Distance Reiki with Willow: A Healing Circle

Willow is a beautiful grey kitten, about five months old.  When I first went to visit her, she was having trouble with upper respiratory infections, as well as intermittent related issues such as lack of appetite, lethargy and some wobbliness in her walking.  She is under veterinary care, and was taking medication for a period of time.  The doctors have not at the moment found the source of the wobbliness, but her balance has gotten better since it first appeared.

After I did an in-person Reiki session with Willow, Lee had a powerful Animal Communication session with the wonderful Sue Pike.  Sue recommended that Lee have me do daily 10-minute Reiki sessions with Willow for a month.

My two cats, Natalia and Lulu, usually receive Reiki twice a day, after their morning and evening meals, settling on either side of me on the bed.  I have been doing Willow’s sessions after our morning Reiki. 

Often I will place a photo of the animal in my lap for a distant session, and it helps me connect with the animal. 

As I started letting the Reiki flow to Willow, I closed my eyes for a bit and began to really feel she was there.  It was as though her spirit was with me, and she was larger than life.  I felt her nestle in my lap, and felt her fur on my arms.  I felt an intense light and energy around us. 

I opened my eyes and saw that Natalia was looking in my direction, as though she was watching what was happening, and that she was a part of the energy flow, offering some of her own energy to Willow.  It also seemed like she was feeling the relaxing vibes, just grooving on it with her eyes half closed.  Lulu was completely curled up asleep.

A few weeks ago, I was feeling stressed about something.  When I started the session with Willow, Natalia put her paws on my lap, right by Willow’s picture.  Suddenly I felt myself let go, becoming one with the energy from Natalia, Lulu, and Willow. I felt all three of them healing me.  I felt connected with them and with all of life, feeling the oneness of everything.  
Reiki energy goes where it is needed, which is why it is so important to keep an open mind and heart, and to release expectations about what may happen.  Some of the most amazing things can happen when one is truly open and in the moment.  Natalia reminded me to simply be there, in the moment, in the middle of all the beautiful, loving energy.

Since that session, Natalia will come and put her paws on me or on Willow’s picture, or sometimes just face in my direction, becoming part of the healing.

As I have continued the sessions, I have to felt Willow’s energy become stronger and stronger.  I began to feel that her internal light was becoming brighter.  And even when I look at the same photo I have been using of her, I feel her emanating light and energy.  Her eyes seem brighter, and generally she seems stronger physically and energetically.  And the stronger that I feel Willow's energy, the more casual Natalia seems in her connection - she will now most often just look in the direction of Willow's picture, rather than putting her paw directly on it. 
A couple of weeks ago, Lee had said Willow was doing much better, and when I checked in with him today, I was delighted to hear that she has been great, that she is doing really well now.
Willow has two handsome kitty brothers, Remington and Quinn.  I am doing distant Reiki sessions with them as well now - so I will look forward to sharing more about them another time:) 
Thank you Willow, and to my Natalia and Lulu.  
I am reminded of the Reiki precept "Be humble."  
Working with the animals can be one of the most beautiful and humbling experiences one can have.  I am honored to have these experiences, and thank the animals every day for sharing their love and wisdom with me. The animals have so much to teach us, if we can only quiet our own minds enough to listen.

Quinn, R,I.P.

(Above:  the green plastic you see on the right is a back scratcher.  Sometimes I would initiate contact with the back of the hand of the back scratcher, and, if he was comfortable, I would then transition to using my hand.)

I feel honored to work with animals every day, and each one has so much to teach me.  But it is a particularly special honor when an animal who is generally too frightened of humans to connect with them feels comfortable enough to let me into their world.

Quinn was a beautiful cat at BARC Shelter.  He was dumped at the shelter some time ago.  Like many of the animals at the shelter, we didn't know exactly what his past was, but he was extremely frightened of people.  I worked with him very gradually, just a little bit at a time.  Most often I used tools such as paintbrushes, feathers, back scratchers and the like in order to connect with him, but there were times when he was comfortable with me touching him directly. 

I found that underneath his often gruff exterior (most often he would meow and swat at an approaching hand) was a gentle, very sensitive soul.  When we connected in our very quiet way, I felt so honored that he trusted me enough to make that connection. 
I would feel the connection even if we weren't literally making contact.  If he did not seem in the mood to be touched, I would often sit outside his cage and send him Reiki energy from there, and I would feel him respond, relaxing and curling up to take a Reiki nap. 
Below, you see me TTouching him using the back of my hand, which is more gentle and less threatening than the front surface of the hand.

I showed some of the other regular volunteers how they could touch him gently with tools, so that he could feel safe, but could have contact. 

As time went on, when I would sit down next to his cage (I would put a chair sideways to his cage, as the sideways orientation is much less intense than straight-on), he would come right up to the front of the cage to greet me.  A few times I thought he was almost considering stepping onto my lap!

I grew to have a very special bond with this cat, who to me seemed like his heart had been wounded. We were able to enter a very quiet, peaceful space together, and I appreciate every moment we spent together.  He taught me so much about being patient and truly in the moment, and always being respectful of what felt safe and comfortable for him in that moment.

The BARC staff and volunteers were very kind to and respectful of him, as they are to all the animals there, and I send them so many thanks for that.  

Sadly, recently Quinn's health suddenly declined sharply, and too soon came his time to cross the rainbow bridge.  I'm sorry I did not have an opportunity to say goodbye to him in person, but I have spoken to him and said goodbye to him in my mind.  He will always live in a very special, quiet place in my heart.  Quinn, I have so much to thank you for and send so much love to you.  I picture you in a beautiful place in the spirit world, curling up on a cozy pillow in the sun for a pleasant nap.  xo

The Power of Positive Words and a Soft Voice with Quinn at BARC Shelter

Quinn is a beautiful cat at BARC Shelter who is extremely fearful (and possibly was at least somwhat feral). I have been working with him for some months, constantly adjusting and varying the way in which I work with him in order to be able to meet him at a place where he can feel comfortable connecting.
Little by little he has been getting more comfortable, and I know that even though most people cannot make physical contact with him, the staff and volunteers at BARC do their best to help him feel at ease, even if it is simply sitting next to his cage and speaking with him.
Most recently, I found that I was able to relax myself and him by doing deep, relaxing breaths and positive visualzation, then just one gentle stroke with a wand on his back.
Yesterday I wanted to try a variation on this. The shelter was very quiet to begin with, so that was helpful to start off with. I began as I had before, doing several deep breaths, imagining stroking him with the wand and him relaxing, then doing one stroke down his back, then the deep breaths and visualization again.
I could see that he was tolerating the strokes, but his tail began to twitch, so he was not quite at ease. So I began to very slowly say to him a mantra which was taught to me as a way to center and ground myself, but I replaced the "I" with a "you". "You are very loved, and you are very safe..." I could see that the tone of my voice and the feeling of what I was saying was helping him to feel at ease.
I repeated it over and over, very slowly, and saw the tail twitching slow down, and then stop. I continued, my voice becoming softer til I was barely making a sound, mostly thinking the words. After a while I felt very in synch with his energy, and felt tears well up, feeling that something was opening up in him. I kept working through the impulse to cry, just reminding myself to continue connecting with him, continuing to feel something was releasing. I do think this cat has trauma in his past, something that causes him to be so afraid of people.
A number of times while I was doing this, I very slowly and gently stroked him with the plastic wand (just a plastic flexible stick from a string toy). Sometimes I would do a little circle and stroke. With this approach, I felt him continue to relax. I didn't push it with the contact, and after a while was just very softly saying the words, very slowly. He eventually got into sleepy mode and curled up to take a nap. I thanked him and closed the session.
Thank you Quinn, you are teaching me so much every time I work with you. Look forward to seeing you soon.... xo

Quinn Reminds me to B-R-E-A-T-H-E......

Quinn is a very handsome big cat at BARC Shelter. He is very frightened of human contact, but little by little he is becoming less afraid and learning that people can approach him in a gentle and non-threatening way.
I have been working with him for some months, using both TTouch and Reiki. I find that it is important with him to keep varying the tools that I use. Sometimes he will decide that he is not fond of whatever surface I am using to touch him, so I need to try something else.
Most recently he has been coming right up to the door of the cage to greet me, even looking as though he's contemplating stepping onto my lap (which I have been visualizing him doing).
But then he seems to get scared, perhaps swatting at me and then moving back in his cage again. I stopped trying to touch him for a while, just sitting next to his cage and sending him Reiki from outside his cage, which he really responds to, closing his eyes and becoming very relaxed.
I wanted to try using a tool I had not used before with him, so I got one of those string toys that have a long plastic wand for a handle, and just used the wand part. But before touching him with it, I began to do some very deep breathing. Sometimes I can get a bit nervous when I touch him, even with a tool, as he can suddenly swat, which can be a bit unnerving, even if he does not use his claws (which he often doesn't).
So I began doing deep, relaxing breaths, feeling Reiki energy coming out of my hands. And I began to visualize stroking him with the wand and him relaxing with it. Then I took three deep breaths, and on the third one, I stroked his back very gently one time, but without hesitation. And sure enough, instead of getting spooked and swatting at me, he remained lying down and relaxed.
I got into a pattern of three deep breaths, then on the third one just, again just doing one stroke down his back.
I think we were both a bit surprised! I didn't want to push the issue, so I stopped when I started to see his body language going in the direction of overstimulation.
Once again, he has reminded me of how important it is to stay truly in the moment with animals, and to always keep my mind open to trying something new.
Thank you Quinn! I will be so interested to try this again with you and to see what can happen next. xox

TTouch at BARC Shelter with Quinn: Contact

Quinn is a beautiful big cat who is extremely wary of humans, and seems to be wary of other cats as well. When he gets frightened or irritated, his most usual response is to yell and swat very hard. He was dumped at the shelter some months back, and I have made gradual but steady progress with him. I have also showed some of the volunteers how to make contact with him using a tool such as the plastic back scratcher or paintbrush shown in this post. It really makes a difference to have a number of people working with him. Now, unless you work with him past his tolerance level, he generally will settle into it. And, if he does decide to swat, the swat will generally reach the tool and not your hand.

After a while of making contact with Quinn using the back scratcher, doing little circular TTouches and strokes around his head area, I found him to be particularly relaxed and in a sleepy mode. As I was a bit nervous about going to the next step, I made sure that my breath was really flowing and that I was as relaxed as I could be. I was sending him very gentle energy, and doing my best to quiet my mind. Gradually I worked my hand down the back scratcher and began to do some circular TTouches using the back of the tip of my finger, as shown here and in the next photo below.

His eyes were still closed and sleepy, so I continued for a few moments. I wasn't sure how he would react once he felt the change from the plastic to the warmth of my finger, but I actually was feeling him relax into my touch. So as not to push the issue too much, I then switched back to using the back scratcher again.

The next photos are from a week or so later. Recently I have found that he seems to be even more receptive to the feel of the paintbrush than he was to the back scratcher, and now I will actually feel him rubbing more actively into the touch, as though he really is enjoying it. I let him sniff the paintbrush first, and often now he will start to rub the side of his face against it.

And, this time he was sitting right in the front of his cage, instead of being way at the back of his cage, which used to be his normal place. Very often, these days, he will be hanging out towards the front of his cage. He got extremely sleepy as I was working with him, and laid his head down, so I gently began stroking him and doing circular TTouches using the back of my hand, as shown below. It was so wonderful to feel and see him so relaxed.

In my mind's eye, lately I keep picturing him climbing out onto my lap and settling there. I told him that is my New Year's resolution for him. Love ya, Quinn!!

TTouch and Reiki at BARC: Light as a Feather with Quinn

Quinn is a big grey and white cat who has been at BARC for a while. He seems to crave contact, as he will often come to the front of his cage to say hello, but he easily gets frightened and will let you know he has had enough with a swat and a meow. I have been working with him very slowly, and also have given him a few Bach flower remedies, and I do see a change in him little by little. Just a little more trust, and a more relaxed look on his face more of the time. BARC staff member Vince, who takes care of the cat loft, recently told me that when he gives Quinn wet food, he can pet Quinn's whole body, which is so interesting, because at other times, that much contact seems too much.

I have tried using several tools with Quinn, which enable me to make contact with him from a short distance, so that gives both him and me a feeling of increased safety. I have found that Quinn responds best with me to TTouch circles and strokes using a long feather, as shown in these pictures. I purchase these at a stationery store which carries a lot of arts and crafts materials.

I also have been working with with my body oriented sideways to his cage, and I am on the side of his cage rather than the front, all of which makes the contact less threatening.

I start out by speaking to Quinn quietly, then let him sniff the feather, and usually start by doing gentle circles and strokes under his chin. He also responds to little circles and strokes around the outside of his mouth, around the top of his head and ears, and sometimes behind his neck. Occasionally I can touch him on his back with my hand, but this often seems to feel too intense to him, and will prompt a loud MEOW.

On the day pictured here, I decided to see if I could approach him from the front of his cage, which is more challenging to him than working from the side. Again I let him smell the feather first, then began to do some gentle strokes and circles under his chin. In the pic below he looks a bit skeptical, but once he realized that everything was still ok, he relaxed into it.

As I am working, I will work with him for short bursts of time, usually a few seconds up to a minute, depending on how he reacts, then stop and see how he is doing, then either give him more of a break, or continue. With a cat like him who can easily get overstimulated, it is important to watch the body language: tail twitching, stiffening of the ears, pulling back of the head, etc.

As you can see in the pic above, he eased into the touch as I went along. Much love to you, Quinn, look forward to seeing you soon!

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Update on Quinn

Hi folks, happy July 4th!

Quinn is a big grey and white cat with a big personality at BARC shelter. As with many if not most shelter cats, I feel must have gone through some serious trauma before arriving at the shelter. He seems to have some feral-ness in him, and seems to want attention but to be afraid of it at the same time, and seems to be very ultra-sensitive. He sticks his paw out of the cage to say hello, but then if you open his cage to try to touch him, he seems to be overwhelmed by a hand coming into his cage. He will sometimes swat, and, though he has never used his claws along with the swat with me, the swat is a bit unnerving because it is fast, and he also vocalizes along with the swat.

I have been working with him using a paintbrush, but thought it was time to try another texture, as he initially responded to the paintbrush but then seemed to be irritated by it. I also felt that I needed to approach him from the side of his cage instead of from the front.

So the next took I decided to try is a long feather. I did little strokes and circular touches around his head and face, working in a few strokes down the body. He immediately found these soothing, as you can see by his expression below.


I am touching him with the flat part of the feather, not the end of the feather, and using just enough pressure to move the skin around in a clockwise circle and a quarter. It is a very light touch. I stop to give him breaks frequently, and do not do too long of a session, to avoid him becoming overstimulated (which he will tell you about with a MEOW). Every once in a while I can sneak my hand in there for a few touches. I am standing to the side of his cage and putting the feather through the bars in the cage.

Using the feather with him felt like a real breakthrough, as though he was able to really settle with these touches in a way that was not possible before.

Saturday I felt another level of this breakthrough with him, as I had made him a Bach Flower remedy (a custom blend which I made of several of the essences which suit his personality and emotional state). I am trained and certified in Bach Flower essences, so I often incorporate these into the work I am doing with the animals. As I put a few drops of it into his water bowl, he started licking the dropper as though this was something he was craving or knew he needed (I washed the dropper before putting back in the bottle, which is only for him). I noticed an almost immediate shift in him -- subtle, but definitely there, as others noticed it as well. The irritatedness which I often sense in him looked like it was easing.

As I worked with him with the feather, he grew so sleepy and relaxed, it was lovely to see. I was able to work with him for a longer time than usual, and felt the relaxation to be deeper than I had seen before in him.

Much love to you Quinn, thanks for all you are teaching me on my journey, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: "Less is More" with Quinn

Quinn is a cat who I have recently been working with at BARC shelter in Brooklyn. He was terrified when he first came into the shelter, but working very gradually and slowly, especially using paintbrushes and other tooks, has really been helpful for him.

I feel like there is a sweet, funny cat underneath his unsureness, and I think we are starting to see that coming forth more and more.



He now will often come ambling up to the front of the cage, seeming to seek attention, but as he can get suddenly startled and swat (he generally does not use his claws though), it is less stressful for him and for the person making contact to still use a tool at this point with him.



He is a very good example of the "less is more" TTouch philosophy. When I work with him, I generally use a paintbrush. The one you see in this post is a wide one, but since these pix I have actually been using a smaller, round-shaped one or a fan brush, and both of these seem to work even better. I start out doing just a few little circles and strokes on the top of his head, then stop for a bit to give him a break.



Then I start again, either continuing to do circular touches or strokes on the top of his head or starting to do some of these around the whisker area or under his chin. Then I stop again, giving him a rest. Each of these "rests" may just be a few seconds, and the touches may be for about half a minute, depending on the body language which I see from him. If he is starting to get over-stimulated, twitching his tail or seeming to get ready to swat, I stop for a longer period of time, maybe even going to another cage and coming back if he seems to have had enough for now.

Very often, though, after a few short bursts, he starts to settle more, relaxing and closing his eyes. At the moment he is still usually a bit too sensitive to be touched on his back much, so I usually concentrate on doing TTouches around his head.

Or, if he seems to be more relaxed, I will incorporate a couple of TTouches on his body (still using the brush), then going back to his head. Or, a few times I have used the back of my fingers on his head, but only for a few seconds, and then I go back to using the brush.

Thank you Quinn, for reminding me to continue to be as patient as you need, and to always truly stay in the moment and listen to what you are ready to do.