Offering The Gift Of Reiki To Your Animal Companions

Learn to give the loving gift of Reiki, energy healing, to your animal companions. I will take us on a step-by-step session where we learn the foundation for offering Reiki, activating the energetic symbol of Reiki and practicing channeling Reiki energy. Your animal friends will love this gift! (Thank you to Chris Collins and Blue Dot Sessions for their music)

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Shannon and grateful to have you here.

Today I'm going to walk us through a practice that will allow you to be able to gift your animal companion with Reiki.

I'm setting this up in a way that allows anyone,

Whether you're a beginner or have lots of experience working with energy,

To do this.

Reiki is a universal loving energy that we are all connected to all the time.

And when you gift Reiki to another,

Remember that it is not your own energy that you are offering.

Instead,

You are channeling the energy of love like a ball of light and offering it to another.

I'd like to suggest how to use today's practice and then you can decide what works best for you.

I recommend first that you listen to the whole thing one time through.

Then,

When you're ready to offer Reiki to your animal companion,

You can play it again to connect with the energy that I channel into this session.

Before I walk us through all the steps to offer Reiki to our animal companions,

I'd first like to set the foundation by reading a poem to you that connects us with the energy around us along with the wisdom of our animals.

The poem is called Animal Wisdom,

And it's by Nancy Wood.

And I'd like to say thank you to Nancy Wood's trust,

To India Wood,

And to Margie Montanez at University of New Mexico for gifting me with permission to share this poem with you.

Here is Animal Wisdom.

At first,

The wild creatures were too busy to explore their natural curiosity until Turtle crawled up on land.

He said,

What's missing is the ability to find contentment in a slow paced life.

As the oceans receded,

Fish sprouted whiskers.

Certain animals grew four legs and were able to roam from shore to shore.

Bear stood upright and looked around.

He said,

What's missing is devotion to place,

To give meaning to passing time.

Mountains grew from fiery heat,

While above them soared birds,

The greatest of which was Eagle,

To whom penetrating vision was given.

He said,

What's missing is laughter,

So that arguments can be resolved without rancor.

After darkness and light settled their differences,

And the creatures paired up,

People appeared in all the corners of the world.

They said,

What's missing is perception.

They began to notice the beauty hidden in an ordinary stone,

The short lives of snowflakes,

The perfection of bird wings,

And the way a butterfly speaks through its fragility.

When they realized they had something in common with animals,

People began saying the same things.

They defended the earth together,

Though it was the animals who insisted on keeping their own names.

So as a way of offering a gift to our animals who are wise,

May we share Reiki with them to give back what they have given to us.

So what animal companions can benefit from today's Reiki session?

All of them.

Dogs,

Cats,

Fish,

Birds,

Snakes,

Reptiles of all kinds,

Spiders,

Turtles,

Horses,

Cows,

You name it.

They can all benefit from the gift of Reiki energy.

Let's now walk through some foundational guidelines before moving into the energetic part.

When giving the gift of Reiki to others,

Whether it's other people,

Other animals,

Our trees and environment,

It's important not to project our own intention onto the healing process.

We don't always know a soul's path to healing.

And if we ourselves try to direct the energy a certain way,

We might be disappointed if it doesn't turn out exactly as we,

Our human self,

Thought that it should.

Instead,

Allow spirit,

God,

Universe,

Creation,

The divine to choose the highest path of light for the animal receiving this energy.

Another important guideline in giving the gift of Reiki is making sure we get permission to do a session from the person or animal,

And in this case today,

Our animal companion,

Who's going to be receiving the energy.

Since today we're focusing our session specifically on our animal companions,

You might be wondering how you ask them for permission.

The answer is the same way you would ask a person.

The only difference is in how you receive the answer.

So our animal friends use the language of their body,

Or movement,

Or energy,

Or feeling to give you a yes or no answer.

Just as people are sentient beings with free will,

So too are our animal companions.

When I know I am wanting to give Reiki to my animal friend,

I'll ask him or her this question.

Would you like to receive a Reiki treatment today?

So what does a yes look like or feel like when our animal friend replies yes?

There are different things that might happen.

They might move closer to us,

Showing us that yes,

They'd like the session.

They might look at us softly and blink their eyes slowly to indicate yes,

I'd like to receive that session.

They might send an open,

Warm feeling to you,

Connecting with your heart.

They might stretch or yawn,

Opening themselves up to receiving the energy.

There isn't a specific one size fits all when animals say yes.

So it's just knowing your companion and when you ask,

Allowing yourself to connect with if they are telling you that they do want to receive the session.

Believe it or not,

Some of our animal companions,

At the time that we ask them,

Might say,

Quote unquote,

No to us.

If they say no in their own way,

Just know that this has nothing to do with the way you're offering the energy.

Instead,

Knowing that animals are intuitive and if they feel like they can't receive the energy in that moment,

Just allow that to be.

So what is a no look or feel like?

It'll feel like maybe there's a wall up between the two of you.

Another form of no might be them turning away and walking or crawling away from you.

Reiki energy for our animal companions is very strong,

Much more than for many people.

Not all animals at all times are able to receive that energy in the way it's gifted because it might be too much for them.

And the no could be just for that moment.

And you can check in with them at a later time,

Either later that day or the next day.

And your animal companion might even approach you later when they are ready.

So now that we have these two guidelines,

An open intention for the highest good of our animal friend,

And getting permission from them,

Let's now move into working with a symbol of Reiki today that we're going to connect to to channel the energy.

The symbol in the Yusui Reiki tradition is called Chokurei.

C-H-O-K-U-R-E-I.

It means doorway of light.

What I'm going to do now is describe what the symbol Chokurei looks like.

You can listen as I describe it.

Or if you want to grab a piece of paper,

You can draw it as I describe it.

Or you can even draw it in the air as I describe.

The Chokurei symbol in the Yusui Reiki tradition turns on or activates our ability to channel the Reiki energy.

Now using your right hand,

Either on the paper or in the air in front of you,

I'll have you pick a point to your left side.

You're going to draw a straight horizontal line from left to right,

About two inches or so.

This will be the first line.

Then at the end point of this horizontal line,

You'll draw a second line straight down,

It's vertical,

About three inches.

From this end point,

Then what you'll do is draw a counterclockwise spiral,

Moving across that center vertical line three times until you come back to the center on the third time.

This Reiki symbol,

Chokurei,

Is the awakening or the opening of the Reiki energy.

And so it's moving from the sky or heavenward down to us,

And then opening that window of light between us and the heavens above to bring in that energy.

Each of these steps that I'm sharing with you now,

Prepare you and your animal companion for the receiving of the energy.

So we're getting all of these steps set up so that when you offer the energy to your animal friend,

Then all the steps are in place.

So now we have an open intention,

We've received permission,

And we've activated the Chokurei Reiki.

The next step is deciding whether to do a direct hands-on session,

Or using a surrogate to transmit the energy to our animal friend.

This part of it will be decided not by us so much as our animal friends,

Because they will tell us whether they can receive the touch directly or not.

Our animals are super sensitive,

Some more sensitive to others to direct touch,

And so sometimes the direct touch can feel overwhelming.

That does not mean that they cannot receive the Reiki.

In those cases,

Then we go to a surrogate system,

And I'll describe that in just a moment.

Neither one of these,

The direct hands-on,

Or using a surrogate,

Is better or more effective than the other.

They're both just as effective and important as the other one.

The hands-on direct method is just as it sounds.

So you would take both hands when you're ready to offer the Reiki session,

And place them gently on your animal companion.

For this general session,

Just allowing your placement of your hands to gently fall where they're drawn to on your animal companion's body.

If you move out of your mind and into your hands and the energy,

Your hands will be guided to those places on your animal friend where they're wanting to receive the energy.

On the other hand,

If your animal friend is not open to receiving direct touch,

You can send the energy work in the form of using a surrogate.

So what does that look like?

I often use either a pillow or a stuffed animal as a surrogate to stand in to receive the energy that is then sent telepathically to our animal friends.

Just know that your animal companion doesn't have to be in the same room or location to receive the energy,

Because energy surrounds all of us,

All the time.

It's sort of like when we connect our computers to Wi-Fi.

We don't have to have a specific cable that reaches that far.

Instead,

It's connecting to that energy.

It's the same idea.

So if you're going to do the session through a surrogate,

I'll have you find either a pillow that you want to use or a stuffed animal.

Once you have it,

What you'll do is place this pillow or stuffed animal into your lap and just have it comfortably resting there for you.

Then I'll have you place your hands gently on the pillow or the stuffed animal.

And in this time,

You'll ask this surrogate to take on the energy of your animal friend.

That way,

Your hands will be able to feel in this surrogate,

In the stuffed animal or the pillow,

What's happening with the energy of your animal companion.

Your hands will stay directly on the pillow or the stuffed animal for the duration of the session.

Which leads us to the next question.

How long is a session?

And that's a good question.

And it all depends.

Depends on your animal companion.

Our animal friends receive Reiki energy differently than we do as humans.

So humans are on a more fixed timeline.

So I might have a client call me and say,

I'd like a 60 minute Reiki session,

Hands on.

And so when I go to that person's house,

Set up my table,

The person gets on the table and I spend 60 minutes offering them a Reiki session.

This isn't the same for our animal friends.

They work in a more universal time flow.

Every moment is right now.

And so their session can be anywhere from one minute to 30 minutes,

45 minutes,

An hour.

Each of our animal friends will let us know during the session when they're done.

Sometimes they just simply get up and walk or crawl away from us when they're finished.

And when they do this,

Just allow that to be okay.

It doesn't matter how short or long the session is,

They're receiving the energy that you're sending to them.

The most important part is not to force it.

Now,

Sometimes surrogate sessions where I'm channeling the energy into the pillow or stuffed animal that is acting in the presence of my animal friend,

Sometimes those can last a little longer because the energy being channeled isn't so direct to the animal.

And so they might not become so overwhelmed so quickly.

Just know that working with Reiki energy causes no harm.

It doesn't hurt.

It's done in kindness and with universal love and compassion.

Now that we have the open intention,

We've checked in with our animal friend about whether they want to receive the session or not.

We've activated the Choku Rei,

Yusui Reiki symbol to start the channeling of the energy.

And we've checked in with our animal friend about whether they want hands-on direct or using a surrogate.

Then we can decide to choose a time and location in which to offer this session to our animal friends.

What I'd like to do now is do two minutes of channeling the Reiki from me through this recording into your hands so that you are channeling the energy.

This energy of Reiki that you feel over the next two minutes as we channel will be that same energy that you offer to your animal companion during a Reiki session.

Now I'll have you move into a position of receiving this energy that feels comfortable for you,

And practicing allowing that Reiki energy to move through the recording and into your hands,

Whether this is seated or lying down.

Once you're in a comfortable position,

I'll have you close your eyes,

Open your hands,

Allowing the energy to flow into your hands,

Connecting with this universal energy.

As the energy flows into your hands as a gift,

Begin to slow and deepen your breathing.

Imagine the energy at the top of your head opening,

And as the energy moves in through the top of your head your heart opens.

And the energy moves through your open heart into your hands and flows freely.

Connect now in this next moment of silence,

Allowing yourself to feel the channeled energy of Reiki.

This is the same energy that you will offer to your animal companion.

Now I'll have you take a deep breath in,

And exhale,

And receive this energy now.

Take a deep breath in,

And open your eyes when you're ready.

At the end of working with Reiki energy,

What I'll have you do to close the channel so that you're not channeling the energy all the time,

Is that you'll bring your hands together in Anjali Mudra,

Which is prayer position,

Placing both palms together.

Then imagine,

Like a switch,

Energy turns off,

Closing that channeling of the Reiki.

Now that you have all the tools you need,

In your hands,

Literally,

To offer your animal friends Reiki,

I invite you to move forward in doing that session for them as you feel called.

The same energy that flowed from me to you and to your hands,

Is the same exact energy that you will be gifting to your animal companion.

So let's walk through those six steps once more.

The first one is an open intention,

That you offer the Reiki session with no particular intention in mind other than what is for their highest good.

The second is making sure to receive permission from your animal friend about whether yes or no they'd like to have a session.

The third one is activating the Cho Ku Rei energy with the symbol that I brought forward for you during the session.

So you just draw that symbol,

Either on a piece of paper or in the air,

Turning on or activating the Reiki channeled energy.

The next part is deciding whether to do the session hands-on or using a surrogate,

A pillow or a stuffed animal,

And your animal friend will let you know which one feels best.

And when you're ready,

Then you'll offer the gift of Reiki to your animal friends,

Taking your hands,

Whether directly on your animal friends or on that surrogate,

And placing it gently there,

And just allowing the energy of the Reiki session to flow from your hands to them in an offering of love.

Allow the session to be as short or long as your animal friend shares with you that he or she wants it.

Once you finish the session,

Then to close the Reiki channel off,

You'll just bring your hands back into a prayer position,

Palms touching,

And just ask the energy to close for now.

You can always activate it later when you need to.

Now if you'd like,

Once you meet with your animal companion and ask them whether they're ready to receive a Reiki session,

You can listen again to this audio recording while you're offering them the session,

So that you feel comfortable in giving the session to them.

All through the session,

Whether it was a silent two minutes of music,

Or while I'm talking,

This whole piece is channeled with Reiki so that you are connected with the energy as well.

Just remember that because Reiki energy is universal,

It's always there,

All the time.

Thank you so much for joining me for this practice today.

I'm grateful that you've been here,

And I'm sending blessings to you and all your animal companions.

Have a beautiful day.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for the informative lesson in Reiki. It is well presented and easy to understand the steps. And such a joy to share the energy with my pet.

🌻I just love this. It's such a wonderful gift that I can share with my pets. I know they are looking forward to receiving Reiki as much as I look forward to giving Reiki to them. Thank you🌺