Authorpreneur Dashboard – Kat Tansey
Choosing To Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master
Self-Help
Drawn from the deeply personal reflections of a formerly depressed woman, this uplifting and often humorous book is the story of how a wise cat teaches meditation and helps the author heal from depression. This lively, magical, and enlightening book revolves around a wise Maine Coon cat, his kitten muse, and author Kat Tansey as they take the reader on a challenging and often amusing journey from the disorienting haze of depression to the freedom and clarity of the Buddha mind. This sweet story is both inspiring and essential for gaining an understanding of one's inner self, reducing stress, and finding inner peace.
Book Bubbles from Choosing To Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master
Facing Our Deepest Fears
I lost my Wonder Woman bracelets when I was struck down by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and with them I lost my ability to keep busy, to over-achieve, to collect accolades that helped keep my self-destructive thoughts at bay . . .
The Catwalk
I attended a one-day walking meditation retreat in Malibu and was very pleased with my ability to do this. However, trying to practice it at home proved more difficult that I thought, so Poohbear suggested I watch Catzenbear as he walked across the table, and then go outside and emulate him . . .
Learning to meditate means letting go of tuna
Sometimes it is difficult to learn how to meditate from an enlightened guru, or at least it was for me when I was a beginner. I would read their words over and over, trying to understand what they were talking about -- but it was as though they were writing in a foreign language, one I had yet to learn. I wrote about my own quest to become a meditator, and these writings evolved into the book "Choosing to Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master," in which I describe the ups and downs of my struggle. My Maine Coon cat Poohbear Degoonacoon became the Feline Zen Master, and Catzenbear arrived as his kitten muse. Together we traveled the hero's journey, much like that of Don Quixote or Ulysses, except that most of the action happened within my own mind.
Without pain, where is joy?
Being depressed is often a way of avoiding pain, at least it was for me. Learning to meditate helped me let the pain in slowly, and learn that it was not going to kill me. What was killing me was avoiding it. This chapter describes what happened to me as I let myself feel the pain . . .
What gets in the way . . .
Much is written about how to get started with meditation -- but there is not enough discussion of what happens when we meet The Hindrances. This is when many people give up -- it is when I wanted to give up. If we understand what is driving the hindrances and learn the skills to deal with them, we are able to gain what to my mind are the most valuable rewards of meditation. We are able to change the way we react to the endless stream of thoughts and feelings that drive us. We learn how to be in the drivers seat -- which is the beginning of true wisdom.
