I would hope we'd all live our life differently even if we DON'T know - but then I'm not sure what you're looking for. What I am getting at is just that at some point, it becomes kind of boring if you continue to live the same way - generally speaking. Certainly there are those who kind of dig deeply into one thing and I think that kind of dedication to say make something your life's work is great, so it kind of depends on differently from WHAT. Maybe some people are already doing that, maybe some people tries to make their own little paradise now in their life. Hopefully it's at least differently from how everybody else lives, just in terms of not following the crowd to fit in. It's been said, from non-JWs but clearly people who are convinced of this view that even paradise gets a bit boring after a few incarnations. Perhaps somewhere in there is the question of how easily amused the person is. While some want to engage the world at large, others are happy with a really good gaming console.
educ8self
JoinedPosts by educ8self
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40
Would you live your life differently, if you new what happens after death?
by passive suicide inso i had a thought today, that may spark some interesting conversation......
if you were able to die.....totally, and utterly dead.and see what there really is for your own eyes/soul after death......not what the bible says, not what your mom, dad, preacher, rabbi,faithful and discreet slave, conscience ...whatever says will happen....but what really happens......( who can say for sure they know by the way), and then somehow you were brought back,
would you live your life differently?
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How do you deal with this feeling of emptiness?
by DeusMauzzim inthis feeling that you have seen it all, that there's nothing more in the universe to live for.... i know that it is rubbish, i know it's related to post-exit syndrome.... but how do you deal with it now?.
it's just so ridiculous to have the feeling that you're life is over at 19... but i can't help it.. help me!.
- deus mauzzim.
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educ8self
It comes and goes, I'm sure you understand. One day I'm over the top with happiness and the other day I'm just so sad...
I believe this is the kind of thing the Buddhists mean when they say, "You are not your thoughts": you are so much more than this moment of pain. When you are in pain, remember that.
Or for that matter, you are not your feelings. I saw this news headline today that this guy in Japan lost a leg riding his motorcycle and wasn't aware of it for some time, now that shows you how much the mind is capable of. When you are absorbed in your own feelings you naturally think that's all there is, but as you've already noticed, DM, experience changes. Look for the constant in both positive and negative experiences, as well as the absence of both and you will find a solid footing.
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Turning the other cheek: Then and now
by Mysterious inwere you ever in a fight when you were a jw?
how about now that you have left?.
those of you who are christian now do you feel that turning the other cheek is still the right thing to do or that sometimes there is a good reason to fight?
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educ8self
educ8self: What if it did stand a very good chance of getting you what you wanted? If it wasn't futile then would it be okay? And how about fighting back if they are smearing your character? If you didn't argue back might it not be that a lot of people would think it was all true?
Well if it wasn't futile there would be a point to it, you wouldn't be wasting your time and energy - although you gotta look at whether it's worth it too. I don't think whether something is okay in the sense of an absolute right and wrong is useful, you have to look at the actual situation rather than try to force the situation into some moral ideal. I mean look at child abuse, when it's been perpetuated for years people don't tend to have a harsh judgement if the victim finally responded. Again, though the point I was trying to make is that the oppositional attitude of fighting tends to be a waste of energy, it is possible to engage someone in an intelligent way.
So for that matter I have to say you don't want to force the reality of the situation into what you want, either. Realistically speaking you want two things: have a good grasp on the situation first, which means knowing not just the person you are tangling with but just the whole situation including yourself - and second is knowing what you can control in that situation. Fighting in the sense of going Hulk on someone is just trying to force things to be a certain way, but your best chance is if you are really aware of what's going on and what you can do about it.
But aside from the nuts and bolts of how it works, if someone is telling lies about you you have the truth on your side, and the more far off it is the more you have to work with. I would just say don't worry about being too defensive in that case, which can be interpreted the wrong way but present it as a ridiculous claim. And I'd focus on the evidence rather than the personal aspect, just point things out like how the claim is inconsistent with other things people can readily observe. (including their motive if it is pretty obvious) But I have to admit if it was me I'd probably not spend too much time on it, because even if they succeed in convincing people, if those people won't listen to reason they are probably not worth it. Here's a little twist, because it goes back to what you can control - hopefully you won't get so caught up in what other people think that you can't control yourself and be totally absorbed in trying to control what other people think. (or, be controlled BY what other people think!) After all, while we can influence that people will ultimately think what they think.
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Turning the other cheek: Then and now
by Mysterious inwere you ever in a fight when you were a jw?
how about now that you have left?.
those of you who are christian now do you feel that turning the other cheek is still the right thing to do or that sometimes there is a good reason to fight?
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educ8self
Don't mean to post so much but I don't know when I'll be back. Basically, even if you're just having an argument with someone it's the same thing - it's a total waste of energy. You can tell even when someone is making a lot of good points if there's this oppositional attitude going on, can't you? That will more than likely make the other person defensive whereas they are more likely to hear your point if their guard is down. Again, TOTAL WASTE. Not only might it not get what you want, it might even be counterproductive.
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Turning the other cheek: Then and now
by Mysterious inwere you ever in a fight when you were a jw?
how about now that you have left?.
those of you who are christian now do you feel that turning the other cheek is still the right thing to do or that sometimes there is a good reason to fight?
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educ8self
Let me put it this way - trying to adhere to some ideal that fighting is always good or bad would probably involve a bit of inner struggle within yourself when the other person clearly wronged you wouldn't it? So why would you fight with yourself like that?
Sorry I guess I should also ask are you talking about physically fighting, because isn't that scripture supposed to refer to when you are insulted?
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Turning the other cheek: Then and now
by Mysterious inwere you ever in a fight when you were a jw?
how about now that you have left?.
those of you who are christian now do you feel that turning the other cheek is still the right thing to do or that sometimes there is a good reason to fight?
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educ8self
It depends - are you talking about the cheeks on your face? Okay seriously.. This imagery of a martial arts scene where only one guy is "fighting" kind of pictures my idea. The whole point is you may respond, but rather than thinking (if that happens at all) in terms of fighting where you throw fists around think of the end result you want to achieve in the engagement, and you leave yourself open to different ways you might go about achieving it. That's all about strategy and skill, and even if a physical confrontation is involved it is not based on the typical narrow view of fighting. The physics of a typical fight involves a lot of wasted energy neutralized against each other, which gets you nowhere, whereas using strategy involves making things work for you. Work smarter rather than harder, yadda yadda..
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Jehovah's Witnesses Today & Yesterday
by minimus injws today are not like the ones i knew when i was growing up.
we used to look down upon those that didn't make all of the meetings and regularly go out in service every weekend!
if someone was not in the theocratic ministry school----what was wrong with them???
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educ8self
It would be interesting to see what it's like Tomorrow.. Witnesses in space! Preaching to alien life forms.. "The Call of Cthulu" as a door to door experience..
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The trivium
by educ8self ini recently found out about the classical model of education based on three stages of grammar, dialectic and rhetoric - evidently it is of interest with home schooling.
i wonder if anyone has any input on this.
i get the basic concept, but am just interested in going a little deeper into it.
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educ8self
Thanks Truths. Smells, I am a former JW and I guess if you call educating yourself home schooling, I'm interested. Not sure you can leave it to anyone else in the final analysis, anyway.
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Is Being A Jehovah's Witness a Mental Disorder?
by Amber Rose infrequently i have seen the subject of borderlind personallity disorder mentioned on this board.
many people here feel that friends or relatives display many of the charactaristics of the disorder.
people with histories of abuse seem to be drawn to this religion.
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educ8self
Trying to be something you're not, or in fact against your nature (like, human nature) will cause great mental disease. That's basically why I left, it isn't a decision that came from a line of reasoning. And yes, I continued to be depressed for years afterward, until I digged deep enough into myself to discover that nature and I haven't been for many years now. I may feel very sad, and have at times since then, (you know, it happens in life) but that's not depression. In fact any feeling even if intense tends to go through the system rather quickly now.
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"Food" at the "proper time"
by educ8self inif you cannot "reach" someone because of certain psychological "blocks," wouldn't that indicate you need to get into their head more, rather than just use pure reason?
and if people are just more receptive at certain times, doesn't that imply knowing it well enough to see when that is?
(and unfortunately, they may not be posting at the time) messy as it may be, you gotta know people and be good at it.
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educ8self
Well, one example would be people who are not ready to hear the truth about The Truth.