Bramble

I trashed everything, but not right away. One significant event--we visited my family for 3 weeks right before leaving TWI. My children were small and at fellowships they were always such a huge concern, behavior wise--even though none were badly behaved. But they(and I ) were constantly scrutinized as though pure evil flowed through our veins. So we went to visit my family. My father was terminally ill, my older brother was/is semi dependant mentally ill adult, my mother was also very fragile with an auto-immune disease. You'd think three small children would be a problem...but my parents and siblings enjoyed every minute with them, we had fun, I could relax. Mentally ill sibling taught them to play frisbee while I enjoyed a cocktail on the deck. That whole vacation was such a contrast to the harsh, cold demanding life we lived in TWI. I wasn't exhausted and keyed up. It gave me a huge reminder of what family is supposed to be--not the fake monkey performance we lived in TWI. Once we left I did deliberately rebelled against TWI teachings. Took kids to a trinitarian vacation bible school. Read lots of feminist library books, watched Buffy...

It took me a long time before I figured out that 'instafriends' was not how friendships truly develop, and a lot of the big excitement in the early days of my involvement was the instafriend community. But at the time it seemed real...making it seems real for others was pretty much what my wow year was about. Hubby and I, being the dupes we were, continued to try making it real for others for a decade, even while all the ugliness smashed people left and right and all our work at being friends ended with people fleeing. Eventually it was us in the smasher...After 20 years(more for hubby) we came out of TWI with not even a handful of friends. I think that there was a developmental component to why so many of us got involved in late adolescence, why critical thinking skills were so easily circumvented. Many of us had not matured developmentally, and that is a time of life when many changes and decisions are made--college, jobs, love relationships, marriages. Life was often an emotional turmoil. I think VPW was in his way a genius, able to recognise this fact. A born con man and manipulator.

Ugh. I remember having to write those sappy 'bless' letters to LCM and other leadership after a class. I figured out to make them sound like those letters in the Way Mag and all would be well.

I hope those people who quit their jobs and gave up everything don't self destruct now. V Sad

Date Bait. I married the wow(Mr Bramble) that got me in PFAL. Also was at a huge changing point in life--graduating from college, job hunting in a recessed job market. Discouraging. So the new guy/new beliefs were the most exciting things around.

Many in our society admire authoritarians and bullies as real men or leaders, and despise those who they consider weak or needy. IMO.

Yeah--What WordWolf said.

Thx exxcie. I have contacted a canine rescue group who I hope can help. Wish I lived in the county!

This has come up in the past--there are really only a few non-Christians on GSC.

My sis in law passed away last week and my husband is next of kin. In addition to settling her estate--house, home upholstery business, vehicles etc my sis in law has two dogs, a 12 year old Shepard/retriever cross and a 10 yr old peke/pug/shi zu? Anyway, someone told her they would take her dogs but now has backed out. I think I will be driving the 10 hr drive from my home in WY to Salina, KS, to get these dogs in a couple weeks. I already have a very territorial and spoiled Morkie dog and 4 cats(already over the city limit per #), and live in a small house. The orphan dogs are good dogs,and we won't consider having them put to sleep or taken to the animal shelter. They are in good health and the little one may have many years left. So--anyone near Kansas want some dogs? Know someone who wants some dogs? Know a rescue group?

Fair enough, Wordwolf. I must have missed that discussion. Not a sidekick then. Rascal wars--several years ago, v ugly, moved from thread to thread for a very long time, gone but not forgotten. I guess before your times here.

Not trying to be mean, just wanted to point out that j-iam is not a new poster and he has not changed from the poster who lead the rascal wars. Among others. He had his supporters, I'm surprised they haven't joined back up. Remember when About the Way/OPen were the equivalent of the political forum in animosity? The trinity White Dove, Johnny Lingo and Johniam with his side kick Mrs I am. Not good times. I say ignore him and don't let him rise to power once again.

Wrong with dire consequences--how many church doctrines teach that? Our way is right or you are Wrong. The one I was raised in, also the one I chose in my younger days. Purgatory, hell, oblivion (plus devil spirits while alive and 'What about your children?') Gack. I realized I was sick of fear motivation a decade ago. Actually I was sick of it long before the realization. I think I was free from fear for a month or two when I took PFAL--that was how long it took for the rest of the story to start to sift on down...different fears, but still fears of being wrong. So thankful to be off that hamster wheel.

Ever notice how every thread j-iam posts on becomes ABOUT j-iam? Been that way for years. Have had him on ignore since his last run through GSC, Sigh. It doesn't change. Ruins thread after thread unless you find the topic of j-iam interesting.

I remember my grandmother in her eighties walking down the street to help out a neighbor who she called an 'old lady'. The old lady was house bound, she was younger than my grandma. I was born with a slug of birth defects, doubt I will have that shelf life my grandparents had. But I can think young!

Huh. At the bottom of my screen is an add for discount mugs--which I might click because i am thinking about making some mugs. Nothing seems particularly pointy.

I no longer believe in an afterlife that is the result of choosing the right religion. I think all dead enter the afterlife, its as natural as babies born enter this life. What makes it different is how you chose to live your life, the relationships you forged, lessons learned and grown into. I no longer believe in a savior, or original sin or the need for a savior...that would be why I'm not Christian today.

WONDERFUL!

Lol. I ABS compost, too. Plus we enriched Mother Earth with some healthy wigglers--grew a bunch of earthworms a few years ago and now have very wormy soil. I applaud them. What a different culture they must live in than we do.

Perhaps there are exway out there who are inclined not to be Christian and wonder if exway non Christian's heads really do explode. So they come here and see that exway exChristians can still type n stuff and somehow manage to refrain from murder and other felonies, so they can't be that tripped out.

'Tripped out' indicates that anyone who chose not to follow the posters belief system is drug addled insane and worthless.

I'm one of those non-Christians...I took good care of my babies and was never wacked out enough to toss them down the drain. Nor have I ever done serious drugs and been 'tripped out'. All my theological decisions were made while I was completely sober. Not all exway are going to have a cookie cutter experience and cookie cutter beliefs after exiting the Way. WHy should they be scolded for it? Most here are able to move beyond the Christian=good, non-Christian=bad belief. Or they leave GSC for a more Christian site.

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is THE HOUR. And there are things to be considered... Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation? Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader. Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the ones we've been waiting for. Oraibi, Arizona Hopi Nation

I was at my dad's deathbed. He was in hospice for a month before he died--he knew he was terminal. He did not suddenly flip into a religious person full of regrets for his awful life--but then he never lived an awful life of damaging others.He loved to help people and even volunteered at a local nursing home until just a few months before going into hospice. He was heavily medicated at the end but still seemed to find some enjoyment with family and friend's visits. He did like to play chess with the hospice minister who ended up doing the funeral.

For me Y2K preparation in TWI was just one more reason to leave and move back home. I remember discussing with my husband--if Y2K was real, then why not move back to NW Montana? I am related to Mountain Folk--they already hunt for meat, forage for berries etc, own guns, ammo, hunting dogs out the yazoo, heat with harvested wood, bow hunt, have that 'barn raising' help out the buddy mentality and lifestyle. My sister who lives in the country has an enormous garden cared for by my brothers who both live in apartments.Those good ol' boys will survive. Heck our branch couldn't decide if we were storing food for a few days or for eons. Lived in prime garden country, but no one gardened. Big argument about saving canned tomato products since they might not last that long. Well, how long were they supposed to last? A couple months or a couple years? Plus I knew in a real emergency breakdown of civilization that left me dependent on the HF-- me and my children would be low on the totem pole. We were barely acceptable as 'household.' We ended up leaving TWI before Y2k. If things are going bad you want to be with people who care about you ya know? I do like to have food stored. I buy alot in bulk so have plenty of tuna, rice, canned and dry beans, flour, cornmeal etc. Also have a good first aid kit. I don't store water though, but I have bleach and iodine. The Brambles don't own a lot of firearms, though.