Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

Joined

• started 16 topics
• posted 1,133 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

• 
  7

  Undue Influence

  by Lee Elder in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is what "undue influence" looks like.

  it's how you train someone to abandon their children, become a martyr, and drink the kool-aid.

  watchtower november 15, 2013. p.19, para.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  Contrasted that quote with another one to highlight the murderous recklessness of the current eight cult leaders:

  
  
• 
  46

  What is the most troubling or disturbing biblical passage you ever had to rationalise when a Jw?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now that we have stepped away from the jw faith, how do you feel about the bible itself?.

  what about those awkward sections of scripture?

  how did you rationalise or justify those sections?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  The appetizing account included in the Holy Book about King Eglon:

  "Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it." -Judges 3:21,22

  Holy sh*t. Literally.

  Usually, I'm pretty smooth sailing with sick humor. Ask any one of my buddies and they'll point to me, like "she's the gross one".But at the time that passage was being considered for the weekly Bible reading, I was pregnant with major morning sickness and nausea.

  My father and I were doing the Bible reading together and I was so sickened by the idea of feces oozing out of a pierced, tub of lard like Eglon. I remember being so furious that those details just HAD to be included in the scriptures. I actually stopped my old man from reading and told him that was the most revolting thing I'd ever read - why the hell would the Bible even say that?!

  
  
• 
  20

  Celebrating a birthday for the 1st time

  by Whynot in

  1. social
  2. family

  after almost a year of thinking and eh feeling, not sure... i decided to throw a small birthday party for my son.

  this feels so strange, i have never been to a birthday party.

  my husband doesn't feel comfortable with it but he decided to play along lol.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  @Whynot: "How was it for you guys?"

  I never, ever thought I'd be celebrating birthdays when I first woke up. I still had that horrible feeling of dread associated with the concept. And when @stuckinarut2 and @Unstuck invited me to their joint birthday party, I held the invitation they'd handed me with the same trepidation of clutching a .45 semi automatic.

  I did go. And what unfolded was one of the most pleasant and happy experiences I could possibly associate with birthday celebrations.

  

  
  

  

  

  I loved it that much and was so inspired that a month later, I gave my son his very first birthday:

  
  

  You're creating memories for your child, @Whynot. And, if you're anything like me, you might get that frog in your throat the first time you see your child's face light up with delight as everyone unites to honor them for the afternoon. There's nothing more rewarding than gifting your child with the happiness of celebrating their life. It's a gift we were robbed of, so it's extra special when we bestow it upon the new generation of cult-free children. xxx
• 
  56

  Spiritual "Protection" - a Menace on Psychological Development

  by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not quite a week ago, @lost in the fog created a thread entitled: do you have this illness?.

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5187824140681216/do-you-have-this-illness.

  in my year of being on this forum, i have browsed many a disillusioned thread of ex-jehovah’s witnesses expressing similar symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder when detailing their awakening - my own story included.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  Not quite a week ago, @Lost in the fog created a thread entitled: Do you have this illness?

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5187824140681216/do-you-have-this-illness

  He provided a link to an article which discussed a condition known as Post Traumatic Church Syndrome.

  In my year of being on this forum, I have browsed many a disillusioned thread of ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses expressing similar symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when detailing their awakening - my own story included.

  It’s interesting to note that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs when a person encounters an experience that blows out the axioms of their knowledge system. It’s just so unexpected that they cannot account for it within the confines of the system that they’re using to interpret the world. It’s no surprise then that for all those who had their belief system painfully shattered, the common denominator was a distinct lack of critical thinking over the years.

  In a religious sense, such as Post Traumatic Church Syndrome, we can identify Watchtower’s overly simplistic system of interpreting things (“Satan’s world versus God’s organization”) as the breaking point for many encumbered minds upon awakening. (As a side point, perhaps this would explain why so many current Jehovah’s Witnesses subconsciously refuse to entertain their cognitive dissonance.)

  As Witnesses, we were completely naïve and unaware of the full catastrophe of propagandistic indoctrination from a genuinely trusted source. So when we encountered the betrayal and the onslaught of lies that have shaped our very existence, our brains (figuratively speaking) exploded amidst the collapse of our belief system - and oftentimes by extension, our belief in belief systems.

  I don’t believe it is an accident that so many who leave the organization experience a breakdown of sorts. This is a malevolent setup for failure that Watchtower has been administering in our lives since the word “go”. Allow me to explain.

  Jehovah’s Witnesses have been groomed to possess inherently lazy thinking abilities. Intellectual responsibility is frequently delegated (“I don’t understand this teaching, but hey - I’m sure whoever wrote this study article knows what they’re talking about”), and thinking skills are outsourced (“allow me to answer that question by directing you to a link here on this great website).

  The high-control nature of the Watchtower organization micromanages its members to the extent of their dress and grooming, the qualities they must favor when considering a prospective mate, the family members they must withdraw love from, the circle of friends they must tolerate, the kind of apps they should either download or remove from their smartphones, the kind of career (or lack thereof) they should pursue, which parts of their anatomy that are strictly off limits, and the weekly timetable members are expected to adhere to.

  In a 2017 Broadcast, viewers were endowed with the “blessing” of Watchtower removing the strenuous activity of mulling over how to spend their Saturday mornings by implementing rigid timetables of reserving that day for field service each and every week. This is the degree Watchtower is stripping its infantalized members from decision-making abilities.

  “But it’s a protection to have these decisions made for us already,” we once may have reasoned. “I don’t see it as a restriction at all. Imagine trying to play tennis without a surrounding cage encasing the court. We need these barriers!”

  Wrong.

  Herein lies the very problem for those exiting the organization. All their life, their problems were stolen from them. The remedy? A Watchtower article. A publication to study. A public talk. A Daily Text. An elder who will gently steer you in the direction of one of the aforementioned “solutions”. Every. Damn. Time. Teachers, mentors, instructors or authors of any belief system who are sincerely interested in the personal development and growth of their followers operate under a very simple guideline: Don’t steal the problem.

  I see the invitation to overstep arise time after time as a mother. But if I’m going to help my son progress as a human being and grow into a well-rounded adult, my attitude is clear: “you have some problems. If you come talk to me I’ll help you figure out how to solve them. However, I will not spell out for you how to solve them. I won’t steal your problems.”

  Watchtower’s suppressive approach to the flock freezes their development to that of a helpless child, unaware that critical thinking even exists. It strips members of opportunities to solve their own problems under the guise of protecting them and dressing it up as “convenience”. That is theft. It is the Oedipal situation of the overprotective mother detrimental to one’s psychological development. (Though the father can play that role too, I’ll stick with the archetypal representation already mentioned.)

  The fact is, Watchtower “protected” many a sincere Witness at the cost of their ability to protect themselves. It destroys people’s adaptive confidence, and it disarms them in the mental chaos of leaving the organization. This is a cruel setup which has lead to the PTSD symptoms many of us experienced upon awakening, leaving us in a bewildered, heartbroken, confused and shattered state.

  My heart goes out to all those who leave the organization under indoctrinated terms. They’ve walked unarmed into the world; a complete ingénue to the harsh realities that can only be learned through the possession of critical thinking and experience. A downhill spiral can subsequently be predicted, if not expected.

  Looking back on things with seen-it-all eyes, I can confidently assert that life is an error-riddled process. Having all the answers supposedly available from an insulated society prevents growth and propagates disaster for those who dare set foot outside of the provided parameters. Am I suggesting it’s healthy to scull the proverbial cup of poison Witnesses so frequently refer to when asked why they have nothing to do with the “world”?

  Not exactly. While there’s real utility in staying within a bounded domain of existence, the problem is that there may be information outside of that domain that you absolutely need to know. And this is precisely the case for Jehovah’s Witnesses. And so, part of the problem of being awake on the outside is that you have to continually determine how much you’re going to maintain your stability and how much you’re willing to explore. That stable “Watchtower” part of us was outdated before we even hit our teen years.

  For all who have newly escaped and have perhaps stumbled upon this forum, my advice is to equip yourself with shrewd, critical thinking skills. Know your opponents. Anticipate less-than-desirable outcomes. Believe people when they show you their true colors rather than idealistically rationalizing your emotions around them. Arm yourself with the strength to never again encounter something like your awakening that could suck the air out of your lungs and fill your head with white noise. From pain comes growth.

  On behalf of everyone on this forum, welcome to the autonomous reality of your life.
• 
  5

  Seeing convention post on Instagram

  by Addison0998 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i find it funny that our watchtower today was about encouragement, which was absolutly mind numbing during the meeting the way they conduct the watchtower in my hall and beat a dead horse trying to milk points out, (everyone was half asleep and the conductor had to repeat questions to the audience multiple times lol).

  but anyways, i’m seeing some post witnesses are making about the convention saying things like, i really need to get my act together and we need to make adjustments.

  wow!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  @stuckinarut2: Good luck buddy!"

  Addison's a girl, lol.
• 
  80

  Are we losing our way a bit at JWN?

  by nicolaou in

  1. forum
  2. suggestions

  firstly, i want to be crystal clear how grateful i am for jwn.

  it's been my place of support for over seventeen years and it's the first online space i direct anyone to if they are taking steps out of the cult.

  i am not bashing jwn - i love this place and appreciate the hard work and expense simon puts in to keep it going.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  @stuckinarut2: "Why dont we all start to post some more biblical, or JW based doctrinal observations again? If a thought comes to mind, please share it. You never know if it sparks anothers person's interest and ideas.

  I guess it is up to us to change the atmosphere here if we want to."

  Duly noted. I'll put together a post tonight for lurkers or newcomers to have a read. Hopefully it benefits someone out there. Thanks for the call to action.
• 
  31

  Things to do when im at the new 2018 convention

  by Akid48 in

  1. forum
  2. suggestions

  well, its that time where i have to go to the boring convention.

  so, i wanted to know if anyone had any good ideas on how too pass the time (i cant just try and listen i fall will asleep and i cant let that happen).. (only got a few weeks before i have to go its going too kill me but i got too do it).

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  @stuckinarut2 I didn't want to subtract from this great thread by going off on a mathsturbation tan-gent.
• 
  12

  I'm a best man to a fader and his family who are JWs are attending

  by usualusername1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm a best man to a fader like myself and just now i have found out that 1/3 of guests are jws.

  .

  would love some ideas on things to say in the speech to not cause offense to them.. thx in advance.. paul.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  @stuckinarut2 No need to apologize - we're all just bouncing ideas around here :).
• 
  31

  Things to do when im at the new 2018 convention

  by Akid48 in

  1. forum
  2. suggestions

  well, its that time where i have to go to the boring convention.

  so, i wanted to know if anyone had any good ideas on how too pass the time (i cant just try and listen i fall will asleep and i cant let that happen).. (only got a few weeks before i have to go its going too kill me but i got too do it).

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  @ttdtt We're not talking about math anymore, are we.
• 
  34

  How to spot awake JW at a convention

  by Akid48 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i cant spot one to save my life, so i wanted to now if any one could me figure out how..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  @Ex_JWs Brazil That is incredible. I remember in the meetings I'd see people turn on something called "AirDrop" on their iPads. Instantly, you'll see a list of other iPads being used in that hall (eg: Carly's iPad, Barry's iPad, etc). This AirDrop feature apparently enables iPad users to wirelessly transmit files to one another from across the hall, if I understand it correctly. Why not rename yours to something like @Ex_JWs Brazil's suggestion and start wirelessly sending apostate material to any other iPads that appear on your AirDrop list? Maybe save some of the many PDFs on waking up Jehovah's Witnesses and use that as your go-to file? I don't think anyone can physically trace it back to your tablet!