Ahh, so nice to read your story and feel the love you had for your wonderful mum. Memories are like gems that shine bright and look more beautiful the more often we take them out and look at them. She sounds like she was great fun.
chicken little
JoinedPosts by chicken little
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21
Missing my Mom
by exwhyzee inshe and my dad brought us to the u.s. from ireland in hopes of giving the 4 of us kids a better life with more opportunities.. mom went to school in her village where her mother (my grandmother) was the teacher and the bible was part of the curriculum.
they even used the name jehovah.
her father was a plymouth brethern (think amish or quaker) who was shunned for the rest of his life for marrying my grandmother who wasn't "in the lord"...she belonged to church of ireland.. when the witnesses came to the door after we arrived in the u.s, mom was a shoe-in candidate for their recruitment.
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23
What I really hate....
by Perversion of a truth inis that i was born into this cult, taught and believed that i was going to live forever, , that i was never going to have to die.
now i am in my mid 30's realizing that this life is all there is and that after that i am dead forever and i am terrified.
i don't want this to be all there is, , i don't want to just live a few years on this beautiful planet and then become non existent forever!
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chicken little
I feel many of our fears in life are springing from the one main fear, fear of death. Coming to terms with death and how it is inevitable can remove many of the other related issues. An experiment that can really make you think is to actually use quite a bit of time on thinking about your own death. Visualise it, see yourself dying. Watch the process of stopping breathing and drifting into nothingness. Watch the arrangements for your funeral, see the family and their grief. Watch the procession to the graveyard and then the lowering into the ground of your coffin. Watch the years pass and the turning of the body back into the elements of the earth. If you do this and really accept that this process is inevitable then your hold on now becomes so much more precious.
Thinking about small irritations in the light of your imminent death reduces them to almost nothing, relationships you can never mend once you are dead become important again. We resist dealing with fear of death because it makes us anxious, by confronting it we actually reduce the anxiety strange as that may seem.
All the best in your recovery from anxiety...I have been there too.
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34
I be a walkin......
by out4good3 inacross that stage tommorrow dressed in graduate garb picking up a masters degree.. .
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chicken little
Congratulations!!!!!
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103
That does it ! I'm leaving ! ! !
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite inleaving the university with my degree!.
exams are finished and it's just a matter of days before i walk.. i was certainly stressed about doing this.
i'm older than my classmates and armageddon was sooooo close!
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chicken little
Congratulations Billy, so pleased for you. Now I hope you can carry on with the rest of your life and be what you want to be.
Best wishes
Chicken little
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30
What does money represent to YOU ?
by new hope and happiness infor example does money represent to you power, love, joy and much more or does money represent to you feelings of worry, guilt, anger, sadness.. for myself i have always enjoyed living largely on little, and i can appreciate that the best things in life are free.
having said that i am glad i have been fortunate and sensible enough with money to never have exsperienced the anxiety of debt.
and it may sound silly but i dont think winning it big on the lottery would improve the quality of my life nor my family.
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chicken little
Hej New hope,
I agree that having a lot of money does not equate with happiness. One thing I can at least appreciate about having been a JW is the ability to manage and be content with little. We were the true believers, pioneers, need greaters etc, we managed on very little money for many years. Yet I can honestly say that having a lot more money does not add to happiness, it just makes some aspects easier.
We recently inherited some money and it gave me no end of worry trying to decide how best to invest it etc, in the end I was sick and tired of thinking about it. It is nice to have a cushion against unemployment or sudden expenses in the house, but above that it is luxury compared to how so many in the world live.
It is interesting that a survey done in my country showed that those with the most money give the least to charity, those with the least give the most. That is food for thought. Another survey showed that the cut off point for increased happiness is 75,000 us dollars per year. Over that amount does not increase feelings of happiness and contentment.
So I think you are on the right path, glad you enjoy your life and family and yet are careful with regards to where you put your trust.
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11
Did you bring anyone in the "Truth"
by rrb2016 inmy mom has been a jw since 1968...never brought anyone into the "truth.
" what are your experiences?
what was your "closing ratio?
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chicken little
My husband and I studied with 100's of people during 21 years of pioneering, around 34 got baptized, some got disfellowshipped, some fell away and some are still in there. It has been very hard for me to accept that I was part and parcel of it all, the only thing I can say is that we pioneered in very poor areas, with high crime rates and therefore the people we "helped" did actually benefit in some ways. I did not like to control anyone, I just wanted to help people. We usually studied with single mums with lots of kids, drug users, mentally challenged people...you know how it is...people who are attracted to religion because they are vunerable in some way. I genuinely believed at the time we were helping them with a network (brotherhood), but after waking up and addressing my own doubts and problems in being a witness I am sad to think of those who are still in.
Interestingly some we studied with who live in another country heard we are not attending anymore, we received letters begging us to go back from them, it was strange to be on the other end after a lifetime of trying to help others become witnesses. Just another reason actually for the guilt and depression that I still fight today.
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24
Books!
by dynamiterose77 ini feel like i wasn't allowed to read a lot of books when i was younger, a lot of which i'm discovering are positivly phenomenal.. i was allowed to read edgar allan poe, who remains my all time favorite writer.
but, i've discovered the joys of stephen king, anne rice, joyce carrol oats, neil gaiman, george r. martin, david sedaris... and so so so many more.. i'm currently getting through "the shining" so i can move on to "doctor sleep".
i'm interested to see if anyone else that discovered the many joys of "worldly" literature, jumped immediately into what they weren't allowed to read... and what was your favorite?.
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chicken little
I remember coming across this thought "Anyone who reads novels cannot become a fanatic". I really think there is a lot of truth in that statement. When you read a novel, you open your mind to so many new thoughts, possibilities and allow your mind to dream. I remember hearing a circuit overseers wife commenting on the subject of books. She said we did not need to read anything other than the bible and the publications, they covered all our needs. I sat there wanting to choke her, reading has been my lifeline through out my whole life. I have escaped a violent family background by reading, I have educated myself through reading. I hope you continue to get great enjoyment. I love Audrey Niffenegger, The Timetravellers Wife and Her awful symmetry. Orhan Parmuk, The museum of Innocence, Rabith Alameddine's Hakawati....oh life would be unbearable without books.
I have usually 12 books a month on loan from my library. Keep reading it adds colour to our lives in a dreary everyday world at times.
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103
Why do I bother to wake up in the morning?
by punkofnice ini'm not suicidal just fed up.. i did think of suicide (briefly), but as there is no painless way and it's not something i would willingly do just in case things would have been better the day after.
i do have a slight grain of hope.. money problems.....problems at home (that's another matter with a son up court for something he is adamant he didn't do.
first offence but the pigs police and the cps have got charges made.
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chicken little
Dear Mr Punk,
Sorry to hear you are feeling crappy. Speaking of crappy I am 54 and also down in a hole dealing with depression. I was searching the internet today and came across bowel flushing...haha that is how desperate I am. It appears you can help allieviate depression by washing toxins out of the bowel and then introducing the good bacteria to re-establish a good balance. I am willing to try anything at the moment. My days fluctuate with despair and highs but I still have a sense of humour like yourself and that sometimes is a saviour. I wish your son well (been there too...know the worry), this too will pass.
Men are notorious for not going to the doctor, it is a hurdle to jump but actually a step in the right direction. Medicine is cheaper than funeral costs....
Best wishes
Chicken little
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chicken little
I loved that guy!
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47
Im new and need help!
by Batman89 inhello everybody, before i begin i just wanna say that i have really found alot of great posts on here that have been helpful forme , theres definitely alot of brilliant people here!.
i am a born in jw(24 years old) ive been baptized for 7 years and was a ministerial servant for 4 years(i am no longer one).
recently me and my parents have have woken up to ttatt(about 2 months ago).
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chicken little
Glad your parents are out, so you still have your family when you cut free as well. Your girlfriend? Well she has basically told you that she wants to stay, let her stay and move on even with a sad heart. It will be much better for you both in the long run than all the misery that will surely come leading a double life and feeling trapped with someone you love but who does not trust you or share their true feelings with you.
You are young, wish I was your age when I woke up, but on hindsight if it had been my husband back then telling me he was finished with the Jw's, then I think I would have dug my feet in and become even more "spiritual". It was a great defining moment for our marriage when it was me that made the decision not to go to meetings anymore, my husband who was an elder, took less than two weeks to decide to join me in leaving.