waysider

Proof once again that it's not just "stupid people" who get sucked into cults and dangerous beliefs. In no way do I mean this to disparage her or her accomplishments..

Wierwille was the big foot.

Any interesting links on the last 2 items?

Make sure you take your Vitamin D. (Most people have a deficiency due to lack of adequate exposure to sunlight). It maintains your immune system. There is an abundance of scientific data detailing its importance. A doctor can run a blood test and make recommendations on proper dosage.

That's because it's Road Apple Central.

Minus the warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.

I think this may be a hard concept for an ex-Wayfer to grasp, simply because it was droned into us that salvation is supposedly permanent..."You're going to Heaven and all Hell can't stop you."

That pretty much describes my FellowLaborer experience, as well

Is that all there is?

When I was a kid, I believed in Santa Claus. I don't recall if it was an epiphany or an evolutionary process, but I no longer do. Nothing anyone could ever say or do could make me believe in his existence again. Maybe there's some sort of parallel there to the discussion at hand. I don't know. All I know is change is real and it happens, sometimes even when we don't want it to.

Curtains don't lie, they hang. Could it be the rug you're thinking of?

You know what killed that little boy? I'll tell you. He saw the raging fire consuming the house and, without a thought for his own safety and well-being, dashed valiantly across the street, just as the firetruck came screeching to a halt in front of the house. Squashed him flatter than the winner of the local Twiggy lookalike contest.

Yeah, but what about that lady with the red drapes? I mean, they weren't just red, they were FIRE ENGINE red.

"You guys are just poopy-heads. I'm gonna take my ball and go home. So there!" (Cue the sound of stomping feet and slamming doors.)

It looks interesting, though a bit more than I have time for at the moment. Maybe later in the week.

In The Way, we wanted to treat translation like it was a recipe for baking muffins. Take this much flour, add that much sugar, etc., bake at a set temperature and there you go...muffins. Language isn't like that. It's complex, it's nuanced and, most importantly of all, it's dynamic, constantly evolving, sometimes coming to mean the antithesis of what it meant in it's original form. While it is , at times, possible to single out a specific word or phrase and come to a reasonable understanding of its intended meaning, "word studies" , for the most part, are an exercise in futility. Even the concept of "no private interpretation" is a recipe for failure because it fails to recognize the fluidity and evolving nature of language. In my mind it's like asking a preschooler how a car works...."You put some gas in this hole and it makes the car go."

You say it's your birthday? Well, it's my birthday, too, yeah. No, not really, but happy birthday, just the same. Jai guru deva

...or simply try to learn another language that has a fundamentally different structure than English, making it impossible to do word-for-word translations.

Lots of others did, as well, such as Uncle( He wasn't MY uncle.) Harry, Don, Les G. and others. But, the real problem, as I see it, was this: A.) We were following a man who was possessed. OR B.) He was wrong about this and, therefore, could have been wrong about anything and everything else. I personally think the second choice is more damning than the first.

Blasphemy! How dare you doubt The Word of Aesop.

You don't need a safeguarding policy when you have a direct connection to God../s

I had a lot of disappointing times while I was in The Way. The Advanced Class, though, was miles beyond disappointing. It was depressing. When the class concluded, I felt like a total failure because the expectation of being able to operate the manifestations just wasn't happening for me. At the same time, everyone else seemed to be moving ahead full speed. I felt like I not only failed the class, but all the time and effort I had devoted to preparing for it was in vain. Well, it's only in retrospect that I understand I didn't fail the class, the class failed me. I kind of chuckle now thinking about how seriously I took all that nonsense.

Life can never be exactly the way we want it to be. THIS is dedicated.

In Cleveland, it was used sarcastically to mean you had a lot of responsibilities but not much authority.

If you spoke in tongues more, you would know the answer.