By Karen Nevis, Ecuador

I never imagined how my life in Ecuador would be when I left the United States five years ago with only four suitcases. Now I live in a remote, small pueblo in the Andes Mountains at five thousand feet altitude.

I suffered for years from EMF (electric and magnetic fields) sensitivities, similar to what my spiritual teacher and inner guide, Sri Harold Klemp, experienced and wrote about in the 1990s. Finally, I sought refuge in a new environment. Moving here was a leap of faith, but I knew I had the spiritual protection of the Mahanta to help me.

Now I live in a Spanish-speaking country among the beautiful Ecuadorian and Indigenous peoples and many “gringos” (foreigners) from all over the world. I continue to adapt and learn. As I love gardening, I have been evolving the land where I live into a sanctuary for the animals, birds, butterflies, and bees.

My First Meeting with Sechuran Foxes

A young male fox became my first animal friend. I would leave him a banana, and it would disappear each day. He learned that he was safe around me and soon brought me his mate. I named them Todd (male foxes are called tods) and Tara. Their first litter followed. After they were big enough to make the trip down the mountain from their den, Todd and Tara brought four darling baby foxes to my door. The baby foxes grew quickly, and all four moved on to find mates.

Soon Tara was pregnant again. This time she showed up with five babies, as I was now a food source. I learned that these Sechuran foxes are the rarest foxes known to southwestern Ecuador and western Peru. They are now listed as “Near Threatened.” Among other things, they eat bananas, papayas, avocados, eggs, chickens, snakes, rodents, and insects.

The first time the baby foxes came, they each got a banana. But the second time, I was out of bananas, and Tara stood there, looking at me with disbelief. Her hungry youngsters immediately latched on to her for some milk. They were big enough that she had to stand as they suckled her. Bundles of fur flew in every direction. I got to watch one of the most touching acts of trust and love I have ever experienced.

The Babies Stay

Todd and Tara moved on, but three of the five babies stayed with me. They love to run and play and make fox sounds to each other. There are two sisters and a brother. The smallest female is on her own and comes for food and companionship. I often see her curled up, sleeping in the garden. Or she sits and watches as I do gardening work. They come close and have no fear of me. However, I do not touch them, because they are technically wild. Although they are nocturnal, these foxes come to visit at all times of the day.

I am in service to the special bird friends and animals who are my family now, providing clean water daily, as well as bananas, fruits, and eggs for the foxes. Nature is amazing, as is the great beauty of the land here. My life is simpler with no phone or car. Yet it is a different type of richness nature provides each day.

—Photos by Karen Nevis

Contemplation Seed
You are invited to reflect on the spiritual messages in this story by contemplating on this passage from A Modern Prophet Answers Your Key Questions about Life, Book 3, by Harold Klemp:

There is a divine force that is invisible but sees all, knows all, and is all. We call It the ECK. Comforting though the idea may be, it is troubling that many others are completely ignorant of It, so it often appears we are alone in our comprehension of It.

That is a lonely feeling. We are normally afraid of being alone, causing us to fear being an outsider.

Love and trust this love force. It is your friend. It arranges all the episodes of experiences in your life, to help you live a full, eventful, and happy life.

There you have the whole of it.