Animal Wisdom from the Farm

When we listen to animals with an open heart, they often show us something astonishing:

They don't see us the way we see ourselves.

They don't define themselves the way we sometimes define them.

And they don't always experience their lives through the story we have placed upon them.

This Reiki Share explores the wisdom animals have shared with me through 16 years of animal communication—especially around beauty, dignity, victimhood, love, presence, healing, and the soul contracts between humans and animals.

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Pam Allen-LeBlanc is a scientist, businesswoman, and Licensed Reiki Master Teacher (LRMT) with the International Center for Reiki Training.

Get in Touch with Pam:
pam@reikifromthefarm.com
www.reikifromthefarm.com

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A special thanks goes out to Music from Pixabay for the intro music and to Nate Miller for the meditation music. 

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pam@reikifromthefarm.com

Transcript

Speaker 0:07

Hi, and welcome to the Reiki from the Farm podcast, brought to you by me, Pam Allen Leblanc from Hidden Brook Farm. I am a scientist, a businesswoman, and a licensed Reiki master teacher with the International Center for Reiki Training. Each week in this podcast, you'll be entertained as you learn about a wide variety of relevant Reiki topics, helping you become a more knowledgeable and effective Reiki practitioner. We caution you, though, this podcast may also dramatically improve your life, and we are so happy that you're here.

Pam 0:56

Welcome to this week's podcast and this month's Reiki Share. I have a bunch of my friends here today, and in addition to learning about some of the wonderful animal wisdom that I've come across in my 16 years, as an animal communicator, or professional animal communicator, and a Reiki master. I have some friends here who have some animal wisdom to share with you, too. The animals have really been speaking a lot recently. I know the whales are just arriving here in Campobello. We haven't seen one yet, but hopefully we will soon. And I just, One of my students was talking about doing a session outdoors with a friend, and six deer showing up, and how it just felt like Snow White. And we're noticing the same. We had fox kits born under our barn, four of them this year. It was just lovely. I don't know. There's just, there really is something going on, I think, as the world is shifting and changing with the animals. And so I'm pretty excited to share this with you this evening. Before we get too far in, thank you, Beth. Beth is gonna share with us, too. I just wanted to let you know what we have going on. Next weekend, here at the farm, July 11th and 12th, or I'm in Campobello, sorry. At the farm just outside of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, Tracy and I are teaching for the first time ever an online and in-person healthcare Reiki class. So this will be a class that is hybrid in nature. I'm not sure when we can do that again. I'm not sure when we will be able to get together in person again just because the two of us are so busy between travel and our schedules. But would love to have you join us for that. And for any of you who've already taken the healthcare Reiki class, afterward we're going to be working on the final edits of the healthcare Reiki manual, and that's going to be sent to everyone who has studied with us so far to date. That class is just profoundly healing for people, including myself. I've noticed some huge changes, so has Tracy since it's come into our lives. And we are also beginning work on the master class of that. And so we are hoping to have that available next spring, but we also know that these things sometimes have an agenda of their own, and we're really just dipping our toe in, so we're not certain h- at this point how long that's gonna take. We just have set our sights on next spring for the master class, so hopefully. And the prerequisites for healthcare Reiki are level one and two Usui Reiki from any lineage. So as long as you have those three level one and two healthcare or Usui Reiki symbols. The same with animal Reiki. It does seem to be important to have that, and to have that as a basis, and then you can go ahead and take healthcare Reiki one and two. At the master level, the prerequisite will be Usui masters from any lineage and master teacher from any lineage as well as healthcare Reiki level one and two will be a prerequisite. So love, love to have you guys join us. I- we don't have any dates, future dates set, but when we're together next week, we, and the week after, we will set some. We are probably going to be offering the course only about twice a year. Just, again, we've looked at our schedules, and we offered it a little bit more often recently, but that's going to be reasonable, is two, maybe three times per year going forward. I also wanted to let you know that our Campobello classes are coming up August 8th to 14th. I have level one and two and masters with Reiki here in Campobello. Our Airbnb is full, but for the level one and two class, we still do have space though for the master class at the master level. And we are looking forward to that. On the Monday in between the two classes, And you don't have to do both. You can do just the level one and two, just the masters, or you could do both. But on the Monday in between class, we're going to be going to Eleanor's Tea, visiting the Roosevelt International Park, and learning a little bit more about Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, seeing their 23-bedroom summer cottage, I believe it is. And we'll be going on a hike. There's going to be whale watching for those who wish to attend, and we'll grab a meal together. So that's the, I'm trying to make the Campobello classes just a little bit more like a retreat cl- class, because this island is stunning. It feels like you're stepping back in time a little bit, and it's... You actually have to go through the US to get here by land. You can get here through Canada by two ferries. One is more of a barge. And- it's, so it's really a different island. It's really this wonderful, beautiful combination of Canadian and American and lots of birds and wildlife and just wonderfulness to experience. So I wanted to give ev- all my students a day to- together just to get an opportunity to show everyone some of that wonder, and we are at the highest tides in the world here as well. So love, love to have you join us in Campobello if you're able to. The following week, August 15th to 20th, I have Animal Reiki 1 and 2, followed by the master training, again with that Monday together in between to experience the island. And that's optional, but I'm hoping you can join us. And then in the following week after that is Animal Communication for Reiki Practitioners. It's the first time I'm offering this on Campobello. And it's the first time I'm offering it in person. All of these classes, these Camp Abella classes, are both online and in person, so you can join us either way. It's the first time I'm offering animal communication in person since COVID. I just really haven't been able to manage that up until now. So it was exciting to be able to fit that into my schedule this year. After that in the same way as before, I have the three-day master class, which is broken up into two pieces. There's level t- three professional practitioner, and then the master teacher class. Would love to have you join us for any of those. And then in October, we have a full lineup of classes again, except I don't think I'm teaching the master levels for animal Reiki. And that's at the farm three weekends in a row for the level one and two classes, and i- the online master classes will be offered the following week through the evenings. And that's coming up in October at the farm. So would love to have you join us for that if you can. I also want to encourage anyone who's considering it, I'll be presenting around animal communication and animal wisdom and just I- I'll be leading people through an exercise to tap into animal communication and learn what it's all about. I'll be doing that as part of the International Reiki Retreat. This year, the International Reiki Retreat, it's often held in Sedona, and it will be presented from Sedona. The organizers are in Sedona. But this year it will be a fully online retreat, which makes it really reasonable. It's $444 US for the full weekend. It's I don't know. I attended online a couple of y- last year, I believe it was, I attended online. I just wanted to see what it was like online, and we do have a professional videographer who's working with us and sound people, and it was really a quality presentation, and I absolutely loved being able to, go to lunch and just make myself a little snack, walk the dogs and come back for another presentation afterward. They were really nicely spread out and paced, and it gave me a little bit of time to integrate. I remember at one point I looked at my watch and I realized, "Huh, I have time for a nap between this presentation and the next one." And it allowed me to just really integrate the energy that that was being shared and I spoke, or I attended and facilitated a couple of the, there's some online just meetups or get-togethers for the participants so that in addition to attending and learning from each thing, you also get to meet people from all over who are doing Reiki and just have discussions with them, share Reiki with them. And everyone who attended online were really excited about it. So if that speaks to you, then I would love to have you join us. Now, for this evening or whenever you're listening afterward if you're listening on the podcast after I spoke at Omega Institute and some of the wisdom from the animals just landed so I don't even know how to say it. It just landed in such an incredible way, so viscerally with a lot of the attendees. I realized, you know what? I want to share this with my folks on in my in my Reiki group, so here we are. Before we begin, I would like you to just bring your hands together in Gassho. I've had a busy day, so I got a chance to visit my mom and dad. It's their 60th wedding anniversary today. Dad's home and he's doing so well, for those of you who are aware that he'd been in the hospital since January. We never thought that was going to happen, so we're very grateful. And so I think I need to settle in with Reiki just as much as anyone else. So just going ahead and inviting Reiki to flow. And just feeling the Reiki flow through the top of your head, your eyes, your nasal area, your mouth, your jaw, your neck and throat, your collarbones, down your arms, down your shoulders, your upper arms, your elbows, lower arms, wrists, fingers, hands and fingers, all the way out through the tips of your fingers and into the earth. And going back up to your collarbones, just noticing the Reiki as it flows through your collarbone, your chest, your heart space, your lung space, your solar plexus above the belly button, your sacral area below the belly button, your hips and your hip sockets, flowing down through the tops of your legs, your knees Your shins and calves and ankles and Achilles Through your heels, your arches, the balls of your feet and your toes, and then just imagine the energy continues flowing into the earth like roots of a tree, and it goes all the way down until it comes to the groundwater beneath you. And once it gets to the groundwater, it moves through the groundwater to the bedrock And you just feel the solidness of that, that you are connected to that bedrock beneath your feet, beneath the groundwater Earth, air, water, fire. All of the elements are here today And then just imagine the energy of the Earth begins and the energy of that bedrock, the steadiness, the solidness, the groundedness of it, it just begins to move up now, the divine energy of the Earth moving up through that central channel, through the bottoms of your feet, all of your chakras, and all the way up through your head, through your soul star, which is above your head, and the stellar gateway, and moves all the way to the heavens. And the energy is just flowing in both directions through you now, from the heavens into the Earth, from the Earth to the heavens, forming a beautiful orbit around you And you just bring your own personal energy in close to you now. And as you do, you notice that other people's energies, and impressions, and ideas, and projections, and thoughts, and beliefs, and experiences, and anything draining, these just drop away from you now. Anything that's not you or yours drops away as your energy comes in so that it just skims your skin And if there are any pieces of your soul that have left be- have been left behind in injury or illness or for any other reason, they concentrate around you now And move through a beautiful filter of holy fire Reiki And then back into their rightful place within your body or around your body. Some say the soul is larger than the body, that the body exists in the soul And just feel yourself whole Healthy, connected And just look inside now and see your light, that beautiful light that's always there but sometimes seems to be covered up by the ways and worries of the world. We let those go now And go ahead and just invite the Reiki to fan the flame of our light so that it grows brighter and brighter Releasing more and more of the layers of the ways and worries of the world And just remembering who you are at the core of your being. Your human nature coming together with your divine nature and remembering your beauty For when we believe ourselves to be beautiful, we create from beauty. And when we believe ourselves to be destructive, we create our lives from that. So just tapping into the beauty that exists within you. We are so grateful for this opportunity to be together and to be here on the planet with wonderful people, animals, and the absolute beauty that is nature, and that is you. Thank you. Namaste. I never know what I'm going to say in that or how long that it will take, but it seems that in the midst of all of the busyness and celebration recently w- around the July holidays and so on, that, maybe if some of you didn't need grounded, maybe that was for me. I'm not sure. But just that grounding and coming back to the self Guys, before I start to talk about some of the incredible wisdom that I have come across in my career as a Reiki master teacher and animal Reiki master teacher, and an animal communicator, and just a lifelong animal lover and animal scientist I invited some of the folks who are here with me tonight, and I haven't heard this, so this'll be new for me, too. I invited them to share some of the incredible wisdom or incredible experiences that they've had that, that led to wisdom with animals. And so I'm just gonna ask Peggy if she would start tonight. Peggy, would you mind unmuting yourself and sharing some of what you've learned?

Peggy 18:53

Absolutely. Quite a number of years ago when my two sons were younger, we had rescued a dog that had been brought from Hurricane Katrina. Oh. And brought to Canada, and they had brought... I was at the SPCA, and they brought 66 dogs that had all been rescued from Hurricane Katrina. Wow. And we rescued one of them. It was a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Wow. And we had him for about five, six years, and then my husband developed early onset Alzheimer's. And for the first year or so he, the, Quincy didn't really... That was the dog, not my husband. Quincy didn't really change his behavior that much. As my husband's behavior started getting more erratic I found that before he would become erratic, Quincy would come and he'd sit beside me. Wherever I was in the house, he'd come and sit beside me, almost like he was saying, "Okay, the things are gonna start escalating now." And sure enough, within five or 10 minutes my husband would come from wherever he was in the house, and he would get loud and, and get in my face. And when I'd stand up and he'd get closer, Quincy would just very calmly get up, and he would walk between us, just slowly walk between us, and then slowly turn so that we had to back up just to distance ourselves. And just by doing that, it deescalated my husband's behavior. It was just, it was unbelievable just the way he was just so calm, quiet, never made a noise, just did it. And he did it every single time that happened until until my husband ended up having to go into long-term care. But it made a huge difference in the atmosphere in our home.

Pam 20:44

And then- Oh my gosh, what an incredible story. And- I'm not surprised. I, we know that animals have that extrasensory ability to know- People's emotional states, what's going on, what's, it's how they can predict seizures and all of the things. But what a wise, gentle animal.

Peggy 21:06

Yeah, he was. He was- Oh wonderful.

Pam 21:09

Oh my God. Yeah. What a beautiful story. I'd love to include... We'll have to talk, 'cause I'd love to include that in my upcoming book on animal communication. That's- Sure. Yeah amazing.

Peggy 21:20

Absolutely.

Pam 21:21

Thank you for sharing it, Peggy.

Peggy 21:23

Thank you. Absolutely.

Pam 21:25

Wow, I love it. I love it. Thank you. And Kara, you have something to share as well. Are you able to unmute yourself, Cara?

Cara 21:39

There, had to finally- There you are get it unstuck. Yeah. I have to preface this by saying it's very common for me to see animals show up in my house. I'll turn around and all of a sudden it's like, "Oh, hi. Can I help you?" They're just here.

Pam 21:59

You do get that a lot, don't you?

Cara 22:01

Yes.

Pam 22:01

Yeah.

Cara 22:02

I'll feel something brush by m- my leg, and I'll look over and Smitten's curled up on her favorite spot, and I'm like, "Okay, who's here?" This time it had to do with my girlfriend's horse, Honey.

Lynn 22:17

Okay.

Cara 22:17

And Honey talks to me quite a bit because Mary Beth gets too hung up in the technical horse stuff. And she's brilliant. She's been a horse woman probably since she was about five years old.

Pam 22:32

Wow.

Cara 22:33

She's very knowledgeable, but it's, she's more of a scientific techy kind of person.

Pam 22:41

That's fair.

Cara 22:42

And when Honey can't get through to Mary Beth and get her attention, she shows up. She'll be standing in my living room, and I go, "Oh, hello, Honey. How are you?"

Pam 22:54

She just, she shows up to communicate with you is what you're saying. Yes. In the way that they telepathically communicate

Cara 22:59

Cara?

Pam 23:00

Y-

Cara 23:00

Physically I can see her.

Pam 23:02

Okay.

Cara 23:02

She's the horse that I was riding in the photo that I sent of you when I was riding bitless.

Pam 23:08

Yes. I love

Cara 23:09

that. And she showed up one day and looked at me and said, "They're not getting what I'm trying to tell them about my back feet."

Pam 23:20

Okay.

Cara 23:21

And I was like, "Okay, what's going on?" And she said, "They're not doing the right shoes." And I was like, "Okay, so what do they need to do?" And she rattled off some information, and I was like, "And that'll make it better for you?" She says, "Yeah, I need something going across the middle of my shoe. It can't be open in the middle."

Pam 23:49

Okay.

Cara 23:50

It's okay. So I got ahold of Mary Beth, and I said, "Okay, you know how this works with your horse."

Pam 23:58

And the way that she comes in and communicates with you.

Cara 24:00

Yes. It, Mary Beth and I have been friends for about 15 years, so it's just "Okay, Cara, what now?" And I said, "Honey is telling me she needs some kind of a bar across the middle of her shoe because she does, it's, she's very uncomfortable for her to be putting her feet on the ground with the openness of the shoe." Now, I don't know. I've worked with a couple farriers. I respect them. Mary Beth said, "Okay, I'll tell him." Got together with the farrier, and the woman at her new barn used to be a farrier.

Pam 24:47

Yes.

Cara 24:48

So she's, quite knowledgeable. They had a chit-chat about it. They created a shoe for Honey that had some kind of a configuration across the middle of the shoe, and she was fine.

Pam 25:06

This is how animal communication works, Cara, and I love it. And I love that you- Yeah that you actually see the animal when they want to talk with you. For me, I more get a feeling around it, but everybody's a little bit different.

Cara 25:18

She's here right now. She's going, "Are you talking about me?"

Pam 25:22

Cause

Cara 25:24

it, it's brutally hot here, so I know she's out in the field in the shade. It's, it's 115 real feel down here.

Pam 25:34

Oof. Yeah. It's not hot here on the island, but it is hot where my horses are on the farm. Yeah. My assistant is there with them and they're in the barn to stay cool actually. But I know, as soon as you said the bar across, I'm like, yeah, I've seen those. I know exactly what you mean. Yeah,

Cara 25:49

I've seen- I follow this one English farrier, and I've become more aware of the different configurations that can be done. Yeah. But I've never seen them done. I've just watched this gentleman.

Pam 26:03

Yeah, I've seen them. I feel like they often use them with horses that have navicular, so it's, i- it's great that- Yeah it's probably giving her navicular bone a little bit of support and maybe her frogs.

Cara 26:15

I don't know. I haven't seen her in a while. It's, Mary Beth's and my schedules are crisscrossed right now.

Pam 26:23

Oh,

Cara 26:23

boy. So I haven't been out to see Honey, but she, yeah, she just... I'll turn around and it's oh hi.

Pam 26:31

Tell her we appreciate her story being part of the podcast tonight, if you- Yeah.

Cara 26:36

She'll get a little ego twitch out of that.

Pam 26:39

Maybe. Yeah, most likely. Thank you, Cara.

Cara 26:43

You're welcome. Thank you for listening. I appreciate it.

Pam 26:46

Absolutely. Scott, I know you had something you wanted to share, too.

Scott 26:53

Yeah, the last two weeks have been extremely hectic where I live and stressful.

Pam 26:59

Yes.

Scott 26:59

And we have a doe here, and she just gave birth. It's her first time. Oh. And she's got three little ones.

Pam 27:08

Three?

Scott 27:09

And one's... Yeah, which is rare.

Pam 27:11

Yes.

Scott 27:11

One is very rambunctious, loves to run all over the place. So I came around the corner, and I didn't really expect them there, and here they were literally right on top of me. And the mother, you could tell on her face she was worried because the littlest one that was rambunctious took off, started running around all over the place. And you could just read it on her- that, "Hey, get back over here. Settle down." Then she looked at me, and I could literally feel her saying, you need to do more grounding."

Pam 27:49

Really?

Scott 27:50

And I'm going, "Okay, that makes sense." And that's what I got feeling from her.

Pam 27:57

Interesting. And then I was guided to do all that grounding with us tonight, Scott. That's lovely. And do you notice, a lot of my students have told me that since they have animal reiki, that even wild animals don't tend to be very frightened of them anymore. And, we had a wild turkey just cross right in front of us today, and didn't even really pay any attention to us.

Scott 28:26

Yeah, it seems like that way. We got a deer. We got a family of ravens that loves to come into my dog pen for some reason, and then we got a female fox with a couple kits that are around.

Pam 28:41

I love that. Our fox kits have moved now, but they, I think they were just she raised them up to a nice age, and I think they were getting tired of the curiosity of my dogs. Not that, the dogs didn't harass them or anything, but every morning they ran out to see what they were doing. And so I think they got tired of it. Scott, thank you for sharing that. That's really lovely that the deer are interacting with you like that. Amazing. And Lynn, were you wanting to share? I think you said you were wanting to share yours.

Lynn 29:17

Sure, I'll share. Actually, when you were talking about animals being more, wild animals being more calm and everything with you, I, so I have two little stories actually. One was right after, it was either the animal communication or after the animal reiki there was a skunk in my yard, and basically it, I have a fenced-in yard, part of my yard, and I was like, "Oh, this isn't good." I was about 50 feet away, and I went out, and I kept, they like, "Just be honest," so I went out and said, "Okay, you are not welcome in the yard. You have to be on the outside of the fence." And he looked up, and I was like, "I'm serious. You need to go on the outside of the fence." Now, I kept, like I said, 50 feet away. He looked at me, and he walked right outside the fence. It was so cute. But-

Beth 30:12

It is adorable

Lynn 30:13

so I didn't hear him say anything, but he listened to me, so I was happy. I was like, "You are more than welcome the rest of the yard, just outside of the fenced area so I don't startle you, you don't, spray me," that sort of thing. But the other time was recently, the last couple months. I actually went on vacation and to where they have wild horses, and it was beautiful because I was like, "Okay, I'm finally going to get out of my, project manager mode, get, actually being able to hear things and be calm and not being overly analytical," basically get out of my own way. My- that's my big thing. And I was like, "I'm gonna try to talk to this horse." So I got out, because he was in our campsite, I got out, I started talking to him, and he responded. I was floored. I was like... I was like, "Okay, don't get too excited," 'cause you wanna keep talking. So I kept talking to him, and I asked him how he was and what he liked to eat. I also asked him, "How do you like it here?" And he explained that he didn't like the tourists. Oh. He was kinda like, "You guys are annoying." And I was like I can imagine. I, I- if I was a horse, I would think we were annoying, too." And I was like, "But it is a symbiotic relationship, and y- the reason that you guys have this area is because of us. So we need to be more respectful of you, but hopefully you can deal with us a little bit better knowing that's the reason you're allowed to still have this, and it hasn't been developed." So it was absolutely beautiful. I was so excited, so thank

Pam 31:59

you. I love that. I love that, and I love that you got that wonderful communication. Thank you, Lynn.

Lynn 32:04

Thank you.

Pam 32:05

Yeah, you're so welcome. And finally, Beth, I think you had something to share, too.

Beth 32:12

Hi, Pam. I do have something to share. I volunteer at a local horse sanctuary where most of the horses are either retired or injured. And it's really a special place. When I go there I help out with the horse chores. And this past weekend we emptied out the water buckets, and then w- as I was filling them up, I've been trying to find ways to share animal Reiki with them. Okay. So I started to give Reiki to the water.

Pam 32:37

Yes.

Beth 32:37

And all of a sudden, both horses in that pasture came running across the field to come and get water.

Pam 32:46

They know.

Beth 32:48

They did. They

Pam 32:48

know. They know. One of the things William Rand has said is that animals have an awareness spectrum that is beyond ours, and he believes that they can see and feel and a- all of that with energy. And I know that they can see it, because one day, as a gift to me, a dog during... A- as I was attuning the dog to Reiki, the dog showed me visually what was happening, and I just saw all these swirling energies and stuff that I've never seen. I don't... clairvoyance is not one of my strong gifts, so I've never seen that before and he gifted me with that. So they, they know, don't they, Beth?

Beth 33:32

They do. It's really a beautiful way to connect with them. Yes. And also such a calming environment for me.

Pam 33:38

Yeah. I love that. I love that you got to do that, and I love the immediate impact. Yeah. I remember that when we were on safari in Africa I c- I'm used to it, so I don't always notice, but I had some new students who... And even the guide, who really remarked about, first of all, how close the animals came to us. They came almost straight up to our vehicle. And also, there would usually be one animal in a group that would connect with me and we would talk, and they would just be perfectly still, and they would stay there. I had one elephant that stayed with us for at least 15 minutes, and the guide was... and just stared into my eyes, and we had this wonderful conversation, and she even showed up outside of our tents, To, not that evening, but the following evening. And the people couldn't, just couldn't get over the difference-

Beth 34:36

Yeah

Pam 34:37

with the Reiki and the animal communication about how the animals behaved. And even the giraffes that joined us for our Reiki class, our animal Reiki class. They were-

Beth 34:47

Yeah

Pam 34:47

we opened our eyes and there they were on the lawn in front of us.

Beth 34:52

Wow. That must have been a sight.

Pam 34:54

It was really something I think I'll never forget. I hope I never get Alzheimer's so that I ever forget that, because it was really remarkable to ha- to open my eyes and they were right there. And I didn't even... They're so quiet, I didn't even hear them. I had my eyes closed during the attunement. I didn't even hear them, and then the next thing you know, there they are.

Beth 35:18

Wow.

Pam 35:20

I hope we get to do that again. So there are no plan- Sounds

Beth 35:23

amazing.

Pam 35:23

Yeah, it was. There were no plans yet, but I'll let you guys know if if it looks like we'll be able to put something together again. Thank you for sharing that, Beth. That's such a great such a great story.

Beth 35:34

You're welcome.

Pam 35:35

Thanks. Guys, I wanted to talk with you about just a few of the things that I've noticed as well. And gosh there's just so much. And I just, I, so much that in order to not forget about it, I actually made myself a few notes. So I'm going to go ahead and... For some reason I can't access my notes. I wanted to talk with you first about my horse named Honey. So it's funny, Cara, that your horse is Honey. Honey was a horse that came to us very broken, and she had just... She was four years old, and she had a lot happen to her. And honestly, a lot of what I learned around Reiki, around animal Reiki, around animal communication, was all based around an attempt to try to help Honey. She really struggled. She had PTSD. She broke my ribs. She broke my nose. She almost broke my spirit. And and she definitely eroded my confidence. I was quite confident with animals and horses. I'd worked with them all my life, and they responded really well to me, but not Honey. And so I really had so much to learn, and she had so much to teach me. But one of the really big lessons, if I look back, there were so many lessons with Honey that we would be here all day. So I just want to share with you one of the really big things that Honey taught me, and that was about bracing. And when we brace against something, we put force against it, and then the thing that we are bracing against often responds with force. And when you've got two things forcing against each other, there's a struggle or difficulties or a fight. Now, I learned that when you're working with a 1,200 pound animal that has the fastest reaction time on the planet, when the human's reaction time is second slowest to the sloth, It's when you force each other, when you're trying to force each other to do something, guess who's going to win? It's usually the horse And besides that, I didn't really want that kind of relationship with my horses. So a lot of my journey with horsemanship was trying to figure out a different way, a more relational kind of way to relate to each other. Honey showed me that we could step outside of force, which is driven by our personalities and our unhealed egos, and we could step into power, which is more driven by the universal consciousness. And I've been recently drawn to define it this way through David Hawkins' work, where he talks about power versus force, and how with power, we tap into higher self, higher wisdom, universal consciousness. With force, we're in the personality, we're in the weeds. And I'd like you to think about are there some What I, one of the things it helped me realize is that there were some areas of my life where I was able to take the high road, if you will, or I was able to stay tapped into that universal consciousness, but there were other times or other areas where my personality and unhealed ego were making the decisions and trying to force something. And what happened with that is it created resistance. Some could call that resistance samskara. That's a term that is used in, in Hindu, some certain, some Hindu beliefs. But that resistance, that force, I called it bracing. And if I braced against a 1,200-pound horse and they braced against me, somebody was likely going to get hurt or at least not, it wasn't going to be harmonious. So in order to be successful, as I worked with Honey and as I trained other horses as well, I had to learn to drop the bracing out of my body. When I did that, there was nothing for them to fight against. So I'm holding my hands up, and if you imagine pushing your hands against one another, there's just this ugly back and forth. And when I thought about different places in my life where I braced, for instance, I had very stringent ideas about how animals should be treated in a certain way and certain things. And the more experience that I gained, I learned that everybody has different ideas about how animals should be treated or what should be done. And in fact, they were all valid And usually the animal with my father, he kept his horses in the barn. I allow my horses to go in and out as they choose, and each of us thought the other was wrong. We were bracing in our relationship and in our thoughts and ideas and beliefs. And as soon as I realized his horses wanted to be inside and chose him and my horses wanted to have choice and chose mine, as soon as I realized that animals have their own divine purpose And that's another thing that I learned through this, animals have their own purpose, their own ideas, and they choose the human caregiver that matches with what they came here to do and with what they want. And as soon as I realized that, I stopped bracing against my father and instantly, without me saying or doing anything, just simply recognizing that we were bracing, he dropped the brace, too, because if you don't brace, there's nothing, even if the other person tries to brace, there's nothing for them to brace against. So I learned to get very soft with the horses and drop any brace. You know that exercise that I started us with going, imagining the Reiki energy moving through and going into the earth, and then the roots going down? That's what I used in order to drop any brace, whether it was mental, physical, spiritual, or emotional. I dropped the brace into the earth, and then I could go work with horses, because if they wanted to resist, they just didn't or couldn't, because I had no resistance left in me. Now, if there was resistance, they would find it, and if you ever wonder if you have resistance think about teenagers. They can pull that out of you, even if you're you think you're pretty Zen. A teenager will find it for you and and then if I-- and I would just have to be aware, oh, I ha-- I still have a little bit of a brace, maybe it was a physical brace in my left hip, and I would need to just consciously move that into the earth. So I really learned so much about bracing. And when I learned that, then I realized, okay, if I don't brace against Honey, she won't brace against me. And we were able to move into relationship and into that universal consciousness, the oneness, and it was actually quite beautiful. But within that space, she then taught me the importance of integrity. And what we decided, because Honey was very easily triggered, she had PTSD, and when she would get frightened or triggered we made a deal that when she was frightened or triggered, instead of reacting in a big, dangerous way, which was what she was doing, if I asked her, "Would you please just pause for one breath and I'll get off your back, and everything will be fine?" And she agreed. And for a while, we worked away that way and I stopped getting injured and she started to learn and grow in her training. Then one day, I didn't think the trigger was that serious. She paused and I said, "Oh," instead of getting off the way that I had promised, I said, "Oh, that was just my son slipping with a skateboard. It really wasn't anything to be frightened of." And she flipped me off of her head and so quickly, I actually did a somersault in the air and landed on my feet. And I just, I was stand-- one minute I was on her back, the next minute I was standing beside her, still holding the reins, and I just went, "Wow, you're right. That wasn't our agreement." Our agreement was you were gonna pause. It didn't matter if I think it's scary. If you think it's scary, you're gonna pause and I'm gonna get off, and I didn't honor that. So it really taught me just the importance of integrity and honoring those agreements. So that I really appreciated Honey for all that she did with that. Recently, you all know I also had... Thank you, Donna. And I want you... One of the things I'd like everyone listening to do is if you have a journal with you just think about is there an area of my life where I'm bracing? And if there is, could I drop the brace into the earth, and then just get curious and notice what happens. One of the things that the animals have told me around this is how to move on. They've t- they've let me know that a great deal of our energy is actually spent resisting what is, and we resist something because it's not right, it's unjust, it's, There, there are so many reasons that we might resist it. And the horses and animals have just looked at us and been like, why do you do that? Why do you resist what is?" Can you instead ask yourself, "Can I do anything about this?" And if you can, do it. If you can't, then accept it and move on, because it is. There's, And so the animals showed me that when there was a situation in their lives, they didn't worry or fret about it. They just... Maybe it was something that wasn't right. Maybe it was something they didn't agree with, or even were frightened of or nervous about. But rather than, really holding on to that, they just acknowledged it, acknowledged their feelings about it, accepted it for what it was, and moved on. They decided, "Can I do something about this or can't I? If I can, I will. If I can't, I'm simply going to move on." And that's what they did. Cara, did you have something to share around that?

Cara 47:13

If I may?

Pam 47:15

Yeah.

Cara 47:15

About bracing.

Pam 47:17

Yes.

Cara 47:18

My friend Marybeth had a different horse named Fi. Fi did not like his face touched. And so Fi and Marybeth, bam. I was... He was in his stall. I was on one side. I was working with Reiki and talking to him. Marybeth was on the other side. All of a sudden she looks over, and I'm running my hand all the way down Fi's face, and she's ah." And I said, "He wants you to stop pushing it."

Pam 47:57

Yeah.

Cara 47:57

And as soon as she backed off, and I like that expression of bracing it, as soon as she stopped insisting, and let's face it, they're lovely faces to rub.

Pam 48:10

They are.

Cara 48:10

But as soon as she stopped bracing about it and just gradually got his permission, it went well.

Lynn 48:21

There

Cara 48:21

you go. And it was a really big thing to Marybeth, and Fi also told me somebody used to like to just smack him in the face- Oh to get him to back up into his stall, which is why he would, bam, brace.

Pam 48:41

When we stop bracing, it's just incredible how they go along with our ideas. And that's every animal, including human animals. So I just, I really encourage us all to think about is there an area that I'm bracing in my life? Is there an area where I'm not accepting what is? Could I stop bracing, drop that brace into the earth? Could I decide can I do something about this? If I can't, then accepting it and moving on, because that's truly the way that animals approach things. Thank you for sharing that, Cara. The other thing the animals really sh- taught me a lot about was presence, and I'm a planner. I'm always looking ahead into the future. And I just have to pause for one moment, you guys and fix the light. The light from outside is beautiful, but it's shining right in my eyes. And so I'll be right back. I thought I had the curtain adjusted so that it wouldn't do that, but I just missed a couple of inches, and that's all that it took. So the other message that animals taught me is about presence. And as somebody who likes to plan I usually can see... A- and somebody whose gift is precognizance, I'm spending so much time looking ahead into the future. And also I would spend time, analyzing and looking back at the past and into the future. And one of the things I realized, if I was going to be successful as a horse trainer, for instance and even an animal communicator and working with animals I needed to be here now. It's really the only time that we have. And the animals showed me that the time that you're looking, the time in the future doesn't exist. Time in the past is all done. You need to accept it and move away from it. Where what actually exists is this moment, and this is all that exists, so be here now. And in doing that, they... I actually created an essential oil because I wasn't... and as somebody with ADHD or I probably have ADHD, my daughters have diagnosed me with it it was really important when I trained horses that I was there, co- exactly there with the horse. If I, if my attention wasn't where it needed to be, there was a very real possibility and even probability that somebody was going to get hurt. And so I actually developed an essential oil called Presence to just assist me and just help me stay completely present and focused with the animals. And actually, it was really helpful. It really did work. But just that this is really the only time we have is the moment that we're in right now, it taught me to just really value and appreciate that, and also to just notice when I was thinking ahead. And I would allow myself to think ahead, but I wouldn't allow myself to stay there. I might allow myself to s- to go into the possibilities of what might happen, what could happen, and I still do, but then I move back into the present. I leave the future. And a lot of times I surrender the future to Reiki, which can be really helpful. One of the things I noticed when I got really present is some of the really key relationships in my life, like with my children my husband, my horses, my family. Some of those really key relationships changed because when I was with someone, I was with them. I wasn't thinking about something else or planning something else, which actually had been my MO up till n- then. So also just considering are there times or relationships or places in my life when I'm not present? And how can I invite Reiki to help me recognize that and, move myself back into this moment in time Another thing that the animals taught me was about the need for structure or hierarchy. In almost every animal system or group, there was a way that they interacted with it, with each other. And yes, of course, there were always occasionally outliers but the outliers weren't really appreciated or accepted into the fold. And one of the things that has shown up time and again is the importance of community. With the birds, the poultry they had a community with each other. And it was interesting, the ducks would kinda hang with the ducks, and the turkeys would kinda hang with the turkeys, and the chickens with the chickens, and the guinea fowl with the guinea fowl. And the smaller birds the Silkies, they hung together, and the little bantams, they stayed together. And within each unit, there... they also would come together as the bigger unit. They-- I had my birds free-range, so they would go out through- in the day and back inside at night And they so they would come together as the larger unit as well. And it was just really lovely watching the community, but also within that community, it seemed to be really important that they had I- it's true what they say about a pecking order. And I used to watch some of the shenanigans as some of the young roosters and hens would start to try to find their place in the pecking order, and I used to laugh that it was like watching outside of a bar or something like that, the, or at a middle school, the way that humans also find their pecking order. But I've since come to realize that organization and that structure exists with almost every animal. And one of the things we sometimes do as humans is we sometimes interpret it through a lens as a human or even through our own lens, so maybe through our own injuries, our own thoughts, our own feelings, our own emotions, or we anthropomorphize, which is we put human thoughts and feelings on it, on things. I've come to realize that animals are fully capable of creating their own structure, and there's no sense of me intervening. I do something a little different with my animals. All my horses are all together, and I know that's not possible for everyone to do or practical. But for me just having the one herd, it works. So I have the males and females and all different ages. They're all together, and they've all found their place within the herd dynamic, within the community. And I've s- I've realized with that, that, we think about the alpha leader. That's not always who the leader is. It's not always who the most respected is. There, there's, there can be... There is a male leader. Storm is the male leader of my herd. But everybody has just as much respect for Honey, and she has a different role or a different way of leading. And when Star was still alive, she had the most interesting way of leading that I've ever seen. She made friends with everyone. She didn't try to be a leader, and in doing that, she became a leader, that she could eat in any group because everybody loved her because she never tried to challenge any of them. She just, she was happy to allow them to lead in howev- whatever way they needed to, and she actually worked her way up into the herd into a very high position without trying to challenge, without using that masculine, force. She stepped back into power And so that was really interesting. But one day I was watching my m- female leader discipline a young horse that needed disciplining. He, w- he had crossed a boundary. And but she disciplined him so dramatically and so hard. It was... I had a hard time watching it, and I thought to myself, "Oh, she's so mean. What must he think of her?" And I thought, "Wait, you're an animal communicator. Why don't you go in and find out?" So I went in and I asked Jasper, "How are you feeling? What did you think about that and the way that she disciplined you?" And he... And I thought he was going to be upset about it, because I found it upsetting. Not he was looking at her with googly eyes and he said, "She's so cool." He fully accepted that he deserved to be disciplined, which he did. He had been disrespectful and was in her space, and that's very important with horses. And but he wasn't looking at it the same way that I was at all. So it can be really interesting when you step back and look at an animal and allow them to be who they are and look at them that way and and just be curious and just notice the different styles of leadership And I am also going to talk about grief and judgment and prejudice, but first, I do want to talk a little bit about balance. One of the things I really observed with animals over the years is that they lead very balanced lives for the most part. They sleep when they wanna sleep, they eat when they want to eat they do all of the things that they just feel like doing or are guided to do, and they're very balanced. I've noticed that animals Look at us. Thank you, Donna. She mentioned that it's so cool just able to talk with them and hear what they're thinking. It's a an ability or a gift that Reiki opened for me after I learned Reiki level two, actually immediately after I learned Reiki level two, and I'm so grateful for it that's why I do teach it to others as well But just looking at how balanced and m- comfortable animals are, one of the things they really pointed out to me is as humans that we work so much. They can't understand why we would work beyond Like, when we have enough to eat and a place to live, why do we keep working, 40 hours a week or whatever it may be? They, it just, it really confounds them. They're like, "Wha- that, this doesn't make sense. The amount that you work doesn't make sense." And we think about, the busy bee. I've actually read some of the science around it. Bees spend quite a bit of time resting, and we do see them when they're busy, when they have their flurries of activity. But they also rest quite a bit. We think about the squirrels, putting away their nuts. They rest quite a bit. Yes, they do have flurries of activity. But once they have what they need and squirrels like to put aside a little extra then they don't, they definitely do not work 40 hours a week. So I really found that by observing animals they have taught me I haven't learned it fully yet. Balance is something that I'm still really working toward. I'm trying to play a bit more and work a bit less as a recovering type A personality, but I'm getting there. And really largely because of watching animals and noticing that they do what they're, what they feel like doing and what they're guided to do. And can you imagine if we could do that, and if we could live in trust that our needs would be met? They also are a bit surprised at how much we value or worry about the opinion of other people, and they're why wouldn't your own opinion be more important than that of others?" And so they That's it. Those are a couple of the things that they've shown me that they just don't really get about us. And then just looking at some of the harder lessons that animals have taught me, and we're going to end with that. Recentl- well, last year in May, I lost two of my horses in that, and I lost them only eight days apart. And of course Marissa. And, it just knocked me back into grief. And I j- I would have to say that it hung on for a really long time. I'm really just noticing that I have my energy back now. And grief, as many of because many of you have experienced it for a multitude of reasons and grief can be something that really i- is very difficult. And as I was learning Breaker Dawn, for some reason I, I-- we had to let go of Breaker Dawn. She was the first She was 28, and she decided that she would appreciate some help with compassionate euthanasia. She didn't really have enough teeth left to grind her food properly for the coming winter. She was okay with the grass that year, but every year it was harder and harder to keep weight on her, and she decided at 28 that was long enough. And it was interesting, because she decided the date and everything, and our veterinarian was fantastic. And I actually wound up putting her down on the summer solstice, and then turning around and going down to Omega to present at Omega the first time a couple of years ago. And, And it can be so hard to let them go. And it was hard for me, but also Big Buddy, who was really her life partner. They had a beautiful, loving... i'm gonna call it marriage, because they were very dedicated to each other. They were always together. She was quite a bit older than he was. And and they were just beautiful to, to witness. And both Buddy and I went into a bit of a just a little tailspin with grief when we lost Breaker Dawn. But then the following May, I lost Buddy and Star one after the other, and it was both sudden and unexpected, so that was really a lot harder to manage. And I went down to Omega for a conference this time and really processed a lot of grief. And some of you are aware that I I thought I was really doing well, and then I hit these two raccoons on the way home. And I don't usually hit animals. I ask Reiki to surround my car and let the animals know that I'm coming, and also that if they are done being that animal, that I don't intend to be part of their suicide. And the the raccoons I felt so horrible. It just knocked me right back into grief, and it showed me that I could sing them home. And some of you were here for that podcast last August, I believe it was. And, or you can look it up. And it, it really was wonderful. What I didn't get a chance to talk about was as I was still learning about grief and still learning to process it after that, in September my husband and son and I were here on the island getting our Airbnb ready that's finally going to be ready for people to rent this August as they come for cla- the August classes. We happened upon a great white shark killing a seal, and that was so disturbing and difficult to witness. I didn't know what to do with that. Come on over, Ellie. Come on. And so I I just started... My husband immediately started sending Reiki to the situation, and I started sending Reiki, and I started singing them home, which is what I had learned from the raccoon. But what's so strange, t- a couple of things. As I left the... how disturbing this was I left and I thought to myself, "Why can't sharks eat fish, like everyone else? Why do they have to kill a seal?" And then I was horrified because I realized that I talk in my animal communication class about the importance of recognizing prejudice and judgment and letting it go. And I realized, "Oh my gosh, I'm prejudiced against fish." I identify more with a seal, which is a mammal and a little bit more like me. W- why would it be better for the shark to eat to eat fish than a seal? It's, l- life is life. And so I realized I still had some more to learn about the predator and prey relationship, and I know that the animals in the ocean have been trying to teach me that. I will tell you that when we went back the next day to check on the seal colony, it was really bizarre because they were all out in the ocean waiting for us And like right there, right where we were walking. And so we went and I spoke with the large male, and he just thanked us for our assistance the day before. And I did speak with... And I asked, "Was it a baby seal?" And it was actually the male said, "No, it was a mother defending a baby seal," and that's why it took so long that the shark was having a hard time, 'cause the mother was really fighting the shark. And I did connect with the mother, and she said, "It's all right. I had lived long enough." She let me know she was maybe eight years old, and she said, "I had lived long enough as a seal, but my baby didn't have that chance yet, and he needed that chance." So it was absolutely beautiful. And then the next day we went to check on the colony, and there were probably close to 30 seals in that qu- colony. The large gray seals, they're... I really like them. They're about 800 pounds, and they're just beautiful. They have a hooked nose just like I do. And on that day, the babies were playing. They were s- they were jumping off the rocks and splashing and flipping and playing. When it was happening, when the seal was being killed, they were m- moaning and mourning, and it was just the eeriest, saddest sound. And I know that they do make a sound a bit like that anyway, but this was beyond their normal sound. And I thought anybody who feels that animals don't have emotions, they should really come and witness this. So they actually let me know that there are gifts in grief, and that where there was great... where there is grief, there was great love. And so focus on the love. The love is the important part, and we are so lucky to have gotten to love. And they also let me know that when the heart cracks open in grief, it's only so that it can be reformed a little larger. So just some incredible messages there. When I went to Africa, though, I said, "I need to learn more about the predator-prey relationship," and the African animals let me know that I was looking at it all wrong. They said, "You're looking at us through a lens of victim consciousness. We are not victims. We are part of a system that we've all agreed to be part of." And they let me know that they respected the predators for the fact that the preda- if there were no predators, that their numbers might get so large that there wouldn't be enough grass to support them, and then they would die of starvation and weakness, and they wouldn't have these healthy communities. And they also let me know how important community is, and that they appreciated the role of the predator in keeping their numbers low. In fact, they told me that if we wanted to, no lion would stand a chance against 1,000 gaz- it was an impala who taught me this, and he said... And he... And they have really beautiful, impressive horns. They're a smaller animal, a antelope, but they have impressive horns. And he said, "No lion would stand a chance if we chose to stand together and go against the lion, but we choose to..." And sometimes we do stand together. We actually got to witness two warthogs gather, just come together and chase off a hyena, which was beautiful. And they let me know that if they work in community, no predator could overcome them, but they choose to be a part of this system because it's what keeps everything healthy. And they also let me know, it's kinda boring just eating grass all day, and when you survive a predator attack, it makes you feel so lucky to be able to be boring and eating grass with the animals in your community. They let me know that it was something that they agreed to and something that, just added to their appreciation of life. One of the questions I invite you to ask yourself, and that I asked myself, is I thought, "Where am I living in victim consciousness?" And I realized that there are a lot of places I don't live in victim consciousness, where I'm fully, realized or actualized and I have my opinions and I, I live in, in, in a lovely synergy. But there are some places in my life, like when I look at governments, and I feel like I'm a victim because I'm like what can I do?" And if I look at systems that aren't working or that are broken, or sometimes with my health, I think what can I do?" And they let me know that you're looking through a lens of victim consciousness. Ask yourself, "Where do I live that way? Where do I feel that I'm a victim and that I'm not in charge or in power? And what could I... What would be different if I decided to step out of victim consciousness?" And so even, for instance, looking at politics and looking at the things that happen in the world, I'm very conscious now that I'm not a victim, that I can be curious, I can observe them, and I can decide, is there something I can do about this, yes or no? If there's not, I move on. If there is, then I do my best to go ahead and do it. The other thing that the African animals invited me to ask all of you is, who are my community? Who are the people and the animals who matter to me, and the land that matters to me? And for instance, I know the Reiki From The Farm community. I don't know what I would do or where I would be without all of your support, and I just love working with each and every one of you. I love witnessing your growth. I love the time that we get to spend together, whatever it is, whatever we're doing, whether we're doing a Reiki share or a class together, or just getting to see each other at a retreat. But think too about the just different family and who are your community, and just take a moment in appreciation for that, because the animals have shown me that community is the most important thing And then the animals asked us, asked me, there's three other things that they asked me to ask you, and to ask this as a question. The first thing is, when we asked what Donna says she loves this community. I love it too, Donna Sorry for those watching on YouTube, my dogs just hit my camera as they ran out. One of the things that they wanted me to ask you, when we When I asked them, "What must you think of us?" When we were creating an- the animal Reiki course, we asked, "What must you think of us?" We were very surprised when the animals said, "You're beautiful, and if only you could realize that, you would create your life from a place of beauty. But when you don't believe that, when you believe yourselves to be destructive, that is what you create your life from." And they wanted me to ask you, who first told you were not beautiful? Can you think about that? Who told you that? And can you be absolutely certain that they were correct? They also told me that they found it interesting how many of us are afraid of death And they wanted me to ask you when did you become afraid of death? And they wanted to let us know that death is just another part of life, and it can be awful and uncomfortable, but it is really nothing to fear. And they wanted me to ask you, what would my life be like if I lived so fully that I didn't have to fear dying or death? And then finally, they wanted me to ask you about trust. They wanted me to ask you that or let you know that they live in trust that all of their needs will be met every single day. And they wanted me to ask you, can you imagine what your life would look like if you were able to live in that degree of trust? Now, friends, we're at our time tonight, but I am going to continue with a brief meditation for anyone who wishes to join And so I just invite you now to take a deep breath and close your eyes Placing your hands over your heart and just allowing Reiki or the light of divine love to fill the space around You may wish to invite the divine animals of the divine animal kingdom to form a circle around us now. You don't need to know these divine animals in order to request that And we just invite any limiting beliefs, any injuries to our heart to let go now And we allow our hearts to align with the heartbeat of the earth and the heartbeat of creation And then we allow our awareness to expand and all brace to leave our bodies We tap into the oneness and we're fully present in this moment and time. We're balanced and we're in a place of equanimity We take a moment to think of the animals that we have known and loved and those that we still know and love And we just send this enormous wave of appreciation out to each and every one of them And we take a moment to consider how our lives changed because of those interactions with the animals And what our life might be like if we could surrender fully and trust that all of our needs would be met each day And just notice what comes up when you consider this Is this possible? Can you release the brace? Can you release victim consciousness? Can you be present with and appreciate your community? And we just allow the Reiki energy to lift any grief or any injuries from any moment in our history, our life's history Any layers that cover the beauty of who we are. We take a moment now to remember That as the animals tell us, you're beautiful And as you recognize, realize your beauty, you will create your life from a place of beauty Take a moment now to appreciate your own beauty and the way it's been reflected in the eyes of the many animals that have graced your path, both domestic and wild, known and unknown Whenever you feel ready, you can come back into the room, taking a deep breath, bringing your attention to your eyes, slowly opening your eyes and coming back I'd like to take a moment to just thank each and every one of you for being with me tonight, both those who are here in real time and those who listen on the podcast afterward. We appreciate you. We're so happy you're part of our community, and thank you for the beautiful light that you're sharing on the Earth today. The Earth is different because of you and because you're in it. Namaste from m- the animals and from myself. Namaste