I'll be presenting here my "Healing The Earth Family" program in blog format (it was originally created for live presentation) and the video (link below) is an integral part of the presentation. I'm Clara ... known musically as "Clara, the Lady Wolf". When I use the term "earth family", it goes beyond our immediate relatives -- and includes our companion animals, all other animals who are fellow travelers in this world, the plant kingdom and majestic trees, the whole of nature and all the different and diverse people and nations on Earth. We assorted living beings are a great tapestry -- the interconnected Earth Family. And we all need healing, peace, joy ... and to be free of fear and suffering.
With world conditions being scary and out of control, the divisiveness in the U.S., the brutality and suffering that is being inflicted on living beings throughout the world, the seeming hopelessness of it all, some of you may wonder why I might choose to do an Earth Family program at all. Well, in his song "Imagine", John Lennon said in a line of lyric "You may say I'm a dreamer ... but I'm not the only one". He was right! This program -- my video and what you're reading here -- is really my statement of hope ... and my dream.
Let me tell you a bit about myself and why I created this program. I've been a life-long advocate for humane ethics, nature, and the greater good and I try to promote compassion for all living beings. For thirteen years, I presented a humane education program to hundreds of classrooms of children and college students, adult civic groups, churches, youth groups -- any place I could get invited. I was the educational outreach director for a regional humane society during that time. When speaking to kids, I always enjoyed talking about the concept of respect ... and would ask them to tell me what the word "respect" means to them. I got a great assortment of answers and sometimes someone would say "Aretha Franklin"; yes indeed, a very fine lady. On one occasion when I was addressing a very large and loosely-controlled inner city park and rec group of assorted aged kids, I got an absolutely beautiful and thoughtful answer from a young man of about age 17. He said "Respect means honoring the rights of others". I thanked him and told him I'll always remember what he said.
When my humane education program ended in 2004, I missed doing it. I continued teaching piano, playing regionally with bands, doing volunteer work, and writing and recording many songs. In Spring of 2007 I did a solo concert for 350 appreciative inmates at a maximum security prison in northeast Tennessee (Mountain City) and it was a thrilling epiphany for me; it remains one of my favorite memories.
A year later found me struggling physically, emotionally, and spiritually with the aftermath of the July 27, 2008 shotgun church shooting here in Knoxville. I was dealing with my own injury and the shock of witnessing, at close range, the murder and injuries of other people. I was remembering the deafening blasts that blew out parts of my left ear, and the orange flame coming from the shooter's gun. I was trying to piece together how I regained consciousness and was able to crawl on my hands and knees to the rear open doorway and safety. I was and am carrying around my souvenir pellets. Three months later (actually on election day), I was driven to my emotional knees by a severe eye hemorrhage when the pellets migrated from my forehead ... and settled in scar tissue in my right sinus cavity. I had to wear dark glasses constantly as my dog was afraid to look at my face. A week or so later, my dog and I were sitting under the large maple tree in a private part of our backyard ... and I was weeping in utter despair. Suddenly, I was literally and spiritually handed a simple, elegant, meaningful, healing directive -- it was a gift. A beautiful, perfect golden leaf floated gently down from the tree and lightly landed on the back of my left hand. It felt like a magical caress. I felt different ... and my dog and I went back into the house, where I stood in front of my full-length mirror. I took off my dark glasses and looked at myself and, with my fingers, gently stroked my blood-red eye that still had its green iris peering at me; and I remember the exact words I said to myself: "I love you no matter how you look. You are lucky to have survived as an organism (I actually called myself an "organism") and I will help you to heal". From that moment forward with the gift leaf, my music, meditation, prayer, and long walks in natural places -- where I felt bathed and blessed by the sky -- and where the trees were willing to absorb my pain, I healed. It took a little longer than a month, but it healed perfectly ... and my ear with the missing parts was able to hear again.The special maple leaf is framed under glass and adorns the wall of my home office. I do have some neurological residuals of the injury, but they serve to remind me of the importance of gratitude. Gratitude -- for my life and for the opportunity to serve the greater good. And that is a big part of why I am doing this program.
The message in my video "Love vs Warzilla" is the essential part -- the core of this program. During a live presentation, it is at this place in the program that the video is shown. It speaks to the specific problems and corrupt situations facing our world and the need and possible modes for remedies and healing. I had planned to call the video "Love & The Earth Family" but for a semi-humorous reason that the video will reveal, I re-named it "Love vs Warzilla". Please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OltBCIZ6Gxw.
See if the video provides any answers ... or raises any questions, about healing and our Earth Family. At the end of my narrative, you will hear a song of mine called "I Love All The Voices" and you will see visual scenes that are worth the 9-minute wait (total video time is about eleven minutes). Please view it now. At the end of the video, please come back to http://healingtheearthfamily.blogspot.com to complete the reading.
When you have seen "Love vs Warzilla", I think you'll agree that we can say that there really are two kinds of peace. Speaking to ethics, the quest for peace instead of war and how people as individuals and groups feel and respond to circumstances, the first kind of peace is what we would like for nations, the planet, our circle of friends, our local communities, our workplace, our families, government -- our environment. There is another kind of peace, too -- our inner peace, our peace of mind, the peace we want to have in our hearts. And for this inward peace, there is the very real value of pure, spiritual love at a cellular level for all living beings. Might an attitude of pure love be a good place to start to mend the tapestry of our world and our Earth Family?
In conclusion, let's pretend we're standing together in a wonderful circle of people ... we can hold hands if you'd like ... and let's say these words slowly and aloud: "Breathe". "Peace". "Pure Love". "Courage". "Wisdom". "Strength". "Compassion". "Faith". "Blessings". "Gratitude".
Amen. So may it be.
Thank you for reading and viewing the entirety of this presentation.
Please visit my other blogs and my website when you have time.
Their links are: www.claralandau.com, http://ladywolfsnotes.blogspot.com, http://animalministry.blogspot.com, and the video's link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OltBCIZ6Gxw.
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