Ask a Tim
Ask a Tim
Finally an answer to all your questions about everything. Not only an answer, but an answer from a Tim! E-mail all questions to AskingTim@Gmail.com or by clicking on the link on the left hand menu bar titled "Get your questions answered" and leaving a comment! I will reply (if I can) as soon as possible!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Scientologicaltastic!
Did you watch South Park last night about Scientology? In the part where they give the history of how the alien spirits inhabited the first men on earth, the caption at the bottom of the screen said "this is actually what scientologists believe". Is that really what they believe - that frozen aliens were shot to earth, thawed in our volcanoes, spirits released, but couldn't escape earth because of a special "spirit catching machine"that kept them on earth and they finally inhabited the souls of man, which is why we have all the agony and problems of today? Is all this what they believe, or is South Park just making fun of them?
Dear Searching,
That is indeed one of the beliefs of the Scientologists. After doing research on the subject today, I found, to my surprise, that pretty much everything on the South Park episode last night was true. (Including that we all really want Tom Cruise to "come out of the closet)
Basically, the story told on South Park is not something you would learn as a Scientologist until you reach what they call the Operating Thetan level three (or OT III to you laymen). The majority of the Scientology congregation don't make it along the "bridge" that far, so it could be considered not a mainstream belief of the masses of the "believers". But there are many references in their literature to extraterrestrial past lives, and internal publications are often illustrated with spaceships and references to cataclysmic events that happened "75 million years ago.
For those of you who missed the episode last night (which I highly recommend you watch if you get the chance) I'll give you a quick rundown. [deep breath]
Millions (perhaps even billions or trillions) of years ago an intergalactic warlord named Xenu decided there was a population problem. So he round up billions of victims and froze them, then transported them on intergalactic DC 8's (seriously, not making this up) and sent them to Earth (which was then called Teegeeack) and strapped them all to volanoes and then blew up the volcanoes with hydrogen bombs. Of course before this he brainwashed them with "3-D, super colossal motion pictures" for 36 days. These tormented spirits then roamed the Earth until the dawn of man, when they attached themselves to our bodies and minds and have made us all highly uncomfortable ever since.
THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE!
Of course, if you have a friend that is a Scientologist, they will probably not even be aware of this story, as they don't have enough money, to get enough auditing, to raise their Thetan (or spirit) levels high enough to become an OT III.
The reason I know this is because there have been many court cases against the Scientologists, and this information has been revealed in court, and its all readily available on the world wide web.
So I guess the short answer to your question is "Yes, yes it is." There is a heck of lot more I could write about here (like L. Ron being crazy and paranoid, the woman who died while under their "healing" touch, the millions and millions of dollars this "non-profit" makes, or that fact that the original tenets appeared in a Sci-Fi magazine) but that would really be much to long of a post (as if it isn't already).
***Did you know***
The highest, published OT level is OT VII, and its secrets are only revealed at sea, on the Scientology cruise ship, Freewinds . The next levels OT IX and OT X have not been released yet, and supposedly L. Ron has written up to OT XV. The cruise ship is also used as recreation for celebrities such as Tom Cruise, and is supposedly built with large amounts of asbestos.
In case you are worried about Xenu coming back and making us watch bad movies, he is alledgedly imprisoned in a mountain by a force field powered by an eternal battery...
...so we got that going for us.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Serious Question? Is there any other kind?
I have a serious question. I am completely unmotivated at work. I have work to do and bosses to report to, along with a ton of bills and high rent, and I know I'm blowing this job, but I cannot get my act together...can you answer THAT question??? And you see? It's 4:09 and I'm NOT WORKING! (And even if the internet wasn't here, I'd be staring off into space...)
This is, indeed, a very serious question! I was just having a conversation with a co-worker today who is new to the whole "working world" thing, (she's only 21 and this is her first job, isn't that cute) and I made the following observation to her.
From this point forward your life will consist of two things
a) You will, for atleast 2,080 hours of every year for the rest of your life, be in a place you would rather not be and most likely being underapprecitated for your talents. This place being work, those hours being 40 a week, and those people being your bosses
or
b)You will marry rich.
This unfortunately doesn't really answer your question (which wasn't really a question by the way, more of a diabtribe really, one that has perhaps been heard by others in the Dallas area that tend to frequent rooftops) but I'm getting there.
Well, the truth is, I have no answer. There is nothing I can say that will make you satisfied with your job and more content with the work you have to do. I'm not really the one to answer this question as I wasn't even at work yesterday at 4:09 (we got out an hour early to go vote), but even if I was I probably wouldn't have been working. In fact, I'm sure there is work I should be doing right now!
My problem is that I haven't found out what it is I truly want to do. I think once I figure that out, things will be better. Look at your ex who is blissfully happy having sold out to the "man" and is working for a small school in West Texas. Apparently, teaching is what makes him happy.
There are many people out there who are blissfully happy with the path their career has taken, and I, for one, despise these people.
We are not our parents generation of workers. My dad (and many other peoples' dads I know) worked the same job my entire life. He would drive 1.5 hours each way, worked hard, brought a lot of work home with him, and did this everyday. I have a lot of respect for that, I just don't want to be that way.
Its not that I don't have a good work ethic, I do. Its just that I am strongly holding on to not selling out to the "man." Every now I then I remember how America and Capitalism work, and realize I am hurting no one but myself, but I refuse to sell out!
Thoreau said in Walden , "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things."
I have always believed he was right, and I think now, women are begining to realize the truth of this as well. How to break this cycle, I don't know. I play the lottery, it seems to help some in that it gives me hope of something better. I'm sure its a little sad that the only thing I have to give me hope has the odds of 1 in 165,562,314,251 of ever happening, buts its better odds than me being satisfied with my current lot!
My advice? Find something that you truly enjoy doing, and somehow try and find a job that involves that. In most cases, it won't be what you majored in. In some cases it will.
I do find myself a little bitter sometimes though, I played by their rules. I got good grades in school, I got into and graduated from a great University, and things haven't worked out like they were supposed to. I was promised a good job and good income if I went to college, and damn it all, where is my money.... I think I'm going to write a nasty letter to my professors!
So to sum up, I have no idea how to remain motivated at your job, as I don't even know how to do it at mine. But if any of you out there have any ideas, please let us know!
