Expression (Giving Reiki to Elephants) – June 2011 Thought of the Month

Although I believe every living thing on this planet has a voice, of some sort or another, I didn’t think much about elephants expressing themselves before May, 2011. I also didn’t know I’d fall in love with them.  While I generally like most animals I’ve never had any particular affinity for elephants.  Sure they’re kind of cute (in a BIG sort of way) and their trunks are pretty cool but to fall in love with them?  Love is a strong word….

How did it happen?  I spent an unforgettable day at an elephant conservation park in northern Thailand.

At the beginning of the day, the founder of the park gave a heartfelt talk to us (the eight foreigners) about how important it is to treat elephants kindly, to care for them and to not overwork them.  He explained to us about how many elephants in his country were not being treated well.  His words were so impassioned I couldn’t help but be moved.  He told us how much attention is required to nurture an elephant properly and how each elephant under his care is assigned one person whom they grow attached to: their handler.  The handler rises at dawn to feed them and ensures they have proper water, food, health and rest (elephants only sleep 3-4 hours a day).  Each elephant, he said, has its own unique personality, like humans.  They have moods, they can become ‘naughty’ at times and some trust only their handler.

When we pulled into the park we saw 17 majestic elephants with their trunks waving and their ears flapping.   The park was very quiet but there was an unmistakable magic in the air.  We were in the presence of elephants.

We learned how to approach them and we fed them pieces of sugar cane that look like thick, short, bamboo.  We would hold out the sugar cane and the elephants would take a few pieces with their trunks and then roll it into their mouths.  Then they would swiftly stretch out their trunks again to take more.  The trunk, I realized, was just like an arm with a snout on the end (feeling the snout was surreal).  Their trunks would circle in front of us with the obvious motive to capture more sugar cane.  If we had sugar cane in our arms you can bet that a trunk would be back for more.  The elephants wouldn’t let us pass them until our arms were empty.   They have a rather large sweet tooth I guess (I can relate to that…)!

With sugar cane in our arms, we finally got past a few elephants with the help of the handlers.    I moved toward a small three year old elephant (note: “small” is relative, he was about the size of a small pony).  This “toddler” was still getting used to his trunk.  He was a little awkward with his coordination so I had to feed him the sugar cane directly into his triangular mouth.  He reminded me of a baby getting used to using her arm.  Missing the mouth is not uncommon!

In the afternoon we rode the elephants bareback for an hour up and down precariously steep inclines through the thick wet mud in the tropical forest.  I was happy to learn elephants rarely slip (some say that they never slip).   One lucky member of our trek got a face full of muddy water when his elephant decided to spray its back with a flourish!

We rode their strong necks and felt their immense muscles move beneath us.  My hands were planted firmly on the bristly hair on my elephant’s head.   I didn’t think I would fall but the thought crossed my mind.  In any case I thought to myself, “What better time to send him Reiki?”   Needless to say I’ve never sent Reiki to an elephant before.  It was an awesome experience – and I mean “awesome” in the fullest sense of the word.  While I was aware of its entire body and energy I felt most connected with its throat chakra.  I felt it had something to say, to me or to us perhaps.

After the trek, I left the conservation park awestruck and eager to share my elephant experiences.

About a week later, as part of a day tour, I visited another place in Thailand that catered to tourists’ desires for elephant treks and was jolted by a contrasting experience.  It was obvious to me how unhappy the elephants and all the animals were here.  I found it hard to look at them.  Their living conditions were sub-standard and they looked hot and overworked.  There was an unmistakable mood among the elephants that bordered between anger and depression.  The words of the founder of the conservation park were alive in me.   I felt guilty about being there, silently watching them, even though I didn’t partake in the trek or give them a cent.   A part of me wanted to be like Indiana Jones and set them all free.   It’s possible that might have helped in the short term but I likely would have been deported.  The roots of this issue go so much further than the chains around their feet.

I know I’m not aware of the full economic realities of the people who work or own these places.  I do not see the families they have to feed.  It would be easy to point a finger at the organizers and declare that they are to blame.  But it’s not just ‘them’.  It’s all of us.  If tourists decided the conditions weren’t acceptable, they wouldn’t attend and then these places wouldn’t exist in the first place.   I admit that I likely wouldn’t have thought much about going on an elephant trek if I didn’t have the words of the conservation park owner on my mind.  I likely would not have been aware that these elephants were unhappy if I hadn’t been exposed to happier elephants at the conservation park.   How many of us know what a happy elephant looks like other than Dumbo?  It would be easy to turn away and tell ourselves that they’re really not that unhappy, especially if we wanted to enjoy an elephant trek.

It’s challenging to know where to begin when you see suffering. I left that place more than a little bewildered and sad.  Looking at those elephants I felt powerless and ashamed of being human.   Tossing it over in my mind and heart that night I asked the universe for help and the insight that came to me was that I should feel these compassionate feelings that I had for these animals but that I shouldn’t stay in the sadness.  Use your compassion.  Imagine the solution.  This was the insight that came clearly.

So I sent distance Reiki to them right then and there.  I sent love to them.  Actually, I sent love to every person and animal at that place.  I imagined it enveloping all of them.    During this Reiki sending I received an impression that the elephants held more forgiveness in their hearts for us than we could possibly imagine.

The challenges are wide that are facing our planet.  We are each responsible for the small yet significant part we play.   I’m going to try to remember not to be paralyzed by the sense of powerlessness I sometimes feel in the face of what seem are insurmountable issues.  I’m going to try to remember to use compassion as a platform to launch vivid visualizations of well-being for living creatures. When I do this, and then add inspired action to the mix, it’s a truly beneficial combination! And I’m going to remember that love is most powerful.  When I’m focused on the solution I feel connected to them in the most useful way.  I feel like I’m hearing them and they’re hearing me.  That’s all the reason I need.

P.S.  Baan Chang Elephant Park in Thailand is where I found the happy elephants:   http://www.baanchangelephantpark.com/course/