Posts by Open mind

21

I bet you can't sit still while listening to this

by Hortensia in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoatqo82k-k.

Open mind

Q: How do you turn a duck into an R&B singer?

A: Put him in a microwave until his bill withers.

Bad...I know.

om

21

I bet you can't sit still while listening to this

by Hortensia in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoatqo82k-k.

Open mind

Hey there Hortensia!

Me, Ms. OM and our dog have been boogeying to the James Brown vid.

Hope all is well with you.

My family and I have GOT to stop by for a cuppa sometime. We go by your neck of the woods once a year. And I've been going a bit more frequently lately solo.

Take care,

om

28

In Memory of Clarice. Musings from the Hills.

by Open mind in

this weekend i went for a spectacular, solo, saunter in the hills and woods where i live.

if you keep reading, you'll be heading down the rabbit hole of where my mind went.

you've been warned!

Open mind

LoisLane: "May I ask are you in a successful Fade?"

Yes, our now-young-adult children never got baptized. Oldest child quit meetings & publishing cold-turkey about 3.5 years ago. The rest of us quit attending almost completely about 2 years ago. My son and I went to the Memorial this year. We have also attended a JW funeral.

That's about it.

om

29

My August Update

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

i don't really have a purpose in this thread, but wanted to share my thoughts and updates.. fading has, at least for now, totally stabilized.

my jw wife doesn't discuss jw things and, as difficult for me as it is, i haven't been discussing anything directly against jw policy.

oh, i slip in comments when she tries to judge people or groups based on her jw training- things like gay marriage, medical marijuana, pedophile news stories.

Open mind

Thanks for the update Jerry.

Sounds like there are quite a few good signs youll at least be enjoying retirement with a "low-key" JW, if not completely inactive.

om

28

In Memory of Clarice. Musings from the Hills.

by Open mind in

this weekend i went for a spectacular, solo, saunter in the hills and woods where i live.

if you keep reading, you'll be heading down the rabbit hole of where my mind went.

you've been warned!

Open mind

BTTT

In the words of Duke Ellington & Bob Russell I...

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore".

...at least to JWN.

There's probably about 5-10 posts I've made on JWN (out of thousands of fluff-stuff) that on re-reading are, IMO, worth pointing out to all the new-comers that have joined since. I know this sounds self-promoting, and I suppose it is to a certain extent, but that's truly not my intent. Just want to help point out what I consider to be a "Best Of" post to save people the hassle of sifting through tons of fluff.

Now get out and enjoy life!!

Best,

om, wife & kids

(WT-free for several years now)

85

I'm thinking about going back

by Corboy101 in

jw
friends

i have been out for 22 years.i was raised as a jehovahs witness.

i was baptized in 1986 but soon after left the religion.

theres a whole lot to the reasons why i left, but i left.

Open mind

According to the writers of South Park, God's chosen religion is.................................The Mormons!!

(Tongues were firmly in cheek.)

Hey whatever floats your boat.

If JWs disappeared tomorrow, another high-control group like them would be right along shortly to take their place.

om

30

My story so far

by brainmelt in

jw
friends

i've been trying to avoid posting this, due to extreme paranoia but its time to post my story.

i hope to not post too many details, as we've avoided being df so far, our group elder was young and lovely and cool and i just hope that in time he learns the ttatt.. i'm a regular lurker on here, occasional poster (i can't post much as my phone browser only lets me read but not post, so i only post on the odd occasion i get a time alone on the pc).

i have been fading since round about last september ( so almost my first anniversary of learning ttatt).

Open mind

Welcome to JWN Brainmelt & hubby.

Thanks for sharing your story and we're so very sorry to hear about your child's serious health issues.

My wife and I are also atheists and agree it very freeing.

If I thought it would help your child, I might be able to bring myself to pray to an imaginary god, but here's the findings of the biggest, most scientifically valid study ever done on intercessory prayer. The patients were all scheduled for nonemergency coronary artery bypass surgery.

**********************************************

The results were devastating for the efficacy of prayer. The complication rates were as follows:

Group 1 patients (received prayer; uncertain that they would receive it) – 52.5%
Group 2 patients (received no prayer; uncertain that they would receive it) – 50.9%
Group 3 patients (received prayer; certain that they would receive it) – 58.6%

http://www.examiner.com/article/scientific-studies-on-the-effectiveness-of-intercessory-prayer

**********************************************

Here's hoping that the best, most scientifically valid treatments are successful.

Best regards,

om & wife

10

I had to control my laughter...

by ILoveTTATT in

jw
friends

today at the meeting, during the prayer (to which i did not say "amen" to) the brother said "thank you for everything the faithful and discreet slave do for us.

we know it is because they love us...".

to which i had to really control my laughter cause i was about to burst out laughing... i just smiled, thankfully everyone else had their eyes closed and head down.... .

Open mind

"(to which I did NOT say "amen" to)"

On the rare occasion I'm present during the conclusion of a JW prayer I now say "Gay Men".

I calibrate the volume of the "G" very carefully.

om

42

A question for elders and former elders who have served on JCs

by slimboyfat in

based on your experience of judicial committees, how would you advise someone who is due to meet with the elders and has asked for the best way to avoid being disfellowshipped?

is denying everything ever a successful strategy?

does addressing a letter to the elders threatening legal action if they disfellowship ever work?

Open mind

Sincere repentance.

Once you've got faking that down, you're probably golden.

om

67

Another Suicide

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

there wouldn't have been any good way to hear the news i suppose.

it's just so strange to recall the conversation yesterday.

my "still in" parents are with me and my inactive sister having a pleasant conversation.

Open mind

Billy said:

"WT puts so much emphasis on perfection that it's unhealthy. For someone like AJ, he decided to end his life because he was convinced that he'd committed the "unforgivable sin". If he wasn't a JW, the incident would have just been embarrassing, certainly not criminal or anything serious. But all the crap that goes with being a JW convinced him that this was worth dying over, since he'd fallen from "perfection". And for me, the striving after perfection made for a life I didn't find worth living. I was supposedly doing everything right but I was exhausted and dissatisfied. Life was bland and everything I said or did was subject to scrutiny. "Perfection" came to mean a torturous, dull pain for me."

So very beautifully and poignantly stated.

You are VERY MUCH in my thoughts and those of my wife and children tonight Billy.

Thoughts. Not prayers. We don't do that anymore.

BILLY