Find yourself a quiet corner where you can sit undisturbed. The kind of place that a cat would feel comfortable and secure, such as in a patch of sunlight on your bedroom floor. Make sure your phone is set to silent mode. Select a gentle alert tone and set it for ten minutes. You don’t have to assume a full lotus, cross-legged position. If you like, grab a couple of cushions off the sofa, put them on the floor, and take your seat. If it’s more comfortable for you to sit in a chair, you can do so, so long as it has a straight back.
Keep your back straight but relaxed, and rest your hands in your lap, right palm on your left like a pair of shells. Join the thumb tips together to close the circuit of energy. Keep your shoulders comfortably rolled back. Close your eyes and let the muscles in your face relax. Place the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth. Tilt your head slightly down if your mind is very active, or keep it more upright if you’re feeling tired.
Give yourself permission, here and now, not to think about any of your usual concerns. From this moment on, let anything you may have been thinking about become completely irrelevant while you are meditating. Consider this time off from your usual mental activity. Let it be time to restore, rebalance, and recharge. Try to be pure consciousness—without a past, without a future. Just abide in the here and now.
Be aware that you have now become a “cat magnet.” If you share your life with a feline friend, he or she will almost certainly make an appearance in the next few minutes.
Set the intention for your meditation by reciting the following affirmation, either aloud or silently:
By the practice of this meditation
I am becoming calm and relaxed,
Happier and more efficient in all that I do,
Both for my own sake, as well as for others.
Direct your attention to your nostrils. Focus on the sensation of your breath as you inhale and exhale. Feel your breath as you breathe in . . . and breathe out. On your next exhalation, in your mind, say the number one. On subsequent exhalations count two, three, and four. Count your breaths in cycles of four, keeping your attention focused on the sensation the breath makes as it moves through your nostrils.
As you meditate, notice how your breathing quite naturally slows. Observe how every inhalation and exhalation begins, then builds, then tapers away. If your mind wanders or becomes dull, simply return it to the object of your meditation: your breath.
When the phone alert sounds, be aware of how your breathing has slowed and how your body and mind have relaxed. End the meditation as you began it, with the affirmation:
By the practice of this meditation
I am becoming calm and relaxed,
Happier and more efficient in all that I do,
Both for my own sake, as well as for others.
May all beings have happiness and
the true causes of happiness,
May all beings be free from suffering
and the true causes of suffering,
May all beings enjoy vibrant good health and abundance, and
May all beings find their highest purpose
and be an inspiration to others.
Gently remove your now-dozing feline friend from your lap, and get up.