Animal Reiki Practitioner Meditates for Baby Lambs at the Denver Slaughterhouse

At the Compassion Consortium, we celebrate diversity. We believe every being brings a unique view to the community that we co-create when we gather together. So, each month, we publish an essay which provides a view from our community, a slice of one human's journey of compassionate living.

September 2024

Animal Reiki Practitioner Meditates for Baby Lambs at the Denver Slaughterhouse

by Alaina Sigler

In honor of Teddy. You will forever be in our hearts.

Meditation and slaughterhouse are two words that aren’t typically used in the same sentence. Instead of taking action, I decided to sit in stillness to offer a calming space for baby lambs. This November, I have high hopes that Denver voters will choose to ban one of the largest lamb slaughterhouses in the country with multiple Humane Slaughter Act violations.

Offering Reiki at a Slaughterhouse

Spending time on the bike path adjacent to Superior Farms in Denver allowed me to use my Animal Reiki training, in the Let Animals Lead® method by Kathleen Prasad, to create a calming space for baby lambs during their final moments. Animal Reiki is meditation to create a calm and healing space for animals, and during the meditation, an individual’s agency (freedom of choice) is the most important aspect of this practice. “Reiki comes from the Japanese words Rei, meaning spirit, and Ki, meaning energy, so really, it translates to spiritual energy.” The fundamentals of the Let Animals Lead® method teach us that we focus on creating a space of inner calm to give an animal agency, love, and a healing space during a Reiki session.

In my free time, I organize postcard writing and canvassing events for Pro-Animal Future to educate voters about the Denver slaughterhouse ban and what happens behind closed doors at Superior Farms. Pro-Animal Future’s mission aligns beautifully with Animal Reiki and their ideals of nonviolence and nonviolent direct action are embodied by directing anger at systems, not the individuals who are caught up in those systems. Through the efforts of Pro-Animal Future, we are moving away from the exploitation of workers, animal cruelty, and environmental pollution toward a brighter future with a more just, sustainable, and compassionate food system. As animal activists and allies, we are all aware of the atrocities that take place at slaughterhouses, but this may come with a sense of powerlessness. Animal Reiki offers all beings a place of stillness, calm, and oneness and this can keep us moving forward together even when we want to quit.

“Nonviolent action, born of the awareness of suffering and nurtured by love, is the most effective way to confront adversity.”

―Thich Nhat Hanh, Love In Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change

Alaina Sigler meditates near baby lambs outside of Superior Farms slaughterhouse.

Animal Reiki Offers Compassionate Spaces to Create Justice for All

Freedom for all and our beautiful planet is within our reach — I repeated this mantra in my head while walking up the South Platte River Trail directly adjacent to Superior Farms slaughterhouse. As I walked on the trail, I realized that I was 80 feet away from the South Platte River where pollution levels are alarmingly high Superior Farms has been violating the Clean Water Act for four years by not submitting reports of its water discharge, leaving no public record of what they are dumping. When I found a shady spot, thanks to a Plains Cottonwood tree, I found myself breathing deeply and moving my awareness away from the fact that I was next to a slaughterhouse. As an Animal Reiki practitioner, I see the perfection and love in all beings, but at Superior Farms, I found I was being tested in my ability to create a calming space at a facility deeply rooted in violence.

Besides bicyclists, I didn’t see anyone else (including those who worked at the slaughterhouse) and therefore had fewer distractions. To start the session, I say an intention out loud. Offering Animal Reiki to all beings, no matter their species was mentioned at the beginning of the meditation. It is common for meditators to lose focus, and as I started, my mind drifted to a statement made by Jose Huizar, a lifelong resident of Globeville, the neighborhood where the slaughterhouse is situated. Jose said that getting rid of the slaughterhouse could go a long way towards cleaning up the area from shootings and gang violence. Coming back to the meditation, I told myself that all is well, a mantra that I’ve used time and time again to dissolve my thoughts and come back to my breath.

The effects on Globeville residents align with our need to be present and hold compassion for all. Heart disease, asthma, headaches, and other chronic health issues are common among residents in neighborhoods situated near slaughterhouses. Low-income and communities of color are most likely to have slaughterhouses built nearby. Animal Reiki can open our hearts to a greater sense of clarity if we aren’t aware of the harms of slaughterhouses and create space for inner peace and calmness when we find ourselves enraged or deeply frustrated by the violence of animal agriculture. For activists experiencing compassion fatigue, even a short meditation (think of taking a few deep breaths) can offer a meaningful path to regulate our bodies and calm our minds.

Sheep with Strong Bonds

The story of Teddy and Finn, two sheep rescued from a Colorado feedlot that sends baby lambs to Superior Farms, exemplifies the Animal Reiki precept to “be compassionate to yourself and others”. In 2017, Julia, a dedicated volunteer at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary, rescued Teddy and Finn. Julia played a crucial role in saving the baby lambs, both of whom were suffering from severe pneumonia. Finn had an injured leg, and Teddy was coughing up blood and had a scratched eye. After intensive medical care and rehabilitation, it became obvious that Teddy and Finn had an unbreakable bond, becoming the facility's first rescued sheep. Their journey, marked by Finn's devotion as Teddy's caregiver following a leg amputation, touched the hearts of many. Though Teddy has since passed away, their story continues to inspire the Luvin Arms community and beyond, serving as a powerful reminder of the importance of animal rights advocacy and the profound connections animals can form when given the chance to live freely and in spaces of nonviolence.

Teddy and Finn are two lucky ones rescued from a feedlot in Colorado that sends baby lambs to Superior Farms slaughterhouse.

What does Animal Reiki Offer?

I can always find comfort in my breath (even when faced with the terrible suffering at Superior Farms). As I’m breathing in my chair next to the bike path, I envision love expanding in every direction as far as my mind will allow and with an ongoing intention to offer Animal Reiki and never force it onto someone. An animal’s agency is a foundational training in the Let Animals Lead® method. For 45 minutes, I continue to offer a healing space through meditation with occasional thoughts popping into my mind. Now and then I’ll be inspired to chant out loud or say a mantra, but I usually just follow my breath in and out.

Many individuals find themselves in a much calmer space even after one session. Others might find peace and relaxation after several sessions. A few of the behaviors I’ve observed are falling asleep, pacing, and walking around, and then lying down. I’ve also offered Animal Reiki instead of bearing witness. The baby lambs at Superior Farms weren’t visible through the black tarp that covers their enclosure at the slaughterhouse, but their presence was held in my awareness of their perfection and wisdom.

“We cannot have the lotus without mud. We cannot have roses without the rain. This knowledge of interbeing helps us see the mud with new eyes” - Sister Dang Nghiem, MD

Pro-Animal Future community members peacefully protesting Superior Farms after a vigil.

Ahimsa (Nonviolence) in Action

Evolving away from a reliance on slaughterhouses requires a shift in our inner lives as well as the physical. We are reaching Denver voters through meaningful and authentic conversations that elicit suppressed emotions about the treatment of animals. Pro-Animal Future’s community members are postering, canvassing, writing and organizing to bring stories like Teddy and Finn’s to light. Through ongoing efforts in our mindful conversations with the public and our meaningful connections with local animal rescue and advocacy organizations, we are cultivating wider spaces in Denver and beyond for individuals to build compassion for farmed animals. We’re driven to create a world rooted in Ahimsa for all beings.

Will you join us in creating this world?

1. Pledge to vote YES on the Denver slaughterhouse ban this November. Your vote is your voice for the voiceless. Pledge here

2. Our fight to ban slaughterhouses and fur sales in Denver is fueled by small donors who believe in a more compassionate future. Through election day, the Phauna Foundation is matching every donation 1:1, up to $50,000, meaning every dollar will reach twice as many voters. Donate to support Pro-Animal Future here.

3. If you live in the Denver, Colorado area, volunteer your time and talents to help win these campaigns and shut down the Superior Farms slaughterhouse. Sign up here.

A Loving-Kindness Meditation for All Beings

May love and compassion reach every being.

For the tiny ones invisible to our eyes who live on our soil.

For the beings who soar in flight and the winged ones on the ground.

For all beings who call the grandeur of water their home.

May love and compassion reach every being who has found sanctuary and for those who have not.

No matter your number of legs, roots, scales, fins, wings, and all other ways of being.

If you need love, love will be offered to you.

About the Author

Alaina Sigler is an ordained Animal Chaplain and Animal Reiki Practitioner. Alaina was ordained by the Compassion Consortium in June 2023. She is the founder of the nonprofit organization The Night Sky Garden. Alaina instructs interspecies mindfulness techniques, is an organizer with Pro-Animal Future, and helps individuals in the animal freedom movement and beyond to forge a connection with their emotions and empower them to navigate daily life with more confidence.

Previous Essays:

A World That Works for All

Miss Liberty: A Film Whose Time has Come

The Interfaith Vegan Coalition: Its Values, Goals, and Mission

The Animal Interfaith Alliance

A Short History of Animal Advocacy in the Catholic Church

At the Graves of Craving

Animals and AI

Veganism, Yoga, and Me

Recognizing My Liberator in the Mirror Contextualizing Animal Chaplaincy through the Lens of an Activist for Collective Liberation

Who is Social Justice for? A Call for a De-Anthropocentric Social Justice

Buddhist Narrative Re-Weavings of Animal Liberation