I went to my mother's funeral in her Kingdom Hall ten years ago. It was the one I grew up in and all the people I knew as a child were there but they didn't speak to me. Very odd experience. Afterwards when we went to a pub for sandwiches three young men in their twenties came up to my nine-year-old daughter and said we are your long lost cousins. They all said the same thing and nothing else and eventually walked away. She found that very odd too. I really don't know if I want to repeat that experience if I am still here when my siblings pass. I suppose I will have to see how I feel at the time.
Xanthippe
JoinedPosts by Xanthippe
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68
If Your JW Parent Died Would YOU Go To The Kingdom Hall For The Talk?
by minimus ini would like your thoughts, please..
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Elder Tells Study to stop using google for research ???
by raymond frantz inelder tells study internet is bad for research.
(watch the video here...).
it might be that the watchtower has embraced the internet in recent years as never before but in private things are the same .watch this video as an elder strongly discourages a study from using the internet to get answers.shameless mind control from the same people who promote in any kind shape and form their version of online truth ,jw.org.. not many years ago they used to demonise the internet as the following quote from july 2007 kingdom ministry shows:.
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Xanthippe
Thank you Raymond Frantz. What an idiot this elder is. No wonder people like my brother want to be elders and don't want to leave. How they love to tell people what to do! Uneducated people spouting nonsense, I don't know how anyone stands it. He oozes arrogance from every pore. If you set out to design an organisation to trap all the idiots who know nothing about anything but love telling people how to live you couldn't have hit on anything better than this cult. So, so glad I am away from these fuckwits.
According to this guy, they think they are the equivalent to Jesus on the earth and so people should ask them theological questions rather than looking at the wealth of information on the internet. Wow and I wonder why my relatives stay! A place for all the thick people in the world to feel at home.
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Are you an "out of the closet" atheist?
by rebel8 ini'm atheist and not ashamed of it.
however, it is so politically incorrect, especially where i live.
i have a legitimate concern that being out of the closet too much will hurt my career or neighborly relations--i know for a fact it probably would.. i'm really cautious about who i tell.. how about you?
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Xanthippe
I like what you said Terry.
In the UK we do not talk to our neighbours or work colleagues about our religious beliefs or lack of them. People would think we are weird. It's a personal thing which is why it was hell trying to talk to strangers about it at the behest of a crackpot American religion. We do talk to close friends about life, the universe and everything, usually in a quiet moment with a glass of wine or a beer
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Every Sperm is Wasted
by berrygerry innever watched "the meaning of life" as it was taboo.. the song every sperm is wasted.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/every_sperm_is_sacred.
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/monty-python/every-sperm-is-sacred.html.
funny movie.. thoughts?.
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Xanthippe
Love the Life of Brian.
'And there shall in that time be rumours of things going astray, and there will be a great confusion as to where things really are, and nobody will really know where lieth those little things with the sort of raffia work base, that has an attachment…at this time, a friend shall lose his friends’s hammer and the young shall not know where lieth the things possessed by their fathers that their fathers put there only just the night before around eight o’clock...'
So funny.
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What do you want for Christmas?
by Hortensia init's ok to share your xmas wishes here -- none of us is going to buy you anything, anyway!.
i have a list of books on my wishlist at amazon, some about critical thinking, some about knitting, some about yurok indian basketry.
i wouldn't mind getting any of those.
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Xanthippe
Oh that's so cute, I want a fairy too. Reminds me of when my baby girl was that age, such a precious time.
I would like some perfume, some coffee flavoured chocolates or rum truffles and someone to clean the whole house for me before I put the tree up next weekend.
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local needs "are you spiritually grown up?"
by sylvlef inyesterday local needs was this theme.
are you spiritually grown up.. summary: if you are between 18-35 and not ms or elder, you lazy idiot are like a child.
at this age, especially if you grew up in "da trooooth" you have no issue with jw.org doctrine right (how do you know...?
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Xanthippe
Xanthippe, your post really resonates with me. It's the small-mindedness that I can't stand. It's largely what started me on my way out of the org. These people have no ambition for personal achievements or self-expression, no desire to contribute to society. They're just culture-less bumps on a log. - Apog
Culture-less bumps on a log! Lol. Don't stay too long Apog. It has taken me so long to learn to stop pretending I'm stupid so as not to make other people feel inferior after being in that cult. It is worse for women of course. They really dislike clever people but they detest clever women. It becomes so difficult to hold onto who you are after a while if you have something about you. Hope you manage to fade soon.
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Were we spiritually abused? Did or do we need spiritual healing?
by Fernando inand if so what are our options?.
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Xanthippe
Yes we were spiritually abused. We were beaten into submission until our whole being shrunk inside us and we became a mindless machine that could only obey rules and dared not think for ourselves for fear of losing everything.
Years ago my husband and I saw a spy film where a captured spy was tortured by one day being told the rules of the prison and the next day the rules were changed without anyone telling him. He did something wrong and was punished. Following the rules to the letter the next day he found the rules had been changed again and was punished. This went on for days and no matter what he did he couldn't get it right. He was emotionally beaten to a pulp. My husband and I recognized this torture straight away. In the WTS you cannot win. You cannot get everything right and still hold onto your spirit/ authentic self.
What heals us? Music can be very healing, I found classical choral music very spiritual. I love the sound of the human voice, but not singing silly love songs.
Poetry, don't knock it until you've tried it . A poem is a way of encapsulating a few thoughts and making them full of human feeling and experience. There is a lot of deep poetry about human emotional pain and finding healing.
Walking for miles in the countryside helped me. Blue skies, open spaces, wildlife, fresh air, all very healing.
Cooking, whether cooking something new or your favourite comfort food. Looking after yourself carefully like you would a small hurt animal until you begin to mend.
Creativity is good. Art, craft and again cooking is very creative. I love the chemistry of cooking, taking a pile of basic ingredients and mixing them in a certain way, putting them in the oven and voila! Pure magic.
Just one or two good friends who you can really talk to can be very healing. Having a glass or two of wine with a friend and pouring your heart out can be very good. Listen to them too. They may not have been in a cult but you will be surprised how many people know about rifts in families and being shunned by family members who don't agree with their lifestyle. It is more common than you think.
If you don't have anyone to talk to try counselling. It helped me enormously.
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local needs "are you spiritually grown up?"
by sylvlef inyesterday local needs was this theme.
are you spiritually grown up.. summary: if you are between 18-35 and not ms or elder, you lazy idiot are like a child.
at this age, especially if you grew up in "da trooooth" you have no issue with jw.org doctrine right (how do you know...?
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Xanthippe
Sylvief, when I left my mother said, the whole family is spiritually progressing and you're being left behind'!
Ha! I was studying for a degree. Nothing more spiritual than expanding your mind with knowledge.
JWs in general are about as 'spiritual' as my left shoe. - NAVYTOWN
Exactly! They have no interest in literature, they quote Paul blathering on about devotion to reading books being wearisome. It's alright to keep churning out their repetitive trash though isn't it?
No interest in fine art - all done by immoral people and homosexuals they say. Creativity for yourself is a waste of time, don't learn to paint or draw, better to wonder the streets waving leaflets about.
No interest in science. All scientists are evil having done nothing good for the world except to deceive us with evolution. Never mind that they would be dead without surgery, antibiotics and immunisation. Never mind indoor plumbing, central heating, electric light, TV, computers, phones, cars, fridges, microwaves, coffee makers, cookers.....................
No interest in travelling to see beautiful places, just think we can all see those countries in the new system. Bah! No interest in other cultures, new experiences. Typical of small minded people, who don't want to get to know anyone who isn't exactly like them.
They wouldn't know a spiritual experience if it bit them in the ass.
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New Star Wars movie trailer
by poopsiecakes inthe first trailer has been released!
true confession - i'm kind of a geek, always loved star wars and it gave me a bit of a lady boner.
anyone who knows the franchise is probably familiar with the character wedge antilles.
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Xanthippe
Looks really good from the trailer, Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings.
I visited the beautiful villa on lake Como, Italy where Padme and Anakin got married. Didn't go to Italy especially for that, it's just a beautiful spot. I'm not that geeky :)
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A fourth generation JW on the way
by Xanthippe into my nephew,.
your other aunt phoned my non-jw cousin, so i know your wife is expecting a baby in the new year.
congratulations!
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Xanthippe
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and experiences.
Dear nephew if you are lurking here I will be here whenever you need me. If you've been on here for a while you will know that there are thousands of ex-JWs who understand exactly how your life has been. If you contact me it will be completely confidential because I know your parents will never leave. I would never risk anything that could hurt you.
I have your telephone number you know. My dad gave it to me. After Grandma died he wanted me to phone your mum about something but I said there's not much point and he demanded to know why and the whole sorry story came out. The whole JW thing went over his head I'm afraid. He begged me to phone your mum and try and straighten it out. He said he had phoned her and would I get in contact, do it for my sake he said. So I did, she put the phone down on me. I didn't phone Grandad back, didn't want to upset him. Two days later he died so the last thing he tried to do in his life was bring his family together.
So even though I have your parents' telephone number and also yours I have never bothered any of you, never tried to preach at you about your religion. It is entirely up to you. Have a wonderful life, enjoy your lovely baby, they grow so fast.
xx