Like 30 years out I am also drawn towards Wicca (though not practising as this would freak out my JW relatives big time) but my 'religion' is feeling at one with nature, hugging trees, got a garden full of wind chimes and I listen to Wicca songs and New Age music
ambersun
JoinedPosts by ambersun
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46
what religion are you now?
by deservingone26 inits been a while since ive been on how is everyone doing?
but just curious after you left jehovahs witnesses did you look into other religions?
or are any of you currently involved in any other religions now?.
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Here Is How My Day Went Today and Can I Start all Over?
by orangefatcat intoday i was at my mother's house i thought i'd stop in and see how she was assuming she opened the door, she said to me that she was just reading about satan i said to her mom i am not satan and then she invited me in she said to me why are you visiting me today you know you shouldn't be here i said mom i'm concerned about your health and i wanted to know how you are and how your help this that's all.
so she told me that she was feeling fine but i could tell otherwise as it is very evident in their eyes and the way that she moves that she is not at all well in the past month i have noticed her face was more gaunt than usual and her gait was rather slower than normal.
we spoke for a while about how she was doing and then she got on the subject of course of religion and how disappointed she is that both my sister and i have left the organization, as i explained to her i can't be a part of the jehovah's witnesses anymore as i no longer believe it.
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ambersun
Orangefatcat, I am so sorry to hear about your stressful day and I am sending you a ciber hug as I feel that is what you need most right now.
You obviously love your mom very much and it is painful to see her looking ill and frail. The WTS is so cruel the way it encourages its elderly folk to cut themselves off from the people who love and care for them most, just because they do not share their religious convictions. If only your mother could see that this does NOT make you 'Satan' or any less of a loving, caring daughter. It would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic.
Regarding your son, as the song goes "you always hurt the ones you love, the ones you shouldn't hurt at all", which happens to all of us when we are upset. Go give your son a big hug and tell him how much you love him and how sorry you are. Explain you were just upset and not thinking straight when you said the hurtful thing to him which you obviously did not mean. I am sure it will work out OK.
Just carry on visiting your mom, showing her love and affection as you are doing. This proves what a warm, kind hearted person you are which I am sure deep down inside she realises. She is only saying these cruel things to you because she has been indoctrinated by the WTS, and they are not really her own thoughts and feelings. I have learned from experience it is no use arguing with them when they are in this mindset, just try to ignore it and keep to discussing light hearted issues.
The main thing is to make sure you keep in regular contact with your mom so that you are available to help her when she needs you, as I doubt very much if she will get the same level of care and attention from the 'loving' congregation.
Take care orangefatcat
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ambersun
How can JW parents who claim to love their children allow them to be baptized so young knowing full well they can now be removed from the congregation for doing what normal teenagers do?
Many JW parents convince themselves that baptism will somehow provide a protection for their child and keep them safe from harm. They literally breathe a sigh of relief when they see their child coming out of the baptism pool, thinking that they are now safe and secure forever within Jehovah's organisation. After all, Armageddon is coming any day and they will soon be living in the New System!! At that particular moment in time any thoughts of disfellowshipping and shunning couldn't be further from their minds. They could not even contemplate their beloved child behaving like an average "worldly" child and doing anything that could possibly lead to them being disfellowshipped. When the baptised child reaches his/her teens and starts behaving like any normal teenager it all comes as a huge shock when they end up in front of the elders!
Likewise, when teenagers show a healthy interest in the opposite sex, many JW parents feel it is best to get them married off young as a "protection" against fornication. Once again, they think they are keeping them safe as Armageddon is so very close, and are unable to see the potential harm they are doing to them.
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Thank you one and all
by truthseeker1969 infor the longest time i was so depressed and lonely although my old lady is a great source of comfort.. i had contemplated going back to meetings etc but then i found this site not long ago and i have found real comfort in each of you although i do not personally know you all.. i have had things revealed to me that i never knew which has changed my life and blondie in particular, her posts are always so balanced and clear and i thank her for them.
each of you now feels like family to me and i feel a genuine love and concern that is so lacking elsewhere and to each of you "thankyou".. .
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ambersun
Hi truthseeker 1969, I totally agree with you, and I think it is so nice of you to take the time to acknowledge the help and advice that is so freely given by the likes of blondie and many others.
Like you I have also learned so much since I came here and have been really touched by the genuine love and concern expressed by many regular posters towards people going through a tough time and in need of some TLC and support.
I only wish this site had been around 25 odd years ago when I was trying to pluck up the courage to start my fade.
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Movies that resonate with you as an ex-JW or awake JW
by RayPublisher inthe matrix - "do you want the blue pill or the red pill?
", "all i offer you is the truth", "ignorance is bliss", "the matrix is all around us".
shutter island - creepy, is it real or isn't it, it turns out the whole thing is a dream.
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ambersun
Stepford Wives. They all look spookily like they just stepped out of WTS illustrations.
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This convention blows
by Anony Mous inseriously, half day in (already had an argument with the wife this morning about individuality in the organization in which she conceded that a lot of it is based on looks) and this is already getting on my nerves.
i'll post a rebuttal based on my annotations later in the week but one thing i got to get off my mind: saying the feminist movement (women going to work instead of staying home) and the diversity laws (allowing for homosexuality - but also religious freedom, racial discrimination etc.
) caused a lot of the problems in our world right from the stage.. there are less people here than last year - about 500 less..
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ambersun
They actually had the nerve to say that Jesus appointed his apostles as the governing body of JW in the first century and the governing body is the successor to those apostles.
Good grief! I have been like this after reading about most of the stuff that is coming from the platform at this convention, but this statement just about takes the biscuit!
I am SOOOO glad I no longer have to go. I don't think my already high blood pressure could take the strain lol!!
The explanation for tigers no longer in the paradise pictures: They're going extinct and it may be that we're not going to be able to play with them in Paradise (that's from a Bethel-vet, no kidding).
Thanks for that bit of information Anony Mous! And I presume that explanation was given in all seriousness without his tongue firmly in his cheek? I was in need of a good laugh today and that little gem has certainly given me one
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ambersun
16, while pregnant
The very first meeting I ever went to, I was physically stopped from talking to a young girl with a tiny baby. She had been disfellowshipped for being pregnant at the age of 16. Her own father pushed the flat of his hand out in front of me and physically stopped me in my tracks so I could not talk to her, or even hold her baby. I was 14!! I had been brought up to be kind and considerate to everyone and this was the first time in my life I had seen someone being shunned.
The shock and distress of that experience stayed with me and helped me to come to my senses a few years later, leading to my eventual fade. I could never come to terms with their assurance that the shunning of a teenage mother was a "loving arrangement by Jehovah to keep the congregation clean". It was nothing short of cruelty and abuse
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It's my Birthday on Thursday
by nugget ini am having my second birthday out of the jws on the 14th of july the first after disfellowshipping and just need a few ideas for the day.
we went to arudel today to do pre birthday shopping so i am really looking forward to see what goodies they found.
there was much whispering in the corner of shops.
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ambersun
Happy Birthday Nugget
Whatever you decide to do, have a great day being spoiled by your loved ones !!!
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This convention blows
by Anony Mous inseriously, half day in (already had an argument with the wife this morning about individuality in the organization in which she conceded that a lot of it is based on looks) and this is already getting on my nerves.
i'll post a rebuttal based on my annotations later in the week but one thing i got to get off my mind: saying the feminist movement (women going to work instead of staying home) and the diversity laws (allowing for homosexuality - but also religious freedom, racial discrimination etc.
) caused a lot of the problems in our world right from the stage.. there are less people here than last year - about 500 less..
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ambersun
Just got in and found an invitation to the convention on the hall mat. I had to laugh when it says the Sunday talk "Let God's Kingdom Come!", will show how this planet will soon be transformed into a paradise and "how you and your family can qualify to live there".
Yeah sure, it's the same promise they made to the families living back in the 1960s (when I was a teenage dub) - and the same as the promise made at least 2 generations before that. Come and give your life to the WTS and you will be rewarded with a lifetime in paradise. Everyone better rush to hear that talk before it's too late!!! ............................
One thing that struck me as rather odd, the picture on the front of the invitation shows the mother and her daughter skipping along hand in hand (in paradise) both wearing.....TROUSERS instead of 1950s durndle skirts (gasp).
And what happened to the obligatory baskets laden with fruit and the tiger/ lion/ giant panda (or any other extremely dangerous wild animal of your choosing) patiently waiting to be petted by the little children??? They seem to have forgotten to include them
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Help Please. Mother says she can prove I will die using the bible alone, no WT literature
by scooterspank inshe says she can prove i will die if i'm not in the "truth" strictly using the bible .
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ambersun
Scooterspank, I agree with Ignat. I can guarantee that your mother's 'proof' will consist of vague scriptures taken out of context. They will be cleverly made to appear as a warning to you of your impending doom, but if you insist on your mom including the verses before and after, (maybe the whole chapter), the meaning will be totally different and she will lose her 'proof'.
Good luck with that