waysider

:eusa_clap:

Hello, Breeze Wish I had some answers for you but I really don't. I know there are some people here who are well versed in this sort of thing. Perhaps they can help you narrow down your search for the types of professional counseling your situation requires. In the meanwhile, I am going to initiate a prayer request for you in the "prayer forum".

Seems to me like we could probably discuss this stuff in BOTH forums. Take the doctrinal components and start a related thread(s) in "doctrinal". Leave the components that relate to the organization here in "about the cult Way". Just a thought.

Even after 25 years of married life, I still like to have the bathroom all to my lonesome. (As does my wife, as well.)

"Music has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or to bend a knotted oak." William Congreve

Many of the earlier corps men came from backgrounds that involved college football and athletics. It didn't take long before an athletic, virile persona became the image that men should seek to duplicate. Hmmmm.----I think I'm beginning to see where my downfall was.

catcar9 The Way was a cult. It was not a religion in the same sense as Catholicism or Methodist or Lutheran, etc. Many, but not all of us, lived a lifestyle that was dictated to us. The people doing the "dictating" did not always have our best interests at heart. If you are a Methodist or a Catholic or some other religion, you go to church, you possibly participate in church activities, you have a set of doctrines that you try to pattern your life after. But, for the most part, you have freedom to live your life as you choose, within reason. In a cult, it does not work that way. The leaders tell you how to talk, how to smile, how to dress, what jobs you can and can't accept. They told people when they could get pregnant and when they could not, or worse, when they should terminate their pregnancies because they would detract from the amount of commitment they could devote to the group. You can only marry within the group. For that matter, you can only date people in the group. Some of the programs required a full accounting of every minute of the individuals day(in writing.) You were not permitted to question leadership or discuss concerns with other members. You weren't supposed to even privately think about discrepancies you saw because that could lead to your personal downfall in a manner similar to the downfall of Eve as she considered what the serpent said. Bear in mind that I'm actually minimizing some of these things. That is why this is not about something you expect to see in all religions. When I left, I did not feel like I had left God but I felt like I had disappointed Him by leaving what I thought was the one true household. My problem was never with God, per se, it was with an organization that functioned as a cult. I believe it is the idea of associating with an organization that repulses many people, not the idea of having a relationship with God or Jesus Christ. Many people here will tell you they now feel a freedom to know God that they were never able to while their thinking was prescribed by the cult. In a nutshell, the scripted lifestyle we were required to live probably had a much larger impact than any one particular doctrine.

All men are liars----and that's the truth.

Thanks, PB, MO, and Outfield. Faith and prayer can have amazing results.

Thanks, Hammie I think that's what I'm looking for.

coolchef and cman Thank you for your responses. I'm not really looking for anything too esoteric or spiritually deep here. I'm just asking for people to post positive results they had from operating the law of believing. And, if possible, give details of how they did so. No proof is required or expected. This is just a sharing of personal anecdotes.

None Of Us Are Free

I don't know anything about that condition but I still remember how to pray. (And you can't stop me!) :)

You don't have to apologize for being serious when a serious subject is being discussed. IMO

HaHaHa Prove it!!!

The world sure would be a quiet place if we needed proof of everything we mentioned in the course of conversation. Uhmmm. I can't prove that statement is true. "You'll just have to take my word on it."-------VPW(CF&S)

In response to a statement on another thread, I would like to initiate a discussion of positive personal anecdotes utilizing the "law of believing" for beneficial purposes. In other words, "This (particular positive thing) happened to me as a result of my using the law of believing." If possible, positive examples only.

Hi, Mike Nice to see you again. Perhaps you were out of the room at the time, but a while back I started a thread(Not a forum, granted, but at least a thread.) which invited people to share real examples of how they had used the law of believing to exact tangible results in their lives and show the connection. Given how important we were led to believe this law was, you would think there would be a string of posts as long as the Great Wall Of China. The thread, however, died a quick death. I'll have to see if I can find it and bring it back. I think the very nature of the subject invites positive response. Maybe I'm wrong. At any rate, if, indeed, this "law" is real, there should be no shortage of positive posts appearing.

For what it's worth, happyheart, I don't think your post was off topic at all. It describes a perfect example of the subject at hand. IMO

My departure was somewhat like drifting out to sea. I drifted away slowly because of personal and family obligations. One thing that has always intrigued me is that, despite my drifting out to sea, there was never any sort of search party launched. All those years of being told I was "the best" and listening to how much they "just loved me" and when I left it was as if no one noticed I was gone. I did hang with another believer(for a while) who had left. But, when he started a new fellowship and I told him I was not interested, he disappeared too. I don't hold it against him. He was/is a really great guy. I saw him not too long ago and he seemed to be in denial about what happened. (but not in a pushy, defensive kind of way.) I did not push the issue because I will always consider him a friend no matter what he decides to do. Kinda like a brother who lives in a distant city if that makes any sense.

Don't buy any green bananas! (Unless you're gonna give 'em to me) ----------------Mitch Kashmar

Hi there, happyheart All you have to do is type in the box under the shouts and then click on the word "shout" that is directly to the right of the box. There's a "smilies" option to the left. If you want to edit a "shout", click on the "ShoutOut" in the upper left and it will put the shouts into a page form where you will find an edit option.

Well, whatever it is, I'm glad things are coming back together for Dooj. Question: Can your identity be stolen if you have yet to find yourself?

Hi, Marianne I am especially fond of that particular line.

Welcome to my world.