The workshops were held at Lily’s Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary, which is dedicated to the care and rescue of large senior dogs. It’s a special place located amid the picturesque rolling hills of Sonoma County in California.

Based in Petaluma, this unique Senior Dog Sanctuary was founded by executive director Alice Mayn in memory of Lily, a 14-year-old golden retriever she had fostered for only four months. It’s Lily’s Legacy’s mission to provide safe and loving homes for large breed senior dogs who have been displaced from their homes and/or abandoned for any reason, until they are adopted or to remain at the sanctuary until they pass on.

Throughout the first day of the Animal Reiki 1 workshop, a large male Canadian Goose sat closeby to our group. The longer he sat near us, the more connected I felt with him. I sensed he was there because he enjoyed sharing Reiki with us.

The Canadian Goose made such a big impression on me, I wrote a Haiku about our encounter.

Rebecca enthusiastically responded, “I know Lily’s Legacy! That’s where my father, Richard, adopted his last dog from before he passed on.”

Cruz

Sadly, my Uncle Richard died a few short months after adopting Cruz. My three cousins knew they couldn’t give Cruz the life he deserved. With a heavy heart, they returned Cruz to Lily’s Legacy. Rebecca said it was a hard decision, but they knew it was best for Cruz.

Lily’s Legacy was supportive and kind about taking Cruz back, which came as no surprise. Thankfully, Cruz was quickly adopted into his forever home with a loving couple who adored him.

But the story didn’t end there and in many ways gets more intertwined.

When it was time to find Richard’s final resting place, my cousins decided the best place to scatter his cremains was among dogs. He was a huge dog lover and happiest when he was with his dog.

Unbeknownst to me, my cousins decided Lily’s Legacy was the right place to scatter Richard’s ashes. With permission, they spread his ashes throughout the property: in the pond and in the fields so Richard would rest eternally with the dogs.

As Rebecca relayed Richard’s and Cruz’s story to me, I got goosebumps and chills. I then realized what Lily communicated to me on that cold rainy day in May. Lily wanted me to know my Uncle was with her and “hanging out” at the Sanctuary.

It also became clear that the Canadian Goose was a sign from my Uncle to let me know that he was happy with his Eternal Resting place and was resting peacefully at Lily’s Legacy. 

A few weeks after my conversation with Rebecca, I decided to visit Lily’s Legacy’s Facebook page. To my surprise, there was a picture of Cruz and a post that said he died on Father’s Day.

This is what Lily’s Legacy wrote about Cruz;

“Dear Team Lily… Jason and Suzanne adopted CRUZ from Lily’s after this poor dog lost two owners. No one expects the owner to go first. Cruz was the FIRST dog to set paw on Lily’s new permanent home. They gave him the most wonderful life a dog could imagine. Sadly, CRUZ lost his battle with pancreatitis. Run free CRUZ.. you will be missed.”

Now Cruz and my Uncle Richard are reunited across the Rainbow Bridge. It’s my belief the two of them are hanging out at Lily’s Legacy together, helping senior dogs in needs.

My Uncle Richard and Cruz

The post A Magical Dog Tail In the Cycle of Life appeared first on Cathy Malkin -- Animal Muse Communication and Reiki.

This holiday season give your animals the gift of love, peace, and joy by opening your heart chakra, which is where Animal Communication and Reiki originate.

The heart chakra* is the pathway that connects you with your true spiritual nature and all living beings in the web of life. It’s through the heart, located in the middle of your chest that the physical and spiritual merge and connect us with our intuitive self, nature, and animals instead of in your logic and rational mind.

The fourth chakra, called Anahata is the center of love, empathy, and compassion. When you are in your heart-center, you transmit calm, loving and peaceful energy. Plus you are more grounded and centered because you are in the Universal life energy flow of love that supports and nurtures all living beings.

Animals respond positively when humans come from their heart center, not in our thinking mind. Unfortunately, logic and thoughts are valued over heart energy. When we are up in our heads, it disconnects us from our true spiritual nature, others, specifically our animal families. 

Your pets feel the energy you’re experiencing at any given moment. It’s like casting a stone in a pond that ripples outward because all our thoughts and feelings go off on energetic waves to those around us.

Both people and animals naturally absorb these energies. That’s why animals instinctually move away from disturbing energies like stress, anger, anxiety, and fear whenever possible because this type of energy tells them to go into fight or flight mode to avoid danger.

When you radiate love and compassion, you become a magnet to animals.

Animal Reiki pioneer, Kathleen Prasad from the Animal Reiki Source created this excellent animated video that clearly illustrates how animals perceive and respond when we connect with our heart chakra and the spiritual life force energy known as Reiki.

Kathleen does a masterful job showing how animals, whether they are domestic, wild, farm, or caged respond to the calm and loving energy of love and Reiki.

An excellent way to access your heart chakra is by practicing Animal Communication and Reiki which are heart-centered and connects us to animals on a deep Spiritual level. When you communicate telepathically and become Reiki with animals, you naturally transmit peaceful and loving energy that all animals need and desire.

Living a heartfelt life is a gift that keeps on giving. Just breathe through your heart center, feel all the love you have for your animal family, and you will naturally radiate love, peace, and compassion.

*Chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk. Each chakra is a swirling vortex of power which represent specific frequencies and colors. There are seven wheels of spiritual power throughout human and animals’ bodies which connect us to the web of life and the Universal life energy force also known as Reiki. The fourth chakra is located in the center of the chest.

The post The Gift of Sharing Your Heart with Animals appeared first on Cathy Malkin -- Animal Muse Communication and Reiki.