I just remember 2 Cor 4:8 being applied to pioneering in a VW bug ...
Introspection
JoinedPosts by Introspection
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4
one scriptural meeting per week!!!
by sawthelight ina while back i posted a thread called "3 meetings per week not 5"; here's something to think about:(if ive already posted this info but have forgotten because i'm drunk please tell me!).
can't remember the scripture but i have to get this down before i lose my enthusiasum(?).
isn't there a scripture about jesus going into the syndicate of gog(synagouge?
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151
Intro's quote-o-rama
by Introspection ini guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.
q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?
why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.
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Introspection
Oh you guys will love this first part.. Actually, I guess it depends - but it could be either funny ironic or funny ha-ha ... what's the difference anyways? From the same book I quoted above:
Generally, when we speak of freedom or liberation or spiritual understanding, we think that to attain these things we need do nothing at all, that someone else will take care of us. "You are all right, don't worry, don't cry, you're going to be all right. I'll take care of you." We tend to think that all we have to do is make a commitment to the organization, pay our initiation fee, sign the register and then follow the instructions given us. "I am firmly convinced that your organization is valid, it answers all my questions. You may program me in any way. If you want to put me into difficult situations, do so. I leave everything to you." This attitude supplies the comfort of having to do nothing but follow orders. Everything is left to the other person, to instruct you and relieve you of your shortcomings. But to our surprise things do not work that way. The idea that we do not have to do anything on our own is extremely wishful thinking.
It takes tremendous effort to work one's way through the difficulties of the path and actually get into the situations of life thoroughly and properly. So the whole point of the hard way seems to be that some individual effort must be made by the student to acknowledge himself, to go through the process of unmasking. One must be willing to stand alone, which is difficult.
This is not to say that the point of the hard way is that we must be heroic. The attitude of "heroism" is based upon the assumption that we are bad, impure, that we are not worthy, are not ready for spiritual understanding. We must reform ourselves, be different from what we are. For instance, if we are middle class Americans, we must give up our jobs or drop out of college, move out of our suburban homes, let our hair grow, perhaps try drugs. If we are hippies, we must give up drugs, cut our hair short, throw away our torn jeans. We think that we are special, heroic, that we are turning away from temptation. We become vegetarians and we become this and that. There are so many things to become. We think our path is spiritual because it is literally against the flow of what we used to be, but it is merely the way of false heroism, and the only one who is heroic in this way is ego.
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Intro's quote-o-rama
by Introspection ini guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.
q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?
why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.
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Introspection
Thanks for the help guys! I was wondering how I can come up with a fresh one each day.. Ok here's something else from the same book: (flips through pages randomly)
I think we must understand the true meaning of the words "discipline" and "asceticism." The basic idea of asceticism, leading a life according to the dharma, is to be fundamentally sane. If you find that leading an ordinary life is a sane thing to do, that is dharma. At the same time you could find that leading the life of an ascetic yogi, as described in the texts, could become an expression of insanity. It depends upon the individual. It is a question of what is sane for you, the really solid, sound, stable approach to life. The Buddha, for example, was not a religious fanatic, attempting to act in accordance with some high ideal. He just dealt with people simply, openly and very wisely. His wisdom came from transcendental common sense. His teaching was sound and open.
The problem seems to be that people worry about a conflict between the religious and the profane. They find it very difficult to reconcile so called "higher consciousness" with practical affairs. But the categories of higher and lower, religious and profane, do not really seem relevant to a basically sane approach to life.
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Intro's quote-o-rama
by Introspection ini guess i've been inspired by stephen's quote threads, so i'm going to start one myself.. not one particular author here, just whatever i can find:.
q: why do you think that people are so protective of their egos?
why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?.
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Introspection
I guess I've been inspired by Stephen's quote threads, so I'm going to start one myself.. Not one particular author here, just whatever I can find:
Q: Why do you think that people are so protective of their egos? Why is it so hard to let go of one's ego?
- Chogyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual MaterialismA: People are afraid of the emptiness of space, or the absence of company, the absence of a shadow. It could be a terrifying experience to have no one to relate to, nothing to relate with. The idea of it can be extremely frightening, though not the real experience. It is generally a fear of space, a fear that we will not be able to anchor ourselves to any solid ground, that we will lose our identity as a fixed and solid and definite thing. This could be very threatening.
(edited for reference)
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Some Witnesses Enjoy Witchcraft!
by metatron ini guess i've just been naive.. i was surprized to find that some 'super loyal'.
witnesses i know have been practising witchcraft.. of course, they'd never call it that - it seems that.
when various illnesses arise you get out an assortment.
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Introspection
Then again, sometimes you have nothing to lose. What if conventional therapies have already been exhausted? Sure, you can choose to "accept your fate" and prepare to die, but I would want to do what I can. If I'm going to die then I don't think I need additional affirmations to that effect, and since I don't have all the answers I don't know that I will die for a fact. The last sentence here also seem to imply that non-mainstream treatment options are always performed by people who have no credentials or those who aren't doctors. This is simply not the case. The "health food store chit-chat" brand of self-treament does not constitute all of alternative medicine. The problem is while the accepted mainstream treatments have been tested, it's only what all the doctors know. While there are loose cannons which are in the minority, those on the cutting edge are also a minority because they are ahead of the rest. The challenge is in recognizing who they are and what those therapies are. It doesn't take much to recognize what everyone else already knows.
As long as one's life doesn't depend on it - then experimentation is wider. When one's life depends on it (as the sister I mentioned did) - then I, imho, will go with the doctors and surgeons.
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Has Anyone Tried Yoga?
by Eyebrow ini have been considering learning yoga for a few years now, but i am not sure how to go about it.
i don't really have the money for a class right now, and most of the books i have found are either extremely expensive or not really for beginners.
can anyone make any suggestions?
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Introspection
Don't worry, you won't be spiritual from doing Hatha yoga just like reading the bible doesn't guarantee spirituality. My understanding is Hatha yoga just involve the stretching, so it is exactly what you see. Apparently they were developed as an adjunct to meditation. The other yogas are ones which most people aren't even familiar with, since most people associate yoga with just Hatha (force, or the stretching) yoga. But just in case you care, other types of yoga includes Karma (good deeds) yoga, Jnana (knowledge, Hindu scriptural study) yoga, Bhakti (devotional) yoga and Raja (meditation) yoga. Dang, if you read the wrong stuff or do good deeds you might be practicing spiritual yoga..
I heard that there is a version of 'non spiritual' yoga...just the stretching.
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faith in a community
by gotcha inis it possible to exercise your faith without joining a religion?...i asked the same question to my professor in theology and her response was...as human beings we have this nature of being social so it's always in a community that you could exercise your faith..there's not such a thing as "individualistic" faith because it is within a community that your faith can grow...what do u think?
thanks.
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Introspection
I would just point out that you can physically walk into a church and take in the services, but that doesn't mean you're attached in that you rely on it for support. As far as being part of a community goes, there is also the difference between what you can get out of it (perhaps a sense of belonging) vs. what you can contribute. It is entirely possible to contribute without expecting anything in return, and that also means you're a part of the community.
does any of you here go into some kind of church?
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Some Witnesses Enjoy Witchcraft!
by metatron ini guess i've just been naive.. i was surprized to find that some 'super loyal'.
witnesses i know have been practising witchcraft.. of course, they'd never call it that - it seems that.
when various illnesses arise you get out an assortment.
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Introspection
The simple approach of "this is good for you so I'll take it" is typical. But a basic principle in nutrition is balance. You don't have to wait until the mass and volume of the pills start to equal a small meal, but just find out what you actually need. There are a lot of foods that are good for you, but obviously you can't eat every one of them in a given day. We think "oh, it'll be an extra boost, more energy" - it's all good. But the real question is not the simplistic view of good or bad, but what does it DO?
By the way, orange juice has very little vitamin C. It has plenty of citric acid in it, but it's not that high in ascorbic acid. You're better off eating broccoli. I'd certainly agree that your diet is most important if nothing else, but do you know what's in which food?
I was reared in the "typical" JW environment which included every health food/supplement moneymaking scheme that came along over a several decade period. At one point in my life, I was taking over 40 tablets/capsules of various "crap" per day. After I finally wised up, I haven't taken any supplements in years. Not even VitC. I just drink OJ daily.
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Anybody else had visions?
by philo inwhen i was separating from my wife and leaving the jws, i had some visions.
for some strange reason, i decided not to eat for a day, then when i found my thinking clearer and my emotions mellower, i fasted for another two days.
so after the third day, i was walking down our street and i saw the houses burning after me, i felt this was an affirmation that marriage was decay and destruction, or wasteage.
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Introspection
Rem,
The literal translation of the words qi gong is (breath)energy work. There are a lot of different types, the most common and more basic is the internal where one practices for their own health. Other more esoteric forms which relates to psi involves affecting people at a distance (aka empty force or kong jing) which can be used for healing, or hard qi gong for martial arts applications, where people have concrete slabs broken over their bodies and spears jammed into their throats. (saw this type live by the Shaolin monks once) I found the remark of one tai chi grandmaster (the earlier reference) regarding the healing application interesting because here is a guy that obviously believes in the stuff, but he is making the point that you should practice yourself, which doesn't cost anything. (he is an Oriental Medical Doctor and has an acupuncture practice, though he only treats his students when they get injured and doesn't sell it) After all, even if it is energetic it would kind of be invasive in nature if someone else was to affect you. Incidentally, he also says that feeling sensations are a side effect. In any case, taking good care of yourself (by your own efforts) is a good general rule of thumb that no doubt everyone can appreciate, regardless of how one goes about achieving that.
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Some Witnesses Enjoy Witchcraft!
by metatron ini guess i've just been naive.. i was surprized to find that some 'super loyal'.
witnesses i know have been practising witchcraft.. of course, they'd never call it that - it seems that.
when various illnesses arise you get out an assortment.
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Introspection
Marilyn,
What about that antineopastic treatment by Budzynski (?) in Texas? Also check out http://www.ralphmoss.com , he offers an information service, does reports on specific types of cancers and has a few books out.