If you ask your pets what the best gift you can give them is, they will more than likely tell you that they want your undivided attention and love in a calm, peaceful way.

Pets know that if you create a healing space with them using meditation, it will have many positive benefits like stress reduction, relaxation, feeling safe and loved, happiness, and strengthening your heart connection and bond.

Therefore, cultivating a daily meditation practice with your animal family is a precious gift that allows them to flourish in all aspects of their lives—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually- which ultimately keeps them healthier and happier.

The ancient art of meditation can be layered with different expectations and be practiced in various ways. However, animals perceive mediation in straightforward terms. For them, it’s all about being in the present moment. Animals live in the moment and are drawn to peaceful, calm, and open-hearted energy. Through animal-led meditation, we can learn to live in the moment, which is where they live.

This is why animals, especially our pets, are incredible examples of being present and grounded. It’s time for us to shift from human doings to human beings with our pets’ help and guidance.

Here are 7 reasons why you should start a daily meditation practice with your pets today:

Meditating with Your Pet Builds Trust and Safety
If your pet doesn’t feel safe, then it’s hard for them to trust you. And if your pet doesn’t feel safe or trust you, then they can’t experience your unconditional love. Many times, we don’t recognize when our pets feel unsafe. Therefore, it’s essential to create a safe environment so your pets can feel comfortable expressing themselves in whatever way they feel.
Daily meditation practice is a beautiful way to give your animal companions a sense of stability so they no longer need to come from a place of fear, worry, and insecurity. This is especially true for rescued and abused animals who need their human guardians to create a safe space for them.

Pets Mirror Our Energetic States
Whether you realize it or not, your energy and thoughts influence your and your pet’s health and well-being. Our thoughts are energy that ripples out from our physical bodies into the environment where our pets live. As your feelings of anger, anxiety, and fear reverberate, it can create stress, anxiety, and fear in your pet. The more you meditate with your pets, the more you will be in a calmer and more open-hearted state of being. The more calm, peaceful, and present you are, the less your energy will negatively impact your pets and you!

Animals make great teachers because they mirror our energetic states of being and respond to it, whether it’s loving or unkind. That’s why it’s important we work on being calm, open-hearted, and balanced because it helps everyone feel more relaxed and joyful, which is healing and nurturing.

Meditating With Your Pet Promotes Healing and Overall Wellness
When you meditate together, you can have a profound influence on the health and well-being of your pet. Meditation creates a healing space that can relieve stress, anxiety, fear, and anger. This can be especially helpful for all pets but is an essential healing tool we all possess to help older, ill, dying, and rescued pets.

When my dog Bodhi Bear was riddled with terminal stomach cancer in his last days, I was anxious, scared, and worried. I noticed that my anxiety and fear were adding to Bodhi Bear’s pain and discomfort. When I shifted my focus and awareness to my heart center through meditation, I found that not only did I settle down, but it allowed Bodhi to relax.

Bolsters The Love Hormone Oxytocin
No one can open our hearts better than our animal companions. When we are heart-connected with our pets and feel their unconditional love, oxytocin flows freely. Oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter associated with empathy, trust, and relationship-building, which is crucial for developing a strong, loving bond with your pet.
Daily meditation practice with your pet bolsters loving kindness, compassion, joy, and awe because it increases oxytocin. What could be better?

Develops Mutual Understanding and Deep Listening
Meditation deepens your listening skills and the telepathic connection between you and your pet. Clear communication is the basis of all healthy and balanced relationships. In the silence of meditation, you will learn to listen from your heart center, which builds a spiritual bridge of mutual understanding where your pets can share their thoughts, viewpoints, and heart with you.

A fun and easy way to hear your pet at a heart level is to feel all the unconditional love you have for them. Then visualize radiating your love outward from your heart center like the rays of the sun. Then remain open and receptive to whatever your pet wants to communicate with you in the moment. It’s okay if you don’t receive any messages since the goal is to share your hearts together as one. However, this will open the door for your pet to share their heart with you.

Pets Flourish with a Daily Meditation Practice
A daily routine of spending at least 5 minutes a day (of course, the longer the better) being quietly present while sharing your heart with your pet can go a long way to helping them feel safe, secure, and loved. Pets do exceptionally well when we establish a daily meditation routine. It helps them in all aspects of their life.

Once I recognized that being quietly present with my cats or walking in Nature with my dog was meditating with them, it transformed how I viewed meditation and my relationship with my pets. Every day, I meditate with my cats first thing in the morning. It’s a perfect time for Mona to sit in my lap or Elvis to drape himself across my chest for at least 10 minutes (if it was up to Mona and Elvis, I’d never move!). Our goal is to be quietly present, so we can share our hearts together. Another way I meditate is when I take my puppy, Yogi Bear, on our walking meditation in Nature, where I practice being quietly present, feeling my heart connection with him, and being mindful of our natural surroundings.

Tells Your Pet You Love and Value Them
When you meditate with your pet, it supports and improves your relationship. Our pets give us unconditional love daily and deserve nothing less than our loving presence in return. It also tells your pet that you cherish them.
The more you take the time to meditate with your pet, the more connected you will feel. Doing so will foster spiritual growth, health, wellness, and transformation, benefiting you and your animal family!

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Animals are grateful when we radiate love and are peacefully present. A fun and easy way to access this compassionate healing space is through meditating with animals.

Why? Because it’s how the animals live. Animals teach us to recognize the importance of always living in our heart centers and being present in the moment. When we are in this space, we become grounded, calmly present, and heart magnates to the animals. Animals also reap the benefits meditation brings, like deep relaxation, stress reduction, and overall wellness. Plus, meditation with animals brings about healing and transformation. 

When I first started meditating over thirty years ago, I found myself getting too much in my head and struggled to stay focused on my heart center. In 2008, when I studied Animal Reiki and the Let Animals Lead® method with Kathleen Prasad and became an Animal Reiki Teacher and Practitioner, I discovered  practicing Animal Reiki is essentially meditating with animals for healing and self-discovery just like animal communication..

When I allow animals and Nature to teach and guide me, my  meditation practice becomes more effortless, meaningful, and a whole lot more fun. Meditating with animals gives me more flexibility, creativity and enhances my animal communication and Reiki skills while increasing my inner peace, balance, and compassion.

Another aspect I enjoy about meditating with animals is freeing myself from the notion that I must always sit still with my eyes closed in a quiet room to meditate effectively. The goal of meditation is to bring peaceful heart energy into every moment of our life, not just for a few minutes a day while you “formally meditate.”  

While there are many different meditation methods, here are three easy ways to mediate with animals:

Sitting

Many people find it easier to start a sitting meditation practice with their animal family because it can be less distracting. Whenever I communicate telepathically or share Reiki with an animal, the animal is always in control of how they respond to our meditation practice. It’s always up to the animal because it empowers them, helps them feel safe, and allows us to work in partnership with them. Plus it builds trust and strengthens our relationship. 

It’s important that you let your animal do whatever feels most comfortable to them when you meditate with them. Let go of your expectations of how you want your animal to respond whether they sit next to you or choose to be in a separate room. 

Standing

As you become more relaxed doing sitting meditation with your animals, you may want to venture outside to experience standing meditation. 

This can be done by finding a quiet place in Nature where you can stand and feel your deep connection to Mother Earth and all her Nature spirits. 

As you stand in Nature, breathe deeply and easily. Open up your senses and childlike curiosity. Imagine roots growing out your feet like a wise old tree that will keep you grounded and present. As you continue to breathe from your heart center, located in the center of your chest, gently notice all the plants and wildlife that are around you.. Share a sense of gratitude for the birds, bees, and trees as you allow this loving energy to radiate and shine outward from your heart center. 

Or, you might choose to stand quietly next to a field of horses, cows, sheep, or llamas while softly observing them from a safe distance and being with them in the present moment. 

Sometimes I go out into Nature and stand with my arms spread wide like an eagle soaring and set my intention to be open and receptive to whatever I need in the present moment. As I breathe, I radiate my love and appreciation for Mother Nature and her sentient beings outward from my heart center like the sun. Then I quietly wait to see what surprise awaits, like encountering a butterfly or a bunny hopping nearby. Or I simply listen with an open heart feeling my oneness of all life. 

Walking

My favorite way to meditate is walking with my dog, Yogi Bear. As we walk connected by our leash, we stay quietly present in the moment, embracing our heart connection and observing what’s around us. In these moments, we feel a strong sense of interconnectedness and oneness with Nature. 

During our walking meditation, we stay open to seeing different wildlife and hearing their wisdom. For example, we saw a pair of bald eagles and their chicks during our meditation the other day. One day, we spied  an osprey sitting on her nest feeding her chicks, which hadn’t noticed a couple of days before.

Want to learn more about the power of meditating with animals? My upcoming class, The Art of Meditating with Animals, teaches you about the joy, healing and transformation that comes when you meditate with animals. 

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One thing I learned in 2020 is to be patient, flexible, and above all, trust my intuition.

Of the many challenges I faced last year, the worst one was suddenly losing my dog, Bodhi Bear, to stomach cancer in early December 2020. Saying goodbye to my best friend and constant companion’s physical presence shattered my heart into a million pieces. 

Being a great friend and dog, Bodhi Bear made sure I got through my move from California to Connecticut before showing signs of his grave illness. For so many reasons, I’ll forever be grateful to Bodhi for all that he gave me in his short seven and a half years with me. 

Bodhi Bear and me

I decided years ago that I never wanted to walk alone and needed a Keeshond by my side to feel whole. So when I let Bodhi go because he was too ill to eat, I knew in my heart that I would have to find another dog. 

Right after Bodhi transitioned, I immediately began searching for my Keeshond puppy and quickly located one. However, in hindsight, I realized that I was not emotionally ready to raise a puppy. 

At the same time, I asked my two twenty-year-old cats, Mona and Elvis, how they felt about a puppy. Elvis said he was on board with raising a puppy as long as the puppy didn’t chase him. Elvis has always liked dogs and was good friends with Kobe Bear and Bodhi Bear. 

On the other hand, Mona has never been a fan of dogs. Mona tolerated Bodhi, but he would literally piss her off at times as he made Mona feel unsafe. Finally, Mona made it clear that she’s perfectly content living without a dog, especially a puppy.

After Bodhi passed, I noticed a considerable change in my cats. Mona, who is deaf, was consistently using her cat box and confidently galloping around the house in a way I hadn’t seen in years. Elvis was also feeling more at ease. Both cats were more playful and relaxed. Plus, the three of us had plenty of bonding time without Bodhi.

As we waited for the puppy to arrive, my fuzzy nephew, Fozzie Bear, came for a visit. Fozzie’s presence stressed and upset Mona more than I realized. She communicated physically in her body language and telepathically that she was not happy with Fozzie’s presence. After Fozzie chased Elvis, Mona reiterated her intense dislike by peeing in my bed.

Mona’s peeing was a wake-up call. I realized I needed to listen to her with an open heart and let go of my desire to get a puppy for the time being. When I truly heard and understood my cats’ concerns, I realized it was not the right time to bring a puppy into our family.

While it was hard letting the puppy go, I was okay with waiting for Mona and Elvis’s sake. It’s the least I can do since she and Elvis have been my loyal family members and cherished companions for 20 years. And the last thing I want to do is piss Mona off again! 

My fuzzy nephew, Fozzie Bear

During the cold, blustery, snowy months of my first New England winter in 30 years, I was grateful I didn’t have to housebreak a puppy. Instead, I’m glad I listened to Mona and Elvis, who were right to make me wait.

Around March 1st, I intuitively got the message that it was time to start looking for my puppy again. Synchronistically, I also felt Mona and Elvis were in a good place to receive a dog into our family. 

At about the same time, I told my sister that I felt my puppy had been born, and I would start looking for him. I did find a boy Keeshond, but I didn’t feel a heart connection with him.

As I continued to look, I kept reminding myself that I needed to trust my intuition to find my perfect bundle of puff.

As I searched, I reached out to my dear friend, Donna, a Keeshonden breeder. She introduced me to the Keeshond breed almost thirty years ago. I rescued my first two, Keeshonden, KC, and Kobe Bear, from Donna. It’s because of Donna, that I fell in love with this special dog breed.

So naturally, I reached out to Donna when I received the inner “call” to start looking for my new fuzzy friend. 

Shortly after I contacted Donna, she sent me an email saying that a 3-year-old male Keeshond show dog, Corey, was looking for a home. She urged me to reach out to his breeder to find out more. I had to sit with the idea of bringing an unsocialized, unneutered, untrained show dog into my family for a while before I called the breeder. 

I decided to take the same advice I give my clients, which is, “you never know.” Sometimes you have to go left to get it right. So I called the breeder, even though I knew in my heart that the dog wouldn’t be a good fit for my family.

About 20 minutes into the conversation, the breeder let me know that she recently had a litter of puppies.

I immediately said, “What I really want is a boy puppy. I have many plans for my new friend as he has big paws to fill.”

The breeder listened but didn’t discuss the puppies any further since the call was about Corey.  After our conversation, I knew Corey was not my dog.

Afterward, I couldn’t help but wonder about the litter of puppies.

So I reached out to Donna and asked her if she knew about the litter of puppies. Donna said yes. Unbeknownst to me, Donna proceeded to tell the breeder, whom she knew well, that I would make a wonderful Keesie mom and she would be lucky to give me a puppy.

Yogi Bear at 3 weeks

Later that day, I received a message from Donna saying, “Well, what did you decide?”

I responded, “Decide what?”

Donna replied, “Check your email.”

In my inbox was an email from the breeder offering me a boy puppy from the litter! I couldn’t have asked for more! Serendipitously, the breeder has three cats who helped raise the puppies.

At the time, the puppies were only 3 weeks old. When the breeder sent me pictures of the three boys, I took one look at the puppy wearing the yellow collar, and I knew he was the puppy I had been searching for.

Over the next few weeks, I watched “Yellow” grow up virtually through Facebook posts, photos, videos, and even a few Zoom sessions. The more time I spent with him, the more I knew he’s my puppy. “Yellow” is good-natured, sweet, and very smart. 

Mona preparing for the puppy’s arrival

I flew to Detroit to pick up Yogi Bear on May 4th. Yogi Bear was a rock star on the flight home.

So far, the cats are peacefully co-existing with Yogi Bear. Yogi is everything I could ever want in a puppy and more. 

My heart is full of joy having Yogi Bear in my life. And so far, Mona and Elvis are peacefully co-existing with Yogi Bear. In time, I know they will embrace him.

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One of my life’s purposes is to help animals in whatever way I can, whether it’s empowering them using animal communication, sharing Reiki, or meditating with them. I also gain tremendous joy raising money for different animal rescue and welfare organizations since they usually run entirely on donations. These life-saving organizations need ongoing financial support to feed, house, rehabilitate, give medical care and re-home animals in need.

Service work is an integral part of who I am, and that’s why I’m offering a couple of different fundraisers this month to help animals that I hope you will support. 

On April 19th, I’m offering Meditating with Horses Fundraiser. This webinar will benefit Rising Starr Horse Rescue in Wilton, Connecticut, which saves, rehabilitates, retrains, and re-homes abandoned, neglected, or abused horses.

On April, 30. I’m excited to team up with the Shelter Animal Reiki Association’s Director, Kelly McDermott-Burns, for Meditating with Farm Animals. This webinar will benefit the animals at The Little Red Barn Farm Sanctuary in Turnbridge, Vermont. 

We will create a powerful meditation circle during each fundraiser to offer peace and compassion to horses and farm animals. You experience a heart-opening meditation using the Reiki-based Let Animals Lead® Method that you can share with the animals in your life.

During each webinar, you will learn how meditating with horses and farm animals can

• Calm your mind and body
• Enhance your heart connection with animals
• Strengthen your relationship with animals 
• Create a peaceful and compassionate space
• Heal and transform the lives of animals and you!

I believe it’s essential to give our loving and positive energy to the circle of life. I feel honored to share the potent tool of meditating with different types of animals with you. And I’m excited for the animals to receive the healing benefits of having you meditate with them.

You don’t need to own a horse or farm animals to enjoy meditating with them during these special fundraisers. Just bring your desire to have an open-hearted connection and willingness to connect with these amazing animals for healing and transformation.

I hope you will join us and invite your friends to support horses and farm animals. When we meditate collectively with animals, it can shift humans’ hearts and minds compassionately.

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