Ok I left the WBTS..... now what?? kingdom hall withdrawal

by sister x 48 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  sizemik

  I called it the "Spiritual Wilderness" . . . but looking back now I can only say this . . . be patient . . . take your time.

  God is not going to punish you for anything . . . in time you will shed the WT induced guilt and fear which, whether you realise it or not, has "fuelled" your so-called "spiritual need"

  I restricted myself to reading . . . reference books . . . also the Bible . . . Jesus words in the gospels mainly, as a narrative rather than piecemeal selected scriptures to support doctrines. It helped me to get to know "the man" as he is described there.

  I prayed to him as well . . . It gave me a lot of comfort . . . and some breathing space.

  Beyond that you will find your own path.

  Hope this helps . . . all the best
• 

  sister x

  Thanks alot SizeMik..... I will take your advise... and those are good words to describe the way I feel "Spiritual Wilderness"......

  I do feel like im lost.....
• 

  sister x

  Its really hard when your raised as a witness..... its the only way you know HOW to worship.....
• 

  Black Sheep

  How do you know anything they taught was true?

  If your Mama had worn a hijab would that influence which holy book you choose to cherry pick beliefs from?

  Watchtower god was supposedly going to kill me if I joined the born againers, and the born againer's god is going to burn me in hell forever if I don't tithe to their church coffers. This godfella grows on me like a wart.
• 

  sister x

  True or False..... its better to believe in something than nothing at all..... )atleast thats the excuse I used before to go to each and every meeting)...

  and your right, if my mom was catholic i probably would be, babtist, presbyterian, lutheran, islam, advent.... and so on.

  my point being... When you leave the WBTS. it FEELS like there is no where to go...... atleast thats how I feel now..

  and I didnt cherry pick doctrine... the GB did that for me....
• 

  finding my way

  I was df'd 6 years ago but still believed it all until 3 years ago or less when I decided to get to the root of why I wasn't motivated to go back. I started researching and was conpletely dissolusioned and just shocked and depressed for awhile. I even bought a 1968 awake bv from ebay I wanted to know for sure that these things I was reading on the net were real. I am still recovering but during that time I felt like you. As time passes it gets better and your beliefs about god and worship may completely change within the next year and more as time goes on. The biggest relief for me came when I no longer felt like I needed a church to worship. One of the things that helped me the most was Franz's book crisis of conscience and the 2nd one,,, I can't think if the title. This website also helped a lot. It helps to read or connect with others who have felt like you and to see that they are normal and doing well. Many of us have lost our family and friends as well and will be the first to acknowledge the trauma. If you can find a counselor to help you through it that can help. PM me if you want as well. We are here for you and we DO care!! Time does heal this wound. I can honestly say that I am a happier person now that I left and I know who I am and have a stronger sense of my spirituality now than I did as a witness. It just takes time. don't go back :( It's not a happy place once you know the truth about "the truth".
• 

  sizemik

  What you're going through is very real sister x . . . you have divested yourself of an entire belief system . . . that's a pretty momentous event when you've given yourself over to it completely.

  We're left with a "what do I believe now?" feeling because the mind controlling doctrines we once espoused were so "absolute"

  But that feeling does subside with time . . . as you find your own path.

  fmw . . . I believe the book you're thinking of is "In Search of Spiritual Freedom" by Ray
• 

  Black Sheep

  Are there any non religious clubs near you? Working bees?

  Vounteer stuff can be really enjoyable and gets you out and about meeting real people.
• 

  WontLeave

  I didn't see sitting in a room full of people who obviously aren't paying any attention to a parade of guys praising the Governing Body as very worshipful to Jehovah. Being truly spiritual in the spiritual wasteland of the Kingdom Hall is frustrating. You're supposed to be surrounded by the most Bible-based, God-loving, true worshipers in the world and it's extremely anticlimactic when you really see what's going on there. I thought I was going to be among modern-day Boreans, but I was rudely awakened.

  Read your Bible, now that you don't have the Watchtower tainting everything you see in it. Pray for understanding and don't forget your relationship with God does not have to go through a human organization. There is one mediator between God and men. No matter how they try to spin it and take Jesus away from you, for themselves, there is still only one mediator, which precludes them from being between you and your Heavenly Father.
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  sister x

  @ sizemik..... yeah it is real. Its Sunday Morning... the happiest day of the week for me, well, when i was in anyway...

  now its the worse. I want to get up and get dressed to go worship and have no where to go.... ::(((

  I want to start attending Seventh Day Advent churches and work my way backward. you know? since thats where the wtbs branched off from anyway.