Introspection

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Posts by Introspection

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  35

  Star Trek: Enterprise: What did you think?

  by slipnslidemaster in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok, i know that i'm not the only star trek geek out there.

  i know tons of dubs (ex dubs) that love star trek because it's one of the only interesting shows that they are allowed to watch.. anyway, did you watch the first episode tonight?

  i'm pretty sure with the one scene, that the dubs will be reproving some for masterbation tomorrow night.. oh and what's your favorite kingdumb song?

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  Introspection

  "What is it with you, anyways?" -McCoy in Star Trek VI
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  33

  October 7th Ex-JW gathering in San Francisco

  by Stacey in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hadn't seen any recent posts about this event.

  tonight i spoke to paul thomason, the organizer of the event.

  he said that last year they had about 18 in attendance.

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  Introspection

  Here I am, send me! Oh.. Sorry.

  "Who can face the knowledge
  That the truth is not the truth?" -Rush, Distant Early Warning
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  151

  Intro's quote-o-rama

  by Introspection in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  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?.

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  Introspection

  However, there is another kind of love and compassion, a third way. Just be what you are. You do not reduce yourself to the level of an infant nor do you demand that another person leap into your lap. You simply be what you are in the world, in life. If you can be what you are, external situations will become as they are, automatically. Then you can communicate directly and accurately, not indulging in any kind of nonsense, any kind of emotional or philosophical or psychological interpretation. This third way is a balanced way of openness and communication which automatically allows tremendous space, room for creative development, space in which to dance and exchange.

  Compassion means that we do not play the game of hypocrisy or self-deception. For instance, if we want something from someone and we say, "I love you," often we are hoping that we will be able to lure them into our territory, over to our side. This kind of proselytizing love is extremely limited. "You should love me, even if you hate me, because I am filled with love, am high on love, am completely intoxicated!" What does it mean? Simply that the other person should march into your territory because you say that you love him, that you are not going to harm him. It is very fishy. Any intelligent person is not going to be seduced by such a ploy. "If you really love me as I am, why do you want me to enter your territory? Why this issue of territory and demands at all? What do you want from me? How do I know, if I do march into your 'loving' territory, that you aren't going to dominate me, that you won't create a claustrophobic situation with your heavy demands for love?" As long as there is territory involved with a person's love, other people will be suspicious of his "loving" and "compassionate" attitude. How do we make sure, if a feast is prepared for us, that the food is not dosed with poison? Does this openness come from a centralized person, or is it total openness?

  The fundamental characteristic of true compassion is pure and fearless openness without territorial limitations. There is no need to be loving and kind to one's neighbors, no need to speak pleasantly to people and put on a pretty smile. This little game does not apply. In fact it is embarrassing. Real openness exists on a much larger scale, a revolutionarily large and open scale, a universal scale. Compassion means for you to be as adult as you are, while still maintaining a childlike quality. In the Buddhist teachings the symbol for compassion, as I have already said, is one moon shining in the sky while its image is reflected in one hundred bowls of water. The moon does not demand, "If you open to me, I will do you a favor and shine on you." The moon just shines. The point is not to want to benefit anyone or make them happy. There is no audience involved, no "me" and "them." It is a matter of an open gift, complete generosity without the relative notions of giving and receiving. That is the basic openness of compassion: opening without demand. Simply be what you are, be the master of the situation. If you will just "be," then life flows around and through you. This will lead you into working and communicating with someone, which of course demands tremendous warmth and openness. If you can afford to be what you are, then you do not need the "insurance policy" of trying to be a good person, a pious person, a compassionate person.
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  21

  The Day After Armageddon

  by Tatiana in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the day after armageddon.

  hey, maybe it won't be so bad after all!.

  april.

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  Introspection

  Yes indeed, I didn't realize such a disturbing image was in Dracula .. Seriously, what is the story behind that pic? Are they all getting baptized or something?

  "Who can face the knowledge
  That the truth is not the truth?" -Rush, Distant Early Warning
• 
  151

  Intro's quote-o-rama

  by Introspection in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  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?.

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  Introspection

  More from Spiritual Materialism:

  To the conventional way of thinking, compassion simply means being kind and warm. This sort of compassion is described in the scriptures as "grandmother's love." You would expect the practitioner of this type of compassion to be extremely kind and gentle; he would not harm a flea. If you need another mask, another blanket to warm yourself, he will provide it. But true compassion is ruthless, from ego's point of view, because it does not consider ego's drive to maintain itself. It is "crazy wisdom." It is totally wise, but it is crazy as well, because it does not relate to ego's literal and simple-minded attempts to secure its own comfort.

  The logical voice of ego advises us to be kind to other people, to be good boys and girls and lead innocent little lives. We work at our regular jobs and rent a cozy room or apartment for ourselves; we would like to continue in this way, but suddenly something happens which tears us out of our secure little nest. Either we become extremely depressed or something outrageously painful occurs. We begin to wonder why heaven has been so unkind. "Why should God punish me? I have been a good person, I have never hurt a soul." But there is something more to life than that.

  What are we trying to secure? Why are we so concerned to protect ourselves? The sudden energy of ruthless compassion severs us from our comforts and securities. If we were never to experience this kind of shock, we would not be able to grow. We have to be jarred out of our regular, repetitive and comfortable life-styles. The point of meditation is not merely to be an honest or good person in the conventional sense, trying only to maintain our security. We must begin to become compassionate and wise in the fundamental sense, open and relating to the world as it is.

  Q: Could you discuss the basic difference between love and compassion and in what relation they stand to each other?
  A: Love and compassion are vague terms; we can interpret them in different ways. Generally in our lives we take a grasping approach, trying to attach ourselves to different situations in order to achieve security. Perhaps we regard someone as our baby, or, on the other hand, we might like to regard ourselves as helpless infants and leap into someone's lap. This lap might belong to an individual, an organization, a community, a teacher, any parental figure. So-called "love" relationships usually take one of these two patterns. Either we are being fed by someone or we are feeding others. These are false, distorted kinds of love or compassion. The urge to commitment--that we would like to "belong," be someone's child, or that we would like them to be our child--is seemingly powerful. An individual or organization or institution or anything could become our infant; we would nurse it, feed it milk, encourage its growth. Or else the organization is the great mother by which we are continuously fed. Without our "mother" we cannot exist, cannot survive. These two patterns apply to any life energy which has the potential to entertain us. This energy might be as simple as a casual friendship or an exciting activity we would like to undertake, and it might be as complicated as marriage or our choice of career. Either we would like to control the excitement or we would like to become a part of it.

  To be continued...

  "Who can face the knowledge
  That the truth is not the truth?" -Rush, Distant Early Warning
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  9

  A False Sense of Security

  by Ranchette in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if youre anything like me youve probably been trying to analyze your feelings over the last couple of weeks.it seems like im experiencing an ever-changing array of emotions!.

  its starting to come in on me that i had such a false sense of security and naivety .

  now when i look at our government i feel like ive been viewing them through the eyes of a child.

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  Introspection

  Hi Ranchette, it is good to know where you stand isn't it? I suppose it boils down to a kind of fear, and that's not even limited to JWs. (of course, at this point many of them are probably rejoicing because they think it's proof the end is getting near) Most fear or uncertainty are about the future, and we tend to get stuck in that mode chronically. But as someone once said, the best way (or time) to prepare for the future is to be in the present, because it is what we do now that will shape the future. The fact is there is never any certainty anyways, we can only do our best and see how it turns out. If you recognize that you're ahead of a lot of other people, and in a way you might find some security in that. Atleast you're being realistic, you know?

  "Who can face the knowledge
  That the truth is not the truth?" -Rush, Distant Early Warning
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  6

  Martial arts as a metaphor for verbal conflicts

  by Introspection in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  let me know what you guys think of this.. if there isn't much response maybe i'll type a little less, don't want to be boring everyone if it's not of interest.... well, i was thinking about how arguments happen online on this board and elsewhere, and it occurred to me it has some things in common with some basic martial arts principles.. first of all, something very basic that nobody seems to think about is that you need to see what your opponent is doing.

  it seems that often people get upset and are more likely to be focused on that feeling, rather than how they will respond to the other person's argument or actions.

  (of course, a calm and collected fight probably doesn't make a good movie) in verbal arguments, this can take various forms.

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  Introspection

  But you do raise an interesting distinction: every level of JW heirarchy possesses secret techniques of debate which can be weilded over the group(s) under it.

  Ahh, good point. Of course, it seems to me the difference between the two is that the techniques are used to manipulate with such high control groups, atleast some of the actual content of the teachings is not the technique itself, (after all, that is only a matter of acceptance) not to mention it's not exactly natural.

  So, is that what you study?
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  2

  Heavy Metal thread ..

  by Introspection in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i've been listening to just a little of that old debasing stuff.

  2 minutes to midnight.

  adrian smith, bruce dickinson.

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  Introspection

  Couple more, good old Metallica songs:

  Disposable Heroes

  Bodies fill the fields I see, hungry heroes end
  No one to play soldier now, no one to pretend
  running blind through killing fields, bred to kill them all
  Victim of what said should be
  a servant `til I fall

  Soldier boy, made of clay
  now an empty shell
  twenty one, only son
  but he served us well
  Bred to kill, not to care
  just do as we say
  finished here, Greeting Death
  he's yours to take away

  Back to the front
  you will do what I say, when I say
  Back to the front
  you will die when I say, you must die
  Back to the front
  you coward
  you servant
  you blindman

  Barking of machinegun fire, does nothing to me now
  sounding of the clock that ticks, get used to it somehow
  More a man, more stripes you bare, glory seeker trends
  bodies fill the fields I see
  the slaughter never ends

  Soldier boy, made of clay
  now an empty shell
  twenty one, only son
  but he served us well
  Bred to kill, not to care
  just do as we say
  finished here, Greeting Death
  he's yours to take away

  Back to the front
  you will do what I say, when I say
  Back to the front
  you will die when I say, you must die
  Back to the front
  you coward
  you servant
  you blindman

  Why, Am I dying?
  Kill, have no fear
  Lie, live off lying
  Hell, Hell is here

  I was born for dying

  Life planned out before my birth, nothing could I say
  had no chance to see myself, molded day by day
  Looking back I realize, nothing have I done
  left to die with only friend
  Alone I clench my gun

  Soldier boy, made of clay
  now an empty shell
  twenty one, only son
  but he served us well
  Bred to kill, not to care
  just do as we say
  finished here, Greeting Death
  he's yours to take away

  Back to the front
  you will do what I say, when I say
  Back to the front
  you will die when I say, you must die
  Back to the front
  you coward
  you servant
  you blindman

  Back to the front.

  ----------

  Lepher Messiah

  Spineless from the start, sucked into the part
  circus comes to town, you play the lead clown
  Please, please
  spreading his disease, living by his story
  Knees, knees
  falling to your knees, suffer for his glory
  You will

  Time for lust, time for lie
  time to kiss your life goodbye
  Send me money, send me green
  Heaven you will meet
  Make a contribution
  and you'll get a better seat
  Bow to Leper Messiah

  Marvel at his tricks, need your Sunday fix
  blind devotion came, rotting your brain
  Chain, chain
  Join the endless chain
  Fame, Fame
  Infection is the game, stinking drunk with power
  We see

  Time for lust, time for lie
  time to kiss your life goodbye
  Send me money, send me green
  Heaven you will meet
  Make a contribution
  and you'll get a better seat
  Bow to Leper Messiah

  Bow to Leper Messiah
  Witchery, weakening
  Sees the sheep are gathering
  set the trap, hypnotize
  now you follow

  Time for lust, time for lie
  time to kiss your life goodbye
  Send me money, send me green
  Heaven you will meet
  Make a contribution
  and you'll get a better seat
  Bow to Leper Messiah

  Lie.
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  2

  Heavy Metal thread ..

  by Introspection in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i've been listening to just a little of that old debasing stuff.

  2 minutes to midnight.

  adrian smith, bruce dickinson.

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  Introspection

  I've been listening to just a little of that old debasing stuff. Seriously, I didn't want to change the tone of the cafe thread or anything so I thought a separate thread would be best. A little Iron Maiden to start us off:

  2 Minutes to Midnight
  Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson

  Kill for gain or shoot to maim
  But we don't need a reason
  The Golden Goose is on the loose
  And never out of season
  Some blackened pride still burns inside
  This shell of bloody treason
  Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
  For the love of living death.

  CHORUS
  The killer's breed or the demon's seed,
  The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
  Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain,
  But don't you pray for my soul anymore.
  2 minutes to midnight
  The hands that threaten doom.
  2 minutes to midnight
  To kill the unborn in the womb.

  The blind men shout let the creatures out
  We'll show the unbelievers
  The napalm screams of human flames
  Of a prime time Belsen feast...YEAH!
  As the reasons for the carnage cut their meat and lick the gravy,
  We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies.

  CHORUS

  The body bags and little rags of children torn in two
  And the jellied brains of those who remain to put the finger right on you.
  As the madmen play on words and make us all dance to their song,
  To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun.

  CHORUS

  Midnight...all night...
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  6

  Martial arts as a metaphor for verbal conflicts

  by Introspection in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  let me know what you guys think of this.. if there isn't much response maybe i'll type a little less, don't want to be boring everyone if it's not of interest.... well, i was thinking about how arguments happen online on this board and elsewhere, and it occurred to me it has some things in common with some basic martial arts principles.. first of all, something very basic that nobody seems to think about is that you need to see what your opponent is doing.

  it seems that often people get upset and are more likely to be focused on that feeling, rather than how they will respond to the other person's argument or actions.

  (of course, a calm and collected fight probably doesn't make a good movie) in verbal arguments, this can take various forms.

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  Introspection

  Hi Teirce, thanks for those links. I don't know if I'm missing something, but I didn't see why you felt the need to say it's not groupthink. I read Larc's message and then this article below, the only thing I can think of is the first paragraph or two where it talks about the modern organization and history. Did I miss something from Larc's post? I suppose it may sound that way from the introduction, but I know the reason some in the Chinese martial traditions tend to keep things secret (or atleast advanced techniques/the real stuff) except for a few close students is simply because it's a trade secret. Other than that, it could also be used for great harm in the wrong hands. If nothing else it just doesn't look good that you're responsible for creating this monster by enabling them to do such effective violence, in addition to the ethical consideration on the part of the teacher.

  http://ksr.facade.com/essays/04b-art.html - martial arts and personal/individual observation (not groupthink)