so after three years of fading, my elder father has never really asked why we have chosen to stop attending.. today, after a mixed discussion, he starts talking about the "solution to all the world problems" and says "i don't know what you now believe, but i believe gods kingdom will fix everything" i let the comment go, and didn't respond.. then he goes on about the video "remember the wife of lot" because he just came from the convention last weekend.
"don't get caught up in this system...blah blah".
i couldn't help myself, and said one thing "dad, that video failed to show the next chapter of that account.
The Jehovah's Witnesses supposedly believe everything in the bible, so how could taking about what's in the bible be wrong? What if a householder asked about this account, would he run away screaming then?
He is obviously uncomfortable because deep down he suspects that you might be right and that is just a path he is too afraid to go down.
once i left ,i was done.
in over 10 years i didn't return except for my mother's funeral.
did you ever re enter the kh after you left?.
I went twice after I left. Once for the memorial, when I was visiting my mother, because it made her happy, although she sent me a letter after I got home saying she didn't want to talk to me anymore, "I want to die with a clean conscience". The next time was a few months later, after she passed away, for her memorial. It was the usual WTBTS promotional commercial, with barely a mention of the person supposedly being memorialized. Whatever, neither time meant anything to me.
That's been over fifteen years. I have two siblings left in the organization, both older than me, I may have to attend their memorials. Whatever.
so tomorrow is my last appointment with my psychologist.
we are going to commemorate it by giving each other a letter.. sept 2016 i sat, a quivering wreck, in her waiting room.
i was terrified.
Congratulations on breaking free! Don't beat yourself up because it took you fifty years, pat yourself on the back that you did it at all, many go to their graves without escaping, which is truly sad.
i went into my mother's office to leave her a small note to say that we love and miss her and would love to get together.
i found this on her desk.
this is jehovah's witnesses.
How sad that any religion would make someone think like this.
If it helps, try to think of her as someone who has a mental illness. She has been blinded by a cult and manipulated into believing this is the right thing to do. It's not that she doesn't love you, it's that she is incapable of seeing past your rejection of her belief system and accepting your choice. This is unlikely to change.
You can love her and wish her well while keeping your distance and not putting yourself in a position to be rejected by her again. Do not offer to let her see her grandchildren, they shouldn't be around her anyway, she will be toxic to them in ways you probably don't see right now.
Focus on yourself right now and your own family. I highly recommend meditation for learning to cope with difficult emotions.
going to do some tourism and looking for suggestions as to good areas in colorado to visit..
I don't live there anymore, so can't hang out, but can talk about good things to do.
In the Colorado Springs area, Pikes peak, you can drive to the summit or take a train, also Garden of The Gods, beautiful red rock formations, you can drive through and see most of it or stop and hike.
In Denver, downtown and the mint. I'm not a big fan of their downtown, but many people like it, it has its charms. There is a nice botanical garden and the Museum of Art is great.
Boulder is great, especially the Pearl Street Mall shopping district, great restaurants, interesting shops, street performers.
Rocky Mountain National Park. Spectacular scenery, nice visitors center at the summit.
If you have more time, Coors brewery in Golden is a nice tour, also New Belgium brewery tour and celestial seasonings tea does a tour.
Many people like Casa Bonita, it's a Mexican restaurant, the food is really, really horrible but it has an arcade, cliff diving and other entertainment so the kids really like it. I'm not kidding about the food though.
i haven't posted for quite a bit, decided to share my thoughts on this one, so it is a reference topic for anyone who decides to return back to the org, knowing all about the tatt.
being way for quite long for almost 15 years and all wt's activities, i have missed quite a lot including the "new light" latest updates, i found it quite hard to follow up what was going on to the meetings.
new songs, wt broadcast, videos, internet (so wt now is in favor of the internet) cartoons, and everything seemed completely new and weird to me.. reason for going back it was the severe pressure from close family members to return back to the "truth".
You can never really live your life for someone else, you have to live your life for you, even if living and being your authentic self causes some pain to ones you love. Your mother lived her life, made her choices and had her time, you absolutely have the right to do the same.
This religion is toxic for you, it's like drinking a daily dose of poison. If you had children would you expect them to compromise themselves to such an extent for you?
if you've been following my posts here, i am physically in and mentally out.
it's so hard because i wish that my family could wake up just as easily as i did.
the other day i had a conversation with a relative regarding whether they have come to terms with their own mortality and they replied that they try not to think about it too much but also said that it's possible that armageddon would even happen long after they are gone, which i thought was a very interesting thought.. maybe it's just me, but i feel like what made me wake up easily was that i've always had little doubts here and there but this was stuff like me being unable to grasp the concept of how one could be anointed and how would you know if you were.
It doesn't matter if it would tear them up to realize the truth about the organization, because the fact is that it is extremely unlikely that you would be able to wake them up. What seems obvious to you will not be so to people who have spent a life time being controlled and manipulated by the Watchtower.
so hadn't been to a clam meeting in quite a few months, but went last night.
so we learned that gog of magog is not satan as previously believed.
they used a few scriptures that made it clear that it couldn't be satan and that it would be a coalition of nations.
lso had another talk on the 3 things needed to survive into the new world.........1. need to preach. 2. need to be baptized. 3. need to be at meetings. All of these were stressed as things that needed to be done in order to be saved.
It works, at first anyway. It's one of those things that quickly loses its impact the more it is used/abused, it's the boy who cried wolf syndrome. I lived through the 1975 hysteria, it was hard after that to ever be as frightened or as easily manipulated.
warning - vent ahead....... so, my father (still very much in jw but who has at least had the decency to still keep in contact with me and hubby and to show interest in why we aren't attending and respect where we are at) is in intensive care at a local hospital and is intubated and sedated with some serious health issues.
i'm next of kin so i get all the phone calls from the hospital.. so, the rest of the "family" has cut me off because we are inactive and because the ever-active jw gossip grapevine has rumoured with a sibilant slithy hissy voice: "apossstassssy" is the cause of our inactivity.. whatever.. but now i've had to contact said "family" with the news about my father and what is going on....... so, dad's sisters answer my calls and manage to act and conduct themselves with a degree of decorum.. my sister on the other hand - well, she doesn't deign to answer my calls and texts for most of the day.
i push the issue tonight and insist on speaking to her when my brother-in-law answers the call.
That's so sad. Since you aren't disfellowshipped or disassociated she is actually going counter to the bible by choosing to listen to gossip and shun you without even talking to you, but at this point there is nothing to be gained by calling her on it.
My mom passed away shortly after I left, it was a very difficult time, no one told me she had gone into the hospital, I was only informed when she died. How could that ever be an OK thing to do??
It just shows how evil the Watchtower teachings actually are in practice, that they can tear families apart and cause such heartache and grief. Rather than motivating me to return I was just more determined to have the stupidity stop there, no way was I ever going to shun my children.
I have found meditation to be very helpful with the stress of dealing with JW family.
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.
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"
