Posts by poor places

24

Conscious Class vs. Fading...

by dssynergy in

as i have stated a number of times - i'm really struggling.

i would like more than anything just to fade away and life my life.

however, i am not willing to give up my family, specifically my nephew who needs me to stick around.

Well, I make it through meetings and service the way anyone else does. I mean, I'm physically there. I rarely pay attention though. Not paying attention can help a lot, since like you said, there is so much false information being given out. Reading the Bible can pass time. Walking in the parking lot. I don't know.

The thing that i have a problem with is feeling like a big phony hypocrite for still attending meetings and pretending to believe everything. Have you had that problem too, dyssenergy (apologies for spelling your name wrong)? But I think it's important for us to have empathy for ourselves, as corny as that sounds. We have to understand that we've been put in a difficult situation by other people, we didn't put ourselves in this situation, so we shouldn't blame ourselves. It can be hard not to blame yourself, but I think it's important not to. I think that if I could bring myself to open up to family members about my views, a massive burden would be relieved and a new one would be put in its place. So who knows what to do? I don't.

Sorry for the rant, but at least you can know that I fully sympathize with your problems, and I understand how hard it is to live as you want to live under these truly bizarre circumstances.

24

Conscious Class vs. Fading...

by dssynergy in

as i have stated a number of times - i'm really struggling.

i would like more than anything just to fade away and life my life.

however, i am not willing to give up my family, specifically my nephew who needs me to stick around.

poor places

Being conscious means being aware of your own dishonesty, which is no fun. Fading means being more honest but never measuring up to the expectations of people you care about.

My view is that being conscious is easier in the short-term because you don't have to suffer the extreme mental torture of family and friends hassling you, but fading is easier in the long-term because you don't have to be dishonest for the rest of your life.

It's just a matter of getting over the initial pain, I suppose, which would no doubt be intense. For the record, I sympathize with you. I'm what you would call a conscious person. The idea of fading brings a feeling of dread. Good luck with all that.

8

is it ok for an agnostic to pray to God?

by poor places in

jw
friends

i used to say a prayer most nights before i fell asleep, and i felt real comfort.

no matter how much anxiety i had, praying made me feel that i was ok because a higher power (one who had counted the hairs of my head and who considered me worth many sparrows!

) would take care of everything.. now, after my jw awakening, i'm an agnostic, and i feel less comfort than i did before, because i don't know if anyone powerful is looking after me.

poor places

I used to say a prayer most nights before I fell asleep, and I felt real comfort. No matter how much anxiety I had, praying made me feel that I was ok because a higher power (one who had counted the hairs of my head and who considered me worth many sparrows!) would take care of everything.

Now, after my JW awakening, I'm an agnostic, and I feel less comfort than I did before, because I don't know if anyone powerful is looking after me. Oddly enough, though, when I pray, I still comfort, even though I feel doubtful. I still feel as though things will turn out ok when I pray. My problem is that I feel like a wishy-washy phony when I pray to a God who I'm not even sure exists. I feel like a silly, desperate person when I pray to a power that may not exist. I feel like a person who is, as they say, "grasping at straws." But then I think to myself that it doesn't matter if I'm grasping at straws; if I feel comforted, what's the difference? But I'm often torn between these two lines of though.

I'm sure that tons of people on this board have experienced these feelings. If you could share your views or thoughts on this type of problem, it might be very helpful for me.

7

Anyone can recommend a book about 1st century christianity?

by zakheyold in

jw
friends

i just finished "la vie quotidienne des premiers chretiens.

95-197" ("early christians' daily life") by a.-g. hamman.

it describes everyday life of 2nd century christians.

poor places

Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman is great. He has other good books too.

34

What difference does it make if we are born in?

by wanderlustguy in

jw
friends

born in, what difference does it make?.

i was thinking about this one a lot over the last few weeks.

what difference does it make whether you were born into a cult or were brought in as a teen or adult?

poor places

Great post; I understand everything you said as a born-in. One thing that's impossible to navigate as a born-in (and that you mentioned) is friendships. Unless you live the double life, figuring out ways of dealing with kids at school is enough to drive you crazy. Should I accept Billy's invitation to go to a party? What will I tell my parents I'm doing that night if I decide to go? What will I tell Billy if I decide not to go? And so you are honest with no one, you know no one, and you're lonely as hell. And then you have to grow up.

41

has anyone looked into Buddhism?

by poor places in

jw
friends

i've started reading a book called the modern buddhist's bible and i'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far.

of course i don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to buddhism.

one thing i love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what buddhists try to do with their egos!).

poor places

Nice points all around. Whoever made that comment about the Prius drivers, I've definitely thought of that, and how I would never want to turn into one of those hoky people who seem to wear the special clothes and talk the deep talk just to sound cool or something. Maybe it's hard to avoid that, though, as a big lazy American.

On another note, I was initially attracted to Buddhist teachings because they seem very commonsense (so far) and tolerant of other worldviews. Now, I've looked at what some of you have said--that some teachings assume things like reincarnation that you can't accept without evidence. And that sounds fair to me. But I guess that what I'm looking for is a way of life that is different after being involved with JWs for such a long time. Even a new group of people to associate with is desirable. So for me, developing a personal belief system that is maybe more believable than what Buddhists have come up with isn't necessarily wanted. I guess it depends on your life situation.

41

has anyone looked into Buddhism?

by poor places in

jw
friends

i've started reading a book called the modern buddhist's bible and i'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far.

of course i don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to buddhism.

one thing i love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what buddhists try to do with their egos!).

poor places

Whoops, I posted a new thread in reply to JimmyPage when I meant to reply. JimmyPage, if you look at the thread called untitled, that one is in response to what you said.

I'm not sure if Buddhism is so much for people who "don't give a shit" as for those who try to do good works. I kind of see what you mean (in some ways, they're beliefs are kind of stoic, it seems), but I think they're out to do the best they can for people.

41

has anyone looked into Buddhism?

by poor places in

jw
friends

i've started reading a book called the modern buddhist's bible and i'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far.

of course i don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to buddhism.

one thing i love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what buddhists try to do with their egos!).

poor places

I've started reading a book called The Modern Buddhist's Bible and I'm liking a lot of things about the religion so far. Of course I don't know much yet, but there seem to be some very good points to Buddhism. One thing I love is the emphasis on "killing" the ego (or whatever you might want to call what Buddhists try to do with their egos!). I like this idea. In my view, a lot of hatred and pain could be avoided by dialing down the ol' human ego.

Another thing that I like and which I'm sure ex-JWs would love is the tolerant view which Buddhists seem to have toward other religions. In some of the readings from the book I've been getting into, the writers talk about the value of Christianity and Jesus' teachings in general. This is a refreshing viewpoint in comparison to the usual JW intolerance. I'm sure that there are Buddhists out there who are just as intolerant as anyone else, but the writers I've come across so far seem to be tolerant of other religions.

My purpose in writing this is to find out if anyone on this board has seriously tried getting into Buddhism. If so, how did it go? Are you still a Buddhist? And what was/is the religion like as a practicing Buddhist? Or, if no one has seriously tried getting into Buddhism, what are your thoughts on the religion?

36

The stupid "ants" at the Watchtower Society!

by somebody in

for those who haven't seen the video yet on youtube of ciro's ( a bethel speaker?

) sick talk given in, i believe, 2007, i provide the link:.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwa9kx5wjtm.

poor places

Sadly enough, this talk is not at all a joke. A fellow JW gave me a recording of this talk of couple of years ago. Even then, before I started really questioning things, I found it disgusting.

50

MOST DRAMATIC MOMENT in Science Fiction History?

by Terry in

jw
friends

something old, nothing new: count zarth arn, watch out!

poor places

I've been reading books by a guy named Philip K. Dick lately. His books are all about questioning reality. Pretty interesting stuff for ex-JWs or current, in my view.