I will be forever changed by a little rat terrier named Lola, who shared with me such a brief but potent teaching.  Anyone who has ever lost an animal dear to them, ever felt guilty about it, ever spent desperate days on end searching for a missing animal, ever rescued a terrified neglected animal, ever wondered who these animal angels were, ever needed hope in the darkest of nights, then this story is for you.

The moment I laid eyes on her I knew she would break my heart.  I also knew she was very special.  Her name was Lola, and her rescue mommy brought her to me during a brief Animal Communication session at a local pet store.  She was rescued from Katrina hurricanes, after several temporary stops.  She shared with me that she had been in a puppy mill, with up to 50 other dogs, with very little human contact.  Lola lost her first litter in the flooding, and became nearly feral, she explained. The other dogs in her new household gave her a very hard time too. She was quaking, hiding behind the bench, and wouldn’t make eye contact.

That is, until I began to speak to her person about how intelligent she was, and how she understands much more than you would think.  I suggested she speak firmly to the other dogs of Lola’s trauma, and tell them they need to be more patient with her as she is NOT crazy, she just had a hellish life so far.

At that, Lola whirled around and made eye contact with me, staring, as if to say, ‘O my gosh, she GETS it!  She knows I am not crazy or stupid, just scared.”  I had her attention.  I went on to explain how Lola’s terror of the woman’s husband was not personal; merely a compilation of all her fears to date piled into one, the “man of the house”.  Her fears were enormous, and she needed lots of time and patience to work through them bit by bit.

The next day I received this email after our brief encounter:  “We’ve had a major breakthrough after our session with you yesterday!  Our most recent rescue dog, Lola, a Katrina victim, is terrified, especially of men. This morning, while I was still in bed, Lola sat under my husband’s desk, put her head in his lap, and let him pet her!  She has lived with us for 5 months without ever letting him touch her.”

I knew I had to work with this one personally.  There was so much to do to alleviate her fears, as she had nearly given up on humans.  Lola came eagerly to my house several times with her person, and we did healing work together, and hung out.  Her new “mom” said Lola recognized my name when asked if she wanted to come to my house, and fearlessly approached my door and came in, which was completely unusual for her.

So, it seemed only natural for me to extend a week long visit when her mom had to travel north to care for a hospitalized friend.  The first day with me she was glued to a corner near the door, shaking.  By day two, she was beginning to relax and allowed me to walk her without a fuss.  That night we had a major breakthrough.  Lola came toward me, letting me pet her and snuggling next to me!  She even came into the bedroom with my partner and slept under the bed.  We were really encouraged.

Then disaster struck–the retractable leash slipped out of my hand, in a strange kind of conscious slow-motion, and smacked into her butt. Off she vaulted and within seconds she was out of view. I spent the next four hours inching my way painfully through the densest bramble thicket imaginable.

Lola knew how to survive, and was spotted crossing a 4-lane road and stealing food out of dumpsters.  But she wouldn’t let anyone get near her.  I struggled for days with tremendous guilt and sadness, having just lost my own dog a few  months earlier.  Each night after searching for Lola, I would send Reiki healing energy to her. Yet I could not communicate with her at all, which was very unusual.

By the 5th night, both my partner and I finally made a connection.  Lola’s presence filled the room, and the only way I can describe it was a very large and angelic being, with very soft, but wise essence.  She stayed long enough to ease our worry, and to comfort us that there is a Divine Plan operating, which  we could not control.

Early the next dawn, I received several calls of sightings, and dashed out the door without even brushing my teeth.  I spoke to several police who also had reports of sightings.  At one point I even caught a glimpse of her at an intersection.

Little did I know it was the closest I would come to her again.

Three days later I wrote this final report to the growing number of friends who were on the lookout: “I am afraid that the lost doggie saga did not end the way we wanted.  Lola was sighted several times but would never let anyone near her.  Late Sunday night she was hit by a car and died of complications.  Thank you all for holding her in your prayers, and for your effort in driving around.   It really helped knowing we had so many helping to look for her.

After hearing she didn’t make it, we meditated and I asked to connect with Lola’s spirit.  This time instead of feeling her Presence standing in the room, like we had the other night, I felt her wrapping around me in an embrace, very profound and poignant.  Lola, the little rat terrier, was, and is, an amazing being.  I hope this message helps you as it did me.”

Lola’s message from spirit:

“I am an angel of Light
You recognized my intelligence, my sensitivity, my purity
For that I am ever grateful
It has truly freed me from the bondage of the body.
C and B (rescue parents) were with me 100% when it counted
And never gave up on me
I don’t know how to thank you all for helping me to complete my mission–my journey”

(I asked what that was)

“To heal, despite trauma. To Love, despite pain. To forgive, despite blame.  To Heal… to Whole.  I became Whole when you loved me.  When you saw me.  Not broken and scared – but sensitive and wise.

You reminded me who I was.  What I could be.  Love and understanding freed me from the karma of the flesh – I could return to Spirit – mission accomplished. I want everyone to understand what you understood when I presented my true self in your living room.  That all is in Divine Order.  That beings are not limited to the form they choose.  That comings and goings are much easier, and much more complex, than you imagine.

It is all laid out ahead.  Events, timing, even difficulties.  We choose our difficulties with great care, for the gems they hold within.  In Spirit we celebrate the difficulties equally with the victories.  There is no difference – for they all bring us to the Knowing, to the Oneness.

My journey has touched many people, you don’t even know how many were looking and praying for me.  This is the REAL story.  Not a missing puppy, not a dog hit by a car, not a leash that slipped, not even a “Katrina” victim.  These are all incidentals to the divine mission I took on, and by the way, accomplished.  I had to bring people together, in small ways, and in big ways.

The police even took time to look for me – the POLICE! – for a missing doggie.  People you don’t even know about drove around, put up flyers, prayed, connected in their concern.  Others saw me as a survivor, not a victim, not starving, but running fast and strong.  You see, perceptions changed.  In small ways, and in big ways.

Kumari saw my true self, and as a result I was able to give her plenty – remove sadness and pain from her own recent “loss”; lessen her guilt and feelings of over-responsibility for things well beyond her – or any human’s – control.  For this she will be forever changed – forever grateful – and much more capable of doing the work she was sent to do, without the burden of misunderstanding life and death, and her role in preserving neither. But simply and heroically I might add, seeing things as they truly ARE, seeing TRUTH and sharing this so others may understand their true nature, their divinity, their special mission here on this planet.

And that is Enough.  Enough for any life.  I had enough – Life.  I had enough – Time.  Enough – Love.  In one drop of C’s tears, enough Caring.  And enough – Sadness. It is not time for sadness.  It is time for celebration.  I return Home – joyfully and with great pride.  Mission accomplished.  More than was speculated.  I am very pleased.

From my vantage point, this life was a great success.  I know this is hard for you to grasp, especially right now as you grieve the loss of the One you knew.  But I am not that one only—four legs, soft fur, sad eyes, etc.  And I am not even the story—Katrina victim, puppy mill, runaway.

I am the Light of God shimmering in Divine Dogness one moment,
and in a flash,
I am Sunlight,
I am golden rain pouring down to soothe the hot brow of Mother Earth,
I am a dancing star.
I am… You.”

It was true what she said about relieving my guilt; there was such Peace in her and such wisdom in her perspective, I felt washed clean of the guilt that my slip-up with the leash had caused her death.  Though I do become saddened, I have never felt the depths of guilt and despair the same since meeting Lola.

“Well that’s the way that I want it to stay
and I always want it to be that way for my Lola….
L-O-L-A Lola…

“It’s a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for Lola
L-O-L-A Lola”

As I communicate often with the spirit of those who have left their bodies, I long to share with those who are grieving and feel left behind the awesome feelings, sensations and awareness I experience from those who take flight from the body. It is not what many people may anticipate; guilt, regret, blame, what-ifs. It is quite the opposite generally, as I connect to the Soul level consciousness, which is filled with tremendous expansion, deep understanding, great awareness and light-heartedness, even bliss.

Actually this topic was specifically requested by my Mom, who transitioned a few short months ago. My mother’s Spirit was very communicative and present for me immediately after she left her body. This was quite unusual, as she had been very sick and on lots of medication at the time.

Lag Time for Clarity
Normally in this circumstance I need to wait for a week or more before there is clarity and the ability to communicate from the new bigger perspective. It is rare that a person or animal can pop out of one dimension (physical) and be instantly clear and present on the spiritual plane.

This happened once before with a man who was surfing, and died from a heart attack on the board as he paddled to shore. He was very spiritually focused for many years, and he was able to describe getting up from the surfboard, and walking through a kind of clear jelly-like membrane and voila! He was fully conscious on the other side. He too was quite ecstatic and able to clearly converse about it shortly after his physical death.

Generally it seems to take some time for souls to gather up the energies and regroup in a very different dimension. Only when a being (animal or human ) is quite advanced and aware spiritually do I feel that they are able to orient immediately and share their expanded awareness and spiritual experience. I usually ask clients to wait a few weeks to have a session for this reason.

Cosmic Cruise
Not my MOM—she was raring to go, chatting me up night and day about the Bliss of not being bound to an aging ailing body. She was ECSTATIC and wanted to tell me all about it. I felt like she was experiencing a Cosmic Cruise, able to travel anywhere in the universe instantly with just a thought. She was having a ball!

The first conversation I had with her the day after she passed I asked her to describe what she was experiencing. She related immediately; “you know how I so enjoyed the gorgeous tropical sunsets every evening here in FL?” Losing her eyesight made her extremely grateful for the beauty she was still able to observe each day. “Well, all I have to do now, is THINK of the sunset, and I AM THE SUNSET!!” she crooned excitedly, like a child at their first amusement park. I could feel tingles of joy.

Mom wasn’t close to finished bubbling. “And you, I just think of you, and I can MERGE right into you!” Indeed, I could feel her energy merging with mine as we spoke. By the way, this part is not common or necessary for communicating with Spirit, but does sometimes happen –only with my permission now.

She was delighted with her new abilities and perspectives that opened up to her. She was, as many of us who are left behind try to find solace in, Blissful and FREE.

Animals Spirits are Blissful too
I have experienced this overwhelming joy with so many souls, but one of the first ones really stands out. Pooh Bear, who I dubbed the Buddha Kitty, left his body at the vet’s office and within moments my client called me, quite distraught of course. She wanted to connect with her best friend.

At first I had trouble “finding” him. It took longer than usual and when I mentioned my difficulty connecting, I finally felt him, laughing at me. Pooh Bear said distinctly “ You can’t find me because you are not looking Big enough!” In fact, I had attempted to connect with his rather small kitty body as I had done many times before to send him healing energy. But this time I had to widen my scope, and eventually I cast my energy radar to the width of the whole room, and then I felt him. His energy was HUGE!

The next thing that happened has been life-altering for me. I couldn’t find words to describe the waves and waves of joy, freedom, and ecstacy flowing from him and through me. I knew my client was too sad at the moment to take all this in, yet I so wanted to share my experience.

With this intention, I quickly grabbed a quartz crystal nearby and asked Pooh’s spirit to fill this crystal with his awesome radiant essence, so she could perhaps feel some of what I was tapping into. Quarts crystals are extremely dense and are known for their ability to register and amplify frequencies. I shipped the energized crystal to her, with the instructions to open it when she was ready. I had no idea then what she might feel.

Several weeks later I heard from Pooh Bear’s mom that she opened the golden cloth pouch and removed the crystal, held it and burst out crying. She could instantly feel Pooh Bear’s unique Presence. Since this time I have offered to energize crystals with the essence of the departed souls, and share their unique messages, with the intention that others can access the enormous ecstatic energy and awareness that is available when Spirit takes flight from form.

Copyright Kumari Inc. 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your blog or ezine? You can, so long as you include this with the article:

Kumari Mullin is a Reiki Master, Animal Communicator, Intuitive Coach, Author, Speaker, attorney and equestrian. She specializes in energetic solutions for pets and their people. For the past 23 years she studied and lived with internationally acclaimed meditation masters, spiritual teachers and healers including Penelope Smith, the pioneer of interspecies telepathic communication. Kumari has helped thousands of people and their animal friends internationally including doctors, veterinarians, trainers, holistic practitioners, rescue organizations and zoos achieve extraordinary transformations. Visit www.KumariHealing.com for FREE articles and healing tips!

The Great White Heron definitely caught my attention. After the ambulance rushed my mom to the emergency room at 3am, the next morning she was admitted. I decided to return home to shower and bring back some clothes for mom. Just as I was leaving the parking lot, the gleaming white giant flew over my car straight toward the hospital, so low the enormous wingspan looked like it wouldn’t clear the building. It was very odd also because locally I usually only see Blue Herons and much smaller egrets.

Courageously, I inquired “what is your message for me?” The ominous response came immediately: “I am coming to take her Home”. Nearly every day during the week my mom was hospitalized, very large birds appeared very close and behaved in unusual ways so I was certain to notice. Different birds, same message.

A few days later when I returned home from the hospital with my brother, two hawks were behaving so strangely that we both paused awhile to observe. My brother surmised they might have a nest, as they repeatedly flew over my house in a circle and landed again and again in the same dead pine tree. But there was no nest.

Dreading the answer, I once again asked the hawks for the message: “We are coming to take her Home”. I kept this to myself, hoping I may be misinterpreting. I even went so far as to think it could mean “home” to her house. But deep down I knew better.

Working as an energy healer and running an AIDS hospice, I have been present at more than my share of transitions, or physical deaths. And I have picked up quite a lot of subtle clues which until now I have not shared. When my mom left her body recently, I was keenly aware of the signs and portents I received, as I had experienced so many similar events.

Helps you to Prepare and Make Appropriate Decisions

Even though I did not like the message, the bird visitations were helping me to prepare and be more aware of what was happening. So when her doctor told me mom was well enough to “go home” after 3 days, I remembered the birds’ messages. I pleaded with him to reconsider as I feared she really was too sick to be alone. Gratefully the doctor agreed to keep her hospitalized another day, and overnight her health tanked. A few days later she transitioned.

Animals as Spirit Guides and Messengers

In Native American traditions, animals have “medicine” or gifts and teachings for us. Hawk is the “messenger of the gods” and often appears to get us to “observe, tune in and listen”.

This was not the first time I had encountered hawks and owls participating in the process of transition, for animals and humans alike. Many of my clients would share similar strange appearances while a loved one was very ill. For many days one kitty in Atlanta had several hawks holding vigil perched on lawn furniture right outside her favorite window. Another woman had multiple unusual owl appearances the entire time her cat was transitioning.

One hawk encounter was so dramatic it surprised even me. The day after one of my animal communication workshops a student called revealing a true horror show when she returned home. Her husband attempted to shoot her and gratefully she got away; however, he did succeed in killing himself!

At that exact moment, a large hawk swooped down to ground level and sped straight toward me! Only in the final two feet did he shoot skyward, narrowly avoiding crashing into my office window. In each case it seemed the birds were somehow involved in escorting the spirits to the other side.

The powerful and dramatic Presence and messages from the birds gave me and my clients a sense of peace and protection under some of the cruelest of circumstances. The birds unusual appearances truly supported us to let go of the physical form and feel more connection and greater trust in the ever-unfolding divine plan.

Copyright Kumari Inc. 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your blog or ezine? You can, so long as you include this with the article:

Kumari Mullin is a Reiki Master, Animal Communicator, Intuitive Coach, Author, Speaker, attorney and equestrian. She specializes in energetic solutions for pets and their people. For the past 23 years she studied and lived with internationally acclaimed meditation masters, spiritual teachers and healers including Penelope Smith, the pioneer of interspecies telepathic communication. Kumari has helped thousands of people and their animal friends internationally including doctors, veterinarians, trainers, holistic practitioners, rescue organizations and zoos achieve extraordinary transformations. Visit www.KumariHealing.com for FREE articles and healing tips!

My good friend, Dr. Masaru Emoto, world renown Water Crystal Expert, is asking for our help in praying for the waters of Japan

Please take a moment to read the request below. My wish is that we all take time to do our part in the healing process for this precious resource.

By Masaru Emoto
Please send your prayers of love and gratitude to water at the nuclear plants in Fukushima, Japan.

By the massive earthquakes of Magnitude 9 and surreal massive tsunamis, more than 10,000 people are still missing, even now. It has been 16 days already since the disaster happened. What makes it worse is that water at the reactors of Fukushima Nuclear Plants started to leak, and it’s contaminating the ocean, air and water molecule of surrounding areas.

Human wisdom has not been able to do much to solve the problem, but we are only trying to cool down the anger of radioactive materials in the reactors by discharging water to them.

Is there really nothing else to do?

I think there is. During over twenty year research of hado measuring and water crystal photographic technology, I have been witnessing that water can turn positive when it receives pure vibration of human prayer no matter how far away it is.

Energy formula of Albert Einstein, E=MC2 really means that Energy = number of people and the square of people’s consciousness.

Now is the time to understand the true meaning. Let us all join the prayer ceremony as fellow citizens of the planet earth. I would like to ask all people, not just in Japan, but all around the world to please help us to find a way out the crisis of this planet!!

The Prayer procedure is as follows.

Name of ceremony:
“Let’s send our thoughts of love and gratitude to all water in the nuclear plants in Fukushima”

Day and Time:
March 31st, 2011 (Thursday)
12:00 noon in each time zone

Please say the following phrase:
“The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant, we are sorry to make you suffer. Please forgive us. We thank you, and we love you.”

Please say it aloud or in your mind. Repeat it three times as you put your hands together in a prayer position. Please offer your sincere prayer.

Thank you very much from my heart.

With love and gratitude,
Masaru Emoto

After Suki, my teacher in doggie clothes, transitioned, my sister offered me a puppy, Nyoman. Everyone said she was a perfect match for me, and we did share an amazing connection. But I did not feel a complete “yes”. One day I was cuddling with Nyoman wrapped around the top of my head, and I began to ask if she was supposed to come live with me. I asked all the normal questions: “Is it in our highest and best good? Yes. “Will we have a great life together?” Yes. “Does she want to be with us?” Yes. I was stumped as I felt 99% “yes” on all levels, yet there was something not quite right. Finally I asked the $64,000 dollar question: “Will I fulfill my Soul Purpose if I take this puppy now?” “NO” came the answer loud and clear.

This is where I felt the hesitation. While on most levels it was a wonderful choice, it would be a distraction to fulfilling what I had set out to accomplish now on a Soul level. I felt that it was time to truly dedicate myself to my recently revealed mission of being: 1) a clear channel inspiring awareness and compassion on a global scale through exploring the human/animal spiritual connection; 2) a catalyst for global ascension through conscious vibrational healing.

While others may balance these two duties skillfully, I have a tendency to be a completely devoted, insanely present doggie mommy and relegate my other duties to the bottom of the list. I always semi-joked that I would like to come back next life as my dog!

Asking More Precisely Speeds Healing
In an animal communication workshop, I was demonstrating on a horse how I combine energy healing with telepathy. The horse did not release his back pain until the second day when we hit on a more precise question about why he was holding this pain. A past trauma surfaced, and we were able to feel his emotions for a bit and then he was able to easily release his stiffness.

I recently listened to an audio from my mentor, the pioneer in inter-species telepathic communication, Penelope Smith. She reminded me of a question I always asked my human clients to help them understand why they may be “choosing” to experience a certain negative situation from a spiritual perspective.

Penelope asked a very fearful cat who had a wound that the cat kept scratching open “what problem is this solving to have a wound not healing?” The cat thought about it and remembered long ago that she decided that if she were ugly enough, people and animals would stay away from her. With this new understanding uncovered, the cat had a complete turn-around, healing up very quickly and becoming very affectionate!

I have seen this phenomenon very often with pets and people. When we begin to consciously be aware of how an injury or illness may have benefited us, we then can re-evaluate and more consciously re-choose.

A 10 year old girl was visiting my family with her mother, an old friend who was touring the house with my mom. The daughter began complaining of pain in her injured leg. She had broken a bone playing baseball and had recently gotten her cast removed.

I offered some Reiki healing and she accepted, though quite skeptical. Normally children and animals are much quicker than adults to allow the healing energy to balance them. But this child had no energy flowing in her leg, and I suspected she was totally blocking the healing on some level. So I had to get creative to find a way to help a child understand why she may be holding on to the pain without creating any blame.

I remembered when I was 15, I fell off my horse and broke my elbow, and went to a prom with a cast. I kinda liked the attention I got from everyone as they lined up to sign my cast. So I got her to talk about how all the boys would sign her cast and draw funny things, and her eyes lit up retelling the stories. I asked if she enjoyed all the attention she had received with a cast, and she emphatically replied “YES”! Then I asked her how much she liked playing baseball, and she beamed. She was a very talented athlete and enjoyed it immensely. But her injury had benched her for months.

Then came the $64,000 question: “Are you ready to let go of the attention you are getting for being injured, and once again enjoy the attention you receive and the fun you have playing baseball?” She honestly considered this for a few moments, and then decided that yes, she would prefer the positive attention she got from her athletics.

Instantly the energy began flowing through her whole leg, and within seconds she excitedly declared “the pain is gone! She ran after her mom delighted to tell her of the “miracle” that her knee didn’t hurt anymore!

Benefits of Natural Disasters?
In the same light, I began contemplating the earthquake and tsunami and resulting radioactive threat in Japan. I decided to employ the same tactic and ask “What problem are these disasters solving for Mother Earth?”

I lit some sage, walked barefoot around our property, and received this message:

“The Grand Entrance to the New Dimension has been unfurled. Mother Earth is freeing herself of old “straight-jackets” or structures that have been inappropriately containing her.

You can send positive energies to ones who have crossed over. When you raise your vibration it helps them to come out of the chaos and confusion and go to their destiny as Spirit. To embrace the light and the love that is surrounding them and welcoming them Home to who they truly are.”

Restoring Ecosystems: Love is the Answer – Again
Synchronistically, I came across this excerpt from Penelope Smith in Species Link Journal, from the dolphins’ response to a question about how to restore ecosystems:

“The only thing that will restore the ocean and Earth to purity is the balm (vibration) of pure love…it is not the technologies of men that will save the oceans, but the energy of love brought to bear on the situation. Within this love, the proper actions and mechanical devices, minerals, herbs will be created that change the impurities magnetic alignment so that they are removed from toxic emanation and are realigned as nutrients for the Earth.

The vibration and halo of love emanation that you spread will enlighten all beings, so that all act in harmony and peace. This will bring the alignment necessary to restore the purity of the environment, which all the inventions of humans without the love could not do. We are here to help you to remember and to return that Oneness that is in your memory, and is our true nature.” (Excerpt from “The Cetacean/Human Evolution of Being, Summer/Autumn issue 1997)

In grade school my teachers taught that animals had no soul and therefore were inferior beings. It didn’t make sense to me then, and certainly does not ring true now. In fact, my experience is quite the opposite.

I have found animals to be amazing teachers in general, for demonstrating qualities humans could certainly aspire to, such as: unconditional love, light-heartedness, patience, persistence, and forgiveness. These are qualities that most of my clients would say their pets possess in abundance. But it doesn’t end there.

Author Penelope Smith observes that “animals can teach us about our own true nature, since most of them always know and never disconnect from awareness of themselves as eternal spirit functioning within the whole web of life.” I would have to agree. I have witnessed animals who are clearly Spiritual Teachers, serving to show us more evolved ways of being better humans.

I spent over two decades studying with renowned Spiritual Masters. Then I began to notice how certain animals were assuming the same roles, teaching us how to meditate, how to be fully present no matter what is happening, how to release old energies and patterns instantly, and how to do advanced and profound healings.

Animals as Meditation Masters
A client called me years ago about her cat who was diagnosed with cancer with very little time left. I sent Reiki and he had instant relief from many of the discomforts of the cancer. There was a sense of completion with his human, as he saw her through a very challenging time. But now he was a bit despondent as he was waiting to die. He needed another purpose.

So we talked about what he could focus on now and the cat showed me that he was a powerful and skilled meditator. His person confessed to being a bit stuck in this area, as she would get to a certain place of emptiness, and would become afraid. I suggested that the cat could become her Meditation Teacher with whatever time he had remaining…he became elated and got to work immediately.

Her “Buddha Kitty” then proceeded to support her by first going to different states of consciousness, having me describe them and hold the space, and then his person would more easily access them. Her fear diminished with each session.

Animals as Master Healers
I once asked my puppy Suki who she was in that little doggy body and she communicated that she was a “healer” but she wanted to be somewhat incognito and work unconventionally. I attuned her to Reiki early on, and made the mistake of initiating her paws. Suki proceeded to use her paws and “punch” people at times in their solar plexus, and just as I was about to scold her, people reported that she shifted major blockages they had been unable to release!

When Suki was very near transitioning, I was very sad as she had a huge open tumor on her shoulder. I curled up with her on the couch in my office one night. Suki immediately filled the room with a blanket of enveloping energy that was so thick I felt like I was in the Divine Womb, and all my fear and sadness melted away. Suki explained telepathically that I should not just treat the body with healing energy, but fill the room with it too so that people and animals would feel safe and be able to more easily release their limitations.

“Be Here Now”
Much of human misery stems from the fact that we are most often living in the past or the future, rarely in the present moment. Animals are incredibly able to demonstrate this ability to be fully present.

People often call me to find out if their animals are in pain. Though animals feel all types of pain, they often are not experiencing it the way humans are because they are not obsessing mentally about it. They have the ability to be fully in each moment. So one moment they are perhaps aware of their body and its discomforts, and the next they are watching a bird, and so fully in that moment that there is little or no pain experience.

So if you have been secretly wondering if your Snoopy is a Sage or Shaman, if Buddy the Beagle is a Buddha, or Lucky the cat is a Lightworker, you may be on to something. Don’t let the fur or feathers fool you! There are some pretty awesome spiritual adepts masquerading in animal garb. And I would love to hear your Teacher Tails :)

Many of my Reiki students are professional bodyworkers and massage therapists. Reiki is a lovely complement to massage, both for the recipient and the practitioner. I highly recommend that students incorporate Reiki into their massage therapy sessions as both the practitioners and their clients have reported immediate and noticeable results.

Even seasoned healers experience huge shifts from Reiki attunements. One highly successful therapist, Stephanie Andersen LMT reported: “I am a hands-on healer and massage therapist for 13 years and after your Reiki I seminar, there is a noticeable bumping up of what I feel in my hands, and how my clients are responding to the sessions. In the first week, one regular client who had her painful arm in a sling after an injury, commented the next day, ‘It’s unbelievable. The magic you have is just phenomenal. I woke up today with good range of motion, my pain level is at a one, and I have not had to use a sling. It’s like night and day, from yesterday to today.’ Thank you for a wonderful, rewarding seminar! This Reiki flow of love and healing heals me as well, and it fills me with a quiet joy as I do it.”

Not only is Reiki effective for the client, it speeds up the healing response and is beneficial to helping the massage therapist recharge. Massage therapist without the support of Reiki can often become injured and frustrated.

Several years ago massage and holistic health veteran Jan O’Han, LMT, owner of Positive Change Health Center in FL had this experience: “I was ready to quit my massage practice after 22 years, due to increasing pain in my elbow. Kumari suggested I take a Reiki class, and that it may help shift the space I am working from. After the first day of Reiki Level I class, I practiced on my 11 year old daughter, who immediately commented on the heat coming from my hands. As I worked on her a bit longer, I noticed a huge shift. For 22 years of massage practice, I had always felt like I was working hard to produce a release; that it was my energy directly that had to move things through the recipients’ body. For the first time, I felt that there was something (energy) moving through me, not coming from me, which was supporting the release. What a relief!” PS I have not quit yet!”

Similarly, in a recent article from Massage Mag.com, author Patty Nuovo, LMT, expresses beautifully:

“Reiki is a natural method of healing and self-improvement that can benefit everyone. It has shown to be effective in helping illnesses and maladies, and also works in conjunction with other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.”

A recent article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, titled “Effects of Reiki on Autonomic Activity Early After Acute Coronary Syndrome,” by Rachel S.C. Friedman, Matthew M. Burg, Pamela Miles, Forrester Lee and Rachel Lampert, stated: “In the above study, published in one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed conventional medical journals, patients who received a 20-minute Reiki treatment within three days after suffering a heart attack showed improved mood and heart rate variability (HRV).”

The ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an “attunement” given by a Reiki Master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of life-force energy to improve one’s health and enhance quality of life. Hence, the name rei is life force and ki is energy.

What sets Reiki apart from other touch therapies is the attunement process. During attunements, there are various stages of energy amplification, which is why Reiki is divided into three levels. Because each level of Reiki increases a person’s vibratory rate, it is good to allow a sufficient period of time in order to adjust to the higher vibration and the sloughing off of the old patterns before progressing to the next level of Reiki. The attunements affect each individual differently, depending upon that person’s vibratory rate at the time of the attunements.

If you have already spent time on your inner wellness, personal growth and expanding your awareness, the attunements will provide a quantum leap in your personal and spiritual growth. However, the expansion of energy will be relative to the level you start from; therefore, you will never receive more than you can handle.

Reiki goes beyond the level of gross physiology and conventional medicine. It is able to access the power available at the quantum level of existence, which is much greater than that found at the grosser levels. We are all energetic beings vibrating at a level which manifests as physical density. However, since our true essence is energy, then we continually have energy running through us.

Deepak Chopra has helped people understand how Reiki truly works through his explanation of quantum healing. The difference between a person attuned to Reiki and one who is not can be easily explained: A laser and a flashlight both utilize light; however, the laser takes the same light, and by organizing it into a coherent quantum vibration, boosts its power enough to cut through steel. Someone who is not attuned to Reiki is like the flashlight whose band of light is much more spread out, and a person attuned to Reiki is like the laser.” (Reprinted from Massage Mag.com, 1/3/2011 “Reiki and the Massage Therapist”)

Who is ready to upgrade their flashlight to a laser?

To those who wish to be of service at this time

“We are calling you to service. Throughout the cosmos, within your bloodstream and every particle of life on earth there is a great net, web, or grid of light. We have spoken before of the Net of Light and have told you that it will hold the earth steady during the times of change that are upon you. We are calling you now because more are needed to activate this construct. The conditioning of your culture has not taught you how to work in the way that is required now, so we will explain.

“The Net of Light holds everything. Whether or not you are aware of it, everyone is part of this Net. All Forms of the Divine that have been worshiped throughout the ages infuse it while the light within the Net infuses the breath in your body.

“Because it connects everything, whenever you focus on the Net of Light, you activate its power, sending support to life everywhere. And because so many today live in fear, feeling cut off from the Source, the Net of Light must be activated. Most of you have felt a sense of isolation at one time in your life so you know how miserable it feels. Such suffering, however, is unnecessary as the thought of being alone in a hostile world is a great lie. Each of you is part of the elemental fabric of being, part of the radiant Net of Light.

“When at last you open to the reality of the Net of Light, your every breath will resonate with light. You will know the rightness of your existence. Furthermore, because the Net of Light holds not only you, but all life, as you awaken to your connection to the Source, everything on earth will begin to awaken.

“There is NO effort involved in ‘working’ with the Net of Light. You cannot make this link with your ego, your personality, or by effort of any kind. ‘Working’ with the Net is effortless. And because activating the Net of Light is so important, we will teach you how to make this connection.

“You may begin by thinking of or imagining your connection to us, (the Great Council of the Grandmothers), to Allah, Jesus, Buddha, or to any form of Love that draws you. This form of Divinity will immediately touch your heart and link you to the Net of Light. Or, you can go directly to the Net by thinking of it as a vast fishing net that covers the earth.

“Take time to make this connection, and observe your response. Notice how you feel. Then sit with your body open, palms cupped, and ask to receive from the Source. This will be easy to do as this posture invites reception.

“Breathe in the goodness coming into you from the Net of Light and as you do, you will automatically breathe out whatever prevents you from receiving it. This goodness is your birthright and the physical pose you have taken will encourage you to absorb it. Your body will not only teach you how to receive, it will also record whatever takes place within you as you open to the Net. As you receive from the Net of Light you will feel more and more at one with the Source and as this happens, stress will simply leave.

“After you’ve sat for a while, ask the Divine to give you the qualities you personally need. If you need courage, ask for it and as courage fills you, watch as fear melts away. Take time to breathe in courage/breathe out fear until you feel complete with the transfer of energy. Then move on to the next quality you want. If you want strength, ask for it and weakness will waft away. If you want peace, let yourself absorb peace and observe as worry fades. You are working with the Source of all that is, so ask for what you want. And when you have done that, rest in the Net of Light’s embrace. Pay attention to how you feel. Relaxed? Warm? Cool? You may sense the Net as a sparkling hammock or bed where you can rest and absorb light.

“Because you are part of the whole, your link to the Net of Light is fundamental. The Net of Light is beneath, around, above, and within you. It is the radiance of your heart that empowers the Net of Light and the radiance of the Net of Light that empowers your heart.

“Whenever you think of amplifying your union with the Net of Light you also amplify its union with everything that lives. And because humans, animals, plants and minerals are connected to the Net, this happens automatically. The Great Holding of the Net cradles you and cradles everything.

“Because the ‘work’ of amplifying the Net of Light is so important, we ask you to begin to do it now. We know we have given you a lot to comprehend today, but this is just the beginning. We will give you more information soon. But for now, simply rest in the Net and let it hold you and as light and love pour through you, pay attention to how your body responds.

“As you open more fully to the love within the Net of Light, ask that all life also open and receive it. Intention underlies everything. Therefore, whenever you think the thought of unifying with the Great Love/the Great Net, your intention enables others to do the same. Do it!

“By calling on the Net of Light you bless yourself and bless all beings.”

“We, the Great Council of the Grandmothers, have come to call you to this work. Greatness is now afoot and we invite you to play your part in the awakening of this Greatness.”

For more on working with the Net of Light, go to www.grandmothersspeak.com

Up-coming Grandmothers Speak events:
Seattle WA, Call to Power, Women of Wisdom Conference, Feb. 19, 2011
Laguna Beach, CA, Fifth Annual Gathering of the Grandmothers, March 18-20, 2011
Birmingham, AL, Call to Power, April 30, 2011

One of the main reasons I became an avid animal intuitive is that I had an extraordinary teacher, my dog Suki. She continually blew the lid off of any limits I had on animal intelligence, compassion and pure knowing. This story will demonstrate a glimpse into the heart of a Great Being, who happened to wear fur.

In those days the phone rang nearly every night: “Can you come over to the River House…and bring Suki!” I used to tease Patty that if Suki had opposable thumbs and could pick up the phone, I probably wouldn’t even be invited!

Patty was not well. She had AIDS and was often feeling very badly. She lived at the River House, an AIDS hospice where I worked, and residents couldn’t have any animals of their own. So I brought my dog Suki over often to cheer everyone up, and Patty fell in love.

She said Suki helped her feel better so I would bring her over as often as I could, and she would ask Suki to climb in bed with her, or lay next to her on the couch. She was always getting Suki in trouble with the night staff (“what is she doing on the couch!”) But Suki always did whatever Patty wanted, shooting me those knowing looks that she knew she wasn’t supposed to be up there.

As Christmas approached, Patty looked like she was about to burst, and made me promise several times that I would come by the house. ”I have a special present for Suki.” On Christmas morning we walked over to the house, and were greeted by an ecstatic Patty-”Ooh, I hope she likes it”, as she handed Suki a very large present.

She couldn’t wait till Suki ripped the wrapping off, one of her favorite pastimes, and found underneath the largest rawhide bone I have ever seen. Suki was ever the grateful recipient, grabbing it and dragging it around the floor, trying to get a handle on the huge knots at the end. Patty clapped her hands in glee, just like a 4 year old. I was quite moved, as I knew Patty had very little and this bone probably set her back a week’s living allowance. But she was so pleased to give it to her, I had to accept.

We got home, and Suki was unable to get a good handle on the large end knots and soon gave up on the bone. I placed it in her toy basket and it drifted to the bottom quickly as she played with all her other toys. The bone was just too big for her and she never even tried it again.

About two weeks later, I heard a knock at the door. Suki slyly ran to the window to see who it was. I went straight to the door and had no idea who it was when I opened it., but I watched in amazement as Suki ran back to her basket, dug out all her toys, (she had quite a few) and reaching to the very bottom, dragged out the immense, untouched bone.

Suki presented herself at the door with the bone firmly in her jaws, greeting our visitor and bone benefactor, who promptly burst into tears upon the sight, exclaiming between sobs “Oh, I am so glad she loves her present!”

My jaw hit the floor and stayed there for a few moments, till I finally got hold of it long enough to form the words “Oh, yes, she does love it”, though she never played with or chewed it since Patty had given it to her.

Suki never touched the bone again after that day. Three years later I gave it to a new puppy in my community, knowing it had more than served its purpose for us and Patty.

I once was asked to give an Indian gentlemen Reiki every day as he was sent home from the hospital with congestive heart failure, with no hope of recovery. He was a devout man and was preparing consciously for his death.

He was also very skeptical about me and Reiki as another healer inaccurately told him that they would “take his karma”. He wanted to burn up as much “karma” consciously as he could by doing his spiritual practices, so having someone else interfering with his process really did not appeal to him.

I tried to explain that I was only offering him healing energy for his Higher Self to determine how to use it, but he wouldn’t hear anything I said. He begrudgingly put up with me only because his wife really wanted me to come.

So I would sit with him, feeling his resistance and wanting to honor it, while at the same time trying to respect the wife’s wishes to offer him healing. I prayed for a solution, and I found that if I chanted with him to a CD from his guru he became very joyous and could forget his pain. While beaming Reiki from my hands unobtrusively at a distance, I knew the energy of the chant was very healing also.

Then an amazing thing happened; I began to sing exactly like the teacher on the CD. My voice became her voice, singing and comforting her devoted student. There was so much love flowing through me. We were all transformed.

Late one evening his wife called hysterically for me to come over, as her husband choked on a piece of rice, and was too weak to clear it. He was panicking and barely able to breath. I rushed over and this time he really wanted me to help, so I applied Reiki with my hands on his back and within minutes he was strong enough to cough up and clear all the food and mucous.

From that moment on, he would always say, “whatever you did the other night, do it again”. Not only had I gained his trust, but Reiki helped him tremendously. I treated him daily for several weeks until his peaceful conscious transition, and he never again became fearful because his breathing remained steady from that moment on.

So I began to wonder again as I often did “What is this Reiki energy that is flowing through me? What is its nature and source and how does it heal? And this time the answer came back loud and clear: Reiki Is Love.

This Love is more than an emotion. Love can also be seen as a form of energy. All matter is energy in movement. Even the most solid objects are built from energy. We are surrounded by energy.

In the article Love is the Highest Form of Energy, Ricardo Rojas states:

We are channels that conduct this universal field of Love energy for healing. Our personal love energy is limited, conditional. The process of becoming attuned or initiated into Reiki, or universal life force, allows us to tap into this highest frequency for healing.

After nearly 20 years practicing Reiki, I am now also teaching our new Quantum Creating workshops, where we invoke the Rays of Creation. As my mentor Jim Self explains, these Rays are not just beams of light, they are vast blocks of energetic consciousness with many varied applications.

Again I wondered whether Reiki is also connected with these Rays. The answer I received confirmed my earlier answers from years ago—that Reiki is part of the 3rd Ray of Creation, which embodies the Love from our Creator. The more skilled I become, the simpler everything gets.