Did You Experience THIS When You Were Awakening From Mind Control?

by mentallyfree31 32 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  StoneWall

  n.a.c. said:

  I am happier than I have been in my life.

  I too echo those same words and can agree totally with them.

  To me personally the most powerful words in the scriptures is when Jesus said you will know "the truth and the truth will set you free."

  Whether you're a believer or non-believer those words hold so much force. Everyone should pursue truth.

  Truth will neither run nor change. You can never disprove truth. Something is either factual or false.

  As I started learning these things my mind was opened up and I was no longer afraid to question anything and everything.

  If what someone told me was truth, then they shouldn't worry if I talk to someone who didn't hold their viewpoint because ultimately if what they said was truth it would hold up under even the most intense scrutiny.
• 

  Aussie Oz

  Yes.

  even though i had been 'out' for 12 years i still believed they were the one true religion.

  I had a lot of worry over being on this very forum. The stuff i read really did freak me out for a while.

  I decided the only way to deal with it was to take almost every issue i came across and look into each one in turn. I broke them down into basic criteria of 'true', likely true with evidence, doubtful, and not true, that would satisfy myself as to what i was learning.

  I realized that not everything 'apostate' has substantial enough proofs to set it as true, and that some stuff was just lies and would actually do more harm than good in the 'cause'.

  The most part i must say i found to be true. Once i came to terms with that my attitude to the WT changed dramaticaly.

  oz
• 

  designs

  Its kind of like going through withdrawals. You face old patterns and habital ways of thinking and feeling for a period of time. In therapy there are techniques taught to help distance yourself form those experiences. It takes some time and effort to heal. The new things you do that bring joy and are positive help you along the new journey.
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  THE GLADIATOR

  I had doubts about the whole set up for many years. My doubts were as much about the bible being the word of men, rather than the word of god. The JWs base their faith on the bible in its entirety.

  I began to realize that when the brothers stood on the platform leading us in prayer - no one was listening. It was a form hypnotic suggestion. I was honest enough accept that my personal prayers were actually just personal thoughts. I began to realize that the whole thing had been dreamed up. I woke from the dream and left. It meant a total change of life style and friends. It was a huge loss.

  I spent the next 10 years searching for truth. I studied many religions and philosophies. I found many truths and comforting words, but no god. I was not prepared to imagine or dream up a belief to suit my own needs. I determined that I would accept the conclusion the evidence led to - whether it was what I wanted to find or not.

  My understanding of how the mind works, led me to study psychology, and counselling(US-counseling ). I spent 15 years working as a hypnotherapist & counsellor. I still talk to myself but do not imagine anyone from an invisible realm is listening. Not even fairies.
• 

  Lozhasleft

  Even 3 + years on my dreams are usually full of witnesses I knew and all sorts of conflict I have felt. Proves to me that their impact is extremely powerful.

  Loz x
• 

  FreeAtLast1914

  I didn't have nightmares or trouble sleeping (I never have), but I still remember the "awakening" moment when I knew something was wrong. I was conducting a Bible Study with a young man whose aunt was bringing him to meetings. She had asked me to study with him for a bit. I gladly accepted.

  Anyway, we're studying the God's Word or Man's Book and he asked me a question I'd been asked a million times before. "How do we know that what the Bible writers wrote was from God?" I answered, "Good question. Let's turn to 2 Tim 3:16,16." And while we're flipping to the scripture, it hit me suddenly, "How can I prove a book is inspired simply because it says it is????" The rest of the study is still a blur. I must have been on complete auto-pilot. I don't remember anything except that damn question.

  I drove away and the question kept haunting me to the point I next asked, "What else have I been teaching that may not be true?" I remember the horizon tilting and I was dizzy enough I pulled into the parking lot of a bookstore and just sat there for hours. The sensation was like a ton of bricks had been dropped on my head.

  The good news is the conclusion I reached that day. I was determined to look into every single belief that had been drilled into my "born-in" head. It took many months, but toward the end of my personal studies that ton of bricks began to lift and my mind began to clear. The new sensation I was experiencing was akin to flying out of a prison toward freedom.

  I am so grateful that I found the truth about the "Truth" while I'm still relatively young.
• 

  snowbird

  Yes.

  Syl
• 

  Designer Stubble

  This is called PCTS (Post Cult Trauma):

  See the description below and identify...
  
  The period of exiting from a cult is usually a traumatic experience and, like any great change in a person's life, involves passing through stages of accommodation to the change:
  
  Disbelief/denial: "This can't be happening. It couldn't have been that bad."
  Anger/hostility: "How could they/I be so wrong?" (hate feelings)
  Self-pity/depression: "Why me? I can't do this."
  Fear/bargaining: "I don't know if I can live without my group. Maybe I can still associate with it on a limited basis, if I do what they want."
  Reassessment: "Maybe I was wrong about the group's being so wonderful."
  Accommodation/acceptance: "I can move beyond this experience and choose new directions for my life" or...
  Reinvolvement: "I think I will rejoin the group."
• 

  mentallyfree31

  thanks everybody for your comments..

  -MF31-
• 

  snowbird

  What other fears/feelings/emotions did you experience?

  The feeling that I was a worthless fraud.

  How long did it last?

  About 2 years.

  How did you cope?

  I prayed for peace like I've never prayed before, was near a breakdown; the Lord Jesus paid me a personal visit.

  Syl