Biography

If I had to define Ben Tousey with one word, then I guess that word would have to be… Wonderful… Spectacular… Stupendous… Phenomenal… Incredible…
It’s the impression of this critic that my son is amazing!

    Anonymous


BEN TOUSEY has had a varied career. As an actor he has played some serious characters with heavy-hitters in the theatrical community like Grant Goodeve from Eight is Enough, and Northern Exposure and Barry McGuire form the Broadway Musical "Hair" and the hit song "Eve of Destruction.”

As a singer/songwriter, he’s worked with other singer/songwriters such as Matthew Ward, Annie Herring, and Nelly Greison, and Emmy award winning Jazz musician Roger Treece. His CD, “Stolen Wine,” was a smashing success with his two friends his immediate family (well his mom anyway). They all thought it was spectacular. (Except his friend Theo who thought that it was only “okay.” Ben cried himself to sleep and then prank-called Theo and asked him if his refrigerator was running.)

As a standup comedian, he has worked with Vanda Mikoloski from the “What the Bleep do we Know?” conferences.

All of that culminates in his speaking. He has had several opportunities to speak to large groups, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Adopt a Cop, the International Association of Workforce Professionals, singles groups, and spiritual organizations such as The Center for Spiritual Living.

To augment his work as a writer, speaker, comedian, he studied Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) with instructors Rich Anrich and Michael Grinder (author of the book “Righting the Educational Conveyor Belt” and brother of the cofounder of NLP John Grinder) and became an NLP practitioner.

Ben speaks extensively on living beyond our beliefs. Our beliefs empower us, but they also limit us. They act as filters on the way up and damns on the way down. He talks about where our beliefs “live” in the first place and how we can actually create them on purpose and remove them when they no longer serve us.

 

Beliefs “define” what we “know” about ourselves and others. They define what we know about the world in general and what we think we’re capable of.

 

However, there’s a level above beliefs that we rarely approach. That level is our identity; who we REALLY are beyond those beliefs. This includes the hardware (things we cannot change): height, body type, hair color, gender, personality. And the software (things we can change): our weight, favorite colors, our likes and dislikes, our beliefs. This is where we think about our purpose in life. This is where we ask the questions, “Why am I on the planet? Am I headed in the right direction?”


This is also the level of our true potential. This is the level where our deepest desires and dreams are possible, provided our beliefs aren’t obstructing them—damming them on the way down.

 

This level of identity hovers between our beliefs and Spirituality, which is the larger system— “WHAT IS”: the Universe and our connection to it—our place in it. It is the Universe that empowers us to create our dreams, to take our desires out of the ethereal realm and put them into the plane of existence, provided we’re willing to do so.

 

Those who are living the lives they love are doing so because they’ve learned to live beyond their beliefs and into their identities. They have also discovered how to use the Universe to help them create those lives and provide for them the same way it provides air and water. They’ve also learned to monitor their beliefs, and when their beliefs interfere with what they are creating, they create better beliefs.

 

As our planet careens forward into the twenty-first century, this may well be one of the most important skills we pick up if we are to keep pace with it all.


Who is Ben Tousey?

Shall I compare him to a summer’s day?
Of course not, don’t be ridiculous!
He is certainly neither lovely nor temperate.
Shall I compare him to the moon, or the sun or stars?
Most assuredly he is nothing like them.
What then shall I compare him to?
Stomach cramps?
Athlete’s foot?
Pimples?
Soon, I shall find a suitable comparison.

    Bill S. Spear
    Long time friend and barista to Ben

First take 1 cup of comedy
1 tablespoon of irony
2 pints of hair gel
1 cup of sifted observations
3 quarts dramatic interpretations
A touch of the Drama Queen (and some coffee)
Mix them all together with a microphone
Stir vigorously
Bake at 500 degrees for one hour
Then remove from the oven piping hot
Chill on the windowsill and enjoy the show

    Gladys Almostover
    Long time friend, drinking buddy, and therapist to Ben

I think Ben will go far (especially if he buys an airline ticket to someplace far away… Maybe Asia)!

    Helen Backagain
    Long time friend and guidance counselor to Ben Tousey