It’s been really interesting to watch the evolution of Reiki for animals over the past 23 years. When I first started, there was no one specializing in this area, and I was simply taught “Reiki is Reiki and you can use it on everyone and everything.”
That was how I first began, but very soon it was clear to me that the methods I had learned for humans were not always appreciated by animals. Thus began the evolution of what we now practice as the Let Animals Lead® method.
These days, there are many lineages of human Reiki who teach various forms of Reiki for animals, as well as some independent schools of Animal Reiki that have popped up. I belong to a few online groups that discuss philosophies of Reiki for Animals, and this past week, I saw an interesting question that I felt compelled to answer:
Is Animal Reiki a specific line of Reiki or is it just any Reiki used for animals?
In spite of the many flavors of Reiki for animals in the world today, and the inclination one might have to focus on their surface differences, perhaps the best way to answer this question lies in uncovering the deeper philosophy they use when applying Reiki to animals. All various schools and lineages that practice Reiki with animals can be summed up very simply with one of two philosophies: those that are practitioner-led in method and those that allow animals to lead. It’s my belief that this is the most important question we can ask any practitioner who works with animals, because everything else that a practitioner does with your animal will follow from this foundation.
CLICK HERE for some more insights I had in answering this question.
I hope my thoughts on this topic inspire lots of contemplation and discussion for all of you here in our Let Animals Lead® community. As the only animal-led Animal Reiki approach in the world, we have a unique opportunity to support the empowerment of all non-human animals. Remembering to honor the spiritual wisdom and self-determination of non-human animals is something this world greatly needs!
UPDATE: I received over 50 amazing applications for the Dakota Scholarship! It’s been taking me quite a while to go through them so that I can pick a winner for Level 1 and Level 2 in July! I’ll be announcing the winners very soon, stay tuned! And thank you to everyone who applied.
Stay safe, be well and may the animals light your way,
