Emotional Healing with Reiki & Animal Communication
In August, we talked about using Reiki for physical healing. This month, we are going to talk about using Reiki coupled with animal communication for emotional healing. In case you missed the August column, we’ll start with a quick recap of what Reiki is.
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. Reiki is not veterinary medicine or a substitute for veterinary medicine. Reiki is not massage. Reiki can be used in conjunction with all other therapeutic modalities.
While many humans do not believe that animals have emotions, you and I know better. We’ve seen our animals express joy, sadness, depression; we’ve witnessed them mourn the loss of a companion; we know when they are lonely or bored, excited, anxious, in love.
Of course the positive emotions do not present any problems, but when our animals are fearful, sad, grieving, overwhelmed, lonely, or depressed, we want to do what we can to help them.
Some years ago, I was at the barn visiting my horse. In a previously unoccupied stall, was a new horse, a lovely bay Morgan. He was turned around in the stall with his head in a back corner; his posture reflected total dejection. I stood in front of the stall to quietly introduce myself to him, but before I could say a word, I was overcome with a terrible grief. The feeling was so strong that I actually began to weep. I was not grieving, or even unhappy, so I knew that the emotion had to be coming from him.
My immediate reaction was to make the Reiki signs and begin channeling healing energy to him. After a minute or so of the Reiki, he lifted his head, then turned to face me. He walked the few steps toward me, stuck his head over the stall guard and allowed me to stroke his face. He was still sad, but the terrible darkness had lifted. I told him that he would be OK, that he had nothing to worry about, that this was a good place to live.
When the owner of the barn came in, I asked her about the horse and told her what had happened. She said that the Morgan’s owner, a friend of hers, had brought him that morning and then left; she would be gone for several days on business, which was not ideal but was unavoidable. Apparently, the horse had been moved many times in his life, and each time, he had been abandoned by his previous owner. No wonder he had been grief stricken! I returned to his stall, channeled more Reiki, and assured him that his human companion would return in several days. He did not again express the awful grief he expressed that first day and seemed fairly well adjusted to his new home by the time his owner returned.
While the Reiki helped to ease his pain and helped him to adjust to his new surroundings, a better approach would have been for him to have a Reiki session before the move, and to have someone explain the move to him before he ever got on the trailer.
A sweet Welsh pony named Noble gives an example of how this works. Noble was extremely fearful of men and refused to be handled by them. He was also difficult to load into a trailer. Unfortunately, he had to move again, and the only person who was available to move him was a man. Noble’s owner (a woman) contacted me in an effort to put Noble’s mind at ease about the situation and with the hope of shortening the normally lengthy loading time, which could extend into hours.
In a session the night before the move, I channeled Reiki to Noble while I visualized the trailer for him, visualized his stepping into it without fear, visualized the ride to his new home, and visualized his stepping off the trailer without incident and quietly leading to the pasture.
The next day, Noble’s owner called me from her car. She was driving behind the trailer, which was en route to the new barn. She excitedly told me that Noble had been completely unconcerned about the presence of the male handler, had jumped right onto the trailer, and was riding quietly. Later, she called to tell me he had unloaded just as easily as he had loaded and had quietly walked to his new pasture.
Can Reiki and communication always change behavior? No, it can’t. Some behavior issues are training issues; others are a result of pain or discomfort, which can have a variety of causes, including improper trimming, poor saddle fit, an unbalanced rider, and nutritional deficiencies.
Reiki and animal communication are also not a substitute for common sense. If you leave a horse in a stall 22 hours a day, for example, the horse is most likely going to develop emotional problems. Horses are social animals who are most comfortable and happy in a herd situation; they are also large animals whose bodies are designed to move. Confinement doesn’t sit well with them.
And so we need to be mindful of the kinds of situations we place our beloved horses in. We need to be mindful of their needs.
But even in the best of situations, problems can arise. A horse becomes ill or loses a buddy or has a negative training experience that triggers a bad memory. Or maybe a horse (or dog or cat) comes to you as a rescue, loaded down with painful baggage from his or her past experience. In cases such as these, Reiki coupled with animal communication can be a powerful healer.
Until next month,
Be well,
Pam
*This column originally appeared in From the Horse’s Mouth in November 2006.
© 2006 by Pamela Sourelis