I have Releasing The Bonds, and am about a third of the way through. It certainly seems to have some good information about the methods that high control groups and cults use, but I'm yet to get into detail about Steven's approach and consider if it could help my family. I'm certain that some of it will be relevant. Jehovah's Witnesses are mentioned here and there in the book as examples.
Eyes Open
JoinedPosts by Eyes Open
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10
I'm pumped, Just ordered Two New Books!
by Hope4Others inhttp://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/35/search?sc=steven+hassan&sf=author.
i'm so excited, many of you are already reading or have read this book.. i have ordered two of these today, combatting cult mind control , one for hubby and i and the other we hope to slip into the hands of.
his brother.
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Hey guys....taking a JWD break to finish my thesis.....
by Alpaca ini enjoy this board so much that it is distracting me from what i really need to do.. it seems like no matter how hard i try to sign on for a "couple minutes" it ends up turning into hours (because i like hanging out with you guys).. so, i am going to take a break for a while.....should be back on sometime in june.. cheers,.
alex.
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Eyes Open
Cya. All the best with it. :)
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What do you think when people tell you to just "move on"?
by Moxie in...i've heard that a lot over the years.
"just get over it, let the past stay in the past".
i always say, "ya, but...".
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Eyes Open
Sometimes things need to be dealt with. The moving on comes after, I guess.
Anyway, that looks like a really nice blog and I like your style of writing. Subscribed - thanks very much. -
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"Even if it isn't true" - how many of you heard this one recently?
by hamsterbait ini remember first hearing it after the generation change of 95.. a sister answered up at the wt and said "even if armageddon isn't coming, its still the best way to live.".
i have heard others say: "even if it isn't true, it's still the best way of life.".
my mother said it a few weeks ago!
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Eyes Open
Yep, heard that answer in a Watchtower study by an elder years and years ago.
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hi newbie to this great place
by freespirit67 insorry this has turned out longer than i thought.anyway i lived the life of a single mother fell away from the organisation,and eventually met a (worldly) guy who is the most loving guy i have ever met,my best friend,lover and soulmate.i was disfellowshipped 4 months ago because we live with each other and plan to get married in september,unacceptable to the society hence my disfellowshipping.it has broke my mum and dads heart and im so so sorry for this,i love them so much,but no longer want or believe in the jw beliefs.
i still believe in god but dont know where im bound as regards my faith,i really do want to have something.
apart from my mum and dad and the shunning arrangement im so happy,the happiest i have ever been in years,and my 2 youngest ones are happy as well..my eldest daughter is 16 and planning on getting baptised in july which is tearing me apart,she is so like me,but is being brainwashed by a certain crowd of witnesses,need i say anymore...my eldest son who is 18 isnt in the truth and feels the same way i do... anyway thanks for this forum and hope to hear from likeminded friends soon.
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Eyes Open
Hello freespirit67, Thanks for sharing your experiences. Sorry about the shunning, but glad you're otherwise happy. I believe there is a page in the elder's handbook that effectively says if some talk with their disfellowshipped family members the elders may choose to let it go. Sorry - can't remember for sure, but maybe someone who's in the know can post it if they know what I mean as you may be able to use it tactfully with your parents. See you round the forum.
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Why do many of us keep refering to IT as "THE TRUTH"?
by ldrnomo inbecause that was the name the borg placed on it's religion, "the truth" it seems to be stuck with many of us.
i am making a concious effort to not refer to it as "the truth".. it is not the truth, it is not the way, and it is definitley not the life!.
so let's stop it people!.
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Eyes Open
I tend not to use the expression. For a time, I resented the term apostates, but as things have lost their mental significance for me it's not such a big deal now.
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Please I need your help! evil site
by Dogpatch inevil for some at least!.
now that i shamelessly hijacked your attention folks, i could, pretty please use some suggestions.. a dear friend, who is a website designer recently volunteered to redesign my sites.
he succeeded in creating a great design, especially for www.freeminds.org .
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Eyes Open
Haven't time to look properly and got to leave for the weekend so comment is ultra brief. :) Initial impression: nice and bright, but visually confusing, don't know where to look. Needs more structure/simplicity/focus. All the best, and cya next week guys!
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hey
by Mrs_R ini'm new so thought i'd say hi.
been thinking about the witnesses alot lately and have a had a good search online and found this place.. was born into the ahem 'truth' and left when i was 17, baptized at twelve i think.
i couldnt answer something covered in the baptism questions and all 3 elders who did my questions mentioned that this was their only doubt.
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Eyes Open
Hey. :) Thanks for the well done - you too!
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Second Cousin commits Suicide
by Undecided inmy 2nd cousin walked out of her house after her husband and children were asleep and shot herself.
she was in her early 40s.
she was a jw.
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Eyes Open
Sorry to hear that. :(
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Diary of a thinking to return ex-Jw
by reniaa ini thought long and hard about posting this but the mis-information on this site finally persuaded me, i already accept many may not accept what i say on face value and get their appologist pens ready for making sure no pro-witness propaganda slips through the net on this site but here goes....... i've been on this forum for a few months my first post was about how i was thinking of returning to jw's and at my sisters recommendation to look at this site for both sides of the story before taking that step.. i faded from jw's 10/11 years ago now i left my hubby at the time divorced him to going on to have more relationships and kids, i was definately given the impression after asking on this site and with what i read that if i tried to return i might face df or at least a jc but definately a couple of elders questioning me over what i've been upto these last few years - none of these have happened.
i talked with an old jw friend (yes i do have then and she never shunned me quite happily accepted an offer of coffee from me and my asking for a chat) i told her i was interested in going back and was very frank about what i done in the last 10 years but not sure how returning was done now, she quite happily said she go ask for me to find out.. result!
she came back this week and said "all i had to do was goto meetings again" and an offer of a study was there for me if i wanted it to explore the open doubts that i had expressed i now had.. not quite the fire and brimstone welcome this site led me to believe would happen.. i will keep you posted with further updates if i feel the need to put them in future.. .
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Eyes Open
reniaa,
Unfortunately (in some ways), life just isn't that simple. Humans have been getting it wrong, learning, getting it wrong, learning, getting something right, learning, etc. for millennia. That's not about to change. That doesn't mean you need a high control group to give you false answers.
You can't buy your life pre-packaged off the WTS shelf. Well... you can, but the price is always (always) far too high because the it involves the deprivation of intellectual freedom.
Please don't be offended by responses here. People are calling it as they see it and we all hope you will find a way to escape from the dependency on an all-encompassing belief system. Part of life's wonder is not having all of the answers.
All the best.
And by the way, the book I recommended does not seek to destroy faith.