Reiki Attunements for Animals

Beth Lowell posed the question Attuning Animals: Yes or no? in the online publication The Reiki Digest on October 30, 2008.

I thought about answering but shelved responding for later. I was very busy, and surely others would reply.

It came back to the forefront of my mind today in relationship to a recent ruling by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on doctrine where their group denounces Reiki.

Reading that brought back memories of when, as a teenager, I had broken away from the Catholic Church. Up until that point I had a strong love of the religion I had been raised in from birth, so strong that I had seriously considered becoming a nun.

As a teenager I learned the true history of the Catholic Church, which historically is one of persecution. Disillusioned I rejected both organized religion and spirituality. I never returned to organized religion, but taking training in Reiki in 1996 restored my connection to universal energy and love, and my belief in a spiritually based world.

Reading the article about the stand of the Catholic Bishops confronted me with the real reason I had not immediately written in response to Beth Lowell’s question, and that reason had little to do with my being so busy, and everything to do with fear of persecution.

In checking back to Beth’s article I discovered that only one person had left a comment but that comment only focused on the benefits of Reiki sessions for animals, something very different from offering attunements to animals.

What’s the difference? When taking a beginning class in Reiki, a student receives a series of attunements by a Reiki Master Teacher that opens their energy channels, connecting them up to the universal life force energy known as Reiki. The process of attunement to the Reiki energy offers personal benefit to the student as well as the ability to facilitate the healing Reiki energy for people and animals.

Experiencing the healing energy of Reiki in a session also helps to balance and calm, but the recipient does not leave with the ability to carry that energy forward and offer it to others. In my Reiki classes students are taught how to offer Reiki not only to people, but also to animals and plants. And in Master Level training I teach my students how to do attunements for animals as well as people.

Why would I do this, you might ask?

When I took my Reiki Master Teacher training in 1996 in Massachusetts there was no mention of attunements for animals, and it never occurred to me to ask about them. My Master Teacher was a nurse who worked in a local hospital and she taught many nurses and a few doctors the art of Reiki for their patients.

In my Level I and II Reiki training with a different teacher there was only a passing reference to the fact that Reiki could benefit pets, there was no mention of how to do sessions for animals, never mind any mention of attunements for them.

It was not a human teacher but the Reiki energy itself that reawakened me to my dashed youthful dreams and sense of spiritual connection. It happened during the first attunement in Reiki that I received in my Reiki Level I class. Suddenly I could feel energy coursing through my hands, and a new level of awareness washed through me along with great love and joy as I connected fully with the Reiki energy. Simultaneously I reconnected with myself and knew in the core of my being that I was born to be a healer and that I would work with animals.

From that moment on I was in love with Reiki and all its many benefits. It transformed my life in a very positive fashion and, when I opened a practice in 1996 immediately after my Level I class, that of many of my clients and students, human and animal. I named it Wild Kingdom Reiki and to the best of my knowledge, it was the first Reiki healing practice for animals on the East coast.

Not long after finishing my Reiki Master Teacher training I began to feel pulled toward offering Reiki attunements to the animal companions that shared my life and my practice. I did a lot of soul searching about that desire, no one talked about it in the Reiki community, none of the books I had read mentioned anything about it, yet the pull would not go away.

With a great deal of trepidation I offered it to my animals and they accepted, and they enjoyed the process. I mentioned what I had done to no one in the community, I was afraid that people would shun me, after all, who was I, this newly trained Reiki Master to bring something new into the tradition?

And I probably would have kept quiet indefinitely if it had not been for an elderly dog named Abbie.

My friend Joanne Wilson called me one day, in tears, because they had made the decision to put their canine companion of many years to sleep. She and her husband felt that Abbie’s quality of life was no longer good enough to justify their keeping her in her ailing body just because they loved her -- that she had reached the point where she was suffering. She had developed hot spots all over her body which she tried to scratch constantly, she didn’t move around much, and when she walked she would often lose control of her bowels, and would hide in embarrassment. She no longer wanted to do any of the fun things she used to love to do, like going for rides in the car. In short, she had no joy in daily living.

I felt that pull again, and found myself offering to come over and build Abbie a Bridge of Light and offer her some Reiki. Joanne, a fellow Reiki practitioner, told me that when she offered Reiki the dog would walk away. I replied that I would ask her permission and if she did not want any I would respect her decision.

When I arrived Abbie was accepting of my presence, and I asked her if she would like to receive a Reiki attunement. She was uncertain what that was so I explained that it was an energetic process that would reconnect her to the universal life force energy, and that it might help her feel better and could assist her in getting ready to leave her body or in healing. She was willing to give it a try and so I began the attunement process. During it I suddenly felt a weight lift off her, but had no idea what it was, and kept going with the attunement until it was complete. Abbie seemed quite content, and I left.

I received a call from Joanne the following day, and fully expected to hear her tearfully tell me that Abbie was gone. Instead Joanne joyfully explained that they had cancelled the euthanasia process because Abbie was outside playing like a puppy! She further added that Abbie had asked to go for her first car ride in two years. I was speechless, and amazed.

As the days unfolded Abbie’s hot spots healed up and she no longer had issues with her bowels. And from the time of the attunement on Abbie enjoyed receiving Reiki sessions, which she never had before. Her quality of life, and joy in life, continued for another six months until her body simply wore out.

With Abbie’s response to her attunement I acknowledged that it was time for me to come out of the Reiki closet and begin offering this to my animal clients where appropriate. It was made very clear to me by the Reiki energy that if I was not supposed to offer Reiki attunements to animals then Abbie would have had no response. Instead, with her miraculous and positive response to the Reiki attunement, I received validation that the animals needed and wanted the attunements. They, too, were spiritual as well as physical beings.

From that point on I began offering it to my animal clients within the context of a healing session (always asking their permission), and began teaching the process to my Reiki students (there are some adaptations to the attunement process necessary when offering it to animals).

And I mentioned it in passing from time to time in the articles that I wrote over 11 years that were eventually collected into the book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism. Animal Reiki attunements were very important to the healing process for the dog, AJ, in “Freedom from Fear,” and to the many animals injured during a pet store burglary in “When You Care Enough.”

But I realized that I had never fully stepped out and said bluntly, publicly, yes, I do attunements for animals. Some part of me was still in hiding.

I do not know how many other Reiki Masters there may be out there that do attunements for animals that may also be in hiding, but with the latest article I am writing, Answering the Call of the Wild, I am now very aware that the needs of the animals and the world are greater than my personal fears. Perhaps there are other Reiki Masters who may read this, and who may be inspired to speak up so that the world can know that animals are spiritual beings deserving of, and responsive to, Reiki attunements.

So, I now consciously and fully step forward and declare, “YES, I do attunements for animals, and they can be very healing.” And I also offer them to trees, but that is a story for another time!

Rose De Dan
Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC
Blog: www.wildreiki.wordpress.com
Website: www.reikishamanic.com
Animal and Reiki Art: www.cafepress.com/reikishamanic

Saving Keiko

Over a month ago I received a call from a local vet’s office. They were seeking information about the possibility of placing a cat that had been brought to them to be euthanized. Since she was perfectly healthy they wanted to see if other options could be found. She was surrendered to the vet by the family that adopted her as a stray that turned up in their yard at about 6-8 months of age. They had her spayed, declawed on all four feet (poor dear, declawing is a cruel procedure as it removes the toe on each foot to the first joint, otherwise the nail grows back). Keiko is now three years old, and up-to-date on her vaccinations.

The reason for Keiko’s surrender is that she began to hide and to not always use the litter box. Keiko was checked and there was no evidence of a physical issue. My experience with cat clients has definitely taught me that they will develop these behavioral responses when something happens that causes them to feel unsafe in their environment. When threatened they will begin to display territorial marking behavior.

The vet was concerned that they were still going to have to euthanize her because she was extremely aggressive in her cage and would hiss and swat at them and try to bite (declawed cats feel very vulnerable and when really scared will use the last weapon left them, their teeth). I felt I needed to go visit her to better be able to assess the situation and to see how I might best offer advice. As I was very busy I asked a student to take a look at her photo and see what she might learn through animal communication. The picture emerged of a very sweet cat that needed someone who understood her need to be able to trust in her own fashion, and who was very afraid of where she was. She did not want to die.

When I first laid eyes on Keiko she was hiding behind a comfort barrier that the kind vet people had put in her cage, and was growling and hissing. I immediately knew what the solution was going to be. Unfortunately it involved my taking her home as a foster cat. It was very clear that she was never going to be able to settle in a vet clinic environment, there was too much noise and distress from other animals that came in for appointments. No one was ever going to be able to see who Keiko really was in that environment, she needed a quiet place to recover and for me to observe how she really interacted.

Keiko was informed of the plan, and when I went to pick her up the vet tech placed heavy gloves on her hands to try to grab Keiko and put her in the carrier. I could see Keiko’s response to that, and suggested that perhaps we open the carrier and place it in the cage and see if she would go in voluntarily. And she did, with a little guidance and encouragement, and she sat quietly as I picked her up and took her back to my house and a cage in the cellar.

When I first foster a cat I almost always cage them so that we have a secure environment in which to interact and so that I can build trust quickly. Keiko emerged from her carrier with ease, and immediately took up residence in the cat bed teepee that I had gotten for her to feel safe. Not once did she hiss at me, although she was clearly scared. I made no attempt to touch her for the next few days, simply giving her time. When I finally did reach out to her she tipped her head with relief and gladly accepted some loving touches. From that point on she was eager for contact -- when I bring her food she would rather have me pet her than eat!

My schedule does not allow me to spend much time with her, but I make a point every evening to sit down in front of the cage and do some Reiki with her. Keiko knows the routine and rushes to her mat, eager for her session. I place both arms in the cage and Keiko piles in between them, curling around inside, rubbing her face in my hand, flipping her body, and purring like mad the entire time (and she has a lovely, loud, rumbling purr). If she really gets going she drools, just a little bit. By the end of 15 minutes of Reiki she is curled into a ball within my arms, head usually tucked into one hand, purr trailing off as she falls asleep. I still cannot believe that this is the same terrified cat that I saw at the vet, but, when I bring someone else to visit her, Keiko gets scared and tries to hide. She is getting better, accepting my reassurance that it is okay, trusting me, but it will evidently take her time to bond with someone else. In my opinion Keiko is a semi-feral. She will make someone a lovely companion so long as they allow her to build the relationship at her comfort level, and she will probably not be seen when company visits (unless they are doing Reiki, in which case I think she will be front and center!).

Keiko has now been with me for a month. Events with my eldest cat, Shaman, kind of put the focus of getting her adopted on hold, but she is getting tired of being in the cage, and I don’t blame her. It is time for her to find her forever home, I have given her great food and supplements, her coat is really glossy, she uses the litter box without fail, and she has had more than enough energy work!

So, do you know someone who would love this very sweet lady? I believe she needs a quiet home, one without children or dogs, although I think another laid-back cat would be fine. And the person definitely needs to be someone who is comfortable with letting Keiko be who she is rather than having specific requirements.

I will screen any potential adopters, and there is an adoption fee (fee will be donated to rescue work, it is good to have a fee to discourage impulse adoptions). It would be nice if Keiko’s person was already a Reiki practitioner but I am willing to consider a discount on Reiki training if the person is willing!

Keiko is waiting. Do you know where her forever home is?

If you are interested in adopting Keiko, please call Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki & Shamanic Healing at 206-933-7877 or send an email.

If you would like to read another article regarding building trust with ferals see Building An Interspecies Bridge.