The Horse Named Blue
I had done a Reiki demonstration
and met many wonderful people who were living the life of Spirit. Some took
Reiki training with me, and one of them, a nurse, called me for help with her
horse. This whole experience turned out to be very rewarding and educational. I
saw Blue more times than some of my human clients! He was committed to his
healing, as was his caretaker, L.
Blue had broken his right
shoulder. There was nerve damage and he could not bend the right knee. In short,
his right front side was damaged. I had not been around horses or too many large
animals at that time, and had never used Reiki extensively on an animal. L. and
I first talked by the barn; Blue was grazing outside, at a distance. L. was
heavily emotional and determined to heal her horse. She was using acupuncture,
ultrasound and bluegreen algae. She and her husband had two other horses. To her
credit she had resisted putting Blue down after the accident.
They lived on a large property
with a well. The friendliest of several dogs had greeted me when I first
arrived. Upon approaching the barn area, Blue was instantly aware of my
presence. While we talked, he gazed and surreptitiously observed me. Reiki had
started flowing as I talked to L., for she needed it too; it had been a long
road for her and her husband.
When we moved toward Blue in an
attempt to start the session, he went in the opposite direction to his stall. He
had been ornery the whole time and throwing me attitude, eyeing me and also
pleading in a way. His pride was hurt.
We followed him in. I was amazed
how big he was. I can't say that it was the most comfortable situation to be in.
L. was with us, but I was keenly alert of Blue's mood and actions, and our
safety.
He was quite resistant at first.
I could not touch him. I raised my hands toward him and spent some time Reiki'ng
his energy fields and entire presence. I talked to him mentally and verbally .
When he dropped his defenses one notch, and the stall was filled with a loving
feeling generated by Reiki, I gently approached and touched him. It was obvious
that Blue was willful and somewhat stubborn. He was also unhappy and
uncomfortable.
As Reiki flowed, he relaxed his
stiff posture, became very calm and did some long, deep stretches. He would do
these stretches in future sessions, which always gave us hope. In that first
session he kept his head straight and down a little, keeping track of me with
his eyes. In future sessions he would often turn and look, or acknowledge how
good Reiki felt by bobbing his head and making sounds. I was able to touch all
parts of his dynamic body.
Even in that first session he
started to lean into my hands. Later he would often become so relaxed and
comfortable that his eyes would start to close, his head would nod and his knees
would almost buckle!
When we were done that day, the
horse who had initially turned away from me, gave thanks by tilting his head
into me in the sweetest way, rubbing my whole left side. He wanted hay after and
was very affectionate to me.
L. who had several cats, dogs
and the horses, had a special talent of understanding animal communication. Her
dogs and cats would not leave me alone whenever I was there. They knew about
love and could feel it coming out of my hands. L. often said this or that animal
is usually suspect of strangers. She would actually sit and watch in wonder how
they all gathered around me.
When I left that day, I
counseled her to allow Blue more room and less pampering. He needed to get his
confidence back and master his body. The two other horses were somewhat
neglected and I felt that their attitude toward Blue was not helpful. L. also
felt much brighter and calmer.
The second time, I took another
Reiki Master with me. Blue knew what we were there for and welcomed us. We could
touch him right away and he took an active interest in the healing. Another time
a massage therapist friend who has much experience with horses and who is also a
Reiki practitioner, accompanied me.
Blue became increasingly
affectionate, thankful and upbeat. Four days after the first treatment and only
after two sessions, L. called to say that he had walked the best she'd seen
since the injury. Blue and L. demonstrated for her husband, and Blue really
performed.
I also practiced nonlocal Reiki
for Blue and L. Throughout our healing relationship, his spirit contacted me
often and helped me in certain ways. Blue would appear in my dreams and
meditations with appropriate messages for my growth. He also communicated that
he is proud and the injury makes him self-conscious; that he is willing to heal.
This was not an anthropomorphic projection of my imagination, but a real
communication of the intelligence found in the world around us, especially
nature.
Blue and I met perhaps a dozen
times, over several weeks. I got distressed phone calls from L. a couple of
times when he fell. Each time he recovered from the falls and became stronger
and stronger in the areas of injury. Reiki also did much for his attitude too.
Eventually, he was put down because of intestinal complications. However, a
healing had occurred regardless. Blue and I had touched each other in deep ways,
and L. was in a greater state of acceptance.
I also Reiki'd the land and the
well. After a few visits the entire property had a more uplifting feeling. I
miss the cats and dogs, and I will never forget the horse named Blue.
Shamanistic Perspectives
This article is necessarily from a personal
viewpoint because I am neither a formal shaman initiate nor a scholar on the
subject. However, as a broad-based experiential approach to embodying Reiki
Mastership, and with the influence of globalization, fostered by
communications technology, I have been exposed to shamanistic teachings. I
have been exposed also through inner experiences and spontaneous initiations.
For example, out of the blue one day I was instructed to make a crystal wand,
and this learning still continues. My ancestors are from Central Asia, one of
the hotbeds of shamanism, many memories and journeys in tribal settings have
awakened, and much of this approach to spirituality is so useful. Oddly, I
follow a path of Yoga and Reiki.
Traditionally a shaman is one in an
indigenous culture who has the knowledge and power of healing. It can also be
anyone who has the ability to create an altered state of consciousness (ASC)
in oneself or another. That makes Reiki practitioners shamans in one sense.
Shamanism is the first expression of humanity's religious, spiritual as well
as healing practices and knowledge. Historically, all spiritual teachings have
roots in shamanism. Modern anthropologists have done much to reveal the
cross-cultural evidence of common practices. A meditation done to awaken the
Warrior, which is done standing up, placing the hands one over the heart, and
the other between the ribcage and navel (Reiki!) has shown up in Uzbekistan,
NW North America, Arizona, ancient Europe, modern Africa, and the Olmecs in
Central America.
Healing is essentially the ability to change
consciousness and maintain the new state. This is best achieved when the
rational mind is bypassed and inner work is done in a nonordinary state of
consciousness (NOSC). Drumming and breathwork, or a combination is
time-honored ways of doing this. Reiki is another.
The mind even in its highest aspect has to
be bypassed because it is only an instrument of the soul, and it is the soul
that the shaman is concerned with. Soul loss can happen at any age, under any
circumstance. Journeying to various "worlds", the shaman finds the lost soul
part and brings it back to the person in a process called "soul retrieval".
This is the same as the universal healing principle of wholeness and harmony.
Reiki also works on this principle, and contemplating the symbols can lead to
a similar process as the shaman's.
When a soul part (or any part of our psyche
or soma) is lost, stolen, denied, abandoned or abused, it creates an energy
and power deficiency in our overall system. Either the fragmented part takes a
certain unit of power with it, or some of our energy continues to be fed to
it, even though it no longer serves a purpose. So there is this disembodied
entity that either needs to be brought home, or released completely and
transmuted. Otherwise it literally causes serious problems in the availability
and management of personal power. Are you in full possession of your entire
presence? Above I said that healing is the ability to change consciousness. It
is the consciousness of disempowerment that has to change first. Choice is the
switch that controls our energy. Once choice is aligned with harmony and
wholeness and we dispense or preserve our energy with higher, discriminative
will, then consciousness can be refined and stabilized in a new, healed state.
Other shamanistic tools are shape-shifting
and being the trickster. Whether we have the ability to actually change our
appearance is unimportant in Reiki healing work. The use of the trickster does
not need to follow strict shamanistic dictates either. Both of these are
useful concepts to develop and use in ways that work for us.
Often the healing dynamic with a Reiki
client requires that we drop our own limitations and judgments. We may be lead
by the client's needs to spaces that are as yet unfamiliar or uncomfortable.
It requires a great amount of flexibility to be able to answer the call of
many types of healing. Since our essence is the vastness of the soul, and not
the circumscriptions of the personality, we do inherently have the resources
to accompany the client to any inner landscape and face any demon. In other
words, shape-shifting is useful to us to change our own self-defined mold and
outer limits, to plunge ahead with confidence and faith. Shape-shifting is a
way to allay the fears of our own perceived inadequacies.
The shaman often has to "trick" a soul part
to return to the life experience of the healee and complete it. This is not an
act of dishonesty, but a viable method with highest good as the objective. It
also says much about our various levels of resistance to healing. When there
is fear, trust issues, pain, established coping mechanisms and a host of other
blocks in place, the healing can get stuck. To lubricate the process requires
a bag of tricks: reason, revelation of truth, love, relaxation, cajolery,
ASCs, music, inner-search questions, humor, mirrors, etc. There is also the
overall stance of the healer. This is a broad spectrum from compassion
(feminine) at one end, to firmness (masculine) at the other. All this is to
help the healee create a personally meaningful experience that will be
transformative and lasting.
There are now urban or contemporary
shamans, as well as indigenous ones in most cultures. Their techniques are
being used in psychotherapy, medicine, and spiritual and personal growth work.
As the world shrinks due to instant communications, we are bound to see more
and more blends. It is up to us to discriminate and choose what may very well
work together. More importantly, a cross-pollination of systems and teachings
has always existed—we
are now able to connect the dots. This points, once
again, to a common, shared, essential oneness and source-beingness. As such it
is worthy of celebration.
There is no escaping the simple beauty of
the oneness of our own and the universe's essential structure and nature, over
and above millennial dilutions and intellectual meanderings.