im listening to moody blues right now, remembering a concert i went to of theirs in the early 90's when i lived in missouri.
it was by far the best concert i even have been to....they are not my favorite group but i do like them.
i wish i could bottle that night up and bring it out to play again and again.
Phil Collins, 4th row on the floor, McNichols Arena, Denver, Colorado
Neil Young at Red Rocks, Denver, Colorado
Bridges to Babylon, Rolling Stones at Owen Field, Oklahoma University, Norman
And Bullfrog Blues that used to play on Friday nights, in the early 90's at the Royal Tavern in Manitou Springs, Colorado were pretty darn good, a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Grateful Dead stuff.
I wish I could have gone to a Grateful Dead concert.
hello dear friends.... well..the saga continues!!
as many of you know last new years the jws attacked our "frosty" and egged our home.
" the co said, "so you are both not willing to meet with the elders..?".
Lady Liberty, I do remember last year when they were harrassing you and I can not believe they are still stalking you and your family. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why can't they just let it go. They just want to hang on like a dog tick and suck the life out of you. It makes me so mad, that they can't realize that sometimes people just want to go away and be left to live their own lives. I think they are so brain washed they can not think for themselves anymore.
I have been out 4 years now and have two christmas trees inside and lights out front and I am still afraid some of my family will come over (they never do, not even when I had surgery recently, not even my children), but the point is I am still afraid sometimes of being in trouble which is so dumb, since I da'd myself. So I admire your courage!! Good for you for telling them how the cow ate the cabbage.
I find that christmas lights still give me the sense of childlike wonder that I felt when we decorated before my dad left and before my mom became a jw. I wish we could have them on all year round.
irony?
or sheer hypocrisy?.
from the watchtower society-website's homepage:.
WTF??? This makes me sick, why don't they take their own advice and admit all the lies they have told themselves. Oh, guess that advice only applies to the rank and file, not the WTS Organization itself. How about telling the truth about all the deceitful things the Organization did to benefit it's own status and work in the U.S. along with other countries. Hypocrites.
i'm hoping someone can clear this up for me.
i was recently released from an inpatient behavioral health unit.
i was wondering jw's stance on mental disorders and tratment.
I was associated for over 35 years and knew many in every congregation I ever went to who struggled with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. I knew several who were hospitalized and a few who committed suicide eventually. Many years ago the society did made statements to the effect that if someone was struggling with mental illness, that it was thought that they may be having problems with demon possession. However, through the years the society did lighten up, and become more educated in realizing that there are many reasons that a person may have mental health issues. The biggest reason being that it may a chemical imbalance in the brain which can be corrected with antidepressants or other helpful medications. It then became okay to take medication when needed, although they still cautioned you from going to "worldly therapists who might lead you astray from your beliefs". There was counsel given for brothers and sisters, especially the elders to show compassion to those suffering from mental illness and depression, and not make it harder for them to cope by judging them if someone needed treatment. ETA: At one point about 6 years ago, I was so depressed that I did not care if I went to sleep and never woke up, part of my problem was chemical imbalance, part was a bad marriage I couldn't get out of, part was being a part of a religion I found hard to live up to. I did take antidepressants and went to a counselor and the counselor helped me immensely to be able to do what I needed to do to get better. My youngest son also went to a counselor at one point when he was disfellowshipped and it helped him to realize he wanted to be reinstated. So Therapists don't always lead to people leaving the organization as some ffear.
I found some research which showed that Jehovah's Witnesses's as a group have a much higher rate of mental illness than other religions, it was not proven whether people who are more prone to depression and other mental issues are more drawn to that type of religious environment or if is the pressure and subsequent guilt people feel from having to live such a strict religion and feeling they can not possibly live up to the ideals put before them that are causing more mental illnesses among JW's.
Many religions and people in general look down on those who seek help for mental disorders and need to take medication. There is a stigma in general in this world when someone has a mental illness. Something that amazes me is how many people in our world who have made significant contributions, discoveries and accomplishments in spite of suffering from severe mental illness, depression and bipolar, etc. So if you have this illness, read Kay Redfield Jamison's book "An Unquiet Mind", read about John Forges Nash in "A Beautiful Mind", read about Albert Einstein and even some popular actors and writers today who suffer from this illness and what you can also do to overcome and if not overcome it then to have the most full life that you are able to. Most important, if you need medication and counseling, please take full advantage and not let anyone tell you otherwise, you owe it to yourself to get as much help and support as you need to function to your best ability. There is nothing wrong with getting help, what is wrong is when people tell others to not get the help they need to function.
God bless you if you are struggling, many are and don't be ashamed to ask for help. Medical science and the breakthroughs in treating mental illness is also a gift from God. Ignore those who would try to discourage you from accepting help if you need it. I am passionate about this subject because I lost a few friends who did not get the help they needed to survive. I hope you make it.
after the ambiguous response by the wts to the nbc broadcast, i would like to know how many of you had an "elder chester molester" in your own congregation?.
we had an elder that molested his daughter's best friend when she was 14 years old.
the elders in the congregation tried to keep the matter quiet and handled the matter privately.
I personally knew of one without a doubt, he was accused by several young ones of molesting them, but for years, the elders in that congregation did not believe them and even told the accusers they would be disfellowshipped if they kept talking about it. Eventually this elder admitted to molesting dozens of young people. I heard the number was either 30 or 50, but that may have been inflated. Sadly, I think his son may have been one of them. The son was disfellowshipped as an adult for being homosexual and eventually committed suicide. The scary part is that when I was a teenager, about 14, this elder counseled me privately, alone in his home for what was considered loose conduct and now I wonder if he used that information for his own sexual gratification or if I had been one of his intended targest. I do know several young people that he caused much pain and grief to and it scars them to this day. He was disfellowshipped for a year and then reinstated, but the young people he abused still suffer and his son who was one of my beloved friends could not deal with his emotional pain and ended his life. I knew of a couple of other men in another congregation, though not elders that also were pedophiles. One served time in prison and was disfellowshipped and coming to meetings to be reinstated. There was never an announcement made from the stage, but book study conductors were warning parents to keep on eye on their young ones around him and especially to not let them go to the rest room alone, and that was at the kingdom hall of all places.
here, they decided to pick up the trash only once every 2 weeks from now on in the winter time......gee, years ago, they picked it up twice a week... .
just the rats will enjoy this....
Not really anything I hate, but I really wish we had a good, authentic chinese restaurant. I do wish there were more women here liked the natural look, instead of artifcially enhanced everything, bleached, highlighted, sprayed hair, fake nails, high heels and always being dressed to the nines. This is not a town where you can run to the grocery store in sweats and no makeup and a pony tail without looking out of place. I guess that does give me more incentive to look better when I run errands, it is just that after working all week, sometimes you just don't want to fix up just to go to the store. The other alternative is not caring what they think, but anytime I have gone to run errands with no makeup, I feel sorta frumpy and drab.
in the interest of self-healing and finding the peace that comes from being grateful, can you think of anything at all that was positive about having been one of jehovah's witnesses?.
not to be misunderstood with missing something about it, is there something about the experience that has enriched you?.
to answer the question myself, being forced to face the fallacies of the teachings of jwism, i was also prompted to look past those teachings and reevaluate everything i believed in.. that experience was frightening and unsettling, but i'm thankful for it.. i now have a greater appreciation for life in all its wonder than i did when i took it for granted as one of jehovah's witnesses.. i'm more determined now to find meaning in this life, after having lived for so long for a future that was never to arrive..
I am thankful for these things that I learned:
1. How to empathize with others and show love to them.
2. How to forgive others, even when someone doesn't deserve it, instead of holding a grudge and letting the bad feelings destroy my soul.
3. How to read and study deep information, how to put together a public speech and give it without being nervous, being able to speak to anyone about anything,
4. How to talk with other people about topics that may be controversial, how to deal with rejection, how to sell myself.
5. How to stand up for what I believe in, even though that eventually meant leaving the organization when I could no longer believe what they were saying.
6. How to reason with my children and to be able to not repeat the cycle of child abuse, so that my children did not receive the abuse that I received as a child.
7. To not be ashamed to be different. Because even though I am no longer a JW, I am still different in many ways from others, due to my upbringing. Now I am learning to use my experiences in the organization, both positive and negative to be a more open minded person.
8. I am thankful that all three of my children had the same father. I am thankful that I had some guidance in raising my children, as they were wonderful children and gave me no grief as teenagers, they have become intelligent, well mannered, productive adults.
9. I am thankful that I was taught to feel love and appreciate people of all races and backgrounds.
10. I am thankful that it gives my Mother a place that she can feel love and support in her old age.
i obtained this today from the refocus group on cult and thought-control recovery issues.
i thought some might find it interesting to read, if not helpful, since many of us here struggle sometimes with boundary issues:.
http://www.refocus.org/boundaries.htm .
This is one of the biggest issues I have faced, besides family issues. Learning boundaries, how to set boundaries, self-preservation, not feeling guilty all the time and learning when to say enough! I am finding that the stronger I am becoming, the less bull I am willing to put up with. After years and years of allowing every one called a brother or sister to know my personal life, I have also learned that my personal business is just that "my personal business" and I function on a "need to know basis" now. I have finally started to feel stronger and more confident in my own abilities and not needing to always have the opinion and approval of others. It has been a struggle but it is slowly getting easier.
were you ever told to do things that had no bearing on the scriptures or even policies of the watchtower?.
we had one co who upon inspection insisted that the body of elders and servants be cleaven shaven, cut their hair and remove their sideburns.. i use to have a patch of hair under my bottom lip.
the co pointing to it asked, "what's that?
The CO gave a talk and said that sisters had to wear pantyhose to the meetings, and that their skirts had to be at least 2 inches below their knees. The brothers at one of the congregations I went to also said that only the brothers in the hispanic congregations could wear cowboy boots on the stage because maybe they could not afford dress shoes and the only brothers that could wear beards were those that lived in cold climates like Alaska or in other countries. We were also told not to go on the internet and do any reading about the WT society. Sisters were told at a convention not to watch soap operas. The brothers also frowned on going to counselors or taking anti-depressants. Along with the standard no worldly association, yada, yada, yada
OH, almost forgot one of my favorites, actually two of them.
1) When tornado sirens went off for a tornado warning, the brother continued to give his talk while some of us were freaking out wondering if we should dive under the seats. Finally, a brother was sent outside to LOOK and SEE if he could actually see a tornado. When he did not see one going over. We were told not to worry, and the brother never stopped his talk. I am still pissed over this, my instinct was that is nuts!! A tornado warning is given because There IS A TORNADO coming!! Who were they to decide for everyone that it was okay. I decided right then that would never happen again, I would not allow someone else to make life and death decisions for me. I really think that day was the turning point for me.
2) Being told to get rid of gifts from "worldly" relatives because they had a Ouija board in their home. For years, I was terrified to accept gifts from my grandparents, because of that very reason. Now I mourn treasured gifts that I did not keep because I was so afraid of "demons".
wished to know concerning yourself, life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know?
Did I make the right decision and was it worth the heartache?
