Can or should animals receive reiju, the spiritual blessing ritual? Let me recount what happened recently and then you decide.
Charlie, a handsome white cat with bright jade eyes, came into my family’s life last summer. His owner, an aged German lady named Millicent, refused to be taken to the hospital by the town ambulance service unless she was given assurance that her cat would be taken care of. The managers of the service, Lisa and Jerry, both animal lovers, agreed to take care of the kitty and went to the house to feed him daily. But neither of them could take another animal into their homes. Looking for a solution, Lisa turned to my partner Carol, a part-time medic, for ideas. The upshot was that Carol and I agreed to foster the cat and adopt him if Millicent didn’t return home.. We dubbed him Charlie, got him a collar and tag, and welcomed him into our home. He immediately took over and proved to be a people lover, if not a lover of our other cats. Several weeks later, Charlie had a forever home with us.
The little guy wanted to be a part of our daily routine, inquisitively following us about and climbing up on everything. Part of my routine as a Reiki and Animal Reiki teacher is to practice Reiju regularly, usually to an empty dining room chair. Usually I imagine someone sitting there. That is, a human sitting there. While I regularly offer Reiki to my critters, I hadn’t given any thought to whether animals could or should receive Reiju. One morning as I faced an empty chair and began the ritual, Charlie jumped up and sat there attentively. It seemed to me that he wanted whatever I was offering. So I went ahead and completed the ritual.
While I think the ritual itself is for us and that animals don’t regard that aspect quite the way we do, I believe they can benefit from receiving such a blessing, just as they can benefit from a Reiki treatment. Charlie seemed to enjoy it. Possibly he passed the word to the other cats, because soon afterwards Becky my supersized tiger jumped up on the chair as I prepared to offer Reiju.
Have any of your readers offered Reiju to a pet or thought of doing so? I’d like to hear the experiences and opinions of others.
Diane Anderson
Shelter Animal Reiki Association Teacher
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