... how can I tactfully share this with them?
I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick
ghenrymt
JoinedPosts by ghenrymt
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9
Do Mormons=JWs in Depression?
by patio34 inhere's an interesting article today.
i think maybe these results extend to jws also for the same reasons.
it was in the los angeles times today.. study finds utah leads nation in antidepressant use.
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ghenrymt
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11
I'm depressed
by Elsewhere in.
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"as every one knows, there are mistakes in the bible" - the watchtower, april 15, 1928, p. 126 .
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ghenrymt
Just offering something that I find encouraging and helpful, and may be particularly applicable in view of the kinds of troubles you are having. It is not a "magic bullet" - I don't think there are any such, in most situations, but often our attitude and perceptions are really the largest part of our problems, even when there is a big practical component as well. Anyway, please take a peek (an open-mided peek) at this and see if it appeals to you:
http://www.effortlessprosperity.com/community/dailylessons.php
Love and regards,
GeorgeI would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick -
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ghenrymt
I read somewhere that the 5/7/5 syllable pattern is not a hard-and-fast rule, but the poem must be 17 syllables or less. and the poem must be about nature. If it's about something other than nature, then it's considered a different poetic form.
I need to learn more about the oriental poetic forms.
I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick -
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ghenrymt
It's 2,3,4,5
acetooxymercur-
ithiophene, yep!Okay, I know I'm weird.
Do you find it risible?
Actually, as I recall, the chemical was 2,3,4,5 TETRAacetooxymercurithiophene. I had to dump a couple of syllables. Even most professional chemists probably wouldn't notice.
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ghenrymt
Thermonuclear
their origins; projected
spaceward - solar flaresMurky and unclear
their destiny, dejected
refugees seek hope -
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ghenrymt
Quiet, dark midnight
Stars shine clearly and brightly
Aurora dances... doggerel
Post your own ...
I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick -
31
'Apostate' or something better???
by Latte indear all,.
i desperately feel that the grand title of apostate applies no more to ex jws than it does to the whole of active jws.. therefore, i am asking for some sort of alternative title for the wonderful people who post on here.
the word apostate strikes fear in the average dub.
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ghenrymt
I see myself as someone "who has forsaken the faith, principles, or party, to which he before adhered; esp., one who has forsaken his religion." Yes, indeed, and if that is what people say when they call me an apostate, I accept the label.
If asked to explain in my own words where I am now and why I left where I was for this place, I would say, I am no longer one who belongs to a group that is certain that their way is God's way and the only approved way. I don't think I want to belong to any such group, or will ever again.
Perhaps I have gone from being one who was certain he had found "the Truth" in one organization, to one who is searching for truth wherever it may be found. I now see that much of "the Truth" was anything but that, and I seriously question the fundamental underpinnigs of the religion.
So what does that make me? An "embracer of mystery?" (I like that one!) A "seeker of my own truth?" An "open-minded, eclectic sampler of many paradigms?" Perhaps "would-be mystic" is a good term for me.
I think the problem many of us have with the word "apostate" is that it retains the focus on what we left behind, as if it were the only thing of importance. It tends to invalidate where we are and wherever it may be that we are headed. That makes it a word of shame. "You left Jehovah's organization, and turned your back on the Truth!" it seems to say.
I propose that there is no suitable word for all of us. Take whatever new title you like, and leave the word "apostate" for the Witnesses to cling to. It just reflects their fear of thinking for themselves, really. Thus I think it is appropriate for them as JWs to use in reference to us, but not for us to use in reference to ourselves.
As far as where I have come from, and where I spent about 30 years of my life, is concerned, I am an ex-JW. I have no problem with that term.
I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick -
7
Talked with my "evil ex" today
by ghenrymt ini spoke with my ex-wife at some length today, just telling her about what the state of florida is doing to me and threatening me with, and what my prospects for the future are, including the possibility of spending a few years in prison.. (for those who don't know the story, this has to do with a dramatic reduction in my income, which was not followed in a timely way by a corresponding reduction in my child support obligation.
through a long series of misadventures, each compounding the previous one, i have gone from about $250,000 net worth to around $-100,000 nw in 5 years, and am now threatened with very dire consequences, including prison, by the legal system.
while i don't try to deny or evade responsibility for my actions, i contend that this has been largely a result of misplacing my love and faith and trust.).
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ghenrymt
Friends,
Trying to save the sanity of my 3rd wife, and keep my marriage to her from falling apart, I moved away from my kids in Florida to California in 1999. This also led to my being unable to continue paying child support in the amounts ordered by the court, since I proved unable to replace (or even earn close to) the income I had derived from the job(s) I left in Florida.
This may have been a mistake. Possibly I should have kissed the wife I loved goodbye and stopped trying to support her emotionally, in order to stay close to my kids and see them frequently, and to take fewer risks regarding my ability to support them. (This sort of situation provides a good argument against divorce and remarriage.) However, I weighed all factors at the time and decided as I did. The question is open, I suppose, how severely I should be penalized for my decision. I had intended and expected to earn enough money to finance the kids' coming to see me at least once or twice per year. That did not happen.
Custody is not a question here. Due to the circumstances surrounding my divorce, I did not contest my ex having primary physical custody. She immediately moved 70 miles away, allowing me to see the kids once a week. She subsequently remarried and moved another 50 or so miles away, reducing my visitation frequency to every two weeks.
There has been no visitation since I moved out of state, almost 3 years ago now - although I have talked with my children by telephone nearly every weekend, and we occasionally exchange letters and photographs by mail. Relations have become a bit strained since I became an ex-Dub.
In the past 6 years, I have been through an extended period of treatment for anxiety and depression (severe emotional illness), the loss of a career, bankruptcy and loss of all my assets, moving twice to very unfamiliar places, and separation and divorce from my 3rd wife, as well as leaving the religion I had been involved with for over 30 years. I was starting to rehabilitate myself financially and in general, when my ex-wife's lawsuit for child support enforcement was heard by the court.
I would have filed a timely petition for a downward modification of my child support obligation, but was misled by a public counselor in California, with the result that my ex's lawsuit preceded the petition. Therefore, I am being held to payments that are actually higher than my average income for the past 5 years, and due to the impossibility of my fulfilling the court's orders, I am being criminalized. The court will not hear my petition for downward modification until I pay a large fine or spend time in jail. I can't produce the money for the fine, and if I spend the time in jail I will emerge homeless, penniless, and without a job - not to mention, having given up nearly everything that I have been laying as a foundation for a new and possibly desirable life.
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Evening update: I FINALLY talked with an attorney who thinks he can help me. I am to fax him documentation tomorrow. He will look it over and get back to me. He knows the judge who is handling the case, which I think is a huge plus. He listened to my whole story (a much longer version than the summary I have posted here), and seems basically sympathetic.
This attorney encouraged me to consider teaching for a living, which is not too far from what I am doing now, actually, but would pay better, and is very much in line with my desires and general concept of my future path.
Love and regards,
George -
15
What about normalcy? Is it even an option?
by watergoddess inwhat about normalcy?
is it even an option?
am i hoping in vain for something that wont come?
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ghenrymt
I have never been "normal," and don't expect to be. I just concern myself with what I want to accomplish, or avoid. Begin normal is much too big a problem to tackle in and of itself. Break it down into small pieces, pick a few little ones that are important, and work on those.
Work on the things you can change, and as far as the really big problems go, either join a team that may have enuogh power to tackle them, or just learn to live with the status quo.
This probably doesn't make any sense, because I am realy too tired and sleepy to be doing this. Zzzzzz....
I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick -
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Greenhouse gas destroys the planet`s climate
by Erich ingreenhouse gas emission destroy the planet`s climate:.
from noaa magazine: .
november 2001 - january 2002 warmest on record in u.s.;.
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ghenrymt
Yes, and Hank Wesselman's shamanic visions of the future (published in three books that you can find on the major bookselling Websites, if you care to look) indicate that our civilization will die out as the result of a "flood," possibly sudden in nature, and leaving in its aftermath a much warmer global climate.
Wesselman cites a newspaper article from 1995, as I recall, that mentioned that if the ice sheet covering eastern Antractica were to detach and slide into the ocean, the result would be a tidal wave 1,000 to 1,500 feet high, that would demolish civilization globally in a matter of a few hours.
Because of our dependence on the global infrastructure which would be for all intents and purposes completely destroyed by this event, most of humanity would quickly die out, leaving only a few isolated pockets of survivors, people who were already living close to nature and did not depend on civilization for their long-term survival.
For the most part, objects made of iron would rapidly rust away, and since iron would no longer be readily available in quantity, there would be no future industrial ages, throughout the eons-long future history of humanity. Thus, in Wesselman's visions of the future 5,000 years hence, the people live in a permanent stone age.
Maybe this will happen.
I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick