Animals readily understand and seek out flower essences when they need them. I saw dramatic evidence of this several years ago when I was volunteering as an animal communicator and Reiki healer with the cats at my local shelter. Reiki was bringing wonderful healing to the most sick and distressed cats; but it was frustrating to be able to treat only one or two cats in a visit when there were so many cats in need of healing. I began to wonder what the flower essences could do in this setting. The shelter agreed to let me treat all of the cats daily with flower essences for ten weeks. During this period they were at their full capacity of 36 cats almost every day.

Many of the cats quickly understood the essences' action and, as soon as I arrived, several would stand by their water bowl and meow for their essences, looking back and forth from the water to the essence bottle until I gave them their essence. Then they would immediately drink from the exact spot where the essence landed in the water. The flower essences brought remarkable improvements in the physical and the emotional/spiritual health of the cats. Some of the improvements were rapid and dramatic. The benefits were especially impressive considering the often challenging backgrounds the cats had come from and the constant stresses of being in a shelter.

In a shelter many animals, even comparatively healthy ones, will become depressed and lethargic eventually if they remain there for a long time. With the essences, the cats who remained at the shelter for a protracted period were able to maintain a state of relatively good emotional health for a longer period of time, and the effect of the essences on cats who were depressed at the start of the study was often dramatic.

During the period in which the study took place many of the cats contracted a highly contagious respiratory infection. It became quite severe in several cats who had been weak when they arrived at the shelter. The essences, sometimes combined with Reiki treatments, brought about effective, rapid healing for the sickest cats.

Shelters can be places of genuine healing for animals. The period an animal spends in a shelter can become a time of profound healing while he waits to be restored to loved ones or to find a new and loving home. With the assistance of dedicated volunteers, many shelters are moving in this direction.

Click here to read some of the stories of the shelter cats.

Sharon Callahan, Anaflora’s founder, explains some of the reasons why flower essences are especially well-suited for use in healing animals:

 “Animals are also intimately attuned to the music, or vibration, of nature: the flowers and the trees dancing rhythmically in the wind, the murmuring of the breeze, the whistling of the wind through trees, rocks, and mountains, the harmony of movement of sun and moon, stars and planets, the rhythm of the days, months and seasons. In their essential state animals and plants communicate by means of the music of nature, so it is natural for flowers and animals to work together, and likewise natural for us to extend the healing properties of flower essences to animals.”

“Animals respond more quickly to flower essences than do adult humans, and often with greater results. Their response is often immediate and sometimes borders on the miraculous. Animals don't have the complex mental overlays that impede their multi-level functioning by questioning and doubting, and they are closer to flowers both physically and energetically than are humans. In many ways, humans have become disconnected from their point of origin, whereas animals have maintained a firm link with it."

“The healing of the relationship between human beings and animals on both a personal and planetary level is an area in which flower essences are the most profoundly useful. With sensitively chosen flower essences and flower essence formulas, animals are released from present suffering and abuse and released as well from abuses that have been accumulating for centuries. Because flower essences are vibrational in nature, they operate on a level that is not limited to the present. The soul of the flower touches the soul of the animal and the soul of the human being. A healing then occurs that transcends space and time. Old scars and wounds heal, oppression is lifted, guilt is relieved and equanimity is restored to all concerned.”

“Animals today, even those cared for deeply in the best of homes are greatly challenged as theyattempt to attune themselves to new and accelerated patterns of growth and behavior in humans. The resulting emotional and mental stress on the animal can lead to a wide range of emotional difficulties, and troublesome behaviors. Anaflora flower essences and flower essence formulas specifically address the needs of animals in today's world. Both wild animals and companion animals respond remarkably well to Anaflora flower essences. As well as addressing emotional upsets and the often resultant physical ailments, Anaflora flower essences may be used to achieve deeper states of bonding and communication with an animal.”