Posts by myauntfanny

15

Parents don't understand...

by überRabbit in

my parents just don't understand why i don't want to be part of the jehovah's witnesses organization.

it's not that i don't believe jesus' teachings, but i believe that the society has taken it too far.

they read too deep into god's words, that they end up putting training wheels on everyone.

Yup, I went through this, 30 years ago. I'll tell you what, I remember lying in bed when I was eleven years old calculating how many years it would be before I could get a job and get the hell out of the house. The hardest thing in my teens was looking at my parents and thinking they were so bloody wrong about this religion, but I still had to follow their bizaare, destructive little rules, because they had the power, plain and simple. I got very rebellious and did silly things like running away from home (right before an assembly, I just could not stand the thought of another assembly) but I don't recommend that. Rebelliousness just makes them stronger and more self-righteous, it gives them something to pound on. You'll be surprised how much more you can get away with, if you just do it with quiet self-respect.

Good luck.

23

Persecution of JW's Imminent?

by blacksheep in

jw
friends

probably dating myself, but remember all those assemblies/yearbooks, etc., that focused on the possibility that jws would suffer persecution at the hands of nazi-like regimes?

i remember attending an assembly which dramatized jw's being held, as in wwii, as having to make a choice to either "renounce?

" their jwism or die.

myauntfanny

Jonty

LMAO! Only it hits close to the bone too, because they are so unlikeable, and I was raised in that religion and I sometimes wonder if they made me PERMANENTLY unlikeable. Okay, I should probably save that for a therapist.

16

Presents all year round!

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

so, how many of you got presents all year round?

most worldly kids get 2 days of presents a year, birthdays and christmas.

some even get something on easter, valentine's day, and st. patrick's day!

myauntfanny

Don't even go there! I used to just want to CRY when they pulled out that old presents-all-year-round BS! My parents were dirt poor, we wouldn't have got much anyway, I can accept that, but the whole holiday thing made it SINFUL to even WANT presents, instead of just being a little sad not to get them. I concur with Jonty's last line of his post!

29

wasted life

by littlemike in

jw
friends

left 2 years ago and surf nearly every night.

i was an elder for 11 years did circuit assembly items etc.

in fact i did everything the society said.

myauntfanny

Hi littlemike

I wasted quite a lot of my life mourning over the part of my life that got wasted in JWs, so watch out you don't do that. I do think you have to take time to grieve, though. Leaving after so long is as big as a divorce or having someone close die, it's a bereavement.

I feel funny saying welcome to the board when I'm so new to the board myself, but...glad you're here.

23

Persecution of JW's Imminent?

by blacksheep in

jw
friends

probably dating myself, but remember all those assemblies/yearbooks, etc., that focused on the possibility that jws would suffer persecution at the hands of nazi-like regimes?

i remember attending an assembly which dramatized jw's being held, as in wwii, as having to make a choice to either "renounce?

" their jwism or die.

myauntfanny

I remember the Malawi stories too, they went into so much DETAIL about the tortures. I think the persecution complex is partly a classic case of guilty paranoia. They really want Armageddon to come and kill EVERYBODY, which is actually a terrible thing to want, so they feel subconsciously guilty and deserving of persecution. It also gives them a good defense when anybody makes them feel bad for belonging to such a weird religion, it's not a different opinion, it's persecution. And it pulls everyone together with the old us-against-them strategy.

86

Most hated WT publication

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

what is the wt publication you hated the most?

why did you hate it?

for me, it was probably that damn pink great teacher book.

myauntfanny

The daily textbook, definitely. There'd be all those stories about terrible tortures of people in other countries and Texas, and I would go to school with a stomach ache.

19

What is a good martial art for girls to learn? Any recommendations?

by True North in

jw
friends

does anyone have have any experience with martial arts?

my daughter is interested in trying to learn one and i think it would be a good idea both for physical training and for self defense.

i know there are a lot of different styles to choose from and i'm not sure which would be the best for her.

myauntfanny

Well, I tried Aikido once. There was a girl there about 17 and she had studied since she was young and was very confident. BUT...I thought it was very culty, you have to bow to this picture of the guy who started it and I really thought the people had that smug, self-righteous, not-of-this-world look. I didn't go back. I tried taekwando for a while and it was full of guys with David Caradine Kung Fu fantasies, very violent. I tried karate for a while and that was good. They were very careful to warn the woman not to get overconfident. I'm going to have my daughter to judo or ju-jitsu. I also think those classes that are just about basic "disable long enough to run" tactics are good for kids, because they get someone padded in there to practice on and that lets the kids really feel their own strength, which doesn't happen I think until much later in a martial arts class.

15

Inventing your own mythological guru (Jungian)

by frankiespeakin in

i have been reading about carl jung and the archtypes from the collective unconscious.. i think it very benificial to fantasize or imagine your own personal guru,, to guide you through life,,to have genuine coversations with this mythological figure of your imagination.

i feel such a figure can grow to be quite an asset in dealing with your lifes problems.

they say there are 12 basic types or archtypes,,have any here tried this approach?

myauntfanny

markfromcali

I never was focussing on accumulating knowledge, I'm quite content to remain dirt ignorant, all the new age theory is too esoteric for me anyway. With a lot of that stuff all I wanted was to relax. It's frustrating because I find meditation just makes me tenser and tenser till I have to bolt. I got very interested in the Reichian stuff on muscular armoring, but there's another case where head knowledge won't help, you have to do it. So I did and ended up in bed for a week with a screaming back ache. I think the sad truth is that I have a lot of resistance to getting out of my head. My husband does this thing called aquabalancing, where someone holds you in the water and raises you gently up and down in time to your breathing. He said it's fabulous, but the very thought makes me tense. You're right about everything you said, but I'm a tough customer, that's all.

10

My S.A.D. experience....

by Doubtfully Yours in

had a special assembly day just this past saturday.

we were blessed (ha!!!

yeah, right!!!

myauntfanny

Um, I could have sworn I read that the GB isn't made up of anointed any more.

I sort of liked assemblies (till I got fed up) because there were boys there (none at ALL in my congregation) but my mother hated having to take us to the bathroom 4000 times so she wouldn't let us drink anything and it was so hot in Pasadena! And I don't know about that whole "joyful" thing, everybody was always really snarky from the heat and there was always some kid in the bathroom being waled on for acting up. It wasn't exactly fun.

15

Inventing your own mythological guru (Jungian)

by frankiespeakin in

i have been reading about carl jung and the archtypes from the collective unconscious.. i think it very benificial to fantasize or imagine your own personal guru,, to guide you through life,,to have genuine coversations with this mythological figure of your imagination.

i feel such a figure can grow to be quite an asset in dealing with your lifes problems.

they say there are 12 basic types or archtypes,,have any here tried this approach?

myauntfanny

I think it could work too, it just never has for me. Jung had Paracelsus, who was a great alchemist, and this informed a lot of Jung's work. But Jung was already well tapped in when he was just a little boy, as far as I can tell from his stories. I have tried visualising dialogues with some of my favorite dead artists to help me dredge up a little talent for my art, but it hasn't worked so far, I'm probably going at it the wrong way. I like to ask for help from the ancestors, that always seems to help my state of mind, if not any specific problem. Also asking for solutions to come in dreams, that's worked for me.