zensim

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Posts by zensim

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  49

  Do you recall your "point of no return"?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  was there something special that happened, an event or maybe a deception, that triggered your point of no return as a jw.. .

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  zensim

  I think there were a few key events but the one that really started it off for me was when my parents divorced. My Father got re-married (to another ex-jw) and they were promptly disfellowshipped.

  What really did it for me though was no one (including family, siblings - still to this day) would speak to my Father. Yet in most of the divorce proceedings he was acting magnanimously towards my Mother, holding to a Christian attitude. Whilst my Mother, who was acting psycho, bitter and twisted (incl lying) - and acting in the most un-Christian manner - was still not only accepted by the Witnesses, but they took her side completely. Because of course my Father was 'wrong' by simple virtue of being disfellowshipped!
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  167

  Songs to make an '80's Guy (or girl) cry.....

  by avishai in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  another thread inspired this one, and i'm making myself a lil' compilation.... i'll start.

  "just like heaven" the cure.

  "please, please let me get what i want" the smiths....

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  zensim

  Sting - If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free)

  http://youtube.com/watch?v=PSo8CLX_ORY&mode=related&search=
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  1

  Giant luminescent squid captured on film for first time

  by zensim in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  giant luminescent squid captured on film for first timethursday feb 15 12:00 aedtjapanese scientists have released video footage of a live giant squid in what is believed to be the first time the elusive creature has been filmed in its natural environment.

  the research team, led by tsunemi kubodera, said they videotaped the giant squid also known as taningia danae using an underwater high definition camera at depths of 240-940 metres off the ogasawara islands in the north pacific.

  the female squid, which measured about seven metres long, died while it was subsequently being caught.

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  zensim

  Giant luminescent squid captured on film for first time

  Thursday Feb 15 12:00 AEDT

  Japanese scientists have released video footage of a live giant squid in what is believed to be the first time the elusive creature has been filmed in its natural environment.

  The research team, led by Tsunemi Kubodera, said they videotaped the giant squid — also known as Taningia danae — using an underwater high definition camera at depths of 240-940 metres off the Ogasawara Islands in the North Pacific.

  The female squid, which measured about seven metres long, died while it was subsequently being caught.

  Kubodera said that the creature was not fully grown and was relatively small by giant squid standards.

  Writing in a Royal Society journal, the team say they have made a number of interesting observations about the species based on the video material.

  The footage, according to the research paper, shows the squid's attacking behaviour and bioluminescence (propensity to emit light) which suggests that the cephalopod is far from the sluggish, inactive creature it was previously suspected of being.

  Kubodera and his team note that the squid swims both forwards and backwards by flapping its large triangular fins and changes direction quickly by bending its flexible body.

  The team also say that the video shows the squid emitting short bright flashes from light-producing organs on the tips of its arms called photophores.

  They suggest that the bioluminescent flashes act as a device to blind or disorientate potential victims and could also be a means to measure the distance between the squid and its prey.

  Giant squid, formally called Architeuthis, are the world's largest invertebrates.

  Because they live in the depths of the ocean, they have long been wrapped in mystery and embellished in the folklore of sea monsters, appearing in ancient Greek myths or attacking a submarine in Jules Verne's classic novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".

  Until the successes of Kubodera and his team, most scientific study of the creatures had to rely on partial specimens that had washed ashore dead or dying, or had been found in the digestive systems of whales or very large sharks.

  There's a video footage link also - but I don't know how to upload it:http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=227580
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  24

  Where do you see yourself in next 5 years??!!??

  by zagor in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well have some time so thought to write this.... i went today to uni to speak to my supervisor and he asked me a question that locked me in my chair for few milliseconds.

  he asked "where do you see yourself in next 5 years....and beyond that" then he went "... or better still imagine yourself in time 5 years from now, what would you like to have achieved?".

  though knowing full well what two 'things' i really wanted to have in my life more than anything i was really locked into this moment almost powerless, because his next question was that 'one inch' punch which blew me off as if struck my bruce lee himself, he asked "...and what are you doing now to make sure that really happens that way?".

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  zensim

  Two nights ago I was asked a very similar question. I was brainstorming with four strangers about running your own small business. One of the questions was:

  'Imagine your business in 10 years time. During this time you have achieved everything with it that you would like to in the next ten years, it is not a fantasy future eg "I've won the lottery", rather it is a realistic vision of your future should your dreams and hopes come true. Take a moment to write down what that vision of success is. Think about where you will be in your personal life 10 years from now, how your personal life and business life interact, how the business is running, what you want your involvement to be, how big or small your business is, who your customers are, where it is located etc.'

  In contemplating my answers I found it very hard to separate business from personal life. They are very much linked to each other - both of them adding meaning to my life. Perhaps that is because I am in a business which I love and reflects very much who I am.

  Nevertheless, there is a delicate balance in answering any question that requires us to plan long term. It is important to have goals and work towards them proactively, that challenge us and help us to grow. What is also needed though is a degree of non-attachment around these plans being accomplished the way we hoped and planned they would - or even eventuating. Expectation can be a killer and often blind us to other possibilities. As can being too focussed on a 'destination'.

  I do believe in living in the moment and seizing all possibilities and also allowing things to flow away from me and toward me. I don't hold on too tightly to anything.

  I think in answering this question, the more important question is "What are your core values?" and "What 'things' add meaning to your life?". Once these become very clear it is not difficult to then - in the moment - choose what matches your priorities. And nothing is set in stone, changes can be made, just as much as we adapt to change.

  For instance, for me, one of my goals is to have a thriving business which includes teaching and educating 'professionals' and my other goal is to have another child. How quickly I attain the first goal is largely going to be determined by (a) whether the latter goal is achieved (big question mark?) and (b) if it is achieved, in what time frame.

  Looking at my notes I made the other night I also saw that a lot of the answers I gave would perhaps be a bit 'less instantly gratifying' for some people who are movers and shakers. That is because I personally put ethics, care for the environment, global consciousness etc equal to monetary growth. Which can sometimes necessitate a slowing down. But that is part of my core value system and I don't want to be somewhere in 5 or 10 years and regret the way I achieved success (success also being a very subjective concept).

  So where do I see myself in 5 years time? More happy, more grateful for the life I have, more open, more free, more in the moment - and having lost nothing that I value or respect in the process.
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  156

  Is Atheism/Evolutionism Dangerous? Questions for Unbelievers

  by Perry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does the belief that there is no all-loving diety in which to be accountable to make it easier or harder to treat and judge others they way that you want to be treated and judged?.

  since evolution supposes that life and ultimately man who is at the top of the chain got here through a process of the fittest dominating and killing off the weaker, and since most modern evolutionists in democracies no longer think that this is good to practice, how do you deal with the fact that you are a living contradiction of your own belief since you pronounce the same thing both good and bad?

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  zensim

  http://birthecology.squarespace.com/journal/2007/2/9/conscious-evolution-of-humanity.html
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  6

  Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss, Phd

  by purplesofa in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am reading this book and it has alot of basic principles about humans that i find is helping me come to a better understanding of our spiritual make-up.

  these are just a few exerpts from the book.........i do recommend the book.

  the symbolic meaning of the sacrament of baptism is to honor ones' biological family as sacred.

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  zensim

  Hi Purps.

  I haven't read any of her books but just a few weeks ago I had an archetype reading. It was fascinating, not to mention revealing. I became aware of even more shadow aspects of my personality (and in the process taking me deeper into examining what to keep and what to discard, examining those tribal influences of 'who am I?'). One archetype I found particularly confronting.

  Mind you, I have had so many shifts and awakenings since that time I can barely keep up. It's still always scary letting go of notions of self - which we seemed to spend our whole life building up just to feel safe and accepted by the 'tribe'.

  I look forward to anything else you post from the book.

  Zensim
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  25

  Bluetooth Headsets: Geeky or Sexy?

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a programmer i am exposed to high technology all the time and ironically this has given me an odd aversion to it!

  i like gadgets and gizmos like anyone else; however i demand it be discrete.

  when i'm out-n-about i want to be connected, but at the same time i don't want anyone to be able to see it.. for years i have avoided the bluetooth headsets that appear to be gaining in popularity, however im still not quite ready to get one because of the obvious geek factor and the simple fact that many people who wear them appear to be making the "look at me, i've fancy" statement.

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  zensim

  I think they are ugly and definitely NOT cool! The only place it is appropriate to wear them is in the car. The minute you get out of the car - take it off!!!!!!!
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  8

  Ricky Gervais - The Bible

  by zensim in

  1. social
  2. humour

  i don't know if this has been posted before.

  i am getting all excited about ricky gervais again as extras starts back this week - yaaaay!.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_exqdj4l7i&nr.

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  zensim

  I don't know if this has been posted before. I am getting all excited about Ricky Gervais again as Extras starts back this week - Yaaaay!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_EXqdJ4L7I&NR
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  45

  What movie(s) should EVERY JW see?

  by gaiagirl in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'm thinking "1984" and "the island".

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  zensim

  Having said that, I reckon seeing 1984 as a kid helped loosen the bonds - just took me another 20 years to break free.
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  45

  What movie(s) should EVERY JW see?

  by gaiagirl in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'm thinking "1984" and "the island".

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  zensim

  I was going to say Matrix. But as with that movie and all the above listed and more, most of the dubs I know have seen them all (including porn). Eyes wide open, minds closed tight.