tall penguin

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Posts by tall penguin

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  16

  I've learned that . . .

  by Steve Lowry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  someone gave me a little book many years ago that was nothing but one-line sentences, starting with the words, "i've learned that .

  " and followed by the age of the author.

  some of these little sentences were hilarious such as; " i've learned that if i turn my ice cream cone upside down, i don't have an ice cream cone anymore.

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  tall penguin

  I used to have one of those quote plaques on my office wall and my favourite was this one:
  I've learned that you can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk....age 7
  For myself...
  I've learned that all is well even when all is not well...age 31
  tall penguin
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  26

  Anyone ever go on one of those bus trips to bethel?

  by limbogirl in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  back in the late eighties while still in high school instead of doing something fun for spring break i got an all expense paid trip to bethel.

  on a bus no less with about 75 other jws headed to the promised land.

  somewhere i still have a photo album filled with snapshots of the printing presses and all of the "cadets" happily churning out literature -- and of course all of the female cadets happily scrubbing toilets and doing laundry.

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  tall penguin

  Ya, I did one of the big bus trips back in 1993. I was sick as a dog and spent most of the time fighting a fever and a bloody nose. I kept up my energy for the actual bethel tour and crashed on the day that everyone went to all the tourist spots. Haven't been back since.
  I also did the jw bus tour to Washington DC to see the Holocaust museum. It was a much better trip--less jw focused and more touristy.
  tall penguin
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  16

  WT's Strong Hold on the In-active

  by sandy in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  ok, this past friday i organized a meetup for ex-witnesses in my local area.

  i invited my brother who was never baptized (was almost baptized at 13 but one of the elders asked him to wait till he studied throught he second book).

  after the elder asked him to wait he never attended the meetings again with the exception of memorials and some assemblies.

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  tall penguin

  It's funny because I noticed some of the same behaviour from my brother this year. He was never baptized and stopped attending at age 18. That was 18 years ago. Yet all this time, he's been emotionally tied to the wts, fearing his destruction at Armageddon. He had put his life on hold for a belief system that he wasn't even physically attached to any more.
  Since I started to fade this year and subsequently disassociated, we've had some good talks about the real truth about "the truth." And he is now a free man. He read Apocalypse Delayed and is now reading Sign of the Last Days. He's finally moving on with his life.
  It's still amazing though how deep the indoctrination runs and how even if you haven't been to a meeting in years or were even baptized you can still feel some obligation to maintaining the wts illusion. Crazy really.
  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