Posts by Smoldering Wick

114

Hyghlandyrs Four Pillars, his Hygh Geas.

by Hyghlandyr in

jw
friends

some of you know that i have stated i am amoral.

that means that i have no moral system.

no ethical system either.

Smoldering Wick

I spent several months in Yahoo chat listening to Hyghlandyr. To be honest he made my skin crawl. Yet, I stayed...for a while, eventually being so repulsed that I did leave. I had made it my aim after leaving the JWs to be as open minded as possible, and to accept anyone's thoughts as relevant to discussion.

I am currently at the view that I cannot be completely nonjudgmental (although the thought of judgementalism makes me ill). There are certain people in this world that harm us either physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally. We are the protectors of our soul and stand guard against unwanted attacks. So as a protection, I must pick and choose my companions either in real life or online. Not only companions but people/things I allow into my mind and thoughts.

I have always been sensitive by nature. Getting an overwhelming "vibe" upon meeting a stranger was common. That gift came in handy when hiring or firing people. I have to admit the "vibe" I got on day-one of encountering Hygh in chat was very strong. I was effected immediately. I have always said that there is a fine line between madness and genius...and those on that line seem to meander back and forth across it. I don't wish to put Hygh in either of those categories, but to say that I think we all have a touch of both.

Reading Hygh's thoughts on this thread using a JW mindset (a mindset hard to rid even after leaving) my initial reaction still stands. Only now I have the mental image of a cute, cuddly bunny-bear demon. Which I suppose was his intention. Sort of a "be nice to me and I'll be nice to you" warning. Re-reading Hygh's thoughts using my newly created opened mind, I can only construe that he, like all of us have been deeply and profoundly effected by the Watchtower Organization. I continue to be amazed at the damage and general mayhem that this overly restricted, judgmental and severely self-righteous organization has done to good people. Drugs, Alcoholism, Mental Illness/Depression, Suicide & Perversion to name a few.

I guess you could call this my Hygh-rant. When I first saw him starting to take an active part in this forum, I was concerned. How would his presence effect the group? I was taking a break from posting (for other reasons) and when I returned, considered not staying. But perhaps my approach should be as Hygh suggests...dismissal, "Oh that is just Hyghlandyr, you know how he is." That way I "do not have to examine" myself "in light of" my "challenges, intellectual, or" my "actions." I would hate to admit that in peering into his "insane" mind, I would somehow see reflections of a part of myself.

I have to admit, however...that the people who tend to show their fangs to the world are the ones most in pain. It's their way of protecting their soul. In the months of listening to him on Yahoo chat, I was also exposed to the other side of Hyghlandyr...the protective father, devoted husband and good friend. I was quite taken aback when I saw that he is actually very good looking. LOL

Therefore, in light of those things...I will try to maintain the Hygh-bunny image in my mind as long as possible.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire

11

Sadly, this is not a joke.

by dedalus in

jw
friends

http://www.catholicshopper.com/products/inspirational_sport_statues.html .

this may be the one dumb thing witnesses haven't thought up yet.. dedalus

Smoldering Wick

Is God in this thread?

33

I need your prayers please

by WildHorses in

jw
friends

i was at the hospital all day with my best friend, mattie.

she had a biopsy on her colon this morning.

they are looking for cancer, seeing they can't seem to find anything else causing her problem.

Smoldering Wick

Sorry this is late....

I haven't said a prayer in quite a while, but friends are always in my thoughts.

Warm wishes of healing,

Wick

http://www.rosebriar.uk.com/greetings/friendprayer.html

8

"Frailty" might be a good movie to watch

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

this new movie has an interesting theme: religious fanaticism that goes bad and leads to a murerous cult ofb three, with mind control and all.

with the recent murders by witnesses who have become disillusioned with their faith, it might be a good watch:.

"frailty," which opens today in the new york metropolitan region, is the directorial debut of bill paxton, who stars as dad.

Smoldering Wick

Wow, Thanks! That does sound interesting. I wonder how long it will take to get down to the bottom of the US where I live.

I went ahead and pasted the article in case someone doesn't want to enter their name & password.

April 12, 2002

MOVIE REVIEW | 'FRAILTY'

When Dad Marches to a Terrifying Drummer

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Ultimate cinematic horror — the kind that slithers through your mind leaving a slimy residue of paranoia — is not a matter of trying to pass off a larger, more monstrous lizard than the one before as the latest and scariest incarnation of evil. It's usually something unseen, a force lurking in the darkness and left to the imagination. In "Frailty," a metaphysical thriller with few special effects, that horror is the righteously homicidal agenda that a God-fearing father instills in his children when his relationship with God suddenly warps into a fearful psychosis.

The warping takes place early in the movie, when Dad (that's all he's known as), a widower bringing up two young sons in a rural Texas village near Dallas, sits them down and explains with urgent gravity that he's had a vision. God, he informs Fenton (Matt O'Leary), who is 12, and Adam (Jeremy Sumpter), who is 9, has appeared to him in the form of an angel announcing that Judgment Day is at hand. For unknown reasons, God has chosen the three of them to hunt down and destroy demons disguised as people.

God, continues the father, will soon identify these demons, as well as the weapons needed to destroy them. And soon enough, Dad, while driving through the countryside, notices beams of sunlight slanting down on a shack. He stops his van, goes inside and discovers the shafts alighting on an ax stuck in a tree stump. Days later, while doing mechanical work under a car, Dad receives the names of the demons to be destroyed from a grim-faced golden-winged angel (the movie's only visual representation of a heavenly being).

James Hamilton/Lions Gate Films
In "Frailty," his debut as a director, Bill Paxton also stars as a father intent on killing human demons.

Terror, Timing and a Fanatic's Tale (March 31, 2002)

Motion Pictures Paxton, Bill

The first victim is a woman who is kidnapped from her home and certified as demonic when Dad puts his hands on her arms and experiences what appear to be severe electric shocks from the evil inside. Those jolts prove the presence of demons, he tells his children, and so the ax must fall. There are more killings to come. All are witnessed by the boys, although not by us, since the camera discreetly cuts away from the carnage.

"Frailty," which opens today in the New York metropolitan region, is the directorial debut of Bill Paxton, who stars as Dad. It is a meditation on faith of several different kinds. Religious faith and a belief in the miraculous is one. Faith in oneself and one's convictions is another. But by far the most important and troubling faith the movie explores is the instinctive faith children place in their parents.

Mr. Paxton's Dad may be the most terrifying father to appear in a horror film since Jack Nicholson went crazily homicidal in "The Shining." But at moments, he is also one of the most caring and solicitous. Intensely devoted to his sons, he is a proud and protective father so long as they follow his agenda. Even after an angel informs him that Fenton is a demon, Dad refuses to believe it. So that the boy might discover God, Dad locks Fenton in a dungeon, which the boy dug with his own hands, for a week without food and only a glass of water until God appears.

"Frailty" may be only a genre film, but it forcefully reminds us of the degree to which all of us are our parents' ideological captives when we're children. Religious and political indoctrination (or osmosis) from seemingly omniscient parents, after all, is how most ideology is handed down. And in an age when intolerant fundamentalist faith is once again ascendant, it is a theme worth dwelling on.

Brent Hanley's tautly constructed screenplay adds a clever twist by throwing in a generation gap. Fenton who is 12 and old enough to think for himself, decides his father has gone crazy and begs Adam to flee with him. But Adam, much as he adores his older brother, blindly adheres to his father's program.

The story is told in flashbacks by the grown-up Fenton (Matthew McConaghey) who, years after a series of unsolved killings known as the "God's Hands" case, visits F.B.I. headquarters and relates his family history to Agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe). He names his brother, Adam, as the serial killer, although the truth turns out not to be that simple.

This creepy role is one of Mr. McConaghey's juiciest to date. And Mr. Boothe's federal agent is the latest and one of the meanest portraits in the actor's gallery of soulless flinty-eyed sadists. But the movie ultimately belongs to Mr. Paxton, whose Dad, but for his psychotic glitch, might pass as an ideally devoted working-class Texan father of two.

The screenplay has some clever tricks up its sleeve. One of the demons to be destroyed (not "murdered," Dad insists, since only people are murdered) is such a fuming stick of dynamite that there is a suggestion that Dad's inside track to God might indeed have given him special knowledge of who's naughty and who's nice. And the moment we think we're certain of who did what to whom, the movie throws in two or three extra plot turns to confound us.

"Frailty" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes profanity and scenes of violence.

FRAILTY

Directed by Bill Paxton; written by Brent Hanley; director of photography, Bill Butler; edited by Arnold Glassman; music by Brian Tyler; art direction by Nelson Coates and Kevin Cozen; produced by David Kirshner, David Blocker and Corey Sienega; released by Lions Gate Films. Running time: 100 minutes. This film is rated R.

WITH: Bill Paxton (Dad), Matthew McConaughey (Fenton Meiks), Matt O'Leary (Young Fenton Meiks), Levi Kreis (Adam Meiks), Jeremy Sumpter (Young Adam Meiks), Powers Boothe (Agent Wesley Doyle), Rebecca Tilney (Angel) and Luke Askew (Sheriff Smalls).

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire

14

Strange Brew (fluff)

by Cowboy in

jw
friends

wanted to be sure my fluff was clearly labeled as such.. something in chat last night got me to thinking about some of the strange mixed drinks i have willingly partaken of over the years.see if anybody can beat these.... (4) trash can punch-usually mixed in large quantities consisting of red hawaiian punch,mello yellow,pieces of fresh fruit,and ample quanities of everclear.

(3)cherry limeaides w/vodka.

(2)dr pepper w/brandy.

Smoldering Wick

Well, I'm sure nothing beats Everclear Punch in a trashcan...

...but, if you're in a hurry and don't like mixing drinks, here's something you'll like:

75-proof contains rum, gin, vodka, tequila and triple sec. Just add cola and sweet and sour mix for Long Island Iced Tea...

Here's some more recipes:
http://www.bartonbrands.com/bartonlit.html

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire

10

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS

by QUEENIE in

i would like to have platonic relaiionships with the opposite sex and then see where it goes from there but 4 now platonic is jst [email protected] i ain bad lookin for being 55 and slightly pleasing plump and wont break a mirror --- have a lovely sunday and happy easter too / peace

Smoldering Wick

HAPPY EASTER EGG TO YOU TOO QUEENIE!!!

...wait this is an old thread.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire

11

Reply to Datline email!!

by Naeblis in

jw
friends

subject: re: hey, what do you guys think about a datline on my pants?.

date: fri, 5 apr 2002 01:02:30 -0500 .

from: +nbc news dateline viewer mail < [email protected]> .

Smoldering Wick

Emmy Award-winning producer Rob Burnett has been executive producer of the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN since 1996. In addition to his role on the LATE SHOW, Burnett is the president and chief executive officer of Worldwide Pants Incorporated, Letterman's production company, where he oversees the hit CBS shows "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn." Worldwide Pants Incorporated currently has four shows on network television, including the critically-acclaimed series "Ed," for which Burnett is executive producer/writer.
http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/show_info/bios/ls_show_info_bios_rburnett.shtml

Click here to listen to different "pants" sayings:
http://www.utvs.com/knagl/sound/wwp/wwpsound.htm

Speaking of pants...(well, this has nothing to do with pants...but..I didn't have another segway.

I took this online test at:
http://www.mcsweetie.com/tests/

and the results were very disturbing...

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire

56

Do you Remember the Moment you Stopped Being a JW?

by Smoldering Wick in

jw
friends

"it only takes a moment.

a moment of sanity.

clarity.

Smoldering Wick

Thank you all for your responses, and kind words. I got a chill reading of your power to break free from those emotional chains.

Besides the guilt, I realize that fear held me captive as well. I have always feared what others would think of me if I did something wrong, I feared how JWs would judge me.

This was just sent by email about a minute ago:

"Your fears can be overcome if you deal with them properly.
Fear is an emotion. Emotions come wholly from within, and
have only the strength we allow them. As human beings, we
enjoy the possession of an intellect, and it is the
intellect, not the emotions that must be the supreme guiding
force of our lives if we are to know any measure of happiness
here. Emotions are the color of life; we would be drab
creatures indeed without them. But we must control those
emotions or they will control us. This is particularly true
of the emotion of fear, which if allowed free rein would
reduce all of us to trembling shadows of men, for whom only
death could bring release."
-John M. Wilson

Once I was able to work through all the emotions (and there are A LOT of them), intellect took over. You're right Scully, it was Prozac. Prozac artificially suppressed my emotions long enough for me to think.

I still am an emotional person by far...but, now I realize I am in control not them.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire

56

Do you Remember the Moment you Stopped Being a JW?

by Smoldering Wick in

jw
friends

"it only takes a moment.

a moment of sanity.

clarity.

Smoldering Wick

"It only takes a moment. A moment of sanity. Clarity. A moment in which you know, deep inside yourself, that you've had enough. You've lived in pain too long. It's time to change." -When God Becomes A Drug Breaking the Chains of Religious Addiction & Abuse

My "moment" came packaged inside a green & yellow pill. That pill gave my brain just the right chemical to remove guilt.

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Like the endless kick of an unknown attacker as I curled up in helplessness. It was a series of things really. The kicks.

It was the fall of 1991, I couldn't have been happier. After auxiliary pioneering on and off throughout my life...I had finally reached my goal of completing a year as a full time pioneer. I was on my way to Pioneer School when I heard the news.

My best friend and her husband (my brother) were getting a Divorce. She was going to be Disfellowshipped. I was devastated. I had lost my best friend, my second parents and my childhood fantasy of "Living Happily Ever After" all in one fell swoop.

Then I heard more news. Brother L who had been painting a boat at the Island had slipped, hit his head and was killed instantly. A handsome man, father of two and a great husband. The first talk he gave at the hall...he was so excited, he forgot to buy himself some dress shoes. He wore his purple tennis shoes on stage. He wasn't crazy...just loved life. He had been a Mexican Actor before becoming a witness...and he was hilarious. I remember video taping one of his spontaneous comedic flashes of genius at a party...I couldn't even hold the video camera straight I was laughing so hard and had to pee. I visited his widow several months after he died to give her the tape as my final good-bye.

As it turns out, his best friend Brother M...a Ministerial Servant at our hall (father of 3, loving husband)...who had brought Brother L "into the truth" took the accidental death of his dear companion much harder than we all realized. There were rumors he was depressed. But, he seemed like such a strong person. The elders took turns trying to "help" him. Just when they thought he was going to be ok...he sat down quietly in his music store, put a gun to his head and disappeared.

They say bad things come in three...but, someone forgot to stop counting. There was another suicide in our hall...a young boy, 17 and a gun. A seizure took another brother, who had finally gotten out on his own and into his new condo. Then there was Amanda.

Amanda was nine. She wanted to be baptized before she died. She was...a pool was set up in her back yard. She loved God & life and we loved her. She's buried under a beautiful Fresno tree that whispers of waves as the warm ocean breeze blows through it's branches.

...and on it goes. The kicking...

I remember looking into the mirror once and seeing a lifeless, empty shell. I guess that happy self had retreated temporarily until life became more kind. I walked around in that empty shell for some time barely acknowledging the kicking as it became more frequent. Slowly my world was crumbling...a career loss, a business loss, my home gone, my son's health gone, as was mine.

I was there at all the meetings and service. The me that was left anyway. I felt guilty when I didn't go. I felt guilty for crying when someone would ask me how I was feeling.

That's when the little yellow & green pill that saved my life (in more ways than I realized then) came into the picture. It was a routine visit to one of my son's doctors. As, I sat on the couch in front of him...he gently held up a mirror and showed me myself. I had seen that ghostly image before...but, this time the light was on.

"You have Major Depression" he told me. I hated him. What did he know? I'm smart, funny...I was always smiling...I lit up a room when I walked in...and most of all I had the "Truth." I wondered why he couldn't see that part of me.

My "moment" came packaged inside a green & yellow pill. That pill gave my brain just the right chemical to remove guilt. I no longer cried when someone asked me how I was feeling. My life began one Thursday evening around 6:45pm when I made a conscious decision without guilt of staying home from the meeting. I never went back.

Did I still think it was the "Truth" that evening? Sure. All those little "wait on Jehovah" doubts wouldn't resurface until a few months later.

I read terms on my monitor like "Walking Wounded" & RAW (Raised As Witnesses). I met people who were lifeless just like me...but, those connections somehow started to bring us back, slowly.

It only took a moment. A moment of sanity. Clarity. A moment in which I knew, deep inside myself, that I'd had enough. I'd lived in pain too long. It was time to change...and I did.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire

8

REPENT! The End is (more or less) NEAR!

by Smoldering Wick in

jw
friends

the armageddon watch - repent!

there is so much hype on the internet actually everywhere about the end of the world and the new world order.

there are.... books printed on the subject: .

Smoldering Wick

SixofNine-So that explains the odd responses I've been getting to my "pole shifters" reference in the personals ads.

Six...next time reference 'shape shifters' and see what (I mean who) turns up. Along this same line, however, it has been noted that some Pole Dancers are shiftingto better causes...
Women complete pole dancing marathon
Four British women have completed a 24-hour pole dancing marathon to raise money for cancer research.The exotic dancers say they had to battle through the pain barrier after suffering blistering and grazing within two hours.

Toni-Louise, Jade, Storm and Francesca were raising money for the Cancer Research Campaign at the For Your Eyes Only club in Mayfair, London.The women broke a 22-hour 'record' set by a team of Americans, but their efforts will not be officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.The women, dressed in skimpy union jack bikinis danced individually in 20-minute bursts.

The club's assistant manager, Helena Sonne, says she is proud of the team as it was a tough record to establish.Storm, 18, explained: "The constant swinging on the pole really took its toll. I suffered huge blisters on my palms and abrasions on my thighs."A spokeswoman for the Cancer Research Campaign told Ananova: "We're used to people doing all kinds of weird, wonderful and whacky things to raise money, but this is the first time we've had pole dancers supporting us."A spokeswoman for the Guinness Book of Records says records do exist for marathon dancing but not specifically for pole dancing.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_375431.html

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." ~Voltaire