Shop of Curiosities

Here we are at the entrance to The Old Curiosity Shop, the finest little museum with the most unassuming of shop fronts. No matter how many times you visit, it's always a surprise to cross that modest threshold into a space busy with so many wonderful things, like finding the gem inside the stone. Before we begin, let's pause for a brief wind-down exercise. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you are ready, let's begin. So first, get yourself comfortable. Now just bringing the attention to the breath, just noticing where you feel it in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We are going to be taking a deep breath in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. So are you ready? Let's begin. In for four, two, three, four. Hold it for . Now breathing out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. Great. Now returning the breath to normal. As you've probably gathered by now, the Old Curiosity Shop is not really a shop at all, that is, a place where you can buy things. It's more like a small museum, though the objects on display are not necessarily items of value. They're just things that the owner happened to like. Even a quick glance around the space will reveal all manner of stuff: old railway signage, a shelf of novelty teapots, an Art Nouveau Lab with beaded fringing, a sunburst wall clock, driftwood sculptures, a taxidermied peacock. The longer you spend looking, of course, the more you'll find. You may have heard the expression, "A cat may look at a king." Well, in the Old Curiosity Shop, a dollar-store maneki-neko, one of those Japanese beckoning cats, may sit alongside a portrait of a monarch and be happily waving away just like a queen. Sometimes, right now, for example, you'll find an actual cat here, a handsome ginger tom with a broad face and rakish whiskers. If he happens to have them open, you'll notice that one of his eyes is blue and the other is golden. He doesn't live at the Old Curiosity Shop, but he visits often, so often that they've given him a name. Red. But Red has many haunts and many names. You may know him by another one. This cat probably isn't looking at a king, unless you can claim such credentials. Though if he was, he wouldn't be shy about it lounging on his throne, which is a Victorian child's armchair upholstered in royal blue velvet as he prepares for a day of petting and treats. The...