The Reiki Session A. Personal Preparation Your goal is to blend into the background, so that you do not startle the birds. Wear comfortable washable clothing in muted colors. Do not wear perfumes or scented lotions. Center yourself with Gassho as Usui Sensei recommended while performing the steps listed below. (Gassho is a meditation technique accompanied by the gesture of raising the hands palm to palm to indicate respect, gratitude and humility.) These will protect you energetically: Sandalwood oil – Apply a drop to your finger and touch it to your third eye, throat and heart. Be certain to wash your hands afterwards so there is no chance of getting the oil on any of the birds. Set intention - For example, “I am only available to the highest truth, wisdom and light. Let me send Reiki to these beautiful creatures without taking on their pain or their symptoms.” Request help - From guides, totems, ascended Reiki masters, etc., according to your belief system. Shield yourself - If you are a Reiki II Practitioner, use the Reiki shield to protect yourself . B. Meet with caregivers Ask for a little background information on the subjects. This allows for use of intuition with later confirmation (reinforcement of intuition). Too much background and supposition by others may cause you to pre-judge or prevent you from proceeding with an objective mind. C. Length of session Ideally you will send Reiki to each subject until you feel the energy lessen. For some birds this may be 20 minutes or more. Others may only draw Reiki for 5 or 10 minutes. Before you begin, determine the maximum amount of time you can spend with each bird you have been asked to work with that day. “Some” is better than “none”. If you have to leave a subject before the strength of the energy you feel lessens, make a note of it. You may have time to return to him at the end of the day. D. Charting the length of the session Recording the length time spent with each bird will allow you to see progress if he draws less in subsequent sessions. Be sure that the caregivers are aware if one particular bird continues to draw large amounts of Reiki over time. In one instance that I experienced, Tweety, a hawk with a pinned and wrapped broken leg, moved around on his leg so much that the pins were slipping and making the leg unstable. The leg had to be re-pinned before it was stable enough to begin to heal. The fact that he continued to draw large amounts of Reiki over several sessions was one indicator that his treatment needed to be modified. The information that I gave the caregivers in this situation was that the hawk was continuing to draw large amounts of energy over several sessions. Remember that the caregivers are the medical and behavioral experts. They will interpret the information you give them. You do not need to attempt to do that for them. Tweety awaiting his release E. Permission from the animal One thing that differentiates Reiki from other healing modalities is the aspect of permission. You are never to send Reiki without first receiving permission from the recipient. This applies to raptors as well. You have already received permission from the caregivers to be there, now you must ask the bird. You can ask him for permission as you set your intention to send Reiki. Trust your intuition in this situation. Often “yes” will be ambiguous. Don’t confuse a bird’s stressed behavior with “no”. If his answer is “no” it will be resoundingly clear, as in “NO!!!!”. In this case, move on to the next bird. Try again the next time you are at the center. The birds can feel the energy near them. Observing you may calm a reluctant bird’s fears, and make him more receptive to trusting you at a later date. F. Techniques It is beneficial to send calming thoughts and images at this time. Images of the bird flying free and healthy as well as thoughts such as, “You are safe here. No one will harm you here. You will be cared for while you heal in safety.” Reiki works on an emotional level to calm an injured animal as well as on a physical healing level Hands-on - This can mean hands-on the body or hands-on the carrier. Hands-on body should only be used for stable birds. This technique is too intense for trauma situations. In trauma situations you can use hands-on the carrier to calm the bird before he is examined. You can also sit a few inches away from the bird and send Reiki while he is being examined and treated. Laser tips - Use your fingertips like lasers to direct the Reiki when the subject or subject area are small. Long Distance - You have been trained to use this technique if you are a Usui Reiki practitioner. Reiki Shield – You have been trained to use this technique if you are a Usui Reiki practitioner. Use this technique to protect the birds, their aviaries, carriers, etc. Button, a Flammulated Owl as a fledgling and an adult G. Communication Don’t discuss a raptor’s injury with others while sending Reiki. If you wouldn’t discuss an issue in front of a small child, don’t discuss it in front of the injured bird. He will pick up telepathic images (i.e. amputation). Wait until after the Reiki session is complete and you are out of the room. Some birds will make eye contact when they feel the Reiki. Others will need to be in a covered carrier so that they don’t stress. Follow the bird’s lead. He may see eye contact as an act of aggression if he doesn’t initiate it. Try sending Reiki with your eyes open and then closed to discover which technique gives you more information. Questions of the bird: Ask what he needs/wants Ask about his injury Ask about his treatment Communication to the bird: Tell the bird why he is here That he needs to heal to live a better life or be free Explain why he is getting a particular treatment Explain the pragmatic stages of healing at the raptor center. An example of this for a bird suffering from a head trauma might be: He needs to perch and eat on his own before being moved to an outside aviary. He then will need to stay there while he regains his strength. He will then be given live food. After he has passed through all of these “healing stages” he will be returned to the area where he was found and released. Express gratitude for his help. H. Record your impressions Use your journal after each bird. You won’t remember all the details at the end of the day, especially after working on multiple birds. Take photos if necessary to record the bird’s progress. I. Debrief with the caregivers at the end of the day Relay all results to caregivers, regardless of apparent importance to you or whether it makes sense to you or not. It might make sense to the caregiver or vet. Since the caregiver’s interest in this information may vary, assess what they want to know and give them that. Ask questions. Learn all you can from the caregivers and the birds themselves. Journal any additional information that you receive from the caregivers. Always remember that you are a guest in their facility. J. Handling loss Despite your best intentions and personal desires, remember that all is in Divine Order with Reiki. The true healing of a bird may come not from extending its life in permanent captivity, but perhaps by allowing him to find freedom through death. In fact, Reiki near the end or during transition can minimize pain, ease discomfort, and calm the emotional trauma. Nevertheless, you will likely have come to care for and respect this being, so be prepared to feel loss. Again, do not let your personal feelings interfere and cause your fear of loss to discourage you from working with these magnificent creatures. If you do, you will be withholding the immense help that Reiki can be in their lives. Sigrid Noll Ueblacker, of the Birds of Prey Foundation expressed her approach to this situation eloquently. “Many publications direct us to treat wildlife with respect, dignity, and suitable medical attention. We are also encouraged to avoid allowing ourselves to become emotionally involved with our patients. There are plenty of human physicians who also follow this protocol. However, I would not want to be the patient of a doctor who has no compassion and shows no involvement. Nor can I stay up the better part of the night trying to save the life of an emaciated or ill bird, and not become emotionally involved. If we open our hearts and allow these wondrous creatures to touch us, very often they also respond, even the most hopeless cases. Losing our patients despite all our efforts, either to death or euthanasia, then comes with a high price to pay. And in my opinion, that price is just right.” Releasing Raptors Does it get any better than this? I was lucky enough to be asked to release both the great horned owl, Hoot, AND this little screech owl back to the area where each was found injured. Neither had any interest in a photo shoot, but tolerated the additional attention. Watching a rehabilitated raptor fly freely is every rehabilitator’s dream. You can be a part of that success.