Posts by Steve Lowry

34

If You Could Take "It" Back, What Would "It" Be???

by minimus in

jw
friends

anything that you've regretted, that "if only" you could take it back, you would??

?

Steve Lowry

When I was kid in junior high school I had a friend named Robert Tucker, who shared very similar physical characteristics with me. With looked so much alike, the other kids would tease us by calling me Tucker, or him Lowry.

On a dumb ass whim, he and five others stole a car, lost of control of it, ran it off an over pass and into an embankment. With the exception of Robert’s little brother, everyone died. It was a terrible tragedy and big news in the area we all lived.

The family didn’t live that far from me and a few days after the funeral I decided to go by personally to offer my condolences. As I walked up to the house, a desperate and hurting mother saw my image through the screen door. Thinking she saw her dead son, she gasped, cried out and fell to the floor. There was no consoling her.

I was just a kid, and I meant well, but it was a terribly insensitive thing to do considering how much Robert and I looked alike. I wish I could ‘take that back’, as it were.

That was thirty-five years ago, but it still bothers me when I think about to this day.

55

haunted houses

by free will in

jw
friends

so, that spooky season is almost upon us again.

how many of you, will go on haunted house tours or delve into anything spiritistic?

i mean we don't want the demons to attach to us, do we?!

Steve Lowry

The more I played the Ouija board, the more ‘spooky’ the whole experience became.

One day while working in downtown Miami, I ran into my X-wife (a JW) waiting for an elevator in some multi-level building. She and I had recently ended our short marriage under very hateful circumstances and it made me sick to my stomach seeing her ‘pop up’ like that. I didn’t say a word to her, I just got on the elevator. It was odd running into her there, as it was some twenty miles away from where both of us used to live and work. It seemed almost too much a coincidence. Anyway that night I asked the Ouija board if it had arranged this coincidental meeting and the answer was, "Yes". Hey I’m not saying I believed the answer necessarily, but this is the kind of head games it would play.

Usually, several entities would vie for time on the board in a given session. It’s like they had to compete with ‘each other’ for their time to speak. I remember evenings where as many twenty to thirty entities would ‘come through’. A dead couple by the names of Pam and Frank were regulars on the board and had a great sense of humor about them. It was just like talking with your aunt and uncle on the phone, kinda thing. We also would wright down the ‘names’ during a session sometimes, and then ask to speak to specific individuals later on in the evening at different times. Each had their particular personalities intact as well as their stories (about how they died), even though it may be several hours later when we asked to speak to a specific entity. There’s just no way, in my opinion, that two people using a Quija board could remember so many personalities as well as their individual characteristics, and all in one night’s time (we would refer to the list of names, of course). Try remembering thirty or so people’s individual stories on the way home from a party sometime. You can’t do it very easily. But if you were on a bus with those same people and asked them to restate who they were and a little about themselves, then you could easily remember. In keeping with the analogy, you would be at a greater disadvantage with the Ouija board because you wouldn't have the faces and voices of the ‘guests’ to help you recall who they were, like you would at a real party. This is kinda what it was like with the Ouija. (I don’t know what "they" were, but we didn’t manufacturer them up. Spirits, ghosts, demons, I dunno. Maybe something else we are not aware of, maybe. But it wasn’t my imagination that created them, of that I am sure.)

As time went along, there was one entity that demanded more and more time on the board. It finally dominated the board to the exclusion of all others. It was one of the entities that first introduced itself when I first began using the board, but it stayed somewhat in the background for a long while. And this is where an area of concern should be noted. Up until this time the board was for the most part, mostly just intriguing entertainment. But with this particular entity, the fun stopped.

More next time . . .

Steve

30

Question: What keeps the Watchtower Society going?

by Vitameatavegamin in

jw
friends

hello folks, it's been awhile since i have posted, hope everyone is doing well!

i have a question, though, if the society is not paying the governing body, or other "big wigs" in ny large salaries, what would be the motivating factor for the society to continue to exist?

i am not saying that money is everything, but if none of the money is going into pockets, then the society must really feel that they are god's chosen channel, or something to that effect.

Steve Lowry

Inertia . . .

16

Questions from a non JW

by shiloh in

jw
friends

i have a couple of questions that have come to mind as a result of converstations with my jw girlfriend.

1. we were talking the other day and got on the subject of disfellowshipping and i asked her if she thought it was right.

i also asked her about people who had been df'd for something that the wt has since received "new light" on and thus, had been df'd for something that the wt is now teaching is okay.

Steve Lowry

"The elders are supposed to visit df'd persons once a year."

Hell, then I think I'm owed something on the order of twenty-five visits! Uh, guess I won't hold my breath. LOL!

22

2 years ago today..............in memory

by Mulan in

jw
friends

she was my cousin, my best friend, .

and my childhood playmate.. and she was one of us.. i miss her so much.

ladies.................get your regular mammograms

Steve Lowry

Im sorry for your loss . . .

Steve

41

Just Get Over It?

by sens in

jw
friends

in the last couple of days ive been reading info on the un & wts ...so have been pretty absorbed with the amount of info out there on the wts...

anyway...it hasnt been that long since i left the wts...and a close friend of mine (never a witness) said to me ,twice now, and rather strongly again today...

"its over, you have left, get over it...your obsessed with this, who cares, just get over it before it drives you mad...its really pathetic"

Steve Lowry

Xena,

" . . . no one, can completely comprehend this religion with all of its peculiarities and it’s idiosyncrasies, in the way that only someone who has actually been an active Jehovah’s Witness can."

I must stand by this statement. The operative word here is, "completely". Surely any compassionate and intelligent individual who, although never been one of Jehovah’s’ Witnesses, could and should be able to empathize with the JW, or former JW, as it were. But not completely. That would be impossible. It’s not a snub, it’s just a matter on social mechanics. It is just as impossible for me, a white male, to completely understand what it must be like to be an African American. I’m intelligent (uh, somewhat anyway) and compassionate, but I could never claim to be able to completely understand their experience. That dose not impede my ability (or my responsibly) to join with others and to be effective in trying to understand my fellow man’s burden and make changes. But I’ll never know what his experience is like in its entirety. It isn’t that I should think my black friend feels elitist because he say’s than I can’t completely identify with him. Instead, I must respect and understand the limitations of the situation.

"Now, as an ex-JW, if you really believe that noone could truly understand, you are transferring that dynamic (elitism) to another place and noone could possibly understand where you have been and they are still outsiders. You then run the risk of being as dismissive with "outsiders" with that as the insensitive neverbeens might be to the plight of the ex-jw. "

I can’t speak for someone else, but for me at least, its not being an elitist to make the statement that someone who has never been a JW can’t completely understand what it’s like to have been one. I’m sorry if it may come off that way, but I wouldn’t be being completely honest with myself, to not recognize this reality. We may have to agree to disagree, agreeably, on this one. My wife who could pass any JW "test" due to her willingness and involvement to help former JW’s along with me with our little ministry (Life After The Watchtower) concedes her limitations to completely "get it".

I think maybe where we’re ‘missing’ each other, is that you may feel I’m diminishing you’re ability to ‘help’. No way! In fact someone who is ‘on the outside looking in’, very often has the more objective view than someone else who is too close. In that way, you and others who have never been ‘inside’ can be of great assistance to those who are hurting and need someone to help show them the way out. Most active Jehovah’s Witnesses won’t even listen to us former JW’s, because we have been so demonized by the Watchtower Society. I like to think of it as a team. Those of us who have come out of the cults with our experiences and those who haven’t been in, but have the skills and compassion, joining forces to help the hurting and the lost. Together we can make the difference.

Steve

41

Just Get Over It?

by sens in

jw
friends

in the last couple of days ive been reading info on the un & wts ...so have been pretty absorbed with the amount of info out there on the wts...

anyway...it hasnt been that long since i left the wts...and a close friend of mine (never a witness) said to me ,twice now, and rather strongly again today...

"its over, you have left, get over it...your obsessed with this, who cares, just get over it before it drives you mad...its really pathetic"

Steve Lowry

Hey Brummie,

That's a pretty good parallel of an analogy. There certainly is mind control in play in abusive relationships (especially where the woman is the victim). They (the victim) have to come finally to the conclusion they have been lied to and abused and have to stop the cycle. It is indeed similar to the JW experience.

I also agree with you that the JW experience is unique unto itself.

Steve . . .

41

Just Get Over It?

by sens in

jw
friends

in the last couple of days ive been reading info on the un & wts ...so have been pretty absorbed with the amount of info out there on the wts...

anyway...it hasnt been that long since i left the wts...and a close friend of mine (never a witness) said to me ,twice now, and rather strongly again today...

"its over, you have left, get over it...your obsessed with this, who cares, just get over it before it drives you mad...its really pathetic"

Steve Lowry

Nobody who isnt or hasnt been a jw can truly understand...

Xena, Big and Brummie,

There actually is merit to this comment. While I certainly applaud those who make every attempt to understand the JW experience (and we need these folks), no one, and I mean no one, can completely comprehend this religion with all of its peculiarities and it’s idiosyncrasies, in the way that only someone who has actually been an active Jehovah’s Witness, can. The reason for this (IMO) is because of the mind control. You can study this religion, you can even become an expert about it, but if you’ve never experienced the mind control personally, then you’re at somewhat of a loss to relate, as it were. You have to go through the fire (from JW to XJW) to know what it is all about.

I don’t mean to split hairs here, or to diminish the love and concern those have for the JW/XJW, who happen to be on the outside looking in. But they will always be ‘looking in’ on a way of life that they never personally experienced.

Steve . . .

55

haunted houses

by free will in

jw
friends

so, that spooky season is almost upon us again.

how many of you, will go on haunted house tours or delve into anything spiritistic?

i mean we don't want the demons to attach to us, do we?!

Steve Lowry

The following (for those who may be interested) are a few of my personal experiences with the Ouija board. They are not embellished urban legends. They are indeed what I experienced first hand during my time with the board.

My "witch" friend (who introduced me to the Ouija) told me to always burn a white candle to ward off evil spirits while playing with the Ouija. So, I did as she recommended. (Oh yea, I can just see ‘evil spirits’ shuddering at the thought of a white candle burning. LOL) Anyway, it became my custom to purchase a pack of candles (and some smokes) before proceeding with an evening with the Ouija board. I learned it was a good idea when first starting a session with the board to ask a few simple direct questions, to which you knew the answers to (similar to the process of a lie detector test). This way you could ‘test the spirits’ or, the ‘connection’ to see how responsive the board was going to be. So one night, I had just purchased a pack of candles and was about to get started and I asked the board how many candles were in the pack. (It was a pack of four). Answer, "Three". I asked again. Answer, "Three". I asked a third time to get the same response. Finally I gave up asking that question and continued on with the session. I was surprised at how strong the connection was throughout the evening considering how the board "failed" my first simple question/test. Well as the evening began to wind down, I had only one candle left to burn. As I talked with my guest, I attempted to light the candle. But it wouldn’t catch flame. I swapped it end for end and tried again, but to no avail. Finally I held the candle up to the light. There was no wick inside the candle. It was just a piece of wax. Ergo, there were only "Three" candles in the pack. Experiences like this one make me believe the Ouija’s ‘answers’ are not a psychological phenomenon, as there was no way I could have known before hand there was a wick missing in one of the candles.

I refused to play the Ouija without a cigarette. Not for protection or anything, I just had to smoke when playing it. One night while playing and when the board was really ‘hot’ (a strong connection), I ran out of smokes. I decided I would go out for some smokes and return, but the board insisted on continuing without interruption. I said, "OK, fine. Show me where there are some smokes in this house and I will continue. Otherwise, no deal." Answer, "Look under couch". Directly underneath where I was sitting on my couch was a freshly opened pack of Marlboro Lights (the brand I smoked). I had no recollection of how those cigarettes had gotten placed there under the couch.

I once had an entity tell me my house was a gateway to Hell and that thousands of devils came and went through it all the time. Sound’s goofy now, but back then, it was unnerving.

I once had one tell me there was buried treasure in my backyard, but I never believed it. Just another of many lies.

I had a friend who was a skeptic to stop by one night that claimed this was "All in your mind, Steve". He agreed to play the board to prove his charge. I was quite ‘seasoned’ with the board by this time and knew how to use it. I asked him right off, if there had been any ‘supernatural’ experiences in his life that he could remember. He swallowed a bit, and admitted that there was one event. I instructed him not to tell me anything about the actual event. I asked him if he remembered how old he was at the time it occurred. He did. I asked the board, "How old was Robert when he had this experience?" Answer, "12". I thought for a moment my skeptic friend would faint. For several moments he was unable to speak. Then he told me that when he was twelve years old, his grandfather had died and just at the moment of his death, he came to Robert’s house in spirit form, to say good bye. Funny, sometime later I ran into Robert and asked him what he thought of the experience. "Ah, its all a bunch of crap". Which causes me to think that some people even when faced with the evidence, can’t or are afraid to go contrary to what they ‘must’ believe.

There were more experiences with the board that I can remember, but this is already a long post.

It got to the point where it was damned scary.

Steve . . .

41

Just Get Over It?

by sens in

jw
friends

in the last couple of days ive been reading info on the un & wts ...so have been pretty absorbed with the amount of info out there on the wts...

anyway...it hasnt been that long since i left the wts...and a close friend of mine (never a witness) said to me ,twice now, and rather strongly again today...

"its over, you have left, get over it...your obsessed with this, who cares, just get over it before it drives you mad...its really pathetic"

Steve Lowry

Hey Sens,

I agree, it ain't a simple thing to 'leave behind'. It has changed my life (the twenty some years I was a JW). But ya know what? I wouldn't be the person I am today without that experience. It is part of my overall make-up. Hey, I would have rather not gone through all the crap I have had to go through because of this religion. But it’s made me stronger and wiser than if I hadn't. When I get frustrated sometimes about it (and I do), I try to think of it as just another of life’s experiences. And that seems to work for me.

But it will always be a part of me.

Steve