YOU 'THINK' YOU ARE FREE when you leave the Org. . . but it can be an ILLUSION

by Terry 28 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Terry

  Did you know there is nothing more insane than being PARTLY indoctrinated and partly free?

  The level of cognitive dissonance is ridiculous!

  I have told this story before, so I'll shorten it to cut to the chase.

  In 1987, I was dating a professional psychotherapist with a view to marriage. (Much larger story here, eh?)

  Everything was lovely.

  One day we are having lunch. The discussion wanders to my lady's mother.

  She told me how difficult it was growing up under her mother's roof because of the constant efforts to

  indoctrinate her by Bible reading.

  This is my cue!

  Conditioning kicked in!

  My "free" mind blinked off. My indoctrinated mind blinked on!

  Somehow, in the course of my defense of Scripture, I wandered off into the story of the Nephilim!

  Oh yes--I DID!

  We are sitting in a restaurant having finished a splendid lunch, sipping wine, gazing into each other's eyes

  when suddenly the light begins to dim in the pupils of her eyes!

  I'm jibber-jabbering away:

  "So, the wicked angels see the daughters of men and begin lusting after them. So, they forsake their position in heaven

  and come down to earth and materialize human bodies to have sex! The offspring of this demonic union was the GIANTS of ancient times!"

  The expression on her face stabbed me in the heart!

  I SUDDENLY REALIZED HOW INSANE I WAS!

  And so did she!

  The engagement was shortly broken off.

  Note:

  Not ten minutes ago she walked into this Starbucks where I now sit. I caught her eye and she snubbed me.

  Well, why wouldn't she?
• 

  cultBgone

  Wow, Terry. We all feel your pain as we have sounded insane too.
• 

  Jeannette

  Sorry.
• 

  Terry

  Well, at this late remove--I simply must laugh at myself at how clueless I was at the time.

  Mind you, the year of the incident I had been away from a Kingdom hall by almost 10 years.

  It is remarkable to me that I imagined I was OUT with going through a process of "deprogramming."

  Live and learn, eh wot?
• 

  JamesThomas

  Programming? What is programming? Isn't it an unquestionably accepting of what the monkey-mind believes and says is real to be our “reality”?

  As long as the mind is in the drivers-seat there is no such thing as “deprogramming”. There is only a change of illusory patterns, beliefs, concepts and ideas weaved by the mind (programs).

  We were pretty much all once JW's, and now not. Everything may seem to radically change, but we still live the same dream. We only think that we are evolving and becoming smarter and wiser, while all the time unquestionably accepting a group of electro-chemical firings in the brain as the actual subject or self of who and what we are. It's all smoke and mirrors – except for the one undeniably true thing (which is not a thing) in-which we all equally share. But the ruling monkey-mind sees this as silly, unimportant, or crazy. So we won't go there. Only a true and rare revolutionary willing to pull the entire rug out from under their “life” is so willing.
• 

  Terry

  As long as the mind is in the drivers-seat there is no such thing as “deprogramming”. There is only a change of illusory patterns, beliefs, concepts and ideas weaved by the mind (programs).

  How about false information and disinformation, then James?

  By confusing mythos with history, I embarrassed myself.

  I accepted the Nephilim story because I accepted Bible as authority.

  At that time, I don't think there was a way for me to know any better. I mean, other than the 'sniff' test:)

  Computer programs refer to this as GIGO or 'garbage in=garbage out.

  

  Read: https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Garbage_In,_Garbage_Out.html
• 

  JamesThomas

  “How about false information and disinformation, then James?”

  Ya, what about it?

  You clearly know that the mind can not even begin to grasp the genuine aliveness and reality of a tree; and at best can only reduce it down to conceptual words and thoughts a million light-years distant from reality. And yet, you unquestionably accept as valid and real what it says about who you and the rest of the universe is??? There, there is your “false information and disinformation,” Terry. As clear as clear can be. You see it don't you.

  “You” were embarrassed, because you whole-heartedly accept the mind's definition of “self” as a flaccid-little-shit being drug around by the monkey-mind like a puppy with a chain around its neck.

  There is only one way out of this insanity -- and it ain't Jesus -- it's you.
• 

  JamesThomas

  YOU 'THINK' YOU ARE FREE . . . but it can be an ILLUSION

  That's all I'm saying.
• 

  Godsendconspirator

  I've done that to people plenty of times. Now whereever I go, I just leave out that information as if those years never happened and I don't know anything about the bible. It also saved me from stressful conversations.
• 

  scotoma

  I know this will touch a nerve with some here but St. Raymond (aka Ray Franz) was a prime example of this.

  He learned all the fallacies to refute the teachings of JW's but he couldn't make the leap back over the chasm and accept evolution as the explanation for life on earth.