oenophile

Why can't dartanian accept daryl's statement that he did not choose to be gay, he just is. I suppose that would cause her to re-evaluate her dogma. Personally approves the wine list.

Happy birthday, wacky...29? right? Personally approves the wine list.

i think we will be judged according to our heart because that is what God looks upon. remember the letter kills but the spirit gives life. we learned to judge things so well by the letter didn't we? we got so caught up in the letter in our twi experience that we eventually saw the results in our lives...death to the joy of living, death to having compassion or empathy toward others who are not like us, death to the sensitivity of those in desparate need, death to experiencing our enjoyment of our families, death to our fondest hopes and passions, death to the ability to think critically ad nauseum. it is my prayer that each of us find what it truly means to be spiritual by being open to the lessons along our journey that we need to learn so we may finally discover true Life. Personally approves the wine list.

This is a recurring thought with which I wrestle. Perhaps I am not alone with this struggle. As I look back over twenty years of involvement I have ambivalent feelings. Sometimes I look at what could have been yet never was because of my involvement. Other times I think there were valuable lessons that I learned and wonderful people that I met along the way. How do you feel? Personally approves the wine list.

as a true ecu PIRATE i will join your cause. How can I get my t-shirt? Personally approves the wine list.

GET THE %%%% OFF MY DAMN CLOUD, YOU MORON!!! Personally approves the wine list.

Most evil stuff on TV...that would either be a TV preacher or anytime George W. Bush opens his mouth. Personally approves the wine list.

Thanks paw...how did you get wind of this. Personally approves the wine list.

Dizzydog, I believe that you are right. Tony and Irving did have their scrapes with the League Office.

Sadie, Please accept my apologies for my choice of verbs. I know that my criticism of twi would be more palatable (and perhaps more effective)had I had chosen a more civil mode of expression. I am sensitive to the fact that such expressions as I used can recall instances of verbal abuse by some people. Again, I am sorry that my choice of words did so for you. Please understand that I meant no disrespect toward you or anyone else who may be similarly offended. Although I have largely moved on with my life and have relegated twi to the netherworld regions of my mind, occasionally when I read of someones abusive experience (and am reminded of my own)I become so viscerally agitated that the only appropriate response employs expletives (with figurative rather than literal meaning) and verbal economy. Personally approves the wine list.

F*** The Way!!! (twi legal dept please see U.S Supreme Court decision Cohen v. California) :P--> Personally approves the wine list.

Imagine that you have five minutes with any person living or dead that is or has been associated with The Way International. What would you like to say to them? Personally approves the wine list.

Maybe I did kill (at least played a part unintentionally) for the "Word" that twi promoted. One of my best friends in high school was was gay even though I am straight we had a good friendship with several interests in common. I took pfal during my freshman year in college and after that participated on two summer in state outreach programs. My friend (whom I will call Larry) had the misfortune to stop in to visit me while I was smoking hot off one of the in state programs and from the ROA. Larry had no sooner sat down in my living room when I started to give him both barrels about what how much a perverted life he was living and how it turned God's "stomach" just to look at it. I didn't even give Larry the smallest space to tell me why he came by to see me. I have thought many times maybe he had a crisis going on. He had lots of problems with his family during our high school days. His father couldnt stand to look at him although Larry bent over backwards to win his approval. I remember the times I had dinner at Larry's house his dad wouldn't even talk to him. I thought that I was skillfully wielding the sword of the spirit that night but what I was doing in reality was thrusting a dagger into Larry's heart. I didn't hear much from Larry after that night. A few years later word reached me that he had died of AIDS. The first thought I had was that he had received the "recompense of his error." What compassion! Last fall, I had Larry's name read along with my parents at a annual remembrance service at the Zen Center where I practice and I have learned more about compassion than I ever did in TWI and how every life has value and needs to be honored. I am sorry for Larry's sake that I wasn't practicing Zen in college rather than involved with TWI. What is it?..."ye shall know them by their fruits." Personally approves the wine list.

I will go back when... James Brown ain't funky and King Kong ain't a big ol' monkey. Personally approves the wine list.

The reason principal reason we should forgive isn't for the benefit of those who have hurt us but for our own. The only way to truly move on is to forgive. As long as we hold on to the hurt we will never completely be free of it. If we can't move on we can't have what is next for us. Life is just too short to live looking backward. Forgiving people does not necessarily excuse their actions. In the case of of TWI there is clearly no excuse for the violated personal boundaries, deceit and manipulation that have been well documented here. These stories of abuse need to continue to be told here so the truth of what TWI is may be brought out publicly in the light of day. However, in our personalspace we forgive so we can live and heal. Personally approves the wine list.

Before I left in the mid 90's TWI promulgated the teaching that those of you that had left in the 80's had fallen under the influence of seducing spirits and could not be trusted to teach at twig let alone run one. LCM even said perhaps the people who left could be trusted to handle refreshments but that was about it. It was also said because of your spiritual contamination that your very presence in the household was suspect and you had to be watched like a hawk by those in charge of the show. So my question is where is the compassion in all of this. What about the lesson that should have been learned from the parable of the prodigal son and his forgiving father? What about the lesson that should have been learned about how Jesus not only forgave the apostles but put full trust in them to continue the work? So, why would anyone want to go back to a cult that is so manifestly out of step with such dominant Christian themes of reconciliation, forgiveness and LOVE. I recall the passage in the Bible "the letter kills but the spirit gives life." TWI taught us well how to live by the letter. "There is a way that seems right to a man but the ends thereof are death." TWI was and is the way of death. Just look around at the shattered lives here and elsewhere. Isn't more important to be where Christ's spirit of love is found? Personally approves the wine list.

happy birthday exie! Personally approves the wine list.

remember the eagle's song "every form of refuge has it's price." Personally approves the wine list.

The Way is a prison without bars. Personally approves the wine list.

I live in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle. This area is regularly in the top five best places to live every year. The major universities; UNC, Duke and N.C. State and the high tech and bioscience firms in the RTP are major employers in the area. They also provide the stimulus for the cultural richness and energy of the area. The lessons of the urban sprawl that has plagued other rapidly growing areas have been taken to heart here. While the area is dynamic and growing, attention has been paid to maintaining the aesthetic quality of life by preserving the green spaces. The Triangle is the national hotbed of college basketball. The Tar Heels, Blue Devils and Wolfpack are powerhouses in college hoops. We also have the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL. Personally approves the wine list.

not even isabel will keep my from the roast...

don't let the door hit you where the Lord split you.

ive been reading in the personal growth and spirituality vein. the four agreementsby miguel ruiz, the power of now by eckart tolle and anatomy of the spirit by carolyn myss. i have recently read slaughterhouse fiveby kurt vonnegut and catcher in the ryeby j.d. salinger.

i resumed my piano lessons a year and a half ago after a forty year hiatus. my plinking is still rough but seems to be getting better.

Happy birthday, Kit.