Posts by DesertRat

The author writes about his twenty or so years of life & study among an indigenous group in the mountains of central Mexico (he does not disclose the exact location, however, out of consideration for their cultural privacy). The ending of the book deals with their annual pilgrimage to the desert to harvest the sacred Hikuri (peyote cactus). Very colorful, very inspiring to me, just the kind of environment I wouldn't mind exploring one day..

After this book, I don't know. So many books, so many choices. My two bookcases are now filled to capacity, so any more books that I acquire are stacked on the floor beside them

DR

48

Kingdom Hall Experiences

by KW13 in

jw
friends

what things happened at your meetings that annoyed you?.

was it at a hall ya visited?

did it happen more than once?.

DesertRat

I remember the spankings too. It was a rare meeting at which I didn't have to be taken outside at least once..

There was an older Mexican brother in my first KH who was dying of cancer & frequently walked outside the Hall to get some air. One night as my mother was dragging me out for more discipline (my father would use a belt on me sometimes, but he never seemed to get the rush out of beating me that my mother did...& NEVER at the Hall!!), we ran into him & he weakly begged her in Spanish not to hurt the 'little angel' . I always wish that he could have lived long enough for me to thank him for rescuing my sore bottom that one time.

I also remember those long, drawn-out prayers, especially at the end of a Sunday convention session. Phrases such as, 'Father, we realize we are imperfect...we fail many times...we can never hope to measure up to your high standards...' yadda yadda yadda...repeated three or four times..

As if we hadn't already gotten the message!!!

DR

35

Arrrrrg!!!!! Not again!!!!!!!

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

i just got my mini cooper back from the shop the other day.

it was looking great with all of the damage repaired.......... but then just a few minutes ago i was driving down the highway and something, i don't know what, but something very hard and heavy slammed into my hood ripping three gouges all the way through the stripes and paint and all the way deep into the metal.

what the hell???????

DesertRat

So sorry to hear about your ordeal. I think the new MINI is cute..

The morning of my last accident (a rollover which totalled my beloved white Prelude), I had taken the car to one of those quick lube-and-tune places for an oil change & a couple other things (including a fuel-system flush, if I remember correctly). The car never ran better. One minute I was driving along in the rain, my stereo cranked up, enjoying 'Baby' as never before...the next minute I found myself upside-down..

I have since learned it is entirely possible to become attached to our cars

DR

34

What do you like to read?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

i must still be programmed to think like a jw, cause i like to read articles about how bad things are going in the world.

the worse the world conditions become, the more i love to read.

DesertRat

It never occurred to me while in the Org that I was trying to feed a spiritual hunger that could really never be satisfied. Since then, I too have been attempting to 'make up for lost time' (much as I went on a CD & movie buying spree in the first year-and-a-half) by building a personal spiritual library drawn from many different sources--primarily indigenous & Earth-based wisdom, but also Buddhism in various forms, comparative Christianity, Jung, Nietzsche, Aldous Huxley, the Rosicrucians, Haitian Vodou--to name but a very few. Of course I have no idea when I will get around to reading it all (if ever!!!), but it gives me a good feeling just knowing it is there. With my latest purchase of a book on Zoroastrianism (fascinating as hell), it looks like my collection is closer to including virtually every philosophy or spirituality known to man..

When I have the time, though (that elusive commodity), I greatly enjoy reading as many earlier posts on this site as possible. The amount of knowledge & experience acquired by many here is staggering. I can honestly say that I learned more in my first few days of 'lurking' here than in the last year or so in PRISON, & I am learning more all the time..

At the risk of sounding like a TV announcer, "With thanks to our many contributors for making this program possible."

DR

44

Are you still a Jehovah's Witness?

by Wordly Andre in

jw
friends

.

if not,.

then wish me a happy birthday!!

DesertRat

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDRE!!!

Hope it is a memorable & decidedly WORLDLY day for you, with lots of presents, cake, & meaningful company..

Enjoy it to the full!!!

DR

12

Were you ever jealous of ones that left????

by mama1119 in

jw
friends

i always wondered how they had the balls to do it.

and especially if they seemed happy with no remorse, and were able to celebrate holidays and live "normal" lives.

i remember wishing, in my early twenties, that i had the strength to do that.

DesertRat

Now that I think about it, I was somewhat envious of those giving experiences on assembly programs, when they talked about having once fallen into 'loose conduct' . Then in choked voices or with tears in their eyes they mentioned coming back & finding Jah's forgiveness...BORING!!!

DR

42

My dog has been shunned......

by LuciousJ in

ok, everyone, you know my story by now.

we da ourselves a week ago.

my mom wrote me a letter saturday disowning me.

DesertRat

Talk about double standards!!! (always one of the most infuriating Org issues for me..).

I might have countered in a low but very sarcastic tone of voice with something like, "Do your elders know that you & the girls wear patriotic jewelry?" Just who the hell does she think she is???

I concur with the others here who have suggested that you bring this matter to the attention of their upper echelon--whether or not you decide to continue taking your business there. And writing about the incident might be helpful too.

So sorry that you (& the pooch) had to go through this..

DR

96

What's the worst dish your mother ever made you eat?

by mrsjones5 in

jw
friends

yep folks this is a fluff topic .

mine is yellow squash with onions.

it's a truely hideous dish.

DesertRat

AMEN!!!

Chopped liver, especially...

DR

8

Life sucks, then you die, causing life to suck for others.

by serendipity in

jw
friends

a male relative died last week after a short illness.

i don't know what will appear in his obituary but i doubt it will capture his personality and what the loss means.

his adult children will miss the comforting, steadfast presence of their father.

DesertRat

My heart goes out to those of you here who have lost loved ones recently. The next anniversary of my father's death is less than a month away, & I am dreading it...

A good counselor once told me that as long as I was able to think about someone I missed (once the worst of the pain was gone..), or remember some of the little things they had done during their life, it meant that he or she wasn't completely gone. That thought has sustained me through some very difficult moments. Seemingly trivial things such as my father's stamp albums, his method of preparing French toast (which nobody else has ever duplicated), or the way he said 'adVURTissment' instead of 'adverTISEment'--have much more meaning to me now.

(((((((Serendipity)))))))

(((((((Outoftheorg)))))))

DR