I got you all beat - I got the power to not believe in a thought. I don't mean believing something isn't true, or believe in some alternative explanation for it - just not believe either way. I also have the power to not talk about any power I have, and let people think whatever they want about me - including having no thoughts. I also have the power not to think about that.
Introspection
JoinedPosts by Introspection
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41
what are your special powers?
by SpiceItUp inback when i was younger every dream i would have would come true.
it kinda freaked me out since they were not always good dreams.
i don't remember too many of my dreams anymore but a couple weeks ago i did and it did partially come true the very next day.
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Putting on the NEW personality
by Lady Lee inthis whole concept of putting on the new personality when one becomes a jw is a lot more serious than most people realize.
people truly develop a second personality.
this personality is child-like and obedient.
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Introspection
It is interesting how the NWT speaks of "putting on" the new personality, isn't it? It conjurs up an image of a set of clothing that one can just put on, but of course your attire is not who you are.
If we go with this metaphor, then the true self would be like being willing to see yourself naked in the mirror. It's sort of like how some people can tolerate looking at the image, but they always want to put something on to look good. In any case, it's just a matter of appearances.
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yoga
by freegirl inhi folks.
i'm not a witness and sorry to be lurking but i have a comment.
i just read the article about yoga and i feel that the author has not a clue about what it really about.
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Introspection
No problem Gita.
Freegirl, as a non-religious person none of that probably matters to you, and frankly it doesn't matter to a lot of people. Lots of people do hatha yoga without becoming more spiritual in any sense, this is something that both spiritually inclined people and non-religious ones like yourself agree on - but of course JWs are largely fear driven so they have an issue with it.
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Who leaves first?
by freedom96 ini was just remembering a guy from our hall that seemed to be the most intellectual of everyone there.
when he would give an answer, it was in depth, and always "in his own words.".
he had the biggest briefcase there, with all sorts of books, and research.
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Introspection
I left years before I had any 'apostate knowledge'. For me, it was basically because I couldn't stand being there anymore, it was almost like my body left before my mind did. Don't underestimate good instincts, you might say people experience a conflict on three levels - mentally, emotionally, and existentially. For someone intellectual a mentally driven exit might be the result, for others the 2nd or the 3rd are far more powerful.
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Why can't I just shut up about the JWs?
by logansrun inyou know, i'm pretty smart and pretty dumb all rolled up into one.
i have a pretty decent relationship with my jw mother who basically never says anything about religion one or the other.
well, i got into conversation with her about hindu music and how i really liked it (ravi shankar is awesome!).
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Introspection
Hey Brad,
It's clear that your mom is being defensive, but what she does not realize is that she is in fact being defensive against herself, because it is an internal conflict in her mind.
For your part, of course you want to cut through the JW nonsense and reach her, but it's sort of like performing surgery on someone without anesthetics. Even though it may be necessary, it's going to be painful - and if someone doesn't know that they need to have the procedure then all they know is it will hurt, and they'll fight you tooth and nail.
It would be good to recognize that this is coming and prepare yourself, you can pretty much tell when you've touched on something that people are sensitive about - not to mention we all know those JW issues. The way I look at this is people basically are identified with certain ideas and beliefs, and if you challenge that they feel they themselves are threatened. Psychologically, it is easier to shift your identification to something else than face being obliterated. So I would recommend phrasing things in positive terms in a way that wouldn't obviously trigger her JW thinking, because then she will have some ways to identify other than the JW position.
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XJW - Meet Ups
by RAYZORBLADE inas some of you may have noticed if you read the thread started by timxcampbell, i attended my first xjw meet-up in toronto on saturday afternoon.
i am curious, to anyone who has ever attended one of these meet-ups, what was your personal experience?
did you enjoy it?
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Introspection
I remember going to 2 Meetups.. We do have regular support groups here, and those are different. Although the Meetups can be a nice and relaxing social atmosphere, I remember this one time this guy who studied with the witnesses at one point showed up with a friend - I can't remember what denomination he belongs to now but frankly he was preaching a bit, and although his friend was interested in talking about the bible/religion that guy was more open minded. I don't particularly care either way, but I guess you can run into that. This wouldn't happen at a support group because there's a specific focus, but it's all good.
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WHAT TYPE OF PERSON BECOMES A JEHOVAHS WITNESS RELIGION BASED ON LIES
by nightwarrior inwhy do people become ( jehovahs witnesess ) .. 1) man wants to serve god his inherent desire is to please the creator,some see the wicked works of christendom and form an acurate decision in staying away due to christendom not following gods word,.
yet blindly and stubornly they cling to a sect which lies cheats ,gives missleading bible inacuracies to all its members,all in the name of jehovah god,false to jehovah and jesus in every way possible , started as a company selling magazines,copied king james version of the bible,alterd most of its main contents,was a member of the united nations for ten years or more, never informed its members of its worldly alliance,has millions of pounds or dollars in real estate is into commercial enterprise,part of the rand corporation dealing in scud misile engines, .
harbours nasty child molesters within there ranks of christian men and women.
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Introspection
There is a type that encompass them all: an unconscious person.
Of course, I don't mean unconscious in the sense of being passed out, but someone who isn't conscious of their own motivations, for example. "You can live forever? Great! Oh yeah, there's also this selfless love thing you're supposed to be into ... but you can LIVE FOREVER!! Hey no price is too high for that pay off, it's not like I really have to be selfless or anything." This, my friends, is called being a fraud.
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yoga
by freegirl inhi folks.
i'm not a witness and sorry to be lurking but i have a comment.
i just read the article about yoga and i feel that the author has not a clue about what it really about.
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Introspection
Hi Freegirl,
Welcome. If you get a good sampling of the messages here you'll notice that most here are ex-JWs, (as I am) some were never JWs - I think there are very few active witnesses, so you're kind of preaching to the choir here.
I've done a fair amount of hatha yoga to know that it is basically physical exercise - however the term yoga basically means union, and there are other kinds of yoga which has nothing to do with these exercises. Here is a link for a nice overview of the different schools of yoga:
http://www.lifepositive.com/Body/yoga/yoga-schools.asp
So it just depends on what you're talking about, but I'd imagine the article you read didn't exactly talk about the differences either. Was this a recent article by the way? I don't really keep up with the stuff anymore.
Mark
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O.K., Who Is CONVINCED That They Have The REAL Truth?
by SpannerintheWorks inand if you do, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince us of that!
i mean, you accepted it as the truth, .
can you convince us that you do indeed have the "real" truth?
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Introspection
Ok here's a bit of truth for ya: Thought is relative in nature, thus it cannot answer questions of the absolute or ultimate reality. This is actually really simple - if you really want to analyze it just trace any thought you have to it's source, and that one, and that one - it's dependent on some other idea which is dependent on yet others. Somewhere down the line you have to make an assumption if you try to figure things out through this process. The very proposition of an answer to a question is an example of the relative nature of thought. If you think you're going to find the truth through some idea, whether through a message someone posts on the internet or anywhere else, you're simply looking in the wrong place.
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Does Bible Prophecy Really Matter ?
by Blueblades inwhat is the intent of bible prophecy?
is it to inform us or, is it's intent to change us?do you read every prophectic text in it's context?.
outside of the wt.society's failure to interpret bible prophecy,can you name a prophecy that is having an impact on you right now causing information from that prophecy to change you.. does bible prophecy really matter to you in the everyday things as we go on with our lives?.
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Introspection
You know it's kind of funny because prophecies is or atleast can be seen as a kind of 'inside information' so to speak. Of course, in terms of what kind of person you're going to be it doesn't seem to matter to some people even in the face of death, so it is in spite of any idea of salvation rather than because of it. It reminds me of the bumper sticker which says: JESUS IS COMING - look busy.