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gypsytart

I've been 'lurking' on this discussion board for ages, but not posted until now - finally thought I'd go for it and post something myself! I've chosen gypsy tart as my alias not because I'm a gypsy (I'm not), or a tart (not all the time lol) but because I LOVE gypsy tart it's my v favourite pud ever! I did think of calling myself 'hovisbiscuit' because that's what the other kids at school would call me (along with 'oh look it's a hova') whilst they all filed into assembly. Being a JDub I couldn't attend such evil gatherings of wordly people :-) Then I kinda thought, do I really want to be reminded of that everytime I visit the board? NO!!

Here's a bit of background info - I was brought up as a JW by my mum (who is still JW) from the age of 9. When I was 24 I did 'the fade', and never went back. Life got v stressful for a while, with my mum and others piling on the emotional blackmail and fear tactics re Armageddon to get me to go back, but now 9 years later things are good. I can say hand on heart that I don't miss being a JW one bit.

However, I do sometimes get depressed over one particular issue and wondered if anyone could relate to this or give me some advice on how to handle it? When a JW I believed (most) of their teachings and was absolutely certain about where my life was heading, Armageddon, hopefully I'd scrape through! Then the 1000yr reign of Christ while earth was restored to paradise blah blah blah..can't quite believe I fell for it now but there you go! Leaving the Org has taken away all the certainty about my future and I find it very difficult and depressing thinking I'll get old, wrinkly, ect etc and die eventually. This really gets me down, there don't seem to be any 'hopes for the future' now that the JW rug has been pulled out from under me. Can anyone relate to this - or am I just slightly crazy??

Thanks for reading, and sorry to have waffled on for a bit!!

rebel8

Hi.....never heard of a gypsy tart.....

The way to deprogram yourself is to investigate the wt organization to determine if they are really what they claim (the one true people led by an infallible-omnipotent-omnibenevolent God). Research their own literature and that will give you the answer. My resesarch is in the brochures at www.jwinfo.8m.com -- pretty convincing.

If they are not the one true organization and/or God is not leading them and/or God is not infallbile-omnipotent-omnibenenvolent, then anything the org taught you should be subject to review. Then read the bible from a fresh perspective and see if you come to the same conclusion about Armageddon, the last days, etc.

There are 2 truths "The Truth" never taught you:

Human beings do not know the meaning of life for sure, and it isn't necessary to pretend to know. Not knowing is a reality we must all live with. We can choose to believe certain things but there is no sense fooling yourself and others by claiming you know for sure. It's counterproductive to go around pretending things are certain when they're not.
As far as the future goes, your future is what you make of it!

fokyc

Hi Gypsy tart and welcome,

You have certainly come to the right place, I have placed below an explanation for people who come from other places, it is not a well known cake.

A gypsy tart is a type of cake made with evaporated milk , muscovado sugar (though some prefer light brown sugar ), and pie crust . It originates from northwest Kent in England , and is little known outside that area. As would be expected, the tart is extremely sweet and is for many people associated with school dinners .

fokyc

james_woods

Welcome! As for the feeling of loss on the pie in the sky, this is IMHO, pretty common:

However, I do sometimes get depressed over one particular issue and wondered if anyone could relate to this or give me some advice on how to handle it? When a JW I believed (most) of their teachings and was absolutely certain about where my life was heading, Armageddon, hopefully I'd scrape through! Then the 1000yr reign of Christ while earth was restored to paradise blah blah blah..can't quite believe I fell for it now but there you go! Leaving the Org has taken away all the certainty about my future and I find it very difficult and depressing thinking I'll get old, wrinkly, ect etc and die eventually.

Well, yes - a little depressing I suppose. Or, you could call this waking up to reality and taking responsibility for what happens for the rest of your life. Now you don't have to throw it all down the drain while waiting for a nonsensical paradise earth.

One thing that helped me was to analyze just how batty this whole idea of Earthwide Paradise with "all animals going veggie", no technology to speak of, and practically everybody that ever lived coming back to rice-farm? (at least for a while before the second killing). None of this is vaguely plausible to any thinking person. (as one point, it is now estimated that there have been approximately 35 Billion persons who have lived on earth in the past and are now deceased. Makes for a pretty crowded paradise, doesn't it?)

It is not only unbelievable and ridiculous, but the whole of idea of sitting on that little farm for all eternity begins to sound more horrible than almost anything I can imagine when you really think about it. Sort of like a Watchtower Earthwide POW camp, if you get my meaning.

There are many thoughts on "life afterwards" that are more factually sustainable, and you are now free to look into any or all of them as you please, and pick the ones that make most sense to YOU.

James (I have been out for a very long time, about 30 years, BTW)

Clam

Hi Gypsy Tart and welcome. Gross stuff that gypsy tart; haven't had it since school.

Having been a lurker you'll know that there is a very diverse bunch here, especially "beliefs" wise. Atheism to Zen.

Just sticking around and reading some threads might lead you in new directions. Above all, and I know it's very easy for me to say, understand that worrying about your mortality is totally pointless. Direct energy into seeking your answers.

Legolas

Welcome to the board!

garybuss

I've not been a Witness for 32 years and I left when I was 30 years old. It was a pretty good scam for a pulp paper book printing business to sell immortality to as many people as they did. Awesome idea from a marketing standpoint.

When I learned that Armageddon was a fantasy I was relieved because I saw myself being murdered by God and I was living under a cloud of impending doom. I welcomed the reality of living, aging, and dying in old age.

In my opinion, this life is all there is. This isn't a dressed rehearsal. I need to live a rational life as a mortal human being.

truthsetsonefree

Welcome to the forum Gypsy Tart. I had never heard of them either. I like you waited a long time before posting. And as some have already mentioned, educating oneself is the best way to find what works for you beliefswise.

tsof

gypsytart

Thanks for your comments/advice! I have definitely 'de-programmed' myself from JW thinking, I'm just finding it virtually impossible to replace it with something else. The plus side to finding out its all a load of bo**ocks is that I don't have to live in fear of my dad, whom I adore and has never been a JW, dying at the big A! Used to cry myself to sleep as a child worrying about that.

I appreciate that I need to stop worrying so much and enjoy life each day. Don't get the wrong idea - I don't mope around being a right misery over this, I just feel that all my hopes and beliefs have disappeared and there is nothing to replace them!

As for gypsy tart, I'd say you either love it or hate it. I could easily scoff a family size gypsy tart, might feel sick after but it would be worth it !!

jaguarbass

However, I do sometimes get depressed over one particular issue and wondered if anyone could relate to this or give me some advice on how to handle it? When a JW I believed (most) of their teachings and was absolutely certain about where my life was heading, Armageddon, hopefully I'd scrape through! Then the 1000yr reign of Christ while earth was restored to paradise blah blah blah..can't quite believe I fell for it now but there you go! Leaving the Org has taken away all the certainty about my future and I find it very difficult and depressing thinking I'll get old, wrinkly, ect etc and die eventually. This really gets me down, there don't seem to be any 'hopes for the future' now that the JW rug has been pulled out from under me. Can anyone relate to this - or am I just slightly crazy??

Hello Gypsytart, I can relate to the above. I've been out for 23 years now. In the begining it was worse now I've pushed it to the back of my brain and dont think of it much. I would say you have woken from your zombie like trance and are now concious. Welcome to the human condition. Live each day to the fullest it may be your last. Be like the epicureans that the dubs warned us against eat drink and be merry for tommorow we may die. I would say you are slightly crazy but so am I and anyone I have ever met in this dimension so enjoy it.

If you miss egypt and the Nile river (denial) you can always join another cult or belief system and delude your reality and see if you wake from the dream or not. Me Im staying here both feet planted in reality. Good luck

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