Pangur Ban is the cat in a 9th-century Irish poem. As the poet searches for just the right words, Pangur practices his own art of finding mice. Poet and Pangur practice their special arts in the same space aware of each other, but not interfering.
On April 8 I light a candle to welcome my Conscientious Spiritual Advisor. I breathe myself into a state of deep relaxation and ask the Advisor to send me an animal who can help me strengthen my creative practice as an artist. I am now at the edge of a wood. A porcupine ambles toward me and stops a short distance away.
I think to myself, "What am I supposed to do with this? A porcupine! Really?"
As my mind races, the animal begins again to advance slowly and as it does, it transforms. The nearer "he" comes, the more she resembles my rolly-polly tortoiseshell cat, Daisey. She stops at my feet, tilts her head upward, and looks directly into my eyes.
I am no longer at the edge of a wood; I am back in my chair. Aware that it may take me some time to decode the gift I have just received, I open my eyes
