Hello?? (page 4)

Oh thank you all so much for taking the time to answer my post its been quite overwhelming realy!! It seems rude not to reply to all of you individualy but I will try to do this private message thing to as many as I can, but please dont feel that you have to respond I dont want to press anyone,but thank you again.

Roberta804

Then last year we have sat here not talking about what we were all thinking about,but I hope thats coming to an end.

Oh Fran.......It is sooo sooo important that you and your husband and children talk about it. If you do not then you are only repeating what the JW have taught you, never to speak your own mind.

breakfast of champions

Welcome!

I distinctly remember where I was and how I felt the moment the scales fell from my eyes. It was like the entire world turned upside-down. A vertiginous, scary feeling, but in the end, liberating.

cofty

Hi Fran welcome to the forum. Wishing and your husband lots of success in your new freedom.

flipper

Hello Fran- Nice to have you here ! You and your husband. I'm glad you have escaped the unjust treatment of false friends and elders and now are seeking your freedom of mind and peace of mind. Many of us here ( including myself ) went through and experienced to the hilt- unjust and hateful treatment from WT Society appointed elders - you are not alone my friend. We understand anything you feel like opening up about and will be here for you as friends and a support system, O.K. ? Nice to have you here, Take care, Peace out, Mr. Flipper

straightshooter

Welcome to the forum. This is a wonderful group. Glad to read your posts. I am glad that you have shared your experiences and thoughts. We all are good listeners.

Giordano

Hi Fran and husband of Fran! I left with my wife when we were in our twenties. Some 40 years later I was curious to see how the JW's were doing.......and stumbled into this place. I was horrified to learn how harsh the Elders have become and the Society itself. The Broken families and pedophilia issues were very disturbing. You were in for 30 some years? It will take a while before you start to get emotionally stronger. Definitely start reading. jwfacts.com is a good place to visit, freeminds.org has interesting insights into Bethel life among other things. Read for pleasure and read to understand about high control and dangerous religions. Here's someone that helped me puzzle things out: “It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible.” "Mass movements are usually accused of doping their followers with hope of the future while cheating them of the enjoyment of the present." You can look up Eric Hoffer the author of The True Believer, he was not writing about JW's but the things high control movements have in common. I think it's important for one to separate your belief or in my case non belief from the control issue's you've rebelled against.

LisaRose

Welcome, happy you have found your way out of the darkness, it's always interesting reading about what has prompted people to leave. It is never to late to take your life back. I was in 30 years also, I got baptized in 1969 and left in 1999. The last 12 years of my life have been the best. Without the burdensome requirements of the organization I have been able to do so much and I have learned and grown as a person in ways I could not have imagined as a JW. I have a small creative business, I do volunteer work, I have traveled and done so many new things. Nor do I feel I have neglected my spirituality, on the contrary, I am free from the constant guilt that that I felt as a JW. I just couldn't believe God would want his people to live like that.

Just don't worry, be patient, you don't need to figure it out all at once, these things take time, don't just jump into another religion because you feel you must.

Christ Alone

Just don't worry, be patient, you don't need to figure it out all at once, these things take time, don't just jump into another religion because you feel you must.

Great advice, Lisa Rose! Fran, you should take a much needed break and figure out what makes sense to you and how you can even begin to recover. Many of us have found that this organization was abusive to us in ways we didn't even know or couldn't even comprehend. It took some of us a long time to realize what they actually did to us and our thought process. The way we shame ourselves. Guilt ourselves. Stop ourselves from thinking things through completely.

You dont' need to jump into any other religion. Especially right now. Take your time. Read your bible alone. Jesus did not require meeting attendance. All He asked was that we go directly to Him and He would refresh us!Take the offer of all of us to be there for you. Discuss everything you're feeling with someone you trust. Get it all out. Take a vacation! At least a vacation from WT mind control! It'll be great for you. You'll eventually find that freedom is a beautiful thing! Freedom of thought. Freedom to disagree. Freedom to choose. Breath!

Hello??

happy@last

franticfran