hi there everyone, just wanted to see if any of you believe in any psychics or paranormal activity.
i know that as a jw we are taught that any ghosts are demons and any psychic activities are demonized.
would love to hear any feedback and or any pesonal experiences you have had and if you believe they are all demons, or if there is a difference between good and bad spirits.
What's more significant to me is that one does not have to be psychic to know that people believe. What you believe, what it is in regards to is not as significant as the fact that you do. It can be secular in nature, but to recognize how the mind does this is a big step.
You know, instead of asking what someone believes, the question we most ask in regards to the JW past is really quite appropriate: "So, what's your story?"
obstacles that we face in life have a tendency to relly get our attention, and tax our knowledge,and wisdom to overcome them.
when we're faced with problems we have to figure out solutions.
no problems,, no need for solutions.. evolution, the survival of the fittest, or perhaps sometimes survival of the smartest,, this has to be the force behind the development of the greater human brain apart from other animals.
For a baby to grow up without developing an ego, if that is possible, all of it's needs for warmth, being held, loved, fed, rocked, and a million other needs/wants would need to be filled almost before it felt them. That would be called being spoiled.
Yeah, and unfortunately often that is just a very immature ego. Animals have survival instincts, but that in itself doesn't mean they have this egoic consciousness. It is when that natural instinct hooks up with the psychological mind in a human being that you have the strange phenomena of self image and trying to preserve such, as if your actual survival depended on it - reminds me of the parts of Zoolander I saw last night. Of course, it should be pointed out that this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with IQ. One might be gifted but it would be a waste if that intelligence is in the service of a totally self absorbed ego, be that your own or someone else's. (in the latter case it would just be one ego modeled after another) In this regard I think one would do well to take the attitude of the Peter character from the movie Office Space: "You see Bob, its not that I'm lazy - its just that I don't care."
just a question for the board's input.... background information:.
my wife, raised in a jw home, very popular elder as her father, living through the entire 1975 thing ("honey don't worry about passing 7th grade.
next year will be the new system..."), but beat up for years by the mind-control and spiritual abuse by the wts.... she has recently officially da'd from the society this spring, had her first birthday party ever (a huge blast of a great time!).
The problem is you may be free from the Borg, but not free from yourself - unfortunately the self in this case is programmed by the Borg.
Most people are not inclined toward self understanding for whatever reason, it is easier to get by with this when one has not been programmed in such a way - but even then there is still programming, it is just more of the mindset of the mainstream. IF you should dig deep you would in effect be going beyond the JW programming, and the good news is there is the prospect of being even freer than a 'normal person.' But if not, to be brutally honest it is essentially the same process reversed, and more than likely will take about as much time and effort.
This is going to sound simplistic, but a basic, down to earth way of approaching this kind of self discovery is to get to know someone who is really obviously free - not from the Borg but just freely living life to the fullest, whether it's an ex or not. While it may be appropriate to seek therapy at times, don't think all the answers has to come in the form of something very technical, or something to do or practice. And this approach will probably not yield immediate results, but it does have an effect - just look at how much of an influence the Witness association has had over the years. The difference here is its not a matter of newer, better reprogramming, but being around someone like that helps release one from the programming. So for that matter be aware there's no telling what the life situation of someone like this is, but notice their attitude in life. Again, simple - but it is far more valuable than you know.
obstacles that we face in life have a tendency to relly get our attention, and tax our knowledge,and wisdom to overcome them.
when we're faced with problems we have to figure out solutions.
no problems,, no need for solutions.. evolution, the survival of the fittest, or perhaps sometimes survival of the smartest,, this has to be the force behind the development of the greater human brain apart from other animals.
Yes SS it has been, and continues to be at certain stages of human development. Of course, at some point one might want to move on, as it becomes obsolete.
I was thinking along the lines of ego and paradise myself, and the question that comes up is can a real paradise be created if the population that survives into it is still under this mistaken notion? (the whole survival into the new system deal) Of course, if we go with the JW model it is a bunch of perfect egos that function as parts of the machine, but egos nontheless. Just because you got a bunch of goody two shoes in an environment where all your needs are provided for you it doesn't mean there is no ego - look at Ned Flanders.
obstacles that we face in life have a tendency to relly get our attention, and tax our knowledge,and wisdom to overcome them.
when we're faced with problems we have to figure out solutions.
no problems,, no need for solutions.. evolution, the survival of the fittest, or perhaps sometimes survival of the smartest,, this has to be the force behind the development of the greater human brain apart from other animals.
To address the original subject directly, it implies intelligence is dependent on struggle, doesn't it? While there may be a kind of intelligence focused around survival, this is certainly not the only thing intelligence is good for. We can say people whose existence is just eat and sleep will lose their skill and ability because such is no longer necessary, (I'm not sure if that is intelligence in the first place) but this is not everyone.
More interesting I think is Frankie's point about how the ego can be misleading. In this case we are talking about the survival of the egoic consciousness. In the same way we can say consciousness is not dependent on this struggle just like you don't need a struggle for physical survival to have intelligence. (even if that is the focus of many) With ego theres a twist though, and that is do we have a thing called ego in the first place? Sure there is this collection of personal characteristics that is identified with, but clearly its not as tangible as the body, and it changes. If ego doesn't exist in the first place, and there is this struggle to perpetuate it - then wouldn't that be a sure formula for stupidity, just as biological existence alone would be? Because it is mental you might come up with a lot of ideas of egoic identity, but since all of it would be bullshite that's hardly intelligence eh? Oh yeah, in this case you also suffer.
obstacles that we face in life have a tendency to relly get our attention, and tax our knowledge,and wisdom to overcome them.
when we're faced with problems we have to figure out solutions.
no problems,, no need for solutions.. evolution, the survival of the fittest, or perhaps sometimes survival of the smartest,, this has to be the force behind the development of the greater human brain apart from other animals.
Lets clarify one point: To say good and evil are relative concepts is not the same as saying they do not exist at all, althought you might say they are not ultimately real. For example what is good for humans may be harmful to the rest of life on the planet, and that will in turn have another impact on people at some point - whether "good" or "bad".
If you stop and just consider the concept of good and bad for a moment, it is a very limited idea and just doesn't tell you much. First you have to divide into the two sides, a gross simplification. Also inherent in the psychological attitude is to cling to the good and avoid the bad, or kill or destroy the bad or whatever. Now like any other human, I'd rather not go out on the street and get hit by a bus - I think that would be bad. But if I had this psychological attitude it would essentially be one of ignorance and may in fact increase the chances of me getting hit, whereas if I take the overall picture of the traffic situation into consideration I have the best chance of crossing the street safely. Taken to an extreme the attitude would be like only avoiding the bus and not paying attention to other vehicles, getting mad at busses and throwing rocks at them or something. This is not the way.
So like all thoughts, I think the idea of good and evil can be useful - but since it is SO simplistic that usefulness is extremely limited. Often when this idea comes up there is an emotional charge isn't there? And if one considers a person evil thats probably all they feel they need to know about them, so the mind essentially stops - or focus on the evilness or something along those lines. This simply is not very intelligent behavior, it is what I would call ignorance.
the anwser is: know one really knows but jehovah.. i have been df'd for 3 years now.
i still struggle with: "should i go back cuz i dont want to die" .
but then its not really for the "right" reason.
By the way Sinamon, welcome. Please feel free to have an ongoing dialogue through these messages, it is certainly richer than a simple question and answer. I ask these questions though so that you might find answers for yourself, I'm certainly not going to tell you what to believe - otherwise known as religious teachings.
the anwser is: know one really knows but jehovah.. i have been df'd for 3 years now.
i still struggle with: "should i go back cuz i dont want to die" .
but then its not really for the "right" reason.
Hi Sinamon,
that I would die. But according to what I was taught, dying is inevitable cuz I havent gone back yet? I live my life afraid of the
unknown. Any comments would be helpful.
(bold and underlining mine)
Consider what you said here. This is simply what you were taught, as distinguished from what you know. Fear of dying at armageddon is one thing, but how do you even know the teachings are true? Just saying you believe it is doesn't really answer the question does it? Is there even an armageddon, atleast as you understand the idea?
I don't pose the questions to undermine your faith, but its just a matter of being honest with yourself. As far as the fear is concerned, if you are living in fear you are not living your life. How is it your life if it is just an existence based on fear? It seems to me that is no way to live.
obstacles that we face in life have a tendency to relly get our attention, and tax our knowledge,and wisdom to overcome them.
when we're faced with problems we have to figure out solutions.
no problems,, no need for solutions.. evolution, the survival of the fittest, or perhaps sometimes survival of the smartest,, this has to be the force behind the development of the greater human brain apart from other animals.
Well, one thing worth pointing out is you clearly do not need paradise to breed idiots, just look around in the world..
Instead of inquiring into good and evil, what about inquiring into ego in the same way? People are usually too busy functioning from egoic consciousness to do anything really original or significant, because your mindset is inevitably limited in that case. From a functional perspective egoic activity tends to be redundant and frankly a waste of energy. Even when it isn't totally gone, people who do great work usually forget themselves when they are 'in the zone' or whatever you want to call it. You're too busy doing whatever it is you are doing to waste time having all the "I think" or "I believe" thoughts. "I", what is it good for?
Timmy.
.
the dream of many men has come true... over the weekend they turned 18!
.
Oooo, Timmy!
