Cindie Ambar
PODCAST (15:38) -- I think both Laura and I both expected upfront that this segment with Cindie Ambar of Heartsong Animal Healing here in Santa Cruz County would be a bit "out there" in a cosmic, New Age Journal (remember that?) sort of way.
Yes, what Cindie provides involves communication with animals and therapeutic modalities we may not fully understand. Yet, if you feel a deep connection with animals, none of it seems too far-fetched.
Cindie is a Reiki Master, and an expert in Animal Reiki and animal communication. Reiki is an Asian healing technique that is so "out there" that well-respected Johns Hopkins Medicine has a page about it on its website and will make appointments for its patients.
What is Reiki?
Here's what the Johns Hopkins site says:
"Reiki is a very specific form of energy healing, in which hands are placed just off the body or lightly touching the body, as in "laying on of hands." Reiki can also be done "long-distance," as a form of prayer.
"According to many versions of its origin, Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese seeker of spiritual truths, brought the Reiki method of healing into human awareness in 1922 after a deep spiritual experience. He is said to have begun teaching others after a serious earthquake hit Japan, and he felt urged to spread his knowledge."In a Reiki session, the practitioner is seeking to transmit Universal Life Energy to the client. The intention is to create deep relaxation, to help speed healing, reduce pain, and decrease other symptoms you may be experiencing."
I've had Reiki a few times about 30 years ago, and it was a positive experience. Many people -- including myself -- accept the spiritual concept of laying on of hands as potentially healing. Prayer has helped, so far, beat my cancer, though I don't claim to know precisely how it works.
If you are a "believer" in animal communication, holistic, natural, and spiritual health, then Cindie may well fit into what you seek.
She is knowledgeable, well-trained, and sincere about that she does, both for animals and people. I cannot prove she gets results, but I believe she does. She is also very clear that she is not a veterinarian or a substitute for one. 
Using Animal Reiki and Animal Communication Together
"When I learned energy work could be performed with animals,  I was ecstatic," Cindie says. "When I first became trained, my dream was to return to the shelter and work with the dogs and cats.  I learned that the shelter was not yet ready for energy work, and a friend suggested I volunteer at Pregnant Mare Rescue in Watsonville, California, just a few miles away from my home.  My intention was to volunteer until opportunities at the shelter opened up.
"On my first visit, I experienced an opening of my heart so profound that it brought tears to my eyes, then overwhelming joy.  The following day it was all I could do to force myself to go into work.  The energy was so powerful, I felt like a very strong magnet was pulling me back to the rescue.  I saw images of a horse named Dually all day long and felt him wanting to connect with me."
​At the end of the half-hour we spent on the radio with Cindie, Laura and I both felt she made sense, and we took her and the Animal Reiki services she offers seriously. I cannot directly endorse her work, but I like Cindie, and my feeling is she does good things for her patients. 
Listen to this podcast, visit her website, and tell me what you think?
Reiki and Animal Communication with Cindie Ambar will be the topic of a future KSCO Pet Radio program. Have any comments? Please feel free to post them. We love hearing from you.