About the book

Of all animals, the cat alone attains to the contemplative life. He regards the wheel of existence from without, like the Buddha. Andrew Lang, Scottish man of letters, 1844-1912

Awarded Independent Publishers Bronze Medal for Visionary Fiction May 2009

One rainy morning, Kat Tansey was trying to make a very important decision. Should she stay and fight her debilitating depression, or should she choose to end her life? Hamlet-like, she kept turning the matter over and over in her mind.

The problem, as Poohbear Degoonacoon, her Maine Coon cat, explained, was that the mind she was using was her ordinary mind, not a good place to be when making a decision of irreversible magnitude.

“Before you make a choice you cannot undo, you need to understand the nature of your own mind,” he said. “Whether you are a human or a cat, the same technique applies. You must learn to sit and meditate. And I happen to know more than a little bit about this,” he observed, making a point of sitting down and tucking both paws under his chest in his best Buddha pose.

And thus began Kat’s journey back to herself, a journey into her own consciousness, where she learned to unlock the secrets of Buddhist meditation and find inner peace. Little by little, she began to regard Poohbear Degoonacoon as a true Buddhist master of meditation.

Choosing to Be is a magical story about becoming fully present and achieving the true freedom of enjoying life just as it is. Guided by her inscrutably wise and perceptive Buddha master who just happens to be a Maine Coon cat, and inspired by his comical little brother who is the essence of pure Buddha nature, Kat overcomes seemingly impenetrable obstacles to achieve inner peace. She breaks out of the prison of her ordinary mind and arrives at a place that was there all along, the sky-like freedom of her own Buddha mind.

Author Kat Tansey has created a story about love and compassion that teaches us answers not found in our ordinary minds. She takes the mystique out of Buddhist meditation and presents it in a way anyone can relate to,  honoring her human teachers for the extraordinary contribution they make to the world. She also, of course honors animals, cats in particular, for their healing presence in our lives.

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If you ever imagined you’d like know and experience your “Buddha nature,” this lively and enlightening book is a very good place to start. Choosing to Be revolves around a wise Maine Coon cat named Poohbear Degoonacoon, his kitten muse Catzenbear, and author Kat Tansey as they take the reader on a challenging and oft times amusing journey from the disorienting haze of depression to the freedom and clarity of Buddha mind. Whether this journey is real or imagined is left to the reader’s interpretation.

The value of meditation is clearly demonstrated by Kat and her Feline Zen Master in a way that is so absorbing you don’t realize how much you are learning. People looking for a unique self improvement book, even if not inclined toward Buddhist meditation, will discover relevant and helpful life lessons here. Those who are driven to continually “do” are well served by heeding this much deeper message to just “be.” Certainly Kat Tansey is not the first author with such a message, but Choosing to Be is truly one of the most enjoyable books making this very important point.

~~~~ Choosing to Be is available on Amazon.com ~~~~