How does distant healing work?  This is a question I am asked frequently.  The short answer is that I can connect with an animal or person telepathically on an energy level.  Once that connection is established, I can receive information from them and conversely, send Reiki to them.  It's a little like the feeling you get when you feel someone is staring at you and you turn and look and there they are.  You sensed a connection before your physical eyes detected their presence.  Or you think about someone you haven't heard from in ages and a few minutes later, the phone rings and it's them.  We all have this ability to connect on an energy level with other beings.   With practice and intent it can be developed to a higher level.  Also I have been attuned to a special Reiki symbol which instantly connects me to the person or animal. 

The long answer is that we are all just a collection of energies, flying in close formation.  Our energies are connected to the energies of all things.  William Tiller, a physicist at Stanford University, has shown that thoughts can affect electronic instruments. (Conscious Acts of Creation; the emergence of a new physics).  Scientists have proven that thoughts focused on another person can actually create feelings of relaxation or anxiety that are measurable by charting electrical changes in the skin.  We often do not realize how powerful our thoughts are and what effect they have on other people and other life forms.  Since our energy is continuous and connected to everything, we are constantly making contact with others whether we realize it or not.

Quantum physics has proven that making a change in one particle will cause an instantaneous and equivalent change in a connected particle, no matter how far away it is.  It appears that distance is no barrier to the connectedness of their energy.  Scientists have actually split an atom, sending two of its particles traveling at the speed of light, in different directions.  Once the particles had gone a considerable distance, 1 passed thru a powerful magnetic field, changing its direction of travel.  At the same instant, the sister particle changed direction too and at exactly the same angle.  Despite the separation of distance, the 2 particles remain connected on some level.  Since we all originate from the same source energy, we are all connected on some level.  This is why distance is irrelevant in energy healing. 

I don't know if that helps you understand distant healing or not.  But I do know that I still use this computer, even though I don't understand how it works.  I still drive my car, although I don't have a clue about engines.  And I have done healings on people and animals without telling them the day or exact time I would be channeling the Reiki, only to find out that they felt better after I did the session.  See "Max" on my Reiki Stories page.

What if I don't feel anything during a session and what can I expect to feel afterwards?  Some people report sensations of heat or coolness during a Reiki session.  Some experience various emotions or feel their stomachs gurgle and growl.  And some feel tingling or rippling sensations.  Other people see colors or pictures.  All of those things and more are possible during a Reiki session.  However, many people feel nothing or simply feel a state of deep relaxation.  Whatever you feel, you can rest assured that you are receiving the Reiki.  A better way to think of it is to pay attention to how you feel in the days following a session.  Are you less stressed?  Happier?  Less confrontational?  More communicative?  Less fearful or more confidant?  Are physical issues causing you less pain or discomfort?  The effects of Reiki are not always apparent immediately after a session.  Reiki's benefits are long lasting.  Many people report feeling like a million bucks after a session.  Or as if a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders.  They experience a peaceful, joyful calm.

It is also possible to experience what is called a "healing crisis" after a Reiki session.  Sometimes when the body releases a lot of negative energy, you will feel tired or down for a day or two following a Reiki treatment.  This is because your body and mind are processing a lot of information and energy shifts.   Sometimes this takes time because emotional issues may be brought up to the conscious mind that were repressed.  Dealing with everything that transpired during a session is hard work.  However, once it's over, you will feel great.

Can we stop going to the vet now that my animal is receiving Reiki?  Reiki is not a replacement for veterinary care and it is not recommended that you cease regular veterinary visits.  Reiki is complimentary to all conventional and holistic care systems.  It can speed healing, manage acute and chronic pain, provide comfort in palliative care, improve sleep and relieve stress.  Therefore it is an extremely useful addition to regular veterinary care.

How often should my animal or I receive a Reiki treatment?  That will depend on the original reason for requesting Reiki.  Just as if you had pneumonia, for example, and were prescribed antibiotics, you wouldn't expect to be cured after taking one pill, rather you would have to finish a ten day or two week course of antibiotics.  With Reiki sometimes a series of treatments is required.  In acute cases, daily treatments for five days may be called for.  In a long term, chronic situation, four or five treatments spaced one week apart would probably be best.  This is a very individual thing and is best decided case by case on an as needed basis.

What does it mean "Reiki always goes for the person or animal's Highest Good?"  The Highest Good is what is best for a being in the long term.  Keep in mind that our soul's have a path that we decided on before we incarnated in this body.  Reiki will help with that life's path completion.  For example, let's say your dog has cancer.  As a human being, it is very easy to get caught up in keeping the dog alive at all costs.  In our opinion, the Highest Good, would equate with a cure of the cancer and restoration of complete health.  However, we must remember a couple of things.  First of all, it may be that the dog has finished whatever tasks or lessons he or she came in to do this lifetime and now it is time for them to leave their body and go on to other things on the Other Side.  If so, that is a hard pill for us, as humans, to swallow as we sometimes can't imagine life without them.  It is good to remember that their soul will live on and that they are going to a place so beautiful we can't begin to comprehend it.  Secondly, animals do not fear death as humans sometimes do.  They view it as a natural part of life.  In fact, it is a birthing to the Other Side and quite beautiful and sacred.  They can teach us a lot about the death process and Reiki can help all involved to experience it with peace and respect.  So the Highest Good in any scenario may not be what one would first think but in the end, it will be what is best.

Having said that, most often what we hope to transpire, does.  For example, if your dog is grieving over the death of his doggy pal, Reiki will help him release the sadness and feel happy again because it was in the interest of his Highest Good to feel better.  Typically animals will have more energy, be more playful and have better appetites after receiving Reiki.

If Reiki is so powerful, why am I not cured after one treatment?  There could be a couple of reasons for this.  First of all, it may be too much for your psyche to process if Reiki caused such a huge shift in your energy as would be needed to cure you in one session.  The human or animal mind can only handle so much at one time without being overwhelmed.  There may be trapped emotions from past traumas that have been repressed that need to be dealt with before the issue you are conscious of can be worked with.  There is an onion analogy that many healers use and it is appropriate here: healing is like peeling an onion, you remove the outermost layer which heals those issues but then find there is more underneath that needs attention.  So this could be the case.

Secondly, the person or animal may feel great after a session but then go back to their old lifestyle and whatever caused the problem in the first place, reoccurs.  For example, perhaps your job is very stressful, which causes you to have headaches, neck and back pain.  You have to deal with a confrontational, angry, boss and co-workers who feel free to dump all their problems on your lap daily.  Having a Reiki treatment can raise the vibration of your energy to a higher level where you can forget the stress of work and feel very peaceful and full of happiness.  Then you go back to work and the cycle will repeat if you allow your energy level to drop to the lower vibrations of those around you.  This is very easy to do and takes a conscious effort not to do.  After all we are human.  Thus, periodic Reiki treatments are helpful in a situation like this.  Animals too, take on a lot of negative energy, especially if they do therapy dog work or are actively competing.  Some are better than others at letting these stresses go, but others are energy sponges and happily take on people's negative emotions or even physical ills.  For these sensitive beings, Reiki can revitalize and restore their inner peace.