A few months ago, I had the good fortune of spending some time with my then 10-month old godson. It was close to dinner time and he was starting to get fussy indoors so to give his parents and older sister a little breathing room, I picked him up and carried him outside. It was a beautiful spring day and he immediately quieted and became very alert. Then something interesting happened that I cannot really explain but I’ll call ‘merging consciousness’. This happened to me only once before some years ago when I lay down to take a nap and my cat decided to join me. Even though I was tired my mind was racing, continuously thinking about the past and worrying about the future, keeping me from being able to rest. My cat didn’t seem to have any trouble settling down at all and after a few minutes of purring, fell fast asleep. I was pondering, not without some jealousy about how cats are able to shift gears so effortlessly when suddenly it was as if I merged with my cat and got to experience ‘cat-ness’. There was no past, no future, only the moment. And that moment was nap! Every part of his being was 100% invested with total ease, in napping. It was glorious!  Continue Reading →