what did you do after leaving or separating from JW's in regards to religion?

I have been struggling to find my place.  I still consider my self Christian...but the more i have been learning about my old faith, its been making me feel like i need to find something else that makes sense to me.

I know im not aethiest. I have always felt that there was a higher power out there.

Agnostic? maybe the closest that i am leaning towards or deitist i think it called.  Bible teachings (or stories) are starting to hold less water for me the older i get.  Things i have been reading have really made me think about where i am going with what faith i have. 

EX: I have begun to dought the existence of Jesus, or at least the story that we all have had pounded into us forever. Maybe its just the shock factor from the info I have been intaking about how his whole life seems to be a retelling of previous prophets or deities and how it all revolves around the sun and its cycles. This has really thrown me especially since i have been trying to be logical with my beleifs...

What direction did some of you go? Christian, buddhist, agnostic, jewish?

Im very curious.

I think it is good to first carefully examine what you thought you believed as a jw.  Examine the bible from a non-jw viewpoint, even non-religious.  Do not get involved with a group just because what they teach is non-jw.  Give yourself permission not to feel you have to join any group to be spiritually inclined. 

I became a born again Christian after many years of soul searching.  Now, even after many more years (more than 35), I have made the journey home and I am a Roman Catholic.

I made it a point to avoid any religious activity for 2 years. That included reading the bible or other religious books. I wanted to make sure any residue JW ideas were gone so that I could read without having any preconceived ideas. Since then I've studied as I pleased, and sometimes not at all. I won't allow any person or group to stand over my shoulder and tell me how things are to be interpreted. I have no obligation to any church or belief system. I'll never allow anyone to police my thoughts again.

W

After getting out I felt I 'owed it to myself' to give the bible and Christianity another chance. I bought a non-JW bible, realized it made much more sense than the NWT, realized that it probably did teach traditional Christian doctrine: Jesus is God, man has a soul/spirit element, etc, etc. After reaching my own conclusions about what the bible said, I found a church that taught what I believed and I attended there for a few years.

But as time goes by, I find myself more and more doubting the validity of the bible (for various reasons) and see my beliefs moving more into the realm of agnostism. I do believe in a higher power of some sort but I believe it more likely that said higher power doesn't give a rats ass about us earthlings. If he/she/it did, why all the suffering? I wouldn't allow my cat or dog to suffer the way people suffer in this world, and yet the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God of the bible, the "God of love" allows it...

I made it a point to avoid any religious activity for 2 years. That included reading the bible or other religious books. I wanted to make sure any residue JW ideas were gone so that I could read without having any preconceived ideas. Since then I've studied as I pleased, and sometimes not at all. I won't allow any person or group to stand over my shoulder and tell me how things are to be interpreted. I have no obligation to any church or belief system. I'll never allow anyone to police my thoughts again.

Wow i cant even remember the last time i even held a bible.  but your thoughts convey my feelings exactly...

I'm in the same boat right now, trying to sort out what i believe vs what religion teaches

Nothing, don't believe in religion, JWs that was enough, born into it but never was spiritual minded, and never will be.

I think the safest thing to do now for me is to not jump into another religion. I like returning to essentially how I felt as a little kid--I never felt the concept of god, and never understood it on an emotional level. It was easy to go along because as long as you knew how to follow the rules, you were ok. Real emotional spirituality never came close to the hall. What I do feels good, so I'll run with that.

Its an education attending different Church services, some you will like and others you won't.  They come in all flavors, from the serene and inspirational to the shocking. Its a journey, take your time.

at the moment I find I quite enjoy "calling up" various archetypal figures like Athene, Jesus, Mary, Jehovah, Demeter etc and then I wait to see how they manifest.  (but not at the same time of course )

The first thing I did was dispose of JW literature a little at a time.  Certain things I tore to shreds in anger, like an autographed song book from one of the anointed.  When I learned all the scandals and saw through the whole charade I felt angry and stupid to keep this 'memento'. 

Secondly, I reveled in the feeling of freedom and sleeping late on weekends which is a much needed luxury.  I wanted to deprogram my mind of all their teachings.  I read a lot of novels and other books.  I went out and bought a rosary because I was angry that I was urged to throw away the ones I had from childlhood.  I also bought a bible, not just because I wasn't sure if I was going to investigate anything else but because I wanted something contemporary that wasn't a NWT.   To be honest, I don't read it and have come to the conclusion that I am not interested in any religion.

i stopped confusing religiosity with spirituality

i involved myself in genuine charitable works
and continue to look for opportunities to make
real contributions to the whole of mankind....
not just "the approved" forms

i wont wrap myself in the atheist label... yet...
so i settle for saying i am a sentimental diest...
because i have spent a half century believing
there is a reason for religion and there is a
vestigial attachment to the notion....

Its an education attending different Church services, some you will like and others you won't.  They come in all flavors, from the serene and inspirational to the shocking. Its a journey, take your time.

i attended a couple of huge baptist services with my Ex (before she was)  After her dad died she all of the sudden became religios.  It was the most uncomfortable thing i had encountered in a while.  I was not sure if it was due to the fact i was an EX jw in a Church listening to a sermon, or if it was the way the held their hands in the air closed their eyes or held their chest while they sang...maybe it was the random "AMEN!"s that were shouted from time to time and the "Hallelujah"!!

the whole thing seemed very over done and creepy if you ask me

I ended up tossing out the bible and reaching farther back to my pagan roots.  It just feels right for me.  I think everyone has to figure it out for themselves one way or another.  Just don't let someone else tell you how to believe.  Right now I take the good from various sources and then live my life accordingly, tossing the rest.  I don't believe anyone owns truth.

Ada

I agree with Blondie and Finally Free: don't jump into anything just for change's sake. Take time to get aquainted with your real self again, to find out what you really believe and what's important to you. Then take a good long look at any group you consider joining, see if their creed is what you really believe and the way you really want to live your life. Resist the temptation to make a quick committment to any congregation, proceed at your own pace and join only when you know it's the right one to follow.

This takes effort, no doubt about it. Beware of any group offering a quick and easy solution to your problems, if you'll just let them do all the thinking for you. You've been through that once, don't be fooled again!

Good luck!

--GLT