For my cat, bedtime is a sacred rite.

When I adopted LB, the very first thing he did was cozy himself on my bed. His shelter mom told me that he had been bullied and often spent nights alone in a cage. From the moment we bonded we have both savored the moments between sliding under the covers and drifting off to sleep.

Our routine is pretty set. I settle into bed and LB crawls on my chest and forcefully rubbing his face on my face. I say silly things to him and admire the crook in his tail. When he calms down, I give him face rubs and we snuggle like this until he makes his way into his cat bed that he loves even more now that it’s lined with sheepskin. This is one of the many ways I try to fill up his love tank and transform those early times of hardship into distant memories.

Last night LB was particularly squirmy. He put his chest on my chest and kept moving around until his heart was on my heart, content and purring. I was content too, enjoying the vibrations and his unmistakable smile.

I felt myself starting to relax after a stressful week. LB sighed, which always warms my heart. I tuned in to his purring and noticed that inherent in it is a heavy exhale followed by a pillowy inhale, not unlike the breath I feel when I’m falling asleep. He wasn’t budging and I wasn’t drifting so I took the opportunity to breathe with him.

I did my best to copy his rhythm and I could feel his body relaxing. His white underbelly is extremely soft and even through my pj's I could feel the cushion of his fur vibrating in concert with me. He was expressing bliss, exactly as I believe the yogis’ intended.

I felt my mind fall into theta waves. I felt very receptive to LB–his weight, his mood, his heartbeat. We were synchronized–him in his peace and purring and me in my stillness and awe. I felt this little lion on my chest and the bliss of perfect attunement. There was no thought, no separateness, no me, no him.

I started to drift, and he yawned and made his way into his snuggie. I rolled on my side, no different than any other night, though energetically it was. Theta waves help us make memory and this is one I won’t soon forget.