Worthwhile activities for new ex-jws

by thecarpenter 8 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  thecarpenter

  Before I stopped going to JW meetings, I was slowly fading away from the organization. My abrupt cessation of meetings after reading Crisis of Conscience sort of left me with large amounts of time on my hands.

  Although I had somewhat eased myself back it normal activities relatively fast, I realized that I had close to ideal circumstances to leave the organization (I had good friends who also left at the same time, non-witness family members, I don't run into witnesses that often if I am not going into the kingdom hall, etc...)

  I was wondering what advice would you give someone who is just leaving and may not have ideal circumstances?
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  BrentR

  If you get involved with a social type hobby or passtime you will quickly make new friends. These will be true and trustworthy friends not conditional ones. Soon you will wonder how you had time for three meetings a week plus field service. Every Tues and Thurs evening when I am out in my shop working on another project I still think back twenty plus years ago that right now I would be sitting in KH. Listening to the same boring drivel and surrounded by plastic people, very few of which were happy.

  Get engaged with life and set aside some selfish time for yourself. Throw out all of your neck ties!!!! I hated wearing ties and still have flashbacks of being slowly strangled for two hot hours in an non-airconditioned KH.

  Good luck and always do what is right for you and your common sense.
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  avidbiblereader

  Invest in a paper shredder and keep the Bible,

  Get busy living or get busy dying has always been a favorite line of mine from Shawshank Redemtion, Get out there as Royal Caribbean says, take up a hobby you REALLY enjoy, work out, see what is on TV on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sleep in on Sat and Sunday morning, stay up late on Friday and Sat. Donate some of your good clothes that you will Probably never use again to a good cause. Enjoy getting to know new people, the list goes on and on.

  abr
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  5go

  Wargamming or RPG
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  steve2

  Best advice: Steer clear of religious groups. You need time to sort yourself out and religious people seldom if ever give you space to do this. In one form or another, they apply pressure and start advancing the religious solution even before the dust's settled.

  It's a little bit like signing up for a new date as soon as the marriage is over. No, no, no: better to spend time away from the whole idea of being in a relationship whilst you begin to process what happened.

  I've seen far too many ex-Jws go running into the arms of other religions without learning to think for themselves. Date all you like in the future - but not now!!
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  Abandoned

  I was wondering what advice would you give someone who is just leaving and may not have ideal circumstances?

  Do you have any hobbies or anything you have a passion for? This may be an ideal time to dive into the types of things you could picture yourself doing if you weren't worried about money. Travel? Reading? Woodworking? Painting? Learn an instrument? Volunteer work? Writing?

  You have given away enough of your time to fruitless activities at the kingdom hall. Now it's your turn to choose.
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  Shawn10538

  I am in agreement with steve2 above. Stear clear of religious groups. Nothing makes me sicker than hearing about an exJW that has "found Jesus." Once you start down the slippery slope of questioning, you find that the whole of religion, (except for maybe Budhism and some earth/tribal religions because they are so abstract and don't have any real doctrine, or authority structure and so many believe conflicting things about them being very vague as they tend to be) is all bullshit. In any case Christianity is full on crap from its mythological beginnings to its mythological end.
  
  Even more shocking, I have found a Mormon on this discussion board!!!!! Maybe there is more than one, God forbid. I'm sorry, but if you are Mormon, you have no fucking business on this anti-cult discussion board!!! Can I get an Amen??? I mean, they believe a bi-polar dude from New York found gold plates (that of course no one else ever saw)... anyway, it's just too stupid for grown ups to even think about discussing. Santa Clause is more believable for Christ's sake. Just see the South Park episode. I believe that's a pretty accurate depiction of how idiotic, (dare I say even MORE idiotic than JWs? I dare) the Mormon ridiculous myth is.
  
  With love and amazement at what grown people believe,
  Shawn
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  Madame Quixote

  I would recommend any number of things, including, but not limited to:

  internet surfing

  reading science books

  reading science fiction and historical fiction

  finishing high school

  finishing college

  learning more about parenting and psychology and other social sciences

  joining an encounter group (oops, not grope, but that might be fun too)

  visiting the museums on Sunday instead of going to meetings

  attending a liberal church

  and, above all else, avoiding unhealthy people (like most of your JW relatives).
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  sass_my_frass

  Find something new to throw yourself into for a while, and when you get bored with that switch to something else. Keep doing that until you realise that you're no longer doing this just to distract yourself, you're doing this because personal growth is what makes life great!