Posts by LisaRose

76

From 1 to 10, how do you rate the value of the Internet in your awakening?

by Hidden-Window in

jw
friends

as we all know, the internet is a real game-changer in allowing us to know the truth about the watch tower and its history.

i always had doubts and it was the internet that presented me with the ever-growing number of individuals who were going through a similar struggle.. i give the internet a 9 in my awakening.

what about you?.

LisaRose

For me it was a minor factor, I never found JWN, or any other site, I was still too brain washed to seek out any "apostate" sites. I was on a few discussion boards where believers were debating with atheists and I couldn't help but see that the atheists made a bit more sense, and that little bit, along with a personal crisis and rising doubts about the religion helped me break free.

40

Leave it in Jehovah's Hands - Your thoughts?

by berrygerry in

leave it in jehovah's hands.

is there a more disgusting phrase in jw land?.

the abuse, harms, thefts, suicides, family destruction - leave it in jehovah's hands.. why would anyone with a more than 2 neurons say, "oh that makes sense," we do not need to change or intervene in any way.. sooner or later, god will take of things.. .

LisaRose

It's an excuse, to make you feel better for failing to do the right thing.

Wouldn't it be funny if you tried to use that excuse for everything?

"Sister weak, where is your field service report?"

"I didn't have time to do that and my housework so I 'left it in in Jehovah's hands'™ . No maid showed up, so no hours to report"

"Sister weak, why did you miss the meeting"

"Well the car was out of gas. I 'left it in Jehovah's hands'™, but he didn't fill up the tank, so what could I do?"

5

Did you piss on their parade? Christmas?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

when you were a jw and someone mentioned 'have a nice christmas' or 'have a nice holiday' did you just say 'thanks, enjoy it yourself' or did you piss all over their good mood and bore them to death about why you don't celebrate it?.

LisaRose

No, I considered it rude, I just said thank you.

7

Deck the Kingdom Halls

by sparrowdown in

i have discovered why the gb-rinch canceled christmas.

(apart from them being fun-sucking assholes and "christ" is in the name.).

the christmas carol deck the halls clearly gives the command to:.

LisaRose

Can't have any fa la la going on, can we?

74

Why Do Atheists Struggle So Much Against God Who Supposedly Doesn't Exist?

by Perry in

an athist made this casual statememt on another thread:.

this would suggest to me that there are at least some atheists that do have consistant beliefs.. .

as an atheist, how could he possibly trust the reason that suggests this to himself?

LisaRose

So believing in order and reason makes me a believer? Fat chance. You are making a giant, incorrect assumption, that lack of a creator would always and only result in chaos. Can you prove that? You can't, anymore than you can prove God exists. Evolution, which can be proven, shows that life did arise out of chaos.

45

Many Member Just Want to Believe

by OnTheWayOut in

if you are/were an active jw, you are now here on jwn so, for whatever your reasons, you woke up to some degree- hopefully a great degree.

so what i am saying may not apply to you.. i know that if i had not already left, i would have stormed out on the day they studied "overlapping generation.

" i am quite confident i couldn't have stayed for such an obvious switcharoo just to make the end seem imminent and try to explain how wts was wrong, but not entirely wrong in the past.. but i had to wonder how that change (or others) didn't cause most jw's to walk out.

LisaRose

I agree, many Jehovah's Witnesses sub consciously or consciously chose to believe, due to cognitive dissonance they just can't take in any information that disproves their belief. I was only able to mentally break free because my life situation got so bad I was forced to confront my doubts.

I remember a Watchtower article that came out in 1999, I think. Obviously they were attempting to address people that were losing faith. They pointed out that they were the only Christian religion that told the truth about hell fire and the trinity, so even if they were not perfect they were still better than any other religion. I briefly found this argument to be compelling, as these teachings were what motivated me to convert in the first place.

I had already come to the conclusion that I would be happier as a non witness, but I was still so convinced that they were right on these points I couldn't figure out what to do. If they weren't "the truth", then what was? Where would I go? It was only because I was married to a disfellowshopped person, trapped in a bad marriage and treated as an outsider to the congregation that I was forced to accept that the Watchtower couldn't possibly be "the truth". It just hit me that even if God existed, why would he want me to be miserable? What good was that to anyone?

It took a personal crisis to get me to that point, and I think that is what it will take for most people, at least for those who chose as adults to join. It takes a lot to break through the cognitive dissonance, that is why it's so hard to break through to a believing JW.

10

There won't be snow in Africa (xmas songs you hate)

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

ok so be a scrooge or grinch for 5 minutes.

you know you want to.. i loooove xmas songs but there are a few that make me cringe.. the old feed the world.

"there won't be snow in africa.

LisaRose

Felix navidad. I hate that song, I've heard it way too many times, I just find it annoying.

27

How can I ever leave this cult?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

i've been out nearly two years but it's not out of me.

i am on school holidays now til february so i thought without work to worry about i can come off my medication.

i phased it slowly, starting in early november to avoid the physical side effects of coming down.

LisaRose

Oh, you poor baby. I understand what you are going through, I have been on and off antidepressants for many years, it's tough. Things that helped for a while stop working, then it's worse than before you started, it really does something to you that is hard to quantify or understand or explain to others, and your history of being in a cult only complicates things. I don't think people who have never been involved can ever understand how being in a cult warps your thinking and changes you.

But it's not hopeless, things do get better with time, they really do. It all doesn't go away when you realize, on an intellectual level, that it's not the truth, it takes time for your mind to rid itself of the effects of the mind control. In your case things are complicated by your medication issues, hopefully you will feel better as you adjust back to the meds.

I take an older class of antidepressants called tricyclics, which is used for chronic pain. I want to get off of them because a) they don't help the pain that much and b)they cause weight gain and I'm sick of carrying around these extra twenty pounds. I am going very slowly, so I don't go through any issues. It may take me six months, but that's OK. I know there will be challenges, but I am determined to see it through. In your case you don't want to do that, since you just back on them, but there are also adjustments in starting meds. It's really important to follow you doctors advice and report any problems. Be patient with yourself, give the meds time to work.

I am working really hard on keeping a positive mental attitude, I know that is crucial for me. I decided that I w ould act happy, even if I didn't feel happy, I am going on the "fake it till you make it" philosophy, lol. It really works. It's not that you are not aware of your problems, it's that you make a conscious decision to be happy anyway. Studies show that smiling, even if you are not happy to begin with, can make you feel happier. I also take time to be grateful for what I do have. Gratitude is an attitude, as they say. I have this horrible medical condition that won't kill me but makes my life pretty miserable sometimes, but I also have a loving husband and a nice home and no money worries, so I am very grateful for that. It's important to put things into perspective no matter what our circumstances. We all could still be stuck in the cult, it's so great that we woke up, right?

Meditation has been very helpful for me. Fifteen minutes a day helps me be calmer, more organized, and happier. It's well worth the time spent. There are a million ways to meditate, they all work, so it's not important which way you do it, just that you do it. I like to put on soothing music, I use Pandora and created a station called "meditation by the sea". I like nature sounds, so that works for me. I consciously relax my body, close my eyes and breath in through my nose, out through my mouth. I visualize a peaceful place, like the beach, I imagine the sights, the smell of the salt air, the whoosh of the waves. As thoughts intrude I gently dismiss them and refocus on my place. It takes time to get good at it, but eventually you will be able to get into a relaxed state very quickly. The practice of meditation is transformative, you will basically be rewiring your brain. At first you will experience vivid dreams, although that goes away eventually.

I have also found journaling to be helpful. I write a page a day, just random thoughts, whatever pops into my head. Julia Cameron, in the Book The Artists Way, recommends this for anyone who wants to be creative. Getting all the junk in your head out on a page helps you clear your mind and allow the creativity to flow. Even if you are not an artist, we all need to be creative in our lives in some way. Eventually you will notice a pattern in your writing, it can help you see what has been holding you back, what things are bothering you.

I am also starting a mindfulness practice. Several times a day I stop and take in the moment instead of thinking about my chore list or my current worries. Sometimes we are so consumed with the future, o r our list of chores, or our problems in the past, that we forget to live in the now. As I write this my cat lizzie is in my arms. She likes to snuggle, so I take a few seconds and just enjoy that, the feel of her soft fur, the rumble of her purr, the tickle of her wiskers, the rasp of her tounge as she licks my cheek, her warmth. These few seconds of enjoying the moment are very healing. I try to do moments like this several times a day.

I hope you find some part of this to be helpful. I know it's hard to see it right now, but things will get better. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or just want to vent.

Lisa

21

Looking for others that maybe gay or questioning

by dewey79 in

jw
friends

so i am the weird case that i still believe in the jehovah's organization.

there are a couple of things that stop me from going.

is there anyone else out there that still believes?

LisaRose

I get what you believe and why, but it's very puzzling to me. You believe in an organization that rejects you on a very basic level. Its so far beyond the fact that they are imperfect, they think you are depraved, unnatural, you could never be a witness in good standing and be sexually and emotionally fulfilled. Why are you OK with that?

I used to believe the watchtower taught the truth about the bible, even though it was hard for me personally (not gay, but bad marriage), I stuck with it, to the point it was killing my heart and soul. I finally was struck by the thought that a loving God could not possibly get any joy out of my misery, that this situation wasn't right. It was what helped me break free. The many things I have learned since then, the lies that the Watchtower tells only confirmed that I was right.

I lived 28 years in that marriage. I would so hate for you to waste your life like that. The fact that they have it so wrong about homosexuality should be the clue that you need to tell you that they are wrong about sooooo much else. The bad chronology, 1914, lies about that, doctrine flip flops, protecting pedophiles, it goes on and on. I converted at a young age, I get it, it seemed so right, but it's not. You owe it to yourself to investigate what they teach, it's not at all what they make it out to be. I was told I wouldn't have time for a career in this system of things. I am sixty! Yet they are still saying this to young ones. Think. About. It.

Why deny yourself the possibility of a loving, committed relationship? Why have to hide what you are? All for a heartless organization that uses mind control to keep you enslaved.

Please, please, please look into the history and practices of this religion, you won't be sorry.

81

your favourite Christmas music , and merry Christmas to you all

by jhine in

i am perhaps a bit behind on this but i have just listened to " grandma got run over by a reindeer " sung by elmo and patsy .

it got me to thinking about christmas songs in general ,so i thought a thread about people's favourite christmas songs would be good .

please share your fave christmas music , a carol or something more modern .to start i will list my best carol as hark the herald and my best ever chart song as santa claus is coming to town by bruce springsteen .

LisaRose

Cherish The Ladies, On Christmas Morn.

It's a Celtic group of all women.