Posts by Reopened Mind

114

The biggest news of the year for Mr. and Mrs. Totally ADD

by Still Totally ADD in

jw
friends

this is bigger than christmas and birthdays wrap into one.

thanks to the australian royal commission our youngest son has woke up.

we received a e-mail from him tonight where he apologized to us for shunning us all these years, how bad he felt for doing this.

Reopened Mind

Mrs. Still Totally ADD here.

This was such good news we just had to share it with all of you. Your support has also brought tears of joy to our eyes. It's been a long road wondering if any of the seeds we tried to plant when we were leaving had taken root. It's good to know something sprouted. We can't take all the credit though. He has been reading and researching on his own. His conclusions are his own.The ARC hearings seem to have been a tipping point for him most likely because he has small children.

He has a wife and young children. I know the road ahead for him will be a rough one. We will stay in communication with him to give him all the unconditional love and support we can.

Thank all of you again for your encouragement and kindness.

Reopened Mind

8

Nice thought for the day ...

by neat blue dog in

jw
friends

just thought i'd share what i found in my fortune cookie.

(i know, fortune cookies are inviting demons, just like lucky charms cereal 😜) well actually it's more of a proverb, like most of them are nowadays:.

"as one grows to understand life less and less, one learns to live it more and more.".

Reopened Mind

My mother (nonJW) used to say, "the more you know, the more you know you don't know."

I don't think this saying is original with her, but it sure rings true.

Reopened Mind

50

You Know You're Starting To Wake Up When...

by pale.emperor in

you start listening to music deemed "unsuitable for christians".

you pretend to knock on the doors.

you explain a jw teaching to someone and realize how ridiculous it sounds.

Reopened Mind

When you muster up the courage to visit an XJW website.

29

conversation with a JW about the sun

by neat blue dog in

jw: didn't we just hear somebody say that the sun's gonna blow up?.

me: well, they were saying that it will expand and eventually burn out.. jw: but it can't do that, it just keeps blowing up inside and getting more power.. me: well, they were talking about stars in general, how they have a life span.. jw: but god didn't make it that way, it's firmly established to time indefinite.

it's not like the sun is a regular star.

Reopened Mind

Time indefinite does NOT mean forever! Indefinite according to Webster's dictionary means "not definite", not precise", "having no exact limits". Therefore the sun will last to "time indefinite" and will eventually burn out at an unknown time.

Reopened Mind

25

Did You Ever Find The Theolgy of JWs Reasonable?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when i was a young man growing up in the religion, i would try to defend whatever the understanding of a doctrine was.

i won a lot of arguments based on the idea that i knew better than anyone i was talking to and defended myself admirably.

(lol)....eventually, i realized i was in a cult but for many years i was a believer and i had faith that the gb knew more that i could understand..

Reopened Mind

I was first contacted by JW girls in school when I was 14, baptized at 20. I really wanted to live forever on a paradise earth. I really wanted there to be no more wars. I really wanted there to be no more sickness. And so it became urgent to warn people of the impending war of Armageddon in 1975. Their theology appealed to me because it changed; only it didn't change with "new light", it changed with new opinions, opinions of the governing body. I was completely immersed for 38 years until... I found a website in my local newspaper about Jehovah's Witnesses and blood. That was the first stepping stone to learning more and more about the organization I was ensconced in. But I had a big problem---my husband was the presiding overseer. How could I show him what I was learning? As it turns out, he too was harboring his own doubts. We danced around each other for a while until we finally had enough courage to talk frankly. We laid plans and we exited together. My biggest regret (and my husband shares this regret) is that we didn't do this before we raised our children.

So, to answer your question minimus, yes, at one time I did find the JW theology reasonable because I wanted to live forever in health and peace. Those pesky truths got in the way!

Reopened Mind

15

Starting a X-Cult support group. Any suggestions?

by Still Totally ADD in

jw
friends

mrs. add and i have seen a need in our area for this.

it all started over month ago when she gave her yearly talk on what is a cult at our local uu congregation.

their was several newcomers in the audience who have recently left the high control cults.

Reopened Mind

Mrs. ADD here, aka Reopened Mind.

When I gave my "annual cult talk" I emphasized that all cults have the same modus operandi which I illustrated with Steve Hassan's BITE method. Well, the next week two women approached me with their stories of being raised in a fundamentalist Christian cult from which they have exited but their husbands have not. Complicating matters both of them have small children. I suggested we form a support group which would meet at our church. They were glad to have someone to talk to who understood them. As Still Totally ADD said when we presented our idea to the church board they gave us their full support.

Giordano thank you so much for recommending the book by Eric Hoffer. It sounds like something that would be useful for our group. I knew that President Eisenhower was raised by a Jehovah's Witness mother.

I would like to add that we are in Jamestown, NY. If anyone is nearby and interested in being part of our group, please pm either me or Still Totally ADD and we will give you contact information.

Reopened Mind

33

My younger brother officially Disassociated today

by pale.emperor in

hi guys.

just wanted to share this with you as it's kind of got me worried.

my brother who was also raised in "the truth™" met me in town today for a coffee.

Reopened Mind

pale.emperor,

I can't imagine what it's like for your brother to have Asperger's, a family full in the cult, and realize he needs to get out. He is definitely one brave person. He is exceedingly lucky to have you to support his decision, a decision he is obviously capable of making on his own. The fact that his self worth soared when he broke ties with the Borg shows what a destructive, mind-controlling organization it really is.

I wish you both all the best.

Reopened Mind

90

So my PIMO Younger Brother Tried To Kill Himself Today

by pale.emperor in

we all know that this cult will drive those trying to leave to desperate measures, and today by brother was very nearly one of those statistics.

he slashed his thigh with a kitchen knife and was bleeding out until he called the police.. i got a call on my way home from work from a police officer, coincidentally it was one of my old friends from school who's now a cop.

he told me my brother is in hospital after an attempted suicide and has lost some blood but will be ok. but i should get to the hospital as he's asking for me.

Reopened Mind

PE,

You are a brother in the truest sense of the word.

Reopened Mind

15

Making real friends

by KindEyes in

jw
friends

hiya, firstly i’m new to this website, so sorry if this topic has been covered before.

i have been out of “the truth” for almost one year.

i live with my non-witness mother, have an amazing boyfriend, work and am in college.

Reopened Mind

KindEyes,

What Giordano said is good advice.But I know if you are very shy and introverted as I am you will probably be terrified to take that first step of seeking out a club or a volunteer group. As I said my husband was the more outgoing one. He was the one who took the initiative to visit a new group. When I went with him I could rely on him to carry the conversation. Perhaps your boyfriend will step into that role for you. Yes, it is hard for people with our personality type to make new friends but in the end we tend to make deeper friendships.

This may be an old cliche, but to make a friend you have to be a friend.

Reopened Mind

15

Making real friends

by KindEyes in

jw
friends

hiya, firstly i’m new to this website, so sorry if this topic has been covered before.

i have been out of “the truth” for almost one year.

i live with my non-witness mother, have an amazing boyfriend, work and am in college.

Reopened Mind

Hello KindEyes and welcome. I like your name. My husband Still Totally ADD told me about your post and suggested I share my thoughts with you. Like you I am a very introverted person. Still Totally ADD and I are in our sixties now and have been in the cult most of our lives, he a born-in, me a convert. Though I hated it I learned to be more outgoing by going in field service and giving regular talks on the ministry school. So when I left the cult at least I could approach people. My husband though is the outgoing one and I rely on him a great deal to take the first step to forming friendships. You say you have an amazing boyfriend. I'm sure you will find him a great source of support.

Look around at work and at school. Is there anyone you would like to get to know better? Say "hello", give a sincere compliment, ask a question, show interest in the person. Pretty soon you will have a conversation going. Don't be afraid of your JW past. I find many people are intrigued by someone who lived through an unusual experience. Know that not everyone is going to be your friend. You are free to choose who you are comfortable with. Most of all be sincere and be true to yourself.

As for your toxic JW girlfriends, surely you can see they are using you. You don't need them in your life.

Best of luck on your journey into the real world.

Reopened Mind