Hmmm, chocolate and Reiki for animals…related? I say yes!
I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Switzerland this past May. As I ate my way through every chocolatier in the Lake Geneva district, you may have thought wow all she wants to do is eat chocolate. Well, yes perhaps that is true, however I’m here to tell you that I was also doing very important research on animal Reiki!
To me, a delicious Swiss chocolate bar is the perfect metaphor for how we can deepen our animal Reiki practice. How? Well there are many aspects to our enjoyment of an excellent chocolate bar that can give us hints about how we should aspire to be when we are with the animals and Reiki! You see, they should both be transcendent experiences that bring us into the present moment.
Read on chocolate lovers…..
Lesson 1 From Chocolate:
Don’t judge a chocolate’s wrapping, and don’t judge an animal by his appearance.
Does it matter what the wrapping of your chocolate looks like? Absolutely not! In fact some of the most humbly wrapped bars (just foil and brown paper) may contain the most delicious bars of all!
So for me, the chocolate wrapper is a reminder that we should let go of our expectations when we set our eyes upon an animal. Just because their body might look weak, sickly, etc., we shouldn’t judge it: underneath the surface we can discover that the strength and beauty of their inner true essence can be quite a surprise!
I remember the first time that I visited BrightHaven and Gail introduced me to their oldest cat (32 years old at the time!), and she was describing him as a “tiger” and “vibrant.” Well, I was looking at this small and rickety old creature with one eye and thinking, “Is she looking at what I’m looking at?” And the truth was, no, we were looking at two different things: I was looking at the outer layer (with my physical eyes); she was looking at the inner spiritual layer (with her heart.)
Just as how with chocolate, I will soon disregard the outer wrapping to find the chocolate itself, I should always look deeper than the surface with the animals I meet so that I can connect with who they really are.
Lesson 2 From Chocolate:
Creating the perfect chocolate bar is like creating the perfect animal Reiki connection.
When making a delicious and transcendent chocolate bar, the ingredients and the creation process are what determine the taste. Only the finest ingredients must be used, (cacao, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, etc.) in all the right proportions, and they must be blended in such a way that they are smooth and harmonious to the taste buds.
When making a deep and meaningful Reiki connection with an animal, our ingredients and creation process also will determine the outcome. We must use the ingredients of loving-kindness, courage, surrender, joy and harmony in all the right proportions. We must blend these ingredients harmoniously within ourselves in such a way that we naturally radiate a beautiful space of compassion and love which will encourage the animal to trust us enough to come forward and connect.
Lesson 3 From Chocolate:
The experience of tasting the most delicious chocolate bar is how our state of mind should be when we are connecting to an animal in the Reiki space.
When we close our eyes and taste that little bite of chocolate, it is a time to let go. Let go of rushing, let go of worries of life, let go of all the things in life we “must” do, and choose to savor and appreciate this present moment. We can just “be” with the layers of flavors as the chocolate melts in our mouths. As the chocolate slowly melts, it also dissolves the hectic nature of the day and the busyness of the mind, replacing it with a sense of stillness and wellbeing.
When we connect to an animal in Reiki, this is also a time to let go. Letting go of time, letting go of expectations, letting go of the need to “do” or “fix,” letting go of our intellect and opening to a wider state of mind. We should in fact, simply “be” with the animal in this beautiful, harmonious space of healing. There is nothing to do but humbly savor our connection with each other as Reiki melts us into one, slowly dissolving the differences of species, replacing it with compassionate peace and wellbeing.
In conclusion, the next time you offer Reiki to an animal, just think of a delicious bite of chocolate, and it will remind you of the best way to be present. And by the way, you should know I’ve been eating chocolate as I write this article. And I recommend that you eat chocolate after you read it. You know, for the direct experience And….for your animal Reiki practice!
Kathleen Prasad is a Shinpiden graduate of the International House of Reiki and founder of Animal Reiki Source.
Comments 4
Thank you, Kathleen for another beautifully written post. Spot on comparison. I just have one question… Did Frans put you up to this? :0)
With Deepest Aloha
Paul
Thanks for this playful, delightful post, Kathleen! It’s a bit early here for a bourbon ball (the only chocolate in the house), but I’ll think of you when I have one later! I think that being together in Reiki with animals can teach us a great deal about how to be together in Reiki when we put our hands down on people, too. When we’re together in Reiki with animals, we don’t think “Oh! I have to find out what’s wrong with this animal and fix it!” Instead, we just relax into the shared space and enjoy the animal’s enjoyment of being there with us in the energy and the blurring of “me” and “them” into the All, the one “us.” We need to stop intellectualizing the Reiki experience when we put our hands down on people and simply relax, enjoy, and blur as we do with our animal friends. As you say, the experience offers us an opportunity to savor the moment when we set our ego and judgments (the wrappers) aside, close our eyes, and really taste the now…
Hi Kathleen,
Great article and I love chocolate 🙂
Hi Elly,
I agree, working with animals shows us how we need to do a session with humans.
Funny sometimes a students say: I tried to do hands on healing on my cat but each time I came near it the cat ran away so I was chasing it through the house.
This is why we just need to be, sometimes there is no need for hands touching the animal, just sit in the open space and let the animal decide. But this is in reality also how we can do a session with humans, just be and see what happens.
I while ago I was at an airport and my plane was delayed so I started to do joshin kokyu ho, as soon as I started tow kids came over and taped me on my shoulder, they said: what are you doing?! I said, well I am just waiting for my flight. The mother, who sat about 10 seats away said, don’t bother the man, so I said: it is okay, no problem.
Half an hour later I did Joshin kokyu ho again, and two seconds later the kids were back, same questions: what are you doing?!
Unfortunately most of us walk around like zombies and we don’t feel/sense this. 🙂
Like me when I am in my zombie mode 🙂
Hi Kathleen , nice article and after reading this I feel like eating chocolate 🙂 and perhaps holding a dog in my lap while eating. I have always meant to ask you this question , have you ever met some one who had a trauma related to animals? I had one. I absolutely used to ( still do) loved dogs as a kid and would groom and bath them also how ever around age of 12-13 ( I am 43 now) I witnessed a dog biting one of my distant relative and that time she had to have 14 shots in her belly ( quite painful for her) and then few years later one of my cousins actually passed away due to mad dog bite ( it is a long story) but after that I became “afraid” and actually started to have very sensory feelings of not touching dogs etc. Interstingly soon after I started practicing Reiki precepts one of the days I started to have a very strong urge and an actual feel that I am holding a dog close to my chest and I felt I am apologizing to the “dog” for being this way . It was quite an experience for me and few weeks ago I gathered courage to hold a little dog , he came to me extreamly calm and just sat like it was some stuff toy , meaning it was an mutual sharing of warmth and love . I am still working on that by slowly getting comfortable ( my son wants a dog on his 13 birthday) . your lesson 2 on chocolate kind of reminds me of my own fears and repulsion and then again connection . Yes , it is true “When making a deep and meaningful Reiki connection with an animal, our ingredients and creation process also will determine the outcome. We must use the ingredients of loving-kindness, courage, surrender, joy and harmony in all the right proportions.”