Posts by gsx1138

18

When you are crushed......

by simplesally in

i am disfellowshipped.

whoa.

i just wrote that as the first thing.

Not to be a Danny downbeat, but it took me almost 10 years to completely shed the JW religion and baggage. But as I've stated once it is gone you WILL feel sorry for those who are still JW. Your happiness level will go through the roof. Keep yourself busy but also set goals. One of the things that almost ruined my life was the belief that I didn't need to try and further a career. As everyone knew in 1990 the world wouldn't last past 1995 so what was the point of bettering yourself. Once you have your goals met the happiness just roles in so fast you don't know what to do with it all. Also, don't expect these feelings to just go away on their own. You must make a conscious effort to not let things get you down.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

49

By the pricking of my thumbs....

by Xander in

...some ancient wisdom this way comes?

pulling over from another thread.... i'm curious how many have dabbled in witchcraft/spiritism after leaving the jws.

or, perhaps, before joining.. i'm curious what experiences have been had.

gsx1138

Just thought I would add an answer to your above question Xander about what proof do we have to show outsiders. Most witches I know would refuse to show anyone what they could do even if they could shoot fireballs or whatever (which they can't). They believe that secular religion's are the ones who constantly need to prove that they are the real deal. This need may stem from the fact that you're following someone elses idea of God. As for some of my personal experiences, I guess I'll share since Seedy3 has been nice enough to share his. When I was younger I used to play in the woods. There was an area where the trees grew into one another to create these paths. While playing there I could feel something moving through me and playing around the area as well. I would go there often to play with the "spirits" (I don't know how else to define them) despite being told that any spirits we meet in the world are demons (good ol' JW thinkin).
Everyday at least 3 times a day I can sing a song in my head turn on the radio and sure enough it is playing. These are different songs at different times. I think of it more as intuition and believe that everyone has this if they train that properly.
Again, when I was young I used to stay up late and sneak out to feel the woods. I would also sit and talk to the moon about my problems which were plentiful being raised a JW.
All of the things I did when I was younger did not come together and make sense until 20 years after the fact and 10 years after being DF'd. There are others but I don't want to spam the board with my life story all in one night ;^)

On a side note: I just figured out how to check someones profile.
Also, thank you for your stories Seedy very interesting stuff and I do appreciate it.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

49

By the pricking of my thumbs....

by Xander in

...some ancient wisdom this way comes?

pulling over from another thread.... i'm curious how many have dabbled in witchcraft/spiritism after leaving the jws.

or, perhaps, before joining.. i'm curious what experiences have been had.

gsx1138

Whew, good to see I'm not alone. I agree that paganism is much harder to define as it can encompass many things. The "formal Dogma" of Wicca encompasses only one rule. Even then some covens may not adhere to that. I'm a bit more shy about revealing my beliefs in public but I do wear a necklace with the infinite circle on it. Most people are ignorant of Wicca/Paganism so everything but a pentacle can be shown without drawing attention. Even my necklace with the Goddess Artemis on it doesn't even garner a second glance.
I think the biggest draw also for people to paganism is that it is made up of free expression and is non judgemental even towards people of other faiths.
On a side note: How do you check a profile?

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

35

Xenu, and the danger of his UFO cult posts

by seven006 in

jw
friends

before i go into the explanation of what xenu is trying to do on this board and presenting the information about his cult i would like to express my agenda up front and absolutely clear.

this board is now just shy of 5000 registered users.

i'm sure the amount of unregistered lurkers drives that figure up much higher, possibly more than double.

gsx1138

I wonder if the followers of Zachariah Sitchin fall into this category. He has some interesting ideas based on Sumerian texts and cosmology. But hey, good lookin out.

www.sitchin.com

Check it out and see what you think. I always try and to keep an open mind to various theories.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

36

Hello, I'm new

by Glory in

jw
friends

i'm disfellowshipped.

my sister is really into this place and told me to come to this board and read everyone's comments.

we've all had pretty similar experiences it sounds like.

gsx1138

Hello Glory. It took me 12 years to find another belief system. I'm Wiccan but I would not encourage you to jump into any religion right away. Also, your sister is correct as this seems to be a good place to be free from judgement.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

7

A message to JW's/x-JW's - who to trust?

by Dawn in

jw
friends

this post is for any of you out there who have questions but have been afriad to search for answers outside of your organization/religion (this applies to any "christian" religion - not just jw's).

as for the rest of you heathens - no response please (tee hee - just joshin' .

i have been df'd for many years but really had no desire to go back to the bible until about 2 years ago.

gsx1138

She? Do my posts sound feminine? I'll have to add some beer belching at the end of my posts even though I don't drink. Anyone who wants to know Wicca will have to do the work themselves sorry. I do my best not to preach as most of you have had enough of that. On a side note: I'm a blatantly heterosexual male.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

13

Western Washington

by gsx1138 in

i would love to chat with some of you from washington.

especially if you've been a part of the jw's for awhile and left or were df'd.

i know a few of my friends who were df'd but i've lost contact with them.

gsx1138

Sorry I don't recognize those names. I know a Paul Hughes that as far as I know is still an elder. But his daughter seems to get Df'd every other year. My friends name was Eric Vankirk and his sister was Leigh Vankirk. I guess I'm hoping that someone might also know a korean JW by the name of Joomi Lee. She was a regular pioneer and my first love. I had heard that she stopped going to meetings at least I hope that is true. She was far too intelligent to have it wasted away.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

9

Does Anyone Remember.....

by Cassiline in

i was a member of a hall in pa not far from bethel as a child and teen.

there were trips scheduled every couple months to bethel for the sisters to meet the brothers there.

we would stay in a hotel couldn't tell you the name now but the society had some ties to it because the room rates were only a couple dollars per night.

gsx1138

They may have not been gold-diggers but they were definately status diggers. What higher status in the congregation than to be married to someone who works alongside the faithful and discreet slave? Anyway, I remember that we had a few conventions in the Tacoma Dome. Everyone knew that the second floor concourse was for all the young folks to Oggle each other in hopes of finding a mate. My friends and I always made the rounds "checkin out the chicks"

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

43

Classless American Behavior

by Pathofthorns in

jw
friends

i was watching the hockey game yesterday and i thought i heard 'booing' during canada's national anthem.

earlier in the week the same thing occurred during the raptor's playoff game.. as some are aware canada has been mourning and burying their 4 dead soldiers due to the incompetence of an american fighter pilot who dropped a bomb on them while they were carrying out training exercises.

flags are flying at half-mast as canadians try to make sense of such a careless mistake.. i find it hard to believe any civilized person would show such disrespect to another country to 'boo' them during their national anthem at any time, and more so during a time of mourning because of death caused directly by american hands.. i sincerely hope american media chastised their countrymen who showed such insensitive, classless, ignorant and disrespectful behavior to their neighbours.

gsx1138

In the immortal words of Dennis Miller, "You folks are worried about the sanctity of America? Let me tell you something. America is a fucking trailor park."

Mix: 1 part nationalism
1 part religion
1 part propoganda
and you have the basic ingredients for ignorance.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.

49

By the pricking of my thumbs....

by Xander in

...some ancient wisdom this way comes?

pulling over from another thread.... i'm curious how many have dabbled in witchcraft/spiritism after leaving the jws.

or, perhaps, before joining.. i'm curious what experiences have been had.

gsx1138

Tough question. I think the main reason that there is no Messiah figure is that witches do not believe that one man/woman is above another regardless of their abilities. As far as proof. The one thing that most all Wiccan/Pagan people believe is that converting someone is very bad. You have to come to that path on your own, otherwise you're being led by someone else.
As far as my reason for becoming Wiccan, it's a long story that I'll try to abridge without leaving out anything important. I had already started to doubt the JW before I was DF'd in 1990. My reasoning was, if there is an omnipotent being beyond our understanding who gave us the ability to make billions of choices thus determining our own outcome why would he make only one way to access him/her? I think that the makers of the Bible substituted their own narrow mindedness for that of God. After the DF'ing I went to just about every christian church imaginable and while they were much better than the JW religion they all still claimed to be the one true path. They still had the we are right, you are wrong attitude when it came to other peoples beliefs. My wifes best friend was studying paganism and of course even 10 years later the JW training kicks in and I don't want to have anything to do with her. Then I get a management job and my boss (who is a really great guy) eventually lets it slip that he is Wiccan. So I decide that this guy is pretty cool and a decent person so there must be something that I'm missing. He gives me a rundown of the basic belief system with the disclaimer that Wicca doesn't have any formal Dogma per se' accept, "Do as ye will, harm no one."
I guess the kicker, to narrow it down a bit, is that he said converting people is bad mojo. He said that if I wanted to be Wiccan I had to do it myself. Now there are formal schools that teach Wicca and just like every other religion on earth some think they know the one true way. However, it is generally accepted that all paths lead to God because to do otherwise would be against the concept of free will in the first place.
This is a very short explanation but I hope it gives you some idea of where I'm coming from. Also, I'm sorry if I didn't answer the questions through some of my ramblings.

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.