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Do you ever shed the Jw experience?
by AK - Jeff 17 Replies latest jw experiences
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AK - Jeff
It seems to be universal doesn't it? This constant effort to shed something that won't be shed?
Milestones are important. My first big milestone was celebration of my first birthday - when I turned 50! Later, the hanging of the American and my state flags were important dates. Voting.
I don't spend too much time thinking about Jw's and Jw stuff really. But it's effects on my life are irreversible. And not all the effects are bad ones. I have made it through 53 years of life without ever having an STD for instance. Or dealing with an illegitimate pregnacy. I don't lie, steal or cheat. I have stayed in my marriage happily for almost 35 years - an accomplishment that most cannot state in today's world.
Having been lied to for all those years [I was in till I was 48] is an open sore at times. As is the pain that I feel when my former so-called friends elect to shun me publicly.
But all in all - I live a very happy life now. I don't even think about the doctrine, unless I am reminded of it here.
Jeff
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DazedAndConfused
No, I have been out for 20 years and it just does not go away as hard as I try. I think that is because my parents are still very much in.
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The Almighty Homer
It all depends on what you use to deprogram with, solid information is the best resource, people today
are lucky because they have the inter-net at their disposal, back when I left we had to just go on a hunch
on my own understanding. Oh yes you most definitely can leave the JW experience but again its what you replace it with.
I went with honesty , knowledge and understanding with a open mind and heart, it really is the only way .
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WTWizard
Most of us have lost a good opportunity or more because of having been involved in the religion, whether we were born in or not. And, since we are not getting that opportunity back, it has damaged our lives. And, there is the ever-present danger of having even more time wasted as the hounders come around and hound you into going back into the cancer, or even the chance of being dragged back or having your family (who is still in) do damage to your life.
The religion has to go.
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dorayakii
I still log on to JWn once in a while to check on things.
I've been out of the bOrg now for almost 3 years but I still think about my experiences in the cult from time to time.
I have a good friend whom I always chat with about my experience as he was involved for a while with the Hare Krishna movement. It's surprising how many similarities Hare Krishna has to the Watchtower movement; the special vocabulary, the contant judgemental attitude. Sometimes we talk about other things such as evolution, philosophy, linguistics, anthropology or biology, but we often come back to talking and venting about our respective ex-cults. Someties we have a little "my-cult-was-worse-than-yours" competition, lol. I guess I'll still be talking about the dubs and lamenting my time with them for a long long time.
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LockedChaos
My wall of denial began to crumble
close to 2 years ago now..................
after leaving over 28 years prior
I learned mor about this religion stuff
this past year than in the prior 28 or
in the 25 I was "In"
Now is when the fun really begins.................
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Almost_Did_It
I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to have been an active JW for such a large part of your life, leaving, and then trying to understand the feelings (good or bad) that remain after you're out... I was only in for a little over three years -- the last two attending meetings and studying regularly... I never made it to baptism.
My family falling apart was what finally made me step back and look seriously at what I was doing... I made the decision to move away at the same time that several other life-changing events occured... Regardless, those who were my friends and study participants totally abandoned me... they are nowhere to be found. We shared our lives and I shared my innermost feelings with these people, and they are gone. I not only sometimes wonder if abandoning the truth was the right thing to do... confusion reigns in my head on most days... But, the extreme logic that goes along with abandoning people who you "pretend" to care about is unfathomable to me...
When I grieve, I grieve for those relationships that I was deluded into believing were real friendships ... that's the part that I cannot shed, no matter how hard I try...