Conscious Cat Sunday

October 30, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: just breathe

Show me a good mouser, and I’ll show you a cat with bad breath. – Garfield

We take about 20,000 breaths a day. It’s such a natural thing that most of the time, we don’t give much thought to it – we just do it. And yet, many of us don’t know how to breathe properly.

Incorrect breathing can cause tension, exhaustion, and vocal strain. Most people are shallow breathers, using only the top portion of their lungs, thus causing the body to miss out on the full benefits of a deep breath. Deep breathing raises levels of blood oxygen and promotes health in ways ranging from stimulating the digestive process to improving fitness and mental performance.

Cats know naturally how to breathe correctly. Continue Reading

October 23, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: start your day off right

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Many of us are woken by our cats each day, begging to be fed. I happen to think that’s a great way to start the day, but I’m an early bird. While you may not be able to stop a hungry cat from waking you, you can control other aspects of how you start off your day – after you feed the cats, of course!

What you do first thing in the morning can have a profound influence on the rest of your day. Start things off right by consciously choosing positive rituals. And you don’t have to take a lot of time to do it.

Here are some suggestions for starting the day off right:Continue Reading

October 9, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: simple steps to stop worrying

Conscious Cat Sunday| 13 Comments

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia

I’m a recovering worrier. I have a long history of worrying, and I learned from the master. My dad had elevated worrying to an artform. It wasn’t until the final months of his life when he truly learned to live in the moment. During my last visit with him, when he was already very ill, he told me how he’d learned to “appreciate every flower, and every butterfly.” It sounds trite, but it resonated deeply with me, coming from a man who had spent so much of his life doing the exact opposite.Continue Reading

October 2, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: Routine as the key to happiness

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Routines are human nature. Why not create some that will mint gold? – Hafiz

Last Sunday, I wrote about the value of embracing change, rather than resisting it. This may lead you to wonder why on earth I would now tell you that routines are the key to a happy life. No, I’m not contradicting myself. I’m not talking about the kinds of routines that keep us stuck in a rut. I’m talking about positive routines.Continue Reading

September 25, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: embrace change

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Let go of fear, embrace change, and move toward joy. – Buckley

How do you feel about change? I have a love/hate relationship with it. I often think that one of the many reasons why I love cats is that they are creatures of habit who don’t like having their routines disrupted. I like my life, and I like my routines. At the same time, most, if not all, change in my life has always been for the better.

The reality is that, as the saying goes, the only constant in life is change. Ironically, most of us don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about change, but we sure react to it.Continue Reading

September 18, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: Stop rushing

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According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 25% of Americans feel rushed all the time, and 50% do some of the time. What category do you fall in?

The times when we need to rush are actually a lot less frequent than we think. Rushing has simply become a habit for many of us, and many people even derive a (somewhat warped, in my opinion) sense of accomplishment from being able to say “I’m just so busy all the time!” When you are always rushing, your body is in a constant state of panic, which, in turn, has a detrimental effect on your mental, physical and spiritual health.Continue Reading

September 4, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: Summer memories

Conscious Cat Sunday| 11 Comments

Then followed that beautiful season – summer. Filled was the air with a dreamy and
magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

How is it possible that it’s Labor Day weekend and summer is officially coming to an end? Even though we have warm and beautiful weather in my part of the world until well into October, there’s just something about Labor Day weekend that marks a passage. Temperatures may still be summery, but the quality of the light, and the feel of the air, are starting to subtly change and take on a hint of fall.Continue Reading

August 28, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: Get happy

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How many of you remember the theme song to The Partridge Family TV show? “Hello world, here’s a song that we’re singing. Come on, get happy!” And how many of you had a crush on David Cassidy?

But I digress. This post is about getting happy. Is there a formula for happiness? Is there one sure-fire way to achieve everything we want in life? Well, actually, there just might be. And it’s as simple, or as complicated, as getting happy. Simple, because we all have the power to do it. Complicated, because our conditioning tells us it’s not that easy.

Everything around us is energy, including our thoughts. If we focus our thoughts on things that make us happy, our energy shifts to a better place, and we tend to attract more happiness. But how do we do this in a world that seems to be so full of unhappy things?

We do it by making a conscious decision that we want to be happy. We have the power to choose our thoughts – so why not choose thoughs that make us feel good? We can make these conscious choices in every single moment – by choosing to focus on what is working in our lives rather than complaining about what isn’t, by choosing books and television programs that make us feel good rather than depressed or upset, by choosing to be with people who uplift us rather than drag us down into negativity.

Once we focus predominantly on that which makes us feel good, we’ll find that the world around us changes. Life flows more easily. We attract people and situations into our reality that are pleasant rather than frustrating. Our lives work better. We get happy.

And if you need a little help with feeling good, you don’t have to look any further than to your cats. They’re masters at making themselves feel good.

What will you to today to get happy?

August 21, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: Sundays are for reading

Conscious Cat Sunday| 22 Comments

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible
and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers. – Charles W. Eliot

Reading is as essential as breathing to me.

I’ve been an avid reader as far back as I can remember. My parents started reading to me as a very young child, and I surprised them by reading on my own long before it was taught in school. At first, they thought I was faking it and that I was only repeating the words from memory.

During all the changes I’ve gone through in my life, good and not so good, books have always been there to provide entertainment,inspiration, escape, advice and so much more.

It should come as no surprise that I particularly enjoy books about cats as well as other animals, and I offer a wide selection of my favorites on my Reading List.

My “to be read” pile is usually out of control, and I like it that way. In fact, I get a little twitchy when the pile gets too low. Between the books I see reviewed on some of my favorite book blogs, the books I find browsing at my hometown Barnes and Noble store, and the books publicists and authors send me for review, I don’t think I have to worry about running out of reading material anytime soon.

I usually read at least two or three books at the same time. Currently, I’m reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy, The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, and a German women’s magazine (a way for me to try and keep up with my native language).

What are you currently reading?

August 14, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: Navigating turbulent times

Conscious Cat Sunday| 19 Comments

Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity.
Let’s love turbulence and use it for change. – Ramsey Clark

We live in challenging times. The economy, the stock market, political battles – everywhere you look, there’s turmoil. Mercury is currently in retrograde, and if you believe in astrology, it means that during this period, things can go a little crazy, and our reactions to the ever-changing situations can cause confusion and frustration.

We can’t control the planets, or what is happening in the world, whether it’s the world at large, or our own small piece of it. But we can choose how we react to what’s happening around us, and we can control what we focus our thoughts on.

Here are some simple steps that can help make navigating these turbulent times a little easier:

– Make a conscious decision each day to look for things that make you feel good. Look for things to appreciate. Look for the positive aspects in the people you interact with. By focusing on what’s good in your world, you’ll allow less of what’s not so good into your energy field.

– Go on a news diet. At the very least, stop watching the news first thing in the morning, and last thing before you go to bed at night. What you see first thing in the morning will stay in your consciousness throughout the day. What you see just before you go to sleep will make its way into your dreams and spoil a good night’s rest for you. Consider foregoing the news altogether. If you feel you must be informed, be judicious about where you get your news. There are ways to get the news without the hype.

– Practice simple acts of kindness. This is a fun and easy way to take the focus off yourself and any fear and worry you might experience. Yield to the car in front of you trying to merge into your lane. Smile at the harried clerk at the store. Take an unexpected small gift to someone in your office. Trying to make someone else feel better feels good. You’ll be surprised how much these simple little acts can shift your consciousness to a better place.

– Spend time with your cat! Spending time with cats is one of the best ways I know to instantly shift your vibration from negative to positive. It’s impossible to be fearful and worried when you watch a kitten play or when you have a purring cat in your lap.

– Find serenity in the middle of chaos. Breathe, take a walk in the fresh air, unplug, read; any or all of these will help you feel calmer. Or follow Merlin’s lead in the photo above: find a bench in a park or in your backyard, and enjoy the calming beauty of nature.

What are you doing to help you navigate these turbulent times?

August 7, 2011

Conscious Cat Sunday: Gratitude

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We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. – Cynthia Ozick

Gratitude makes you happy. Research by Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis into the psychology of gratitude has shown that people who practice gratitude are 25% happier. They are more optimistic about the future and feel better about their lives.

The energy of gratitude is a powerful force. It can shift your mood and your thoughts from a place of scarcity to a place of abundance and joy. Gratitude is about being in the present moment, and appreciating what’s around you. Gratitude is about choice: you have the power to choose how you view any given situation in your life.

Gratitude is also a practice. Practicing gratitude is a great way to start and end each day. Think about five things you’re grateful for before you get out of bed each morning, and again before you go to sleep each night. Do this for a few days and you will notice how the shift in your energy will transform your life.

My five for today are:

1. Allegra

2. Ruby

3. A lovely breeze coming in through the open window.

4. That first cup of fresh brewed coffee in the morning.

5. Good health – my own, as well as Allegra’s and Ruby’s.

What five things are you grateful for today?