Posts by done4good

21

WTBTS Submissions to Royal Commission on abuse: The response document in FULL

by JWchange in

it is not obvious if someone has already put the responses and excuses to the findings of the royal commission, by watchtower on this forum somewhere, sorry if it is already posted.

click on the link below, and scroll down to 'submissions' near bottom of page and you can download the full document.

if this link doesn't work.

done4good

Vidiot - All this obfuscation on the Org's part simply reinforces what I already suspect...
...that if they implemented the recommended measures and reforms needed to fix the problem, the repurcussions would be worse (from their POV) then if they refused.

^^^^This.

They cannot make the necessary reforms without seriously affecting their system negatively, from their perspective. I have stated more than once on this forum that any change to how they handle judicial matters is a slippery slope, (for them), and will lead to the entire process falling apart. If that happens, a key control mechanism is removed, and that will have repercussions they cannot live with.

d4g

21

How do you overcome SHUNNING after leaving the organization and move on?

by suavojr in

jw
friends

it amazes me how many of you have left it all behind, including family, brothers and sisters, friends and a full network of people.

i for one cannot find the courage to breakaway, and this causes me great anxiety and stress.

it eats me alive to think that if i open my mouth everyone i know will simply turn their back on me.

done4good

Simon-One true friend is of far more value than all the fake friends and relatives you have ever known.

Very true. When I left 10 years ago, losing relatives and fake friends meant very little. Almost all JWs I knew fell into this fake friend category.

I did lose a good JW friend though much more recently, (2 years ago), and that pain never goes away.

Living a lie is NOT an option though.

d4g

88

Legalized marijuana. It's coming to canada and I want to try it.

by hoser in

jw
friends

as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.

done4good

jookbeard-Question_Mans; there are clear sighs that manifest themselves as addiction , I know many people at the moment who are trying to quit mj and are showing them; shakes, insomnia,headaches,irritability, anxiety, extreme mood swings, to ignore these signs is very churlish.

You are talking about people that use the drug to deal with existing anxiety disorders. I 100% agree that using this drug, (or anything), done to excess or to assist in dealing with real life is dangerous. Much of this has to do with mindset. Anyone that thinks they "need" to get high to have a fulfilling life, has issues that need to be reconciled, likely by a professional. Does that mean the addiction is physical? No. These people likely have anxiety disorders to begin with, that are exacerbated by marijuana use. Yes, they should stay away from it. The drug use is a symptom for these people, not the root cause of their problems.

Physical addiction is a very specific thing. This type of addiction is marked by physical dependencies that prevent certain body functions from working normally, and can lead to serious life threatening situations. It is irresponsible to label any "dependency" on marijuana this way. Other substances, (like heroin and alcohol), do have physically addictive properties that can kill if the withdrawal is not dealt with.

Physiological addictions are a much broader category, and MJ does not even fall into this camp, clinically speaking. I am enjoying a cup of coffee at the moment, because I know I have a physiological caffeine addiction that I would like to care for. I would feel lousy at this hour if I did not have it, but it wouldn't kill me. MJ produces no such withdrawal symptoms, either physiological or physical. I get up at 4 AM every day, work a 6 figure career job for 12-14 hours, go home and take care of domestic stuff, and maybe decide to use some MJ on the weekend, at night if there is the right time and place for it. Hardly an addiction by any means, although certainly psychologically gratifying at times.

YMMV.

d4g

88

Legalized marijuana. It's coming to canada and I want to try it.

by hoser in

jw
friends

as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.

done4good

BTW, I'm 43, 167 pounds, I workout, and I in the best shape of my adult life. This nonsense about sitting around and eating everything in sight, is once again, just another myth. I am actually more balanced and healthy about what I choose to eat, drink, and spend my time doing than ever. I was over 200 pounds a couple of years ago.

d4g

88

Legalized marijuana. It's coming to canada and I want to try it.

by hoser in

jw
friends

as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.

done4good

To be clear, people respond differently to different stimuli, and response to MJ is no different. MJ is certainly NOT for everyone, and can be abused. Addiction takes one of three different basic forms, (physical, physiological, and psychological), and marijuana can fall into the last group, (but so can watching too much TV, snowboarding, golf, whatever...). The point is anything someone likes too much has the propensity to become psychologically addictive. To say marijuana is addictive in the sense the drugs mentioned below are, is a myth.

Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and many other drugs are physiological in their addictive properties, and produce side effects of physical discomfort when someone is experiencing withdrawal from those drugs. Pot does not fall into this category. Nicotine is extremely addictive in this area, by contrast.

Alcohol, (yes, alcohol), heroin, and other opiates, are physically addictive. The human body actually builds a dependency upon these. Many older alcoholics actually die in hospitals, (for treatments non-related), because alcoholics are denied alcohol during their stay, and die of "complications", (actual alcohol withdrawal). Alcohol also contributes to sugar addiction which leads to type 2 diabetes, hypoglycemia, etc. Alcohol IS the ultimate gateway drug.

Marijuana abuse is over-hyped. Sure, there will always be people that cannot be balanced about using or doing anything they enjoy. This almost always points to something else wrong in their lives that they need to address, and as a result should avoid things they have the propensity to abuse. However, to put marijuana into the same category as physically or physiologically addictive substances is either ignorance on the part of those repeating this rhetoric, or outright misinformation campaigns from those with an agenda. It is what is known as "junk science".

d4g

155

Survey: How long were you in the cult vs what year you were baptized

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

hi people,.

i want as much data as possible on the effect of the internet on the time captured by the cult.. please answer the three following questions about yourself or about someone you know (for example, if your parents or grandparents were jw's and left).

1) were you raised as a jw, or did you convert?.

done4good

Raised in from 4 years old in 1977.

Guilt and need for acceptance led to "making the truth my own", in 1988.

I mentally woke up in late 2005, ( 10 years ago this month; Enough to know something was wrong, and decided to walk away to gain a broader perspective). After a short time away, I knew I was likely right about something being very wrong with the organization, as life improved immensely, and began heavy research. I was 100% mentally out after that in about a month, early in 2006.

29 years all told.

17 years of drinking kool-aid.

4 months of detox.

10 years later: Never been happier.

d4g

88

Legalized marijuana. It's coming to canada and I want to try it.

by hoser in

jw
friends

as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.

done4good

DarioKehl and whathehades, I know exactly what you are speaking of, and in the long run it is a good thing. It leads to self improvement if managed properly, and kept in perspective.

d4g

88

Legalized marijuana. It's coming to canada and I want to try it.

by hoser in

jw
friends

as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.

done4good

I absolutely hated it, the first times I tried it after leaving JW. The first time was just weird, and the second time pretty much scared the shit out of me. I swore I would never try it again. That was in 2007.

A couple of years later, I had a corporate apartment with a couple of work buddies whom of which mj was their drink of choice. I decided to give it another try. It still made me feel weird, but this happened progressively less and less over the next several uses. It is an acquired taste for sure, but it will happen if you let it.

Compared with alcohol, mj is almost harmless. I have lived and seen what alcohol abuse does to individuals and families. Mj is neither physiologically or physically addictive as alcohol is, you won't become belligerent or get a hangover, or develop the plethora of health issues that alcohol can lead to over the long term. Also, unlike alcohol, it doesn't just "dull the senses". It will tend to enhance some, and allow you to tune out others. In other words, it is a great "reset" button to hit after a stressful week.

Stay away from edibles as a beginner. Do NOT mix alcohol as beginner either. Mj will have the natural effect of preventing you from wanting to do much of anything to excess anyway, including abusing it or alcohol. A glass of wine with a good meal and toke off the pipe beforehand is a thoroughly enjoyable experience, that never gets "boring". To me, anyway...

It is absolutely ludicrous that mj is a Schedule 1 illegal substance. This was a political ploy that Nixon pretty much screwed the world with in 1970 after the UN adopted US drug policy.

d4g

5

Rest In Peace Scott Weiland

by freemindfade in

bummer news, another amazing music talent and rock legend leaves us.... shockwaves were felt through hollywood and the rock community when news hit that scott weiland, frontman of the stone temple pilots, was found dead in his tour bus in minnesota..

done4good

Shame. Great band and talented front man. Never could get over his demons. R.I.P.

d4g

19

Some thoughts on the Brooklyn real estate website

by JeffT in

jw
friends

i took another look around the new website ( https://www.watchtowerbrooklynrealestate.com/ ).

first they have two properties listed here 124 columbia and 85 jay street.

these have to be worth a lot of money.

done4good

JeffT, I agree with your OP.

It is clear from an outsider's view, that the sweeping changes being made, (including that of the sale of a portfolio of premium NYC properties), is part of both a business strategy change, along with an even larger effort of rebranding. They cannot make money selling printed literature anymore, so an alternative finance source is being sought. The "product", (whatever they offer on their website or in the KH), is basically "free", while their business is to be financed by the perpetual investment in, and resale of properties over time. Time will tell if this actually works or not.

The rebranding effort is about the product being offered. That has to be attractive enough to keep members in, and keep them donating to the "world wide work", (aka real estate fund). This is the tricky part, since unlike Google or another web service with broad reach and enormous amounts of advertising money as the financier, the WTS somehow needs to keep members' interest enough to want to donate. On the face of it, that does not appear to be a recipe for success. There are no historical examples of this being done quite this way to my recollection.

d4g