In July, I talked about how all creatures, including humans, are telepathic, that this is a gift we are born with, and I suggested exercises to help you begin your journey to hearing the animals.

I would love to hear how you are doing-both your successes and frustrations-and I would love to share your stories here. I am guessing that some of you are indeed hearing the animals but are making yourselves miserable by second-guessing yourselves, trying to convince yourselves that this simply cannot be happening.

Just moments after she had been attuned to Level II Reiki, a woman in one of my Reiki classes immediately began to hear the horses who were in the pasture right outside the window. One of the horses told her a rather elaborate story. The woman was elated at first, that she could hear him, but then she began to cry. She was afraid she had made the whole story up.

A woman who had recently taken one of my Introduction to Animal Communication classes told me that she’d really enjoyed the class, but wanted to know how we could we be certain that we were actually hearing the animals. Maybe we were really hearing the thoughts of the human companion, or maybe we were hearing spirits, or maybe we were hearing the voice of God. I found it interesting that she was not concerned that she was making the information up; she seemed convinced that it was coming from somewhere outside of herself. But she was so unconvinced that that she was actually hearing the animals that she had stopped trying to communicate with them at all.

So, how do we know if we are in fact creating the stories ourselves of if they are coming from somewhere other than the animal we are trying to talk to?

Telepathic communication works because on some level we are all connected to each other, on some level we are all one. And so, when I am communicating with an animal, I don’t worry about where the information is coming from. Sometimes, I receive information about an illness the animal is suffering from. Does the animal know the name of her illness? Or did someone or something else step in for a moment with this information?

Does it matter? I have always felt that it does not.

We do, however, need to be careful about how we interpret information. When we communicate with an animal, we are the ones who put the information into words. The animals do not speak in the same language we do, and so we translate. Well, in doing so, we can easily add our own twist to the information. We can inject our own fears or doubts; we can miss information altogether because our minds are not open to hearing something unfamiliar.

When I am doing a communication session for a client, I write down what I am hearing so that I can read it or email it to the client at the end of the session. From time to time, I will feel uncomfortable about a sentence or two that I’ve heard. I worry that I may have made it up. I think about deleting it. Maybe the horse or dog or cat has complained about something the human has done or said. It might embarrass the client. It might be totally wrong. But I always force myself to share it with the client. And it always-always-proves to be the most powerful or important part of the communication.

And so the message here is to trust your instincts. And to be able to do that, you have to keep an open mind and to keep an open heart. You have to put judgment aside. You have to put fear aside. You have to work from a place of total love and acceptance. And you have to work with a quiet mind.

For help in getting to that place, you might consider yoga or meditation or Reiki. You might also want to revisit some of the exercises I suggested in the July column: remember the times you have communicated with your horse; remind yourself that they are true. Spend time just sitting in the pasture with your horse. Don’t think about anything, don’t do anything, just be.

Until next month,

Be well,

Pam

*This column originally appeared in From the Horse’s Mouth in September 2006.

© 2006 by Pamela Sourelis

Reiki (pronounced ráy-key) is an ancient form of Japanese energy healing. The Reiki practitioner channels universal life force energy to the being (human or animal) in need of healing. This can be done by placing hands on the being; it can also be done across distance, with no physical contact.

There appears to have been a steady increase of interest in Reiki over the past few years, especially among animal lovers. This is wonderful news because animals are very open to this type of healing; they don’t question whether it is really possible to channel healing energy, they just gratefully accept it.

There also appear to be quite a few misconceptions about Reiki. One is that Reiki is a type of massage. It is of course possible to combine Reiki with massage. But Reiki itself has nothing to do with massage. I do most of my Reiki sessions with animals across distance, never touching their bodies at all.

Another misconception is that Reiki can only used to balance a person’s or animal’s energy. Reiki is most definitely used in this way, but it has many other uses as well. The practitioner can use Reiki to assist with emotional and spiritual healing, which we look at in future columns, and for physical healing, which we will take a look at this month.

Let me start out by saying that reputable Reiki practitioners do not diagnose illness. I periodically get calls from distraught animal owners who tell me their horse (or dog or cat) is ill and they don’t know why and they don’t know what to do. My answer is always the same: Call your veterinarian. This is because Reiki practitioners are not veterinarians and are not qualified to diagnose disease or the effects of physical injury.

However, Reiki is a powerful healing modality and an extremely effective complement to veterinary medicine.

Here’s a story. Some years ago, I arrived at the barn where my horse was boarded and found the owner in a frantic call to her vet. Her mare had been in the pasture enjoying the beautiful summer day when she’d suddenly begun violently shaking. The woman, I’ll call her Anne, had brought her horse into the barn, noticed that the horse’s gums were white, took her temperature, which was elevated by three or four degrees, and immediately called the vet.

When Anne got off the phone, I asked if she wanted me to give her horse Reiki while she waited for the vet. She did. I went into the stall with Anne and gently placed my hands on her horse. Within 30 seconds, the horse had stopped shaking; within a minute, the color had returned to her gums. After several minutes, Anne took her horse’s temperature again, and it had dropped two degrees.

The veterinarian arrived a short time later, examined the mare, and treated her. No one was ever sure what exactly had triggered the episode. But Anne and I-and I’m sure her mare-were grateful that the Reiki had so quickly treated the shock and lowered the elevated temperature.

Here’s another story. My horse, Nikos, had gotten a tetanus shot, and the next day he had a baseball sized knot at the injection site. The barn owner (different barn) was mucking stalls, and so I was talking to her while I held my hand over the knot, channeling Reiki but not paying much attention, just passing the time on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

After a few minutes, I noticed that the knot felt smaller under my hand. I moved my hand, and sure enough, the knot had shrunk by about two-thirds. I couldn’t quite believe this myself, and so I said to the barn owner, “Hey, Sue, take a look at this. Is the knot smaller, or am I just imagining things?”

I’d only been at Sue’s barn for a week, and she hadn’t known much about Reiki up to that point, but when her mouth fell open in disbelief and she softly demanded to know how I’d done that, I figured she was seeing the same results I was. (This incident so convinced her of the power of Reiki that she went on to take both my Level I and Level II Reiki class!)

Reiki can also be used to relieve the symptoms of stomach upset or colic (while you’re waiting for the vet), to reduce pain and swelling from overexertion, and to accelerate the healing process after any injury or surgery. A few years ago, my horse Nikos stepped on my little dog Elika and dislocated her wrist. The veterinarian told me it was a bad dislocation and that she might never be totally sound. In any event it would take several months to heal. With daily Reiki, Elika was charging around at top speed in two weeks, completely sound.

Reiki can also be used to help alleviate the physical stress of chronic illness. I have worked with many dogs and cats suffering with cancer, and have found that the Reiki alleviates their pain, increases their appetite, diminishes their depression, and increases their energy. Reiki is also believed to shrink tumors, and I believe I have experienced this phenomenon as well.

In short, Reiki can be used to alleviate pain, swelling, and discomfort associated with any illness or injury and can dramatically accelerate the healing process. Reiki is non-invasive, non-toxic, and can be used in conjunction with any other healing modality. To be honest, I don’t know what I’d do without it.

Next month, we’ll take a look at how Reiki can be used for emotional healing.

Until next month,

Be well,

Pam

*This column originally appeared in From the Horse’s Mouth in August 2006.

© 2006 by Pamela Sourelis

A complaint I often hear from animal lovers is that, try as they might, they just can’t hear what their animals are saying. They have tried reading books to understand how the process works; they have tried joining online chat groups; they have tried relaxation exercises and visualizations and meditations to quiet their minds so they can hear better; in short, they have tried and tried and tried, but they just aren’t getting anywhere. Nearly paralyzed with frustration, many of them convince themselves that they will never be able to do this, that communicating with animals is something that only a few special people are able to do.

This is nonsense.

I firmly believe that all creatures-including humans-are telepathic, that we are all able to send and receive non-verbal, non-physical messages. But we are told from a very young age that this isn’t possible, and so we eventually convince ourselves that it isn’t. Because the vast majority of people have accepted this silliness, the inability to communicate with other species is considered “normal.”

So the first step in re-learning how to communicate with the animals is to believe that you can, to know that you can, to understand that telepathic communication is a gift you were born with, and that no one can take this gift from you.

As you begin this journey, it is important to realize that communication with the animals can happen in a variety of ways. Many people think that because they don’t hear their animals’ thoughts and feelings in words, they aren’t communicating with them. Remember that communication is about sending and receiving information, and speech is not the only way we do this. After all, the animals are not speaking in words, at least not in a language we would understand. How information is received depends in large part on the individual doing the receiving.

Information may come to you in words. I often receive information from the animals in this way. I write down exactly what I am hearing, so that I don’t forget anything and so that I don’t decide that I’m not hearing correctly and dismiss part of a message. But information may also come to you in visual images. For example, I have seen accidents that animals had with previous owners, have seen their living spaces and the changes they would like made to them. I have also seen physical problems, such as injuries (that the human was unaware of) and parasite infestations.

You might also receive information in the form of physical sensations. I conduct all of my sessions across distance; in other words, I am in my office and the animal is in her or his home. But even across distance, I can feel pain or tension in an animal’s body. Once, when I was working with a cat, I suddenly felt as though a thick rope was being tightened around my throat. I was in such pain, that I actually began to cry. The cat told me she needed her thyroid checked, which the human later verified.

Or you might just suddenly know that something is true. You’ve probably all had the experience of hearing the phone ring and knowing who it is before you pick it up. I imagine that you have this kind of connection with your animal companions as well.

As you practice communicating, it’s important that you allow yourself to connect with the animals. You can’t force yourself to make the connection. Wishing doesn’t work either; studying for hours doesn’t work; getting mad at yourself doesn’t work; comparing yourself to someone else doesn’t work. You need to be gentle and kind with yourself; you need to be patient. You need to treat yourself the same way you treat your horse or your dog or a young child when you are trying to teach one of them something new. You take it one step at a time; you keep the sessions short; you forgive mistakes; you recognize and celebrate small successes.

Here are a couple of exercises you can try. I recommend that you buy yourself a notebook that you like writing in and a pen or pencil that feels good in your hand.

1. Think of times when you knew what your animal was thinking or feeling. Remember the day when you just knew your horse didn’t feel like working? He looked fine; he wasn’t sick or off; he just wasn’t quite himself. Or the time when you knew something was wrong out in the barn even though you couldn’t actually hear anything from the house? Or the time when your dog smiled at you with love and joy, and you felt your hearts connect?

Think of as many times as you can. Write them down in as much detail as you can remember. You don’t have to do this all at once. Think of it as an exercise that will help you to let go of resistance, that will allow you to see the talent you already possess.

2. The next time you are with your horse, quietly stand next to him or her. Don’t focus on asking a question or hearing an answer. You can quietly groom if this is something your horse enjoys, and if you can do it without turning it into a task. Take your time; don’t rush. Just be with your horse.

Or you might want to bring a chair out into the pasture or paddock and sit near your horse. Bring your notebook. Again, you are not asking a question or worrying about an answer. You are just being with your horse. If a thought comes to you, or an image, or a word (even just one word), write it down. If nothing comes, don’t worry. It may not come today, but it will come.

Until next month,

Be well,

Pam

*This column originally appeared in From the Horse’s Mouth in July 2006.

© 2006 by Pamela Sourelis

About twelve years ago, I sat bolt upright in bed in the middle of the night and said aloud, “Pegasus.” The next day, I-a lifelong city dweller-began my journey back to the horses whose spirits had always been entwined with my heart.

Three years later I met the beautiful and proud bay gelding I named Nikos. This kind and wise spirit led me to worlds I had previously known very little about, including the power of energy healing and the ability to hear the animals. With his guidance and the guidance of other teachers, both human and animal, this wonderful work has become my profession.

I believe that every human being is born with the ability to hear the animals; many of us have just forgotten how. I believe that every human being can learn to assist the healing process by channeling healing energy.

The purpose of this column, then, is for readers to share their experiences with hearing the animals (horses or others) and to ask questions about Animal Communication and Reiki Energy Healing. My answers will include personal experiences, stories from the animals themselves. If I don’t know the answer to a question, I will consult other professionals until I can track it down!

I invite you to send brief stories and questions directly to me: Email Pam. Please write “Animal Connections” in the subject line.

Until next month,

Be well,

Pam

*This column originally appeared in From the Horse’s Mouth in June 2006.

© 2006 by Pamela Sourelis