"You just put your hands on - and people feel better."
Chiyoko Yamaguchi
"You just put your hands on - and people feel better."
Chiyoko Yamaguchi
JIKIDEN REIKI®
WITH AMANDA JAYNE
Animals & Plants
Reiki is a beautiful way to connect lovingly with a furry friend and
support them with whatever is arising in their experience. I have been
particularly struck by the way physical reiki with a pet will support
emotional experiences alongside any physical challenges they may be
navigating.
Watching emotional vitality and a playful joy for life
return with one of my first animal clients whilst supporting another
through her end of life journey really affirmed the importance of
offering this modality to our animal companions. AG
What did Usui sensei teach about animals and plants?
In Jikiden Reiki the specifics of giving Reiki to animals or plants aren't taught because Usui and Hayashi didn't teach this. However, Reiki has a wonderful effect on both animals and plants. It's actually no different than giving to people in terms of what you need to do during the treatment. You are welcome to ask questions about this during the training and once you have completed the seminar, you can try it out on your furry friends and green shoots if you want to.
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Animals and Reiki
When animals are sick, Reiki tends to calm them and help them to heal faster, just as it does with humans. It feels good to be able to do something to help them when they are unwell. Most animals love to receive Reiki and seem to know it is helping them.
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I have several students who learned Reiki primarily to treat animals. You can also, of course, simply use it for your family pet. I treat my family cats whenever I'm at my mum's house. One of them loves to receive it all the time, the other only likes it when he is sick, then he will come to sit by me and receive it for hours at a time.
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I have given Reiki to cats, dogs, horses and even a rhino. It's an amazing feeling to be able to connect with them in this way.
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When you give Reiki to animals, be guided by them. Some of them don't like Reiki on their head and prefer it on their body while others like to receive to their head. Centre yourself before you begin, take some deep breaths and ensure you are feeling as calm as possible before you approach the animal. This is not to make Reiki work, it's so that the animal can feel calm and trust you.
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Most animals know where they need Reiki and will guide you by moving into the right position.
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Dom learned Jikiden Reiki to help his dogs stay healthy
Most cats love Reiki
Why didn't Usui and Hayashi teach students to use Reiki on plants and trees?
Before I talk about plants, trees and Reiki, it's important to clarify why Usui and Hayashi didn't teach anything about Reiki for nature.
Usui understood that our connection with nature is vital to life on earth. The shinto philosophy, which is at the base of all Japanese culture, holds that this wonderful divine energy runs through all of us, people, animals and nature. The problems come only because humans try to dominate and control nature rather than living in harmony with it.
We, humans, are the problem and it is we who need to receive Reiki most of all. Why? Because the more Reiki we give and receive, the more we come back to our true nature. Our true nature lives in harmony with the world around and does not dominate, it connects instead. Our true nature understands that we have a responsibility to the natural world around us. This is why Usui didn't teach giving Reiki to trees or plants, because the most urgent use of Reiki needs to be with people. The more we give to people, and the more we connect with trees and plant life, the more we help nature.
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Plants and Reiki
With this in mind, it doesn't mean you can't use Reiki on your plants if you want to. It can help them if you have re-potted them or just planted seeds for example. Or if you forgot to water them!
I remember when I first started Reiki, I was teaching English in Japan and one day I noticed a sadly neglected plant in my classroom. It had basically given up and was so malnourished it was lying limply across the desk. Feeling guilty at generally being more interested in my lunch than the plant, I thought I'd have a go at giving it Reiki and did so for about 20 minutes. My colleagues thought I had lost it when they walked past to see me emphatically holding my hands round this virtually dead, wilted brownish thing, but I bravely continued in the name of guilt.
The following day, I came into my classroom to find the same plant, bright green, standing up, looking extremely healthy! I was amazed. When my colleage saw the plant, she was so shocked, she signed up to do the course.
I am not suggesting that you neglect your plants to test this theory, but if you come across a sad looking green one, it's a great way to help them out. It is also great for them generally and helps them to stay healthy.
Animals are incredibly sensitive to and
responsive to reiki and will often position themselves where they want
the reiki and will also indicate when they have had enough.
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Whilst the Jikiden training is people oriented, Amanda gave
examples of her own reiki experience with animals and talked about her
own adaptations where pertinent, which helped me confidently apply
what I had learnt. AG
