Has anyone ever had an experience like mine, being touched by an invisible being ?
I haven't. I was raised a JW, so of course was taught never to expect anything supernatural until Armageddon. If there were any contact with spirit creatures, they must be demons. The angels only occasionally help when under intense persecution or finding 'sheep' in the ministry, but only rarely, invisibly, indirectly.
Yours certainly is a compelling story. However, the JWs would immediately believe you were drugged up or dealing with demons. Having been fully trained in JW thinking, I know this question follows: Why would your guardian angel let you leave the JWs in the first place and let you sink so low? Why would a guardian angel help you, but not so many others in even more dire straits? I'm not raising those questions to put you on the spot. I'm noting the irony that an angel would take you back to a group that believes Moses listened to a talking burning bush, but they will call you crazy for saying you held hands with a spirit.
Further following JW logic and skepticism, stories of guardian angels usually make them look careless or foolish. As in the situation Slappy described, a wise angel could have turned off the machine before there had been any damage to the boy or equipment. Or a better angel would have rescued the brother in the accident along with him. I don't know if his brother was 'bad' or somehow unworthy of angelic protection, but it does raise the question, why one and not the other. Or even, while falling in the soft snow is okay, why did the angel allow the accident to happen at all? It's a question that many religions struggle with, non-Christian as well as Christian.
As I said earlier, "be aware of the consequences of where you put your faith". I have seen that it is very dangerous to live your life believing that you are 'protected' by angels or believing in fate. Those people are often deceived into taking careless risks or failing to plan adequately for the future. Those are the type of people in places like Asia that work construction on tall rickety scaffolding made of bamboo simply roped together. No hardhats. No protective harness. They believe that either it isn't their time to go, or it is. If they are protected, they rejoice for the miracle. If they die, they will be reincarnated, or whatever. Obviously, lots of them die needlessly in accidents. Don't become like them.
I don't know if this was in any way helpful, tartarus, I hope it's not discouraging. But with your original subject and your original questions, including:
Do you still miss "the dream" that you once yourself pitched to others as the solution to all their problems?
Sure, I miss the good parts of "the dream", but as when waking to often harsh reality after having a pleasant dream at night, you can't live in last night's dream. You have to make the best of reality. I'm still 'in' and trying to come to terms with that myself. I'm sorting through what I've learned that's worth keeping. And looking around for what to do next. Looking back at what "should have been", gets distressing in many ways. Yes, reality then looks crappy and the future looks bleak. But if you still choose to believe in a non-JW god, you're not alone, Slappy seems to be happy. If you choose to be atheist or agnostic, you're not alone, probably most on JWD have chosen that path. And they do have very real hopes and dreams. Some they don't acheive. Some they do. Maybe you could look into counselling. Or, maybe you can just stick around JWD and read.
And don't forget, at the other end of the JW dream of paradise was the JW nightmare of death and distruction of 6 billion people for not obeying some goofy men in Brooklyn, NY who are false prophets.
B the X
