Sunday, January 15, 2017

Circus to Close!

In another victory for animals, Ringling Bros. has recognized the groundswell of opposition to animals being used for entertainment and profit - which too often has involved horrific abuses and unnecessary risks and injuries - and have agreed to discontinue their Circus!

Learn more about the end of the Circus, here.

Those who oppose circuses understand that animals have greater value as individuals and fellow beings deserving of respect, care and love.

May all beings be free!

Library of Animal Sounds and Images

Beautiful! Sounds and images of our sacred animal friends: Cornell's Macaulay Library: a scientific archive of 150,000 bird calls and animal sounds http://macaulaylibrary.org/

May all beings be happy and well.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

R.I.P. Great Animals - 2016

Several remarkable animals passed in 2016, as well as the many people we know about. Read about those animals here.

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Great New Year News for Elephants!

Today, China announced a complete domestic ivory trade BAN in 2017! A major win for elephants!

http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/ban-ivory-trade-china%E2%80%99s-new-year-present-elephants

Happy New Year!

May ALL beings be happy, free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

More Good Quotes

"If your love is true love, it will benefit not only humans, but also animals, plants, and minerals. When you love one person, it’s an opportunity for you to love everyone, all beings. Then you are going in a good direction, and that is true love.

"Cultivating the four elements of true love—loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity—is the secret to nourishing deep and healthy relationships. When you practice with these elements regularly, you can handle the difficulties in your relationships and transform the suffering you feel inside. You become like a Buddha. You love everyone and every species." - Thich Nhat Hanh

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - M. Gandhi

"If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu." - Elizabeth Warren

Let's give every being a voice.

May all beings, without exception, be happy and free.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Saving Half of The Earth

It's looking more clear that by 2020, two-thirds of wild animals on our planet will be gone. Life is being extinguished as fast as when the dinosaurs disappeared. Unless we stop this tragedy, the Earth’s delicate biodiversity could completely collapse, leaving our planet deathly silent and uninhabitable for humans.

Scientists say our best chance to save our ecosystems and 80-90% of all species is giving them enough safe space to thrive, then nature uses its wisdom to regenerate. It's being called The 50% Plan. To get this off the ground we have to show our governments now that people overwhelmingly want to protect 50% of Earth from deforestation, dirty energy, and industrial fishing and agriculture. 

Learn more:

Could we set aside half the Earth for nature? (The Guardian)

How do we achieve the goal? (Nature Needs Half)
http://natureneedshalf.org/nature-needs-half/how-do-we-achieve-the-goal

Conservation: Glass half full (Nature)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7593/full/531170a.html

Sixth Wildlife Mass Extinction May Happen in 2020, Experts Say (Nature World News)
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/30805/20161027/year-2020-era-wildlife-mass-extinction.htm

Don't Mourn, Regenerate!
https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/message-marrakesh-don%E2%80%99t-mourn-regenerate

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

What A Fish Knows

For those who eat fish, consider this book and the author's recommendation that - because fishes, have individual personalities, feel love and emotions and understand their world in much the same ways as we - one should "do your homework" to learn about how the fish you want to eat were raised, captured, killed, etc. and decide if you are ok with that whole process before voting with one's dollar for that kind of activity.


Jonathan Balcombe's book is called What A Fish Knows.

Toward the end of the NPR interview program "What A Fish Knows" (here), Jonathan reminds us that none of us have any say over the form (family, gender, even species) in which we are born, and this should inspire great empathy for others.

"I think that recognizing that animals have a proper place in the Earth is the next great social movement for our species."

May all beings be happy and well.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Stunning Loss, Some Gains

While we can readily project that the results of the 2016 US Presidential and Congressional elections will make life harder for most beings on Earth over the coming years, news from the election was not all bad.

In fact, many local election results supported animals in some meaningful ways, showing that compassion did factor into the election.

Read HSUS President Wayne Pacelle's report on his blog.

May all beings be happy and well, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Buddha Wisdom


May all beings be well and happy, free from suffering and the causes of suffering. SVAHA

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Update on World's Vertebrate Loss

My sense that we are in trouble - big trouble - solidified when I read a report in 2014 that since 1970, humans had wiped out just over 50 percent of all of Earth's non-human vertebrate creatures. 

Intuition tells me (and I am confident I am not wrong) that humans cannot survive on Earth once we have lost all (or virtually all) other vertebrate life, because the life-sustaining functions of our biosphere depend upon ecosystems mostly intact, even if not healthful.

We (some humans) might be able to survive that loss, but it would be just that: survival. My sense is that most will question whether there remains any value in living in a world in that condition. Aside from the sheer physical and health challenges that would result, we would also be reckoning with the moral dilemma of having destroyed so large an amount of living beings. When we consider that all Life is truly One, we will find ourselves living out the final breaths of global suicide.

My "Doomsday Dharma" (my proposal that we ought to begin to stop trying to "save" the world and begin to learn to love and care for one another as we find ourselves in this hospice situation together) was predicated on this group’s 2014 report about the loss of 1/2 of the earth’s vertebrates. Today's update predicts a much more rapid die-off than I had envisioned just two years ago. 

This October 2016 report suggests that we will lose fully 2/3 of all vertebrate life as soon as only 3 years from now! That is much more rapid than even my own most dismal assessments, where I had calculated maybe 30 to 40 years for total vertebrate loss. Based upon this new report (assuming current trend in rate of loss), the most generous projection for a habitable Earth may be down to 25 or fewer years.

Shocking. Sad. 

And a wake-up call to begin learning to love and care for one another now more than at any other time in human history.

May all beings be well and free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Make McDonald's Make Meatless

Sign this petition to encourage McDonald's to make a meatless burger, in part to accommodate Millennials, 12% of which are vegetarian: https://www.change.org/p/mcdonald-s-it-s-time-for-a-healthy-meatless-option

May all beings be happy and free!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Racing Extinction and SAM

Racing Extinction: A powerful new website and film: http://racingextinction.com/

And SAM - Social Action Machine: https://socialactionmachine.com/

Join me in signing up and participating in more actions to help save our beloved, divine Biosphere!

May all beings be well and happy.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Oct 4: Feast of St Francis and World Animal Day

Two celebrations of animals happen on October 4th: World Animal Day and the Feast of St Francis, a day in which some churches offer blessings for animals and pets and animal welfare, rescue and education are highlighted.

Let's hope that any "feasting" that happens on this day is fully vegetarian!

World Animal Day: http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/about_us
Feast of St. Francis: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/st-francis-assisi-feast

Here are some things you can do:

Read this article about a Buddhist who liberated rabbits (click here).

Make a donation to World Animal Protection by Oct 6 and your donation will be matched, dollar for dollar! https://www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/donate-today

May all beings be well and happy!

Anthropocene Anthropodenialism

I've thought this for years: we are intently looking for "aliens" while myriads of species have yet to be discovered here on Earth.

Recently, we discovered a new species and it went immediately onto the Endangered Species list. There are surely, and will be many more, entire species that we wipe out before we ever discover them.

This comes in part because of our misunderstanding of our place on this animal planet, and therefore our relationship and responsibility toward others.

Of course, animals have every right to be here as we have. I don't like the insistence of those who continue to say that we are the pinnacle of conscious evolution, nor ideas that we are the only beings who can "understand" our divinity. We may be the ones who have most forgotten it, based on how we behave toward others.

Here's an enjoyable article worth the read. It includes numerous links to other important and moving reports, articles and videos.

"Even Charles Darwin was ridiculed for claiming the lowly earthworm showed intelligence. Darwin pointed out that humans are animals over a century ago, but today he'd still face the same anthropodenialism.

"This outdated notion is based on a fundamental fallacy that assumes our unique form of intelligence makes us this planet's only true beings.

"The more we actively observe altruism and justice and pain and love and fear and play and politics and romance and commitment all around us, the harder it is to maintain a destructive distinction between us and them. And the more we click, the more clearly we see the fundamental problems of the Anthropocene Era and its rising seas, poisoned waters and mounting extinction.

"At long last, science is finally proving something millions of humans who live with 'pets' have known for years -- that animals are 'people,' too."

Read more....

May all beings be well and happy.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Fasting For Farm Animals

There is a movement and you can sign to pledge you will fast on Oct 2 in protest of the slaughter and treatment of farm animals! 


http://www.dayforanimals.org/unite

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Saturday, September 24, 2016

BBC - Horses Can Communicate With Us


No surprise for those of us with close relationships with animals, this BBC Science report about findings that may offer more tools and awareness for those concerned with animal welfare:
Horses have joined a select group of animals that can communicate by pointing at symbols.
Scientists trained horses, by offering slices of carrot as an incentive, to touch a board with their muzzle to indicate if they wanted to wear a rug.
The horses' requests matched the weather, suggesting it wasn't a random choice.

The scientists hope that other researchers will use their method to ask horses more questions.  Read more....

Might we also be able - and willing - to ask questions of animals like cows, pigs and chickens?

May all beings be well and happy.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Karaniya Metta Sutta

"Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born —
May all beings be at ease!"

"Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings"

~ (excerpts from:) Karaniya Metta Sutta: The Buddha's Words on Loving-Kindness

Listen to "Sangha 'Round The Campfire" on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCPYcfvLl1U

May all beings be loved. May all beings be happy and well.

Friday, September 9, 2016

After The Harvest

A compelling and touching article by Robert Jensen, "After the harvest — learning to leave the planet gracefully" http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/harvest-learning-leave-planet-gracefully/

I share Koplin’s sense of our responsibility here and can relate to this; this is central to my own sense of what needs to happen now:

“He loved people and planet in a way that made him yearn for a graceful, peaceful ending, much as one wishes for a graceful and peaceful ending for a person coming to the end of an individual life.”

I would go further than the following, though:

“Koplin told me that he remembered the moment as a young person when he realized that every human being’s brain worked the same way, which meant that every human being alive on the planet had the capacity to experience exactly the same range of emotions as he did.”

I feel confident that I have direct experience that all animals also feel the same breadth – and probably similar depth – of emotional experience as humans feel. To whatever extent I feel despair, it is about how brutally we treat our animal brothers and sisters – having killed off 51% of all vertebrate life on Earth since 1970 – as well as how we are misusing the Earth herself. My pessimism for the Earth’s future centers around the loss of that Life, which – because we know we are One with all Life – is actually suicide.

We are now in hospice, or should be, all of us together.

“I’m the positive one — by placing my faith in our collective ability to bear the truth that is beyond bearing, I am affirming the best aspects of our humanity, just like my friend Jim Koplin.”

And I, too, am more optimistic than pessimistic. While I feel we have no long-term future on Earth, I believe that we can learn to truly love one another and become kind to one another. If not, this whole experience will in a sense have been a waste. The Eternal Dharma is the Message of Love, only Love. If we can “save ourselves” in any meaningful sense of that, I will be by our capacity to uncover and act from genuine Love for all beings.

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and causes of suffering.

PS: And this, just in: Scientists find that at the current rate of destruction, the planet’s wildlands will be gone within 50 years.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Message from Chief Arvol Looking Horse

Please read this critical message.

Along with finding alternative forms of energy, we need to drastically reduce consumption of energy, including water, while reducing output of toxins into the air, water and onto the land.

Factory Farming consumes vast amounts of water, strips natural green lands (animal habitats), and results in pollution of air (methane) and water and land (waste products). Over fishing is contributing to the destruction of our waterways and ocean ecosystems.

Along with meditating together on our interconnectedness, actions like reducing the amount of energy and water we use and reducing the kinds of Earth- and ocean-damaging foods we eat are essential for our children’s future.

One big step, also a compassionate one, is to limit consumption of factory farmed and ocean harvested animal products.

May all beings be well and free from suffering.

Love,
Shivadam


http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/26/important-message-keeper-sacred-white-buffalo-calf-pipe

Important Message from Keeper of Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
Chief Arvol Looking Horse
8/26/16

I, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations, ask you to understand an Indigenous perspective on what has happened in America, what we call "Turtle Island." My words seek to unite the global community through a message from our sacred ceremonies to unite spiritually, each in our own ways of beliefs in the Creator.

We have been warned from ancient prophecies of these times we live in today, but have also been given a very important message about a solution to turn these terrible times.

To understand the depth of this message you must recognize the importance of Sacred Sites and realize the interconnectedness of what is happening today, in reflection of the continued massacres that are occurring on other lands and our own Americas.

I have been learning about these important issues since the age of 12 when I received the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle and its teachings. Our people have strived to protect Sacred Sites from the beginning of time. These places have been violated for centuries and have brought us to the predicament that we are in at the global level.

Look around you. Our Mother Earth is very ill from these violations, and we are on the brink of destroying the possibility of a healthy and nurturing survival for generations to come, our children's children.

Our ancestors have been trying to protect our Sacred Site called the Sacred Black Hills in South Dakota, "Heart of Everything That Is," from continued violations. Our ancestors never saw a satellite view of this site, but now that those pictures are available, we see that it is in the shape of a heart and, when fast-forwarded, it looks like a heart pumping.

The Diné have been protecting Big Mountain, calling it the liver of the earth, and we are suffering and going to suffer more from the extraction of the coal there and the poisoning processes used in doing so.

The Aborigines have warned of the contaminating effects of global warming on the Coral Reefs, which they see as Mother Earth's blood purifier.

The indigenous people of the rainforest say that the rainforests are the lungs of the planet and need protection.

The Gwich'in Nation in Alaska has had to face oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, also known to the Gwich'in as "Where life begins."

The coastal plain is the birthplace of many life forms of the animal nations. The death of these animal nations will destroy indigenous nations in this territory.

As these destructive developments continue all over the world, we will witness many more extinct animal, plant, and human nations, because of mankind's misuse of power and their lack of understanding of the "balance of life."

The Indigenous people warn that these destructive developments will cause havoc globally. There are many, many more indigenous teachings and knowledge about Mother Earth's Sacred Sites, her chakras, and connections to our spirit that will surely affect our future generations.

There needs to be a fast move toward other forms of energy that are safe for all nations upon Mother Earth. We need to understand the types of minds that are continuing to destroy the spirit of our whole global community. Unless we do this, the powers of destruction will overwhelm us.

Our Ancestors foretold that water would someday be for sale. Back then this was hard to believe, since the water was so plentiful, so pure, and so full of energy, nutrition and spirit. Today we have to buy pure water, and even then the nutritional minerals have been taken out; it's just empty liquid. Someday water will be like gold, too expensive to afford.

Not everyone will have the right to drink safe water. We fail to appreciate and honor our Sacred Sites, ripping out the minerals and gifts that lay underneath them as if Mother Earth were simply a resource, instead of the source of life itself.

Attacking nations and using more resources to carry out destruction in the name of peace is not the answer! We need to understand how all these decisions affect the global nation; we will not be immune to its repercussions. Allowing continual contamination of our food and land is affecting the way we think.

A "disease of the mind" has set in world leaders and many members of our global community, with their belief that a solution of retaliation and destruction of peoples will bring peace.

In our prophecies it is told that we are now at the crossroads: Either unite spiritually as a global nation, or be faced with chaos, disasters, diseases, and tears from our relatives' eyes.

We are the only species that is destroying the source of life, meaning Mother Earth, in the name of power, mineral resources, and ownership of land. Using chemicals and methods of warfare that are doing irreversible damage, as Mother Earth is becoming tired and cannot sustain any more impacts of war.

I ask you to join me on this endeavor. Our vision is for the peoples of all continents, regardless of their beliefs in the Creator, to come together as one at their Sacred Sites to pray and meditate and commune with one another, thus promoting an energy shift to heal our Mother Earth and achieve a universal consciousness toward attaining Peace.

As each day passes, I ask all nations to begin a global effort, and remember to give thanks for the sacred food that has been gifted to us by our Mother Earth, so the nutritional energy of medicine can be guided to heal our minds and spirits.

This new millennium will usher in an age of harmony or it will bring the end of life as we know it. Starvation, war, and toxic waste have been the hallmark of the great myth of progress and development that ruled the last millennium.

To us, as caretakers of the heart of Mother Earth, falls the responsibility of turning back the powers of destruction. You yourself are the one who must decide.

You alone – and only you – can make this crucial choice, to walk in honor or to dishonor your relatives. On your decision depends the fate of the entire World.

Each of us is put here in this time and this place to personally decide the future of humankind.

Did you think the Creator would create unnecessary people in a time of such terrible danger?

Know that you yourself are essential to this world. Understand both the blessing and the burden of that. You yourself are desperately needed to save the soul of this world. Did you think you were put here for something less? In a Sacred Hoop of Life, there is no beginning and no ending.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse is the author of White Buffalo Teachings. A tireless advocate of maintaining traditional spiritual practices, Chief Looking Horse is a member of Big Foot Riders, which memorializes the massacre of Big Foot's band at Wounded Knee.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Friday, August 19, 2016

A Spiritual Awakening


HSUS's Wayne Pacelle will be joining Oprah Winfrey on this Sunday's episode of "Super Soul Sunday" on OWN. Wayne writes:

Oprah and I share the belief that our lives are forever enriched by the many animals in our world. We are in the midst of a growing global consciousness when it comes to our treatment of these wondrous creatures. On "Super Soul Sunday," I sit down with Oprah to discuss my new book, "The Humane Economy," as well as this unprecedented spiritual awakening in our treatment of animals, and how it’s one of the fundamental questions in our society. 



Watch an exclusive clip of our conversation» 

I hope you will join us in this conversation and tune in this Sunday, August 21 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on OWN for a conversation that everyone should hear. 


May all beings be happy and free!


Thursday, August 11, 2016

Cashew the Cow and Vegan Cheese



On a small dairy farm in Pennsylvania, a Jersey cow welcomed her first calf – a baby boy with an inspiring story detailing the difference that compassion makes. From his first moments, little Cashew knew nothing but love from both his mother and his owner, a kindhearted woman who started the dairy with her husband because she loved cows and wanted to see them treated well. As a vegetarian, she wanted to be a different kind of farmer; she didn’t want to follow industry standards which dictate that the boys, who cannot produce milk, are slaughtered for veal or cheap beef in order to sustain profits.

Read more....

May all beings be well and happy!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

World Elephant Day!

World Elephant Day is Friday, August 12th.

How will you celebrate and spread awareness on this special day?

Launched in 2012, World Elephant Day continues to shine global attention on the plight of African and Asian elephants.  Honoring this special day provides us with an opportunity to bring the world together to help conserve and protect elephants from the numerous threats they face each and every day.

Learn more....

May all beings be happy and free!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Help Protect Big Cats

Camera CATalogue - a new website from Zooniverse and Panthera that allows citizen scientists like you to protect big cats by simply looking at and identifying photos of wildlife!

Today, Panthera works in 50 countries around the globe to protect big cats and their vast landscapes. Motion-activated camera traps are used to count cats and their prey species, identify where they live, and determine how conservation efforts are helping to protect these animals.

These cameras produce thousands of images of fascinating animals, from the iconic leopard and rhino to the lesser-known aardwolf and civet. While certainly high-tech, these cameras do not distinguish between animal species. That is why we need your help to identify the big cats and other wildlife in these photos.

Log onto the Camera CATalogue now and help identify the amazing wildlife in these camera trap images. It’s a fun way to spend a few minutes (or a few hours), test and improve your animal knowledge (who knew what a gemsbok was?!) and support efforts to better protect leopards, other wildlife and their landscapes…without ever leaving your chair!

Get started right now at www.zooniverse.org/projects/panthera-research/camera-catalogue

May all beings be happy and free!

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The Rights of Nature

Visit the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and sign the pledge!


May all beings be well and happy, free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Shop With Your Heart

Dear Animal Lover,

The ASPCA, long known for its great accomplishments in stopping and also helping to prosecute animal abusers, has a new campaign which engages your shopping dollars in the cause of kindness to animals.


If you purchase meat, eggs or dairy, you have more power than you know. By buying welfare-certified animal products, or more plant-based products, you send a strong message to food companies that you care about the treatment of farm animals.

Will you sign the "Shop With Your Heart Pledge" with me?

http://www.aspca.org/shopwithyourheart

May all beings be well and happy!

Saturday, July 9, 2016

New Movie: At The Fork

If you eat meat (or even if you do not), please consider watching this new movie, which follows the track of how your meat gets to your table, then share with friends.

Friends don't let friends eat animals!

Visit the website and watch the trailer:

http://attheforkfilm.com/

May all beings be free, well and happy.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Vegan Milk and Humane Meats

We're looking forward to trying Ripple Foods' plant-based milk. Check out this great info!

The Bay Area fosters a culture of forward thinkers and new ways to solve problems in our world, including in our food system. Ripple Foods is one such startup in Silicon Valley hoping to disrupt the dairy industry with pea protein.

The company joins a growing list of game-changing food startups that have launched out of the lab and into the consumer market in just the last few years. Memphis Meats uses animal cells to make lab-grown beef, Impossible Foods makes a plant-based burger and Clara Foods uses yeast to produce egg whites without the chicken.

We’re told milk does a body good, but the dairy industry can be a dirty business, polluting our environment and pumping large amounts of methane into the air — the biggest contributor to global warming. And Ripple founders wanted to do something about it, so they turned to the humble pea.

Read more....

May all beings be free, well and happy.

Friday, June 10, 2016

The Chicken

May all beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Sad, But True (Almost)

Actually, far more people get off easy for abusing animals than are ever punished for it.



Let's stop abusing all animals, eh?

May all beings - without exception - be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Emotional Lives of Animals

Based on award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff’s years studying social communication in a wide range of species, this important book shows that animals have rich emotional lives. Bekoff skillfully blends extraordinary stories of animal joy, empathy, grief, embarrassment, anger, and love with the latest scientific research confirming the existence of emotions that common sense and experience have long implied.

Explore The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff

May all beings everywhere be happy and free!