As a JW, the definition of spirituality is very limited and narrow minded. But I have realized that I'm a spiritual person even as an Agnostic. Watchtower's use of the word is completely wrong, and only used to benefit their own agenda. It's a loaded word with the incorrect meaning.
For me, I can summarize spirituality as follow:
Ultimate or immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the “deepest values" and meanings by which people live. Mindfulness and meditation as beneficial or even necessary for human fulfillment without accepting any supernatural interpretation or explanation intended to develop an individual's inner life; such practices often lead to an experience of connectedness with a larger reality, yielding a more comprehensive self.
I do believe that being "spiritual" allows nurturing thoughts, emotions, words and actions that are in harmony with a belief that the entire universe is, in some way, connected; even if only by some mysterious flow of cause and effect at every scale.
What do you say to this question?
TastingFreedom
JoinedPosts by TastingFreedom
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Are you a spiritual? - What is the definition?
by TastingFreedom inas a jw, the definition of spirituality is very limited and narrow minded.
but i have realized that i'm a spiritual person even as an agnostic.
watchtower's use of the word is completely wrong, and only used to benefit their own agenda.
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TastingFreedom
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A Beloved and Compassionate Elder Trapped in a Cult Just Died , What should I do?
by TastingFreedom ini just heard the sad news that a very loving and kind elder for the congregation that i belonged to for 15 years just died from a heart attack.
he was someone that i had great admiration and deep respect for, even now that i'm out from the jws.
he was my mentor and an inspiration to me as an elder, and in many ways he showed me the contradictions of the wts, he was a breath of fresh air within a cult.
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TastingFreedom
Yes, they pretty much followed the talk outline!!
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A Beloved and Compassionate Elder Trapped in a Cult Just Died , What should I do?
by TastingFreedom ini just heard the sad news that a very loving and kind elder for the congregation that i belonged to for 15 years just died from a heart attack.
he was someone that i had great admiration and deep respect for, even now that i'm out from the jws.
he was my mentor and an inspiration to me as an elder, and in many ways he showed me the contradictions of the wts, he was a breath of fresh air within a cult.
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TastingFreedom
Thank you my dear friends for your kind words of sympathy and support!
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Dear God . . . .
by mimimimi indear god, my prayer for 2011 is for a fat bank account & a thin body.
please don't mix these up like you did last year.
amen.
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TastingFreedom
Dear God,
Help me to believe in myself, so I cant stop talking to nothingness... like I'm doing it now. Even though it may be comforting to talk to you right now because this is what I did for a looong time, it's really just a waste of time. I can be a lot more effective in defining an action plan, a road map to get my life in order the way I want it to be.
In my name, Ammmmenn
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A Beloved and Compassionate Elder Trapped in a Cult Just Died , What should I do?
by TastingFreedom ini just heard the sad news that a very loving and kind elder for the congregation that i belonged to for 15 years just died from a heart attack.
he was someone that i had great admiration and deep respect for, even now that i'm out from the jws.
he was my mentor and an inspiration to me as an elder, and in many ways he showed me the contradictions of the wts, he was a breath of fresh air within a cult.
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TastingFreedom
If anybody is interested, here is an update to this thread.
So, this last Saturday we went to the memorial talk supposedly for our friend who passed away. It was in huge complex with two kingdom hall structures. Over 800 people, most of which we knew. We got there early and remained in the car for 20 mins, prior to walking into the hall.
We had to prepare psychologically, be ready for the shunning. We were very sharp in our own way with a clear mission: to pay respects to a beautiful human being.
I had a sports coat, goatee, boots...definitely not complying with their rules.
We walked in with our heads high up, looking better than ever!
Not weak, not emotional, not pitiful, which was probably what JWS expect to see in the people that no longer belong in a congregation. The attendants avoided talking to me, since they recognized me as an ex-elder who is now being defiant. When we sat down, we could hear the whispering," so and is here, did you see them?"
It was hilarious! Some people discreetly showed sympathy and excitement to see us. But the majority pretended like we were not there, and we also pretended like we didn't know anybody. So it worked out pretty good.
Just like everybody had predicted, this memorial was not about him but a marketing campaign using his image to recruit new members (infomercial). His life was condensed to 15 mins and everything had to do with what he did for the watchtower.
Then a 30 min talk about resurrection, the same crap as ever. No mention Of the things that really mattered to him personally.
Being in there listening to this boring talk got me a headache, very sleepy and dumbed down.
It's almost like people are being hypnotized, perfect conditions for indoctrination and programming the mind with cult propaganda. The people look like drones, no emotions, it was really strange in a sick way.
We had enough of it after that talk, didnt wait to sing or the prayer.
Everything had been planned down to every word, I'm sure the widow had no saying in who would give the talk. One of the elders that he really disliked was going to do the closing prayer.
It was all a sham, a fraud for what he truly represented.
We had to storm out of that place to show disapproval for who was doing the closing prayer.
While everybody was still sitting down, we got up and got the hell out of there.
All people were staring and looking.
Anyway, I have done my part to give closure.
We confronted our fears And overcame all those scary dragons in the shadow.RIP my friend RF.
I have to admit that the shunning is painful, inhuman and unnatural. Once I made it home, I started digesting it, it just felt awkward.
If JW's only realized how many dissenters there are, just how many of us there are around the world, they would not be so afraid to be themselves. We saw many expressions of sympathy like "finger greeting", wide-open eyes, smiles, etc... but people are fearful. It's like a dictatorship where they have tough repressive methods to abolish individual freedoms.
If they would only lose the fear of being isolated, if they knew that they will not ostracized, that life goes on...
If they could also apply Isa. 60:22 "The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time." for those that don't agree with the Watchtower hierarchy. -
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An Open letter to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses (Elders/ Ex-Elders)
by stuckinamovement inif you are an elder or an ex-elder please add a comment.
i hope that the governing body will see this.
it is too bad it has to be on an anonymous forum.
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TastingFreedom
Lovely. I could have used this when I was still an elder, just merely a year ago..
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Did having a Bethelite travel to your congregation and deliver a talk motivate, encourage, or excite you?
by miseryloveselders ini ask this, because i just got wind that at my hall, we're paying the travel expenses for a bethelite to come and do our memorial talk.
i don't know how much this is going to run us, but i fail to see the practicality of it.
he's not delivering a special memorial outline or anything.
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TastingFreedom
For the congregation I attended, it was all about him. The congregation was depressed, because everybody felt that they needed to do more...
That they sucked...!
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Biocentrism - Revolutionary theory of looking at existence/reality
by TastingFreedom ini have been reading a book for some time that i find fascinating.
the book is biocentrism, how life and consciousness are the keys to understanding the true nature of the universe by robert lanza.. .
it proposes a theory that is certainly different than how we look at the world.. basically our reality is only a perception that is not absolute but only relative to our life and existence in this particular coordinates of the universe, meaning that our senses perceive space and time only in relationship to our relative existence.
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TastingFreedom
Think about this, people can alter their brain and the perception of reality with hallucigens (e.g chemicals or natural stuff like mushrooms).
I have heard that in eating mushrooms, people start to blend with material things, the walls, the pillows... the entire perception of reality changes, how do you explain that? I think this theory explains it... Humans can interact with each other because we are in the same wavelength or frequency.. But what other frequencies?
I fully recommend this book. I'm reading it very slowly, I'm just savoring every sentence in it. Yes, it's that kind of book. I don't want to spoil it, but he gives the example of a rainbow. A number of conditions are needed for the rainbow to be visible, moisture in the air, the right angle of sun light and observer's eyes. Without the eye's the rainbow is non-existent. There could be a number of people and not everybody may see the rainbow. You can not touch because it doesn't literally exist. Only in your perception!
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Biocentrism - Revolutionary theory of looking at existence/reality
by TastingFreedom ini have been reading a book for some time that i find fascinating.
the book is biocentrism, how life and consciousness are the keys to understanding the true nature of the universe by robert lanza.. .
it proposes a theory that is certainly different than how we look at the world.. basically our reality is only a perception that is not absolute but only relative to our life and existence in this particular coordinates of the universe, meaning that our senses perceive space and time only in relationship to our relative existence.
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TastingFreedom
I saw the counter-arguments, and they are very powerful, but they do not entirely refute biocentrism as far as I'm concerned!
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Feb. 15th WT - WT Society says DFed Ones are Lawless- Just Like Demons
by flipper ini would assume that some or a good number of us here as normal humans in this society - consider " lawless " actions to include murder , robbery, extortion, rape, child abuse, war , terrorism, etc.
the wt society has their own definition of what's considered " lawless ".
anything that's considered a disfellowshipping offense in the jehovah's witnesses is now considered " lawless ".
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TastingFreedom
What you said below is soo true. They are getting crazier every day:
So I find in this that the WT society is doing what ALL cults do by requiring members to NOT have contact with former members of their cult by use of fear and guilt tactics . Bottom line is the WT society doesn't want JW's being influenced by TRUTHFUL information that DFed or DAed people may bring to them. so they scare rank and file JW's $hitless thinking these DFed ones are " lawless " or " evil". In reality JW's or DFed or DAed ones should probably shun WT governing body members who allow lawlessness INSIDE their organization by failing to DF child molesters or turn them into police as child abuse is considered a " lawless " offense in our normal society. But NOT inside the Witnesses. The things the WT society considers priorities are very unacceptable and skewed.