grey matters

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Posts by grey matters

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  9

  Isn't everything pagan?

  by zack in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the wts has threaded a theology together based mostly on what not to do.

  many of the 'what nots" are justified.

  by saying they are rooted in pagan beliesfs.

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  grey matters

  I heard an interesting comment the other day:

  "Anthropologists believe that all religiosity reduces to anthropology".

  Religiosity is dependent on history, culture, and other contextual influences. Spiritual values remain constant, however.
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  48

  Is the Watchtower beginning to lose its grip on its members?

  by Gill in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have seen a counsellor on and off since leaving watchtower land.

  she has made efforts to find out more about jehovah's witnesses.. we were discussing why my jw family (not my husbands' they shun us as if we smell bad!!!!

  ) are beginning to spend more time with us.

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  grey matters

  Hats off to Gill! This is the most interesting thread I have read in awhile.

  I don't know, though. Don't you think it will morph into something else? It's hard to imagine it imploding completely.

  I will say this, though. Once I didn't believe in it anymore, I didn't believe any of it. The problem is that they constantly pound on believing all or nothing. You can't pick and choose which parts you want to believe. You have to believe everything they say. For me, that made it like a pane of glass. It was so inflexible, it couldn't bend. That was fine as long as it was intact. But as soon as there was a crack, the whole thing just shattered. I couldn't believe all of it, so I couldn't believe any of it.

  I do have a couple of friends who say they don't believe in any more of it than I do. Yet they still go to meetings, although irregularly, to keep the peace with their families.

  I don't go at all, of course. My family lives in another state. I keep the peace with them by just not bringing it up. They do know that I don't go to meetings. Last time they visited, I told them so. I told them that if they wanted to go, I would drop them off or let them borrow my car, but I would not be going. They try to bring it up in subtle ways when they call, but I push back at this point. They usually end the conversation shortly thereafter.
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  41

  Snippet of a JW letter.

  by jeeprube in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  here's a snippet from a letter my sister in law recently wrote my wife.

  enjoy:.

  hope you two are doing well!.

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  grey matters

  He totally blew that delivery. He should have built to a crescendo. This IS the time!

  Starting out at a near whisper was probably a good way to get the attention of the audience. But mumbling the most powerful line of the discourse at a near whisper just sucked all of the power out of it for me. Oh well, apparently it got a lot of other people fired up.

  Sorry, I guess I am having a flashback to all of my Theocratic Ministry School training.

  It's scary to think I was good at that once upon a time.

  Thanks for posting the link!
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  26

  Would you say yes to a blood transfusion?

  by Fisherman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i would like to get some honest answers about your position on blood transfusion.

  as we get older, sooner or later we wind up in the hospital and the question they always ask is"...in the event.. would you accept blood?

  " faced with that question, i answered no.

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  grey matters

  Yes. I would follow the advice of my doctor. I would not usurp his or her opinion with the opinion of a bunch of doddering old fools in New York who I wouldn't ask to recommend a dentist! (nothing against dentists )

  I know someone though, who is disfellowshipped. Even though he has a worldly girlfriend and doesn't really seem inclined to ever go back to being a JW, he says that is the one thing that he doesn't think he can do. Interesting. I hope he changes his mind if this ever actually comes up.
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  41

  Snippet of a JW letter.

  by jeeprube in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  here's a snippet from a letter my sister in law recently wrote my wife.

  enjoy:.

  hope you two are doing well!.

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  grey matters

  I am 100% convinced that the WT is not God's chosen people.... And yet, I still get that fear. And I can talk myself through it, and it goes away. But it just surprises me every time how deeply the brainwashing goes. Fear (among other things) kept me in for so long... I have nothing to be afraid of now, but reading an email like that one still scares me at first.

  Yeah, I know what you mean. I actually get physical symptoms sometimes. My therapist says that I was conditioned to remain in the center of their circle, and if I approach the edge, I am conditioned to feel anxiety. It works either way, whether you are coming from the inside on the way out, or being completely outside of the circle and yet approaching its edge.

  The thing is with me, though, is that most of what I feel is anger. Anger at having been suckered in to this crap for so long. Anger that significant members of my family have been victimized by this cult and will probably try to haunt me with it for the rest of their lives.
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  6

  Scans of the S-77 and S-79 forms...................

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the ones used when someone is df'd or da's?.

  anyone have them or know where i can find them?.

  jeff .

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  grey matters

  Here's an older S-77 originally from the British branch. In the original, it is a 2 page form. I had to cut it up into 4 pages to post it so that it was legible.

  Well, somewhat legible.
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  100

  2006 SERVICE REPORT - Feb 1, 2007 WT

  by Mary in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm not sure if anyone's posted this yet, but here are the figures for the 2006 service report.

  i highlighted the countries that have either a "0" or negative growth in yellow and i highlighted key countries where the you would expect more growth......i tried looking for england's stats, but i couldn't see it.

  i looked under "england" and "united kingdom" but i can't see it.

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  grey matters

  They don't count Alaskans twice. Alaska has its own branch. I believe the territory also covers Yukon Territory in Canada. The good news is that the average number of publishers has been declining for years, as the population in Alaska has grown.
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  13

  JW just gave me a gift for boss' day!

  by jstalin in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  is this weird, or what?

  the jw that works for me just gave me a gift for boss' day... albeit a little belated... but i was shocked!

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  grey matters

  LOL That would be in line with their typical reasoning, Mary
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  25

  Oh Brother....

  by mama1119 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this morning my doorbell rang, and i usually never answer my door unless i know someone is coming, because this is thick jw territory, but i did, and low and behold, its a lone jw.

  he was working on the construction site across the street and was trying to locate the owners of a cat he kept seeing.

  he didn't recognize me at first, he was looking at my halloween decorations, and then back at me like he knew something was off...so finally, he asked my name.

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  grey matters

  Yeah, I have a problem with that line too. But they all seem to use it, all the time. They assume we spend all of our time out here feeling terribly guilty, because we "know" we are not we "should" be doing. [sigh]
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  10

  Does it make you sick too??

  by mama1119 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was watching some youtube stuff yestersday and came across all the 2006 convention videos, and just watching them and hearing the songs and the dramas and seeing all the people dresses like they have for the last 20 years made me feel sick to my stomach, and all panicky....does this happen to anyone else?

  when you see jw doing what you used to do, does it give you a little pts??

  (post traumatic syndrome).

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  grey matters

  made me feel sick to my stomach, and all panicky....does this happen to anyone else? When you see JW doing what you used to do, does it give you a little PTS?? (post traumatic syndrome).

  Yes it does make me feel sick and panicky too. I wonder why we feel like that?

  I have felt that way too. The advice from my therapist - you feel that way because you were part of a high control group that did its best to keep you in the center of its circle of influence. They have conditioned you to feel anxiety when you approach the outer edge of their circle.

  This makes me feel frustrated. I wonder how long it will take before I can watch these things with no emotional effect.

  Good question. I don't know. I get angry when I feel the anxiety we are talking about, because I know logically that there is no valid reason for it. But 30 years of conditioning is not easy to undo. My advice is just to be aware of the feeling and the reason for it. Don't put too much meaning into it. You're ok. It's normal to feel that way, given your experience.

  The reason I still do the therapy thing is that it helps me to understand irrational feelings like this. I find that the better I understand them, the less they affect me, and the stronger I become.