Take Advantage of Resources Available Now

Whether you are a former, current, or only know of the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW), you can take advantage of the resources provided on this blog.

KM Marie is my pen name when I started blogging several years ago, to share my experiences as one who was born and raised a JW and devoted my life to the organization before realizing that it was damaging my heart, soul, mind and spirit. Any love experienced inside the JW Society was conditional, meaning, I had to obey its strict tenets or find myself ousted from the organization into the cold world, becoming friendless and almost homeless, without resources to move forward.

If you are hesitating on whether to leave the JW Society, or if you just need help moving forward in life, then hesitate no longer. Assistance is here and waiting for you, just a click away. 

I wish you good luck and harmony in the coming New Year.

Click on the links below to start your journey of mindfulness, self-discovery, and a new year of individualized motivation and actualization. Enjoy.

This book is for anyone wanting to set intentions for the coming New Year and is for all persons, no matter what your background, whether you are religious or not, it has no bearing on the value of adding this workbook to your library.

https://www.amazon.com/author/kmmarie

Each page gives you an intention with room to journal about it and write down anything you want to support the intention.

Sample of the Table of Contents. There are 52 intentions in the book.

Read my story here about how I became one of Jehovah's Witnesses and my journey to freedom from the Watchtower.

https://collectiblepathways.etsy.com

Unwrap a unique gift at my Etsy Shop.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/collectiblepathways

I also publish many articles on a variety of subjects, such as, relationships, beauty, self-care, and traveling. Click on the link below to take you to my articles.

https://hubpages.com/@nancygrillo

To connect and comment on various topics, click on the link below to find my YouTube Channel, KM Marie.

https://www.youtube.com/@ExJWQuietActivismKM_Marie

#inspirational #workbook #journal #jehovahswitnesses

#activism #amazon #shop #etsy #youtube #self-help

#motivational #health #wealth #happiness #amazon

Spin Cycle

Whether you have decided to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) belief system or are still pondering your next move, you need to be aware that there are myriads of belief systems available to you. If you are satisfied being a JW then you probably aren't reading this anyway and have no interest in exploring the world in which we live and don't care to explore how us humans got here in the first place. You are satisfied with the information fed to you from the Governing Body of men who direct your every thought, word, and action. This is your choice; to turn over your entire life to a group of men who have little interest in your personal welfare other than what's in your wallet right now that you can donate to their global business operations.

I know, you may say that all religions are just a business with a corporate hierarchy that all need your donations to survive and to keep them in wealth while most of the membership remain at poverty level. Nowadays, making 100,000 dollars a year can be considered poverty level in places like California's Silicon Valley or in the posh areas of Manhattan near Sutton Place, which is considered one of the most expensive buildings in New York and you are a mere pauper compared to that group of people. Poverty is redefined nowadays.

So, what do you do once you leave the JWs? Oh, you embark on a mission of self-discovery. You want to explore all the varied belief systems out there or just cop-out and give up and say there is no God and it doesn't matter if I am a lazy old sod that does zilch and cares little about the guy down the street since we all end up as dust anyway with no afterlife. But then there is the rest of us who think our lives have a purpose and we are here to accomplish something and our awakening process means we are aware we've been to this planet before and are here to learn something from our past mistakes or misdeeds.

First of all, the best advice I can give you, is to pick one path and stick with it for a time period. If you listen to dozens of YouTube videos everyday, all filled with people who have all the solutions to life's problems, you will start spinning in circles and become jumbled up in your thinking. No person has the answer to life's mysteries and no one ever will.

I have a few suggested YouTube sites in the footer of this blog that are a good start on your journey to self-discovery and personal freedom. Pick one at a time, not all of them. Test out what the person is saying in one video and see if it piques your interest. Do not start a meditation routine, then a yoga routine, then study crystals, tarot, oh wait, that's from demons [ha], then do muscle testing, a vitamin regime, then become super Christian, then join the Masons or the Mormons [same thing] or some other religious group; you will spin out of control and confuse your mind more than it's confused when you leave the JWs.

You may feel you have wasted so much time in the JW organization that you have to rush into something else. You don't. Number one is to take an assessment of where you are right now. Start a journal and write down your priorities leaving out the spiritual and focusing on the material. Are you doing well at work? Do you have family relationships that need attention? Are you making the money you need to make or want more? Physical needs come first over the spiritual when many think the opposite is true when it's not.

If you feel you are physically in a safe place, then look at where your life is lacking. Obviously, for most of us, we need to get to work everyday to support ourselves or our family. That is your first priority. You now have dumped the weekly study and meetings of the JWs, so think about meditating on your life path. You don't need Dr. Wayne Dyer or anybody else from the cash-grab so-called spiritual community. You don't need to dive into many books about the origins of life, the THEORIES of evolution [notice the emphasis] or on anything else. 

Deprogram first from the Watchtower. They are a Masonic cult of men who have become very wealthy because of you and me and millions of other people caught in their nets. No, I am not talking about the lodge down the street with a bunch of local businessmen making connections. The true Freemasons and its many Societies are the ones running the globe. They are the ones reaching the billionaire mark, oh gee, like the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and its many corporations. That is the group you, dear reader, will never be in, yet you serve the masters.

Be aware of anyone on the Internet telling you they are a Freemason or a member of one of its Branches or similar Societies because it's like your neighbor telling you they are a member of the Boy Scouts. So what. They are not in the top echelons of those Societies nor are they privy to the secret rituals, language, or networking because they would not be your neighbor in the first place unless you live in one of the neighborhoods of the billionaire boys' clubs. 

Anyone spouting that the Freemasons and their related Societies are just a benign club of do-gooders, has no clue about the Societies they are funding at the upper most levels. The top level Masons would not be so desperate as to do little YouTube videos begging for subscribers so they can collect YouTube advertising pennies. 

Anyone freely disclosing they are a Freemason or Rosicrucian [e.g., Life After Religion YouTube Channel whose founder disclosed this on the Six Screens conference call on October 5, 2019] saying that they are a great group of guys having no connections with Luciferianism, are shills for the societies they serve. Wake up to these people who whitewash these secret societies or claim membership to de-mystify these private cults. I am not talking about the rank and file Freemasons or the rank and file JWs for that matter. They are only herds of cattle in the eyes of the leadership that will eventually be culled.

I hope this information is helpful as you wake up to the real world around you. Do not feel you should be forced into jumping into any specific belief system. This life is a journey, YOUR journey, and if you believe in one God or many creators of the heavens and earth, that Higher Power gave you free will. Use it wisely.

#jehovahswitnesses#activism#organization#watchtower#religion#god#exJW#JW#spiritual#journey#journaling#freemasons

Not Everyone Escapes

You may remember the story about the ex-Jehovah's Witness (JW) named Lauren Stuart and her family, who were all JWs and had left the organization but Lauren never seemed to mentally leave the JWs. 

I blogged about her earlier this year and the link is here:

https://exjwquietactivism.blogspot.com/2018/02/its-sad-when-they-leave.html

I found through the YouTube Channel of Kim/Mikey, video dated November 19, 2018, that the TV show called Investigation Discovery actually covered Lauren's story and provided a reenactment of how the police and detectives believed the murder/suicide unfolded. In case there was any doubt at the time about the reason for Lauren killing her family, her dog, and then turning the gun on herself, is detailed in that TV show. Yes, she started having doubts about leaving the JWs and essentially believed they were right about the end times, that the Great Tribulation and Armageddon were right at her doorstep and about to happen at any time. She felt that the only way out of their predicament of being ousted from the JW organization was to take the lives of her family and herself, since then [according to JW rules], her family would have a chance for everlasting life. Her fate would be in the hands of their God Jehovah who most likely would take pity on her for what she had done. However, this is up in the air with the JWs since they leave that up to Jehovah but would not conduct any type of memorial service for that person who committed suicide, even if they were still an active member of the congregation.

The link to the YT channel is below where Lauren is talked about and a link to the TV program that covered her story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=641nA_HVvFw

https://vimeo.com/301515222

As we are now in the holiday season, many persons deal with depression and assessing their lives as we close out another year and move into the new year. Even active JWs suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts and many carry that out, my own cousin being one such victim of suicide as I have blogged about here before. He was born and raised a JW, went on to serve at Watchtower headquarters in New York called Bethel, where he had various positions until finally being assigned to the former Brooklyn headquarters as a tour guide. He came back to his home state, married, became an Elder and served for years before I found out much later that he suffered from depression and was deleted as an Elder. In 2017 he committed suicide and there was no JW memorial, nothing, he didn't exist in their eyes and I only found out about his suicide weeks after it happened. Since I am no longer a JW, I was not invited to his gravesite service just held by family members, no official memorial was held by his congregation.

Do not let the JWs steal your life now or your future. If you have finally made that decision to walk away from the JW religion, be proud you made that step to start thinking on your own. If you believe in the Bible, then that is your strength and resource. If you want to explore various spiritual paths, do that now. If you have anxiety around this holiday time of year, let that go now. Calm down and relax, you have no one pushing you to celebrate anything. Do not be intimidated by JW relatives or family that you need to return to Jehovah, but be kind in your responses. Tell them the JWs do not own "the truth", and that truth is found in Scriptures, not in any church of Christendom, which the JWs are a part of. All churches claiming to follow the teachings of Christ are a member of Christendom.

If you feel depression settling in, reach out to trusted non-JW friends, relatives or co-workers. Maybe join a gym, start a daily walk in the park or around your neighborhood and consider adopting a cat or dog to take the focus off of you and onto another living thing that needs your time and focus. Start writing down your feelings and impressions in a private journal that only you know about, maybe carry it in your backpack or keep it in your desk.

This is the time of year to take stock and think about planning a new path for yourself. Don't fall into bitterness or start thinking the JWs are right after all. They have been wrong for over 100 years of existence before they adopted the JW name and changed up the corporation that exists today that is very much involved in this system of things, their so-called Satan's world. Yes, the JWs are profiting off Satan's world and have amassed great fortune while the membership suffer and die, sometimes at their own hand.

If you feel you need to speak with someone, do not be shy about contacting your local suicide prevention center. Sometimes volunteering at a homeless shelter or animal shelter can help you put life in perspective and you will see how lucky you really are right now. You can and will be that person who escapes from the walls of the Watchtower corporation and you will be a success and inspiration to those around you. 

The first step is to detach emotionally from the JWs, then work on the physical and plan your walk out of that Kingdom Hall and never return. They are wrong in their teachings, policies and beliefs. Convince yourself first, then introduce this concept to loved ones. But in the end, we can only save ourselves.

#laurenstuart  #jehovah  #JW

#activism  #society  #a&e #buddha

Bully Activism

Bullies are always a problem, whether it's in the work place or at school, and more people are becoming aware that you stand up to bullying tactics. If you can't personally stop that bully, you get help from a teacher, a co-worker, a boss, even authorities if the bullying becomes life-threatening. Such tactics exist in the ex-Jehovah's Witness (JW) community even though some claim there is no such community.

Everyone has the right to speak out against the religion in which they were born and raised since it was not of our choice. Once we reach adulthood, we have the free choice to walk away, even if that choice costs us our family and maybe even our livelihood. We have a chance now to speak out, whether it's on social media, blogging, websites, or holding up a sign on a public street to express ourselves about the damaging effects of an organization. Of course, I am speaking from the perspective of being born and raised in the JW religion. I have chosen to speak out via this blog and have many stories to share in my upcoming book that also features real-life practical suggestions for exiting the religion based on my own personal experiences.

However, some men inside the organization who I have known personally, simply bullied their way into the leadership position in the Kingdom Hall known as being an Elder. The Elders are the bosses in the Kingdom Halls and implement the rules, regulations, and policies of the Governing Body (GB) of JWs, who now reside at the world headquarters in Warwick, New York. Whatever the GB says, goes, and the Elders are the local enforcers of those rules handed down by the GB either in written letters to the congregations, or via the literature that is studied by the congregations at the meetings each week.

Some in the ex-JW community were former Elders who were forcibly deleted in their congregation, meaning, they were summarily thrown out for conduct unbecoming of a Christian and were forced to disassociate from the organization or face a formal disfellowshipping procedure where the Elder Body kicks you out of the organization and no active JW is allowed to speak with you unless it's your marriage mate or kids.

Bullies are always bullies, and I am sharing an excerpt from an article written by Alexandra James on her Facebook page about one such bully [my term, not hers]. James Lloyd Evans appears to have deemed himself some sort of leader of the ex-JW community who demands an answer ASAP from certain organizations who failed to respond to an article he wrote on his blog site about the Watchtower, December 2018 Study Edition, in which he Tweeted about. As if the entire world is to stop for a blog entry about a Watchtower article. Sorry, but the world is busy with its own problems and hardly takes notice of a Society that is dwindling to nothing save for the lawsuits that make it in the press when a victim of abuse has the courage to take Watchtower to court and in most cases, they slay the beast.

It seems James Lloyd Evans, a.k.a., John Cedars, does not like to be ignored even though he ignored my email inquiries until I finally sent a final email alerting him to the fact that he stole my idea for what would become his second book, that was the only time he took time to respond, yet he used his bullying tactics and I got the verbal smack down from this former Elder who apparently could not handle being ousted from the JW organization he was born into, and thinks he is a self-appointed Elder of the ex-JW community doling out discipline at his proper time. The blog entry where I talk about my experience with Evans can be found here:

https://exjwquietactivism.blogspot.com/2018/02/not-all-people-want-to-help.html

Apparently, Evans had delusions of reaching lofty heights in the organization in his birthplace in England and was summarily shown the door. There have been other ex-JWs who have shared comments on various social media sites claiming the same thing, how Evans ignored them or responded with sharp verbal blows cutting them in half. Evans has gone so far as to charge people a fee for their story to appear in his second book, something that further victimizes the people fleeing the Watch Tower. 

Below is an excerpt with a link provided of the commentary written by Alexandra James on her Facebook site. She also has a website called JWVictims.org. Lloyd Evans can ignore everyone else who contacts him via the published email address on his blog, yet when he contacts organizations who ignore him, he does a countdown and starts his bullying claims, by saying certain organizations are promoting women staying with their abusers by refusing to speak out against a Watchtower article that they are not even aware exists. Even if they are aware of it, what can they do? Nothing, they are busy helping victims of all kinds of abuse no matter what their religious affiliations. I see Evans will not be ignored when he has a warped view of the whole issue. This is called Bully Activism on the part of Lloyd Evans.

The full story is here:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/alexandra-james/so-now-lloyd-is-attacking-domestic-violence-shelters/2145193605731454/

If you are a victim of abuse, do not suffer in silence, do not seek help from any JW or ex-JW on the Internet. Go to a trusted friend's house, a hospital, or a counselor. If you are in immediate peril, phone the police or dial 9-1-1 on any phone if you are in the United States. You probably don't realize how strong you are and can find your own path to freedom, both physical and spiritual.

#cedars  #evans  #watchtower  #jw

#jworg  #society  #religion #exJW

#jehovah  #witness  #JWs #lloyd

#jwsurvey

Waking Hypnosis

I came across this phenomenon on a YouTube channel that I have as a suggested resource for ex-Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) [in the footer of this blog], and then expanded my research on the topic on various sites on the Internet. 

The video was done by Gordon Smith-Duran a few years ago and it may help as an introduction to this topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-cZfRfCEc

When we were all JWs, we were strictly banned from engaging in any sort of hypnosis techniques and were banned from watching any type of hypnosis session whether it was something performed on a talk show on television or as a game in a nightclub setting, and obviously were further prohibited from performing any sort of self-hypnosis or meditation and yoga on our own. Why is that do you think? The JWs say it has origins in the occult, that you will let some sort of genuine demonic being enter your body and you will be haunted and driven insane. Okay, stop and think why the JW leadership would put these types of fears into its membership, especially since birth. I have clear memories of being terrified of demons, I suffered from night terrors, and nightmares of the time of the end that is talked about ad nauseam at their public meetings and in their literature.

So why fear hypnosis? Why fear meditation and introspection unless you are chanting some verse about Jehovah God or staring at a paragraph out of Watch Tower literature and meditating on the words or in passages of their own Bible translation? Because you will see how easily the human mind is influenced and you will start repeating rhetoric in your day to day life that was placed there by a third-party. They are no longer your own true thoughts or beliefs. If the Watch Tower corporation allows you to engage in hypnosis sessions with a therapist, you will be influenced in a positive direction, an independent direction away from the mind-numbing influences of the Watch Tower corporation. Now I say this with the intention that therapists are well-meaning persons, having your best interests at heart and want you to become an independent self-reliant individual and deal with whatever problems that are holding you back from that goal of achieving your life's purpose.

Watch Tower will tell you that your life's purpose is to serve only them and to have a job to pay your own expenses, yet give a monthly stipend to your local congregation, plus an amount that goes straight to Watch Tower headquarters to keep their "worldwide" work going of amassing real estate and employing unpaid labor to do their bidding. Yes, their permanent residents at their headquarters in New York and other locations around the world at Branch Offices, they do get a monthly stipend, but it is only to cover immediate expenses. When you either decide to leave on your own or are no longer of use and evicted, then you are at ground zero in your life and have to figure out how to support yourself, maybe a spouse, and most just move back home with their parents since they have no other options. We are talking about grown adults moving back home with mom and dad, one man I knew personally was evicted from the Watch Tower headquarters in New York since they were eliminating his job [as well as others] and consolidating. This man was about 35 years old at the time and had zero college since he went straight to work at "Bethel" as the JWs call it, the headquarters in New York, and only worked for them. He was unprepared for the real world and just lives with his mom trying to figure out what to do with his live inside those walls of the Watch Tower.

So what is waking hypnosis? It's what happens at every meeting of the JWs. They lead you down a path. For example:

Speaker: I remember when I was a boy, I used to play outside and my mother never worried about me. Our neighborhood was safe. Television had fun cartoons and good movies were available that supported a strong family unit. Nowadays, you see how everything has changed, even in your own life, right?

Audience nods their heads in agreement. The room is silent save for the humming of the sound equipment, glaring overhead fluorescent lights make you blink a bit more often than usual.

Speaker: Now think about what you see on television news reports. Violence in your own neighborhood. You could never go out as a child now and play on your own, you may be kidnapped, you may suffer being hit by a drunk driver, violence is now a part of our regular life and it frightens us.

Audience nods their heads in agreement.

The speaker eventually leads you to a path that only the JWs can save you from this dilemma. Our world is so violent, we are in danger every day of our lives. We start to feel anxious and confused. The speaker offers you the solution of the Watch Tower as the only way out. Read, study, and speak only of Jehovah God, read only the JW literature, be fearful of reading any other material that may lead you away from the JWs beliefs.

The speaker will then throw in the fear of Satan the Devil. Oh, he is out to get you personally. Do not open yourself up to any type of therapy, instruction, or counseling outside of the JW literature or talking with your Elders in your congregation. You are slowly becoming aware of waking hypnosis. 

In contrast, in most cases you've got to agree with your boss if he/she is a domineering person and one-sided and you've got to hang onto your job. So your boss would say, "ordering updated computers is a really bad idea, RIGHT??" And you would say, right! I agree. That is not waking hypnosis. You are making a conscience decision to agree with your boss since you are in survival mode to keep your job.

Waking hypnosis is when you are led down a path, you hear a long story you can relate to, then the speaker convinces you they have the only one solution. Don't go thinking on your own or searching for answers for yourself, no, stick with Watch Tower, that is your only path to salvation.

Now obviously, if you identify as a Christian, you may need to switch up your thinking that the Bible is the path to your salvation, not any group or organization. Research many different Bible versions and start discovering what is right for yourself in this life. If you are non-Christian, then the JWs are not an issue with you, since you would be rejecting all organizations that use the Bible in their teachings. 

Waking hypnosis is what the JWs practice on each other when they learn their new language and jargon. When you are studying with someone to become a JW, you immediately start picking up on their terms, "worldly people", "out in the world", "fear the demons, they want you to turn away from Jehovah", all fear tactics and the JWs start to implant thoughts in your head that never existed and you would not entertain on your own.

Start thinking about your true self. Why were you put on this earth? What do you personally like to do? Becoming introspective is not a bad thing. It will start to clear the fog inside of your brain put there by years of indoctrination as a JW. Fear is a huge factor you have to deal with. Are you afraid of meditating on anything not coming from the Watch Tower corporation? Why? How about listening to calm music and lay down or sit still for 15 minutes and think about what you are afraid of. Who put those fears inside of you?

When JWs start to wake up from their self-hypnotic state, it can be frightening. Like, waking up a child who is sleep walking and you startle them and they run and hide. Why do you think so many ex-JWs on YouTube are posting videos of their protesting against the JWs? It's a break in their programming and we all react differently when we are waking up to our hypnotic state of mind, a state we have been living in for many years.

I am not against any active protesting of the JWs at their conventions or Kingdom Halls since the persons doing the protesting have little control over how they will react to the waking up process. Some prefer to just walk away from the JWs, and that is perfectly fine, you never have to do anything. Don't think you have to jump in front of a YouTube camera and start pouring out your heart to strangers online, trying to get their approval for leaving the Watch Tower corporation. 

You need to heal yourself first, and then take small steps to clear your mind of the thoughts and impressions placed there by the Watch Tower leadership. Again, I have suggested books and websites on this blog site to get you started. I do not suggest you access any sites that specifically target the Watch Tower corporation or obsess over their monthly podcasts. That will not clear your mind of the JWs mindset or beliefs. It will keep you trapped and stagnate. You want to move away from the Watch Tower corporation and seek out ways to improve your own situation right now, and plan a good solid foundation for a future away from all the programming that was placed inside of you by the Watch Tower corporation.

#watchtower #jws

#society  #organization

#activism  #jwactivism

Philadelphia Freedom

The Philadelphia Inquirer is interested in freedom, freedom for people to talk about the growing concern of the Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) archaic culture of silencing people who are abused by the people inside their respective Kingdom Halls, yes, Halls not churches since this is not a Christian religion. They place Jesus on a phallic symbol stuck in the ground instead of a cross which repels them and they push him off to one side as their leadership take front and center in this organization. Have you seen the vampire movies? Dracula is repelled by the cross much like the JWs. 

When I was a small child, my Catholic grandmother sent me a gold cross necklace which I cherished, but not for long. Once I finally removed it from around my neck and placed it carefully on my nightstand, by morning it was gone. My devout JW mother and father were perplexed. Hmm, where did it go? I searched for it for many days and nights until my mother finally told me she took it because "we" don't want the sign of the cross in our house, it was demonic. I never brought it up again. We were JWs and that was the rule and the JWs are far from being Christian or Christlike.

The leadership of the JWs are a star chamber of men called the Governing Body who live in the New York area after selling off their massive Brooklyn buildings for over one billion dollars, yes, you read right. It is public record they are now billionaires and, not so public is that they are finally in the billionaire boys club and have reached that coveted 33 degree level of the top Masonic elite group of men of the nation. Yes, I keep saying men since the top elite of this world are men with women as basically property and used to further their lineage. To work your way through the Masonic secret society and reach the top levels, it takes money. We are not talking about the local lodges where moms and dads meet to discuss some charity drive, we are talking about the top leadership, same with the Watch Tower corporation. We are not talking about the sheep inside those Kingdom Halls who just do the bidding of the Governing Body by doing the slow death walk into those Halls every single week, trolling around neighborhoods pushing their literature onto householders or publicizing the official JW website, they are the worker drones and seem to be truly blinded and foggy about the truth about their organization.

But finally, the JWs are getting negative press exposing their inner workings. I have blogged about this a few times before but it is worth repeating this and exposing how secretive the JW organization is and continues to be.

Please reference the full article from "The Inquirer" from Philadephia:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/jehovahs-witnesses-sexual-abuse-children-beliefs-rules.html

The article talks about a four year old girl who was molested inside a Kingdom Hall by a teenage boy while people were meeting for field service, which means, they were pairing off and talking about what territories in the neighborhood they would "work" by knocking on doors and trying to recruit people into their religion. The incident happened about 10 years ago but the article relates other stories about abuses inside the JW organization and nothing is done by the congregational Elders. The article goes on to relate a police detective's experience in dealing with the Elders of a congregation regarding abuse allegations, and how they refused to cooperate. Typical of this religion, they do not cooperate with anyone, they shut down, close ranks and protect the holy Governing Body who to this day, go unchallenged as to their authority over the membership of sheep worldwide. It is quite disturbing that this religious group that only worships the God of this system of things can still thrive, but hey, they are serving the New World Order of men who use God when it suits them while their real God is whomever you want to call him/it, the Devil, Lucifer, Fallen Wicked Angels, but that is what the JWs are, they thrive on this earthly system of things and are hardly spiritual.

Once you start letting those blinders fall off your eyes, you can see many situations as they really are. Don't let a faux Christian religion mislead you anymore. Start reading about spirituality, discover and explore other organizations that are non-denominational. You can read the Bible on your own, there are many translations that use modern wording if you don't like the old style of the King James Bible.

Is it important to get out of the JWs? So many are unaffected by any articles or news reports exposing the JWs for being a secret society that harbors alleged abusers, I say alleged since we don't know. The authorities are never called when a victim or the family of a victim notifies JW Elders of abuse. They handle it internally which means they do nothing and the victim either keeps quiet or moves out of the area away from their abuser. Nothing is done, it is a secret society. Have I said that enough? I know. I was born and raised in it and there are so many things about the JWs that mimic Freemasons. My grandfather was a Freemason, his daughters [one being my mother] were Job's Daughters [sort of a girl's version of the Freemasons]. As I have related on this blog and provide more detail in my book, my mother and her sisters when they were in their 20's, transitioned to becoming JWs. The JWs prey on the innocent and stupid, duping people into thinking their God Jehovah is bringing about an end to this system of things when their God is only a God of War and Destruction.

It is never too late to start your own research. So much now is online and readily available to you. You don't need to travel to the Watch Tower Headquarters in Warwick, New York, and see a bunch of old black and white photos of the founders of this religious group since those photos are already on the Internet. Big deal, right? Some ex-JWs even travel to Warwick to see a bunch of old Bibles and rusty typewriters or a bunch of old literature behind glass, which is just bizarre, and gush over it as if it means anything. It doesn't. Gee, why don't they show you the basement of occult material and their Masonic books of ritualistic practices? You know, the secret cabal of the truly anointed by Jehovah who partake of the bread and wine depicting Jesus' body and blood and then throwing the glasses in the fireplace and chanting to their God Molech. Hmmm, a mystery, right?

Jehovah's Witnesses sacrifice their children to Molech masquerading
as their God Jehovah. The children are sacrificed by their parents
 on operating tables because they purposefully refuse potentially
life-saving blood transfusions.

You also don't need to purchase any voluminous book on the history of the JWs, it is all available for free on the Internet and you can read it at your leisure and print out anything you wish and stick it in a folder for future reference. You do not need the entire huge history of JWs sitting on a bookshelf. We are beyond those days, thank God.

I envy you if you are just starting to wake up and have the courage to start your own research. I still remember when I was waking up and started going on the Internet, it was around 1999 and it was an exciting time for me. Your own discovery and research will be exciting for you too. And yes, you can do it on your own. You are strong, you really do not need anyone to lead you out of the organization. If you are an adult, you can open that Kingdom Hall door to the outside world and never look back.

#jehovahswitnesses

#JWs   #watchtower

#abuse  #twowitnessrule

#molech

Speaking Out

Some ex-Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) might be feeling pressured to speak out publicly against the JW religion, whether they were evicted via disfellowshipping or walked away from the organization after becoming inactive in their congregation and are known as a "fader". 

May I suggest that you distance yourself from people who are pressuring you into any one direction. Sometimes when you initially decide to never return to the JW organization, you feel very emotional and may want to lash out at someone and feel you need to take some sort of public action. Please know that you do not owe anyone anything, you do not even owe anyone an explanation as to your personal reasons for leaving the JW organization. If you were disfellowshipped for committing some action that was deemed a crime by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, you do not have to share that with anyone. Once you are disfellowshipped or you walked away never to return, that ended your baptismal contract with the organization. Yes, some choose to return because they want to have contact with JW friends and family and that is a personal decision. However, by staying in the organization, a person would have to face the fact they are still supporting their edicts, policies, and tenets, many of which involve letting loved ones die for refusing potentially life-saving medical procedures involving blood or blood products. Many of the JWs' policies support alleged perpetrators of abuse, whether it be against a spouse or a child and place the blame and responsibility on victims to either keep silent, or leave the organization and seek help from law enforcement and other governmental authorities deemed as coming from "Satan's world". However, again, these are personal choices. I could not stay and support a religion that has these abhorrent policies. Just by sitting in a Kingdom Hall, you are showing your support for this destructive religion even if you stopped supporting them monetarily, you are still supporting them by your presence which is something each person needs to think about.

If you are like me and faded from your JW congregation and have decided to never return, I was silent with everyone including my own family members. I simply said it is no longer my truth and left it at that. No JW Elders hunted me down or wanted a firm decision so they could mark me as an "apostate" or to force me into writing a disassociation letter, I wasn't important to the congregation being a single woman, we are at the lowest level of the pyramid. I simply left and never returned and eventually moved out of the area of my congregation and never reconnected with the congregation in my new town. I am here to encourage ex-JWs to not do anything rash when you first leave the organization. After some time, you may want to engage in some sort of anti-JW activism, whether that is talking to people at work, your relatives who may or may not be active JWs, or blogging about your own personal experiences as a JW to help others to see what the religion is really all about. If you feel like setting up a YouTube channel, you must deal with the repercussions of going into the public arena and may face criticism. But again, do not feel pressured to do any sort of public anti-JW activism.

The most important step is to first think about your own recovery from the damaging mind-controlled JW religious group and then think about if you want to engage in any sort of activism. It can be therapeutic for yourself, to share your experiences with like-minded people. But don't be forced into anything or feel inferior simply because you choose to stay quiet. 

Facing the fact that the Watch Tower corporation isn't going anywhere anytime soon with or without us so-called "activists" whether we are quiet or very loud about expressing our opinions, can help you in your decision on whether or not you want to engage in anti-JW activism. I don't say this to discourage anyone, but you've got to face reality. Even the richest people on this earth suffer heartache, loss, depression and setbacks and you are no different whether you were born in the JW organization or not, or whether you joined later and have now left. Think about healing and recovery before you go out and face the dragon, perhaps alone and unarmed.

At the end of the day, you've
got to look in that mirror and
be okay with where you are in life.

It is your personal journey to freedom that is important. Start looking at paving your own way in this life. Your happiness comes first but not at the cost of berating others, even current and active JWs have a right to stay in the religion. Turning your focus forward and not looking back at the JW religion or the people who choose to stay, is what will eventually reduce the power and influence of the JW organization. The more people who have the courage to walk out of those Kingdom Halls and never return, are the ones that have a strong impact on those still sitting there who wonder if they are in the right place after all. Your simply walking away might be that one action that will wake people up in your congregation.

Any activism you choose is to benefit yourself and your healing process. Do not think the Watch Tower corporation is going away for good, they are too wealthy for that. Even if their entire membership left today, they can survive on mountains of cash carefully invested in various banks around the globe. They will not suffer, but you will if you don't start planning your escape and think about making a life for yourself and your family right now.

#exjw  #jehovahswitnesses
#jwactivism #freedomfromwatchtower

The Empty Chair

Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) are generally discouraged from getting any type of therapy or counseling from anyone who is not a JW. When I was a JW [born and raised in the organization] seeking help from anyone not a JW was against the rules and you will quickly find yourself on the opposite side of Elders in your congregation in a shepherding call [the first step in their court system, which is just a fact finding mission]. If the Elders don't like your answers it could proceed to a formal Judicial committee meeting where you will be judged as to your standing in the congregation. It might lead to a probationary period, or full out disfellowshipping depending on your crimes, meaning, how much you have gone off course from the JW teachings, rules, rhetoric, and ever changing policies.

Therefore, the programming is in place to be fearful of seeking any type of formal therapy out in the "world" which of course means anything not sanctioned by the JW leadership who set the rules for the entire global organization. However, many JWs exiting the mind-controlling organization often miss this step in their recovery process and acclimating themselves to the outside world of reality. If you miss this step, you find that you might not deal with the rest of the population in a rational way. You might take things too seriously, or not be able to read someone's intentions. 

A few years ago I did some research and came across the fundamental principles of a gestalt. It's a German word meaning shape or form and was developed by German psychologists in the 1920s. People tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes. A football team can be considered a gestalt because it works as one unit, not as individual players.

This principle can be applied to persons who are Jehovah's Witnesses (JW). Their whole social structure is one unit. The membership all think alike, act the same way, and have a unified belief system. To break free from this JW gestalt, you need to replace it with a new one. I know, it's not as easy as it sounds. But when a person decides to leave the Watch Tower corporation, they can't simple exist as a healthy, whole person and move on with life as if nothing happened to them. 

A common mistake many persons make when leaving the corporation, is they continue with life as a JW, yet are not going to the meetings anymore, they no longer believe in the tenets of the Watch Tower Society, and they may be disfellowshipped or just simply fade away from their congregation and never return.

Why is this important? Well, you are still a JW if you don't realize you have changed. If you made that decision to never return to the JWs, then you probably came to a conclusion that the JWs are not the one and only true religion, that the leadership are not emissaries from God or Christ. You should take that next step and realize that no religious or non-religious group knows for a fact how us humans ended up on this planet; it's all conjecture and what you choose to believe. Yet if you don't establish a new social gestalt, it is impossible to heal and recover from JW indoctrination. This will prove true with being associated with any high control group.

For myself, I had no idea I needed therapy at first, until I found myself going around like a zombie, going to work everyday, handling my personal affairs, but not acting much different than when I was a JW. I had a few non-JW friends, yet was still living a life as a JW just sans the meetings and field service. This was leading to an empty life with no direction. 

So what do you do? You need to seek therapy. Now I know that sounds scary and aside from that, maybe you just don't have the funds. Then go online and start your research. I have links at the footer of this blog that will get you started on your deprogramming journey from the Watch Tower Society. As you take a look at the video suggestions, then start looking at various books to read on the subject of psychology and how the human mind works. If you are having problems dealing with social and work situations, then seek out books on the subject from a non-JW perspective. Broaden your scope and you will discover a whole host of people ready and willing to offer help, and will push you onto your next level of success in your work and personal life.

The therapy that helped me along my journey to personal peace, is called the "empty chair". It's one form of therapy where you sit or stand facing a chair and imagine anyone in your life is sitting there and you vent your feelings and pent-up frustrations to that person. You can do this with anyone in your life and then switch places and imagine you are that person and defend yourself which can be quite revealing since it forces you to consider why that other person acted the way they did.

For example, I could place my mom in that chair and tell her off, then when I switch places with her I can say, "I thought I was doing the right thing," or "I was raised very strict and raised you the same way," whatever the case may be. It can be a very cleansing type of therapy and is often used along with hypnotherapy, where you are sitting with your eyes closed imagining anyone you want is in that chair, even God.

Therapy and self-help videos will be that link to a new social gestalt. If you have unresolved conflicts, trauma, or suffering severe emotional or physical abuse, then please seek help from a licensed psychiatrist. I suggest you don't speak to anyone you know since some past trauma and abuse might be embarrassing and some friends or family should not be privy to all of your personal feelings. If you do have a trusted non-JW friend to speak with, then start there. Ask them to help you select a psychiatrist in your area and many licensing boards have online verification of the license to see if any formal disciplinary actions have been taken against that doctor.

When I finally found the courage to walk away from the JW organization as an adult, I was truly lost and simply having people tell me to now go out and celebrate Christmas and birthdays, was not the solution. It was like telling someone whose house had just burned down to go the movies and forget it. Don't over-simplify what happened to you as an indoctrinated JW. So I sought out self-help videos online and in books, mostly unrelated to the JWs. As you progress through your own personal therapy, you will find you are less invested in tracking everything going on with the Watchtower corporation. You can have a healthy detachment from them, even if you have family still in the organization. So when you hear something is going on, you will not react emotionally, but can listen and take it with a grain of salt. You are out of that organization, you come first, then if you can, help others to leave by helping them find a new social gestalt to replace the old one when they were a JW.

As you progress through your personal development, you may find that there was a hobby you used to do before you became an indoctrinated JW or maybe engaged in recreational activities while you were a JW that you can explore further. Maybe you had a love of animals, painting, drawing, or you enjoy helping people, maybe teaching or volunteering at a local charity. You need to develop a new social gestalt after leaving the JWs to restore your mental and emotional health, and it will lead to promoting good physical health too.

Self-discovery and cleaning out the cobwebs of useless information implanted there by years of Watchtower indoctrination, can only benefit you and you might uncover the reasons why you may be reacting to everyday life in an unreasonable and negative manner. You might find where you are struggling and why you can't come to a resolution and feel lost in life. 

But, don't put undue pressure on yourself. The first step is just realizing you were indoctrinated and conditioned as a JW. You were their recruiting robot that went door-to-door coercing people to join, to skew the beliefs of the JWs to attract people into the organization. Think about it as a journey to a new you and becoming a better person and to not think solely in black and white, but in shades of grey. 

This universe is a vast storehouse of knowledge, information, wisdom and beauty. Start exploring the world you are in and don't be afraid to dig into your personality and find that awesome person hidden inside of you that is just waiting to get out and explore the planet. Start sharing what you have learned with other people that are just like you, on a spiritual and personal journey to freedom.

#jehovahswitnesses  #watchtowersociety  #jworg
#freedomfromwatchtower #selfhelp   #thrive  #therapy #gestalt