Now we’ll take a closer look at the many wonderful ways Reiki can help your loved one throughout the end-of-life journey.
How Reiki Helps: The Terminal Diagnosis
At BrightHaven, our goal is always for healing for the highest good of the patient, which may or may not include a cure.
One of the most difficult things for any animal lover or pet parent to hear from the vet is that their beloved animal’s illness is terminal. What do I do now? How can I best support my loved one? What is the best way forward for our family? These are just a few of the many challenging questions that a terminal diagnosis raises.
At BrightHaven, our goal is always healing for the highest good of all concerned, and for the patient, healing may or may not include a cure. For some, the healing experience we offer brings about improved health. And for others, healing is a necessary preparation to complete the circle of life, and for death and the journey beyond.
As we know, Reiki is a spiritual system that cultivates compassionate intention, which in turn may lead to healing transformation. And the internal process of healing, which is all about restoring balance of body, mind and spirit, can be achieved without a cure.
Reiki helps us to see with our heart rather than with only our physical eyes, so we can connect with the truth of perfection that lies at the core of every being, regardless of external conditions and circumstances.
Also, groundedness and the present and mindful compassion that is Reiki can help ease worry and the heavy impact of anticipatory grief.
How Reiki Helps: Animal Hospice Care
Try to remember & honor the other doctor in the room – that is Dr. Mother Nature.
This statement is something BrightHaven President & Founder Gail Pope says to any and everyone in consultations or discussions groups, etc. – that we should try to remember and honor the other doctor in the room – and that is Dr. Mother Nature. It always makes an impact, especially when Gail goes on to explain more how it’s about be-ing in the world and respecting and absorbing Mother Nature. It’s also a reminder that Mother Nature is orchestrating the workings inside our bodies to help maintain the best quality of life.
And if the physical body is indeed in the dying process, Mother Nature is there in the background coordinating everything in an orderly way.
An important part of heart-centered animal hospice care is to maintain a peaceful, comfortable and stable environment for the patient. It helps them to relax and focus on the business of balance and whatever healing they need to do to prepare for the next step in their journey, whatever it may be.
Reiki is an excellent choice to support this important work!
How Reiki Helps: The Vigil
Animal Reiki helps loved ones feel they can do something to help, when there’s truly nothing left to do but be.
One of the most important benefits of Reiki comes towards the end of life, at a time when there is nothing left to do but await transition.
It is a time when humans often feel completely ineffective and wish they could do more or be a part of this sacred journey in a more meaningful way, before and after death. With Reiki, now they can.
To be in the moment with Reiki meditation during transition and the days or weeks beforehand is to feel something miraculous taking place, as Reiki offers healing, peace and bliss to all involved.
At BrightHaven, we have long held the belief that healing is needed for wellness and also for transition to the next life, and we see just that as we offer Reiki.
How Reiki Helps: Transition Time
A being is fully alive all the way through transition.
It’s important to remember that a being is fully alive all the way through transition, and they should continue to be surrounded with love, honor, respect and the best care possible.
Reiki is a great way to bring calm, presence and compassion to any moment, even the scary ones. It also provides an excellent opportunity to connect heart-to-heart in a space of pure love.
And Animal Reiki can help the animal move through the preparation for death in the way that Mother Nature intended.
How Reiki Helps: After Transition
At BrightHaven, the time of transition is the start of the being’s journey to the afterlife, whatever form that takes.
At BrightHaven, the transition marks the start of a being’s journey to the afterlife, whatever that may be. It also likely means that human and animal loved ones remaining on this plane may experience deeper levels of grief.
In fact, everyone is transitioning into a new way of being, and Animal Reiki is the perfect way to bring love, peace and comfort to all concerned.
There are many after-death rites and rituals performed all around the world depending on one’s culture and belief system. If you’d like to learn more about BrightHaven’s three-day process and why we developed this tradition, please visit our After the Passing page.
How Reiki Helps: Care for the Caregiver
Know you are doing your best, from your heart & with love, & accept that your loved one knows it. Recognize & embrace that your best is ENOUGH!
We humans can be so hard on ourselves, particularly in difficult times. And when we’re taking care of a loved one, the pressure of making the right decision and trying to take care of everything can take a toll. And often we feel we’re not doing enough or doing things right… particularly if our loved one doesn’t appear to be getting better.
That’s why self-care is so important. What are passengers always told before a plane takes off? Put on your oxygen mask first before you help the person with you, which is perfect advice for the caregiver journey.
And know that you are doing your best & you’re doing it with love – and that’s indeed enough!
Reiki is a wonderful self-care tool for you and all concerned. Engaging in a Reiki session with your animal will help you to experience the peace, comfort and healing that helps your animals so much.
Reiki is a wonderful self-care tool, for you as the practitioner and for your client. Encouraging caregivers to engage in the Reiki session with their animals will help them to experience the peace, comfort and healing that helps their animals so much.
Reiki encourages letting go and present moment awareness – and animals are great teachers of accepting what is unfolding and presence! Please visit Kathleen Prasad’s Animal Reiki Source website to learn more about her Let Animals Lead® method of Animal Reiki and how you can learn it too.
Through the mindful presence that Reiki meditation cultivates, we can more easily navigate our life’s challenges with grace and surrender.” —Kathleen Prasad, Animal Reiki Source
BrightHaven Caregiver Resources to Help Your Animal Live Well Each and Every Day!
NEW BOOK RELEASED IN NOVEMBER 2023:
How might the spiritual comfort and wisdom shared by animals inspire you to live and connect more deeply with yourself and others from your heart and soul, where love remains the prevailing principle? Find out more in GRATEFUL for Animals: Spiritual Comfort & Wisdom in Life’s Last Chapter, available on Amazon. (Authors: Gail Pope, BrightHaven President and Founder; Carol Howe Hulse, BrightHaven Education Program Manager)
(Photo by in joy photography)
- Do you have questions about how BrightHaven’s holistic healing or animal hospice care approaches can help your animal? Book a consultation with Gail by sending an email to consultations@brighthaven.org.
- Follow Your Heart: Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis – helps you walk this often-challenging path with a deeper sense of peace, confidence and clarity. (Author: Gail Pope)
- The BrightHaven Guide to Animal Hospice – learn how to care for your animal companions in their Golden Years and through the end of life. (Author: Gail Pope)
- Soar My Butterfly: The Animal Dying Experience – a simple guide to the signs and symptoms you may encounter during the final stages of the natural dying process. (Author: Gail Pope)
- BrightHaven Online Learning – help your loved one live the best life possible each and every day! We share what we’ve learned about holistic healing, animal hospice and living and dying well by following the wisdom of the animals since 1990.
LATEST ONLINE COURSE!
BrightHaven Holistic Animal Hospice: Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis – in this self-paced module, we help you to determine the best path for you and your animal.
(Photo by Beth Shields)
- Walking with My Dog Through (End of) Life – an intimate look at a profound life passage, from terminal diagnosis through hospice care and a peaceful, gentle natural death. (Author: Carol Howe Hulse)