Posts by AllTimeJeff

What concerns me as I go through life is settling for where we are. In our case as former JW's, it really does pain me to know that it can seem like the bus kicked us out in the middle of the desert at 2:00 AM, and we don't have a clue where to go.

Obviously, the mistake would be to just sit there where the bus left you.

That is all. There is a lot of merit to the idea that happiness is a choice. :)

26

GAME OVER argument

by johnnyc in

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AllTimeJeff

It's only a lie that was in the AWAKE for several decades.

It's incredible what the human mind does. I told myself it didn't matter, that new light changed, and I just went along with the riptide through all of my 20's.

Sad, but until one THINKS about the "creators promise" part that they somehow got wrong, it just doesn't register.

16

Happiness is a Study

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

paradise!.

live forever!.

as jw's we were taught that things, money, posessions, cannot make you happytm.

AllTimeJeff

PARADISE!

LIVE FOREVER!

As JW's we were taught that things, money, posessions, cannot make you HAPPY™. Incredibly, they were right.

But I bet you won't be surprised about what they left out on the subject of HAPPINESS™!

Remember, you were taught that HAPPINESS™ comes from "serving Jehovah". That is why you can be HAPPY™ by reveling in your poverty as you knock on doors and place literature with the ever changing dogmatic opinions of the Governing Body.

When JW's leave that cult, we all do this because, let's face it, we weren't happy. Not their version of HAPPINESS™. The real happy.

You see, JW's have it all wrong. (not a surprise here, I realize) JW's actually search for the unhappy, to sell their self serving version of HAPPINESS™. That version doesn't really involve your personal happiness (the real kind) in any way.

JW's, or I should say, the GB, try so hard to tell you that people with homes, cars, jobs, and money are not really HAPPY™. Here's why, even if they are happy (the real kind) JEHOVAH IS GOING TO KILL THEM!!

So yeah, that makes sense. And we always used to look at that people at the height of our own belief and think, "There go a few more dead people walking. Look at how happy they are now. We are HAPPY™! Because we serve YHWH in abject poverty.... Just like the GB taught us how to be HAPPY™"

The whole point is, no one (that I know of anyway) leaves JW's and instantly understands the subject, esp considering the amount of brainwashing that took place.

I think it's sad, and I accept this, that there are people who leave JW's and give up in some way. Or take a decade off, whatever. They figure that happiness (the real kind) isn't in the cards for them. (not true btw) It's tough. But you and I don't have to remain victims of this.

The secret of happiness is understanding that it is a road, not a destination. Sound trite?

Being Rich™ doesn't make you happy.

Being Poor™ doesn't make you happy.

Being an atheist/agnostic/theist/new ager™ doesnt' make you happy.

Being a Republican/Democrat/Libertarian/Tea Partier™ doesn't make you happy.

Watching CNN/FOX News/MSNBC™ doesn't make you happy.

It was never OUT THERE.

It really is IN YOU.

BEING happy is the key.

To "be" or not to "be", that is the question.

You don't have to put off your happiness until you get something external.

Being at peace with yourself, learning, discovering, and knowing yourself, and that YOU HAVE REAL VALUE is essential, and in my view, the first step to happiness.

If you have to start your life over, that's ok. You can be happy while building. The key is knowing where you are going. It doesn't matter if you haven't got their yet.

The only thing that can stop you is not starting.

Study happiness. READ!

Please? :)

Rant over.

21

Serious discussion: Why our Brain cannot take us to God

by Terry in

we have brains and can think.. when we talk about god we leave behind material, physical sensible "things".

it is the voice of intellect not brain.

the proof is in the pudding.. the voice of god would not be mans voice.. intellect is our vehicle and it is not the atoms of a meat brain, nor vegetables nor poetry.

AllTimeJeff

I am a believer in spirituality. However, I think that organized religion has totally hijacked what that should be.

There is another piece to this Terry: Unlike chef's, or musicians, there are "schools" that teach billions of people about "GOD" in some form, which prepares most people to be willing to suspend reality for the sake of their "faith".

In doing so, they also kill us all a little bit inside, because to me, we do have this need for a greater meaning in life. Organized religion has long ago realized this facet of the basic human nature and has manipulated it to their ends.

I don't mean what I say above as an attack on anyone's personal beliefs, but rather, an expression of my own. They say that the enemy of the good is the average, and the enemy of the best is the good.

We always assume as young people coming into our own that we already have the best. It was merely what we happened to be born in and around.

We do have opportunities, all of us, to examine these things and to come to our own conclusions. That is where your opinion on transendence comes into play.

I have come to my own conclusions, and one of them is, the god we talk about really shines a light more on who WE are, not on who "GOD" is.

I think our brains need to be more engaged, because data IS important. That is an important lesson for anyone who has ever had to be a JW and must now move on.

77

I have allegedly been charged with apostasy

by Igot2bme in

jw
friends

i recieved a letter today and it reads:.

sister jennifer b****,.

we request your presence for a judical hearing.

AllTimeJeff

Btw, unless it is your path and mission in life to bring this to court, a lawyer will have limited value here. JW's have the legal right to disfellowship as they see fit, regardless of how immoral or unethical it can be. The United States has given all religious organizations that right.

My opinion is to not invest emotional energy in that when you can use it in other healthier ways. :)

77

I have allegedly been charged with apostasy

by Igot2bme in

jw
friends

i recieved a letter today and it reads:.

sister jennifer b****,.

we request your presence for a judical hearing.

AllTimeJeff

Very sorry. I know there is no way to leave JW's in a dignified way.

Just a couple of thoughts from a former elder here:

They don't need you there to DF you. That doesn't mean they will. Contrary to popular belief, there is no uniform handling of these situations. It all depends on the elder body, the CO, the "desk elder" in the Service Dept at Bethel and how this whole thing was framed. I have seen situations where the potential disfellowshipping was held in abeyance, and others where you could be DF'd while not participating in the hearing.

It all depends on how this whole thing was framed by the powers that be.

As a personal opinion, I have never been in favor of going out on their terms. If you are fairly certain that they are going to have it in for you, I don't think you should worry about what they want you to do. It is all legalese bullshit they invent anyway. The only thing that matters is how you would like to go out.

The sad fact is, sometimes faders get busted. If that is the case, I highly recommend putting yourself and your needs above anyone else, even friends and family still in. This isn't a battlefield you can win on. You have to take this battle to another place to win, and that is by reclaiming your life. (which I am obviously unfamiliar with...)

Thanks for reading!

80

Is this possible...... Hundreds of Bethelites now engaged in major reform?

by koolaid-man in

jw
friends

we all know the watchtower organization is now in a defensive mode.

unrelenting criticism and critical information is rapidly coming forward exposing this esoteric cult.. are their hundreds of bethelites now understanding how evil their "faithfull slave" really is?

has the revolution begun?.

AllTimeJeff

Pardon me, may I have a link to whatever is alleged regarding Splane?

20

Cons of being a jehovah's witness

by raxxxx in

what could u list as negative things as being a jw/ex jw for example when u were growing up etc that still affext u now?.

AllTimeJeff

Being stuck in the past instead of recognizing that you could potentially shape your future in the positive, regardless of what happened to you previously.

80

Is this possible...... Hundreds of Bethelites now engaged in major reform?

by koolaid-man in

jw
friends

we all know the watchtower organization is now in a defensive mode.

unrelenting criticism and critical information is rapidly coming forward exposing this esoteric cult.. are their hundreds of bethelites now understanding how evil their "faithfull slave" really is?

has the revolution begun?.

AllTimeJeff

Bethelites gossip. Rumor mongers mistake gossip for reform. In reality, gossip is the idle activity of the directionless. So I am not surprised that there is gossip at Bethel.

Btw, OF COURSE there are higher ups who want to change things. I got to meet a few of them. They aren't changing shit folks, and if they do one day get disfellowshipped, oh well, it happened once already in 1980. So it could happen again.

Not impressed.