T-Bone

You've got a point there, Mac.

Here's another one about the value of the class - to the tune of Lucy in the Skies with Diamonds Picture yourself up a creek and for a paddle A PFAL book riddled with marmalade lies Somebody calls you she's taking attendance A girl with those Green Card eyes Cellophane wrapper – on books blue and green Crinkly sounds of brain cells gone dead Look for the dude who took your money for the class But he's gone Nonsense in disguise as diamonds, Nonsense in disguise as diamonds, Nonsense in disguise as diamonds, Ah… Ah… Follow them later to a Twig at a home Where "abundance" is said in such desperate sighs Everyone smiles as you pitch money in wicker horns HQ's coffers grow incredibly high Sponsorship flunkies appear at your door Whisking your dollars away Promise you more secrets from the first century Then they're gone Nonsense in disguise as diamonds, Nonsense in disguise as diamonds, Nonsense in disguise as diamonds, Ah… Ah… [note: if you play this tune backwards you can hear I buried PFAL]

Way-brain. A central nervous system encased in a PFAL book. Composed of neurons, supporting & nutritive structures [as glia] and a vast array of TWI doctrines, it integrates sensory information from inside and outside the body [not to be confused with the Body of Believers – although some former TWI personnel assert the group-think aspect of the Body of Believers is a vital part of the way-braining process]. Weigh brain. To ascertain the heaviness of one's thoughts. During the early years, it was a procedure only available through The Great Carnak and select Men of Gawd [usually only one MoG at a time during any given day and time and hour period - i.e. during their reign as the Grand Poobah] but with the proliferation of Psychic Hotlines, determining the atomic weight of a person's ideas is readily accessible through the agency of any licensed Know-it-all-tell-it-all-money-grubbing practitioner [call now, operators are standing by]. Whey brain. Watery part of milk found in the central nervous system enclosed in the skull that is separated from the coagulable part of curd esp. in the process of making cheese or cheering at a Green Bay Packers' game. Also referred to as "cheese head."

Here's one for promoting the class – to the tune of the Ramones' song I Wanna Be Sedated Thirty-Thirty-Thirty- six hours to go I wanna be sedated Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated Just get me to the class and put me in the fast lane Hurry hurry hurry before I go sane Just take control of my life since I turned off my brain Oh no no no no no Thirty-Thirty-Thirty- six hours to go....

Yup...and he was so worried about losing his job after the incident, that every lunch hour he'd check out the want-ad coulombs.

Yeah, that was a bad idea - seeing how his boss gives him a ride to and from work. That day, he had to ride the bus.

He ought to get a complete work up...make sure he doesn't have something terminal.

Maybe it's just a phase he's going through.

Forget all that other stuff I said...that right there is the real reason why I'd never go back!

I suggest you relay that thought to him. He didn't realize how much the news hounds could find out by interviewing personal contacts. That's when it came to light that he worked for the railroad part-time...that's right, he was a semiconductor.

Good points! Perhaps one of the greatest secrets in The Way today [and for that matter, of just about any day in time past] is the old switcheroo that is pulled on followers. It is a subtle process whereby the personalities, doctrines, and agenda of TWI slowly become superimposed over any personal concept of the Lord a follower may have. This subversive process is carried out in a surreptitious manner by leadership who often focus the attention of their audience through the opaque "lens" of vp's glass eye [aka the TWI mindset] – brethren, do you see the light? And they couch teachings and private counsel in such an authoritative manner as to suggest it's on par with Scripture… The absent Christ – you betcha! "Serving the Lord with Gladness" …Sounds like the same old manipulative tactic when I was in. It wasn't a feeling or attitude that originated in the person. It was not something genuine or spontaneous. Leadership were a hybrid salesmen/drill sergeant facilitator for TWI: You don't enjoy witnessing? Renew your mind!...God loves a cheerful giver – if you don't feel like it – give anyway – you can't go by feelings…Quit complaining about setting up for another class. Serve the Lord with gladness. Just keep serving and the gladness will come. Thinking about all this – reminded me of a thread in doctrinal on the relationship of worship and service. With as much admiration [even reverence], that many followers hold of vp's stuff it kinda makes me wonder who or what they're really serving: http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.ph...st&p=265170

Try to look at things from his side. People are always giving him static about something...following him around everywhere...just like a bad case of static cling.

Good point, Jeff…and according to Jesus, a person's actions are a pretty good indicator of what's been on their heart: Matthew 15:15-20 NASB 15 Peter said to Him, "Explain the parable to us." 16 Jesus said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man." I agree, the Lord will have the final say so on matters of the heart. However, reading the verses that lead up to the above passage it seems to me our Lord is talking about Christians being able to discern hypocrisy right here and now.

You've been posting some great stuff, John ! Keep it up, brother – I really liked that one link you gave listing the strengths of a cult veteran…I was trying to be funny in my I have a friend comment but there's a lot behind that post. It's been a long and complicated road to where I am today... ...unraveling my old mindset and dealing with depression [which I've had before going into TWI]…and besides the grace of God, I've had a whole lot of help from my wife Tonto, professional therapists and of course Grease Spot…all I've got to say is - where were you when I needed you in 1986 after I left TWI? Ok – just kiddin' – I'm glad you're here and it means a lot to me that you've had a cult experience – I'm sure that adds such depth, compassion & empathy to your service. Oh yeah, excuse my manners - a hearty welcome to you, John ! I look forward to more of your input at Grease Spot.

I wish you the best, John…Years ago I was so ashamed of my former involvement with TWI. If I had come to your office, I probably would have sounded something like this – Uhm…okay…I have this friend who was in a really weird religious group….

Hmmm…Grease Spotters getting rid of a fallen tree that tried to crash the party. Whoa, heavy on the symbolism there! ~~ Glad to hear you're doing okay…It's frightening to hear how much of an impact Ike had. A co-worker of mine was so worried about her daughter who works and goes to the university in Houston. She just paid for this semester, the office where she works is shut down for repairs [supposed to take 2 months], and they're shipping off just about everyone to their New Orleans office. Her daughter was so worried they'd make her go and she'd lose her tuition. But they finally worked out an arrangement using another small office – she and a handful of others will stay in Houston...All the folks of Houston, Galveston, etc. are still in our thoughts & prayers.

I'm sure all those catering charges by his campaign headquarters will spark the interest of some investigative reporters. You know there's gonna be some negative press over that one. Things will get hot for the party line - people can't remain neutral forever.

You've got that right! Interesting how that worked. Typically before someone took the class, their questions and challenges were often rebuffed by grads with side-stepping tactics like You just need to take the PFAL Class. All your questions will be answered. And after someone took the class, their questions and challenges were often ignored by really "sharp" leadership [aka, salesmen] with side-stepping tactics like, You just need to sit through PFAL again…or, You should spend more time working the collaterals…and if they were really good salesmen they'd get the newbie all excited about working toward taking the Advanced Class - where all your questions will be answered. ...sounds like a broken record. They were usually highly skilled in various innocent-sounding mind-numbing techniques. Oh, they often led folks to believe one didn't have to check their brain at the door – but bottom line was they had all kinds of subtle tricks for keeping a follower's brain in check.

So what's his current residence? I wouldn't be shocked to hear he's panhandling outside an outlet mall. [edited by my inner comic....make it stop, make it stop!...man, if this line of electrical jokes even registered on a laugh meter I'd swear it was a Fluke]

Thanks, Rum Runner - I looked around a little after I read the Trinity one...that's a pretty funny webcomic - I added it to my favorites.

Have a good one! ...was thinking about getting you one of these electronic Socks knitting machines. I know I could sure use one.

Yeah Dave - that bass does sound good! A funny thing - we were watching some home movies the other night and think it was around 2001, I've got a clip of my son playing one of those. He borrowed it from a friend. I was fascinated by the rubber strings and how lightweight it felt.

Thanks Rum Runner, that's good stuff to know. Ex10 & Family are in our thoughts & prayers. Tonto & T-Bone

Cool designs there, DMiller - thanks for posting all that stuff. Man oh man, I haven't posted on this thread in a loooong time...scanned it a few times...been kinda busy with other stuff. Thought I'd share a little of what's going on from my neck of the guitar. :) My Kramer Fretless Bass is in the shop right now - getting outfitted with a new bridge that has a piezo pickup in each of the 4 saddles. It should provide a more acoustic tone. I'm soooo excited! They'll install a mixing pot - so I can fade to either the regular existing pickup or bridge piezo pickups or anyway between the two. In doing research for this upgrade - I got into looking at other basses - and heaven help me! Now I'm thinking about getting a six string bass with a neck-through design. Now don't get me wrong - I'm not thinking of getting rid of my Kramer - I love the feel and sound of it. But what I'm wanting is to have two different sounding instruments. My 4 string Kramer is a Fretless bolt-on aluminum neck and I use nylon taped strings. Love that warm whiny tone! Great for jazz & acoustic stuff. Now I'd like to add to my palette a six string bass [tuning is BEADGC] to extend my range both at the bottom and top, fretted, have a neck-through design for added resonance and sustain and use round-wound strings for a sharp & bright oinker of a sound. Perfect for rock and jazz-fusion stuff. Changing the subject just a little....I'm so looking forward to the jam session we'll have at the GSC Texas BBQ in November! And I've noticed a curious thing. Since my bass has been in the shop - I've been dying to practice scales and build up finger strength for the event and have resorted to using an acoustic guitar and a finger exerciser I bought at the guitar shop - looks like 4 valves on a trumpet [which I think only has 3, but anyway - I can work my weaker fingers with it]. Ok - lately there's been that increase desire to practice - and also I'm coming up with some new riffs and tunes - a lot of times I "hear" them in my head on the way to work...What all this has me thinking is that this boost to my muse has come from anticipation of performance. I dunno...I guess just sitting around plunking all by myself [maybe I should see a therapist on that ] can get pretty boring...maybe I need to join a band or something.

I think there's always hope in de-Waying the mind, if one is aware of the problem. I've heard it said To articulate the problem means it's halfway solved. And something I picked up from an old Christian Counseling seminar Investigate, Isolate, Eliminate, which sorta goes along the lines of the first quip. Considering my own experience of unraveling 12 years of an entangling TWI-mindset - this whole de-Waying process can get very complicated and tedious on some issues. And some of it isn't so easy to identify - cuz going into TWI, I brought in whatever personal dysfunctionality with me - which compounds the problem. I wanna tell ya, the cognitive distortions of the TWI-mindset and depression are not a good mix! :( On the topic of de-Waying - I often think about the point of self-examination Jesus made in Matthew 7. I can't help anyone else deal with the little splinter of a fault in their perception if I don't first address the huge plank of a fault in mine. Jesus didn't say it couldn't be done - He said it should be done first, before attempting to help another. And that's gonna take honesty & humility.