I probably don't have it in bound volume form but maybe individual mags in a case...
Introspection
JoinedPosts by Introspection
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Looking For 1998 Watchtower Bound Volume
by AlanF ini'm looking to buy or trade to get a 1998 watchtower bound volume for my collection.
if anyone has one to trade or sell, please email me at [email protected] .. thanks,.
alanf
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When JWs come here
by larc insome thoughts about jws who come here:.
i have been here for six months now.
in that time, i have noticed a certain pattern to the conduct of jws who come here and are true believers.
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Introspection
Well, to be fair I think it's also relevant to point out that some JWs are not filled with anger, though they can be judgemental. I remember once when I was in service and the householder correctly pointed out that the literature uses fear to motivate the reader. After we left the place the brother I was with said sometimes they do immoral things in their lives, as if that somehow explained away the point he made. Of course, I think the truth is like many witnesses, he tried to rationalize any doubt and inconsistencies within the organization and his own mind, and of course in this case there was absolutely no reason for thinking the guy was immoral, other than maybe his long hair.
I do think that the typical JW conception of God does tend to make the individual the same way though, as one is supposed to use that as a model. The love tends to be superficial and little more than being "nice" while associating with others. To use Einstein's three types of religion as a model, the witnesses tend to be between the first two, the religion based on fear and the moral religion. There can be no love in the sense of feeling one with all because there is this separation between you and the worldly people.
It seems to me the anger comes from the cognitive dissonance, frankly I don't think they understand or own the anger and direct it toward others when it is a conflict in their own mind. While the average person may experience this even within the religious realm, I think with JWs it is likely to be more extreme, as everything is supposed to be "just so." Besides, it is likely most have invested their life, in fact their everlasting life in the belief system, and if the belief system on which those are based is challenged, the implication is profound. It's just too close for comfort and it's best to not allow one's theology and world view to be questioned, (even by oneself) just as the "faithful slave" tells them to do. I would say that the bottling up of anger is first and foremost a bottling up of such doubt even if on an unconscious level, and depending on whether it manifests as anger or depression, you can explode or implode.
I wanted to touch a little more on the subject of the anger expressed by those who are challenged. . . The JWs and other strongly religious people talk about the concept of love. . . At the same time, some very religious people believe that God, is a God of wrath, who dishes out retribution to the sinners. . . I think, this mental construct creates in the believer, a mild, smiling, loving exterior with a seething, hate filled interior. When you poke the exterior, the hate inside comes spewing out. What do you think?
It seems to me that when a person bottles up anger, because they think it is Unchristion, but they feel it deep inside they are going to explode when provocted (sp?).
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When JWs come here
by larc insome thoughts about jws who come here:.
i have been here for six months now.
in that time, i have noticed a certain pattern to the conduct of jws who come here and are true believers.
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Introspection
Hi Larc,
I am not too worried about those who became JWs later in life like myself, but I am rather concerned for those raised in it. As you've pointed out, they are not taught critical thinking skills, but the difference with those who have spent their entire lives in the WTS is that it was with them as they were going through critical stages of development, and for them it no doubt runs pretty deep. Again, as some of you have pointed out they often resort to ad hominem arguments and attack the person. I think one obvious fact is that most JWs actually does very little self-examination and may be almost incapable of it. What do you think, can they be placed in the early developmental stages of say Piaget? I wonder if they are behind compared to the general population, but of course the indoctrination would complicate things even if they were at the same level.
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The art of Alex Grey
by Introspection inthought a few of you might be interested in this, check out the gallery:.
http://www.alexgrey.com
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Introspection
Well, the short story is that I live in California. :) But I had seen his work on book covers of people who might be considered transpersonal psychologists and such, and eventually decided to look him up.
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Meditation and therapy
by Introspection ini'm still working on integral psychology by ken wilber, i thought this was interesting coming from a proponent of meditation:.
because the traditional great chain theorists had a poor understanding of the early, infantile, prerational stages of human development, they likewise failed to grasp the types of psychopathologies that often stem from complications at these early stages.
in particular, psychosis, borderline, and neurotic diseases often stem from problems at the early fulcrums of self-development, and can best be approached with an understanding of their developmental dimensions.
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Introspection
I'm still working on Integral Psychology by Ken Wilber, I thought this was interesting coming from a proponent of meditation:
Because the traditional Great Chain theorists had a poor understanding of the early, infantile, prerational stages of human development, they likewise failed to grasp the types of psychopathologies that often stem from complications at these early stages. In particular, psychosis, borderline, and neurotic diseases often stem from problems at the early fulcrums of self-development, and can best be approached with an understanding of their developmental dimensions. Meditation--which is a way to carry development forward into the transpersonal--will not, as a rule, cure these prepersonal lesions (as hosts of American practitioners found out the hard way).
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The art of Alex Grey
by Introspection inthought a few of you might be interested in this, check out the gallery:.
http://www.alexgrey.com
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Introspection
Thought a few of you might be interested in this, check out the gallery:
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7 Habits of Effective People
by patio34 inthere was a 1-day class on this book recently and now am reading the book.. it's a wonder to me all the vistas that are opening up now that the wtbs blinders are off.
wow!
it's a readers' paradise.. the borg would have one think there is nothing to be learned outside of their wisdumb.
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Introspection
Well I haven't read the book, but I think I've listened to the audio book. I found out about Stephen Covey through a sort of self-help sampler tape called Quest, the first of three being "Discovering Your Human Potential." Maybe Gopher can comment on that too as I recently sent him a copy. You might see this program on your local PBS program listing, it has some good ideas and I would recommend catching the show.
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JW's & alternative medicine
by slipnslidemaster inin one of the threads i read today, they were talking about looking into your eyeballs to diagnose cancer and the like.
also selling herbs.. my comment and question is this: it seemed like in my congregation and the surrounding ones, alot of the sisters were into kineseology, reflexology, herbs, vitamins, color therapy, aroma therapy, etc.. alot of touchy feely hippie crap.
while i personally agree that there needs to be more synergy with eastern and western medicines, it would appear reading the boards that alot of witnesses are into this sort of stuff.. is this your experience?
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Introspection
Hi Larc,
We're certainly in agreement over research of alternative therapies. However, I would just add that a little common sense often goes a long way. For example, if you have tight muscles you can no doubt benefit from therapeutic massage, or if you know how to stretch you can get atleast some relief for free. For more complex structural imbalances, I have found a skilled chiropractor or osteopath trained in manipulative treatment to be of great help.
I think a certain level of subjective awareness is required, after all we go to see a doctor because we're not feeling good. While I can't distinguish what's going on in my body at a micro-cellular level, I do have a good idea of how and what I'm feeling. Of course, this also brings up the question of self-care. In principle, there is nothing wrong with that as long as you know what you're doing, because after all you are the one that has to take care of yourself from day to day. In fact, though you may not have the specificity of lab test results, you can monitor yourself both mentally and physically over an extended period of time. Many nutritionally oriented physicians will have you keep a diet diary to see how you're doing in that regard, and in terms of getting some perspective of your mental health journaling can be a good idea. But of course, the other side of it is that there is a danger in self-medication. However I think this applies to both conventional over the counter medicine as well as herbal and nutritional supplements. While I can dwell on the point of one being less dangerous due to a generally lower level of toxicity, the real danger lies in swallowing something which you know little about.
Maybe what it comes down to is taking responsibility for your own health. If you don't take care of yourself, it doesn't matter how good your doctor is or how effective the stuff you take is, because those are not strong enough to compensate for an unhealthy lifestyle.
By the way, regarding Chinese medicine, the fact is there is research, though much of it is overseas and not really seen here in the states. The nature of things like acupuncture also makes it difficult to study, since the exact treatment is specific to the individual, and not uniform for a pre-defined pathology. I think the truth is probably pretty simple, and that is like any knowledge which might be considered wise, it is relatively rare. I'm sure there are still uneducated people in China who only practices primative folk medicine based on anecdotal evidence, (and perhaps a superstitious interpretation of it) simply because the systematically formulated traditional medicine isn't immediately available. Then again, people just tend to have bad habits too. One of my grandfathers was a well respected herbalist, his eldest son a MD, but he just ate too much red meat. That's pretty much universal everywhere you go, and what people really need to do there is change their behavior.
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JW's & alternative medicine
by slipnslidemaster inin one of the threads i read today, they were talking about looking into your eyeballs to diagnose cancer and the like.
also selling herbs.. my comment and question is this: it seemed like in my congregation and the surrounding ones, alot of the sisters were into kineseology, reflexology, herbs, vitamins, color therapy, aroma therapy, etc.. alot of touchy feely hippie crap.
while i personally agree that there needs to be more synergy with eastern and western medicines, it would appear reading the boards that alot of witnesses are into this sort of stuff.. is this your experience?
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Introspection
Larc, I want to be clear that I was not implying that you intended to be misleading in citing the statistics of the average life span in China, in fact that is why I said "if I didn't know better", because I trust that isn't the case.
However, it is as you said in the message above, it is a general, overall index. What this tells us is simply that in recent times, China as a nation has a somewhat lower life expectancy, (5 years I beleive?) which may be attributed to health. (were things like war and natural disasters taken into consideration?) As I stated previously, it is hardly a criteria for judging specific treatment modalities which are used traditionally. This is the leap in logic which I would take issue with, and if you see a fallacy in my reasoning here I would actually appreciated if you would point it out to me.
I'd also like to say a few words about a functional, integral approach to health care. While I may not go to an MD with only standard medical training (but will see one who has done additional research in nutrition and such) for the common cold, if I was seriously injured in a car accident with massive blood loss, you bet I would want to go to the best ER in the area. I think even people who prefer non-allopathic medicine can see that emergency medicine is where it shines. So basically the way I look at it is not whether it works, but how it works or what it's good for. I understand the nature of the different treatment modalities, and not just the statistical numbers associated with them. Of course, I certainly acknowledge and in fact welcome further research in these disciplines to confirm their effectiveness, because my choices are based on reason, not blind faith.
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JW's & alternative medicine
by slipnslidemaster inin one of the threads i read today, they were talking about looking into your eyeballs to diagnose cancer and the like.
also selling herbs.. my comment and question is this: it seemed like in my congregation and the surrounding ones, alot of the sisters were into kineseology, reflexology, herbs, vitamins, color therapy, aroma therapy, etc.. alot of touchy feely hippie crap.
while i personally agree that there needs to be more synergy with eastern and western medicines, it would appear reading the boards that alot of witnesses are into this sort of stuff.. is this your experience?
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Introspection
The quote of the average life expectancy of MDs being 53 is probably from the tape "Dead Doctors Don't Lie", which was heavily used in multi-level marketing companies selling colloidal minerals. Unfortunately, while the fact a dead person cannot lie is self evident, apparently the guy on that tape (Joel Wallach I believe) does. There was an article in the Townsend Letter (an alternative medicine journal) which revealed that this guy was kicked out of the company he co-founded (I believe it is Mineral Toddy, or the co. that sells the product by that name) for twisting facts. See, not all alternative practitioners are fanatics, and those who are fanatics are also subject to peer review.
Incidentally, this guy said he collected doctors' obituaries. While this may be revealing, it does open the door to a selective sample population. (yes, those of us who use alt med understand these things)