I also remember encountering a person at the KC airport while waiting (with a bunch of others) for our ride to Emporia for the first day in-res for the 9th corpse. He tried to tell us that Wierwille was a false prophet... of course, none of us was, on that day, ready to listen to that.
And I remember Wierwille haranging me for making a mistake of some kind regarding hook up of A/V telecom equipment later that year. And another time when Loy told us about the Jim Jones situation in Guyana.
I remember one day, in FellowLaborers, looking in the mirror and suddenly wondering "How did I become this person I'm looking at in the mirror?" It wasn't one of those moments where you somberly ponder the situation. It was jolting and instantaneous, like an unexpected slap in the face. It was depressing and horrifying at the same time. I chalked it up to unrenewed mind and silently chanted some since forgotten retemory verse.
Rocky, Waysider and Skyrider thanks for those introductory remarks about some of the great programs that our ministry has to offer… and now, on to our main presentation – The Way Corps: A Lifetime of Indentured Servitude.
Ladies and gentleman, I know people in the corps who haven’t moved the Word. Why? I’ll tell you why. Simply because they …blah blah blah…(can’t remember that part). I’m in the corps and I’m going to move the Word. Why? I’ll tell you why – because I’m blah blah blah – (can’t remember that part either )...getting old ain't for sissies, I'll tell you that.
There I was, witnessing in a bowling alley. I was talking to a man, and had asked him if he would like to increase the power of God in his life. Suddenly, there was a power outage – the place went pitch black – all the machinery for the lanes came to a muted halt - you could hear a pin drop . The power outage only lasted about 10 seconds and then the lights and all the systems came back on. I used that event to segue into my sales pitch “Unlike man’s power which is often unreliable God’s power is always there when you need it”...So, the action I would like you to take is learn how to think fast enough to speak on the fly…true story but the guy wasn’t interested.
Thank you all for coming tonight. If anyone is interested I will leave a Way Corps brochure on the back table by the coffee pot – thanks to Maggie Muggins for supplying the Postum. If someone would like to get blessed, I am believing for some gas money so I can get home.
I remember one day, in FellowLaborers, looking in the mirror and suddenly wondering "How did I become this person I'm looking at in the mirror?" It wasn't one of those moments where you somberly ponder the situation. It was jolting and instantaneous, like an unexpected slap in the face. It was depressing and horrifying at the same time. I chalked it up to unrenewed mind and silently chanted some since forgotten retemory verse.
Really. When a an actual thought from the true inner self appeared that contradicted the Waybrain, reaction is to resist it via "renewed mind" (it's the "old man") and thus perpetuate being a Way bot. It was a mental prison that kept us there more than a physical one. I could have walked away at any time but didn't know it. When I finally did, I was surprised how little resistance from TWI I actually encountered.
Really. When a an actual thought from the true inner self appeared that contradicted the Waybrain, reaction is to resist it via "renewed mind" (it's the "old man") and thus perpetuate being a Way bot. It was a mental prison that kept us there more than a physical one. I could have walked away at any time but didn't know it. When I finally did, I was surprised how little resistance from TWI I actually encountered.
That seems like a poignant and concise description of the brainwashing effect that Wierwille's subculture system established.
That seems like a poignant and concise description of the brainwashing effect that Wierwille's subculture system established.
I agree !
“Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashing is said to reduce its subjects' ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values and beliefs.”
And thinking about the loooooooooong sessions of PFAL that wore people down and induced sleepiness…and how sleep deprivation was a way of life in the corps program, I’d say that was a huge boost to their brainwashing techniques
“Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down
Sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep hurts these cognitive processes in many ways. First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently.”
Now if you combine the the loooooooooong sessions of PFAL with a controlled environment that tries to approximate the “domain” of the in-residence part of the way corps program you might come up with something like PFAL ’77.
that's all I can say for now...feeling a bit tired...maybe I'll just take a short nap...
One thing about PFAL 77: the food was great at Ball State University. Every afternoon was yours to nap, play, fellowship, etc. In that regard, it was NOTHING like in-residence Corps training. Honestly, I quite enjoyed it.
One thing about PFAL 77: the food was great at Ball State University. Every afternoon was yours to nap, play, fellowship, etc. In that regard, it was NOTHING like in-residence Corps training. Honestly, I quite enjoyed it.
I agree with you DogLover, I think the food, time to nap, play and fellowship were great ; that's why I used the phrase "a controlled environment that tries to approximate the “domain” of the in-residence part of the way corps program" ....approximate: close to the actual, but not completely accurate or exact.
If PFAL ’77 was conducted exactly like the in-residence way corps program – you might have seen a lot of unsuspecting attendees suddenly run for the hills.
== == == ==
== == == ==
Attention - to all reading this thread:
And just to elaborate on the reason I started this thread – I just thought I ‘d give everyone a chance to read or post any of their memories from TWI – good, bad or indifferent. Sometimes something remembered from the past can evoke a mix of good and bad feelings and perhaps the memory might even have some uninteresting, benign or bland aspects to it depending on how you slice it and dice it.
As an example, I really enjoyed Skyrider's post about him figuring out the shortcut to stringing chairs by observing the indentations in the carpet. To me that was a good way (less tedious – more efficient) of dealing with a bad situation (having to string chairs, indentured servitude). If someone was never in the corps or never had to do that or couldn’t care less about being tasked with such an antiquated technique I imagine they would probably feel indifferent about Skyrider’s post.
These recent posts by myself and DogLover are another example. My first post about PFAL ’77 focused on the bad aspects of it – the loooooooooong sessions and the element of some control afforded to TWI by taking over a campus for a course not open to non-grads of PFAL (referring to the original class…but I don’t know, maybe they did allow some non-grads to take PFAL ’77 – if anyone knows please chime in). DogLover focused on the good aspects of PFAL ’77 - the food, time to nap, play and fellowship – which I thought were good too. I suppose if someone didn’t mind the loooooooooong sessions, the halfway house atmosphere to help grads see the greatness of living in an alternate reality... and... could go either way on the food and self-structure time, I imagine they’d feel indifferent about PFAL ’77.
Here's a little memory and true story that few have ever heard.......
It was another Sunday Service Teaching in 1982/83 (May or June) where Don Wierwille was the teacher and Walter Cummins was the emcee. This predated the Auditorium -- so the Sunday services, at this time, were held in the OSC dining room (tables removed -- and transitioned into row seating). About 40 minutes into the service, the fire alarm went off!
Well, everyone was evacuated out the south doors while the Safety guys ran to the OSC grid to see what quadrant of the building the fire was located. I was the Warehousing Department Coordinator at the time. Since half of the building was warehousing.....I was highly interested in finding the source of this fire. The blinking light registered it in the west end quadrant of the warehouse.....so we made a mad dash that way. In a matter of two minutes or less, we spotted a small fire ablaze on a pallet in the upper shelf.
Two guys climbed up the racks and put the small fire out. Several of the Safety guys were already on their radios. Apparently, one Safety guy at the east end of the warehouse had seen two boys running out the east overhead door. His suspicions were correct. The cover-up was immediate. Some of us found it quite amusing and ironic in light of the two men at the teaching podium that night.
The two young boys who started the fire......Ralphie Wierwille and Bobby Cummins.
Skyrider, Feb 26, 2012. "Stringing Chairs in the BRC."
I've got a confession to make....
On my interim year at hq.....I was assigned to oversee the responsibility of stringing chairs in the BRC. Thus, it was my household duty after supper to oversee each corps group with stringing chairs and setting up top-floor BRC before the next meeting. So, for a couple of weeks.... the supply box would come out and the chairs would be strung in perfect rows.
Well......it didn't take long before I saw this nifty short-cut.
Since these chairs had been placed in, basically, the same position for years......we would shut off the overhead lights and use the 'lover lights' only because then, the carpet showed the indentations more clearly. Voila! No more string was needed.
Seriously.....we had straight rows and BRC set-up accomplished in about 12 minutes. The inrez corps loved me for it.....as we 'outsmarted' the taskmasters and went about our merry way. It was our own little secret.
A secret that, until today.........I don't think I've ever confessed.
For those who don't know what Skyrider is talking about, an explanation....
I'll explain what skyrider was talking about.
If you keep chairs in one area, you will get grooves in carpeting where the legs move
(back and forth, in the same areas.)
But if you keep chairs each in EXACTLY one spot, the carpet will get a tiny groove in the shape
of each leg, in the spot where each leg normally rests. So, a 4-legged chair will leave
4 little indentations in the spots where the chair legs rest.
What skyrider did was turn off all the direct lights and use angled, indirect light to highlight
the indentations. (A slower method might have been to use a flashlight, but skyrider's method
was both available and fast.) Then what the crew did was take each chair, line up the 4 legs
with the 4 indentations, then put the chair down. (It's as if the floor was marked with 4
little x's where the feet of the chair were supposed to be.) That went a LOT faster than the
entire "and we studied the rows of chairs, then adjusted them, then we took out the string..."
production would have taken. By the time someone else would have finished a few rows, they
were done with ALL the chairs, then probably changed the light levels so the indentations
would become invisible again. :)
They were supposed to use a line of string to line up all the chairs in a row together, but Skyrider found a smarter, faster way to line up the chairs.
Here's a little memory and true story that few have ever heard.......
It was another Sunday Service Teaching in 1982/83 (May or June) where Don Wierwille was the teacher and Walter Cummins was the emcee. This predated the Auditorium -- so the Sunday services, at this time, were held in the OSC dining room (tables removed -- and transitioned into row seating). About 40 minutes into the service, the fire alarm went off!
Well, everyone was evacuated out the south doors while the Safety guys ran to the OSC grid to see what quadrant of the building the fire was located. I was the Warehousing Department Coordinator at the time. Since half of the building was warehousing.....I was highly interested in finding the source of this fire. The blinking light registered it in the west end quadrant of the warehouse.....so we made a mad dash that way. In a matter of two minutes or less, we spotted a small fire ablaze on a pallet in the upper shelf.
Two guys climbed up the racks and put the small fire out. Several of the Safety guys were already on their radios. Apparently, one Safety guy at the east end of the warehouse had seen two boys running out the east overhead door. His suspicions were correct. The cover-up was immediate. Some of us found it quite amusing and ironic in light of the two men at the teaching podium that night.
The two young boys who started the fire......Ralphie Wierwille and Bobby Cummins.
Here's a little memory and true story that few have ever heard.......
It was another Sunday Service Teaching in 1982/83 (May or June) where Don Wierwille was the teacher and Walter Cummins was the emcee. This predated the Auditorium -- so the Sunday services, at this time, were held in the OSC dining room (tables removed -- and transitioned into row seating). About 40 minutes into the service, the fire alarm went off!
Well, everyone was evacuated out the south doors while the Safety guys ran to the OSC grid to see what quadrant of the building the fire was located. I was the Warehousing Department Coordinator at the time. Since half of the building was warehousing.....I was highly interested in finding the source of this fire. The blinking light registered it in the west end quadrant of the warehouse.....so we made a mad dash that way. In a matter of two minutes or less, we spotted a small fire ablaze on a pallet in the upper shelf.
Two guys climbed up the racks and put the small fire out. Several of the Safety guys were already on their radios. Apparently, one Safety guy at the east end of the warehouse had seen two boys running out the east overhead door. His suspicions were correct. The cover-up was immediate. Some of us found it quite amusing and ironic in light of the two men at the teaching podium that night.
The two young boys who started the fire......Ralphie Wierwille and Bobby Cummins.
I've noticed that there's always been a lot of second generation wayfers that get into trouble. I really wonder what is at the root of that.
My best guess is that their parents were always too caught up in their TWI "responsibilities" to spend the proper amount of time raising them.
Kids get into mischief. If they didn't make a habit of setting fires...
Yeah I doubt it too, I was just being goofy.
When I clicked on the link you gave – the first version of Proverbs 22:6 that I saw was NIV which read:
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
It was the convergence of the boys’ fire incident , the NIV version of Proverbs 22:6 , and a good straight man set up that my brain convulsed in a comedic eruption…interpreting the verse rather broadly to suggest that even criminal training starts early, and sticks with you for a lifetime.
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waysider
I like to think I wouldn't have gotten involved, either. Truth is, though, it was 50 years ago. I'm not the same person now that I was then. Don't beat yourself up over decisions you made so long ago.
outandabout
After I left TWI, I realized my pre-TWI life was just as valid as during TWI. As posted above, we were taught to disavow our previous life as "old man" etc. i came to see my life a single thread,
waysider
I remember one day, in FellowLaborers, looking in the mirror and suddenly wondering "How did I become this person I'm looking at in the mirror?" It wasn't one of those moments where you somberly ponde
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T-Bone
Waysider, that's damn funny, man !
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skyrider
Yeah, and city kids learned a lot of things that some of us country kids didn't have a clue on.
I just found that comment "killing flies with bare hands" a funny memory of long ago.
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skyrider
Head of Security intervenes: "Not so fast. Get back to us when you can shoot the wings off the flies."
Movie: WANTED ( 2:05 mark)
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Rocky
I also remember encountering a person at the KC airport while waiting (with a bunch of others) for our ride to Emporia for the first day in-res for the 9th corpse. He tried to tell us that Wierwille was a false prophet... of course, none of us was, on that day, ready to listen to that.
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Rocky
And I remember Wierwille haranging me for making a mistake of some kind regarding hook up of A/V telecom equipment later that year. And another time when Loy told us about the Jim Jones situation in Guyana.
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waysider
I remember one day, in FellowLaborers, looking in the mirror and suddenly wondering "How did I become this person I'm looking at in the mirror?" It wasn't one of those moments where you somberly ponder the situation. It was jolting and instantaneous, like an unexpected slap in the face. It was depressing and horrifying at the same time. I chalked it up to unrenewed mind and silently chanted some since forgotten retemory verse.
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T-Bone
Rocky, Waysider and Skyrider thanks for those introductory remarks about some of the great programs that our ministry has to offer… and now, on to our main presentation – The Way Corps: A Lifetime of Indentured Servitude.
Ladies and gentleman, I know people in the corps who haven’t moved the Word. Why? I’ll tell you why. Simply because they …blah blah blah…(can’t remember that part). I’m in the corps and I’m going to move the Word. Why? I’ll tell you why – because I’m blah blah blah – (can’t remember that part either
)...getting old ain't for sissies, I'll tell you that.
There I was, witnessing in a bowling alley. I was talking to a man, and had asked him if he would like to increase the power of God in his life. Suddenly, there was a power outage – the place went pitch black – all the machinery for the lanes came to a muted halt - you could hear a pin drop
. The power outage only lasted about 10 seconds and then the lights and all the systems came back on. I used that event to segue into my sales pitch “Unlike man’s power which is often unreliable God’s power is always there when you need it”...So, the action I would like you to take is learn how to think fast enough to speak on the fly…true story but the guy wasn’t interested.
Thank you all for coming tonight. If anyone is interested I will leave a Way Corps brochure on the back table by the coffee pot – thanks to Maggie Muggins for supplying the Postum. If someone would like to get blessed, I am believing for some gas money so I can get home.
Edited by T-Bonerevision - it's a way of life
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waysider
I see what you did there.That sort of thing is right up your alley.
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T-Bone
Hey, stay in your own lane, Waysider...just kidding - always love your input - good one.
Edited by T-Boneonce again I've revised this stuff
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T-Bone
assorted pages from ROA '86 brochure
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outandabout
Really. When a an actual thought from the true inner self appeared that contradicted the Waybrain, reaction is to resist it via "renewed mind" (it's the "old man") and thus perpetuate being a Way bot. It was a mental prison that kept us there more than a physical one. I could have walked away at any time but didn't know it. When I finally did, I was surprised how little resistance from TWI I actually encountered.
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Rocky
That seems like a poignant and concise description of the brainwashing effect that Wierwille's subculture system established.
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T-Bone
I agree !
“Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashing is said to reduce its subjects' ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values and beliefs.”
from Wikipedia, brainwashing
And thinking about the loooooooooong sessions of PFAL that wore people down and induced sleepiness…and how sleep deprivation was a way of life in the corps program, I’d say that was a huge boost to their brainwashing techniques
“Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down
Sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep hurts these cognitive processes in many ways. First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently.”
from WebMD
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T-Bone
Now if you combine the the loooooooooong sessions of PFAL with a controlled environment that tries to approximate the “domain” of the in-residence part of the way corps program you might come up with something like PFAL ’77.
that's all I can say for now...feeling a bit tired...maybe I'll just take a short nap...
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DogLover
One thing about PFAL 77: the food was great at Ball State University. Every afternoon was yours to nap, play, fellowship, etc. In that regard, it was NOTHING like in-residence Corps training. Honestly, I quite enjoyed it.
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T-Bone
I agree with you DogLover, I think the food, time to nap, play and fellowship were great ; that's why I used the phrase "a controlled environment that tries to approximate the “domain” of the in-residence part of the way corps program" ....approximate: close to the actual, but not completely accurate or exact.
If PFAL ’77 was conducted exactly like the in-residence way corps program – you might have seen a lot of unsuspecting attendees suddenly run for the hills.
== == == ==
== == == ==
Attention - to all reading this thread:
And just to elaborate on the reason I started this thread – I just thought I ‘d give everyone a chance to read or post any of their memories from TWI – good, bad or indifferent. Sometimes something remembered from the past can evoke a mix of good and bad feelings and perhaps the memory might even have some uninteresting, benign or bland aspects to it depending on how you slice it and dice it.
As an example, I really enjoyed Skyrider's post about him figuring out the shortcut to stringing chairs by observing the indentations in the carpet. To me that was a good way (less tedious – more efficient) of dealing with a bad situation (having to string chairs, indentured servitude). If someone was never in the corps or never had to do that or couldn’t care less about being tasked with such an antiquated technique I imagine they would probably feel indifferent about Skyrider’s post.
These recent posts by myself and DogLover are another example. My first post about PFAL ’77 focused on the bad aspects of it – the loooooooooong sessions and the element of some control afforded to TWI by taking over a campus for a course not open to non-grads of PFAL (referring to the original class…but I don’t know, maybe they did allow some non-grads to take PFAL ’77 – if anyone knows please chime in). DogLover focused on the good aspects of PFAL ’77 - the food, time to nap, play and fellowship – which I thought were good too. I suppose if someone didn’t mind the loooooooooong sessions, the halfway house atmosphere to help grads see the greatness of living in an alternate reality... and... could go either way on the food and self-structure time, I imagine they’d feel indifferent about PFAL ’77.
Edited by T-Bonerevision on-the-go
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T-Bone
old TWI postcard
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skyrider
Here's a little memory and true story that few have ever heard.......
It was another Sunday Service Teaching in 1982/83 (May or June) where Don Wierwille was the teacher and Walter Cummins was the emcee. This predated the Auditorium -- so the Sunday services, at this time, were held in the OSC dining room (tables removed -- and transitioned into row seating). About 40 minutes into the service, the fire alarm went off!
Well, everyone was evacuated out the south doors while the Safety guys ran to the OSC grid to see what quadrant of the building the fire was located. I was the Warehousing Department Coordinator at the time. Since half of the building was warehousing.....I was highly interested in finding the source of this fire. The blinking light registered it in the west end quadrant of the warehouse.....so we made a mad dash that way. In a matter of two minutes or less, we spotted a small fire ablaze on a pallet in the upper shelf.
Two guys climbed up the racks and put the small fire out. Several of the Safety guys were already on their radios. Apparently, one Safety guy at the east end of the warehouse had seen two boys running out the east overhead door. His suspicions were correct. The cover-up was immediate. Some of us found it quite amusing and ironic in light of the two men at the teaching podium that night.
The two young boys who started the fire......Ralphie Wierwille and Bobby Cummins.
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WordWolf
https://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/topic/22916-stringing-chairs-in-the-brc/?tab=comments#comment-539121
Skyrider, Feb 26, 2012. "Stringing Chairs in the BRC."
I've got a confession to make....
On my interim year at hq.....I was assigned to oversee the responsibility of stringing chairs in the BRC. Thus, it was my household duty after supper to oversee each corps group with stringing chairs and setting up top-floor BRC before the next meeting. So, for a couple of weeks.... the supply box would come out and the chairs would be strung in perfect rows.
Well......it didn't take long before I saw this nifty short-cut.
Since these chairs had been placed in, basically, the same position for years......we would shut off the overhead lights and use the 'lover lights' only because then, the carpet showed the indentations more clearly. Voila! No more string was needed.
Seriously.....we had straight rows and BRC set-up accomplished in about 12 minutes. The inrez corps loved me for it.....as we 'outsmarted' the taskmasters and went about our merry way. It was our own little secret.
A secret that, until today.........I don't think I've ever confessed.
==================================================
For those who don't know what Skyrider is talking about, an explanation....
I'll explain what skyrider was talking about.
If you keep chairs in one area, you will get grooves in carpeting where the legs move
(back and forth, in the same areas.)
But if you keep chairs each in EXACTLY one spot, the carpet will get a tiny groove in the shape
of each leg, in the spot where each leg normally rests. So, a 4-legged chair will leave
4 little indentations in the spots where the chair legs rest.
What skyrider did was turn off all the direct lights and use angled, indirect light to highlight
the indentations. (A slower method might have been to use a flashlight, but skyrider's method
was both available and fast.) Then what the crew did was take each chair, line up the 4 legs
with the 4 indentations, then put the chair down. (It's as if the floor was marked with 4
little x's where the feet of the chair were supposed to be.) That went a LOT faster than the
entire "and we studied the rows of chairs, then adjusted them, then we took out the string..."
production would have taken. By the time someone else would have finished a few rows, they
were done with ALL the chairs, then probably changed the light levels so the indentations
would become invisible again. :)
They were supposed to use a line of string to line up all the chairs in a row together, but Skyrider found a smarter, faster way to line up the chairs.
.
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Rocky
I wonder how those two are doing now. https://biblehub.com/proverbs/22-6.htm
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T-Bone
they're doing time for arson?
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Rocky
I doubt it.
Kids get into mischief. If they didn't make a habit of setting fires...
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rubina
I've noticed that there's always been a lot of second generation wayfers that get into trouble. I really wonder what is at the root of that.
My best guess is that their parents were always too caught up in their TWI "responsibilities" to spend the proper amount of time raising them.
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T-Bone
Yeah I doubt it too, I was just being goofy.
When I clicked on the link you gave – the first version of Proverbs 22:6 that I saw was NIV which read:
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
It was the convergence of the boys’ fire incident , the NIV version of Proverbs 22:6 , and a good straight man set up that my brain convulsed in a comedic eruption…interpreting the verse rather broadly to suggest that even criminal training starts early, and sticks with you for a lifetime.
Sorry – that was probably in bad taste.
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