Embrace your mind

Happy second day of the new year,

How is everyone doing on this amazing Thursday morning? Well I hope. Everything is good here. Couldn’t sleep so I was up at 4:44 am. I wonder if that’s a sign? Guess I’ll have to be on the watch today and see what good comes my way.

How many of you are back to work today? John has to work today. Bummer, I’ve enjoyed our time together the last few days. He’s ready to rock and roll though. Thankfully he was off the last week and a half. I think he enjoyed just being home. We didn’t go anywhere in particular other then to Julian to his parents cabin for Christmas Day, otherwise, we were home.

I had a lumbar puncture last Friday which kept me down for about 5 days. I still feel groggy and slow, but I’m pushing through it and hopefully this afternoon I’ll be able to take down the Christmas decorations out front. I’ll be leaving the indoor decorations up for a few more days. I’m just not ready for Christmas to be over.

I’m hoping my body doesn’t give me any issues or slow me down even more. I have another endoscopy scheduled bright and early this coming Tuesday. Two procedures less then two weeks apart, fingers crossed I’ll bounce back. I’ll keep you posted.

With it being the beginning of the new year I thought I’d launch right into some meatier topics. With that being said, I wanted to talk a little about mind control. This topic hits close to home since I am a survivor of this type of behavior. I come from a very high controlling religion/cult.

Being under the control of a religion/cult is a horrible way to live. Not being allowed to think to yourself. Not being able to research outside of Watchtowers publications. Not being able to search the internet to validate certain topics. Sure, Watchtower says it’s okay to research, in fact they encourage it. They just have a way of manipulating their followers minds so as to get them to shy away from outside research and sticking mostly to their books. At least that’s what I experienced as a long time member of the Jehovah’s Witness religion.

When people are encouraged to only look and research topics of interest using only certain materials I believe we are slowly giving away our ability to grow in knowledge and understanding. I’ve come to embrace the fact that there’s an entire world of knowledge at our fingertips, however Watchtower has a way of telling their followers what is appropriate reading and what is not.

The pandemic that we recently endured changed a lot of that because people were home and this allowed them a little freedom. Not a lot, but a little. With this tad bit of freedom, some JW’s ventured out on the internet and began reading world news. What I mean by that is, they began reading things outside of the organization of Watchtower. They began watching YouTube and this allowed many to wake up from the mind control of Watchtower.

I spent the majority of my life under the control of an organization that taught me to fear not only God, but life. I feared living life to the fullest. I had dreams and aspirations that laid dormant for nearly 47 years.

I wanted to be a nurse when I was a little girl. When I was in high school my English teacher told me I scored so high on an assessment test that I should go into journalism. I was shocked, but when I took a field trip through the LA Times I knew working in News was what I wanted to do.

I didn’t follow my dreams. I didn’t go onto college. I didn’t explore the world. I didn’t travel. Instead, I got married at 17 and followed the course laid out for me by my mother and by my husband.

Though I had a choice in life, I didn’t realize it. My mind was so wrapped up in the teachings of Watchtower that I didn’t know how to speak up and speak out for what I wanted in life.

Don’t get me wrong. I have little to no regrets. If I hadn’t married my now ex husband when I was 17 and if I didn’t follow the course he outlined for my life, I wouldn’t be so blessed to have my sons and my beautiful daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law to be.

When I started working outside the home my eyes began to be opened to other ideas, other ways of living and the different ways of religion overall. I began looking at things on the internet. I had to be very careful not to get caught by my ex because he would have turned me into the organization and I would have been disfellowshipped from the church and labeled and apostate. The worst title someone can get in that organization. Basically it’s a sin that is unforgivable. More on that in a later blog.

When I started seeing things on the internet and reading different books, I began to see that the God I was worshipping wasn’t who I thought he was. I feared God. I feared being destroyed at his hands if I sinned. I never felt good enough.

Today, I am more open minded then ever. I embrace the ability to think for myself and I am learning to be kind to myself when I see or am confronted with errors in my thinking.

I was taught a very rigid way of thinking. Black and White. No gray allowed. The only time it was okay to change my mind was when Watchtower said I could. I lived in a bubble with the way I thought about life in general.

Now I’m free and I have come to realize that it’s okay to change your mind in the way you believe and think. It’s okay to grow in knowledge and understanding of life and the world around us. It’s okay to research and find your truth. It’s okay to be open minded regarding other religions and their teachings.

I spent the majority of my life believing one thing which caused me to be closed minded. In turn, I was shut out from the rest of the world. I lived in this bubble and everyone and everything around me was temporary because I believed I had the truth and those that didn’t or refused to listen to JW’s were going to be destroyed by God’s hand.

I think differently now. I embrace change. I embrace everyone’s right to believe the way they feel is right and now, I ask tons of questions of people with different views and ideas and man oh man, the things to be learned is the best education I think I’ve ever received.

There’s good in all religion, even the one I was raised in. I believe God wants us to learn from each other and he wants us to use our minds to take in knowledge. He wants us to learn and be open minded. He wants us to embrace the freedom to learn from one another. He wants us to find our way to him in the best way possible.

For the first time in my life I’m so much more spiritual though I’m not religious. I haven’t found my way back to a religion. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in God, it just means that for me right now, I’m not ready for structured religion. I believe in God and I pray to Him all the time. I ask Him for guidance and I ask Him to help me see the good and truth in my research regarding spiritual matters. I pray that He helps me avoid the lies should I read them and I pray that He keeps me on the path He intends for me to be on so that I can help others find their way to Him.

I am beyond blessed as we enter 2025. I’ve had two weeks of being at home and being surrounded by all the Christmas spirit my home has to offer. I’ve been surrounded by family and friends and I’ve been able to really enjoy my home and that’s a blessing in itself.

I’ve had time to read and research for my upcoming Podcast and mini course. I’ve had time to listen to His word and I’ve had time to listen to others regarding religion and spirituality.

I love being home all day. I love walking around my neighborhood visiting neighbors. I enjoy staying in loungewear reading, writing and taking care of things that have been neglected. Shhhh, don’t tell John, but I think I’ve officially become a homebody and I’m loving it. I’ve come to appreciate just being home.

Well guys, speaking of being home, I do need to get some laundry done, beds made and dishes done. I have some reading to do and I will be meeting with my friend today to discuss our game plan to launch out podcast and mini courses. Super excited for this new journey. I can’t wait to share the details with you all.

I hope you all have the greatest of days. Don’t forget, it’s a gift to be openminded. Embrace your mind and the God given ability to use it. Who knows, maybe we’ll learn something new.

Until next time, don’t forget, Love Life++ Hugs.