I’ve always known God was really a cat.
Those who taught that he was a dog are just plain heretics.
Barbara’s interview is a functional mystical experience.
It is a mystical experience in that it puts Barbara in touch with core qualities of enlightenment.
It is functional in that Barbara can use it to get past the angry, bitter little girl that she has never made peace with. It shows her how to listen to her, to lift her up, to accept her, to comfort her and give her a voice in her life.
By doing so she moves out of conflict with her body, conflict that contributes to chronic pain and illness.
It is also functional in that it honors some of the best parts of Barbara, long forgotten or de-emphasized.
Barbara needs to do her best to make friends with this cat.
It would be helpful if she were to “Pray” to it like she would to God;
To ask its opinion about how to deal with the angry little girl.
To ask it in, to be with her, when she is in pain, anxiety, depressed, or wants to self-medicate to escape from all that.
Barbara needs to love this cat!
Honor it!
Respect it!
Have fun with it!
Why? Well, this cat definitely has a very strong healing vibe. Read the interview and see for yourself!
It does not waste time on blame, men, rules, or making life hard.
Read Barbara’s interview so you can see how you too can accomplish the following:
1) Make peace with your “inner child” so it doesn’t throw fits and sabotage the family vacation.
2) Get yourself a “real,” useful, practical “God” that makes sense for who you are today in your world.
3) Integrate your Heaven and Hell so that you can start doing what you came here to do.
Here’s Barbara’s interview.
What are three fundamental life issues that you are dealing with now in your life?
1 Health
2 Relationships
3 Writing
Which issue brings up the strongest feelings for you?
My health and my body
What feelings does this issue bring up for you?
Anger and disappointment
If those feelings had a color (or colors), what would it be?
green
Imagine that color filling the space in front of you so that it has depth, height, width, and aliveness.
Now watch that color swirl, congeal, and condense into a shape. Don’t make it take a shape, just watch it and say the first thing that you see or that comes to your mind: An animal? Object? Plant? What?
The angry little girl inside me.
Now remember how as a child you liked to pretend you were a teacher or a doctor? It’s easy and fun for you to imagine that you are the shape that took form from your color and answer some questions I ask, saying the first thing that comes to your mind. If you wait too long to answer, that’s not the character answering – that’s YOU trying to figure out the right thing to say!
Little Girl, look out at the world from your perspective and tell us what you see…
An unfair world. How can people stand this?
Little Girl, would you please tell me about yourself and what you are doing?
I’m angry at my body, my mother for not understanding me, and God for creating this awful creature – woman (at age 8 or 9, when I started menstruating)
Little Girl, what do you like most about yourself? What are your strengths?
When I don’t have the curse, I feel good, strong and playful. I’m smart and love learning.
Little Girl, what do you dislike most about yourself? Do you have weaknesses? What are they?
I hate my body!! I fill up with rage whenever I think about it. I hate my mother because she thinks I should hold this inside. I want this life to be over soon; I’m impatient.
Little Girl, what aspect of Barbara do you represent or most closely personify?
The root of her illness. Her childish fury and self-hatred.
Little Girl, if you could be anywhere you wanted to be and take any form you desired, would you change? If so, how?
I would be a cat! I hate being a human woman; it’s the worst thing in the world.
(Continue, answering as the transformed object, if it chose to change.)
Cat, how would you score yourself 0-10, in each of the following six qualities: confidence, compassion, wisdom, acceptance, inner peace, and witnessing? Why?
Confidence, 0-10. Why? 10 I’m the queen of the house.
Compassion, 0-10. Why? 9 I feel so sorry for B. She shouldn’t have to suffer so much.
Wisdom, 0-10. Why? 9 I know all things. It’s different than the book-learning B. pursues.
Acceptance, 0-10. Why? 10 I’m happy in my skin, unlike B.
Inner Peace, 0-10. Why? 9 (B’s is 0. ) I just am.
Witnessing, 0-10. Why? 8-9 I go within a great deal and even in my sleep. I understand things from a different perspective.
Cat, if you scored tens in all six of these qualities, would you be different? If so, how?
Yes, I would be more human-like or Buddha-like.
Cat, how would Barbara’s life be different if she naturally scored like you do in all six of these qualities all the time?
She wouldn’t suffer so much. She would see that her journey is shared by others who love her. It’s too bad her pet kitten was lost when she was younger. Silky was her connection to the natural world. We animal kingdoms and plant kingdoms hold much wisdom.
Cat, if you could live Barbara’s life for her, how would you live it differently?
I would lovingly take care of my body. I would let the pain come, offer it to the Great Cat, and release it. I would know there was an answer and that I would understand it soon. I would then let all my thoughts and emotions go and take a nap!
Cat,if you could live Barbara’s waking life for her today, would you handle Barbara’s three life issues differently? If so, how?
1. Health – I would love my body not hate it. I would find things (in nature) to help with the pain. She has no support or knowledge about these things. Men have made women ignorant and subservient to them. It’s too bad. What a wasted life!
2. Relationships – I have many relationships with many other cats. There are no strings or rings about it. This is natural and fun.
3. Writing and creativity – She should set aside time each day, even if only a few minutes, to go within and tap that inner spark that wants to come out. Then her creativity would be unleashed!
Cat, what life issues would you focus on if you were in charge of Barbara’s life?
1. Self-care and self-love.
2. Letting things go, including thoughts and habits that she doesn’t need.
3. Find the love around her. It’s there if she looks deeply enough.
Cat, in what life situations would it be most beneficial for Barbara to imagine that he/she is you and act as you would?
When she doesn’t feel well, call on the Great Cat Goddess to nurture her and help her find the proper remedy. The older cat will be of most help at this stage of her life.
We can also help her know what to say to her daughter and her husband. Allow us in to find the right words.
Cat, do you do drama? If not, why not?
No, I don’t have time for that.
Cat, What is your secret for staying out of drama?
I go about my business directly and state (or show) my feelings in an unmistakable manner.
Cat, you are imaginary. Why should your human pay attention to anything you say?
Because I can help her; I’ve had many lifetimes to refine my skill at being the female. I use the gentle, graceful paw to work my magic.
Cat, why do you think that you are in Barbara’s life?
I’m one of her key totems and guides, as I have been for women throughout the ages. As a lion, I rule the male of the species too.
Cat, how is Barbara most likely to ignore what you are saying to him/her?
She can just continue her old patterns, taking pills to numb herself, instead of dialoging with me or paying attention to my new energy.
Cat, what would you recommend that he/she do about that?
Include some feline practices in her day, even her chi gung/ yoga movements. Do cat naps; curl up like we do; even momentarily. That will make her much more productive.
Thank you, Cat! Now here are a couple of questions for your human:
If this experience were a wake-up call from your inner compass, what do you think it would be saying to you?
It’s time to heal that angry, wounded, unheard little girl. The spirit of Cat can help me with everything. Invite her magic into my life; be with me when things get hard. Be like a cat in loving and healing myself. Break my old patterns. Listen, don’t just medicate.
Is there anything you want to take away from this interview to apply in your everyday life? What? How will you or anyone else be able to tell there’s been a change?
It will change my chi gung practices; the stretching and relaxing may help with insomnia. And bring Cat into my meditations.
Keep focusing on healing the girl. If she had had the support she needed, or been less urban, life would have been easier on her. I (you) must heal her while you are still here so that your (her) next life will be easier.
After reading her interview, Barbara wrote, “Cats have staff; dogs have packs. I’ll be the staff for the big cat who can heal my inner child. ”
“I had no relief from my misery until I turned 18 and moved away from home. I got relief from the pill. How much better would it have been if I found something natural to heal me, and sooner, without all those years of self-hatred.”
Would IDL interviews have made a difference for young Barbara? We don’t know, but knowledge is power, particularly knowledge of how and why we are stuck and how we can look at ourselves and our life predicament so that we can transform. IDL interviews are designed to help you to do that, at any age.
