Posts by Reopened Mind

13

My sermon at Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation

by rawe in

jw
friends

it has been awhile since i have visited the forum.

since the fall of 2013 i've been attending the unitarian universalist congregation in chandler, az.

i became a member in 2015. this past september i gave the sermon.

Reopened Mind

Hello rawe, Randy,

I listened to your sermon. You are an excellent speaker. Were you an elder in your past (JW) life? As Still Totally ADD said we are members of our local UU congregation. We are a small congregation with no paid minister. Thus many of our members conduct the services and we have guest speakers when we can procure them.

We have been members since 2012. As my husband said he has given several sermons there. But he was an elder for 25 years. I, too, have given Sunday sermons, mostly on my experience in the cult. Imagine that! Me, a former sister, addressing the audience directly without a man on stage to conduct! I guess I learned a lot from the Ministry School. Anyway, that’s not so remarkable outside a misogynistic, high control group.

Reopened Mind

19

Married for 30 years

by nugget in

today we celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary and my sons 16th birthday.

i feel privileged to be able to show my appreciation and love for both the men in my life without feeling guilt.

we left in 2009 as a family and have not regretted the choice.

Reopened Mind

Nugget,

Being able to observe your anniversary and your son's birthday freely is a great cause for celebration. But and even bigger cause for celebration is that you have left the WT with your family intact. CONGRATULATIONS!!

Reopened Mind

22

Funny occurrences

by Freedom rocks in

what were some funny experiences you had of things that happened during talks at the meetings?.

a few of mine:.

- a brother had dyed his hair before his talk and it was raining heavily when he arrived at the hall and the dye was running down his face during his talk and his skin went more and more grey as the black dye ran down it.

Reopened Mind

An elder was giving a question and answer part on the Service Meeting. When he asked a question no one raised their hand. He went on to the next two or three questions and still no one answered. His frustration with the audience mounted, he put down the Kingdom Ministry and proceeded to lecture us on studying the lesson. Then one brother raised his hand to tell him he was covering the wrong part.

Reopened Mind

22

Expected pain

by former2free in

last week was a big week for me in terms of coming totally clean to my wife and her being more than on board to leave the jw’s with me.

we know what to expect but things happen from family and it still hurts just as bad.

last night my wife got a long text message from her brother that has seemed to be in the fence and he told her that same guilt tripping rhetoric that the wt uses about life in the paradise etc.

Reopened Mind

Fear is one of the biggest reasons someone joins and stays in a high control group. Fear of dying, fear of not being "spiritual" enough, fear of being disfellowshipped, fear of displeasing god (governing body), and perhaps the biggest one, fear of losing family and friends when one wakes up and makes the painful decision to leave. It is not any easier when you know what's coming. Keep reassuring her she is making the right decision.

When I converted back when I was a teenager I was told I would have a large worldwide family. Little did I know how conditional that love would be. Her family has been conditioned to show love only if she believes and does exactly as they say. THAT IS NOT LOVE!!! If that doesn't scream CULT I don't know what does!

She has our love and support as do you.

Reopened Mind, aka Mom

19

Big news today

by former2free in

for you who have read my bio you will know i have been working on my wife to wake her up.

now i won’t call her awake yet but through a series of long conversations this week i revealed to her my dissenting toward the jw faith.

she was totally supportive of me assured me she would never think differently of me because of how i feel.

Reopened Mind

What wonderful news!!! So happy for you and her. Waking up can be a long process so your patience will go a long way in getting her and your family out of this destructive cult. We are here to support you both in any way we can.

Love, Mom

aka Reopened Mind

54

What JW habits do you still have?

by Exelder in

since leaving the jw's after over 4 decades, i can see exactly what it is and hate everything it stands for.

however, there are still some jw habits and traits that i can't get rid of:.

1. i can't swear in general conversation (i'd have to be really angry).

Reopened Mind

Exelder,

ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder. It is closely associated with ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For a more information please go to this link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder.

Reopened Mind, aka wife of Still Totally ADD

19

Finances

by former2free in

jw
friends

i thank all of you for the warm welcome and having read my bio.

i look forward to many discussions and hopefully in the future to be able to be open about it with my wife and kids.

but for now i have a question.

Reopened Mind

Former2free,

One of the ways Watchtower makes money is through stocks, bonds, and trust funds. One such trust was the H M Riley Trust, from the deceased estate of Henrietta Riley. One of the stocks in this trust fund is that of the tobacco company Phillip Morris. This link, https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/politics.php shows that Watchtower is a beneficiary of the H M Riley Trust Fund. It’s a long article; scroll to the bottom to see a photocopy of the tax return.

Another way is to charge for parking at conventions. Google Tacoma Dome Parking scandal. The Watchtower had the elders collect for convention parking at the Kingdom Hall even though the convention center waived the parking fee. Guess where the money went. I remember paying in advance for parking tickets at conventions we attended.

The more I research the more disgusted I am at their money-grubbing ways.

Mom, aka Reopened Mind

18

Former2free bio and intro

by former2free in

oh where to begin i am a born in witness witness mother and father and grandparents though only 2 of the 4. i was born in the early 80’s and immediately my parents faced the blood transfusion issue course in their minds at the time it wasn’t an issue it was not gonna happen.

i don’t wanna go into too much detail but fortunately it worked out well as is evidenced by my writing of this back story.

i had the usual spiritual goals that most witness children have i got baptized at 13 then i started running mics and doing sound and giving more talks.

Reopened Mind

WOW Son,

Really good intro. You have no idea how happy your dad and I are that we are talking once again! You are very strong to overcome the indoctrination you experienced at our hands. I can see why the WT wants children baptized at younger and younger ages; it's so they can instill Fear, Obligation, & Guilt (FOG). Once you get over the fear of researching outside the WT prison the obligation and guilt melt away. There is no need to be guilty of engaging in normal teenage behavior.

As you know we are extremely interested in getting your family out. The organization has been called a "pedophile paradise" and we do not want to see your children victimized. When we watched the Australian Royal Commission we hoped against hope that you and your wife would somehow see it. What struck me was how little regard Jackson and his cronies had for the children who had been molested.

Although we live several states away we are here to help and support you in any way we can. Talk to you soon.

Love,

Your Mom, Reopened Mind

28

Great news!

by Half banana in

it's a case of two down and one to go.

my darling daughter has announced to the extended family that she has left jehovah's witnesses!

deep joy!.

Reopened Mind

That is great news!! I am so happy for you.

Reopened Mind

48

Healing & Rebuilding Your Life - Feedback Wanted

by jp1692 in

i have been invited to speak at an international cultic studies association workshop this fall.

i could use your help in focusing on my presentation subject.. these workshops are for former members of any cult or other high-control, authoritarian group, not just jehovah's witnesses.

last year, i spoke at one of their larger conferences in europe.

Reopened Mind

Jp1692,

I converted to the borg in my teens, baptized at 20, left completely at 58. It was fairly easy to revert to my former (real, authentic) personality. I had not “put on the new personality” completely as I always considered women more than recruiters and toilet cleaners. Yet I was a full-on Witness while a dub. My husband, on the other hand, had been born into the cult. It took him some time to figure out just what it was that he believed and so we explored different belief systems together. I find this to be an ongoing process for both of us. I think we retain at least some aspects of our personal identity no matter how hard the WT tries to fit us into their mold.

For myself I did not have to deal with isolation and loneliness as my husband Still Totally ADD exited at the same time I did and we lived near my nonJW cousins which softened the blow considerably. But I do concede that this can be a major obstacle for others.

So here is how I would rank the six subjects:

1. Examining Our Core Beliefs and Discovering Your Authentic Self tie for first place.

2. The Five Stages of Grief

3. Psychoeducation

4. Treatments & Interventions

5. Dealing with Isolation and Loneliness

These are all excellent topics and all deserve consideration.

Reopened Mind