poppers

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Posts by poppers

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  39

  What book helped "open your eyes"

  by Shawn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  the obvious two would be coc and isocf.

  are there any others that had an impact on your beliefs/doubts?

  are there any that are not apostate?

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  poppers

  Without question, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. After spending nearly 30 years in search of 'something' that I could not put my finger on, PON opened me up to the discovery of what I really am. With that discovery came the cessation of all seeking, for what I discovered was that in the realization of my very essence was fulfillment, contentment, and peace. By knowing what I actually am, there came a natural and spontaneous relationship with everything else that is rooted in acceptance and love - fear, judgment, and labels of myself and others have evaporated, leaving peace, stillness, and being.
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  28

  What have you discovered on the journey?

  by dh in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  the journey being life, what have you discovered that you never expected to... could be a musician, actor, a movie, a type of food, a thought, a realisation, a religion, a thing about your personality or an emotion, a particular song... it could be anything really.... what have you discovered?

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  poppers

  I have discovered that I am not who I thought I was, and that has made all the difference in the world in how life is lived and experienced. With this discovery is the realization that THIS is all there is, and without the 'me' to muck it up THIS very moment is perfection itself - what a relief!
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  54

  What made YOU drop Christianity?

  by GetBusyLiving in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after i read coc and left the dubs for a short while i considered myself christian.

  the way franz explained it, all that is required is to have faith in jesus and to love your neighbor as yourself and then you will be 'saved'.

  the more i started pealing away at the onion though the dumber the premise of someone dying for my 'sins' seemed, and i just lost faith in it altogether.

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  poppers

  I dropped my religion when I realized that by following it I remained separate from what has been referred to as 'god'. Beliefs, ritual, dogma, and even prayer helped keep in place a duality that obscurred my true essence. I found that without knowing what my true essence was, knowing god was not possible.
  
  'what if budah is the true savior....you're kinda screwed aren't you?'
  
  The historical buddha was pointing out to all who would listen that they too are buddhas. The word 'buddha' simply means 'one who is awake' - awake to what one really is prior to name and form, prior to the arising of thought, beliefs, judgments and labels. No religion is necessary to know this.
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  17

  New Around here

  by MrsElmo253 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been reading the forums for a while now, as a guest, and have decided that i need a counterbalance to the indoctrination i am recieving.

  here's my story (as short as i can make it): .

  i was raised pagan, hearing the witnesses were a cult like morminism and islam.

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  poppers

  Hi, and welcome to the board.
  
  'I'm monotheistic, very spiritual, and appear to be sitting on the fence with regards to picking a lone path of religion.'
  
  Where does this idea come from, that a 'lone path of religion' must/should be picked? Perhaps the answer to your desire for finding truth lies outside the confines any philosophy or religion, which only ties you to the beliefs they espouse. That which can be acquired can be lost again. However, that which is always here can never be lost. May I suggest that you discover what's always here and then see if anything else is needed to feel fulfilled.
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  10

  Andy Rooney's tips for telemarketers

  by xjw_b12 in

  1. social
  2. humour

  three little words that work !!

  (1)the three little words are: "hold on, please..." .

  saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

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  poppers

  Great ideas! Thanks.
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  32

  What do you know about philosophy?

  by Bas in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what do you know about philosophy and philosophers?

  i know many philosphers who were inspired by the bible in their writings, but .

  i'm more curious about the "secular" philosophers.

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  poppers

  I understand where you are coming from SNG. However, how does one discern which philosopher is 'closer to reality' in his descriptions than another? We all want to understand the world so that we may function better within it and we develop a personal philosophy to help us do that. But it is all too common to rely on someone else for these descriptions rather than doing the INVESTIGATION of reality for oneself. My point is that reality is not what you THINK it to be, so any intellectual viewpoint of reality falls short.
  
  It reminds me of a cartoon where there are two doors: outside one door is a sign which says something like, 'Seminar On What Heaven Is' with a room full of people and a long line of people outside waiting to get in. Outside the other door is a sign that reads, 'Heaven' and an empty room. People want descriptions and certainties which cater to ego/minds. But what you are in reality is beyond the thinking mind and beyond the egoic identity which is being clung to. Philosophies try to make sense, and therefore appeal to the false sense of who you have come to believe yourself to be.
  
  I would encourage people to investigate directly who this 'me entity' is since it seems to be 'me' who is living in this world. Are you simply a 'thinker' or something beyond a thinker. You have ideas of who you are, but can you be an idea? Can you actually locate who you are beyond anything other than a changing set of ideas? Find out directly rather than accepting someone elses ideas because they seem to give some support to one's conditioned belief in their identity.
  
  peace
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  32

  What do you know about philosophy?

  by Bas in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what do you know about philosophy and philosophers?

  i know many philosphers who were inspired by the bible in their writings, but .

  i'm more curious about the "secular" philosophers.

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  poppers

  No matter what a philosopher comes up with it is nothing but a set of ideas describing what is and how one should act. Far better is to drop all philosophies and discover directly what is without reliance on the inevitable distortions of any philosophical framework.
  
  Philosophical viewpoints feed the mind and cater to the ego - what is lies beyond both.
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  16

  What is a clear, concise definiton of SPIRITUALITY?????

  by jazbug in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today's buzzwords are "i'm not religious, i'm spiritual.

  anyone have an understandable meaning to spirituality that's not riddled with doublespeak.

  thanks, jazbug

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  poppers

  How about seeing the spirit that you are in all? spirit - u - all
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  25

  What is the bible for?

  by Smoky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just wondering the other day about the bible, in a different manner than i usually would (inspired by god).. it is like if i were a atheist, or something........ so what is the bibile?.

  is it a rule book, that we must follow?

  a guide we reference to enrich our lives?

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  poppers

  When I was in the military many years ago I developed a ganglia on the back of my left hand. My doctor told me I had two options: the first was to have it surgically removed. The second was to place my hand flat on a table while he slammed a bible down on my hand to flatten the ganglia out. I chose surgery. I have yet to find use for the bible.
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  2

  I told them I was going to church, but in reality I...

  by poppers in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was still living at home as a young adult i managed to attend mass every sunday, mostly out of guilt, for the catholic church was good at making you believe that not attending mass without a valid reason was a mortal sin - an offense that would send you to hell for certain.

  i usually went to the church in the next town over since it had the latest scheduled mass in the area.

  one particular weekend my sister and her husband were visiting and on sunday they drove to that neighboring city to go to mass, so they declared.

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  poppers

  When I was still living at home as a young adult I managed to attend mass every Sunday, mostly out of guilt, for the Catholic church was good at making you believe that not attending mass without a valid reason was a mortal sin - an offense that would send you to hell for certain. I usually went to the church in the next town over since it had the latest scheduled mass in the area. One particular weekend my sister and her husband were visiting and on Sunday they drove to that neighboring city to go to mass, so they declared. I followed them in my own car, and was surprised when they made a right turn instead of a left turn at an intersection, so I followed them to see where they went. Turns out they went to a little restaurant to have brunch instead. When I walked in we all had a good laugh, shared 'communion' together and congratulated ourselves on escaping another boring ritual. So that's how I really spent my church time after that, and my parents were none the wiser.
  
  How about you - where did you really go when you said you were going to church?