The following is one of Elizabeth’s stories from Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in your Life (Ulysses Press, 2006). It illustrates what can happen after Animal Reiki treatments and some of the results that Reiki can bring about:
I work with many extraordinary animals, but some animals truly stand out, inspire me with their courage, and leave an indelible print on my memory. One such animal was Oscar, a Russian Blue cat, whom I met at the local shelter in 2003.
Oscar arrived at the shelter in early June; he was severely depressed from the outset; for several weeks he rarely ate and lay with his eyes closed on top of his excrement in his litter box as though making a metaphorical statement about his idea of his place in the universe. He was unresponsive to touch or any overtures from the staff and appeared to have totally given up hope that anything could go well for him. Although I did not know the specific details of his life, what I could see indicated that he had had a particularly rough time. Among other things much of his beautiful tail had been cut off, leaving him with a somewhat ragged two-inch stump. The staff was very concerned about him and asked me to begin treating him.
Oscar began to receive Reiki treatments and a daily dose of the Anaflora flower essence, Return to Joy. In the first treatment the only sign of progress was that he opened his eyes once and fleetingly looked at me. However, within days, and with subsequent Reiki treatments, he began to improve. We first started to notice these improvements when Sunny, a volunteer, was massaging him. He started to purr so quietly after a treatment that we couldn’t be sure it was true until we turned off the music in the cat area. Sunny was so touched to hear signs of life coming from him that she bent over and kissed him on top of his head. Like a person deprived of love and having almost given up on it, Oscar began to cry. For several minutes big golden tears rolled out of his eyes as he looked up at us. We praised him for his courage in being able to open himself up and release his grief.
After this, he became steadily more engaged, making eye contact, then holding people’s gazes, then pushing against the volunteers’ hands when they stroked him. He started to sit up and groom himself. Soon he was coming to the front of the cage looking for attention, batting at toys, coming out onto volunteers’ laps, and looking around with interest at the other cats.
He was always exceptionally sweet and loving. When he wanted to tell someone to stop doing something, he would slowly and gently open his mouth and put it around a hand or finger so as not to upset or startle anyone. It was as though he knew from sad experience what it feels like to receive harsh feedback. After three weeks of treatment, he was alert, healthy, and fully engaged in his life, and a few days later he was adopted to a good home.
I have reflected many times on the tremendous courage it took for Oscar to release his heavy emotional burden and open himself to hope and to interactions with people again despite his previous negative experiences. But Reiki and the flower essences have the ability to reach deeply into a being to restore health and balance, and, in this case, they were aided by the love of the volunteers who took Oscar into their hearts and helped coax him back to life.
When I am faced with such deep suffering-whether it is on the physical, emotional or spiritual level-I am always grateful to know that I have the wonderful healing capabilities of Reiki and the flower essences on my side.
