and expand.

If someone or something will do it for us, why would we even try? 

It makes me think of all the other places where we have other people do things for us, when we could be empowered and uplifted to do them ourselves:

• The home owners who hire the gardener instead of planting the flowers themselves. 
• The "shadow artist" who hides his or her own creative gifts behind the support of another artist.
• The street beggar who would rather ask for a free handout than look for ANY sort of job.
• The trickster citizen who "works the system" by trying to get free government handouts rather than being a contributing member of society.

That damn spell checker.  It ruined me. It got me soft and lazy. I lost my edge. I lost my precision with my writing. And to think, even with spell check, sometimes "positivity" becomes "pomposity," a word completely the opposite of what I was intending. 

In conclusion, what can we take away from this article, besides the fact that the analogies in Jim's head make sense if you really think about them? First off: beware of auto-correct and the red squiggly line - they are not always 100 percent right. Two: You can give yourself your own happy faces, stars and E's when you reflect honestly about your own performance. Three: having things done for you and getting free shit may cost you in the long run.

And finally: maybe the easy way isn't always the best way.

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer living in Lemon Grove, CA. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org where most things are spelled right.

Have You Ever Really Thought of our Planet's Name?

The name "Earth."

Oh my gosh. Have you ever really thought about the name of our home planet?

Earth.

We have heard the term so many times, we just take it at face value and let it pass on by.

But think about it. Compared to some cool names of planets - Venus, Saturn, Mercury - the name of our Earth is a real clunker. Say it over and over again, and you may start to hear what I'm hearing. It's like any random word ... if you say it enough times, it takes on a whole new identity, leaving you with the thought, "have I really ever thought of this word before?"

Now nothing against men with this name, but just consider how close the planet's name is to the word "Earl." It's like having a home called Earl.

• Space Being: Hey what planet are you from?
• Me: Earl.
• Space Being: Earl? Hahahha. What a silly name!
• Me: Hey shut up, its mother's name was Earl.
• Space Being: Back off man, or I'll zap you with my HypoLaserBeam. 
• Me: What's that?
• Space Being:  How would I know? It came from your head. 

While other galaxies have advanced sci-fi names like Plaeides and Andromada and Messier 81, with planets such as Roxemalia, we are stuck in the Milky Way with Earth. I don't see why we can't - like those new agey spiritual types - choose a new name if we want to. Something, you know, to make it more hip, more with the times, more elevated.

How about these ideas, just for the sake of brainstorming.

• Highlander 5
• Zorromeister
• Prema Sunshine

That's just some fast brainstorming for you. But you get the idea.

With some creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, we can come up with a planet name of which we can truly be proud, and not have to be saddled with a goofball word that has been thrust upon us without consent.

Do I hear an "amen" people of Prema Sunshine?


James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer living in San Diego, who isn't as upset at the planet name as he leads on. I mean it could be worse, think of Uranus. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

What Can You Do vs What Can't You Do?

This world is divided up into two MAIN realities:

1. Things you CAN do.
2. Things you CAN'T do.

Please see your mother, father, guardian, teacher, PE instructor, counselor, principal, clergyman, congressmen, law enforcement, truant officer and corporate-owned TV news for details on the matter in the physical world of rules, laws, jurisdictions, cultural norms, dogma and TV ratings.

For the remainder ... let's talk.




I wish to bring about the reality - what you can do vs what you can't do - as it plays out in our own minds, and within the communication we have with friends, family, coworkers and most importantly Facebook followers.

Here is the example. A friend calls you with a request some help moving. He or she needs help. What is your first thought? Of course it can depend on many factors, but I maintain that your brain is either programmed for what you CAN do in this situation or what you CAN'T do.

Imagine the face of the person with a CAN do attitude upon hearing the request.  The head is cocked to the side, a bit tilted upwards with eyes to the sky. They are asking themselves "what is possible" "what can I do" "how can I contribute to my friend?"  The face of the person bent on a CAN'T DO approach has eyes narrow, looking down, using most of his or her energy on figuring out "what can I do to get out of any sort of work, obligation or effort?"

This is subtle stuff!

It's way below the surface, but the effects are felt in a very profound way, especially within the give and take of relationships.

In our previous example, the CAN'T person will either quickly find an excuse not to help out on the move, or simply not reply if the request is in e-mail or voicemail. (Note: Though they will never say they "won't" do something, some may be simply open enough to say "nope," "no," or, of course, "can't."

The CAN people will search their minds to make it a "yes" on the request or - and here is the key point - they will open up their minds to see what is POSSIBLE as solution for the one requesting help. A true friend, a true support system, and a truly flexible and conscious thinker, the CAN person's mind goes into a direction of the need. These people consider ways in which their friends' needs can be met. A mutual friend? A local support group? A moving company? It doesn't matter what the solution is or could be; what matters is that the CAN person leans towards solution and care.

The CAN'T person dwells, even in the subconscious mind, on what is not going to work and what is not possible. The CAN'T person is all too satisfied with a "no" and then moving onto the next "no." In relationship, it's a drag, it's a drain and it's like having a conversation in a room with a 4-foot ceiling. The CAN person lives in possibility. He or she isn't a doormat or a "yes man" agreeing to whatever comes their way. This type of person is in touch with those around them and comes up with various options and ideas in this play we call life.

So moving forward in your own life, what are your thoughts around coming from a state of mind rich with options, possibilities and a connection to friend's needs and dreams?

Can you do it?

Or can you not? 



Jim Ellis is a writer and producer living in San Diego, California. He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

Yoga Stretches - What is the Goal?

I've done yoga, off an on, for about 10 years, not counting the two-hour weekly class I took in college circa 1985. I have had tight hamstrings since ... I was born. 

Now even though I'm no expert, I did have a realization about yoga the other day. It was a day I was doing yoga, after a week of experiencing a sore back. My wife and I were doing an online yoga class from this cool site called Yogaglo. I was truly enjoying the stretches as my sore back was appreciating the gentle movements into the soreness. As the teacher guided students into the postures (asanas), I realized I was only going to go as far as my body dictated, allowing for the stretch that best suited me, apart from the final posture by the teacher.

AHA! Here is where it really hit me.

Western yoga still leans too heavily on the results of completing a full posture, rather than the individuals’ experience within any of the postures. 

This is not possible to those with tendons.

Yes, many teachers do mention this concept in pretty much every class, but not enough of the teachers STRESS heavily and consistently that the individual stretch, and breath into that, is the purpose of a yoga session and the source of the pleasure within a practice. It’s frustrating to watch teachers in the West move deeply into an asana, mostly because they can, with the subtle, perhaps unconscious, message that the fulfillment of it is a goal. 

OK, I can almost do this.

There is no outward unified goal within a yoga class, except for the common understanding that each participant’s body is different and each person can learn to love the practice when he or she moves into a stretch at their own limit and then find the mobility to move gracefully further. Movement by movement. Moment by moment. 

Yoga is an individual practice, and teachers of classes must constantly remind themselves and each student of this truth. It will eliminate the frustration students have when they can’t apparently "keep up" or move as deeply into a posture.  

Let's stretch into this truth. It will only help.

Oh COME ON!!!!

James Anthony Ellis is an enlightened yogi who can maneuver his body into any posture within the practice of Hatha Yoga, thereby awakening each atom and molecule with oxygen flow, creating an environment of pure consciousness and bliss. He is also a talented creative writer, not above some fun and light-hearted fiction. His books and works are found here:  www.LegacyProductions.org.

Connecting To Spirit - What Other Choice Is There?

I once was mugged. I guess that's what you call it.

Though maybe it was something else. What do you call it when you have a barrel of a gun pressed up against your neck and a couple of thugs are asking for your wallet and your money? Well, whatever that is - I had that happen.

At the time, I remember having two thoughts. And both of those thoughts were directed not towards the thugs or "muggers" but rather to spirit or what some may term "angels" or "spirit guides." I asked the question, "Am I going to die?" And then when I clearly received the inner answer "No," I then had the thought, "Well, that's a relief."

Amazingly, in what could have been one of the more terrifying situations, I was actually - believe it or not - quite relaxed. And I give credit to one very important fact:

I was connected to spirit.

You see, earlier that evening I had been, for all intents and purposes, meditating for about two hours. I had been facilitating a healing modality wherein I would dig deeply and fall into a connection with the higher powers that exist in the higher realms. I had surrendered to that higher will and felt the presence and peace that comes with that. The fact I chose to go to the store directly afterwards, be followed home by a couple of thugs and then proceed to have my neck invaded by a gun barrel, this somehow could not sway me from that connection to something bigger and brighter than anything this silly ole physical world had to offer.

So there I was:

A. Without a wallet
B. Without my car keys (though they threw them back at me as they left for some odd reason)
C. With my groceries (I offered to them but they weren't interested in my soup cans and bananas)
D. And with this stillness.

And it was enough.


Having a connection to source is vital as we walk the crazy landscape that is a world of duality, especially as the insanity is turned up with political campaigns, social unrest, racial tensions and regular and routine mayhem. If we can find a way to connect deeply within - to that still, small voice of absolute reason and unconditional love - we can uncover a sane mind that can see us through any and all turmoil.

In these states of connection, I can't be scared and I can't be upset. I even recently had the experience of guiding some healing energy towards our pooch who was sporting a sore on her paw. A few moments before "running" the light energy over her body, I had been perturbed by one of the 1.2 million things that can bug me in a day. But AS SOON as I turned my focus towards the light energy from above, with the intention of sending that energy through our dog ... that upset feeling INSTANTLY vanished. I could only sense the higher connection.


This told me that I have to make a choice. I can't have my cake and eat it too. I can't be mad and connected to a higher source at the same time. I would have to carry one or the other. Connection, love, light and harmony.... OR .... discord, upset, frustration and anger. Hmmmm. Decision, decisions.

In a world with enough upset and challenge to go around, I can now see the sanity of choosing connection. I have had the experience of focusing on spirit and maintaining peace in the most upsetting of situations. And this all leads me to the crossroads of choice - which sort of life do I want to live? What sort of energy do I wish to attune? What path is the one that will lead me to a higher ground of joy, harmony and peace?

I know the answer. A couple muggers, a needy pooch and the sweetest of connections to a grace beyond compare have helped me to discover it.

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer (and meditator sometimes) who lives in Lemon Grove (and bliss sometimes). He can be reached at www.LegacyProductions.org.

Freedom Over the Years

Freedom for all - that's the focus.

Each week, since August 2011, my wife and I have hosted an Internet radio show "Freedom For All" that has touched on topics related to inner freedom (meditation, healing, dreams, philosophy) and outer freedom (GMOs, vaccinations, government controls, human rights, etc). For almost all of the shows, we have had guests join us each week to bring us their own story, viewpoints and flavor of freedom.

Jim and Jennifer Ellis - Cohosts of Freedom For All Radio

Throughout these five years of shows, what has stood out to me is that everyone loves and cherishes the concept of freedom, and yet each explains it differently, according to their frame of reference, their career path and their higher purpose.

A few examples:

• Kendra Wilkinson, former Playboy playmate, defined freedom as "balance, being an all-around person." She noted that the different sides of a person makes them special, and those people who can carry themselves with head held high no matter what are the ones who truly know who they are. They are the ones who are free.  LINK. 
• Chiropractor Brian Garrett notes that when people get in touch with the origin of pain, and then get free of it, they are free to be who they are. "God didn't make no junk," he said. "The greatest machine ever is our bodies. Our job is to find our song and sing it until it helps us and helps other people."  LINK. 
• Patrick O'Neal - sports announcer for the Fox Sports West - sees freedom in the basic way he can live his life: riding his bike in beautiful Southern California, having peace of mind knowing he has a job, can love those he cares to love, can speak his mind, and can live the life he wants. LINK
• Investigative journalist Jon Rappaport sees freedom as the individual inventing his or her own path, apart from a reality invented for people by powers that wish to control and manipulate the populace.  LINK. 

As you can see, each person has a slight different take on this thing we call "freedom." The through-line though: an identity of self that can make choices based on truth with the result being happiness. Sounds familiar: "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Ah ya, that old saying. It's from some document that is designed to establish a countryman's freedom.

Another thing I noted over the years is how some freedom can mainly be defined through the lack of it. "Freedom" in a physical body can be realized when pain and sickness can make the body a prison for us all. Having a government dictate to us what chemicals we must put into our child's body pushes our autonomy to the forefront. Police and politicians who are held to a different standard than the common people heralds the beginning of a tyrant / slave relationship.  

In this light, the need for freedom arises when it is being pressed upon. So perhaps freedom is a natural state of being that can be recognized mainly when it's being taken away - as in limitations, controls, censorship, injustice and all-out abuse. We are born free, and we must find our way throughout our cultures and society to always maintain this state.

The backbone of any freedom in our society is something called "Natural Law." Support for this form of law came from the likes of: Ancient Greece, English common law, the US Constitution and a few enlightened philosophers. I'm not an expert on it, but to me a law based on nature - which would naturally be universal - would be a foundation for all of us at the humanity level ... where we are all equal and, believe it or not, connected. With a natural law respected, the notion of reaching over to another person and harming him or her is preposterous. The mere act of crossing over a boundary of another human or a territory of another people would break this law. Therefore breaking natural law would appear as: sexual abuse, physical abuse, rape, murder, stealing, lies, all of the deadly sins and pretty much everything on that tablet from Mount Sinai.

So for me, the litmus test for freedom and natural law is a phrase I ask myself often: Am I breaking another person's autonomy or natural boundary with this action? If the answer is "yes," then I think to either curtail my action, reframe it, or do the respectful thing and ask the other person's permission.

Freedom is a fascinating concept. I used to be afraid of the notion of freedom since I believed if someone was free than that gave him or her license to kill, maim and hurt others without care or consequence. But then, upon reflection, I realized that when people are free - with the associated emotions and behaviors associated with this - then killing and harming others is far from their minds. It is, in fact, impossible.

Let us all be free and then share the gifts with others when we are in that natural state, so we can indeed live in a world where we have "freedom for all."    

James Anthony Ellis is a writer and producer living as free as he can in Lemon Grove, California. He cohosts "Freedom for All" Radio with his wife Jennifer at blogtalkradio.com/freedomforall.  He can be reached at LegacyProductions.org.