Reaching Out To Cult Victims

by Maddie 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  Maddie

  Since leaving the WT I have been on quite a personal journey (metaphorically speaking). I have managed to survive the emotional distress caused by being a JW, discovering it is a mind control cult, and all the consequences that ensued when I decided to leave. I have been called an apostate and shunned by my JW son, which means I am not allowed to see my only grand child any more.

  Several months ago I started a thread about a spiritual experience I had and that the pain I was feeling was taken away and replaced with a sense of being at peace. Of course, there isn't a day goes by that I don't think about my family, but now I can go on with my life. I felt a strong desire to get involved in some way with helping those trapped in cults and decided to contact a voluntary Christian organisation called " The Reachout Trust". To cut a long story short, I have been accepted as a volunteer and there are several areas that I shall be working in. A large part of the work is educating churches about how cults operate and liaising with them in my local area. We hold seminars on how to talk to cult members and show videos etc. There are many other ways that I will be able to be of assistance and I feel positive that these people care enough to want to reach out to cult victims.

  Just wanted to share this with you all on JWD and hope you find it encouraging.

  Maddie
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  hubert

  That's excellent, Maddie!

  This is a good thing to do for ex-jw's that have nothing to lose, as in your case. Your son is already shunning you, so it doesn't matter if he finds out you are doing this.

  I had a cousin and his wife who left the j.w.'s and did this exact thing, but only with one church that he and his wife joined later.

  Maybe you can start an organization in your country featuring ex-j.w.'s that are in a similar predicament as yours, who can cover different counties across the country and do this sort of thing. Perhaps it would take off in the states, too.

  Keep up the good work.

  Hubert
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  flipper

  MADDIE- That is great that you are helping people exit cults ! And that you have learned how to talk with them in helping them move on . I too, am educating myself to do this and am having even positive results with some of my JW family using Steve Hassan's techniques to help them think authentically. It is a good and noble thing you are doing ! Keep up the good work ! Lots of people under mind control need help
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  WTWizard

  In my travels, I have found a web site that has some helpful information that might help people to identify whether they are in a cult or not (works even with mainstream religions and businesses that act like cults), and gives them another option. This is at www.mysociety.us . I recommend looking at that if you are having difficulty deciding whether to finalize your break from Jehovah's Witlesses or are wondering if you should join that religion.

  Of course, this is just another option along with the books Combatting Mind Control and Crisis of Conscience, and other secular and religious help. But I checked it out, and it is very interesting in revealing why people are prone to cultlike mentality and why their lives are so stagnant.