Author Nancy Crowe

Acting like we have all day

Nancy Crowe

If you’re feeling stuck between what happened and what’s coming, you’re in good company. Tuff the camp horse had already nuzzled and checked me for treats, ditched his fly mask (twice) and decided he was tired of being on welcoming duty with two other horses (who’d moved to the other side of the pasture). Now here I was relaying the message that he couldn’t go back in the barn just yet. All he wanted to do was get on with his day.

I told Tuff he was welcome to share a Let Animals Lead® meditation with me in the meantime. He grumbled but took me up on it. After a few minutes, he stopped fidgeting, lowered his head and began licking and chewing. By the time he went back into the barn, he was much happier. 

Horse trainer Monty Roberts said that if you act like you have 15 minutes it’ll take all day, but if you act like you have all day it’ll take 15 minutes. 

Getting on with your day or your life is easier if you stop and refresh. Who knows, maybe that is getting on with your day. 

Want to help your horse, cat, dog or other friend have happier days? Contact me for an animal communication or Let Animals Lead® session today.

Dental anxiety? Reign it in

Nancy Crowe

Itchy with bug bites, Megan the gypsy horse was in no mood to have her teeth done. I’d been told she had dental issues and, even with sedation, anxiety to the point of rearing. Now her turn was coming up.

I told her what was happening and that I knew firsthand that tooth and skin problems are no fun … but not insurmountable. She’d indicated a few weeks earlier that she was “the queen around here” — so I said: “Be the queen. You’ve got this.”

She was skeptical but shared a meditation session with me. I pictured her bathed in a gentle light, regal and unbothered.

Megan reportedly had a good visit with the equine dentist. As befits a queen, all four feet stayed on the ground.  

We all require maintenance now and then. If an air of royalty helps you get it done, go for it. Just reign kindly.

(Image courtesy of Canva’s new AI wizardry)

Let Animals Lead®: A specialized form of Reiki rooted in meditation

Nancy Crowe
Dolly, left, and Maggie after a Let Animals Lead® session.

You may hear me talking more about meditation than Reiki these days. That’s because the animal Reiki method I practice, Let Animals Lead®, works through meditation. It’s different from what you may know as Reiki.

Let Animals Lead® was developed by Kathleen Prasad, founder of Animal Reiki Source and co-founder of the nonprofit Shelter Animal Reiki Association, to which I belong. Let Animals Lead® is a specialized form of Reiki, a Japanese stress relief modality: “Rei” stands for spirit or higher power, and “ki” (sometimes seen as “chi”) is the energy that animates every living thing.

Reiki was developed a century ago by Mikao Usui. It was essentially meditation; subsequent teachers added hand positions. These hand positions are used with a human client seated in a chair or lying on a massage table. That was how Kathleen and tons of other practitioners, including me, learned Reiki. Today, Reiki promotes relaxation and healing in spas, private clinics, hospitals and other settings.

As time went on, Kathleen found that “people Reiki” wasn’t always effective with animals … despite the best intentions of the practitioner. Because animals are much more sensitive to energy, touch generally isn’t needed. Animals who have experienced abuse, trauma or illness may even shy away from touch.

Kathleen saw this most acutely when her beloved dog Dakota was sick. He wouldn’t sit still for traditional Reiki, but when she sat quietly in meditation, he settled beside her.

Creating a peaceful space where animals are free to share on their own terms turned out to be a game changer. Thus Let Animals Lead® was born.

I had taken one or two of Kathleen’s earlier classes and practiced animal Reiki, but training with her as a Let Animals Lead® practitioner and teacher allowed me to offer animals and their people something better. It is my honor to see creatures from mice to rescued draft horses join with me and take the lead in their own healing — whatever that means for them.

Is it still Reiki? Yes. Is it more accurately and recognizably described as meditation? Also yes.

In a world where so much seems murky, talking about a discipline that makes animals’ lives better can be clear.