Reiki

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

On January 12, our staff completed a Reiki I class, taught by Peggy Edman, our acupressure/animal massage/Reiki Master. Peggy did a magnificent job, and a good time was had by all. This will allow us to incorporate Reiki into our treatment plans much more easily, and will increase the effectiveness of all our treatments.

I really love Reiki. It's a simple, effective way to channel universal energy that is easy to learn and easy to do. I've used it for all types of situations, from acute injuries to chronic conditions. I used Reiki when my old dog Charlie suddenly yelped and couldn't rise from a sitting position. I treated his back and within minutes he was fine. I used Reiki when Malcolm reacted badly to a new food and was spending way too much time in the litterbox. One treatment and the crisis was averted. I used Reiki when our hospital adopted April, an elderly cat whose diabetes was out of control. I treated April every day for the first month, along with dietary modification and nutritional supplementation. She lived for three more years, insulin-free, and was the queen of our hospital cats until her death.

I'm excited that we can now offer this service to our clients and their pets. Reiki is always helpful, never harmful, and can be done hands-on or across the room.

I've also taken Healing Touch for Animals Level One, and have had Healing Touch work done extensively on my own pets. In my experience, Reiki wins.

The "Cult" of Homeopathy

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

On January 10th, I attended the first session in a 10-session Acute Homeopathy course at the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy. It's so nice to go back to school. The new classroom is spacious and airy, and it was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones. Homeopathy creates an instant camaraderie amongst its adherents.

Which kind of makes it sound like a cult. And, if I were going to start my own cult (and don't think I haven't considered this option), homeopathy would definitely have to be one of our fundamentals. There is nothing quite like it.

Just this week, I had a client whose dog had been diagnosed with heart failure. The internal medicine specialist who had seen the dog started it on medications, but when I called the client that evening for an update, the dog was still not doing any better. From the owner's description, I was able to suggest a remedy that they could get at their local grocery store. By morning, the dog was doing much better and was eating.

I love it.

As a cult, homeopathy invites freedom of expression and interpretation. In any given practitioner - client relationship, a different remedy and different method of dispensing might be effective. This is why, in my mind, homeopathy resembles quantum physics. You can't take the observer - the homeopath - out of the equation.