After the Class

By Pam | July 13, 2008

The day after I was attuned to Level I Reiki nine years ago, I couldn’t wait to get to the barn and try it out on my beloved Nikos. Would he feel it? Would he like it? Could I really do this? He did. He did. I could! In fact, Nikos loved it. He was eating hay when I laid my hands on him, and he immediately stopped chewing, let the hay drop out of his mouth, got a glazed look in his eyes, and stood absolutely motionless for the half hour or so that I channeled Reiki to him. I was thrilled.

After I teach a Reiki class, I like to check in with my students to see how they’re doing, hoping they are as excited about their newly discovered ability as I was (and continue to be). This month, I’m going to let four of my recent students do the talking: Cindy, Nancy, Carol, and Monica. I’d like you to hear how powerful Reiki can be from the get-go, from the moment one is attuned to this amazing healing art.

When I emailed Cindy, who owns and operates a funeral home and breeds exquisite Maine Coons cats, and asked how she was doing, this was her reply:

Any day upright, is a good one…thank God for my Reiki and you. Since my special day [the Reiki class], my favorite cousin ( the brother I never had) committed suicide, my parents are almost unmanageable, and John will have to have a total hip replacement, my major dental work, plus the usual dead people and animal care and loving.

I truly have to admit, I did well, I have a calm, deep core feeling, which has helped me keep focused on the immediate issues, and putting out fires.

I spoke with Cindy a few days later, and she told me that while she had been concentrating on self-healing in this time of stress, she had also been giving Reiki to a kitten that was having health issues. She let it sleep in her room with her and her husband, in a little bed with a blanket. Before going to sleep and again in the morning, she would Reiki the kitten; it would purr, extend one paw from beneath the blanket, and playfully bat at her hands.

Nancy emailed me this wonderful story:

I had the most incredible experience last night. I was giving Bob [her husband] some much needed Reiki last night about 6 p.m. when a orange wing black bird flew into our dining room door. She flew up to a branch but immediately fell down. We watched to see if she would fly up again but there was no movement. Bob said I should go see if she was okay; she might benefit from Reiki. So, I swept his aura and went to her. As I approached her, she stood still; her eyes were blinking and she was listening as I approached. I reached down and cupped her in my hands. I walked over to the grass and sat down with her in my hands, gave her Reiki for about 5 minutes and spoke to her. When I opened my hands, she did not fly away. So, I continued to pet and talk to her. Thinking she needed a little more, I cupped her again for another couple minutes. Again, when I opened my hands she just sat in my hands.. I asked her if she was okay and she hopped on my finger. I said you are free to go. She jumped down on the ground, took a couple steps. I told her be well, and off she flew!!

It was just incredible. I’m still in awe of being able to hold this bird in my grasp!!

These stories are from Carol:

I have been using Reiki regularly on my dogs, the other night actually on my nephew who fell and got a nice cement burn on his arms at a baseball game, and here and there whenever I get the chance. Of course I do my own “old” knees regularly since I am a biker and my knees seem to be where I ache the most. A few weekends ago I did Bike the Drive—33 miles total on the bike—and I thought for SURE I would be hurting the next day, but when I got home I Reikied my knees for quite a while (both of them) and to my total surprise, the next day I didn’t hurt AT ALL!!! That’s a first, I have to tell you. If for no other reason then to heal myself, the class was a TOTAL success! Now every time I bike I Reiki my knees and I’m fine. Thank you so much. I also don’t take any medication at all anymore! That’s just since the class.

I will tell you the story about my one dog. My Java, 4 yr-old Labrador mix, is such a lover. She is such a good girl, but doesn’t like to sit for Reiki. She has been sniffling lately and I know she has allergies, but I hate to give her the medicine because it makes her “loopy.” So whenever I get the chance I try to give her Reiki. She doesn’t sit for too long, but this morning when I caught her still asleep in bed she seemed to lay for longer. She would let me Reiki her heart and root chakra, but not anywhere else—STRANGE! She’s so funny, because she will use her paw to move my hand to where I assume she wants it to be. Then she closes her eyes and just sighs really loudly !

Monica, is a barefoot trimmer. Last month, I wrote how the day after she was attuned to Level I Reiki, all of the horses she went to trim were intensely interested in her hands: licking them, biting at them, trying to get her to put them on top of their heads. Several weeks later, she sent me this story:

I was trimming an older horse. The owner told me that the last farrier had a very hard time trimming his hind feet because of his arthritis (or whatever) I performed Reiki on his back for about 15 minutes (Something not right with the back. A hump in the vertebrae. I told her to have a professional look at it). Afterwards, I trimmed him with very minimal interruptions. Also at the same barn I trimmed an old mare. She was a very fidgety and also had arthritis issues. I performed Reiki on her to relax her. Worked very well. Again, she stood very nicely in comparison to prior, and again, I trimmed with minimal interruptions. All the horses, after trimming, galloped around the pasture like they had never done before. The owner was both amazed and scared. She had never seen her horses behave this way. They looked like they were going to run right through the fence. They put on quite a show for about 15 minutes or so. They sure did not look like crippled rescue horses that day.

And another story from Nancy:

This just happened this morning when I went to the barn to feed Holly and Chisum. I hadn’t done Reiki on Chisum for a while but this morning he appeared to be hurting a little (he’s healing from a suspensory ligament tear in the right hind), not sure if the humid weather is affecting his leg. I put his boots on first thing and then fed him and Holly their breakfast. While he was eating, I stood slightly off center behind him and proceeded to give him Reiki on his hips, moved up to his root chakra, back down his hips. When he was finished eating, he moved in front of his stall door. Once he got situated, I picked up where I left off.

He stood for a bit and then started to move backward. I then brought my hands up on his withers. He turned his head slightly toward me and I reached out my left palm to his nose. He then started to lick my hand to death. I kept my right hand on his withers and let him lick my left hand. We held this position for a bit. When he turned his head straight, I moved my right hand to his poll. He again turned his head toward me. I again gave him my left hand; he licked and licked and licked. When he turned his head straight again, I moved my right hand to his heart chakra, same thing happened. He turned his head, I gave him my hand, he licked and licked. When he moved his head forward the last time, I put one hand on his spine and one under his belly and moved my hands slowly along his body. When he moved forward, I took this as a sign to end our session.

This reminded me of Monica when the horses were all over her hands right after her attunement. I had given Bob (my husband) Reiki right before going out to the barn. Maybe my hands were “warmed up” :)!! Anyway, thought it was pretty cool.

Pretty cool, indeed!

These women are Level I and have only been practicing Reiki for a couple of months. Imagine the stories they will be telling in a couple of years.

Until next month . . .

Be well,

Pam

*This column originally appeared in From the Horse’s Mouth in July 2008.