Insomnia Stress answers:

What really bothers me about this issue is how the Watchtower Society controls the “important information” Jehovah’s Witnesses are to study on this topic. They discourage their members from doing any independent research:

*** w67 6/1 p. 338 par. 12 Move Ahead with Jehovah’s Organization ***
But in Jehovah’s organization it is not necessary to spend a lot of time and energy in research, for there are brothers in the organization who are assigned to do that very thing, to help you who do not have so much time for this, these preparing the good material in The Watchtower and other publications of the Society. But you do not study enough? Take this suggestion: Often the very best and most beneficial studying you do is that done when you read a new Watchtower or Awake! Or a new book with the joy of getting the new truths and a fresh view.

I couldn’t find the following on the CD, but I’m quoting from my own copy of this publication:

“[W]ithin the few pages of a Watchtower article many texts on certain subjects are brought together. Truly it is a timesaver (p155, para. 2)…Private study of the magazine is essential. We should set aside sufficient time to digest its contents. (p156, para. 4)…If we have love for Jehovah and for the organization of his people we shall not be suspicious, but shall, as the Bible says, ‘believe all things,’ all the things that the Watchtower brings out (p156, para. 5)…Whereas the average individual would not have time or the resources for detailed research himself, The Watchtower is designed for that very purpose.” (pp158-9, para. 3) From Qualified to Be Ministers, 1967 ed.

The WTS says that JW’s don’t have the time or the resources for individual indepth research, but this is not necessary because these brothers have already done it for them, and all they need to do is digest the content of Watchtower publications.

Here are a few quotes from the Watchtower Society concerning the cross vs. Stake question, quoting authorities that they were using during this same time period:

*** g74 9/22 pp. 27-28 Did Jesus Die on a Cross? ***
Another reference work says: “The Greek word for cross, stau•ros?, properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole, and this always remained the more prominent part.”—The Imperial Bible Dictionary.

*** w50 11/1 pp. 426-427 Was Christ Hung on a Cross? ***
Such a single stake for impalement of a criminal was called crux simplex, and the method of nailing him to such an instrument of torture is illustrated by the Roman Catholic scholar, Justus Lipsius, of the 16th century. We present herewith a photographic copy of his illustration on page 647, column 2, of his book De Cruce Liber Primus. This is the manner in which Jesus was impaled.

*** w80 2/15 p. 30 Insight on the News ***
For example, the 16th-century Roman Catholic scholar Justus Lipsius illustrated impalement on an upright stake in his book “De Cruce Liber Primus.”

These quotes are also used in the JW “Reasoning” book, and Lipsius’ illustration was printed in the 1961 reference edition of the NWT.

Now, bearing in mind that the internet was not available for research during this period of time, please see what these quoted authorites REALLY said, which I posted in my answer here (Notice what words the WTS left out of the Imperial Bible Dictionary quote by the use of ellipses, and how they placed a period after the word “part” when this was not the last word in the sentence):

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ap6xakuIphHwDOOB7IE4GTjty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20110420075358AA1cZbd

It is crystal clear that these quoted authorities were confirming the OPPOSITE of what the WTS was teaching: that Jesus died on a CROSS, not a stake.

WHY did the governing body of the Watchtower Society deliberately misquote these sources in an effort to deceive their members, and WHY did they discourage their members from doing independent research to discover this?

Insomnia Stress answers:

The stress is because of two fidelities and a sweet, gentle natured girl. She must spy on her Lover and yet mentally survive the murder of her father by her Lover.

Insomnia Stress answers:

It’s a “shock to the heart caused by chemicals sent out by the brain” (quoted from Martin A. Samuels, a neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston) He says it’s similar to taking a large dose of speed.

Emotional stresses (even happy ones) – can flood the heart with adrenaline, which kills cells in the heart and causes contraction bands to appear on the organ. In extreme cases, it can trigger severe damage, leading to sudden death.

Insomnia Stress answers:

Excellent question!

I can only comment from a Buddhist point of view, being that I haven’t studied any other forms of meditation.

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (a Tibetan Lama who taught in the US in the 1960′s) was once asked, “If there is no Self, what is it that gets reborn?” He answered, “Well, I hate to tell you this, but it’s mostly your bad habits.” (not a direct quote, but close enough)

Buddhists tend to view rebirth in two ways — microcosmic (the moment to moment conditional arising and passing away of all phenomena, including our sense of “I” or “Self”) and macrocosimic (being reborn as another being life after life depending on one’s previous actions, thoughts and intentions). Not all Buddhists believe in macrocosmic rebirth, and microcosmic rebirth is fairly easy to see through certain types of meditation (my favorite being vipassana).

To sum it up, the belief is based on knowing deeply the way all phenomena come in to being. When one realizes that they too are a continuous stream of phenomenological happenings, they may realize that their very existence is causal, impermanent, interconnected with everything, has arisen from prior happenings and will lead to other happenings. It is not necessarily the Self that gets reborn, but rather the continuation of a process or happening from which we are all contributing forces. This may be interpreted differently by different practitioners/yogis based on their cultural background and underlying beliefs.

Insomnia Stress answers:

I think you should get one or two friends to help you, because if you watch directors in plays they always get super stressed, and when you are a teen, you might have more trouble dealing with it, especially on top of homework, school, etc.

It can be expensive, depending on what show you do. Some shows, like Gilbert & Sullivan shows, which are technically operettas, you don’t have to pay for rights, but most musicals you do. Also, sets, props, and costumes, can be expensive. If you are renting a space, that could also be expensive.

To make money you can do things like have bake sales, ask for donations, etc.

If you want to save on props and costumes, I would do a play set in modern or recent times, because you will probably have most of the things you’ll need for them.