The only thing wrong with it is that the only thing in common on this site is a dislike and even hatred of Jehovah's Witnesses."
Since you haven't been a JW you haven't had to deal with the things former dubs have had to deal with. Your viewpoint hasn't been affected in the way theirs has. I think they should be given latitute to deal with their feelings in an environment in which they feel safe, and this site provides that. When someone comes here and tries to deny them that there will inevitably be a reaction. There are many here who have indeed been raped and abused and have been abandoned by the confines of Watchtower doctrine to their own fate - a heartless situation which only adds to feelings of betrayal. Besides that, there are many ex dubs here who don't share your assessment of how the JWs are viewed. Many of these have a compassion which is forged in the fire of their own struggle to exit and only wish to extricate their loved ones from what they feel is an unhealthy and unnatural environment that goes against the grain of human decency inherent within the individual, but snuffed out by an imposed doctrine. I share that compassion despite never having been a JW and try to insert ideas to consider which will take one beyond the conditioning they are entrenched in. I would ask that you consider the possibility that there are people here who are telling the truth of their experiences with JW life. I would ask that you consider the possibility that the WT isn't the entity it demands its followers to believe and that its doctrines impinge on the pursuit of happiness and growth that is natural for an individual to seek.
From Wayne: "Popper - You meditated for 30 years and quit. Why? I did TM (the non-religious kind) for 1 month in the 70s and quit. It has been shown to relieve stress and it's been said that if a certain % did it all would be peace and harmony in the world."
I practiced TM for 9 years before becoming disillusioned with the movement, but I continued with other forms of meditation for many years following TM, finding that other techniques were just as effective as TM. It wasn't until later that could accept the fact that it too exerted pressure to live one's life in a certain way, a pressure that I overlooked at the time because I saw what I wanted to see for most of the years I was involved. Maharishi has taken a noble undertaking, meditation, and distorted it to his own financial benefit. He was deceptive in presenting it to the public so that many people were unaware of the Hindu underpinnings of his technique. He/the movement continues to fleece his gullible followers into taking more and more "advanced courses to speed up one's evolution", courses which are sometimes destructive to those who take them, and courses which are totally unnecessary except to bring in more money. He deceived his followers in what "enlightenment" is so that they are brainwashed into believing that it is something that will only happen in some future when enough people are meditating. He/the movement has skewed scientific studies which purport that TM is more effective than other types of meditation that cost virtually nothing, as compared to $2500 to learn TM. He has made claims about a certain percentage of people who meditate in an area will reduce crime, yet Fairfield, Iowa (home to Maharishi International University) has seen no such decline ever despite having a much higher percentage of that community meditating than his claim requires. He has shown himself to be manipulative and abusive to female followers; hardly the image he wishes to project to the public, but covered up to protect his reputation. In short, he isn't what he claims to be and he has bamboozled people for many many years - hallmarks of a cult like organization.
Why did I quit meditating? Because I came to the point where it wasn't necessary anymore. I woke up to what I am, and my daily life is experienced in a state of natural meditation. By that I mean: when you realize your true essence a natural byproduct is to be in a thought free state (most of the time). When thought is needed it is there; when not needed, thought/mind abates - nothing has to be done anymore for this to happen, it is my natural state. The egoic entity, the personal sense that convinces one that he is separate from everyone else, has been seen through as a fiction, so it no longer dominates how life is experienced and viewed. Without that identification with the ego, life is experienced in peace and stillness despite outer circumstances because what is viewed is no longer seen to be separate from what I am. Life is lived in the present moment now, without reference to the past or future unless for practical purposes. It is this natural state that is the "commonality" I referenced in my previous post. By helping others to see this within themselves, fear and hate of others cannot take root because they are solely the byproducts of the separate sense of self. It is that separate sense of self which gets in debates with others, it is that separate sense of self that demands things be its way, it is that separate sense of self that does everything it can to protect its own idea of "self". And it is that separate sense of self that I wish others here to likewise discover to be a fiction which covers one's essential nature of peace and wholeness.
>>>>>>>>Poppers - What is a "dub"? I'm a newcomer.
If you live in Canada (forgot your profile) you know that in the last 10 years or so, that there has been a flurry of "rapists" and "murderers" released from prison for one reason or another. In some cases it was found that the witness lied, or mistaken identity or sloppy police work. The 2 most famous cases are Stephen Truscott (of book fame) and Donald Marshall (an Indian). These 2, plus many more, spent, 20+ years in jail for cases built on very shaky ground. Can you conceive of that happening to you? If JWs (note that I don't use the term Watchtower because of its bad connotations) have a strict burden of proof requirement, they have a reason. They can't spit on a sidewalk without it being noted.
It is an extremely serious thing to toss those words around in these sites as though talking about the weather. There are other cases in Canada where people's lives were ruined by accusations and no charges ever laid, or they were exonerated. While no names are mentioned here, the entire movement is tainted.
Any Witness who was ever molested or otherwise harmed should use the law to the fullest.
You referred to an unhealthy and unnatural enviroment. What would that be? And did you (not being one of them) ever personally witness this, apart from in sites like this? Do you know JWs, and what are they like?
About TM, it sounds like you got involved in the religious type with its gobbleygook and flying Yogis. "Magic Carpet Ride"? I only did the non-religious, and quit because I have problems following through with things. Considering how stressed out I am, that was a bad mistake. I have to take 3 blood pressure pills a day! Wasn't the famous picture proven a hoax?
I don't quite get what you mean by "commonality" and such. It might be your natural state by I don't see much of it on this site. Wayne
