Of all animals, the cat alone attains to the contemplative life. He regards the wheel of existence from without, like the Buddha. Andrew Lang, 1844-1912One 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 around in her mind.The problem, as her Buddha master Maine Coon cat Poohbear Degoonacoon, 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 begins Kat's journey back to herself, a journey into her own consciousness-where she learns to unlock the secrets of Buddhist meditation and find inner peace.
Kat Tansey is an award-winning author and innovative educator who believes in the power of a well-told tale to teach while it entertains.
An inspirational teacher, Kat spent her early career training thousands of people and consulting with over fifty corporations to help them meet the challenges of change. Her first book, written as a novel, was Winning the Change Game. The book reflected on the lessons Kat learned from twenty years in the corporate world as a training and change management consultant, and featured Alexander Hamilton, who was instrumental in the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, as the change guru.
Kat's second book, Choosing to Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master, is the story of her journey from deep depression to emotional wellness after she was struck down by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in the early 90's. Choosing to Be has been awarded the Independent Publisher's Bronze Medal, and has been highly praised by people like Thom Hartmann, distinguished radio commentator and lifelong meditator, who said it is one of the best books on meditation he has ever read. The illustrious Findhorn Press in Scotland picked up the rights to Choosing to Be and released a new, 2nd edition in September 2010.
Empowering and promoting women has always been a significant part of Kat's journey, and she focuses that passion toward collecting the wisdom of midlife women. Her weekly talk show, Finding Magic in Midlife, allows her to interview and discuss in-depth, lessons learned from a wide variety of accomplished and well-known midlife women.
In early 2010, Kat collaborated with her good friend Dave Carpenter to produce the highly praised e-book, Prospering in 2010. They also created an exciting subscription series of webinars, Prospering in 2010: Embracing Change to Accelerate Success.
Kat has a BA in English from Mary Washington College in Virginia and an MBA from Pepperdine University in California. She lives in Ojai, California with her partner, Greg, and enjoys taking long walks where she develops dialogues for her new book.
