"Full-blown schizophrenia, though? No, that's totally debilitating" Yes and No. I'm related to and know my share of schizophrenics (real diagnosis, not just anecdotal internetting) and they can be quite functional. As long as they are on their medication. Even off their medication, they can be functional for periods of time. You make is sound like every schizo is so far gone they couldn't be having a conversation here or having a life. Our resident schizophrenic at hip is probably one of the most articulate and smartest people on this forum, despite his horrible condition ruining his life goals.
Okay, well I'm not exactly a stranger to the disorder myself, having one daughter who is promodal schizo. Not to mention a stepdaughter who is seriously bipolar, but that's yet another issue. Anyway I stand by my statement that schizophrenia is debilitating, and I think the briefest of Internet research bears this out. Maybe I went overboard by using the word "totally." I will grant you that there can be times of clarity. And yes, obviously being on medication can make a huge difference. The bottom line is that I've known Rainy on HF for a few years, and from what I know of her, saying she may be schizophrenic is just - as Noxious admitted - being a dick. Which I kinda knew he was doing, but I thought I would address the remark with some seriousness anyway. And btw, I would bet you that we have way more than one HF resident schizophrenic. Some are more functional than others.
I'm sure we do. I've just only ever come across one who admitted it and talked honestly about it. And some being more functional that others was kinda my point. Sometimes I get niggly. I don't actually think that Rain is schizo but one can understand that the hearing of voices is at the very least a sign of delusional thinking. I would encourage her to not read the bible, but to read up on neuroscience and try and understand how our brains can play some crazy ass tricks on us, and how, because of our wonderful frontal lobe, we can perceive it as if it's reality.
Fair enough. Thanks. What I found really strange one time is that they jokingly told me they were gonna take me away if my boyfriend didn't get home soon. yeah..lol, that kinda freaked me out since reading that they're into earthly women.
I think this may be a good time to mention that the only time they contact me is when under the influence of marijuana. I think it opens my third eye. Maybe this is actually a good place to ask, does anyone know what 'the goat is in heaven' could mean? While me & a friend were high, she said that and it seemed eerily significant. I've been trying to figure out what it means. When I googled it, I came across a bible reference. I think it was matthew 25.
Actually the hearing of voices is not necessarily a sign of delusional thinking. The two are quite distinct phenomena and not necessarily related, as you would discover if you did some research on the subject - which I have done, fairly extensively. I "hear voices." Except that I don't audibly "hear" them - I "hear" them as someone talking in my mind. In my case I've had external confirmations that the voices in my mind are telepathic communications from other people. I have frequently posted the stories of how this communication was confirmed for me. I can give you a link to a thread with these stories and others if you're interested. There are people who hear voices that say terrible things to them, people whose voices are practically angelic in nature - and yes, I'm not the only one whose voices sometimes give them psychic information. Others have reported the same. It could be that some voices are telepathic, some are neural misfirings - and maybe some are spiritual entities. All voices cannot be lumped into a single category of "delusional." As with so many other human abilities and characteristics, there is a wide variation from person to person. But would it be helpful for Rainy to read up on this subject? Could be - it's up to her, of course. But why should that preclude reading the Bible? She could do both - or neither for that matter, if it suits her. Knowing Rainy, I think she would be the best judge of the likelihood of these "Watchers" being some sort of perceptive delusion. I have strongly recommended to my son that he read the Bible - not because I think he should gain religious beliefs, but because he's an amazingly well-read and self-educated person who nonetheless is relatively ignorant of this book that is a major influence on our culture, and this would fill an important gap in his knowledge.
I actually hear them in my mind too, that's why I said they telepathically communicate with me. It's not like I hear voices coming from the other room.. I've also been interested in reading the bible from time to time because I find it interesting and I've always exposed myself to different religions and have been open minded. I visited different churches,temples, mosques, etc just to try to understand them (not because I wanted to join). I find it very hard to concentrate though so I've never been able to read the bible. Guess I could make it a new years resolution to read it..ha.
And you mentioned you only hear them when under mj influence...almost sounds like a kind of hypnagogic experience, like maybe it does something to your neurochemistry to give you the same kind of conditions as when you're going in and out of sleep...just a thought. When I'm between sleep and wakefulness, my "voices" get much louder. In fact, I've been woken a few times by one of my telepathic companions "yelling" my name in my mind so loudly that it almost seemed audible. The Bible is a pretty stinkin' long book, and many parts are distinctly uninteresting...especially books like Numbers and Leviticus, which are basically kinda like a Hebrew census and a list of official rules. Some of the stories are interesting, though. And there's some poetry (Psalms and Song of Solomon) and some good adages and thoughts on life and existence (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes). If I were you and was thinking about reading it, I don't think I would do it from cover to cover - I would pick and choose whatever seemed interesting. Genesis is a good place to start though, if you want some origin stories that probably precede the Babylonian empire.
Sure, I know what it means, it means this; Sounds like you are reading WAAAAYYYY too much significance into some things. Discernment is a very important skill to develop.
agreed zengizmo... I've experienced it myself. The Lakota call it simply talking over distance. If people can get the judgements and crap out of their heads, anybody can experience it (not directed at you zen). Arguing about it doesn't make it real, not real, sane, insane, right or wrong. You have to follow a path and find out for yourself.
the goat is in heaven owjfeo oh , i've known some goats , and once when the old goat lady got all starry eye=d she spoke of jesus of the goats . i asked her " and which one is jesus ?" she pointed to one baby goat . hmm , a fancy little nanny , the purity of white . last time i was at the farm there were about 70 baby goats , and these were in a pasture a little apart from the milkers and bucks . by yolly , didn't i hear them all yelling just before sundown one day "help us , help us !" , but nothing bad seemed going on . goatman says that's about all the English they know . it's a sweetly green little farm they all live on .
Maybe it would have sounded better if I said 'me & a friend were using marijuana' instead of 'me & a friend were high'...Well, from the whole experience that night, what stuck with me is "the goat is in heaven" so I thought maybe I'm supposed to figure out what it means.
=] thanks also, my friend said she was "kinda mad at the old brown cow for causing the goat to go to heaven" something like that..
Actually that's just how I see it, windy - I apparently have a LOT of crap in my head that I need to get out. I'm hoping if I get enough crap out of my head I'll be able to see and "be" at a distance also...the way Deanna and her ilk apparently do.
Oh I really don't think you have as much crap as you think you do. You are pretty much "on the money" most of the time.
or it could be the random stringing together of words that I and a whole helluva lot of other people do when stoned. :ssmokeit: I really, really don't want to sound like a dick, again, but apply Occam's razor. simplest explanation is She Was Stoned, end of mystery. Discernment. Learn what is worth considering and what is random co-inkydink or just stoned rambling. Everything that goes bump in the night isn't a ghost. That's not to say ghost's don't exist, just that every odd bump isn't necessarily a ghost. You understand?
Noxious, it's just that it's only the "simplest" explanation if you're stuck within a particular bias in worldview - and a particular experiential box. The telepathic explanation is quite simple - it's just that apparently it's not simple for you because you haven't experienced it. I'm guessing you think of it as a "special" circumstance requiring proof, as opposed to an "ordinary" circumstance that is barely worth mention - just like seeing or smelling or tasting.
