Reiki and Animals

by Don Brennan

There isn’t very much written about treating animals with Reiki. A while ago, I taught a Reiki class to some students who work with animals. They inspired me to compile whatever I could find and to combine it with my own experience, to share with our readers in this article.

Working with animals requires much more intuitive sensitivity than working with humans. Animals can’t verbalize what’s going on, but they do communicate in many different ways. So tune in and establish a good connection with them. Animals are very intuitive and they will sense the healing quality in your energy field. Most sick animals will come to you because they sense your ability to help them. People who do energy healing work seem to send out a gentle, loving frequency that animals tune in to. I’ve had lots of timid barnyard cats and “pets with people problems” come up to me, without any hesitation, for a nurturing dose of Reiki petting. There’s no doubt about it, once you receive a Reiki attunement, you begin to have a lot more animal friends.

Wild animals will instinctively come to you for healing when they are sick. But working with wild animals is much more difficult than working with domestic animals. Trust is a much bigger issue. This is where Second Degree Reiki is so useful. Sending distant healing Reiki energy from an appropriate distance can begin the healing work and help to establish enough trust to let the animal decide if they want you to do hands on Reiki. However, with dangerous wild animals, especially injured ones, it’s best to only do distant healing—and from a safe distance! Reiki goes a long way to neutralizing the historically adversarial relationship between humans and wild animals, but there’s no point in taking risks.

Using your voice to soothe and heal works very well with animals. I remember one time in the woods, just before dusk, I was bringing some firewood into the camp as it started raining. In my rushing, I let the screen door slam before I could catch it. The noise startled a deer  who had been drinking from the edge of the river in front of the camp. I apologized and told her that everything was alright and, without really thinking about what I was doing, began singing a simple chant to her from the doorway. She came back across the river, ventured  even closer and stood there transfixed by the experience of this human singing in unconditionally loving tones to her. It began to rain harder and dusk was setting in, but I continued singing and we were both content to be in each other’s presence. It soon became too dark to see each other, but there we stood for a while longer,  staring into the darkness, still feeling the connection between us. Finally I stopped singing, expressed a parting blessing and went about my business while contemplating the experience.

It was the tone of my voice, carrying the pure feeling of benevolent intention, that made this connection possible. It doesn’t matter what you say or whether you talk or sing as long as your voice carries a gentle spirit. So use your voice and distant healing on wild animals, unfamiliar domestic animals and traumatized pets in order to establish a bond of trust and let them decide if they want hands-on healing.

Beginning a session with a pet can also include loving strokes before doing Reiki. Or the pet’s owner can do the talking and stroking while you start  to do Reiki. There may be times when a traumatized animal will experience less stress if you cover their head while talking and petting. Usually it is best to start the Reiki treatment at the crown and gradually work down the back and sides. Many cats and dogs will resist your working on their belly. You probably know what your pet likes and if you don’t, you’ll soon find out! You can treat all of the abdominal organs and glands from the back and sides, so this shouldn’t be a problem. Horses are generally more tolerant in this area, which is fortunate because there’s more surface area to cover in order to give a complete Reiki treatment.

Birds, hamsters and many other small animals can be given a full body treatment by gently holding them inside your cupped hands. Fish and other aquarium animals can be treated by holding the sides of the aquarium. Distant healing can always be used as an option with small animals. And you can provide additional Reiki healing for your pets by energizing their food, water, bedding and toys with Reiki.

Cats and dogs and smaller pets tend to fill up with Reiki rather quickly. They’ll usually give you a cue (squirming or nudging) when it’s time to move your hands. And they will let you know when they think they’re done, whether you agree or not. Their comfort level is what’s most important here. Once accustomed to the experience of Reiki, they will position themselves so you can work on the areas they really want you to. Most animals love the energy, the attention and the nurturing, even if it’s only a mini-session of Reiki pets. I’ve heard of some animals who enjoyed Reiki so much that they would feign old injuries whenever they met the Reiki practitioners who helped them in the past.

It’s been said that response time to an injury or illness is more critical with pets than with humans. Whether this jeopardy to their vitality has any relationship to their smaller size or shorter life span, is not clear. But it is important to apply Reiki as soon as possible. It’s also been said that Reiki treatments should be given everyday until the desired stage of recovery has been reached.

As with humans, we must respect an animal’s right to decline a Reiki treatment. Not all people are willing or able to let go of an illness or injury. Why should animals be any different? It’s my sense that animals are more connected with each other and with their individual mortality than humans are. If it is their chosen time to pass over, they may not want you to work on them. And it may not be the Reiki that they object to, but your intentions for the treatment. Reiki energy is always beneficial whether it motivates one’s desire for recovery or eases one’s transition. So be aware of your intentions and honor the wishes of your pets. They love you unconditionally. You should do the same for them.

Just as some people are natural healers, the same is true of animals. Some pets always seem to be by your side when you’re sick, doing their healing work in many subtle ways. These are the pets who want to be around whenever you’re doing Reiki on someone and even want to get in the middle of the process. They like to hang out in the Reiki room even when there isn’t anyone else in there. Other pets are content to greet the visitors and maybe watch from across the room, but are basically non-plused by the whole thing except when it’s time for them to get some Reiki. Every animal is an individual and they all have their own response to Reiki. I was curious to hear from my students to learn of the reactions their pets might have to the change in their energy fields following their Reiki attunements. So I asked them to let me know about any interesting experiences they might have. here are some of the Emails that I received:

“I went upstairs after being given the usual multi-hound salute upon return from the World. (There are 10 of them right now.)

Rory THE original greyhound, who is now 10.5, had returned to his lair up there. I pulled my sweater over my head, and when I looked down at him, he was staring at my face/head like there were (as Jean Shepherd says in ‘A Christmas Story’) lobsters coming out of my ears.....if I didn't know better...well, I guess I do know better NOW, he was totally fixed on my face, seeing an aura. He was transfixed, ears alert, the whole nine yards...

For this particular animal, who suffered greatly at the hands of his ‘caretakers’ in the racing industry, this type of total, full-face staring is very unusual.  Over the years--understand this--we've worked hard at making him feel safe and loved, and now he's continually growing into an affectionate, curious, normal greyhound.  But overt staring like that isn't in his book...took my breath away.  Then it clicked, as if he thought: ‘Okay, that's cool, it's you...’ and he sighed and lay his head back down on his paws.

I am greeting this new week with renewed hope and optimism.  Thank you for this wonderful gift.  See you soon. jonna”

“So far I've worked on my kitty Barley. He's 5 1/2 and so far very healthy with a very healthy appetite. Yesterday he didn't eat and was very quiet. Today not much better. I've done 2 sessions on him. He liked them and really relaxed by the end...even started purring again this morning. He's still not doing super so I have an appt. for a check up. When I got the carrier out to clean it up and warm it up (it was in the garage) he got in it. I'm taking that as my cue that he's ok with the vet appt.

Thanks again for a great Level I class, Don.

Blessings,

Jan

PS...Barley's check up was traumatic for us, but we survived it...heavily dosed with flower essences :-)) He was in the beginning stages of upper respiratory and dehydrated. He got fluids and a shot of antibiotics (darn...but we can follow up with natural stuff now) and blood work that came back looking very good. What was the blessing of this all is the Reiki. I was too emotional to really do any communication with him that was of any value and I didn't want to just sit there

and do trance channeling.......I wanted to help him by doing something for him like a mom would do.... laying my hands on him grounded and focused me and he loved it! I'm so excited that I can do this now.”

“Second (of several observations): hounds displaying behaviors I have never seen from them:  4 of the males were prancing around playing with tennis balls and each other,  as I have not ever seen before.  They all get along, but this interaction was astonishing.

They are acting like weanlings in a litter........

The goose story goes like this: My friends have a female goose who had been down at the pond for so long--away from the house--they were afraid something was wrong with her....I arrived that Monday after the attunement, and she came up to carry on at my arrival. (I assumed this was the usual watch-goose behavior.)  Not so. Chris not only marveled that she came up, but that she was 2 feet away from me, murmuring little goosey sounds...instead of her initial hissing and carrying her head low.

She came to stand in front of me, head and neck up and carrying on with these vocalizations...looking me full in the face with her beautiful amber colored eye....pretty cool if you ask me.

jonna & the horde”

copyright all rights reserved 1999 Don Brennan

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