Posts by VoidEater

16

Head of gold

by hoj in

one night i woke up and couldnt get back to sleep.

then the next verse has ...thou art this head of gold.

(36) this is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

Adam, Eve and their children

by alfmel in

so jws teach that if adam and eve hadn't disobeyed we would live in the garden of eden.

based on the telling of the story, adam and eve were so quick to disobey they didn't have time to have any children in the garden.

so what would have happened if adam and eve had not partaken, but some of their children had?

VoidEater

I'm more concerned about the incest that obviously took place.

46

How do you help a girl having panic attacks?

by Cagefighter in

jw
friends

i am so inlove with this woman.... we have been dating for six months and she is finally starting to let me in.

she is the portrait of sweet country feminitiy and i am a masculine little macho but smart and sweet meat head.. she called me the other night having a panic attack.

well she texted b/c she couldn't talk.

Immediate response would be (barring life threatening situations, etc.): Sit down, close your eyes, and focus on the breath. At first watch the breath, feel it coming in, going out; notice the quality of the breath - the speed, the depth of each breath. Then, slow the breath down. Slow it down and hold it in a moment and pause after each exhalation. The goal is to focus on the breath and not on the external world or external events; and, slow, control the breath. Get to a point where each breath comes in for a count of 3, stays in for a count, exhales in the same count, and pauses between breaths for the count.

She needs to develop a mechanism for breaking the stimulus that is causing the attack - clenching a fist, snapping a rubberband, tapping a foot - and focusing on the breath, noticing she is OK, she is not at risk, there is nothing bad happening.

Professional help is in order.

47

SELF-TESTING for the influences of MIND-CONTROL

by Terry in

jw
friends

if you have been "brain washed" the control of your thinking has been wrested away from you and diverted.. .

hidden cues have replaced the ordinary path of logical analysis when examining your world.. .

think of this like a detour sign on a highway.

VoidEater

Belief is the enemy of truth.

While we are all at the mercy of our inculcated worldview (read a history of mathematics sometime), once we take something as true we do not think about it anymore.

So...the question becomes, How do we get out of our head, out of our habituated thoughts, wash our brain clean, and see things anew?

29

how many of you in the USA have visited England

by RosePetal in

jw
friends

if any body from usa have visited england i would like to know if you liked your stay.

what was your experience?

did you visit while still a dub did you visit any congregations and make any life long friends?

VoidEater

Loved England and Wales. From London to the tourists at Stonehenge I found people polite even when busy, kind to me as a visitor, and had laughs with other tourists from Europe to Australia.

Swansea was lovely, walked all over the city; Blackpool was a trip and a half; Barking was cool and fun and everyday...

London's parks and surrounding countryside were romantic even when filled with people - and beautiful when empty.

The range of architecture was breathtaking - and the view from the Millenium Eye had me entranced. Like Eddie Izzard says, it's where the history comes from. Bath - from the Roman baths to the riverside park, on up the wooded hillside - memorable.

Walking around London at night, hopping on the tube, finding amazing Indian food in out-of-the-way places...

I would go back any time.

Besides, it's the birthplace of Doctor Who.

22

Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

by snowbird in

that's what you get for waking up in vegas.. syl.

VoidEater

Over the past five years I'm up $365 on slots...

25

APOPHENIA.....how has it (how DOES it) affect your perception of the world?

by Terry in

jw
friends

apophenia.. do you suffer from it?.

apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.. do bible readers?

religious believers?

VoidEater

John Forbes Nash, Jr.

Sometimes perceived patterns really are patterns, just as coincidences can be coincidences.

36

Where do I begin?

by Backspacer in

jw
friends

i'm new here but have been reading/lurking for several months.

it's good to know that i'm not alone in my ex-jw status and that my story and experiences are not unique.

i have no bitterness or anger anymore.... that's long gone since i left some 12 years ago.

VoidEater

Great post - welcome!

127

DO you follow any of these quacks, charlatans, liars, mystics or self-promoters?

by Terry in

jw
friends

don't try to lie about it.

you accept some of these people as an authority.

you listen to them.

VoidEater

Nope.

Nor do I follow this one:

Ayn Rand: Objectivism.

27

Would you still believe if there were no reward in the afterlife

by donny in

jw
friends

some months ago i was listening to a co-worker witnessing to some others about why he believes and why they should to.

as i listened i kept hearing over and over about the "rewards" of eternal life in heaven in the kingdom of god.

later on we had a conversation that went like this.. me: can i ask you a question about your beliefs?.

VoidEater

I do not believe in a "reward". Put into common terms, I believe in universal salvation and unconditional giving of grace.

I believe everyone, regardless of their actions, are equally loved and equally "rewarded".