As an adult who spent my formative years in a strict religion that meets the definition of cult, I often try to understand why this happened to me. To make sense of it. To find the silver lining. To understand why I would choose to be born into this less than ideal situation by most standards. And I have found silver linings for sure. I share some of those in one of the first podcasts I recorded.
A new benefit has emerged in my conscious awareness this week. The benefit of brain washing. That might sound crazy but I assure you it’s a very sane realization. There is a saying that says, “fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.” there certainly are people who don’t recover from an imposed behavior pattern. The kind of people who jump from narcissistic relationship to narcissistic relationship. Or from one dogmatic religion to another. I know a few ex – Jehovah’s Witnesses who have become Mormons. Or Catholics. There may be no benefit for these types. Fooled twice and unable to break free. I have a lot of empathy. And not to say that there is anything wrong with being in any religion even a controlling one with a heavy dose of brain washing. To each their own. What I am saying though, is that for the ones who do break free. Who see the patterns and don’t repeat them – there is a benefit to having been brainwashed.
The benefit is your super power to see patterns. It’s a lot harder to pull the wool over someone’s eyes who has already had the experience of being blinded and taken the steps to restore their clear sight. When a man in a suit, say a presidential candidate, says something that is a bold faced lie with a straight face – I don’t automatically believe him. I know better. I know that dishonesty comes in packages that advertise something different than what’s really being offered. How do I know? I’ve experienced brain washing. All those small men in suits preaching to us from the pulpit about how to be and how to dress and.. and… I’m more than 30 years out from that experience. My hindsight gets more and more clear every day. Brainwashing has its own frequency. My BS meter is finely attuned to the nuanced messages of brain washing. All ex-JWs have this very sensitive meter. We can help people. Our discernment is more acute. I can sense brainwashing from a mile away. It’s a life skill that will be more needed in a future with Ai and where everyone is their own channel putting out endless bits of content. Don’t under estimate the value of that experience. Notice the intuitive gut feeling you have when you hear BS disguised as a caring or unquestionable message of truth. That feeling is your meter. If it feels off or wrong – trust it. You know. You were trained for years to hear lies disguised as “truth”. You know.
I did not come from a religious background, but I too have learned about this brainwashing thing throughout my life, along with manipulation, gaslighting and verbal abuse. You are so right that once you know better, you do better and are so in tune with the crap people try to pass.
Once you know what you know, there is no going back (to Ixlan) – you cannot unknow!
And the BS meter just gets better at detection 😉 thanks – good job!