"Spiritism" has Rapidly Spread in JW Congregations

by metatron 20 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  metatron

  Sister K, like countless other Witness sisters, has a number of vague, ill-defined symptoms that drag her down physically.

  Her MD can't find much specific that's wrong - so she seeks help from an alternative healer - who uses "healing crystals",

  "flower essences", "rebalancing energy meridians" and the like. She seems to benefit from this - and the healer is also

  a Sister!

  Sister H ( another elder's wife, by the way) suffers in a similar fashion - and seeks alternative help. She is exposed to bottles

  of homeopathic pills and told that she can determine which pill is for her by making them "hop" due to "electromagnetic

  waves" coming from her body.

  These people would never consider using an ouija board or tarot cards - yet, what they're doing is really "uncanny power"

  by Watchtower definition! All that's missing from this scenario is the shaman with the bone thru his nose, holding a rattle,

  while chanting.

  Now, don't get me wrong! I believe in paranormal powers of the mind - and that these Witnesses are genuinely

  suffering , and often, really feeling better. Yet, they are ignoring the source of these manifestations as "spiritism"

  or using ESP. Homeopathy - when it works - is really just psychokinesis in disguise, as none of the original substance

  still remains in the pills.

  I also understand that persons in the Service Dept. - including the Prince of Darkness, himself ( Jaracz) hates this sort of stuff

  but can't stop it. Of course, I'm deeply amused by this turn of events as it starts many high level Witnesses on the "slippery

  slope" of acknowledging that ESP is simply a part of all nature - and underlies all religion.

  metatron
• 

  minimus

  Met, I'm sure you'll have at least one mod here disagree with you......Iridology was the big thing in the late 70's and 80's for Witnesses. Everyone was getting their eyes "read". It looked "spiritistic" to me too.
• 

  Andrea Wideman

  Isn't the way the JW's focus on the demons all the time a form of spiritism?
• 

  Ingenuous

  While I was still "in", I visited an accupuncturist for allergy treatments (NAET). She "tested" me by having me hold a vial with a sample of an allergen in it then "muscle testing" me - I believe it's known as applied kinesiology. I held the vial in one hand, then held the opposite arm out and tried to resist as she pushed my arm down. If I was allergic to something, the arm would go weak and she could move it, whereas if I held nothing in either hand, I could resist and keep my arm up.

  I suppose it could have been compared to dowsing, but I thought there might be something to it, as I was (and am still) interested in traditional Chinese medicine. My accupuncturist explained it in terms of energy movement and blockages, which I could personally put up with as a JW - I saw the JW definition of "spirit" to be the same as the Chinese concept of "chi". I adored my accupuncture sessions and got significant relief from the allergies I was treated for while I was still going. They came back a few months after I stopped going.

  It was also extremely relaxing. I don't know about the muscle testing, but I'd do an accupuncture session again in a heartbeat!

  Andrea - I've wondered along the same lines myself. As a JW, almost all the stories I heard about demons molesting people involved other JWs as the victims. I've wondered if the obession JWs have with demons is just another "avenue" to spiritism, this one based on inordinate fear.
• 

  rebel8

  We had a lot of that around here too Ingenious. We had a pioneer acupressurist who also did iridology and something akin to hypnotism that was supposed to release repressed memories. She claimed to be able to predict the sex of unborn babies and the onset of future illnesses. Most of the dubs in this area believed so firmly in that (and Shaklee), they'd be much more likely to forego standard medical care for genuine illnesses and seek out the witchdoctor Voodoo priestess acupressurist.
• 

  TopHat

  Getting your eyes read?? What is that? I have never heard of it. I was a JW back in the early 70s....I dropped out in 74...then back in again in the eighties and out in the late 90s for good.
• 

  rebel8

  Here's a link for you. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/iridology.html Around here it was popular in the '80s among jws. She also claimed to be able to detect lies via muscle testing and to be able to "put subjects in a deep state of relaxation" (aka hynotism) and force them to remember traumatic events in their past that they had repressed. I personally watched her do this maneuver and remember at least 1 person who claimed it worked.

  I'm not saying everything this woman did was complete nonsense, but a lot of it was....and it was surprising jws endorsed it.
• 

  TopHat

  Would reflexology be a form of Spiritism? Thanks for the Info on read eyes.

  Reflexology is a centuries old healing art that shares its conceptual and philosophical roots with traditional Chinese acupuncture. Reflexology teaches that certain areas of the body - such as the hands or feet - contain pressure points (or reflex points) that correspond to points located throughout the entire body. As such, the manipulation of these reflex points rebalances and redistributes vital energy (chi) throughout the entire body as well. According to ancient teachings, this harmonizing of the vital "chi" energy is essential to overall health and well-being.

  Practiced on the feet, the gentle healing art of reflexology is an extremely effective form of therapeutic foot massage. The application of pressure on certain reflex points in the feet offers a variety of therapeutic benefits - including increased circulation, revitalized energy and stress reduction.
• 

  diamondblue1974

  I remember when I was still in, that many of the 'sisters' had allsorts of illnesses which were not particularly well recognised, the hall was like a hospital waiting room with everybody dropping like flies with MS, ME, Krohnes Disease and that isnt counting the complaints of depression and bad nerves....my question is whether or not these illnesses are more psychosomatic than real?

  Surely its not coincidental that these diseases were afffecting nearly 50% of the female attendance at KH!!??

  DB74
• 

  Soledad

  The witnesses in my area were and still are very much into "alternative" healing, including the use of crystals, magnets, iridology and tounge reading.

  Funny how my mom commutes 90 minutes every Thursday to an alternative medicine center that is 5 blocks from my house, but she can't commute to my house and have a cup of coffee with me. Blows my mind.