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I was trying to read your mind. All I could make out was "something, something, Donald Duck Dunn".

This picture is for you, Don't Worry....that's Luna with her soulful look.

Going back to the notion of academic research related to social and emotional intelligence, I just found this article published yesterday.

Just as a goofy aside....... Regarding soul life in the animal kingdom....... I have always enjoyed Genesis 9:6ff in this regard. It's the account of Noah right after the flood is receding. It is the record of the first Covenant between Jahweh and man after Eden. It declares that God will never again destroy the living creatures of ANY kind ever again, and as a signature to this everlasting covenant with man and all living creatures, God gave the sign of the rainbow. I think of Genesis 9 every time I see a rainbow.......or, look into the eyes of a dog, a horse, a great ape, a cat, an otter, a dolphin, a blue whale, a grey parrot, a tortoise, an eagle, etc. Soul is awesome, and it's not the sole possession of humankind. Just my thoughts........peace.

Indeed, to exploit vulnerable people who were too trusting and not guarded enough... and no doubt did assist with mindreading, to a degree.

great post LaniK - i don't think that's off topic at all; those birth to the way corps papers was one of the many tricks they used to exploit people - like what Twinky was sharing about - finding out your weaknesses one way or another - to develop a profile of their target. yikes!

Indeed. At least one poster once said that vpw called her in to put the moves on her-and had her "From Birth to the Corps" paper IN HIS HAND when she arrived. Can't get much more overt than that.... I never thought about OTHER PEOPLE having access to those. If I'd ever had to write one, I'm sure I deliberately would have left some things out and invented some things specifically for privacy and revelation reasons- if they know the actual and not the written version, they might know by revelation....

(This may be off topic ... and my apology if it is ... I'm new here!) ... but this topic made me think of something a lot of corps folks may recall. Maybe some "mind-reading revelation" in TWIT came about because vee-pee (and other select "leaders") had access to certain people's "autobiographies"! A requirement for Corps folks -- after a certain year, I think -- when one arrived on "campus" was to write one. It was to be titled "From Birth to the Corps." This was a virtual blueprint to identify the most vulnerable among us, for sure! For instance, if one shared about sexual abuse in your past -- it would pretty much make a person ripe for the picking when it came to choosing someone who could be persuaded to engage in the sexual exploitation/abuse/crimes that we all know now were rampant among the corrupted leadership, starting from vee-pee on down. God only knows how many people had access to those things -- and how they may have played a part in how people were manipulated by false "revelation" from those in leadership who wanted that information to use people. Again, sorry if this is not quite on topic. Little did so many of us who were so trusting and idealistic ever think that sharing our life stories with someone as "Godly" as Dr. Weirwille to read would ever have such a darker side to it!!

I put this in my "About Me" area -- but figured I'd post it here too. I joined GSC recently ... mostly to learn, but occasionally to contribute. Recently, I've been reading posts going back years. It's amazing how many "light bulbs" have already gone off for me on many levels since reading what I have here already! I've been lurking for a couple of years here -- but only very sporadically. I tried to "join" a few times, but could never get my log-in to work over a period of about a year or more! Only now -- with the new format -- was I able to register and actually get into the site successfully under a screen name and password. (To say I'm a bit slow technology-wise would be a huge understatement.) : ) A brief "bio" ... I was involved in da way from 1977 through about 1992 or so (witnessed to by wows, Jim Baker, Bob Darnell and a gal named Annie in Mt. Vernon, NY in June of '77); went wow twice and graduated 11th Corps; first assignment was Limb Coordinator Brit Lynn's secretary in West Virginia; next year became slave labor for Way Home leader and perv Area Coordinator Alan Licht in Yonkers, NY; extricated self by moving to NYC for new job; occasionally attended "way offshoot" events/fellowships there until about '92 or so, at which point I called it quits on anything having to do with TWI or any of its offshoots. I reached that point of walking away after a rather dramatic (and I think Spirit inspired) moment after a chance meeting on a cross-town bus in NYC -- where I got "witnessed to" by some wide-eyed-with-wonder Church of Christ "disciples" who invited me to their home fellowship on the Upper West Side of Manhattan that night. I had a HUGE "ah-ha" moment when I realized that THEY were ME 15 years earlier, when I was "witnessing" to others with that same wide-eyed zealous wonder! When I got off the bus a few minutes later, I was in deep thought as I walked up the two flights to my little studio apartment in a lovely brownstone a half a block from Central Park. I sat down at my table, opened my Bible to the gospels, and asked Jesus (out loud!) to be the only one I'd ever listen to again. I read only the Gospels and Psalms for the next several months -- asking only that Jesus -- if he were REAL -- would reveal who he was to me. It really was a beautiful epiphany -- in that I figured if this Christianity thing was really true -- than certainly The One who began it all would and could illuminate me. I've never regretted that choice. There were a few years in there when I succumbed to the propaganda that we MUST be in some sort of "congregation" and so I church-shopped for a while (with some hilarious results along the way!) ... but I always came back to the exact place I was on that day in Manhattan when I decided to leave Wayville and get back in touch with the Jesus Who'd shown me who He was years earlier -- when I was just 14 years old! ; ) Thanks for reading this ... I look forward to getting to know some of youz guys here in the days ahead.

Some of them were bumbling idiots!

And it's not spying if someone else plants the cameras. Your thoughts are not private, and are being monitored, you can and will be punished, is some of the effect. I think it was strongly implied as well that everyone's thoughts will be revealed at the Bema as well. It implies your relationship with God and yourself is an open book. It implies leadership has special favor with God over the follower. It implies you are too inept to make your own decisions and your thoughts need monitoring. It encourages people, both leader and follower, to act like bumbling idiots.

I can usually tell what the cats want by reading them. Or maybe they just have me trained. When I want something I have to use a laser pointer. Maybe we're co-manipulators. But remember God has to take baby-steps to work with people to receive revelation. He has to use what we already understand at first until we're ready for audible revelation . . . so maybe God is teaching me via the cats. 9 manifestations . . . 9 lives. . . . I think it adds up.

Yeah – I can understand that….it may be a little off topic but my dogs are definitely mind readers and manipulators; if they see me put on running shoes they go crazy because they know they’re getting a walk; Tonto and I have to spell out certain words because the dogs recognize them and get crazy excited: “Hey Babe, want me to let the dogs O – U – T one more time before we go to bed?” or “want to take the dogs for a W – A – L – K ?” If we start packing for a trip the dogs act a little nervous because they know something is up. If they want to get fed earlier than the usual late afternoon time – they start acting super cute and cuddly. If they want some attention or want to play they’re all over us on the coach while we’re trying to watch TV. I just know my dogs are into all that powers of the mind stuff…one day I just happened to walk in on them doing their yoga routine – who knows what else they’re up to when we’re not around. PS - here's a tip for all you folks wanting to get a pet; NEVER get a pet that is smarter than you....you've been warned.

T-Bone - that yacht in your imagination, of course! Magical thinking? Here's Magic Yacht (yes, it really is called that!).

You might like Derren Brown's debunking videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X56Kmbgn6dE. It's quite long,but even just the first ten minutes is interesting. And, a bit off topic, here's something about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuP5uOI7Xwc. There's a bit around minute 44 that might have a familiar ring to it, but the whole article is worth watching.

Nobody can read minds. But some people are more adept than others at reading body language. Or, perhaps, recognising what certain body language movements actually signal, about that person's thoughts. Most of us have some ability, even if we don't recognise it much. But some people make a study of it. Con-men, for example. Salesmen. Those who want something from you. Manipulators. Even then, other people don't know your precise thoughts, only those mirrored by certain actions or behaviours at that particular time.. They don't know unless they ask careful questions that you are concerned about your cat, or your auntie Susie, or that the bank sent you a threatening letter just yesterday. They don't know the name of your boss, your friends or your yacht without asking those questions by some means.

There is an interesting new TV show starring Michael Weatherly (formerly of NCIS) called "Bull" that premiers in the US this fall. It is supposedly based on the early career of Dr. Phil (not a personal favorite of mine). The fictional Dr. Bull is supposedly able to "read the jury" in certain cases by looking at body language, etc. Should be interesting. When I mentioned not being able to read minds, I specifically meant that NO so-called "heavy" in TWI (especially in the Craig years, when "super spirituality" was common on local and state wanna-bes tried to prove their mettle) ... were able to read minds. In my day-to-day life over the years, I have never had a problem with an "average bear" human being thinking he/she could read my mind. There is a place in Scripture I remember where it says, "Jesus, knowing their thoughts..." which was, of course, by God telling him. I'm sure wanna-bes from the Way might have used that as an excuse to say they knew someone's thoughts. They were not Jesus Christ....but like Yogi, they thought themselves "smarter than the average bear." (if you are too young to remember Yogi Bear cartoons, my apologies for an obscure reference...)

This is so awesome that the conversation is steering away from superstitions and mysticism and ending up where it is. Many so-called "mind reading" tricks are based in science: https://www.paulekman.com/ This guy's research and TV series it spawned called "Lie To Me" have been really interesting to me over the last couple of years. And there's a spin-off coming fall 2017. Yea! I actually recently saw a demo lately of facial recognition software that is able to categorize the universal emotions and rate them on a scale of 0 to 1 in a face scanned.

Hmmm...If people could read minds, I would have been thrown out of TWI long before I left on my own on January 11, 1996 (slow learner in that regard). Even before I ever was a part of der Way at age 16, my mother and father taught me your mind could not be read...nor could you read other minds. Nothing I have ever experienced in life, in the Way or out, has led me to change my mind. Only God and you know your thoughts, unless you share them with someone else.

What a difference 45 years makes. I believe it is very possible to read people. What does that mean? Telepathy? Not really. But still, to a degree, we can and often do figure out what others' intentions, attitudes, feelings and even thoughts are before they are articulated verbally. But it's neither hooky-spookism nor godly revelation. From Psychology Today, There's plenty of research that has been done on Social Intelligence. I cannot recall whether anyone formally or informally taught or even just talked about any concept like this when I was a young wayfer. But I now believe that the intuitiveness that I then thought was akin to revelation from God is related to social and emotional intelligence. It's really not all that mystical (anymore).

I was taught specifically that believers can not read minds. However, it was strongly implied, though not taught, that leaders could get revelation to tell them what you were thinking. So, in essence, they could know what you were thinking but not by way of mind reading. This would have been in the early 1970's, (maybe '73, '74) It's rather embarrassing now to think I bought into this nonsense.

Very interesting topic. Thanks Bolshevik! i never bought vic's anecdotal yet "god breathed" evidence of any of the manifestations. Why? Because I "grew up in da Woid" under a couple of Steves who had it goin' on with Jesus Christ ! And, those Steves were Perez and Heefner, and, imho, they were both and each the "real deal" along with their spouses, Laurie P., and Sandi H. And, under THEIR genuine "ministries", I was won to Christ and became a dedicated and bold disciple. Piffle was merely a class....a biblical proof that the Word was right and righteous! The real movement of God, through Christ, via holy spirit was what was happening every night in fellowships around NYC and LI. There was no stoopeed, hokey dictor paul contaminating the revival by Christ that was crashing through the northeast and every other part of the 1970 USA. That WAS God and The Boss, JC, doing their thing among the idealistic hippies of the late 60s. DPW lucked out enough to catch that wave with a BG-Bullinger board and a load of bullshit that was perfect for his day and time and hour....LOL! What an absolute fraud! Even in the first AC I took, in Rye, NY in March, 1972, I never bought the John Noble anti-Beatles BS, or the "all psychiatry was born in a seance" garbage. I knew better, both intellectually and experientially, thanks to the Perezes, and the Heefners, along with my medical and nursing training. Carrying this internal conflict and cognitive dissonance was for me, the single most personal betrayal of self I ever committed in my life. I thankfully have both made amends to those I have hurt, and repented before the Lord Jesus Christ and those whom I have harmed, asking, and receiving their forgiveness......for which I am unspeakably thankful and duly responsible.

VPW always used to say that the devil couldn't read thoughts. Extend that a bit ... the devil's minions can't read thoughgs (otherwise, they'd be cleverer than the devil). The devil's minions that seemingly spoke to VPW (pretending (?) to be God) couldn't read his mind and they certainly couldn't read yours and tell VPW or any of his human minions what you were thinking. Oh course, none of that stops people showing off, or pretending to get revelation, or trying to showboat someone/something or gaslight someone/something or otherwise generally put lesser mortals down a peg or two.

As someone in TWI from 1970-1987, I can say I never heard "mind reading" put that way or taught that way by any Way leader, including VPW. I never feared or hoped that any Way leader could read my thoughts. In fact, during the time I was preparing my escape from HQ, I was VERY thankful none of them could read my thoughts. What I remember being taught was that when a healer laid hands on you to heal you, God would tell them what was wrong with you. As the healer prayed for you aloud, you'd hear the diagnosis then, and the conclusion of the session was the healer saying you were healed in the name of Jesus Christ. Now, if you ask me today what I make of this mind reading issue, I'll say I believe our thoughts are private. Sometimes, when we are on the same "wavelength" with another person close to us, we may "think the same thing at the same time." But I don't believe that is mind reading. Of course, just because I believe or do not believe something does not make it true or untrue. I must test my ideas against evidence. I can believe the moon is made of cheese but then there's some evidence I must contend with that points to the contrary. The mind is a mysterious thing ... one of my favorite writers is William James, author of The Variety of Religious Experience. Now THAT'S a mind blowing read!