Now here is where I stick my foot in my mouth, although I have done that enough in my life. I would like to think of myself as a free thinker and look at everything objectively. The point I would like to bring up here and discuss with others is, even though we claim or most of us claim to be ex Jdubs, we still have not gotten away from the codependent mind of a dub. I know my self it has being a struggle in my journey of self awareness to get away from that mind set. Early in my healing process I came across a quote I like that I have written down in my diary by Wayne Dyer. The highlights are added;
"The leaders of the church have misconstrued the teachings of the great religious leaders and attempted to teach conformity by using fear of retribution as a weapon. Thus a man behaves morally not because he believes it to be appropriate for him, but because God wants him to behave that way. If in doubt, consult the commandments rather than yourself and what you believe. Behave because someone has told you to and because you will be punished if you don’t, not because you know it to be the right behavior for you. Organized religion appeals to your approval seeking needs. It may produce the same behavior that you would have chosen, but you haven’t chosen it freely."
"Using yourself as a guide and not needing the approval of an outside force is most religious experience you can have. It is a veritable religion of itself in which an individual determines his own behavior based upon his own conscience and the laws of his culture that work for him, rather than because someone has dictated how he should behave. A careful look at Jesus Christ will reveal an extremely self-actualized person, an individual who preached self-reliance and was not afraid to incur disapproval. Yet many of his followers have twisted his teachings into a catechism of fear and self hate."
Thus I find most even though most have made a break from the Jdubs controlling environment, they really have not got away from looking to an outside source for guidance. I like the quote above " Using yourself as a guide and not needing the approval of an outside force is most religious experience you can have." That Jesus was an extremely self-actualizing person that preaches self-reliance. So what I see, even though we have made that break from a controlling cult, is some seem to gravitate to other mind controlling religions, theologies or ideologies. Why they can't make a decision or feel self worth without consulting a minister, counselor or fortune teller. That is the reason why I left the dubs. My ex couldn’t make any decisions without consulting the elders. Makes me wonder why some even left the Jdubs if they only go to another mind controlling groups or peoples. Is it freedom of thought that we wanted when we left the borg? Will