#lifewithanimals

With life often being busy and so many demands placed upon our time, it can be challenging to stay in balance and find personal peace.  We are often on automatic pilot moving through our daily routine without finding joy in the present moment and certainly not being in a peaceful space.  Our animals are often our mirrors and when we are off kilter they may respond with an out of character behavior or even develop health issues, which make us stop in our tracks.  

Very often when I meet a new animal client it is soon apparent I am there for both the animal and their guardian in my role as an Animal Reiki Practitioner.  Our animals, like us, respond well to peace and if we can incorporate a spiritual practice of one or more of the following; meditation, mindfulness, visualisation, affirmations, yoga or something else that is meaningful for us, it places us in that state of connection to our inner voice and nature.  We immediately feel a greater sense of peace and well-being, which in turn helps us to be more productive and present for our animal and human family members, so is always time well invested.  

A great place to start is with a daily mindfulness routine, which can be introduced into the busiest schedule as it if said to be most effective when practiced in short bursts of between 5 and 15 minutes.  It is also something we can use while carrying out our normal routine such as; brushing our teeth, walking our dog, mucking our horses out, eating lunch and so on.  Mindfulness is about being fully in the present moment whilst calmly acknowledging and accepting our feelings, thoughts and any physical sensations.  A regular practice can calm the mind and has many other health benefits.  Our animals are naturally more in the moment, they focus on the task in hand,for example; a dog gives their full attention to chasing a ball, a horse to rolling in mud or a rabbit munching their way through a delicious treat.

Being out in nature as often as possible is also a wonderful way of finding peace, walking in your local park, wood or at the beach if this is accessible to you automatically put you in a more peaceful state of mind.  Spending time in your garden and truly taking in the; sights, sounds, scents and all that the natural world has to offer you is another way of feeling a greater sense of peace. This state peace is healing, allowing any stress in our physical or emotional body to release and is a blessing we can share with our animals and something they in turn can benefit from.  

Instead of rushing through a grooming session with your cat, take some time, really feel the connection with your beloved feline or other animal, focus on the love and gratitude you in sharing you life with such an amazing being.  The likelihood is that you will invest the same length of time grooming but actually feel joy and deeply relaxed at the end of such a simple activity purely by really feeling into each moment.

As you embrace peace more fully into your life and allow it to be part of your daily routine you may notice changes not only your animals but also the people you share your life with, peace attracts more peace and it starts being sought out by others.  Let’s face it peace makes us all feel good!

I hope this has given you some food for thought, please do check out my website or facebook page for further inspiration on sharing a more meaningful and fulfilled life with your animals. Blessings Tina