I figure you experience experiences and believe beliefs, it doesn't make any sense to believe in an experience. I don't need to believe that I had an experience, I did - but a belief to explain the experience is another story.
Introspection
JoinedPosts by Introspection
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28
Do you believe in Angels, or any experiences?
by LyinEyes ini was just wondering if any of you have had any experience with seeing an angel or experiencing some kind of guardian angel type thing?
personally i had an experience as a little girl, seeing an angel in my room, but it was probably a dream, a reoccuring dream and the angel always looked the same.
in my adult life , being jw , i never had any experiences.
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26
No Eternal Life---Now What Hope Do You Have?
by minimus inone thing all witnesses have had in common is the belief that they would someday inherit everlasting life.
as more and more express the thought that they really don't have much hope for the future, has anything replaced the hope of eternal life in paradise earth?
or are we ultimately, hopeless?
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Introspection
Ok.. This seems to be a very unusual concept for most, but I will try to explain..
Hope, just hope is very different than hoping in some THING. Maybe the best thing to point to is 1 Cor. 13 where it says love hopes all things. That's ALL things, not some things like living forever. I'm sure some people will rationalize that in some way, maybe saying it's all of a collection of things that make up their belief system, but I see no evidence that points to this kind of understanding. In any case, this seems to make the most sense.
I imagine most of us would agree that we don't know what the future holds, when you get right down to it. Even people who are very devout to their faith will mostly use the word "believe", which is simply the most accurate word to use, since it's simply a mental process. Given this simple fact, what is your hope (in the sense of hoping in some desired outcome in the future) but hanging on to something in your mind? I think hope by itself without any object is a very beautiful thing, just like love by itself is. But then you look at love, how people might be really stuck on loving one person - which is fine by the way, but if you are too fixated on that it just becomes limited, and it will eventually become distorted because people change, and if your love is only for the way that person is at a given time, that nice little snapshot, then you will want to reject what they've become, just as a person who has had a strong hope in some thing will want to reject any reality that doesn't match up with their hope.
Another way in which hope is similar to love is the aspect of giving vs. receiving. When someone says they love so and so, it may very well mean they crave the feeling the receive by being with this other person. The contrast of course is an actual giving which comes from an overflow rather than a lack. I see hope as similar in that it isn't like you're sitting around on the couch holding your hand out for something nice, but because you have this open hope of something beautiful developing in the future, this possibility, you actually are giving in that you have set an intention in your mind even though you don't have a picture of what it will be. (of course, there's no telling EXACTLY what the future will look like, so that is the most appropriate picture) Your hope is basically that something better is possible, so there is this sense of forward motion, carrying that good intention into the future. Just think: It's nice to be around someone who has this kind of optimistic (which is not exactly what it is, but for the purpose of setting a feeling tone I will use this word for simplicity sake) attitude than someone who doesn't, right? But at the same time, if this person thinks it's going to happen exactly in such and such a way, that feeling will just die. Not only are they most likely somewhat deluded, but also they have limited the infinite possibilities which is inherent in the moment. It's about what you can bring the future, you might say, rather than what the future can bring to you.
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14
Any Buddhists Here?
by Southland ini was a jw from birth until after i got out of high school.
i've drifted away over the last 15 years or so.
lately i have found myself missing my sense of spirituality.
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Introspection
With screen names that include a word like 'shunyata' and the content of posts from the past, you can get a sense that some here have atleast looked into it. If you ask me, the reason you won't hear about it is because a Buddhist is not going to jump up and down advertising that particular identity, unless they're some kind of evangelical Buddhist or something.
I would be wary of any -isms period, even if the original intent and message is a good one. The thing is that just becomes another thing to identify with, but all you really have to do is just see what they have to say and what they do. In fact, in a way you might say Buddhism talks about not identifying with anything, which would include Buddhism itself if you were to really do that. Unfortunately most people focus on the form and the description that any tradition offers, rather than the reality that it points to. If you get too caught up with the tools, then you just end up looking silly in the end. It would be like a scientist pretending to be doing experiments because it's so cool to do science, whereas there's a lot of real things to actually do. Don't hang on to this idea of science either, I'm just using it as an example. It could be anything - you sit when you meditate, you don't pretend to sit. Keep your curiosity, but stay relaxed.
By the way, I've been working at a Buddhist meditation center for a couple of years now, though I haven't felt like doing their programs there for some time (or practice actually) and I'm leaving in a couple of weeks. I'm sure to some my behavior may look like a slacker, but this isn't about a new kind of conditioning for the mind. It isn't this kind of hard discipline where you try to force yourself to be a certain way, it's very natural. The bottom line is, what better practice can there be apart from the reality of life?
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The most romantic act ever done for you?
by zenpunk inwell valentine's day is almost here...but the most romantic thing my husband ever did for me came a few days earlier - on my birthday.. this is the very first birthday i am openly celebrating since leaving so he took me to my favorite restaurant sat.
night.
as we were walking in, i said, "someday i would love a big birthday party with all my family" (sans jw parents of course).
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Introspection
Witch, I am glad to hear that. I don't really think it matters so much what the form or the act is, like some of you said it could be washing the dishes. It could be anything right, yet at the same time it could be nothing. So far, for me no act has come close to certain occasions of eye contact.
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jehovahs-witness.com dating service?
by happysunshine inwhy not have a singles connection section here?
a kind of internet love boat for x-witnesses?
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Introspection
I have a beautiful, single sister who posts here.....unfortunately, none of the men here are good enough for her.
Gee, she's not as judgemental is she?
I'll get back to yas when I figure out what the hell a date is, I thought it's something on a calendar..
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10
Need some Valentine's Day suggestions
by bikerchic inand noooooo not for my sweetie i know what to do for him!.
what i need is suggestions for family my kids and grandchildren who live waaaaaaay too far away.
i have never celebrated valentine's day before and feel like a total dufus.
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Introspection
Hmm, I bet we can have an interesting combination of Christmas, Valentine's Day and Halloween. For a real trick, JWs can do evening witnessing on Halloween night, the householders can give them leftover Valentine's day candy.
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10
Need some Valentine's Day suggestions
by bikerchic inand noooooo not for my sweetie i know what to do for him!.
what i need is suggestions for family my kids and grandchildren who live waaaaaaay too far away.
i have never celebrated valentine's day before and feel like a total dufus.
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Introspection
Katie, it's pretty simple actually. I can, in fact, tell you the same thing if I was mentally retarded and only a bit smarter than a house plant. Just be yourself. A lot of people seem to be into the generic thing, what they're supposed to do - that's all dead to me. If I want that, I'll call an escort service. (no not that kind) Well, that or I'll go back to being a JW.
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10
Need some Valentine's Day suggestions
by bikerchic inand noooooo not for my sweetie i know what to do for him!.
what i need is suggestions for family my kids and grandchildren who live waaaaaaay too far away.
i have never celebrated valentine's day before and feel like a total dufus.
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Introspection
My suggestion is to screw etiquette. Let it come from you, your own heart. There are enough things out there for kids and different kinds of relationships, just go into the stores and check things out. I am consciously avoiding doing big deal stuff, it's just not me. If my own expression doesn't do it for someone, then too bad - there are plenty of people out there who will do the Hallmark deal I'm sure.
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The most romantic act ever done for you?
by zenpunk inwell valentine's day is almost here...but the most romantic thing my husband ever did for me came a few days earlier - on my birthday.. this is the very first birthday i am openly celebrating since leaving so he took me to my favorite restaurant sat.
night.
as we were walking in, i said, "someday i would love a big birthday party with all my family" (sans jw parents of course).
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Introspection
Well, in general I'd be curious to know just how many such acts were done for guys by women. My guess is relatively few due to the whole gender role business which I don't buy into.
Once when I sent roses to someone, the response I got was: "Why did you send me flowers?"
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Women as elders
by Lady Lee innot that i would ever go back but valis brought up an interesting subject in another thread.. what would the borg be like if... .
they let women be elders?.
they treated women as equals?.
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Introspection
Well, it shouldn't matter right? I agree the results will most likely be very different, but the thing is when it comes to spirituality I see the whole power struggle business as a conflict of interest. If the point is not to exert power over others, then the question of who has the power becomes irrelevant. It seems sometimes women work so hard to get to where they want to be and then in the process they kind of lose the qualities that would make for a female contribution.
BTW, it doesn't always have to be an official appointment. I remember one pioneer sister that's been around a long time that the elders were kind of afraid of, and I suppose maybe they didn't want to take the time to give the sisters counsel anyways.