I reserve my comments for now, and just post a youtube video on the subject for your comments:
Hearing the Voice of God or His Messenger
by OnTheWayOut 40 Replies latest jw friends
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Inkie
You must have been a bitch of an elder!
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AGuest
Ahhh, dear Inkie (the greatest of love and peace to you!)... dear OTWO is responding to this matter the only way he can: since HE doesn't know... he, like so many others, must defer to others who also don't know... and so try to explain away the spiritual with opinions, theories, and speculations relating to the physical. And, given what many who falsely profess to possess holy spirit have put out there, you really can't blame them. Some folks really do appear as if they are irrational, unstable, and psychotic, perhaps even under the influence of hallucinogencis, psychotropics, other drugs and/or alcohol.
Do not let dear OTWO's ignorance provoke YOU, though. You know very well that they not only said our Lord was mad, but that he had a demon. Heck, they even called him a demon, himself. And a slave is not greater than his/her master. So long as dear OTWO isn't actually trying to nail anyone to a stake... he's okay. Let him be... and let him believe... or not believe... whatever his wishes: it will not add or take away one cubit from anyone lifespan, except perhaps his own (anger does wreak havoc on the physical body, as well as the mind, truly!).
As for what kind of elder he was, we don't know, do we? But it stands to reason that his "anger at God" really isn't anger at all... but shame. For those that perhaps he "judged" when he was an elder... so that now the only way he can reconcile his own conscience [as to those HE may have misled and/or harmed... spiritually... as a result]... is to either blame God... or deny His existence. And ridicule those who have somehow managed to keep THEIR faith... intact... in spite of it all.
So, let him be. He is of no consequence to those who do hear the Voice of God's Word, Christ. Nothing more than a gnat... in a world of camels, really, I promise you.
Again, I bid you peace, truly, as our Lord gives it.
YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,
SA
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OnTheWayOut
The following medications have been reported to give rise to auditory hallucinations: Ambien, Amphetamines, Catapres, Celontin, Caffeine in large doses, Darvocet, Darvon, Demerol, Ketalar, Khat, Neo-Synephrine, Persantine, Prialt, Provigil, Symmetrel, Ultram, Tenuate, Valtrex, Vioxx, Visken
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AGuest
If you're directing all this at me, dear Terry (peace to you!)... and that's a reasonable assumption, considering our recent interchanges, well... let's see:
I drink decaf everything (coffee, soda, tea)... and don't see aspirin or insulin on the list... (which is all I take, although I did recently quit Tylenol and Ibu altogether, due to the kidney/liver risks, but I'd been taking them for only about a year or so, so...)...
Does it say anything about Merlot or Zinfandel? How 'bout the occasional Corona (Light)? You really should check for those... 'cause then you might actually have sumthin'...
In the meantime, peace to you!
YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,
SA
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ZeusRocks
Good video OTWO and also very true. To someone with a mental disorder, these voices and hallucinations are as real as a person sitting next to them. Another interesting thing though, is that the source of these voices etc, is for the most part, dependent on the culture and beliefs of the person, EG. you won't see a devout hindu claiming a voice of jesus or the christian god, but rather one their own deities.
Unfortunately, religious people underestimate the human brain and end up externalizing something that is actually internal.
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OnTheWayOut
AG, the list is not exclusive. It only lists some of the known contributors to giving rise to auditory hallucinations. Perhaps, use of some of the listed drugs (particularly amphetamines) would cause one who hears "whispers" to turn up the volume and hear the voice at a normal level. Perhaps not.
It appears that hearing voices is common enough that many people in the world of psychology do not want "hearing voices" to be called a serious mental illness. It can be treated in many cases with meds and in many cases without meds. Of course it is still serious if the voices give direction to the person hearing them.
I just put this information out because many former JW's have been stressed by losses of family and core beliefs and may be hearing voices. I hope they get help. It is nothing to be ashamed of.
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designs
I have Tinnitus does that count
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AGuest
I hope they get help.
Me, too, dear OTWO... which is why I share what I do. Because the Helper... is alive... and calling to the sons of man. But not from a bottle... or a book.
Again, peace to you!
YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,
SA
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OnTheWayOut
What remains unaddressed is the root cause of abnormal brain activations. We are pursuing three intertwined ideas. The first is based on studies suggesting that schizophrenia patients suffer from reduced brain connectivity. As a result, certain groups of neurons, such as those responsible for producing and perceiving language, may begin to function autonomously, beyond the control or influence of other brain systems. It is as if the string section of the orchestra suddenly decided to play its own music, disregarding everyone else.
The second idea is that deprivation of social interaction - namely human conversation-makes the brain more likely to produce hallucinated conversations. Often one of the first signs of schizophrenia-occurring well before manifestations such as hearing voices-is social isolation.
Indeed, sensory deprivation can produce hallucinations in the sense mode that is deprived. An example is Charles Bonnet Syndrome, where visual impairments in the elderly can produce visions of human figures. Could the absence of actual spoken human conversation-a cornerstone of day-to-day human intellect and creativity-produce hallucinated conversations? Recall the extreme isolation that preceded the appearance of Rilke's startling voice.
Third, heightened emotions may play a role in producing voices. Indeed, heightened emotionality prompts the brain to produce information consonant with that emotional state. For example, a low mood favors generation of thoughts that are themselves depressing. It is possible that intense states of emotion could pre-select and perhaps elicit from the brain certain verbal messages having the same emotional charge.
Verbal messages expressed by voices often are highly emotional. Moreover, when schizophrenia begins, these persons are often in states of extreme fear or elation. It could be that these powerful emotional states increase the propensity of the brain to produce corresponding verbal "messages."
This would account for the fact that voices also emerge during states of extreme, but incidental, emotionality brought on by inspired thought, mania, depression, or ingestion of certain drugs. Here the voices disappear when the emotional states return to normal. The brains of schizophrenia sufferers may be vulnerable to becoming "stuck" in these hallucinatory states.
Our hypothesis is that voices arise from different combinations of these three factors-reduced brain integration, social isolation, and high levels of emotionality. This view has become the focus of efforts to understand and help patients with mental illness quiet their minds.