Posts by JamesThomas

35

Coming to terms with your death - immortality options

by Crumpet in

i must say its terribly hard to dredge up any enthusiasm for today or even this week at work, but i dont feel depressed.

the weather has been so undecided these last few weeks, a little sun, but mostly pregnant clouds breaking water over our heads several times a day.

its also quite warm and clammy as if we are in a limbo land between seasons and there is little in terms of beauty to redeem it.

JamesThomas

Dear Crumpet,

Are you completely clear on the fact that everything you have ever believed in, thought about and pondered, has not given you the peace you seek? If so, and if you are sincerely unwilling to put up with the confusion and lack of relief any longer, it may be time for you to radically change the direction of your quest. Ready?

Who is it, really, that is concerned with death? Forget everything you think you know, and quietly and nonjudgmentally investigate within. Thoroughly check all the beliefs the mind presents regarding "self", and all the senses the body presents as "self", and see if you can genuinely find yourself in any of it. Such inquiry requires total honesty and an agonizing willingness to discover what is truly real, and what is not...at any cost. Thorough inner investigation can seemingly take moments or years. Don't be concerned with time. What is true??? What are you, really???

A moment will arise, an awakening to the endless and unconditional purity of that which is closer than all phenominal experience. That, which is untouched by events in time and space. That, which silently bears witness to the universe of things. That, which looks through those eyes right now. Then, you will unequivocally know what you truly are (though the mind will never be able to grasp it), and your concerns will be over.

Realization of your natural authentic Self, is all you need. It's here always. It just needs to be seen.

j

31

Are YOU Being Brainwashed ? Public Talk MP3

by AlphaOmega in

are you being brainwashed ?.

that was the title of a "public talk" given by brian steinblock of brooklyn bethel(monroe cong) it is a post-2000 talk.

this talk was e-mailed to me by a jw, and can be downloaded from here:.

JamesThomas

Poppers, down at the bottom left of the page is a gold colored DOWNLOAD button.

edited to add: However it takes 20 seconds before it appears.

4

The Root of all Evil - The God Delusion and the Virus of Faith

by jaredg in

these are some very interesting documentaries.

i wish i could get my parents to watch them.

http://www.tv-links.co.uk/listings/9/6169

JamesThomas

Part One (48 minutes) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9002284641446868316&q=the+root&total=17302&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2

Part Two (48 minutes) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8210522903232438954&q=the+root&total=17302&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

15

read the Bible for yourself

by a friend in

seems a lot of people are depending on everyone else to solve their problem.

questions like who is jehovah, who is jesus, what is the truth, are some of the deep spiritual truths asked by all of us.

however, the bible is the one to turn to when questioning.

JamesThomas

a friend:

Seems a lot of people are depending on everyone else to solve their problem. Questions like who is Jehovah, who is Jesus, what is the truth, are some of the deep spiritual truths asked by all of us. However, the Bible is the one to turn to when questioning. I know this because I questioned. Because of God's love for me, He began to give me answers when I sincerely spent time with His Word. So... the Bible, God's Word, God's speaking to me, was the only answer for me. Truth was very plain. I am very thankful for His mercy and unconditional love toward me that while I was a sinner, He offered himself to take my place of punishment. An awesome God, I must say. And the only God that is alive and well.

I'm sure you mean well, a friend. However, guiding people to an archaic tribal story book does not give us truth, so much as blind us to it. Truth, is what IS, what is actual and real. Truth, is not in conceptual memories of past, or in make-believe fantasies of future, not in beliefs of any kind, but rather found only within the actual present moment of vibrant conscious aliveness and be-ing. Generally it is when we are so deeply asleep, so completely ignorant, blind, numb and oblivious to reality that we feel a need to identify our life with a book and its shallow and empty definitions of "significance", "meaning", and "truth". The stories and little god-images you have chiseled within the dark corners of your mind, have made you into a well-meaning peddler of sedative-hypnotics and trinkets. Sadly, some will follow you into oblivion. I wish you the best, j

25

Is Active Disbelief a New Development?

by metatron in

jw
friends

in decades past, i can't ever recall anyone who 'left the truth' , who openly believed it was false.. i knew lots of people who drifted away but none who actively proclaimed that what the organization.

taught was false.

usually, you would bump into them and they would say , "i know its the truth but.

JamesThomas

It seems it would be natural for us to evolve beyond archaic tribal superstition and beliefs. What's amazing is that it is taking so long.

j

19

Guys, do you lay your wifi laptop on your lap?

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

one of the things i enjoy most about wifi is the way i can sit in my favorite living room recliner and surf the web while watching spongbob.

i was just sitting here browsing around the web when it suddenly occurred to me: am i microwaving my "boys"?

has anyone heard if there is are, ahem, "manly" dangers to using a laptop on the lap?

JamesThomas

alt

12

new invention that will save lives

by shadowofbathory in

jw
friends

lets say that i have invented a contraption that removes all contaminates ( organic and inorganis ) from any sample of water, including desalination process.. what would be your marketing plan ?

who would you approach initially?.

would you sell the technology to a firm that would take care of marketing and distribution?.

JamesThomas

Shadow, you have a PM.

12

new invention that will save lives

by shadowofbathory in

jw
friends

lets say that i have invented a contraption that removes all contaminates ( organic and inorganis ) from any sample of water, including desalination process.. what would be your marketing plan ?

who would you approach initially?.

would you sell the technology to a firm that would take care of marketing and distribution?.

JamesThomas

Hey Shadow, have you developed such a device? It sounds intriguing. Are you using frequency modulation or pulses by any chance?

j

38

Does Someone's Religion Matter To You?

by minimus in

jw
friends

do you care if tom cruise is a scientologist?

or that mitt romney is a mormon?

or that a person is either a very devout muslim or a card carrying communist?

JamesThomas

Yes, it does arouse some concern that Billions of people worship as the "most high" exemplar of morals and behaviour a divisive and psychopathic deity which lavishly destroys and kills.

Makes for a pretty crazy and dangerous world.

j

29

Necco Opened

by Necco in

jw
friends

i am new to the website and i am witness.. i am astonishingly happy to be here and i wont be going anywhere else.

it's about time i found a forum with jehovahs witnesses!!

i'm almost doing cartwheels.

JamesThomas

Welcome, Necco.

Perhaps it may be helpful to ask yourself a question, and ponder on it until you are certain of your answer, and then act accordingly.

The question is: Do you want to know the truth the best you can? Do you want to get a deeper sense of what is real, and what is not?

If you desire truth, then, like a CSI team, thorough investigation is required. Everything must be questioned, and nothing taken for granted or accepted too quickly as fact. Truth, demands that we perform honest and painstaking analyses and inquiry. It is the nature of truth that the deeper we look and discover what is false, the clearer truth becomes.

This requires courage and the willingness to let go of preconceived and cherished notions and beliefs that prove themselves to be incorrect.

Perhaps such personal effort is not your thing, and you would rather be fed what to believe with the stipulation that you do not question (however, since truth is authenticated via questioning and analysis, this may be a dangerous place to tread). It's your call to take such a path or not.

On the other hand, if you want truth, and you have the courage to investigate, this may be the place for you; because we welcome pretty much anything and everything to be questioned and discussed on this forum.

Welcome again. So glad you joined us.

j