The music of the cult played on........even though the money iceberg of 1998 sideswiped the lower hull. A select few would remain in their seats and keep playing despite the circumstances, but others weren't listening. The real music of our hearts was much different than what the cult ensemble had nearby. Rather, it was the music below deck, memories from years before.....far away from the elites, the arrogance of the cigar bars and dinner parties, who'd stroll along the upper decks by day and by night put on their white ties and diamonds......the music of the steerage folk. This music was pulse-pounding and alive.
The Music of 1981 After the intervention, the music of my heart played on. I married my bride in September. Weddings are those private moments of the heart.....the vows, the exchange of rings, two lives joined, the solemn kiss, and the hopes and dreams stretching into the future. And, we embraced those special songs of our hearts hoping they'd beat is romantic rhythm. Maybe its the romanticist in me, but I've always loved weddings. When wierwille did those "mass weddings" at Emporia, I observed the impersonal parading of couples on what should have been their special day, especially for the brides. Why couldn't wierwille step down from his narcissistic pedestal and teach these truths of personal treasured moments? Wedding days held the vows of promise and love.......and I enjoyed my involvement as a wedding planner those couple of years.
The Music of 1982 I suppose it would seem strange to many, but I really enjoyed being the department coordinator of warehousing. The day-to-day involvement, the fast-paced decision-making as basically eight different departments utilized its access. Lots of dedicated people, steerage folk, moving about the day focused on things that they, too, found worthwhile. I didn't have to be in the spotlight to hear, and enjoy, the music.
The Music of 1983 The High Country Caravan series was not my style of music....and, probably took some coercion for many to get involved and take the stage, but nonetheless......it opened, for me, the doors to see the Grand Ole Opry. I got to walk thru the back stage areas and past the dressing rooms and memorabilia of roy acuff and minnie pearl. The "music of the cult played on".........but at least, I wasn't in sea org in scientology.
The Music of 1984 Those three years in Canada will always be the music that I treasure. We flew up there on a Friday March 2nd and officially were assigned the country coordinators on March 4th......(yeah, march forth). But again, the music was the melody of the canadian believers who danced to a variety of genres from british columbia to new brunswick. I was on their dance floor, down below in steerage, trying to gain the rhythm of their lives. It wasn't the cult music that I remember at all.......this music made me want to dance the night away.
SO.....when some people ask me, "why did you stay so long in that cult?".....much of the time, I wasn't listening to their music at all.
The music of the cult played on........even though the money iceberg of 1998 sideswiped the lower hull. A select few would remain in their seats and keep playing despite the circumstances, but others weren't listening. The real music of our hearts was much different than what the cult ensemble had nearby. Rather, it was the music below deck, memories from years before.....far away from the elites, the arrogance of the cigar bars and dinner parties, who'd stroll along the upper decks by day and by night put on their white ties and diamonds......the music of the steerage folk. This music was pulse-pounding and alive.
The Music of 1981 After the intervention, the music of my heart played on. I married my bride in September. Weddings are those private moments of the heart.....the vows, the exchange of rings, two lives joined, the solemn kiss, and the hopes and dreams stretching into the future. And, we embraced those special songs of our hearts hoping they'd beat is romantic rhythm. Maybe its the romanticist in me, but I've always loved weddings. When wierwille did those "mass weddings" at Emporia, I observed the impersonal parading of couples on what should have been their special day, especially for the brides. Why couldn't wierwille step down from his narcissistic pedestal and teach these truths of personal treasured moments? Wedding days held the vows of promise and love.......and I enjoyed my involvement as a wedding planner those couple of years.
The Music of 1982 I suppose it would seem strange to many, but I really enjoyed being the department coordinator of warehousing. The day-to-day involvement, the fast-paced decision-making as basically eight different departments utilized its access. Lots of dedicated people, steerage folk, moving about the day focused on things that they, too, found worthwhile. I didn't have to be in the spotlight to hear, and enjoy, the music.
The Music of 1983 The High Country Caravan series was not my style of music....and, probably took some coercion for many to get involved and take the stage, but nonetheless......it opened, for me, the doors to see the Grand Ole Opry. I got to walk thru the back stage areas and past the dressing rooms and memorabilia of roy acuff and minnie pearl. The "music of the cult played on".........but at least, I wasn't in sea org in scientology.
The Music of 1984 Those three years in Canada will always be the music that I treasure. We flew up there on a Friday March 2nd and officially were assigned the country coordinators on March 4th......(yeah, march forth). But again, the music was the melody of the canadian believers who danced to a variety of genres from british columbia to new brunswick. I was on their dance floor, down below in steerage, trying to gain the rhythm of their lives. It wasn't the cult music that I remember at all.......this music made me want to dance the night away.
SO.....when some people ask me, "why did you stay so long in that cult?".....much of the time, I wasn't listening to their music at all.
I was listening to the music that moved my heart.
March 4th......(yeah, march forth) (Walter Cummins Day... lol, I know it's corny)
When the "Emergency Expense Cutting Measures" policy arrived in the mail, my wife and I read it together.
"These necessary measures are a benefit spiritually as well as financially for the entire household."
Every time twi enacts policy mandates, or program objectives, they stand on their podium and laud the spiritual benefits. Where are those elusive "spiritual benefits" going to come from if they claw back 10% of our salary? At the time, I believe our bi-monthly paycheck was $1,150.......$2,300 per month and came to the grand total of $27,600 per year (household income). Sure, there was petty cash reimbursement for gas, food, and motel expense IF those expenditures were "ministry related." The "housing allowance" category remains a grey-area in my mind, but to me.....it was hardly relevant. The limb home was a buzz of weekly activity with my office, meetings, classes etc.....hardly "a home." But still.......$115 from our paycheck, twice a month, was unsettling. I knew we could cut some grocery expense from the budget, but by no means were we splurging or eating steak every week.
The cost-cutting was not the problem for me, it was the principle of the thing.....and what got us to this point! And, another thing......what about them, martindale, don and howard? They seemed to be living quite large. Martindale in particular; he was on the receiving end of constant adulation, travel benefits, perks of every kind.....AND after finishing those video-tapings of the wap-series, gifts large and small were pouring into the corps chalet. Nor did I presume to have any idea what other field corps' salaries were around the country, that was their business, not mine......but I signed on the line and agreed to a "needs-basis" salary as to how I saw our needs, my family of four. I had not been greedy in padding our numbers, not in my mind anyways. This whole business of "needs-basis" was so subjective anyways that it screamed of irregularities, favoritism and elitism. The audacity of martindale to, on one hand, puff his chest about the "full-time corps revelation" and now, be cutting our salaries? It reeked of flagrant hypocrisy in my mind.
We went down the list to begin the process:
More economical grocery shopping: Okay, we will be more diligent on coupons and definitely cut back on any chips and snacks.
Children's activities (i.e dance lessons, art lessons, private art or fencing lessons: Huh? Are corps really doing this? Wide-spread?
Health club memberships: Perhaps, a few corps might have this.....maybe to swim.....like those with knee problems?
Health and Grooming (i.e. monthly manicures, expensive haircuts): Not us, haircuts....sure. But expensive? Naw.
Secular magazine subscriptions: Maybe, my wife picked one up occasionally at the grocery checkout line....but no subscriptions.
Economical, local vacations: We hadn't taken an extended or long vacation...EVER!....all those years in twi.
Then, the next highlighted section began with cable tv. This was NOT a suggestion as the ones previous; this was a mandated directive. "We are eliminating from your housing allowance the money we give you for cable tv." Twi was eliminating it. Again, those words....... "we give you." How damn benevolent of "our masters" to give this money, this salary to us each month......this salary that we were working our a$$es off for. In the days that followed, the more I thought about those words "we give you".....this slap across the face, it irked me to no end. Screw them......(I'd use stronger words, but this is a public forum).
Now.......The Question was "Where?"
Where........in our monthly budget will we cut?
Where........is the fine line between "need" and "want?"
Where........can we cut from one area to help another?
Where........are the boundary lines to stop this intrusion on MY family?
Where........is this leading to and when will it end?
I must say, skyrider, the story of human drama is compelling beyond words, and the truth in life's twists are not something anyone could invent. Your account of your deprogramming, the life's choice you faced, the difficulties of truth, family, marriage, and your future hanging in the balance, those speak so very loudly as to the impact that a cult has on one's life, and how life's path isn't always easy and follows twists and turns you never expect.
A different choice in life's direction at a critical time, and all the lives of your children would not be there.
I have so much of that tangled up in my life too. Family over the course of one's life is so much more important than we realize at 20 years old. I have wonderful, beautiful, smart, strong, and talented children, all of whom would not exist if I never joined this cult. Their grandparents, along with us, can certainly appreciate the duality of life and choices in our history.
I remember this period of time well. It sucked @$$. Sorry for the vulgarity folks, but that simply is the most distinct and easy way I could describe it. Working as 2 fulltime people, on 1 salary that didn't match current costs of living. With debt, firing, stigmatization, shunning teetering on one side of the scale, and a salary dreamed up by idiots living in the rural midwest where costs are a fraction of the coasts on the other side of the scale. And the only possible way to survive is accept food from kind-hearted souls against the bribery policy.
Then on top of it Hefner there at the top implementing cost cutting measures. Why do the people always have to pay for the spiritual dumb@$$ mistakes of the elite? I mean it was his failed revelation getting everyone to quit their jobs in the first place. Why doesn't he pay for the mistake? Au contraire, Hef is smoking cigars, wearing velvet jackets, traveling to Bermuda on vacation sending all us peon Corps pictures to hang up on our refrigerator while we plan WTF we can do for free on staycation in the local area.
Part Paycheck, Mostly Principle Again, it was not the 10% pay cut......I could easily look around at the advanced class grads and others, and realize that our conditions were quite similar to theirs. We weren't hurting, nor would this plunge us into some "martyrdom syndrome." For sure, there were probably some limb/region guys out there with gym memberships, bigger homes, etc......but that was certainly not our situation. The reason that my ire was increasing was.....they were the puppeteers and we were the little puppets. Especially......now that we were ON TWI-PAYROLL. They were pulling the strings. The policy words connected back to their arrogance, their control over us.....words like -- eliminate and we give you. Who were these people? What employer goes on a conference call and states......"we are eliminating your cable tv?"
I could go thru that whole cost-cutting expense policy that they sent us point by point and line by line......to decode the cult's arrogance and power over us. But....I'm not going to do that, nor will I print out the long-form policy-jargon and dissect it. I said all along that this was my personal mission to "expose the beast and spear it to death." Others might want to take a shot at this.......but right here, on this series of posts, are the pages of my life.
And further, rent insurance.....twi would no longer pay for renter's insurance unless it is required by the lease or the law. Again....what kind of employer dictates this stuff to its employees? What if something happened....fire, theft, stolen property? Now, who's liable? Me, of course.......I probably wasn't "believing God." They were off the hook far, far away.......pontificating and puking these pompous platitudes to the peons. They were ALWAYS off the hook....just like wierwille was off the hook, not liable, not accountable for things he said or did. And further......what about life insurance? What about health insurance?
No, twi didn't go into the area of homeowner insurance, because....first and foremost, hardly any corps owned a home. How could they? The puppeteer had them jumping from hither to yon.....back-and-forth, up-and-down, side-to-side. Home ownership was just something that was never,.....maybe once or twice....discussed on corps meetings. Why should they? It wasn't in their best interests to expose their cards and give the game away. Corps were commodities.....to be used.
Now, rent expense.....this was something that could be dwindled down from the edges of one's budget IF corps moved from those "upper-middle class neighborhoods." Are you fricking kidding me? UPPER-middle class? Those people at hq have NO IDEA of the realities of life. None! We were not living anywhere near that level. Maybe....maybe.....at the lower end of middle-class, but not upper-middle class. Those people at hq need to get out more. And, could I at least make the point that often, quite regularly....we used our living room (24' X 18' --??) with its vaulted ceiling.....for classes. Sometimes, we'd set up those chairs on Friday mornings and leave the set-up throughout the 3-day weekend class/seminar. There just wasn't time for finding meeting rooms everywhere, making down payments on rental fees, getting keys, setting up the class, etc.......the wasted human toil of effort setting it all up, only to tear it down and store it away....then, do it all again the next day for a class was sheer insanity. It was just a lot easier to do lots of functions at the limb home. I'm sure corps across the country were doing the same thing.
And now, knowing what I know today......here in my city, the upper-middle class have nice homes with 5-6 bedrooms, 4-5 bathrooms, and 3-4 car garages. Of course, there are, at least (imo) two-tiers above that........the multi-millionaires (10-50 million) and then, the ultra wealthy (above 50 million). I know.....I live in a city with wealthy suburbs and all.
We.....the full-time corps......were NOT living in upper-middle class homes. Martindale's bloviating was NUTS!
And one more item, on rent expense.......you could have someone move into your home on a long term basis. This option should be thought through in detail with the wise counsel of your overseers and FINAL APPROVAL REQUIRED from the Trunk Office. (their words........added emphasis, by me).
And one more item, on rent expense.......you could have someone move into your home on a long term basis. This option should be thought through in detail with the wise counsel of your overseers and FINAL APPROVAL REQUIRED from the Trunk Office.
holy smokes, sky. can it get worse?
okay, maybe so, if 4 thugs showed up to handcuff you and haul you off to some farmhouse in Kansas (again)...
Oh man! I am (positively) overwhelmed, Skyrider, as I read these personal accounts of you and your family while in twi. I am finding myself experiencing so many personal memories of my own as I read your perspectives. What is happening mainly, though, is a really healthy and cathartic feeling of deep understanding within myself about my own time in twi. I am feeling a personal sense of liberation with every new bit of understanding that seems to come to me as I read your words! It's really a bit difficult to describe ... but the overwhelming result is a pure, positive catharsis!
Thank you soooo very much for your generosity of spirit to take the time to share these personal recollections and experiences. Your sharing them is having a deep and positive impact on me. I feel so grateful to you!
The Pregnancy Policy What kind of board of directors legislates pregnancy policy to their employees?
Forget diving into all the details......what gives them the right to insert when a couple should or shouldn't get pregnant and have children? Craig, Don and Howard all signed off on this? Doesn't this policy obliterate all kinds of issues about a woman's right over her body and conception?
What about legalities? Is this even legal? [And please......don't start a legal-issues argument on this thread. Thanks.]
Did this kind of thinking and policy connect all the way back to victor paul wierwille? Yep.
It. Was. A. Cult.
The Pet Policy On this one, the first sentence, the foundational directive..........Effective March 25, 1998, larger pets ("serious pets") such as cats, dogs, horses, reptiles and some birds will not be allowed by full-time Staff.
Of course, when my wife and I read this, "Who has horses or reptiles or birds?".........but I digress....
The bigger issue, the MAIN POINT is......What gives the trustees the right to give these orders that affect our lives?
Did every financial issue connect back to the needs-basis doctrine of wierwille......or what was it?
NOW, it was personal. We had a dog, a rescue dog....a poodle mix. Our older son had turned 12 years old and summer was near. My wife was deeply involved in this and knew, with that deep-instinct of a mother's love, that our son needed the companionship of a young dog. Not a puppy with all its early needs, but a one-year old rescue dog from the shelter. A very dear and long-standing family corps woman, Jean G!les T0mko (mother of Paul G!les...corps grad) was like "the grandmother" that our boys never had encouraged it as well. [Note: My deprogramming episode was STILL rippling out its effects.....our two boys never really had that son/grandparent relationship.]
Jean and her husband (a wonderful military veteran) through the years offered to babysit our boys several overnight weekends (Sat/Sun).....it blessed them immensely and my wife and I felt is was deeply healthy for the boys. Anyways......nine months prior to this "pet policy" my wife, son and Jean had gone to the rescue shelter and brought this dog home. Jean insisted on buying several dog items, because her heart was invested into our growing boys. She was, again, "Grandma" to our sons. When this policy went into effect, we had to get rid of this dog. My little twelve-year old son's heart was crushed and he sobbed for days while we looked to find a new home for his "little companion."
Jean, too, was deeply saddened by this whole ordeal. The rippling effects of this pet policy on my family brought a deep, profound sadness to my heart.....opening the passageway to the haunting memories of my captivity, and my mom and dad. My son who had this growing desire to be a veterinarian.......floundered in this emotional turbulence of losing his little dog, Sandi.
**Fast forward to leaving this cult........ into the years ahead, and now 19 years later:
Our son graduated from college summa cum laude
Received the chancellor award in medical school
Selected as one of eighteen in nation for one year, intern yr, at sloan kettering (manhattan)
Received intern of year award of those 18
Today.....a brain/spinal oncologist in top-tier cancer hospital
So, readers......please indulge me as I pause..................to give a one-finger salute to the cult puppeteers, past and present.
A cat is a "large pet"? I have two and maintained them even though for a couple of years I was on unemployment benefit (less than "need" basis). Litter and food cost me about £4pw and IT WAS WORTH IT for the companionship. (no insurance on them, though. Illness... vet bills... might have been curtains. Thankfully, not happened yet.
Skyrider, I know this pet policy is only a very small point in your narrative. The whole of what you have posted on this thread is just so enormous and intrusive that I have no words to express my own resentment at your treatment! How are you supposed to live, with your wife and two growing kids, on $27K? Wouldn't be so bad if you knew that the trustees and their own "needs" were being curtailed too... hahahahahaha.
And.....Since Family Is So Inter-Connected I would like to take this time to tell you about our younger son. Upon leaving Oklahoma, he was not a happy camper.....as his sports-world was left back there. He had resumed a much greater access to little league baseball, because we weren't rushing out the door to all-things twi. He loved sports too just like me....but since I'd married this 5'2" little woman, he had limited opportunities for growth or sports. You can't have everything, right? In middle school, one of his buddies who stopped over at our house one day was Sam Bradford. Yep, that guy......who, after we moved away....he went on to Putnam City North High School, OKC.....(the high school where our older son had been), six blocks from our home.
Here in Indiana (yeah, just keeping some anonymity here......) younger son went on to graduate from college and then, married his high school sweetheart. We love her dearly....and so thankful she never had any involvement with any cult of any kind (lol). Both have good careers.....my son is a small business owner with two employees. And, together my son and daughter-in-law have the means, desires and opportunities to travel abroad quite often. Probably, just like many of you and your kids do.
Anyways.....since I told you about my older son, I wanted to insert a small segment on the younger one. We are proud parents of two cult-free kids. I will always be thankful that they never had to run the gauntlet.
So, again.......I pause..........if any of you have a pic of a two-hands, one-finger salute......this would be the time to insert it. Thanks.
You know, I've been spending a good deal of time here today reading the newest posts on this thread, as well as many old posts (some going back to 2007!) I really only learned of GSC a few years ago, and it was probably meant to be that way, as I honestly didn't want anything to do with Wayworld -- wayfers, ex-wayfers, in-wayfers, etc. -- for many, many years! (I was busy living life in the real world, I guess, and I wanted it to stay that way!!)
But since discovering this site -- and more specifically, since reading these timeline posts by Skyrider and others' comments to them here -- a lot of things I'd kept deep in the vault of my own heart have gently been exposed to some "light," and the result has been nothing but liberation and deeper understanding of just why and how I managed to be so deeply committed to something that captivated me for many of the most formative years of my young adult life. One of those old posts I discovered that I found incredibly revelatory, enlightening and so succinctly perfect in capturing the evolution of twi was in a thread I read today called “How Did the Ordination of Clergy Thing Work in TWI?”
Reading about the behavior of the whole warped and authoritarian “chain of command” that keeps coming up repeatedly in Skyrider’s timeline posts here on this thread made me wonder how the heck the leadership got so oppressively intrusive not only in the lives of the “rank and file” believers but also in the region and COUNTRY leaders’ lives as well! It made me wonder about how so many “ordained clergy” could have gotten so far off the mark of being true servants of God.That’s when I stumbled on the post I’m referring to.
Since – by way of the gracious and articulate recollections Skyrider is posting here -- we’re discussing the entire timeline of TWI … I thought this overall summation of how it went from what I believe was a genuine revival and movement of God to the aberration it has become would be good to post here.As I said, it’s an exchange between posters Jen-O and DWBH.
Here is the exchange:
Question from Jen-O to DWBH on June 3, 2008
Mr. Don’t Worry:I'd be interested in your perspective on something (since you were around back in 1970), and it seems to me that the way west and the way east came out of the jesus movement... and may have been part of an authentic move of God. But my question is: Do you think that "the way" became corrupt over time?... or was it corrupt right from the start?
DWBH:“Thanks for your question...........I do have some thoughts regarding your question which, perhaps, may answer it in part.My perspective is based on hindsight, which, in many cases, may be "20/20", and, in this case, I believe it probably is.
For the most part, I tend to agree that the "nature" of twi is difficult to separate from that of its founder, but the "organization" we "joined" was quite a bit more enigmatic than just the overtly pathological nature of its founder, because it did suck in quite a number of folks whose "nature", motivation, and heart were markedly different from those of its founder.I know that vic himself, along with Howard Allen, was "corrupt" well before 1970.His perversions – both doctrinal and personal – were habitualized by him, imho, by the time he left his denominational church in Van Wert in 1957.But twi really did'nt "take off" until after he finished filming PFAL in 1968, especially in the years and locations I mentioned in my first post on this thread
The large influx of young, idealistic, "believers" in 1969 and throughout the decade of the '70's is what I was a part of.It was'nt vic or any of the "old timers" in Ohio who witnessed to me -- it was my hippie, musician friends whose genuine enthusiasm for "things spiritual" and whose marked "transformation through Christ" that caught my attention.And the many "miracles, signs and wonders" which, I believe, God wrought among us back in those days had nothing to do with vic's personal presence or involvement in our lives, but, quite the contrary, it had to do with our childlike, enthusiastic, and genuinely exuberant acceptance of Christ as our risen savior, and our innocent "believing action" upon the parts of the bible we were learning and accepting as "truth.”The fellowships we were a part of and bringing our friends and families to were really a lot of fun!And the fruit of the spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22,23 were evident in abundance, and were accomplishing their results in an atmosphere free from the control of vic and the growing cult machinery of HQ in New Knoxville!
As a matter of fact, it was the ever increasing personal control exerted by vic with his increasing personal involvement in our lives and fellowships, which, imo, eventually stifled and strangled the genuine "revivals" God was energizing among the early twi fellowships.This was the fruit of vic's "ministry" being brought to bear upon the ministry of Jesus Christ.Vic’s profound corruption was becoming institutionalized among the innocent, geniune Christian fellowships God and Christ were "planting" around the USA, not just in twi, but in a broader "spiritual movement" that was far bigger than anything vic demanded credit for!Imho, vic's "ministry" sowed the "tares" of his personal and doctrinal perversions among the "good seed" God and Christ were sowing without any need of help from the "ministry" of "the teacher"!
The more involved believers became with vic's programs (wow, way corps, "college" division, word in business, culture, etc., etc., etc.) and classes, the more the "tares" of his corruption took root and choked the innocence and purity of holy spirit and its fruit out of the lives and fellowships of the "good seed."And for those of us fortunate enough to have "tasted" and experienced genuine Christian revival, and who earnestly desired to see it continue and spread throughout "the world," unfettered by "man-made religion," the "vehicle" we thought God provided in twi, was hijacked by the "vehicle" vic provided in its stead, also called twi, but not "fueled" by god, but rather by the growing control and dominance of vic's personal perversions and corruption, eventually yielding its own "fruit" in the monster of hypocrisy, deceit, and abject immorality which the entire organization of twi grew into and remains to this day -- a monument to the legacy of the "ministry" of "the teacher," not the legacy of the ministry of Jesus Christ to the world.Fortunately, the two are NOT the same!
So, jen-o, imo, vic was thoroughly and irreversibly corrupt by the late '50s, and it only took him 30 more years to thoroughly and irreversibly corrupt the entire organization he "founded," and which thousands of innocent "believers" built and paid cash for, for him in the '70's and early '80s, which he handed over to his "best friend" and to his oldest biological son, and the Neanderthal intellect of the doofus from Okie, so they could destroy it and its people in the late '80's and through the '90s, and which is now run by those who are the most loyal and faithful disciples of his perversions, lies and corruption, those who truly made vic's way, their way, which is the way international!............................peace.”
More Cost-Cutting Items The sunday service audio tapes would no longer be mailed to corps by overnight express mail. And......a mighty relief was heard and felt throughout the land.....WHO CARES? [No....I might have dreamed that last part. Sorry--lol]. The ego-driven insanity that the corps had to hear every utterance from martindale's mouth before the next corps meeting was palpably so tempting to mock. But....I'll let it simmer with a silent smile.
Hey, here's a thought........sell Camp Gunnison.
Which brings up another story. While in Canada, a pfal grad in Montreal, in his mid-thirties, told a corps grad there of some property he had inherited and wanted to donate to The Way of Canada. Since I was country coordinator, this news and phone call quickly reached me. Apparently, for reasons I never fully quite unraveled because he was French-Canadian thru and thru......everything needed translation. I guess you'd just have to say it was "lost in translation"......but I felt it worth pursuing and phoned Reynolds who, in turn, talked to Howard Allen. He told me to jump on it and check it out.
This somewhat 32 acres of property was around seventy-five miles due east of Montreal.....i.e. out in the boonies. I had to take Je-an Ben-oit with me to translate. This guy couldn't speak a sentence in English, nor I in French. It was a hellish ride, swerving thru the backcountry of this heavily wooded area....but finally, we found it. So....that swamp-ish, tangled wood-mass was it? Okaaaay. Good to know....and the seven hour drive back to London, Ontario was a drag. I phoned Howard and told him.....naw, it ain't worth it. What would we ever do with it anyways?
That is what I had often thought about camp gunnison........and not just because I was abducted from there. It just didn't seem to fit any of the specifications for an organization that was trying to train/reach others. Lots of extra work and hazards.....and it all seemed like "a tease." All that beauty nearby with a flowing river.....and the corps never got to relax, explore or enjoy it. The cult kept the bees buzzing.
Concluding Paragraph of Cost-Cutting Policies This one is too-rich to pass up.....otherwise, I'd skip it. The drudgery of looking thru this puppeteer policy paper is downright nauseating, but here is one last snippet: "If Way Corps are not energized ministers then they should not be salaried by The Way International. That's stealing." Now hold on one dad-gum minute.......I thought martindale's "revelation" to put all field corps on full-time salaried staff was from God? The corps were trained to be leaders, right? The corps were trained to be God's best, right? The corps were the "spiritual marine corps" dr. wierwille envisioned and trained.....handing down these secret truths to the next generation, those martindale had trained, right? So........was it revelation or not? Martindale blamed the corps.
The conclusion of the whole matter.........started with an IF.
I Never Thought Corps Were "Spiritual Marines" There is no way that I would try and dissect the whole background of this "spiritual marine corps" version that blathered forth from wierwille. But for many reasons, it had/has entered that cult lexicon and corps-bots ever since its narcissistic inception laid claim to a nametag. Suffice it to say, I was not one of them. I was known to carry the cult mantle on many things, but not this one. Twi has no rights even to use the "corps" terminology. The essence of the word, as I understand it, is an organized unit of the military. The men and women of the military who serve, and veterans who served honorably, have my utmost respect.
Four years ago, I was given this book as a birthday gift.....and now, pass it on to you The Things They Carried.
If you weren't an "energized minister," Sky, don't know who else would have been.
Oh wait... energized? You'd given it all up. No more energy left to give. Mrs Sky too, most likely.
I remember working to prepare for the AC Special. I was working 18-20 hr days, about a week of that, no time for "personal things" like doing laundry and scarcely time for things like showering and "getting ready." Totally exhausting. But you were doing that for far longer than a week. Incessantly "on duty" even when you weren't. Unreal. Illegal, probably.
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higherground30
Skyrider Thank you very much for sharing these hardhitting personal life stories. Im ready to give my background in the next couple of days in the new member area Oh and btw Happy new year
skyrider
The Pregnancy Policy What kind of board of directors legislates pregnancy policy to their employees? Forget diving into all the details......what gives them the right to insert when a couple s
potato
skyrider, thanks for sharing all of this. 1989 was the year TWI sucked me in, although I'd taken PFAL in 1985. I was advanced class grad twice over by mid-90s, and the later 90s were such a nightmare.
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krys
(((Skyrider))) I have no words....<---------she said with jaw ajar.
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skyrider
Part V
The Music Played On
The music of the cult played on........even though the money iceberg of 1998 sideswiped the lower hull. A select few would remain in their seats and keep playing despite the circumstances, but others weren't listening. The real music of our hearts was much different than what the cult ensemble had nearby. Rather, it was the music below deck, memories from years before.....far away from the elites, the arrogance of the cigar bars and dinner parties, who'd stroll along the upper decks by day and by night put on their white ties and diamonds......the music of the steerage folk. This music was pulse-pounding and alive.
The Music of 1981 After the intervention, the music of my heart played on. I married my bride in September. Weddings are those private moments of the heart.....the vows, the exchange of rings, two lives joined, the solemn kiss, and the hopes and dreams stretching into the future. And, we embraced those special songs of our hearts hoping they'd beat is romantic rhythm. Maybe its the romanticist in me, but I've always loved weddings. When wierwille did those "mass weddings" at Emporia, I observed the impersonal parading of couples on what should have been their special day, especially for the brides. Why couldn't wierwille step down from his narcissistic pedestal and teach these truths of personal treasured moments? Wedding days held the vows of promise and love.......and I enjoyed my involvement as a wedding planner those couple of years.
The Music of 1982 I suppose it would seem strange to many, but I really enjoyed being the department coordinator of warehousing. The day-to-day involvement, the fast-paced decision-making as basically eight different departments utilized its access. Lots of dedicated people, steerage folk, moving about the day focused on things that they, too, found worthwhile. I didn't have to be in the spotlight to hear, and enjoy, the music.
The Music of 1983 The High Country Caravan series was not my style of music....and, probably took some coercion for many to get involved and take the stage, but nonetheless......it opened, for me, the doors to see the Grand Ole Opry. I got to walk thru the back stage areas and past the dressing rooms and memorabilia of roy acuff and minnie pearl. The "music of the cult played on".........but at least, I wasn't in sea org in scientology.
The Music of 1984 Those three years in Canada will always be the music that I treasure. We flew up there on a Friday March 2nd and officially were assigned the country coordinators on March 4th......(yeah, march forth). But again, the music was the melody of the canadian believers who danced to a variety of genres from british columbia to new brunswick. I was on their dance floor, down below in steerage, trying to gain the rhythm of their lives. It wasn't the cult music that I remember at all.......this music made me want to dance the night away.
SO.....when some people ask me, "why did you stay so long in that cult?".....much of the time, I wasn't listening to their music at all.
I was listening to the music that moved my heart.
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Rocky
March 4th......(yeah, march forth) (Walter Cummins Day... lol, I know it's corny)
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skyrider
To Rocky...........I knew you'd get that dig. Every March 4th, I had something different in mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
To All.................Only 2 or 3 chapters left in "my book."
Next chapter is "The Price We Paid."................but still.................The music played on.......
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skyrider
Part VI
The Price We Paid
When the "Emergency Expense Cutting Measures" policy arrived in the mail, my wife and I read it together.
Every time twi enacts policy mandates, or program objectives, they stand on their podium and laud the spiritual benefits. Where are those elusive "spiritual benefits" going to come from if they claw back 10% of our salary? At the time, I believe our bi-monthly paycheck was $1,150.......$2,300 per month and came to the grand total of $27,600 per year (household income). Sure, there was petty cash reimbursement for gas, food, and motel expense IF those expenditures were "ministry related." The "housing allowance" category remains a grey-area in my mind, but to me.....it was hardly relevant. The limb home was a buzz of weekly activity with my office, meetings, classes etc.....hardly "a home." But still.......$115 from our paycheck, twice a month, was unsettling. I knew we could cut some grocery expense from the budget, but by no means were we splurging or eating steak every week.
The cost-cutting was not the problem for me, it was the principle of the thing.....and what got us to this point! And, another thing......what about them, martindale, don and howard? They seemed to be living quite large. Martindale in particular; he was on the receiving end of constant adulation, travel benefits, perks of every kind.....AND after finishing those video-tapings of the wap-series, gifts large and small were pouring into the corps chalet. Nor did I presume to have any idea what other field corps' salaries were around the country, that was their business, not mine......but I signed on the line and agreed to a "needs-basis" salary as to how I saw our needs, my family of four. I had not been greedy in padding our numbers, not in my mind anyways. This whole business of "needs-basis" was so subjective anyways that it screamed of irregularities, favoritism and elitism. The audacity of martindale to, on one hand, puff his chest about the "full-time corps revelation" and now, be cutting our salaries? It reeked of flagrant hypocrisy in my mind.
We went down the list to begin the process:
Then, the next highlighted section began with cable tv. This was NOT a suggestion as the ones previous; this was a mandated directive. "We are eliminating from your housing allowance the money we give you for cable tv." Twi was eliminating it. Again, those words....... "we give you." How damn benevolent of "our masters" to give this money, this salary to us each month......this salary that we were working our a$$es off for. In the days that followed, the more I thought about those words "we give you".....this slap across the face, it irked me to no end. Screw them......(I'd use stronger words, but this is a public forum).
Now.......The Question was "Where?"
-
Where........in our monthly budget will we cut?
-
Where........is the fine line between "need" and "want?"
-
Where........can we cut from one area to help another?
-
Where........are the boundary lines to stop this intrusion on MY family?
-
Where........is this leading to and when will it end?
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chockfull
I must say, skyrider, the story of human drama is compelling beyond words, and the truth in life's twists are not something anyone could invent. Your account of your deprogramming, the life's choice you faced, the difficulties of truth, family, marriage, and your future hanging in the balance, those speak so very loudly as to the impact that a cult has on one's life, and how life's path isn't always easy and follows twists and turns you never expect.
A different choice in life's direction at a critical time, and all the lives of your children would not be there.
I have so much of that tangled up in my life too. Family over the course of one's life is so much more important than we realize at 20 years old. I have wonderful, beautiful, smart, strong, and talented children, all of whom would not exist if I never joined this cult. Their grandparents, along with us, can certainly appreciate the duality of life and choices in our history.
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skyrider
.......I've been known to go back and edit some typos and errors, so it might change until that edit button disappears.
.......wish I'd had an "edit button" when life was unfolding before my eyes, in real time.
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chockfull
I remember this period of time well. It sucked @$$. Sorry for the vulgarity folks, but that simply is the most distinct and easy way I could describe it. Working as 2 fulltime people, on 1 salary that didn't match current costs of living. With debt, firing, stigmatization, shunning teetering on one side of the scale, and a salary dreamed up by idiots living in the rural midwest where costs are a fraction of the coasts on the other side of the scale. And the only possible way to survive is accept food from kind-hearted souls against the bribery policy.
Then on top of it Hefner there at the top implementing cost cutting measures. Why do the people always have to pay for the spiritual dumb@$$ mistakes of the elite? I mean it was his failed revelation getting everyone to quit their jobs in the first place. Why doesn't he pay for the mistake? Au contraire, Hef is smoking cigars, wearing velvet jackets, traveling to Bermuda on vacation sending all us peon Corps pictures to hang up on our refrigerator while we plan WTF we can do for free on staycation in the local area.
S-u-c-k-e-d @-$-$
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skyrider
Part Paycheck, Mostly Principle Again, it was not the 10% pay cut......I could easily look around at the advanced class grads and others, and realize that our conditions were quite similar to theirs. We weren't hurting, nor would this plunge us into some "martyrdom syndrome." For sure, there were probably some limb/region guys out there with gym memberships, bigger homes, etc......but that was certainly not our situation. The reason that my ire was increasing was.....they were the puppeteers and we were the little puppets. Especially......now that we were ON TWI-PAYROLL. They were pulling the strings. The policy words connected back to their arrogance, their control over us.....words like -- eliminate and we give you. Who were these people? What employer goes on a conference call and states......"we are eliminating your cable tv?"
I could go thru that whole cost-cutting expense policy that they sent us point by point and line by line......to decode the cult's arrogance and power over us. But....I'm not going to do that, nor will I print out the long-form policy-jargon and dissect it. I said all along that this was my personal mission to "expose the beast and spear it to death." Others might want to take a shot at this.......but right here, on this series of posts, are the pages of my life.
And further, rent insurance.....twi would no longer pay for renter's insurance unless it is required by the lease or the law. Again....what kind of employer dictates this stuff to its employees? What if something happened....fire, theft, stolen property? Now, who's liable? Me, of course.......I probably wasn't "believing God." They were off the hook far, far away.......pontificating and puking these pompous platitudes to the peons. They were ALWAYS off the hook....just like wierwille was off the hook, not liable, not accountable for things he said or did. And further......what about life insurance? What about health insurance?
No, twi didn't go into the area of homeowner insurance, because....first and foremost, hardly any corps owned a home. How could they? The puppeteer had them jumping from hither to yon.....back-and-forth, up-and-down, side-to-side. Home ownership was just something that was never,.....maybe once or twice....discussed on corps meetings. Why should they? It wasn't in their best interests to expose their cards and give the game away. Corps were commodities.....to be used.
Now, rent expense.....this was something that could be dwindled down from the edges of one's budget IF corps moved from those "upper-middle class neighborhoods." Are you fricking kidding me? UPPER-middle class? Those people at hq have NO IDEA of the realities of life. None! We were not living anywhere near that level. Maybe....maybe.....at the lower end of middle-class, but not upper-middle class. Those people at hq need to get out more. And, could I at least make the point that often, quite regularly....we used our living room (24' X 18' --??) with its vaulted ceiling.....for classes. Sometimes, we'd set up those chairs on Friday mornings and leave the set-up throughout the 3-day weekend class/seminar. There just wasn't time for finding meeting rooms everywhere, making down payments on rental fees, getting keys, setting up the class, etc.......the wasted human toil of effort setting it all up, only to tear it down and store it away....then, do it all again the next day for a class was sheer insanity. It was just a lot easier to do lots of functions at the limb home. I'm sure corps across the country were doing the same thing.
And one more item, on rent expense.......you could have someone move into your home on a long term basis. This option should be thought through in detail with the wise counsel of your overseers and FINAL APPROVAL REQUIRED from the Trunk Office. (their words........added emphasis, by me).
The puppeteers were controlling our lives.
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TLC
holy smokes, sky. can it get worse?
okay, maybe so, if 4 thugs showed up to handcuff you and haul you off to some farmhouse in Kansas (again)...
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Lanikaigal
Oh man! I am (positively) overwhelmed, Skyrider, as I read these personal accounts of you and your family while in twi. I am finding myself experiencing so many personal memories of my own as I read your perspectives. What is happening mainly, though, is a really healthy and cathartic feeling of deep understanding within myself about my own time in twi. I am feeling a personal sense of liberation with every new bit of understanding that seems to come to me as I read your words! It's really a bit difficult to describe ... but the overwhelming result is a pure, positive catharsis!
Thank you soooo very much for your generosity of spirit to take the time to share these personal recollections and experiences. Your sharing them is having a deep and positive impact on me. I feel so grateful to you!
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skyrider
The Pregnancy Policy What kind of board of directors legislates pregnancy policy to their employees?
The Pet Policy On this one, the first sentence, the foundational directive..........Effective March 25, 1998, larger pets ("serious pets") such as cats, dogs, horses, reptiles and some birds will not be allowed by full-time Staff.
NOW, it was personal. We had a dog, a rescue dog....a poodle mix. Our older son had turned 12 years old and summer was near. My wife was deeply involved in this and knew, with that deep-instinct of a mother's love, that our son needed the companionship of a young dog. Not a puppy with all its early needs, but a one-year old rescue dog from the shelter. A very dear and long-standing family corps woman, Jean G!les T0mko (mother of Paul G!les...corps grad) was like "the grandmother" that our boys never had encouraged it as well. [Note: My deprogramming episode was STILL rippling out its effects.....our two boys never really had that son/grandparent relationship.]
Jean and her husband (a wonderful military veteran) through the years offered to babysit our boys several overnight weekends (Sat/Sun).....it blessed them immensely and my wife and I felt is was deeply healthy for the boys. Anyways......nine months prior to this "pet policy" my wife, son and Jean had gone to the rescue shelter and brought this dog home. Jean insisted on buying several dog items, because her heart was invested into our growing boys. She was, again, "Grandma" to our sons. When this policy went into effect, we had to get rid of this dog. My little twelve-year old son's heart was crushed and he sobbed for days while we looked to find a new home for his "little companion."
Jean, too, was deeply saddened by this whole ordeal. The rippling effects of this pet policy on my family brought a deep, profound sadness to my heart.....opening the passageway to the haunting memories of my captivity, and my mom and dad. My son who had this growing desire to be a veterinarian.......floundered in this emotional turbulence of losing his little dog, Sandi.
**Fast forward to leaving this cult........ into the years ahead, and now 19 years later:
So, readers......please indulge me as I pause..................to give a one-finger salute to the cult puppeteers, past and present.
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Twinky
A cat is a "large pet"? I have two and maintained them even though for a couple of years I was on unemployment benefit (less than "need" basis). Litter and food cost me about £4pw and IT WAS WORTH IT for the companionship. (no insurance on them, though. Illness... vet bills... might have been curtains. Thankfully, not happened yet.
Skyrider, I know this pet policy is only a very small point in your narrative. The whole of what you have posted on this thread is just so enormous and intrusive that I have no words to express my own resentment at your treatment! How are you supposed to live, with your wife and two growing kids, on $27K? Wouldn't be so bad if you knew that the trustees and their own "needs" were being curtailed too... hahahahahaha.
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krys
Will you please allow me to join you in that one-finger salute to the cult puppeteers, past and present?
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Lanikaigal
I'm right there with you, Skyrider . . . Let the salutes begin!
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skyrider
And.....Since Family Is So Inter-Connected I would like to take this time to tell you about our younger son. Upon leaving Oklahoma, he was not a happy camper.....as his sports-world was left back there. He had resumed a much greater access to little league baseball, because we weren't rushing out the door to all-things twi. He loved sports too just like me....but since I'd married this 5'2" little woman, he had limited opportunities for growth or sports. You can't have everything, right? In middle school, one of his buddies who stopped over at our house one day was Sam Bradford. Yep, that guy......who, after we moved away....he went on to Putnam City North High School, OKC.....(the high school where our older son had been), six blocks from our home.
Here in Indiana (yeah, just keeping some anonymity here......) younger son went on to graduate from college and then, married his high school sweetheart. We love her dearly....and so thankful she never had any involvement with any cult of any kind (lol). Both have good careers.....my son is a small business owner with two employees. And, together my son and daughter-in-law have the means, desires and opportunities to travel abroad quite often. Probably, just like many of you and your kids do.
Anyways.....since I told you about my older son, I wanted to insert a small segment on the younger one. We are proud parents of two cult-free kids. I will always be thankful that they never had to run the gauntlet.
So, again.......I pause..........if any of you have a pic of a two-hands, one-finger salute......this would be the time to insert it. Thanks.
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Lanikaigal
You know, I've been spending a good deal of time here today reading the newest posts on this thread, as well as many old posts (some going back to 2007!) I really only learned of GSC a few years ago, and it was probably meant to be that way, as I honestly didn't want anything to do with Wayworld -- wayfers, ex-wayfers, in-wayfers, etc. -- for many, many years! (I was busy living life in the real world, I guess, and I wanted it to stay that way!!)
But since discovering this site -- and more specifically, since reading these timeline posts by Skyrider and others' comments to them here -- a lot of things I'd kept deep in the vault of my own heart have gently been exposed to some "light," and the result has been nothing but liberation and deeper understanding of just why and how I managed to be so deeply committed to something that captivated me for many of the most formative years of my young adult life. One of those old posts I discovered that I found incredibly revelatory, enlightening and so succinctly perfect in capturing the evolution of twi was in a thread I read today called “How Did the Ordination of Clergy Thing Work in TWI?”
Reading about the behavior of the whole warped and authoritarian “chain of command” that keeps coming up repeatedly in Skyrider’s timeline posts here on this thread made me wonder how the heck the leadership got so oppressively intrusive not only in the lives of the “rank and file” believers but also in the region and COUNTRY leaders’ lives as well! It made me wonder about how so many “ordained clergy” could have gotten so far off the mark of being true servants of God. That’s when I stumbled on the post I’m referring to.
Since – by way of the gracious and articulate recollections Skyrider is posting here -- we’re discussing the entire timeline of TWI … I thought this overall summation of how it went from what I believe was a genuine revival and movement of God to the aberration it has become would be good to post here. As I said, it’s an exchange between posters Jen-O and DWBH.
Here is the exchange:
Question from Jen-O to DWBH on June 3, 2008
Mr. Don’t Worry: I'd be interested in your perspective on something (since you were around back in 1970), and it seems to me that the way west and the way east came out of the jesus movement... and may have been part of an authentic move of God. But my question is: Do you think that "the way" became corrupt over time?... or was it corrupt right from the start?
DWBH: “Thanks for your question...........I do have some thoughts regarding your question which, perhaps, may answer it in part. My perspective is based on hindsight, which, in many cases, may be "20/20", and, in this case, I believe it probably is.
For the most part, I tend to agree that the "nature" of twi is difficult to separate from that of its founder, but the "organization" we "joined" was quite a bit more enigmatic than just the overtly pathological nature of its founder, because it did suck in quite a number of folks whose "nature", motivation, and heart were markedly different from those of its founder. I know that vic himself, along with Howard Allen, was "corrupt" well before 1970. His perversions – both doctrinal and personal – were habitualized by him, imho, by the time he left his denominational church in Van Wert in 1957. But twi really did'nt "take off" until after he finished filming PFAL in 1968, especially in the years and locations I mentioned in my first post on this thread
The large influx of young, idealistic, "believers" in 1969 and throughout the decade of the '70's is what I was a part of. It was'nt vic or any of the "old timers" in Ohio who witnessed to me -- it was my hippie, musician friends whose genuine enthusiasm for "things spiritual" and whose marked "transformation through Christ" that caught my attention. And the many "miracles, signs and wonders" which, I believe, God wrought among us back in those days had nothing to do with vic's personal presence or involvement in our lives, but, quite the contrary, it had to do with our childlike, enthusiastic, and genuinely exuberant acceptance of Christ as our risen savior, and our innocent "believing action" upon the parts of the bible we were learning and accepting as "truth.” The fellowships we were a part of and bringing our friends and families to were really a lot of fun! And the fruit of the spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22,23 were evident in abundance, and were accomplishing their results in an atmosphere free from the control of vic and the growing cult machinery of HQ in New Knoxville!
As a matter of fact, it was the ever increasing personal control exerted by vic with his increasing personal involvement in our lives and fellowships, which, imo, eventually stifled and strangled the genuine "revivals" God was energizing among the early twi fellowships. This was the fruit of vic's "ministry" being brought to bear upon the ministry of Jesus Christ. Vic’s profound corruption was becoming institutionalized among the innocent, geniune Christian fellowships God and Christ were "planting" around the USA, not just in twi, but in a broader "spiritual movement" that was far bigger than anything vic demanded credit for! Imho, vic's "ministry" sowed the "tares" of his personal and doctrinal perversions among the "good seed" God and Christ were sowing without any need of help from the "ministry" of "the teacher"!
The more involved believers became with vic's programs (wow, way corps, "college" division, word in business, culture, etc., etc., etc.) and classes, the more the "tares" of his corruption took root and choked the innocence and purity of holy spirit and its fruit out of the lives and fellowships of the "good seed." And for those of us fortunate enough to have "tasted" and experienced genuine Christian revival, and who earnestly desired to see it continue and spread throughout "the world," unfettered by "man-made religion," the "vehicle" we thought God provided in twi, was hijacked by the "vehicle" vic provided in its stead, also called twi, but not "fueled" by god, but rather by the growing control and dominance of vic's personal perversions and corruption, eventually yielding its own "fruit" in the monster of hypocrisy, deceit, and abject immorality which the entire organization of twi grew into and remains to this day -- a monument to the legacy of the "ministry" of "the teacher," not the legacy of the ministry of Jesus Christ to the world. Fortunately, the two are NOT the same!
So, jen-o, imo, vic was thoroughly and irreversibly corrupt by the late '50s, and it only took him 30 more years to thoroughly and irreversibly corrupt the entire organization he "founded," and which thousands of innocent "believers" built and paid cash for, for him in the '70's and early '80s, which he handed over to his "best friend" and to his oldest biological son, and the Neanderthal intellect of the doofus from Okie, so they could destroy it and its people in the late '80's and through the '90s, and which is now run by those who are the most loyal and faithful disciples of his perversions, lies and corruption, those who truly made vic's way, their way, which is the way international!............................peace.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddAucL0ioCA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2JPqk1AzHA
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skyrider
More Cost-Cutting Items The sunday service audio tapes would no longer be mailed to corps by overnight express mail. And......a mighty relief was heard and felt throughout the land.....WHO CARES? [No....I might have dreamed that last part. Sorry--lol]. The ego-driven insanity that the corps had to hear every utterance from martindale's mouth before the next corps meeting was palpably so tempting to mock. But....I'll let it simmer with a silent smile.
Hey, here's a thought........sell Camp Gunnison.
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skyrider
Concluding Paragraph of Cost-Cutting Policies This one is too-rich to pass up.....otherwise, I'd skip it. The drudgery of looking thru this puppeteer policy paper is downright nauseating, but here is one last snippet: "If Way Corps are not energized ministers then they should not be salaried by The Way International. That's stealing." Now hold on one dad-gum minute.......I thought martindale's "revelation" to put all field corps on full-time salaried staff was from God? The corps were trained to be leaders, right? The corps were trained to be God's best, right? The corps were the "spiritual marine corps" dr. wierwille envisioned and trained.....handing down these secret truths to the next generation, those martindale had trained, right? So........was it revelation or not? Martindale blamed the corps.
The conclusion of the whole matter.........started with an IF.
I Never Thought Corps Were "Spiritual Marines" There is no way that I would try and dissect the whole background of this "spiritual marine corps" version that blathered forth from wierwille. But for many reasons, it had/has entered that cult lexicon and corps-bots ever since its narcissistic inception laid claim to a nametag. Suffice it to say, I was not one of them. I was known to carry the cult mantle on many things, but not this one. Twi has no rights even to use the "corps" terminology. The essence of the word, as I understand it, is an organized unit of the military. The men and women of the military who serve, and veterans who served honorably, have my utmost respect.
Four years ago, I was given this book as a birthday gift.....and now, pass it on to you The Things They Carried.
An awesome read.
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Twinky
If you weren't an "energized minister," Sky, don't know who else would have been.
Oh wait... energized? You'd given it all up. No more energy left to give. Mrs Sky too, most likely.
I remember working to prepare for the AC Special. I was working 18-20 hr days, about a week of that, no time for "personal things" like doing laundry and scarcely time for things like showering and "getting ready." Totally exhausting. But you were doing that for far longer than a week. Incessantly "on duty" even when you weren't. Unreal. Illegal, probably.
Tell us how Mrs Sky was coping.
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Rocky
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Rocky
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chockfull
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skyrider
You Guys are killing me here............LOL
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