Spring retreat: inquiry for cats like us.

I’m not sure what’s going on, but I just had a second registration for spring retreat come in for a cat. 

LOL. 

Actually, with cats, dogs, insects, birds; these creatures appear to be living, being, flying, running, jumping, playing, sleeping, hunting, snuggling, eating, moving….even if they are dying, it appears they don’t do it with the stress we humans sometimes have around these activities. 

Most living creatures besides humans don’t appear to be sufferingin the mind and thinking they need to forget, or change, or fix, or improve. 

Suffering is: remembering, thinking, worrying, regretting, projecting into the future, turning towards themselves with self-criticism and self-judgment (even self-hatred).  

Now, truth is, what do I know about a cat’s mind?

Like you probably do, I watch animals and plants and trees and notice they are all there, being themselves, in the present moment. 

They’re being “cat”. Or “tree”.  

When we observe everything around us it all seems wildly curious, mysterious, crazy, inexplicable. 

Where did All This come from? 

What’s going on?

Thinking itself is magnificent….but it also creates a lot of imagery, feelings, stories and inventions that aren’t necessarily true in this present moment. (I’m sure you’ve noticed, haha)!

Who would we be without our stressful thinking? 

We do think, that isn’t going to stop. We’re human. We have these amazing brains and creative imaginative minds. 

What is this fourth question in The Work offering anyway: Who would you be without that thought? 

One of my favorite things about the process of The Work, is narrowing our focus down to just one situation at a time. One person, one incident, one experience, on concept or thought that really disturbs us still when we remember it. 

We don’t have to force ourselves to Not Be with any thoughts. We’ll have thoughts, oh yes. Many thoughts. We love information and learning and gathering and understanding, don’t we?

And, we can wonder what it would be like without our stressfulthought, and use our imaginations to investigate and wonder.  

What I noticed after beginning to practice The Work, was that when I never questioned my thinking about anything, I was rather miserable a lot of the time, with an occasional blip of happiness and joy. 

Without believing my stories are the Truth….I’m much more like the rest of what I see around me: living creatures, chairs, tables, houses, pavement. 

I am this being, a part of the world, doing, then not doing, awake, then asleep. Not having thousands of stressful thoughts about it all. Noticing the comfort and stillness present, the speed, the slowing down, the movement of What Is. 

I’m more like a cat, or dog, or a living entity like a plant, without my stories. 

This may be more true than any of us ever realized. 

Astonishing.

“Our situation on this earth seems strange. Every one of us appears here involuntarily and uninvited, for a short stay, without knowing why. To me it is enough to wonder at the secrets.” ~ Albert Einstein

Join the practice of presence, clarity….and joy of being. Spring Retreat can help unravel stressful thinking, so we can see the beauty in what is. Register. 

Much love,Grace