Posts by LisaRose

26

No Longer Afraid

by compound complex in

jw
friends

greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.

i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.

i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.

LisaRose

I am glad you have found a measure of peace through your writing and with time and distance. Every moment of joy and contentment is a victory.

I also enjoy creative pursuits, it's very much a part of me. I also have been much helped by meditation, recently I have been using guided meditations, which helps my ADHD brain to stay focused. My favorite are those by The Honest Guys on you tube. They have different meditations depending on what you want, stess, anxiety, depression, motivation, healing, creativity, etc. I highly recommend them, if you are not already practicing meditation.

This is my favorite, it's called "The Seat"

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+honest+guys+the+seat&view=detail&mid=16FB70CEB94037E7771A16FB70CEB94037E7771A&FORM=VIRE

15

Is it alright for a Disfellowshipped Jehovah's Witness to Date?

by preacherman in

it is said that a dfed is handed over to satan and left alone in his or her gross unrepentant conduct.

however, you'll agree with me that not all dfeds are living that way.

the truth is that some have actually repented and stopped their bad conducts but have fallen victim to the legalistic and procedural expediences of the wbts which makes it very difficult for some to come back in the shortest period of time.

LisaRose

If you still believe the Watchtower's brand of crazy, then work on getting reinstated, change congregations if you have to, then hope you find a like minded person who is willing to overlook your past.

I cannot recommend getting married to someone from another church, you would be a very poor choice for them as they wouldn't know what they were getting into, you would be constantly at odds over holidays, church attendance, blood transfusions, and a million other things that the Watchtower considers wrong that nobody else does. We get people on here all the time who got involved with a straying JW then are heartbroken when the person went back and left them (or stayed with them and drove them crazy) . Please, please, don't do that to anyone.

Better yet, look into this religion, see the many lies they have told and things they covered up and free yourself from it, then find a nice person to settle down with. Start with JW facts and howcultswork.com.

8

Sneezing in the presence of non-JWs

by compound complex in

greetings, cold and allergy sufferers:.

i'm in good health currently, but i do sneeze quite a bit, bringing down the rafters, as one sister exclaimed at the kh.

apart from that, no jw ever acknowledged my clearing out .

LisaRose

It used to be believed that people were vulnerable to posession by spirits at the moment one sneezed, hence the custom of saying "bless you" as a sort of protection.

Of course these days its just a social pleasantry, nobody else knows the origin of the custom and the JW rule that forbids it is downright silly, but they never miss a chance to split hairs and micromanage.

63

"Even if this wasn't the truth, I would still stay. This is the best life to live..."

by HereIgo in

i was recently told this by a jw family member when trying to get through to them.

does this quote indicate that maybe such ones have considered that the jw's may not have the truth after all?

or is that just my wishful thinking?

LisaRose

Look around at the Kingdom Hall, does it really look like those people are living the best life possible? Maybe things have changed since I left, bit I don't remember a more joyless group of people.

54

JW Kids Bullying My Daughter

by pale.emperor in

trying not to type swearwords as i write this so bare with me.. my little 3yo attends meetings with her jw mum (who doesn't believe watchtower anymore but is stuck in because she relies on her family for help).

my mum (the one who tells people im dead) had a party for her grandchildren.

that's my 4 nieces and 1 nephew aged from 3yo-11yo.

LisaRose

Yikes, what a horrible thing for your daughter, those people should be ashamed, but of course JWs have no shame as they are incapable of seeing anything other than their own twisted viewpoint.

Just tell her that grandma is sick in the head, and leave it at that.

29

What religions/organizations aren't a cult?

by Jules Saturn in

so we've already established that most religions can be classified as high control groups, we can name the wbts, church of scientology, lds, etc.

the list goes on and on.

but are there any religions or organizations that aren't classified as a high control group or aren't as bad as the ones i've just mentioned?

LisaRose

I don't agree that most religions are cults. Cults use deception, control the time of their believers, claim to be the sole source of salvation, use fear and intimidation and do many other things that most mainstream religions do not do.

If you are looking for a specific religion that is as far from a cult as a religion can be, I was favorably impressed with United Church of Christ. I attend occasionally as my in laws belong. They are a very welcoming group that doesn't espouse any particular doctrine, it's more about mutual support and charitable works, sort of religion light, they have great music also. I considered joining, as they were even OK with my being an Atheist, but after thinking about it I decided not to, it ultimately seemed pointless.

51

What are your beliefs now, religious/non religious?

by Jules Saturn in

what are your convictions now that you are no longer one of jehovah's witnesses?

are you a born again christian?

have you joined another denomination of christianity?

LisaRose

I am not against religion in general, I think it fills a need for some people, but I see no evidence of a creator, so I am not religious myself.

12

Cognitive dissonance and mental gymnastics in social media!

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

so over the last few years, the witnesses i know (who were close friends in the past) who follow me on instagram social media have been steadily dropping off and blocking me..... but there are a small number who are still friends.. i have noticed one sad situation for one friend who is clearly battling cognitive dissonance.

if she posts a picture and i leave a nice comment on it, my comment quickly disappears.

(she must delete it i guess) but then soon after she sends a nice private message asking how we are, or commenting on the post or activity.

LisaRose

It's called hypocrisy.

12

Cognitive dissonance and mental gymnastics in social media!

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

so over the last few years, the witnesses i know (who were close friends in the past) who follow me on instagram social media have been steadily dropping off and blocking me..... but there are a small number who are still friends.. i have noticed one sad situation for one friend who is clearly battling cognitive dissonance.

if she posts a picture and i leave a nice comment on it, my comment quickly disappears.

(she must delete it i guess) but then soon after she sends a nice private message asking how we are, or commenting on the post or activity.

LisaRose

It's called hypocrisy.

12

so confused!!

by whatisthis12 in

is it possible to keep a somewhat relationship with your family if they are witnesses and have a "worldly" girlfriend?

i just posted a post, and found this site to be very helpful.

sorry to repost but my other thread brought up some other questions.

LisaRose

Is it possible to keep a somewhat relationship with your family if they are witnesses and have a "worldly" girlfriend?

It's depends on the parents, but it's very unlikely. Most parents do not want to loose a relationship with their adult children, but the religion teaches the shunning is for their own good. They believe that everyone who isn't a JW is going to die at Armageddon, which is any day now (and has been for more that a hundred years ). This is what you are up against, it is a cult and they don't play fair.

That he is going to the convention is not a good sign that he has not actually broken free of the mind control. If you try to talk to your love about these things I can pretty much guarantee his conditioned fear will come up and his mind will shut down to you. I left this religion, knew it wasn't "the truth" but didn't seek out any information about it on the internet for eight years. It took that long for the fear of "apostates" to go away. It was only then I realized how I had been deceived. If what the Watchtower taught was "The Truth" why were they so afraid of outside information? Real truth stands up to scrutiny, it's only lies that do not.

Please inform yourself about cults and how they work, it will give you an idea of what you are up against. We get people on this discussion board all the time who are in this exact same situation, they usually end up with a broken heart, sad to say.

I would recommend reading Steve Hassan's book, Combatting Cult Mind Control. If you don't want to invest in a book, a brief explanation of cults is at howcultswork.com.