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Why Learn Reiki?

I took my first Reiki class in 1989 at the urging of a nurse friend who had seen a Reiki demonstration and wouldn’t rest until we both went for training. She was enthralled with what she explained as a very stunning demonstration she'd seen. She said the practitioner held one hand in the air (much like the Magician in the Ride-Waite tarot deck) with one hand placed on his client and just commanded that Reiki energy. She was impressed by his showmanhip, which left me feeling a bit skeptical. However, because I was bored, I agreed to go to a Reiki training class. I didn’t know quite why I was going but trusted it would be one more metaphysical class that may have potential benefits. At the time, I didn't didn't see myself as a "healer" but as a "psychic" ( I have since learned that the latter is dreadfully incomplete without the former).

On a dismal Saturday afternoon, I took a deep breath and paid my hundred and fifty dollars and went to this class which consisted of me, my friend, and a Reiki master. We spent half the day reading about the origin of Reiki, got mysterious "attunements" with our eyes closed, went out to lunch, and then returned to learn some hand positions. The Reiki master was very impressed with my friend's healing abiltiies and honestly, I wondered why I had spent such money.

I saw no dramatic major arcana tarot poses. Nor did I see any instant miracles and or feel any great energetic surges during that day-long training: no magic, no instant transformation, no sprouting up of the coiled kundalini. But when I returned home to find my one year old standard poodle, Angelo, suffering through a bout of extreme intestinal distress, I knew differently.

He had suffered from colitis and bloody stools for his nearly two years on earth. A cacophany of screeching violins from his lower intestines provided a musical score for his distress. None of his vets had ever suggested anything beyond sensitive stomach or prescrbied anything serious for this almost daily occurance (which continued). My first reaction was to “test” the Reiki on him. He lay on his his back and I cupped my hands gently over his abdomen. Almost immediately, he let go his tension and legs fell open, his head fell to the side, and he gently allowed this new and comforting sensation to fill him. I was astounded. Within minutes, the gastric noises subsided and he slept in my arms. Aloud, I said,"Now I know why I learned Reiki"and from then on, until his death from bloat one year later, his Reiki sessions were routine. Did the Reiki “cure? Him. No. What it did do, without any doubt, was help him live comfortably while he suffered from the auto immune disease that eventually took his life. He died in my arms -from bloat -- on the vet’s table.

Since then I have devoted my Reiki practice to animals and have been blessed to work with many creatures enduring serious and terminal illnesses, providing adjunct care through their difficult chemo or steroidal treatment, helping to ease their physical and emotional stress until they chose to exit this plane. My clients have sworn that their dogs have improved after Reiki treatments, understanding that even the slightest and temporary improvement during a long term crisis is a gift of Divine light. I worked with two terminally ill Dalmatians, years apart, one a cancer patient on chemo and corticosteroids, the other suffering from advanced stages of Cushing’s Syndrome. For the week after a Reiki treatment, both regained appetite and mobility. Reiki makes it easier for animals to deal with illnesses by balancing their energy and letting them release the anxiety and stress that accompanies illness. My clients are always amazed at how their pets, visibly uncomfortable, fall asleep peacefully immediately following their Reiki session. I always advise my clients to learn Reiki as the greatest gift they can give their own animals; it's the gift that truly keeps on giving. I am offering REIKI I FOR ANIMAL LOVERS AND WORKERS on October 3 at the Crystal Garden. Fee is $170 with an additional $30 discount for shelter and rescue workers. For more information, visit my web site http://www.reikidogs.com/ Namaste!

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