giving up tickling for lent

[thefeatheroom95]

So i hear that some people are giving up beer, candy, and other things for the season of lent, but has anyone ever thought about giving up tickling? I think it would be pretty hard.

 

[TicklingDuo]

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I'd rather give up chocolate AND coke! LOL

Ann

 

[GuitarPeteTklr]

Religion vs. Tickling, Again? Please!!!!

I, personally, cannot see any correlation between tickling and religion, or even, tickling being considered a vice. Having been a long-time reader/recent "delurker" to this forum, I am sure there are SCORES of others here who would BEG to differ with Me on this premise. You are ALL entitled to your opinion, but in fairness, please know and respect mine, just as I will try My level best to respect yours.

It is that attempted admonishment of the tickling/religion connection that makes me find such discussion in this forum disheartening, even getting some ire from Me, at times. This focus is one of the reasons that I waited SO LONG to depart from My historic "lurk" status *and right about now, you all probably wished I would have STAYED there! LOL*

Being raised Roman Catholic, I have had a GENEROUS helping of "evangelistic guilt" passed off to me by clergy people (at a VERY TENDER AGE, I might add!) who are about as inexperienced, ergo unqualified, as they come in matters of such platonic, or even (at a more private level) intimate exchange.

And I also don't think that non-concentual, pedophilic, homosexual exchanges between a clergyman and a boy represent any "relationship wisdom" I would like to grant ANY validation to in this forum either...While I know that NOT ALL clergy are that jaded, with inhuman and unnatural vows of celebacy being the order of the rite of ordainment, it is no wonder the incidence of such inappropriate behavior is so alarmingly high amongst Catholic clergy! If you want the latest on a law suit in which the "Catholic Faith" attempts to defend such a pedophile, you need only look as far as your local newspaper under national news! And these clergy people would dare to tell us what is "inappropriate conduct?"
Sheer hypocrisy, I say!

To be fair, I don't feel quite as qualified to comment on other faiths or creeds and their position as it relates to tickling, since I have no personal childhood indoctrination into them to relate...just from dating others of faith other than Roman Catholic, though, I can see where the segways to "anally-retentive moral turpitude assessments" are quite available to any cleric who desires such "sensor-moronic" construction of their creed(s) as it would suit any hidden religious agenda. With that said, I would be HONORED to hear some perspective(s) from those of other faiths who are a part of this forum...

Hidden agenda? Please qualify that remark, you say? Well...organized religion is generally, first and foremost, about member retention and controlling social and goverment forces through accrual from the "money bearing membership base." If they ensure, through "prohibition" that the "next generation" is indoctrinated in to the faith at hand, they are securing their own financial future, and quite handily, I might add! Who ever your higher power may be, no kind and merciful deity will put a monetary price tag on salvation...Money is a medium of exchange that is only recognized by THIS world...Rest assured...and I thank My higher power for that! Benevolence would be hard to deny the power of, though, to be fair...and it does NOT ALWAYS cost money, either!

In summary, I would like to say that while it is generally a healthy choice to have benevolent faith, regardless of who one considers their "higher power," I don't think that ANY faith should be making laws against nature, under the initial guise of "morally and clerically adopted precepts" then redub them laws issued directly by the "higher power" as it suits some "hidden agenda."

Just think...if such laws were well-founded in nature, we would have evolved without genitalia and no instinct to touch or to tickle (even gently and playfully platonic with a baby) and not have evolved further since we would be rendered unable to procreate our own species!

I know I have taken ALOT of space here on MY soapbox, especially for a tickler of such extensive "lurker" history...and I might need to apologize in advance to the fine moderators of this forum for getting so cerebral and changing the playful mood of this thread a bit. Bottom line, is that it means A GREAT DEAL TO ME to have appropriate audience on which to air this...and if I bring just ONE other ticklephile inner peace with these words...I feel I will have fulfilled a much deeper responsibility to My comrades and My higher power. Again, this subject matter is one of the BIGGEST reasons I delayed in posting in this forum!

Out of respect for this forum, I would probably do well to suggest that any further discussion or debate of the perspective(s) I offered herein be kept at My [email protected] e-mail address, in order to spare any folks here any further overexposure to this subject matter...

Peace and love to ALL of you!

GuitarPeteTklr😀

 

[njjen3953]

😱

I am not nearly as brave as my beloved, but want to get notification of responses to this post.

Jen

 

[TickledToDeath]

Better yet, how about people give up HIDING tickling from the one they love! Give up the secrets! For the next 40 days...try total honesty in every aspect of your lives.
Clense the soul(and or soles).

TTD

 

[TkldSlly48M]

Personally, I don't see any sense in celebrating the 40 days of weeping for Tammuz which is where lent comes from. (Ezekiel 8) As a matter of fact, I don't celebrate any of the pagan holidays, i.e. christmas, the birthday of Nimrod, the builder of the tower of bable, Easter, the goddess of fertility, or any of the others.

 

[GuitarPeteTklr]

Kewl Afterthoughts, TickledToDeath!

Better yet, how about people give up HIDING tickling from the one they love! Give up the secrets! For the next 40 days...try total honesty in every aspect of your lives.
Cleanse the soul(and or soles).

TTD

Thanks for the moral support, TickledToDeath, My tickling brother! Together, we will rid the world of this misplaced angst!😀 😱

Honorable mention must go to TkldSlly48M for his perspective too...Way to be forthright, gang!

*GuitarPeteTklr shreds his way back into tickling oblivion*

 

[TicklingDuo]

TTD wrote: Better yet, how about people give up HIDING tickling from the one they love! Give up the secrets! For the next 40 days...try total honesty in every aspect of your lives.

I TOTALLY agree...though I also understand that not everyone is in a position to do so.

Pete wrote: While I know that NOT ALL clergy are that jaded, with inhuman and unnatural vows of celebacy being the order of the rite of ordainment, it is no wonder the incidence of such inappropriate behavior is so alarmingly high amongst Catholic clergy!

Actually, Pete, if you look at overall stats, the rate isn't any higher among Catholic clergy than among other clergy or among people in general. The news agencies just like to publicize it more. The vow of celibacy has nothing to do with pedophilia... or any other inappropriate sexual behavior. These guys know the drill going in. Celibacy doesn't CAUSE these behaviors. People are either good or not. Their state in life has nothing to do with it.

While I DO agree that the hierarchy has been sadly lacking in good judgment in many of these cases, they aren't responsible for the initial behavior...only culpable for continued behaviors once they are made aware of the problem. They should get their collective butts kicked for those cases that have been covered up, however. (BTW...This comes from someone who happens to have been abused by a Catholic priest.)

In any event, I'm hesitant to throw out the baby with the bath water. I would no sooner give up my faith than I would give up anything else I love. If my neighbor's kid throws a rock through my wiindow, I'm not going to go out and shoot their parents for it.

You spoke of several things that the Church speaks of...though you were obviously taught by someone very different from those who taught me. My own take on the faith has nothing to do with money or buying salvation. It has a lot to do with a relationship with the God who loves me...and whom I love.

Actually....this part of the thread probably belongs in the general discussion section. Bottom line?...I still wouldn't give up tickling for lent! ;-)

Peace!
Ann

 

[GuitarPeteTklr]

Not Suggesting Anyone Give Up Their Faith At All....

Ann, thank you, for your support as well. I wrestled with the idea of another long post and decided that if that was necessary, you and I are CERTAINLY close enough friends to do so privately. 😉

For the record, I just want to amplify ONE VERY IMPORTANT POINT in My initial post. I never categorically stated or intended that My post move ANYBODY here to give up faith in their HIGHER POWER. I was merely suggesting that organized relgion aka "theo-business" was not necessarily the most reliable conduit for building a strong personal relationship with one's higher power.

Case in point? I know MANY fine folks who NEVER attend any religious services, but still are deeply religious. I am sure you do, too, Ann...

In any event...be well, tickle, and be tickled! 😀

*GuitarPeteTklr again shreds his way back into tickling oblivion*

 

[TicklingDuo]

Pete...I guess I misinterpretted your meaning. Thanks for the clarification. While there are a couple of points upon which we don't agree...nobody says we have to be carbon copies of one another to be friends. On the other hand, if we WERE carbon copies, I think I'd look kinda funny with my top balding....as you would with my longer curly hair. LOL

Ann 😀

 

[GuitarPeteTklr]

Curly Locks vs. Receding Hair Line...hehehe

I agree with your closing remarks, as well, Ann! What a boring forum this would be if we were ALL carbon copies! LOL!!!

Now...I wonder how much those "curly locks" would tickle your own neck? *WEG* 😱

Tickle onward!

*GuitarPeteTklr again shreds his way back into tickling oblivion, with a lock of Ann's hair he acquired from her beautician for a forthcoming gathering the TicklingDuo (yes, Drew too...hehehe) will be attending....*

 

[TickledToDeath]

LMAO

Pete...I guess I misinterpretted your meaning. Thanks for the clarification. While there are a couple of points upon which we don't agree...nobody says we have to be carbon copies of one another to be friends. On the other hand, if we WERE carbon copies, I think I'd look kinda funny with my top balding....as you would with my longer curly hair. LOL

Ann 😀

I am not sure what is funnier...Ann balding or Pete with long curly hair!!!!!!!

TTD

 

[TicklingDuo]

HEY!!!

😱 You must be mistaken dear friend. I gave up HAVING MY HAIR CUT for lent!!! You must have someone else's hair. Good try!

Ann

 

[Dave2112]

Pete? You have something to say? Don't be shy now....just let it out!😀

Seriously, you raised some very intelligent points. It's nice to have such an astute member respond to these deeper questions, and it WAS a great controversial question, featherroom, even though you may not have meant it that way.

I don't feel that tickling is something that you SHOULD have to "give up". Giving something up, to me, implies that there is something wrong with the act in the first place, which I don't feel is correct. Giving up tickling is like giving up scratching an itch, another thing the Catholic church would have you believe is a Sin.

And by the way, I'm not Catholic, so you can take my opinion with a grain of Keldite. I am actually Jedi. (Yes, it is a recognized religion, and Yes, I am a registered and ordained member. Sue me.)😀

 

[TicklingDuo]

Actually....

Giving something up, to me, implies that there is something wrong with the act in the first place, which I don't feel is correct.

Though people often see/treat this as a negative thing, the point of doing something for lent isn't just a "giving up". Many (myself included) choose to do something of a more positive nature for lent. The point of either is to express gratitude to the Lord for what he's done for us. Some do this by giving something up...as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Others do it by making a point of doing something positive that they feel a need to do anyway. Lent is simply a time to refocus and begin again...much like many people see the act of making new year's resolutions.

Do we need lent in order to do this? Of coure not. But, I'll take any reminder I can get to work at being a better person all around.
Heck....for some, finally coming out about tickling and/or attending a gathering could qualify!

Ann

 

[Dave2112]

Ann, I agree with what you said. My status as a mamber of the Jedi religion includes God fully. I don't feel a need to "give something up", as much as I feel a need to give something back to our Lord. I try to do this on a daily basis, not by physical actions, but by spiritual observance.

I really like what you said.😎

 

[thefeatheroom95]

OMG! I didnt mean to start another argument with this. IM SORRY! Its just that a few people were talking about what would be hard to give up for 40 days and someone said," hey i bet josito couldnt give up tickling for 40 days." and thats how the whole thing started. Again i am sorry if i caused another problem here. I was just trying to post a question out of fun, i didnt know that it would end up offending anyone.

 

[eddieT]

Well...

Well,

I'm trying it starting today, so we'll see how things last -- if all goes well I'll see ya'll after easter 🙂 I'm sure some of you think I'm crazy, but its more a test of wills and faith than anything else -- wish me luck!

-ed

 

[TklrJoe]

Speaking as a fallen Catholic, I don't think that giving up something for Lent implies that that thing is "evil" or "bad." It's just sacrificing something you enjoy as a reminder of... um, I forget.

But, you know, Lent is only for a little while; after Easter you get to resume your indulgence, whatever it may be.

 

[GuitarPeteTklr]

No Hard Feelings, Featherrroom, Scout's Honor!

...and it WAS a great controversial question, featherroom, even though you may not have meant it that way...

With all My heart, featherroom...after hearing back from you, I now believe MORE THAN EVER that you did not mean to stir controversy here, much less cause trouble...but you need to understand, My friend, that pairing tickling with religion in the same discussion IS BOUND to stir SOME controversy in THIS forum. More on why that is true, in a bit....

Since it is our priviledge to speak our mind on tickling related topics in this forum, so long as we do not intentionally bash others, be it known your opinion is just as valued as ANY other here, not the least of which, MY OWN opinion! With that said, NO APOLOGY is DUE, so far as I am concerned featherroom. I spoke with some of the moderators here, airing concerns similar to yours about My passionate response to your intial post and they do not feel transgressed upon in their charge here. Neither should you, please, featherroom. This was simply a segway to a subject matter that was "festering" for a long time inside of Me...along came your thread suggesting tickling abstinence as a lenten offering, ergo a suggested correlation between religion and tickling,...and I was triggered into memories from an era of posting here which surrounded the departure of a dear friend with newly adopted fundamentalist values surrounding religion and its alleged prohibtion of tickling...and voila!!!! I felt compelled to take a place on My soapbox, instead of clinging to moral high ground, later which is the road most traveled, for Me featherroom.😀

I meant no hard feelings toward you, featherroom, or the true spirit of your post and paraphrased so early in My initial response, as you may recall. I just wanted some closure on this "Religion vs. Tickling" sentiment that I felt was not afforded Me in the words of the others, so long ago and felt that no topic raised by Me, personally, would have been an appropriate setting to revisit that which I felt so incomplete, in terms of discussion.

Reflecting deeper, I am now happy it was you, and not someone who so "thin-skinned" they would have felt compelled to drop to permanent "lurk status" after unwittingly opening what turned out to be a "hot topic" for this forum.

To you, featherroom, I am grateful for having been granted the venue for such an airing. For me, this experience is akin to Monty Python discovering the "Holy Graille!" Thank you for that impetus and empowerment!

Peace and love to you, as well,

GuitarPeteTklr

 

[JoBelle]

Heya all.

So, mom was Catholic in her youth. She became a spiritual person away from the church as of late, but she still gives up her vice of choice today. End the history lesson on Jo's mom now. 😉 She always told us about how she had to "give up something" for Lent and left it up to us as non-Catholics whether we'd try or not.

I always found it more of a personal challenege than a religious one. I remember giving up using the "F-word" That was tough. I worked in a casino as a college student. It was my favorite word. 😉 It taught me to use my mind before my mouth. NOT on my list of easy things.

I once gave up driving over the speed limit. It taught me to be ready early, a good trait nowadays.

I once gave up social chatting on the phone. Some of you can attest to the fact that that one nearly killed me. 😛

See? For me, it wasn't a religious statement, it was a matter of choosing something that wasn't beneficial to me and seeing how well I could drop it. It was an issue of willpower.

That being said, NOPE...I couldn't give up tickling, it's too much of a VERY BENEFICIAL thing for me. ACK...whatever would I do if I gave it up and lost my tickle-bug??? Then I'd be all pissy at the Catholics forever. giggle. 😉 Plus...ummm....I just couldn't. COULD NOT DO IT!!! DO YOU HEAR ME??? OOPS...was I yelling?

What am I giving up this year? Something inspired by posting here. I'm giving up arguing about a topic until I understand the other view. I recall a story about Angelica Houston and her father, the famous director. Every night at dinner, they discussed a topic of choice and shared things they knew about it. The topic was Rembrandt (I believe) to which Angelica replied, "I don't like Rembrandt" Her father asked her why and said, "Name five of his works and explain to me what you dislike." She couldn't do it. He told her to leave the table and not return until she knew what she was talking about. HENCE, my decision....don't argue until you at least have a clue, JO. Comment maybe, but don't argue.

Happy Tickling post Mardi Gras, it was a fine season indeed.

Jo, the laconic???? hehehe 😛

 

[ShiningIce]

Do my eyes deceive me or is there a Jedi Knight amongst us *looks at Dave* I happen to be a Sith Apprentice myslef

 

[Dave2112]

Welcome to the Forum, ShiningIce! I have this feeling we'll be bumping into one another...😀

 

[mysterytic]

Proud to say I don't have to give up tickling for lent

That is why the good Lord makes watermelons.

 

[thefeatheroom95]

but see, to me it never meant giving up something that some people thoughtr was evil. I always saw it as a personal test to see if you could do it or as a new years resolution that we all joked about for years to come, like when i said i wouldnt eat frogs without drinking soda first, it wont happen. its just something strange i say. i dont eat frogs. its just something silly i say for years to come like a "remember when...." dont start debating now just cause i started a stupid thread that had no point to it to start with, i forgot that some people see things different ways again.