Cats Invented Reiki

 Ask a cat if they would like some Reiki, and they'll likely tell you they invented it!! 

When I embarked on my Reiki journey, it seemed by 'happenstance!' 

During her talk on the asteroid Chiron, the 'wounded healer, Analyse mentioned Chiron oversees healing initiations, & invited those interested to register for a Reiki class in a few weeks.

I was intrigued, & signed up for her upcoming class on the spot. I'd long realized there was 'more we could do' with our hands, without personal effort; but hadn't been sure how to tap it consistently. 

One other student and one of Analyse's new Masters and I arrived for the class. After the introduction, we moved to the massage tables for our first sessions, and the resident kitty was at the door, wanting in! It joined Analyse for sessions, then would go out during the Reiki lessons! 

                  Coal and Ash (grandkitties)

In the years since that first class in 1989, I've done Reiki on animals, or they've joined in classes several times. Animals don't know about human 'rules' around Reiki - they just know they like the energy - and when they're 'done' receiving!

• One weekend, I joined my son and his family at a rural outing, and he asked me to do Reiki on his horse Magic. The other horses gave me the LOOK, "is it my turn yet?" (Yes, they each got a turn!)
• Visiting my friends Kylene and Roy, who had wanted to take a class for awhile, it suddenly worked out just after they got a new puppy - a Great Pyrenees! He insisted on laying in between his people during the initiation - between my feet! During a later visit, we were walking to the garden, Kylene mentioned his foot was bothering him. I laid my hand on his head - and he sat down in my foot, "more, please!" Kylene laughed, and said, "remember, he's a Reiki dog." When he felt We were done, he got up and we continued our tour!
• Living at the coast in the mid 90s, my daughter's kitty Jade joined me, as I could picture him at Reiki circles and classes ... (forgetting often people are allergic to cats! Oops!) Like my master's kitty, he liked to settle on someone during their treatment (and if they were ok with him there, I let him.)
• Shortly after I took etheric healing from my African teacher, Jade came home limpng. I tried doing Reiki with my hands touching him, he hissed! I called my student Joy, who was one of his favorite people. She suggested I try the off-body etheric, as animals often preferred that.  I held one hand over his hips, one over his heart. He nestled in my lap and purred for about 20 minutes! Joy worked on him as well, and he was OK a few days later.

Percy and Gracie

• A Norwegian Elk Hound, Emmett, come with his person Patrick to a first degree initiation at the coast. He was quiet and mellow, so Jade wasn't bothered to share the room ... During the initiation, Emmett came from the doorway, and lay with his head under the initiation chair, before I called Patrick over! I also invited the class to practice giving Emmett Reiki, which he quite enjoyed. (A psychic friend later told me that Jade showed her Emmett filling the whole house with rose gold light!)
• If a dog is present when I play the harp (and transmit Reiki via the music), they often lay near the harp, and soak it in. My psychic friend said her elder dog who had chronic pain asked, "is that another way she talks? It makes my whole body feel good!" 
• I played the harp the night I came home with my puppy Gracie over a decade ago, and she curled up on the arm of the couch for a nap! And settled in quite easily. 
• While living at Breitenbush, a friend and I were invited to a nearby town for a holiday meal. When we arrived, the Corgis were jumping with excitment, but the Golden retriever didn't even greet us... Our hostess explained he was diabetic, and had gotten into the Christmas cookies, which were on a card table, when she went outside! He'd had his insulin, she'd been in touch with his Vet, and the dog was sleeping it off. I thought of Reiki, and switched from petting him to putting my hands on his tummy ... And after doing Reiki for several minutes, went into the Living room, and sat on the couch. The dog got up, strolled over to the couch, climbed up beside me, and leaned back, exposing his tummy, "um, you're not done yet, lady!" So I did some more Reiki, till he was satisfied, climbed of the couch, went back to the kitchen, and emptied his water bowl! 
• I always tell my human students and clients, "drink more water," he didn't need to be told! He was alert and curious from that point, and returned several times you say "thank you!"
• My friend Linda and I became Masters together in 1991. When I visited her home in Portland, I slept on a daybed in the living room... Before lights out, I heard a scraping sound in the hall - her German Shepherd Angel was pulling her bed down the hall, to sleep beside me! (Laughing, Linda and her daughter took the bed back down the hall!) Angel had the hip dysplasia common to shepherds, Linda told me she crawled into the kennel at the vet's with her, and extended Angel's predicted life (and comfort!)

Patricia's Intentional Creativity® Tribute

There are, of course, many more stories - and Mrs Takata shared some of her own. Living among farmers in Hawaii, she instructed them to hold eggs and beam Reiki before putting them in the incubator, and to use their "Reiki hands" on injured animals. 

If the injury is acute (like Jade's hip), off the body etheric is generally more comfortable than direct Reiki. 

Several Reiki Masters have written about their experiences with animals, and this Psychology Today article highlights one practioner, Kathleen Prasad's work with Reiki and animals. 

When I'm asked if one needs to "believe in" Reiki for it to "work," I often tell an animal healing story - the animals know it feels good/ is calming and helpful, without needing statistics, or to be convinced! And like Kathleen, I've found that animals will lead, and let us know what they want!