doojable

True Shellon. They have no limits on who buys or how much you buy. The only requirements are that you first purchase at least one "Basic" or "Senior" package and that you meet the deadline. (And you don't have to be a senior to get the senior package.) I purchased several packages. My daughter was amazed with how much we got for the money spent.

Good observations there T-Bone. I found that the more genuine relationships I had in twi were based on me ignoring any of the micro-managing stuff propounded by twi. That said, looking back I had no real friends in twi. There was always the lingering sense that if you screwed up the other person would walk away. That's not a recipe for a genuine relationship. I grew up with two gals. Our mothers all grew up together and the friendship extended to their kids. During the twelve years that we were all together in the same place there were a lot of arguments. All the same "girl stuff" that pre-teens go through, but we always worked it out. Always. There was never a question of whether one of us would be kicked out of the group. We were family. Oddly enough, for a group of young girls, we didn't really gossip about each other. (I just remembered that.) It was - I don't know- just not part of how we were with each other. In fact, we really didn't spend much time talking about much more than the things that interested all of us together. I ended up going to college with one of those gals. I when I got into twi I tried to get her to join me. She was smarter than I and didn't take the bait. She watched me make one wrong decision after another and never ditched me as a friend. She saw me move all over the city from one bad apt to another that was worst. Still - she remained my friend. When I made the move to Kansas she told me to "click my heels three time if I ever wanted to come home" and sent me on my way. One of my deepest regrets is that ultimately our friendship didn't survive my cult experience. Years and miles and my attitude got in the way. We connected several times- but only for short bursts of closeness. The last time I saw her was after I had left and was gone for at least a year. By that time our lives had become too different. The last time I talked to her was just after the birth of my younger daughter. Her phone number was unlisted and I lost it - so sadly I have not heard from her since. That said, I've come to see how I sabotaged that relationship. I did ignore the "don't be unequally yoked" bs line that twi spouted. Sadly, I see it was replaced with "I'll just be her friend and she'll see my life and want what I have" line of bs. That was another form of using people. UGH! I hate this...

Waysider I think you'd find that this program is a lot more flexible than what you participated in in FLO. It's amazing to me that the Manna program wasn't extended to part of your immediate community. Seems to me that charity is where twi missed it -BIG time. There are pre-prepared meals, but that is not a majority of the program. Meats are vacuum-sealed in individual portions. I'm considering handing these flyers out to a few of my elderly neighbors and picking the food up for them. I don't have the time to volunteer at a location, but I could always use a Saturday morning to pick up food.

Angel Food Ministries From "How it Works" The food is restaurant quality. Perhaps you know a family or some senior citizens who might benefit from this site. They even have a menu based on the needs of senior citizens. Look around the site. Perhaps you know someone you can pass this information on to.

Are you sure this is a good year? Given the recent hurricane?

When the Foundational Class in a cult touts the line: "I have NO friends when it comes to the Word," you have a set up for conditional, fragile relationships. There is no cookie cutter answer here. Some of the marriages that began in twi have survived. Perhaps many friendships weren't fake - but most friendships weren't deep or real for the most part. I once heard a friend say that most of the people in his fellowshship were people who most likely would not spend any time together were it not for twi. He said that as a good thing at the time. however, once the "glue" fell away, things went back to "natural selection."

What I've come to realize it the amount of personal dishonesty that I harbored (and I'm still shedding) during my years in twi. I noticed it back towards the end of my cult tenure. We knew that if you had a problem with someone you should talk to that person. We knew that gossip was wrong. BUT - it could all be made "all right" if you were trying to get someone to pray for an individual, or if you wanted to "help the person." Waybrain? Maybe. It was definitely a common occurrence. Maybe it was just sanctioned because it was so easy. What is it that I've read around here...? Oh yea... The lessons we teach are the things we allow. and... The lessons repeat until they are learned. So if for nothing else, I value this discussion and this site. Sometimes it's hard to see what lessons you are teaching and repeating until they are staring you in the face - glaring like brights on a semi.

That's a fair assessment Bluze. I guess in some ways the term is another form of jargon. I take no offense at your post. As I said, I was reading another thread and the term got bantered about. It occurred to me that perhaps there wasn't a real meaning to that word - just a vague general sense that it wasn't good. If you notice, my first post wasn't all that poignant. This thread has served to help me define what I mean when I use the term and to understand what others think. Play on Bluzeman!

And you were so civil in steering the thread back on track...

Point taken Oakspear. This: is where I got my basic premise about "Truth." BUT - I failed to address the behavior and not only the belief that they hold all the truth. The control over twi followers is really what should be addressed in the definition of Waybrain.

WD - a civil discussion is refreshing. I don't agree with you, but civil debate invites independent thought. THAT is not Waybrained. Of course, the discussion could stand to move on to other elements of the definition...

And we were even being civil... :) Yes - but the point was made that WayBrain had the element of arrogance that not only could Truth be known, but that only the twi held the Truth.

I thought we were staying on topic... Weren't we?

My point is that no one belief system (religious theory - if you will) can possibly define the Truth. And while you look to a certain set of scripture, there are others in the world that look to the Apocrypha along with the accepted Canon of scripture. And what good is scripture if you don't understand it? The understanding is where any religious belief system derives it's power base. That is the theory.

Okay... but which "truth"? Catholic? Episcopalian? Seventh Day Adventist? Jewish? twi? ....keep adding the truth of your choice... ad infinitum. Isn't it possible that they all have elements of truth? That not one of them contains all the truth? Or are you suggesting that man has God figured out? IMHO that is the arrogance that I learned in twi - that I could not only understand the Creator of the Universe, but "make" Him do as I demanded in the name of His son. Bind him to His word. Look like a lawyer for some loophole somewhere to get what you want. And THAT arrogance, is a definite element of Waybrain. (Edited to add that I think that it's ironic that twi has been labeled as another religion here on this thread.)

I object! I had no such motive when I started this thread. In fact, I was reading another thread and thought to myself that I wasn't sure that when we used the word "Waybrain" that we all meant the same thing. If I say the word "bird" here in Texas, most people get a mind picture of a sparrow or a mockingbird. However if you say the same word in Australia, a different image might come to mind. And just suppose the elements of Waybrainism are really just cultism? I'm curious as to what elements of your religious beliefs have been disparaged on this thread? ..."truth with a capital 'T'?" A while back I saw a show on Nova in which different theories were discussed. The theory of relativity was good until it no longer described a certain aspect of the universe, so along came quantum theory, which when found to be equally limiting led to string theory. It seems that scientists are fine with more than one "truth" to define that which they are seeking answers to. Isn't that more honest than trying to fit God in one box of "truth?" I believe there is a "Truth" but I"m comfortable in saying that I won't know it all.

I've seen quite a few posters here refer to themselves as having "waybrain," or doing a "waybrain" thing. It's a description of a set of habits or actions that are commonly familar to those having been in twi.

Anyway... I've done some internet research about other cults - I've found a site much like the Cafe but it's devoted to a group that once was involved with a form of dieting. The group leader seems to endorse a form of dieting that leads to anorexia. No religion. No God. No Jesus. BUT they still refer to some of the same things we here at the cafe refer to. They of course would have a different term to describe their "brain"

Here are some definitions I found of a cult. I think you'll see that it's far more than a choice that is made - there seems to be some manipulation involved - which is common to all cults. I'll also post some excerpts. The top of any of these pages will give you more links and info. Universal Definition of a Cult How They do This Results of This Abuse

Sadly, I don't think it was.

Waybrain is a term I've come to use to define the cult mentality that is specific to those once in twi. There are some practices that are common to all cults - then there are specific acts that only twi people would understand. I have not seen anyone use it on this thread in reference to any one person in particular. Later I'll post some links that define what is a cult. In the meantime - please carry on. Chas - nice!

I'd even say that it's the smug sense that comes from feeling that what we did in the Way was somehow superior to what others have done - ever! We believed that we were the new saviors of the world and NO ONE was doing as much as we were. I remember feeling like I didn't need to give to the poor - just witness. Homeless people? Witness to them! Charity? Bah! The poor will be with us always. The problem was that I failed to see that I was among the poor.

A little broad there Mike, but definitely accurate. That's the basic definition of anyone involved in any cult anywhere.

I agree Oakspear. But in the case of "one verse answers to life" I also think it is the choice of that one verse that defines Waybrain. Then there were the pat answers: SIT is perfect prayer. It proves... well, you know...

Thinking that finding a parking spot right in front of Walmart proves that you and Gawd are tight.