Oliver gives new meaning to the phrase "nine lives"

Over the past few weeks, I have been able to provide Reiki healing for a great number of pets who are dealing with fairly serious illnesses -- a cat who fell 10 stories onto someone's balcony, a dog recently diagnosed with cancer, a horse with a severely broken (healed) knee ... I feel blessed to be able to help maintain their energetic balance, well-being and health.

I am consistently amazed by how sensitive and receptive animals are to Reiki. And how clearly they communicate.

Take, for instance, Oliver, the cat who fell 10 stories onto a balcony. (As an aside, he had surprisingly only dislocated his femur. He walked with a distinct limp but did not break any bones. Talk about nine lives!) I sat in his apartment, with his mom nearby in a meditative state, and allowed him to dictate to me how much hands-on attention he needed. He initially greeted my palms with his forehead but then proceeded to lay down a few inches away from me. He clearly told me that he did not need a lot of direct attention - in fact, when I leaned forward to get closer, he shot me a look that said: Proceed No Further.  I took the hint ... and then within minutes, he got up and came back to rub his forehead against my palms. Soon after, however, he trotted away, and I got the message that enough was enough. Oliver's mom, too, deeply benefited from the Reiki session; in fact I got a message from her the next day saying that she had the best night sleep that she's had in a very long while.

(Here I am administering Reiki to a sweet, abandoned broodmare who had broken her knee. Her former owners left her after being told that she could not bear the weight of any more pregnancies.)

More to come ... perhaps next time I'll talk about the human/animal relationship and how Reiki can help heal that too.