Posts by Ravyn

147

Gettin' Personal here.......

by Frannie Banannie in

jw
friends

thanks to little toe's piquing my interest on this subject, i hafta ask it...... .

has anyone here had any personal spiritual experiences and is anyone here brave enough to describe/relate any personal spiritual experiences they've had, whether pre-borg, during being borganized or post-borg?

to be more specific, have you ever seen any angels or spirit creatures, been made aware of their presence in any way, interacted with or communicated with them, or had dream/visions...etc?

Ravyn

Dear Brummie,

beautiful putty!

I have hesitated to talk about it, because I thought most people would really think I was messed up(it does not help when there is schizophrenia in the family and you live most of your life waiting for the other shoe to drop...)but...I had an experience similar to yours but not with Jesus. This is where I hesitate....but let me set the situation....

it was my first real Christmas after I left JWs. I always secretly loved the feeling of Christmas and would allow myself to share in it even when I was one. All the lights and holly and xmas tree and Santa...it was just so appealing to me. I never really got into the Nativity part, for me the attraction was in the eggnog and mistletoe and stockings and reindeer.... so anyway I started buying every children's book I could find on Santa Claus..all the stories and fables and myths and I got very attcahed to him. He became real to me. Well we didn't have alot of money and I dug up a poor pine tree out of the yard and potted it---it looked worse than Charlie Brown's tree...we had just moved there and knew no one. The day before Xmas a red jeep cherokee drives up the drive and Santa gets out. I am thinking 'who the heck is this and how did he know we lived here?' and he hands me a xmas bag with two gifts in it and without a word the man gets back in the car. I open my gift---the one with the girly paper---and it is pajamas in my size....and my husband got a sweat shirt. Now I don't claim this to be anything other than human...but it was odd and it made me even more determined to find out more about this mythology. Something moved this person to dress up like Santa and give gifts to complete strangers and that can't be bad, can it?

So anyway a couple more xmases go by and each one is a little better than the last for us. And about two years ago I decided I wanted a big porcelain Santa doll I saw on eBay. I was afraid it would go over $100 as he ones n the store sold for that much, but something told me to bid and not worry about it. I did not even check back on the auction until it was over, I was afraid i would lose it and it would break my heart! I won the doll for like $20! I was so thrilled and I kept looking at the picture of it waiting for it to arrive. The doll had such a lovely kind face.

In some of my pagan research into xmas and the German/Norse mythos I of course came across Woden. This is what the saxons called him in southeastern England. He was called Odin and Wotan in other areas, but I was always partial to Woden. I found a wonderful picture of him and I realized it was the same face as my Santa doll! So that night I did a meditation on woden and I recited a list of his names....(they do this in the Catholic Church too for Jesus or Mary---I forget what they call it...)

I felt such a prescence and warmth...it was not voices or a vision or anything like that...it was just sheer affection and it felt like it was going both ways. I really felt a relationship start with Woden. One of his names is All-Father, and many times when I need to pray....and I can't bring myself to use the name Jehovah anymore....I use Woden. And I know that he is the same one I always prayed to as Father, no matter what I called him.

Now maybe this sounds childish to you, and maybe it can be explained away by psychology. But I don't want it to be diminished. It is important to me and it is a relationship, not just some mystickal experience. So I can understand you having a relationship with Jesus.

Sorry for this being so rambling and weird.... but hey you all know me by now!

Ravyn

147

Gettin' Personal here.......

by Frannie Banannie in

jw
friends

thanks to little toe's piquing my interest on this subject, i hafta ask it...... .

has anyone here had any personal spiritual experiences and is anyone here brave enough to describe/relate any personal spiritual experiences they've had, whether pre-borg, during being borganized or post-borg?

to be more specific, have you ever seen any angels or spirit creatures, been made aware of their presence in any way, interacted with or communicated with them, or had dream/visions...etc?

Ravyn

hey Gumby!

I don't know how other people here use the word, but to me "spiritual" does not mean the same as "religious" and "spirit" does not necessarily include any particualr deity/ies. I use "spirit" and "spiritual" to describe the non-material realm. So when I talk about spiritual experiences I only mean they are outside of human physical experience.

I don't want to say "super-human" or "para-normal" because I don't think those words cover it all--just parts.

I personally believe in "god", but I have to quantify it. I think there is some ULTIMATE ONE who was responsible for "creating" or "emanating" life(and I feel this was most likely on the feminine side of the yin/yang) however I do not think it requires worship or sacrifice or any of the other things that religion claims. And I think there are higher beings who humans have given the roles of gods and goddesses, who may or may not have taken advantage of the human need to worship and sacrifice. I think these hogher beings live in a realm that as humans we can only describe as "spirit". And I think we as humans carry that same capability and possibility and that is why we can communicate with the "spirit" albeit in an immature and undeveloped way. But we are evolving. And when we get to the level of being able to leave the physical and material we will also go on to that place. And from there who knows where we will go? But I believe once life starts it cannot stop, just change when necessary.

the way this translates for me is that one human lifetime is nnot long enough to evolve so I believe in reincarnation. and I think the further along in our evolution we go--the more "memories" and "spirituality" we will acquire. I also think it is different for all people and that even the ones who do not experience it in the same way, or have memories, just by being open to it(inviting it even as some have said they did and were disappointed) is a proof of the same evolution. I don't believe anyone will be left behind, but that is a common human fear. Hence all the armageddon and ragnarok nightmares.

Just more fodder for religion.

Ravyn

147

Gettin' Personal here.......

by Frannie Banannie in

jw
friends

thanks to little toe's piquing my interest on this subject, i hafta ask it...... .

has anyone here had any personal spiritual experiences and is anyone here brave enough to describe/relate any personal spiritual experiences they've had, whether pre-borg, during being borganized or post-borg?

to be more specific, have you ever seen any angels or spirit creatures, been made aware of their presence in any way, interacted with or communicated with them, or had dream/visions...etc?

Ravyn

the fear reaction most people have toward spirits is usually learned behavior from religious prejudice. Did anyone in the biblestories ever run away in fear when they met an angel? I don't think so. Talking snakes, talking donkeys, even Satan himself--don't remember anyone running away screaming...

I don't know anyone who has unlearned this religious prejudice who is still afraid of spirits. remember the movie Sixth Sense? It was all just a miscommunication thing.

After they got to know Caspar--they were all cool....

Ravyn

84

Are you ever surprised at who is attracted to whom here?

by berylblue in

jw
friends

you lurkers.

the ones who read this board just to observe everything that's going on.

never say a word, except on very rare occasions.

Ravyn

aww Francois---you make me wish I had a single pretty relative to fix you up with! you are a good guy. I have a feeling if we ever got together for lunch or coffee---the sparks would fly whether we wanted them to or not...you are a sexy guy. and I suspect, an accomplished flirt.

BREAL! just jump in hunny---dont worry about the flames.....you won't get burned too badly if you wear your flame-proof suit! I don't know about the cliques---I am kinda clique-blind---but the intellectual stuff and the repeat posts---JUST DO IT! don't let anyone intimidate you here! And kgfree---you fit in perfectly well---you too...just go for it!

Ravyn

147

Gettin' Personal here.......

by Frannie Banannie in

jw
friends

thanks to little toe's piquing my interest on this subject, i hafta ask it...... .

has anyone here had any personal spiritual experiences and is anyone here brave enough to describe/relate any personal spiritual experiences they've had, whether pre-borg, during being borganized or post-borg?

to be more specific, have you ever seen any angels or spirit creatures, been made aware of their presence in any way, interacted with or communicated with them, or had dream/visions...etc?

Ravyn

hey Frannie!

I was in chat last night with Little Witch and Red Witch and some of the similarities of our experiences were down right eerie. I had many 'spirit' encounters even before I was old enough to know what they were...things my parents called imaginary friends, or demons etc. I have had alot of synchronicities and other such, deja-vu and only what could be termed lucid dreaming or astral travel.

I had a series of dreams that were over the course of about ten years of another me in another life in another time. I progressively dreamed this life. It took about ten years but I dreamed up to my death, and it really scared me because it was a year older than I was. I physically traveled 2000 miles to place I had never been before and I actually found my own grave! I found records of this woman who I dreamed had been me. There was no way I ever heard of her before--she was a nobody. But not only did I know everything about her life, I have also met people in this life who I felt I knew before from that one. But most on this board dismiss this for mental illness or self-induced hypnosis --so I don't go into alot of detail.

To me these things are undeniable. My husband has had many experiences of this nature too. I could not be paired up with anyone who was not spiritual and mystick like myself.

Ravyn

84

Are you ever surprised at who is attracted to whom here?

by berylblue in

jw
friends

you lurkers.

the ones who read this board just to observe everything that's going on.

never say a word, except on very rare occasions.

Ravyn

what surprises me alot of times are the ones I just don't jell with. It is not usually a permanent thing--sometimes just for a post or two. But it is enough for me to not read or post sometimes. MY big surprise is how much KGB's opinion of me counts. Maybe he reminds me of someone? I don't know. But we talked things out in PM and are much better now thanks. But he had me crying a couple of times. No one else on here ever did that. Logan(Bradley) can just bite me about 75% of the time---but that does not mean I don't like him. And Ona lets me get him riled up when I don't even intend to---not sure why I can press his buttons either. Some of the women I feel bad about not agreeing with, I feel like I have hurt some feelings a couple of times and I hope I didn't. But honestly, I never have gotten on as well with females as with males...I grew up a daddy's girl and had older boys to play with, and well after puberty....lets just say the girls usually hated me. I do not have a relationship with my mother either, so I just don't have many female friends. More on this board than I have ever had before!

I really have a problem with Christianity and I hope that when I say things that are cutting and bitter I don't hurt people personally, I don't mean to. But some of you I just want to SHAKE! anyway....

it is trip being here isn't it?

Ravyn

PS out of posts so here are two cool links to some 1970's music that bring back childhood memories for me---enjoy!

http://users.cis.net/sammy/bllyhero.htm

http://users.cis.net/sammy/paprlace.htm

2

Man who claimed boss a witch to stand trial

by NeonMadman in

item 4083 posted: thu, aug. 21 2003 weblogged by religion news blog.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4083-man_who_claimed_boss_a_witch_to_stand_trial.html .

las vegas review-journal(usa), aug. 19, 2003. http://infobrix.yellowbrix.com.

Ravyn

I would ask the guy WHY he thot he was cursed in the first place......

black magic, as understood by the Mexican culture is a real thing, however--without a motive of some kind it does fall into the realm of schizoid paranoia.

In Mexico just the accusation of witchcraft would have gotten the attention of atleast a priest and possibly the police. But the thing to prove would be what kind of motive the witch had for cursing someone.

you can't look at this from the angle of most US citizens, you gotta look at it from the culture of the ones involved. I hope it is treated fairly in US courts.

Ravyn

41

How Do I Get Rid of This?

by Big Tex in

have you ever had your eyelid twitch uncontrollably?

it's driving me crazy.

it's been going on over a year.

Ravyn

Tex---you may need a neck adjustment too---try a chiropracter or a massage therapist if the calcium does not work.

magnesium is good to combo with it like was suggested. B6 helps too.

Ravyn

6

dilemna--what would YOU do?

by Ravyn in

jw
friends

ok, lee and i rented a nice little house from a sweet couple for over two years when we lived in tn.

it was the only good thing about tn.

we had nice neighbors and wonderful landlords.

Ravyn

ok, Lee and I rented a nice little house from a sweet couple for over two years when we lived in TN. It was the only good thing about TN. We had nice neighbors and wonderful landlords. We got to know the landlords, but not as personal friends. We knew their kid and their health troubles and they invited us to their revivals(but we never went) but we considered them more than landlords. The next door neighbors were very nice too...we never saw her, as she had severe anxiety problems and paranoia and rarely left the house without her husband. Her husband was a good guy tho and we exchanged little christmas gifts and did each other's yard work when one of our mowers was needing repairs. They had a baby just weeks before we moved.

Here's the deal: the old neighbors have been keeping in touch with email...it seems she is quite capable of communication on the pc --more so than she could ever have been in person. In fact I know more about her now than the two years we lived not 50 feet from each other. I regularly get pics of the baby, and hear all her news etc... We also keep in contact with the old landlords, but not as often as the neighbors. Maybe once amonth or so. And the last email was discouraging, it seems he is having even more health trouble and frankly I dont think he will live another 5 yrs, and he is a young man. His wife emailed me and told me he is not working anymore and she is working 7 days a week. They wanted to sell us the house, but Lee was out of work and we had to move to find work. I still feel bad, because I know what a burden that house is, and the economy is not going to allow them to sell it, it was his childhood home. I hoped they would find decent tenants for everyone's sake. The family across the street are good folks too, with two teen boys and a bunch of weiner dogs who won't stay in their yard- and I also worried about the new tenants being nice people for their sakes too. Well the new tenants are apparently NOT decent or nice.

The neighbor emails me and tells me they are drug dealers and that she has seen the actual exchange of money and dope. She also says they are neglectful of two young toddlers, careless- like daddy chases them on a riding lawn mower as a game...and they are often in the yard unattended(no fence and on a street). She wants me to put a bug in the landlords ear. Thing is, I don't know if this is real or part of her paranoia. I also do not know if the landlords knew these people before they rented to them and might be friends or relatives. She and her husband do not want to get legally involved, really with her anxiety problems she would never make it to court or speaking with police or anything like that. I don't feel I am good enough friends with landlords to just lay this on them like this---I mean they have enough trouble without worrying about losing the income from the tenants(if there is nothing wrong but the neighbors paranoia that is). and how could I explain how I know this stuff without mentioning the neighbors specifically? Well I have a couple of options as I see it.

I know the uncle of the landlord very well. I could call him and explain it and put a bug in his ear. But this is a large family and while they are related, they don't know each other except to see one another at funerals and reunions. The other option is that we still have friends who live in that town and he was the former Chief of Police and still has connections. Should I give him a call and explain this to him, and have him run some info on these tenants? The neighbors told me their names. The uncle and the policeman are VERY good friends.

If they are dealing drugs--I would feel really bad if I found out the boys across the street got sucked into that. They were good boys and their father is the mechanic who rebuilt an engine for us for little labor cost.

Well I would not be getting involved except the neighbor has been begging me in emails almost daily to say something to someone because she is scared to do it herself. She did not want her name mentioned to the landlord...unless I HAD to....

So what do you think is the best course of action? My husband is leaning toward calling our police friends this week end with the story. I am thinking it might be better to talk to the uncle first.

Ravyn

39

The Scriptures

by KGB in

jw
friends

the scriptures are some of the oldest books in the world known to man with dates included now how do you suppose that can be, that these books have survived this long, many thousands of years ?

hmmmmmm i don't see any other book on the shelf as long as this book not even any other history book as far as that goes, now i wonder why a book that supposedly is nothing more than a lie or uninspired as some of you put it would survive that long.

i wonder how christianity has lasted as long as it has if it is all just a lie.

Ravyn

Incidentally, there is no origin in the hebrew language for the word "amen" ...however there is the origin of it in ancient Egypt where the Sun God was named Amen-hotep. and later became Amun-Ra.

Ravyn