LisaRose

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Posts by LisaRose

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  6

  Do you meditate?

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i don't have any particular method or system but i'm often happy in my own company.

  i value periods of solitude when i can just drift off and follow my own thoughts.. maybe it's not much more than daydreaming but a glass of scotch and some tunes can sometimes light up a memory or bring a hazy idea into focus.

  peace and quiet are my luxuries, what about you guys?.

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  LisaRose

  I practice meditation, I find it very helpful in reducing stress and helping with my ADHD.

  I also like a glass or two of wine on the weekend.
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  43

  May 22 1969 Awake!

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "if you are a young person you need to face the fact you will never grow old in this system of things.. why not?

  because all the evidence in fulfilment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years...as a young person you will never fulfil any career that this system offers".

  may 22 awake!

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  LisaRose

  I was one of those young people that magazine was aimed at, I was baptized in 1969 at age 13. Sadly I did take that terrible advice and didn't go to college. I don't dwell on it because I might have had problems with higher education anyway as I have ADHD, something I didn't know at the time. And I ended up doing pretty well in my career, I was a systems analyst for a major corporation. I am on a second career now selling antiques and making vintage style signs out of reclaimed wood. Life is good, I feel very happy with how my life turned out.

  I don't plan to go to college, as I am already doing what I love, but I consider myself a life long learner. I read a lot and am currently enjoying learning about science, genetics and evolution. You can learn just about everything on the internet these days.

  Life is what you make it.
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  2

  The Nurture of Nature, how to get from genes to behavior

  by LisaRose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one thing i have enjoyed since leaving the jehovah's witnesses is learning about science and evolution.

  it's so great to be able to look at things without the fog of religious belief clouding things.

  of course i have learned a lot from cofty and his threads on evolution, but one thing i struggled with was what causes instinctual behavior in animals for example, what tells birds to fly south for the winter?

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  LisaRose

  One thing I have enjoyed since leaving the Jehovah's witnesses is learning about science and evolution. It's so great to be able to look at things without the fog of religious belief clouding things. Of course I have learned a lot from Cofty and his threads on evolution, but one thing I struggled with was what causes instinctual behavior in animals For example, what tells birds to fly south for the winter? Obviously there isn't a "fly south for the winter" gene per se, so how do birds know to do that? I think Cofty tried to explain it to me once, but I just didn't get it.

  So I came across this article from Nova which I think explains it pretty well for us non scientific types.

  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/genes-behavior.html
  
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  3

  Did anybody this week mention that JR Brown died?

  by ShirleyW in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  was just mentioned on rick fearon's (yes i know a lot here don't care for him) videoconference.

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  LisaRose

  There was a thread about it.
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  15

  Have not had a visit in over a year

  by dogon in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have been out of the cult for over 20 years.

  i left when the idiots changed the meaning of generation in 95 and the internet came to life giving me the links to see just what a mind numb bunch i was with.

  i now live in a populated area where there is a hall about half a mile away.

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  LisaRose

  No, I wish. I had to ask six times, write a letter, call the kingdom hall and threaten to call the police before they stopped knocking on my door.
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  20

  Are quality restaurants even slightly aware of the concept..

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  of providing high quality food?.

  personally i prefer the small restaurants with a owner who cooks the food.

  often the food is equally imaginative and just as tasty as the more expensive restaurant.

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  LisaRose

  Good for you JW daughter. I too make everything from scratch, but only because I have to. I have an intestinal issue and the only way to not be sick all the time is to follow a very strict diet, no sugar, grains or potatoes at all, I have to make my own yogurt, mayonnaise, seasoning mixes, salad dressings, etc., because sugar and starch are in everything manufactured, often even when not on the label. It's not as bad as it sounds because I usually made my own food anyway, but it does require a lot of extra cooking, especially as my husband doesn't eat that way. It did cause to get more creative with what I do eat, and I eat a ton more vegetables.

  But it's worth it, the two years I spent before I figured out what was wrong was miserable. I consulted a GP and a specialist, neither of whom diagnosed me correctly. It's called the Specific Carbohydrate diet. The idea is that many people cannot digest certain carbs, so they sit in the intestines and feed bad bacteria causing a whole host of bad things to happen.. You can have fruit and honey because those carbs do not need to be broken down to be absorbed. As a plus I have lost weight and my fibromyalgia is gone, no muscle tenderness at all after thirty years.
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  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

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  LisaRose

  I like that poem. The older I get the more I realize that the little things are really what life is all about. The chance encounter with a stranger that somehow makes your day even though no words were spoken. The opportunity to be there for someone at the right time. The hug of a friend. A moment of time spent with someone in perfect harmony. The moment you complete a creative work and are happy with it. The purr of a cat
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  20

  Are quality restaurants even slightly aware of the concept..

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  of providing high quality food?.

  personally i prefer the small restaurants with a owner who cooks the food.

  often the food is equally imaginative and just as tasty as the more expensive restaurant.

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  LisaRose

  We are lucky to have a good neighborhood restaurant within walking distance of our house. It's a "cheers" kind of thing where everybody knows your name. I am on a very restricted diet due to intestinal issues and they are always happy to make substitutions, which I really appreciate. The chef is young and always trying news things which we like. There is another restaurant (also within walking distance) that has good food, but the service is spotty and the bar is sub standard. We would go there a lot more often if not for the issues, so they are basically losing business because they can't make a decent gin and tonic.
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  33

  What's Is The Goal Of This Religion?

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what's is the goal of this religion?.

  i mean, if it's for money they could do a lot more like other religions do: tithing, paying for prayers from the gb, selling "miracles", selling "blessed" items, selling courses.. if its for power then what are they hoping to do with that power?

  they dont seem to do anything.

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  LisaRose

  The religion is sort of a self licking ice cream cone, isn't it?

  I was always told that their purpose was to declare Jehovah's Kingdom and to preach throughout the earth. Yet despite the millions of hours spent in the preaching work I doubt more than a tiny fraction of people know what the kingdom is or what it is supposed to accomplish, and most people in the world have probably never even heard of Jehovah's Witnesses.

  If proclaiming God's kingdom was the goal, they failed. If their goal is to keep people in servitude and ignorant they have succeeded.
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  11

  interesting question

  by jayjay78 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  firstly i'm a df'd witness.. i was in the org all my life.. vividly remember out witnessing as a kid in the 80s with my mum and having apostates jumping houses before we could get to them ..all the way up the street.. remember it because the guy looked like tom baker from dr who - frizzy hair and long colourful scarf.. i think the people at the doors were made more curious by them actually, so when we knocked ,they were inclined to have a listen.. anyway i'm out and cant see myself ever going back,because my family has fully shunned me..and even if i was to go back and be a member..i don't think i could forgive them...totally scarred me.. anyway my question is :.

  if you were head of this religion and you wanted to keep it clean and pure etc..how would you deal with people who delib broke the rules?.

  no shunning of course..but whats the alternative?

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  LisaRose

  The alternative is to treat people as human beings, with kindness and dignity.

  In reading the scriptures that the Watchtower uses to justify shunning, you might think about the fact that there is no mention of a secret committee of three elders, an official announcement or use of the word disfellowship. Those are things that they made up and I think they have gone far beyond what the scriptures intended. The rules are set up in a way that often leaves elders with little recourse but to disfellowshipped, the process is very much stacked against the person who has been accused.

  My opinion is that if you have a member of your congregation who claims to be Christian but who you know is openly acts in a way that is contrary to Christian values, then you should then stop associating with them. It's something that an individual would decide based on their knowledge of that person and their conduct. It's not based on a one time mistake and it doesn't apply to people who aren't associating with the congregation.

  For example, a man leaves his wife and lives with another woman without getting divorced but still attend the meetings, then you would stop talking to him. But if a man cheated on his wife once and you happened to hear about it, you would not stop talking to him because everyone makes mistakes. Or if someone leaves the religion and then did things contrary to Christian values you would not need to stop talking to him because he is not claiming to be Christian so there is no need to do anything.

  I believe the Watchtower uses shunning to keep and maintain control, not primarily to keep the congregation clean. There is a lot of evidence that the process is unfair, in that elders and their families are treated more leniently, that women are penalised more than men, and that it is often used even when the person has done nothing wrong, or has has expressed sincere repentance. It places a burden on family members who feel they must shun, even when they know the person has done nothing wrong or is repentant. It's a cruel system that has resulted in many broken families and suicides, there is nothing remotely Christian about it.