Posts by Terri

211

Ray Franz has had a stroke

by coffee_black in

jw
friends

just setting the record straight.

there is another thread that notes a claim on wiki that said that ray has died.. he had a stroke yesterday, and is in the hospital.

he is still alive.

Terri_OS

I'm really sorry to hear this. What an amazing man to dedicate his life to help so many.

13

3 day event in London for Ex-JWs 2009

by Terri_OS in

jw
friends

i have been talking to steve hassan who is the author of 'combatting cult mind control" about coming to london for a 3 day event in autumn 2009. initially the idea was to make it all about jehovah's witnesses and support for those having left the religion and leaving their jw issues behind them.

we may make this an event for ex-cult members in general, but there will be a big section specifically catering to the issues surrounding the jw organisation, leaving it and life after it.

the cost of steve being there and flying to london; will be shared amongst those attending, so there will be a ticket price for the event, which i will figure out later when i've got an idea of how many will be likely to attend.. .

Terri_OS

Hi guys,

good point about jwd closing. If you are interested in attending, maybe even if you are just contemplating it right now, then do drop me an email [email protected] or feel free to add me on facebook. I'm the only Terri O'Sullivan on there. Just say you are an ex-dub and i'll add ya!

xxx

13

3 day event in London for Ex-JWs 2009

by Terri_OS in

jw
friends

i have been talking to steve hassan who is the author of 'combatting cult mind control" about coming to london for a 3 day event in autumn 2009. initially the idea was to make it all about jehovah's witnesses and support for those having left the religion and leaving their jw issues behind them.

we may make this an event for ex-cult members in general, but there will be a big section specifically catering to the issues surrounding the jw organisation, leaving it and life after it.

the cost of steve being there and flying to london; will be shared amongst those attending, so there will be a ticket price for the event, which i will figure out later when i've got an idea of how many will be likely to attend.. .

Terri_OS

Hi guys,

Sorry, I wrote the link down wrong. Here it is: http://exjw.meetup.com/395/

Next one is Saturday 6pm 26th September. Details at above link.

Also, it probably won't be 3 days now, maybe just 1 or 2. It depends on how much interest there is, as the cost will be split between the amount of possible people coming. The more that come, the cheaper it is.

I'm also considering just making it solely for ex-jws and any current jws that may be interested in asking a few questions. As I think it will be a mammoth task to invite lots of ex-cult members.

So far about 20 people are interested, which wouldn't cover the cost really. Well unless everyone paid a really high amount. If anyone knows any cheap venues in London that would be suitable please let me know. Cos London is pretty expensive in general. I'm considering having it in the Midlands, which might make it a lot cheaper for people. But of course if more people are in teh South, then it's still cheaper to have it in London.

I'll speak with Steve soon, and get more details on what to expect. I'm also waiting on someone elses reply who may be able to advise.

xx

13

3 day event in London for Ex-JWs 2009

by Terri_OS in

jw
friends

i have been talking to steve hassan who is the author of 'combatting cult mind control" about coming to london for a 3 day event in autumn 2009. initially the idea was to make it all about jehovah's witnesses and support for those having left the religion and leaving their jw issues behind them.

we may make this an event for ex-cult members in general, but there will be a big section specifically catering to the issues surrounding the jw organisation, leaving it and life after it.

the cost of steve being there and flying to london; will be shared amongst those attending, so there will be a ticket price for the event, which i will figure out later when i've got an idea of how many will be likely to attend.. .

Terri_OS

Yippee! You are the 1st person to say yes Mickey Mouse! (it does feel funny tlaking to Mickey Mouse!) Are you in the UK?

Do people think that people will fly from abroad as well to attend?

x

13

3 day event in London for Ex-JWs 2009

by Terri_OS in

jw
friends

i have been talking to steve hassan who is the author of 'combatting cult mind control" about coming to london for a 3 day event in autumn 2009. initially the idea was to make it all about jehovah's witnesses and support for those having left the religion and leaving their jw issues behind them.

we may make this an event for ex-cult members in general, but there will be a big section specifically catering to the issues surrounding the jw organisation, leaving it and life after it.

the cost of steve being there and flying to london; will be shared amongst those attending, so there will be a ticket price for the event, which i will figure out later when i've got an idea of how many will be likely to attend.. .

Terri_OS

Hi everyone,

I have been talking to Steve Hassan who is the author of 'Combatting Cult Mind Control" about coming to London for a 3 day event in Autumn 2009. Initially the idea was to make it all about Jehovah's Witnesses and support for those having left the religion and leaving their JW issues behind them. We may make this an event for ex-cult members in general, but there will be a big section specifically catering to the issues surrounding the JW organisation, leaving it and life after it. The cost of Steve being there and flying to London; will be shared amongst those attending, so there will be a ticket price for the event, which i will figure out later when I've got an idea of how many will be likely to attend.

Here is a link to Steve's website if you would like to know more about him: http://www.freedomofmind.com/

These are quotes from professional and well respected mental health professionals:

"Steve Hassan is a compelling spokesman on the topic of cult mind control which encompasses issues of human identity and our innate psychological vulnerabilities and dissociation and its relationship to mind control, all of which are of innate interest to mental health professionals. In addition, he educates and challenges us to think about the forces and groups using mind control techniques in our culture, which is disturbing yet highly important to learn about."

-- Mary K. McCarthy, M.D.
Director of Psychiatry Training, Brigham & Women's Hospital,
Professor of Psychology, Stanford University,
Boston, Massachusetts

"...Steven Hassan's approach is one that I value more than that of any other researcher or clinical practitioner..."

-- Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D.
Author of the Stanford Prison Experiment
Professor of Psychology, Stanford University
President of the American Psychological Association 2002,
Author of The Lucifer Effect

Steve has many years experience working with ex-cult members, and he himself is a person who escaped the Moonie cult.

He has worked with many ex-Jehovah's Witnesses and has conducted events like this before specifically for ex-JWs where he has also worked with Randy Watters from http://www.freeminds.org

If you would like to know more about this then feel free to post here, pm me or email me at [email protected]

Please feel free to add your thoughts or concerns about such an event and let me know if you think you would consider attending and whether you think many people will attend.

I intend to post about this on lots of different ex-JW sites. Please feel free to post this yourself on sites I don't know about, and I don't mind who you pass my email details onto.

If you would like to speak to me about this, then pm me for my mobile number.

Anyone from around the world in invited.

Lots of love,

Terri,

xx

If you don't know me, then I am Terri O'Sullivan, I live in Rochester, Kent in England. I'm 29. I left the JWs when I was 21 after being brought up in it from the age of 7 by my mother. I was never disfellowshipped, I just stopped going. I used to be a regular pioneer but got very disillusioned by it all.

I now run a meet up group for Ex-JWs in Maidstone in Kent. Anyone is welcome to attend that at any point. www.meetup.com/395/ We just meet in a pub and talk about our experiences. it's quite good fun, but we talk about serious stuff too. This is not a religous discussion group, nor is it therapy, think of it like jwd but in person. I am not a religious person at all nowadays. I'm currently studying psychology, sociology and philosophy and am hoping to go to Kent university to get a degree in social psychology and eventually work as a chartered psychologist and work with ex-cult members.

xxx

2

What you resist persist?

by frankiespeakin in

this video claims that jung taught this,, i don't know if it is true, but the idea sounds productive even though it may need a little tweeking:.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-607695728330080374&q=resist+persist&total=52&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0.

Terri_OS

I totally agree with it. Disagreement is still agreement.

Focus is the important thing here. Have you ever noticed a headache that won't go away, and when you change your focus to something else, it goes away!?? Maybe that's a bit too simplistic.

24

Because I like spin-off discussion...

by joannadandy in

jw
friends

on a thread discussing another thread it was said;.

we'll never be "right", not completely anyway.. so for a spin-off of a spin-off...i'm curious what others thoughts are on this statement?.

is it a worldview a lot of us have?

Terri_OS

Anyway - it was just something I was thinking about and was curious to get a general sense of what others were feeling on the subject.

i'll get the hang of this quoting thingy eventually! Jo, i just wanted to say, I think you are great! You get the big thumbs up from me! i'm looking for a huggy, wait.... can't find one sorry! (((Joannandy))))) I like the way your brain works! lol! xxxxx

8

For people who know anything about cell phones and computers.

by roflcopter in

jw
friends

i was wondering... i have been avoiding someone on the phone for months.

i usually keep my cell phone off for days and weeks at a time.

but somehow whenever i do turn my phone on, i get a call within a couple of minutes.. now at first i thought it was just a coincidence.... but not anymore, it happens every time i turn on my phone.

Terri_OS

In the UK, from a BT landline, you can dial a persons number, and if it is engaged, or unobtainable, you can press 4 (if you subscribe to the service) and it will call that number when it is available. So you put your phone down, then it will start ringing, so you pick it up, when you pick it up, your phone starts calling the person you tried to call but was busy, then it rings out in the normal way. So yeah, your phone would start ringing as soon as it became available. However i have no idea if that works in your country. And I have a sneaky suspicion it's mostly for busy tone calls. But the technology is available to do what you have described. I would say the person probably works in telecoms, and/or IT. (my partner has a telecoms company) I would answer the phone and scream in a really high pitched voice really really loudly. Don't say anything then hang up. Do it the next time they ring, do it everytime they ring, they'll get bored before you do. You could bar the persons number, but if they are trying to contact you that hard, then my guess is they will just use another phone. So try the screaming thing.

However, it could also be a problem with your handset and/or your network. I'd check those things out first! lol!

21

Social Influence: Are You An Individual Or One Of The Crowd?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

social influence: are you an individual or one of the crowd?the watchtower society exerted enormous pressure on us to behave according to their norms.

having an individual viewpoint and perspective on matters isolated an individual within the .

organizationi know this firsthand.. the in crowdif you belong to one of the various syndicates (believer, atheist ), can you take a stand for .

Terri_OS

I think you will be hard pushed to find someone that calls themselves a follower. Everyone is different, everyone thinks they're different. So we are all the same. Another one of life's little jokes. Like the meaning of life? : There isn't one.

The thing is, we all consider ourselves as different, but we all tend to look for people that are similar, to create a friendship/partnership/community with. That's why we are here isn't it? It's when we consider others to be just followers, and hence we being different/special or apart from that 'crowd' that we cause problems for ourselves and others. Communities work well, when we are glad that everyone else is different to us, we accept them for who they are, and accept ourselves as who we are, and still want to be part of that crowd!

From Terri "part of the crowd and different and the same and other stuff too!" Yay!

x

24

Because I like spin-off discussion...

by joannadandy in

jw
friends

on a thread discussing another thread it was said;.

we'll never be "right", not completely anyway.. so for a spin-off of a spin-off...i'm curious what others thoughts are on this statement?.

is it a worldview a lot of us have?

Terri_OS

What do you mean by right?

I think that as soon as we accept that we are just fine, just the way we are, then we will realise we are alright. It's a tricky one. And not just an ex-jw thing. Most people think they have something to 'fix' about themselves. Others are resigned and think they are 'unfixable'. I think self-development is a wonderful thing, but learnign to accept yourself at the same time, is probably the best and most difficult one to learn. I think once you've got that one, then the others will slip into place, kinda.

I'm still working on it, but I must say, i no longer think i'm a lost cause, and I am excited about my current life and future prospects! That's a first for me!

x

Terri_OS

Posts by Terri_OS