Reiki with Animals

Author: Penelope Quest, REIKI On Line Newsletter, September 03

Many people are very fond of animals, so if you are attuned to Reiki, it can be especially delightful and satisfying to extend your gift of healing energy to your pets. I have had some interesting experiences using Reiki with animals, and I can give you some ideas for the best and easiest ways to channel Reiki for the benefit of animals and other creatures. Of course Reiki is a wonderful healing tool for every living thing, and most types of animals respond to it very well, in such an unquestioning and trustful way that it can be quite a humbling experience. It does seem that animals are very much more in tune with their own health and energy needs than humans, and they are also much more intuitive and can detect healing energies more easily than we can. Because of this, they are often drawn to people whose energies they know will help them, so as a Reiki channel, you may well find yourself like the "pied piper" in the well-known fairytale-although hopefully you won't attract just rats!

The Basics of Treating Animals
First let's look at the basic methods for using Reiki with animals. The way you treat a particular animal will obviously depend upon its size and temperament, and whilst with some you can follow a similar format of hand positions to those you would use on humans, with others you may need to use different methods depending upon specific circumstances. The six main approaches I have found useful are as follows:
1. Placing the hands directly on the animal whenever it is safe and practical to do so.
2. Placing the hands on the cage or tank in which the animal is housed if the animal is too small or too dangerous to touch, or if direct touch would disadvantage the creature (e.g., a fish).
3. Holding a small animal in your hands if this is safe to do and won't frighten the creature too much.
4. Sending Reiki through the aura to an animal, either holding your hands directly above the animal or from several meters away.
5. Using the Reiki symbols to direct Reiki to an animal, which can be even more effective than method 4 above.
6. Sending a full distant treatment to an animal, once, or as a regular thing in the case of severe illness. A stuffed animal can also be used as a surrogate to send distant Reiki to the animal.

Treating through the aura
Most of the methods above will be familiar to you, but perhaps I had better explain about sending Reiki through your aura to an animal. You probably know that the energy field around your body can extend as much as 60 feet (9.2 metres) in front of you, and the same distance behind you (see my article "Sensing Auras and Chakras" in Reiki News Volume One, Issue Three), although 20 to 30 feet (3 to 4.5 metres) is probably more usual. This means that if you are standing up to 20 feet away from an animal, it is probably encompassed in your aura, so all you need to do is think and intend that Reiki is filling your aura, and it will do so, and then the animal will be surrounded by Reiki. You can then intend that the Reiki flows into the animal for its greatest and highest good, and if the animal is happy to receive it, that is what will happen. Even if an animal is much further away, you can still connect to it in this way because it is possible to consciously push your aura out as far as you need it to go - even 500 metres
or more - by visualising the edge of your aura expanding until it is large enough for the animal to be inside it, and then letting your aura fill with Reiki, as before, allowing the Reiki to flow into the animal's aura and from there into its body, if the animal is willing to receive it. (It is unlikelythat the Reiki will be rejected, but there will be no harm done either way, because the Reiki will just work with your own aura if this happens, which is fine.) This method is an alternative to using the Reiki symbols to send Reiki, so it is a good way for people to work if they haven't done Reiki 2.

This is just a small part of this great article which is 6 pages long.

Science Validates Spiritual Healing, An Interview with Daniel Benor, M.D., by William Lee Rand
In this fascinating interview Dr. Benor explains how scientific research has demonstrated the therapeutic value of spiritual healing. There are over 190 scientific experiments in the area of spiritual healing and 124 of them have demonstrated valid scientific evidence that spiritual healing works. Dr. Benor is a researcher in the area of spiritual healing. He is also a practicing holistic psychiatrist, and on the advisory board of many scientific journals. He is also author of Spiritual Healing, Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution.

Reiki and Bach Flower Remedies, by Mari Hall
Dr. Bach based his work on a profound philosophy in which life is seen as a learning process and ill health-whether mental or physical-is intended to help us understand more about ourselves and the purpose of our lives. From this understanding Dr. Bach created his famous flower remedies which work to heal the emotional nature. In this article, Mari describes the wonderful healing benefits that can be derived from combining Bach Flower remedies with Reiki.

Reiki and Intuition, by Amy Roland
Reiki not only opens us up to channel healing energy, it can also increase our intuition. This can be an important part of Reiki if one is able to use if properly. When giving treatments, many experience intuitive impressions that can be helpful to the client, but only if used with wisdom. In this article Amy explains how to cultivate this skill and how to use it in a healthy and beneficial way.

The world is a wonderful place, filled with continual changes which bring with them a never ending supply of opportunities. May you grow in the ability to allow the wisdom of Reiki to guide how you choose.
Love and peace to you and the world.

William Lee Rand

Healing Fear, by William Lee Rand

Fear is rarely useful and the events of September 11 and those that have continued to unfold challenge us to remain centered in our hearts and continue to live our lives in a meaningful way.  Allowing ourselves to dwell on worrisome thoughts or to remain caught in the grip of fear prevents us from living our lives resourcefully, making it difficult to find the best solutions to our own issues.  Fear also weakens our ability to send positive thoughts, prayers and Reiki to those in need and to take effective action.

Because of this, it is important that we first focus on our internal state and be aware of any fear that may exist.  For some, the fear is obvious, but for many, there may be a low-grade fear that lingers in the background and mostly goes unrecognized. By first being aware of your fear, you will then be able to use your healing skills to release it.

There are many techniques one can use to release fear. This one makes use of two Reiki II symbols.  First take a moment to do some introspection and become more aware of your internal state.  Look for any fear(s) that may exist and see if you can localize this energy to any one part of your body or energy field.  Then draw the emotional/mental symbol on your hands, followed by the power symbol and treat the area you have discovered.  At the same time, repeat a positive affirmation.  Use ones like this or create your own:  "I release all fear into the light and it is gone forever."  Or, "I am always centered in the light and completely let go of all fear now."

As you do this, you may notice your attention changing from events taking place now to things that have happened in the past.  This is an opportunity to heal more deeply and to release those deeper fears as well.  Just continue with the process as these deeper fears come up.  By doing this, you will be transforming a challenging situation into a positive healing experience. Do this as often as needed.  This technique can also be used to treat others. 

By remaining centered in positive thoughts and feelings and allowing yourself to feel joy and peace, you will be helping those around you and be in a better place to send healing for others and for the planet. Remember, you are powerful, you are strong and you are centered in the light!