Sit in the Sun: And Other Lessons in the Spiritual Wisdom of Cats

by Jon M. Sweeney

Overview

As a spiritual pilgrim for more than half a century, Jon Sweeney has practiced with teachers of many religious traditions. He's gone looking for wisdom, beauty, and truth wherever it can be found. But recently he's found himself learning closer to home—from the teacher-cats he lives with.

What he discovered is that our greatest spiritual teachers are at our feet. Literally. They are the cats we love and treasure. Nearly 60 million cats live in US households today. These feline teachers have much to offer us about living in the present, loving unconditionally, approaching life with a sense of playfulness, and trusting others, all the while being independent spirits.

Jon Sweeney, beloved scholar and author of The Pope's Cat and numerous books about Saint Francis, offers a beautifully illustrated, playful, gentle, informed meditation on the many spiritual truths and practices our feline companions provide if we but pause and pay attention.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506482279
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	342,030
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jon M. Sweeney is an award-winning spiritual writer and author of over thirty books. He has been interviewed in print by a range of publications from the Dallas Morning News to The Irish Catholic, and on television for CBS Saturday Morning and many other programs, about spirituality, spiritual practices, the pope, and the great lover of all creatures—Saint Francis. He lives in Milwaukee with his wife and daughters.

Editorial Reviews

"Cat lovers and fans of Sweeney's other works will be excited about this title. This is a good spiritual nonfiction book, a cozy one for patrons to sit with over a cup of tea or in a meditation pose with a cat curled in their lap." —Library Journal 

"Spirituality author Sweeney here pounces on the endearing (or less so) habits of our cat companions, providing segues into comparable activities for humans, and every other paragraph seems to have a quote worth saving: 'Be foolish, just a bit.'" —Booklist

"With his signature light and enlightening touch, Jon Sweeney graces us with a volume seemingly simple yet richly composed from his own domestic practice with feline gurus, enriched by insight gleaned from the lovers and researchers of this 4,400-year-old tribe. All of this makes the invitation to 'sit in the sun'—and many other instructions from this most intriguing species—a healing mode of contemplation as we learn to be attentive to the wisdom of those with whom we share our homes and our one common home." —Kathleen Deignan, CND, PhD, director of The Institute for Earth and Spirit at Iona University and co-convener of the Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue

"Sit in the Sun is the purr-fect guide to show the spiritual lessons we can learn from our feline friends. Curl up and read this wise book, preferably with your furry companion on your lap." —Joel Fotinos, author of The Prosperity Principles

"A playful book sharing interspiritual wisdom and soul-softening and -deepening practices, Sit in the Sun will reawaken your sense of wonder. Be prepared to pounce over perfectionism and experience purr-fect joy!" —Carmen Acevedo Butcher, translator of Practice of the Presence by Brother Lawrence and The Cloud of Unknowing

From the Publisher

04/01/2023

Sweeney, author of more than 40 books on meditation, religion, and biographical interpretations (Teresa of Calcutta: Dark Night, Active Love; Awake and Alive: Thomas Merton According to His Novices), relates his own journey with meditation and the cats in his life that have inspired some of his meditative thinking. Cat owners will relate to Sweeney's humor in analyzing his cats' thoughts, personalities, and chosen places of meditation—sprawled out in a sunspot on the floor of the busiest walkway in the house, for example. Meditation recommendations and guides are offered at the end of chapters, with titles like "A Cat Practice," "A Cat and Human Practice," or "To Practice" (for just the humans in the room). VERDICT Cat lovers and fans of Sweeney's other works will be excited about this title. This is a good spiritual nonfiction book, a cozy one for patrons to sit with over a cup of tea or in a meditation pose with a cat curled in their lap.—Brittany Fechtman

Library Journal