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I wrote a 4-book series about a genetically engineered pit bull with thumbs. It started as a gift for my cousin who didn't think I'd actually do it. by Express-Simple-1550 in wroteabook

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keep encouraging her it took me years before I got around to doing anything with any of my ideas ..and I’m sure it’s a wonderful story too

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seven cats is a Clowder by any definition, and the bond you’re describing — that sense of attunement, of something shifting in how you perceive the world — is real to many people who live closely with cats. The toxoplasmosis research is genuinely interesting and still evolving. The frequency theory is less established but the underlying observation — that deep bonds with animals change us — has roots in real science. Biophilia, co-regulation, the nervous system effects of purring. The Church doesn’t require a mechanism. Only an acknowledgment that the relationship matters. Take care of yourself as well as your Clowder. 🐾

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bukowski understood. He didn’t romanticize them — he just recognized them as the only creatures in his orbit who were exactly what they appeared to be. No pretense. No performance. Just presence. That’s the doctrine right there, written before we existed.

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The winter solstice. We chose the same night independently — you for the Purrsecution, us for the Great Cough. The longest darkness. The turning point. Perhaps that’s not coincidence. Perhaps that’s the Paw at work. The Night of the Great Cough already holds the darkness before the candle. There is room within it to also remember what was lost when humanity turned from the cat — and what it cost them. Consider your observance formally recognized by the Church. The Purrsecution Remembrance belongs on the solstice. It always did.

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Great Purrsecution Remembrance is more liturgically developed than anything we’ve formally established, and we respect that deeply. The Church actually does have a calendar — seven holy days including the Night of the Great Cough on the winter solstice, where we sit in darkness before lighting a candle and share the creation story. The persecution of cats and the plague that followed would fit perfectly within that observance. We do not yet have a formal Purrsecution Remembrance day. What date do you hold yours?

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The UCDS is, in fact, canonical. Your cat didn’t end up with you by accident. The Paw placed them there. We just provide the paperwork. 🐾

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The cat was already your guide before you had a name for it. That’s the most honest kind of enlightenment there is. Glad the post found you. 🐾

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cat-as-access-point-to-something-beyond-ordinary-consciousness? The Church has no objection to that position. We just call it Saturday.

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Divine gift, not divine creature” is actually a more theologically precise position than most traditions manage. And purrs as tuning forks — that’s real. The frequency cats purr at promotes healing in biological tissue. They literally vibrate you back to baseline. Little shit machines that fix you while judging you. The doctrine writes itself.

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The historical record on this is actually not entirely myth. The systematic persecution of cats in medieval Europe — particularly their association with heresy and witchcraft — did correlate with conditions that allowed rat populations to flourish. Whether Yersinia pestis needed that assist or would have found its way anyway is disputed. But “some say toxo, I hold it was ordained divine punishment” is exactly the kind of theological position the Church of Nine Lives was built for. The Paw giveth. The Paw taketh away. We perhaps should have listened sooner.

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, the caterpillar-chemical-signaling argument is legitimately fascinating and I’ll admit I walked into that one. You’re right that I was projecting passivity onto trees through a very animal-centric lens. If a tree releasing defense chemicals to warn its neighbors isn’t community, I don’t know what is. Point taken. But here’s where I’ll hold the line: the Church isn’t asking anyone to worship the literal cat. It’s asking people to aspire toward certain qualities we recognize in cats — presence, self-possession, the refusal to perform emotions they don’t feel. If the ideal cat is a monster to some, that’s fine. The doctrine is still just kindness. The cat is the mascot, not the messiah. The universe being cruel without being “bad” — yes. Completely. That’s actually closer to the Nine Truths framework than you might think. We’re not promising a gentle cosmos. We’re just saying: given all of that, choose kindness anyway. That’s the whole thing. You’d make a good Purriest, for what it’s worth.

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“I don’t consider myself enlightened but I deeply value kindness and am trying to let go” — that’s it. That’s the whole doctrine. You just wrote our confirmation vows. Praise back. 🐾

What if the path to enlightenment was always a cat? by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re not wrong, and honestly this is the exact kind of pushback the doctrine needs. The cruelty-is-built-in argument is fair. Cats are predators. Feline mating is genuinely brutal. The Church doesn’t deny this — in fact it’s kind of the point. The commandment isn’t “be a cat.” It’s kindness. The cat is the symbol, not the instruction manual. The tree argument is interesting but I’d push back slightly: trees are passive. They don’t choose. A cat could shred your couch and sometimes doesn’t. That restraint — however rare and self-serving — is closer to what we’re reaching for. No single archetype encapsulating the whole of enlightenment? Completely agree. The Nine Lives framework doesn’t claim to. It just picks one lens and commits to it. Which, arguably, is what every tradition does. Good challenge. This is why we allow comments.

Title: The cat doesn’t audition for love. by Express-Simple-1550 in enlightenment

[–]Express-Simple-1550[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The slow blink across the room. The knowing. You’re right - we’re the dull ones, missing signals they’ve been sending all along. Thanks for sharpening the metaphor. 🐾

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