“I have had many Zen masters as teachers – and all of them cats!” ~ Eckhart Tolle
Any among us who are of the Feline Tribe understand The Way of Cat.
And we know that we learn much from our Feline anam cara (like my beloved Luna) — soul friends.
They’re joyous and masterful teachers, and quite the Tricksters, too, ever nudging us back into the present moment and mindfulness.
Cats have long been the companions of wise ones, yogi/nis, and others on the Path, as we see from this tidbit from Al-Shibli, a Sufi master.
“I went to see Nuri. I saw him sitting in meditation so motionless that not even one hair moved.
I asked, ‘From whom did you learn such deep meditation?”
“I learned it from a cat waiting by a mouse hole. The cat was much stiller than I.'”
Ahhh yes, and so it is … for those who have the eyes to see the wisdom of the Feline.
Big Love and Feline Appreciation,
Jamie
June 29, 2015 at 6:39 am
Hi Jamie, I’m browsing through these posts in order to track down the one I commented on a few weeks ago … (well, more like ‘sent my SOS to you’ on :-o). I lost track of it, but remembered it was a post from 2013. In the process my heart, spirit and soul have been ringing like church bells as one post after the next deeply resonates in me, striking chords I didn’t even know I had!
Now, about this Feline Wisdom! Is there really such a thing as “the Feline Tribe”? Or is that just a clever way of saying “Peeps who love cats?”
I ask because, if there is such a thing as a Feline Tribe — that is MY TRIBE! Do you know, ever since I was little, I wished I could be a cat? I tend to “bond” with cats in a way no one else seems to. Recently, I had a cat named Shadow, who was my very best friend. He never left my side. it took me a few years before I realized that Shadow understood exactly what I was saying! And I learned the ways he was trying to communicate with me. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, he was one amazing cat.
Sadly, he died about a year ago, at the young age of 7, from hyperthyroidism that we weren’t able to treat. (He couldn’t stomach the medicine, so our only other route was surgery. This would have required Shadow to be in a hospital for 4 days and undergo a brutal recovery period. Knowing Shadow the way I did, I knew he’d be terrified; i felt like it would have been selfish of me to put him through such trauma. Other cats might handle it just fine… but not my Shadow). Of course, I find myself second-guessing that decision every so often.
Anyway, when Shadow died last March I was surprised at depth of my grief. It was crushing. In all seriousness, and as pitiful as this sounds, I never experienced real grief before losing Shadow. In my lifetime I’ve known many people who’ve passed on — including my dad, my two grandmothers, one grandfather, two aunts, a good friend from high school, and more. But In all those cases, I never came close to grieving. In fact, I don’t even know if I cried. (Oddly, when my dad died, I felt a sense of relief. … and then guilt and shame for feeling relieved. …)..
But when Shadow died, I felt like the world just crumbled under my feet. I sobbed and sobbed, for weeks, even months. It felt surreal to be without Shadow! … which seems strange since I’d only known him for 7 years. Shadow loved me unconditionally; I believe that’s the first time I’ve ever known such pure, unadulterated love.
Oh dear, I just wrote another comment longer than your post :-(. I guess I got carried away … But wanted to tell you these things in case there’s more to my soul-bond with Shadow than meets the eye.
July 6, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Hey there, Mo. So sorry to hear about Shadow – they are the most amazing soul companions, friends, and allies. And yes, Feline Tribe … that’s just a phrase that came to me, so I can’t say whether it exists somewhere otherwise (I’m sure it does, since it all comes from the collective memory spheres!). But it made sense for me as well, and it seems like something that would have been the case in some ancient time!
I’m glad you enjoyed the Feline Tribe post. 🙂
Blessings,
Jamie