Studying the art of bonsai. Making and studying Japanese gardens. Planting in a butterfly garden. Collecting specimens for my butterfly display case. Climbing mountains on the weekends. Making moss terrariums. Working and playing with nature really soothes the mind.
Bonsai
JoinedPosts by Bonsai
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21
Constructive hobbies
by zeb inhm have a hobby?
im not asking what.. hm have taken up a constructive hobby since leaving?.
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Bonsai
Man I love me some zombies. I gotta say, watching The Walking dead (I just got to season 4) has been so therapeutic for me. I relate so much to the survivors who are struggling to stay sane, preserve their morals, all while the world as they know it has collapsed and deteriorated to the point where you can trust nothing and no one. Losing your core beliefs is like having the world as you know it morph into zombie land. Yet they fight on hoping that some clarity and good will eventual come out from all the madness.
Hershel Greene:"I can't profess to understand God's plan, Christ promised the resurrection of the dead. I just thought he had something a little different in mind." LOL
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37
Advice needed on Crisis of Conscience
by cappytan inso, some of you may have seen my thread from yesterday about my wife waking up.. we had further discussion yesterday evening after i sent her the pbs video on the abuse scandals plaguing the watchtower.
she was so furious and pissed off at wt hq.
apparently a close relative of her's was abused by an elder and the only reason he was reproved and removed as an elder was because he confessed.
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Bonsai
What really made my wife wake up was her seeing how shielded and inaccessible the GB are. You can't talk to them or ask questions. There are layers of procedures necessary to get through to them It's about as hard to get to them as it is to ask Kim Jong Un directly why his country is such a backward mess. Jesus didn't hide from critics. He answered their accusations often times putting himself in great danger. These guys hide in their Ivory Tower behind their army of body guards and lawyers. There are never any "live" press conferences where questions can be asked and answered without a script. Everything is controlled. Everything is scripted. Everything is sanitized. It was revealing to me when John Cedars actually got through to Anthony Morris's office phone. Here was a chance for Anthony Morris to defend the faith, yet as soon as he knew the guy on the other line wasn't a company yes man, he chuckled to himself and hung up like a coward. People who put up complex fire walls like this do so for only one reason-- They gotta lot to hide.
When I first "woke up" to the reality of things, I stopped everything. I went AWOL. Nobody knew what happened to me. It was very stressful for my wife as she was still in. Trying to rush her almost got me kicked out of the house. It's best not to hurry these things. You can lead a horse to water, but they have to be the one to decide how much to drink and when to drink it.
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37
Advice needed on Crisis of Conscience
by cappytan inso, some of you may have seen my thread from yesterday about my wife waking up.. we had further discussion yesterday evening after i sent her the pbs video on the abuse scandals plaguing the watchtower.
she was so furious and pissed off at wt hq.
apparently a close relative of her's was abused by an elder and the only reason he was reproved and removed as an elder was because he confessed.
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Bonsai
I got to a similar point with my wife. I then gave her the book to read in her own language. She had gotten only half way through before she was convinced that the org was just speculating, making things up as they go along like any other religion. What really made her stop going to meetings was Losch costing the society 13.5 million not showing up to a summons. When she found out about that she was done with donations and done with meetings. You don't just walk away from 13.5 mil. Losch knew there could be no victory. Actions speak louder than words. His silence was deafening. -
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Introducing myself! Come say hi!
by Sparlocks_Apprentice inhello all you wonderful people on the "evil" interwebs.
i'm joining this site once again because i forgot my old username and such.
i like the new layout!.
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Bonsai
Welcome to the forum. I'm relatively new here, too. I live in the anime capital of the world. I'm not really into it, though. Right now my kid is obsessed with Tamagocchi and Anpanman. Even the wife is into it as she likes One Piece. Someday I will tell my story. For now, Yokoso!
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Stephen King Freakouts?
by cappytan ini have this memory of deciding to get a stephen king novel (tommyknockers) from my high school library.. went home and started reading it.
first few chapters were pretty amazing.
felt guilty because i had heard urban jw legends about people who owned stephen king books having demon problems.
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Bonsai
I started reading his books when I was a JHS. I secretly borrowed them from my best friend's dad's secret collection he kept hidden in a shoe box in the closet. His dad was an elder at the time! I remember hiding the books under my bed so that my parents wouldn't find out. Sneaking the books back into the box, preserving the precise order was always a fun challenge too. Knowing that King lived just an hour away by car made his books all the more special to me.
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What comforts you when you no longer believe in a ressurrection ?
by EdenOne inour family just lost someone dear and very close, a faithful jw.
as we went through the entire funeral services and meeting long time brothers and sisters, who in general have been very kind and warm towards us, we realize that the hope of resurrection is a meaningless utopia for us, like a fairytale for little children.
we don't have faith in it anymore, and serves us of no comfort.
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Bonsai
Who's to say that there won't be a resurrection in some form or another? Where I live many people are content with the belief of reincarnation. Even though there is no proof for it, people enjoy speculating what they were and what they will be next.
There are no verifiable answers as to what will happen when we die. The possibilities are endless. There is a beauty in not knowing what will happen.
All I know is: Being born was the first step toward dying. I do not regret being born, so I shouldn't regret my coming death either. I'm grateful for the now and the memories of my lost loved ones that I keep alive within me. Every day is so darn precious.
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About myself
by tamagotchi inhi to anyone reading this, so i little bit about myself.
i'm 24 years old born-in, all my family are in, my father is an elder.
though i'm not fading as such i no longer believe jw.org is gods chosen organisation so you could say i'm mentally out.
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Bonsai
Tamago tamago tamagochi! Yokoso! Welcome to the edge of the map matee!
Here there be monsters!
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Your first time on this forum. What were your thoughts and feelings?
by stuckinarut2 inhey all,.
i was just thinking back to the first time i found this awesome forum...years before i eveni joined up and starting posting myself.. i was so encouraged and happy to see that i was not alone!
i was not the only one who was observing the org, and all of its aspects and thinking "seriously?
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Bonsai
I remember when I first lurked on this site not so long ago. My heart was beating fast. My hands were sweating and I kept looking over my shoulder even though there was no one else in the room. Having already lost most of my friends and family, this site has been very therapeutic. I appreciate it.. -
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Losing Faith
by cappytan ini've always been a "spiritual" person.
i've been an avid bible reader since as early as i can remember.
i read the bible cover to cover for the first time when i was about 17 years old and have read it at least twice more since then.
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Bonsai
It sounds like your whole support group of family and friends are in the organization. I'd be in no rush to leave if I were you. Even if you are just in the process of fading, it completely changes the dynamic of your friendship with your family and friends. Most of them will not respond well to you bringing up TTATT with them. Once they know you have done research and have doubts, they will doubt your motives, question your sanity and guard themselves around you..
The wife and I just quit cold turkey a few months ago after first being stumbled locally and then being leveled by our research. Reading "Crisis of Conscience" was like being hit by a Mack truck. Losing 90% of your community of friends and family really sucks. having to jump into the bushes when the elders come to my door isn't fun either. During this difficult time i wish you the best of luck. Be innocent like a dove and wise like a serpent.