Freedom96, I don't miss not having to study the same things repeatedly, too. When I left, my Mom tried to tell me I only had doubts because I had not studied enough. I couldn't convince her that I had studied over and over, and that it just did not make sense to me. She wanted me to go on blind faith, which, for a time I did, but could not continue. Having "blind faith" is one thing, pretending to believe something you don't is something different entirely, and I couldn't do it anymore. Oh well, I don't miss anything enough to go back, so maybe the point is moot.
happyout
JoinedPosts by happyout
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19
What do you miss?
by happyout inok, i'm not sure how popular this will be, but i have to ask.
is there anything you miss from being a dub?
since my family is still in, i miss getting together after assemblies and hanging out.
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19
What do you miss?
by happyout inok, i'm not sure how popular this will be, but i have to ask.
is there anything you miss from being a dub?
since my family is still in, i miss getting together after assemblies and hanging out.
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happyout
Mulan, yes I understand what your husband means. While I stopped believing in my late teens, before that I did have a peaceful feeling that I knew the "truth". I still have hope, just very undefined. I believe in God, but don't know what the "afterlife" will hold. Reubenfine, funny, I know there are lots of things we don't miss, silly, we talk about that all the time. I really am curious to see if there are things we can acknowledge we enjoyed while being in the borg. Ascot, you are right, there are other groups, but when I was a dub I literally stayed in the homes of people who only knew my religion. At no charge. I don't know if any other group (aside from maybe some other religious ones) that offer that. My sister and her husband are always hosting dubs from around the world, and it's kinda cool to hear how others live. Of course, I guess I could just open my home to a group like Up With People for that experience, huh? Thanks for the responses, this is interesting to me.
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19
What do you miss?
by happyout inok, i'm not sure how popular this will be, but i have to ask.
is there anything you miss from being a dub?
since my family is still in, i miss getting together after assemblies and hanging out.
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happyout
Ok, I'm not sure how popular this will be, but I have to ask. Is there anything you miss from being a dub? Since my family is still in, I miss getting together after assemblies and hanging out. And I also miss some of my old "friends", even though I realize if they were true friends they wouldn't have deserted me. I am not DF'd or DA'd, I just did the slow fade, so really they could talk to me if they wanted to. I miss knowing that when I traveled, there were built in "friends" who would show me around the town just because I was a dub. Anyone else miss anything?
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What Did You Give Up To Be A Jehovah's Witness?
by minimus inbesides giving up our time and assets,is there anything that you particularly felt that you truly "gave up" to become or remain a witness?
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happyout
I gave up my education (which will haunt me until I die), the chance to participate in lots of fun activities in high school (cheerleading, clubs, dances, dating), the chance to travel on my own, my childhood, my teenage years, my common sense, my individuality, the chance to have "real" lifelong friends, etc. Not that I'm bitter, you understand
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I cried for the past
by joelbear ini cried for a long time today, very deeply, sobbing heavily for those i have lost in my life.
mostly due to watchtower rules.. i am developing a new set of bear friends and look forward to good times with them.. the suicidal thoughts have subsided.. i have never really tried to make a concrete set of friends here.
i think its time to do so.
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happyout
I know exactly how you feel. I was in for almost 20 years, and leaving meant I lost most of my lifelong "friends". Plus, my family is still in, and devoted. I am happy to say that the new friends I have made have been wonderful, and I won't lose them if I decide to change my religion. That's how I know they are true friends. When someone loves you for you, regardless of your beliefs, that is a peaceful and wonderful feeling. Feel free to write me anytime, at [email protected]. I only check e-mail a few times a day, and never at night or on the weekends, so don't worry if I don't reply immediately. But I promise to answer as soon as I can. I hope you will find comfort in the love and support I have found on these boards.
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What's your favorite Xmas carol?
by Scully in.
my two favorites are a toss up between john lennon's "so this is christmas" and the "little drummer boy" - the one where bing crosby and david bowie are singing together.. love, scully
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happyout
There is a Donny Hathaway song (I think) called "This Christmas". The Whispers also did a wonderful Christmas album several years back when I was in the borg, I wish I had it now. My favorite traditional carols are "Silent Night" "Little Drummer Boy" and "Winter Wonderland".
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bad songs
by freedom96 in.
i was reading a post that reminded me of the songs that were popular but was wrong to listen to for various reasons.. we all remember puff the magic dragon being about drugs, which i hear was just a rumour.. another i remember was let it be by the beatles, which was " catholic based about mary the mother of jesus" when apparently it was written about paul mccartney's own mother.
shows what they know.. which songs do you remember that were "bad" that we were not supposed to listen to?
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happyout
Any and all rap. Most dance music, including what was played on the radio.
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Being Sound In Mind Means You Stay Away From World
by minimus ina new public talk reviews what being sound in mind refers to.
the speaker mentioned that in order to please jehovah and show that you have "soundness of mind", you should not associate with anyone that is not in the "truth", to the extent possible.
he re-read that comment a second time for emphasis.
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happyout
When I was a teen, there was a witness "prom" that was held to make up for the graduating kids who could not attend the worldly prom. There were never any problems or issues, but when the society got wind of it, they said large gatherings were a bad idea, as there was no way to control the actions of all those attending. They also mentioned it would be on the shoulders of the organizers if someone were to engage in wrongdoing afterwards. So, before I got a chance to go, the witness prom stopped. The society also started frowning on picnics, house parties, and other forms of entertainment, again, stating it was too difficult to control the crowds. NEVER ONCE did I hear of a problem at these gatherings, except of course sometimes the elders drank too much, but they were stopped anyway. It was the young people who suffered, there was nothing fun to do. So, yes, the society does sort of discourage witnesses from associating with one another, unless it is in very small groups.
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Kingdom Hall personalities
by freedom96 injust as people have different personalities, i believe that individual congregations also had their own personality.. the hall i went to while growing up, was just awful.
the po of the hall was known in the entire area, and was just a tyrant.
there were no grey areas.
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happyout
Was this "double hall" in Carson, CA? If so, that is the hall I went to for a great deal of my life. It was ok, the brothers were definitely not tyrants, but GOOD LORD THEY WERE BORING!!! There was one Sunday meeting when no one was raising their hand for the Watchtower study, and the brother on the podium actually asked if we were having Laker letdown (they had lost a big game the night before). The people were ok, but there were definitely cliques. Since my family was well respected, and there was a bookstudy at my house, I was in the in crowd so to speak. I probably would have stayed in longer, except I moved out of my Mom's house, and saw my chance to escape easily.
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Forbidden Pleasures ......
by BobsGirl inthis morning on the way to work, i burst into song.
not just any song ... but the heretofore forbidden "star spangled banner".
i just felt like singing and i wanted to sing something challenging and it seemed like the perfect choice.
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happyout
My first forbidden thing was the act of, uh, self pleasure. Before leaving, I swear, I was almost afraid to bathe thoroughly in case it felt too good. Now, I love doing fun things with my two year old son, like dressing him up as Blue (from Blues Clues) for Halloween. My family (who are die hard JWs) thought the pictures were SOO cute until they realized why he was dressed up Then suddenly, they didn't want to look at the pictures anymore. And my son sings happy birthday whenever he sees a lighted candle, and I love the looks on their faces. I love giving and receiving Christmas presents, going to see any movie I choose, singing whatever moves me, and reading whatever I choose. Most of all, I love myself for being myself.