Is there something wrong with this?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I was reading some stuff and I came across this statement. " We create

situations and then we give our power away by blaming another person for our

frustrations. No person, place or thing has any power over us. We are the

only thinkers in our minds. (Unknown) " . It really really pissed me off. I

tried to talk to one of my friends about it but I dont think she understood

a word of what I was talking about. So I thought I would run it by you guys

to see what you think.

Personally to me, it seems first a lot like AA jargon (with a twist). On

top of that it seems like a bunch of blame the victim bull crap. On one

hand, AA says that we are powerless over people, places and things, while

this statement says that no one is powerful over us...... both AA and this

statement also say we have choices. Isnt there a middle ground to this? This

seems just like such black and white thinking to me. The truth of the matter

here is that there is not a single person on this earth that doesnt have

some choices automatically stripped from them from parents, government, boss

etc, and they have power over us. However, when you get into a cult/mind

control situation... you loose any sense of power or control ( unless of

course you werent fully indoctrinated.) In fact, you loose your ability to

think for yourself. Isnt that the point of cults? They take that from us and

usually leave people feeling that way for years and years after they leave.

What I see the problem with both statements is... with XA you are

powerless over everything, and therefore you are inheritantly defective,

with the other statement you are able to have power over everything and

therefore if you are controlled by some person place or thing, it is your

fault. Where is the statement that says " We have power over limited things,

and those who steal from us the right to a sense of free will, to our own

thoughts, and the sense of control over our lives and destiny should be

tortured eternally. " ?

Louree

[Guest guest]

" No person, place or thing has any power over us. We are the only

thinkers in our minds. "

This is a load of crap. Reminds me how the Advice Twins, Ann and Abby,

like to say that no one can make a person feel bad, but at the same

time they print all this upbeat crap obviously intended to make their

readers feel good. Also, I remember a column one of them printed about

a guy who was about to commit suicide, but one of his college

dorm-mates just happened to be somewhat kind to him that day, which

changed his mind about suicide. If being nice to someone can keep them

from killing themselves, then it seems to follow that being

gratuitously snotty or cruel can push a person over the edge. Obviously

a human being has the power to do psychological damage to another, even

if the victim doesn't choose to be damaged. Otherwise, torture, rape

and child abuse should be legalized.

[Guest guest]

" jim hankins " wrote:

original article:/group/12-step-free/?start=10254

> " No person, place or thing has any power over us. We are the only

> thinkers in our minds. "

>

I second that. Psychological studes have shown that the way we are

treated does in fact affect how we feel. When it affects us negatively,

we can choose to leave or stop associating with that person, but it's

not always so easy, for example with a parent, teacher or boss.

Apple