halcyon

Joined

• started 18 topics
• posted 303 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by halcyon

• 
  5

  Is there magik you believe in?

  by LouBelle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  you know when we were kids, things definately were more magical.

  since leaving the org i've put the magik back into life.

  the small things that keep my inner child in a state of wonderment.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  what's the difference in spelling between magic and magik (and magick)?
  
  
  I have always been a bit superstitious (all JWs are), but since leaving I have opened up my mind to the probablility of all kinds of forces beyond our understanding.
• 
  18

  Suicide

  by is there help out there in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the holidays are a time when some people get depressed and commit suicide.

  has any one in there congration commited suicide and what was the reacion by the other members.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  I remember when I was little I knew a brother who had been in the news when he was a child for the flag salute issue. He was like this pillar, this hero, in my mind all the time I was growing up. Then, he committed suicide. It totally shocked me.
  
  Looking back, I wonder if he didn't have his own crisis of conscience at some point, which may have led up to it. Only speculation, of course.
• 
  12

  What would a jw response be to carol singers on the door?

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any ideas?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  "I'm sorry, we don't celebrate Christmas. Let me tell you why..."
• 
  24

  Jehovah's Witnesses – a religion with nothing to celebrate

  by eyeslice in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a re-hash of a post i made a few years back when i had only just 'left'.

  but as time has gone by i have become even more convinced that the witnesses are, how can i put this, a fairly miserable lot.

  it seems to me that what separates humans from other animals is our culture and traditions.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  I attended a catholic mass last night. It was an odd feeling, and here's why:
  
  1) The church could hold 900 people, and the auditorium was shaped in a semi-circle and the wall colors were almost exactly the same as my old assembly hall. I felt like I was back at a Circuit Assembly, but with a bell choir and christmas lights and people in blue jeans. Except during this service, NOBODY was wandering in the aisles behind the seats. I couldn't help but notice that.
  
  2) The songs were mostly unfamiliar to me. We sang "Joy To The World," "Silent Night," and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Otherwise the songs were unfamiliar, except to those who go to that church, apparently. I must admit, the quality of the choir voices and soloists, as well as the bell choir, was extremely good. Unfortunately we arrived 15 minutes early and the only long pew available was right behind the bell choir, which meant I could hear the individual bells rather than the full, rich chordal sound. On the plus side though, I could look over their shoulders and read some of the words to the songs.
  
  3) There was no program or listing of the songs. About half of the people knew all the words to all the songs, but there were a whole lot of us (including the atheist sitting next to me, lol) who didn't. It was Okay to not sing, but I would have preferred to be able to sing along. I only know first lines. By the time I looked up the song in the hymnal, they were pretty much on the third verse, and then I had to dig through german and latin lines in order to figure out where we were in the song. Frustrating.
  
  4) The priest all but told us that Santa Clause doesn't exist! I mean, I suppose because I am a sophisticated listener, it seemed blatant to me. I wondered if there would be parents fielding questions from their "cuspers" (older kids who still believe in Santa) that night. "Mom, what did the Priest mean when he said that Santa is just a "symbol" of Christmas? And when he talked about St. Nicholas, and how if you say his name really fast it sounds like "Santa Clause ... it made it sound like Santa isn't real. Is he, mommy?"
  
  5) When everybody went up to take communion, it was confusing. I was second in the pew, and we had been standing for the song before, and all of a sudden the people on the other side of the auditorium started sitting down (it looked a bit like "the wave"). But since we were the first pew behind the bell choir, we were dismissed first, so I hadn't gotten to sit yet. I quickly sat, expecting the guy next to me to crawl over me. But he sat too, and so did his wife, and on down the line. I quickly whispered, "YOU guys can go! We've been dismissed! But I'm not catholic!" But they stayed sitting, and I thought, "oh no, what did I do!" All of a sudden, the grandma of the family comes crawling over all of us ... I felt so bad, I thought I had screwed the whole row up! But I learned later that the people sitting next to me were either atheist or non-practicing. *Whew!* I thought about going up for communion (they didn't seem to be questioning anyone) but decided not to. They were all drinking from the same chalice, ewww!
  
  6) The priest would hold up the bible (I think) to face the people as if the bible had some "magical vibes" that would bless the people. For not understanding that practice, it was weird for me. It seemed to hearken back to a time centuries ago, though, perhaps when the common people didn't read, as if to remind people of the authority of the bible by having them look at it held up high.
  
  7) The priest was really nice, but he absolutely sounded like he didn't believe a word he was saying. I left feeling unfulfilled. The music was beautiful, the decorations were quality, but nothing about the service ever really "moved" me, except for the one solo of "O Holy Night," and that's because the singer's voice was absolutely gorgeous!! He got an ovation afterward.
  
  I've been to a small-town Lutheran service the past two years. I feel more "moved" at that service, except I don't like that the musicians are bad and the choir can't sing. The sermon was also not terribly inspiring at either of those, either. The one church I REALLY like (for the pastor, he's SO inspiring!) is the United Church of Christ, but that church is almost an hour away from my house so it's not convenient to go often.
  
  Anyway, that's my observations.
• 
  16

  What tv can jws watch over xmas?

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with lots of xmas song programmes etc, what tv programmes can jws safetly watch?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  You muted Christmas music? OMG, the commercials and the stores were the only place I could legally get my "fix" of Christmas! I would get to roll my eyes outwardly and sigh to those around me, "can't wait til this season is over!" while inwardly I was gobbling up the sentiment.
  
  Even though my family was pretty hard-core, we could still watch shows that were centered around Christmas, although they couldn't be *about* Christmas. Think "Home Alone." While I can't specifically remember the names of the shows, I'm sure there were things to watch in the 70s.
  
  Or else we just kept the TV off and did other things. Usually on Christmas day, we'd go skiing, bowling or to the movies. Christmas Eve we just stayed home.
• 
  41

  How is Your Life Going ? What do you Hope to Accomplish in 2009 ?

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so how are things going for you folks ?

  times are tough economically for sure for lots of people.

  things going well for you otherwise in your life ?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  I have a really scary year coming up. I need to find the strength to ask for a divorce, then move across the country and try to find work in a worse economy than here, in a field that notoriously pays little.
  
  I'm just about rolled up in a ball, rocking in the corner over it. BUT, if I don't do it, I'll just continue in this loveless life and try to be satisfied with shallow, material things. 'Cause that's all he's got to give. And I don't have family anymore ... they're still JW...
• 
  2

  secret santa thank you thread

  by halcyon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i did my first secret santa all wrong ... didn't wrap the gift before sending it (duh!

  but i'm not used to this kind of thing), and then waited too long before sending it so i got caught up in the mad pre-christmas-weekend rush to get things sent out, and then shipping cost more than the gift!

  i'm so sorry to my recipient for not making it a little more ... "special" ... .

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  halcyon

  I did my first Secret Santa all wrong ... didn't wrap the gift before sending it (DUH! But I'm not used to this kind of thing), and then waited too long before sending it so I got caught up in the mad pre-christmas-weekend rush to get things sent out, and then shipping cost more than the gift! I'm so sorry to my recipient for not making it a little more ... "special" ...
  
  
  
  
  
  I've been listening to the Holiday Pops station on my XM radio, and had a bunch of song names written down to go find on iTunes. Some of them are on here!
• 
  57

  I've Got To Tell This!

  by snowbird in

  1. social
  2. family

  one of the police officers here is a transplanted new yorker who was raised as a jw by his g'ma.. he and i talk a lot about his jw experience, his g'ma, and his children (boy age 18, girl age 11).. his kids are both talented athletes (tennis) and the son won a tennis scholarship to university.

  he hopes the daughter will follow in her brother's footsteps.. mr. officer mentioned that one saturday, after a particularly strenuous workout, he gave his daughter a bottle of red gatorade to drink.

  he said she resisted drinking it at first, but he put his foot down and made her do it.. well, come sunday, he got an urgent message at work that he was to call home immediately.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  I used to think that babies just "happened" to women, and I thought it was HORRIBLY unfair that if a baby "happened" to a married woman, she'd get love and support and a baby shower and happiness, but if it "happened" to a single girl, she'd get disfellowshipped and shipped away!
  
  I would sometimes sit on the toilet in fear that I might look down and find that I had birthed a baby in the toilet. And then I'd be disfellowshipped, too. I think I was maybe nine or ten.
  
  When we learned about periods in school, they never made it clear that it came in cycles. They said you'd get it when you were about 13, and it would stop when you were in your 50s. So I thought it would be continuous, every day, for nearly my whole adult life. Thank GOD it's not!!
  
  I got my first period at a wedding. But my dress was rust colored so I didn't have to worry til I came home.
• 
  40

  Why The Hoopla Over Rick Warren's Selection

  by snowbird in

  1. social
  2. current

  ... to do the invocation at obama's swearing in on january 20, 2009?.

  gregor asked this on bts's thread, but i am afraid it may get buried underneath all the other stuff.

  what denomination is rick warren and why all the blather about him giving the inaugural invocation?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  a commentary on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/18/kolbert.warren/index.html
• 
  17

  Is it me or are alot of women starting to leave their husbands in the TWOOF

  by IreallydidwalkoutofaKH in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i live in so cal and got to tell you women are leaving in droves out here...is it a caly thing or are simply women bored out of their minds listening to their mate and his friends presentations week in and week out?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  halcyon

  I think there are a few reasons:
  
  1) Witnesses have a limited field to choose from, and often marry partners who are not exactly compatible, just to be married. WTS advice seems to believe that any man and any woman can get married and be happy.
  
  2) Divorce is common in the world, and it's common advice that if you're unhappy, get out.
  
  3) Wives may stick it out in an unhappy marriage if they truly believe Armageddon is coming soon, but as time goes by and nothing happens, they start to realize that "life is too short to be unhappy." And so they get out.
  
  4) Adultery is a particularly useful tool in leaving the congregation. It's swift and complete, and usually there is built-in support on the other side. (a man waiting for you to help you transition.)