If you would like to learn humility, work with animals. Animals are honest and will politely let you know exactly what they want and need, although most animals seem to really enjoy receiving Reiki. One of our cats would even jump up onto the Reiki table to try to join in any Reiki session by offering "paws on" while we did "hands on".

Bill the Maine Coon cat loves his Reiki

Although I’ve sent Reiki to many beings since I was first introduced to Reiki in 1991 and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing Reiki work and experiencing the difference that Reiki can make in any situation, some of my most memorable Reiki experiences have been when working with animals. 

One spoilt white cat
One of the most memorable animals I’ve worked with was a spoilt white cat that had damaged his throat and couldn’t swallow past the scar tissue. His vet suggested that if the cat didn’t prosper on a diet of pureed cat-food then the kindest act may be euthanasia rather than slow starvation. The cat’s owner was distraught so we tried Reiki – truthfully I think the cat’s owner would have tried anything by that stage she was so upset.

The cat ignored me for at least half an hour, finally decided to sniff my hands, then rolled over and totally accepted the Reiki offered, but only for 5 minutes. I had to go back the next night to offer more Reiki, which the pampered puss accepted, but again only for 5 minutes. I worked in 5-minute sessions over a number of nights. The cat knew what it needed because the cat not only thrived on the pureed cat-food, but also in time the scar tissue also softened and lessened so that the cat could eat normal food again.

A very determined black cat
Prushka the escapologist always managed to get out whenever she wished. She also enjoyed “sharing” when Reiki was being practised, but once she was pregnant with her first litter she became a Reiki thief. I’d be quietly watching TV, when suddenly I’d realise that I was channelling Reiki. Sure enough, Prushka had escaped again from her owners and somehow managed to get herself into my home, on my couch, under my hand. As soon as she realised that I was aware of her presence she would start to purr loudly, but until I noticed she just lay quietly, gracefully accepting Reiki. Prushka visited me nearly every night while she was pregnant, until she produced six healthy, large kittens with a minimum of fuss after which she stopped visiting and happily stayed home with her family.

A flying fox with attitude
One memorable experience was with a flying fox who was very angry after being hung up on barbed wire at Lavarack Barracks. When he was rescued he wasn’t a bit grateful, but just wanted to rip the hands off any human he could reach. He also wasn’t the least bit interested in eating, which was more of a worry. I offered Reiki to the flying fox (without going too near his cage – I’m not that brave), and within minutes he decided that food was worth eating after all, even though he was still ready to rip the hands off any human that came too close! For the initial feeds, the flying fox would settle and accept food from a pipette but only as long as the Reiki flowed along with the food.

The very Peaceful Dove
The slowest animal to accept Reiki was a bird: a Peaceful Dove who had knocked itself senseless trying to fly through a window. When I found it, it was limp and ants had moved in. I brushed the ants off and sat for 40 minutes offering Reiki until I felt the bird begin to stir. By this time, another Peaceful Dove had flown to a nearby tree and chattered as she watched: I did wonder if she was giving me instructions. The second bird stayed until the first bird revived enough to hold onto a branch by itself (about 10-15 minutes later) and then they flew off together about 5 minutes after that. The observer bird didn’t stop talking, even when they flew away. The Reiki bird was flying a bit erratically at first, so perhaps the observer bird was still issuing instructions by doing the bird equivalent of back seat driving (or flying).

A Superb Fruit Dove that liked Reiki
A Superb Fruit Dove who had been caught by a cat didn’t appear to be injured, but certainly didn’t want to fly. Initially I gave Reiki for around an hour, then we put the dove into a box to stay quiet overnight. The next morning, after Reiki, both my husband and I tried to get the dove to fly. The dove was equally determined to stay in our hands so we gave up, gave it a cage and food and yet more Reiki. We tried again the next morning but the dove just would not fly. After three days of Reiki twice a day and food, the dove eventually flew – but only after it realised that it wasn’t going to get any more Reiki on demand because I had left the building: I was on the road driving to another town for a Reiki weekend.

Baby birds like Reiki too
Every fledgling that we have raised over the years likes Reiki: some of them like it too much and we have trouble persuading some of them to leave “home”.

Baby birds settle easily with Reiki

Playing possum
We didn’t have that trouble with the two possums that took up residence in our chimney. Reiki calmed them down as we relocated them to the shed, now they are more than happy to accept breakfast in bed occasionally in the shed and don’t seem to miss their old home in the chimney at all.

Mother and baby both doing well

Reiki’s Little Miracles
Reiki truly is full of little miracles as my first Reiki teacher told me back in 1991, and I feel blessed that I’ve experienced so many of these little miracles in the years since that I’ve been practising Reiki. Although it’s great to offer Reiki to humans because you can feel and see Reiki working (healthy skin colour coming back to a face during a treatment and a brighter more focussed look) I still enjoy working with animals. You don’t feel like an idiot trying to explain Reiki and there are no inbuilt barriers of disbelief. Animals just test the feeling, and if they like it take what’s offered, use it, and get on with life – and that’s my definition of a good Reiki treatment.

Another "little miracle"? Bella the kind little white dog

always joins in with her version of gassho during a Reiki Share,

whenever the human participants gassho.

If you have been following the trail through these Reiki pages, you have reached the final page. You can learn more about my philosophy by reading the Musings on Energy page, or if you would like to see other topics covered here or are kind enough to offer feedback on this site,

you can talk to us @ Ideas Unlimited, Ravenshoe, Australia, 07 4097 7298