Posts by JamesThomas

17

I think its time to move on....

by mama1119 in

jw
friends

from jwd.

it has helped me so much and i appreciate everyone sharing their stories.

i have read so many amazing posts with unbelievable research and thought put into them.

JamesThomas

Looks like you have been here one year to the day.

Good luck and I wish you the best.

j

28

Do you believe in God? oR Jesus?

by themonster123 in

jw
friends

so....do any of you believe in some person in the sky floating around called jesus?

or having a relationship with that person (or god) who is in some other dimension apparantly?

being a witness, they stressed so much having a relationship with "jehovah" and all that.

JamesThomas

do any of you believe in some person in the sky floating around

Welcome, Monster.

Why would we want to confine our foundational significance to an invisible creature or configuration somewhere out in space, time and dimension? Why place any quantitative or spatial limitations on our Source and Sustenance at all? Who the hell are we to do such a thing?

In other words, my answer would be: "No".

j

21

Why not just leave religion alone altogether?

by dawg in

jw
friends

i was wondering why many of you turn to to other religions after being freed from the foolishness of the jw's?

after i relieved myself of the burden of the foolish witnesses, i was able to understand god in my own fashion and i've never felt better.

many religions pratice mind control similar to the wittnesses so why not free yourselves from all of them?

JamesThomas

Welcome, dawg, and godless.

Basically we hold on to religion because we come to identify with the beliefs as paramount to who we are.

Here is a good article which goes into detail: http://www.csicop.org/si/2000-11/beliefs.html

j

30

To the Household of God that is Israel...

by AGuest in

jw
friends

and those who go with... the greatest of love and peace to you!

very soon now, we will again have opportunity to publicly declare our sonship, (re)ratify our covenant with god, and eat from the tree of life!

from the founding of the world, there have been those whose aim is to persuade us from it, either through lies or through exploitation of our own imperfections.

JamesThomas

Dear Shelby,

It's understandable that it appears that what I am pointing to is an "abstract idea", because the mind can not get its limited comprehension around it. But then, the mind can never truly understand what is real and actual, it can only comprehend and offer a mental interpretation or simulation of reality. The mind is nothing but abstracts. What I am attempting to point to is what is not thought, simulation or abstract; but rather the Reality that the mind and all existence exists within.

It seems we simply come from two different perspectives.

Through the eyes of duality and phenomena, time and space, separate isolated things and creatures great and small, gods and slaves, good and evil, love and hate, etc. In this realm, what you say, dear Shelby, is fitting, and even attractive, warm and beautiful. A greater good, external to us, existing, like us in space and time, a distinct entity with a name, hating and destroying for us what is bad that we may live in love and peace. The prime ingredients of most all legends and religions. Hard not to like.

However, my emphasis is on the unmoving peace and stillness of That, which all things within space and time -- and even space and time itself -- exist within: That which -- absolutely and flawlessly -- has no beginning and no end: That, which is the exact and pristine foundational reality of all things, unconditionally and without restriction, no matter how they appear through the eyes of quantitative and fragmentational duality.

Through eyes fixed upon the minds duality, that which is truly Whole (nondual), seems hidden, and so we suffer. Yet, it is the very same consciousness which witnesses duality that is, in truth -- eternally pristine, whole and complete. It just needs to be seen.

j

142

This board is not for me.

by Wafe in

jw
friends

when i came to this board, i thought that it was for encouragement amoung people who had been treated badly by the wtbts, i did not understand that people were going to come here and bash god, his son and the bible.

i could understand some embitterment over religion but some of you people are down right insulting.

not to mention the fact that i have tried to contact others on the board and have had my messages ignored.. .

JamesThomas

Wafe:

The Bible is all I have left and the last thing I need to hear are people that are constanly trying to distroy that faith by saying things are meant to damage it.

Perhaps the problem, dear Wafe, is that you have reduced the Divine down to words in a book and can not imagine a Source any greater than one pulled from superstitious thoughts of ancient desert tribesmen. You have placed yourself in a very precarious situation that is all too easily threatened.

The smaller our god, the larger the sphere of ominous menace.

I suggest it is time for you to either expand on your sense of Divine significance, or else find a warm place where others support only the very, very small.

Your true Source has provided you with a wondrous and infinite expression of life and universe in and around you to help you sense and see the truth, and all you have eyes for is tribal stories. It may be that this Bible you so cherish is really your prison in that its pages are blinding you to the reality that vibrantly exists all around and within you.

The jail cell door, is unlocked.

j

16

Jesus

by alotlikemay in

i'm going to put my head on the block here... and possibly alienate some of you in doing so.

i'm new to the forum.

forgive me, i don't have time to read up the whole history of threads here, much as i'd love to, so if this subject has been discussed already (as i'm sure it must have) then apologies .

JamesThomas

Found-my-way:

I agree with james thomas, as much as I try to make sense of what he is saying...(he writes so much more intelligently than i),

Kind-hearted compliment; however, that my words make little sense, may point to a lack rather than a wealth of intelligence.

j

16

Jesus

by alotlikemay in

i'm going to put my head on the block here... and possibly alienate some of you in doing so.

i'm new to the forum.

forgive me, i don't have time to read up the whole history of threads here, much as i'd love to, so if this subject has been discussed already (as i'm sure it must have) then apologies .

JamesThomas

Do you love the ultimate love that the Christ represents, enough to let go of your Jesus, if:

If your love for Jesus makes you feel that others who believe differently are somehow less righteous and deserving than you?

If your love for Jesus separates -- in your mind -- all mankind into the chosen and the damned?

Would you let go of your Jesus if your love in any way divides us rather than unites us -- each and every one?

In other words: would you surrender your love of Jesus if such a "love" was found to be not love-ing?

The image of the Beloved which we carry in our mind, is not important; it's what we do with that image that is. We can use it to reduce, limit and circumscribe the Divine, or we can see it as a reminder or symbol of That which has no beginning, and no end. That, which is such purely perfect Love, that it holds and embraces everyone and all existence unconditionally.

imo

j

28

Should I Stay or should I go?

by Tyrone van leyen in

i have been pondering a dilema.

it is one which has repeated itself many times over the years.

my parents have been helping me, and being very nice to me in the last couple of years.

JamesThomas

It seems your parents are imprisoned in the cult, and you are imprisoned in fighting the cult. The names changed but the story remains the same.

My parents have been helping me, and being very nice to me in the last couple of years.

This is all you need to know. Go and support your father and show him respect and kindness. This is what you want to do; isn't it.

You're creating a future problem in your mind that doesn't exist. Whatever ramifications come from you going to the meeting. deal with them, if you need to, when they actually arise.

Stop beating yourself up. Be kind to yourself and your parents. It will all work out.

j

30

To the Household of God that is Israel...

by AGuest in

jw
friends

and those who go with... the greatest of love and peace to you!

very soon now, we will again have opportunity to publicly declare our sonship, (re)ratify our covenant with god, and eat from the tree of life!

from the founding of the world, there have been those whose aim is to persuade us from it, either through lies or through exploitation of our own imperfections.

JamesThomas

Ross:

What you have presented differs only by one layer of abstraction. In the first case a human states they have a vision. In the second the divine "All" has a vision of a shard of life which we generally call "real"

Yes, that's an intriguing way too put it. What we believe ourselves to be is in reality just an abstraction, a vision of the Divine; and so there just needs to be an investigation that sees past all abstraction, and there (here) is found the foundational ALL, the Divine. The Reality -- all abstraction exists within.

Shelby:

Again, it is the separation FROM God, the Father, the Most Holy One of Israel, whose name is JAH of Armies, that is MANIFEST... by the suffering in the world. Such suffering is the DIRECT result. For if we had remained IN UNION with Him (which we can yet do)... we would be close enough to REFLECT Him... and thereby refelct His love toward one another. We have not... and so we are not... and so we do not... and thus we can not.

If I bare witness to the phenominal world, and the interpritations of "reality" presented by the carnal-mind, I must a agree, that I too can see what appears to be separation. However, in deeper investigation is revealed the utter perfection and pristine wholeness of the Divine that excludes nothing or no one; and reveals the impossibility of any genuine detachment. That's what I see.

j

152

Does Knowing the Truth Make you a Happier person?

by gumby in

many of us who were once jehovah's witnesses had a measure of happiness in our lives.

for me, i had a hope in the future, i had answers as to why we are all here, i believed in a loving god who looked after me and cared about me, i had answers to all of lifes big questions.. when i found out the truth about the witnesses, i was lost in a great big world and now had no answers other than the fact that what i once believed was "the truth" in actuality wasn't the truth.i now had to start all over in my search for truth.

for me, it wasn't long before i found what i thought was the truth since i always believed in the bible.

JamesThomas

Skally,

You seem painfully rigid here. Watch out that you don't break. There is a wise old Zen saying about being like a tree and bending with the wind.

The universe does not manifest as we may want it to. Reality is very big. Gumby may very well help free others from the grip of what you hate, better than even you do. Be honest, you don't really know what the outcome will be here. Why get your blood pressure up about it. You're only hurting yourself.

I am not saying you don't have valid points; just lighten up a little.

j