Terry-
You have me more interested now with your persistence...HOW, exactly, do you believe that children should be taught to think? What is the reality that you see? Many of us here have seen the positive results that can come from rejecting "reality" as it is presened to you.
I agree that every tool that is useful must be useful in the practical application of the thing, not just in theory or in dreams. The only thing I would be against is placing limiting ideas in the minds of children as if our view of the world or what we have understood or accomplished is something they cannot exceed and grow beyond in their own lives.
If one "reality" seems to be true for 99% of people, but is not true for the other 1%, how do we explain that 1%? Sometimes we don't want to see what else it possible because it threatens the comfort zone of our own accepted world.
The one with a moderate dream will never realize a big dream. The one who dreams only will never realize any dreams. The one who dreams a dream and keeps that vision in mind as he performs each task of activity and learning from day to day will succeed.
Sentient
JoinedPosts by Sentient
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33
Fairy tales - unsuspected effects on children?
by Spectrum ina couple of years ago there was an article on tv discussing the possible negative effects that that fairy tales can have on children especially girls.
i don't remember it very well but basically they were saying that fairy tales, especially the ones that involve beautiful girls or princesses, put unnecessary pressure on little girls from a very young age to have to look pretty if they are going to get their prince charming or do well in general in real life.
it makes sense because it seems to fall under the category of conditioning and it's easy to condition children.
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Sentient
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'I love Jehovah'! What is that supposed to mean?
by Gill ini'd like someone to explain to me, why so many people come out with the phrase, 'i love jehovah'?.
what is it that they're meant to be loving?.
jehovah was a pretty nasty war god of the israelites.
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Sentient
Gill- I think you've nailed it. For me, I truly believed that it was LOVE...more than anything I did not want to displease Jehovah because my identity had been shaped such that my sense of self-worth was based on how much I could *prove* that I loved Jehovah. The WTBTS's idea of God is twisted indeed, and is reflected in their behaviors and attitudes. Kind and sweet one moment, harsh and judgmental the next. They simply imitate what they believe to be God.
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never seen so much hatred
by PMJ ini think that every one on this site goes way over the top calling jehovahs wittnesses names you spend more time trying to prove them wrong than you do prasing god.i mean is this your purpose in life.if you no more about the bible than the wittnesses then go straght a head and speak.but dont act like a spoiled brat calling people names.a lot of people on this site will belevae what they want to beleave because it suits there lifestyle lets get to the root of whats realy in your hearts
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Sentient
A lot of hate here...yes, it is true that there is a lot of anger and even some hatred here PMJ. It is not because ex-JWs make up a "class" of people who are evil incarnate as you've been trained to believe. It is because anger is simply a great degree of hurt or insecurity/fear being manifested, from which we can each learn things about ourselves and grow. Many here are especially hurt or afraid because of how they were trained to think about themselves through the publications of the WTBTS. Since those publications promote a great deal of fear and hatred of those with an opposing viewpoint, the organization is reaping that which it has sown. As others have said, it is good (and in fact difficult) to learn to see others as invididuals with their own opinions and views rather than holding every person responsible for what one person in the group does. It is also good to look beneath the surface of appearances. Take a look at the picture in my av...it has many meanings. One is: "Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." Words to live by.
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Fairy tales - unsuspected effects on children?
by Spectrum ina couple of years ago there was an article on tv discussing the possible negative effects that that fairy tales can have on children especially girls.
i don't remember it very well but basically they were saying that fairy tales, especially the ones that involve beautiful girls or princesses, put unnecessary pressure on little girls from a very young age to have to look pretty if they are going to get their prince charming or do well in general in real life.
it makes sense because it seems to fall under the category of conditioning and it's easy to condition children.
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Sentient
Personally, I think that any kind of purposeful sustained deception of children is not really helpful to them at all. On the other hand, telling or reading fictional tales definitely does stimulate the imagination in a good way and develops the ability to become immersed in more complex fictional stories and experience diverse realities that open the mind to a life replete with options.
Terry- You make many good points, it is important to be familiar with the law of cause and effect and learn about the practicalities of everyday life. But I think one of the most important gifts a child can recieve from anybody is stimulation of their creative capacity, which is the same portion of the mind involved in imagination (thinking in images). In mainstream Western society, this is highly undervalued. It is especially consequential because the more you are able to envision and create your *own* future, the greater satisfaction you will find in life.
Aside from general sane considerations of practical importance, the less limiting beliefs we pass on to children, the better for them and the future of the world. Children should be taught to pursue what which THEY ENJOY doing, not to be content with living a life they don't want. The most successful, happy people enjoy their work. If you ingrain in a child that there is an unlimited world of possibilities open to them (even if you raise the child in poverty), that they are a loved and wonderful person and that they really can create a life they dream of, they will not ever have trouble paying the bills or finding true friends. Dreaming is one thing, having the confidence that you can make your dreams happen day by day is another. -
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Kingdom Hall Diary, an Outsider's Perspective (WARNING - LONG)
by jgnat inthis is the next phase of my coming-out.
here, described in detail, is all the drama of my involvement with the local kingdom hall.. kingdom hall diary, an outsider's perspective.
this is a diary of my experiences with a local kingdom hall that my husband, art, attends.
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Sentient
"After many sleepless nights, Art decided his short life on earth with me was worth the risk of no paradise for him."...I remember having to make that exact same decision...in my own mind. Of course it's more complicated when you imagine Armageddon coming at any time to further shorten that short life. It may seem silly to others, but our beliefs do create our reality and the pain is as real as if your loved one was hanging from a literal precipice of doom. Best decision I ever made though. It took time to realize that I had been trained to believe that God would in essence MURDER ME for LOVING someone. Nice diary, jgnat.
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Just thinking out loud.....
by schne_belly ini was born and raised a jw.
however over the last year my husband and i gradually have faded away.
several times weve had discussions with my parents, whom are both in, regarding our disgust for the org and the reason for our decision to leave.
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Sentient
bennyk- "Plant seeds, don't transplant trees"...I love it! I'll add that to my list of life mottos. Maybe you could have that as the font-page main article title in the January AKM (Apostate Kingdom Ministry). I mean...shhhhh! there's no such thing as the AKM. ;)
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Governing Body Subhumans: Merry Christmas
by 144001 inhaving recently experienced the trauma of watching a loved one proudly refuse blood despite being told it was medically necessary and that refusing it would be extremely risky, i realized exactly where i stand in life.
in addition to my childhood being exploited and made miserable by the watchtower cult, that same cult now threatens to take loved ones from me via the blood policy.. .
so, on this day after christmas, i am raging mad, and i want to express my christmas wish for the governing body, the subhuman gristle responsible for this illogical and despicable blood policy.
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Sentient
144001 (interesting user name by the way)-
You have to remember that even the GB received the same indocrination we all did, maybe even more. It by no means excuses or minimizes what they are doing, but it does explain it and allows us to focus our energies on making things better. For example, what is it that you want most for your loved one? Probably that they be free of control and make their own decisions in life. One of my main messages is that you have way more power to positively affect the people in your life than you realize. Personally, I have seen all the members of my family that I am in contact with begin to transform before my eyes once I started looking within to truly understand myself. Though you may have been victimized and your pain has been real, you are not forever a victim and you have the power to break free from your own limiting beliefs and help those around you to do the same. I wish you courage and belief in this endeavor. -
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My exScientology friend...
by james_woods ini have a friend who backed out of scientology way back when hubbard was still alive.
we go to lunch together quite often here at work.
we have often commented about the great similarity & difficulty between breaking away from wt and from the scientologists.
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Sentient
You're right james_woods, there are many similarities, and I would say that Scientology uses even more extreme tactics when it comes to certain things. I remember reading a book called The Outsider, where the author (Lachenmeyer I think) explains his quest to understand his schizophrenic father who's mother had raised him in the group. The relationship between a person and their high-control group is a like a mirror of an unhealthy relationship between two individuals. The individual is highly dependent on the group and guidance from supposedly enlightened leaders, and does not know how to get along in the world without it. The control the individual is subject to in the group becomes reflected in their relationships with others...they cannot unconditionally accept another nor allow them to hold contrary opinions.
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Just thinking out loud.....
by schne_belly ini was born and raised a jw.
however over the last year my husband and i gradually have faded away.
several times weve had discussions with my parents, whom are both in, regarding our disgust for the org and the reason for our decision to leave.
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Sentient
schne_belly-
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If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's probably......
by LDH ina duck!!!
the wbts acts like a cult.
it looks and operates like a cult.
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Sentient
I agree Jankyn, what's important is the idea the word implies. The result is the same, whatever word we use to describe what is happening. It's just lack of understanding that results in arguments over the terms. I generally use the term high-control group to describe it as well simply because many have strong feelings over the "cult" term due to some extreme actions taken in the past by the anti-cult movement and the inability on the part of most people to understand how you could control someone's thoughts and actions without Koresh-type direct influence. As you said, the *effects* are the important thing.