waysider

Tossing this in for consideration. John, too, is a veteran of the cult scene, having been an active participant of TM. Does that make a difference? I don't know. Something to think about, though.

In my opinion, this is a critical observation. When I took *PLAF* (The Wonder Class) in--1972?, the concept du jour was that we now had knowledge of "The Mystery", which is "Christ in you, the hope of glowwree!"---- ie:Christ was present anywhere you were present. This was supposedly such privileged information that the adversary would have never allowed Jesus to be crucified if he had known it. (Session #5 seems like the place this was stressed.) The idea was that "the adversary" was hell bent on keeping the mystery from being known by any more people. So, if you left The Way, which represented the epicenter of all that spiritually mattered, (cough) the adversary would try anything to get you to forget about the mystery or from divulging it to others.--- anything up to and including death. Now what would you give for it? But wait!! There's more!! By simply remaining yoked together with "like minded believers", God was able to generate a magical force field around you and your loved ones, which was known to TWI-sters as "the hedge of protection". Walking away from those who held this common knowledge, ("the one true household"), was equivalent to tightrope walking without a net. And don't forget, SIT was a major part of it, too, because VeePeePee taught in the Advanced Class that revelation was only available to those who spoke in tongues much on a daily basis. And, of course, revelation was an absolute necessity if one were to outwit "the old bird". Vp even said it was a "prerequisite". (That is #3 in the Keys To Walking By The Spirit chart that appears on page 10 of the AC silly-bus. (1971) My point is that it the whole concept became rather convoluted. Eventually it was simplified into the belief that leaving TWI could result in death. I never bought into that particular variation of the concept. *PLAF* = Puke, Loogey And Flatulence

My analyst told me-----

Not only for myself, but for the safety and well being of my family as well. Imagine having this droned into you for years and then being kicked out of The Corps or Fellow Laborers, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. There are people here who have first hand experience with that scenario. Now here's a bit of a twist on the subject. How did you feel when you eventually realized that you had been fooling yourself into thinking that you could "believe" or SIT yourself out of harm's way? Have you ever looked back on the absurd expectations you tried to "believe" for? Ever try to "believe" that a job would work out, or a serious illness or perhaps a marriage? Might as well have gone to the local shopping mall and tossed a handful of coins in the fountain. If there really are rewards, we will probably all get a few just for finally realizing that all we really walked out on was a two-bit cult not some Godly endeavor.

Hey there, brainfixed There are no rules here about what you "hafta, oughta, gotta" share. You can say as much or as little as you choose. (Or just read if you want to.) The one caveat I would add is that sometimes it's good to be a bit vague about specific names, places and that kinda stuff. The Way has people who monitor this site. Some folks aren't bothered by that and others are. Anyhow, I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable with my ramblings. :)

I wish we would have had that option, Taz. Unfortunately, doing "the work" was a requirement of the program.

This is a Mean Old World to try to live in by yourself!

No idea. I can tell you, though, that it predates my introduction to The Way in 1972. When we used to set up classes, we even gave special attention to duct taping any loose cords in an orderly fashion. Maybe it has its origin in " Let all things be done decently and in order." Dunno. There was a set of printed instructions, at one time, that had guidelines to be followed when running branch meetings and things of that nature. Included in those guidelines was the admonition to "not pick your seat". HeeHee! Of course, it was really saying that you should sit on the back row so you could make yourself "available" at a moment's notice rather than just sitting with your friends. Still, I chuckle at the poor phrasing. Also, there is a story behind the horn of plenty. This one I heard VPW relate. Apparently, in the early days, they used regular church collection baskets. One night, someone forgot to pack them with the various other items needed for a meeting. "Uncle" Harry went out into the hallway and grabbed a floral arrangement that was in a horn of plenty. He dumped the flowers out and passed that instead. So much for "Divine Revelation".

I can't answer for brainfixed. I can only answer for myself. TWI temporarily took the piece of my soul that says it's okay to do something just for myself. That not everything has to be done, first and foremost, to promote TWI, while my own needs and desires take a back seat. The part that says it's alright to write a song or a poem that isn't "God Centered" (whatever the heck that means.) They took the part of me that says I can come to the end of a day and not give a rat's behind whether it was "profitable" or whether I did something to "move Gawd's Word". They took the part of me that doesn't look at everything and try to spiritually analyze it, looking for goblins behind every rock and devil spirit influences in songs I would otherwise enjoy. Yes, I was a very different person before my association with The Way. I've made great progress in reclaiming those things but it's been a slow process.

Ironically, I actually heard the phrase "honeymoon phase" deliberately used in The Way as early as the early 1970's. It was "explained" in "leadership training" sessions that we were supposed to make a deliberate effort to facilitate pleasant initial experiences for newbies because "the honeymoon phase" (sic) would eventually wear off. We were to watch for that to happen and use it as an opportunity to "explain" to the person that it was a sign they were growing beyond the milk of The Word and were ready for more of the meat. So, the person (doing the "explaining" to the newbie) was actually the one being conditioned to accept this loss of artificial euphoria as an indicator of their own "spiritual growth". It was a sort of backdoor approach. Instead of simply addressing the situation in a one-on-one manner, they made the person being conditioned (the "leader in training") a third party observer. This enabled the "leadership trainee" to rationalize their own loss of euphoria and abandon legitimate concern for reality. And, that's only step #1! A couple years later, I found myself in Fellow Laborers of Ohio (FLO), mopping floors at limb HQ. My efforts briefly caught the eye of some great and mighty Poobah from Int. HQ who happened to be passing through. He asked me if I was enjoying the work. My reply was that, while I didn't enjoy mopping floors, I found satisfaction in knowing my efforts would help visitors ready their minds for the meat of The Word. (I'd already been conditioned to step #1 at that stage.) To my surprise, the almighty passing Poobah launched into a butt chewing about how I was supposed to "renew my mind" to extracting pleasure from the task itself. In other words, I was to move on to step #2, which is to self delude yourself into trying to recapture "the honeymoon phase". He shook his head in feigned disgust and said " You just don't get it." as he turned and walked away. What a bizarre and twisted lifestyle we lived!

Amen to that, Brother!!

Why is there air?

Hi, brainfixed. I hear you loud and clear. Welcome aboard. First one is on the house.

And then there was the whole car thing. We had to commute between Limb HQ, in "South Podunk", and the living quarters in "North Podunk", which was a 30 minute trip through the countryside. By "Podunk", I mean they were both in the middle of NOWHERE. If you had a car, you were expected to freely provide it for the benefit of the program. One guy had a 9 passenger van. Do you really think very many ever offered him gas money or gave him a few bucks for a new set of tires? He was a very laid back, tolerant guy, but I know it weighed on him after awhile. When I think about the few good times that we had, my friendship with him comes instantly to mind.

I'll Be Satisfied---Hope Waits

You mean you had to factor in "parallactic error"? :)

I was never in a Way Home. I did experience the communal lifestyle, though, as a participant of Fellow Laborers of Ohio. (a two year, in-res., leadership training program) It wasn't a particularly rewarding experience. One thing that made it especially bad was that we often ignored good old common sense and tried to "believe" for things to work out for the best. They seldom did. At least, not because of any magic "believing power" we exercised. We were young and naive. There were some good times sprinkled in. But, for the most part, it was a waste of precious time. Lots of good people were damaged in the process.

"Advanced Class" HeeHee! Like an "advanced" stage of some terminal ailment.

That reminded me of something. I remember going to the ROA after the AC. I think it was 1973. At the end, there was a big "healing service". VeePee announced that all AC grads where to come to the front and minister healing to those who were seeking deliverance. I didn't go up front. I was kinda P.O.'d. 'cause I figured that if God wanted me to minister healing, He would tell me Himself. Later, though, I felt like I had blown it by maybe not hearing God tell me to go up front. There was a guy there from my hometown who had come there seeking deliverance. He actually died there at ROA the following year or so. I condemned myself for that for a long, long, long, long time, thinking maybe I had blown it. I don't think I really put that into perspective until I came to GSC and realized that VPW and his entourage were nothing more than a circus show. There was nothing wrong with me for choosing to not participate in the healing service.

Would they really be open to trying to understand?

SWINE FLU

In my life, I loved you more.

Here's a kid who has figured out how to discourage people from borrowing his harmonicas. JOSH KING

Could it be WIEGELA? It's not evergreen but it only blooms once.