Posts by Xanthippe

9

Good books

by Freedom rocks in

jw
friends

can any one recommend any good books to read that have come out in the last few years?

i haven't read a good book in a long time and i'd like to get into reading again.

i'm not into autobiographies or sports books.

Xanthippe

I enjoyed new sci fi novels, Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel.

35

The Constant Mindchatter After You Leave

by pale.emperor in

i've been out almost 2 years now and consider myself wide awake to watchtower propaganda and well on my way to recovery from the mental abuse we've all experienced.. one thing that just will not go is that i constantly think of jwism and watchtower and get myself all annoyed at their lies and blatant twisting of facts in their broadcasts and magazines.

it's so bad that it's the first thing i think of when i wake up, then i have these mental arguments in my head proving the jw teachings false and then getting annoyed because no jw will listen even if you tried to tell them.

i call this constant thinking and mental reasoning and mental arguing "mindchatter".

Xanthippe

Perhaps you need a break from this site? Stop talking about it at least for a while? The mind chatter about the Borg fades, really it does. I understand that in some ways we cannot get to the end of the traumatic experience because our relatives and friends won't listen and the cult still exists.

I just worked on not being angry, getting qualifications and getting a job, a house and a life. There isn't any closure, I understand. Just work on making it fade and being busy enjoying your life.

8

Barbara Harrison

by Diogenesister in

has anyone read barbara harrison's book "visions of glory" ( 1978), and if so what did you think?.

apparently she is an exjw and feminist author, who used to write for ms magazine, who has a good reputation among scholars.

i'm surprised i haven't heard of her given that she seems to be fairly respected as an author and political commentator.. anyone have anything they can tell me about her please?.

Xanthippe

I haven't heard of her but I'd like to read her book.

6

Self Exam for your Mind: Are you really "Free" from Watchtower mentality?

by TerryWalstrom in

imagine a knock at the door.who is there?it is an optometrist offering free eye exams!come in--come in.within months, you're wearing a new pair of specially prescribed glasses...and seeing things differently.____.

jehovah's witnesses wear "those" glasses.we all wore them.the lenses colored what we saw and the feedback from the governing body "explained" why things didn't look the same.

"only now--are you seeing the truth," they whisper.. _____.

Xanthippe

I love this Terry, thanks. Waking up and finding your life around your ankles! That is so expressive of what happened to my husband and myself.

In the main my perceptions are pretty healthy now after about three decades out. Occasionally I find myself getting a little paranoid when people are being difficult.

Paranoia I think is overkill of the survival instinct added to an overdose of cortisol from prolonged stress. As long as you can recognise it early you're okay. It doesn't mean the world is going to hell and everyone is a monster.

15

This is my story

by paradiseseeker in

i've already posted in this forum but i haven't told you my story.

nowadays i'm a pimo in my late 20s from spain.. i was born in the cult and i can say that during my whole childhood and most of my teenage years i believed in this.

however, i felt that here was something wrong with me, as i wasn't comfortable telling people i was jw, talking about jw stuff, nor did i feel "excited" and "grateful" whenever a watchtower publication told me that i should.

Xanthippe

Paradiseseeker so good to read your success story. You have done so well getting your degree and now preparing to teach. My daughter got a bachelors and masters in English literature too and is currently working at a school as a teaching assistant to see if she wants to do teacher training.

Wishing you well in your exams and as you begin your first teaching job. I'm sorry it's so hard losing family and friends as you leave this cult but you are a person who makes friends easily by the sound of it so you will be fine. Who knows if you leave one day your family and some of your JW friends may follow you.

14

Bucket list

by Jrjw in

does anyone have a bucket list and has it helped you achieve anything?

someone said i should do one.

Xanthippe

https://daringtolivefully.com/bucket-list-ideas

This site has 10,000+ bucket list ideas. It's not for old people, it's for living your life fully. There are hundreds more of these sites.

14

Bucket list

by Jrjw in

does anyone have a bucket list and has it helped you achieve anything?

someone said i should do one.

Xanthippe

I thought that was something to do after you hit 50 and realized you were now much closer to your death than to your birth.

There's a lot of books around now with titles like fifty places to see before you die, a hundred books you must read before you die. Not everyone is terrified of the d-word and many people are making their 'must do' lists earlier and earlier.

14

Bucket list

by Jrjw in

does anyone have a bucket list and has it helped you achieve anything?

someone said i should do one.

Xanthippe

Yes I wanted to get a degree, go to Paris, Rome, Florence, the US and Canada. Create a beautiful garden, learn to drive (finally managed it at 42), volunteer for something actually useful.

Having done all that I want to go to India (going next month); see lots of mountains, I don't mind where; learn to paint better paintings and maybe sell some.

49

When Will Jehovah`s Witnesses Appoint A Woman As A Governing Body Member.? It`s Long Overdue !

by smiddy3 in

jw
friends

jehovah himself gives the saying "the women telling the good news are a large army" psalms 68 : 11 coupled with the fact that a good portion of women partake of the emblems and wine at the annual memorial celebration.. identifying themselves as part of the 144000 that are taken from the earth to rule with christ jesus in the heavens.. isn`t it about time they were recognized for their contributions and given the fact that gods word the bible clearly states that 144,000 of anointed are to be taken from the earth which many women are a large part of.?.

revelation ch.14 :4 could be argued that they are not lesbians { "these are the ones who do not defile themselves with women ,in fact they are virgins, etc,etc.}.

i wonder just how many men who claim to be of the anointed have not defiled themselves with women and are virgins.?.

Xanthippe

A woman GB member?

20

Don't Try to Choose Your Beliefs

by cofty in

beliefs are not things to be chosen like new clothes; authentic beliefs happen to us without our conscious attention.. i have often seen comments from ex-jws to the effect that they are now unsure about what they 'ought' to believe.

others express offense when their chosen beliefs are challenged and well-meaning bystanders protest that everybody is entitled to believe whatever they wish.

this misunderstanding of what it means to believe something is unhelpful.. it's natural to want to quickly replace our old beliefs when our worldview has collapsed around us.

Xanthippe

It's true you don't need to choose beliefs. If you keep reading and exploring new ideas after you leave the religion then beliefs will be the things that fall between the facts that you are absolutely sure of, things that are scientifically proven beyond reasonable doubt for example. Beliefs will be the things that you can see a lot of evidence for and that fit your world model so far but you are not 100% sure of yet.