Paradise Lost--Paradise Found--The Adventure Begins

by The wanderer 9 Replies latest jw friends

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  The wanderer

  Paradise Found—Paradise Lost—The Adventure Begins

  One of the main attractions about the organization was the
  thought that one day God would restore mankind to perfect
  peace and harmony on a paradise earth.

  Paradise Lost

  To think about my participation for the last 14 years "selling"
  this concept about a paradise earth, only to have that world
  shatter into a million pieces—eats at me from time to time.

  The Adventure Begins

  When you acquire the knowledge that this was a fraud,
  when death becomes inevitable and the promise of ever-
  lasting life on paradise earth turns up empty, when your
  world turns upside down, and inside out, where do you
  go from there?

  ---

  Please post your commentary from your perspective
  and rebuilding process in order to help yourself and
  others with the same questions in mind .

  Respectfully,

  The Wanderer
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  OUTLAW

  Wanderer..You gave up living life,for a promise of a better one later..Now you get to enjoy the gift you were given..Now you can enjoy your life in the here and now..Thats all there is ..Don`t waste it...OUTLAW
• 

  cyberdyne systems 101

  I think the key to it is time to take the shock and go through the anger and pain of this discovery. Once you make it through that part enough, you can begin to plug yourself into the real world, all the while shedding off your former mindset. Some do this better than others, life is basically a struggle at times, its full of ups and downs. This knowledge produces a down but that usually means there is an up on its way as we come to terms with it and naturally want to be happy. Sometimes we need to push ourselves, other times things come our way.

  Since leaving after over 2 years i'm getting a life together, its been real hard and lonely at times, but its getting there. Just yesterday I went shooting air rifle's with two people I now know, we ended up shooting can's and bottles which I found real good fun!

  CS 101
• 

  fullofdoubtnow

  When I found out that my dream of living on a paradise earth was only a dream, I was extremely upset and angry that I'd spent so long chasing an unattainable goal. I was angry with the wts for lying to me,and with myself for falling for their lies.

  Now, just over a year later, my anger has subsided somewhat. I will still work against the wts, in an attempt to prevent anyone else sufferring the same disappointment I did, but I am much happier now. I have a free, settled life, and am living with a wonderful man who I will marry next year, and the wts experience is well behind me now.
• 

  NanaR

  Hey Wanderer,

  Your topic caught my attention for several reasons. One is that I learned to read on my Daddy's knee as he read to me from books like "Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained".

  How am I dealing with "paradise lost"? I'm looking within first. I'm owning and acknowledging all the good things about my life as a Witness. The biggest is that I met my husband (my lover, soul mate, and best friend for more than 32 years) while at a JW convention. He lived 400 miles from my hometown. I don't know how we would have met without the JW connection.

  I learned to stand up for myself and cope with being different. Now this is helping me cope with suddenly being different from my only sister, old friends, and other family members.

  I have adopted a life view of "first, do no harm". In all my dealings with others, I endeavor to be kind, compassionate, and openminded. I accept that others have value and that their value is not dependent upon their agreement or disagreement with me.

  Heaven, paradise earth, reincarnation, resurrection, immortal soul, hellfire, etc., etc.,

  Among those things I find myself simply unable to believe in hellfire. A paradise on earth seems equally unlikely. Have JWs really thought through what it would be like to live under a geniune Theocracy? I recommend reading The Handmaiden's Tale for a chilling take on that.

  Right now I'm leaning toward somewhat of a Buddhist view of life, and reincarnation makes a lot of sense to me. It allows for justice (if you live a bad life, your reborn life is worse than your previous life). And it gives value to all forms of life on earth. Also it is peaceful...

  I have a sense inside myself that God, whatever he/she really is, truly does love me. I can't explain that, I just feel it. I feel it as clearly while watching a blazing sunset as I ever did in a meeting or convention. Just recently, I felt it very strongly while attending a Catholic Mass for the first time.

  I believe that "hell" can be very personal. Perhaps "paradise" is also personal (that is, that part of our lives that feeds us with love, beauty, and grace).

  Maybe,

  But I'll be interested to see the opinions of others,

  NanaR
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  anewme

  Wanderer, my thoughts exactly this morning!!!!
  Peeling away the erroneous thinking and beliefs drummed into us by the Society takes time.
  
  Focusing on the beauty and fantastic opportunities in the world and the amazing talent and wonderful acts of kindness all around is the best way to get excited about living!
  
  Life is an adventure! Nothing is written! You write your life story. You can spend your life unhappy, fat, and wind up in some kind of prison. Or you can thrill, laugh, sing, shout and make love and share joy with others for the rest of your life. Its all up to you and how much heart you want to put into everyday living.
  
  One of these days I will write about my joy over finally ridding myself of the whole Watchtower misery.
  
  The important thing is we are out! Yay! Now to make up for lost time in enjoying this wonderful life!
  
  
  Anewme
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  choosing life

  Been out for over a year. But affected by loved ones still in. First, I had to deal with a lot of negative emotions-anger, grief, disappointment, fear, etc. But now some of the good emotions are starting to take me to new places. I feel free-so free! I can read , watch, experience and believe whatever I want.

  At first, I had to come to grips with my mortality because I truly believed them when they said I would never have to experience old age or death. Now I feel that God will take care of those things and has always been in control to begin with.

  I am determined to cherish the life I have now. I want to reach out and help people more. I am not waiting for some magical solution. There were so many things I did or didn't do because some strangers in New York told me to. Now it's my responsibility to direct my life and I am thankful for that every day. I guess I would take a mortal life of freedom over an immortal life of slavery any day.

  Looking forward to living free and helping others to do so.
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  LongHairGal

  Rich:
  
  I knew they were running out of time years ago with their 1914 teaching. I then prepared myself mentally for death "in this system" [forgive me for using this lingo]. I would rather have no hope than a false hope. I started to live life NOW even if only mentally. I changed my outlook. This is what is MOST important: how you view things. Most people cannot change their surroundings or circumstances, but they CAN change how they view things. Once I was resolved in myself that they were playing mind-games I privately shut it off in my mind and changed my attitude.
  
  Once I got their stupid carrot of "new system" and "everlasting life" out of my mind it got easier. The idea that people are slaves because of these teachings is really sad and very cruel. In my opinion, this is not too much different from Christendom's teaching of heaven as a reward in the afterlife. And never forget that NOBODY knows what really happens after death. This is still a mystery whether you do or don't believe in the bible.
  
  Dont' be despondent. You can still be happy and be a good person without the fantasy at the end of the rainbow.
  
  LHG
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  jaguarbass

  When you acquire the knowledge that this was a fraud,
  when death becomes inevitable and the promise of ever-
  lasting life on paradise earth turns up empty, when your
  world turns upside down, and inside out, where do you
  go from there?

  We live in the information age. Goodle your questions and then research them with a grain of salt.

  Ive found in my 23 years out of the organization that there are no answers which are satisfying or stand up to scrutiny. That realization leaves me to live life one day at a time and each day as if it were my last. I am constantly looking for a better more satisfying answer but today this is the best I can give you. Your experience with the witnesses was a growing, learning experience. They didnt have the answers either. We were all to naive to discern that at the time. Now we have more tools and resources. Good luck on your search for answers.
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  daystar

  When you acquire the knowledge that this was a fraud,
  when death becomes inevitable and the promise of ever-
  lasting life on paradise earth turns up empty, when your
  world turns upside down, and inside out, where do you
  go from there?

  The WBTS sets up a false dilemma. There is no "where" to be. There is no "inside" or "outside", there is simply "being".

  I found this out the hard way. I suspect we all do.

  I hope I never stop growing as a person, learning, discovering. I hope I never find "the Truth". Therein lies stagnation, rigidity.