Often when we are fully involved in a religious organization, we have weekly or daily routines that we have become accustom to doing or attending. Such as reading the bible daily or attending a meeting or often more than one in a day. Praying at certain times of the day. Gathering with others for meals and conversations. When we make a choice to leave or maybe we were not given a choice and we find our self on the outside looking in not knowing just where we fit in life. We may feel our life has been totally up rooted. The friendships you once had are no longer an option. It can bring about sadness or even depression. I know when I made the choice to leave the Jehovah’s Witness organization (JW) I felt completely lost. My entire family are JW. My Parents and my siblings. I was raised a JW in that religion you are not to seek association outside the organization. You are looked down upon and judged for it, so most do not. In school you are always encouraged to be kind however your true friendships are within the JW organization. IF you make the choice to leave or in some circumstances are what they call disfellowshipped, kicked out basically your family and friends are not allowed to associate with you, or they may face the same consequences. As a JW you are required to do daily bible reading, at the time I attended it was 5 meeting per week you attended, you were to have pre studied the topics. Also, you were required to do some form of service, or door to door preaching work. You can only imagine the void in one’s life when all the sudden they no longer have such requirements and so much time and no friendships to turn to.
One of the most important things I have found to help me when I left was developing a daily routine. One that helped me grow in self-development. I found that starting my day off with a positive meditation or positive daily affirmations helps to keep my spirts up. It helped me to have something fresh in my mind to draw from in those moments of sadness or when waves of grief would flow through me. I replaced one of my old study times, so I didn’t feel as if I was missing something. Another thing I added to my daily routine was a gratitude journal. Many people journal about all the bad things happening in life. That just attracts more of that unless it is done as a practice to release something negative. A gratitude journal is writing things that you are grateful for. It brings things into our conscious mind and raises our energy vibration in a positive way. Seems so very simple however some days that feel so gloomy it can be a struggle. Reminding ourselves daily of the simple things we have to be grateful for can brighten our entire day. I have also found that having a daily success log is helpful in keeping me on track and my energy positive. I will go into more detail in another blog as to how I do this. It is important to find positive things to do daily to help keep you moving in a positive direction.