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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/10/2018 in all areas

  1. So, I’ve lurked here for a long time, and now with my heart pounding, have created an account and am saying hello. I’ve been out of TWI for over 10 years; it took me almost 10 before that to work my way out. I grew up in twi, birth to twenties. Now I’m working my way through diagnoses of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, all after I thought I’d dealt with the big stuff. I hope you all are faring better, but I’m guessing maybe not if you’re here. A book that is really helping me understand all this is “Combatting Cult Mind Control” by Steven Hassan. If you’re looking for a sometimes distressing but very revealing read, it’s excellent and totally relevant. Happy to be here and hope to “meet” some of you soon. :-)
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  2. He's just a ramblin' guy. But THIS is my friend Ramblin Dan. With his rendition of Ain't nobody's bidness if I do! It's possible some of you might know him.
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  3. love that bit !!!! ...ya know...I've got just the car for you
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  4. Don't know about that poem, WW, too many connotations about the "fair haired youth" that danced around in tights. It was really promoted, to boost up both Loy and the amazing leadership and preparation made by the lonely but visionary wise old grey-head. I knew the poem before I'd ever heard of TWI, but (as ever), the twist TWI gave it has made it unpalatable. However, I do like the idea of we older escapees being bridge-builders for the newer escaped, except that we're not aiding them at evening twilight, we're aiding them into the bright light of day, clearsightedness and FREEEEDDDDDOOOOMMMM! (note the sunnies, for the bright light; not wearing the rose-tinted glasses of PFAL).
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  5. Oh and by the way, I have been in therapy for years for a psychiatric condition I've had that needed treatment and medication that I did not think I needed while in TWI. (Renew your mind yada yada yada) So I went untreated and subjected to any episode that might come up, Now I go to sessions (only once every 6 months) and take my meds consistently. So now I'm stable and doing ok.
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  6. "The fog" was actually a time of great clarity for many TWI people. It was a time to wake up and realize they could leave.
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  7. The fog, according to my understanding: Beginning about the mid-to-late 80's, The Way was beginning to split apart. Much of this was due to Reverend Martindale's (LCM) having been made President by VP before he died. (And many who thought they were "more qualified" for the position were very jealous of him because of it. I just call it sibling rivalry.) It seems that "many new and different doctrines" were forming by those others. (And much of the "hidden stuff" was being exposed and confronted --- like all of the adultery among those at HQ, etc.) Although at first, this increasing rift among the members wasn't divulged to the mainstream believers, certainly the Corps and other "inner-circle people" at HQ were all aware of it.) I finally became aware of this shortly after returning home from the Advanced Class at Emporia Kansas in '89. (And I still wasn't aware that the ministry had already begun to split.) Anyway, some of the "bigwigs" (John Lynn, John Shoenheit, Vince Finnegan, Chris Geer and others) had left the ministry --- taking many believers with them. Things were in great disarray among those remaining with TWI, who were referred to as the faithful remnant. And there was much confusion as to why all this decline had happened within The Way. LCM deemed this time as the fog, alluding to the fact that it was "hard to see" just why the ministry was about cut in half in so short a time. From then on, The Way was hard-pressed on many fronts to conduct the ministry as before. Financially, they were becoming most desperate; and sold many of the Wierwille properties for ready cash, just to keep things going. And today, they're only a smattering of what they once were. Less than: I hope this clarifies "the fog" a bit for you. Don't worry...you're just fine! If this is of any help, remember Ro 14:22b ...happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. SO: Don't worry about what The Way taught you --- which made you afraid when you didn't conform to their demented reasoning of what constitutes "a faithful relationship" with your heavenly Father. Allow yourself to be comfortable in your shortcomings! Face it: You can't be perfect no matter what you do --- so why try? Because if you do, you'll never be good enough by your own works anyway. God accepts you just as you are. As the verse said, STOP putting yourself down; and quit measuring yourself according to the (false) standard of living which TWI shoved down your throat. Bless you, and have a cup of coffee on me. Welcome to GS! (Spec)
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  8. Less Than, there are lots of archived old documents elsewhere on this site - unfortunately not as easily accessible as they used to be when the site was hosted differently. However, you might find this thread really helpful and very enlightening: And Grace, I'm not sure if you've looked at this old threads etc yet. You'd find them interesting too.
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  9. First and foremost -- you are not alone! As far as going to therapy, the good thing is that all you have to do is respond to the questions posed by the therapist. I realize you probably already know that, so I hope you don't mind that I said it. Also, here's the video Twinky mentioned (that I posted the other day in another forum on this website). The labels are different for other cults, but the template is essentially the same as what we were subjected to in twi. You are also far from alone in dealing with depression and anxiety. It can get better for you. We're on your side.
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  10. Welcome, Less Than. Praise the Lord you are less than TWI would turn you into, and More Than anything they could offer. Making you feel "less than" and not good enough is standard TWI technique, and it leaves big scars and holes in one's self-respect. You will find others here who were kids raised in TWI - I think you as a group have your own particular issues to exorcise. Actually, what Rocky posted just yesterday, a TED talk, could be really helpful for you. The speaker is a young woman who was raised in an abusive cult. Meantime, this is a great place for you to vent your anger, frustrations, and hang-ups. We've all been there. It's also very much okay for you to seek help from a therapist. If you had a broken leg, you'd seek help from a doctor, wouldn't you? Right. So seek help for your broken thinking. Say how you felt unsupported when your father died. Let it meander on from there. Maybe your therapist will be able to offer some strategies to help you "deal with" the anticipated conflict with your mum.
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