About the Shelter Animal Reiki Association
Reiki is a holistic Japanese energy healing modality that promotes stress reduction and relaxation. SARA was founded in May 2008 to support the growing number of Reiki practitioners who wish to establish programs in their local shelters. SARA’s goals are to: Teach and foster an understanding of energy healing; provide a standardized approach to implementing professional animal Reiki programs for shelters, sanctuaries and other facilities that assist animals in need; document the effects of animal Reiki on individual animals and the possible effects on shelter and rescue statistics as a whole; serve as a worldwide information and referral resource for Reiki practitioners, shelters, sanctuaries and other facilities that assist animals in need that wish to incorporate an animal Reiki program; and educate the public, shelters, sanctuaries and other facilities that assist animals in need on the benefits animal Reiki can provide to animals in need and their human caretakers.
I wasn’t looking for a dog. I was quite happy and content with seven unique cats. (Yes, you could say I live in a cathouse). I certainly didn’t anticipate a little dog to come into my life, teaching me to look at my Reiki practice and The Precepts in ever new ways. But let me back up a bit.
I had been volunteering Reiki at a wildlife refuge, for almost two years when Beth, the founder, came up to me and said, “I was at the shelter and one of the people said he was trying to use more natural and holistic ways of calming the dogs down and I told him about you and Reiki. Give him a call”. So I did. Mike had two particular dogs in mind to work with; Serafina, a very sweet, incredibly shy lab mix, and Frosty, a Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua mix, who would Continue reading…
I remember as if it was yesterday, sitting in a room listening to Frans Steine talk about the city of Paris. This may seem strange to you but what he said was so profound and life changing. He said there is a huge difference between going to Paris and describing Paris. What he meant is that there are lots of information in books on the internet about Paris, which of course you could share but unless you actually went to Paris and experienced it, you would be describing something second hand. Now you may be thinking what can this have to do with Reiki? It is the same for Reiki as there are many books out there but unless you experience Reiki, your description will only be judged on someone else’s experience. This is so important when you teach Reiki, as you need to use your own experiences to explain. Continue reading…
I am writing this on what, according to the ASPCA, is National Horse Protection Day. Which is somewhat ironic, because I woke up this morning to read yet another story about more of wild horses being rounded up and removed from their homes. The pictures were heartbreaking. The eyewitness accounts even more so.
It seems like almost every day I am getting these emails from people I know who are working tirelessly to stop the massive removal of these magnificent animals from their homelands. Wild horses have roamed our countryside for hundreds of year. Yet now, under the direction of the government, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is staging nationwide roundups of wild horses so they can turn over the land to cattle ranchers. While I have never witnessed a roundup live, friends of mine have. I have seen harrowing pictures and video and heard tragic stories. Once Continue reading…
Can or should animals receive reiju, the spiritual blessing ritual? Let me recount what happened recently and then you decide.
Charlie, a handsome white cat with bright jade eyes, came into my family’s life last summer. His owner, an aged German lady named Millicent, refused to be taken to the hospital by the town ambulance service unless she was given assurance that her cat would be taken care of. The managers of the service, Lisa and Jerry, both animal lovers, agreed to take care of the kitty and went to the house to feed him daily. But neither of them could take another animal into their homes. Looking for a solution, Lisa turned to my partner Carol, a part-time medic, for ideas. The upshot was that Carol and I agreed to foster the cat and adopt him if Millicent didn’t return home.. We dubbed him Charlie, got him a collar Continue reading…
8 years have passed since I rescued my beloved dog, named Deeds, from the Tulsa Animal Shelter. Inspired by him, and the benefits of offering Reiki to shelter animals, this time I returned to teach my very first SARA Level I Reiki & Animal Reiki class.
It was the end of the second day of our class. Here I stood outside with my 7 students circled around me. This group of open and compassionate people included the Shelter Director, Veterinarian, a Vet Tech, the Adoption Coordinator, a Shelter Volunteer and 2 of my dear friends who have supported through my own Reiki journey.
The sun was setting; my student’s eyes were closed in meditation, as I was performing my 4th initiation with them. One by one, I peered into their faces. Something had changed, shifted. There was a visible peace and calm about them, about me, in the Continue reading…
This is a blog that has been waiting for me to write but life and all that it had thrown in my path. Has meant that finding the time and the space, to recall this event with the dignity it deserved. Has taken almost 5 months. The experience I had with Esther, was so special.
It was a normal Saturday afternoon at Remus Horse Sanctuary. Myself and one of my reiki students Tracey had been busy offering Reiki to the animals that had needed reiki that day. As usual I was armed with my healing list from Sue and the afternoon was bright. We had already experienced some beautiful reiki lessons from Sophie the horse, the Shetland ponies in the barn, the herd in the field and now we were on our way to the sheep in the shed.
We stood outside and offered reiki to the sheep, there is nothing Continue reading…
In 2012, I twice had the honor of sharing Reiki with a sweet 10 year old Shetland pony named Pete. Through a beautiful two-way connection each time, Pete gave me a gift; he taught me the power of the “circle of healing” through Reiki.
Pete lives at a barn near Green Bay, WI, with a wonderful family, about 10 horses and a couple of mini horses, a place where he receives a lot of love and attention. Pete’s life has not always been so idyllic. Pete came to live with Diane from a place where he was most likely abused and not well-cared for. It seems that Pete received little attention; he was kept in his stall most of the time; and his stall was rarely cleaned. These people really did not want Pete, and luckily for him, Diane was willing to give him a loving home. As a Continue reading…
The following is a letter from one of the attendees at a recent Animal Reiki class conducted by Bill Stevens. Bill had posted earlier about the first visit to the Popcorn Zoo. This is an account of a return visit by the same two people.
Dear Bill,
Again I want to thank you for an amazing day at Popcorn Zoo and especially for asking that we be allowed to go into the enclosures to see Princess the camel and the mountain lions!
I know you tried to be with us as much as possible, but I wanted you to get the “inside” story according to me!!
Some highlights:
Seeing Caesar the tiger strong and healthy’ still pacing, but chuffing and purring each time he reached the fence where we were standing. He seemed to rub his face against the fence to let us know how content he was. He did Continue reading…
Originally published in Reiki News Magazine – Reprinted with permission
When an early morning request arrived with an urgent plea for Reiki for a parrot, I had no idea what an amazing journey was in store for me for the next several weeks. Even though the parrot would ultimately transition, Reiki would provide peace and comfort as well as a temporary rejuvenation for him.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Mills
Sydney was a 13-year-old Quaker parrot that was quite ill. His person, Elizabeth, explained that he had pneumonia, had been having difficulty breathing in the last few days, and that his overall health had taken a downturn several months back.
He was currently being treated with antibiotics and other conventional veterinary medications at one of the local animal clinics, where the vet was somewhat experienced with avian cases. The veterinarian was not sure what had caused the pneumonia and Continue reading…
Apollo receiving Reiki
Last week I taught Animal Reiki Level 1 and used the techniques and meditations I had learnt from Kathleen’s Reiki Workshops here in the UK. I cannot emphasize highly enough how Kathleen’s teaching helped me grow as both a teacher and in my reiki practice. The biggest thing and most profound thing I learnt, from Kathleen was ‘patience’ this may sound easy but actually, it is hard and takes much practice and discipline. Why do I say profound? Kathleen made me think about all of the animals, that I had missed over the years by not giving them the extra reiki time to come forward into the reiki space. When I thought nothing was happening, it was exactly when everything is happening. By letting go of my ‘ego’ and not judging the animals that I knew better and just ‘being in the reik space’ allowed for amazing Continue reading…
|
|
Recent Comments