This is the end of the series. Hopefully some of you will find it helpful.
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Addicted to Misery
by Lady Lee 42 Replies latest social relationships
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wednesday
Would so many of us, our willingness to stay with abusing congregations and elders, people who treated us like outcasts, where does that come form? Is it b/c the ORG. becomes as our mother, and we learn that we most be discipled by her and often that discipline takes the form of social sanctions and being outcasts until we have learned our lesson.
anyone got any ideas?
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Lady Lee
Would so many of us, our willingness to stay with abusing congregations and elders, people who treated us like outcasts, where does that come form? Is it b/c the ORG. becomes as our mother, and we learn that we most be discipled by her and often that discipline takes the form of social sanctions and being outcasts until we have learned our lesson.
Like a parent on whom we are dependent for life I think we become dependent on the WTS.
Where else can we go? Who will give ius shelter and spiritual food? Who else can we trust? The messages are the same.
I think we accept the discipline because it is sort of like "time out" for bad behavior. We falsely believe them when they tell us they have the right to discipline us.
I think too that because they reinforce that they are the ONLY source of information, therefore life, we never realize that there are other ways to live, that our "parent" is pretty sick and wants us to stay sick with them.
For many the first break comes when they begin to realize just how sick this parent is and that perhaps life apart from the parent would not be as bad as what is being endured with the parent
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willyloman
I think that the references to alcoholism is easily transferable to any kind of addiction including spiritual addiction.
That's what I've found in my "recovery" work, except that I would more correctly refer to it as "religious addiction." I think spirituality is a natural quality, and not the same as religion. Many of us were addicted to religion in that, just like any other addictive substance, we abused -- or were abused by -- it.
A big part of the recovery process is when you realize that spirituality and religion are NOT the same thing. So many of us thought were on a spiritual journey while we were in the WT organization, but in fact the only spiritual aspects of that journey were those times when we responded to our innate spiritual feelings and expressed or performed an act of genuine kindness to someone. You know, like when we visited a sick friend, or consoled someone who lost a loved one, or willingly took food or money to someone who was in need. It's an eye opener when you learn that these acts of spirituality, or love, were really separate from your religious life -- which was largely centered on meeting attendance, field service, underlining magazine articles, memorizing scripture texts, and other actions whose primary purpose is to impress others and to "earn" spiritual points (which, of course, is not possible).
The really spiritual stuff you did was not because of membership in the WTS, but in spite of it. These were extracurricular activities for which little or no credit was received, but you did it because it felt right. When the blinders come off, you realize you'd have developed real spirituality if you'd had time to do more of these acts of kindess rather than being limited because you were bogged down with all that religious stuff.
It's this realization, and much more, that leads to full recovery from religious addiction. I wish you all well on the journey.
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Lady Lee
EXCELLENT point willyloman.
There is a difference and it important to make that distinction.
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wednesday
that was a powerful chapter form Englishmen link about the woman named Olga. I cried through most of it. This seems to have opened up pandoras box for me today. i may have to step away from the computer and let it alone , b/c it just hurts so bad.
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Lady Lee
Then gentle (((Wed)))
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Lady Lee
bttt
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Sunnygal41
Wow! Lee, I've only been MIA for about 3 days and you've been sooooo busy, I see! LOL! Anyways, I've got to catch up on this thread, and BTTT........it's too good not to share!
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Big Tex
Thanks for all you do LL.