“Missing Cat,” Escaping the World of Guilt

Practical Wisdom: Living 5D in a 3D World

Integrating higher consciousness into everyday life—one miracle at a time

Dearest Beloved,

In a recent Lesson 23 class—“I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts”—something so simple and so holy unfolded that I knew it wanted to be shared.

There was only one student in class that day, and Spirit used her very real, very raw situation with a missing cat to illuminate how the ego uses guilt and the “rescuer” identity to keep us in a private hell… and how quickly peace returns when we remember where true cause and effect live.

I’ll call her “my dear friend” here. She had been helping a neighbor rescue a pregnant cat. She did all the “right” things: trapping the cat, getting it to the vet, showing up with a loving heart and genuine desire to help.

Then, in one unexpected moment, the cat escaped from the trap in front of the vet’s office—and disappeared.

The ego moved in fast.

“I’m a terrible person.”
“I failed the cat.”
“My neighbor can’t count on me.”
“I should have known better.”

She felt tortured by guilt over what she didn’t intend to do. Even though she had acted from love, the ego was using the outcome to crucify her. Sound familiar?

Integration in Daily Life

From “savior of the cat” to servant of God’s plan

As we unpacked my dear friend's story through the lens of Lesson 23, we could see how perfectly it illustrated the Course’s teaching on cause and effect.

“Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is with your thoughts then that we must work.” (L23)

The “world” she was suffering in wasn’t actually the one outside: the missing-cat situation, the cold weather, the neighbor’s fear. The world she was suffering in was the inner movie produced by these attack thoughts: I failed. I’m guilty. Something terrible is going to happen, and it’s my fault.

The ego had quietly cast her in the role of savior:

• “I must save this cat from a dangerous world.”

• “If I don’t, something awful will happen.”

• “If something awful happens, it proves I’m not good enough.”

And here’s the cruel twist: when we place ourselves in the role of savior, the ego always has a second role waiting for us—the failure. If we “succeed,” the ego feeds on superiority. If we “fail,” it feeds on guilt and shame. Either way, we stay in hell.

Lesson 23 offers another way:

“I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.”

Attack thoughts aren’t only about hating others. They also sound like:

• “I should have known better.”

• “It’s my fault life turned out this way.”

• “I always mess things up.”

When we believe those thoughts, we are attacking ourselves.

In class, we walked through three simple steps embedded in Lesson 23:

1. Identify the cause.
   What am I thinking that is causing my suffering right now?
   In her case: “I’m a failure; I ruined everything; the cat will suffer because of me.”

2. Let it go.
   Do I want to keep believing this?
   She could honestly say, “No. I don’t want to be tortured by trying to do a good thing.”

3. Allow the replacement and shift.
   The Course reminds us that the loving replacement is already given. When we release the attack thought, vision can show us what was always true:

   • God is still in charge.

   • Every soul—human or animal—is held in perfect Love.

   • I can trust that even what I don’t understand is being used for good.

We spoke about acknowledging the soul sovereignty of every being. The cat is not a helpless victim in a godless universe. Like you and me, that cat is an aspect of God on a soul journey, playing out its own script in service to the awakening of all.

From that higher vantage point, things began to shift for her:

Instead of:

“I have to rescue every animal from this cruel world or I’m a failure…”

She began to see:

“I am here to be helpful, not to be the savior. I can offer love, action, and care—and then trust God with the rest.”

That is the practical heart of Lesson 23:

I escape the painful world I see
not by fixing every outer situation,
but by giving up the attack thoughts that say
“I’m guilty,”
“It’s all up to me,”
and “God can’t be trusted with this.”

The “world” that changes first is the one inside your mind.

Where is your “missing cat”?

You may not be rescuing animals, but I invite you to notice:

• Where do you feel responsible for everyone’s happiness?

• Where do you quietly believe, “If I don’t handle this, everything will fall apart”?

• Where do you replay a past moment, convinced you ruined something beyond repair?

Maybe it’s a child, a partner, a parent, a client, or a situation in the world. The form doesn’t matter. The pattern is the same:

1. You step into the savior role.

2. Something doesn’t turn out how you wanted.

3. The ego makes you the villain in your own story.

Lesson 23 is an invitation to step out of that entire drama.

You are not here to be the savior of the world.
You are here to remember that it has already been saved in Truth,
and to let your mind line up with that Fact.

From there, you may still help, serve, and act—beautifully! But you will no longer trade your peace for outcomes you can’t control.

Lainaism

"Every time I try to be the savior, I forget there is already a Savior—and it isn’t my ego; it is God’s Love in all.”

Closing Transmission

Take a breath with me.

Bring to mind one situation where you’ve been playing the rescuing role.
Notice the weight of responsibility you’ve been carrying there: the worry, the “what ifs,” the guilt, the mental replaying of what you “should” have done differently.

Now, gently repeat within:

“I can escape from the world I see
by giving up attack thoughts about this.”

Let the “attack thoughts” be whatever they are:
“I blew it.”
“I should have known better.”
“It’s my job to fix this.”
“They can’t be okay unless I make it okay.”

See each thought as a picture in your mind—like a movie scene—
and one by one, hand them over to Holy Spirit:

“I’m willing to see this differently.”
“I’m willing to trust that this soul has its own holy path.”
“I’m willing to remember that God is in charge here, not my ego.”

Feel into the possibility that everything and everyone involved—including you—is still held inside the Heart of God, untouched by any appearance.

The prodigal son never stopped being his Father’s beloved child.
He only delayed his own homecoming by believing he had ruined everything.

You have not ruined anything.
You have only believed a story the ego told.

Today, let Lesson 23 be your homecoming:

• Identify the thoughts that hurt.

• Choose to release them.

• Allow the deeper Truth to shine through:

All is well in God.
And you are included in that “all.”

As we move into Thanksgiving week, I find myself especially grateful for these “missing cat” moments that reveal how deeply we are loved and guided. Even our guilt, grief, and rescuing impulses can become holy classrooms when we let Holy Spirit reinterpret them. Thank you for walking this path with me, for your willingness to question the old stories, and for the quiet courage it takes to choose trust over fear. I am profoundly grateful we get to remember, together, that nothing real can be threatened and nothing unreal exists.

I love you,

Founder, The Awareness Academy 

“Let me not see myself as limited.” —ACIM, Lesson 250

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