tall penguin

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Posts by tall penguin

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  128

  It Seems That My Children Are Not Trained

  by Gary1914 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just returned home from the kingdom hall.

  i am an elder.. after the meeting all the elders were called to the back room.

  i thought this was an impromptu elders' meeting.

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  tall penguin

  Dear Gary,
  I really feel for you. You said, "Please don't think ill of me for having to take this drug. I need help." I was on Zoloft at one point too as a jw. There's no reason to be ashamed. You're doing what you need to do to survive. It's understandable.
  Thank you for sharing your story with us. Know that there are many here who are behind you and will support you through this time in your life. The decisions you face aren't easy ones. But your body is telling you quite clearly that serious changes need to be made, for the sake of your health and your family's health.
  I wish you all the best.
  tall penguin
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  20

  Anyone involved in the Pioneer Assist Program?

  by misspeaches in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i remember when they brought out the new program of pioneer assist.

  it appeared that everyone thought it was a marvellous idea.

  was anyone invovled in it?

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  tall penguin

  I voluntarily asked to be assisted as part of the Pioneer Assist Program on two separate occasions. The first time, the elders never got around to assigning someone to me. The second time, years later in another congregation, they assigned a young single sister to me, who was also a good friend. We went out together a few times and then she started dating and that was the end of that. Very disappointing.
  tall penguin
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  15

  Had a major illness disappear after leaving WT?

  by by grace in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm looking for people who have had the experience of becoming very sick with chronic pain, an auto-immune disease, or some major health problem (collitus, diabetes, etc.

  ) while being involved with jehovah's witnesses, who then had a complete reversal after leaving the jehovah's witnesses.. i am planning to write a book about my experience, and i'd like to get an idea of how many people out there have had a similar one.

  i was diagnosed with advanced grave's disease (hyperthyroid), which is an auto-immune disease, and it amazingly "went away" shortly after i left the organization.

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  tall penguin

  by grace, you have a pm.
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  15

  Had a major illness disappear after leaving WT?

  by by grace in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm looking for people who have had the experience of becoming very sick with chronic pain, an auto-immune disease, or some major health problem (collitus, diabetes, etc.

  ) while being involved with jehovah's witnesses, who then had a complete reversal after leaving the jehovah's witnesses.. i am planning to write a book about my experience, and i'd like to get an idea of how many people out there have had a similar one.

  i was diagnosed with advanced grave's disease (hyperthyroid), which is an auto-immune disease, and it amazingly "went away" shortly after i left the organization.

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  tall penguin

  Hi by grace,
  If you're looking for some good reading on how emotions affect health, I'd suggest 2 books:
  1. Molecules of Emotion, Candace Pert
  2. When The Body Says No, Gabor Mate
  I had CFS and FM while a jw. I actually managed to heal a lot of that while still in the org. It took awhile though. Mostly through alternative medicine.
  tall penguin
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  29

  WELCOME LEFTBEHIND!!!!!!!!

  by wanderlustguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i looked to see if there was a welcome thread for leftbehind...sorry if i missed it.. but, welcome anyway.

  we are not what you think or was taught we are.

  you are welcome here, and if you choose to stay around, you will no doubt find what it means to have unconditional love and respect not just for and from others...but for yourself.. wlg

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  tall penguin

  Welcome leftbehind. It takes courage to be here. Glad you could join us.
  tall penguin
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  24

  Backward Masking

  by bigmouth in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you're under about 30 this might not mean much to you but during the 80's and 90's there was always a heap of counsel on debasing music.it made you terrified to listen to anything except the brilliant kingdom melodies.

  we had a big thing here in nz about music that had been recorded in such a way as to give some sort of demonic message in a subliminal way.we couldn't listen to stairway to heaven,hotel california and a host of other songs.ah hell!, we may as burn everything.but i found devo's whip it is masked and now i couldn't care less,great song.of course you could only check by turning your vinyl backwards.anyone get freaked out back then too?

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  tall penguin

  I remember when I was about 6 or 7 we played Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" which says in reverse something close to: "It's fun to smoke marijuana".
  I was terrified. My Mom was just studying then but she already had me scared stiff about the demons by this point. To this day, when I hear that song on the radio my stomach turns and it's hard not to turn it off.
  tall penguin
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  3

  hypochondria

  by Ellie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm interested to know your views on this, do you think that jehovahs witnesses in general are more likely to be attention seeking hypochondriacs?

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  tall penguin

  I think it's related to the thriving on crisis stuff I mentionned in my recent thread. Jws are programmed to see things as a crisis, as a test of their faith. So every little ache and pain is an inspiration for them to serve jehovah while enduring their hardship. And so, unwittingly, they may go looking for illness, as a means of appearing like the jw martyr they're expected to be. It's hard to get attention in the org unless you're unwell in some way.
  tall penguin
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  10

  Do jws thrive on crisis?

  by tall penguin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been thinking about this a lot lately.

  in my experience, jws don't know how to handle joy but they're very willing to get pumped up when there is a crisis.

  the whole religion centres around saving people from an impending destruction.

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  tall penguin

  I've been thinking about this a lot lately. In my experience, jws don't know how to handle joy but they're very willing to get pumped up when there is a crisis. The whole religion centres around saving people from an impending destruction. It's very nature is crisis-based.
  I think about how uncomfortable it was as a jw to discuss anything good happening in my life, feeling that that would reflect that I was somehow happy in this life and not looking forward to the "real life" in paradise. But it was so acceptable to talk about whatever my latest life crisis was because that reminded everyone how much we need "the new system" and how evil satan is.
  And I think too about how my parents are interacting with me since I DA'd. They're quick to tell me to call them "if I need anything". In other words, if I'm in dire need, in crisis. Yet they don't want to be part of the happy, joyous moments in my life right now.
  When I left my marriage and was disfellowshipped a few years back, my parents took me in. I was quite ill at the time, going through Post Traumatic Stress as a result of the jc. They cared for me and felt justified in doing so, telling the elders that I was ill and it was their responsibility to take care of me. I wondered if I hadn't been ill, if they'd have taken me in. What if I'd been perfectly well and happy, would they have taken me in?
  So, when I visited my folks to tell them I was DAing, I said, "I hope you'll still love me because I refuse to get sick just to have your affection." My mother was in tears. She told me she loved me unconditionally. I have yet to see that fully in action. It still feels very much as it did..."Unless there's a crisis in your life that you need us to save you from, there's nothing really to say."
  I think about how this crisis-oriented mind-set slowly kills you. When your body is constantly in that high-alert mode, just waiting for the next crisis to arise...not just waiting, but seeking it out, your fight/flight response is on all the time. Stress chemicals flood your body and overtax its defense systems. I think of the high levels of depression, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, cancer, heart ailments and other "stress-related" illness in the org. It's sad to me that, in the end, these people are doing it to themselves.
  There is so little true joy in the life of a jw. I've known few jws that even know what to do with the emotion of joy. Being so used to crisis and stress, wt or self-imposed, they don't know where to put joy if it comes along. I still have trouble with this. It's as if there is no file in my brain for joy. It's taking some very conscious repatterning to allow myself to experience joy and feel good about that.
  Anyhow, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this? Do jws thrive on crisis?
  tall penguin
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  37

  Lies, Damn Lies, and "Experiences"

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  once, discussing the recently passed circuit assembly.

  he had interviewed a young pioneer that was able to pioneer without a car.

  she "arranged her schedule" (translation: bummed rides well in advance) to make sure she had a way to and from the hall.

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  tall penguin

  Welcome to the board 2112. When you're ready, start a new thread and introduce yourself. Glad to have you here.
  "It was said during a talk that "We have no broken homes in our organization". When I heard that I blurted out "What a bunch of crap!" Good for you! That's one assembly I would've liked to have been at.
  tall penguin
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  14

  Excerpt from Awake!, January 2006

  by daniel-p in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  last night i was reading the new awake!

  magazine (no, i'm not a glutton for punishment), in bed with my wife sleeping beside me.

  on page 5, i read: "of course, some people see no good news on the horizon.

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  tall penguin

  Hey daniel-p,
  Any chance of you posting a scan of the article on cutting in a separate thread? It's been a topic for discussion on many occasions here and I think it would be good to see something on the subject from the wts.
  Thanks,
  tall penguin