Posts by Introspection

10

Should I go to the meetings?

by Nickey in

i'm having a bit of a problem.. my mother recently decided to go back to the meetings.

it isn't enough that i've made a personal decision for myself to not go.

but i find her constantly trying to push me to go.

Introspection

You should do and say whatever you feel is appropriate. That may not sound very helpful, but no specific answer will be appropriate in all situations anyway.

I suppose you might want to consider whether you want to get into it and weigh things out and see if it's worth it given the amount of time you have left living with her. Of course, I don't recommend going super apostate on her all of the sudden, that will only make her defensive. You might just hold that awareness though and make it a point to question something that really sticks out as a sore thumb when the opportunity arises. Just leave it at an open question, and treat other things with the same open attitude, this way there's a better chance that she will be open to really consider the question when you bring it up. You might be tempted to draw the conclusion for her, but unlike the typical "bible study" where the "teacher" might eventually spell out the right answer for them, if you leave it open there's a better chance that something might actually change. Basically you're going only as far as she's willing to go, supporting her opening up rather than tearing her a new one, to draw a sharp contrast. You know, you might approach it kind of like service and make return visits on her, just don't let her see your notes if you should decide to take some.

31

Oh, my God! I have blood coming out of my.......

by gilwarrior in

ass!

ok, now that i have your attention let me tell you my situation.

for the past three days i have noticed blood coming out of my rectum.

Introspection

Is this thread inspired by that South Park episode that was on the other night, where the boys thought they were getting their periods? But really, go have it checked out. They have a stool test for occult blood which you can do at home, although its best to do it ASAP.

40

Thread for support of diet and exercise...tips

by LyinEyes in

last nite in chat i had a good time talking about different weight loss strategies and exercise.

i am trying to get myself in shape ,start walking and my diet is in need of a major overhaul.

what do you think is the best way to get in shape?

Introspection

Speaking of walking folks, get yourself some decent shoes. I find that even if it's just brisk walking on a treadmill it makes a difference.

40

Thread for support of diet and exercise...tips

by LyinEyes in

last nite in chat i had a good time talking about different weight loss strategies and exercise.

i am trying to get myself in shape ,start walking and my diet is in need of a major overhaul.

what do you think is the best way to get in shape?

Introspection

Liquid I've done a bit of Bikram yoga, it's pretty intense for me although it definitely opens things up. Unfortunately the heated room can be a bit much at times, makes you dizzy etc especially if you push yourself too much.

One piece of practical advice I've heard is exercise first thing in the morning. Of course, this means you want to get enough rest and get up early enough to do the workout in addition to eating breakfast and all of the usual things, so it takes a bit of time management.

In terms of eating, I would say learning to distinguish eating out of boredom vs. eating out of hunger is probably a big help. Educating yourself when it comes to nutrition (just reading the standard food label is a big plus) will help you make better choices when you do eat. Here's one tip on that which many of you may already know: When checking the fat content on the food label, compare the fat calories with total calories rather than just the total amount of fat.

5

Forgiveness

by happysunshine in

jw
friends

is there a point when forgiveness becomes counter-productive?

when is that?

-j

Introspection

This probably sounds like nonsense to some, but forgive yourself for not being always able to forgive others. Like anything else, if you go with a black and white should and shouldn't in all cases, something's missing. After all, if you don't forgive someone from your heart, is it really forgiveness? Another way of saying the same thing (forgiving yourself for not forgiving others) is to just allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you're feeling, instead of repressing it and pretending it's forgiveness.

19

Not intrested in Christmas

by sleepy in

jw
friends

.

i'm just not interested in celebriating christmas.maybe the witnesses had that one right.. if i had children i would probably give presents , just so they don't feel left out , thought not having them myself did me no harm , maybe it made me stronger.but christmas is just one big fake pushed by big businessess, i am not their pawn to be played with.. ok you can have a good laught a few drinks and all that but all the while we are being taken advantage of by the comercial world .imagine the money they would lose if their was no christmas.. can't wait for that big turkey tomorrow though.

Introspection

Well remember folks, it's not like you have to approach it with an all or nothing attitude. I say do the things that you are interested in doing. If for some reason you feel the need to have a real tree in your house, by all means do it. I guess red and green decorations can have a certain charm to it. I'm sure most people doesn't object to gift giving, the way I look at it the timing is irrelevant. I gave a good friend a mixed CD the other day - cheap and thoughtful I figure. I guess to me it's kind of like I'll do what I naturally do, if it happens to be a part of this thing the rest of the world calls Christmas, hey we have something in common. I have no objection to doing a formal Christmas celebration with friends either, it's what they're into so that deserves some of my time and energy since they are my friends.

19

Your career is not who u are?

by breeze in

for years i started a conversation with ......i am __xxx_____ and i am a salesman for__xxx____!!.

after being fired from a couple of jobs and while being unemployed i realized that i am much more than just a career person....many people get caught up in this.....many when they first meet you will ask, "what do you do" ?????.

i think all of us are much more than just a working stiff.

Introspection

To me all of those identities - career, religion, philosophy, etc. can be categorized into one identity - poser. Not that it doesn't serve a functional purpose, but to identify with it is pointless. I'm a philosopher, I'm a theologian, I'm a scientist, a Jehovah's Witness, an ex-Jehovah's Witness, it's just a game we play. I say go with the old fashioned way - introduce yourself by telling your name, and then get to know people by talking and doing things. I suppose if we wanted to use harsh language, we could also call such behavior being an identity wanker..

18

i feel sick

by nelly1 in

jw
friends

i just went to the supermarket and came face to face with an elders wife coming out of the store,.

i was polite and said hello as im just a fader as they refer to it on this board, but im not kidding youd think she had just met hitler.... that is how she reacted to me, i left those meetings cuz of how they treated me and the lies hypocrisy lack of love on and on but being reacted to like that hurts and makes me so angry.... how the heck do you deal with it, it really affects me so much..... its realy hurtful oh well i need to realise shes not important in my life so what she thinks dont matter squatt.

hard tho isnt it?.

Introspection

its realy hurtful oh well i need to realise shes not important in my life so what she thinks dont matter squatt. hard tho isnt it?

Not for me, and though I hesitate to mention this because non-attachment of this sort usually makes some people think you're not human or something, it is partly due to the way I was trained as a JW. (your 'spiritual family' etc.) It doesn't mean I don't care, but there is no point in getting attached to them because I know JWs are just basically confused people, and people who don't want to be open at that so there isn't that much you can do, generally speaking. It's kind of ironic that in my case it backfired, it's not that I got attached to the JWs but rather I learned not to get attached, even to them. There are exceptions to this of course, like anyone else there are individuals in my life that are very dear to me, but that's just based on who they are, not because we went through this and that together. Hell, I went through this religion with them, but I don't feel so attached to them anymore. Actually, that's not completely true, because they haven't actually gone through it.

13

How do you fill your spiritual need , EWjW's?

by LyinEyes in

since i am free from the chains of the wt and their rules, i am becoming so much more open minded to looking into other forms of spiritulity.

i just read comf's thread about his wicca experience and it was soooo interesting .

i know many on this board have their own way of dealing with their need for spirituality.

Introspection

If you read between the lines, you'll see that any form of spirituality and non-spirituality can be the ego reconstituting or reinforcing its own identity, wanting to dignify it by calling it spirituality. Nothing wrong with that, sometimes it's very necessary actually, but I just say call it what it is, and for any word to be meaningful it needs to be distinguished from others, in this case I think the behavior has to be distinguished from a sincere interest.

Interest is really the key, or you might say curiosity. There's a certain openness to that attitude, whereas the interest in explaining things away through various existing thought systems is simply an interest in explaining things away, rather than discovery. Of course, this doesn't mean you dismiss the work that others have already put into it, but instead of blindly following some path because it seems to be the thing to do, you actually seek to understand.

Another way of looking at it is it's a matter of understanding yourself. People who are into this game of a cool spiritual identity often fail to understand that about themselves, that they simply engage in this behavior of defining their identity in a certain way, or it might take the form of some kind of non-spirituality. Someone mentioned that scripture which we're all no doubt familiar with, the NWT version being "Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need." I would point to the word conscious rather than spiritual need. Sure, you might be aware that there's something that might be considered a need, but what exactly is it? I mean just being conscious that it's there isn't really a whole lot of consciousness is it? I can be conscious of the fact that there is a world outside my own town but never go beyond acknowledging that simple fact. It's the same with any given thought system one might subscribe to.

So in a nutshell, I guess my advice is simply to take that conscious awareness/curiosity/whatever you want to call it as far as you want. Apply it to anything and everything, including the need you feel. Or don't. As with all things in life, do what you feel is appropriate.

Edited by - Introspection on 24 December 2002 2:16:50

5

Your weakness is your Faith

by Siddhashunyata in

jw
friends

i used to say this to an authentic christian who happened to be a jehovah's witness.

it was because he allowed himself to be abused within the organization.

they knew the kind of person he was and they took advantage of his faith in god.

Introspection

Nothing, actually. (and literally) I just don't want to lay out anything too complicated but point to the simple fact that thoughts are only thoughts. As you can see I'm mainly addressing to the rest of the board at this point.