Posts by Truth2Me

23

Then and now, your journey on JWD

by greendawn in

when you compare the way you feel now as members of this forum with how you felt on your early days here what sort of thoughts and feelings come up?

what was your journey here like?

for me i have gone a long way, when i came here i loathed typing long posts, and hardly knew how to go about forums i was basically a forum virgin.

Truth2Me

Interesting question.

I think that when I first discovered this site, I visted alot. Mostly because I was so lonely, missing my friends (who were my family) in the Truth and needed to find others who could understand what I was going through. I was overwhelmed with the large scale of this site- so much information and research on so many different things. I love the balance of ideas expressed and that everyone is welcome here. We are all at a different place in our lives and we all have some connection to either living as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, or know someone who has. There is that "Witness Culture" that no one can possibly understand unless they have been a part of it.

For me, being disfellowshipped was like being plopped into a foreign country. I loved everything about being a Witness, being thrust out unto the world due to my own stupid mistake was the worst experience of my life. But, it does bring some comfort to know that one is not alone.

They say that our brains can only handle so many functions at once, and that a number of them are taken up by things life remembering to breathe, keep our heart beating, and digestion. For me one of those core functions is "processing" (like a computer with the hour-glass icon going) my spiritual needs and everthing that I have experienced in my life surrounding it. Every so often the hour-glass icon in my mind goes away, and I'm ready to take in new information and it's during these periods (or when I am processing pain and sadness) that I come here to research, study, or share. As time goes on I "need" this less and less because I have processed enough of what I have experienced (good and bad) and now that I have made piece with my past I am ready to look forward.

For me being a Witness was a wonderful experience. It's been a long time and I am not yet ready to proceed with any particular spiritual 'gameplan' at this point, but, I know that no matter what happens I have found on JWD hearing ears and a shoulder to cry on, and the chance to encourage another, as well as a wealth of information.

45

DATING 101: Dating Interacially and my opposite: Will it Work Out?

by stillAwitness in

so me and the guy i've been dating finally became offical since last night and its the first time in almost a year since i have been in a relationship.

and for once, i think i may have a winner.

but he is white...and 32...and plays the african drums..and teaches some weird dance in a school for kids having to do with cuban tribal dances..or something or other.

Truth2Me

Hi StillA

45

DATING 101: Dating Interacially and my opposite: Will it Work Out?

by stillAwitness in

so me and the guy i've been dating finally became offical since last night and its the first time in almost a year since i have been in a relationship.

and for once, i think i may have a winner.

but he is white...and 32...and plays the african drums..and teaches some weird dance in a school for kids having to do with cuban tribal dances..or something or other.

Truth2Me

Hi StillA

55

At 5$ a gallon for gas, will you modify your driving habits?

by JH in

jw
friends

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-gas17.html

5 bucks a gallon for gas?

expert sees it in 2006 .

Truth2Me

I have to pay premium grade for my sportcar, and since the price went over $2 I've gone from 70mph in the fast lane to going only 50mph in the slow lane to make up for the difference in fuel costs.

It stinks because I love to drive fast, but I look on the bright side, it's safer this way, I'm saving money, and I don't have to always be worried above getting a speeding ticket.

46

long years of brainwashing finally come to an end.....

by girl_interrupted in

hi everyone, i'm new here......basically, i found this website a couple of weeks ago when i was in dire need of some like-minded souls who had felt screwed up about the jw's.

from about the age of four/five, my parents and i were involved in the organisation, and all three of us are stil messed up because of it.....we are no longer involved in it, but it took quite a few years before my parents found the strength to leave.

to begin with, i was quite a zealous jw, was baptised at twelve and disfellowshipped at fourteen, because as i got older i began to grow ''weak in the truth'' as people so kindly described me!

Truth2Me

Welcome Girl_Interupted!

Dealing with the aftermath of spiritual abuse, even if it was unintentional, takes time. From the research I've done the average recovery time is 8 years, so go easy on yourself. This site is the one place that I can go and know that others understand about JW culture, the good and the bad about being in the Org and the destructive reality of being d'fd or walking away. Many here also do tons of research, so when you are up to it, you'll find more than you ever wanted to know on almost any spiritually-related topic, amoungst lots of other non-spritually related stuff too.

Hope you find yourself at home here =)

That's the Truth to Me.

87

What is your quirkiest quirk?

by damselfly in

jw
friends

i, damselfly, can not knowingly eat the little squiggly, umbilical cord things in eggs.

i have to very carefully separate the whites from the yolk and remove the squiggly bits with a knife.

i get gaggy just thinking about them.

Truth2Me

I also have to sleep in my "pillow nest" as my S.O. puts it....surrounding myself with at least three pillows, lol

87

What is your quirkiest quirk?

by damselfly in

jw
friends

i, damselfly, can not knowingly eat the little squiggly, umbilical cord things in eggs.

i have to very carefully separate the whites from the yolk and remove the squiggly bits with a knife.

i get gaggy just thinking about them.

Truth2Me

I also have Obessive-Compulsive Disorder so this provides endless entertainment for my S.O. and for my co-workers.

The invention of purell made things a lot easier. Here's the ritual I go through each time I use a public restroom:

1. enter rest room and get paper towel from towel dispenser.

2. wash hands

3. use previously obtained paper towel to dry hands, then use same towell to turn off the water faucett.

4. enter bathroom stall, using toilet paper to close the latch on the door

5. Use toilet paper to make sure that the seat is dry. Then cover the toilet seat with either a seat cover if they have them there, if not, use toilet paper. Then answer the call of nature, when finished, open bathroom door. Then use foot to flush the toilet, taking care to immediately back away so that the arisoled toilet water doesn't get on me.

6. get clean paper towel from towel dispenser

7. wash hands, then dry hands using towel gotten from step 6. Then turn off faucet with same paper towel.

8. use paper towell to open door to bathroom, discarding paper towel in nearest trash barell.

(restrooms with those automatic soap, water, and towell dispensers and auto-flush toilets eliminate a few steps.)

I can justify that my OCD in that case is actually a good thing, because since I have started working at my place of employment, most of the women there have adopted my ladies-room rituals. LOL!

66

What's Your Favorite Cologne/Perfume for Men & Women?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i love jean paul gaultier!!

i justran out too!

Truth2Me

My favorite (for women) is Tresor.

My girlfirend loves it too.

75

First Post

by 5thGeneration in

jw
friends

some things confuse me here.

i am in the same position as many where i don't agree with so much the society says and feel stuck dragging myself to the meetings and then feel incredible guilt because the study for the day says it is wrong to have any doubts "even in private".

impossible for me!.

Truth2Me

Hi 5th, welcome to the board .

I can understand your concerns, and I at one time had the same delema. The society teaches us that the WTB&TS is God's Channel, therefore loyalty to the organization is the equivalent to loyalty to Jehovah. But, once we realize that God does not SOLELY communicate with ONLY Jehovah's Witnesses, that is when we can serve Jehovah freely, based on our own independent thinking, research, and experience having a friendship with our creator.

Once I realized that having a relationship with my creator was NOT dependent or defined and limited too what the WTB&TS teaches, I did not feel guilty that I was going "against Jehovah" by not 100% agreeing with every single thing the Society teaches/does. The "truth abouth the Truth" really does set one free, free to think for themselves and have a more personal relationship with our creator.

For some, the Society may provide the scructure and support they need to feel secure spritiually and that is fine, but that may not work for others.

When you are up to it, a very good book to read is "Out of the Cults and Into the Church" by Janis Hutchinson. Now don't be detered by the title. All religions at one time may have been classified as a cult, I prefer the term "high control group" which is applicable to many organizations, religious and otherswise.

The book shows us the principals of mass movements, and how many of the things that we were taught "in the truth" as being special indicators of Jehovah's blessing are really predicable, and the same signs that many others groups claim as unique to them, when really they are NOT unique, proofs of God's favor.

Whatever you decide to do, just be true to yourself, your conscience, and your relationship with your creator.

That's the truth to me.

44

Does the WTBTS still control your life?

by Honesty in

do you follow the arrangement dictated by the governing body of jw's regarding df'd and da'd individuals?

do you shun the jw's like you are expected to by wt leaders or do you speak to jw's and greet them with a smile even if they shun you when you do so?

in complying with wtbts rules of acceptable behavior for da'd or df'd persons do you think that you are showing unconditional love to your neighbor?

Truth2Me

For a number of years, there would be times when I seriously considered going back, so yes, the was still a level of control over my life. I have learned from studying high-control groups, and the recovery from them, that this is a totally normal response, and that helped me to get through it without actually getting myself reinstated.

I realize now that it was the times when I was really depressed and lonely that I wanted to go back. I missed my friends and those that I was so close to, they treated me better than my own family and losing them due to my own actions was devastating. Though my journey out of the WTBTS was a long, painfull one, it was worth it. I have learned SO much about myself, and about how others can exert control over others, even though they may be well-intentioned.

Since no one knows me in the city I live in now, I don't get shunned here, but if I happen to venture back to where I lived in the past, then I do risk it. Although, in the past when I have run into one of the Friends while in a public place like WalMart, then they will talk to me.

I still have one friend who is very much an active Witness who will still talk to me, but out of respect for her I have only called her a few times. She doesn't know that I no longer believe, and if she did know that, I do not think she would talk to me anymore =(

I think that the shunning has a place, but no in the way that the Society practices it....I think that deciding not to enable a person to commit/practive something wrong or hurtfull is more appropriate. Just as with someone who has an alcoholic family member or friend, at some point you have to decide to stop enabling the person and let them hit bottom on come to their senses on their own.