I borrowed “Zen” for the sake of alliteration here, for although I have my own belief system, personal to me, I like the 21st interpretation of the word. “Zen” has somehow evolved to mean calm and centred, possibly derived from the practice of meditation in Buddhism. There is much to be learned from the art of meditation: it is both calming and grounding, even if you don’t at first achieve a state of enlightenment. It can help to deal with depression, stress and anxiety as you are within yourself, and at one with yourself.
Cats are masters at the art of meditation. I have sometimes mistaken Ting’s deep, contemplative state as one of her shifts at her part-time job of being a garden rock…
“No! I’m not sleeping! I was a paw step away from total peace…”
“Oh, sorry, I thought you were just sleeping…”
Charlie is an excellent meditation partner – she likes to sit on my legs to ground me and purr soothingly, while I refresh and re-connect. Sometimes we are joined by one or two of the other cats, just sitting, and purring, sitting and purring…
Zoisite, therefore, is an excellent stone for meditation, and one that I mean to try for myself, rather than my “Go-to” stone of Rose Quartz. In The Autumn Of My Life did a wonderful post about her personal experience of Zoisite, go and check it out…
A typical interpretation of this stone is that it is positive and uplifting, it can transform negative energies, dispel lethargy and give you a hotline to the spiritual realms, so to speak. Zoisite is a stone of direction, enabling positive character traits and focus. Ruby in Zoisite is a combination stone, bestowing the benefits of Ruby too as it is linked to the Crown Chakra. It can help to access the soul memory and facilitate spiritual learning, maintain your connection to other people whilst amplifying the biomagnetic field around your body, protecting your sense of inner peace and calm.
A little piece and serenity can go a long way to self help and healing, not least making you feel better after a long, horrendous day. Then I look forward to sitting down, cup of tea in hand and cat on knee; after a few minutes, the stress oozes away, the dark depressive cloud lifts and I can see a way forward.
My cats are both calming and restorative to me, there have been quite a few articles written about the health benefits of owning a pet, with scientific proof, but as well as being good for the body, they are also good for the soul. What you see is what you get with a cat, there is no artifice or deception, they don’t understand – or care – about how people perceive them, they just know that they are cats. They sometimes aspire to greater things, but ultimately they accept themselves for what they are and are at peace with that:
“If there were a universal sound depicting peace, I would surely vote for the purr.”
Barbara L. Diamond
so beautiful, so beautiful. Thank you dear Samantha, and your son for the photographs, fascinated me. Love, nia
LikeLiked by 1 person
So pleased you enjoyed it, Nia, thank you, as always, for reading and your lovely comment : ) xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I used to meditate lots both morning and evening as I struggle with bouts of anxiety. I’ve slipped, over the last few months and have noticed it. Maybe this is my second reminder to get back into practicing meditation and mindfulness again. I had a wake up call yesterday too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can only say try…I have anxiety etc. and in particularly bad moments, meditation can help-even if it’s just to give yourself breathing space in your head. Try adding a five minute burst back in and then build up-choose your time carefully though as when I started I just used to fall asleep…lol!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much : )
LikeLike
A beautiful post Samantha. We used to do a meditation circle at the shelter before starting our shift and when we opened our eyes again we were surrounded by cats, all in deep meditation. They are the true zen masters. Thank you for sharing this post and much love to you xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you-and what a lovely idea! Truly we still have much to learn from the Animal Kingdom…enjoy the rest of your Sunday : )xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Samantha, you too 💜💜🐾🐾
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fabulous post and thank you for the shout out, Samantha!
I hope your weekend was a good one?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you-glad you liked it : ) Not a bad week end at all either! Have a happy Monday, and thank you for reading and commenting : ) x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cats are quintessentially Zen! Sometimes I watch Ulysses watching the water flowing from his drinking fountain and the words ‘be the flow’ ring in my head (well, that’s actually Daoism but nevermind). They either look as if they were meditating or doing some mischief (the meditation is the Zen bit, not sure what the mischief represents). I don’t know about Zoisite but cats are definitively helpful when I want to relax and charge the batteries.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol! Oh yes, they have it in them to be as inscrutable as Buddha himself…I suppose the mischief bit is demonstrating their zest for life, encouraging you to pick up and carry on…I just know that my life would be the poorer without my animal family :)x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love my cat. I want to make her a service animal because she is so calming.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely idea! Similar to the Pets As Therapy scheme, people really benefit from animal companionship : )
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just amazing 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s very kind-thank you : )
LikeLike
That sounds like a very special stone. We don’t have it yet, but it will be on our must-have-list, maybe that I am going to meditate with Granny too, just like Charlie 🙂 Great post, Samantha and great quote too. Purring Pawkisses 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you-pleased you enjoyed it…I can recommend Charlie’s style of meditation! : ) xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you wrote a post awhile back on cats purring and I have since focused a lot more on the effect it has on me. I always thought it was calming and relaxing and I never realized it was very much like entering a state of meditation. Cats are the best! Thank you for sharing the posts you do, I find I am always able to reflect on them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! What a lovely comment, I am so pleased you enjoy the posts, and that they produce such a sensitive response in you : ) Thank you, as always, for reading and commenting x
LikeLiked by 1 person
More proof that cats are quite simply the best and that we can learn a lot from them. Nothing more relaxing than stroking a happy cat either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree! I wish I could adopt a more cat-like philosophy on life..thank you for reading and commenting : )
LikeLike