Posts by Gulf Coaster

15

Life after JW

by bsand20 in

haven't been on this site since fall of last year.

i was very active in spreading awareness and getting information to help me cope with the fact that my mother cut off complete communication with me as of jan 2014, but i guess too much of a good thing was too much for me to handle.

i ended up getting panic/anxiety attacks.

Gulf Coaster

dubstepped, that's what stopped me from trying meditation before: the idea that my mind would be way too busy to empty itself and meditate. But that's not what's expected after all. I had that wrong. The meditation program I use tells you to not feel bad or guilty if you find your mind wandering off while trying to meditate. Rather, just acknowledge that thought and come right back to the breath, no matter how many times it happens. That was a large part of the success for me. I could relax once I got that mistaken idea out of my head.

Meditation has been used in a lot of medical centres for years to help patients deal with the pain and stress while undergoing treatment for illnesses. It's not that mystical, woo-woo stuff anymore. It's quite mainstream.

15

Life after JW

by bsand20 in

haven't been on this site since fall of last year.

i was very active in spreading awareness and getting information to help me cope with the fact that my mother cut off complete communication with me as of jan 2014, but i guess too much of a good thing was too much for me to handle.

i ended up getting panic/anxiety attacks.

Gulf Coaster

I second LisaRose re meditation.

Last year I developed a medical condition that's not all that big a deal but due to anxiety I managed to blow it completely out of proportion. I lost my appetite and literally couldn't swallow my food most days, dropping 30lbs in 6 weeks. I looked close to anorexic, not a healthy weight for me at all. Even my doctor thought it might be cancer so I had a PET scan along with 8 other tests.

Long story short, the condition is now manageable after taking up Mindfulness Meditation. I bought CDs by Jon Kabat-Zinn, ripped them to my MP3 player and every afternoon, I meditate. My favorite is the Body Scan Meditation. His voice alone is so soothing. I have to admit I was doubtful at first but I really needed something at the time and didn't want to go the medication route. It might not be for everybody but it can't hurt to try as it might work for you, as it did me and quite a few other people I know.

All the best.

5

Yahweh's creation that wasn't good!

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

in genesis 1, describing the creative works of yahweh, it tells us in verses 24-28 that on the sixth creative day yahweh made both domestic animals and wild beasts.

one of those two categories must have included dogs.

so yahweh may lay claim to having created dogs.

Gulf Coaster

People had a different view of dogs back then. Some cultures revered them, some tolerated them, others reviled them. They were mostly scavengers, feeding off human's tossed out food waste. They were probably dirty, mangy and flea-bitten. Then we gradually started putting them to use and then as companions. Dogs have proven themselves to be amazing creatures that help us in so many ways: guide/assistance dogs, rescue animals in disaster zones, comfort animals for sick people in hospitals, they can sniff out cancer, contraband, etc.

Any religion that hates dogs is sh**. Dogs are better than many humans.

23

Has there been new counsel about Facebook recently?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

i've noticed increasing amounts of jw's are coming off fb and deactivating completely.

all with the same reason which they post about at lenght which is that they wwant to focus more on their spiritual life and not have the distraction of fb.. have i missed something or is this just a coincidence?.

Gulf Coaster

I'd be surprised if they weren't warned off Facebook. Too much exposure to normal, good worldlies having a normal, good life and not the depraved, criminal and miserable existence the WT insists we suffer through. Particularly of former JWs, who are supposed to be especially suffering miserably (serves 'em right!). Photos of fun travels, happy family gatherings, etc. are visual proof of the joy you can have as a worldly and would tempt them away from the bleak existence of mindlessly serving the Big J, while pining for some mythical paradise that keeps getting further and further away. Hooray for FB! and technology in general.

7

getting drivers licensene not same as getting baptized

by poopie in

jw
friends

if you get in an accident you will not be shunned by everyone in your family.

Gulf Coaster

Unless the accident involved your family. Like if you plowed into them and put them all in the hospital with serious injuries. You might get the cold shoulder for a while.

39

Jehovah's Witness woman refuses blood, then dies.

by Lee Elder in

another jehovah's witness woman has died while giving birth due to massive blood loss and refusing a blood transfusion.

she leaves nine children behind.

she finally consented to the transfusion but it was too late to save her.

Gulf Coaster

This is coerced suicide. In other words, murder.

I hate how religion gets a pass in these sorts of things. Yeah sure, it was her "belief" and her "choice". While being emotionally blackmailed and threatened with being disfellowshipped and cut off from her friends and probably family. In other words, accept the blood transfusion, live and be treated like a pariah and shunned like you were dirt. Great "choice".

This sickens me. If I were rich, I'd hire a lawyer to sue the bOrg pr*cks on behalf of her motherless children. Even if the case lost, due to the putrid "get out of jail card" religions somehow managed to finagle , the damaging publicity would be fun to watch.

23

Are Jehovah's Witnesses Christian or Cult, Do JWs Offer Solutions for Local and Global Problems of life?

by skepticSam in

the awake on "hope for the homelessness" was one of the worse illustrations how the cult has no love for anyone that can't provide donations to further this spiritual ponzi scheme!

the premise of this awake made no sense, i've read many books and took classes on social issues affecting mankind, the awake does not help fix the problem.

what did this magazine offer those who are suffering the humiliation of living out of their cars or "tent city" or under a bridge?

Gulf Coaster

There are various checklists online of what constitutes a cult versus Christianity or religion. The bOrg checks just about everything on the various lists. Control, isolationism, exclusivism, authoritarian leadership, no independent thinking allowed, fear of being disfellowshipped & ostracized from your family/friends, emotional blackmail, threats of demon attack, etc.

I've been a Catholic myself and count some Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Anglicans, Muslims, etc., as friends. I don't find their belief systems as being as cult-like as the JWs. They're more casual and perhaps nominal than how JWs treat their belief system. Of course if we're talking very devout Catholics and Orthodox Jews, then it gets less distinct to me, especially the latter.

As far as that airy-fairy story about how JDubs can help the homeless, many of the homeless suffer mental illnesses. Some stupid propaganda tract is going to do squat.

47

Cart Witnessing - Thrilling! Productive! Epic! Er.....um, well, not so much.....

by sir82 in

jw
friends

talked with a pioneer recently, she was recounting her first experience with cart witnessing.. she brought the subject up, was going on & on & on & on about how wonderful the experience was, and how great, and how she enjoyed it so much, and it was so wonderful, and oh jehovah's blessing, and on and on and on...... a few questions to her revealed what really happened:.

-- a jw who owns a small restaurant in a strip mall allows jws to set up their cart outside his restaurant.

-- the restaurant is tucked pretty far out of the way, not prominent at all.

Gulf Coaster

You wouldn't want to trip and fall over while wearing one of those ridiculous book outfits. You wouldn't be able to get up and you'd look silly.

16

priveledges an extra layer of protection

by aintenoughwiskey in

i have noticed when an elder or ms gets in serious trouble, many times it's simply a demotion.

local example.

well liked ms son of a prominent elder/pioneer gets caught doing the dance with no pants with his fiancee.

Gulf Coaster

Definitely special privileges if you're an elder, for you and your spawn. Was in a congregation where the most popular elder had 4 pretty daughters who were viewed as role models and were very popular themselves. Outwardly they were such good little witness girls. In reality they were witches who got up to stuff that non-elder's kids wouldn't get away with, and they knew it. And the rest of us knew it too. I was actually "friends" with the 2nd youngest one for a few years, and enjoyed "protection" because of it. We covered for each other. (I put friend in quotes because JW friends are conditional ones, not genuine at all.)

We fell out about a year before I left because the hypocrisy of her "friendship" and everything about that cult just got to me.

41

Missed it by that much ----------23

by John Aquila in

i almost had a freaking heart attack.

i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

Gulf Coaster

I got 5 out of 6 once, about 20 years ago when I lived in Canada. Won about $1,600. Missed the 6th number by 1. My 6th number was 7, the winning 6th number was 6. Oh well.

I'd claim anonymously, via trust,if I won big now. Winning would bring out all sorts begging/demanding and I'd worry about my safety. If I couldn't claim anonymously, I'd have a plane ticket booked and leave for 3 months minimum.