Awesomeness. I really dig that link to the Nonduality and Science Conference. With Cartesian dualism - Descarte's seperation of mind and body - western philosophy got locked into a rigid paradigm that only began to unravel relatively recently. It's interesting that the ancient Eastern traditions are more relevant to current scientific understanding.
mindseye
JoinedPosts by mindseye
-
38
What's This Thing Called Consciousness?
by frankiespeakin inhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/consciousness.
vedanta.
according to vedanta, awareness is not a product of physical processes and can be considered under four aspects.
-
-
-
38
Everyone has an opinion
by sizemik inin the modern world everybody wants to be "politcally correct".
but what they feel others want to hear.. in a way .
it's a kind of deception.. well .
-
-
mindseye
Since I don't have cable and I'm not Candadian, I had to google Don Cherry, and from the looks of it that was Don Cherry being Don Cherry. As far as political correctness, I agree that a balance needs to be struck. In my view, racial stuff way out of line. I'm from the deep American south, and "not being politically correct" down there means saying the N word and joking about hanging people. And if you call those type of people (*cough* rednecks) on it they will accuse you of "Being too politically correct." So yeah, a line needs to be drawn somewhere. A little political correctness is a good thing, it shows that we've advanced as a society. Believe me, I've seen the other side, and it's not pretty.
-
21
I know I'm not alone, but damn do I feel lonely now...
by OneDayillBeFree ini have been meaning to post my experience at the pioneer school and i will as soon as time permits but theres something that has happened recently in my life that has impacted me in such a horrible way that i just have to get off my chest.. as you may know ive been trying to fade.
its very hard.
hard as hell.
-
-
mindseye
OneDay, that is a tough story. Dealing with the regular JW stuff on top of heartbreak is a killer! I remember growing up and falling for several cuties in the hall. It never worked out, I think they could always sense that I was on my way out. In retrospect I'm so glad it didn't pan out with a witness girl, it allowed me to meet my wonderfully sweet girlfriend in college.
Telling you that time cures all might seem a bit cliched and not very encouraging right now. But it's true, every heartbreak and depression I've experienced, even the death of a parent, has been healed by time. This girl sounds like she was going through the motions, but never really was ready to make the break. Whether or not she can make the break is not for me to judge, but if she can't then you're better off moving on. I'm with Black Sheep, get out and socialize in another environment. I'm not sure of your age, but if you're old enough to go to college and have the opportunity to do so, then I encourage you to. That can be a game changer. Best wishes
-
4
Christian theologian speaks on religious beliefs of Heaven/Hell
by darth frosty invery insightfull comments.
.
link.
-
-
mindseye
Yeah, I heard of the bishop guy before too. John Spong is his name. He's something of a revolutionary in theological circles. He wrote a book called "Why Christianity Must Change or Die" which is on my reading list. Thanks for the youtube videos Darth Frosty, great points all around.
-
50
"All religious belief distills down to faith in utterly unprovable stories."
by Franklin Massey ini read this today on the board and want to ask, is the statement true?.
all religious belief distills down to faith in utterly unprovable stories.
i feel this way sometimes.
-
-
mindseye
Band on the Run makes some good points. The problem with coming out of the JW mindset is that the Witnesses have a very simplistic, undeveloped approach to theology. Unfortunately, thanks to the rise of fundamentalism in America, Christianity in general had taken on this regressive approach. So it's understandable that many of us are turned off to religion and spirituality totally, and turn to the atheistic/agnostic path.
This is the path I was on for a while. I had a downright antagonistic attitude towards religion. I dismissed the stories as irrational nonsense, stories only relevant to a people of a bygone time.
Then something happened. I began to read authors with a more sophistacated approach to religion, like Karen Armstrong. I also read some Jung and Joseph Campbell, and learned more about mythology (and the similarity between myths). Most significantly, I very recently met someone with a strong academic background in theology and philosophy, and discussions with this person had me reexamine many of my reductionist positions towards God and mythology.
Somewhere in the evolution of our ancestors consciousness evolved. Eventually spirituality and rituals also developed, and the mythological narratives around them. From archeological evidence, many of the early developments probably were fertility rituals. Others may have involved hunting and reactions to natural phenomena. Imagine being one of our early ancestors and moving to an area with an abundance of thunder storms for the first time. The raw power would be awe inspiring. It would be sublime. This would be GOD!
This is the deal: the mythology may not be real in the literal sense, but it says something real about US. It's woven into our very consciousness. People like Dawkins are brilliant, I enjoy his work immensely, but in his eagerness to throw out God he's throwing out something vital in our evolution as a species. There is room in our dialogue for both mythos and logos.
-
38
Poll: What do you believe now?
by Lunatic Faith ini have been noticing we ex-jw's are very different in our choices of beliefs once we leave the wts.
some choose christianity, others flee christianity.
some find they can't beieve in anything any more.
-
-
mindseye
Shador wrote:
Any religion or teaching which denies the Natural Laws of the Universe is false.
I'm with you, Shador. Communion with nature is where it's at. The path that resonates with me, Taoism, also emphasizes connecting with nature.
-
66
SERIOUSLY is there one JW publication that you thought was good?
by TimothyT ini liked the greatest man book.
i thought it was very informative and unbiased.
a good summary of the gospels.. .
-
-
mindseye
I enjoyed the Search book that discussed all of the various religious traditions of the world. It made me curious about other religions, especially Eastern ones. Also, any book that had Nietzsche, Darwin and Marx as the trinity of evil, LOL. Their rebel status caused me to look into philosophy and science. Thanks, WT!
-
38
New light emerging?
by breakfast of champions inso, just recently ( i believe it was the september 1 wt) there was the thought that only the "incorrigibly wicked" will be destroyed at armageddon.
at the recent visit of the co, several times he brought up the idea that the "great crowd" will be far more people than just the 7m jws on earth today.
all my life i was raised thinking only jws would be the gc, and the other 99.9% of humanity would be fertilizer.
-
-
mindseye
Some more liberal-minded JWs that I've known have said that the survivors of the big A would more than just JWs. So that idea is not really anything new in my experience. Yeah, I agree it's usually a ploy to get people in/keep people in, but some JWs actually believe it.
I could be mistaken, but I remember the WT published something in the 90s that hinted at this. It had my family in heavy discussion. I find the WT puts out something every once in a while to make it look more nuanced. It's usually so ambigious that no one really takes notice, and the status quo is kept in check.
-
21
Happily living life after the JWs. I didnt know it was possible.
by TimothyT inits the most perculiar thing.
i recall when i was in, i used to wonder how those disfellowshipped could live with themselves and thought that they must be the saddest and most depressed people on this earth.. how wrong i was.
now that im one of this disfellowshipped ones my life has improved dramaticaly and im happier than i ever was.
-
-
mindseye
Congratulations, Tim. Yes, life is good! Good to hear you're taking some classes. College was a life changer for me, opened me up to so many ideas and new ways of thinking! Psychotherapy is an interesting field too. Have fun!
-
46
Would you go back if you thought there were one in a million chances you were wrong?
by Paul Duda inoften i wake up in a cold sweat wondering if i'm wrong.
life is short.
i have only a brief time to make a decision.
-
-
mindseye
Today, I am 150% convinced that the JWs don’t have the truth. I know without a single doubt that I made the right decision. Even if I thought they might be right, I still wouldn’t return. I would rather die along with people like the Dalai Lama, than to serve a jealous, petty, psychopathic, mass-murdering god that the Watchtower worships.
Right on Jeremy C. This was the clincher for me. If they are right, and their God is going to murder peaceful, loving people just for not having the 'right' faith, then why is this God even worthy of worship? Once I had this revelation, I could move on with my life.
Paul, like Jeremy says, what you're going through is normal. Even those of us raised 'around' the religion have dealt with those thoughts. Just stand back and analyze what they're really teaching. Do you feel comfortable with that? Then proceed from there.