Expert Advice on Cat Health, Nutrition and Lifestyle.
Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States and it’s time for my annual tradition of making a “Thanksgiving ABC’s” list. Even though I maintain a gratitude practice every day, I still love doing this list every year. Some of the items repeat year after year, others are new. Here’s this year’s list:Continue Reading
Research has shown that gratitude is a powerful force. Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis found that people who practice gratitude are 25% happier. They are more optimistic about the future and feel better about their lives. And never has practicing gratitude been more important than during this pandemic.Continue Reading
Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States. As we’re looking forward to spending time with family and friends, I think it’s important not to lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday: a time to count one’s blessings.Continue Reading
Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States. As we’re looking forward to spending time with family and friends, I think it’s important not to lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday: a time to count one’s blessings. Continue Reading
Contrary to what many people believe, happiness is a choice. Happy people are happy because they make themselves happy. They maintain a mostly positive outlook, and practice habits that make their lives happier. Not surprisingly, our cats already practice many of these habits.
1. Live in the present.
Cats live in the moment. When they’re lazing about in a sun puddle, they don’t worry about when the next sun puddle will show up – they simply enjoy the pleasure of the warmth on their fur, right now, in this present moment.
2. Wake up at the same time every morning.
Have you ever noticed how many successful and happy people are early risers? Waking up at the same time each day keeps your circadian rhythm in balance, which keeps you calmer and more centered and also increased productivity.Continue Reading
Last Sunday night, we told you we were ready for the approaching storm. We had stocked up on emergency supplies, including canned food for Allegra and Ruby in case their raw food went bad in the event of a power outage, and chocolate for me in case – well, because you need chocolate when life gets stressful. We had Storm Soother and Stress Stopper on hand. We were as ready as you can ever be for something like this.
By the time we woke up Monday morning, it was raining heavily. The forecast was for the rain and wind to increase steadily throughout the day, with the worst to come in the afternoon and into the night. I decided to venture out for my weekly Pilates session in the morning, followed by lunch with a friend. I needed the distraction from worrying, not to mention the exercise. The roads were already deserted, and many businesses were either already shut down, or closing early. By the time I got home a couple of hours later, the wind had started to pick up in earnest.
I expected to find Allegra downstairs, in or near her safe spaceContinue Reading
It’s hard to believe that Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the United States. As we’re looking forward to spending time with family and friends, it’s important to not lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday: a time to count one’s blessings. For the past couple of years, I’ve made a Thanksgiving ABC’s list. Some of the items on the list repeat year after year, others are new.
Here is this year’s list of what I’m thankful for:
A: Allegra
B: Books and blogs
C: CatsContinue Reading
Many of us are woken by our cats each day, begging to be fed. I happen to think that’s a great way to start the day, but I’m an early bird. While you may not be able to stop a hungry cat from waking you, you can control other aspects of how you start off your day – after you feed the cats, of course!
What you do first thing in the morning can have a profound influence on the rest of your day. Start things off right by consciously choosing positive rituals. And you don’t have to take a lot of time to do it.
Here are some suggestions for starting the day off right:Continue Reading
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. – Cynthia Ozick
Gratitude makes you happy. Research by Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis into the psychology of gratitude has shown that people who practice gratitude are 25% happier. They are more optimistic about the future and feel better about their lives.
The energy of gratitude is a powerful force. It can shift your mood and your thoughts from a place of scarcity to a place of abundance and joy. Gratitude is about being in the present moment, and appreciating what’s around you. Gratitude is about choice: you have the power to choose how you view any given situation in your life.
Gratitude is also a practice. Practicing gratitude is a great way to start and end each day. Think about five things you’re grateful for before you get out of bed each morning, and again before you go to sleep each night. Do this for a few days and you will notice how the shift in your energy will transform your life.
My five for today are:
1. Allegra
2. Ruby
3. A lovely breeze coming in through the open window.
4. That first cup of fresh brewed coffee in the morning.
5. Good health – my own, as well as Allegra’s and Ruby’s.
What five things are you grateful for today?
You may also enjoy reading:
Sunday Purrs: Creating Balance
Five habits to expand your thinking
Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends, but it is also a time for reflection on the many things we have in our lives that we are grateful for. Gratitude is a wonderful way to raise your vibration and shift your energy. The vibration of gratitude is a powerful force. It can shift your mood and your thoughts from a place of scarcity to a place of abundance.
I’ve come up with a whole alphabet of things I’m grateful for this year:
A – Amber, for her loving, wise and gentle presence in my life, for being the inspiration behind The Conscious Cat, and for reminding me to slow down and appreciate each moment.
B – Buckley, for opening my heart and changing my life in ways I never could have imagined, and for inspiring me to write her story so that her lessons can be shared with the world.
C – Cats – I can’t imagine a world without these wonderful creatures.
D – Dogs – my friends’ dogs, my Reiki clients – dogs are so much fun to be with.
E – Eating out – one of the great pleasures of life, especially when shared with good friends.
F – Friends – I am richly blessed in that area. Since I no longer have any family left, my friends are my family.
G – Google – what did we ever do without it?
H – Health. The fact that mine is excellent.
I – Inner peace – when you have it, life makes sense.
J – Joy – it’s what we all strive for. There is joy in life’s small moments, as well as in the big ones. I’ve had both this past year – in spades.
K – Kindness – being kind to others, whether human or animal, is what matters most.
L – Law of Attraction. It makes everything so simple.
M – Music. Everything from classical to hard rock.
N – Novels – the best way I know of to escape reality for a little while at a time.
O – Openness – being open to new experiences allows life to grow and expand beyond self-imposed limits.
P – Passion – especially the fact that I finally discovered mine.
Q – Quiet time. It’s essential for my personal balance and well-being, and I make sure to carve out time for it each and every day.
R – Reading. I usually have at least two or three books going at the same time.
S – Social Media – I’ve made so many wonderful new friends, and reconnected with old ones. What an amazing world we live in where keeping in touch is made so easy.
T – Tea on a cold day. Current favorites: Celestial Seasonings Sugar Plum Spice and Mandarin Orange Green Tea.
U – Unlimited possibilities – the fact that you can achieve anything you put your mind to.
V– The color violet – this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me!
W – Walking. It’s the one exercise I’ve stuck with consistently for decades. I love the combination of exercise and contemplation.
X – No matter how hard I try, I can’t think of anything starting with X!
Y – You! My readers, my friends – thank you for all you bring into my life.
Z – Z-Rock (the tv show) and the real life band ZO2 whose lives the show is based on.
Writing this blog post and coming up with this list turned out to not only be fun, but a very powerful example of how focusing on gratitude can shift your vibration. I encourage you to consider making a gratitude list for yourself this Thanksgiving. What does your Thanksgiving alphabet look like?