1000 Breaths Live!

On December 31st, we had our very first live simulcast for Scorpion Equinox! Jim Ellis and my co-host, Jennifer put together a fundraiser to raise money for the awareness of youth prostitution and child trafficking.

J2 had quite the scene going on in San Diego! I was here in NY during broadcasting. While on the show during this event, I heard there was media buzzing around, and a lot of people coming in with pillows, blankets and good vibes. As it was put to me, it was like a huge “slumber party”!

There were parts that I was unfortunate not to be able to hear clearly but what I could tell was that this event was a huge success! And although I couldn’ t hear well enough the vocals of Karl Anthony, I COULD tell that he was amazing by the music and the crowd participation.

So what I’m doing for this post is to post Jim’s account of this wonderful day. Thank you to all who participated!

See below and don’t forget to check out the 1000 breaths blog!

Today was the day.9 am at the site for set up.
10:15 am open the doors for the couple hundred people to arrive.
10:30 am speak with four local TV stations.11 am start the radio show on blogtalk radio.11:11 am start the event. What a miracle it was. To see such attentiveness with those sharing this event.Karl Anthony getting everyone up and singing.The short film to focus people on the cause of ending child sexual exploitation. An impassioned message from Nikki Jo Junker. The breathwork that sent people inward on their journey of freedom. We shall stay connected, as we all make our way, as a community of hearts, towards our freedom. We shall stay connected as the children of our community are taken care of. Thank you for being a part of it all.
Also, check out the 11 minute short educational film, Indoctrinated …

At the event we debuted the 11-minute version of the short educational film "Indoctrinated," filmed, edited and produced by Jim. This film is what 1000 Breaths was all about – raising funds to complete a longer version which can be distributed to schools for the sake of prevention. A tool that will create awareness as well as educate children and parents about child sex exploitation, the 11-minute version is now on YouTube. Please check it out.

If you want to hear the 2 hour broadcast, go Here.

Indoctrinated

Our show for December 22nd was on a more serious topic of Indoctrination. The dictionary will tell us that this word means “to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology, etc., esp. to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view”. In this case, it would be the point of view of a Pimp.

Our guests today were Manolo Guillen, Dr. Sami and Nikki Jo Junker. Both Dr. Sami and Nikki have their own personal indoctrinated stories. Today’s show was incredibly powerful and revealed some truths about prostitution that you may not know.

Manolo is involved with the CSEC (Commecial Sexual Exploitation of Children).

Dr. Sami wrote her story in SCALDED: The Making and Undoing of an Extremist and also now counsels survivors and their families.

Nikki is a former prostituted youth who is now Executive Director and Cofounder of “With More Than Purpose”.

Dr. Sami’s story does not fit in with the “usual” mold, as she told us. She grew up in an “ordinary” middle class family, was very well educated and had everything she could want. She was very religious and had no sexual education. That would change however, as she became involved with a religious sex cult. This solidified two things for her – how to make her own way and how to use and manipulate people for what she wanted.

She used a person for relief, pleasure or a passing encounter, but because she was raised in a solid middle class background, she didn’t act out much. The seeds of the development were already laid down in her primary years however, because of learning to see people through commercials and other media. People were good for security, safety, a house, etc. She was being primed for a legalized lifestyle in prostitution.

Dr. Sami told us that not all sex was violent or horrible, although of course, that was present too at times. Money is spent beyond your wildest imagination….in makeup, in fashion. There is a nearly unbeatable addiction for power, sex and money. The power to manipulate sexually and in any way that can be done. She stresses that really in this situation, you are more powerless due to a pseudo sense of power. A lot of money is made but most of it is handed over to the Pimp.
Nikki shared with us that she was indoctrinated at age 17. She had started stripping to make money to go to school and was pursued by a man who visited the club. He won her over by acting like a romantic boyfriend who bought her things, took care of her money, gave her the male attention that she hadn’t had. Nikki was made to believe this was a serious relationship and they made future plans to open a business together. Her “boyfriend” told her that they needed more money and so introduced the idea of escorting to her. She eventually met the other girls in his tribe and was told they were ‘cousins’ or ‘friends’ and they all moved to Las Vegas. The relationship eventually revealed itself and her punishments included choking her until she passed out and then dunking her head in a toilet to wake her up – repeatedly – 10 or 15 times. When she eventually tried to leave she was struck on the head with a huge candle by one of the girls and her head was split open. She woke up in a pool of blood and luckily, left the business from there.

*Legalized Prostitution is not Fine. There is a LOT of emotional scarring. And it starts as early as age 11.

*You don’t have to be brought up in a poor or uneducated background to be indoctrinated.

*A Pimp will not necessarily come off as a Pimp. They may be of the ‘Finesse’ variety – the kind that will make a person feel falsely secure and safe by easing her in with promises of love and a future together. The other type of pimp is called a Guerilla pimp. These are more of the kidnapping and violent types from the get go.

*It is NOT easy to stop working in this industry. There is a lure that will bring many escaped women back on their own. If she can even get away by herself, there is also a strong threat of her pimp and female ‘family’ hurting her in any way to keep her from leaving. If a girl is arrested for prostitution, her pimp is usually the first one she calls because she has been groomed into thinking that he is the only one that she can trust to take care of her.

*The object is to dehumanize a girl. Beatings are frequently given to enforce this.

*Children are arrested many times when it is really the crime of the predatory johns, who usually walk away with a slap on the wrist. The Safe Harbor Act decriminalizes children in acts of prostitution.

*Immigrants are frequently forced into prostitution. The American girls are usually finessed into indoctrination.

This was an incredibly powerful and recommended interview that should be heard by teachers, parents and teenage girls.

You may contact Manolo and Dr. Sami at mguillen@sdycs.org.

Please check out the new 11 minute short education documentary created by Jim Ellis on Indoctrination.

And remember - no class, race, wealth or religious background is immune.

Bats! Mosquitoes and Tequila! OH MY!

Good moment, everyone! Scheduled for last week’s show on December 1st was Laura Seckbach Finn, Bat Expert. The Universe had it hidden in the deck that our show would play out a bit differently than planned…and for the good of all!

Although we aren’t sure what happened to Laura (but we sure hope she’s ok!), the show went on!

As for me, there was an odd power outage in the area so that means that Yes, Jim, computers and phones and skypes involve wattage and I couldn't connect with the amazing modern world.

Ah, but it went on without me. And without a guest! So that leaves one co-host flapping in the breeze alone!

Actually, not so. She was joined by Jim Ellis, of Legacy Productions (thank you Jim for keeping Jennifer company and for asking those strange and intriguing questions!). Jim and Jennifer are currently the brains and brawn behind 1000 Breaths – a fundraiser to create a documentary to expose child trafficking that is aimed to be distributed in schools and other places that will educate adults and children alike. One disturbing fact – that two children per minute are involved in trafficking. NO children….actually, NO ONE should be used for such purposes. It’s a great cause and you can find loads of information at the Blog.

Since we were guestless and we really wanted to learn about bats, I thought we’d include some interesting bat facts here (obtained from Here!)

The ears of bats are extremely sensitive to sound. Some species of bats are even more sensitive to sound than others.

A few species of bats are carnivorous. Their meals may consist of frogs, lizards, birds and fish.

Vampire bats feed mainly on the blood of cattle, horses and wild mammals.

Contrary to popular belief bats rarely bite humans.

Bats are extremely clean creatures and may groom themselves for hours. (Seems to me that our dog does the same....)

The average lifespan of a bat is approximately twenty years. This figure may vary according to the species.

The mouse-eared bat was declared extinct in 1991.Bats have existed for over 50 million years.

Bats are not blind as most people believe. They have excellent vision though they see in shades of grey.

Bats communicate and navigate with high frequency sounds.

Not all bats are carriers of rabies. In fact, the incidence of rabies in bats is no higher than in skunks or any other mammal that lives in the wild. The rate of rabies found in bats is actually rather low.

Bats exist in large social groups. They roost upside down in caves and trees.

There are over 900 species of bats. Over 60 of those species are endangered.

A bat's wings contain the same bones found in the four fingers and hand of a human being.

Some male bats sing to attract a mate. ( A Justin Timberbat somewhere out there?)

The spotted bat has the largest ears of any bat species native to North America. It is also one of the rarest mammals in the United States.

Although most bats exist in tropical forest habitats bats are found everywhere in the world other than the Arctic and Antarctic. (I think garlic has nearly the same stats!)

Bats produce only one offspring annually. The young are referred to as pups. They are born blind and have no fur. Mothers nurse their pups until they are approximately six months of age.

And for ALL YOU TEQUILA FANS!!! You must read this article by Hector T. Arita and Don E. Wilson. They say that The interdependence between bats and agaves is so strong that one might not be able to survive without the other.

Let's do some quick math - Tequila needs Agave. Agave needs NIGHTTIME pollination. Bees are not like NYC...they sleep. At Night. That leaves certain Flowers In Need waiting for a suitor. Enter, stage right, wearing cape and tights....the Long Nosed Bat.

Not only that, but a small brown bat can eat 600 mosquitoes per HOUR! (Find a great article on what other nocturnal noodges they eat here.)

And even though we didn't get to speak with intended guest, Laura, we'd love to give you her website where you can view a Batcam! If the link doesn't work, you can find her work at http://www.flybynightinc.org/.

Tomorrow's guest will be Kristine Carlson, wife of the late Richard Carlson (author of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" books). She will be sharing her story of making her way and finding herself through the grief of losing her husband.

That's all for this time and yes, Jim, I certainly do know a thing or two about laying cement.

Or do I?