The Thursday Night Meeting
by Wesley David
The Thursday Night Meeting is your gateway to all things "how do I possibly find a new life" after being in a religious cult - or leaving any intense religious, political, or 'all-in' group affiliation.But so much more:We will explore the big questions together. We will leave no stone unturned. We will find out about Philosophy, Existential questions, the meaning of life - or lack thereof - and we'll do it together. We'll talk about feeling lost, hopeless, paranoid. We'll talk about death and dying. 'What is Self?' - after feeling like it's totally gone. Life has new things in store.
Episodes
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#7 - "All the Crazy": Uncertainty After Belief
What do you have to lose, when you feel as though you've lost everything? Recorded some weeks ago, these were preliminary thoughts I had on what it feels like to encounter not feeling sure, secure, or certain in terms of "what you believe now" - after being in Jehovah's Witnesses (or: insert...
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#6 - Former Jehovah's Witnesses - What are you thankful for?
In this (mildly) festive episode, we talk a little about what the holidays were like as a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses - from not celebrating Christmas, to not celebrating birthdays, to not celebrating...Thanksgiving! Which most of us now gleefully do, perhaps ironically at first....
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#5 Read - Who Sides With Baby Killers? (Hamas & Israel discussion)
This week we read a phenomenal piece from a Substack called The Living Fossils, by the writer Rob Kurzban. Looking at the title - you might think this is just about the current crisis going on in the Middle East; but that's really not it: It's about a wider view of the role of 'identity' (or, as…
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#4 Read - Understanding Mind Control (Pt 2)
Part 2 of our series reading an important chapter from Combating Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan (links below). There's a lot here which we'll return to at times in terms of analysis, but even as we shift towards fascinating territory in the "post religious what do I do now" mindspace (it's a...
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#3 Read - Understanding Mind Control (Pt 1)
Geared towards PIMO and other folks newer to the experience of having left a high-control religious group, on this episode we read the first half of chapter 4 from Combating Cult Mind Control, by Steve Hassan. It's definitely a dense & interesting read (and the next half will be also), but early…
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#2 - Origin Story
18+ years out from the religion of my birth, it all sometimes can still feel strange. Was that really me? Really my life? Really all my decisions, then and since? I spend an hour here talking about what led me out of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and taking a much-needed walk down memory lane. We get...
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#1 - Welcome to Thursday Night
An overview of all the madness we will talk about! Join me each Thursday for discussions about wading through the waters of post-religious life. The questions which come up are so, so many; the problems are multifarious - how should I live? What to do next, what about new faith and beliefs? Does...
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Ep 0 - WHY ARE WE HERE
Hola and welcome to Thursday Night!! A take on the regular ‘church’ (Kingdom Hall) gathering I grew up attending (literally called ‘Meetings’ by Jehovah’s Witnesses), we’re going to delve into pieces by phenomenal authors and thinkers which helped me on my journey to leave an extreme religious...
About this show
The Thursday Night Meeting is your gateway to all things "how do I possibly find a new life" after being in a religious cult - or leaving any intense religious, political, or 'all-in' group affiliation.But so much more:We will explore the big questions together. We will leave no stone unturned. We will find out about Philosophy, Existential questions, the meaning of life - or lack thereof - and we'll do it together. We'll talk about feeling lost, hopeless, paranoid. We'll talk about death and dying. 'What is Self?' - after feeling like it's totally gone. Life has new things in store.
Hosted by
Wesley David
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