Sunday Cat Love and Above: Dreaming a Greater Dream

Guest post by Siena-Lee-Tajiri

Last week I was kind of a mess. In fact, I sent Ingrid an email asking her if it would be alright to send her my blog post a day later than usual. Of course, she was fine with it because Ingrid is cool. But here’s what’s been happening: my partner and I are in the process of buying a home. Some of you might be shaking your head, or maybe you mouthed the word, “what?!” just now, because we’re all aware of this historic time in the housing market, as well as, all the other 500 historic things going on.  But the market has been shifting a bit and we decided to go for it. If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught me, it’s don’t let your dreams wait.

Then BOOM! The day after we received our pre-approval letter, I saw her: a sleek 1923 home in gorgeous shades of black coffee. She looked somewhat serious and maybe a bit unapproachable in her style, sort of what I imagine a movie star would be back then. But what offset this were all the 6 foot tall sunflowers surrounding her in the front garden. Walking in I was welcomed by an open floor plan, gleaming antique glass-inset doors, and an abundance of windows that filtered the golden hour light.

Walking through each room, I knew exactly where I was going to put Bear’s cat trees. (By the way, Bear is my 5-year old solid gray, medium long-haired cat), where litter box #1 was going, where #2 would be. I also quickly identified my “foster kitten room,” as well as where I’d put Bear’s catification wall shelves. Long story short: we saw, we loved, we put in an offer. Another long story short: we were in first place, dropped down to fourth, then landed somewhere between second and third. We didn’t get it.

Have the Courage to Want What You Want

This whole experience reminded me of so many things I’ve learned – some things I know deep in my bones and other things I’m still integrating. Immediately loving this house, I noticed my tendency to take this love down a few notches because what if we don’t get it? I didn’t want to be crushed. But what I’ve learned is that it takes courage to want what we truly want. Some of us take shelter in believing we don’t know what we want when really, we’re afraid to want what we want. Sometimes this is because we think we don’t deserve it or we’ll never get it anyway but ultimately, we just don’t want to get hurt. Having the courage to want what you want actually helps to clarify the energy that you put out in the Universe…it’s clear, not seemingly indecisive or muddy.

Practice Joyful Connection

Once you know what you want, do your best to refrain from holding it with desperate attachment. And yes, this might be hard because when you admit what you want, well, you want it! But if we get too clingy and desperate and attached, this can almost choke and block the energy. Instead, practice joyful connection with your dream. Imagine your dream with all senses lit up, feeling the joy. Taking deep breaths throughout will help cultivate the energy of connection and keep you from crossing over to the energy of attachment.

 All This or Greater Yet Still

This is my favorite. It’s been a mantra of sorts for years now. If what you want doesn’t happen how you want it, start to recite this: “All this or greater yet still,” and you’ll soon come to believe it. Now this isn’t a shortcut to bypass all the emotions that may come up from things not panning out the way you hoped. If you really surrendered to your dream and things don’t seem to work out, you will feel disappointment, sadness, maybe even anger. This is natural and to be expected despite any mantra. But the difference is, when you ultimately believe that there is something greater for you than what you dreamed up, you don’t get stuck in it not happening how you thought it would. And this allows for the flow to continue.

Oprah has said, “The Universe/God can dream a bigger dream for you than you could ever dream for yourself. Success comes when you surrender to that dream—and let it lead you to the next best place.” This is what “All this or Greater yet still” is all about. Our job is to dream what we’re drawn to, while staying open because the Universe has a vantage point we don’t. In the end, there may be a greater dream for us.

Follow The Breadcrumbs (or Kitty Treats!)

So what now? Just keep following the breadcrumbs. Following the breadcrumbs can look like following a gut instinct, a burst of love, or following a gentle nudge of knowing. All of these things are breadcrumbs in a trail that leads to this greater-yet-still, the greater dream. We just need to keep following them to see where they ultimately lead. So, want what you want, connect joyfully to your dream, but remain open at the top, knowing that you don’t have the full vantage point that the Universe does. There could be something wonderfully greater in store for you.

Dusting Off Old Breadcrumbs for New

Back to the house…now that I’ve processed all the feelings of not getting it, I’m ready to receive the next breadcrumb. One of the things the original house lacked was a finished beautiful basement that would house my labor of love, the Love and Above Cat Club. I’m so much more clear about how important this is now, and this is part of the clarity of what “greater yet still” could be. Just as I wrote that, my cat Bear jumped up on the sofa and meowed a resounding, ‘YES!”

Always, thank you for reading. And keep dreaming!

With Love and Above,
Siena

Siena Lee-Tajiri is the founder of the Love and Above Cat Club. Please visit, sign up for their mailing list, and browse their shop.

FTC Disclosure: The Conscious Cat is an affiliate partner of the Love and Above Cat Club. The Conscious Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves.
This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves.

Photo of Bear ©Siena Lee-Tajiri, used with permission, all other photos Pixabay stock photos