Posts by freeflyingfaerie

16

There's a little Houdini in all of us

by freeflyingfaerie in

jw
friends

as i responded to an earlier post it occured to me that those of us who have been in the religion for any length of time are like harry houdini, the illusionist.. we willingly (for those that chose to really believe the lies) bound ourselves in chains.. we always had the opportunity to releaase ourselves...it was all an illusion...an illusion that we played along with.

but the option to end the mental confinement was always within our power.. going door to door we must have looked like a freak show to others.

we put ourselves in a glass cage in chains, as a "spectacle",...in which we were unwittingly frauds, because the whole time we could have gotton free.. that's all for now... .

freeflyingfaerie

Miss Fit~ True, being born-in and spoon-fed wasn't our choice. Those of us who were raised in it grew up with the chains..and then as we grew to be adults, we kept those chains on and added more (to keep with the analogy). And because we weren't Amish, we rubbed shoulders with people who were 'normal' (giving us ideas of how life might be on the outside)...so we had to try to trick our minds in order to keep up the illusion.

Adam~ Yes, the JW religion is guilty of severly harming and even killing people through its ridiculous practices. Each individual is not guilty. I believe a large number of the members are innocent 'victims' themselves. Maybe it would be like saying each individual U.S. citizen is guilty for killing Vietnamese people in war. Yes, the government is guilty of it. But each individual citizen (born or naturalized) is not necessarily guilty of what the leaders sanction.

3

No Pressure, Darlings...it's just their lives in your hands

by freeflyingfaerie in

jw
friends

"everything we did was to be a witness.... people's eternal destinies hinged on a word or tiny event, maybe on no more than an unfriendly look.

even an improperly served high tea on sunday afternoon could send someone to hell {or hades, your pick}.

what if the sandwiches were prepared wrong and they went away with the impression that we were like all those so-called ministries where they didn't even know how to butter thinly sliced bread out to the edges?

freeflyingfaerie

"Everything we did was to be a witness...

People's eternal destinies hinged on a word or tiny event, maybe on no more than an unfriendly look. Even an improperly served high tea on Sunday afternoon could send someone to hell {or Hades, your pick}. What if the sandwiches were prepared wrong and they went away with the impression that we were like all those so-called ministries where they didn't even know how to butter thinly sliced bread out to the edges? What if the person visiting was given a plastic spoon and we were mistaken for uncouth Pentecostals? We had to be people that others wanted to join, attractive ambassadors for Christ in word and deed.

~Crazy for God by Frank Shaeffer

Pretty entertaining book so far

Loved this also~ The only answer to "Who are you?" is "When?"

16

There's a little Houdini in all of us

by freeflyingfaerie in

jw
friends

as i responded to an earlier post it occured to me that those of us who have been in the religion for any length of time are like harry houdini, the illusionist.. we willingly (for those that chose to really believe the lies) bound ourselves in chains.. we always had the opportunity to releaase ourselves...it was all an illusion...an illusion that we played along with.

but the option to end the mental confinement was always within our power.. going door to door we must have looked like a freak show to others.

we put ourselves in a glass cage in chains, as a "spectacle",...in which we were unwittingly frauds, because the whole time we could have gotton free.. that's all for now... .

freeflyingfaerie

Adam~ good point that "it would cease to exist tomorrow if members refused to play the dysfunctional game."

As I look at this again, I think I need to make the distinction between responsibility and what I call 'blame' (derrogetory word).

Yes, everyone who keeps the wheels turning of the JW machine is responsible to some degree for misleading yet others in whatever way (and letting ourselves be mislead in the first). What I don't like to say is that we were to 'blame', because it sounds like we were 'at fault' and 'guilty'. And again, it could technically be said that it is so. But, as I see it we were (the ones who really bought it) acting more as accomplices, and ignorant ones at that. (i know, still to 'blame')

Mind control is a scary animal.

I believe that those who leave need to accept responsibility in accepting the fact that we allowed ourselves to be manipulated. We should come to understand what really happened to us...what we allowed to happen, yes. I also believe that we should try to understand ourselves, be kind to ourselves, and know that even though we got taken for a ride, we can be wiser for it and we do have control in our lives.

96

Let's Talk About Sex

by cofty in

a old thread was bumped recently in which posters from 9 years ago raised objections to evolution basesd on personal incredulity regarding sexual reproduction.. i remember an elder in one of my old congregations saying something to the effect that "how could evolution be true, if men evolved before women...blah blah" you get the picture.. i have refreshed my memory of a chapter in nick lane's excellent book "life arising - the ten greatest inventions of evolution" and put together a summary.

it would be great if others would add to it - cantleave, adam, tiktaalik, s&r, bohm et al?.

here is my starter focusing on the problem with non-sexual selection.... if the driving force in evolution is the struggle of selfish genes to pass on copies of themselves to future generations, then sex seems counter-productive.

freeflyingfaerie

OK,

I just skimmed your OP and all I saw was~

sex...picture...men...women....excellent...beneficial...natural....bad neighbours...positive effect is so strong...

...sex...

...more to follow...

ok, I'm out of here

16

There's a little Houdini in all of us

by freeflyingfaerie in

jw
friends

as i responded to an earlier post it occured to me that those of us who have been in the religion for any length of time are like harry houdini, the illusionist.. we willingly (for those that chose to really believe the lies) bound ourselves in chains.. we always had the opportunity to releaase ourselves...it was all an illusion...an illusion that we played along with.

but the option to end the mental confinement was always within our power.. going door to door we must have looked like a freak show to others.

we put ourselves in a glass cage in chains, as a "spectacle",...in which we were unwittingly frauds, because the whole time we could have gotton free.. that's all for now... .

freeflyingfaerie

Hi Miss Fit, good to hear from you~ sooo true....'you have to see the chains first before you can even think about using the key'... try to take an aerial view of our life, step back, be honest... and get access to accurate information.

15

Ever considered joining the Church of Satan?

by J. Hofer in

every now and then i read up on the church of satan, most of their principles make sense to me, in the end i'm still leaning to a more humanist world view though.

what's your view on the church of satan?

pragmatic nihilism spiced up with a few funny rituals?

freeflyingfaerie

All the time.

25

My Mom Wanted To Know If I Would Ever Consider Going Back.... Guess what I said....

by minimus in

jw
friends

never!!!

!.

freeflyingfaerie

steve2, you lucky duck..sweet mother

along the lines of what Peggy said~ how about asking "would you ever consider leaving?" (probably wouldn't go over so well)

Saying Never as I have also, is probably not the smartest way to go about it either because it automatically puts their wall up and they have to step back from us to remain 'faithful'.

Saying nothing may leave doubts in their minds, leading them to believe that they may be able to talk to you to try to bring you back . But is that worth it? For some people it may be.

edited to say~ is it worth it to listen to the preaching? (not : is it worth it to go back)

16

There's a little Houdini in all of us

by freeflyingfaerie in

jw
friends

as i responded to an earlier post it occured to me that those of us who have been in the religion for any length of time are like harry houdini, the illusionist.. we willingly (for those that chose to really believe the lies) bound ourselves in chains.. we always had the opportunity to releaase ourselves...it was all an illusion...an illusion that we played along with.

but the option to end the mental confinement was always within our power.. going door to door we must have looked like a freak show to others.

we put ourselves in a glass cage in chains, as a "spectacle",...in which we were unwittingly frauds, because the whole time we could have gotton free.. that's all for now... .

freeflyingfaerie

Iown Mylife~ So true that it is frightening and can be paralyzing to think of what can be lost in the act of leaving. And exactly, as you said, beginning to see that you have options is what I refer to. We got ourselves into the JW mess...but people can get themselves out, too.

use2b~ you and so many of us had really tied ourselves up good, with lots of locks and nice and tight...believing we would be secure. Then we realized being mentally chained isn't what we wanted...then began the hard work of breaking free of it all little by little..

cofty~ that is so interesting...that our thinking processes are so complex that we can have simultaneous conflicting streams of thought, they eventually have to converge if there is to be any peace of mind...so something is always dominant, and something is rationalized or suppressed or we may just simply change our mind about it..something to ease the discomfort of conflicting ideas. We have the ability to fool ourselves to a certain degree. But, somehow, our mind knows better. On some level we know we are creating a web of support for that belief that doesn't belong there in the first place. Like scar tissue around a prosthetic or transplant or implant. The body knows it's not natural..sometimes it is rejected, other times the body just builds a capsule of safety around it..but the body always knows.

OTWO~ "we never even knew we had the key"

peggy~ that's great that your daughter doesn't shun you. Yes, that history is unchangeable...the beauty is that we don't have to live in the past anymore.

adam~ I see what you mean...I feel that those who have become members of the JW have ,link by link (through tedious indoctrinization), wrapped themselves in heavy chains. We did it with our own hands. And we did it in harmony with the messages and instructions we were constantly given. And if we were especially good listeners, our chains were wrapped especially snug. The instruction-givers are responsible (which includes already indoctrinated ministers, already bound) and then we were each also responsible for listening. But I don't blame those of us who truly thought we were doing a good thing by living that way. I don't want to look at it that way. I do think those that know better share some guilt (even though I understand how diffidult peer pressure and loss of family can be..And for those with no one to lose...I have no respect).

Taking responsibility by reflecting on how certain choices we each made as individuals led to certain results can help in the healing process. It can help us realize that the choices we make today can bring us further from the dysfunction and to move forward..with hopefully good results

16

There's a little Houdini in all of us

by freeflyingfaerie in

jw
friends

as i responded to an earlier post it occured to me that those of us who have been in the religion for any length of time are like harry houdini, the illusionist.. we willingly (for those that chose to really believe the lies) bound ourselves in chains.. we always had the opportunity to releaase ourselves...it was all an illusion...an illusion that we played along with.

but the option to end the mental confinement was always within our power.. going door to door we must have looked like a freak show to others.

we put ourselves in a glass cage in chains, as a "spectacle",...in which we were unwittingly frauds, because the whole time we could have gotton free.. that's all for now... .

freeflyingfaerie

As I responded to an earlier post it occured to me that those of us who have been in the religion for any length of time are like Harry Houdini, the illusionist.

We willingly (for those that chose to really believe the lies) bound ourselves in chains.

We always had the opportunity to releaase ourselves...it was all an illusion...an illusion that we played along with. But the option to end the mental confinement was always within our power.

Going door to door we must have looked like a freak show to others. We put ourselves in a glass cage in chains, as a "spectacle",...in which we were unwittingly frauds, because the whole time we could have gotton free.

That's all for now..

14

Changing the Words to John Lennon's IMAGINE

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

children were prompted to pay tribute to nelson mandella and sang john lennon's imagine.

whoever got this together changed the words.. .

it's supposed to say instead of "nothing below us," "no hell below us.".

freeflyingfaerie

The song should either be sung as written or else create something original. If this is an appeal to peopl'es emotions, it seems like an exploitative one. Make your own material or get it right at least.