Reopened Mind

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Posts by Reopened Mind

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  62

  Hello??

  by franticfran in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have just joined this website and just wanted to say hello to anyone out there.

  i am so nervous,after thirty odd years in the "truth" i feel as though my husband and i have just walked into a room full of smiling strangers and we are just standing here hoping to god someone will come up and speak to us.

  scared and excited and hoping to wake up one morning and not wonder what we do now???

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  Reopened Mind

  Hello franticfran,

  I am glad you found this discussion board. You will find a lot of help and support here.

  My husband and I left the organization in our mid fifties. He was a born-in and I converted in my teens. He was the PO when he and I began learning "the truth about the truth". We have 2 married boys who also are in the process of leaving. Like you we were baptized in the 70's, my husband in 1970 and I in 1973. We gave our lives to that ungrateful publishing company. But O the feeling of freedom of mind! As others have said it is not too late to start over. Have you read Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz?

  If you have been visiting here for any length of time you probably know of jwfacts.com, freeminds.org, and the books by Steve Hassan.

  Please share more of your story. We all love to read a good escape story.

  Best wishes to you and your three lovely children.

  Reopened Mind
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  34

  Came clean to the wife and all is good!

  by Comatose in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been reading steven hassan's books as well studying like never before.

  my wife has seen the amount studying i am doing, just hasnt known what all subjects instudy.

  over the last few weeks i've slowly shared certain things.

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  Reopened Mind

  Comatose,

  Glad to hear your success story! Please keep us posted on how this progresses.

  My husband and I also exited together. We tip-toed around each other for a while as we built the courage to share our doubts with each other. Sites like JWN, freeminds.org, jwfacts.com and books by Steve Hassan and Ray Franz made our journey a no-brainer. Now that we know "the truth about the truth" there is no going back. By the way we were in our mid fifties when we began questioning the organization and had children and grandchildren who were in. All are out or on their way out now. I hope you and your wife are waking up earlier in life than we did.

  All the best,

  Reopened Mind
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  20

  Newbie Again (Kinda Sorta)

  by lostinnj83 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i made my first post (which i have attached) more than 2.5 years ago.. sad to say i am still in the same situation.

  still "physically in" but have mentally been gone for years.

  i am still in my marriage and unfortunatly things have not gotten any better as far as me being able to help him see the light as far as the organization.. i am at a serious crossroad though because i am almost 30 years old, with no children.

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  Reopened Mind

  lostinnj83,

  Sounds like you are in a rut if nothing's changed in 21/2 years.

  What is it you want to achieve?

  Do you want to exit the cult?

  Do you want to stay in your marriage?

  Do you want to maintain a relationship with your parents and others in the congretaion?

  Are you willing to accept the consequences of moving on with your life?

  My husband and I exited together. We were in our mid fifties with grown children whom we raised in the cult and grandchildren. My husband was the PO when we began discussing our doubts. He could not see how the flood of Noah's day could have been a global event. I offered to research the subject for him. As I think you've found, discussing WT beliefs just causes the person to dig in their heels so as not to lose face. I second ABible Student's suggestion to read Steve Hassan's books. It is commendable that you are seeing a therapist. Is this someone who understands the mind control tactics of cults? Some experience with Jehovah's Witnesses would be even better.

  When I had been married for only 7 years I thought we were not a good match either. I'm sure it was the organization that kept us together. Now I feel we are a perfect fit. Next month we will be celebrating 38 years together.

  We were able to fade by moving 1000 miles away from Florida to Pennsylvania. Our two boys are in the process of fading themselves. Be patient. Time is on your side.

  Reopened Mind
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  3

  Anyone here from western new york?

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Reopened Mind

  I'm in NW PA
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  21

  Talked to Phone Witnessing JWs

  by jamiebowers in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i usually can't hear someone knocking on the door of our enclosed porch, so i haven't spoken to a jw in person in the ten years that we've been at this house.

  and being that the temperatures are currently very cold in northeast ohio, i suppose the jws are doing telephone witnessing.

  so, today i had the opportunity to talk to two real live jws.

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  Reopened Mind

  SUPER JOB JAMIE!!! I certainly hope that Travis has not had to experience pedophilia first hand. Your quick thinking just may have saved him from the clutches of the WT if he takes your advice. Perhaps we will be able to greet him here on JWN.

  I can't say I've personally been the victim of a pedophile but some members of my family have.

  It's cold here in NW Pennsylvania too.

  Reopened Mind
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  37

  What do you put in your hot tea if you do not like the taste?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Reopened Mind

  Love Earl Grey, drink it straight. I add a teaspoon of honey and a few drops of vanilla extract to my rooibos.

  Reopened Mind
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  23

  mother rejects her son

  by Aussie Oz in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  had a phone call from my son today.... he rang his jw mother to give her some news and found out the school his little half siblings go to was having an end of year play.

  he was pretty excited apparently and asked if he could come along and this is how it went.... "no, it is for family.

  for our family not for children who never speak or visit us.".

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  Reopened Mind

  Wow! Just WOW! Aussie. What a stark contrast between a thoroughly indoctrinated cult member and those who are normal. Lucky for him he is 19 and able to start a NORMAL family and have a NORMAL life. On the other hand I feel so sorry for his mom for replacing her son with a cult. So sad for your family. But one normal parent is better than none.

  Reopened Mind

  ps; Wish your son and his girlfriend a Merry Christmas
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  27

  A new life with my long lost brother...

  by TimeBandit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as some of you may know, about two years ago my brother contacted me on fb.

  i hadn't seen or heard from him in roughly 12 years before that.

  things progressed well once he found out that i and the wife had left the jws.

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  Reopened Mind

  Uncle Chris --- that has a nice ring to it! Glad to hear you're doing well. And congratulations to your wife on her new job.

  Reopened Mind
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  32

  Talked to an elder today

  by MrFreeze in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i guess the stars aligned for this one.

  this morning i dropped my car off to get it fixed and the shop i always go to is a lot closer to my mom's house than mine so i asked her if i could stay at her house while it got fixed.

  she was out in service doing returns at the time and offered to ride me to her house.

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  Reopened Mind

  MrFreeze,

  The elder who visited you was right about one thing----nothing you can say will make him think it isn't the Truth. If only he would do his own unbiased research with an open mind. Some things are too much to hope for. Well at least it seems you have a good relationship with your mom.

  Reopened Mind
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  17

  wow

  by Theredeemer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it has been a long time since i have posted here, so, here it goes.

  i have been back and forth for the last two years on whether or not to stay in this religion or not.

  most of me wanted to stay for the same as many others, fear.

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  Reopened Mind

  Theredeemer,

  You, too, are admired for standing up for what you believe in. Posting here is a definite stand.

  My husband and I left together. We left mentally long before we were able to leave physically. We had children and grandchildren in the cult when we began to wake up. We moved 1000 miles away to start a new life free of the cult. O, and did I mention we were in our late fifties so transitioning to a whole new way of life was difficult.

  I don't know your circumstances but I hope you are young enough not to have given the majority of your life to a publishing company. I know it's daunting having to make new friends and learning to think for yourself. Keep posting. Someone here has been through every aspect that you will experience. You have help.

  Reopened Mind