Belle

Sorry, Tom. What BOWTWI said is serious: What happens in Jellystone stays in Jellystone. ;) I do want to thank LittleHawk for sharing his homemade Elderberry Wine with us and leaving Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha Brewster at home. :P

Wow! Go away for a week-end to meet these anonymous people who can't be trusted and you can miss a lot on here! :) I enjoyed meeting and spending the week-end with some of my best friends in the whole world!! I suppose you get out of what you put into everything and I've gotten an awful lot out of my participation here at the Cafe'. I feel like I owe most people on here so much. I don't like to post my real name on here because, like Bluzman said, I don't want it to show up on Google and other search engines. I haven't hidden who I am and anyone who wants to know and who doesn't seem like a stalker could ask in a PRIVATE message and I'd be happy to share that information. I do, however, consider private messages just that - private. ....AND, if I'm missing out on any gossip, I want to know!! :D :D :D

I'M LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE....DON'T KNOW WHEN I'LL BE HOME AGAIN...... Actually, I do. I'll be home Monday evening, but....... I'M OFF WORK AND ON MY WAY TO THE WEENIE ROAST TOMORROW!!!!!

Me too, CW, me too! I also hope the WAYGB hasn't alerted him and started helping him pack to move to their next predator playground.

Def, you didn't feel like it was Performance Driven instead of Purpose Driven? It just seemed so legalistic to me. I can't remember the things I disagreed with off the top of my head, but there were things he taught that I felt were wrong, wrong, wrong. I'll have to look for my notes or the book after the Weenie Roast. :) Then I'll better be able to speak to why I thought he was wrong.

True, Mo. Candace Pert wrote a book called "The Molecules of Emotion" I just loooked up her website to tell you her awesome credentials and she's got some new stuff out now that looks really interesting. My therapist loaned me her book I mentioned above and it really cleared up a lot of things for me. The first part is dry, but she is a scientist and had to lay a scientific foundation for her discoveries and results. Her website is at: Candace Pert If you haven't heard of her, I think you would really enjoy her stuff. BTW, could you line up a wife for me, too? My floors need to be mopped and the dishes are piling up in the sink. ;)

Thanks, Thomas, but having only been out of TWI for a little over a year now, I'm still extremely gunshy and revolted at the idea of any kind of Bible class. :) I ask about Rick Warren because I did try to do the 40 Days of Purpose Class/Promo/whatever with the church I sometimes attend. You can see in the link below that I was very excited about it and looking forward to the class: Purpose Drive Life Discussion However, as the class got started, I was sitting in someone's living room, watching a video that sounded like a teaching straight from TWI and full of things I disagreed with. It seemed to me to be promoting, encouraging and focusing on "performance based religion", which, honestly, is what your posts above look like, too. Like Somebody Died I can't handle that. I'm having a hard time believing in a God that requires so much of us when my earthly father never demanded that much from me. I'm having a hard time seeing where everything I do has to be quantifiable and substantial and how my behavior has to be "just so" in so many different categories of life. Daddy didn't spoil me rotten, but I never felt the pressure to "peform" for him that I do when I take these classes and listen to a lot of the teachings of most churches. *shrug* If God is all knowing, all loving, always good, everywhere present - then why do the churches continue to put millstones around people's necks with attributing so many rules and so much jumping through hoops being required by Him? Please know that I'm not slamming you or trying to start a fight. These are things I genuinely think about and have been trying to come to terms with since leaving. I respect you and your posts, so I was surprised to see that you mentioned Rick Warren and his stuff. :) But then again, I think I'm still ultra-sensitive to those kinds of things.

I'm curious to hear what you got out of these classes. What did you think of the 40 Days of Purpose class?

WTH said: Do you, then, see this "law of believing" work every time in your life? Can it be scientifically documented that it works according to this equation? I'm really curious because I really and truly believed for, and confessed out loud to others, things that never came to pass. I've also confessed out loud to people things that I just KNEW were never going to come to pass and they did. *shrug* I think there is no law of believing and I think that we can ASK God for things and sometimes we get them and sometimes we don't. I think we won't always know "why" and that sometimes we'll just have to wait till we can ask the man himself. There's a country song I like. It says, "sometimes God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."

You crack me up!

If God really is all knowing, all powerful and everywhere present then why would he need anything from us? Why would he need a reason to live? Does he live or is God an ethereal representation of the powerful energy of the universe and the connections between people and the connections we have to the earth (the one body, so to speak)? What if God doesn't want anything from us? What if he needs nothing? Then doesn't that make life so much easier? We learn cause and effect, like Lindy said, but we have the true freedom to "be" and to make our own choices. So many people do things under the premise that it's what God wants. And so many of those things seem wrong and warped - suicide bombers doing what God wants - abortion clinic bombers doing what God wants - countries being taken over because it's what God wants - people giving their money to the church because it's what God wants - some extreme, some not so extreme, but all because of one group's teachings that it's what God wants. It seems to me that God could possibly be too awesome to want anything from us.

Makes me want to be a Christian so I can know it all and show those other idiots who "say" they are Christian just how wrong they are. Being a Christian gives you license to attack does it not? I mean the whole OT is nothing but wars, battles, attacks and incest. The whole NT is religion on religion attacks and political on religion attacks. Just look at the examples..... makes perfect sense to me. :huh: :blink: :mellow:

Groucho said it better than I can, but some people really did like TWI and the people and the doctrine. Others are not ready to make the jump from TWI-like worship to typical "church" worship, so an "offshoot" is more comfortable for them. Some just like the people and have a myriad of other reasons why they like continuing along a path similar to TWI. Others disagree with TWI doctrine, hate all things TWI, have had bad experiences in an "offshoot" or have decided to see "what else is out there" since we were told that there was nothing better "out there" but never got a chance to see for ourselves. And some have gone back to their roots and the religion/belief system that they were brought up in. To each his own. :) We're all different and have different needs and wants. That's what's so cool about this place....ALL are welcome as long as they treat others with respect and even then some get to stay despite the fact that they stalk and bully others on the board. If you want to read some of the other threads about the splinter/offshoot groups just do a search on each one of those words and you'll find 'em. The discussions got pretty heated as I recall, but since I never got involved with one and have no desire to, I didn't really follow those threads. Glad to have you here, BTW. :)

Woo Hoo!! Thanks, Ladies, for taking action! Thanks, Groucho, for finding it! Thanks, LG, for filling me in on the not so "secret" way to post several posts in a row. :D

LOL! That's quite the mind picture!!

Good point, Penguin. It could be like anything else "altruistic" that comes from TWI really has strings and ulterior motives attached to it. OR it could be the pressure from the other students wanting to do something to help that there really wasn't a choice. TWI had encouraged people to get involved in the community at one time, but then they never allowed time for it and they were moving people around so much that they never even had time to put down roots and get to know anyone in the community on any kind of level.

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS, TONTO!!! I hope it's a wondermous day!!

I'm sorry, Clay. I've really enjoyed your posts and have learned from them. You have to do what's right and best for you, though. God Speed, My Friend.

Folgers Frenc Roast if we get a choice. :P Want me to pick up Cokes? Breakfast stuff? How many of us is there going to be? Mama's bringing S'mores stuff for Sat night Snack food? I can pick up munchies at the grunchy (grocery) store. I'll PM my cell phone number to y'all so you can call if you get there and realize we need something else.

More excerpts from the website mentioned above: It may also include a common tactic of "a number of people have emailed me backchannel to agree with me". This is standard bully-speak which I've experienced on several forums. In every case it's a fabrication or a distortion - usually the former. When challenged, the identity of the alleged complainants can't be disclosed because it's "confidential". The purpose of this tactic is to wind people up. Don't be fooled into believing it has any validity - it doesn't. The objectives of bullies are Power, Control, Domination, Subjugation. They get a kick out of seeing you react. It doesn't matter how you react, the fact they've successful provoked a reaction is, to the bully, a sign that their attempt at control have been successful. After that, it's a question of wearing you down. The more your try to explain, negotiate, conciliate, etc the more gratification they obtain from your increasingly desperate attempts to communicate with them. Understand that it is not possible to communicate in a mature adult manner with a disordered individual who's emotionally retarded. The Number One rule for dealing with this type of behaviour is: don't respond and don't engage. This is not as easy to do as it sounds. It's a natural response to want to defend yourself, and to put the person right. However, never argue with a serial bully; it's not a mature adult discussion, but like dealing with a child or immature teenager; whilst the serial bully may be an adult on the outside, on the inside they are like a child who's never grown up - and probably never will. Although you may be the target of the cyberbully's anger, you can train yourself to act as an observer. This takes you out of the firing line and enables you to study the perpetrator and collect evidence. When people use bullying behaviours they project their own weaknesses, failings and shortcomings on to others. In other words, they are telling you about themselves by fabricating an accusation based on something they themselves have done wrong. Whenever you receive a flame mail or hate mail, train yourself to instinctively ask the question, "What is this person revealing about themselves this time?" Sometimes refusing to respond and engage will result in the cyberbully losing interest and going off to find someone easier to torment. Sometimes though, especially if there has been interaction in the past, the cyberbully is so obsessed that s/he cannot and will not let go. When called to account for the way they have chosen to behave, the bully instinctively exhibits this recognisable behavioural response: a) Denial: the bully denies everything. Variations include Trivialization ("This is so trivial it's not worth talking about...") and the Fresh Start tactic ("I don't know why you're so intent on dwelling on the past" and "Look, what's past is past, I'll overlook your behaviour and we'll start afresh") - this is an abdication of responsibility by the bully and an attempt to divert and distract attention by using false conciliation. B) Retaliation: the bully counterattacks. The bully quickly and seamlessly follows the denial with an aggressive counter-attack of counter-criticism or counter-allegation, often based on distortion or fabrication. Lying, deception, duplicity, hypocrisy and blame are the hallmarks of this stage. The purpose is to avoid answering the question and thus avoid accepting responsibility for their behaviour. Often the target is tempted - or coerced - into giving another long explanation to prove the bully's allegation false; by the time the explanation is complete, everybody has forgotten the original question. Both a) and B) are delivered with aggression in the guise of assertiveness; in fact there is no assertiveness (which is about recognising and respecting the rights of oneself and others) at all. Note that explanation - of the original question - is conspicuous by its absence. c) Feigning victimhood: in the unlikely event of denial and counter-attack being insufficient, the bully feigns victimhood or feigns persecution by manipulating people through their emotions, especially guilt. Variations include indulgent self-pity, feigning indignation, pretending to be "devastated", claiming they're the one being bullied or harassed, claiming to be "deeply offended", melodrama, martyrdom ("If it wasn't for me...") and a poor-me drama ("You don't know how hard it is for me ... blah blah blah ..." and "I'm the one who always has to...", "I'm the one being bullied..."). Other tactics include manipulating people's perceptions to portray themselves as the injured party and the target as the villain of the piece. Or presenting as a false victim. Sometimes the bully will suddenly claim to be suffering "stress" and go off on long-term sick leave, although no-one can quite establish why.

This is from a link that WordWolf posted. I want his thread to remain on topic and I do not want to contribute to the further derailment of other threads, so I'm posting it here in its own little section of cyberspace. :) I am not going to feed the monsters anymore, but I think it's very interesting how closely these descriptions of a sociopath fit a few of the cyber bullies we seem to have here: The source of this information comes from: Bullies Those who can do Those who can't BULLY Serial bullies harbour a particular hatred of anyone who can articulate their behaviour profile, either verbally or in writing - as on this page - in a manner which helps other people see through their deception and their mask of deceit. The usual instinctive response is to launch a bitter personal attack on the person's credentials, lack of qualifications, and right to talk about personality disorders, psychopathic personality etc, whilst preserving their right to talk about anything they choose – all the while adding nothing to the debate themselves. Serial bullies hate to see themselves and their behaviour reflected as if they are looking into a mirror. Projection Bullies project their inadequacies, shortcomings, behaviours etc on to other people to avoid facing up to their inadequacy and doing something about it (learning about oneself can be painful), and to distract and divert attention away from themselves and their inadequacies. Projection is achieved through blame, criticism and allegation; once you realise this, every criticism, allegation etc that the bully makes about their target is actually an admission or revelation about themselves. It is a key identifying feature of a person with a personality disorder or psychopathic personality that, when called to account, they will accuse the person who is unmasking them of being the one with the personality disorder or psychopathic personality from which they (the bully) suffer.