Steve Egner

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Posts by Steve Egner

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  26

  The Minds of Billy Milligan

  by Steve Egner in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "the minds of billy milligan" was written by daniel keyes, who may be better known for his work, "flowers for algernon.".

  a few of the remarks made in recent threads regarding "enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" made me recall the book, although it's been roughly 20 years since i've read it.

  i can still remember the day i bought it, at my favorite half price books on guadalupe, in austin, tx.. unlike "flowers for algernon", tmbm is non-fiction.

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  Steve Egner

  The idea of suddenly knowing a martial art, or several languages, seems unlikely to be a passively learned behaikour.
  Truth is stranger than fiction, huh?

  Thank you, LT. That's what keeps me thinking.

  Steve
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  26

  The Minds of Billy Milligan

  by Steve Egner in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "the minds of billy milligan" was written by daniel keyes, who may be better known for his work, "flowers for algernon.".

  a few of the remarks made in recent threads regarding "enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" made me recall the book, although it's been roughly 20 years since i've read it.

  i can still remember the day i bought it, at my favorite half price books on guadalupe, in austin, tx.. unlike "flowers for algernon", tmbm is non-fiction.

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  Steve Egner

  Frankiespeakin So what's your take?

  Lady Lee In your experience, are the bizarre array of talents, languages, and physical skills of Billy Milligan's personalities common to others with MPD/DID?

  Steve
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  26

  The Minds of Billy Milligan

  by Steve Egner in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "the minds of billy milligan" was written by daniel keyes, who may be better known for his work, "flowers for algernon.".

  a few of the remarks made in recent threads regarding "enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" made me recall the book, although it's been roughly 20 years since i've read it.

  i can still remember the day i bought it, at my favorite half price books on guadalupe, in austin, tx.. unlike "flowers for algernon", tmbm is non-fiction.

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  Steve Egner

  Thanks for all your comments, everyone. I was beginning to think I'd cleared the room again...

  Leolaia I, too, thought the experiences fantastic. I googled Billy Milligan, and found a few sites that offered observations on his case, one that held an interview with him in 1996, and an Ohio State campus site that contained an article on his criminal activities there.

  Lady Lee Thank you for your insight. Your comments reminded me that Milligan's personalities often struggled for dominance; I recall that the operating personality had to concede the spotlight willingly during his treatment. Billy's comments in the 1996 interview are interesting. He seems skeptical of those MPD's who can switch quickly from one personality to the other. I'd link to the site, but I'm afraid I'm not that fascile with the computer just yet. I'll see if I can persuade Princess to show me how.

  Steve
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  26

  The Minds of Billy Milligan

  by Steve Egner in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "the minds of billy milligan" was written by daniel keyes, who may be better known for his work, "flowers for algernon.".

  a few of the remarks made in recent threads regarding "enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" made me recall the book, although it's been roughly 20 years since i've read it.

  i can still remember the day i bought it, at my favorite half price books on guadalupe, in austin, tx.. unlike "flowers for algernon", tmbm is non-fiction.

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  Steve Egner

  Mark "Well, obviously, this just goes to show the different ideas people attribute to enlightenment." Mark, I do not attribute or even relate the experience of Billy Milligan to the process of enlightenment. Had I believed them to be related, I would have posted the comment as a continuation of the Kandalini thread. My recollection of the book was triggered by the Kandalini discussion, and I'm interested in possible explanations. While it sounds as though people pursue enlightenment in many different ways, Milligan's experience was tragic, involuntary, and gut wrenching to read.

  LT Agreed, on the potential of the human mind. As I've discussed this book with others over the years, the idea has been floated that the unique talents, skills, and languages manifest in Milligan may have resulted from his exposure to sources of information on those subjects, with his mind perfecting those talents, skills, and languages from there. I'm not one to place any limits on the potential of the human mind, but the environment in which Milligan was raised (rural Ohio, if I recall correctly) makes that line of thinking quite a reach. But, I'm happy to reach.

  Megadude Cases of MPD always catch my interest. What was your impression of the man?

  Steve
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  26

  The Minds of Billy Milligan

  by Steve Egner in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "the minds of billy milligan" was written by daniel keyes, who may be better known for his work, "flowers for algernon.".

  a few of the remarks made in recent threads regarding "enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" made me recall the book, although it's been roughly 20 years since i've read it.

  i can still remember the day i bought it, at my favorite half price books on guadalupe, in austin, tx.. unlike "flowers for algernon", tmbm is non-fiction.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Steve Egner

  "The Minds of Billy Milligan" was written by Daniel Keyes, who may be better known for his work, "Flowers For Algernon."

  A few of the remarks made in recent threads regarding "enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" made me recall the book, although it's been roughly 20 years since I've read it. I can still remember the day I bought it, at my favorite Half Price Books on Guadalupe, in Austin, TX.

  Unlike "Flowers For Algernon", TMBM is non-fiction. As a child, Billy Milligan was beaten, sexually abused, and neglected. He was arrested as an adult, and charged with rape. Psychiatric evaluation revealed what has come to be known as "multiple personality disorder", with 24 distinct personalities occupying space and dominance inside Billy. Further probing revealed that the rapes were committed while Billy was under the control of a female, lesbian personality. Several of the personas were artists, each highly skilled in different media. One was a musician, a saxaphonist. Here's where it gets interesting: One of the personalities was a physician, who could read and write accurate medical material in fluent arabic. Another personality was a martial arts expert. This personality would typically take dominance when Billy was under threat or attack. In one instance, this character disarmed and incapacitated police that tried to arrest Milligan. An interesting note about the martial arts character: he spoke a very rare Serbo-Croatian dialect. While under this influence, Milligan was able to rip a toilet fixture off the wall of his prison cell, a feat of incredible strength.

  I did a web seach, and found that the book is still available. A film may be in the works, entitled, "The Crowded Room", with actors John Cusack, Brad Pitt, Billy Crudup, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, and L. DeCaprio all pursuing the lead role.

  I am in no way inferring that Milligan's MPD should be likened to the experiences of those who expressed themselves in the "Kandalini Awakenings" thread. I was reminded of the book after all these years by Dolphman's comment about sanskrit chanting... and I find it personally challenging to explain such events.

  Discussing this book in the past really freaked some people out... I could clear a room full of J-ho's in seconds. People from a dub background generally backed away, muttering, "deminzzz", while those not grounded in fundamentalism speculated that this was a case of the vast potential of the human mind, able to subconsciously absorb, retain, and expound complex material based on limited exposure.

  I confess, I'm not entirely satisfied with either explanation, and I've been thinking about this for a long, long, time.

  What do you think?

  Steve
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  45

  Hello Everyone! Home With Pics!

  by Valis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those who sent me pms the day i left.

  sorry i didn't get to them and i'll do some cathing up later today in between working.

  no offense intended if i didn't respond.

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  Steve Egner

  Mulan It was bound to happen sooner or later... I came back a few hours after I'd posted the reply, and thought, "wlll you look at that. Now where did she pick that up?" Pretty excited that she'd taken an interest in fishing, with poignant commentary and insightful questions, no less.

  Valis I've been taking all of my salmon catch from the last year straight to specialty smoker. He brines, hot smokes, and vacuum packs the fish in 4oz. bags, frozen when I pick them up. I love the fish bbq'd or fried, but pepper smoked is my favorite. Rachel and I once came across a general store way out in the boolies of Vancouver Island, B.C., where they had a large oak barrel full of smoked rainbow trout. Heads, tails, and all; dry, flaky, and delicious. The sides of meat would easily separate from the spine and ribs, yum. If we get any large dolly's next week, I'll smoke them too. P.M. your address and I'll ship you a slab or two.

  Steve
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  32

  Opinions?

  by FMZ in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

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  ok, this isnt going to stay up for long, i just want a quick cross section of opinions.... this is a mockup of a tattoo i may get this weekend... too big / too small / bad positioning... opinions please!.

  fmz.

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  Steve Egner

  You like Latin? See if you have room for this:

  Sibili, si, ergo:

  Fortibuses in ero.

  Nobili, demis trux,

  Sewatis enim? Cowsendux!

  Steve
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  88

  What makes marraiges last

  by desib77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my husband and i have been married a little over a year now and it has been the happiest year of my life.

  i have finally found someone that i truly love and that truly loves me.

  he's also my best friend.

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  Steve Egner

  I prefer that toilet paper dispense from the bottom, Rachel prefers it over the top. I have no preference on toilet lids up or down, Rachel prefers them down when not in use. Guess whose preferences prevail in our home? And it matters not one iota to me...

  I prefer my steak well done, that matters.

  Steve
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  73

  What are you doing with your Sundays?

  by Steve Egner in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  helllloooo everyone,.

  after reading this board for quite a while, i've finally been moved to post.

  i was inspired by our trip to the dallas apostachilifest, where princess and i met lots of terrific people in various stages of exit from the j-ho's.

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  Steve Egner

  Xena I'll keep you posted. Megadude sent me an underwater photo of him flying along in the Cozumel current, and my psyche is already there. Sorry, I just got back from that Kandalinian thread...

  Hillbilly You really sound like you love that farm livin', Hillbilly. You know, those early hours frighten some of us. I always say, "It's not when you get up, it's what you do after you get up that counts." But I generally have no difficulty rising, and I'm wide awake bright and early for fishing, diving, or biking. Pleased to meet you.

  Notperfectyet Working Sundays? For you, I'd say, think of the question more figuratively. For instance, how are you investing the time you formerly spent in J-ho's pursuits? If it's all real estate, that's O.K. too, that is what I love about having this kind of freedom. It was great to meet you, and your ex's twice-removed cousin's sister, in Dallas. Oh, and I'm listening now...
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  73

  What are you doing with your Sundays?

  by Steve Egner in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  helllloooo everyone,.

  after reading this board for quite a while, i've finally been moved to post.

  i was inspired by our trip to the dallas apostachilifest, where princess and i met lots of terrific people in various stages of exit from the j-ho's.

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  Steve Egner

  Little Toe I'll dance with anyone for the chance to dive for scallops and lobster. Dust off your gear. We'll work something out for next year.

  Calamityjane Give us a call If you're out to the island again. That makes for a beautiful trip; the travelling is almost as enjoyable as the destination.

  Winston Smith, Little Toe, Xena, Megadude, and all divers and beach bums- We're going to Mexico over the holidays. 2 weeks, from a little before Christmas through the first week of the new year. We'll pass on more detailed info as we decide on lodging and firm up the dates, but think about it. Winston suggested a diving apostafest (brilliant, man, brilliant) so let's just do it. We're looking at Cozumel or Cancun, both destinations have all-inclusive packages and activities for children. Anyone interested?

  Steve