Posts by Heartsafire

35

Hey! Wanted to say Hi!

by Miss Worldly in

jw
friends

hey!

i've been hanging around her for a while.

this is the third attempt at my 'hello'.

Heartsafire

Hey there Miss Worldly! Love your username. Can't wait to hear more about you and what brings you to this site 😊.

112

Did an EX-JW wake you up to TTATT or did you put the effort to wake up yourself?

by John Aquila in

how many of us were woken up by some apostate yelling false prophets at a convention?.

how many of us were woken up by someone holding a sign and yelling, what happened to 1975.

how many of us were coerced to investigate the wt because some ex-jw pulled up a bunch of old watchtowers magazines and told us to read the false predictions?.

I woke up myself. No apostates necessary. As far back as I can recall, I have always been somewhat aware that it wasn't the truth. I wasn't fully awake until this year, but there were always things I heard or saw within the org that didn't sit right with me. About a month ago I stumbled acrossed an old diary I kept around the time I got baptized. In one entry I had written that I thought JW's twist scripture to make it fit their doctrine. Sheesh. Hindsight is 20/20.

22

Similarities between the Governing Body and an abusive spouse

by Zoos in

i was looking at a list of methods used by abusive spouses to manipulate and control their "domain" and was struck by how similar the mentality is to the governing body's approach to the flock.

obviously not everything on the list applies as there is no sexual component in the congregation and there is no physical contact, but the similarities were shocking.. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/domestic-violence-and-abuse.htm.

abusers use a variety of tactics to manipulate you and exert their power:.

Heartsafire

Wow Zoos! This is a great point! The gas lighting, the deceit, the manipulation, etc. Not to mention the literal abuse of thousands of children covered up and hidden away. No wonder their followers are so co-dependent (or sadistically jump on the abuse bandwagon themselves).

25

Hello. New here.

by ULFBERHT in

jw
friends

new around here.

wanted to say "hello".. +ulfberh+t.

Heartsafire

Cool story behind your username! I'm rather new here myself, but it's not so bad:-). Hello there and welcome!

34

Belief in God Can Be Turned Off Like a Light Switch

by cofty in

researchers in york used magnetic stimulation to target an area of the brain called the medial frontal cortex in a group of volunteers.

a control group received a sham treatment.. both groups were asked to think about death.

the group who experienced the magnetic energy reported 32.8% less belief in angels, god and heaven.. when faced with difficult challenges people often take refuge in ideology.

Heartsafire

Obviously this study was conducted only on people who believe in angels, God, and heaven. I wonder what would happen if it were conducted on atheists? Nothing? Or, what about conducting this experiment on people who are polytheists? Agnostics? It would be interesting to see how conviction of belief might be altered acrossed various belief systems. And...oh no I've gone cross-eyed. 😲

101

My mom passed away yesterday....

by minimus in

jw
friends

thank you all for your sincere encouragement during these last few weeks.

finally, she is at peace.

i was with her , holding her hand when she died.

Heartsafire

Minimus,

My heart goes out to you. It is obvious that you and your mother shared a special relationship. A beautiful example of love conquering all. I am so sorry for your loss.💐

HAF

30

"The likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed"

by nicolaou in

presidential hopeful ben carson of course.

this isn't another gun control debate, i just thought it might be fun to have a topic where we can dump all the hysterical quotes from the candidates.. it's a deep and plentiful mine folks!

.

Heartsafire

Wielding a knife...sorry guys...autocorrect can be a real b***h

30

"The likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed"

by nicolaou in

presidential hopeful ben carson of course.

this isn't another gun control debate, i just thought it might be fun to have a topic where we can dump all the hysterical quotes from the candidates.. it's a deep and plentiful mine folks!

.

Heartsafire

I don't own a gun. But lately I have been thinking about buying a rifle of some sort simply for my own protection at home. I am not a large nor muscular woman, and if a man broke into my home yielding only a knife I would be pretty defenseless.

I don't believe guns are the solution to all the problems in the US, but I don't think banning them is either.

One of the problems with gun control is that it is merely an illusion. Only responsible gun owners would be the ones punished by gun control laws because guns are SO easy to come by illegally in the U.S. Unfortunately, I happen to know people who have dabbled in this criminal activity as they are convicted felons with violent backgrounds and have no trouble buying or trading firearms under the table so-to-speak.

Although guns are easy to come by, ammunition is less so, and very expensive too. It probably would be easier for the government to ban the manufacturing of certain ammos and/or tax the bejeezus out of ammo that is made in effort to control it better. Just some food for thought. I'm not really persuaded any one direction for or against guns, but I definately feel like using them for protection or hunting is a-okay.

36

Hello to everybody!

by John Free in

jw
friends

i wanted to introduce myself.

like many of you i was born-in, am married with one child.

after 36 years of this cycle: doubts-thought stopping- suppression- indoctrination-cult mode i realised enough was enough.

Heartsafire

John,

Welcome! I'm new here too! Unfortunately my family is still "asleep" including my husband. But hopefully I can wake him up in time. How great that you could get out with your whole family!

For me the last straw was the child abuse in Australia. Just shows how far they will go to maintain appearances for new recruits at the expense of innocent children.

Heartsafire

65

Introducing...ME

by Heartsafire in

jw
friends

long time lurker here.

i'm a fifth gen born-in baptized jw.

to say i've been struggling with doubts is an understatement.

Heartsafire

To: Zoos, JWdaughter, Konceptual 99, Bonsai, Syme, SecretSlave, freemindfade,magnum, millie210, Iownmylife, never a jw, crazy guy, kiddingme, kairos, tenacious, Marvin Shilmer, and Lostwun:

Thanks! I am so glad to be here!

To Diogenesister:

Isn't it ironic the JWs call it The Truth when they are being lied to? I can't really put my finger on it, but I have noticed the congs in general seem to be less tight knit. We can only hope some are actually waking up.

Tornintwo:

Thanks for the recommended reads. I have read COC and it was a real eye opener. No CO visit for me yet, thank goodness. I don't know if I could hold back once I get going. If I DA or get DF'd I will lose so many. Isn't that sick? What a cult.

The Searcher:

Thank you for reminding me to take care of myself first. I often forget to make myself a priority.

Iggy:

Yes my family has a lot of stories about the early days. It's a lot of duped people if you ask me. But I guess I break the mold, and sounds like you do too.

tornapart:

I completely agree with your view on free will. That was a beautiful point. Sounds like you are one extremely intelligent, patient woman.

punkofnice:

I am so sorry to hear about your marriage dissolving. I read about it earlier on a seperate thread. We as humans should be allowed to grow and change without fear of our family abandoning us if we do. If my husband ever leaves me due to my changing beliefs then I will know that he didn't really love me for ME and the marriage wouldn't have lasted irregardless of my change. P.o.n. I hope you are healing and have found your niche in this world. I know this forum wouldn't be the same without you.

possum:

Thanks! I love your strategy for fading!

Dissonant 15:

Thanks for sharing your story. I am always biting my tongue around my family especially when it comes to news I've read on here. I usually tell my husband when there are big announcements to be made but he is tight with the eldubs and often gets new info early anyway. Grrrr.

Stephane Laliberte:

Thank you! That is so true how WT manipulates is into seeing the org as incapable of corruption on a systemic level. Sick sick sick. Congrats on you and your wife's fade. I must admit I'm a bit jealous.

no-zombie:

Thanks for the advice! I hope your prediction about the WT is correct. Sorry to hear your wife is still in. You are a cult survivor. Maybe she will be too.

LisaRose:

Thank you for your recommendation on the book, I will definately check it out. I most certainly do know that the direct approach sucketh. When I was first waking up, I was rather scared, and would approach my husband with these questions that probably freaked him out. Of course he didn't know the answers, but only pointed me to the WT library to do my own research, which actually helped me wake up faster!

feelingfree:

Thank you and I hope to have success as you have. I'm not holding my breathe, but hey, a girl can dream.

The Listener,

Your post totally made me chuckle when you described how your wife immediately sees through your attempts to plant seeds of doubt. Sounds like you two have found a way to make the marriage work no matter what, though.

Absalom:

Touche my friend. That is so true--My great great grandparents are simply the same gen as me.

Faye:

That is so awesome to hear about your success outside of the org and in waking your husband. I've noticed that my husband is a lot happier and more relaxed when he is not worried about serve-us or meetings. I honestly don't think he is happy as a JW, but he can't admit that yet.

Eden One:

Thank you and congrats on helping to wake up Mrs. Eden:-)

Sofia Lose:

My heart goes out to you. I wish you all the best in your situation.

Gayle:

That is awesome! Good for you! I love success stories like yours--it gives me hope!

Vidiot:

I totally agree with you! There's no way I could defend WT Stand regarding child abuse issues or false doctrines. Anything I might attempt to say would be an excuse based upon half truths. I don't love the org, and I refuse to lie for them. Jerks.

Giordano:

Thank you for your advice! Speaking from experience, it takes a will of adamantium (X-men fans: did I spell that correctly?) steel to stay positive and upbeat when he is in cult mode. However, I'm up for the challenge. WT, look out.

I hope I didn't miss anybody. See you around:-)

Heartsafire