Bramble

Here's a link to A video by Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain researcher who had a stroke. Much chatter about her insights on the ANE msg boards. My Stroke of Insight

We(hubby and I) turned our fight or flight voice off for years in TWI and renewed our minds instead

This is not a new jot and tittle dogma. Many of Tolle's ideas can be found in other writings, other writers, other religions. He pretty much defines how he is using a word, to try to communicate what he sees...some words have so many shades of meaning. Not a new set of rules to follow that will have better results than the last set of rules you tried(see how much more abundant you are! with OUR doctrine)...not a competition of doctrine. Shrug--seen plenty of that in church and in pagan circles, ooo this spell/prayer will work sooo much better than that last circle/ church/ prayer group. All about the having. And all work about the same, IMO This is more about your inward work/spirituality/viewpoint, ability to see where your thoughts and emotions come from and why, not another new doctrine. Personal work that would be unique to each individual. You can stay what ever religion you are or aren't , and call God whatever you want. Or change as you see fit, or not. But know why you are doing it. It should mean something to you. Deeper thought than renewed mind, keep the brain busy phrase processes we learned in TWi--which actually shut up our inner voice by brow beating it with doctrine. I guess I haven't expected a new doctrine of truth to be followed like some new ministry...seems un Eckhardt Tolle-like...If you are expecting a rule book to follow, this isn't it. Rule books take simple memorization...and conformity. --that really is not the point of the book, but apparantly from the Oprah message board, that is exactly what people are getting out of it...new dogma, new buzz words. I suspect that is not the point of E Tolle's book--don't know about Oprah! I prefer Goddess, personally. I see no compelling reason to change to accept someone else' word/view. I can figure out my own. Have't heard anyone say I have to change to be part of the cool Tolle kids group yet. Not that I care!

I haven't run into any of that yet, and don't remember that from the Power of Now, but I read it some time ago and may have skimmed things. Heaven knows I'm sick of being told what to do, especially if it involves an 'or else!'! Not receptive to that. I have the pdf transcripts--I do much better reading than listening, which makes me sleepy.

I can't follow the actual schedule, either--I have a spring break vacation right in the middle of it. But the online class can be downloaded in several different ways( Ipod, etc) for your convenience.

I wasn't able towatch the online class--I got in but it was way too slow. The class can be downloaded --the video, or mp3 or transcript, which is what I down loaded onto my palm. I think if anyone was interested but didn't have the book they still might enjoy the class/transcripts. The message boards are interesting also. http://event.oprah.com/videochannel/ondemand/od_main.html

I don't think we got out due to our backbone, it was more due to desperation to get away from the bullying and control. It was not a clear, thought through process, more like a running away. We were not at all positive we were doing the right thing. No standing up for the Word etc, since the Word for us was what we were told it was, by that point. Now--I think GSC is a better vehicle for letting people know about TWI than what I could do, say, door to door or in a church. Most of the churches I've visited were full of folks older than I am, and not like to through away all their friendships and connections for a group like TWI, especially one that would tell them to get out of their mortgages and car loans. Also, I don't think there are any Way fellowships in my area, and perhaps only a handful of TWi believers in my whole state. Not a growing thriving group--it is not the seventies anymore. I also think that the new people--if there are any--would be young, perhaps a friend or romantic relationship with a way kid. They are computer savvy, and might pay attention to a message board more than they would pay attention to the real life fifty year old mom that is me.

I've thought for some time that the 'you know what killed that little boy' section of PFAL was the fear inducing hook that held many of us for so long. Whether VP was some type of genius of manipulation, or whether he just stumbled upon it, I don't know.

Face melting were isolated to TWI in my life. We don't do that in my home, it wasn't a practice in my childhood home either. I see more of them now because I work as a customer service supervisor and handle the ecalated situations. I see the tantrum throwers as manipulative--trying to get more than they are due by having a scary fit, intimidating others to grant their desire. I will give them what they are due. I won't stand to be cussed at and will cease working with someone at that point, and have told other employees to quit working with an individual once abusive language is used--and I'm in a position where I can report employees who treat other employees abusively. And I don't hesitate to do it. I expect employees to act like grown ups, civilized ones, with manners. Twenty years of teaching preschool was a great back ground for my new job!

On metaphysics--yes there seems to be a carnal form that is concerned with material gain for personal use etc, when I think the real value doesn't concern material accumulation at all. And then there is a whole other plane of understanding that doesn't involve goods, materials etc, prayer and spells to get stuff, or get out of stuff. An area that needs a better defining word, I guess.

Interesting that love your neighbor had such conditions in TWI--the neighbor was defined alot differently than I think Jesus meant. That made a discord within me, for sure. I see the teachings of the Jesus of the gospels to be quite in line with the writings of E Tolle, though I find much Christian doctrine jarring and disconnected from what I perceive Jesus to teach. I've yet to read the ICHing, but that is something I plan to spend some time in one day.

I read the Power of Now some time ago, about the same time as I was moving into Wiccan/pagan ideas. I think the biggest thing I came away with during that whole time was the new idea that I was connected to all, to others, to the earth and world around me... that the separations in my life as I'd viewed myself and others were unhealthy, caused destruction in many different ways. As young person I was a Roman Catholic--the exclusive and right true church, all others on the outside were somehow less. Then in college I got into TWI where I stayed for nearly 20 years--again, in the exclusive right way, separated by the new birth and right doctrine from all the other mistaken folk (though 'saps' would be closer to the actual viewpoint of others). Especially in the TWI times, I often felt a discord between 'doing the word' and compassion, but being a busy wafer I had no time to really look at that. During that time of the reading of Power of Now was when I started to really view such discordances inside me. I don't really think metaphysical stuff is supposed to do the actual hands on work of helping those with horrible injuries or illness or lives, but that is the realm of work of people of compassion and connectedness to try to alleviate. Perhaps if more people saw their own connections to others, through metaphysical thought, more brilliant minds and resources would search for answers to illnesses and horrible circumstances, and perhaps the desire to join a gang or war and solve issues with deadly violence would lessen, replaced by pursuits that built community and hope, a 'we all win' perspective instead of an 'I win, you lose' perspective. I can see from the fundamentalist born again doctrinal background, that all of this type thought would be dangerous and devilish--the whole doctrine is built upon separation from the evil world, from others outside the fold, not connectedness except within the select community. I think the evil world would be a whole lot less evil if others felt a connection to their fellowman and the world around them, saw other's suffering as part of their own. That's my thought, anyway. It fits with my goddess type beliefs that treasure compassion, community, responsibility, individuallity... Any way, if anyone is doing the Oprah thang, I'm (finally) registered as melodiwy, a name that has no actual personal meaning, I was just trying out dozens, and that one actually worked... Not questioning music...

Finally was able to get registered!

You left out part of that account, yourself, WTH--the part that was actually being discussed!! "You know what killed that little boy!" Trying to change the subject to the error of the minister at the funeral doesn't matter in this conversation. Did that mother kill her son by her believing WTH???

Formula living? Eckhart Tolle? Can you explain that?

Yelling is not acceptable in my home any more, either. Can you imagine three teen agers yelling at each other all ther time? And hubby and I,too? Yuck.

When I was in twi I did pretty much melt. I'm different now--now I feel disdain and even contempt for any who try the adult temper tantrum screaming stuff--which actually come in handy with my job, because I take over escalated situations from other employees dealing with customers, and ignore the ranting. Also at my job--that type of managent style wouldn't be tolerated.

Eyesopen--I've thought the same thing about certain posters and Rascal, many times. SHe posts, they froth, others post the same thing, no froth. For some here she's a target..

I tried to sign up on the Oprah site but it wouldn't take any user name I typed in!

I have this book but haven't read it yet, so I'll go look at Oprah's site for info. Thanks for mentioning it. Advising me what my life's purpose would be? Where did that come from? I thought Eckharte Tolle was all about living consciously, which could be practiced in the light of different faiths. But I guess I won't know until I read the book!

Good for you, Tamar. What a doctrine-- shush the babies with whacks!

To constantly harp at people to forgive forgive seems pretty pointless to me. Forced, fake forgiveness demonstrated by shushing up about evil done --to those who don't feel the happy happy joy joy about a subject --seems quite like in TWI when certain emotions like fear or grief were by all means not expressed. WHat kind of salesman for the TRUTH would you be if you were'n't all smiles and triumph all the time. How many people in TWI have been through tremendous pain while putting on their happy fake face? And really, how healthy is that? Of course, it was easier to just ignore people's actual pain, as if that would make it go away. Fake it until you make it. Or just shut up about it to avoid the reproof and correction. The doctrine of believing = receiving--negative thoughts would bring ruin! Don't you dare! Control your thinking, control your mouth! might play into some of this. But that is a doctrinal belief certainly not assumed to be true by everyone on GSC. Plus, people can tell if someone really cares about the quality of their life, or just wants them to hush up because they are an irritant. It shows in how they treat you.

Archiving large amounts of data on the internet is not free, it could be costly. And Pawtucket didn't run Waydale, so that data may be in someone elses control.

On the good side, my kids really like to help others, which is what hubby and I were so motivated to do in TWI, and many of the people we loved in TWI were like that. I can recall people helping others find jobs, letting them move in, giving money, food etc in very personal effort to help someone in the twig. Right now we are actually filling out DFS paperwork so a best friend of one of my kids can move in with us(family imploded, the kid's step siblings have a relative to go to, this kid has nobody and was going into a local juvenile facility for displaced teens.) The parent is consenting ( voluntarily entering a residential addiction /mental health treatment program) so the case worker sent over a stack of papers. The kid is over here all the time anyway and has been for years, but basically it was my kid who made all the noise to get their friend to live with us. Funny, my sister( never TWI) had two teens living with her while finishing highschool, friends of my niece and nephew. She had five teens living at her house at one point. I wonder if this is a common thing--teens whose families can't or won't raise them?

Rascal, I do think there were people/leaders in TWI who were so far removed from being predators that either they never even noticed loop holes they could use against people, or it took many years of witnessing such before they learned to act against people--and those would be the ones who would quickly repent and change when they became aware of the bad affects of their actions. But once aware such loop holes existed, one would think the good hearted would work to change aspects of the leadership structure to protect people. Heck denominational Protestant Christianity has processes to protect people against abusive leaders, why can't exway groups? I don't see the point of pretending that it just would never be a problem when exways KNOW it can be a problem. To not bother to do so seems odd--perhaps pride is at the basis--we have the TRUTH so we'll be blessed, bad stuf won't happen here... If that is the case--for all I know CFF etc all have such processes in place. But I do think it odd that TWI corps automatically become the new leaders in a new group. Makes me wonder if the congregation is automatically following leadership as they were so taught in TWI.