FoTi
Crusader
Lakey, what a delightful group! Thanks for posting this. How does Bobby McFerrin get his voice up so high?
The Little Thread Which Grew - the Apollo '73 to Everything But
- Thread starter lkwdblds
- Start date
- Status
Lakey, what a delightful group! Thanks for posting this. How does Bobby McFerrin get his voice up so high?
Ted
Gold Meritorious Patron
afaceinthecrowd
Gold Meritorious Patron
What I bought into and Why, Part 3
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” Albert Einstein
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” Lao-tsu
When I was in 8th Grade and a Frosh in High School my older brother was living at home and commuting to college. His Major was Sociology and, after two years there, he moved away, got married and eventually earned a Masters in Sociology. The impact of these two years was huge for me. The tiny room that we shared was filled with books that I probably never would have come across in the rural small-town library I had been “haunting” for years. Books, for me, were my own personal “transporter” and “Time Machine” and, because of them, I could travel all over the world and centuries into the past and future.
During the ‘50’s there was TV show called, “I Lead 3 Lives” about a guy that was double agent for the FBI. Privately, that show was very “relative” to me as I was, more and more, leading 3 lives. One life was that of a “book worm”. By the time I was in 8th Grade my reading level, speed and comprehension tested in the 99th percentile. I read what I wanted to read at every opportunity. I would follow “lines of inquiry” in numerous subjects and the “Why’s” and “What’s” I delineated in my earlier post. Libraries were my “hollowed ground”, my “cathedral of worship”. When I was in a library, all the volumes on the shelves “spoke” to me…the feeling of “Life” and “Thought” from the books on the shelves was palpable. My personal Library has over 1,500 hardback “friends”. Although I am not able to read well or much anymore, it’s very comforting to have them around…they still “speak” to me.
Another life I was leading was that of a somewhat daredevil, mischief maker and partaker, hard-hitting jock and honors student. In many ways, I was a typical young boy…full of energy and lacking good sense. I was equally at home with, and accepted by, the “smart kids” and the “tough guys”. I rarely discussed my “library/inquiry” life with anyone…I just didn’t feel comfortable doing that…I just wanted to get along with everyone and was interested in their life and what went on in the world of others. Academically I was among "smart kids" of my class and athletically I was a pretty darn good all-around team sports player.
My 3rd life was that of the “Bad Son” that was under Lucifer’s spell and headed for Hell unless he "came to Jesus”. I did everything I could to spend as little of time as possible at that house. My parents hated each other and fought constantly. Sometimes I was their “weapon” of choice…”You’re the reason Face is turning out so bad, it’s all your fault,” etc. The “solution” that my parents had for my “evil” ways was to try and shove as much of their “Jesus” down my throat as they could, ridicule and carp at me continuously, slap my face regularly and, off and on, whip me, bare butt, with a razor stropper. The efficaciousness of their methodology served only to make me more determined than ever to never “give in", to stand my ground.
My brother’s college books were fascinating…everything from “Catcher in the Rye” to “Coming of Age in Samoa” to “The Status Seekers". Two of his books, one from his Astronomy class “The Creation of the Universe”, and one from his Comparative Religions class “The Tao Te Ching”, entranced me…befuddled me. Over the years of my “illicit” late night reading sessions I occasionally would have a feeling of “peace, uplifting 'elsewhereness' and wonderment” and I would slip outside the house and lay in the grass, gazing up into the stars, searching the Universe for answers to questions only “sensed” and not yet formulated in my child’s mind. I read the “Tao” and “Creation” several times and found many of the ideas and thoughts of Lao and Einstein to be amazingly in concert; I also knew I didn’t fully fathom the depth and breadth of what I was reading and spent many a night, looking out into the vastness of infinity, wanting so much to understand “It” all.
During the summer between 8th and 9th grade I made my “Declaration of Independence”. I was not going to be baptized when I was 14; I was not going to attend Church anymore; The next time a hand was laid on me, I was going to fight back and if that resulted in my being sent to County Juvenile Hall, so be it. My Declaration resulted in a form of “shunning”. For my daily chores I would get my 3 squares a day, a roof over my head and medical care if I got sick…anything else like my athletic equipment and insurance, clothes, etc. I would have to pay for myself. In short, I was on my own. It was sink or swim time and I took to the waters of freedom like a duck. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me and I wouldn’t trade those days—or any of my days for that matter—for anything.
I started doing odd jobs for neighbors and saved up enough money to buy one of those new 10 Speed bicycles. I was a good worker and was offered a job by the local butcher, cleaning up the shop several times a week after school and all day Saturday and Sunday. By the time I was 16 I could cut up a chicken in seconds, break down a side beef or hog, cut all the steaks and roasts, grind the sausage and hamburger and put together all the trays for the display cases on my own. I could run a cash register (before bar coding and automatic change machines) and handle customers with confidence and skill. I bought cool, nice threads for school and eventually had my own, pretty cool for High School, car.
I found High School to be very boring and very exciting. Most of my classes were with the same 25-30 students…the advanced College Prep crowd. I loved the sports, extra-curricular activities, student government and sang Bass in the Advanced/Madrigal Choir. I bought a Spanish guitar and got passably good on it. I did the bare minimum to get A’s & B’s but my main focus was my own personal reading, work, activities and athletics (football, basketball, baseball). The sports, activities and work not only kept me from getting in the trouble I was capable of and would have, they gave me confidence, self esteem and the certainty that I could fend for myself in this world. I was learning that, in the "outside" world, I wasn't such a "bad" person afterall.
And, I also learned that I really loved being with people, enjoyed talking with all types of people, working with people, helping people, being part of a team, doing something worthwhile and doing it well. I learned that there was a bigger world out there other than the “little world” of hypocritical Christianity and that was the world I wanted to live in, and I had my plan; get through High School, prepare to walk away and out into the world the day after graduation and somehow, someway go to college. I was going to go out into that bigger world and I was not going to ever look back. I had learned that I was not destined to be a super star but that I was a very good team player.
My quest was to find my place in this world…to find my “team”…and to find the answers to the questions I still didn’t even know how to articulate.
Face
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” Albert Einstein
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” Lao-tsu
When I was in 8th Grade and a Frosh in High School my older brother was living at home and commuting to college. His Major was Sociology and, after two years there, he moved away, got married and eventually earned a Masters in Sociology. The impact of these two years was huge for me. The tiny room that we shared was filled with books that I probably never would have come across in the rural small-town library I had been “haunting” for years. Books, for me, were my own personal “transporter” and “Time Machine” and, because of them, I could travel all over the world and centuries into the past and future.
During the ‘50’s there was TV show called, “I Lead 3 Lives” about a guy that was double agent for the FBI. Privately, that show was very “relative” to me as I was, more and more, leading 3 lives. One life was that of a “book worm”. By the time I was in 8th Grade my reading level, speed and comprehension tested in the 99th percentile. I read what I wanted to read at every opportunity. I would follow “lines of inquiry” in numerous subjects and the “Why’s” and “What’s” I delineated in my earlier post. Libraries were my “hollowed ground”, my “cathedral of worship”. When I was in a library, all the volumes on the shelves “spoke” to me…the feeling of “Life” and “Thought” from the books on the shelves was palpable. My personal Library has over 1,500 hardback “friends”. Although I am not able to read well or much anymore, it’s very comforting to have them around…they still “speak” to me.
Another life I was leading was that of a somewhat daredevil, mischief maker and partaker, hard-hitting jock and honors student. In many ways, I was a typical young boy…full of energy and lacking good sense. I was equally at home with, and accepted by, the “smart kids” and the “tough guys”. I rarely discussed my “library/inquiry” life with anyone…I just didn’t feel comfortable doing that…I just wanted to get along with everyone and was interested in their life and what went on in the world of others. Academically I was among "smart kids" of my class and athletically I was a pretty darn good all-around team sports player.
My 3rd life was that of the “Bad Son” that was under Lucifer’s spell and headed for Hell unless he "came to Jesus”. I did everything I could to spend as little of time as possible at that house. My parents hated each other and fought constantly. Sometimes I was their “weapon” of choice…”You’re the reason Face is turning out so bad, it’s all your fault,” etc. The “solution” that my parents had for my “evil” ways was to try and shove as much of their “Jesus” down my throat as they could, ridicule and carp at me continuously, slap my face regularly and, off and on, whip me, bare butt, with a razor stropper. The efficaciousness of their methodology served only to make me more determined than ever to never “give in", to stand my ground.
My brother’s college books were fascinating…everything from “Catcher in the Rye” to “Coming of Age in Samoa” to “The Status Seekers". Two of his books, one from his Astronomy class “The Creation of the Universe”, and one from his Comparative Religions class “The Tao Te Ching”, entranced me…befuddled me. Over the years of my “illicit” late night reading sessions I occasionally would have a feeling of “peace, uplifting 'elsewhereness' and wonderment” and I would slip outside the house and lay in the grass, gazing up into the stars, searching the Universe for answers to questions only “sensed” and not yet formulated in my child’s mind. I read the “Tao” and “Creation” several times and found many of the ideas and thoughts of Lao and Einstein to be amazingly in concert; I also knew I didn’t fully fathom the depth and breadth of what I was reading and spent many a night, looking out into the vastness of infinity, wanting so much to understand “It” all.
During the summer between 8th and 9th grade I made my “Declaration of Independence”. I was not going to be baptized when I was 14; I was not going to attend Church anymore; The next time a hand was laid on me, I was going to fight back and if that resulted in my being sent to County Juvenile Hall, so be it. My Declaration resulted in a form of “shunning”. For my daily chores I would get my 3 squares a day, a roof over my head and medical care if I got sick…anything else like my athletic equipment and insurance, clothes, etc. I would have to pay for myself. In short, I was on my own. It was sink or swim time and I took to the waters of freedom like a duck. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me and I wouldn’t trade those days—or any of my days for that matter—for anything.
I started doing odd jobs for neighbors and saved up enough money to buy one of those new 10 Speed bicycles. I was a good worker and was offered a job by the local butcher, cleaning up the shop several times a week after school and all day Saturday and Sunday. By the time I was 16 I could cut up a chicken in seconds, break down a side beef or hog, cut all the steaks and roasts, grind the sausage and hamburger and put together all the trays for the display cases on my own. I could run a cash register (before bar coding and automatic change machines) and handle customers with confidence and skill. I bought cool, nice threads for school and eventually had my own, pretty cool for High School, car.
I found High School to be very boring and very exciting. Most of my classes were with the same 25-30 students…the advanced College Prep crowd. I loved the sports, extra-curricular activities, student government and sang Bass in the Advanced/Madrigal Choir. I bought a Spanish guitar and got passably good on it. I did the bare minimum to get A’s & B’s but my main focus was my own personal reading, work, activities and athletics (football, basketball, baseball). The sports, activities and work not only kept me from getting in the trouble I was capable of and would have, they gave me confidence, self esteem and the certainty that I could fend for myself in this world. I was learning that, in the "outside" world, I wasn't such a "bad" person afterall.
And, I also learned that I really loved being with people, enjoyed talking with all types of people, working with people, helping people, being part of a team, doing something worthwhile and doing it well. I learned that there was a bigger world out there other than the “little world” of hypocritical Christianity and that was the world I wanted to live in, and I had my plan; get through High School, prepare to walk away and out into the world the day after graduation and somehow, someway go to college. I was going to go out into that bigger world and I was not going to ever look back. I had learned that I was not destined to be a super star but that I was a very good team player.
My quest was to find my place in this world…to find my “team”…and to find the answers to the questions I still didn’t even know how to articulate.
Face
Last edited:
The Magic Thetan
Patron with Honors
A Request for your help from The Magic Thetan
With regard to further ESMB postings, I would like to request your help in determining what to do, or not do, in that regard.
After my 1st ESMB post I got an overwhelming response.
After the posting of my 2nd Johnny Raff Chronicle, about “Hearing People Think”, I got an underwhelming response, although some of you were most kind in expressing your enjoyment of it, and to those my sincere appreciation.
So may I request some feedback that I can use to determine what to do next.
1) Did you read Chronicle Number - 2 4 August 201 Post # 4360 entitled, “Able to Hear people Think.”
2) If yes, what did you think of it, and was it of value to you?
3) Did you read post number 4441 5th August 2010, 10:11 PM entitled “Ron was not Source - The Tech was not Source - You are Source” It was posted on The Old Days Aboard the Apollo thread?, and if you did, what did you think of it, and was it of value to you?
4) My 3rd Johnny Raff Chronicle entitled “Trapped on the Road to Total Freedom” is seventeen pages long. Do you want me to:
A) Post the entire 18 pages?
B) Break it up into several postings, and if you answer yes to
this, how many parts?
I plan to release this post on both threads, The Apollo one and the My Story one, as I want to get it to as many people as possible. I apologize if that is something you cannot experience easily, and I will simply have to work on increasing my ability to experience anything.
It is my current intention to re-write and submit Chronicle Number - 1 so that it harmonizes better with the two rules of happy living I delineated at the beginning of the post.
Thanks for your answers.
All the Best, John
A Request for your help from The Magic Thetan
Chapter -1 Supplement Number 1-10082010
of
The Johnny Raff Chronicles - The Scientology Years
Chapter -1 Supplement Number 1-10082010
of
The Johnny Raff Chronicles - The Scientology Years
With regard to further ESMB postings, I would like to request your help in determining what to do, or not do, in that regard.
After my 1st ESMB post I got an overwhelming response.
After the posting of my 2nd Johnny Raff Chronicle, about “Hearing People Think”, I got an underwhelming response, although some of you were most kind in expressing your enjoyment of it, and to those my sincere appreciation.
So may I request some feedback that I can use to determine what to do next.
1) Did you read Chronicle Number - 2 4 August 201 Post # 4360 entitled, “Able to Hear people Think.”
2) If yes, what did you think of it, and was it of value to you?
3) Did you read post number 4441 5th August 2010, 10:11 PM entitled “Ron was not Source - The Tech was not Source - You are Source” It was posted on The Old Days Aboard the Apollo thread?, and if you did, what did you think of it, and was it of value to you?
4) My 3rd Johnny Raff Chronicle entitled “Trapped on the Road to Total Freedom” is seventeen pages long. Do you want me to:
A) Post the entire 18 pages?
B) Break it up into several postings, and if you answer yes to
this, how many parts?
I plan to release this post on both threads, The Apollo one and the My Story one, as I want to get it to as many people as possible. I apologize if that is something you cannot experience easily, and I will simply have to work on increasing my ability to experience anything.
It is my current intention to re-write and submit Chronicle Number - 1 so that it harmonizes better with the two rules of happy living I delineated at the beginning of the post.
Thanks for your answers.All the Best, John
afaceinthecrowd
Gold Meritorious Patron
afaceinthecrowd
Gold Meritorious Patron
Hi folks!
I was invited here by lkwdblds (Gawd, it's hard to spell his name!) some time ago in "OBITUARY" thread.
I don't understand much of your high-brow talks but it's interesting to hear what I can comprehend.
Please excuse poor Russian of 38 years old here.
Welcome!
It's okay, pal, we don't understand much of it either but we sure like pretending like we do!
I've got no excuse for being here so I'm not the one to excuse you for it.
I've known a few Russians...good folks!!
Face
With regard to further ESMB postings, I would like to request your help in determining what to do, or not do, in that regard.
After my 1st ESMB post I got an overwhelming response.
After the posting of my 2nd Johnny Raff Chronicle, about “Hearing People Think”, I got an underwhelming response, although some of you were most kind in expressing your enjoyment of it, and to those my sincere appreciation.
So may I request some feedback that I can use to determine what to do next.
1) Did you read Chronicle Number - 2 4 August 201 Post # 4360 entitled, “Able to Hear people Think.”
2) If yes, what did you think of it, and was it of value to you?
3) Did you read post number 4441 5th August 2010, 10:11 PM entitled “Ron was not Source - The Tech was not Source - You are Source” It was posted on The Old Days Aboard the Apollo thread?, and if you did, what did you think of it, and was it of value to you?
4) My 3rd Johnny Raff Chronicle entitled “Trapped on the Road to Total Freedom” is seventeen pages long. Do you want me to:
A) Post the entire 18 pages?
B) Break it up into several postings, and if you answer yes to
this, how many parts?
I plan to release this post on both threads, The Apollo one and the My Story one, as I want to get it to as many people as possible. I apologize if that is something you cannot experience easily, and I will simply have to work on increasing my ability to experience anything.
It is my current intention to re-write and submit Chronicle Number - 1 so that it harmonizes better with the two rules of happy living I delineated at the beginning of the post.
Since I indroduced myself in this respectable thread, I believe I can place my humble opinion.
John, you can do whatever you want here. It's just what you get back in response might become a big problem. to YOU!
Get real. People here aren't willing to buy anymore of the BS that was "everything and all" by CoS. Many (myself included) won't believe that Scientology (be it FreeZone or Indies) can deliver anything close to what's been described by Hubbard as "OT".
His comparison of OT to Merlin I bought.
But Merlin was Merlin. Legend is legend.
Let's not mix reality with magic.
If you can do some astounding things (which I believe you can) they are not to be attributed to L. Ron Hubbard but to your individual abilities...to your soul (in reality).
If you name your abilities as "OT abilities" it's YOUR business.
Just remember that throughout the history people have achieved the abilities way bigger than yours, and didn't call them "OT".
As an advice, keep it in mind that you have an audience here who are VERY-VERY disappointed with that ambiguous "state of OT"
SweetnessandLight
Crusader
Damn it all - I didn't make the cut!
Aw, honey...you make my cut of interesting posters that I would like to hear more from!
afaceinthecrowd
Gold Meritorious Patron
Aw, honey...you make my cut of interesting posters that I would like to hear more from!
Face
EP - Ethics Particle
Gold Meritorious Patron
You know what
I seldom do this - but my good friend Vadim's post here quoted, mirrors my thoughts precisely!
EP
I seldom do this - but my good friend Vadim's post here quoted, mirrors my thoughts precisely!
EP
SweetnessandLight
Crusader
Welcome Vadim!
Hi Vadi! Good to see you. You've changed your sig line a bit....I always thought cyrillic looked like it was partially backwards, but really now!
Pssst! Regarding this: "I was invited here by lkwdblds (Gawd, it's hard to spell his name!)", Vadi, just call him Lakey! It's o.k., really!
Hi Vadi! Good to see you. You've changed your sig line a bit....I always thought cyrillic looked like it was partially backwards, but really now!
Pssst! Regarding this: "I was invited here by lkwdblds (Gawd, it's hard to spell his name!)", Vadi, just call him Lakey! It's o.k., really!
SweetnessandLight
Crusader
Aw!!!
And poor dear Pugsley looks worried about it, too!
My dog didn't make the cut either.
And poor dear Pugsley looks worried about it, too!
Wow! Thank you, folks!
Yes, I'm Russian. I'm 38 years old. My name is above. And I'm not afraid of The Church of Scientogy (including any of their entities, like OSA) to ruin me, or to effect my life in any negative way.
I'm quite self-sufficient so as not to be affected by them. Their "reach" is not going to change my mind. Ever. They will never make me think the way they want. Ever.
OSA will have a hard time trying to deal with me.
I'm not afraid.
Yes, I'm Russian. I'm 38 years old. My name is above. And I'm not afraid of The Church of Scientogy (including any of their entities, like OSA) to ruin me, or to effect my life in any negative way.
I'm quite self-sufficient so as not to be affected by them. Their "reach" is not going to change my mind. Ever. They will never make me think the way they want. Ever.
OSA will have a hard time trying to deal with me.
I'm not afraid.
Well, I guess I'm not afraid of being affected by OSA is that my friends (who considered me as their friend until lately) still don't operate on those OSA practices... you know, in Russia any law comes to full force with great delays.
(When OSA comes to me, Scn here will be a history)
(When OSA comes to me, Scn here will be a history)
- Status