My new roommates

Sometime this summer, I went upstairs to clean the guest bathroom, because I was having some company that night. While I was up there, I kept hearing this strange sound. It sounded kind of like water sprinklers. I peeked out the window to make sure the sprinklers weren't actually on and when I confirmed they weren't, I checked all the water sources in the bathroom, to make sure there weren't any leaks. I came up empty and promptly forgot about it.

About three weeks later, I was having company again, so I went back up to the guest bath to clean it. As soon as I got in there, I heard that strange sound again. It still sounded like sprinklers were on and I wondered if maybe I had a water leak in the wall somewhere. I got on the computer to check my recent water bills, to see if there had been any increase and there wasn't. I was stumped so I made a mental note to ask one of my friends to listen and see if they could identify the sound.

Given that I have a lot going on in my life, I once again forgot about the sound. That was, until a few weeks ago, when I was out on the side of the house doing some yard work. I happened to look up and saw a ton of bees flying around. I watched them a little more closely and realized they were flying in and out of the wall of my house, up on the second story. It took me a minute or two to put it all together. They were flying into the part of the house that is right where my guest bathroom is. Finally, the noise I had been hearing up there made sense. It wasn't sprinklers I was hearing, it was BEES! And now I knew why I had been finding so many bees in the house this summer. They were obviously trying to make their way to the hive and didn't realize the "approved access point" was outside, not inside my house.

I got on the internet and started researching bee hives in walls. I knew I needed to find someone who could come and retrieve the bees and as I was learning from my research, I was also going to need to find someone to repair the large hole in the wall that they were going to need to make to get the honeycomb out. I found a local guy who called himself the "Bee Guy" and gave him a call. He informed me that he would kill the bees and then he had a guy who could cut open the wall, remove the honeycomb and then repair the wall. That was not going to be an option for me. There was no way I was going to let someone kill the bees, especially when the bee population is as compromised as it is right now.

I kept searching, kept reading, kept making calls and sending emails. I finally found a guy, who also called himself a "Bee guy," who assured me the bees could be removed safely. He sounded more like a real Bee Guy to me. We emailed back and forth a few times, as I attempted to gather as much information as I could. Apparently, if I wait until mid-winter, it will be cheaper to remove the bees, because most of them will have moved on by then, but if I wait that long, the honeycomb could get even larger, which means the hole they'd need to make in my wall will be even larger and it will probably cost more to repair the wall afterwards. I couldn't get a definitive answer about costs, or how large the hole would need to be and on some level, I was starting to become mentally paralyzed from all the information I was collecting. I let the whole issue slide to the bottom of my to-do list, as other things took precedent.

The other morning, I got up and found a bee, barely alive, laying on the rug by the back door. I felt so bad that I hadn't noticed him in the house before I went to bed and I wanted to try to help him. I scooped him up with a piece of paper and brought him into the backyard. He was barely moving and it made me sad. I decided to try and give him Reiki. I had never given Reiki to a bee before, but I figured it was worth a try. I sat down on the ground, cupped my hands over him and started to send him Reiki. I felt a little silly, sitting there on the ground in my PJ's, trying to heal the bee, but at the same time, it just felt like the right thing to do. After about 5 minutes, he started to move around a little bit and I was excited. I decided to go back inside and make my coffee and resume my morning routine.

After I drank some coffee and looked at the paper, I went in the backyard to check on my bee friend again. He hadn't moved from where he was, and he looked like maybe he was going to make it after all. Not one to be deterred, I sat down on the ground, cupped my hands over him again and sent him some more Reiki. After about 5 minutes, he started to move around again, this time, with much more enthusiasm. I was delighted. I got a piece of paper, gently scooped him up and placed him on one of the flowers in my yard. He seemed to like that and became even more animated. I knew my little friend was going to be ok.

Smiling, I went back into the house, feeling happy to know that Reiki works on bees too, and feeling less concerned about the bee hive in my wall. I still don't know what I am going to do. I know I'll eventually need to get a real Bee Guy to come and save the remaining bees, and deal with the honeycomb and wall repair, but for the time being, I have decided to just think of the bees as my new roommates.

Henry

One of my precious animal clients is getting ready to make his transition, and as usual, it brings up a mixture of emotions . . . sadness that he is leaving, empathy for his family and amazement at the beauty and wisdom of animals, especially at this stage of their process.

Henry is a precious boy, a dalmatian who is reaching the end of his beautiful life. I have had the honor of working with him over the last year, been touched to witness his depth of spirit and his love for his family, especially his mom.

Henry has a little human brother, and one of the things that always touched me was how Henry liked to do everything his brother did. Many of Henry's request had to do with sharing experiences with him, such as wanting to join them when they read stories at bedtime or having bites of whatever food his mom was feeding his brother. This summer when they were trying to decide on where they would go for some day trips, Henry told me that he wanted to witness some of his little brother's "firsts" . . . to be there to witness the first time his brother went to certain places or saw certain things. He was so precious, I would often tear up when I would pass along his messages, because they touched my heart so much.

I have been seeing more of Henry lately, as he gets ready to make his transition, both from a healing standing point, giving him reiki treatments to ensure he is comfortable, and as a communicator, helping to ensure the lines of communication are opened between he and his mom. He expressed a desire to go on his own, when he was ready (because he felt he still had some things to do here) and his mom was committed to honoring that.

In the last month or so, she was feeling concerned about an upcoming week long business trip that she had to take this month. We talked to Henry about it a lot. At first, he thought he would probably pass before she left for her trip, but as it got closer to her departure date, he felt that he needed to stay until she returned, because he hadn't finished what he had come here to do. We agreed that I would go see Henry while she was gone, to give him a reiki treatment and keep the lines of communication opened.

When I arrived at their house this past week, I sat down on the floor next to Henry and put my hands on him. I was initially shocked to feel how cold his body was, but I have learned over the years that when the body is starting to shut down, the body temperature goes down and it is usually a sign that an animal is getting close to making their transition.

I talked to Henry about that and asked him if he was OK with going soon, and he told me that he really wanted to stay a little longer, he really wanted to see his mom again. I talked to him about how many more days that would be (how many more sunsets and how many more sunrises until she returned) and he told me he wanted to try to make it until then. At that point, I could feel him begin to soak up the energy, the energy was literally pumping through my hands. He was determined to pull as much energy as he could, to make it until the weekend.

At one point, Henry told me that he needed me to pass along a message for his mom, just in case he didn't make it until she returned. I sat there, tears streaming down my face, as he told me of the love and respect that he has for his mom, how he would always be watching over her, always making sure she was ok. It is hard to describe sometimes, the deep soul-touching communication I am privileged to receive and pass on, the way it resonates in my body as "truth" and the way it touches me so deeply. It is impossible not to feel overwhelmed with emotion and to be in awe of the depth these spiritual creatures have. I promised him that I would pass his message along, even though I hoped he would be able to deliver it himself when his mom returned.

I was pleased to find that Henry's body temperature had gone back up by the end of the treatment. I knew there was a good chance he would still be here on the weekend when his mom returned. It's hard to explain how moved I was by his love, devotion and determination. As promised, I sent an email to his mom when I got back home. She called me that night from Boston to tell me she received my email, and to also tell me that she wrote Henry a love letter after reading my email. The love between them is so beautiful, so deep, so pure . . .

Henry's mom arrived home on Saturday, and Henry was able to achieve his goal of still being here when she returned. They have had a sweet weekend, getting the opportunity to be together, to share their love and devotion to one another, as they get ready for this next step in their journey together. His mom told me how they have all come together as a family, to share their love with Henry, each spending tender moments with their special boy. I know Henry's heart is full and that he will feel at peace when he makes his transition.

For me, I feel blessed to have known this sweet boy and his wonderful family, grateful that I was able to witness the depth of their love for one another and to see once again, how profound and spiritual our relationships with animals can be. In honor of Henry's mom, I offer some lyrics from a subdudes song called Carved in Stone, as they seem fitting at this time. I can imagine them being the perfect message to Henry.

Hold on tight to the things you always taught us
Speak out loud about faith, hope, love and trust
Carry on and have yourself a lovely ride
Think of me when you finally reach the other side

Lula is back home!!!

This week, I am finally able to say what I have been wanting to say for weeks . . . Lula is back home with her family again!!! This is the sweet little dog who was stolen from her home during a burglary in the beginning of August, that I wrote about in a previous blog. Her parents never gave up hope and never stopped looking for her and fortunately, their perseverance paid off!

Earlier this week, they got a call from someone who saw one of the thousands of fliers they posted all over the Bay Area . . . this person recognized her, as the dog she purchased at the San Jose Flea market several weeks ago, not knowing she was a stolen dog who already had a home. Fortunately, this person had a conscience and knew it was best to return Lula to her real family.

Aside from some pretty matted fur and some weight gain, Lula was in good shape upon her return and her grateful family has been making up for lost time this week, showering her with all the love they weren't able to give her for all those weeks she was gone.

If you want to see the story done about Lula's reunion with her family, check out the following link to Channel 5's coverage:

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=68772@kpix.dayport.com

I am just so happy that Lula is back home with her family again. It was a very long, frustrating, heart wrenching ordeal for them all and one that I would never wish on anyone. I hope the police find the people who burglarized their house (and countless other homes in their neighborhood) and stole their precious dog and I hope they are brought to justice.

In the meantime, I know I will sleep well, knowing Lula is finally back home where she belongs.

Trusting the Energy

I have always been an analytical person by nature, someone who likes to understand why things happen. I'm also the kind of person who has always found comfort in knowing that A + B = C, and that if you do X, the result will be Y. I like for things to be predictable and for things to make sense.

So when I first started exploring Reiki, it was a challenge for me to wrap my mind around all that I didn't know or understand about healing energy. I had trouble with the fact that couldn't always predict results and that you could never make any promises about what the energy would do.

Since the energy can heal on any level (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual), it may go to an area you didn't realize you needed help in. Since the energy will heal whatever most needs to be healed, you could give yourself reiki on your knee because it hurt, but if your kidneys needed more support at that moment, the energy might go there instead, even if you don't realize there was anything wrong with your kidneys. You could feel discouraged that your knee still hurt, not realizing that the energy went to where your body needed it the most at that moment.

In order to become a reiki practitioner, I was forced to really explore and embrace the ideas of faith and trust. I had to learn to trust the energy, I had to trust that it would do what it was meant to do. I can certainly set an intention for the energy, yet I have learned that I need to also hold the belief that the energy will do what is in the highest good. It's been a process, over all these years, to really let go and be in trust . . . to have faith that the energy is doing what that person or animal needs it to do and to let go of my need to predict the outcome.

Over the years, I have allowed myself to be opened to any possibility, to suspend any expectations and just see what happens . . . and I have been fortunate enough to witness the amazing and unexplainable results that can occur.

Last winter, I had a client whose cat was having a lot of health issues, so she took him to the vet. They discovered that his heart was enlarged and the vet gave the client a long list of possible causes . . . none of them good. She wanted to give energy healing a try, so she arranged for her cat to have a series of reiki treatments before deciding on any course of action.

Her cat was very receptive to the energy and I was hopeful that it would help, but I also knew there were no guarantees. Much to my clients and my delight, when she took him back to the vet a few months later, they did an ultrasound and found that his heart had returned to it's normal size.

This summer, another one of my clients took her dog in to have a couple fatty tumors removed. She expected it to be a fairly routine operation but her vet discovered other issues when they took xrays. They saw a large mass down by his bladder, that they assumed might be a cyst. They said that since it was so large and so close to other organs, it would be too dangerous to operate so they suggested she start him on chemo and radiation right away.

She wasn't ready to go that route, so we decided to give Reiki a try and see what it could do. He had weekly treatments for 5-6 weeks and then last week she took him back in to have more xrays done. We were both feeling nervous and a little anxious before the appointment, wondering what the results were going to be. We both knew there was a possibility that the mass was going to be unchanged, and yet, we both held onto the hope that the energy was able to make a difference. When they looked at the new xrays, the cyst was so small, it was barely visible. My client and I were beyond excited!

There is still a small part of me that wishes I could predict what was going to happen each time someone comes to me fore a Reiki treatment, because it is still in my nature to be comforted when A + B = C and X always results in Y.

Yet, I also love the fact that I don't have to know it all . . . that there are forces out there that I may not ever be able to fully comprehend, but can still trust. I can just have faith that the energy will do what it is meant to do, that it will always do what is in the highest good.

And still, I relish in the moments where there is some 'proof' that the energy did something miraculous!