Posts by wavvy

6

COULD ANYONE SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION.??

by Mr. Majestic in

being in the organisation for most of my life i have seen so many people suffering with depression.

but a friend of mine recently said that it was impossible for them to suffer from the condition, because of the mental strategies they have in place to cope with hard times, and a mental resilience that they attained from a balanced stable upbringing..... .

could it be true that some people have a natural immunity to such a debilitating mental condition....???.

wavvy

I don't think they are immune to depression: I think they are in denial.

In fact I think there is a very high incidence of depression amongst JWs, but because calling it 'depression' would mean admitting that there is a problem which the Bible is incapable of curing, and would mean admitting that the hope of the Paradise does not compensate for tha garbage in their present life, they just cannot face it. According to many, there is no problem that the Bible cannot fix! Therefore if you are suffering from depression it's because you lack faith!

You can see why its much easier to be in denial.

some spiritually uplifiting reading

by wavvy in

jw
friends

anyone ever read anything by geri larkin?

love her stuff!

she's buddhist, but you don't have to be buddhist to just get a real lift out of her it.

wavvy

Anyone ever read anything by Geri Larkin? Love her stuff! She's Buddhist, but you don't have to be Buddhist to just get a real lift out of her it. It's just really non-judgmental and positive.

A favourite quote: "we compromise our own innate intelligence when we look for black-and-white truths in a world that is really a thousand shades of gray".

Post-JW I think its' still hard to stop looking for black and white truth.

"The Chocolate Cake Sutra" and "Plant Seed, Pull Weed" are both great.

8

"Why God Won't Go Away"

by mindmelda in

i've been reading a fascinating book, "why god won't go away" by andrew newberg m.d.

and eugene d'aquili, m.d.

ph.d. newberg is both a physician and an instructor of religious studies, dr. aquili (now deceased, he died before this book of his research was published) was a distinguished psychiatrist.. the book is about the biological and neurological basis for belief in god.

wavvy

Yes, I've heard of that book! Sounds very interesting.

38

1975 -What the Watchtower doesn't want you to know, new Video

by JWMediaFilms in

jw
friends

in light of the new convention going on; some of the topics were 1914 and 1975. the society is realizing their members are dropping like flies because of these lies.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaxbbvvoeeq.

.

to subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/jwmediafilms.

wavvy

scary and sad...the excitement in the audience was palpable. All those trusting and innocent people duped.

19

How do you replace a family?

by YoursChelbie in

jw
friends

as a result of wanting to have a normal life, away from the dogma of the jw religion,.

many have lost contact with parents, children and in many cases, their spouse.. my divorce was uncontested and i was fortunate enough to get out of from watchtower control with my children.

my parents were never involved with the religion,.

wavvy

yeah...still hurts me...

out of a family of about 40, only 3 came to my wedding to a non JW

wish I had a "surrogate" family...altho my husbands family is rather sweet

43

how hard is it to move on?...lose everyone?...start new???

by oompa in

jw
friends

i have already lost nearly all my friends....maybe just a handful will even be social........but i so hate to lose my mom and dad and my jw son.....one is df......so he still shows that he loves me.....but damm........i so hate to lose the little bit of fam i have left.......is that normal?......stupid question.....i guess i know from my time here....i so hate these guys that can take them away.....oompa.

i know a bunch of you have done it.....just please help me through it...........

wavvy

I know there are some people who will treat you like you are Dfd even when you have just faded away, but I think that people who really love you will be (secretly) relieved that they are still allowed to associate with you.

I have the same situation as you in some ways, oompa, in that my parents are old and I really want to minimize the hurt to them. I don't know if this is the best way to deal with it, but in my case I chose to avoid being Dfd so as not to force them into a difficult position. This means that I can't be clear with them about how I feel about it all. Usually I just refuse to talk to them about it. I make it clear that the decision is mine alone and that I will not be persuaded otherwise but I won't get into discussions about the 'whys'. I've told my parents that I am sorry for the hurt to them, and that I almost wish I could go back just to make them happy, but that if I did it would all be a lie. I've reassured them that if I ever decide to go back (not likely!) they will be the first to know.

It's a hard one: you've got to be true to yourself, but try not to hurt your loved ones. EIther way it's going to be painful. But, I think if you can find a way out which causes the least offense, you leave yourself in a situation where you may eventually be able to help the one's you love to escape as well.

39

How I figured JWs were NOT the truth...

by cognac in

jw
friends

i remember thinking growing up that i wasn't sure it was the true religion but because my family were so sure of themselves and so many people believed it that i loved and respected it had to of been the truth.. then, i reasoned that because we were the only ones who fulfilled the preaching work that there was no other way any other religion could be the true religion except us.

plus, we used jehovah's name and didn't take it out of the bible but the preaching work was really the main thing that kept me in.... i was always afraid to really study just the bible because i knew a ton of things might not be right.

otherwise, why would so many jws be afraid to run into a greek scholar out in field service.

wavvy

Reading non-Witness Christian literature did quite a bit for me, because I realised that everyone else's interpretation of the Bible seemed just as valid!

Also, travelling in Asia and investigating the incredible wisdom behind so many Asian philosophies. How can the JWs possibly believe they have a monopoly on the truth! And they go to such lengths to make people believe that practicing things like meditation (in an Eastern sense) and yoga are opening the doors to demons, when in truth they are not only intensely spiritual practices, but peaceful ones which are now proven to have medical and psychological benefits as well.

17

You know what I really miss?

by journey-on in

jw
friends

this sounds silly.

but what i miss about being a part of a close knit congregation is the showers.

i loved going to the bridal showers, baby showers, wedding showers.

wavvy

I know what you mean journey-on:

That feeling of community is hard to live without. Just occasionally if I drive past a bunch of Witnesses on a street corner I feel a tiny stab of nostalgia (until I slap myself in the face and drive on . It's definitely not the Witnessing I miss, ...but the relaxed stroll around the street with a friend having a good chat, believing that you are doing a good thing.

But anyway, thats not to say that good friends can't be found elsewhere, right?

15

Open Minded Christians?

by homeschool in

jw
friends

does anyone know if there is such a thing as a christian church that loves and appreciates jesus, but also recognizes that it is purely a culteral thing and also acknowledges other religions as truth?

are unitarians like this?

i'm getting to the point where i'd really like to find a group like this.

wavvy

Oh! Just tried that quiz Gayle, and I came out as a Sikh!

Not too sure whether I will consider joining them...wouldn't look too good in a turban

2

How do 7th-dayers compare

by wavvy in

i'm just wondering if anyone know how seventh-day-adventists compare to the jws in terms of emotional manipulation etc.. my husband's ex-wife has become a 7th-dayer so the step-kids are being raised that way.

i notice a lot of behaviour in her that reminds me of the jws.

she adopts that 'holier than thou' stance most of the time and seems to believe that she is protecting the kids by not letting them see their father although he's just the most loving dad around.

wavvy

I'm just wondering if anyone know how Seventh-Day-Adventists compare to the JWs in terms of emotional manipulation etc.

My husband's ex-wife has become a 7th-dayer so the step-kids are being raised that way. I notice a lot of behaviour in her that reminds me of the JWs. She adopts that 'holier than thou' stance most of the time and seems to believe that she is protecting the kids by not letting them see their father although he's just the most loving dad around. Just her character do you think? My biased view of her? Or are there similarities?