JOURNEY ON - Thank you I do believe in prayer and havn't lost my faith entirely thank goodness.
JK - You know how important serenity is for me and being true to myself. I can't live a lie and keep well, it is too stressful.
Posts by Maddie
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41I HAVE MADE A DECISION TO LEAVE
by Maddie ini haven't been on jwd for the last few days as my good friend had her mum die suddenly and i have been spending time just being there for my friend.. i was shocked and saddened to hear that trevor and linda was a sham.
it's sometimes hard not to become cynical with life and not trust anyone when this sort of thing happens.. i have made a big decision and i hope that i don't live to regret it.
i have posted that i have been trying to "fade" as my son and his family are jw's and i don't want to lose them because of being shunned.
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41
I HAVE MADE A DECISION TO LEAVE
by Maddie ini haven't been on jwd for the last few days as my good friend had her mum die suddenly and i have been spending time just being there for my friend.. i was shocked and saddened to hear that trevor and linda was a sham.
it's sometimes hard not to become cynical with life and not trust anyone when this sort of thing happens.. i have made a big decision and i hope that i don't live to regret it.
i have posted that i have been trying to "fade" as my son and his family are jw's and i don't want to lose them because of being shunned.
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Maddie
GOPHER - Thank you and I have agonised over this the last few days but I can only hope that something good will come out of it one day. I have to believe that or I don't think I could cope.
Maddie
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41
I HAVE MADE A DECISION TO LEAVE
by Maddie ini haven't been on jwd for the last few days as my good friend had her mum die suddenly and i have been spending time just being there for my friend.. i was shocked and saddened to hear that trevor and linda was a sham.
it's sometimes hard not to become cynical with life and not trust anyone when this sort of thing happens.. i have made a big decision and i hope that i don't live to regret it.
i have posted that i have been trying to "fade" as my son and his family are jw's and i don't want to lose them because of being shunned.
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Maddie
I haven't been on JWD for the last few days as my good friend had her mum die suddenly and I have been spending time just being there for my friend.
I was shocked and saddened to hear that Trevor and Linda was a sham. It's sometimes hard not to become cynical with life and not trust anyone when this sort of thing happens.
I have made a big decision and I hope that I don't live to regret it. I have posted that I have been trying to "fade" as my son and his family are JW's and I don't want to lose them because of being shunned. The last few weeks have been quite difficult for me over this and I find myself feeling trapped, depressed and just a little paranoid. I have realised that living a "lie" is not an easy matter because of many reasons, not least still being a prisoner of the WT. I want to be able to live my life with the freedom to do whatever I decide to do, If I want to go to another church I don't want to be looking over my shoulder to see if any JW's see me, or if I want to take part in any celebrations then to do so without being fearful of being "caught". I need to be able to express how I really feel and not have to pretend I'm something that I'm not.
I was df'd once and went back because of being shunned and losing family, so I have experienced the heart ache and grief that went with it and I know that this will happen again. The only difference this time will be that I am retaining my power by telling them that I choose to leave because I know it is a lie and not the "Truth".
There are so many that are "fading" because of the shunning policy and I am feeling guilty because I am too selfish to be able to carry on doing this. I never felt good enough as an active JW because I always found it hard to live up to and struggled with life. I am fortunate in that my husband of five years is not, nor never has been a JW and supports me in whatever choice I make over this. He didn't know anything about the JW's until he met me, and he is shocked and appalled at the shunning policy and the the cover-ups.
I have posted before that my son has issues from the past that he needs to deal with, but at this time he won't go for any help outside the WT. He believes that it isn't a good thing to do because everything in the "world" is run by satan. When I leave the borg I wont be able to try and reason with him over these things anymore. He is a mature adult now with a wife and family so I am hoping that he will change his mind one day and realise that the WT isn't Jehovah's Organisation and that all their rules and regulations are put in place to safeguard their own interests and not for his benefit.
I have a very heavy heart right now so it would help me through this to know that you understand.
Maddie
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23
Welcome Marie_purps!
by changeling inthis is our very own purplesofa's daughter!
let's tell her how happy we are she's joined us!.
does this make her a purplechair, or purpleloveseat?.
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Maddie
A Big Welcome Marie_purps
Maddie
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19
Am I totally wrong?
by REBORNAGAIN ini've been thinking something these past couple of days.
there are soooooooooooooo many wonderful and loving people on this earth.
even though the jdubs made us feel they were the only caring and loving people around.
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Maddie
I studied a little psychology once and there has been varous studies into this subject. It seems to be a combination of genetic makeup, environment, role models. One experiment that was carried out not long after WW2 was to try and see how many people would inflict pain on others because they were told to by someone they thought was in authority. The result showed that most people did inflict the pain which they believed to be potentially fatal. Of course they weren't really inflicting pain, but they thought they were!
I don't believe that anyone is born evil, some are born with a disposition can can result in them becoming evil - if they are in the right situation, at the right place and at the right time. Of course some people become evil because of the atrocities they commit and their total disregard for life. There are also psychopaths which seem to be without the ability to have any compassion for life too and are always dangerous.
These are just the studies that I touched on and I'm sure there is much more to it all.
Maddie
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3
High Control Groups
by Maddie inthere seems to be very little in society that comes down to freedom of choice; by this i mean to be able to think and act in a manner that is completely without influence or manipulation from anything or anyone else.
it is true that a few individuals try to isolate themselves from society in different ways, but is their decision to do this influenced by experiences they may or may not be aware of?
we all like to believe that we have the option of deciding for ourselves what we want to do with our lives, but the odds are stacked heavily against this by the control mechanisms in our society.
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Maddie
There seems to be very little in society that comes down to freedom of choice; by this I mean to be able to think and act in a manner that is completely without influence or manipulation from anything or anyone else. It is true that a few individuals try to isolate themselves from society in different ways, but is their decision to do this influenced by experiences they may or may not be aware of?
We all like to believe that we have the option of deciding for ourselves what we want to do with our lives, but the odds are stacked heavily against this by the control mechanisms in our society. These controls start at the top ie. governmental bodies, religious organisations etc. right down to advertisements and peer pressure.
It is true that society has to find a method of living together in relative harmony or we wouldn't survive; it is the degree of control used and whether the reasons behind that control have some genuine claims to altruism, which IMO, is the difference in whether it should be tolerated by society.
IMO all religious organisations control their members to varying degrees. However, not all of them are in the HIGH control group category. It has long been my understanding that spirituality and faith in God does not necessarily equate with religiosity and whilst some people feel the need to belong to a certain church, this is not a requisite for salvation.
Most of us on JWD have experienced to different degrees, the effects of being in one of the best examples of high control groups that is around. To see and hear the damage that has been done, supposedly in the name of God, surely cannot be right. True, the WT doesn't produce terrorists, go to war, or physically make people conform to it's authority, but does that mean that it is any less dangerous? No, just because the tactics employed by the WT are not outwardly shown by physical acts of violence doesn't mean that they aren't there; their methods are much more subtle, carried out covertly and all the more insidious for that reason.
As in all walks of life, whether it be in religious or governmental bodies, there are always individuals that have altruistic and sincere motives and this is true of the WT. This doesn't however, make it acceptable for any organisation to deceive people by pretending to be something they're not and inflicting emotional pain and suffering on them if they want to leave.
I have a friend that believes in Karma (the good/bad that we do to others comes back on ourselves). What do do think? Do you think this will be the case with the WT?
Maddie
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20
Any meerkat manor followers?
by Satanus inhttp://animal.discovery.com/fansites/meerkat/meerkat.html .
mozart, flower, jincajoo, the zappa gang.
great fun.
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Maddie
Meerkats are so adorable I love them to bits!
Maddie
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52
Do You Have A Goal Regarding Jehovah's Witnesses???
by minimus innow that you're mentally out of the religion, do you have an expressed goal regarding the witnesses?
do you want to expose the religion for the fraud that it is (like i do)?.
do you want to set up a ministry devoted toward the destruction of everything watchtower?.
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Maddie
I would one day like to be in a position to work in an environment that helps people who have come out of cults.
Sometimes I get angry and have a desire to become an activist against the WT, but I think this is just an instinctive reaction to the injustice of it all.
My ideal goal is to get my son to see that the WT is a cult and not the "Truth", as he currently believes.
I hope to one day free myself from everything to do with being a JW and live a happy and fulfilled life.
Maddie
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26
TATA!!! I am on my way to the U.S.A.
by mouthy inpensylvania here i come.
so all you yankie's ,,,, watch for an old, crippled, fat, ugly gray headed woman & say hello!!!!!!.
but if you are believers pray for me it is a 9 hour drive...if i dont come back in the flesh -i will visit you in the spirit .
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Maddie
Have a safe journey and a lovely time.
Maddie
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56
It makes me sad to see Ray Franz looking this feeble...
by deaconbluez inhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqj0-huvvw
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Maddie
I felt strange when I saw Ray Franz looking so elderly too. I always thought of him as being so strong and never getting old. Silly of me really, as he is 82 years old now but some people you just want to go on forever!
Maddie