diazbro

pirate1974 said: I'm certainly no expert on trademark law, but I would think if they abandoned their trademark on "power for abundant living" that somebody else would be free to claim it. >> Well thats what I would think but as we know the law doesn't always follow intuitive reasoning. Even a casual analysis of TWI website suggests that its merely a placeholder to provide token evidence of their exsistence on the web. Its vague and employs numerous cliches that give no real indication about the day to day life of TWI devotee. Even the infamous ICOC (http://www.icoc.org/icocmain/index_new.htm) (once indicated as TWI's primary competition) has a web presence that at least tries to appear to be informative. The point is that ,in my opinion, TWI has no interest in developing a significant on-line presence. Their intent , from my point of view is to cybersquat but they have a slightly better alibi since they are seeking to control similar names but only once it becomes clear that an outspoken critic is interested in it.

Pirate1974 said: Interestingly, it looks like they let their trademark for POWER FOR ABUNDANT LIVING expire in March 1984, but they're still holding on to PFAL. >> An interesting thing to consider is what might happen if someone else started using the "power for abundant living" phrase as the tag for a series of classes and books. Would TWI spring into action to reclaim it ? I recall about 5 years ago there was an advertisement for some books with the title like "power for living" and then I saw some publications in a bookstore like "adundant power for living" and I've even seen articles referencing "power for adundant life" and as far as I know thats not provoked any problems. As someone pointed out I bet TWI would spring into action only if a former member attempted to assume control of the trademark.

I don't know the legal intracacies of this situation but I certainly believe Pat when he says that TWI tried to bully him out of the domian. Thats their style and as most people here know they possess a sense of entitlment that would make Donald Trump seem humble. Let the courts decide if its cybersquatting but I don't think its a deal breaker for anyone and a court process would force TWI out of its hole. Each time that happens perhaps people can get a glimpse of just how twisted that horror show is. Over time it might help to fill out the picture for those curious about the organziation. Like roaches TWI tends to run from the light of day so I do find it useful for them to be engaged outside of their turf.

In early Way days I found it to be attractive as there was little pressure to do much except enjoy fellowship and over time some might get more invovlved while others, such as myself, might maintain only a peripheral attachment to TWI. At that time such a thing was possible as the concept of making TWI your life and home had yet to emerge in a big way. Besides I was busy and had plans and goals and was happy to be in the process of acheiving them. Thats always a good feeling to have. As some years passed some of my earlier friends became significantly involved in TWI and they started leaning into me to take PFAL. In many ways I didn't feel that I had to because thats basically what was being taught at twigs and people were teaching out of their books and I had read most of those but lots of people were REALLY pushing it so I took it. I did enjoy it and it seemed to have pleased my friends (not that that was the reason I did it). But then I noticed that the more I did in TWI the more people wanted me to do. If they went WOW then they wanted me to go WOW. And it took on a slightly darker edge when I would decline to go to a family night or to a branch function. But because I knew some of the leaders, my erratic attendance at ministry functions was still tolerated. But over time I saw fewer familiar faces and was afforded fewer allowances. So at this point I started to have run ins with corps types. My apparent resistance to "moving forward" in They Way lifestyle sort of irked them. They couldn't understand it and over time this became the source of arguements. It needs to be said that in ALL cases it was the corps people who initiated these conversations. I didn't go to them for advice or counseling. But none of this stopped them from discussing their ideas for my future. And then I realized that much of the advice was generic. The same advice I was getting was being given to other people and it all led to getting people signed up for more classes ,WOW, or entering the corps programs. Little consideration was being given to the individual's goals at least from my point of view. I tried telling these guys that I was well on track with my life but it didn't matter. Unless I did what they wanted for me then it wasn't going to work out. Now over time as I moved to other cities or the corps in the area rotated I would meet some pretty cool people and there would be like a reprieve for a while but it would always happen again that some well meaning corps grad would presume to lecture me on the "abundant life" and how I was missing it by not following the same path they had. The funny thing is that at the times when I ran into an old friends who were firmly established in TWI leadership , it gave me some form of temporary immunity and the eager beavers would back off. One of them told me "I didn't know that you knew him. I must have been wrong about you". Funny huh ? But true. Around 78 or 79 I remember talking to some believers at like a family night. One of the guys there was well known for being a ball breaker. I had heard him teach and had him some basic conversations with him all of which led me to believe that he was exactly the type of leader that I detested. Later he engaged me in this off-to-the-side conversation and it was mindlblowing. His corps hat was off and there was no one else around and he started saying stuff like "Man if you don't stick to your goals that would be bad. Don't listen to what these people are telling you. You know what you got so keep doing it. If you don't come to fellowships then I don't care - just don't go away forever. But if you don't have time for this scene then I would completely understand". Wild huh ? I never expected that but there was one bit of corps advice that I did accept. So I did attend some fellowships on occasion and pop in on twigs when I was travelling but outside of that I went forward with life. My biggest regret though was that the corps guy who told me all this had to do it off the record and on the side. It would have been great if he could have talked like that out in the open or at fellowship but I got the strong sense that such straight talk was contrary to his general mission of keep the household running. I later came to understand that other people loathed him which is a testament to how subjective the corps experience can be. So clearly I'm not going to say that all corps people are bad but after reading my story you can see why I don't have fond memories of many of these folks. I endured lots of insults just to preserve my ties with my friends and an organization that I once thought to be pretty cool. But over time I lost lots of friends to the way machine and its never ending demand for loyalty to the body first and foremost. I'm sure that my story is far from unique. Of course none of us were immune from the group think of TWI. I've said things to be people thinking that what I was saying was the best thing to do when later upon relfection I would become terribly embarrassed because I knew I was just reperating what I had heard on some tape or teaching. In my zeal to do good I overlooked the practical considerations - like listening to people and understanding where they were coming from before dispensing canned advice that sounds good but has little practical value. So I'm not off the hook either. though I was never corps there were times when I used the leaders as inspiration and dealt on people thinking that my rightheous anger was the best thing for them. so no this isn't some judgement trip as much as it is my document of what happened.

I'm certain that most , if not all, who went in had the best of intentions and only honorable goals. And understand that believers in the field typically ,at least initially, were supportive of the corps concept and had great respect for those choosing that path but this is why many people were so unpleasantly blindsided by the corps visitations. There was the full expectation that things would go to the next level and we would "really see God's blessing" so imagine the letdown and disappointment when it was the opposite. Locals who were witnessing and signing others up for the class were discredited as being "spiritually naive" ! What for ? Very odd when the local people had signed up more people for PFAL then any corps person I knew had. I also remember around the time "America Awakes" came out that some corps types were showing up to make sure that people were aware of the impending take over of the US government. (old timers remember that I'm sure). Yea. Important insider knowledge designed to spread fear. And after nothing happened (imagine that) the same people were telling us to "thank god for VPW". Yea. sure... Also I remember a visiting leader telling a newcomer to twig that the best thing he could do to solve his domestic problems with his Father would be to buy a copy of "America Awakes". Oh man. I knew this newcomer. He had a horrible, violent home situation and this corps geek is saying this !!!! I felt like decking him. And sure the corps guy was "nice" and "polite" but his arrogance and ignorance of the true gravity of the situation were inexcusable. He didn't know what he was talking about but he didn't let that get in the way of his mission to push TWI merchandise. Damn I'm mad even now thinking about this. In my opinon the Corps weren't there to witness. They weren't there to undershepherd. They might have engaged in these activities but the local people were already doing that instinctively and typically with greater success. In my view the corps were there to feed the Way machine and keep bodies moving into WOW and the Corps. I remember a corps guy telling me that I should "be bolder" and when I told him that I had signed up 8 people in 3 months for PFAL he initially thought I was lying about it. In his entire Way existence he hadn't signed up that many people for PFAL and this even after his WOW experience AND Corps training - yet he wanted to assert his newfound spiritual "elitness" in the belief that only "the salted" could produce "real" results. In classic Way fashion he told me "well 8 is good but you can do better. Sign up for the WOW program and then you will REALLY learn what its all about !". Oh Christ ! Wow this is a true statement. When I had friends who went Corps I always regretted it because I knew that it was a distinct possibility that I had lost a friend because I knew that their loyalties to TWI would soon outweigh any friendship that I ever had with them. On occasion I was pleasantly suprised when I would get a call from someone who had left or had been asked to leave the Corps. I did sponsor a guy once who went on to be a prominent fixture in TWI corps and Way leadership. After he graduated Corps He always treated me politely and with great courtesy but he did that with everyone and it was readily apparent that he didn't remember details of our friendship. It was like talking to one of those salesguys who tries so hard to make you feel like his best buddy when in reality he is thinking only about his commission for the day. All he kept telling me was "God needs you in the Corps". It became a joke between myself and a mutual friend. Instead of saying "hello" to each other we would say "God needs you in the corps". As I keep saying, I don't know that ALL Corps people were like this. I didn't meet all of them. Its just that my most negative experiences in TWI involved corps people or HQ types. thats my reality and I won't sugarcoat it to make anyone feel better. I had lots of friends all over the country and I travelled a great deal and I would always experience a strong sense of deja vu when I encountered Corps folks. In my view they were , for the most part, following a script. Some were into it while others weren't but it was crystal clear that those who were into it the most were also the most obnoxious and objectionable people I have ever met at least on a human relations level. Thats my experience and to put it any other way would be lying.

alfakat said: Diazbro--would you mind telling us time frame and, if you can, location where you were? Time frame would definitely say a lot.... >> Alfakat. Let me assure you that these people weren't functioning as loose canons or rogue corps. These were active corps grads in so called good standing sent to the area to improve what was already very good. Let me also assure you that I experienced similar behavior in other cities in other time frames with different corps folks. FYI. I dabbled with Twig in the early 70s , took PFAL around 74 and left around 83. Now. Onto your question. (Note: I don't know you , at least I don't think I do, so I'm speaking in general). I've been down this road before. Once I start saying that the corp group was X,Y, and Z and it was this year or that year then someone is gonna pipe up and say "yea - they were control freaks. They were a bad lot" or "Hell. Everyone knows that the Xth corps was weird" or "We all know that after the Xth corps it was all down hill". So even within corps years people have strong ideas about which years were "good" and "bad" which speaks to the subjectivity of it all. You do realize that some later corps grads consider earlier corps grads to have been remiss in their duties and blame them in part for the problems that emerged around POP. And of course some earlier corps grads feel that theirs were the best years because they were closer to the source. Can anyone agree on what corps years were the best ? But what I point out is that the problem was systemic from my point of view -It wasn't peculiar to one person or even one corps year at least during my run. Lots of well meaning people mutated into mini VPWs and Craigs before my very eyes only later to return to their normal laid back behavior in absence of the spotlight and an audience. Obviously the people emulating VPW were a bit less foul mouthed than those copping the LCM style. My experince is that corps people did more to polarize branches and twigs and alienate people than any so called "seed boy" did. They were the ones who provoked the "get off the fence - you are either with us or against" mentality that broke up friendships and even marriages. I do support the view that there were people who , on a one to one basis, were pretty cool but its once they were in "corps mode" it was like a light switch being flicked. Now even in the 70s before screaming and spitting became the preferred form of communication I noticed a condescening attitude on the part of budding leaders and those seeking to call the Way a home. Some of these people were my friends prior to TWI so its not like I didn't know them on a personal basis. I would have conversations with them and they became closed off. They would speak in way cliches and try to sum up every conversation in terms of a scripture and look at you weird if you didn't do the same. And then it was like "Hey you have alot of potential. Why don't you answer god's call ?". Oh brother. How do you answer something like that and tell someone whom you thought to be a good friend that he was turning into an arrogant ahole. Obviously to someone who thinks he knows it all its not going to work so you just avoid the person and move on. such was the story of my way existence until I didn't have any real friends left. Now if someone is the kind of person who responded well to the "why don't you answer God's call" then I can see how later corps behavior might not present such an obstacle. Obviously some people took such questions as challenge to improve themselves and took it on but I typically accepted people as they were and didn't see a great need for everyone to go WOW and then go Corps. Lots of people did well on their own and their local fellowships flourished so why impose some corporate structure onto what is clearly successful in absence of that ? I think TWI wanted to own our happiness and good works. They wanted credit for it.

My basic problem with leaders was that many local twigs functioned quite well in absence of corps supervision. My first Twig rapidly grew to be huge - like at times 50 people - and we had lots of classes going on and planned activities. The WOWs that were heading up the Twig basically let us organize and plan things (though they still wanted to teach the bulk of the time but even that changed over time). So once HQ got wind of all this they sent down some "professionals" to tell us how we should really do it. It was horrible. I mean horrible. They killed all growth and twig attendance plummetted. These guys were such jerks and focused on things like the cleanliness of someone's car or the lack of attention to how the horn of plenty was displayed. I thought it was like a practical joke but it wasn't. Of course who did they blame for the slump ? US ! We were ripped up and down. I recall lots of people leaving and never returning. It was so sad. Now - Does this experience suggest that all corps people were jerks and horrible people ? As I've said before I don't think so. But the fact that something like I described could happen with the blessing of HQ suggests that they were auhtorized to behave in this fashion. They certainly weren't discouraged form behaving like control freak aholes. As I mentioned before - at times like this someone would show up and try to buddy up with us all - make nice and try to brush over the badness that had just happened. It was so transparent and insulting.

Or in the closet ? HA HA HA HA HA

well since my earliest days with TWI I was told that "working the word" qualified as research hence TWI was and would always be a research ministry on this basis. So from my point of view TWI's concept of "research" was never that academic but was loosely defined to include any number of activities. This isn't to say that the people who worked on research staff weren't capable or serious about their work but I was always led to believe that each believer was more or less responsible for this task...of course using the "help" of various way publications.

Illness impacts everyone at some point or another and leave it to TWI to punish people for being human. Of course VPW ,during his illness and after his death, was not held to the same standard and was spared the judgement so easily handed out to others who dared get sick especially if they were on the field or running a class. In all seriousness ,I've always thought that there was lots of mental illness at work in the upper ranks what with people needing to assert their dominance by demanding things and barking out orders. You can't get people's respect by demanding it but lord knows those corps guys tried.

LLP said: Diaz, show me one other innie here who lists his/her name, address, or other specific identifier. You cannot. Ohhh Puhhhllleezaze.. Lots of people put thing in their profile that reflect varying states of reality. There is NOTHING in your profile that proves that you are an active participant with TWI. Your posts are so vague when it comes to TWI and for someone so concerned with the lack of insider information at Gspot you seem to be rather lacking in that regard yourself. But I'm not surprised since.... I don't believe that you are really an innie. You are amazingly evasive when it comes to details about your Way experience except to go out of your way to tell us that its not like that of the majority of people here. Its like you read what people post here and then develop a persona based on the opposite. But I suspect you will continue being vague and dodging specific questions while claiming to be part of a Way experience that is totally unique to yourself.

At one point LLP's profile indicated "she"

Rasal said: Yeah...THATS it! Lolly Poppy....tell us please, WHAT section of the country your fellowship is in...maybe we could ALL come there and enjoy the benefits you speak of >> Yes I've been interested in this information myself especially since LLP supposedly enjoys a hassle free existence in her relationship with TWI therefore she should have no problems disclosing this information. And given the amazing freedom she seems to enjoy in her local fellowship then why would there be a fear of reprisal if she shared details ? LLP has said in previous threads that "numbers are up" in TWI though when pressed for supporting documentation becomes quiet and stops posting for a while I guess in hopes that people forget that she didn't come up with the information. I'm still waiting LLP for that info that supports your assertion..... I've said it before - I have doubts that LLP is even in TWI or has ever been. I've never seen her post anything that a casual reader of Gspot couldn't reconstruct by regularly visiting and gleaning timelines and details. LLP's posts are typically vague when it comes to basic information though she regualarly chastises Gspot for not having more insider information and gossip as if thats the primary purpose of this forum. On the other hand , as an alleged insider, she should be willing to provide such information.

Hope R said: I know quite a few good men and women who were in TWI serving as leaders who wanted nothing more than to love God and the people they served. >> Were all Way leaders bad ? Oh I don't know about that but in my expeience almost all of the bad I ever experienced while in TWI involved leaders. My experience is far from unique and I daresy more common than not. In the early 70s I felt that many people had the proverbial "heart for God" but that became a stock rationalization for VPW's behavior and that of others - "Oh he has fatigued himself in the service of God's one true church so on occasion he might indulge a human desire. So what ? He had such a huge heart for God and his people ? No one is perfect you know ?". I knew some great people in TWI and I certainly give them (the people) credit for that. And obviously if it was bad from the start then there would have been no way for TWI to have flourished as it did. So while I certainly believe that people were well meaning it certainly doesn't excuse them from the bad things that they might have perpetrated on others - either actively or passively by not standing up and pointing out the growing corruption within the upper ranks. Some people left while others stayed to see if it could be worked out. I'm not blaming people who did that. But there were lots of tyrannial leaders even as far back as the 70s and certainly in the 80s. I left around 83 so can't say much after that. the point is that leaders have a responsibility to point out the general problems within the organization even if it means dealing with someone else's personality problems. But that didn't happen a lot - at least no in a fashion that made major differences on the field. And worse yet, some even took their frustrations out on those in the field , asserting their leadership positions to the avergage guy perhaps in reaction to the growing confusion and deception at HQ. I could see this happening.

At Waydale and on Gspot I've seen people present accounts of supposed goodness on the part of various way leaders including VPW. Of course I've seen people claim that Rev (fillintheblank) was awesome and someone else says that that very same person was evil incarnate. One wonders why there is such a massive disparity in opinion but I've got my ideas. In many of these stories its almost like they were running a good-cop-bad-cop routine on people. One leader would be harda**s and mean to someone and just when the person had had enough the good cop coordinator would roll in and make it all better and then the person would be grateful and be renewed in the hope that there is goodness in TWI after all. I saw these situations numerous times and while I don't think they were all orchestrated or planned out it was obvious that some leaders saw an opportunity to "rescue" the faith of someone who was ....ed off at another leader. But the leaders expected tribute for this. In almost all cases it was TWI who created the misfortune and negative situation in the first place and then they would act like it was some great act of sacrifice to help you out. Once someone told me that they got $50 from their Limb guy. Hmmm. But listen to the story. The guy had been doing free mechanic work on the LC's car, had helped paint his house, was shuttling people with no cars back and forth to twigs, was giving 4 people a ride to the ROA okay. So presumably in a token of recognition of this guys work the LC wanted to acknowledge him.. BUT the $50 was not cash - it was going to be donated when the guy put his money in for the Advanced Class. So there never was a $50 gift - just a carrot on the stick to take another damn class.

>> The place is full. What else should I be looking for. LLP >> Jim Jones had a relgious organization that at one time was "full" also. The Unification church had meetings which were "full". Guess any gathering of people absolutely guarantees that what they were teaching was right on. LLP you are always very sketchy on numbers. You make claims that "numbers are up" (in a thread long ago) though you don't support that claim with statistics and ignore the question altogether. Given your special relationship with TWI then surely you have access to such information but why won't you share it. Your Way experience is unlike that of anyone else I've ever spoken with. I've said it before - I have my doubts that you were/are in TWI. But my complments since this represents a departure from your typical posts which chastise Gspot for not providing more insider gossip and details as if absence of insider material somehow invalidates the forum. Besides if you are truly in then maybe you should be providing that since , historically, that has been a concern of yours.

There is an interesting question that I have always wanted to ask: how did you pick the church that you currently attend? >> Well why make the blanket assumption that everybody goes to church ? I know lots of former Way people who don't go to church.

I'm a big fan of train travel but mostly because I've been spoiled by the great rail system in Europe. When you are there its defintiely the way to get around. US Domestic train travel can be iffy but I can stil enjoy it.

corrydj said: << Weren't they [memebers of the band Kansas]supposed to Christians? >> Well basically it was just Kerry Livgren. He wrote or cowrote the larger part of the Kansas "hits" most of which were authored before his conversion. The primary singer ,Steve Walsh, does have a solo album "glossalalia" which is *not* a christian album. He chose the title because of the interesting nature of the word. I should add that the follow on singer after SW's departure, John Elefante, was a christian though I didn't really consider it to be the same band at that point. I'm not entirely sure why I remember all this or why I care except for the fact that I ran into those guys from time to time. They were a great band even though some of their music didn't appeal to me or the market at large. They still tour from time to time in some configuration and usually show up at those summer festival shows. [This message was edited by diazbro on March 19, 2004 at 14:21.]

mj412 said: << The ones I talk to think that the bad situations in the way in the past was because WE WERE THE EVIL ONES! do you not get this? now it is like the new and so much more improved twi! All the bad evil followers who had problems are gone because God cleaned it up for them. God loves them more than He ever did us . >> Yes well I was aware of this view and it was being pushed right after POP and even as the original splinter groups were forming. Actually some of the splinter groups were using the same "logic" to make their outfit more appealing ("We're leaving the dead wood behind and moving on"). And those choosing to remain with TWI were made to believe that it was all part of God's will to eliminate devil spirit infestations from headquarters and restore the household to its pristine state. Obviously its a trick and its never ending. They never have to improve because they can blame any and all problems on troublemakers past and present.

Well in the early to mid 70s there were alot of musicians in my area going to twigs and taking PFAL and many of us were playing in secular bands. Some were making decent livings at it. At first They didn't hassle us too much about it though over time it was suggested that it would be "best" if we put down our instruments to dedicate ourselves to God which I though odd. I mean they didn't tell painters to put down their paintbrushes or mechanics their tool set. Later it also became clear that going to see secular shows was frowned upon. Once we bailed on Twig to see Johnny Winter though we had made plans well in advance to do this. Of course we were reproved for this but no one really cared since the show was pretty good. In fact we had invited any number of people in TWI so it wasn't like we saw it as bad. There have been some good threads at Gspot on Way productions music (Socks and even Ted F have provided some good perspective on this) One conclusion that keeps emerging is that VPW didn't particularly like sharing the limelight with musicians and considered them to be troublesome to manage. I really think that he was in many ways jealous of the attention so he projected his discomfort onto others. Also I saw various leaders with no background in entertainment giving advice to performers on what they should be wearing , their facial expressions, how they should stand. It didn't make any sense and sometimes had a bizarre effect. And then there were the times were they would want to "correct" lyrics and make suggestions about content. Again from people who had no idea about rhythm , meter, cadence. It was just a way to control way prods people.

Way standard behavior is to trash anything they didn't come up with first. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't claiming that Mel Gibson got the idea from the adversary after some way leader spoke out loud the idea. According to TWI - any organization,leader, or prominent person who gets more attention and money than TWI is "seed". Of course who knows ? Maybe they will use this as motivation to film AOS Part II....

George, Reread the conclusions section. No where did it say that the moon *caused* the elevated admission rates. The statistical analysis concludes that the elevated admission numbers were NOT by chance. Thats the first job of any decent statistician - to determine if the data have emerged at random/ by chance. After that subsequent work can be performed to look at why its not by chance. The case study I presented was the first in a series of many studies that investigated other variables associated with the "transyvania effect". For the sake of brevity I presented the first study. The analysis further suggests that one can not dismiss the moon as a variable relative to admission rates. Once again - It does not mean say the moon is the *cause* - but that it cannot be eliminated as a variable or a covariable. Sure its quite likely that the moon combined with people's belief that the moon causes such situatisons is part of the equation but even still you can't rule out the moon as variable not statistically anyway. Regarding "proper statistical tests". The numbers and computations are sound as was the approach. I used this textbook as part of a graduate program on optimization and statistical modelling. I employ many of the methods in that book as part of my work today. The book is used at MIT, Cal Tech, and Ga Tech. Lastly I am very familiar with the PubMed papers you are referincing. thats the beauty of science. They investigate different sets of data (poisonings, suicides, arrests). In this case I presented it was admission rates to a mental hospital in Virginia. You can't take the conclusions from one study and apply them to another. This is statistically unsound and your publication will be shot down as will your grant money. So, for example, there may in fact be no relationship whatsoever with lunar phases and nursing home agitiation but this does not provide statistical license to extend this to other sets of data. (One notes that aggravated assualts in a 5 year period did occur more often around the full moon). [This message was edited by diazbro on March 09, 2004 at 11:08.] [This message was edited by diazbro on March 09, 2004 at 11:13.]

So I posted this once before and I'll post it again. First I'll post the relevant information and then explain what it means afterwards. Note: Please forgive the misspellings as they certanly don't appear in the book. I'm typing this stuff in so please be patient. Also I've omitted listing the columns of data since I dont' have the time or energy to write all that in and I have tried to make the calculational symbols clear. If you doubt any of this you are free to look up the book in question and read it for yourself. Taken from pages 8-9 of "An Introduction To Mathematical Statistics and Its Applications" by Richard J. Larsen (Vanderbilt University) and Morris L. Marx (University of Oklahoma) 1981 Prentice-Hall Ic, Englewood Cliffs N.J. 07632 ISBN 0-13-487744-6 Begin Quote from text ----------------------------------------- Case Study 1.3 In folklore , the full moon is often portrayed as something sinister, a kind of evil force possessing the power to control our behavior. Over the centuries, many prominent writers and philosophers have shared this belief. Milton, in "Paradise Lost" refers to: "Demoniac Frenzy, moping melancholy And moon-struck madness". And Othello, after the murder of Desdemona, laments: "Is is the very error of the moon, She comes more near the earth than she was wont and she makes men mad" On a more scholarly level , sir William Blackstone, the reknowned 18th century English barrister, defined a "lunatic" as "one who hath... lost the use of his reason and who hath lucid intervals, sometimes enjoying his senses and sometimes not, and that frequently depending upon changes of the moon" The possibility of the lunar phases' influencing human affairs is a theory not without supporters among the scientific community. Studies by reputable medical researchers have attempted to linke the "Transylvania Effect", as it has come to be known , with higher suicide rates, pyromania, and even epilepsy. In this example, we look at still another context in which this phenomenon might be expected to occur. Table 1.4 shows the admission rates to the energency room of a Virginia mental health clinic before , during, and after full moons from august 1971 to July 1972. Notice that for this particualr set of data, the average admission rate is higher during the full moon than during the rest of the month. Averages of the table are presented here: Before Full Moon During Full Moon After FM ---------------- ---------------- --------- 10.9 13.3 11.4 For reasons discussed in Chapter 6 , hypothesis tests are always set up so that what is being tested is the absence or negation of any differences from population to population. Following that principle here leads us to state the hypothesis as H: On the average, there is no difference in mental-hospital admission rates before, during, and after the full moon. the decision to reject H will be made only if it can be demonstrated that averages as different as 10.9, 13.2, and 11.4 are extremely unlikely to arise by chance alone. an analysis done in chapter 12 suggests that these averages are considerably different, implying that the data could be used as evidence in support of the existence of a transylvania effect. (From Chapter 12 pages 497-499): Case study 1.3 described an investigation designed to "measure" te so-called transylvania effect. .... An a priori subhypothesis is clearly suggested by the circumstances of the problem - specifically , it would make sense to test whether the admission rate during the full moon is different than the average of the rates for "before" and "After". What needs to be considered, then is H(0): mean 2 = (mean 1 + mean 3)/2. following the procedure outlined in 11.4 the contrast asscoiated with H'(0) is C = -0.5(mean 1) + mean 2 - 0.5(mean 3) while its estimate is C = -0.5(10.92) +1(13.3) - 0.5(11.46) = 2.11 From definition 11.4 the sum of squares associated with C is 35.62. dividing SS© by the mean square for error gives an F ratio with 1 and 22 degrees of freedom: (35.61)/1 / 132.08/22 = 5.93 But, for the 0.05 level F(0.95,1,22) = 4.30. Thus the contrary to our acceptance of H(0) we would REJECT H'(0) and conclude that the admission rate IS significantly higher during a full moon than it is for the rest of the month. --------------END QUOTE FROM BOOK---------- Okay so the take-a-way from this is that from the admission data collected ,one can NOT claim that the elevated number of admissions during the full moon was by chance. The statistical tests suggest that you cannot eliminate the moon as a possible variable. Now this does NOT ( I repeat ) does NOT say that the moon is causing the escalated admission rates just that it cannot be excluded as a possible cause/variable. This analysis does not offer a possible cause - thats not the job of statisticians. The analysis is concerned with determing if these data emerged by chance or not. In this case the elevated admission numbers were NOT by chance. So if your local ER worker tells you that they get more patients during a full moon then they most likely aren't exagerrating.

Well this is all well and good but there seem to be people who don't care one iota about VPW's poor scholarship and plagiarism (even if it took a while for them to finally admit it)preferring to point out that they were "saved","rescued" by those words and the The Way Ministry therefore nothing else matters. Such people exist here on these boards. But to this I say thats fine - have your bliss, even if its based in willful ignorance, though don't criticize those who saw the astonishing lack of "integrity" that VPW liked to talk about so much. I don't know if these people are so much VPW worhsippers as they are preservationists who are nostalgic for their youth and the good times they had at that point in their lives. Its like after TWI they have no interest in moving forward or establishing new goals except perhaps to defend their investment in TWI. So even if you get some of these people to admit that VPW was a shoddy student and a womanizer it won't make much difference to them. They don't want to let go of their cherished memories of a time that was supposedly so innocent and pure. Remember that book "The Way Living In Love" ? Nice book huh ? Its my favorite piece of Way fiction. It was supposed to be an accurate representation of what was happening. Lots of people talked it up and used it as an example. But you know... I never saw The Way that was described in that book. Sure I knew some of the people some of the locales but despite my best efforts I could never find any Twig, Branch, Limb where people were getting delivered, healed, and all was merry throughout the land. The book glossed over all the normal and mundane things that people had to do just to get to Twig. Anyway - I'm convinced that lots of Way diehards still read this book as they drift off to sleep yearning for those "good ole days" when so and so fell asleep on bless patrol only to be awakened by the snoring of rev so-and so. Ha , Ha, Ha, What great times. Well I won't ask anyone to stop enjoying their memories though I would ask them not to allow their interest in nostlagia to overshadow reality. [This message was edited by diazbro on March 08, 2004 at 12:00.]