Howlings Of The Lady Wolf ...

I'd like to extend a  giant "Hello" or "Howlo" to All -- and welcome back to Lady Wolf's Notes :) 

Well, these are scary times, for sure. Some people are saying we're in the apocalypse. And if we are, or aren't, we have a lot of work to do to make things right. I feel I'll be sharing a variety of thoughts with you with this writing, though I also feel that all the pieces can and do fit together.

We're now the world's epicenter for Covid 19, with politicians using the pandemic for self-aggrandizement. We are a divided nation, with deep wounds that need cleansing. I'm reminded now of my late husband who suffered a terrible rectal cancer and a gaping surgical, radiated wound ... the wound needed twice-daily cleansing, the process of which was horrifically painful for him to endure. And that is the way it is with wounds of all kinds ... they need to be cleansed, cleaned out and it involves work and pain. We need to clean up our government and its agencies, starting at the topmost federal level and down through the states and cities. Honor the rights of citizens; re-model our police departments, treat our fellow beings humanely, atone as best we can for wrongs committed recently and in our nation's past. The wrongs began when some of our ancestors came to this continent from Europe, forced America's original owners out of their homes and off their land, and began disrespectful destruction of the lands and wildlife that the Native Americans had respected and revered. Those deeds are still blowing in the wind, still are not righted. Then, some of our ancestors sailed to the continent of Africa and rounded up many of the native people there, the Africans, put them in chains, and brought them on slave ships to what is now the United States, where they were "owned", "property", mistreated, and used as slaves. This is painful history and cannot be undone, but it ought to be acknowledged and the damage righted to the extent possible. We in the United States are all Americans.  There is no room here for hatred and racism. The only acceptable path is love.

And we are now facing the wrath of a pandemic.  
Can each of us strive to be accountable, kind, ethical, civil, humane? Let's start with our current crisis ... let's each one of us wear a face covering when we are in public. Protect yourself and protect others. We need to rise above this pandemic and save lives in order to be able to fix all the other things. We need to acknowledge, respect, and address the concerns of peaceful protesters. We need to be peaceful when we protest in order to gain respect for our cause. And in the coming months, please let's hope, pray, and work for a cleansing of our politics and government. 

I'd like to write a little joyful thing here. I always have a little reservoir of joy on hand, just waiting to make an appearance.  So I'm going to reference and re-post here a tiny edited segment of a piece I wrote two or three years ago. It says I'm wondering if there is anything that the general populace can do to help unite people, reach across the divide, and promote the concept of universal love, health, and peace of mind? As a musician and a scientist, I'm suggesting the healing universal vehicle of music to accompany and complement our social and scientific efforts in combating the current illness and fear. Maybe we could resurrect songs like "Love Train", "Blowin' In The Wind", "Imagine". How about adding new healing music (in all musical genres) that also would serve us and others in a healing way? We need to feel a positive connection, compassion, respect for our planet and all of its beings, and, above all -- a sense of gratitude for Life itself ... and all that is beautiful.  Amen.

Clara's Eleven Imperatives ... aka Commandments, Requests

There are eleven instead of ten because  1) I want to avoid any hint of religiosity and 2) I like the number 11; I think it is auspicious. So here, in random order, are my Eleven Imperatives:

  1.    Show gratitude and give thanks to the Great Source of All/God/the Great Spirit/the Great Energy for life and all that is good.

  2.    Be compassionate and kind to all living beings.

  3.    Thank a tree (for oxygen, shade, beauty). Save a tree. Hug a tree if you’d like to. Trees like hugs and they are good listeners if you need someone to talk to.

  4.    Be loyal and kind to that special human with whom you are in love.

  5.    Become an environmental activist—Save honeybees, bumblebees, crickets, praying mantises, stink bugs (friendly), cicadas (friendly and attractive), beneficial lady bugs, and necessary earth worms (after a heavy rain, I often rescue those who get stranded on pavement and put them back in the grass). Do not let insecticide companies spray your yard with poison. Pick up and properly dispose of litter.

  6.    Become a humane activist—Save domestic animals (dogs, cats, horses) in our country where they are often neglected and intentionally hurt and in other parts of the world where they are raised in brutal circumstances to be eaten or otherwise exploited by humans. Appreciate and re-establish predator animals such as the majestic wolf to restore what humans have destroyed in Nature’s balance. Leave wild animals such as bears, horses, deer undisturbed in their natural habitat and do not harm or mistreat them. Help legislate for cows, pigs, sheep, chickens who are victims of a brutal industry and are not protected from cruelty by any laws. Consider switching to a diet that is largely plant-based.
 
  7.    Send vibes of civility out into the world. Love is the only way to conquer hate. Love is the ONLY antidote for hate.

  8.    Celebrate music, the true universal language. Even the planets sing as they spin and rotate in the heavens. Join in and play a musical instrument. Drum on a hand drum. Sing and give it your best effort. Tap your foot.  

  9.    Speak out for peace for our planet. Peace instead of war should be the motto.   

 10.   Do aerobic dancing every day. Dance, dance, dance! 

 11.   Meditate. Breathe deeply … inhale, exhale.  Do it unhurriedly.  Meditation can involve spoken prayer, silence, surrender to the will of the Universe, gratitude.

my September song ...

Dear Readers, 
I've been out of touch for a couple of months and it seems like much longer. I hope that people still read blogs.

I was honored to be doing what I could to assist my beloved closest friend through a surgery and hospital stay. He is recovering well now at home and I'm so proud of him and his courage and wonderful spirit. 

Another person in my realm was distressed recently when told a needed hip replacement couldn't be done because of some other existing health concerns. He is now getting in-home health therapy which is a welcomed step forward.

Shifting gears, I'm wondering if there is anything that the general populace can do to help unite people together and gather the momentum to promote peace? Peace is cool (war isn't).  It would be a comforting contrast to current news items.  I'd love to hear songs like we heard in the '60s .... "Love Train" and "He's Not Heavy He's My Brother", "Blowin' In The Wind", "Imagine", and many other of the wonderful songs of that time.  I think we truly can say that the hippies had it right! These songs are beautiful, humane, inspiring, exciting, and could really do some good now. We would hope for radio stations with the courage to play them. We humans need universal love, compassion for each other and for our fellow beings the animals, respect for our planet, and a sense of gratitude for life itself and all that is beautiful.

I'd like to write a little joyful thing here. I always have a little reservoir of joy on hand, just waiting to make an appearance. Here we are in the initial days of autumn (Autumnal Equinox) ... equal daylight and darkness on the 22nd! And no matter what the circumstances, Nature offers comfort and balance and good energy.Trees are magic in their ability to absorb our concerns and take us in under their comforting boughs. My personal immediate advice includes hugging a tree and petting a dog or cat. My dog, Ruby, is like a psychologist, able to look into my eyes and lift up my thoughts. Also, I find that doing something nice for somebody really does give me joy. So, with gratitude, I thank anyone who is reading this blog. And I thank everyone who promotes kindness today.

Seeking And Offering Solace Along The Path –

My life's chariot is pulled along by two marvelous powers -- one is intuitive music for which I am a thankful conduit ... and the other is the wonder of the universe, nature and our fellow travelers, the animals.

The music genres I crave and identify with are blues, jazz, and love ballads. Blues is the most honest music in the world ... it cleanses, lifts, wails, exalts, sobs, complains, resolves ... all the feelings. I love to perform and listen to blues. Jazz I admire when hearing others play it, although I prefer to be playing it myself than listening because I like to create ‘as I go'. Blues and jazz are precious music forms given to us by our African-American people. Born in sad and impoverished conditions, these music forms endured and we are fortunate to have them. I offer my deep thanks to those creative, musical people whose fortitude and talent gave us this music. My piano students know that one of the first things I teach them is the ability to create a song with the I, IV, V chords and 12-bar blues. 

From my Buddhist, Animist, and Shaman standpoint, I see and regard all beings and all of nature as precious and part of the grand tapestry. I see the need for humaneness, harmony, and compassion in dealing with humans and with the rest of creation. Early on in my life, the Animist and Shamanic qualities were part of my consciousness (though I didn't yet know their names ... and later on, I learned that there are other people with these feelings). During the “autumn” of my life – a nice phrase referred to by my best and very beloved friend – I became attuned to Buddhism (by way of said beloved person) and I admire the way he conducts his spiritual self. Also I admire the words of the Dalai Lama and one quote of his that I want to write here is: “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”  

A few days ago, I wrote and briefly posted a lengthy blog article about national and world problems, politics, and social issues. The article was very accurate, but it felt disturbing to me when I read it, so I took it off the blog so it wouldn't disturb others. Since all living beings are connected at a cellular level (here I’m borrowing an oft-said, very wise Native American quote which says "whatever happens to one individual or species will ultimately happen to all,") I feel the need to offer readers, our planet, all species, and myself the hope of a path to peace and humane love. Kindness. I believe the healing needs to come from within each of us and it must come from humane love. 

I invite you to see my "Healing The Earth Family" blog at 
http://healingtheearthfamily.blogspot.com/. It's a novel, comprehensive program and it ends with a nice, uplifting song.

I would like to add to this writing a closing thought and a request. 

The thought is:  We are, each and all, ripples in the tide of life's ocean. Each ripple is a part of that ocean and affects its entirety.  

The request is:  Please pray to the God of your understanding ... for peace, justice, harmony, compassion, humane love, wisdom, respect, ethics, courage, faith, blessings, gratitude, awakening.

"Healing the Earth Family"

My newly-created program entitled "Healing The Earth Family" is ready to be up and running.  It is a free program (I'll bring a tip jar to help defray expenses) and is sort of my "statement of hope" for our world.  The hour-long program will soothe, challenge, and inspire and is presented with narrative, video, and one of my songs.  It's geared to adult groups, clubs, and organizations.  I've created some very relevant print handouts and I have a display loaded with really nice pictures.  The uplifting song is at the end of the main video and the program has a particularly nice closing mode.   Those of you who know me will remember my injury several years ago in a church shooting.  It took me a long time to heal and I still have some of the physical residuals, which serve to remind me to be grateful for the gift of life.  Current happenings, world-wide, are unpleasant reminders of what happens to the human spirit when spiritual bankruptcy and the lust for power take hold of people.

I think you'll like this program.  If your group (small, medium or large) is in or near Knoxville and you'd like to view and hear "Healing The Earth Family", please contact me at claralandau@yahoo.com.

Worth The Wait ...

... for me, and I hope for my friends, fans, and all like-minded souls: my video entitled “Love vs Warzilla”.  I think it’s an important message.  We filmed this (it’s a speech that is scripted and delivered by me) back in August.  Then a number of circumstances stalled it.  But now it’s up and running!  In it you will learn how it got its name ... and other bold things are touched on, as well.  It feels like it's a brave video and it certainly gives a great deal of transparency to my feelings.  If you watch it, please view it all the way to the end to hear my song "I Love All The Voices".  Also on YouTube are music videos for two of my other songs ... “Dance with Me” (a “large” equally romantic and ethereal song that alludes to Life being the ultimate dance partner)  and “That’s The Way You Make Me Feel” (a sensuous song with techy facets).  All  video production was done by Dr. Donovan Stewart, who is an exceptionally fine chiropractor and luthier.  My songs, including the song at the end of the speech (I Love All The Voices) , were recorded and mastered at Songwriters Studio here in Knoxville with phenomenally talented William (Sandy) Garrett at the helm. 

The Love vs Warzilla speech and song I Love All The Voices links are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOCCFYEZU88 and 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OltBCIZ6Gxw

The other songs are:
Dance With Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7T9FeK5e4c 
and
That's The Way You Make Me Feel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwXKGnpO3VE

   

Horse Sense & Sensibility --

Hi ... Clara here. Many people know that, in addition to being a musician, artist, writer, and holistic practitioner, I’m also an advocate and volunteer for animals. For ten years I traveled to schools, youth organizations, adult civic groups, and churches, presenting a program I scripted about kindness to animals and respect for the earth.

I’d like to talk with you about animals who need our help and will offer here a sort of mini-series, beginning with those that are most urgent.

HORSES --

In recent years, our country passed legislation to stop horse slaughter here in the U.S. This is very good, except that our horses (including wild mustangs and burros rounded up by the Bureau Of Land Management, and previously-owned family and working horses) are still being auctioned, bought by meat dealers – who truck them, by the thousands–to Canada and Mexico. During transit, they are crowded together without food and water. Once at their destination, they are killed in ways that are barbaric and horrifying. In Mexico, the terrified horses are repeatedly stabbed, by men with hand-held knives, until the bleeding horses can no longer stand up. In Canada, a "stun bolt" is used, which often doesn’t knock the horse out, before he or she is slaughtered. The horse meat is exported as exotic food for dinner tables in parts of Europe. There are horse rescue organizations that are able to buy and rescue a small number of these horses at auction; however, the meat buyers often are able to outbid them. Organizations such as Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue in Maryland, whose website is at www.gentlegiantsdrafthorserescue.com, are among the dedicated groups that buy and rescue horses during those last defining moments at the auctions. Currently, a legislator in the state of Tennessee is pushing a mercenary, ugly, backward bill that would legalize horse slaughterhouses in Tennessee, even in the face of pending federal legislation that has been moving toward outlawing the transport of horses (as described above). There are many reasons that horse slaughter is an abominable thing. I will list them, as follows:

1-Stun-guns (such as currently used in Canada) are not accurate on horses, as horses thrash about in terror in the kill box and, therefore, are often conscious during slaughter.

2-The appalling nature of the method in use in Mexico is self-evident.

3-A humane kill method (for example, humane injection) would make the animal’s "meat" toxic for humans.

4-Since the USDA no longer inspects horsemeat, buyers would all be foreign...coming in and ravaging our horses.

5-When Tennessee’s (or any local) horse supply is gone, non-legal acquisitions/theft would likely begin.

6-Horse slaughter will do nothing to help neglected, starving horses, as meat buyers don’t buy thin horses.

7-Profits from slaughter houses would be skimmed/siphoned off by foreign corporations (who pay no tax because the end product is used in other countries); the U.S. towns where the slaughter houses are located would not make money. This is what happened in the past when there were three horse slaughter-houses located in the U.S.

So you can see that the only logical and humane way to dispose of ailing and no-longer-wanted companion horses is to have them humanely euthanized by a veterinarian.

Horses are part of our country’s national and natural heritage. They have served us on battlefields, as transportation, as companions, as farm help, and as movie stars. They are highly intelligent individuals and deserve humane and honorable regard.

To help them, please contact your senators and congressmen in Washington DC, imploring them to propose, support, and enact the needed federal law. You can find your federal representatives’ names and addresses at http://www.usa.gov/. and Tennessee state legislators at http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators
　
Thank you.

Poignant News –

Seeing the news photo of the Millwood Road animal shelter (humane society) building destroyed by today’s flames, brings back a flood of memories to me (and I’m sure to many others, too). For 13 years I was associated with the humane society ... for the first three years as a hands-on volunteer (walking dogs and cleaning their cages) and then as education director, traveling with my program to schools and organizations throughout Knox and contiguous counties. I kept doing it because I wanted to save animals’ lives by promoting responsible pet ownership and spay/neuter. I did bring the message to hundreds of classrooms, youth organizations, and civic groups until my job was eliminated in early 2004.

Thousands of animals came through the doors of that old building each year. The lucky minority were adopted ... the rest were dispatched when their time was up – or sooner if they were "owner surrendered". Of all the situations there that broke my heart, it was the suffering of the house-trained adult dogs, who were in the top tier of the old cement cages, that was the saddest; they had no access to the outdoors. I still see images of them and their distress, in my mind’s eye.

The news photo shows the large holly tree as it still stands next to the building, a silent witness to so much. The news article says that an arson investigator has been called in.

Employees had sometimes talked among themselves about "seeing" animals who were no longer there, moving about in the euthanasia room; the employees concluded that it must be an "energy field". I never went inside that room.

So, goodbye to the corridors and rooms where lives were extinguished, and the spirits of many, many animals roamed. The news article says that the fire left only the outer walls of the building remaining.

Gate-Keepers, Step Aside –

"Animal People" is a newspaper publication about and for individuals and organizations that work to help animals – through advocacy, rescue, and/or education ... animal-oriented people ... in short, "animal-people". I had subscribed to Animal People for the ten years during which I was education director and traveling public speaker for a regional humane organization.

Recently, when I completed and recorded my classical music composition Requiem For Animals, I sent a news item about it, as well as a letter-to-the editor, to Animal People, so that the editor/publisher could choose the format he preferred to include in an upcoming issue. The items described the musical work and the fact that I was offering it as a gift to humane organizations that might want to use it as a film score or for an educational project. When the next issue rolled out, Requiem For Animals was not mentioned at all. Rather, I received an e-mail from the editor/publisher, rejecting my news item and letter and dissing the concept of my musical gift offer, in general. His tone, while polite, flexed the muscle of censorship and gate-keeping. He also suggested that I contact each organization individually. (!) Left on my own, without recourse to a widely distributed animal advocacy avenue, I’ve been contacting those organizations I find on the Internet via e-mail and postal mail, as time and postage money permit, but there is no way I can even know about the existence of many worthwhile organizations and certainly no way I can contact each of them.

How sad that the role of "watchdog", guardian, and gate-keeper would be so staunchly policed, that something of beauty and value (and free of cost) would be kept from those who might want and benefit from it.

Comprised of interwoven segments that tell a story and characterize states of being ... and consciousness... from the perspective of an animal, the Requiem For Animals musical drama attempts to portray the moment of birth, early life in the natural environment, the advent of danger (by way of man), death, the following quietude, the re-awakening, and the celebration of life in the cosmos.

I would like to tell the animal advocacy community – the animal-people organizations -- that Requiem For Animals is a professional, production-quality musical work that I am offering free, for use in their programming efforts. There are no hitches or catches. Requiem For Animals can be heard on my website at www.claralandau.com on the "Song Page" link. I will send a free copy of the CD to organizations that contact me at (865) 522-0204 claralandau@comcast.net and request it.

So, gate-keepers, step aside; let’s open the gates of information!

Cellular Level (not about phones) –

One of the three excellent post-trauma one-on-one counselors who met with me in recent weeks, raised the question of belief systems, God, and spirituality. We had an awesome conversation about our mutual feeling (more like "a knowing"), of being connected with other people, animals, and plants at a cellular level – that is, truly being bonded with, interconnected with them – in a very real, spiritual way. I enjoyed speaking with someone who so obviously understood my description of what I call the Universal Spirit or Energy. It is my awareness of that cellular level connection that fuels my immense affection for animals and plants and my caring about other people.

I used to tell the kids in my humane education classes and audiences, that all people and creatures in our world are The Earth Family. Most of the children seemed to really relate to that phrase and its meaning. My hope is that some of them (now teens and young adults) will hold it in their minds and hearts as they become adults and take leadership roles in our world.

Over the ten years that I did those speaking engagements, I did get an angry telephone call from a child's father who accused me of "preaching a new religion" and demanding "I want you to stop it"! But I didn't.

Just as one cell of an individual body knows and is affected by what is happening to another cell we each are part of an intricately-woven tapestry ... at a cellular level.

Ruby, The Horse Who Captured My Heart --

Yes, I will tell you about her. Also, I want to tell you about a wonderful local organization that rescues and rehabilitates neglected and abused horses. It was my major pleasure to visit their facility this past Saturday, which was their monthly adoption and visiting day. First, though, I’ll preface the details of what brought me there at that particular moment in time, with a bit of background.

One of the very noticeable phases the teenage girls of my time experienced was a strong interest in horses. I remember well the excitement of my high school girlfriends about "going horse-back riding" one or more times a week; I remember their descriptions of horses and I remember the sincerity of their passion about horses. I’m thinking that maybe the interest young women have in horses transcends generations and was not specific to the days of my youth. Anyway, those years, for me, were a time of dealing with survival issues, so I was not able to become involved with or think about horses then. Later on (years later), I became a strong animal advocate and have remained so, over the years, working on behalf of marine, farm, wild, and companion animals (dogs & cats). In fact, humane education and animal advocacy are a big part of my identity. But I never championed horses ... not until now.

A couple of years ago, I began writing legislative letters, urging enactment of laws to protect American wild horses and horses in general, from being sent to slaughterhouses. Eventually, a law was passed to ban horse slaughter in the U.S., though these magnificent animals are now shipped, under horrendous conditions, across Canadian and Mexican borders, to be killed there for European and Asian "delicacy" markets. Please read some of my earlier posts that urge letter-writing to legislators to protect our horses from this cruel fate.

Well, that’s enough preface. About two months ago, I was flooded with a deep, spiritual desire to make the acquaintance of horses in a hands-on way, no small wish for someone whose horse experience was limited to feeding Jake, the milk wagon horse, an occasional sugar cube when I was a tiny tyke ... and on one occasion, having a "pony ride" on a poor, patient horse at an amusement park when I was nine years old. As an aside (you know I frequently do asides), Jake faithfully toted his milk wagon around town for daily deliveries and would, occasionally, get disgusted with his toting job and just begin running wild, all over the place, until he either became tired or felt satisfied – with his wagon driver hanging on for dear life.

Anyway, my recent desire to get to know horses led me to Horse Haven of Tennessee. I was welcomed there by Nina, who founded and heads the effort there. A number of capable, cheerful volunteers were on hand and three of them tutored me on various things I needed to know. I took it all in. Remembering my few up-front meetings with Jake (and the driver’s instructions to "hold your hand flat") I asked if I could feed a treat carrot to a horse. Most of the horses were outside, but two were still in the barn. I felt drawn to one of them, softly called to her, and she responded by affectionately nuzzling my neck and then kissing the side of my face, much like Dixie (my dog) often does. So I held a carrot on one of my very "flattened" piano-playing hands and darling Ruby gently and carefully took the treat, and then another, and then another. I fell totally in love with this wonderful horse. On my drive home, the hauntingly beautiful song "Ruby" (from the 50s or 60s) floated into my head and I've played it on the piano many times since. Ruby is available for adoption, as are several other nice horses at Horse Haven.

Horse Haven needs financial contributions to help with the costs of caring for the horses who are there and with the expenses involved with rescuing others. Check out the HHT website at www.horsehavenoftn.com. to read their news and see the horses. You will love it!

Animals Need Help --

Wolves and Horses –

They are very much in need of letters to legislators. To help the U.S. wolves who are now being exterminated due to Bush’s unconscionable removal of them from the Endangered Species List, please visit the websites of Defenders Of Wildlife at www.defenders.org and Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund at www.callofftheguns.org for complete information on where to write, how to help.

To help U.S. horses who are are bought up at auctions and shipped under inhumane, crowded conditions without food and water, across the borders into Mexico and Canada, where they are grossly mis-handled and barbarically slaughtered for an Asian and European market, please write to your U.S. congressman and senator asking them to support S.311 and H.R. 503 the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Get names and addresses at http://www..senate.gov and http://www.house.gov . Visit http://www.frontrangeequinerescue.org for more information. It's important for us to get involved on behalf of the animals, for their sake and for our own; they are a vital part of the natural ecological tapestry and heritage of our country.

On the Home Scene –

The economy isn’t doing any good for the dog and cat overpopulation problem, but there are low-cost spay/neuter clinics in almost every locale, including here in Knoxville. The only humane way to reduce the huge number of shelter euthanasias is to have your cat and dog spayed or neutered. Additionally, he or she will be a better, more home-loving pet, often cleaner, too. It’s the right thing to do. Every dog and cat deserves a loving home, so we need to put the brakes on letting pets produce litters and patronizing back yard breeders and pet shops (every litter born takes away potential homes for animals who are waiting out their "time" in shelters, hoping to be adopted ... hoping not to be taken to that room in the back). I worked for three years as a hands-on volunteer at a local shelter. It was gut-wrenching, yet rewarding, too, to be able to offer whatever help I could to the shelter animals -- walking them, cleaning their cages, refilling their water bowls, talking to prospective adopters.

Please spay and neuter so that shelter personnel can stop killing abandoned and surrendered healthy dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens. It’s the biggest and best way we can show our love for our pets.