Posts by poppers

i just wanted to introduce myself and let you know that you are not alone...i thank jah that i found this site....i look forward to getting to talk to you all....

poppers

Welcome Jason. You are among friends.
poppers

39

WHAT ARE YOU HAVING FOR DINNER TONIGHT? GOING OUT TO EAT?

by juni in

jw
friends

.

we will be going out for wisconsin's famous friday fish fry.. .

juni

"What is the Friday fish fry like? "
Wisconsin, having nearly 15,000 lakes, has lots of freshwater fish to choose from. Restaurants, especially the mom and pop variety, typically cater to fish lovers on Fridays. This probably has its roots in the non-meat Fridays of the lenten season.

53

After 4 years, an introduction (hope it works this time!)

by gwyneth in

jw
friends

ive been a member of this board for just over four years, and i have never posted an introduction.

i mostly stick to the "fluff" threads, because they are safe.

i wont be attacked for an unpopular point of view, or hurt anyone elses feelings.

poppers

Welcome, gwyenth. It's stories like yours that keep me coming back to JWD.

111

Question about shunning from someone who has never been a JW....

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i wondered, since the jws claim that jesus is their teacher, what evidence do they have of jesus shunning "bad associations"?

it seems to me, from reading the bible, that the religious people of his day really gave him a hard time, because he actually spent the majority of his time with "bad associates", rather than shunning them.

thomas, though he followed jesus, wasn't totally convinced.

poppers

Did Jesus actually shun anyone? Honestly, I don't know. Recently a JW lady came to my door and when I expressed doubts about the religion she asked why. I said that it destroyed families because of the shunning. I said, "Deep in your heart you know that it is wrong. Would Jesus do that?" and she said "Yes" and was going to find it in the bible. Instead of letting her do that I pressed my point about how JWs separate families on the pretext of ideas from a book which others have written.

It is ideas in the mind that people cling to which keep people separate from one another. I tried to get her to see this but she wasn't willing to consider this possibility and practically ran off my property.

62

Is becoming a witness the right thing for me

by marketman in

jw
friends

i've been struggling for quite some time now about continuing my exploration of the jehovah witness faith.

i am a "cradle" catholic and have been very involved with the church.

i started to become disillusioned several months back with all of the tradition, habits, and teachings of the church--which i began to seriously doubt.

poppers

Questioning beliefs is great, it is the first step toward real freedom and truth. But ask yourself, "Will changing my beliefs make me any more free than before?" Consider the possibility that exchanging one set of beliefs for another is not the answer, and will only delay the sought after freedom and truth.

Find out what you are without any beliefs at all. Beliefs are only thoughts. There is something more fundamental than thought, something that exists prior to the arising of thought. That is what you are in actuality, and that is where freedom and truth reside.

11

Stop being scared....

by PaulMarshall in

god morning from a beautiful and sunny london.

it has not gone unnoticed at the many people on this site that have documented their fear of the future.

afraid of the present and certainly afraid of the future.

poppers

The now when you think about it IS the future.

I would put it this way: thinking is what creates psychological time. Without thinking there is no time at all, just the present moment unfolding - the ever present moment as it is. Even the word "now" implies time, for with "now" comes variations of "not now", like the past and the future. Most people spend most of their "time" in their minds, and therefore miss the only thing that exists, the present moment. People for the most part cast an overlay of past experiences and belief on what is unfolding, or they project a future onto it based on memory. In either case they become trapped in mentally created time, and that is fertile ground for fear to take root. They take "what is" and apply memory from the past or project it into the future, thus distorting what is taking place.

What is critical is to examine exactly "who" does this. See if you can find the "me" who creates fear by asking "What/who am I really?" and then sincerely look. I guarantee you won't find a separate and distinct "entity", only momentary IDEAS of who you take yourself to be and the awareness in which those ideas arise. In other words, what you take yourself to be isn't actually real, only imagined, and ideas are only thoughts. Can "you" be a thought?

Without a "me"/thought there is peace which doesn't depend upon anything, there is silence, there is fulfillment, and no place for fear to arise.

35

The quickest, best way to have a Witness open their eyes to being a cult

by free2beme in

jw
friends

my sister was probably one of the most loyal witnesses out there.

all her responses were pulled right from the watchtower thinking, "sorry you feel that way, but i believe jehovah's witnesses are god's people.

" well in time we came to an agreement, "you do not bring up your negative thoughts on the religion, and i will not try to get you to come back to the religion.

poppers

I'll bet your sister will make a very good anti-witness now.

38

Will there be a time when NO ONE will be able to become a JW anymore?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

the witnesses always said that at some point in time, it will be too late to join, the doors will be closed.. do you believe that will happen, or is it just to scare the witnesses?

and what would trigger the watchtower to decide, it's too late?

poppers

I have tried Zen meditation and it helps .

Good for you - keep at it.

I joke with people that "I consult with my dog about spiritual things these days!"

A dog is as good a buddha as any human. They live in the now, expect nothing, accept you for what you are, and accept themselves for what they are - that's all any buddha will do, and what they attempt to get others to realize for themselves.