Soul Pets

I've given a lot of animals a lot of Reiki over the years, and I've had some amazing experiences, but it's safe to say that the most bonkers one happened just recently when I was asked to Reiki the dog of a friend of a friend.

I'm going to change the names here to protect identities, so let's say the dog's name is Maya, her owner is Leanne and my friend is Susan.

Maya is one of the most unique and beautiful dogs I have ever met, and Leanne was worried that there was something wrong with her back or her spine, as she seemed to be throwing her leg out when she walked and sometimes struggled to run. There had even been a few occasions when she had seemed unable to stand up by herself, and Leanne had had to help her to her feet. She'd been to the vets numerous times, and had even tried a few alternative therapies, but nothing worked and the vet couldn't find anything wrong with the dog.

Even though I'd gone to the house to visit, this turned into a distance healing, as Maya got fed up of my hands on her after about ten minutes and took herself off to bed! I just stayed where I was and meditated, sending her healing and trying to tune into her. And it was just really weird, because I wasn't getting any sense of anything; I don't diagnose problems with pets, but I can usually pick up on something – a blockage or imbalance, or sometimes a sense of what is troubling them – but with Maya, there was nothing. She seemed perfectly comfortable and happy, almost a bit bemused as to why I was there in the first place

So, this should be a good thing, right? Well, actually no! After the session I was at a bit of a loss as to what to say to Leanne as when we had been discussing all her previous treatments, she was clearly disappointed that no-one could shine any light on what was wrong with Maya, and felt that none of the others – including the vet – knew what they were doing as their treatments hadn't “worked”. And now, here I was, having to tell her the self-same thing...eeek!!! I put it as tactfully as I could, telling her that Maya was obviously very happy in her life and that I wasn't picking up on anything sinister...perhaps she would find this would turn out to be one of those freakish things that righted itself in time.

I could tell she wasn't convinced, or satisfied with my feedback (something re-affirmed by my friend Susan who told me that when she'd asked Leanne about the Reiki, she'd just huffed that all I'd said was that Maya was happy, and of course she's not happy, is she?) but, hey, what could I do? This was what I'd felt and I wasn't going to start lying or making stuff up.

So, I tried to just put it down to experience; one of the things you have to expect from time to time if you're a healer...not every session is going to be one hundred percent positive and sometimes there is going to be resistance...and that could be for a whole host of reasons and issues...no need to take it personally. Still, it kind of bugged and puzzled me more than I would have liked or expected, but then yesterday, I met up with Susan and it all suddenly made sense.

She told me that Leanne had recently undergone several days' worth of intense and very intrusive tests because...she didn't know exactly why, but she was convinced that somethingserious was wrong with her. She had been utterly disbelieving when every result came back all-clear and there was nothing amiss.

Bingo!

Leanne had been projecting her fears and conviction that something was “wrong” onto Maya, who had taken it all on board herself and played her role to perfection.

I thought it was worth writing about this as it is a great reminder as to just how sensitive and wise our pets really are. I'm guessing anyone with a much-loved animal companion has had the experience of that pet sensing when they are ill or upset and trying in their own way to comfort them – we all know that pets can sense our moods – this is not a groundbreaking revelation I know! But what this shows is that it goes deeper than we perhaps realise. As human beings who are aware that we are affected by other people's energy, we can consciously put protection around ourselves if we are in the presence of somebody who is negative, nasty or just not in harmony with us...but animals can't do that.

So, it's our responsibility, as loving pet-owners, to make sure we don't unconsciously project our “stuff” onto our furry friends. Maybe try visualising golden light surrounding your pet and affirm silently (or out loud if the fancy takes you) to the universe that your pet is now protected from all unwanted, inappropriate, negative or damaging energies. Or ask the angels or faeries to keep your pet safe from harmful thought-forms. Or simply sit and tell your pet that, from now on, this is the new arrangement...he or she will now only ever be affected by good, positive, loving energy. There's no right or wrong way to do this, you're the one with the close relationship to your pet, so you do whatever feels right for you.

The main thing is the insight here, the understanding that this can happen and, armed with that knowledge, you can state your intention in whatever way you want that your pet or pets are now safe and protected from it.

Fascinating stuff, eh? And just serves to remind me why I love working with animals so much – they truly are amazing souls.

If anyone would like me to send distance Reiki to your pet or pets, please let me know. Details of how it all works can be found on the right hand column of my other blog, http://faeryforestmagic.blogspot.com/ :)