Posts by Rebirth

37

What Positive Things Have You Achieved Since Leaving?

by sweet pea in

purps' wonderful thread about love made me wonder about something else.

what have you achieved/become since leaving the organisation that proves there is a happy, successful life outside being a jehovah's witness?

for me, although it's only been a very short time, too short to achieve much, i count becoming: non-judgemental of my fellow man; a mum that can give her kids all the room to grow and blossom without fear of 'sinning' or being kicked out for bad behaviour; a person that can feel comfortable worshipping in a church or not, depending on whatever i feel like doing; someone who can love and give freely and celebrate life in all it's glory (i just love birthdays!

Rebirth

Purps' wonderful thread about Love made me wonder about something else.

What have you achieved/become since leaving the organisation that proves there is a happy, successful life outside being a Jehovah's Witness?

For me, although it's only been a very short time, too short to achieve much, I count becoming: non-judgemental of my fellow man; a mum that can give her kids all the room to grow and blossom without fear of 'sinning' or being kicked out for bad behaviour; a person that can feel comfortable worshipping in a church or not, depending on whatever I feel like doing; someone who can love and give freely and celebrate life in all it's glory (I just love birthdays!), and generally one that is free to think and question without fear of judgement. Although it is and has been painful leaving, there are so many, many, upsides and I feel that this is just the beginning.... Who knows, maybe one day I'll become a brain surgeon or an outer space traveller. LOL.

How about you guys and gals?

I could have written your post almost word for word.

I'm having the best time enjoying life with a whole new attitude. I no longer have this cloud of dread hanging over my life. The world is a beautiful place filled with mostly good people. We all are trying to watch out for ourselves, and that doesn't make us bad, it makes us smart and realistic.

I've been able to go back to school. I've got a successful business. My children are fully intergrated into life and friends, they are enjoying their childhoods completely.

I'm happy.

20

Just got off the phone with my mom and I feel weak from the emotions.

by kitten whiskers in

jw
friends

nothing major happened, i have just noticed that she doesn't say she loves me anymore.

i used to find it annoying.

i always felt like she only said it to guilt me into having to say that i loved her.

Rebirth

kw, I'm so sorry you are going through the painful process of losing connection w/your mom. I went through the loss of my entire extended family, parents, siblings, and ILs, over the last year due to leaving JWs. There is some great advice here, but let me say that the thing that helped me the most was remembering what my therapist helped me understand. It is really quite simple, but quite profound. Stop worrying about everyone else, let go. You only need to take care of you and your children. Everyone else can take care of themselves, they are responsible for their own choices. They alone will have to deal with the reprecussions of their choices. You only have so much energy and why waste it on something you can't change. Instead of sending all this energy into something negative, redirect it into something positive. That is, in making your relationship stronger with those whom you love and those who love you. My children are my #1 priority and I am teaching them how to be good citizens of this planet, how to live a full life, and how to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us everyday.

Stop and think about what I've said and how much energy you are giving away, how much power you are willingly handing over to someone who is manipulating your emotions. Do you want to look back on your children's early years and remember a blur of pain? Wouldn't you rather have positive feelings radiating from this preciously short period? Take back your power, give yourself permission to tell your mom that are who you are and that she can either accept that or move on. You will need time to grieve this loss. I did, it took many months to get where I'm at. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The pain will wear away and will be replaced with the happiness of knowing you are living a genuine life and giving your children the very best life you can.

I wish you the best.

102

I received a package from my mother today

by ex-nj-jw in

jw
friends

my dub mother sent me a package today, inside was a nwt bible, a picture of me around age 5 at an assembly - i looked miserable and my dad was holding a battery operated fan in front of me, and a letter, here is the letter.

i ask that you remember that i was 18 when i left and i'm now 42, that there is a total of 8 children in my family and there are only 2 that are still jw's, oh and that my mother is a complete nutcase!

dear nj:.

Rebirth

I'm so sorry for such a mean, hurtful letter sent from your "mom." This is just plain terrible. I wouldn't say that to my worst enemy, let alone my child. wow. This is on par, in my book, with burning a child with an iron or locking them in a room for days on end. Just as sick, evil, and twisted. I liked Scully's response.

Dear mom
I received your package today. Thanks for the photo, it reminded me just how miserable it was going to assemblies even as a small child. How you could subject an innocent child to that kind of torture is beyond me.
Since you're being completely honest about your feelings in your letter, I thought I would take this opportunity to be completely honest with you. In case you've forgotten, I am a grown woman now, with a life, a husband and children of my own. I am not required to behave in a manner that makes you happy, and it's really rather manipulative for you to put the onus on me for making you happy. If you aren't happy, then perhaps you should examine your life and figure out what you need to do in order to be happy all on your own, without putting unrealistic expectations on other people, and attempting to emotionally blackmail them to keep you appeased. For what it's worth, I am happy with my life just the way it is, as "worthless" and "immoral" as you judge it to be; I do not need to feel superior to others the way you seem to do.
I'm returning the New World Translation to you. I consider it to be a fraudulent counterfeit of the Bible, and I do not keep cult propaganda in my home where it can poison the minds of the unwary, the way it has yours.

That is a perfect response.

Yet another reminder on how how important unconditional love is toward your children. You love your chid because they EXIST and that is it in my book.

15

Man oh man, Americans; We should have listened to this guy!

by SixofNine in

jw
friends

click: prescient warning on iraq, given in 1994

Rebirth

wow, i'm speechless.

297

5000 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS OF JW PEDOPHILE CASES AVAILABLE! B ANDERSON BOOK

by Seeker4 in

barbara anderson has just released a new book on cd that contains some 5000 pages of public court records from the nine lawsuits involving 16 victims that the wts settled secretly in may of this year, plus documents from two other cases the society settled in 2000 and 2006.. .

its called secrets of pedophilia in an american religion: jehovahs witnesses in crisis.. .

the book, and more info from barbara about it, is available here:.

Rebirth

Please let other readers know of my posting this particular message. Since the selection criteria may not be what you think it is, I need as big a pool of volunteers as possible. If you think you can help, please volunteer. The work involved is not time consuming.

ohhkayy...could this get anymore cryptic? Are you some how related to Barbara's project, if so it makes me hesitate to even order her CD. I don't like the vibes your post is giving me.

74

What will be the Reaction to Barbera Anderson`s New CD?

by OUTLAW in

we all know the shit is going to hit the fan,with the release of barbera anderson`s new cd:"secrets of pedophilia in an american religion:jehovah`s witness`s in crisis".....the wbt$ is going to take a beating,so are the jehovah`s witness`s.....there are two reactions to consider..and..they are the subject of this thread................what will be the reaction of the wbt$?..and..what will be the reaction of jehovah`s witness`s?...outlaw

Rebirth

Oh yes. I've had this conversation before with deeply entrenched JWs. There will be those who, when presented with these documents, will simply state that apostates can create anything today with technology. That is how deeply controlling the org is over the minds of the believers. They've got them so scared that they won't believe anything they read unless it comes directly through the society's publications. These same people, of course, have no problem trusting other books/news sources and taking it for face value. Major disconnect going on. I sit here as I'm writing this shaking my head at the utter paranoia that this cult has created in otherwise very sane individuals. I hope some time in in the future after this religion falls, psychologists will be able to study how this religion has done what it has done and help to create safeguards against it happening again.

297

5000 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS OF JW PEDOPHILE CASES AVAILABLE! B ANDERSON BOOK

by Seeker4 in

barbara anderson has just released a new book on cd that contains some 5000 pages of public court records from the nine lawsuits involving 16 victims that the wts settled secretly in may of this year, plus documents from two other cases the society settled in 2000 and 2006.. .

its called secrets of pedophilia in an american religion: jehovahs witnesses in crisis.. .

the book, and more info from barbara about it, is available here:.

Rebirth

Thanks Caba for the info. I just know that in news, things need to happen "yesterday" and operate at supersonic pace. I am hoping that this will be covered in mainstream news channels, i.e. CNN, MSNBC instead of news magazines (Dateline, etc.). JWs have been trained to avoid the more editorial programs. If this is featured in "hard" news, I think it will be given more credence by those who need to hear it the most, namely those with children attending the KH.

297

5000 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS OF JW PEDOPHILE CASES AVAILABLE! B ANDERSON BOOK

by Seeker4 in

barbara anderson has just released a new book on cd that contains some 5000 pages of public court records from the nine lawsuits involving 16 victims that the wts settled secretly in may of this year, plus documents from two other cases the society settled in 2000 and 2006.. .

its called secrets of pedophilia in an american religion: jehovahs witnesses in crisis.. .

the book, and more info from barbara about it, is available here:.

Rebirth

A question for y'all: If you had your way, who or what news agency and/or medium would do the greatest good at bringing this news to the hundreds of thousands of families with children in this organization? If you had the power to get anyone to run w/this story, who would it be?

23

Elder is calling friends, JC any day now!

by BurnTheShips in

yes, i have been working on "the fade" since before my baby was born in january and trying to keep as low a profile as i can.

will be moving out of the neighborhood soon and i had hoped to disappear.

so anyways, leaving the dubs has not made me lose my faith in god or christ.

Rebirth

You say you have broken free of their authority yet you still fear them. They don't hold any power over you. If you wish to rise above their lying, scheming ways, just tell them that yes you did go to a church. If they tell you they need to meet with you, tell them that you do not wish to do so. What can they do? When I finally let go of their mental control over me, I realized that I don't need to hide who I am anymore and that by doing so, I really hadn't let go of their control over me. They can do whatever they want in their pathetic witch hunts, but they will be doing it without you because you now have a life of freedom from their games. Let go. It took me 4 yrs to get to that point, to just let go.

37

OK, YOUR FAVORITE FOOD/COOKING SHOWS. Anthony Bourdain...

by Seeker4 in

yep, bourdain's no reservations tops my list of favorites.. why is it that shows on food and cooking, reality or otherwise, kick the ass of just about everything else on tv?

what do you expect with crap like america's got talent?

yeah, maybe it does, but not much of it's getting on that show!.

Rebirth

I like Anthony Bourdain - but mainly because he is such a bad boy and not ashamed of it.

Oh yes, yes, yes. Between him and James Spader...I was just talking to one of my clients about Anthony and she was shocked to hear how much I loved watching him because of his unapologetic naughty boy streak as she too felt the same way. I wonder how many other middle aged women lust after Anthony?? Could give a darn about the food, actually that's just "icing on the cake" ;-) I watch him for the "eye candy." --sorry couldn't resist.