Welcome.
This meditation today is about awareness of what I like to call the kitty cat mind.
Please take a comfortable enough posture and rest your hands in the lap with the thumbs just barely touching.
As you breathe naturally,
Try to exhale a little longer than the inhale,
Maybe just two or three times.
Let the shoulders hang down and try to let the rest of the body soften.
Then turn the attention to the breath and watch it as it does what it does.
Unless you are very experienced,
And often even if you are,
The mind does whatever it wants just like a kitty cat.
When the mind is busy,
Consider seeing it as a cat playing with a tangle of string or tossing a toy mouse and yelping in the process.
Cats are very headstrong beings,
Just like our minds can be.
So instead of trying to herd the cats of the mind,
Just be aware of the games they play.
Don't judge their behavior,
But enjoy their antics when they chase their tail.
Enjoy the peacefulness when they are laying quietly,
Purring,
And their tail is swaying gently back and forth.
The reality is we cannot control the mind or the cat,
But if we just allow ourselves to pay attention to the present behavior with an attitude of kindness,
Love,
And devoid of judgment,
We won't suffer.
Cats,
Just like the mind,
Will respond to the energy that is present.
If we are all excited and full of nervous energy,
They will often respond similarly.
If we sit quiet and relaxed,
The mind will settle,
And so will the kitties.
When the Sangha comes to sit in my living room,
At first my kitties,
Like the Sangha,
Are full of energy,
But after we greet each other and settle into our cushions,
The kitties relax too and sit with us.
May you and your kitties be at ease.
