Description

Of all animals, the cat alone attains to the contemplative life. He regards the wheel of existence from without, like the Buddha. Andrew Lang, 1844-1912 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.

If you ever imagined you’d like know and experience your Buddha nature,A” this lively and enlightening book is a very good place to start. Choosing to Be revolves around a wise Maine Coon cat named Poohbear Degoonacoon, his kitten muse Catzenbear, and author Kat Tansey as they take the reader on a challenging and oft times amusing journey from the disorienting haze of depression to the freedom and clarity of Buddha mind. Whether this journey is real or imagined is left to the reader’s interpretation. The value of meditation is clearly demonstrated by Kat and her Feline Zen Master in a way that is so absorbing you don’t realize how much you are learning. People looking for a unique self improvement book, even if not inclined toward Buddhist meditation, will discover relevant and helpful life lessons here. Those who are driven to continually doA” are well served by heeding this much deeper message to just be. A” Certainly Kat Tansey is not the first author with such a message, but Choosing to Be is truly one of the most enjoyable books making this very important point.

9781844095018