Posts by Brokeback Watchtower

17

Enlightenment, Will It Be A Rather Common Experience In The Future?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it has been said by some that an enlightened being came/happened once every 500 years, but now they seem to be popping up all over the place.. the buddha had to meditate like hell, he even starved himself to attain it.

monks spend many years doing some are successful some are not.. i think with science looking into these nirvana states of mind that they will figure out a way to end suffering for the human species which will usher in a whole different way of life with higher intelligence running things.

from my understanding of enlightenment it is a sort of rewiring of the brain where the signals go up pleasure side of the amygdala where as painful emotions and sensations go up the other side.

Brokeback Watchtower

The brain is fascinating, I just wish we could work out what it really needs to be happy. We were apes but we are more than that now, with very complex needs. Sometimes it feels like evolution has created a monster, one that is never satisfied, never content, you know?

I guess with survival of the fittest being the primary force moving evolution happiness and contentment are not in the dynamics.

The way I see it a sort of rewiring must take place and the Amygdala is the most important place to start IMO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala

The amygdala (/əˈmɪɡdələ/; plural: amygdalae; also corpus amygdaloideum; Latin from Greek, ἀμυγδαλή, amygdalē, 'almond', 'tonsil'[1]) is one of two almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates, including humans.[2] Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing of memory, decision-making and emotional responses, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system.[3]

Hemispheric specializations[edit] There are functional differences between the right and left amygdala. In one study, electrical stimulations of the right amygdala induced negative emotions, especially fear and sadness. In contrast, stimulation of the left amygdala was able to induce either pleasant (happiness) or unpleasant (fear, anxiety, sadness) emotions.[9] Other evidence suggests that the left amygdala plays a role in the brain's reward system.[10]

Each side holds a specific function in how we perceive and process emotion. The right and left portions of the amygdala have independent memory systems, but work together to store, encode, and interpret emotion.

The right hemisphere is associated with negative emotion. It plays a role in the expression of fear and in the processing of fear-inducing stimuli. Fear conditioning, which is when a neutral stimulus acquires aversive properties, occurs within the right hemisphere. When an individual is presented with a conditioned, aversive stimulus, it is processed within the right amygdala, producing an unpleasant or fearful response. This emotional response conditions the individual to avoid fear-inducing stimuli.

34

What really happened around 1918 when WT leaders were imprisoned?

by dubstepped in

i had never thought about this until just now when i saw that nathan natas posted some early tract from rutherford, and it made me think back to what little i could remember of the history i was taught.

i now know that in most cases the dubs will spin stories in their favor.

so i'm now assuming i was told some fictitious story about what happened when the leaders were thrown in prison and things looked bleak for the cult way back when.

Brokeback Watchtower

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses

Rutherford introduced a vast advertising campaign to expose the "unrighteousness" of religions and their alliances with "beastly" governments, expanding on claims in The Finished Mystery that patriotism was akin to murder.[90][91] The campaign provoked anger among the clergy and governments in North America and Europe, where Bible Students began to be arrested, mobbed and tarred and feathered.[71][92] On February 12, 1918 The Finished Mystery was banned by the Canadian government for what a Winnipeg newspaper described as "seditious and antiwar statements".[93] On February 24 in Los Angeles Rutherford gave the first of his talk series "Millions Now Living May Never Die" (the title of the talk was changed five weeks later to "Millions Now Living Will Never Die")[94][95] in which he attacked the clergy, describing them as "the most reprehensible men on earth for the great war that is now afflicting mankind".[93] Three days later the Army Intelligence Bureau seized the Society's Los Angeles offices and on March 4 the US government ordered the removal of seven pages of The Finished Mystery if distribution was to continue.[96] In early May 1918 US Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory condemned the book as dangerous propaganda[97] and days later warrants were issued for the arrest of Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower directors and officers on charges of sedition under the Espionage Act amid claims they were conspiring to cause disloyalty and encouraging the refusal of military duty. On June 21 seven of them, including Rutherford, were sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. They were released on bail in March 1919 after an appeals court ruled they had been wrongly convicted and in May 1920 the government announced all charges had been dropped.[9

Jehovah's Witness Beleifs(Wiki)

by Brokeback Watchtower in

lots of true stuff about the wt.

i'm sure any reporter doing a story on the wt corp .

will find it very enlightening by doing this little wiki search.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jehovah%27s_witnesses_beliefs.

Brokeback Watchtower

Lots of true stuff about the WT. I'm sure any reporter doing a story on the WT corp . will find it very enlightening by doing this little Wiki search.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_beliefs

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God uses an organization both in heaven and on earth, and that Jehovah's Witnesses, under the direction of their Governing Body, are the only visible channel by which God communicates with humanity.[44][45] The organization is said to be theocratic, "ruled from the divine Top down, and not from the rank and file up".[46] Witnesses teach that people must choose between God’s organization and Satan’s.[47][48] Watch Tower publications teach that the Bible is an "organizational book" that does not belong to individuals and that the Bible cannot be properly understood without guidance by "Jehovah's visible organization".[49]

Witnesses undergoing baptism are required to publicly confirm that they are associating themselves "with God's spirit-directed organization",[50] thereby submitting themselves to its direction and judicial system.[51] Watch Tower Society publications urge Witnesses to demonstrate loyalty to the organization without dissent,[52][53] even at the cost of family ties.[54] Loyalty to the organization is said to require full involvement in public preaching[55] and regular meeting attendance.[56]

Disagreement with the Watch Tower Society's concept of God's organization figured prominently in events that led to a 1980 purge of high-level members at the group's Brooklyn headquarters. A summary by a Governing Body committee of "wrong teachings" being promoted as "new understandings" included the suggestion that God did not have an organization on earth.[57] Former Governing Body member Raymond Franz, who was expelled as part of the purge, subsequently criticized the Watch Tower concept of organization,[58] claiming the concept—which posits that God does not deal with individuals apart from an organization—has no scriptural support and serves only to reinforce the group's authority structure, with its strong emphasis on human authority.[59] He also claimed that The Watchtower has repeatedly blurred discussions of both Jesus Christ's loyalty to God and the apostles' loyalty to Christ to promote the view that Witnesses should be loyal to the Watch Tower Society.[60] Sociologist Andrew Holden has observed that Witnesses see no distinction between loyalty to Jehovah and to the movement itself,[61] and other researchers have claimed that challenging the views of those higher up the hierarchical ladder is regarded as tantamount to challenging God himself.[62]

Defection[edit]

Watch Tower Society publications assert that members of the group are not compelled to remain part of the congregation.[184] However, Jehovah's Witness doctrines provide no method for baptized members to leave on good terms.[185] Those who choose to depart and announce their decision to terminate their membership are regarded as abandoning God's organization and protection and voluntarily entering the world of Satan,[185][186] becoming part of the antichrist.[187] Watch Tower publications define such individuals as being "more reprehensible than those in the world"[187] and direct that they are to be shunned by other Witnesses, including close relatives, with no social or religious contact and no greeting given.[184][186] Sociologist Andrew Holden claims his research indicated many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings remain affiliated out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.[185]

Apostasy[edit]

Watch Tower Society publications define apostasy as the abandonment of the worship and service of God by members of the Christian congregation, and equate it with rebellion against God.[188] Apostate behavior is said to include the rejection of biblical teachings or requirements, the rejection of Jehovah's organization, association with or support for another religious group[187] and celebration of religious holidays.[189] It is grounds for expulsion from the group and subsequent shunning. Promotion of personal doctrinal views that deviate from official teachings is also regarded as apostasy. The "identifying marks" of apostates are said to include attempts to gain followers, disregard for the Witnesses’ preaching activity, rejection of God's visible organization, public criticism of other Witnesses and attempts to hinder their work.[188] Other identifying behavior is said to include deviation from the truth, twisted, empty speech, hypocrisy and involvement in deeper forms of ungodliness.[190] Watch Tower Society literature says apostates are motivated by vitriolic bitterness and that their writings are poisonous, distorted and false, display the characteristics of "cunning, contrived error, prideful intelligence, lack of love and dishonesty" and are designed to undermine the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses.[191] Apostates are described as proud, independent, ungrateful and presumptuous,[190] mentally diseased,[192][193] displaying jealousy, fits of anger and other unchristian conduct and are said to often fall victim to drunken bouts, loose conduct and fornication.[190]

Apostates are said to have become part of the antichrist and are regarded as more reprehensible than non-Witnesses.[187] They are described as "anti-God" and doomed to destruction.[194] Witnesses are told they must loathe and hate in the "biblical sense of the word" those who are defined as apostates and show no curiosity about their ideas,[195] and that apostates' "whole purpose is to tear down God's people and to distort the truth."[196] Apostates must be shunned and Witnesses are warned that those who greet one become "a sharer in his wicked works".[187]

17

Enlightenment, Will It Be A Rather Common Experience In The Future?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it has been said by some that an enlightened being came/happened once every 500 years, but now they seem to be popping up all over the place.. the buddha had to meditate like hell, he even starved himself to attain it.

monks spend many years doing some are successful some are not.. i think with science looking into these nirvana states of mind that they will figure out a way to end suffering for the human species which will usher in a whole different way of life with higher intelligence running things.

from my understanding of enlightenment it is a sort of rewiring of the brain where the signals go up pleasure side of the amygdala where as painful emotions and sensations go up the other side.

Brokeback Watchtower

Joe,

Thanks for bringing in a sorta reward system activation to the topic. And a possible debate about Freud verses Alder and Jung verse a combination of both of them.

I think it is in our evolution to explore as deep as possible into this present reality and come to some sort of conclusion about what is meaning and it may be a controlling algorithm in human intelligence, even despite the pain such an exploration may enclude. What will artificial intelligence conclude?

16

Governing Body Just got Spanked

by Bill Covert in

yesterday in watchtower documents there was published "flawed decrees conceal criminals.

barbara anderson examined the rnwt revision of lev.5:1 and revealed the wtb&ts to be deceptive as to applying it to congregation members being required to "tattle" on their brothers to expose sin.

she shows that is just not so as lev.5:1 has nothing to do with tattling.

Brokeback Watchtower

Don't worry it should all become clear soon,, I hope,, seems like emotions are running high (been there done that). When emotions take over the brains processing power writing may become very difficult as the drain of resources as signals get shot up the right side of the amygdala to process strong emotion(btdt). I see some connection but waiting for more clearification.

I firmly believe that the WTB&S has some very bad karma accumulated by its board of directors and the Governing Body and judgement day in the form of poetic justice is soon to happen and what we see happening in the news is just the tip of the iceberg with what the very near future holds for these evil delusional fucks.

17

Enlightenment, Will It Be A Rather Common Experience In The Future?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it has been said by some that an enlightened being came/happened once every 500 years, but now they seem to be popping up all over the place.. the buddha had to meditate like hell, he even starved himself to attain it.

monks spend many years doing some are successful some are not.. i think with science looking into these nirvana states of mind that they will figure out a way to end suffering for the human species which will usher in a whole different way of life with higher intelligence running things.

from my understanding of enlightenment it is a sort of rewiring of the brain where the signals go up pleasure side of the amygdala where as painful emotions and sensations go up the other side.

Brokeback Watchtower

I agree with most of what you say. I kinda half disagree with this:

In my opinion, you need to be about it, not talk about it.

Yes and no. The no part being "not talk about it" which I think is very reasonable accept for the part about silence is implied which I ask: Why not talk about it?. Why the vow of silence? Why is this a taboo subject?

17

Enlightenment, Will It Be A Rather Common Experience In The Future?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it has been said by some that an enlightened being came/happened once every 500 years, but now they seem to be popping up all over the place.. the buddha had to meditate like hell, he even starved himself to attain it.

monks spend many years doing some are successful some are not.. i think with science looking into these nirvana states of mind that they will figure out a way to end suffering for the human species which will usher in a whole different way of life with higher intelligence running things.

from my understanding of enlightenment it is a sort of rewiring of the brain where the signals go up pleasure side of the amygdala where as painful emotions and sensations go up the other side.

Brokeback Watchtower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WxpFyk57zQ

4

Is The Governing Body Ethnocentic & Ego Centic?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

by the word enthnocentric i mean everyone in the watchtower culture or milieu,, since they are a part of a worldwide organization ethonicity .

and i would also conclude they are also very egocentric.

as far stages of human development that is only 2 rungs up the ladder 1)ego 2)entho.

Brokeback Watchtower

I was listening to Ken Wilber and it made me think of the retarded spiritual development of these corporation leaders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a27037CiL4I

4

Is The Governing Body Ethnocentic & Ego Centic?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

by the word enthnocentric i mean everyone in the watchtower culture or milieu,, since they are a part of a worldwide organization ethonicity .

and i would also conclude they are also very egocentric.

as far stages of human development that is only 2 rungs up the ladder 1)ego 2)entho.

Brokeback Watchtower

Thanks Steve for the other lopsided centricities.

Vid, I know I speak the obvious.

They definitely do not qualify for any spiritual teacher awards.

24

Interview with an Apostate: punkofnice (all about that funny Brit, Unky Punky)

by punkofnice in

tell us a little about yourself and your family.. racially a very mixed family.

we just looked like average white, working class brits.

dad was in the marine commandos in ww2.

Brokeback Watchtower

Fellow musician here although I don't play for any kind gig. Keep jamming man! It's good as we get older to get in touch with our talents. Very therapeutic.