Reiki and Shingles

A few weeks ago, I noticed a strange rash on my right hip.  While it didn't itch, the skin did feel a bit tender.  I wasn't sure what it was.  The next day, I noticed the rash wasn't just on my hip anymore, it had moved around to the front of my thigh and around to my back and the bumps looked a little more like blisters.  By that night, I started to feel stabbing pain in every area where the rash was and that was when I knew for sure that I had shingles.

I was not happy with that realization.  I had shingles before, about nineteen years ago and I remember that it was a miserable experience.  Even though I went to the doctor right away and got the anti-viral medication, as well as medication for pain, I was still out of commission for weeks.

The nerve pain is awful.  If you've never had shingles before, it feels like you are being stung over and over and over again by a wasp.  Honestly, it is a horrible experience and one I wasn't looking forward to going through again.

I knew I wasn't going to see a doctor this time because my beliefs about western medicine have changed quite a bit in the last nineteen years.  I decided that this time, I would treat it with Reiki  (ok, I also broke down and took some advil those first few nights so that I could get some sleep, so I am not totally against taking some sort of medicine) but I wanted to try a different approach this time.

I gave myself Reiki treatments every day.  I wasn't sure exactly what it would do or how it would help, but I was wiling to give it a try and see what happened.

Much to my delight, seven days later, the pain was completely gone, the blisters had dried up and were forming scabs.  As I type this, eleven days after the initial onset, all evidence of my bout with shingles is almost gone.

Last time I went through it, it was several weeks before I could handle clothes touching my skin and several more weeks after that before the blisters healed.  I was excited to see how much the Reiki helped and incredibly grateful that the whole ordeal was over so quickly.  It has inspired me even more than before to rely on Reiki to assist with medical issues when they arise.

A Higher Purpose

I am on a community email list of animal lovers - where people post questions about vets and trainers, send out notices of lost pets and found pets, etc.  In recent months, several people have posted asking for help and advice for rehoming a pet and I have been surprised and disappointed at the reaction they have received.  These folks have been bashed for wanting to find a new home for an animal, pressured into finding a way to keep their animal, accused of not being loving guardians, etc.

It makes me sad that even though people are animal advocates, they don't fully understand that animals have a higher purpose.  Animals come into our lives to be our teachers - that they have a special purpose to fulfill, to assist us in learning and growing as human beings.  Sometimes their work is done in a short period of time and they can then move on and help someone else.  I can think of countless examples of how a "re-homed" animal made a remarkable difference in the lives of their new family.

I think about all the wonderful animals I have had over the years . . . from my childhood dog, Clancy to my current dog Kino.  If Clancy or Kino's families had been shamed into keeping them, I would have never experienced the joy or the lessons that I received from both of them.  I believe they were both meant to be in my life . . . and even though they didn't start their lives out with me, they left an imprint on me during the time they were with me. (and I have a feeling Kino's imprint is going to be pretty big by the time we reach the end of our journey)

Just a week or so ago, a had a session with a client and her foster dog Spanky.  Originally she was going to keep him but she had come to the difficult decision that she needed to find another home for him - primarily because he was fighting with and hurting her other dog.  She wanted me to explain to Spanky what was going on so he wasn't confused about what was happening.  She wanted him to know he was still very loved and that she wanted to find a home for him where he could be the only dog.

Spanky told me he was OK with finding another home because he knew there was someone else he was supposed to help.  He said while he would always love his foster mom, he also knew he had a purpose to fulfill in another humans life.

Just recently I wrote about a little darling named Corgi who had to be re-homed because of the health issues of a family member . . . and in her new home, she helped give a recently retired man a sense of purpose and a renewed interest in life.  If Corgi's mom hadn't re-homed her, Corgi wouldn't have been able to help that man so much.

I am writing this in the hopes that we can begin to trust that everything happens for a reason.  Maybe we can put our judgement down and have a little more compassion for folks who are forced to re-home a pet.  It is not an easy decision to come to.   Maybe there is a higher purpose at work and where the animal ends up is exactly where they are meant to be.

Trust Your Intuition

One of the things I love about the work I do is the opportunity I have to help guardians begin to trust their own intuition.  I remember early on telling a client what I was picking up from her dog and seeing her eyes light up when she told me that was what she thought her animal was feeling as well.  On the drive home that day, I recall thinking that an important part of my work might be helping guardians learn to trust their own intuition and over the years, that is how is had unfolded.

It always makes me smile when a client says "That's what I thought was going on" or "That's what I thought he was feeling."  Confirming what my human clients are sensing about their animals is a big part of what I do.  I love being able to help guardians begin to trust their own "knowing" so they don't have to rely on someone like me.

Just this past week, I spoke with a client whose dog was getting close to making her transition.  She had a list of questions she wanted me to ask her dog and for every single answer I got from her dog, she said "That's what I thought."  When I pointed out to her that she already knew everything I was picking up from her dog, she said "Yes, but I wasn't trusting it . . . now because you have validated all these things, I think I will start trusting what I am sensing."

It's not that I am trying to work myself out of a job, I just enjoy having the opportunity to help people tap into their own gifts.  I believe we are all intuitive - it's just a matter of learning to listen to what our inner guidance is telling us and quieting the voice in our heads that make us second guess ourselves.

We may call it a hunch or a gut feeling, or it may be a thought that pops into our mind.  The more we can trust what comes into our minds, the more confidence we can develop in the guidance we are receiving.  And the more we listen . . . the stronger our intuition can become.

Are you listening to your guidance? Are you trusting your knowing?  Or are you second guessing yourself?  Maybe it's time to ask the "second-guesser" to take a break and see what happens when you trust what you are sensing with your animals.

Reactions to Pain

I know that each animal is unique and that it is highly unlikely that the new animal you adopt will be anything like your previous animal when it comes to their personality.  I know this - and yet I still find myself surprised at sometime of the differences between Kino and my previous shepherd, Lucky.

For instance, Lucky was not very affectionate and did not give kisses while Kino will give me 20-30 kisses a day, whether I want them or not.  :-)  Lucky was rather independent and was happy to hang out in another room when I was home.  Kino on the other hand is glued to my side from the moment I get out of bed in the morning.  I have accepted the fact that if I am going to do the crossword puzzle or respond to emails, I will be doing it with his head in my lap.

Their reaction is pain is also the complete opposite, but not in the way you might expect.

When something hurt Lucky, whether it was a bee that stung her or she bonked her head on the table, she would immediately run to me to "make it better."  And fortunately for both of us, my instinct is to comfort and nurture, so I felt competent to help her when she was hurt.

When Kino gets hurt, he gets mad!   Initially I hear a yelp, i.e. if he runs into something or steps on something that hurts his paw, but then he begins growling and hopping around, usually grabbing a rope toy and flinging it about with such force that I fear he is going to make holes in the walls or knock himself out.  Even more interesting is that he will not let me touch him. In the beginning, if I tried to help him, he would attempt to bite me.  Fortunately, he doesn't turn on me anymore but still if I try to touch him or ask him to show me what hurts, the frenetic rope swinging lasts even longer.  It is a real challenge for me to sit back and do nothing when he has hurt himself since it is the opposite of my natural instinct.

I find his reaction so curious and I also believe that everything has a purpose.  Maybe I am meant to teach Kino that it is safe to let people help him when he is hurt.  Maybe he is meant to teach me that it's OK to back off and let people work things out themselves.  Who knows, maybe it's both.  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Animals With a Purpose

A couple years ago, I wrote about a special dog named Corgi who had captured my heart.  She had been severely abused in her previous homes but was making wonderful progress with her new mom.

Over the holidays, I had the pleasure of getting an update on Corgi.  At first, the update didn't sound very positive.  Corgi's mom had been forced to find her a new home, at least temporarily, because a family member was battling a terminal illness.  Her heart was heavy over the decision because she had bonded so much with Corgi and didn't want her to feel like she wasn't wanted.

One of her best friends and her husband agreed to take Corgi in . . . and in this new home, something wonderful happened.  Corgi, who had still not fully gotten over her fear of men quickly developed a bonded with the husband.  Now she doesn't seem to fear men at all anymore.

And another wonderful thing happened . . . the husband, who had recently retired after 40 years in the medical field and had been struggling with how to fill his days now that he was no longer working suddenly had something very important to do.  :-)  He and Corgi have been going on about four walks a day and they have grown quite attached to one another.

I often talk about how animals come into our lives for a reason, that they have a purpose to fulfill and Corgi's update reminded me that their purpose may be greater than just us.  While the circumstances of Corgi having to go to a new home were very sad, the outcome had been incredibly positive.  She is helping her new dad find his purpose and she had been able to learn to trust men again.  The beautiful thing about this is that while the friends were just trying to help Corgi's mom, it is clear that they received a wonderful gift in return.

Only time will tell where Corgi's journey will take her next . . . if she is able to live with her mom again in the future, or she ends up staying with the couple who is caring for her now, I trust that she will end up wherever she is meant to . . . wherever she can continue to fulfill her purpose.

Brotherly Love

Yesterday, I went to a client's house to give Reiki treatments to their two dogs.  They went out of town for the holidays and they thought the "boys" would appreciate a Reiki treatment to help them through the long week.

After our initial greeting, I asked Tyde and Yuki if they would like to set an intention for their healing treatment.  I heard them say they would like to feel peaceful and loved.  As I was repeating the intention, I heard "And special."  I couldn't stop smiling as I included that in our intention.

I started working on Tyde, the older of the two dogs.  His brother, Yuki was laying on his bed, staring at us and whimpering.  I explained to him that they were both going to get treatments, but Yuki continued to whine.  I asked him if he would prefer that I switch back and forth every fifteen minutes and I got a "yes."   At the agreed upon time, I scooted over to Yuki's bed and began giving him Reiki.  He was very happy.

Fifteen minutes later, I scooted back over to Tyde's bed to resume his Reiki treatment and Yuki began to whimper and whine again.  I reminded him that I was going to keep alternating but that didn't seem to make him happy.  Just then, Tyde struggled to his feet and moved over to the other side of his bed, which was closer to Yuki's bed.  I realized he was moving over there so I could work on both of them at the same time.  I thanked Tyde for coming up for a solution and he let me know he was happy to help.

As I sat there, with a hand on each one of them, they both fell asleep - they were so relaxed and at peace.  Tyde started to snore and several times, Yuki let out a sigh of contentment.  It was so precious, I felt compelled to take my hands off them for a moment to take a picture.

As the treatment continued, they snuggled closer and closer to each other - ultimately ending up right up against each other.

It was so sweet to spend that time with them and I loved getting to witness how "siblings" often look out for each other and do whatever they can to make sure everyone is happy.

May you all feel as content as Tyde and Yuki as you celebrate the holidays.   My wish is that you all feel as peaceful, loved and special as these sweet boys did yesterday.

Helping our Pets through the Holidays

When I saw this, it made me laugh out loud.  It reminded me that this time every year, I feel compelled to write a plea to animal guardians, to do a little extra to help their animals during the holiday season. This is a crazy time of year, not just for us but for our animals as well. For animals who live in our homes, it can be very confusing. WE know what's going on, but they don't always understand and it can make the holidays even more stressful for them. This is especially true for animals that are new to our home, but it still applies to animals who have been with us a while and have been through a few holidays seasons.

You may experience all sorts of frustrating experiences, such as your dog deciding to "water" the christmas tree, or your cat removing half the ornaments from the tree while you are away at work. They may unwrap gifts that have been placed under the tree, or chew through a string of lights. This behavior is typically telling you that the holidays are stressful for them too and chances are, they don't understand what all the hoopla is about.

From their perspective, this is what they see:

- People coming and going, not always their the regular schedules and routines

- Packages being brought into the house, that they aren't supposed to get into

- Trees being brought into the house, that get a lot of our attention, especially during the decorating process

- Lots of food being prepared in the kitchen, that they don't necessarily get samples of

- People coming over, sometimes spending the night, often displacing them from their usual hang out spots

It's all very confusing to them and they often don't end up enjoying the holiday season very much. I think we can increase the enjoyment of the holidays for everyone if we talk to our animals and explain what was going on. If we can manage their expectations, they can be a part of the celebrations, instead of adding another element of stress to it.

Many people talk about how their animals behave strangely during the holidays and most of the time, I believe it is because they don't understand what is going on. Their regular routine is changed up and they often feel ill at ease because of it.

Imagine if your spouse brought home bags of "goodies" but told you that you couldn't touch them. Wouldn't that make you extra curious about what was in those bags? What if a bunch of people showed up and decided to spend the night without telling you ahead of time? Wouldn't that potentially put your nose out of joint? Especially if those people set up camp in your bedroom and you didn't know where you were supposed to sleep?

Here are some tips:

If you are bringing a christmas tree into the house, explain to them that it is for decoration. Let them know you are making sure it has plenty of water so they don't feel the need to water it themselves. :-) Explain to them that the things hanging on the tree are not for them to play with or eat. Then make sure they know where the things are that they CAN play with and eat.

If you are going to have a house full of people, let your animals know. Tell them . . . this many people are coming and this is how long they are staying.

If you want your animal to do anything different, please let them know. If your animal is going to have to sleep somewhere where they aren't used to sleeping, tell them that and explain why. Let them know how long this new arrangement will last.

If your animal is used to having quiet time to rest in the house and you know that isn't going to be easy when you have a house full of people, tell them where they can go to be "alone" if that's what they need. Give them a specific room in the house they can go to if they need to "get away from it all."

Include them in the celebration in whatever way you can. Whether that is feeding them at the same time the rest of you all are sitting down to eat so they feel they are having a special meal too, or giving them something to unwrap when the rest of you are unwrapping your gifts, let them know they are part of what is going on too.

I believe the holidays can be happier for all of us - 2-legged and 4-legged alike, if we can set everyone's expectations for how things are going to be different for a few days or weeks.  Your animals will thank you - in their own special way!