Blog, People, Wellness & Spirtuality | October 19, 2010
Susan will be doing an interview on the Colette Baron-Reid Show online at Hay House Radio. It will air at 11AM PST, Thursday, November 11th. Look for it!
Blog, Other Animals, Wellness & Spirtuality, Wolves | October 15, 2010
Boychuck and Cucumber enjoy morning meditation
Boychuck, our German Shepherd, enjoys time with Cucumber, the timber wolf, who comes into the cabin and settles down for our daily morning meditation.
Blog, Wellness & Spirtuality | August 20, 2010
We had the tremendous honor and experience of having venerated Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche offer a special teaching at Earthfire last month, on one of his two days in the area during a worldwide teaching tour. The teaching was on the Six Realms and human-animal relationships from the Buddhist perspective. He came to us through Dr. David Shlim of Jackson, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher in his own right. Dr. Shlim brought his most revered teacher and friend to Earthfire because of Earthfire’s teaching that each animal is a precious life and an individual being with inherent personality and worth.
In Buddhist teaching, once one is enlightened one lives in the moment without preconceptions – thus each time you meet a being, of any life form, you meet it with new eyes rather than through a lens of hearsay. What we each see is based on a great deal of our own conditioning. The Rinpoche noted that “we tend to think that what we don’t see does not exist – but this doesn’t follow – lack of perception is not a proof of non–existence”. And that applies to animals as individual beings with a soul.
Chokyi Nyima emphasized how with trust, love, and respect, we can turn this earth into heaven. He talked about how we need to think more broadly – that a shortage of trees for example does not just hurt humans – it hurts birds and animals and insects — it hurts every living thing. That we are interdependent also makes it important that we respect and care for all conscious beings — and Buddhists consider all animals conscious. He noted that we make laws to protect big and rare animals because we esteem them for being big or rare – but that it legal to kill others for fun. “That is not right. Not fair. We need to be fair. We need to help as much as we can and live as naturally as we can.”
He commented that we should not be breeding animals for pets, for human pleasure. If we do, however, we should put ourselves in their place and feel what they feel – their needs for protection, comfort, medicine. He was very moved and touched by the love and care shown between the humans and animals here at Earthfire; that they were “treated as family even though they were not actually our brothers, sisters, mothers or fathers”.
He noted that animals and humans are intelligent beings and that we can teach each other. According to Buddha, we all, humans and animals, have a basic good and loving nature and we are all capable of becoming enlightened beings in the Buddhist sense. And that with trust, love and respect, we would not hurt one another.
As the Rinpoche was talking about how we should be more attuned to nature, he looked out the door of the yurt and pointed towards the Tetons. At that same instant, Bluebell walked into his view. He cried out joyfully – “Look – a bison!” It was as if she had manifested herself for him. As if she wanted to be included and give her input into this honoring of the natural world.
Deep Ecology, Ethics & Whole Community, Earthfire Stories, Wellness & Spirtuality | June 25, 2010
Susan, Executive Director of Earthfire Institute, was interviewed by mystic scholar Andrew Harvey on Hay House Radio. Please enjoy this interview and slide show talking about the mission, vision and animals of Earthfire Institute.
Earthfire Stories, Seen Thru New Eyes, Wellness & Spirtuality | April 20, 2010
Phakchok Rinpoche visited Earthfire Institute in October 2009. The visit changed his perception of wildlife as he met some of Earthfire’s residents and saw them as individuals.
Animal Story, Deep Ecology, Ethics & Whole Community, Foxes, Wellness & Spirtuality | April 2, 2010
We visited Feather the red fox today after the deep snow of the night. She was her usual lovely sweet mischievous self, fur full and glossy. We brought her some guests, as she always likes to greet everybody, her little 
inquisitive black nose sniffing, examining, assessing. They were enchanted by her sweetness, agility, curiosity; by her eagerness to meet them and visit with them.
She is an elderly fox now, with the feel of wisdom that many living creatures seem to gain with age. Jean went to a fur farm some 11 years ago and bought her as a little kit. (It always astounds me that you can go “buy” a wild animal.) That is eleven years of life given to her; eleven years of life for that dancing diminutive piece of vitality. One out of 800 foxes!
So many questions: a Buddhist who visited her wondered aloud – what was her karma that she was picked out of 800 foxes, to come here and have a life? I don’t know, but I do know that she has done a splendid job helping people see the magic of foxes; of balancing the fact that yes they sometimes do eat chickens and cats. That difficult balance we have to find between loving a predator that is part of our family, say a cat, and also loving a predator that is not so close to us emotionally, yet acknowledging their right to live too.
So it comes down to family and tribal loyalty versus the recognition that we are all part of something larger.
Animal Tales, Bears, Wellness & Spirtuality | March 23, 2010
All winter we worried about Teton Totem and his severe back problem. How would he be? Would the long winter sleep aggravate it? What do we do with a nearly paralyzed 1000 pound grizzly bear?
We made him a special bed for his hibernation, lining his den with wood and then extra hay to make it softer and warmer and he could arrange it as he liked. With Penelope’s help with his back in the fall (see Bear Burrito, Blog November 2009) he was quite a bit better just before going to sleep for the winter but still we worried. What would the long period of inactivity do?
Teton emerged from his den recently – and he was using his hind legs! Not perfectly but the long sleep and stillness did him no harm. Not only was he walking, but he was sweet – sweeter than he had been in a long time. In fact there was an indescribably sweet and gentle look in his eyes. What a gift!! What a way to start spring!!
Deceased, Wellness & Spirtuality, Wolves | March 23, 2010
This is the story of Thunder, a timber wolf, who’s passing illustrates the mystery and wonder of nature and the strong bond between members of his species.
Blog, Wellness & Spirtuality, Wolves | February 26, 2010
Whenever we lose a wolf from unknown causes we do an autopsy, to be sure our other animals are not at ri
sk and to learn what we can about better care. Cindar, a young, healthy wolf, died of a twisted lung – the equivalent of a colic in a horse. It is very rare. By the time it was diagnosed, though we rushed her off to Salt Lake City to a specialist, it was too late. As with any colic it is a true medical emergency and chances of survival are slim if not treated immediately. It made we wonder – why would a healthy young wolf die of such a rare illness? In discussing the loss with a healing practitioner, she told us that in some traditions each organ does not only its own job, and has its own vibration, but also carries the energy of a specific emotion. That emotion for the lung, is grief.
Our immediate thought went to possible causes here, but there were none that we could see. No recent losses, no changes. Then three of us looked at each other with the same thought – they started shooting wolves here in Idaho. And not just shooting them mindlessly, but rejoicing in their deaths, undisturbed by the obvious deep distress they are causing in the rest of the pack. Wolves are telepathic across distance among their own pack. We have clear evidence of that here. Is it possible they are feeling the distress of their kind in the vicinity as well, on another level? Death is one thing. Mindless death cruelly inflicted with intent is another, much harder to accept and heal from.
A further thought occurred – some animal communicators believe that illness and death can be a non -verbal communication. (Many psychologist believe that children who are not listened to communicate this way as well). Did she pick a devastating illness for which there was no cure, to emphasize that we need to do what we can to stop the shooting? And taking it even further outwards, to stop what we are doing to wild animals in general?
Animal Story, Blog, Wellness & Spirtuality, Wolves | January 13, 2010
As she recovered, Little White Girl became a handful in the cabin, It was clear that there was no way a big healthy lively wolf of her caliber could stay in any longer, much as she loved the camaraderie. We had the additional reason that ancient Windsong, Earthfire’s last living sibling, was having trouble getting up on her aged legs in the cold. We brought her in to the warmth and comfort and smells of living/room/kitchen. It is interesting how different animals age. Stardance, another sister, who just passed away a few weeks ago, had the same parents, life events and treatment. She was graceful and quick until her last five days, and alert right to the end. Windsong has been half in another world for several months now. Yet she continues living on, slow and steady. The only thing that claims her attention in this world, as with any good wolf, is food. She totters her way around looking for it when not sleeping.
Watching her lying quietly one early morning I thought about how rare it is for a wolf to be able to be on this earth to such a great age. An intuitive friend of mine, given to such things, said she feels Windsong is gathering wolf wisdom to share with the Great Council of departed wolves. With my mother, as she became less and less aware, less able to speak, her spirit started to shine through She became more luminous. Ancient trees seem to have a wisdom and dignity too. I wonder about the universality across species of gathering quiet wisdom as one ages.
Earthfire Institute is a place to experience the profound connection between all life. 
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