Monthly Archives: November 2017

#20 Something, #20-Somethings, #30-Somethings, Science, Teens

Science Puzzles

Just for Fun, some science questions. I don’t have the answers, but the questions are amusing to think about.

  1. Why is Lightning jagged and zig-zaggy? Why doesn’t it travel in straight lines?
  2. A storm happens. Lightning strikes a Lake. Let’s say the lake is 1 mile, across. One foot below the surface of the water, is a Trout fish. It dies from the Lightning Zap. Question: But how deep in the lake would it need to be, to be unfazed?
  3. . A rainbow is colored, curved and does not appear to be moving. Yet, the Northern Lights are also colored, they wave and swirl and don’t stay still. Why the difference?
  4. What is “Avagadro’s Number”?
  5.  What is “Plank’s Constant”?
  6. The upper windshields on many cars are blue glass, but why blue? Why not red or orange? Some sunglasses have an Orange-ish/brown tint. Why not car windshields?
  7. Astronomy. The Big Bang. It’s a theory. Did you know that the Big Bang Theory didn’t come along until 1927? What did most everyone believe in 1925?

OK, that’s enough nerdiness for one day. (smile). I post about several different topics at:  thewordpressowl.wordpress.com   –Relationships, Music, Books, TV & more.  🙂

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#Christianity, #Churches, Privacy

Church Membership & Personal Info

7 Comments

So! You visit a new church. You visit 4 times. You decide you like it there. You decide to become a member.  So you fill out a Membership Application.

STOP!

Have you ever stopped to realize: Seriously? Was it necessary for anyone who wanted to become a Christian to “apply” for nembership at say, the Church of Corinth? Or the Church of Philippians? Or Thessolonica? I seriously doubt it! It was very likely enough to convert (not necessarily from there) and to simply keep on showing up!

Nowadays we have Computers and I have read online of Churches today who keep computer files on their members and even labeling some of them as “ANTAGONISTS” to the Pastor!, if they dare to question anything taught from the pulpit.  Or maybe ask too many questions, or bring up another view in a Bible study, etc. I’m serious! There have been testimonies online written about this. But they won’t announce that they’ve done that to you.
Really, do they *need* to know your annual income? Or even your occupation? (unless you’re a stripper, etc.) Do they ask you for your Social Security number?  Why? It’s none of their business! Maybe they don’t ask for your Social security number, but still…

Honestly, when was the last time you were physically sick but still at your home, not in a hospital, and the Pastor, or anyone else really, came out to your house out of “Agape-Love” to check on you? Very Seldom, I’ll bet.

So then, really, why should joining church need any more than your Name?

Do you really honestly *expect* your new Church to do a background check on every single member in their congregation? No? Then why do they even need your phone number? Or email address, or physical address for that matter. Really! What they care about is whether or not you show up for services! And seriously, why does your address and phone number really *need* to be “on file”? Let’s say your Church has 150 people in it, or more. Why can’t you simply give your phone number to 10 or 11  people you’ve become close to? Who else needs it? Why?

What if you kept regularly attending services without officially joining? Would they require you to join (fill out paperwork) or leave? Is that Biblical?

Your privacy can be abused, even in Church. It isn’t necessary for Salvation. But most folks just follow along, never questioning….   Click comments, above the beginning of this post, then keep scrolling down to see all of them.  Thanks.

 

 

 

#20 Something, #Boundaries, #HSP, #Love, #Relationships

“Dear HSP, Depressed, and Sensitive

Dear HSP, Depressed and “Sensitive”,

We all deserve to be Happy.

Personal-growth, happy experiences and emotional health, matter.

Therefore, I’m going to make 2018 a better year. By not wasting any more time being endlessly patient, or to continue tolerating others who practically “glorify sickness”, or broken-ness, or Autism, or Depression or introversion, or “sensitivity”.

I WAS THERE, when you were hurting. I WAS THERE when you needed Understanding! I WAS THERE when you needed someone to listen. And I did. For far too long.
And you never got better.
After all this time, you’re as miserable and struggling as ever and it has now become a matter of my own self-preservation!

I can’t take anymore. Life is passing *me* by, and I was still patient with you! But you’ve exhausted me.

Since Love is a mutual thing, even among friends, I’m leaving.      To make my own better times. While I still can. Before I’m too old.

I owe this to myself. We all do. Without guilt. They say: “Life is too short” and dealing with all of this is the proof! But no more. My personal happiness has been denied too long and “caring” has sucked me dry. Meanwhile, as the months, and even years went by, LIFE has been passing me by. It isn’t right. It isn’t Healthy! Sometimes I feel like you are hiding behind “being sensitive” as an excuse to have folks be extra-nice to you as you make practically zero efforts to improve anything. What *are* you doing? How “caring” are you?

So, I hope you find a good therapist. And good medication from a Doctor if you need it. Or a different & better medication from your doctor if your current one isn’t working. I’m done with waiting for better times, someday.

I can’t wait another year for you to get better.
I *had* patience, lots of it, already. But you have to *want* to get better! Do you? What steps are you taking right now to become happier? To have less stress? To smile and laugh more. To be more confident. To be less rattled.
I can’t fix you. And a healthy person wouldn’t want me trying to “fix” them.

Broken people don’t make healthy couples!  So, work on yourself.
The Sun is out. The air is fresh. And there’s a world of Happy, yes happy, experiences and people out there. It’s high-time I enjoyed them!  Starting now. So I’m moving on and doing that!  This is nothing for me to apologize for or feel guilty about.
I do not mean any harm. I wish you well. I hope you find happiness, but it can no longer be with me. I was there for you, for too long. Hiding behind “being sensitive” is no excuse for your continued lack of action. Go get some professional help.

#Self-Preservation #Happiness #Survival #HSP #Depression #Relationships

#Boundaries, #HSP, #Relationships, Psychology

HSP. Highly Sensitive Person.

I didn’t know it was “a thing”. Or is it? What do *you* think about it?

All of a sudden I am seeing posts written about something called a HSP, a “Highly Sensitive Person.”

I can understand being an Introvert. Some folks need more alone time. Or aren’t as talkative. But—

I just shake my head over this one. I am not a psychologist, but in my everyday layman’s opinion—this takes Introversion to a whole new level. If it were on-the-job, I have a hard time seeing how it *wouldn’t* be a disability! My opinion.

It is even tempting to say this is a new “fad ailment” or even a very slick passive-aggressive way of manipulating others. Here’s how: Many people back-down when with an overbearing, “aggressive/naricissist/”steamroller” type of person. We are walking on eggshells. We give-in just to “keep the peace”. But this Highly Sensitive Person stuff could be the other end of the scale. In this case, likewise, you can easily be on eggshells as you have to be constantly alert, not wanting to offend, overwhelm or hurt the HSP. But in both cases, YOU are the one who is on-guard, changing *your* behavior, making all sorts of accomodations, while the other person gets their way, with you. Passive-Aggressive manipulation? But there’s more–

To say it quite plainly, you simply cannot be yourself with these people! And that shouldn’t be, in a healthy relationship. So many things “overwhelm” them. It’s too draining.

Each interaction is all about being careful. And you have to do it, because if you don’t you can be immediately slapped with being “selfish, uncaring or insensitive”. This could be a very slick way of “playing helpless” and a passive-aggressive way of getting others to bend to the HSP’s wants and needs. Just the opposite end of the scale from dealing with “the Steamroller.”

But perhaps it IS a real medical “thing”, being an HSP. But if that’s the case, how many of us signed up to become caregivers? Imagine a high-school girl going on a first date with someone like this, and she dumps him after the first date. When asked why she did that, she replies: “he was boring and everything bothered him. I hope he can find happiness but I’m not his nurse. He was too draining. And there are 6 other guys I can go out with who would be more fun.” I can see that. Easily!

But what if it isn’t a medical condition? Is it? Some of the things I read about it make it sound, to me,  a bit related to Autism. But I’m not a Doctor.  Either way, I believe in sincere friendships, and helping someone through a rough patch in Life. However, I’ll bet that people like this (HSP) will very likely still be like this 8 yrs. later. I feel they need help beyond what I can give them. Even if they don’t need help, it becomes too taxing to continue being so on-guard with them each time we are together and making one accomodation after another. Being considerate and caring are good things, but they can also sometimes become an endless Black Hole. And I believe “Compassion fatigue” is also a real thing.
#HSP #Manipulation #Passive-Aggressive #HighlySensitivePerson #Depression #Psychology

#20 Something, #Advice, #Happiness, #Relationships, Books, Psychology

Book: Self-Creation by Dr. George Weinberg

Self-Creation by Dr. George Weinberg. This is one of the top 5 best self-help books I’ve ever read!

Not another ultra-positive “fluff” book.  Insightful. Believable. Useful.

Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble Books should be able to get it for you. A great book that applies to real-life everyday situations.

#Books #Psychology #SelfHelp #Depression #PersonalGrowth #Adulting

#20 Something, #20-Somethings, #Apologetics, #Christianity, #Spirituality, Agnosticism, Philosophy

God vs. Agnosticism & comments on Spirituality

There probably IS a God!  Why do I think so? Keep reading.

But first, some comments on “Spirituality”. If I were sarcastic, I would say: Pfffftt! “Spirituality” is just a term that total Wimps use to describe themselves because they have no clue what they believe! All in the name of “open-mindedness”, of course.

And there you have it. Too often spiritual people can’t (or won’t) define anything!  They seek the “light” but fall apart when you ask them to describe just exactly what “light” is.
Or they get dreamy-eyed about “Oneness”. Really? Ever take a logic course? If there is no separation and “everything is united” and “all is one”, then you are also one with your Cat’s catbox and the garbage dump! Why not? Everything means everything and All means All. It’s not a buffet where you can pick this and leave that.

But that’s terrible. So they change the subject, or perhaps they accuse you of simply not being “evolved” enough. What a cop-out. People can believe what they want. But I have more respect for anyone who will define what they believe, and why they believe it. But onward to my main point:

Is there a God?  My answer: Very likely, yes! It makes more sense that there is. I will explain why.  But first, know that I myself am not a practicing member of anything. At least for now. So I hope that is less biased when I share this, in response to Agnosticism—

Atheists and Agnostics often say: There is no God and the Universe always was.
But one question keeps nagging at me, and its one you almost never see any agnostic or atheist ever address online:
HOW?–does our human consciousness, intelligence and self-awareness arise or come out of an IM-personal UN-conscious Universe? This is never addressed.

Is the planet Jupiter alive? Does it think? Is our Sun a conscious being? Most everyone believes “No.” Is the Milky Way galaxy a conscious, living and thinking being? I haven’t heard anyone say so. So how does an unthinking Universe create thinking beings? That’s one for all Agnostics and atheists to ponder.

Since we are self-aware and thinking beings, it would make more sense that we came from something else that also is self-aware and thinks. ie. God. But before the atheist freaks out, realize that even if we granted that, it does not automatically mean Christianity is true. We are simply establishing that there is some type of “intelligent, conscious creator”. Not any particular religion.

At this point, the atheist will say what they always say: Who made God?
The response is: God was always there. And who made the universe?
They will counter: The Universe was always there.
The response to that is: Then you have a problem, because if the Universe was always here, people very commonly don’t think of the Universe as being alive, or a thinking being. But if there was always some sort of Creative-Intelligence..i.e. a God who thinks, then it wouldn’t be such an impossible thing to create other “chips off the old block” who also think, like us.
So either blind, non-living matter was always here and how on earth did it ever create anything consciously aware, when it itself isn’t?–or–there was always some intelligent, creative power. Since we humans have intelligence, it seems more sensible that we came from something, or someone, that also has it.

#Agnosticism #Atheism #Spirituality #Skepticism #20-Somethings #Christianity #Philosophy