Reopened Mind

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Posts by Reopened Mind

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  206

  i am a regular pioneer in my cong reading crisis of conscience.here goes...

  by MsGrowingGirl20 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm on page 90 right now...the info is definitely new and gives me a totally diff view as to how i used to think of faithful and discreet slave.

  i was thoroughly disgusted with the way the brothers handled the oral sex and leadership problem and the insight on the scriptures book...... still have alot of questions though.

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  Reopened Mind

  A BIG WELCOME to you MsGrowingGirl20!

  You are very couragous for daring to read the biggest apostate book of all time, at least in WT world. As others have said be slow and methodical and don't tip your hand until you are absolutely sure of how to proceed. You will find lots of good advice amd support here. You will find someone here who can relate to any aspect of what you are going through. "Crisis of Conscience" is definitely a good place to start to learn what's behing the Watchtower curtain. Steve Hassan's "Combatting Cult Mind Control" would be a good second book as it shows how insidious cults can be. It can also help you so you won't jump out of one cult into another.

  I was baptised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses when I was 20 years old. I'm guessing from your poster name you are 20 years old. I married a JW, raised two boys in the cult, and like you served as a regular pioneer. My husband who posts on this board as TotallyADD served as a ministerial servant and an elder. He was the presiding overseer when I began researching the Watchtower. That was five years ago this month when I read an article in our local newspaper that led me to ajwrb.org. I carefully researched other sites online while tip-toeing around my husband. By this time my children were grown with children of their own. Very, very fortunately for me my husband had been to Bethel as a temp worker and was questioning things he was seeing there. It was he who asked me to order "Crisis of Conscience". When he read it he said he could relate to much of what Ray wrote. It had a definite "ring of truth". At this stage in our lives we find it extremely difficult to extricate ourselves from the WT without the very real possibility of not being able to see our grandchildren. By the way this is a sure sign of a cult.

  So MsGrowingGirl20 we commend you for your bravery in beginning your journey of awakening at so young an age. You have the opportunity to make a life for yourself that can be fulfilling and rewarding. Please keep posting. We are interested in you.

  Reopened Mind

  p.s. Feel free to pm me.
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  32

  Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 01-22-2012 WT Study (HELP MEN)

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  john, his brother james, and their father,.

  (john 3:1, 2; 19:38) this fear.

  overcome fear of man.

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  Reopened Mind

  Blondie,

  Again a superb job of commenting on the WT study. The last congregation TotallyADD and I attended the WT conductor was a semi-literate man. Yes, he could read the words, but there was little comprehension. More teaching was done by those who answered the questions, including sisters. I must add the conductor was a very loving person who cared for many children who were not his own. But my point is he was not qualified to be in a teaching position, let alone an elder.

  I remember many times when in the car group with an elder, we, mostly sisters, would be dropped off to work the streets while the elder would drive around the territory because there was no place to park. Or he might do a return visit while we worked door to door in the Florida summer heat.

  TotallyAdd stepped down as the presiding overseer, then stepped down as an elder. One of our sons has completely left the organization and the other one while attending for family reasons will not be reaching out. He is biding his time to get his family out.

  Reopened Mind
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  10

  The New Vocabulary of a Free Mind

  by breakfast of champions in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have always classified myself as someone who was fairly well read, with a pretty decent vocabulary.

  but having been raised in the orwellian "loaded language" of "truthspeak", i found over the past 18 or so months that there is a whole vocabulary out there that i was never exposed to, thanks in part to the wts exquisite information control techniques.

  here's a sample of some of the words i had never even heard of before my "awakening":.

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  Reopened Mind

  Unconditional love. "Love" that is not based on works, but on deep respect for the individual. Love that is based on a desire to help another person without expecting anything in return.

  This I am learning from so-called "wordly" people. O, and I should say I am learning unconditional love from "mentally diseased" apostates. LOL

  Reopened Mind
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  81

  Gave 5 JW's Something to Think About at a Starbucks Today

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was having coffee at a starbucks located in a supermarket chain in one of the towns i work in my business .

  while sitting there doing paperwork , what looked like 3 elders on their field service break sat at a table no more than 4 feet from me .

  after eavesdropping it was obvious they were elders as they were talking about the c.o.

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  Reopened Mind

  Flipper,

  I wish I could have been a fly on the wall at that Starbucks. Staying in control of the conversation and remaining calm while at the same time making reasonable points on the harm shunning can do will probably go a long way in helping anyone who has an ounce of reasoning power left to begin to wake up. EXCELLENT JOB!!! That is the real point---helping someone to escape the clutches of the WT borg.

  Thanks for the link to the Huffington Post article. I have saved a copy for future reference.

  Reopened Mind
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  36

  Do You Consider Yourself Religious? Do You Believe In God? Are You Spiritual?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i do not consider myself religious in any way.

  i do believe in "god" and i think i am a spiritual person to some degree.. what about you?.

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  Reopened Mind

  I do not consider myself religious, but I do believe in the HUMAN SPIRIT, ie., I think that it is HUMANS that accomplish whatever gets done. When I give thanks it is to the person who does something for me, not a mythical supernatural being. In that sense, then, I consider myself spiritual.

  Reopened Mind
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  39

  Our dog Princess was put to sleep today :(

  by factfinder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i miss her very much.

  :(.

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  Reopened Mind

  factfinder,

  The hardest part of being owned by a pet is when they die. We grieve for them just as much as any human member of our family. I've had many dogs and cats through the years and I've mourned every one that died.

  I second what talesin said that our pets teach us unconditional love.

  Reopened Mind
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  15

  I turned 1 today...

  by MrFreeze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today is my first birthday since i left the jw's.

  also, the 19th will mark the one year anniversary of when i left.

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  Reopened Mind

  Mr. Freeze,

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. You have two birthdays to celebrate in November. And many more.

  Reopened Mind
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  31

  Do you know the oldest Kingdom Hall personally that still exist today?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this kingdom hall was built in the 1960's and they still meet there.

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  Reopened Mind

  WontLeave, that is a great analogy.

  Reopened Mind
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  29

  Wonderful news about Ali....and something to warm your heart

  by coffee_black in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as i have posted, my daughter ali has been in the cardiac intensive care unit since thursday.

  her bp, heartrate and blood sugar went sky high, due to horrible coughing spells from a chest cold that left her gasping for air.. she has congestive heart failure, and has been treated for almost a year now.

  she has improved over that year, but this was a real setback.. ali called me today with amazing news.

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  Reopened Mind

  This brought tears to my eyes. You and Ali and Dr. J are amazing. I am so happy for your good news!!!

  All my best.

  Reopened Mind
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  12

  The Kindness of Strangers

  by serenitynow! in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  something really nice happened to my sister today.

  she was sitting outside the airport where she works, waiting for her ride home.

  a man sat down next to her and pulled out a cigarette.

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  Reopened Mind

  What a touching story serenitynow. Thanks for sharing. Good kind people will be generous and stingy disgruntled people will walk all over others with their self righteous attitudes. It matters not whether they are JWs or not although the WT does seem to magnify the negative characteristics. I have seen what sinis describes among the witnesses, including scam artists who "fleeced the flock" as well as genuinely kind people who have helped when we needed it most. I have also experienced the kindness of strangers.

  I am truly happy for your sister. May she overcome her smoking. Perhaps that will help her find another better job should she become laid off. Or perhaps she will not lose her job after all. In any case I wish the best to you and your sister.

  Reopened Mind