A mirror, a master, and an eternal love – Cats and spirituality through the eyes of a cat owner (Part 2)

In this new part of the blog post series called Cats and spirituality, I continue to detail the concepts that our cats can teach us. I also support them by many practical examples.

Forgiveness

Yes, these lovely furry little souls also try to teach us forgiveness, which is also an important spiritual teaching. Through it, we can have a healthier life.

Unfortunately, people with excessively egocentric thinking are not capable of doing this, not only with their fellow humans, but not even with their pets. In my opinion, they are the ones who have hearts of stone. Who can’t forgive regretful round puppy or kitten eyes?

Others, the responsible loving owners who regard their furry friends as members of their family, have learned to apply the art of forgiveness towards them. They may receive criticism from many that says that they spoil their pet too much, they should not be allowed everything to their pets and they should be teach them several things. I often receive these criticisms, but I don’t deal with them.

Criticism is the weapon of the weak, we should let them pass our ears. According to many, a little beating doesn’t hurt either. The cat should learn that the problematic thing shouldn’t done next time. They only voice the old way of thinking, and refuse to accept modern training advice, i.e. e.g. that alternatives must be provided for the cat. People with such a mindset probably do not shy away from beating their own children, regardless of the psychological damage they cause them.

I think there are many people like the writer of these lines. We have always forgiven our little pet more easily than our fellow-beings. Animals are creatures of instinct, many say, and humans are considered smarter. It’s possible that this is behind things, too. So, we think people should give more thought to their actions, their words, and putting their non-animal selves first.

It may happen that our cat expresses his dislike for something by scratching or biting, but we forgive him/her for this, because he/she is like that. However, a hurtful human word or deed, can consume us in our souls for years. It hurts us more than a cat’s scratch. Especially, if it comes from someone we trusted.

These mental wounds, however, will eventually surface in the form of physical illness. That is why it is important that those who have already gotten to the point of forgiving their pet use this technique in their environment as well.

Decreasing the importance of material things

In connection with the previous point, I would like to emphasize that whoever can forgive his cat for the damage done to various pieces of furniture has already come closer to the spiritual world. We should turn our attention from the excessively material world to our spiritual life.

Through this, our furry masters also teach us several things mentioned earlier: love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

I could mention countless examples in our lives: Tirus had a special sense to discover everything that was put on something like a sticker in his younger days. Removing the stickers from the furniture wasn’t a problem (luckily, he didn’t eat it), but it was even more problematic when he discovered that the doors of the new wardrobes in the living room weren’t solid wood, but had paper stickers on them.

And he didn’t stop there. He also realized that the decorative skirting of the laminate floor is not a solid piece of wood either, but also covered with paper. As a result, the damaged skirting had to be replaced.

The above-mentioned two examples prove the material damage a cat can cause in a house. Many books and book covers also fell victim to his love for papers.

And before anyone asks, he has never been in a low-stimulus environment: we play every day and he has toys in our home, so Tirus can play with them even alone.

Of course, when I noticed these damages, I told him that I was not happy about what he had done. I corrected the mistakes on the wardrobe as best I could. The decorative skirting was replaced, and I took off the covers of the books that are more important to me or put the book in a place where it cannot be reached by Tirus.

And that’s it. Tirus has never been punished. I let the “well-intentioned” cat-raising advice of others (in many cases, people who don’t own cats) pass by. I don’t want to cause mental damage to Tirus and spoil the relationship between us.

I say that he is my little Everything, my Little Treasure. And I don’t just say this, I mean it. He is worth much more to me than a home decoration item. For me, our relationship was love at first sight, and my later spiritual studies made it clear to me that he is both my teacher, my master and my spiritual mirror.

Maine Coons are considered to be among the most intelligent cats anyway. I am convinced that he understands everything I say to him (it can be seen from the way he looks). He is just pushing his limits.

Gratitude

Perhaps we have come to the most important point. And this is the feeling of gratitude. If we practice this as much as possible in a day, the more we do for our mental and physical health.

For the lucky ones who have already learned to apply the “cat teachings” summarized in the point above from their cats, I can assure you that every time they are near their cat or just think about her/him, they feel a sense of gratitude in their hearts.

They are grateful for finding each other and for every minute spent together.

And what about the owners who don’t think about these things and live a less spiritual life? Does a cat have a positive effect on their life, even if they are not aware of it?

My answer to that question is clearly yes. While playing together with their cats, I am sure that they will also be made to laugh and smile countless times by the fun of their little pet.

In addition, they also feel their love for their cats, they treat them e.g. with a delicious meal or even unconsciously, the feeling of gratitude can appear in them. In this case, they feel good about being able to share their lives with their little pet.

How does all this affect our physical health?

Therapy animals, including cats, have long been used to heal people for a long time.

It is also not an unknown claim that sharing one’s life with a pet has a beneficial effect on the lives of single and old people. When living with a pet they do not feel alone. There is someone to take care of, and in the best case, they do not feel so lonely due to the intimate relationship that has developed between them and their little animals. They feel loved, they have someone to take care of, so they don’t feel unnecessary. This all helps to avoid depression.

It is also a well-known fact that the purring of cats has a beneficial effect on several human diseases.

Taking spiritual connections into account, happiness, kindness, love and feelings of gratitude all serve our mental health and happiness. With a smile, we can also affect our health through our soul.

“A sound mind in a sound body.”, and “As you are inside, so you are outside.” the sayings hold. Someone who is happy from the inside, has found peace of mind, smiles a lot, most likely maintains good relationships with fellow human beings. It vibrates at a higher level, in whose environment it is good to be.

Research has also shown that people who maintain the right quality and quantity of relationships are much healthier (regardless of their lifestyle).

Who hasn’t heard of various mental illnesses?

You can believe or reject this, but several of my own examples and the above-mentioned proverb prove that the “health” of the soul does have an effect on our physical health as well.

It can also be seen that if we make the above listed teachings a part of our lives, we can have a beneficial effect on both our spiritual and physical lives.

To conclude this article, I would like to share with you that I myself have just started on the spiritual path. I took a numerology course that helped me a lot with self-awareness and shed light on why some people behave the way they do.