Posts by Sentinel

37

Do you get disappointed if no one responds?

by Larry in

jw
friends

writing should be for our own edification - a personal cleansing, therapeutic at the least.

if you write for other people's approval, you will be disappointed, especially when you share your thoughts on the 'net.

i've seen many folks get 'burn-out' from these boards b/c they don't get the expected respond to their post.

Sentinel

This is a good post.

Personally, sure I get disappointed when a thread doesn't take off like I'd hoped. To me, posting is like trying to start a conversation with a whole bunch of folks that I don't know too well. I'll start to talk and little by little, the room thins out. There are only just a couple listening to me. That's life. The ones that do already know me, kinda pop up to say "hi", and they respond. The others, who don't know me, may pass me by.

This doesn't stop me from posting a new thread, or posting on someone elses thread. We just need to be patient and take time to get to know one another.

There are some threads that don't interest me, so I know it's that way with everyone else. I try to make my threads interesting. It's like saying "hi, here I am and this is how I am feeling, or this is what I think, or what do you think about this or that?".

I'm a people person, so all types of individuals peep my curiosity. I feel at home here, and I'm not offended when someone just doesn't "hear" me. There are so many postings that it's easy to miss a good one.

Also, I do try to welcome any new posters.

Love and Light,

Sentinel

14

Letters to my daughter: PART 2

by witchywoman in

this is the response from my daughter to the letter that i sent to her which you can view in "letters to my daughter -- part 1".

i choose not to use her conversation, but i will paraphrase it.

subject: your point of view

Sentinel

Anita,

Thanks for the email to let me know you posted the second part. I haven't been on here too much in the past week, but am feeling better today. I really appreciate your post here. I think it will be helpful to others who are going through similar experience. The way you broke it down was easy to follow.

You are so right when you say that all we can really do is LOVE with all our heart. We can't give up hope that somehow their eyes will be opened to enlightenment. I hope that your daughter will begin to question for herself. That is the key. She knows how you feel, and you know how she feels. Now you probably should just agree to disagree--all things in love.

Sentinel

38

WHY ARE YOU HERE?

by jst2laws in

jw
friends

joy2bfree and i have so enjoyed meeting over 70 of the posters here on jwd in the last few months.

this has brought us even closer to many, yet the things i learned about each made me even more concerned about others here.

i hope each is getting what they need from this cyberpub we visit.

Sentinel

One day I was searching the net for a place to go where there was communication with folks who have experienced what I have--that is having been in the organization of JW's, and then trying to cope in the real world, outside. It has been a life altering journey for me and a very long process, to which there was still no real finality in my mind and heart. To know I'm not alone in how I think and feel gives me great comfort.

Certainly, I really didn't expect to find this place on my first try. But once I began to read all the many posts, I knew that I was "home". The experiences are so familiar and there is an understanding among everyone, a common denominator that connects us in a way that is necessary to get what we need, and give back at the same time.

Because our experience within the organization is so unique, we are "different". We are scarred and most of us are damaged. It takes a long time to work through all of this, so any help we can give to another might be no less than a lifeline. In return, we get to express ourselves and post our experiences, and we can learn from each other. We can grow as human beings.

That's why I'm here.

Sentinel

18

I Screwed Up Today!!

by Undecided in

jw
friends

my wife and i, along with her sister and friend went on a picnic today to the mountains of va. about an hour and half drive.

on the way someone asked what day of the month is it?

i looked at my watch and said the 10th.

Sentinel

Ahhh, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ANNIVERSARY!

Sounds like you and the wife have a good relationship anyway, to be away together after 28 years!

So you forgot. You didn't REALLY forget. You just forgot to remember a date.

I'm sure you are making up for that already!

Say, I live in Manassas, Virginia. Do you live in Virginia, or were you just traveling in the Commonwealth? Just curious. So many on the Forum are from the UK.

Sentinel

32

What Was Your Happiest Moment Ever?

by invisible in

jw
friends

a reunion perhaps, a party, a beautiful view shared with an equally stunning partner, what was ever, the happiest moment in your life?

how did you find this emotion, exactly what did it feel like, can you remember and perhaps share your sentiments here with the rest of us?

please take us there with you.. celtic mark - cornwall uk.

Sentinel

There is no doubt. It would have to be January 8, 2002, at approximately 9:15AM. I was at work, setting at my desk , pouring over a complicated two million dollar bank statement which I was balancing, and concentrating on the task at hand.

Suddenly I simply felt "very aware". I felt "different". I stopped, put my pen down, and at that moment, everything about me changed-- turned inside out. Everything changed and yet nothing really changed at all. It was totally awsome and totally unexpected.

I pulled out my journey, which I keep with me all the time, and noted the time, what happened and how I felt. Then I emailed my sibblings, seeking understanding for my "new awareness" and newfound "comprehension of everything spiritual". I didn't know what was happening to me. Since then, I have come to realize that I had an epiphany. It was like someone or some thing went inside my being and flipped a switch--perhaps changing my DNA.

A glorious moment in time, in which nothing previous or after can even come close to. It changed my life and is always with me.

Love and Light,

Sentinel

9

My CoC Book Came Today!

by Swan in

jw
friends

my copy of crisis of conscience came today!

i also got a copy of understanding mind control among jws.

so far i am very impressed with both of them.

Sentinel

Tammy,

This book will be a keeper. I don't own my own copy. I read it once back years ago, and then again last year. I had a difficult time getting it from the local library, as it is very popular. You will read it the first time with thrill and fervor. You will read it the second time, just to make sure you read it right the first time. And, then you will probably refer to it again and again.

As far as references for the history of JW's, it would seem that Ray would have some references in the back of his book, other than WT literature. However, there never seems to be an end to what is available on the net. Your local library should have a good reference on the history of religions, including JW's.

This book is written by a man who came from the "inner sanctum" of the borg. His insight and knowledge of the "secret society", the society that most JW's don't even know exists, is invaluable.

Love and Light, and happy reading

Sentinel

45

Is the Bible Really the Word of God?

by gumby in

jw
friends

is the bible really the word of god?

while sitting in my garage having a smoke, i reached up to an old publication (which i keep handy on my shelves).

it was the book stated above.

Sentinel

When I was a child, I used to think as a child. I used to listen to adults around me, as I thought they had all the answers to all my questions.

I listened to my mom when she told me she "had found the truth". This "truth" was supposed to have come from the same bible that my friends and relatives used. But this "truth" was so different from everyone else. Suddenly I realized at age fourteen, that there are many beliefs that come from one book that is supposed to be THE BOOK for all mankind. I learned that this book had been translated into many different varieties to suit different religions. My mistake was getting baptized as a JW before I had studied and determined my path in life for myself.

Now that I've studied it in depth as an adult, and moved out of the illogical beliefs of a cult, I realize that the bible is just a history book of religious philosophy-- just a nice combination of a variety of writings that lean toward the Christian concept of God and Jesus.

Personally, I do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. It does not even include all the other missing "manuscripts". Someone in charge determined which books would be a part of the bible and which would be excluded. Somehow that just doesn't seem reasonable to me.

Sentinel

17

Letters to my daughter: PART 1

by witchywoman in

after going back and forth in e-mail with my jw daughter, i got a chance to tell her about the wts` scandal with the un.

me being a mom still wanted to try and make a difference in my daughters life.

so i sent her an e-mail, i talked about every day goings on.

Sentinel

Hi Anita,

I've been noticing that you are posting more and more. They are great expressions from your heart, especially this one, which I know came from deep down.

((((((((((Hugs)))))))

When it comes to our children, as mothers, we would go to great lengths to "save" them from any danger. It is our nature, we cannot help our instincts in this area. And what do we get in return? We get told that it's none of our business and they don't appreciate our butting into their life. We are told that we are to blame for every unhappy thing thats ever happened to them. And, then we are left with all this guilt. It isn't fair is it? This is just regarding "normal" stuff. It hurts, but we do have to let them go. We have to watch them trip and fall through life, making their own mistakes, just like we did. And, when their kids grow up, they will blame their parents too.

Their attempts to find themselves also includes having their own belief system. When that belief system is the borg, and we know what it did to "us", it breaks our heart. But, there is something we really do have to remember, and that is, "we were once where they are now". We believed and we had the true faith. It's such an individual thing for each of us. The more pressure we put on loved ones still "in", the more they grow to resent us.

It hurts, but we have to find a way to "let go". We have to stop punnishing ourselves. The past is the past. It's over. Everyone has to learn to move forward. It is the only way we can find some peace ourselves, and maintain some semblance of a relationship with our children, or family that are still bound by WT rules. We can't change the past, but the future is whatever we want it to be.....

Love and Light,

Sentinel

23

Hi -New Here

by RandomTask in

i want to share since i'm new here!

i was more or less born into the jw religion and raised as one.

my mom was a pretty strict believer, but she didn't get baptized until i was 9, "surprisingly" my parents got divorced three years later.

Sentinel

Random Task,

I want to welcome you to the forum here. Your post was well done.

We all experience the pain of losing loved ones, friends and family, to the borg when we make our own departure. That is a horrible price to pay for anyone. You are not alone.

Love and LIght,

Sentinel

7

Adam & Eve Didn't Have One......

by Sentinel in

jw
friends

last night i had a dream about creation mixed in with a bunch of other "nonsense".

anyway, there was this lineup of men and women and i was supposed to pick out the real adam and eve.

everyone was totally nude.

Sentinel

...two generations, eh?

Wow, I am a late bloomer.

Karen