Belle

Since they don't believe in lucky stars, krys, can I ask mine to give them a judge who abhors religious cults and superficial people? ;)-->

LLP, I really feel for you having to go through all this, but I'm glad if it's helping you see what we've been seeing. Remember that the only reason Craig was booted and stopped of his atrocities is because there were lawsuits filed against him. He would still be raping and abusing women today and the organization would still be recruiting women and covering for him if they hadn't been forced to take some sort of action.

OM, remember that martindale WAS supported and protected wholeheartedly for YEARS by MANY PEOPLS in the organization. The ONLY REASON he was ousted was because of LAWSUITS!!! If people hadn't taken a stand he would still be president of TWI and he would still be abusing women and Rosie, Donna and many, many others would still be covering his foot.

I agree wholeheartedly, Raf. Are you familiar with his story? Does it make you want to learn more about him and his life? It did me, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. :o-->

I hope it is your birthday tooo.... AND that it's ABSOLUTLEY WONDERFUL AND that it's overflowing with DELICIOUS SNO-CONES! :D--> :D--> :D--> :D-->

It's would be advisable to practice actually answering questions since you will not be able to answer a question with a question or question the motive and heart behind the questions of the prosecuting attorney. (p.s. his motive is to bring you down and we hope he succeeds!)

True Romance - Christian Slater, Rosanna Arquette This is NOT A CHICK FLICK! The screen play was written by Tarantino if that gives you any idea. Walking Across Egypt - A great "feel good" movie Cookie's Fortune - Hilarious story with Glen Close and Liv Tyler or Ashley Judd (can't remember). It shows typical southern living with all it's quirks in a way that so hard to describe

Well, has anyone seen it yet? ;)--> I saw it and thought Leo did a phenomenal job. I didn't know jack about Howard Hughes before this film, but now I'd really like to know more. My grandparents remembered when the trials were going on and that he bought the Sands Hotel because they tried to evict him. Opinions? Especially from those who already knew some things about HH before seeing the movie?

Reikilady, Cool! I'd love to chat. Maybe we can make a "phone date" or "IM date" to talk sometime. Oak has my e-mail addy. If we IM, we could also invite CW and 2Life to join in. I'll just have to refresh my memory on the movie a bit beforehand. I know Candace Pert is a firm believers in chakras and how they affect our health and how our mind and thoughts affect our chakras. Is that related to reiki at all? I also have an aunt that is into reiki, but haven't gotten to talk to her much about it at all. I have a ton of questions! :D--> Can you tell??

George and WB, Thank you so much! I just saw these posts. Life is soooo much better! I feel so sorry for my ex and my heart aches for him because of all that he has given up for this group (not for GOD, but for this controlling, manipulative group). I can't believe we put up with all the micromanagement and abuse that we did, but hindsight is 20/20, isn't it? All we can do is learn from it and move on. I'll certainly take y'all up on the offer if I'm in your area! Thanks! :D-->

Welcome, Frankee!!! Watch out for the bubble gum under the tables and if you see food flying, just duck. :D--> And Tom Strange is the one to see for sno-cones. We can get pretty messy in here sometimes, but Paw does a good job of cleaning things up. :)--> How long have you been out? Things did get pretty bad. I'm still working toward my 1 year of freedom mug from the GSpot Cafe. Glad to have you here!

No but there's a former Girl Scout who does....she just has CRS really bad and gets it confused with some other ones. ;)--> One hand. Two ducks. Three squawking geese. Four limerick oysters. Five corpulent porpoises. Six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers. Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array. Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt. Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth

So, Harve, Mr. Linder and you other WC who lurk on here trying to figure out who people are, how do you feel about all this? Is this why you stick around? So you can protect perverts and make sure they have a vast array of victims? I know, it's not YOUR place to say anything because YOU aren't directly involved (Right Bob M? ;)--> ). --> Just send the victims off to some TWIt counsellor and convince them they were doing the right thing and serving God because leadership is NEVER wrong.

All I can say is, "Thank God for therapy!" I have the most awesome therapist and he listens to me vent and then we talk about whether it's valid and what I'm going to do about it. Sometimes it helps me to force myself to think about and focus on the great and positive things about me and my life. Other times, remember that I can't always control situations but I can control how I react to them. I have a tendency, like Technobyte, to get really quiet and withdraw because if I don't my tongue can get me into big trouble. :)--> I'm getting much better at controlling my tongue though. I've noticed it's especially better now that I'm out of TWI, but then again, there aren't as many things that get me angry anymore now that I'm thinking more clearly. ;)-->

The dead rise here every day at 5pm. :D-->

I am speechless. Thanks to you and your brave daughter! You are helping and saving many lives. Although I do not know you and you do not know me, please know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. If there is anything I can do to help, send me a private topic. It makes me sick to my stomach to hear that the TWIts are continuing to support this evil man, but I can't say I'm surprised. It's just one more example of how perverted and TWIsted those people are.

Ed can't be working THAT hard. I mean, really, how hard is it to pick and choose which parts of both classes to copy? I imagine the hardest part is trying to choose who to film for which segments since TWI seems to have a revolving door now that people are getting older, wiser and tired of learning new terms for the same old b.s.

When I told them I didn't want to go to fellowship anymore the RC in my area told me that I would soon see TWI "go back to the good, sweet group that I got involved with". They're trying really hard to resurrect "the good old days", but times have changed. You can't just do things like you did "when it worked" and expect good fruit. For one thing, it didn't "work" then, many people were hurt, abused and even destroyed during "the good old days". Many who enjoyed that time, now, upon reflection see that while they were enjoying themselves and doing what TWI said God wanted them to do, they were throwing away their future, security and the life that they wish they had now. They aren't trying to "fix" anything. They are desperate and don't know what else to do to keep the money rolling in.

Thank you all very much for your replies. I was already in my 20's by the time I got involved, so I pretty much had a personality and "authentic self" established when I got involved. I wonder about those who were raised in TWI and if it was harder to leave and to "find yourself" because of the influence on who you are growing up in TWI. Steve! Awesome freedom!! Yes, Indeed!! :D--> Mr. H, that “devilish” music, those opinions, beliefs and interests are what make us who we are and TWI’s ability to convince us to give those things up or change our thinking was a major step toward them “shaping” the person they wanted us to be (which was just like them). I remember all too well the “yield on insignificant matters” teachings, especially in a marriage. You’re absolutely right that those are the things that build who we are. We can only deny our true feelings, likes, dislikes and the core of our being for so long before we explode or implode. The pressure to conform and be “like-minded” wasn’t just like-mindedness that they wanted. They wanted robots who look, act, think and speak all alike. It’s easier to control that way. JT, that would be an interesting topic. I also think of long term prisoners, like from Shawshank Redemption. They’ve had so many decisions made for them most of their lives that it must be scary to have to think for yourself. And thanks for the congrats! :D--> I feel like I’m healing by leaps and bounds some days and other days are really bad. Knowing how much love and support I have – especially the unconditional love of my family – keeps me going. The same for most of us here, I’m sure. House – I just gotta say you are one sharp cookie! I appreciate how much YOU bring to our little corner of cyberspace. :)--> TWI did do an excellent job of making us feel selfish if we wanted to spend time on anything outside of TWI, money, too. God forbid we should frivilously spend money that should be going to “the movement of the Word”, especiallly since we had heard what dire straights the ministry was in. I think the growing tendency to just shut up and submit to whatever your husband or leaders told you to do has given me pause to understand a little better how battered women must feel. I’m glad that you feel so much more freedom and ability to really be yourself and to spend time discovering who that is! Were you raised in TWI or did you get in at a very young age and that’s why you’re regaining what you never had? MJ – Isn’t it great to realize a relationship with Jesus that we weren’t allowed to have? They kept telling us that God is good always and that other religions were so wrong to teach that God was some ogre dishing out punishments and killing people left and right. That good God that they taught, though, was just as bad in his “respect of conditions” and all the hoops we had to jump through just to “stand approved” before Him. Thankfully, we can realize and experience a much more loving, caring God than TWI ever imagined teaching us about. Evan – You’re right about being “authentic”, but I do think that we are allowed to “be ourselves” and to make decisions, do things and spend our money the way we want to without the conditions and fear TWI placed on us. We can choose our own words, who we want to be friends with and in general “just be” without the fear of TWI-made consequences looming over our heads. I think just realizing that and living it is a huge step toward growth. Frank – Isn’t it a great feeling?!? I, too, have experienced so much more “charity” and kindness since leaving. Laughing is so much more sincere and spontaneous now – down to snorting and deep belly laughs! I imagine most of us could ask friends and co-workers about the changes in us as we left and they would probably say that we seemed a lot more relaxed and less stressed as the first and foremost indication of a change in our lives. So glad you’re here! UH – What you describe sounds like “cognitive dissonance” to me and I think you’re right on. We were so busy going through the motions and doing/saying/trying to think the right things to fit in and be “good”, but underneath was a volcano of our “true selves” trying so hard to bubble to the top. I think part of that’s why I feel like I’ve been able to bounce back so much quicker than I thought I would. My family, especially my mom and grandmother, always talked to me like I was my old self. My mom would send me “girlfriend” type little books and it always made me sad because I used to have close girlfriends like that, but gave them up for TWI and I really missed those “true” friendships where you could talk to one another about anything and everything and know that you were still going to be accepted and loved. My girlfriends having kids, buying houses and experiencing “normal” life was also a big reminder that I didn’t have a “normal” life and never would if I stayed in TWI. It’s so good to have the “true” self back to the top of the surface, isn’t it? :)-->

Happy Birthday!! I hope it's GREAT! :)--> :D-->

Mr. P, I can understand how you feel, I was disappointed in the Ramtha thing and totally aghast to find out my little bro is really into her and her videos. Candace Pert, on the other hand is world renowned and very knowlegeable on the mind-body connection and her conclusions are very scientifically based. I highly recommend her books. ReikiLady, I loved the movie. It wasn't as in depth as I would have liked and I feel like I need to see it several times to get the most out of it. They have a website www.whatthebleep.com and my little brother gave out books from the site for Christmas to all of us. I really would have liked to have gotten the one on water crystals that he gave to a few relatives, but he gave me the what the bleep book. I'ts good too! I'd love to talk to you about it. CoolWaters and 2Life liked it as well.

JL, I haven't even been out or divorced a year yet. It's very good therapy for me. This kind is free and y'all know where I'm coming from. My therapist, good as he is, doesn't always understand.

Welcome, Joey! I don't think Raf is here today, so can I buy you your first cuppa joe? Do you like flavored or non flavored? :D-->

Oh Where, Oh Where did Flat Stanley spend New Year's Eve? Did all the girls kiss him for luck? :D--> :)--> ;)--> ;)--> :)--> :D-->

What gets me is the innies who say, "You have no idea what it's like now!" Like, HELLOOOO! The KNOW it was crap, abusive, manipulative and WRONG, but since they've been told that things have changed, they completely forget about all the horrible, evil things that organization has done?!?! He used to hit me, but he brought me flowers and he only yells at the kids now, so it's all so much better now. You have no idea what it's like in my marriage anymore. -->