Choosing to Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master
by Kat Tansey (9781844095018)

Drawn from the deeply personal reflections of a formerly depressed person, this uplifting story shows how a cat taught meditation and allowed the mind to heal. This lively, magical, and enlightening book revolves around a wise Maine Coon cat, his kitten muse, and the 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. The narrative is both inspiring and essential for gaining an understanding of the inner self, reducing stress, finding inner peace, and knowing the joys and comforts of answering to a cat master.


One rainy morning, Kat Tansey was trying to make a very important decision-should she stay and fight her debilitating depression, or should she choose to end her life? Hamlet-like, she kept turning the matter around in her mind.

The problem, as her Buddha master Maine Coon cat Poohbear Degoonacoon, explained, was that the mind she was using was her ordinary mind, not a good place to be when making a decision of irreversible magnitude.

"Before you make a choice you cannot undo, you need to understand the nature of your own mind," he said. "Whether you are a human or a cat, the same technique applies. You must learn to sit and meditate. And I happen to know more than a little bit about this," he observed, making a point of sitting down and tucking both paws under his chest in his best Buddha pose.

And thus begins Kat's journey back to herself, a journey into her own consciousness-where she learns to unlock the secrets of Buddhist meditation and find inner peace.

USD $12.95

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