1975's coming and then going REALLY helped me to make my decision. Even then, it took till' 1979 to make the break. I was then married to a JW and had all JW friends. I will never forget the night I decided to leave, to never come back. I was sitting there, and a wave came over me form my subconscious, I suppose. I got up and walked to the bathroom where I splashed some cold water on my face. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and said the following; "This isn't who I am. I am not a JW". I walked back to my then wife, told her to find a way home, and I walked out, never to enter another Kingdom Hall. The only other time I have felt such a surge of exhilaration was when I drove a car all by myself for the first time. Both times (leaving the WBTS and driving),I realized I could go anywhere and do anything I wanted. I will never forget that sense of freedom of those two spectacular events of my life. I have never regretted my decision to leave the watchtower Society in the twenty-five years or so since I left.
PS, I wish I had an interesting story to recall like Eddie! Really loved reading your story Eddie. Happy endings make for pleasent to read stories. Thanks for sharing.
Steve Lowry
JoinedPosts by Steve Lowry
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17
What "Awoke" you from the Watchtower's grip?
by JH in.
in my case, i was very generous with those in need in the congregation, because i had a good job, but when i lost that good job, no one gave me a helping hand.
they just didn't care about my financial well being.. also the years went by and it was as if we were getting further and further away from what they previously prophetized.
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Steve Lowry
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Why some won't leave the Watchtower
by JH inname as many reasons as you can why some won't leave the watchtower organization, even though they know something is wrong.
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Steve Lowry
I think it all comes down to one thing. Fear. Fear is the great mind killer and it has been my enemy all my life. What helped to break the Watchtower shackles though, is that I have way to independent of a spirit to have continued on as a slave.
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Steve Lowry
All dressed up and no cash to go. After being on the job for twentyfive years (have 27 as of this June), I get six weeks vacation time (as well as twelve floater days). But alas, I have child support so I don't have much money to go anywheres'. LOL. Never been a big lets go somehwere on vacation kinda guy, anyway. Maybe a day trip someplce thats fun, and then back home again. I used to have tons of projects to do around the house and tackled those things during my vacation weeks. But, uh, the X got the house. At first, this kinda bugged me. But after not having to mow the lawn for the last eighteen months or clean out gutters and junk like that, I don't mind not having it too much. Yea, she can have the house.When I retire, I would like to dedicate my life to those things I never got to do in my working years. Some of those things are; Hike the Appalachian Trail (the whole freakin trail, I mean). See the Grand Canyon. Go back and see the Titans. Visit Cananda. Definately see Alaska. I got twelves year to to go to retirement, and if I sacrifice now, I should prolly be able to do these kinda things. Thanks for letting me dream a little this morning.
Steve
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Heard today: "Wow, why's it so long?"
by Elsewhere inthat's right, i was at frys browsing around to kill some time and while i was in the computer section i saw a kid and his dad looking at monitors.
the kid apparently had never seen a crt monitor before.
damn... makes me feel old.
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Steve Lowry
I was at a Publix the other day and used my debit card to pay for my food. After I slid my card thru and punched in my password code, I fell into in a kind of mind freeze waiting for the total, when I was suddenly brought back to the planet when the seventeen year old cashier asked me,"Are you gonna want cash back?". To which I smiled and said, "No, thank you". To which she replied, "Well then, could you please hit the NO button, for cash back?". But her eyes and facial expression said the following, "Well then, do you think you could use one of your brain cells to hit the damn NO cash button back, so I don't have to ask another numbnuts moron like you today to hit the fking stupid button?". It was all over her face. Guess I desreved that one. LOL!
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I fired the Watchtower Society
by LeftBehind ina lot has happened since i last posted.
i was caught associating with my apostate brother at my own house.
we were eating together.
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Steve Lowry
So, you you fired the Wacthtower. I really like this headset. Excellent. This shows you have taken control of the situation and you will not be a victim, which how the cultic groups stay in control (by keeping former members in the victim mindset). Only victims can be controlled. I personally believe that most former JW's eventually get to this point, where they simply refuse to be manipulated anylonger. For me, it came very quickly. Not that I'm any smarter than anyone alse, its just that I was born an independent spirit and it goes against my 'grain' to allow others to tell me where, how, when or what to do. Well, good for you that you won't allow anyone to manipulate you any further from the Watchower group. Its your life. You put your food on the table, and it's your life to do with as you please. Yes, very good for you, indeed!(BTW, to my friends here on the forum. When you respond to a troll, you may offend him or insult him, but in the end, any attention he gets here is better than what he is getting elsewhere and he will return for more. Such persons are loosers, and aren't worth a keystroke.)
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I hate going to the meetings!
by slimboyfat ingot to shave, got to dress, got to sit through crap, got to answer up and smile and greet.
it is 6.30pm on a tuesday night... here we go again.
why do i have to go to the meetings!
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Steve Lowry
'It is sad that there are so many faithless people here. But the meetings are for our good. Sure it is difficult, but what alternative is there? Another Duh."
Spoken like a faithful JW. Or, rather a rat stuck in a maze, "Sure its bad, but I can't find my way out!" There are a plethora of possibilities or alternatives to your current experience. But you have to be willing to explore them, which may mean thinking for yourself and taking the risk of failure here and there. With freedom comes the responsibility of making choices. Ya make some good ones and you succeed, bad ones and ya fail. When we fail, ah, that’s where/when we learn. But you can't learn about 'alternatives' very well in a vacuum, ala the Watchtower Society.
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I hate going to the meetings!
by slimboyfat ingot to shave, got to dress, got to sit through crap, got to answer up and smile and greet.
it is 6.30pm on a tuesday night... here we go again.
why do i have to go to the meetings!
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Steve Lowry
"I am not an active Witness and I still go to meetings."
So, you're not even a JW, and yet you still feel you have to go to the meetings even though you don't want to? Man, you're gonna make a great Witness for the Watchtower. Your not even a JW yet, and already they got you guilt tripped out. LOL! Take my advice and stopped going now! You'll never have the intestinal fortitude to not go to the meetings after you become a JW, if you can't stop now.
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Are there not enough anti-Witness books out there?
by free2beme inevery once in awhile i will read comments about someone thinking a new anti-witness book needs to be written, to expose something.
well, recently i took the time to look over the search engines of the internet and found something interesting.
when you type in "jehovah's witness" or "watchtower", you found almost 3 to 1, negative sites and information on the witnesses.
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Steve Lowry
Agreed Free, with one exception. The book, "The Kingdom of the Cults" by the late Walter Martin, is a must read for family's of Jehovah's Witnesses (as well as Mormons) who want to know more about the Organization and why their JW family members act the way they do. (IMO)
I've been dealing off and on now for some time with former Jehovah's Witnesses. Some over the Internet like this, and some face to face. I have sat across from people who have very recently left, who have had some fifty years of their lives invested in the Watchtower Society. Here's my take; Some are really pissed and feel betrayed and (IMO) they need to connect with their anger and not suppress it. I think this kinda person could benefit from media (books, websites, support groups, etc.) which will help them get in touch with their feelings. Some are heartbroken and need encouragement and could best use media along those lines for help. And there are the ones who are confused and don't which way to turn and they could probably benefit from words of encouragement and guidance. The right tool for the right job kinda thing.
I know where you're comin' from though. You're making a philosophical point, how much is enough? I guess it gets down to a matter of opinion, and I respect yours. BTW, I appreciate this thread and being able to contribute to it. I really can't get into the 'fluff' threads and those topics that have been done over and over again. This has been an interesting topic.
Steve
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Did You Believe "The End" Was Going To Come In Your Lifetime?
by minimus inwhen the society came out in 1966 with the info that 6000 years of man's existence would come to an end by 1975, i thought it was a crock.
for 9 long years, all jws did was speculate about "when" the great tribulation was going to begin.
i always thought of jesus' words about "nobody knowing the day or the hour"----yet jehovah's witnesses figured it out?
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Steve Lowry
"You have to admit that out of all the religions on this earth, the JW's try to live their life by the bible. No one is perfect and everyone has a choice of whether they want to be in that religion or not."
Saw this kinda late and prolly too late for a response, but just had too. Really, I think you're missing the point of this thread. It isn't if JW's try to live by biblical standards or not. Its about, did we buy into the foretold by the Watchtower Society end of the world thing and did we believe. If you didn't live thru 1975, then you have no idea what that was like. It was a kind of histeria that caught like wildfire and everyone believed it (ofcourse I don't mean that literally, there were a few exceptions, as there are always). People were duped, and people made life changing decisions based on the Watchtower's 'leading' about the end of the world as we then knew it. And yes, I did leave the group when I was about 21 years of age. But up to that point it was all I knew as I was raised a JW. It took inner strength and conviction to leave. Its not something you just stop doing like no more drinking coffee or something. It is a very hard thing to do to break through the mind control and the years of programming of fear of leaving the "Truth".
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JESUS AND ZEN
by onesong inin his book " the zen teachings of jesus",michael leong presents a very different way of understanding some of the things jesus taught--thru the eyes of eastern thought.. here's a couple of examples.
(he first explains that we should try to view jesus as a poet teaching us how to live beautifully.).
when jesus is questioned as to the greatest commandment and his reply "you must love god with your whole heart, mind and strength.
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Steve Lowry
If life has taught me one thing, it's that there can be many different ways to view the same thing. Those different ways are also not always mutually exclusive. I welcome any point of view which helps me to see something that I have been looking at for years, in a slightly differrent manner. It can serve to deepen my appreciation of the subject at hand. Some may be threathened by this, I am not. Thanks for sharing this ZEN point of view. I too would enjoy reading this book.
Steve