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.