Know What's In Your Heart

The time had finally come after 40 years of dreaming to finally find a horse of my own. Because of my work with rescues, it was no surprise when I got a call from Joey at Luv Shack Horse Rescue. She said she’d found my horse. He was being fostered not too far away and we set up a date to meet him. In the meantime, I received pictures of Butler, and of course fell instantly in love.

Prior to meeting him, I wanted to connect with him and offer distance Reiki. I settled in for a distance treatment and asked to connect with him. Nothing. I tried several times and didn’t once receive a spark of a connection. And then the questions and uncertainty crept in. Hmmm, was it me? If I couldn’t connect was this really meant to be? Was I doing something wrong?

Realizing I had put myself in a state of doubt and uncertainty I took a few minutes for a self-treatment, re-centered and cleared myself. When ready I tried again. Still nothing. Realizing for whatever reason it was not meant to happen I offered thanks for the experience and looked forward to meeting him in person the next day.

Meeting Butler was a wonderful experience that filled me with joy as well as a strange feeling of not wanting to hope too much in case it didn’t work out. However, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for days afterwards.

That night I again wanted to connect with Butler and offer Reiki. Thinking that meeting each other would change things I again settled into a quiet space and sent out the offer. The next thing I heard stopped me in my Reiki tracks and brought a lump to my throat. Butler, in his direct and wise manner which I’ve come to appreciate, simply let me know that if I was not willing to commit myself 100% then he wasn’t either. He wasn’t interested in another half-hearted relationship.

I couldn’t believe it. How did he know? Did he really understand my how much I wanted this, yet was afraid that something might happen to take it away? Right then and there the first of many personal lessons facilitated by Butler began. It didn’t take more than a split second to realize I was guarding my heart, just in case it didn’t work out, and to decided then and there to release it and move forward. Once I made the commitment, we entered into one of many Reiki sessions since that time.

Animals know what’s in your heart. They sense when your outside actions aren’t congruent with your inside thoughts and feelings. Why is this important when offering Reiki? Simply because we’re working in partnership with the animal, which means they must be comfortable with our state of mind, the feelings in our hearts, and our intentions.

Prior to connecting with an animal simply check yourself for emotions, feelings, thoughts, or physical discomforts that may not be conducive to a Reiki session. If they can be cleared and removed, simply do so. Here are a few suggestions to assist you:

• Imagine a white light (or whatever color feels right to you) entering through the top of your head, filling your body and washing away the “stuff” that is ready to leave.
  
  
• A brief meditation connecting you to the energies of the earth (a stable, nurturing foundation) and the sky (divine energies). This will help clear and ground you.
  
  
• Before entering the animals space deposit all that is troubling your mind and heart in a container (real or imaginary) outside the animal’s space. When you leave you can decide whether to pick these things back up or simply release them.
  
  
• Open your heart and share with the animal who you are at that moment – both the good and the bad. Let them understand you’re not projecting this onto them, yet want them to know what’s in your heart. Then let the animal decide if they want to proceed.

Animals are very forgiving. Likely, when you come to them from a place of love, honesty, and integrity you will be welcomed into their lives. And of course, if like me you discover personal issues you’d like to work on, Reiki is the perfect tool to help you heal and become whole.

Grace, Gratitude, & Peace

This morning as I was reflecting on the many things I have to be thankful for, my thoughts drifted to three amazing teachers I recently had the pleasure to learn from. What I learned from them will be with me forever.

I met these beautiful teachers on a dark, cool Arizona night. There is no way I would have ever been prepared for what I saw or experienced that night, or the days that followed. Alex, Daisy and Velvet had survived months of neglect. The kind of neglect and abuse that if they were human would have had the whole city in an uproar and the people who did it to them in jail immediately. However this evening all of them were safe and secure at Luv Shack Horse Rescue, under the vigilant care and love of Joey Ogburn . These were three of the six that had been rescued that day, and were the three in the most critical condition. Actually, they were beyond critical. The text message that called me to this scene had read, "I'm exhausted and have two skeletons that appear to be horses and a third that is trying to die. Can you come over?"

Each of these amazing horses has a story of their own. And on this evening their individual stories became part of a larger story. A story filled with unconditional love, acceptance, peace, calm, gratitude, and stillness. You see, over the coming days Alex, Velvet, and Daisy would each make the decision to leave and transition beyond this life. And in doing so share a lot of wisdom and love with those of us eager to make what time they had left the best it could be.










You knew that what they had endured the past several months was very unpleasant to say the least. And because each of their physical conditions had deteriorated so badly pain and discomfort was part of their day-to-day life. Yet, unbelievably, they did not harbor any anger, hatred or fear. They were filled with love, gratitude, peace, and calm.

I'd never worked with animals in such condition and was not sure what to expect. Unbelievably I encountered love, gratitude, peace and calm where I thought there might be anger, hatred or fear. Over the years I have experienced the amazing ability of animals to move beyond fear, abuse and neglect, and was amazed they were not holding any of these energies within them. Nor, did they want to go that place of feeling those negative energies. Rather, they wanted to live in the moment. The moments where they were surrounded with the care and unconditional love that fills a soul on all levels - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

While I had the incredible opportunity to connect and work with them through Reiki on many different levels, some of the most amazing moments to me were the grace, peace and calmness that each experienced and shared with their caretakers. They soaked in every bit of love and attention that was offered. Enjoyed the hugs, brushing, and soothing hands running across their heads, necks and backs. And each gently stood and soaked up our human tears when the emotions were overwhelming. And never once did you feel sorrow or sadness expressed by them, simply because they didn't feel it.

Each decided on her own time when she was ready to go. Alex left quickest, leaving the following morning. Joey said you could see the smile on her face and feel the gratitude in her heart as she closed her eyes for the last time. Velvet's body couldn't keep up with her spirit. She left the next day with grace, diginity, and a quiet stillness that all was well. Daisy hung on the longest and at one point we all thought she would pull through. Three days after her rescue the effects of her neglect were more than her body could bear and she was ready to go. Again there was that familiar feeling of peace, calm and gratitude as she laid down for the last time.

These three beautiful horses taught me lessons I couldn't have learned anywhere else or from anyone else. There was not time or space in their lives for anger, hate or fear. They put that behind them the moment the stepped off the trailer at the rescue. They had no need to keep reliving the past or carry the energy of abuse and neglect with them. Nor did they have a desire to put that energy on to anyone else. Each freely gave as much love to others as was given them. There was not judgment placed on "humans" as a whole due to what they had experienced. They were open to experiencing each person as an individual. And death was simply the next step to take. No fear, regret, or resistance.

I often think of them and continue to learn from them. There is much more that we shared over the days we had together, and I'm grateful to be able to share some of these things with you today.