The Erosion of "Self" - How Jehovah's Witnesses Steal Your Identity
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- A person has a lot to lose by associating with Jehovah's Witnesses. But perhaps the most devastating is the loss of 'self' or identity. Like all high control cults, leadership requires conformity, from and children and adults. How does one lose themselves as a Jehovah's Witness? Listen in.
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Without a 'self' it is not possible to have 'self esteem'.
That's right!! You have nothing...you've given it all away!
This happened to a gentleman I interviewed. He related how one time as he sat in the post-covid kingdom hall, the hall with screens and tablets, looking around and seeing a room full of people blankly staring at a person talking on a screen, suddenly the movie They Live with Roddy Piper came to mind. When I was in the KH it was the pre tablet and screen era, but I remember many a time looking around and seeing those glazed over stares, and I was always impressed by how nobody looked happy. Now I can"t even imagine, it would be a nightmare to me, singing those awful kingdom melodies off of a projector screen karaoke style. What madness!
Once your brain comes out of the shadows, you can't believe what you're witnessing. A dystopian brainwashing.....it's so true!
It sucked
it sucks bad@@BadViking1
@@survivingparadisepodcast You know Even when I was fully in I hated singing those songs I hated the music videos And the Kingdom melodies But when I watched the Broadcasts I was the one clapping at the end It’s amazing how much emotional control they have Out of all the four in the BITE model Emotional control is the strongest
"Groundhog Day"
As a JW, you're stuck on an artificial hamster wheel of go-nowhere activity, mindless busy work. The last few years before I escaped WT, I became more and more depressed and frustrated that every day, every week, every year was the same as the last. Since WT teaches that our routine as a JW now is a model for what the "new earth" arrangement will be, I had decided that, if this is what "paradise" will be like, _I want nothing to do with it!_ Living forever on a monotonous hamster wheel. How "happifying"!
*"Does the Bible chip away at our sense of self?"*
If humans are nothing, stupid, born sinners, etc., why would God crave worship from humans? It is confounding that people devote themselves to a god that views them as worthless.
Thanks for a great episode, Stacy. Every word resonated.
@@ellegee4683
That's one of my favorite quotes from Aurelius. 😊
“A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” ― Albert Einstein
OUTSTANDING points Adam as always!! Why does God want a bunch of turds worshipping him anyway??? GREAT point!!
One of my absolute favorite quotes!!@@ellegee4683
Right, without freewill Life would be boring 😂 imagine a robotic life like that except now you gotta live trillions of years like that😂😂
They took 17 years of mine and my sisters life, glad we escaped. The sad part is it took my father passing away to get out of it, even then it took my sister a little while to come to. The Bible talks about beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing, the Bible was talking about Jehovahs witnesses.
Wish my step bro would get out. I can't even have a Bible conversation with him without him leaving the room.
Makes me think of what Jesus said: "This one only comes out by prayer and fasting."
Keep loving him and be patient....a question here and there that he can think about@@xnihilo1044
I'm so sorry for your loss! That happens a lot with those that leave...it takes a parent or someone they love immensely to pass away. The blinders drop.....I'm so glad you're now both out!
Just remembered something that wasn't mentioned in your excellent podcast: the way people view you.
In normal life people will attribute certain qualities to others.
As a teacher I always mention the personal qualities of a pupil (quiet, funny, helpful, sporty, eager to learn, etc)
This also forms your self(esteem).
But JWs only will qualify aka rank people by their 'spirituality' or assignments.
So in this organisation it doesn't matter WHO you are, just WHAT you are...
SO true!! As an educator, you know this better than anyone. The 'org' has it's own list of descriptors....loaded language, all of which stabs at your persona. You MUST be like everyone else, including bible characters who did some ....uh.....horrific things!
@@EL-IZ-At-BETH-sarim yes that is an interesting point you make and even in relaxed social gatherings the JW conversations tend to be “How many Bible studies have you got ? What interesting experiences have you had in the ministry ? What talks have you enjoyed most, recently ? Have you ever visited Bethel ? What congregation are you in / have you visited? Are you Pioneering ?………….🙄 Come on there is a whole world out there !!
Stacy, I really appreciate your activism and making some sense of being in the DOOMSDAY CULT of Jehovah's Witnesses. It's definitely a cult. It's great to see so many waking up.
Thank you Tammy! I appreciate you taking the time to listen!!
Always reminds me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers , as humanity gets overtaken quietly & subtley by the Swarm to be compliant & obedient drones with only groupthink to guide them!!
GREAT comparison and a movie that creeped me out as a kid, the original and the remake!
Excellent episode! The erosion of self that tends to take place in the JW organization is tragic. I noticed it having the most effect on some personality types as well as people who silently suffered from untreated trauma(s.)
In that culture, it's not about what a person thinks or feels about something - it's about how Jehovah feels about something - as defined by the organization. We were indeed bombarded with rhetoric such as: your heart is sinful and treacherous - it does not belong to earthling man to direct his step, bring your line of thinking into line with Jehovah's thinking, etc., etc.
It's alarming how much it suppresses a person's natural and healthy intuition. Thankfully I never lost my sense of reality nor personal agency and am so relieved to have walked away from this organization that is psychologically unhealthy -- that is an understatement!
As women, we were further suppressed in the intensely patriarchal culture. Learning to get in touch with and to trust my intuition has been life changing and empowering.
The whole underlying paradigm is a house of cards, which is the reason we were told to only read their publications.
All so true Elaine....and as a female, it's off the charts, as women are minimized beyond words. I hope it creates awareness that it's all by design!
Amazing podcast! It's crazy that I thought "putting on a new personality" was a good thing, but at the time I thought my personality wasn't good and people with low self-esteem JWs lurk. And taking people's time away, they say social media is time stealers, but social media is nothing compared to JWs.
YES! The nerve to encourage changing your persona....not just moral issues, but your very person....its awful
This is absolutely TRUE!
My step-bro became one in the early 80s. Before then, he was a fun-loving, active, took life by the nads kinda guy. This cult reversed all of that and quickly. He has totally withdrawn from the world and does not spend much time with family. Whenever I tried to discuss Bible issues with him, he would get up and walk away.
Always thought that comical how the 'one true church' cannot even defend their own 'faith.'
:( that is terrible....and it's happened to millions of people: completely stripped of their personaliy/identity. I'm so sorry for your step brother....but there is hope that he will wake up!
Humorous with serious truth and facts!!👍
It keeps me sane, thanks for listening!!
Very good episode. Maybe for me the one with most impact.
I have only been a bible student for about five years. But after I set foot in a KH, this creepy experience of slowly being transformed and isolated from my former connections really made me feel trapped. The loaded language, the faked happiness about the Best Life Ever. The 'new personality' just more and more felt like a straight jacket..
The pandemic was my saviour...
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the kind remarks and I'm SO GLAD you're out! It's very creepy once you look back at it all.....chilling!
Many years ago I remember that when I was with my friends from work I knew who I was because they knew who I was .... I could be the real me with them, I had a personality. At the Kingdom Hall I felt like a cardboard cut-out. Years later, upon returning to the meetings following two fades, I was listening to the speaker droning on and on and thinking, if this is spiritual food why do I feel like I'm eating cardboard? That was it for me, I realised I was done. But until I heard this podcast, I hadn't made the connection between the two images of cardboard. I was a cardboard cut-out eating cardboard!!!!!! What a ghastly thought but such a true description of how I felt. I left the real me at the Kingdom Hall door. Without "worldly" friends I wouldn't have known who I was! Your podcast is so accurate about the erasing of self to become glazed robots. It's damn scary, worse than anything Stephen King could have written. Thank goodness so many have left and many more are leaving, and thank you for your insight on this subject.
That is a GREAT analogy Merrill....eating cardboard!! Bland, flat....SO true. Isn't it amazing how much more the 'worldly' people rally around you versus your 'brothers and sisters?'
Thank you again for this last video, Stacey. As an ex JW, it appealed to me very soon, how mechanical and robotized most of the people in the congregation, were. Especially in the way they expressed themselves verbally, using the same repetetive words and expressions, over and over, on the same tone, about the same topics. This is a cult signature, without any doubt. When I was in the cult, I found it to be so unatural, yes, the right word is, unatural. There are certain things being forced upon people, but other things are subtlely being adopted little by little, as a behavior. For most of the JW's, this appears normal and even, conforting. It may not be noticed by the JW's although, some might do notice, but nobody would ever dare speak about it, of course. Humans are creatures of habit, but even if I considered myself a hardcore believer, at some point, I began to feel fed-up, especially, during conventions, where you were fed for hours and hours, days and days, with so called '' spiritual food''. But what happens when you're so fed-up to a point that you become nauseous ? Sorry to say that, but you throw-up. It is so unatural. Personalities here, were being replaced by group identity and indoctrination - a very known depersonalization technique, especially, in the military. You must break that nutshell which constitues a unique personality, and I don't mean the '' worldy, unchristian personnality'', I mean, the core identity of someone, that makes each and everyone of us, unique. Now, this is evil. Today, I still believe in God, Christ and the Bible, but outside of the Watchtower, and in no particular denomination. The difference between being in a spiritual army of Christ on one side, and the military, JW's and others, on the other side, is that, you don't need to be depersonalized, to be a true christian. And I'm sure that this is most likely, what God wants.
Great comment, and so true!
Well said!
So true!
Very well said in so many ways, I agree. The conventions became shockingly bad... insulting to everyone's intelligence and they've only gotten worse. The words, the music, the songs....all turning people into zombies!
You found it unnatural because apparently you are not a sheep that recognized its master's voice. You do know that God's word the bible is repeated for a reason. How do most people remember anything. Those that do their assignments will find they have studied the entire bible in a year. If you had read the BE book you would know that JWs do not speak in a monotone way. They are taught in the art of public speaking.
(Matthew 13:1-7) On that day Jesus left the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And such large crowds gathered to him that he went aboard a boat and sat down, and all the crowd was standing on the beach. 3 Then he told them many things by illustrations, saying: “Look! A sower went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and they immediately sprang up because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them.
I was always a "bee under the bonnet" even though I was a Witness for some thirty years before being disfellowshipped. The problem I represented in the four congregations I associated with was that I am a polymath. As such, I always had "independent thinking" that was only enhanced by my college education. I was also a school teacher who had always taught my students to think for themselves. So I had the reputation of not being an organization man. Being marked that way, I was never appointed as a ministerial servant or an elder. Looking back on that, I see the lack of congregational responsibilities was clearly a blessing.
You used the word "evil" to describe this organization's philosophy and practices. I couldn't agree with you more. Freedom of conscience, real thinking ability and innovative ideas are completely unwanted by the WTBTS leadership. The organization's publications, video productions and platform speeches are given equal, if not superior, emphasis with the Bible itself. The governing body acts as a collective papacy whose words and actions cannot be challenged, questioned or resisted. The result is a poisonous, pernicious cult which has effectively ruined the lives of its followers by taking away their human rights. Your podcast has made me rejoice once more that I'm free at last to worship God in the way I see fit.
Wow, you and I agree, I find it all to be very, very evil. You're the exact type of person they don't want: Educated and able to communicate. I'm not surprised they didn't elevate you with a title......you scare them! Thanks for the great post!
Is the term "bee under the bonnet" used a lot by JW's? I recall a conversation I had with a JW I think it was in 1995 and he used that term, will never forget that
Hi there, I'm familiar with the term, but never found it popular among JWs....but it may have just been in your congregation?@@penttimuhli9442
Thank you for explaining this message so thoroughly of how we lost our identity in this man-made cult. Escaping the mental prison, what a precious gift.
You're very welcome! One of the happiest days of my life was leaving!
@@survivingparadisepodcast I know that's right!
On the east coast, and I stayed up til 3am for this! Love u Stacey.
Wow, get some sleep my friend! LOL, lots of love to you as well!!
Couldn't sleep. Then your video dropped. Another great podcast. Right, finding self after self was not good enough, even from babyhood and you have Stephen Lett telling everyone in his sermon that babies are enemies of god.
Twisted corporation that they say isn't a corporation.
So true Penny! I'm sorry you couldn't sleep....I've been there a few times myself :)
@@survivingparadisepodcast Thank you Stacey. It happens from time to time. And tgank you for another good podcast. So glad we're getting our heads around that bazzar time in our lives.
the Stephen Lett comment is a classic yet chilling addition to my WT gripe list. my wife and a friend of hers, the wife of an elder, thought it odd as well. have you tried a melatonin supplement?
Stacy- this is one of your best. My story is very complicated as I think you know if you read over the doc I sent to you. I remember observing members who have been in for years before I was ensnared into the cult. I remember the confusion expressed by young members who were dismayed at having the music they liked being vilified in the publications. I was a PIMO for several years before I was finally DFd but even though I was mentally out it took a few years after I was kicked out to de-program. Now that all the halls have big displays up in front where big brother talks to them and they have iPhones, tablets and big displays at home their daily programming will keep them in a zombie state. My sister who I grew up with and who lured me into the cult has been in for over 50 years now. I see no hope that she will ever escape it.
I like how you see the way they are operating the same as the rest of our 'actual' society as "big brother" or their [ jehovah ] . Media has become everybody's channel to their god. A far cry from the power that has been able to extract us from jw pay-out-of-pocket-to-slave /neo-slavery /mind-control/zombie-ism/artificial-intelligence @HD7100 , @survivingparadise et al
Thank you HD!!! YES, it's downright chilling what his going on inside Kingdom Halls and conventions. The screens and the use of video has become chilling to me.... there is ZERO attempts to be 'warm' anymore!
I was really struggling today, this helped, thank you. I was 30 years in and just 10 months out now.
Bless you, sister.
May I ask did you embrace the true risen Christ?
(((HUGS))) Dionne!! We totally understand...you're safe here....and free. I promise it gets better; be good to yourself! ;)
Me too 25 yes in and I left 2 yes ago,This whole organization is delusional and yes you like so many no doubt have been damaged by their rhetoric, Take heart my sister ,you have the real truth now ,now you know what you know and what they do to people who make waves but most importantly you have Jesus not a nostic ego centric pedafile ridden false prophet organization like this one.take heart you are not alone!There are many who are leaving every day because of the neglected abuse.I thank God every day for so c ial media because I get to meet people like you who are fighting for their freedom and are frankly just want to survive on a daily basis without being under their control..Take heart you are using what our creator gave each and everyone of us and that is a gift ,,,our since of self .Take heart you are not alone
@@survivingparadisepodcast Thank you 😊
@@xnihilo1044 Thank you too 🩵 I embrace love. The records of Jesus teach and show how he was compassionate and loved people, I embrace that. Love is in my heart as I believe is in many.
Knowing something isn’t always enough. Thank you for explaining it in a way I can understand & sort out the wiring in my brain ❤️
Thank YOU! I'm right there with you....I had to untangled endless knots in my brain....it's a journey my friend!
You can’t even have a personal relationship with Jehovah. It HAS to be in the organization. You can literally not believe in God and that’s ok - as long as you are faithful to the organization. There is no self. Just go through the motions. Believe in God or don’t believe in God. It matters not. Just be faithful to the cul….I mean organization.
Exactly. They've stripped it all out for anyone who chooses to be a Christian. It's nothing more than a secular business scheme using an ancient book to establish authority. It's both comical and tragic!
Thank you for your content and kind approach. You have a very kind and soothing voice and attitude as well. Thank you x
Thank you so much caroline, that is such a nice compliment!
From all your videos I've seen, this is the one that hit me the most.
That means a lot, thanks for sharing and for listening!!
Great episode
Thank you! I appreciate you listening!
There is no I in BORG..... great episode as usual sir...
LOL, truth!! Thanks Deo!
Stacy, that was a amazing podcast discussion hit very close to home. I like you grew up as a witness from birth. I’m 53 now I always as a kid thought there was something off but I just went through the motions as we try to please other people, I am fortunately out of that organization, and finding self every day!
We were the same person....56 here. Same generation....we went along with things and the 'org' has changed so much since we were younger. It's so dumbed down and has become very creepy. I'm so glad you're out!
Independent minded critical thinkers are anathema to the org. They want everyone on the same page. I believe the primary reason watchtower frowns on higher education and views it as a threat is control. Someone who has read books other then watchtower publications might question doctrine. And we certainly can't have that. They want unquestioning sheep in the congregation. Think what we tell you to think, say what we tell you to say, do what we tell you do do.
WT doesn't even want JWs to read the organization's own books. This is why WT is telling congregations to purge and destroy the Kingdom Hall libraries of older publications.
Well said! They want you obeying and not questioning anything....just get onto the hamster wheel. Any deviance meets with discipline. In all honesty, it's terrifying.
Excellent, Amazing talk and eye-opening points. Oh how i wish i had access to this kind of revelations when i was trapped in the religion and totally blinded, always scared of God's wrath and filled with self-loathing. Didn't know who I was at all. Your channel is life-saving. Enormous gratitude to you.
Thank you so much rebella....you weren't alone! We all look back in shock at how 'taken' we all were. Thank you for being here!
Amazing episode! Please keep em coming!
Thanks Jordan!!
Perhaps the scam of all scams! I think many of us felt like hamsters on a wheel. I had an identity as a Christian before I mentally left a few months ago. I raised my three children in it. Now, my daughter is asking why I don’t go anymore and why I feel I cannot speak about it. I WANT to tell her, believe me, but is it a trap? I want to just fade. Should I get a therapist first?
It's a scam! I'm so glad you're out and it sounds like it's recent. If you're daughter is a JW, be careful, I don't want you to lose her. Feign depression or fatigue. She is likely not ready to hear the truth as to why you're leaving. Fading is best and I ALWAYS recommend therapy....you will be surprised what has happened to you. Be good to yourself and go slow!
so true i was molded into what i thought a JW was to act. always funny, smiling when talking to others at the hall. even though we were told not to imitate faithful servants but imitate their "faith" I do find most all sound the same and robot like . Not knowing who I was what I liked what i was good at. Too much effort not sinning to do anything else
:( you're not alone. Many of us go through life like a zombie, never really understanding ourselves and hiding our true selves....I'm glad you're out now!
You out did yourself this time! Thank you for your kind heart. 💙 I am convinced that good hearts are huge in making individuals see thru the org!
Awww, thank you so much Heather!!!!
Your best video yet! This is incredible!
Wow, thanks so much Richie!!
Some further thoughts on this:-
- at least in the UK, there are particular speech patterns JWs use when they are doing a talk at the KH. For example, ending sentences with "don't we?" and "aren't we?" - there's this constant prod to agree with the talker. Further, just the fact that they all freaking speaking with such similar speech patterns....it did weird me out (as a bible study).
- the almost-oppressive need to constantly agree in a KH meeting. The so-called Q & A in the Watchtower Study is supposed to be people voicing their own thoughts, but there's this fixed pattern that must play out: speaker asks a question that really begs an obvious answer, speaker picks Brother Smith to answer, Brother Smith replies with the obvious answer. Sometimes I'll hear an analogy being put forward, and I can feel the cong sort of suddenly paying attention, as if the brother might start skiing off piste. But, no - just some obvious analogy. Speaker says something like "good analogy, never thought of it quite like that" and onto the next question. That's as much "improvised jazz" as you're going to get in the meeting all night. It's all utterly stale and the implication throughout meetings is that you can never question anything.
All scripted the answer is in the paragraph the Bible highlights the answer we want you to give is in the highlighted box .
Thankfully I stopped going five years ago .
My Wife is very active I watch the ex JW sites .
To much mention of the governing body the organisation and society.
Apparently in Sunday's Watchtower about fear the word fear was mentioned around 46 times extremely poor writing and of course poor Jesus was mentioned twice .
The JW religion isn't very Christian IMO.
@@thetruthk5138 How's your relationship with her?
@@xnihilo1044 Excellent as long as she doesn't bring religion up absolutely fine .
Although it is mentioned occasionally because she really does believe it and is programmed by WT to witness.
But I just remind her it's a subject we have agreed not to talk about.
SO much to unpack here, you're correct!! It's all loaded language design to capture our minds. The words used, the patterns, the highlighting the answer....all in an effort to control our ability to think, reason and act.
YES, well said. The writing is so juvenile and insulting.....it's awful@@thetruthk5138
Your commentary is AWESOME! Thanks
You're too kind, thank you!!
Damn. This one hit home hard. Thank you Stacy!
Tough subject, I agree Cody!
👋your exposure of this subject is absolutely 💯 % correct. Thanks.❤👍
Thank you for listening!
Always enjoy your take on things, thank you.
Thanks Matt, i appreciate you!
Great podcast,,, I can't get tired of telling you how I admire your creativity, and I find amazing how someone as you a former elder and ministerial servant managed to see the light light. Brought me memories how I used to get ready for the book studies when we were reading the greatest man who ever lived book,, revelation among others we read and getting ready for the watchtower on Sundays,, they just mentally slave your mind, again great podcast Stacey, great points and till next week.
Thank you David, I appreciate you! I conducted the BS on both of those books....so many memories. So glad you're now out and living FREE!
Only every time I went😅😂😂😂like being in the middle of some empty, void dark abyss surrounded by empty husks😅😂
LOL, it does get a little entertaining when you look around at others
It's all BRAINWASHING and they all fell
for it but now many are waking up
YES and it does seem as though many younger people are waking up to it all
Describing the daily/weekly routine of jws as groundhog day is so spot on... 😮💨
Right?? It's the same drudgery day after day!
You describe these ‘zombies’ so well. Most of them get depressed or have a breakdown. I saw this right in front of my eyes. I left and will never go back.
My ex husband had a breakdown and he wasn’t even an elder. I’m see the same thing happening to my 45 year old son. They do erode themselves.
I'm so sad to read this. 45 is too young for all of this. This never should have happened to your husband. I hope you ALL can break free....it's beyond damaging!
Very well done and delivered. 🏆
Thanks so much Reginald, thanks for being here
Thank you 😊 Stacey. I needed this!
Thank you Natasha! I'm so glad it helps in any way!!!
For those interested in Self surrendering all human potentials … this is an excellent organization.
Truth!
I'm convinced that this erosion of self starts with (or is at least maintained by) the teachings that tell us we can hand our moral responsibilities off to someone else. The GB will make all of our meaningful decisions for us, we are just here to obey. Jesus will (somehow) erase the debt produced by our bad behavior (and the offense that is simply existing as imperfect humans); no need to change or make amends, this being will take on and wipe away your personal moral guillt.
If our actions within reality can be owned and/or erased by others, and we are REQUIRED to PRETEND that anyone else but us are responsible for our behavior, it's impossible to form a solid sense of self/ego. And when we finally leave that system, it can be TERRIFYING to realize no one is coming to our rescue. WE have to create our own moral systems, act based on what we understand to be good or bad, and face the consequences ourselves - and we weren't taught any of the skills needed to define our existence in this world.
YES, a million times YES! Very well said....you hand your soul, you're everything, to a book publishing company. You live your life as an automaton.... you're checked out and denying your thoughts and feelings...very well said!
I feel like all my potential was stolen. This hit it right on the nose! I sent it to my mom. I doubt she’ll watch it. It’s always felt like a business relationship with my mom. No emotion there. Just routine. I really appreciate this video - validating everything I’ve been thinking. Not the “apostasy” they claim it to be but simple critical thinking and sense! It’s psychological warfare. Born and raised.. I’m still trying to figure myself out. Trying to learn to have meaningful connections. How to process my feelings I was never allowed to express.
Big hugs Bri....many, many of us understand...having everything stolen from us. I'm so sorry about your mother. While we can't get back the time, we can move forward. I hope you're finding some peace, lot's of us have endured the same thing and we are here for you!
Another wonderful video. I remember staring at the KH ceiling. I remember staring at the upholstery of the seat in front of me. (I could probably draw that pattern from memory, though it's been 17 years since I stepped into the hall.) I zoned out. I practiced inducing cold shivers. I day dreamed.
I never lead a double-life, per se. I was a "good girl." I followed the rules meticulously, even being *too* conscientious of them -- I was afraid of breaking a rule, even by accident. But even then, there was two sides of me. Outside the Kingdom Hall, I would play video games; had friends at school; would read fantasy novels (but not ones that were clearly forbidden, like Harry Potter); and enjoyed Star Wars. Inside the Kingdom Hall I had to basically deaden that side of me, because all of that was iffy at best. I felt guilty, lacking, less spiritual than the people around me. Forever playing catch-up-
This conflict of having two of me, was what broke me out. The morning when I realized that I was about to basically put a mask, a costume, on, and go pretend to be something I clearly wasn't -- a through-and-through JW, was when I quit going to the meetings. I didn't know WHY I was so faulty, I'd tried to do more and more and more in Kingdom work, but nothing helped it.
I quit going to the meetings. It really was as if a part of me fell off, and the part that was left was the real me, that had managed to become, despite everything, underneath. Or perhaps a better way to describe it would be that I never again garbed myself in that "new personality." I left it on the floor. I didn't have to put it on anymore. Of course, these things are more complicated than that. It's not like ALL of it just came off, at the snap of my fingers. But a lot of it did, enough for me to notice and remember how peculiar it was. Even when, at the time I didn't realize, didn't know, what it was.
I'm reading Steve Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control at the moment. The decision to actually order it, came, when I read on the Amazon preview, about the "cult personality." Even in the short snippet, it sounded exactly like what I went through.
We are so much alike Elecyah!! I had a very similar experience! I was the king of daydreaming and disassociation, which is where I did all this crazy thinking LOL. I too was afraid of breaking certain rules. I'm so glad you found FREEDOM!
i think if you now look up the scripture John 6:68 you will see it does not say where will you go but like other bibles it says, whom shall we go away to? ( could be a mandel effect bible change for you)
YES, very true Dianna....a key thing JWs completely lie about....they change it to 'whom'
I used to look around at the meetings and think "Stepford Wives! we're turning into zombies". Scarey feeling.
Absolutely terrifying to see
Wow! Thank you Stacy for another great podcast! This one really hit home with me, as this was the main reason why I walked away🥹
True of me too David!
It reminds me of The Truman show
That movie sent chills up my spine.....VERY accurate to JWs
This was extremely eye opening. I've been away for over a year but, I can confirm All of this is true.
Thank you Bruce and welcome to FREEDOM!!!
Look at a child- LIVING, BREATHING MIRACLES -TREASURE❤
TREASURES!!! I agree!! :)
Most humbly thank you for allotting time to read the ramblings of an old Lady!
Keep shining your kind of "light" on as much as possible. It Matters & has Value🌟🤗🤗👏🌟
We are in this together!@@Cindy-yq1cy
Thank you, kind Sir! I'm trying better than my best(as usual,😅but seeing the ripple effect on GENERATIONS can tend to make one weary😅/I'm getting ready to be honored with a glimpse into a Third Generation emerge into this muck 🤮
Make sure you leave things better than you found them‼️💪☯️
Epic. You help us heal but this was the best therapy session. Thank you.
(((hugs))) .... thank you so much, we are in this together!
When you have self-esteem...they will call you Haughty like Nimrod and not humble!! I was called this when I would call BS and lies out from the Elders etc...
Yes it's very common to then gaslight you!
The organisation sets it self up in the place of christ.. leave if you are here.
Yep, it sure does....you can't know him unless you obey THEM
You are spot on & I can totally relate!
Thank you!
This was deep and very much needed
Thank you so much. It is a deep subject and one that tortured me for many years. I'm so glad any of this helps anyone! Thanks for being here!
…and if you don’t have a good sense of self, your DECISIONS are going to be affected. I have seen my 80+ year old mother now making some bad decisions STILL, that if she “put on the new personality” would not we have learned? So, that woke me up in a big way: Watching my mom become LESS able to make good decisions in marriage, finance, friendships, business or economic decisions, and yes…even the silliest decisions of right and wrong, allowed or disallowed choices.
For those born in, it even starts at birth. "How happy you must be to been born AS one of JW." Not born within, no as one of them. There is no room or question of what you are, you have been told from your very first breath.
YES! And it's criminal to do to a precious child...it follows you through life!
@@survivingparadisepodcast It sure does. Fortunately there is help and a future for a self, self. :)
One of the most dangerous thing they say is: "don't trust yourself"
AGREE....very dangerous!
Things like "For example, our clarified understanding of “the faithful and discreet slave,” published in the July 15, 2013, Watchtower, thrilled us." really bothered me even back when I was in. But I didn't fully understand why.
I just knew deep down that the fact that it was a statement not a question made it a dictated fact. This was how you felt.
It puts a pit in my gut thinking about.
YES! That pit in your gut.....I've had it too!
The rank-and-file will ALWAYS be considered as WORTHLESS in Jehovah's eyes no matter WHAT they do.
They are constantly pushed for more
Thank you! Great example of David! This example is a good one to use if the witnesses come knocking on doors- do they still go door to door?
Thank you! Glad you're here!
I think the Bible got the opening in reverse. God was created in Man's image. So, when Israel was a warring people, Jehovah was a war god. When Israel was a kingdom, Jehovah was the god of the king and liked what the king did.
100% true! I've said that for many years.....a god made in man's image....and there is lots of proof in the Bible's pages...
You said it PERFECTLY! Yes, I thought ALL THOSE THOUGHTS YOU SAID HERE! So sorry you also felt that and yet, it feels so good hearing I wasn’t the only one to feel all these ways! Yes, totally how you say it! I would add that being born in, coupled with the Dooms Day part, it also creates a child that seems to be a war torn child, like…reacting as if boms going off all around us.(spelling wrong on purpose so not to get your channel in issues, but I hope you get my meaning here.)
Thank you so much! I'm sorry I missed your post until now!
"Thou shalt not think"
That is their credo ;)
It is for for us to raise our slip not others.
Don’t forget we are told we are just ‘dust ‘and we have gods ‘undeserved ‘kindness ☹️
People grow up and grow old in this organisation ‘ moulded ‘by it, indoctrinated by it week in and week out. Do they get to actually explore who they are as an individual ? and ask themselves , without feeling guilty, as to what they themselves as an individual person actually WANT to do with their life ?
Their thinking, attitudes, behaviour, dress
, and even their routine is all pretty much mapped out for them.
Agree....It is one of those indicators of it's cult like hold on people. Children are completely altered, with the trauma usually showing up in adulthood
@@survivingparadisepodcast let’s not deny that thousands of JWs are happy in this faith and have happy marriages and well adjusted children, however what I will say is that such a restricted way of life is not right for everybody and no one should be punished for leaving the faith . In Satan’s so called wicked system we can all leave a job if it isn’t right for us, we can change where our children go to school, we can change where we bank our money, even get a divorce from a marriage mate, all without punishment. However ,If a baptised JW later decides to leave the religion then they will be shunned by all fellow believers and family for the rest of their lives ! It is unbelievable that such a draconian rule still exists in the 21st century , ….or is even allowed to exist. !!
Thank you for your work and fantastic video!!,
thank you so much Beauty!
If you forget and break out of the mechanical JW mode and say or do something natural, you will quickly get a disapproving look or admonished for being worldly.
Many if not most born-in JW, including myself, you don't get to grasp who your true self really if. JW are constantly told what to believe how to think ad how to feel. We are to be slow to anger and always know that we are a happy people. We are to associate only with the JW community, date and marry only JW, read only publications, avoid unclean conduct and entertainment. These are just a few of the stringent rules. It's no wonder a JW life is so robotic and repetitive.
So true Jania, you must conform to everything and all things JW culture. Personality is crushed, from thinking to loving.... they take it all or face ostracism
"Thinking people". "Awe inspiring". I'm getting triggered here. 😅
LOL, sorry.....we are tapping into the real you! :)
Not saying I was in a cult, but I used to fall asleep listening to the cassette tapes of My Book of Bible Stories 😂😂
LOL, many of us did from that generation...those little yellow tapes!
This could be a movie send this script
to HOLLYWOOD it also could be a good book
best seller excellent and so true
I very much agree!!! It would be a fantastic movie!
Just wanted to add to your points in the video that: You have this Jehovah vs Satan part, and so you become less and less able to make decisions, so have bad outcomes happening and then that starts the persecution from Satan going through your mind, and the good outcomes only being from Jehovah and not your doing, really, so the worse things get, you are told to work harder and harder for J and the hamster wheel goes faster and faster, never really getting anywhere, and taking more and more from you…circles and circles and yes…Groundhog Day, and Truman Show! Exactly
Very well said! It creates a dynamic of insecurity, including the ongoing messaging that what may seem like a good thing, may be a trap of Satan. You spend life second guessing yourself constantly!
17:30-17:37 Bingo!!
Thus, to praise those whom Jehovah has already condidered as worthless slaved would be to their detriment. They would be calling him a liar as the "serpent" in Eden told Eve...and he was CORRECT.
There are many people who are J Ws who have talents/ hobbles and interests but the pursuit of these things is discouraged by the organisation as being ‘selfish pursuits’ they are told to put ‘kingdom interests’ first, put spiritual matters first. They are told they can do all these other things in Paradise but from what I understand there is going to be guess what ? a whole load more preaching and teaching to do in Paradise according to their teachings.
All too true....give up on everything you love to do what THEY need you to do
also the flesh is so weak
....and we get the reminder, right? ;)
A cult alright ! No doubt about this .
I agree! ;)
The elders nor the GB will ever praise members of the rank-and-file or pat them on the back, telling them they did a good job, regardless of how much of their lives they SACRIFICE in Jehovah's service TO THEIR OWN DETRIMENT because they take their cue from Jehovah. To praise the witnesses for a job well done and give them accolades would go against Jehovah's will or contradict his will and word, because jehovah, in his so-called "holy" word already told 'his witnesses' in essence that regardless of what they did or how much of their lives were expended in his service, or how much they sacrificed on jis behalf, in his eyes they were "GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SLAVES", and they were to regard themselves as such. He says that what they did for him was only what 'they OUGHT TO HAVE DONE'! Thus, the GB follows suit, and passes this on down to the elders!
Yes! And it's criminal!!
The cult does it purposely
Maybe people in JW’s don’t need a rescue. Perhaps the universe put them there for a reason.
Interesting thought, share more....why may they be here?
…inroads and erodes
well said.... ;)
…and so because we lose our pre or unrelated to JW sense of self, we don’t develop past a certain stage of development as a young child, in many ways regarding trust and knowledge of abilities without JEHOVAH being attributed to it. Everything is connected to J, and therefore we have done nothing of importance to grow, and gain any measure of confidence. So, later, as adults our sense of self is sort of fused with J and we have not become “SELF ACTUALIZED” which in psychology it is when you have learned life lessons to be able to hold your own. You are then a VALID person to even TRUST, for yourself or others to trust. NO, JEHOVAH was given all that, so, outside now, as exJWs, we have had to dissect ourselves and separate all our pieces and put them back, and in a balance way, give credit where it is due, and find our true inner strengths and gifts, and then blossom outwardly as the person we were truly meant to be, all the while trying to realize how we got to that point, so to not repeat the same mistakes and maybe help others to never have to live that either…long winded addition to your great video! 👍
Very well said!!
…I meant to say: Would not she have learned?
Okay, see, I told you i have been thinking about this subject A LOT LATELY, so hopefully you don’t mind my rambles here.
I keep wanting to show people things I find out, of course to help, but also because it doesn’t feel enough for myself to only see it. Do you relate to this?
Love your rambles here, so sorry I missed them until now!
Spoken like a true elder hahahaha
LOL, hardcore training....
Do you believe Jehovah is God? If not, that's gotta be very difficult to believe your whole life, and then it changes. Sorry, just my opinion. I personally kept Jehovah as my God, just not there religion. I understand people have there own faiths, I enjoy your talks regardless.
Regardless of the Charles dude. They seem to be the only religion who actually understands the bible. Forget that Charles guy who cares. Go study all religions in depth and see who follows the bible not any human.
Do they? There is much to consider on this subject and considering they've literally CHANGED the Bible, I can't agree. In addition, the Bible has very basic teachings that the very existence of JWs proves they're missed the point. I'd love to get your opinion on several subjects from past episodes.
@@survivingparadisepodcast well if you think about it the original bible languages were in Hebrew and Greek so it had to be made so we can understand. ancient Bible manuscripts have been found. Some of these contain a number of differences, indicating that mistakes were made in copying. Most of these differences are minor and do not change the meaning of the text overall and the message of the bible.
@@survivingparadisepodcast I’d love to know what scriptures you think have been changed?
@@survivingparadisepodcast I also disagree with them changing the bible. They will literally ask you to get out your own bible when talking with you.
Yes they do, but will then give you their translation of what ANYTING means...and also, keep in mind, telling you to get your own version of the Bible does NOT mean that they haven't changed the New World Translation....they definitely have and it's well documented. I encourage you to take a look@@Wu-pz6yl