Challenging the Discussion Board with Unsettling Questions

by The wanderer 44 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  restrangled

  I think I understand what you are getting at, and please tell me if I am wrong.

  I think most of us would love to let it go in our every day lives. The problem is many of our family members still adhere to this sect and constantly remind us and make us pay emotionally for not being involved.

  In my own case I believe it continues to cause mental and physical strain. I can't talk to who I wan't to talk to, I avoid witnesses who know me in grocery stores, fun shopping, restaurants etc. I am constantly on the look out for or avoiding the shun factor.

  Just last night I received a phone call I would love to call and talk to my mom about. We would have laughed, compared notes and been relieved about certain financial decisions made......BUT I CAN'T!

  It eats at me all the time, in every thing I do, and sometimes I can forget for a little while, but it always comes sneaking back, even in my dreams, so I start reading and posting on this site to relieve my frustration and know that I am not alone.

  r.
• 

  parakeet

  ***How can an individual ..... not be affected for the rest of their lives?***
  
  I don't know of any other place (my experience is admittedly not large) where Christians/atheists, liberals/conservatives, etc., can argue, sometimes vehemently, about their beliefs, yet still remain on good terms (for the most part).
  
  I believe such discussions are possible because we all share the traumatic experience known as "having been a JW." The promises the WT made to us and the tremendous betrayal of those promises have caused such pain that some of us may never completely get over it.
  
  Our shared understanding of the scope of that betrayal and the sympathy for one another that it generates are the bonds that transcend all our discussions about religion and politics.
• 

  schne_belly

  Not certain Wanderer...

  Ask the question again when you have reached 1000 posts!!!
• 

  Nowman

  I ve been out for 15 years this October, and for the 1st 10 years, the watchtower haunted me, couldn't help it. Tried not to analyze too much about it though, I knew why it stayed so long. I was born and raised a JW. It was all I ever knew. I was part of cult. The proof is right here that we were all involved in a cult (or still are possibly). The last 5 years, I feel the remnants of the WTBS are out of my mind 98% of the time, until something pops up that will remind me of that prior life. These are just memories, that will go away because I am easliy distracted.

  We all come here for different reasons, but I am sure one of them is that there is a common bond. So, even though there are those that say "they are free of the watchtower" and come here, I believe they are still free of the watchtower. Even though we may think about our past lives as part of this cult, does not mean we are still haunted, but some may be. Each individual will be different and handle it different. For me, its OK to wonder about the WTBS and the people involved, my heart goes out to the good ones still involved who are brainwashed, too bad for them. I love my life as non-JW even if the past existed and I think about it from time to time.

  Nikki
• 

  The wanderer

  Dear Nowman:
  
  I found your personal point of view very
  touching and moving. It is a pleasure to
  have such words and advice from an
  individual such as yourself.
  
  Respectfully,
  
  The Wanderer
• 

  lisavegas420

  The promises the WT made to us and the tremendous betrayal of those promises have caused such pain that some of us may never completely get over it.
  
  Our shared understanding of the scope of that betrayal and the sympathy for one another that it generates are the bonds that transcend all our discussions about religion and politics.

  ditto....what parakeet said.

  I used to wish I'd wake up with amnesia and could'nt remember any of my JW past. My therapist said, coming to these discussion boards was prolonging my pain, and I needed to just forget the past and move on with my life.

  I continue to come here, for the support for myself and my new found friends and family,

  lisa
• 

  Nowman

  Dear Wanderer,

  Thanks you for your nice comment. To reply back to you, I enjoy your topics and try to respond to as many that I think I feel I can make a good point too (at least in my mind) or offer some of the same experiences so many have had here on this board.

  Nikki
• 

  skyking

  I am here because of the damage the Borg is still doing. I am trying to understand if GOD exists and if he does what he is up too.

  I know now that the bible is not the word of GOD and even wonder if Jesus really existed. I have read many books showing proof that Jesus life was not as it is recorded in the Bible.

  I have studied and found out that Jehovah was a GOD of nature and fertility to begin with long before he became the God as we know him. Originally Jehovah had female quality's, some of the oldest figurines of Jehovah showed him as a Woman with a big belly about to give birth.

  This is why I am here to learn and to help someone else that needs help.
• 

  aniron

  I was once told

  "You can leave the Watchtower, but the Watchtower never leaves you."
• 

  dido

  Personally, i come on here as i know that there are others that have experienced being in a mind controlling cult, and are trying to rebuild their lives, but have been left with `jw baggage` which they are working thro`, kind of like therapy. I know that i have learnt a lot of facts about the org that i didn`t know on here, and it has `educated` me, learning the `truth about the truth`. The outcome is i am able to move on, but i will never ever be able to forget the wasted 25 years of my life.