Posts by AllTimeJeff

42

New here..help greatly appreciated

by Confusedandangry in

hi everyone i don't even know where to begin.

i recently saw leah remini's series on scientology thanks to my husband (semi-active jw) and i felt like my eyes were being opened for the 1st time in my adult life.

i felt shaken almost sick to my stomach with each episode i watched.

AllTimeJeff

Anger is like first gear in a car. It's great to get started, but you have to switch to other gears or you'll burn up on the highway.

OOPS I hit post before I was ready.

Get angry, it's ok, it's part of the process. Just don't stay there. :)

55

Why so few XJWs online?

by StephaneLaliberte in

not too long ago, i posted a topic where i pointed out that there are about 1 million xjws alive right now.

that number only represented the disfellowshipped ones... didn't account for those who had become publishers and left or anyone else who got hurt by that group by proxy.

so, why are there so few of them online?

JW's are more of a fringe group then we probably realize. Sure, it was our entire life, but the JW experience, unique as it is, doesn't in my opinion have the same outside interest as Mormons (Money, greater numbers on the rolls) or Scientology (many celebrity sheeples) inspire, though it's easy for us to see the many similarities in control, activities, etc.

Someone commented already that 'JWs do not attract thinkers.' Well said. A consequence of all of the "1914 Generation Won't Die" is the apathy bred. It seems that most who have left never cared that much to begin with. Those that do care or were neck deep in it (as I was) come online because we cared and probably continue to show that caring in the posts and conversations we choose to involve ourselves in.

Let's face it, if you got involved due to mild amusement or just because the JW at your door happened to be more persuasive then average, your investment wasn't very big. So, no big deal to leave, fade/go inactive, whatever works for you. You probably weren't activist minded enough to knock on doors more than a couple of times a month, attend some meetings. Likely, your lifestyle didn't change too much as a result, so, why get online and vent when you didn't care that much to begin with.

For my part, I've needed breaks. Lately, I am more at peace with my past, which allows me to hang around here with a different perspective to share. It also doesn't affect me like it once did to share my past.

42

New here..help greatly appreciated

by Confusedandangry in

hi everyone i don't even know where to begin.

i recently saw leah remini's series on scientology thanks to my husband (semi-active jw) and i felt like my eyes were being opened for the 1st time in my adult life.

i felt shaken almost sick to my stomach with each episode i watched.

AllTimeJeff

There is one thing I'd like to offer in the way of lessons learned via experience: Beware of information overload. If your eyes are now opened to how JW's are like Scientology (and thus, cultish/cultlike/high control group) then you have some stuff to work through. Be patient with yourself. It is absolutely a process, but one that is well worth it.

Now that you are open to considering facts, you are going to have reactions to some of the stuff you've learned. I wish you peace and that you don't linger to long in the anger. :)

20

Why do you get upset about family shunning you?

by mr_doubtful in

i understand people love their family but i also don't understand why you end up caring in the end.

i'm ready to leave and i 100% don't expecting my family to have any contact with me nor do i want them to contact me.

if they are going to chose a man made religion over me, that's their choice and i will sleep easy at night.

AllTimeJeff

I think this sounds good on paper, and up to a point, I agree in principle. If the goal is to be mentally healthy, then chasing after anyone, even family, who shuns you or is not healthy for you is a poor decision.

I miss all my family. They don't talk to me. I miss my friends. I'd be less than human not to acknowledge the void and the scar.

My commitment to me is simply to be mature and as healthy as I can be. So yes, I do get melancholy. No, I try very hard to not allow their idiotic decisions to affect me in my day to day life. It's pretty much something I've let go of. I am not angry anymore. It just is.

I think it's a mistake to stay angry with anyone in my opinion. That just means they are influencing your life still, just in ways that you may not be aware of.

When you think about it, getting angry feeds into the GB narrative of "apostates". Tell them instead that you are going to work to get healthy in all aspects of your life, that you love them, you miss them, and that if they ever want to have a relationship, you'll be here for them. That has more impact IMO then telling them to f*ck off.

42

New here..help greatly appreciated

by Confusedandangry in

hi everyone i don't even know where to begin.

i recently saw leah remini's series on scientology thanks to my husband (semi-active jw) and i felt like my eyes were being opened for the 1st time in my adult life.

i felt shaken almost sick to my stomach with each episode i watched.

AllTimeJeff

Welcome! You are beginning a very important process in your life. At least now, you can see.

This forum helped me a ton when I left (and started life over) 10 years ago, and I know you'll find that same support for yourself. In fact, as you go forward, this forum may be off immense help and comfort.

You are rare. I wish you the best.

62

What have been some of the funniest local needs talks that you have heard?

by DaPriest in

i remember once in berlin south germany there was a local needs part for the men only, and how they should use the toilet.

in all seriousness for ten minutes a retarded nigerian was going on about how men need to sit down when using the toilet.

no mention of anything else.. it transpired that some little kraut boy from an "interested" family would aim for the side of the toilet and leave a great big puddle for others to clean up.

AllTimeJeff

The CO had a Needs of the Circuit and walked out with a large cowboy hat. Like a 10 gallon thing. He said "Sure, there is nothing unscriptural about hats. It's my right to where a hat. But is sure is distracting isn't it."

Needless to say, the small but growing amount of men in the audience with beards didn't appreciate their facial hair likened to Yosemite Sam's fashion choices.

10

This Is Why We Call It the Borg, And Why You Can Still Find Your Voice

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

one voice can be stronger than a thousand voices.

your mind is independent now.

with its own unique identity.

AllTimeJeff

OTWO, I didn't realize that was where BORG started! I genuinely thought it was Star Trek related. Lol.

4

letter to my molestor

by jehovahismyshepard in

i had an upbringing in the truth standard preached , gave talks and did what many kids within the organization did in thier adolesence .until the day in the summer of my conversion from elementary to junior high ivisited my fellow friend from the hall at his home like i normally did..i discover he had left on an outing to magic mountain the sister his mother offered me a "cold cup of coffee beverage" to refresh me which ended up being a combination of alchol and sedatives i lwas in and out of conciseness finally i recall her taking me a shower naked .

i told my mother immidiatley she was angered with me she said i should of been like joseph and ran like he did in the bilical example.well joseph was not sedated deliberately .

this resulted in elders disfellowshipped publicly on saturday watchtower study my name was read outloud i front of all dear brothers to abstain contact from me and i wasnt even baptized me.the age of 13 for being sexually molested as a minor by an adult member of the jehovah's wittiness congregation in california we attended.

AllTimeJeff

Disappointed. Thanks for the good monitoring.

40

What finally helped you to peek behind the curtain

by UnshackleTheChains in

i'm interested in finding out what it was that finally enabled you to open your eyes to the real truth of watchtower.

what started me thinking, was the societys very own book...' 'revelation..it's grand climax at hand'.

i found that book farcicle.

AllTimeJeff

Like OTWO, mine is a long story, but it ultimately hit me at Gilead in 2005 when I first said to myself "This isn't the truth." Those were the exact words I spoke to myself for the first time. We were discussing the prophetic parallels in 2 Kings 1 and 2 where Elijah = CT Russell and Elisha = Rutherford.

Thus began a not so pleasant two years of my life....

22

Does the Jehovah's Witnesses religoius cult create people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder ?

by Finkelstein in

the american psychiatry association lists nine symptoms – if someone ticks five of these, they could have narcissistic personality disorder.

the nine points of narcissism.

has a grandiose sense of self-importance.. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.. believes that he or she is ‘special’ and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people.. requires excessive admiration.. has a sense of entitlement.. is inter-personally exploitative (takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.. .

AllTimeJeff

I think JW's attract this to a certain degree. It's impossible to say of course without studying it, and I don't think institutions of higher learning are banging at the door of the GB trying to study it.

I think the majority of JW's rank and file are beat up and hanging on in spite of upset and likely to stay for friends and family. Hardly the narcissistic type.