Posts by Sentinel

I am laughing at how I posted something that I thought was "new", that's been discussed previously a few times. (And very well indeed, as I have looked at both the threads that Spider referred me to.)

What can I say, except that, GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE!

Thanks expatbrit, Mister 8iggs, Little Witch and Spider, for indulging this "new" thread.

I didn't come to the Forum until June of this year, so I still haven't read all the previous posts, there is just no way I can ever do that! It's great that everything is saved on here, so we can go back and reference them when needed.

Sentinel/Karen

13

Are There More Than One?

by Sentinel in

jw
friends

i've been reading posts for a while now, and sometimes it seems that some posters really know each other quite well.

i was thinking perhaps that they knew each other prior to coming on the forum.. how many here went to the same congregation and were friends or family?.

or how many here did not attend the same congregation at the same time, only to connect again on this forum?.

Sentinel

Hi,

I've been reading posts for a while now, and sometimes it seems that some posters really know each other quite well. I was thinking perhaps that they knew each other prior to coming on the forum.

How many here went to the same congregation and were friends or family?

Or how many here did not attend the same congregation at the same time, only to connect again on this forum?

I sure wish some familiar names of people I've known in my life as a JDub, would turn up on this forum. I've lost contact with some good people, and I just wonder what they are doing, if they got out, etc. It would be so nice to reconnect with them through this shared experience.

Have any of you experienced any special reunions of this sort?

Love and LIght,

Sentinel/Karen

15

Is it just me or...

by SPAZnik in

does anyone else dream about jw.com posters from time to time?.

i have the most vivid dreams.. .

write a short essay of appreciation for .

Sentinel

No, can't say that I've dreamed about this forum or any of the posters "yet".

In the past week I've had three dreams that put me back in the beginning of twelth grade again. Yikes! They were not pleasant dreams. I totally did not fit in. Clothes were not right. Language was really "different", and I could never seem to get through one day. It just went on and on, trying to find the right class, trying to remember my locker combination. Trying to pass the tests.

Boy am I glad they were just dreams!

Sentinel

14

Just Wondering....

by Sentinel in

jw
friends

hello friends .

i've just been thinking about something as i drove past the kingdom hall near where i work.

it has absolutely no windows.

Sentinel

Hello Friends

I've just been thinking about something as I drove past the Kingdom Hall near where I work. It has absolutely no windows. There is also another one in this area that has none. Come to think of it, when my old KH was built new, some thirty years ago, it had no windows either.

Did/does your KH have windows? Is "not having windows" done on purpose, and if so, for what reason to do you think they might do that?

I realize that older buildings, not initially built originally to be Kingdom Hall's do have windows, but any new ones built don't seem to.

What do you think?

Sentinel/Karen

31

Why Is Smoking A Disfellowshipping Offense?

by twain30 in

jw
friends

the main reason given in the 1973 watchtower was that smoking is tied in with spiritism because the greek word which is rendered as spiritism is pharmakia' which literally means "druggery," (see galatians 5:20.

) therefore the argument was made that by smoking we put ourselves under spiritistic or demonic control.

for the last 20 years i haven't heard this reason used.. today the reasons given are that smoking shows no respect for your body as well as for life and that smoking doesn't show love of neighbor.

Sentinel

I suppose the original question has been answered about why it's an offense with the borg. Addiction is usually genetic. People can be addicted to just about anything. My husband has tried to quit smoking, and was having a difficult time of it, so he gave up for awhile. He is sober now, and says that trying to quit smoking is much harder. He still has that for a goal for next year. One thing at a time.

Meantime, I am fifty pounds overweight. When I was a size ten, everyone around said I needed to gain weight. So, I did...no really, I think I stayed thin so long because of my age, and because of all the adrenalen that I was producing just to survive this life for so many years. In those days, "I lost my appetite" when bad times overtook my world.

Since then, I've become more relaxed in a better marriage and less restrictive life, and got taken out to eat more often, and just had no clue that my body would pull a fast one on me and decide that I was going to take on pounds and not be able to get them off. Plus, I'm with a man who totally accepts ME, no matter what I weigh--within reason.

When I was put on anti-depressants, I was never told that the main side affect was weight gain. Of course, had I been more knowledgeable, I would have asked, but I trusted the doctors. Once a person's metabolism changes, it is changed, and it's very, very difficult to get it back, if ever. Also, as you age, things happen, like hormone changes, etc. A woman really does have a time of it, plus all the other pressures going on to "fit in" with mainstream society. The slim world we ladies SEE around us, in the ads, the clothing stores, movies, TV.

I have a great deal of empathy for truly obese people. I don't believe they want to be the way they are. It just goes too far. Emotional problems do things to people and food is a great comforter. Being obese is really unhealthy, but it is personal. A person's diet is their business. We are what we eat.

I know I grab the wrong foods, so I just need to make a firm commitment and get back on track. It's still so darn discouraging to "diet", so I don't call it that.

Smoking is harmful to ones health, but is also a personal choice. There are no laws against smoking or overeating. My husband says he wishes that smoking was against the law, because then he would have real incentive to stop. At least the TV or ads don't promote smoking anymore, not the way FOOD is put in front of us all the time, everywhere.

Anyway, I'm not into judging people. Just don't blow smoke in my face and that's fine. My husband does not smoke inside the house--his choice, which makes me happy. And, he doesn't smoke in my car, my choice. But, when we go out to eat, we always go to the smokers section. It's give and take.

Some days I get behind vehicles that blow their exhaust into my airways, and probably do much more damage than a smoker's cigarette. I believe we are being manipulated by the chemical additives in the foods we buy and the cigarettes we purchase. (Just look at Equal for instance. It contains Aspartame, which can be toxic if taken in large quantities, and lethal to others.)

Karen

7

truckers holiday

by termite 35 in

jw
friends

glad you had a good time-i did the lands end to john o,groats trip on a bike years ago, when i was young!.

it was a good experience but the weather in the lake district was awful and i got soaked from then on until i hit john o' groats- then, the clouds skudded away and the whole area was bathed in the brightest light i've ever seen-i could have happily stayed there and never gone back!.

how's your bum??!

Sentinel

WELCOME BACK TRUCKER

YOU WERE MISSED HERE MY FRIEND!

NOW GET THOSE ZZZZZZZ'S AND WE'LL CATCH YA LATER.

Karen

26

Strange Experience on Train - JW Related

by Stephanus in

jw
friends

we were on our way into wollongong last night to see our youngest son in the annual schools choral thingo and went to sit down near a pile of abandoned newspapers (the best way to get a free paper .

when we were about to get off the train, we found another watchtower, dated february, 1989. this one had the publisher's name on the top.

obviously she was following this advice: "do you make it a point to write your name and address in your personal copies of the publications?

Sentinel

Ummm,

Now that I've seen the visual of her signature, I believe it to be a young girl. She would be difficult to find, indeed, as all listings would be under her parents names.

How about running a free ad with the signature picture in a local paper. It might bring out some very interesting responses.

Sentinel

24

ANYONE TRY HYPNOSIS?

by Mary in

jw
friends

i'm considering trying hypnosis to help me win my everlasting battle with weight, but naturally i have feelings of guilt because we were told as jws that we cannot use hypnosis....... .

anyway, has anyone here ever tried hypnosis?

i would be interested in hearing if it helped you at all.

Sentinel

Actually, No, I've never been hynotised. Some old fears still haunt me a bit from my JDub days. I am still resistive of that, as well as the Ougie Board.

I'd be very curious to know if it works for losing weight. I want to lose fifty pounds, ah, and the mere thought of it makes me cringe. I want to do it for myself and for my future health as I grow older. I'm not under doctors orders or anything. I just want to do the responsible thing. Doc says I'm very healthy, but I'm just not used to having this extra weight. I've always been much thinner, and when I was I had so much energy!

Ohhh, Englishman, please give us the whole story about your experience. I'm rather a control freak, and even fight going under for any kind of surgery. It's hard to let go, because I believe "that's it", "the end". So I wonder if I can even be hypnotised.

I am reading these other posts and am curious to see what it might do for me, and if my Insurance carrier will cover it.

Thanks a bunch.

Sentinel/Karen