lola sounds like fun to hang with! I may have to look her when I head to Cali in the spring....
freedomlover
JoinedPosts by freedomlover
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20
Anyone seen "The Island"
by onesong in.
it may have already been talked about here but i just saw it last night with some other "apostate" friends.. wasn't it amazing in it's similarity to the borg.. my favorite scene was everyone reading together "dick and jane" talk about a great watchtower study depiction!
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freedomlover
haven't seen this movie yet onesong, but now I want to....thanks!
haven't even heard of it, is it new or old?
I love "The Village" because it's soooo similar to the org. mentality and the control issues. very interesting movie to watch if you are leaving the JWs.
BTW - NICE PIC! you're a cutey! so nice to put a face with someone from here.
-freedomlover -
35
Fear of the gods
by Narkissos inlet me start with the questionable, unprovable, yet common premise that the gods in general were born out of human fear.. if we look for the closest match to our word "religion" in the hebrew bible, the best candidate, interestingly, will be "fear of (the) god(s)".
"service" to the gods will denote the religious practice, but the basic religious attitude is fear.
no matter how politically correct translations water it down into respect, reverence etc.
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freedomlover
well said narkissos
sometimes I think it's amazing how we are all given the same "welcome/instruction packet" and yet we all come up with so many different *interpretations* and ways of *reading* it.
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35
Fear of the gods
by Narkissos inlet me start with the questionable, unprovable, yet common premise that the gods in general were born out of human fear.. if we look for the closest match to our word "religion" in the hebrew bible, the best candidate, interestingly, will be "fear of (the) god(s)".
"service" to the gods will denote the religious practice, but the basic religious attitude is fear.
no matter how politically correct translations water it down into respect, reverence etc.
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freedomlover
I feel we still need to name our fears, give them external existence, on the imaginary level, to deal with them. As long as we do so we are, in effect, playing a religious act, aren't we?
absolutly Narkissos. I have thought of this dilemma many times. If I choose to reject all "religion" and gods and dogma and just pursue spiritual enlightenment then that would in essence become god and worship to me. If I reject searching for spiritual enlightenment and decide to only pursue selfish, fleshly, interests then soon that would be my god. If I reject everything all together and live as a hermit and worship myself and my existence then I am still worshiping. Why do we feel the need to have a religious act? It is precisely to allay our fears. fear of the unknown if you ask me. We come up with answers to soothe and comfort ourselves because of the way this sloppy, unaccountable universe vomits all over us in its random ways. It's just to big, and scary for us humans.
Fear gives way to coping mechanisms. Survival is what every living thing on this planet struggles for. They struggle to survive even though they fear survival.
Mans worship is a way to help us cope and survive in a very f'ed up world. When you learn to actually look "straight into the sun" of your fears you start to feel the "need for answers" loosen it's grip on you. THis is the only way to deal with fear that interests me. at least at this point......
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18
WHY I Keep Kicking when down....
by Sparkplug inyou get a letter like this and it makes it all better:
(from my daughter)
its all too hard to explain, .
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freedomlover
Wow! that is one smart girl! and quite a compliment to you that you helped raise such a beautiful person.
I hope my kids can be as smart as your daughter!
go give her a big hug and tell her she is amazing! -
11
One last act of separation
by jeanniebeanz inwell, i was cleaning out the last of the boxes from our move to texas and i came across my old new world translation.. i stopped and looked at it for a while, leafed through the pages to see the notes, hastily scribbled during some talk or another, little pieces of my life and world... some of the comments triggering memories of conventions, or relatives, mainly though, triggering feelings of... nothingness.. nothingness... that is what my time as a witness has boiled down to.
years of my life offered gladly to an organization that i believed would show me, and those whom i loved, the way to a better life where there would be no, "sickness, death or suffering" all meant nothing.. it used to make me mad or sad thinking about these things, but now there is just nothing.. not even when i think about my dad.
i used to get so upset at having lost him; i'd cry and hope that he'd see the light and leave the organization.
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freedomlover
I'm looking forward to those days JB - when I feel nothing. not extreme sadness or loss...
thanks for letting me peek around the corner and see the peace I will feel one day.
I'm happy for you and your peace and of mind. -
44
who attends a church now?
by meems101 in.
i'm interested in knowing how many, after leaving, started to attend a church.
if so, what one and how did you decide?
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freedomlover
I will never attend a "church" for religious/ spiritual intstruction again. I mostly miss the social aspect of the KH but I can get socialization in other ways.
glad you've found a place for you though. sounds lovely. -
30
JW Children, Holidays, and Memories
by somebodylovesme inmy husband and i were walking through the store today and we passed a display of valentines -- you know, the kind that school kids buy and exchange in the classroom.
i paused and glanced them over, remembering how much i used to love holidays at school.
(husband is an inactive/faded jw; i was never one.
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freedomlover
SLM -
that story about your husband brought back such memories! it made me sad....
I too remember gettting the little valentines and I loved it. they made me feel really good about myself and really special! I remember in middle and high school that you could do this thing where you could send anonymous flowers to someone you liked with a small valentine message. I remember getting some of those through the years, some guys signing their names, others didn't, but I'd have to THROW THE FLOWERS OUT before I went home from school. it was HORRIBLE!
such stupid stuff we had to put up with...... -
5
Please welcome my buddy
by sass_my_frass inhey, just hoping i can encourage my friend (a long-time lurker) in some way during a difficult time.
i'm trying to help my (anonymous, genderless, of mysterious location...) friend appreciate the joy of being true to yourself and thus discovering many kinds of freedom.
it's a rough time, more so for some than others.
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freedomlover
dear mysterious friend/lurker - I am newly "out" of the organization. It was very difficult and sometimes continues to be difficult. I'm losing my family members and friends that I dearly love. The price can be high at times. However, the enormous weight or guilt and fear is GONE. My life feels more honest and true than it ever has. I have more self integrity now because I have been true to myself for once in my life. My husband and I were literally at the end of our marriage and now things are better than they've ever been in 10 years of marriage. Why? because it's the first time we've been allowed to be totally honest with eachother. I have discovered so many layers to myself that I never even knew were there. I have so much more appreciation for things in this life because I'm not living for another life, that is supposed to occur down the road in the future. I have discovered that people, regardless of whether they are a JW or not have so much to offer. I have become much less judgemental of people and what they choose to do in their lives. I have been given the gift of never having to choose my religion or my love for family and friends. that is not humane to do to people. leaving is probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but it's truly the best choice for me. I hope you can find something here that will help you regardless of whatever decision you make. -freedomlover
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32
Wish me luck!!! Starting my own business...
by wanderlustguy inwell, just found out the day before yesterday my company is going out of business, so i'm starting my own.
here's the plan.... .
mobile paint repair.
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freedomlover
Sweet wanderlust!! go you!! I'll have to think about some good business names.....