I have not been active on this blog lately.
A lot has been happening in my life and I have been thinking a lot.
My 92 year old mother has been hospitalized with a serious illness twice in 5 months, and my 88 year old mother in law fell and fractured her hip requiring surgery a day ago. Someone called a City agency claiming I was feeding sick and dead feral cats in my back yard. When I heard about the complaint, I requested an immediate inspection by Animal Services and no feral or excess cats were found.
I have another blog, a spiritual blog. My background is as a Zen monk and then I spent years with many spiritual teachers, including two very well known Advaita Vedanta teachers, Robert Adams and jean Dunn. The blog is: http://itisnotreal.blogspot.com. I also have a spiritual website at: http://itisnotreal.com which is huge with lots of free stuff for seekers.
I recently wrote a book on enlightenment and meditation (downloadable for free at: http://itisnotreal.com/Autobiography%20of%20a%20Jnani.pdf.
This blog is doing amazingly well, with 250-300 visitors a day recently, and almost 10,000 visitors in February. The blog and my website are being translated into Italian: http://itisnotreal.net, and the book is now being printed in India and is being translated into Hindi, Italian and French by various students of mine in India and Europe. It is really a quite powerful book recording the discoveries of one of my students as set forth in our correspondence.
I feel there is a negative change in the US. Something is deeply wrong and I don't know what to do about it. Animals seem to be abused and killed as much now as ever before and I don't think this LA animal blog has helped solve that problem much. I hear the U.S. may actually be sponsoring whaling again. Obama has been a disappointment, appearing to be a Democrat in name only, and apparently made a deal backing the whaling renewal. Not to mention the broken promise of adopting a shelter dog.
So I am thinking about what to do now. What is the best approach to take, whether to devote more time to the spiritual sites and writing about meditation and self-realization, hoping thereby to indirectly help the animals, or to make this blog have a different focus.
Much rests locally on who will become the new GM of Animal Services. If we get the right person, there COULD BE major changes for the better. If we get another Ed Boks, there will just be more of the same ad infinitum. Right now I can have no impact on that process and I await the results as do all of you.
If we get a good person, hopefully I can be an advocate for positive change, and vice versa if we get another clunker.
If you want to leave a comment as to what you think, please do.
Well first, I'm terribly sorry to hear your mother and mother in law aren't doing well.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'd like to know the details of how you go about feeding dead feral cats in your backyard.
Third, my feeling is that what I do really has nothing to do with religion or spirituality. Its just something I feel I must do. Seems there's a few skills I've acquired over the years that can help others make things better for us and our pets and/or animals and that's cool. But the truth is, I'm just a very small part of a bigger picture. You Ed. have taken a part in this too. Long before I ever got involved and in my opinion, are a much bigger part of the picture. Why? Because you opted to get the "word" out. Whether it be right or wrong, you get it out and that's what is important.
The promise of a "transparent government" is, and always will be just words. We will always need watchdogs, we will always need the checks and balances and we will always need people like you.
Now there's just no way I can say I understand what you're going through right now or what you're wife's going through, what your wife's mother is going through or what your mother is going through. All I can say is that I sympathize with you all.
But what I can say is that I hope you don't abandon all that you have done and in due time, will continue the quest =)
Your friend,
Brad Jensen
Cypress, CA
.
Hi, Ed,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your mother and mother in law. I hope they both recover fully and quickly. This is an interesting post. Some time ago I realized that working for the animals (or for any change) on the material level alone will never succeed, we must also work on the spiritual level. Of course, I also realize that working stricly in the spiritual will not work either, since the problems are in the physical. I don't think I have figured out very well how to balance them, and know I tend to get caught up too much in the physical part. I haven't looked at your spiritual blog yet, but I will do so. Although the spiritual work is crucial, I would hate to see your LA Animal Watch blog disappear. I have found it very informative.
When it rains it pours....I wish you well with your mom and your mother-in-law. What extremely difficult times...I know how you must feel. Been there too. Spirituality does no good for me during times such as these when everything seems to have its own will to come crashing down at once.
ReplyDeleteYou are in our thoughts and good wishes for courage and strength for you and your family.
My sympathies to you and your family. I think a lot of us are experiencing similiar feelings of anxiety about the way things are going in the US and rest of the world. It's not good. I would be sorry to see you stop writing on this blog. I think bearing witness and telling the truth about the reality for animals is important, even if it doesn't always result in change. You have certainly inspired me to keep seeking and sharing the truth about my own community shelter. It has not made me popular, but it was the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteFor those of us lucky to still have our parents with us at an advanced age, we know these can be trying times as anything can happen at any moment to disrupt our usual routines. I wish a good recovery for both your mother and mother-in-law.
ReplyDeleteAs for this particular blog, I for one would be very unhappy to see you abandon it. I have found it to be extremely useful as an information tool or catalyst for issues that need to be brought to the public's attention. There have been times when I've felt like I have worked in concert with you, taking information from your blog and letting my readers know about it.
To that end, I do hope you continue your occasional postings here as you obviously have a following and many admirers, including myself.
Lori Golden
The Pet Press
#1 asked how you go about feeding dead feral cats in your backyard.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to know is how you feed a dead cat at all. Anyone???
Ed, I hope that things improve soon with both your Mother and Mother in law.
ReplyDeleteAbout your blog.... None of us will ever know precisely how much good it has accomplished. It can't be measured easily like a victory in sports where the score determines which team is the winner. I think many of us have been winners because of your blog's exposure of Government actions and inactions. Who can say for sure how much worse it may have been under Boks if your blog had not existed? Who knows how many more homes where cats reside may have been raided "a la Mason style"? I personally believe that many horrendous events did NOT happen precisely because they would have been memorialized on your blog. The Government workers who may have been restrained by your activity certainly will not give you credit for anything which you may have prevented or helped prevent from happening.
I think it is good that you are asking the hard questions about where do you go from here and how do you get there. I hope that your conclusion will include an even better blog than before that will continue to serve as a watchdog (or would that be a watchcat?) for the animals.
I for one would feel like we are all flying without parachutes should your blog become less active. We have a big job to still do in order to create a community where animals are included in our so-called evolving standard of decency. Please don't bail out now Ed. Many. many of us appreciate you and your LA Animal Watch.
Sincerely,
Marc Madow
1. I am sorry to hear about the problems with your mother and mother-in-law. I also know what it is like to have elderly parents. I wish them the best.
ReplyDelete2. I will jump on the bandwagon and ask how you are supposed to be feeding a dead feral.
3. I understand your disappointment with the current government. I am disappointed in it too, but for different reasons. I must be the only conservative in animal rescue.
4. I wish you well in the decision you make for L.A. Animal Watch blog. I have been a very big fan and frequent visitor. I will continue to visit. You write very well. i used to be able to write - when I was 15.
Please do not stop your blogging as it has been really important in regards to fraud by a certain "private rescue group" by the name of Pet Harbor...It seems as though Lavonne Rodstein and her entourage have been preying on elders. Maybe thats why they have such an extensive background check on their adoptees.
ReplyDeleteMy mother has been "ill" for a long long time. Elaine Richards and Lavonne came into her home when she died-spent two days clearing out her home-I want everyone to know that they are using their rescue group as a front to prey on the elderly and are making quite a killing!
Sincerely
Michele Turney
PS If you have had this experience or anything like it please feel free to email me
Michele. Turney@yahoo.com
You said"I feel there is a negative change in the US. Something is deeply wrong and I don't know what to do about it."
ReplyDeleteMy heart is broken from the greed of others and the lengths they will go for money......