Posts by tetrapod.sapien

69

CAN YOU IDENTIFY YOUR EMOTIONS accurately???

by Terry in

many people don't know why they "feel" what they feel.

they fall in love with the wrong person.

they cry unexpectedly.

tetrapod.sapien

Emotions begin with values.

i disagree.

fear is an emotion. animals experience fear, and no doubt "fear" is vestigial from our animal past. how is it that an animal has a "value" psychologically, that in turn produces fear?

if it is the case, the "value" would be something unrecognizable to us. i would not call "survival" a value either. binary arangements (survival vs death) are not values.

as far as the thread topic is concerned:

the ability to identify one's emotions, imo, has to be one of the greatest human traits ever developed. generally, someone who is able to observe their physio/psycho vicious cycle (emotions), and stop the cycle if they want to, is regarded as a highly developed individual.

the thing about this ability is that it is not really identifying *your* emotions, as it is the ability to see that you are not defined by *your* emotions. in other words, your emotions are not you, but something that occurs in the physical body of which your brain is part.

the first step to controlling the vicious cycle (if you want to as the observer of them), is the ability to observe your ego in action. this split from identification with the ego, is something that is available to anybody, although relatively few people know it.

a technical understanding of our animal past goes a LONG way in understanding our emotions, and the twisted dark roots from which they grow.

tetra

26

Any positive experiences with the JWs?

by greendawn in

we all talk about our negative experiences with the jws and no doubt most were negative but weren't there any positive experiences with some of the few decent jws around?

i recall an old jw who was of the anointed and who was very benign, knowledgable, supportive and opposed to much that the dubs were doing especially the lack of love among the congregations.

also another very good natured dub who would always reward me whenever i gave him a little help with his business.

tetrapod.sapien

Any positive experiences with the JWs?

leaving them was the best experience of my life. if i had been raised by secular parents i am not sure if would have had such an intense birthing/growing experience. then again, how can i really say?

tetra

6

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

by minimus in

do you feel that right now, in your quest for understanding of where we all are in our lives, that your relationship with god is better, worse or the same as before?

please do not equate the organization as being the same as god.

we all know that's not true....thank you.

tetrapod.sapien

that your relationship with God is better, worse or the same as before?

better.

spice brought up the concept of gaia. and indeed, if i recognize something for which a label such as "god" applies to, this would be it.

my relationship with myself is better too.

the thing is that one's definition of "god" is everything. in the anthropomorphic sense, my definition of god has become a metaphor. i do not think it should have ever been anything other than that.

gaia would make my definition of god terapomorphic, or even cosmopomorphic. meaning that the new definition has taken on genuine aspects of the earth and by extension the cosmos, without overarching interference of anthro and subsequent self-interest. if my new definition of god includes a form of anthropomorphism, then it's brought into the definition via my Self. this fosters the understanding that while being a human only plays a small part in my definition of "god", there is a definite apsect of it that is human since human springs from earth and by extension cosmos.

tetra

113

Is the USA Government Imperialistic? Is this what leads the invasion of Ira

by frankiespeakin in

is the us government imperialistic?

is this why they have invaded iraq?

who will be the next victim nation?.

tetrapod.sapien

wasn't it erich fromm who described the difference between societies that are dominated by a having approach to existence and those dominated by a being approach? he shows how the societies that are dominated by the having mode of existence will inevitably end up waging war with other nations, since greed (covetousness) is central to their expansion.

to me, this is why the "war for oil" cultural catchphrase sums it up pretty succinctly for me. because at this point i have pretty much learned not to trust much from the US government's mouths. a removed analysis is then required, and a further understanding of the difference between the having and being modes of existence flowers.

imperialistic? yes. having nations must have more. simple pathology.

tetra

23

A Big Miracle - God is Love

by David ben Jesse in

a big miracle

i composed an instrumental song "god is love" and sent it as an mp3-file via email to a christian music publisher.

every time the song was cut in half, the rest was missing.

tetrapod.sapien

and again, the so-called "supernatural" is explained with a simple material explanation: the emails did not go through because the mp3 files were larger than the SMTP threshold enforced by your service provider.

the inclusion of the prayer in the email means, in a technical sense, that less of the song went through the second time. philosophically, it shows how religious thought interferes with rapid human advancement, philosophically and by extension technologically.

LOL

tetra

25

Should Britain Build a £100m Mosque for the Olympics?

by LittleToe in

a poll is being taken by the british newspaper "the evening standard" as to whether or not britain should invest 100m in a new mosque for the olympics.

i have to admit i'm a little confused as to why folks would desire to have their tax money invested in paying for a religious building, given that religions are already tax free.

i don't see a similar offfer to build a new cathedral, synagogue or hindu temple, nor would i want to.

tetrapod.sapien

How do you view this?

sure. they've spent money on worse things. like war.

of course i think it's pure bs. they should build all sorts of buildings then though. if atheists wanted their own building, then they should get one too. also, the sub genii are a very motivated bunch of slackers that would love a building with some sort of arcade and theme park. oh yes, like an indoor waterslide park for bedouins who will be making the long trek to the olympics.

tetra

7

Positive Thinking vs Positive Knowing

by What-A-Coincidence in

jw
friends

i got an interesting email that i wanted to share that deals with beliefs.

in this case it deals with financial success but it also applies to doctrinal beliefs.

example: witnesses are positive thinkers but not positive knowers (is that a word?

tetrapod.sapien

ugh. i can't believe there are people who write tripe like that.

prosperity consciousness

for me, in the intention it was written in, represents a branch of humanity that is way way off the mark. "prosperity consciousness"? not only does it sound cultish (the cult of prosperousness), it presumes human nature to be satisfied with aquiring, owning, profiting; having. in our culture, peoples understanding of "prosperity" is shallow to the degree that they are all for everyones prosperity as long as they are equally or more prosperous.

in terms of positive thinking and postive knowing, i find the correlation between the two terms unconvincing. i don't see a real "vs" here. positive thinking is associated with upbeatness in all daily occurances. positive knowing, for me, means knowing something intimately because it is rational, not because it is a happy group of objects we posess. the group of objects (the knowledge), while creating a sense of pleasure in having them, for some people, may be entirely without logical consistency. i would say that there are very very few things which anyone can claim "positive knowledge" of.

one of the problems i have with "people act in accord with their beliefs", is that people do not really know what they believe. people know what everyone "believes", and act in accordance with that, but hardly know the systemic causes of their own behavour (action). and to know is to believe, not the other way around.

there is a big difference between historical knowing of why we act in the present the way we do, and thinking that the future will also be the same as the past, which is exactly what prosperous people would like us all to think (i make no difference between religiously powerful poeple and financially powerful people because the power source is the same). status quo survives in such environments, the powerful grow poweful and the weak weaker.

in the business world, positive thinking is enough to get you into the game. "positive knowing" is the arrogance that gets you through the rest of the BS once income/lifestyle security is reached. same with religion. again, no substantial differnitiation is made by myself.

i wouldn't call us "positive knowers". as ex wits, we have barely come out of "anti-knowing" into knowing. as far as "positivity" (upbeatness) is concerned, yes, way happier. which is to say that positive thinking has been freed up by the lack of cognitive dissonance.

tetra

30

Have you noticed?

by SPAZnik in

lately my family member that is still undecided about staying out or going back keeps mentioning this big push that the jws keep emphasising that "we are really really really near the end.

this is the very very very end.

we are deep deep deep into the end.

tetrapod.sapien

yo spaz! how's things?

i hear rumours all the time about what people in the org feel is happening. the nature of cults is that they work up to something, even unconsciously as a group, that is going to mean something for them. sad.

but fear not, the force is strong with some. ;)

tetra

33

If you could be anywhere right now.....

by PaulJ in

jw
friends

if you could be anywhere right now, doing anything.... what would it be?.

right now, i'd be watching oasis in concert, bottle of beer in one hand, a tiny tiny bit drunk.....

tetrapod.sapien

...i would be right here.

peace,

tetra

104

If the bible is from God then explain this!

by Anti-Christ in

nu 31:17-18 moses, following the lord's command, orders the israelites to kill all the midianite male children and "... every woman who has known man ...." (note: how would it be determined which women had known men?

one can only speculate.

dt 21:10-13 with the lord's approval, the israelites are allowed to take "beautiful women" from the enemy camp to be their captive wives.

tetrapod.sapien

hey, welcome to the board.

here's one that will bake your noodle:

if the bible is from god, and god is from you, and you are from your mom, and your mom is from her mom, and her mom is from the garden of eden, then where did god and the bible go? heh....

tetra