Posts by Cicatrix

14

Do dreams mean anything?

by Bendrr in

jw
friends

i don't normally put a lot of stock in dreams having great importance.

it's extremely rare that i have nightmares and also not uncommon for me to go days or weeks without dreaming at all, at least that i'm aware of when i wake up the next morning.. what does it mean to have recurring dreams in which i'm back at home living with my parents and in the dubs?

last night i had a particularly disturbing one in which i was back home with my family in the home we lived in way back before i was 12 and in the dream for some reason that never came up i was going to be killed and they didn't care.

Cicatrix

Hi Mike,

I've been exploring this issue in the past few months. After years of not recalling dreams, I suddenly began to remember them again. This coincided somewhat with my decision to leave WTS. I have dreams about former congregation members,also.They are often of the nightmare variety. I understand that this is a common occurence for former cult members.

Most people I've discussed dream interpretation with don't think that a book should be used to define dream symbols, but I personally find in very helpful. I use one based on Jungian psychology, which asserts that dreams are the way we process information from the deepest recesses of our minds.It has helped me to gain insight into things, but I don't see it as the absolute source to be consulted for every little thing.It was, however, very helpful in defining an especially disturbing Oedipus-type dream(lol and you thought your dreams were crazy).

Just a couple of thoughts on your dreams. Your mention of the word sacrifice was intriguing. Have you been shunned by your family, or are you afraid it is a possibility? If that's the case, maybe you feel as though they may/did sacrifice their relationship with you for a religion.Perhaps the cigarettes alcohol, and sex denote your resistance to the dictates of the JW control- all- aspects- of- life paradigm.Maybe you feel that the belief system you were indoctrinated in as a child is impeding you in some way. Death can also signify a major change in direction in your life.Paralysis is a common dream theme. Sometimes it happens due to awakening partially during a certain stage of sleep(if I remember right), and some people think it signifies that you feel stuck in a certain aspect of your life.

At any rate, hope you find the answers you're looking for, or at least can put your mind to rest:)

Cicatrix

7

For Thanksgiving ......

by Mimilly in

jw
friends

well, for canadians anyway, it's this weekend.

i hope everyone has a safe holiday and gets a chance to have some precious moments with their loved ones.

it's especially sweet for me this year.

Cicatrix

Happy Thanksgiving, Mim. Hope you have a beautiful day with your family and friends.

32

I was a JW child

by CBeMe in

my mother started studing with the jw's when i was 2 years old.

she became more involved with the organization over the next few years.

i was very young so i don't remember much about my early years in the jw's.

Cicatrix

Welcome CbeMe! :)

17

Why we dont tell....male abuse

by Brummie in

jw
friends

why we dont tell(apologies for this veeery long post).. i cant even express how much i am behind silentlambs right now though i may be overly concerned by the latest letter sent out im sure bb knows what hes doing and all will become clear, and even if its a mistake then we have to allow for mistakes as long as they dont cost lives like wt mistakes do.

bb is only a man and hed be the first to admit that.. i know the majority of people on this board totally understand why an abused child doesnt tell they have been abused straight away, as far as i know there has only been one buff here that suggested all abused people should speak out straight away or not expect help later simply because someone touched them!

like all of you i switched off to this jw clown but began wondering how many more people or jdubs are taking such a pathetic outlook (very few i guess).

Cicatrix

{{{{{Brummie}}}}

Welcome. Thank you for your candid post. That took a lot of courage to do.Two men that I love have experienced something similar.One didn't reveal what happened until his late 20s, and even then he didn't want to say much about it.Your post helps me to understand why.

95

Who else went sex crazy?

by buffy in

ok, question for all the non dubs.

am i the only one who went totally wild (sexually) when i got df'd?

well, i actually went wild when i turned 21 and became inactive.

Cicatrix

Hi Buffy,

Some people call it going wild, I call it giving myself permission to explore my sexuality and deciding which perameters I can live in.And it varies over time from very wild to barely simmering.That's what makes it so much fun:)

Keep smilin' and enjoying your life.

By the way, how do you get to that ignore button?

24

well. i just lost my last family member to the org

by willdabeerman in

jw
friends

i just lost my last fleshly brother to the borg.

i am moving this weekend and i need his help.

and i asked him whats up?.

Cicatrix

{{{{Wildabeerman}}}}}

So sorry to hear about your brother. The shunning policy is sooo evil!!

21

Joseph Frantz (Hyghlandyr) To be Disfellowshipped?

by Hyghlandyr in

jw
friends

they left a note.

he is the one that kept trying to get me to state i wanted to da myself.

to which evil elder kept trying to get me to da.

Cicatrix

Go Joe!!!

I DA'd myself last month. I got a visit from the Big Boys about two weeks ago.They weren't considerate enough to call and make an appointment(but then I'm just a woman and my husband never was a witness-sooo).Being a woman, I felt it better for me not to give a reason for DAing myself.They kept pressing, I kept refusing.They seemed to need some kind of an admission, and asked if I was involved with another church(looking for evidence of apostacy, I guess).I couldn't understand why they needed an admission. I thought if you DA'd yourself, you were automatically considered an apostate .That's what their rule book says, anyway.Could it be they need a legitimate reason to convince the congregation?:)

At any rate, whatever they decide now has no bearing on my life (I'm fortunate enough not to have family memmbers in the Borg and the real friends I made could care less if I'm in or out). I made my intentions clear when I sent my letters out. Whatever they do now after the fact is moot. But I am interested to see how they handle this.

13

we're here to give thanks

by Shakita in

jw
friends

we have been lurking here for many months.

the many horrific and sad experiences many have endured in the name of the watchtower religion saddens us and sickens us.

we are ashamed to have ever been taken in by the lies and deceptions told to us by the wtbs.

Cicatrix

Welcome Shakitas~I echo your sentiment.

It was my children also that made me step back and take a look at all of the pain that our family was feeling.I, too, appreciate the work of Simon and all of the others on this board who bare their souls so others can know the real truth.

I continue to have faith in the young. I was recently thinking about a statement made at the last convention I attended. The point was made that a large number of youth are leaving the organization.Of course, in WT style, the blame was placed on the parents who weren't getting with the "theocratic program" of constant WT drill.Funny, I know of several cases where the children of very "theocratic" families defected.Young people are a lot more insightful than most people give them credit for.

1

All pretense?

by A Paduan in

jw
friends

it seems that jws en masse are choosing to marginalise, dismiss and ignore the damning paedophilia issue.

that's the standard tactic when truth penetrates and can't simply be 'babled' over the top of - when recognised it's a bit of an internal shock - pretending is the chosen solution.

an arrogant lie is certainly the way to insist on the direction of your will - it's the shunning that isn't shunning, the religion that isn't religion, the clergy that aren't clergy.............. pretending is an effective escape from reality - with practice, even your soul joins in on the sharade.. paduan

Cicatrix

We just had a former AP journalist discuss this with us in communications class. He said that he was sometimes surprised by the reactions of people to some of the articles he wrote. He said that sometimes people don't want to hear the truth.

Our perception of the world is what our reality is constituted of. Each person sees it from a different perception. We create a perception based on our cultural conditioning and the various things that happen to us in our lives. If we are secure with the way we see things, we will be resistant to changing our perception, even if we are given evidence to the contrary about its validity. That's why child molesters can continue to justify their actions and racists can continue to hate.It's also a large part of the reason that JWs prefer to ignore the child molestation issue--they need to believe the perception that their leaders are the sole channel being used by God to bring salvation to the earth.When faced with the questions "If Jehovah chooses all the elders by holy spirit, why do some of them molest children, and "Why is the organization as whole denying that child molestation is a problem within the organization that needs to be dealt with?", it's easier to kill the messenger than deal with a blow to their spiritual paradise.

16

movies to make them think

by showme in

any suggestions on movie rentals that might make a jw think.

or maybe present new or other possibilities?

"what dreams may come" is a good one that i know of, so....any sugestions?

Cicatrix

While still an active witness, I found The Matrix and Pink Floyd's The Wall to be disturbing on a level that I didn't understand at the time.My daughter was also affected by the Matrix.I like The Scarlett Letter a lot, too, but the book explains it a lot better than the movie.

Stepford Wives comes to mind also.

Another thing that really made us think was the song by Creed entitled "What If".But most Witnesses won't listen to them, because they say they are a religious band, due to the religious symbolism in some of the songs. My daughter used to carry around an article from a magazine in which they stated that they were NOT a religious band:)