Amongst the many things our

pets are to us, the idea of them

being our teachers may not

immediately come to mind.

The time we share together can

be much deeper and more pro-

found than the concept of a

family pet and ―owner‖ relation-

ship. They become members of

our family and our mutual love

grows deeper with time. As

mirrors to our souls, animals

provide valuable insight to les-

sons in our everyday life. The

longer we have a pet, the

stronger the energetic bond

becomes. Profound and mean-

ingful lessons become available

to us.

Animals are sentient beings.

The aura, or energy field, of an

animal is generally much bigger

than that of a human, making

them energetically more sensi-

tive to what‘s going on around

them. It is because of this sen-

sitivity and their telepathic style

of communication that is seems

at times our animals are read-

ing our minds. In essence they

are feeling our emotions and

―seeing‖ what‘s on our minds.

If we are feeling fearful or anx-

ious, you may notice that your

four-legged companion also

seems fearful or anxious. When

we are feeling at peace within

our personal life, they too, seem

to be calmer. As animals are

free of a human condition

known as ego, they can have a

clear understanding of our feel-

ings and thoughts. As mirrors

to our souls, they become inti-

mate teachers for us, providing

us with life lessons for our spiri-

tual progress.

Reiki is the perfect instrument

to provide clear communication

to our pets. Anyone attuned to

Reiki is a transformative bea-

con of healing energy and all

who come into their energy field

are positively affected by them.

The gentle, yet powerful energy

of Reiki is continuously flowing

and can become even more

powerful with intention. Most

animals immediately enjoy

Reiki, although some may be a

little more apprehensive about

this new energy in their aura.

As our pets become more ac-

customed to Reiki, you will find

they become quite comfortable

with the concept of Universal

Life Force Energy flowing to

them from their companion.

As our pets grow older, health

issues can begin to surface and

we are faced with many critical

decisions for our pets. Unless

(continued on page 3)

Reiki as an Instrument of Transition for Animals

Kathleen Prasad Welcomes the Animal Reiki Alliance It is with great pleasure, that I

welcome the launch of the Ani-

mal Reiki Alliance (ARA) in

Maryland. I had the opportunity

to meet Kathleen Lester, Ex-

ecutive Director, ARA, when she

attended my Shinpiden & Ani-

mal Reiki Teacher Training in

California. I appreciate her

dedication and passion in cre-

ating this professional associa-

tion to advance education,

knowledge and community in

the field of Animal Reiki.

As an Animal Reiki Practitioner

and Teacher, I envision a world

in which energy healing is a

common tool that can be used

to support the health and well-

being of all animals. The ARA

supports that vision through

educating animal practitioners

and the public about the bene-

fits of energy healing, bringing

together and supporting alter-

native healing practitioners in

the Maryland area and giving

back to the community. In addi-

tion, all members follow the

highest standards in working

with animals, abiding by the

Animal Reiki Practitioner Code

of Ethics.

I applaud Kathleen and all ARA

members , as they work to-

gether to create a better world

for our animal companions.

Kathleen Prasad is an Animal

Reiki Teacher, Founder and

Director of Animal Reiki Source

and President of the Shelter

Animal Reiki Association. She is

also the co-author of The Ani-

mal Reiki Handbook and Ani-

mal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal

the Animals in Your Life, and

has written many educational

articles on animals and Reiki

for holistic publications around

the world.

"All beings tremble be-fore violence. All fear death. All love life." -

Buddha

Inside this issue:

About the Animal Reiki Alliance 2

Upcoming Events 2

Animal Reiki Trainings in 2011 2

ARA Members in the Community 3

Introduction to Alternative Healing

for Animals—A Success!

3

Animal Reiki Alliance Mission &

Goals

4

Maintaining Balance in the Winter

for you and Your Pet

4

Animal Reiki Alliance News

Volume 1, Issue I January 2011

By Tracy Houchins

Welcome to our inaugural news-

letter, we are very excited to

launch the Animal Reiki Alli-

ance. We are a group of Reiki

Practitioners, Teachers and

other energy healers who‘s

passion is to work with animals

and offer them non-invasive

options to heal the mind, body

and spirit. We promote Reiki

and all forms of energy healing,

including: acupuncture, acu-

pressure, sound healing, color

therapy, reconnective healing,

crystal therapy, massage, aro-

matherapy, chakra energy bal-

ancing, healing touch, Telling-

ton Touch, among others.

We are dedicated to bringing

the concept of energy healing to

veterinary practice and to pet

owners, to increase the healing

options for animals and suc-

cessful recovery from trauma,

injury and illness. We as hu-

mans are accustomed to get-

ting massages, acupuncture

and Reiki for ourselves, the

concept that these therapies

may also help our pets is now

starting to catch on. We care-

fully screen all potential practi-

tioner members, and will only

accept those practitioners who

adhere to the highest standards

in working with animals.

We also encourage everyone to

learn Reiki. It is energy that is

within us and we can all learn

how we can heal ourselves and

help support our own pets‘

body, mind and spirit. We aim

to offer Reiki trainings through

our certified trainers and to

help new practitioners begin

their journey with high quality

tools to begin their practice.

May your journey be filled with

love and light.

Kathleen Lester

Executive Director

Animal Reiki Level II

Reiki Level II students receive

their second attunement.

Saturday, April 9 & 16, 2011

1pm to 5pm (each day)

breathe books, Baltimore, MD

Saturday, June 4 & 11, 2011

9am to 1pm (each day)

Downtown Baltimore

Sunday, October 9, 2011

9am to 6pm

Downtown Baltimore

Reiki is for Everyone

Animal Reiki Level I

Reiki Level I students receive

their first attunement.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

11am to 7pm

breathe books, Baltimore, MD

Saturday, May 7 & 14, 2011

9am to 1pm (each day)

Downtown Baltimore

Sunday, Sept. 11 & 18, 2011

9am to 1pm (each day)

Downtown Baltimore

Animal Reiki Level III

Reiki Level III students receive

their third attunement.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

11am to 7pm

breathe books, Baltimore, MD

Registration

For breathe books events:

410.235.7323

oracle@breathebooks.com

For downtown Baltimore events:

443.986.1516

About the Animal Reiki Alliance

Animal Reiki Trainings in 2011

Sunday, January 30, 2011

3pm to 4pm

Introduction to Animal Reiki

Kathleen Lester & Tracy

Houchins

Other Events

Animal Reiki Alliance Meeting

March 26, 2011

2pm to 4pm

Location TBA (Baltimore, MD)

Look for other upcoming

events, including:

Alternative Healing for

Animals

Reiki & Acupuncture—

Integrating Alternative

Therapies

Animal Nutrition—Healing

from the Inside Out

Upcoming Events The following events are spon-

sored by the Animal Reiki Alli-

ance and are part of our educa-

tional series of workshops and

highlighting our members .

World of Pets Expo

Saturday, January 29, 2011

5pm to 6pm

Introduction to Vibrational Heal-

ing for Animals

Kathleen Lester, Shari Sternber-

ger & Donna West

“Our task must be to

free ourselves...by

widening our circle of

compassion to

embrace all living

creatures and the

whole of nature and

its beauty.”

- Albert Einstein

Page 2 Animal Reiki Alliance News

Althea

My guide and teacher, her lessons

have shown me my true path.

Kathleen Lester of Zubhaa, LLC

has been volunteering at the

Baltimore Animal Rescue &

Care Shelter (BARCS) since July

2010. Kathleen has volun-

teered over 50 hours at BARCS

and has offered Reiki to over

25 canine residents (many sev-

eral times). Reiki has reduced

anxiety and helped many dogs

relax in the shelter environment

and many of the dogs have

been adopted into their forever

homes.

ARA member Tracy Houchins,

Reiki Master Teacher & Practi-

tioner, joined Kathleen at

BARCS and worked with Dra-

cena and Little Mama, both of

whom have been adopted.

Working with shelter animals is

a great way to practice Reiki

with animals. Animals are such

wonderful teachers, and guides,

who greet us with open hearts.

BARCS is a non-profit animal

shelter dedicated to serving the

people and animals of Balti-

more. There are approximately

355,000 pets in the city of Bal-

timore. BARCS receives an esti-

mated 11,000 unwanted,

abused, or stray animals each

year, in addition to managing

32,000 animal welfare enforce-

ment cases. While many people

think of the shelter as just a

place for dogs and cats, BARCS

helps all types of animals.

You can help to support BARCS

by volunteering or by making a

donation.

www.baltimoreanimalshelter.org

If you are interested in joining

Kathleen at BARCS to facilitate

Reiki with shelter animals,

please contact her at kles-

ter@zubhaa.com.

would be ideal. If not every day

of their youthful life, Reiki of-

fered during the end of life proc-

ess on a daily basis is most

beneficial to their peaceful and

complete transition. By clearing

their energy fields and chakras,

your animal companion‗s lumi-

nous body is able to lift from

their physical body after they

take their last breath. The

work that you‘ve done together

up to this point will release the

our family pet has left us sud-

denly by an unnatural means,

eventually we will be presented

with the biggest lesson of all -

the lesson of letting go.

Whether by natural means or

the support of a licensed veteri-

narian by euthanasia, the end

of life process for our beloved

animal companions can be

gentle and peaceful with the

assistance of Reiki. Of course a

life-long regimen of daily Reiki

denser, heavier (grounding)

energies, allowing the animal

to completely and easily slip

out of the physical container

that holds the essence of who

they truly are – pure love.

Tracy Houchins is an ICRT Li-

censed Reiki Master Teacher

and Owner of Sacred Healing

Hands Wellness Studio in Mar-

riottsville, MD.

www.SacredHealingHands.com

ARA Members in the Community

Reiki as an Instrument of Transition for Animals (cont..)

BARCS—Little Mama—adopted!

Practitioner & Teacher; Barbara

Kandel, Animal Acupuncturist;

and Terri Diener, Animal Com-

municator.

The workshop covered integra-

tive Traditional Chinese Veteri-

nary Medicine (TCVM), including

the use of Chinese herbs, acu-

pressure, acupuncture and

massage in treating animals; a

discussion and demonstration

or animal acupuncture and its

healing capabilities; a discus-

sion of Animal Reiki as a heal-

ing tool for animals; and animal

communication as a tool to

enhance our relationship with

our animals and partner with

them in the decisions we make

about our pet‘s health.

If you have questions or would like a

copy of the presentation, contact

Kathleen Lester: klester@zubhaa.com.

Introduction to Alternative Healing for Animals Workshop— A Success On December 14, 2010, the

Animal Reiki Alliance sponsored

its first workshop—‖Introduction

to Alternative Healing for Ani-

mals‖. The workshop was held

at breathe books and was at-

tended by 15 participants. Our

panelists included:

Dr. Johnny Slaughter, DVM,

‗One Medicine‘ Veterinary Prac-

titioner; Kathleen Lester, Reiki

“Life is as dear to

a mute creature as

it is to man. Just as

one wants happiness

and fears pain, just

as one wants to live

and not die, so do

other creatures.”

-His Holiness, The

Dalai Lama

Page 3

Phone: 443.986.1516

E-mail: klester@animalreikialliance.com

Follow us on the web, Facebook and Twitter

Our Mission:

The Animal Reiki Alliance promotes the field of energy

healing with animals to the animal services field,

treating all animals with compassion and kindness.

Our Goals:

To educate animal health practitioners regarding

the benefits of Reiki and other energy healing

practices.

To develop and maintain a Directory of Animal

Reiki and Energy Healing Practitioners that is rec-

ognized by veterinarians and other animal health

care practitioners.

To support Energy Healing Practitioners through

networking, energy healing shares, etc.

To give back to the community through our heal-

ing gifts.

be present in the moment. Find

a quiet place in your home ,

invite your pet into the space

and begin to meditate—you will

find your animal companion will

benefit too.

Exercise

Exercise is very important all

year round for us and our ani-

mal companions. As the tem-

peratures drop and we head

indoors for warmth and rest, we

often forget to continue to exer-

cise our pets or we cut back on

their exercise. For cats, bun-

nies, and other indoor animals,

it is important to continue their

regular exercise; perhaps find-

ing ways to incorporate them

into your increased indoor ac-

tivities. For animals that are

indoor/outdoor or outdoor ani-

mals, It is important to bundle

up and continue to regularly

Winter is our darkest and cold-

est season, a time for all living

creatures to reset ourselves

and prepare for spring. Here are

some things to remember for

you and your animal compan-

ions during the winter months.

Keep Warm & Rejuvenate

During the winter months it is

important for you and your ani-

mal companions to keep warm

and take the time to relax. Be

sure to layer your clothing for

maximum warmth and wear a

scarf around your neck, even

indoors to help keep warm. For

animals with a thin coat, be

sure to outfit them with blan-

kets and sweaters before going

outdoors.

To relax, consider finding the

time for you and your compan-

ion to meditate together. Medi-

tation is wonderful practice that

helps you quiet your mind and

exercise our animals. Lack of

exercise results in weight gain,

which can cause many other

health issues that can be

avoided. For dogs walked out-

doors, be sure to address their

pads if they become cracked—

Bag Balm is a great moisturizer.

Food & Water

Winter is a dry season and we

and our animals need to en-

sure proper hydration. Often in

winter, we forget to drink lots of

water, keeping us hydrated and

healthy. Water is best at room

temperature or warm during the

winter months for both you and

your animal companions as it

helps to keep us warm from the

inside.

All living creatures heal from

the inside out and it is impor-

tant that we feed ourselves and

Maintaining Balance in Winter for You and Your Pet

Treating all animals with compassion and kindness.

our animals the best food, free of

hormones, and chemicals, includ-

ing a diet of free-range meat,

organic fruits, vegetables, and

grains (for your pets too). The

food we eat has the potential to

heal us. Eating warm foods and

serving warm foods to your ani-

mals helps keep us all warm and

cozy during the winter.

Love & Friendship

Always remember lots of hugs

and pets during the winter, re-

membering the love we all share.