Posts by LennyinBluemont

19

Interesting (1975)

by searcher in

jw
friends

http://www.jamaat.net/comp/jw/1975.html.

.

It's great that the internet allows us to keep all this stuff out there, easily accessible. Makes it so much harder for them to hide behind statements like, "Oh, some brothers just read too much into it. It really wasn't that big a deal." What BS!

Lisa, thank you so much for adding the picture. It really says it all. Your parents were demonstrating the attitude that "God's organization" encouraged everyone to have. They were very zealous. We admired such people, as the WT encouraged us to do. We saw people like your parents as the real, hard-core followers of Christ. We started studying in 73 (22 years old), got baptized in 74 (just under the wire). After 75 came and went, there was a strange spirit among the witnesses. Many left. It should have been a wake-up call to us all, but the fact that the vast majority stayed in is a testimony to the power of the mind control. However, the spirit of those who stayed was definitely dampened and field service stats took a nose dive. Being contrarian, I kept thinking, "Jesus said that at the time you don't think it to be, that's when it will happen." So I concluded, we are definitely not expecting it now, 75 came and went. It must be really close. So I started regular auxiliary pioneering in 76, going out most of the time by myself. One thing you cannot take away from your parents is they were true to what they believed. They poured their whole heart into it. Are they still in? All four of you really lived in that tiny box?

26

Great Canadian music

by Guest with Questions in

what is your favourite?

heres just a few of mine.

because im in a mellow mood tonight i will play more of that kind of music.. neil young: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywlmewen1l8.

LennyinBluemont

James Keelaghan (folk)

Sara McLachlan (what lyrics! what a voice!) "Livin' in a church where you sleep with Voodoo dolls" (Can someone give me the title for that song?)

Neil Young. Yeah. "Tell Me Why" "Heart of Gold"

I'm with Scully. Two thumbs down for Celene.

26

Missing friends

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

over the years i have made many friends online that are jw's.

when my doubts were such with the organization that i was full on posting here, little by little i withdrew from my jw friends online and in person.

no explanation, i have not responded to emails over time, and just let those friendships die down.. out of respect.......i felt sneaky in my researching the organization and just was not sure where my thoughts and feelings were going to land.. today, i unblocked someone on my messenger to chat with them.

LennyinBluemont

Hi Leslie. Needless to say, this is one of the things just about all of us here have in common. The longer we were in, the more friends we made. These relationships, which based initially on our mutual association in the organization, in some cases branched out to other areas of life. We had friendships that stretched back literally for decades. I can remember singles and couples we would stay up late at night with, drinking wine, and talking about whatever was in or on our heart. One couple we had an arrangement with every Sunday morning to get together for pastries and coffee. A few we took long vacations with overseas and felt we really bonded. Some because of our common backgrounds pre-JW. We gravitated toward the more down-to-earth folks. To see them all evaporate suddenly, especially late in life, is a most painful thing.

For myself, I felt I owed it to them to write a letter, and many others here have done the same. So I made a list of about 50 or so and wrote quite a few letters over the course of two years which I never mailed. It seemed like I could never get it right. Then when the elders started to home in for the "kill", I realized it was now or never. I felt, if I was really their friend, then I had a responsibility to discharge. I owed it to them to let them know why I wasn't coming back. But there are so many issues, the doctrines, the practices, the policies, the hypocrisies. I felt it best to select just one, and address it comprehensively. In my case, I picked the UN affair, because I felt it was the one issue that was so easy to establish the facts of, so utterly indefensible, and so absolutely hypocritical. Of course, I knew that most would read a paragraph or two and throw it in the wastebasket. But that would be their choice. They could never accuse me of withholding information that was vital to their liberty. To me, it was literally the most loving thing I could think of to do. Of course, most of them, I'm sure, viewed it as hateful.

Decide what you need to do, in order to do right by the ones you love who are still in, Leslie, and then do it. Whether it's an email, a phone call, a letter or a visit. It's not just cathartic. It's probably the right thing to do.

((((((((Leslie))))))))

10

Any tips for sore feet?

by Princess Daisy Boo in

jw
friends

so i started my new job last week as a decorator at a very upmarket furniture and decor store... i am on my feet for most of the day and i am really battling to cope with the tired legs and sore feet daily... for anyone that works on their feet all day, do you ever really get used to it, or do you just learn to ignore the pain?

what should i be doing to minimise the pain?

any tips and suggestion would be appreciated for this tired princess?.

LennyinBluemont

After having problems with my feet I went to a foot doctor. He gave me some exercises to help but the best relief was simple. Many on here so far have said much of the same but if you soak your feet in the hottest water possible for 5 minutes then soak them in cold water for 5 minutes. It is really refreshing. It is suggested you do this at least three times a day. I like what Scully said about the peppermint, too. Also, putting them up for at least ten minutes after the soak is great. Wish you well on the new job.

Karen in Bluemont, Lenny's wife.

52

A desperate time for JW as realisation inevitable dawns .....

by Gill in

in time, slowly and inevitably, a lot of jws will realise that they have been conned.

they may deny it at first but eventually a substantial amount will discover that they have lost their lives, their talents and their potential to of all things, a book publishing company!.

so, what will their reactions be?

LennyinBluemont

There's an expression in finance about throwing good money after bad. Even though you realize that what you've poured your money into may not pan out, you continue to put more money there, because to do otherwise is to face the fact that the money already gone, is really gone. That's too painful. So you create the fantasy for yourself that feels more comfortable.

Picture the old lady sitting at the slot machine, pumping in coins. Don't even think about using her machine! That's her money in there. She keeps pumping more money in, because she is absolutely confident it will eventually pay off. She can't give up! She pictures the average witness. The money she's pumped in represents the years she's already spent in the org. That's her investment. The money left in her bucket to pump in represents the years of life she has left. She's been told that the casino is closing at midnight, which is only one hour away, which only makes her more desperate to get that pay-off as she furiously pumps more coins in. But the owner of the casino keeps moving the minute hand on the clock back a few minutes, so it never hits midnight. If she thinks it's ten minutes to midnight and her payoff is imminent, what would you be able to say to her to get her to walk away from the machine right now? You will not be able to drag her away with a 20-mule team.

The battle between cognitive dissonance and the shame of being the victim of a con is never-ending for the dub. There is no more fear-filled thought for them than the thought that the WT lied to them. It would mean their whole life has been a lie. Rather than face even the possibility of that thought being true, they hunker down and continue to submit. It's the easier course. Religion is the opium of the people. And the Watchtower's got some really good stuff.

10

I am finally reading Crisis of Conscience and Awakening...

by LongHairGal in

i finally obtained these books from a friend.

they won't make any difference about how i feel about the religion now because i already know what i know and have so for at least seven years.

i started reading the first chapter or so of c of c and was horrified about what went on in the beginning of the religion and how young people were told not to marry, etc.

LennyinBluemont

"Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness" by Diane Wilson. Very well written and researched. Should be available from Amazon.

"Visions of Glory" by Barbara Grizzuti. No longer in print. I got a used copy through Amazon. Wonderful writer.

For "Crisis of Conscience" there is no substitute. It should be required reading for any X-JW. You owe it to yourself.

34

BOB DYLAN I mean c'mon, is he really all that?

by nicolaou in

.

LennyinBluemont

Dylan was the anti-establishment voice of the 60's. How often I listened to the incredible phrasings of his political commentary. No it wasn't his voice (although it does grow on you), or the music. It's all in the words. And now, over 40 years later, I still can recite so many of them, as millions of others would likewise testify.

"Darkness at the break of noon

Shadows even the silver spoon

The handmade blade, the child's balloon

Eclipses both the sun and moon

To understand you know too soon

There is no sense in trying"

(It's alright ma, I'm only bleeding)

"Johnny's in the basement, mixin up the medicine

I'm on the pavement, thinkin bout the government

A man in a trenchcoat, badge out, laid off

Says he's got a bad cough, wants to get paid off"

Or, have a joint and listen to The Gates of Eden

"The lampost stands with folded arms, it's iron claws attached."

Wanna hear a really good, angry anti-war song? Check out Masters of War, which condemns the arms industry.

Or fun with prejudice?

"I'm a liberal, but to a degree.

I want everybody to be free

But if you think I'd let Barry Goldwater

Move in next door and marry my daughter

You must think I'm crazy."

As far as Hendrix goes, in my mind, he retains the title of absolutely best and most creative rock/blues guitarist ever. If any of you youngsters want to hear some really blistering rock guitar, check out Voodoo Chile, Slight Return at the highest volume possible. Stevie Ray Vaughn is second best, in my opinion. Incredibly good guitarist and songwriter, but not nearly as creative as Hendrix. Hendrix was definitely not from planet earth. SRV did a cover of Voodoo Chile, Slight Return. He obviously also had great admiration for Hendrix. When Clapton, Jeff Beck and other legendary English blues guitarists first went to see Hendrix in England they were dumbfounded. They asked each other, "How the f*** is he doin that?" Jimi was in a class all by himself. Listen to Electric Ladyland on headphones and you won't even need any dope to get stoned.

Lenny

53

What has this religion become? THE WATCHTOWER madhouse

by Terry in

c.t.russell began with a personal "purpose" which was to find a way to believe in/worship god while doing away with the beliefs he found to be personally uncomfortable such as hellfire.

he shopped around and cherry picked 2nd adventist views as a foundation.

to this he added pyramidology.

LennyinBluemont

Russell's theology twisted from its initial path into something more personal and messianic. Studies in the Scriptures became a substitute for the bible itself and 1914 became the new "starting point" for Jesus Kingdom leadership (still invisible).

Hey Terry, don't know if you meant to imply that (through Studies in the Scriptures) Russell changed 1914 to the new "starting point", but your context seems to imply that. Unless my understanding is faulty, this change happened after Russell's passing. It was stretched as far as possible (1918, 1919, 1925) and then finally redefined, "moving the date from one shoulder to the other."

I know you spent some real quality time on this piece and it is outstanding.

54

Our JC

by besty in

dear brothers .

you are aware that i am not present this evening following medical advice from our family doctor.

i will attempt in this letter to give you some idea of why that is and how i feel.

LennyinBluemont

Besty and Sweetpea, I thought your letter was great. And I think you went about it in just the right way for you. Sweetpea, your brother's actions and inactions are reprehensible. But keep reminding yourself, he is part of the collective, the matrix. He is acting exactly the way he has been programmed to act. It just shows how this religion brings out the very worst in people who might otherwise be very nice. Most all of us here can readily identify with the feeling of all of your friends being instantly gone. You knew that's what you would face, and yet you had the courage to stand for principle. You're gonna make fine parents. No doubt, at the very least you will shy away from any kind of organized religion, perhaps for the rest of your lives. That's your decision. Many of us have concluded it really doesn't matter. Be kind and loving to your fellow humans and enjoy life. That's about as much religion as I can handle. Welcome to the land of the free. Month by month, year by year, you will feel more and more normal. We hope to meet you at an apostafest one day!

Lenny

138

In (partial ) support of Danny Hazard

by stillajwexelder in

jw
friends

danny you have been fearless in your exposing jws for the cult they are and the harm they have done and are doing.

keep up the good work.

but please be careful in what you do as this board and recovering xjws need people like you who are fearless in exposing the wt.

LennyinBluemont

Insomniac, I think we're all mostly on the same page here with this tragedy. This was an act worthy of a terrorist. But who of us can say we really know what pain and pressures any human being has dealt with during their life? The act is rightly condemned, and I was one of the first to do so, without qualification. For myself, I believe in self-defense, only as a last resort. Non-violence should ALWAYS be the preferred course.

The nice thing about turning 39 is that you can celebrate it every year from now on!