Posts by Introspection

8

What works for me?

by Anne in

jw
friends

i remembered something that was in my consiousness from back in the day.

i went to the door of a very nice home and was greeted by a nice person.

i presented the usual rehearsed salespitch and she said the oddest thing, "i tried jehovah's witness once, it just didn't work for me.

Introspection

I would like to ask everyone how (or if) they ever got to a point they didn't think about being a JW anymore. That's what I really want. I don't want to be haunted anymore. I've gotten to a point where I definely do not ever want to go back, but I don't know how to move forward.

Hi Anne,

The first thing I would say is even if you don't know how best to move forward, do remember to move! Even if it's not the most effective way (the specifics of which would of course depend on you) you are doing something. The most practical thing that those who have left seems to do is to just explore different interests, what they are do not seem to matter as much.

In my case I can't really pinpoint one thing, not even going to college because that was only a starting point in context of where I was at the time. I'd have to say meditation helped, to cut through years of religious conditioning through 5 meetings a week and the whole bit you have to go deeper, otherwise you're looking at conditioning yourself in a new way which would also take time and a lot of effort. I hesitate to mention this as a thing to do because people get stuck on it too, it can become a way to pacify the mind and eventually the practice is one of maintaining a certain state rather than discovering that something deeper which is always there.

In a way the first thing you have to do is just to notice what it is you're interested in - as I said explore different interests, take on a hobby or two. If you are interested in something religious in nature you can do that too, even study the bible - but the key I think is an open attitude of exploration, it seems to me that's what life is really all about anyways.

10

Back to the Basics

by Mystery in

jw
friends

if for the most part others are done with their arguing i have a sincere question.

my family has been going to a church for about a year.

for awhile it was every sunday, until i found and began reading this forum.

Introspection

Hi Mystery,

To start off I would say no teaching can replace a loving parent, and seeing as how you care enough to ask such a question my guess would be you are one.

Who says that parents need to have all the answers, anyway? I would say maybe the most refreshing thing is a parent that is honest and humble enough to admit "I don't know" about something.

Other than that I think others have covered things pretty well here, my big thing is the love. In a way I don't think love itself can be taught anyway, it is like it's transmitted directly. If you have love for your children, even if they disagree with you at times I think that will ultimately shine through. Although I have never been a parent and may sound kind of naive for saying this, I do think it is the most important thing, and it's probably about as basic as you can get.

8

You Won't Find A Spiritual Paradise Here

by minimus in

jw
friends

i remember so many witnesses looking at a congregation with the view of finding their spiritual paradise.

they figured that if it wasn't in this congregation, it had to be in the next one.

funny thing is, those people never found it!

Introspection

It seems to me this just goes to show how people tend to reply on a nice environment for their happiness. If you look at the idea that "the kingdom of God is within you" then that gives it a totally different meaning.

9

How Do You Explain This?

by Sunspot in

the scriptures we were first introduced to that explained the "paradise earth" were:.

psalm 37:29; "the righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.".

psalm 37:34; "hope in jehovah and keep his way, and he will exalt you to take possession of the earth.

Introspection

This idea took a long time for me to accept, and now I have difficulty dismissing the thoughts expressed IN these sctiptures, but I no longer accept the concept of a "promised New Order" as the WTS teaches it to be.

Hello Sunspot,

This is interesting to me, because you're saying you no longer accept that idea which the witnesses justified by the scriptures you cited, but you still accept those scriptures but you're just not sure what they are supposed to mean, would that be an accurate statement? Now don't take this the wrong way, but I've always found it curious that people accept something and then attempt to make sense of it, whereas it seems the logical course of action is to read something and find that it makes sense and then accept it because it does make sense.

Now I'm far from a bible scholar so I won't be able to give you some in depth explanation, but a simple observation I have is that the Psalms are songs, right..? While it may sometimes be interesting to figure out the lyrics, I guess I just tend to enjoy the general theme of the song, the sentiment behind it.

13

Do you ever wonder:

by StinkyPantz in

jw
friends

what's wrong with me?

i have noticed that lately, i have become a real bitch (no need for anyone to agree .

there are certain things/people that really bug me and instead of just ignoring them like a civil person, i speak my mind (which causes a fight .

Introspection

I think it's not so much a question of taking yourself too seriously, but what you take to be your self. People really don't defend an idea, they defend themselves or what ideas they happen to identify with. After all, if it's just ideas which you're not particularly attached to, then you just kind of look at it logically and sort out what the reasonable conclusion is if you can conclude anything. Of course, it's really all just ideas - including the idea that there's something wrong, that you should be civil and just ignore the other person or whatever.

I guess part of it for me is that I no longer believe there's any reason to get personal online, whether it's in a good way or a bad way. The thing is you can see people react a certain way, say losing your cool for example, but I guess in my book that's not what a person is all about. Yet this is how people seem to unconsciously judge others - sometimes in a positive way and they kind of think "hey, this is my kinda guy/gal because they think this way about things, I will consider them a friend". But basically this is the same kind of behavior that happens when we react negatively, it's just familiar conditioning, and as far as I'm concerned that's when we are NOT ourselves. I guess what I'm trying to say is that to get close and personal for me it takes something deeper, even if we're talking about someone we agree with who wants to be with a yes man all the time?

8

Watchtower = Matrix

by drwtsn32 in

jw
friends

i watched the first matrix tonight to get myself prepared to watch the sequel this weekend.

anyone else notice a lot of parallels between the matrix and the watchtower organization?.

the matrix is a false reality; the people within it are duped into believing it to be the "truth.

Introspection

But considering the alternative of living in a wasteland of a planet I'll take a fake world any day.

I imagine that would be why movies are more entertaining than the real world. Of course, it's all real, it's just that it's really an illusion. The trick is if you know it's fake, how much would you enjoy it?

30

Screaming for a Caption

by jgnat in

jw
friends

this one tickled my funny bone.

can you help me find the perfect caption?

if you are really nice, i will tell you how the wt captioned it..

Introspection

"But Johnny, as witnesses of Jehovah we need to make sure our appearance does not detract from the kingdom message. Colored shirts are fine for gatherings with other witness youths, but you really need to wear a white shirt for meetings and field service."

18

How has the org changed you emotionally?

by obiwan in

i'm just wondering how everyone was changed by the wts emotionally.

i find that after going through being df'd and the shunning, the general loss of everything that i'm much harder, i give people less sympathy than i used to, things that are seriuos such as deaths and the like just don't move me much.

i feel desensitized, sorta detached i let so much just roll off my back than i used to.

Introspection

I am not as attached either, and I've come to discover that this is kind of rare when it comes to family members, but this does not mean I don't care about them or have compassion for them, I'm just not enmeshed.

A few of you mentioned trust, this is kind of interesting because it just occurred to me yesterday that trust not only has to do with relationships like falling in love with people, but it also has to do with how we perceive things in life.

I realized the following paragraph is kind of going off on a tangent after writing it, so I'll address the emotional aspect here first. The relationship between trust and emotions may be that you don't trust your emotions, which is to say you don't trust yourself in a way. I say that while obviously sometimes we get "too emotional", I don't think it's a question of trusting it or not, but seeing it for what it is. In another way not having trust is like a kind of insecurity, and in a strange way it's like you trust that more than you trust anything else. In any case there is some kind of resistance, and as some of you have probably noticed sometimes there's resistance against the not trusting too, and when you've got both going it becomes a cycle of tail chasing. So basically I think it's important to not repress your emotions, but just look to see what they're about. We all know how sometimes a person might have a lot of stress in their life, and then someone comes along and says something that just makes them blow up - the trigger may be small, but of course it was about something bigger than that, possibly more than one thing.

I think we need to distinguish trust from being gullible too, it's not like you would just put all your trust in someone when you don't know them. I think where it becomes an issue though is despite the fact that you do know a person - which can be just in a particular way - you don't trust them because you don't trust yourself, you don't trust that knowing. I'm sure at times most people wonder "What if I'm wrong about this/him/her?" You could be wrong, but then again you don't have to have a judgement in the first place - it may be as simple as just not knowing about the thing or the person, which is not the same as fearing the worst. In a way I think it's just a matter of trusting yourself enough - I mean sure, you're not going to be sure at times and may find that you just don't know, but you got this far in life - so while you certainly want to be prudent and careful, I kind of see it as a matter of just moving on in life, otherwise you'll never do anything because you're not sure about trusting anything 100% - we just do the best we can.

13

If you had the choice...

by JH in

jw
friends

.

if you had the choice, would you rather live up to 80 years old, of which you would be healthy 70 years and sick 10 years, or.

would you rather live up to 800 years old, of which you would be healthy 700 years and sick 100 years?.

Introspection

Why not go for the long haul, a lifetime of being a grumpy old fart.. Hmm, not that unusual actually!

23

EUTHANASIA

by Mary in

jw
friends

how do you feel about euthanasia for people that are terminally ill and have no hope of recovery?

should it be made legal for them to be allowed to die a peaceful death by a simple injection as opposed to dying a painful and agonizing death?

i ask, because a co-worker of mine is dying of cancer and he's in alot of pain.

Introspection

I think a better question is how those people feel about it, or anyone considering the option. Clear thinking is something to consider, but if someone wants to end their life they're going to do it. Hell, if I wanted to do it nobody who can prevent me from doing so would probably even know about it.