How Practicing Animal Reiki Supports Inviting Joy

As we step into November, our theme of inviting joy feels like a gentle light guiding us toward gratitude, peace, and connection.

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

Joy can sometimes feel elusive in a world that’s heavy with stress, suffering, and uncertainty, and yet, as Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, joy is already here, present and waiting. We only need to be attentive to see it.

In the Let Animals Lead® method, we learn that joy isn’t something we must chase; it’s something that blossoms naturally when we let go of striving and rest fully in the moment. When we do this, we discover joy quietly waiting beneath everything, a joy that exists right here, right now.

This month, we’re invited to soften, to listen, and to rediscover joy through humility, gratitude, and the wisdom of the animals who share this world with us.

The Let Animals Lead® Approach to Opening Your Heart to Everyday Happiness (And Inviting Joy)

What is joy, really? Joy has been described in many ways, as delight, elation, happiness, bliss, but I love the simple dictionary definition: “the emotion evoked by well-being.”Joy is the natural expression of a balanced, peaceful, and connected life.

Theologian Lewis B. Smedes once called it “an intermezzo of gratitude that interrupts the routine motion of life.” Isn’t that beautiful? I love that definition because it shows how joy can interrupt the rhythm of ordinary life and remind us what a miracle it is to simply be alive.When we nurture our well-being, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, we create the right conditions for joy to appear.

It’s not about forcing happiness or pretending everything is perfect, but rather about cultivating an inner harmony where joy can rise naturally, like sunlight breaking through the clouds. 

The Four Pathways to Well-Being

Let’s explore these four dimensions of well-being and how they help us reconnect with joy, both for ourselves and for the animals we care for.

1. Physical Well-Being: Move, Breathe, and Be in Nature

Our bodies are sacred temples that house our universal life energy for the brief time we are on this planet. Taking time to move, stretch, and breathe deeply not only supports our physical health but also opens pathways for energy to flow freely.

Spending time in nature is one of the simplest ways to invite joy. Be active with your animals, eat mindfully, and find healthy hobbies that help your body feel alive, yoga, pilates, or even a long walk in the park. Get enough sleep and stay hydrated. These small acts of care nourish your body and your spirit.

Animals remind us of the joy of being in the moment. Watch a dog roll blissfully in the grass or a horse stretch his neck to the sun. They aren’t self-conscious; they’re simply present, finding joy in the feeling of being alive. When we walk beside them in mindfulness, we remember how good it feels simply to be.

2. Mental Well-Being: Cultivating Calm Awareness

A calm mind is like a garden ready to be planted with joy. Meditation helps us quiet the endless "monkey mind" of worry, judgment, and multi-tasking. When we take even a few minutes each day to breathe deeply, to sit in stillness with our animals, or to focus on gratitude, we begin to feel that still point of peace where joy naturally lives.

Journaling, too, can help us to open the heart, especially when we reflect on gratitude for the simple blessings of our lives: a good book, comforting purr, a peaceful sunset, or the warmth of breath from our best dog friend beside us. Gratitude has a powerful way of bringing our attention back to what’s good and true in this moment.

When we bring mindfulness into our relationships with animals, stress begins to dissolve. In those quiet moments, grooming a horse, sitting beside a cat, walking with a dog, we find ourselves fully present. The future and past fade away, and joy gently emerges into this very moment.

3. Emotional Well-Being: Nurturing Compassionate Relationships

Joy thrives in connection. When we open our hearts to others, human or animal, we begin to live from love rather than fear. Compassion and empathy strengthen our emotional resilience. In addition, helping others reminds us of our connectedness on this planet.

Creating positive and supportive relationships in your life is one of the most powerful ways to nurture joy. Connect with people and animals who lift you up. Be kind, generous, and gentle with yourself and others. When we nurture our inner compassion, we feel lighter, happier, and more grounded.

Sometimes joy is as simple as reaching out for support or offering it. Volunteering at a shelter, visiting a sanctuary, or helping a friend in need, are also ways for us to awaken our hearts. And when life feels difficult, remember: it’s okay to ask for help. Joy doesn’t mean never feeling sad; it means allowing yourself to be supported so your light can shine again.

4. Spiritual Well-Being: Remembering Our Interconnection

True joy arises when we remember who we are beyond our stories; we are spiritual beings, interconnected with all life. Our Animal Reiki practice nourishes this awareness. Each time we sit in meditation, we reconnect with our purpose, our ethics, and the sacred bond we share with animals and nature.

When we live from this space of connection, joy is not something fleeting. It becomes a steady presence in our lives, a quiet peace that reminds us we are never truly alone.

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”— Henri Nouwen

This quote reminds us that joy is a choice, a practice. Every day we can choose to open our hearts, to remember our connection with all beings, to live with gratitude and purpose. When we do this, joy naturally arises as the expression of our true nature.

The Cow: A Teacher of Joy Through Humility

When I think of joy, I often think of the cow. For me, cows are the ultimate embodiment of humility. Considering their plight in the modern world, millions used each year for food production, and yet, they remain calm and gentle creatures, finding joy in a very simple life.

Years ago, I had an unforgettable encounter with a cow at a fair. My daughter, only three at the time, toddled to the fence and called softly to her. The cow turned, walked over, and lowered her great head so my daughter could reach out and touch her. Their eyes met, one pair wide with wonder, the other deep with ancient compassion.

It was as if the cow were saying, “I know my lot in life, and yet, I bear no ill will. I will stay gentle and compassionate in all that I do.”

That moment stayed with me. It struck me that cows have so much to teach us, to be kind, gentle, and compassionate, no matter what others do to us. Being humble is really about being grateful, loving, and compassionate. When we open our hearts in this space, our ego disappears.

If you’ve ever stood with a cow grazing in a pasture, you know the peaceful feeling they radiate. There’s a certain joy in their presence, the joy of just being.

Ego vs. Humility: The Great Divide

When we live in ego, we feel separate. Our hearts close, and we move through the world as isolated “I”s. But when we live in humility, we recognize our deep interconnection with all beings. Our hearts open, and we feel the river of life flowing through us.

Philosopher Paul Brunton described it beautifully:

“The source of wisdom and power of love and beauty is within ourselves, but not within our ego. It is within our consciousness… It is the true self whereas the ego is only an illusion of the mind.”

This illusion of separateness is something our meditation practice helps us heal. Sometimes, even when we love our animals deeply, we still see them as different from us, perhaps because we care for them, feed them, or guide them. But when we meditate with them, all of that falls away. We realize that underneath it all, we are not so different. Our hearts become one in that compassionate space.

This is the miracle of Animal Reiki: it dissolves the ego’s walls and awakens the heart’s wisdom.

Seeing with the Heart

Thich Nhat Hanh often asked his students to look deeply into ordinary things. If you see a wooden chair, he’d say, look again, can you see the tree, the rain, the sunshine, the carpenter, the soil? Each thing contains all things.

We can do the same with ourselves and the animals we love. When we look deeper, we see the countless connections that make our lives possible. Gratitude naturally arises. We realize what a miracle it is to be here right now, alive in this moment.

When we begin to see with our hearts in this way, instead of our eyes, humility grows stronger and ego weaker. We start to see with gratitude rather than judgment. We begin to understand that we are part of something vast and beautiful. I call this seeing with our “Reiki eyes.”

And it’s in this shift in perception that joy begins to awaken.

The Two Sides of Joy

The other side of joy is sorrow. The more we open our hearts to joy, the more we may feel the tenderness of life’s pain. But this is not something to avoid, it’s a sign that we are awakening.

Think again of the cow. She embodies both, the serenity of her nature and the sadness of her circumstance. Yet through her calm presence, she teaches us how to hold both truths in the same heart.

To be truly alive is to feel deeply. When we can hold joy and sorrow together, we open to the wisdom of our true self. Healing begins here, in our hearts, then in our emotions, our bodies, our actions, and eventually, out into the world.

Joy in Action: Letting Go to Let it Flow

In Animal Reiki, we often talk about being in the “flow.” When we release control, judgment, and ego, healing energy flows effortlessly. The same is true of joy.

When we walk into a shelter or sanctuary, if we carry an agenda, if we think, “I’m here to heal this animal,” the animals feel that. They may turn away, hide, or become agitated. But when we take time to ground ourselves, to breathe, to connect with gratitude, and to let go of “I,” everything changes.

I’ve seen it countless times: when we sit quietly, grounded and grateful, even the most fearful or traumatized animals begin to soften. They can feel the joy that radiates from peace. That joy is contagious, a gentle, healing current that moves through us all.

As Swami Satchidananda wrote in The Yoga Sutras:

“We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and by our serenity make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious… We should plague everyone with joy.”

I love that! When we cultivate inner peace and humility, our very presence becomes healing, not just for the animals, but for everyone around us.

Joy as Our Natural State

When we let go of ego, anger and worry begin to lose their grip. Our attitudes change. We become more peaceful, patient, courageous, and our inner joy can finally come out.

Animals already live this way. They don’t dwell on the past or obsess over the future. They live fully in the present, flowing with the rhythm of life. And they continually invite us to join them.

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.”— Rumi

This river is always flowing within us. Our Animal Reiki meditation simply helps us remember how to listen.

As we live more in harmony with our souls, the earth, and all creatures, we align with the universal flow of healing. Joy becomes our natural expression, a sign that we are awake, connected, and alive to the beauty of life itself.

Inviting Joy, Together

I invite each of you to let joy rise from your heart of humility. The more we release the “I,” the more we discover the vastness of “we.”

Our animals already know this truth. When they look at us, they see our soul, the light of who we really are. In their eyes, we see that same light reflected back, reminding us of our shared essence.

May this month be a gentle practice in noticing joy wherever it appears, in a wagging tail, a soft breeze, a quiet sunrise, or the steady heartbeat of gratitude.

Joy is here, always waiting.

All we need to do is pause, breathe, and allow ourselves to see it.n allow ourselves to see it.