scotoma

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Posts by scotoma

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  149

  If you reject the existence of the soul then you are an Animist?

  by Seraphim23 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the classic debate between those who believe that consciousness is merely the result of the operation of the brain, and those who believe that it is apart from the brain, like the idea of a soul or the classic dualistic distinction between mind and body, is a well-known one.. however the thought has occurred that when people try to convince me that the soul cannot be real; soul in the sense of consciousness being a separate thing to the operation of the brain, then really the materialistic non spiritual view is in fact a rehash of animism, strange as that might sound.. animism is the idea that soul, spirit, consciousness, or whatever it might be called, exists in plants, animals, things, objects, places or basically in everything and anything in the material world.

  the view of some is that very primitive cultures had this wide category of spiritual belief, which eventually evolved into the all the religions, faiths and spiritualties of today.

  some of the faiths of modern times are not defined as animistic because these draw a distinction between soul and body or in modern parlance, consciousness and brain.. so in very ancient times, at the dawn of human spiritual belief, the sun, for example, rising and setting was seen not so much as being caused by the proverbial spaghetti monster but as being the proverbial spaghetti monster.

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  scotoma

  We tend to be brain worshipers. The brain is another organ of the body. The brain is embedded in an organism.

  Consciousness requires content. You are not just conscious - you are conscious of some THING.

  There are also other tissues that act like a nervous system complete with an array of neurotransmitters. The enteric or "gut" brain.

  These facts are the reason it is highly unlikely that scientists will be able to duplicate some aspects of human thinking.

  The only minds we know of are embedded in flesh.

  Some good books about the mind.

  Mind and Nature an Necessary Unity - Gregory Bateson

  The Mechanism of Mind Edward Debono

  The Tree of Life Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela

  I want to add something else. The brain is NOT creative. The brain is a reactor. It is the interplay between the brain and its environment that is creative. The brains main purpose is to manage the negative. The brain keeps us in a rut. It wants to quickly form a habit circuit. The quicker we habituate the safer we tend to be. Creativity is an emergent phenomenon - a by product of pattern formation. A good pattern reaches our consciousness because it incorporates a large amount of environmental inputs (iinformation) in a sudden gestalt formation. We experience that as an Aha! moment. Comedians are especially skilled (gifted) at exploiting this.
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  149

  If you reject the existence of the soul then you are an Animist?

  by Seraphim23 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the classic debate between those who believe that consciousness is merely the result of the operation of the brain, and those who believe that it is apart from the brain, like the idea of a soul or the classic dualistic distinction between mind and body, is a well-known one.. however the thought has occurred that when people try to convince me that the soul cannot be real; soul in the sense of consciousness being a separate thing to the operation of the brain, then really the materialistic non spiritual view is in fact a rehash of animism, strange as that might sound.. animism is the idea that soul, spirit, consciousness, or whatever it might be called, exists in plants, animals, things, objects, places or basically in everything and anything in the material world.

  the view of some is that very primitive cultures had this wide category of spiritual belief, which eventually evolved into the all the religions, faiths and spiritualties of today.

  some of the faiths of modern times are not defined as animistic because these draw a distinction between soul and body or in modern parlance, consciousness and brain.. so in very ancient times, at the dawn of human spiritual belief, the sun, for example, rising and setting was seen not so much as being caused by the proverbial spaghetti monster but as being the proverbial spaghetti monster.

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  scotoma

  Seraphim,

  The quickest way to affect consciousness is to physically destroy various parts of the brain.

  A hole in the brain is a hole in the soul.
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  149

  If you reject the existence of the soul then you are an Animist?

  by Seraphim23 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the classic debate between those who believe that consciousness is merely the result of the operation of the brain, and those who believe that it is apart from the brain, like the idea of a soul or the classic dualistic distinction between mind and body, is a well-known one.. however the thought has occurred that when people try to convince me that the soul cannot be real; soul in the sense of consciousness being a separate thing to the operation of the brain, then really the materialistic non spiritual view is in fact a rehash of animism, strange as that might sound.. animism is the idea that soul, spirit, consciousness, or whatever it might be called, exists in plants, animals, things, objects, places or basically in everything and anything in the material world.

  the view of some is that very primitive cultures had this wide category of spiritual belief, which eventually evolved into the all the religions, faiths and spiritualties of today.

  some of the faiths of modern times are not defined as animistic because these draw a distinction between soul and body or in modern parlance, consciousness and brain.. so in very ancient times, at the dawn of human spiritual belief, the sun, for example, rising and setting was seen not so much as being caused by the proverbial spaghetti monster but as being the proverbial spaghetti monster.

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  scotoma

  Consciousness can be altered with scalpels, hammers, halucinogens, etc.
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  14

  One way could be showing how absurd their concept is when trying to answer the question, Blondie.

  by jam in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  scotoma

  That's not how it works...

  ...that's not how it works at all.

  (Reference to a commercial about an old woman trying to materialize face book)
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  12

  DESTROYED

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is this wall like brick and mortar that separates.

  your proud heart from mine contrite and broken?.

  at one time -- i recall so very well -- your soul.

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  scotoma

  Poets have a way to frame everything in the language of maximum glow or glum.

  I'm not a poet so I invest as little as possible in words.

  I simply say "tough shit" at some point and it all goes away.

  No need to even get drunk.

  But, I am grateful

  there are people

  who know how to use language so well.

  Perhaps that's how they get to the "tough shit" stage.
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  57

  the green mile?

  by sparrowdown in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just wondering.. do you agree/disagree with capital punishment?.

  are there any circumstances that would justify it?.

  or is taking any human life unacceptable, regardless of the crime?.

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  scotoma

  If you are for capitol punishment YOU are casting your lot with the likes of JW's.

  Capitol punishment is anti-male. Three times as many males committ violent crimes as females.

  There should be no doubt that murder has a genetic component to it. You don't have to look for an imbalance in the brain. It is linked in a large way to those two organs hanging between a man's legs.

  Give men a choice. :SNIP: + 20 years to think about it. Or life in prison.

  Women who kill their children? Schizo. They need drugs and better drugs.
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  14

  last big convention-last memorial buzz

  by scotoma in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are others hearing this meme from speakers at their congregation?.

  is it a newspeak technique for instilling a sense of urgency?.

  if it is - it's more manipulative than 1975. it seems like a way of getting around over use of the word "soon", "just around the corner".. maybe after 100 years of waiting they feel they need to approach it from another angle.. i should mention that the qualifier "may" is added "this may be our last___________________ fill in the blank.. lots of wiggle room.

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  scotoma

  Are others hearing this meme from speakers at their congregation?

  Is it a NEWSPEAK technique for instilling a sense of urgency?

  If it is - it's more manipulative than 1975

  It seems like a way of getting around over use of the word "soon", "just around the corner".

  Maybe after 100 years of waiting they feel they need to approach it from another angle.

  I should mention that the qualifier "may" is added "this may be our last___________________ fill in the blank.

  Lots of wiggle room. The word "may" automatically suggests "may not".

  Blatant abuse of words playing with peoples expectations.
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  29

  International Convention

  by msconcerned in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an email forwarded to a friend.

  what do you make of it?.

  below is a report about preparing for the seattle, washington international convention.

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  scotoma

  Sparrow Down stated it succinctly "Honestly, they could make farting sound miraculous."

  That's the point. Religious people are always declaring "blessings in disguise".

  I don't know who penned the prayer: "Please Lord for once give me a blessing that isn't in disguise"

  Why doesn't the Watchtower quit violating the scripture that says "time and unforseen occurences befall all men"

  The only time they use that scripture is when things go wrong.

  When they go right they think that it is a special blessing.
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  29

  International Convention

  by msconcerned in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an email forwarded to a friend.

  what do you make of it?.

  below is a report about preparing for the seattle, washington international convention.

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  scotoma

  Funny how Jehovah works. If this were Africa they would rent some rancher's pasture. With their amazing cooperation and experience with quick builds they should (with Jehovah's help) be able to throw together a tent city. They wouldn't even need liability insurance because the angels would make sure that their would be no mishaps. And with large screen monitors they could still make the experience great for everyone. They don't need no stinky stadiums. Supposedly Jehovah took care of around 2 million Jews wandering around Sinai for 4o years.

  Maybe JW's don't have enough faith to endure the hardships their African brothers go through all the time.

  And whatever happened to "rooming work". That's a concept that those of you who have been witnesses for less than 50 years won't understand.
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  24

  Recent WatchTower article about Witch Hunting

  by EverApostate in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is about an article in may 2014 awake that was published about witch hunting.

  it is a 2 page article on how evil the catholic and protestant inquision was, how wickedly they killed the witches and so on.. .

  http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102014166.

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  scotoma

  There is so much in that article that should make JW's have second thoughts.

  It refers to witch hunts as a kind of paranoia. What about buying second hand objects from people who may also be selling Tarot cards and Ouija boards in the miscellaneous game box you see at rummage sales.

  What about the paranoia about watching shows involving magic - Harry Potter

  "Meanwhile, physicians began to recognize that such things as seizures could be linked to health and not demon possession."

  So what happened to all the demons that threw people into convulsions in Jesus' day?

  The nonsense of religion is the belief in any kind of spirit entity "good or evil".