The other morning I woke up way too early and was struggling to fall back asleep. As I lay on my side trying to quiet my mind, our cat Calla walked up from her spot next to my feet and climbed onto my pillow, curling up right against the back of my head. Even though she was taking up a bunch of pillow space, it was the best gift I could have received in that moment. I instinctively went into receive mode and allowed myself to accept her calm love energy into my mind and body. Soon I fell back to sleep.
It’s not a coincidence that Calla placed her body against my head. That’s where all the static was, and that was her way of calming it. Our animals can be in-house healers, which I find to be the most amazing, beautiful thing. They’re naturally connected to the energy around them and have an expert understanding of how energy works. Since your animal is super connected to your energy, they can know how to balance you out and help you feel calm, joy, love, and healing.
Years ago, I was struggling with intense back pain and texted my dear friend and Reiki teacher to see if she had a moment to please send me some distance Reiki. Again I was lying on my side on my bed. My cat at the time (Nell) jumped up on the bed, sat behind me and placed her paw against the base of my neck. I soon felt blissful relief and fell asleep. The next day I told my friend what Nell had done, and she told me that was where she had focused the distance Reiki, at the base of my neck to flow from there down my back. Nell had tuned into the healing that was already flowing and offered her own as a bonus.
On one of my trips to Costa Rica to work with horses, I again had bouts of severe back pain. One day, the facilitator of the workshop had me lie on a table in the arena and brought a stallion named Juano over to me. She told me he was an expert healer. Juano stood with his head over my body for about twenty minutes. With my eyes shut, I saw waves of groovy colors the whole time. It was clear he was working with my energy and infusing me with his own kind of healing, and it felt amazing.
A shaman I know always says, “We have access to all,” meaning earth energy, animal energy, and divine energy. We can choose to clear and center ourselves, connect with any of those energies and allow in the healing benefits. Notice when your animal wants to share the love with you or comfort you. Allow yourself to receive as well as give.
Healing potential is everywhere.
Ask a tree for help. One time when my energy felt really off and anxious, I sat with my back against a tree and asked if it would please share its energy with me. In a few minutes, I felt a vibration in my feet, and a sudden wave of calm flowed throughout my body. It was a quick and efficient healing, and I thanked the tree profusely.
When you take a shower, ask the water to cleanse your energy. I often ask it to clear me of any energy that doesn’t belong to me that I may have picked up that day. You’ll feel even more refreshed when you step out!
On the couch, on the subway, in the grocery store…take slow, deep belly breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Feel your belly expand with the inhale and soften with the exhale. That’s your body bringing healing to itself — those breaths activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is all about relaxation, rest, and digest, literally relieving stress and anxiety.
Our current world can feel like a lot. Every day it can be a lot. But all of these healing methods and more are accessible to us. Think about the energy of wild animals — there’s nothing better than a bird perching near you in a park or a dragonfly landing on your window (yes, that happened to me in Brooklyn). When I swam with wild dolphins in the Bahamas, in one slo-mo-moment, one dolphin swam parallel to my body right below me while another swam across the front of me making eye contact. I had been feeling fatigued and worn out, but in this moment, it felt like I was receiving something unbelievably profound and restoring. When I got back onto the boat, my body surged with energy — I’d never felt better in my life.
Gifts are everywhere. Healing is everywhere. The magic word is allow. 💜
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