Tag animals

Unpacking a code of ethics

Nancy Crowe

51GcazjWWaLAlthough a shared code of ethics is important for any profession, that code carries much more weight when we explore what it means for us each day. Kathleen Prasad‘s latest book, Healing Virtues: Transforming Your Practice Through the Animal Reiki Practitioner Code of Ethics, does this succinctly and wisely. A review copy of this book was provided to me by the author, with whom I have been blessed to study.

Readers of her previous books will find more of a new context — the Animal Reiki Practitioner Code of Ethics, which she developed — than new content. However, this is a valuable review and unpacking of the code of ethics, to which I as a practitioner subscribe.

The book covers the basic principles of letting the animal lead the treatment, “being” instead of “doing” Reiki, and never diagnosing — but also the nuts and bolts of setting treatment times and communicating with the humans involved. Plenty of real-life examples are included. I loved that our Animal Reiki III and Teacher Training weekend at The Devoted Barn animal sanctuary, and the “before and after” effect Kathleen talks about in the book, was among them.

Also discussed are confidentiality, what to do with intuitive information received, and working in conjunction with veterinarians and other animal care professionals in the community. Kathleen does not shy away from the very real and difficult issues of animal suffering, compassion fatigue, and misunderstanding about what it is we actually do. This book helps us access the code of ethics to effectively and compassionately address these concerns.

Healing Virtues is great for working practitioners, but if you are new to the topic, I recommend Kathleen’s Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in Your Life, co-authored with Elizabeth Fulton; and the more recent Heart to Heart with Horses: The Equine Lover’s Guide to Reiki.

Animal Wise: Faith and strength

Nancy Crowe
Devoted Barn - Faith (web)

Faith at The Devoted Barn, May 2017. (Photo by Nancy Crowe)

I looked up into the eyes of the majestic black Percheron at The Devoted Barn in Newport, Michigan, where my Animal Reiki III class with Kathleen Prasad was about to wrap up. Rain had drowned out whatever had been said about Faith, her story, and what brought her to this volunteer-run animal sanctuary during our tour two days earlier. In that moment, it was just her, me, and the healing energy I offered to share.

Certainly she was tired of all these humans traipsing around, occasionally chanting, talking about and trying to practice using healing energy — something animals understand much better than humans anyway. Right? A horse with the strength that radiated from Faith might be thinking: OK, nice try, but enough already.

Instead, she cut my cynicism off at the pass, telling me I too was strong and to bring it on. We had a lovely session, after which I thanked her and asked if I could take a picture to remember her. She obligingly offered the profile you see here.

I did not know, then, that Faith was living with a brain tumor, had nearly died months earlier, and had miraculously bounced back for another go at life. She knew, as all animals do, that every day is a gift … but she knew it much more deeply than I realized. She didn’t have time for the doubt of the journalist/Reiki practitioner/animal communicator in front of her. Whatever I thought I did not have in that moment was of no consequence; she saw what I did have to offer and gladly accepted it. And I’m sure, during that last year of her life, Faith taught many other lessons.

As Faith’s tumor worsened, The Devoted Barn family a few days ago had to make the agonizing decision to let her go. Faith is off on her next adventure, but her cut-to-the-chase, show-me-what-you’ve-got strength will remain a part of my practice and life forever.

 

Is distant healing really a thing?

Nancy Crowe 1 Comment
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Photo credit: norsez {Thx for 13 million views!} via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

One of the coolest things about Reiki is that, being energy, it is not subject to time or space. Therefore, a Reiki practitioner can work with a client without the use of touch, or without even being in the same room. Or the same country. I can send Reiki to my brother in the Philippines from my Indiana home in the U.S. The energy goes where it needs to go, with no roaming charges.

Still, it’s one thing to believe that Reiki and other complementary healing modalities work hands-on — but the practitioner actually being able to do something for a person or animal miles away? How is that even possible? It’s a tough concept for this skeptical journalist, too, and I can’t explain how it works. I only know that it does.

A friend’s mother’s cat — I’ll call her Maisie — had been anxious, over-grooming to the point that her back legs were nearly bald. My friend mentioned her mom had just installed new flooring and wondered if that could be what was bothering Maisie. In any case, both she and her mom were worried. Wanting to help and knowing I could use the practice, I promised to send Maisie some healing energy.

That afternoon, when I sat down to meditate, I drew all of the Reiki symbols in the air, making sure to include the distant healing symbol. I asked God to let me be a conduit for whatever Maisie, and all humans and animals connected with her, needed. Then I took a few deep breaths and intuitively connected with Maisie, whom I had never met and who lived a couple of hours away. I introduced myself and asked her permission to send healing energy, explaining that she was free to decline or to take as much or as little of the energy as she wished. This is important: Whether distant or hands-on, it’s always up to the animal. If I’d sensed her turning or moving away or felt any apprehension on her part, we would have been done, with me perhaps asking if I could check in with her the next day.

Once I felt Maisie say yes, I pictured her inside a soft bubble of light, enveloped by healing energy from the earth below her and the sky above her. Animals ground with their feet, so it made sense that the new floor, with its unfamiliar feel and smells (along with strange humans in the house installing it), exacerbated whatever other anxiety she felt. I also sent healing energy to the house, envisioning a safe and happy place for all who live or visit there.

After twenty or thirty minutes, I sensed she’d had enough for the day. I thanked her, told her, “You’ve got this,” and closed the session with a brief prayer of thanks. I repeated this for three or four successive days.

It took another week or so before I remembered to ask my friend if her mom had said anything about how Maisie was doing.

“Oh, my gosh, she is doing so much better!” she said. The fur had started to grow back on Maisie’s legs … and she was playing and accepting human affection in a way she had not done in quite a while.

Did I heal Maisie? No. As a Reiki practitioner, I am the string between two cans … Maisie and a higher source, however she might conceive of such, being the two cans. Any healing that happened did so by God’s grace and Maisie’s willingness, in that peaceful space we created, to heal herself.

This is why Reiki works so well with animals, who so often are at the mercy of us humans: They are respected, and they get to choose.

To learn more or schedule a session for your animal friend, visit my Reiki page.