Rocky

A key to this is trust. I used to trust Wierwille.

A contest to see who is the quickest to be hypnotized? (I'm not joking. Isn't that really what's going on?) Hypnosis, also referred to as hypnotherapy or hypnotic suggestion, is a trance-like state in which you have heightened focus and concentration. Hypnosis is usually done with the help of a therapist using verbal repetition and mental images. When you're under hypnosis, you usually feel calm and relaxed, and are more open to suggestions. Hypnosis can be used to help you (or someone else) gain control (or heightened influence) over undesired behaviors or to help you cope better with anxiety or pain. It's important to know that although you're more open to suggestion during hypnosis, you don't lose control over your behavior.

ALL of which simply, yet starkly, underscores the UN-Christian nature of the entire "ministry."

That's some seriously great info. Thanks very much. Btw, I don't use my oven when it's hot outside (May-ish till sometime in October). Eventually, I'll probably buy a bread machine and do some extended reading on Bittman's site and seriouseats.com

I live near Mesa. I've heard of (good things) Proof bakery.

Not to sound rude or anything, but I think you read my question. I'm gathering information, as I am wont to do. For what, you may ask? I buy (and consume) Dave's Killer Bread 22 Grains and Seeds variety. At some point, I may explore the possibility of making a knock off of that bread at home, if I can figure out how to make it less expensively than I have to pay to buy it now. When I first started using that brand/variety, I was consistently paying $4 or less per 27 oz loaf. Now, it's at least $7.50.

Do any of you make a whole wheat or multi-grain bread?

Well... funny you should say those things my dear friend T-Bone. This excerpt from Jessica Nordell's conclusion to her book, The End of Bias, in which she writes: I can say with deep humility that the failure of my marriage and difficulties in my relationship with my daughter and stepson (and probably many more relationships) stem from moral injury derived from moral transgressions that overwhelmed my sense of humanity. I have no need to confront any reader here about whether s/he can recognize anything in themselves that resembles this emotional reality... But ALL of it for me traces back to what I believe is and was evil about how Victor and Loy viewed themselves as superior to any and everyone else... and that I allowed to be imprinted on my soul. That's also why I have been on a quest for understanding and wisdom about these matters for more than 30 years now, since I first personally encountered emotional and relationship problems deriving from what was taught and modeled in twi. My first recollection of unearned feelings of superiority goes back to one ROA making plans with three other young guys to share a house in Phoenix right after my year as a WOW in Ohio. Wierwille so instilled in us a feeling of superiority because we were the "called out" of the "household of God." What horse$hit that attitude brought. I was twentysomething at the time and had SOOOO much to learn about the genuine love of God which embraces each individual as worthy. Anyway...

As if Victor didn't make it up?

I can't (and don't try to) speak for BecomingMe, but I hope I conveyed that very message to her in person when we met in 2021... and previously, online.

1) He wants people to follow him, believe in him. The people following him, my guess would be, left twi when he did, or some time there after becoming disillusioned with a twi without him. Just a guess. 2) Those who follow him likely do not view him as a predator, disgraced or otherwise.

That's sad. And overwhelmingly ironic. Perhaps she would have been more appropriate in the situation if she had offered to bring you hot cocoa or maybe washed your feet.

I've met her in person. She's real and her posts are authentic.

Insecurity... isn't that central to narcissism? Btw, standing for Wierwille and Martindale entering rooms highlights the bass ackward social nature of the cult. I wonder if Jesus expected people to stand when he entered. Hmmm... oh, that's right, he washed the feet of his disciples, didn't he? Did Victor ever do that? Not that I go along with the Catholic church, but Pope Francis washed/washes people's feet.

IOW, narcissistic bull$hit.

Please do not draw any inferences about the hows or whys. I really can't get into it.

He doesn't. Yes, he made some wonderful contributions. But he got to the place where he couldn't moderate himself. On other platforms, he still attacks those who moderate GSC. If you pray, he might possibly benefit from your prayers.

Should we guess as to what their excuse for that condition will be?

Yes. I get it. Your sentiment echoes the blurb I wrote for Undertow. I grieve with you. May your heart be led to put your recollections into a memoir like Charlene or Kristin have done. May grace and comfort accompany on whatever journey you choose for the rest of your days.

If you had, you wouldn't be the man you are now. You wouldn't have the insight from which to light the way out of the darkness you actually now do have.

Largely because young people don't have nearly as much memory built by experiencing the abuse. Therefore they haven't built/received the wisdom necessary to withstand the onslaught. I think of something OldSkool posted not long ago on a different thread about realizing the bull$hit Rosie was spewing from the head table at lunch time about the lawsuit settlement with the Allens. OldSkool was able to recognize it most likely because he had enough relevant lived experience.

yes

Not at all. CRT is explicit. However, she does deal extensively with racial and other biases. The theory of implicit bias as opposed to actually holding chosen prejudices is that implicit bias is the result of culture. Psychologists have developed test instruments to help people recognize whether/if they hold particular implicit biases. If your SIL has studied the issue, she may have either meant that you were born into a culture in which it's difficult to not internalize implicit racial bias. Then again, she may not have studied it. In essence, if she actually said/believes/d you're racist because of how you were born, that's a short cut and not in line with current scientific understanding of how we internalize implicit bias. My mother, rest her soul, over the last couple of decades of her life associated with Blacks and I believe overcame some or all of that bias, but still held implicit bias against Hispanics. From my youth and her much younger adulthood (in upstate NY, and her upbringing in Northern Arkansas), would make racist jokes about blacks. I may have mentioned this on GSC before, but my first real exposure to diversity was USAF basic training and beyond. I did encounter an integrated 8th grade situation but my interactions weren't as friends or close associates. Basic training was in the summer of 1974. Later, I worked with diverse populations in Arizona state government. I had Black men and white women supervisors. None of that bothered me. But I've caught my self having some implicit bias toward Blacks. Because I can be mindful about it, new habits can get built in my gray matter.

Let me clarify, please. Those are two separate thoughts. "This" as I wrote it was about when I first learned about the idea of examining my life, it was from Peck's writing.