Are You Unwittingly Brain Washing Yourself?

by Englishman 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  Englishman

  It always surprises me just how many long - departed ex's refer to their life in the witnesses as being time spent "In the Truth".

  IMHO, every time we use that particular phrase, we are just re-imprinting ourselves with an old belief system that triggers off negative feelings about ourselves?

  When we talk about our past experiences, isn't it better to refer to them simply as being "When I was a Jehovah's witness"?

  After all, isn't it an incredibly stupid action to leave "The Truth"?

  I think that our brain knows that leaving "The Truth" is madness, so maybe we need to find a new word for our time in the dubs, otherwise our full departure could be held up for years by our own reservations, reservations that we keep re-kindling every time we use that awful expression "The Truth".

  Englishman.
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  searchfothetruth

  Englishman,

  Your quite right. Even tho' I left 'the Truth', I mean the Organisation, I still say that damned phrase. Very annoying.
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  blondie

  What would be better ways to say it? I'm a just faded JW and I could use some suggestions. What about other JW phrases?

  Blondie
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  Nathan Natas

  I agree completely with Englishman.

  I think persons who have stopped following the Watchtower Society teachings would benefit if they reminded themselves that they left a "mind control cult."

  Do not call it "The Truth," 'cause it ain't.
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  greven

  IMHO, every time we use that particular phrase, we are just re-imprinting ourselves with an old belief system that triggers off negative feelings about ourselves?

  You are completely right about this. Subtle slang and imprinting words are repeated over and over until we know hardly any other ways of putting it.

  I usually say 'when I left the Borg'...or something like that. I never use 'in The Truth' anyway because even as a JW I found it a weird way of putting it...for example: 'is he in the truth?' sounds very weird to me...I mean...like there is The Truth and The Lie...odd really.

  Greven
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  Lady Lee

  I think that is why so many will say troof or Truth (TM). It is their way of acknowledging that it isn't

  Somebody made an excellent point here one day that if we use these phrases when talking to a JW we are actually reinforcing their training and triggering them to snap their minds shut. We need to use real language and stay away from the loaded language

  I probably do it myself but I do find I catch myself using some of those words and will change it to reflect reality instead of WTisms.

  For me it is a matter of speaking my truth as honestly as I can
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  ozziepost

  G'day, g'day Eman,

  Yes, yes, yes!

  I've noted the same many times myself. D'ya think that it's even harder to eradicate for those who haven't really left "the Truth" i.e. they didn't really leave at all, they simply don't go, or they were Df for a moral sin.

  Cheers, Ozzie
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  Joyzabel

  E-man, have been talking with Venice_IT?? When I met her almost 2 years ago she would always pinch anyone who used the phrase "in the truth". OUCH, you learn quickly to review all the phrasology of the JWs and eradicate them from your vocabulary so you won't get pinched!!!

  *pinch *pinch to Ven!!!

  j2bf
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  WildHorses

  It always surprises me just how many long - departed ex's refer to their life in the witnesses as being time spent "In the Truth".

  I refer to it as, time I spent in that cult. Especially when I start a conversation with someone about the JW's. I notice I always start the conversation with..........."I was in a cult for a few years".
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  Scully

  I usually put the little ™ whenever I refer to the JW belief system as The Truth™. It reminds me that the term is just a label, and does not accurately describe the actual content of the belief system.

  Oddly enough, I only use that term here - perhaps because everybody here understands the jargon for what it is, a buzzword used to evoke certain emotions. I don't use it in conversation with my husband (who, incidentally, still uses the term). I am also careful to avoid using it when talking with JW family members; I usually refer to it as "the JW religion" or "your beliefs", which is an honest, factual and non-judgemental way of referring to it in conversation with JWs.

  I've been able to have some half-decent conversations with my JW parents this way. If I were to demean their belief system by referring to it in a derogatory way (ie, Da Troof, The Lie, The Falsehood, etc), the conversation would not continue because their shields would go up immediately and they'd be on red alert, dismissing reasonable discussion as Apostacy™.

  Love, Scully