Shelter Animal Reiki Association

Healing Animals with Meditation

Deanna Iris Sava

Animal Reiki: How Agency Empowers Animal Healing

I’ll get right to the point. There are many aspects of The Let Animals Lead® (LAL) Method of Animal Reiki, but “agency” is a key factor in this unique method. In this article, I’m going to focus on agency as it relates to the 6 Pillars.

Applying Reiki to humans has been done for over a century. With the help of her dog, Dakota, Kathleen Prasad pioneered Animal Reiki in 1998, which uses a very different approach than the way Reiki is shared with humans. In Kathleen’s own words found on her website, The Let Animals Lead Method® is “a mindful way to help animals. Animal Reiki Source is about using meditative techniques to make the world a better place for you and your animals. We teach you to create an inviting, calm space for animals that is ideal for their healing.”

The Let Animals Lead Method® of Animal Reiki is built on the foundation of 6 Pillars. In this article, I will list these pillars and show how they relate to animal agency. Kathleen explains what agency means, “With the LAL® method, we create the healing space within ourselves and all around us and the animals choose to use that healing space to help themselves find peace, calm, and whatever kind of healing they need.” So, agency is all about giving animals choice.

Pillar 1 (This method is based on traditional Reiki meditation techniques and philosophy)

LAL® focuses on meditation and our own practice, which enables us to let go and BE Reiki. When we create the space and invite the animals in, this gives them agency to make this choice. We then hold the space and allow the animal to guide the session.

Pillar 2 (Touch is only used when animals seek it out, and then only as a compassionate support)

Animals are very sensitive to energy, so touch is not needed to facilitate healing. Agency is allowing the animals to choose and initiate if, when and where they want touch.

Pillar 3 (Mental focus techniques develop an “All is Well” state of mind for the practitioner, who sees the animal’s perfection in the present moment, rather than focusing on what’s wrong)

We don’t want to bring pity or other emotions into a session, so by focusing on the animal’s bright Light rather than on their issues we are supporting them and giving them agency to shine their inner Light.

Pillar 4 (Meditation is taught as a state of mind with flexible physical forms)

Through our regular practice of meditation, we develop a compassionate way of life. This affects how we view and interrelate with other sentient beings, including the animals we share Reiki with, and any other animals we encounter, such as in nature. This allows us to give the animals agency during our interactions with them. As an example, I ask permission before I take photos of any beings in nature (animals, birds, plants, trees, insects, etc.) and then I thank them.

Pillar 5 (Animal Reiki is mindfulness meditation practiced “with” our animals rather than an energy therapy done “to” them)

To me, this Pillar most directly speaks to an animal’s agency. I equate mindfulness with presence. The best way to give animals agency is to create the Reiki space and hold the space by remaining present in each moment. This allows us to let go of expectations and the need that we have to do something, etc. By focusing on the present moment, we are letting go and giving animals agency to guide the session in the way that meets their needs.

Pillar 6 (Let Animals Lead® Method practitioners acknowledge and honor each animal as a spiritual teacher and healer in their own right. Practitioners learn to listen and become receptive to their spiritual wisdom and healing gifts)

By opening up to animals as healers and teachers, we gain the perspective that they already embody the precepts. We also realize that they can teach us and heal us on many levels with their presence.

I hope this article has made the definition of “agency” clear as it applies to the Let Animals Lead® method. If you would like further information about this method of animal Reiki, visit Animal Reiki Source and the Shelter Animal Reiki Association*.

*SARA stands for Shelter Animal Reiki Association, founded by Kathleen Prasad and Leah D’Ambrosio. “The Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA) is a worldwide grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of shelter animals and their caregivers through the Let Animals Lead® method of Animal Reiki meditation techniques.” You can find information about SARA in this website.

By SARA Teacher Deanna Iris Sava

Visit our classes page to learn more about our offerings and embark on your own journey of transformative animal connection.

If you need extra support or have questions, consider joining Leah D’Ambrosio, Co-Founder of the Shelter Animal Reiki Association free Wednesday support calls where we talk about all things Animal Reiki including presenting, starting a business, and the ins and outs of sharing and offering this inc. To receive alerts about the Wednesday call, upcoming classes and Animal Reiki news, be sure to sign up for our newsletter.

A Rescued Cat Overcomes His Fear of People

SARA Practitioner Deanna Sava shares a little background on the video:

“I don’t remember Stuart’s whole story, but he came into The Buddy Foundation with socialization issues. He was feral or semi-feral. Volunteers have been spending a lot of time trying to socialize him and they discovered that he loves to be brushed. He was okay when other cats came up to his cage–even when his cage door was open so he could roam around the large cat area if he wanted to. However, he only tentatively came out after most of the volunteers left and it became really quiet. He recently started to come out of his cage when the volunteers were around, but as soon as anyone walked toward or past his cage, he would run back into it.

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Growing as Ethical Animal Reiki Practitioners and Teachers

After my beloved cat, Chloe, transitioned in 2014, I became a self-taught animal energy worker by reading books and watching videos. Then, a friend told me about human Reiki shares, so after going to those shares for a little while I started my own Reiki training. I don’t remember how or when I discovered Animal Reiki and SARA, but it was a life changer.
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Lesson of the Blue Heron: Animal Reiki Ethics and Photography

I’ve been taking pictures for as long as I can remember.  At some point during my childhood, I assumed the role of family photographer — beginning with Brownie Instamatic and Polaroid cameras.  I mainly took pictures of my family growing up, but in adulthood I branched out to street life, landscape, wildlife, and other subjects.

 

Later in adulthood I joined a strict nature photography club.  That’s when I realized my passion was in nature photography.  The photo club had monthly competitions, and I got caught up in that.  When I took photos, I was focused on trying to capture award-winning images and maintained that attitude long after I left the photography club.  In fact, I maintained this focus until I encountered The Heron.

 

I recently sold my year-old camera equipment on ebay (my fourth or fifth camera system that I sold on ebay over the years), to purchase a Sony DSC-RX10 III because of its longer focal length (which allowed me to zoom in closer for wildlife photography).  I was getting used to and practicing with this camera when I encountered The Heron.  He was in the water close to the pier in a nature preserve – the closest I had ever been to a heron.  I actually captured some beautiful images of him.  In fact, one of the images was a potential award-winning shot.

My typical routine is to back up the photos from the camera’s sd (memory) card onto an external hard drive, then delete the photos from the sd card while it’s in the computer.  With the Sony, I noticed that when I put the card back in the camera I received a weird error message about some images not being able to be displayed.  I thought the only way to delete that error message was to reformat the card while it was in the camera.  While I was working on this project, I also was backing up photos from other sources.  In other words, I was doing too many things at the same time rather than fully focusing on this project.  It was also late at night and I was getting tired.  Consequently, thinking I had backed up these images onto the external hard drive since that was my typical routine, I deleted the photos from the sd card and reformatted the card in the camera.

The next day when I went to email my favorite heron image to my sister, I discovered it wasn’t there.  I searched on my computer’s C: drive, on the sd card, and on the external hard drive and, much to my dismay, I could not find any of those photos.  I spent hours searching the Internet and downloading programs so I could recover the photos, to no avail.  Why I didn’t double check to see that the photos were backed up before I deleted the images from the card (again, something I would normally do), I’ll never know.  I also learned later that I could have recovered the photos had I not reformatted the card.  To top it off, I’m leery about using cloud-based applications, which is unfortunate as I would have been able to recover the photos this way.  Note – if you do a quick reformat with the card in the computer, you might still be able to recover the photos, but definitely not if you reformat the card while it’s in the camera.  But this is still not the Lesson of the Heron.

I usually don’t become emotional about anything in life, but I was actually emotional when I finally resigned myself to the fact that I had deleted those images for good.  After trying to calm myself with Reiki and meditation, I realized that I had been too attached to those photos (ego) – and this was The Lesson.

Ever since this experience, I have become much more humble when I take photographs.  Rather than trying to ‘capture’ or ‘captivate’ nature with my camera, I approach my photography the same way approach the animals when I offer Animal Reiki:  I am open and have no expectations about which animals or other nature subjects will present themselves to me.  When a bird, insect, flower, animal, etc. appears, I ask permission to photograph them (if they remain in one place long enough for me to photograph them, I feel they are allowing me to photograph them, which is a way of allowing the animals to take charge).  If I’m hoping for a certain subject to appear, rather than being disappointed because I did not encounter this animal, I am really grateful for any creature who presented him/herself to me and for all that I experienced that day, and I express my gratitude to the animal, bird, insect, flower….

Reiki has become a way of life in many aspects, and now the Animal Reiki ethics have merged into my photography.  Letting go of the ego is never easy, but it’s part of the path to reconnecting with the Great Bright Light that is within us and surrounds us all.  In an effort to enhance the connection with the Oneness of all and create a ‘Reiki space’, I now softly chant some of the Reiki mantras when I am out in nature.  I am so grateful that I encountered The Heron that day and for all that he has taught me.  Thankfully, I went back to the preserve a couple of days later and – lo and behold – The Heron was there to connect with me.

Deanna Iris Sava
SARA Teacher