Taming one's mind

One morning not a very long time ago, I woke up to the ruckus that the cat was making in the living room at 6 AM. Sister was sleeping on the couch there, because Mom was in for a visit and sister had given her her room.

The cat was basically "Neow, did not wake up. ::Purr-hop::3 Gotta chew more on these things ::Purr-nom-nom-nom::" Sister: "Go away from the router antennas and cables!" The cat did not care that sister had gone to bed at 4 AM or whatever, and was not particularly interested in entertaining the cat.

Took the cat and locked it into my room. Each time that the cat tried to open the door (by pushing down the handle, of course), I took the cat and sat on the edge of the bed. Tried to tame the cat by hugging it for as long as I could, without it escaping.

This reminded me of a story that aunt read to me when I was little. While I've forgotten the details of the story, it went something like this: an old buddhist monk had taken a solitary retreat to meditate somewhere in the mountains. There was not a soul in the mountains, except that each time he went to take water or wash clothes, he saw an ox in the distance, looking back at him. If he tried to approach the ox, then it started keeping more distance. If he ignored the ox, then it came closer. The monk started to wonder about the ox and its purpose. As he meditated on the ox and its purpose one day, he realized the purpose of the ox and became enlightened.

For me, the story was about taming the ox, which represented the monk's mind. On the day that I was attempting to tame the cat, the cat represented my mind.

Previously me and sister had believed that it's impossible to tame the cat. I mean, we've tried it so many times but it takes everything as a game. The cat is more-or-less convinced that we are its pawns. That day I decided to prove myself and sister wrong. While bullying the cat, I tried to connect to it telepathically and explain the situation: "You did not let sister sleep. Now you will only get out when she wakes up and opens the door." It actually seemed that the cat understood it. Though, came up with an excuse "But, but, I gotta pee." Me: "Nope, you'll need to hold it until she wakes up." Some time later the cat actually had to visit the bathroom, but soon sister opened the door as well.

After bullying the cat for ~2 hours with telepathic suggestion (to feel sorry for not letting sister sleep), it was still pissed at me and worried about sister for about an hour. Noticed that the cat was still in that state (could easily be seen from its eyes), formed a telepathic connection again and altered the emotion. The feedback was immediate - the cat suddenly became happy, hopped around and wanted to play with me. I was amazed at how little emotional resistance and inertia the cat has.

Did not manage to tame the cat, but learned other things. The bond with the cat was stronger than ever.