Hey, if you have to go to one of those awful things, you have to find joy anywhere that you can. At least you have some friends there with you too. Enjoy what you can, make the best of it, and then go have a good life without the cult.
dubstepped
JoinedPosts by dubstepped
-
7
My Convention Experience and Thoughts !
by jdash inso during the week of july 6-8th i went to the convention.
i had a funny experience.. to start off, i'm usually with my close friends that i know and who basically have the same mindset as i do.
but during saturday, during lunch, me and my buddies were walking outside and we noticed someone was singing real loud and kinda in a deep voice.
-
-
-
56
Spiritual "Protection" - a Menace on Psychological Development
by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho innot quite a week ago, @lost in the fog created a thread entitled: do you have this illness?.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5187824140681216/do-you-have-this-illness.
in my year of being on this forum, i have browsed many a disillusioned thread of ex-jehovah’s witnesses expressing similar symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder when detailing their awakening - my own story included.
-
-
dubstepped
Since the OP here was so fantastic and Joho said I could use it I felt it only right to post that my second VIDcast was about this very post, and to share it here:
You can't fix what you don't own. Growing up in the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses could be described as outsourcing our problems, but for most of us that were born in we didn't outsource them, as that speaks to an action one performs of their free will. Our problems were stolen from us. By doing so, the cult claimed our power, and our ability to think in some ways. -
21
Was CT Russell a freemason or not
by UnshackleTheChains inok. many people deny ct russell was a freemason.
i have read articles whereby some have found no evidence to prove he was one at any point in his life.. however, given all the masonic symbols in the early publications including the use of the name jehovah ( the name the freemason's use to identify god), as well as the expressions used such as 'new world, new order' etc certainly raises suspicions.. then there is the article he wrote in the herald magazine outlining that he was a freemason (see the following video 40 seconds in).
it really does make you think!.
-
-
dubstepped
@Nathan - Good point about his limited scope of inclusion regarding religions in the interfaith that you mentioned him being opposed to.
-
14
Guardian interview with Apostasy director
by cobweb inthis is a really long article about the film apostasy and interview with the director about his story and how he came to make the film.
apostasy director: ‘it was liberating to leave the jehovah’s witnesses’.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/15/apostasy-director-daniel-kokotajlo-liberating-to-leave-jehovahs-witnesses-interview?cmp=share_androidapp_copy_to_clipboard.
-
-
dubstepped
@Simon - Yes, it's definitely something present in the world at large, particularly among highly charged subjects like religion, politics, sports, etc. I do feel (certainly have done no peer reviewed studies) that it might be worse with people like us that were in a cult that was so specific about verbiage and appearance. Most messages were crafted for specific reasons and we had to be certain not to give cause for stumbling. If nothing else, I feel like we're a bit more hyper-vigilant than most.
It is so annoying how you can speak on a subject and people focus on the 1% that is inaccurate as though it somehow destroys the 99%. I'm on some ex-JW Facebook groups and you'll see these brainwashed people that were never fully JWs come on and try to paint the cult with their apologist perspective as someone that never fully experienced it. It's crazy making.
-
14
Guardian interview with Apostasy director
by cobweb inthis is a really long article about the film apostasy and interview with the director about his story and how he came to make the film.
apostasy director: ‘it was liberating to leave the jehovah’s witnesses’.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/15/apostasy-director-daniel-kokotajlo-liberating-to-leave-jehovahs-witnesses-interview?cmp=share_androidapp_copy_to_clipboard.
-
-
dubstepped
@scotsman - I can tell you that it left me feeling "heavy". It wasn't even specific, just heavy. The lack of joy in the cult shines through and it took me a day or two to kind of process it all internally. It's just bleak, a good and true representation of the cult.
-
14
Guardian interview with Apostasy director
by cobweb inthis is a really long article about the film apostasy and interview with the director about his story and how he came to make the film.
apostasy director: ‘it was liberating to leave the jehovah’s witnesses’.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/15/apostasy-director-daniel-kokotajlo-liberating-to-leave-jehovahs-witnesses-interview?cmp=share_androidapp_copy_to_clipboard.
-
-
dubstepped
^^^^^^ And there's an example of the nitpicking that he mentioned. Out of that entire article what does someone walk away with but one tiny point that they take issue with. It's a leftover disease from living in a perfectionist cult. I deal with it myself and it's exhausting. This was a great look into the guy that created a great movie and one point, not necessarily even stated by him, comes up to discuss because we're so worried about 100% factual accuracy because a bunch of lying cult members might take issue with it. Funny how life works.
I'm so thankful for his movie, for articles like this, etc. I love the metaphor of the road next to the KH where life goes by as it stands still in the building.
-
21
Was CT Russell a freemason or not
by UnshackleTheChains inok. many people deny ct russell was a freemason.
i have read articles whereby some have found no evidence to prove he was one at any point in his life.. however, given all the masonic symbols in the early publications including the use of the name jehovah ( the name the freemason's use to identify god), as well as the expressions used such as 'new world, new order' etc certainly raises suspicions.. then there is the article he wrote in the herald magazine outlining that he was a freemason (see the following video 40 seconds in).
it really does make you think!.
-
-
dubstepped
Nathan Natas - There would have been conflicts because of the Pastor's feelings about interfaith activities
I was under the impression that CTR's group of BS (Bible Students) were comprised of people of all different faiths and that it was okay to mix. Am I wrong? Or did I misread your statement? I thought that, at least at the beginning of the cult, things were open and not restrictive at all. Did he later become anti-mingling of faiths?
-
9
Our friend Akid48 turned 14 a few days ago!
by sinboi inakid, happy birthday!!!.
am i the first person in your life to send you a birthday card?.
wanted to send you a birthday cake but the pic is copyrighted and it may not be proper to paste it in a forum.. remember to click here .
-
-
dubstepped
Happy birthday Akid!!! We're happy to have you as part of our dysfunctional family on here. We aren't perfect, but at least we're not in a cult. Kerp your head on straight, keep your eyes up looking ahead at goals that will help you move on to better things someday, and know that people care.
Sorry, no cool pics. I don't know how to do that from my phone.
-
15
Did your ability to work get affected by waking up to TTATT?
by stuckinarut2 injust curious.. when you started to wake up to the truth about the truth, did the shock and the whole experience distract you from your usual activities such as performing at your place of work?.
did you become so consumed by researching, and the subsequent factual discoveries, that it affected your ability to carry out daily tasks?.
-
-
dubstepped
Yes. My wife and I has worked together doing the same thing for 14-15 years at that point and there were days where we just weren't on top of our game and other days where I remember telling her that for the first time I just didn't even care at all about work. It seemed utterly irrelevant and of no consequence.
On the other hand, we clean houses and some of our clients had amazing conversations with us. They couldn't speak TTATT but they could listen and talk about our world crumbling and the shunning. It was huge just to know that people cared.
-
29
Are YOU Shunned By JW Family or Friends?
by minimus insome who are not disfellowshipped are still shunned i also know there’ are disfellowshipped ones that family still associate with..
-
-
dubstepped
My wife and I are totally shunned after disassociation. In response to Simon's question, we were shunned even before disassociation by our families for deciding after 14 years or so to no longer shun my disfellowshipped brother. Shun, or be shunned. It hadn't been addressed congregationally, but once elders started calling we refused to play games and disassociated.