I don't know whether to hope you're right, Skyrider, and that some decent folk get purged; or to hope that you're wrong and that decent folk get to stay, and stay decent (if unenlightened) folk and sort-of respected for who they are.
Maybe somebody local could paint up a GSC billboard and position it nicely on an approach road to Camp Gunnison .
I don't know whether to hope you're right, Skyrider, and that some decent folk get purged; or to hope that you're wrong and that decent folk get to stay, and stay decent (if unenlightened) folk and sort-of respected for who they are.
Maybe somebody local could paint up a GSC billboard and position it nicely on an approach road to Camp Gunnison .
Well, hopefully........some decent folk with use those critical thinking skills and realize that they are being played (again). I mean, c'mon......how many times do you have to spend your hard-earned money to hear the same class material?
Whether it takes you two days of drive time or extra money flying into Denver and then getting shuttled over to Gunnison.......it STILL is nearly two weeks away from work and money out of your pocket for a re-run class. Plus, it's going to be 1) intense and 2) condensed.......meaning, the ac grad students are AGAIN going to have their butts in seats for nine long days. Gawd.....it sounds nauseating just thinking about it.
Sounds like.......the subtle power of spiritual abuse, doesn't it?
Twi leadership holds power over them. The minute they step on the grounds of Camp Gunnison.....they are trapped in nine days of structure.
Mandatory meals (or highly recommended) ......and sit thru 20 minutes of announcements
Mandatory sessions ......morning, afternoon and evening.
15-20 minute bathroom breaks ...... okay kids, everyone go pee.
Release groups ....... breakout groups to regurgitate and re-enforce indoctrination.
How about a question and answer period? Nope.
How about testimonials of who operated revelation and/or power manifestations?
I really miss those days of sitting on my butt for 12-15 hours a day while overlords slip in and out of the backroom and bellow their fury from stage. Little did I realize back then, that even wierwille was a pathological plagiarist of the high order of hypocrisy.
I don't know whether to hope you're right, Skyrider, and that some decent folk get purged; or to hope that you're wrong and that decent folk get to stay, and stay decent (if unenlightened) folk and sort-of respected for who they are.
I hope for those who want to be enlightened to be able to endure the purge without substantive emotional damage.
Well, hopefully........some decent folk will use those critical thinking skills and realize that they are being played (again). I mean, c'mon......how many times do you have to spend your hard-earned money to hear the same class material?
Whether it takes you two days of drive time or extra money flying into Denver and then getting shuttled over to Gunnison.......it STILL is nearly two weeks away from work and money out of your pocket for a re-run class. Plus, it's going to be 1) intense and 2) condensed.......meaning, the ac grad students are AGAIN going to have their butts in seats for nine long days. Gawd.....it sounds nauseating just thinking about it.
Through the years, anybody who knows about the long trek to Gunnison, Colorado.......knows it's a grueling task.
Imagine further.......that you spend two days traveling by car to get there.....and KNOWING that you will be sitting for nine days of class and two days of travel to get home. Oh sure.....there will be some afternoon breakout twig sessions where you sit on the grass with 20 others and maybe, if weather permits, a night owl campfire where you, again sit on your butt.
How about some white-water rafting in the nearby Gunnison River? Nope.
How about enjoying a 3-hour hike on a sunny afternoon with others? Nope.
How about a whole day "without class" to do as you choose? Ha ha. Nope.
You see, twi is going to do what they've ALWAYS DONE.......subjugate you.
For them, offering this advanced class for grads-only puts all the strategic advantages in their corner. The property is an investment that sits "empty" for much of the time. It gives twi the ability to showcase Camp Gunnison and present to you where some of the abundant sharing goes (cough, cough). All the scenic beauty surrounding you.......and you paid good-money (again) to sit nine days on your butt.
At least, they didn't schedule this class in the dead of winter at this isolated campground......where you might get a glimpse of The Shining [link].
I was sent to Gunnison for the summer camps. It's a lovely place.
Camps are run two back-to-back, then a week off, then more camps. Between the two back-to-back, there's a really swift clean (people must leave by about 10 or 11am, and new arrivals come after, what, 4pm?) and then the middle week is a more thorough clean and other work that may be required at the camp is also carried out. It's quite intense. It was specially intense for me, because I was finishing my - wojja call it, paper, dissertation, project - during the early part of the time. The two camp weeks are full-on, with in rez Corps working from very early in the morning to quite late at night, with serving food (breakfast) at one end, and taking care of younger children at the other end.
So you'd think that after the thorough cleaning, there'd be a little downtime, wouldn't you? Then you'd think wrongly.
I recall one day off, or maybe afternoon off, when some of us (one must have had a car) went into the mountains somewhere or other and took a hike on a ridge. Lush and lovely scenery; I so wanted to be out in it!! Come to think of it - that might have been in the short period before the family camps started.
Another time, but working, I had to drive a vehicle to pick up or take some campers to a glorious river someplace where (low-level whitewater) rafting or some boating was taking place. Gorgeous place, sparkling river, set in a delightful wooded area. I must have been there for all of five minutes before I had to return to a job that could have been done much better with an automatic watering system. How I wanted to be in the river (like the Corps Coordinator) helping people have a fun time!
I relished getting up in the mornings (especially in my first couple of days, when most in-rez Corps hadn't yet arrived) - standing on the steps of the log cabin I lived in, looking out at the mountains, breathing in the fresh air; I looked forward to exploring just a small part of those mountains. I'm continuing to look forward to that... never going to happen.
Being at Gunnison is a bit like being in a beautiful cage. You can look out, but you can't get out. You can see what's available out there, but you can't access it. Look, but don't touch.
Maybe the forthcoming "intense" course in May (run, people, run. Far and fast! Get away!!) will build in a little downtime - river rafting might not be possible, but a hike in the hills could easily be made available.
Maybe the forthcoming "intense" course in May (run, people, run. Far and fast! Get away!!) will build in a little downtime - river rafting might not be possible, but a hike in the hills could easily be made available.
Maybe someone could snag a big RV......and load up his whole branch of students for a drive to a western saloon in downtown Gunnison. After a dozen pitchers of beer and a fun time boot-scooting into the night, slip back onto twi's property without getting caught. Hopefully, Rosalie Ratched is not waiting to pounce.
Maybe someone could snag a big RV......and load up his whole branch of students for a
drive to a western saloon in downtown Gunnison. After a dozen pitchers of beer and a fun time boot-scooting into the night, slip back onto twi's property without getting caught.
Hopefully, Rosalie Ratched is not waiting to pounce.
If Rosie does pounce – I can “imagineer” a drunken brawl erupting and someone with enough beer-bravado applies a chokehold on her – reminiscent of the scene when Nurse Ratched gets strangled by Jack N ....oh happy day!
psssst ! it’s a 3 minute clip – the buildup to the strangle scene begins at the 2 minute mark…btw, after reviewing this YouTube clip a few times before posting it – I realized there's a lot of things about that movie that could be an allusion to a cult experience... ....anyway, great movie, Skyrider !
[snip]..................after reviewing this YouTube clip a few times before posting it – I realized there's a lot of things about that movie that could be an allusion to a cult experience... ....anyway, great movie, Skyrider !
Not my favourite movie (I don't like Jack Nicholson), but the next clip analyses Nurse Ratched and how she keeps control of her patients. Now that indeed appears to be an allusion to a cultic experience. (Some here might feel there are allusions to Nurse Rosalie.)
But......the advanced class grads-only "camp" in May is the Loyalty Test and Purge that cometh.
Make no mistake about its importance. This is a "circle the wagons" maneuver....a planned, strategic, tactical, and controlled move. This is the SAME PLOY implemented in 1992 after "the fog years." Let's number the ways why twi would do this....
Twi does NOT have clergy "camps"........or corps "camps." Why? Already fleeced of their labor, get-togethers have little upside.
The whole concept of a "clergy household" is grade-A bunk. In my 14 years as clergy......we only had a few meetings, nothing more.
Corps grads will be pressured to attend this advanced class (all-grads class). Committed corps show up.
The committed get to attend first.....adv class grads and corps. Plus, "sit at the feet of the teachers"...who would miss THAT?
Advanced Class students, and therefore grads......are a prime target for twi. Faithful tithing and future corps applicants.
For the same reason, twi has AdvancedClassSpecials......exploitation at its maximum. Money. Power. Influence. Control.
Peer pressure goes both ways.....up and down the cult paradigm. You will be pressured to attend. Count on it.
Just like in Scientology......there is a subliminal control factor in promoting people to scale levels of "achievement." #8 -- Going Clear.
The advanced class completes the series. It is marketed as attainment of "spiritual maturity".....until you find out later it isn't.
The Way International is borrowing the same play from their 1992 playbook: Run an advanced class for grads-only at a twi-property location. Home Field Advantage. They control all the factors. Notice......it is an intense, condensed version of the advanced class. Nine days......long days......structured to the hilt. Very little time for hanging out in the scenic beauty of Colorado. No time to hike, explore or have a couple of afternoons hanging with "friends." Could it be that this intensely, structured time keeps questions and dissent to a minimum? Absolutely!!
Do you have to attend to keep your advanced class grad status?
If so........then this will purge from the ranks those who do NOT attend.
WARNING: Cults operate via a series of purges ...........and this is another one coming. For those who are happy residing in an institutionalized environment, then this thread is not for you. But to those who do not like being played......or jumping thru hoops to stand before your leadership year after year......stop and give this some thought. Do you a.c. grads really NEED or WANT to sit thru another advanced class again?
SSDD
.
Thinking of Skyrider’s point, marketing the Advanced Class as the way to attain “spiritual maturity” brought back memories leading up to and then taking my first Advanced Class in 1978. I was held in rapt attention when a couple just came back from taking the Advanced Class and shared some of the things they learned – about the god of this world who works through the Illuminati, wrong seed, those controlled or influenced by devil spirits…but that it’s Christ’s eyes behind my eyes, his ears behind my ears…and that we believers are the only ones keeping this country from going down the tubes. Sounded like the ultimate action/thriller movie – so count me in! That was then…this is now (some 34 years after leaving TWI) – I now consider it the ultimate action/thriller fantasy con game.
Spoiler alert – this is a warning that an important detail of how cults work is about to be revealed…Cults proudly proclaim their uniqueness and superiority to other paths. They offer not just another path to knowledge and fulfilment – they insist that they are the one and only path to knowledge and fulfilment. This is the lure that entices you into the trap. After the love-bombing…long after the honeymoon is over…it’s all that soft-sell and periodic mini-social conditioning at the Twig and Branch level that preps you for the ultimate cultdom experience – seasoned con artists plying their trade on cult property. They are in full control…cue the beginning of The Outer Limits …yikes !!!
Here’s a few memories from Advanced Class ’78 that I shared on another thread:
On 5/10/2020 at 3:08 PM, T-Bone said:
(SNIP)
It’s odd how certain things will stick in my memory – like stuff from Advanced Class ’78. There’s only a few things that stick out in my mind from that class: craig’s anti-Semitic rantings about the Thirteenth Tribe and questioning leadership (more on that in a second), a video of David Noebel talking about stuff out of his book The Marxist Minstrels - followed by wierwille and craig elaborating on a lot of big name musicians (like the Beatles) were either wrong seed or heavily influenced by devil spirits. And the most disturbing memory of all from that class is of my wife being put through an emotional and intellectual wringer over the "technicalities" of how to become born again of the wrong seed… ...btw, since I left TWI my opinion of that whole teaching on being born again of the wrong seed is that it's totally bogus – and not something I care to discuss here – the doctrinal forum is the place for that – I am just bringing it up as it relates to one of those turning-off-the-switch-moments-in-critical-thinking .
My wife was in a Twig at Advanced Class ’78 (btw, married couples were separated in sleeping quarters and in Twig placement). Tonto (my wife) got into an argument with the Twig leader who emphatically kept making the assertion that one could only become born again of the wrong seed by addressing Satan directly at an altar and saying something along the lines of Satan you are my Lord. Well, this brouhaha went all the way up the mini-Way-Tree-of-Advanced-Class-’78 - and no surprise, was more fuel to add to the fire (as Skyrider mentioned the 8th corps guys going rogue on research paper) so, another confrontational-rant by craig – that we should not question leadership...so to sum up the message to my wife - coming straight from the top was "leadership is always right, you're wrong, so shut up".
(SNIP)
This is a picture I took at Advanced Class '78 - I titled it Fat Man and Little Boy
(Fat Man and Little Boy were the code names for the atomic bombs that caused widespread destruction in Japan during World War II)
Recently, The Way International made a two-fold grand announcement:
This new announcement waives the debt-free requirement for students desiring to enroll in the upcoming Advanced Classes in 2021.
Next year, there will be two advanced classes run. The first one is for advanced class grads at Camp Gunnison (May 1-9, 2021) and the second advanced class is for new students at hq (June 13-26, 2021).
Lots of attention has being drawn to the waiving of their strict debt-free requirement, a policy that was implemented in 1994.......
But......the advanced class grads-only "camp" in May is the Loyalty Test and Purge that cometh.
Make no mistake about its importance. This is a "circle the wagons" maneuver....a planned, strategic, tactical, and controlled move. This is the SAME PLOY implemented in 1992 after "the fog years." Let's number the ways why twi would do this....
Twi does NOT have clergy "camps"........or corps "camps." Why? Already fleeced of their labor, get-togethers have little upside.
The whole concept of a "clergy household" is grade-A bunk. In my 14 years as clergy......we only had a few meetings, nothing more.
Corps grads will be pressured to attend this advanced class (all-grads class). Committed corps show up.
The committed get to attend first.....adv class grads and corps. Plus, "sit at the feet of the teachers"...who would miss THAT?
Advanced Class students, and therefore grads......are a prime target for twi. Faithful tithing and future corps applicants.
For the same reason, twi has AdvancedClassSpecials......exploitation at its maximum. Money. Power. Influence. Control.
Peer pressure goes both ways.....up and down the cult paradigm. You will be pressured to attend. Count on it.
Just like in Scientology......there is a subliminal control factor in promoting people to scale levels of "achievement." #8 -- Going Clear.
The advanced class completes the series. It is marketed as attainment of "spiritual maturity".....until you find out later it isn't.
The Way International is borrowing the same play from their 1992 playbook: Run an advanced class for grads-only at a twi-property location. Home Field Advantage. They control all the factors. Notice......it is an intense, condensed version of the advanced class. Nine days......long days......structured to the hilt. Very little time for hanging out in the scenic beauty of Colorado. No time to hike, explore or have a couple of afternoons hanging with "friends." Could it be that this intensely, structured time keeps questions and dissent to a minimum? Absolutely!!
Do you have to attend to keep your advanced class grad status?
If so........then this will purge from the ranks those who do NOT attend.
WARNING: Cults operate via a series of purges ...........and this is another one coming. For those who are happy residing in an institutionalized environment, then this thread is not for you. But to those who do not like being played......or jumping thru hoops to stand before your leadership year after year......stop and give this some thought. Do you a.c. grads really NEED or WANT to sit thru another advanced class again?
SSDD
.
Sky, do you know how much money these classes cost? I paid 500.00 dollars back in 1985 for the AC I took in Rome City. After, the class ended, I wanted my money back. Too little Word; too much BS.
Is this another "new" advanced class? What have they been running as the advanced class lately? I got out in 2001 and if I remember correctly they were having various people parrot Martindale's WayA&P class since they couldn't run the Martindale version.
It doesn’t matter what it’s labeled – foundational, intermediate, advanced, “new and improved” advanced class – it’s still snake oil: a substance with no real medicinal value sold as a remedy for all diseases; a product, policy, etc. of little real worth or value that is promoted as the solution to a problem.
I have one question regarding all these classes. What qualifies them – any of them (past or present – wierwille, Craig or any other snake oil salesperson) to teach this stuff? What was/is their training and experience? And since we’re talking turkey – we can eliminate all the subsequent cult-leader-regurgitating-knockoffs and look at the original jive turkey – wierwille. So what training and experience qualified wierwille to teach about the holy spirit? He barged in on BG Leonard’s class and afterwards stole BG's class - even right down to the silly names of Maggie Muggins, Johnny Jump Up and Snowball Pete – and along with a lot of other plagiarized material put his own classes together. He did not do the research himself nor put forth any effort to develop theory and practice. The only way he made any of this stuff his own – was by slapping his name on plagiarized material.
He was a snake oil salesman – all talk but nothing of real substance. Speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy is just talk too – in that they can be faked – so put that in your Lo-Shanta and smoke it.
Whoa – how about those revelation manifestations - word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits. Sorry – don’t think I can ever trust the supposed spiritual insight of a guy who was up to his earballs in personal demons of lying, stealing, alcohol, sexual predation and who knows what else…all talk and no walk.
Last but not least – the power manifestations – faith, miracles and gifts of healing. Okay, show of hands – how many still believe wierwille’s supposed miracle of him telling the guy who didn’t believe in Jesus to raise his withered arm? Go ahead, now raise your hand. I still remember the frustration I had trying to console the disappointment of a woman in our Twig. She just came back from an advance at Camp Gunnison – where she asked wierwille to heal one of her toes that was messed up from birth - always uncomfortable and occasionally very painful. Of course he couldn’t do anything – but lets her limp off feeling guilty about her lack of believing…
Soooooooo – back to present day…What qualifies any of these snake oil salespersons to teach this stuff?
Regurgitation is NOT a manifestation of the spirit.
It doesn’t matter what it’s labeled – foundational, intermediate, advanced, “new and improved” advanced class – it’s still snake oil: a substance with no real medicinal value sold as a remedy for all diseases; a product, policy, etc. of little real worth or value that is promoted as the solution to a problem.
The closest thing to medicinal value might be placebos. Nevertheless, it's still not substantial in and of itself.
The Way always uses tiers of new classes marketed as the present truth as opposed to the past truth as purging tools.
Reporting will be done on
who signed up from fellowship
who did not and reason why
monitoring people at class location
All of this is similar to Scientology where the new path requirements are consistently introduced to keep money flowing in and control over the laeity. There is no auditing but definitely people telling misdeeds of others to leadership of non conforming thoughts or actions in private goes on and fuels further purging.
In fact the tattle and purge is inherent within the Ways culture. You can document it through multiple sets of classes and multiple generations of leaders.
The Way always uses tiers of new classes marketed as the present truth as opposed to the past truth as purging tools.
Reporting will be done on
who signed up from fellowship
who did not and reason why
monitoring people at class location
All of this is similar to Scientology where the new path requirements are consistently introduced to keep money flowing in and control over the laeity. There is no auditing but definitely people telling misdeeds of others to leadership of non conforming thoughts or actions in private goes on and fuels further purging.
In fact the tattle and purge is inherent within the Ways culture. You can document it through multiple sets of classes and multiple generations of leaders.
Are you a NEW advanced class grad?
or an OLLLLDDD advanced class grad?
Interrogating minds want to know...
I mean it’s not like they have a research department working on any new material. That was completely shut down. So it’s just reorganize and reteach with fresh faces.
I mean it’s not like they have a research department working on any new material. That was completely shut down. So it’s just reorganize and reteach with fresh faces.
Recently, The Way International made a two-fold grand announcement:
This new announcement waives the debt-free requirement for students desiring to enroll in the upcoming Advanced Classes in 2021.
Next year, there will be two advanced classes run. The first one is for advanced class grads at Camp Gunnison (May 1-9, 2021) and the second advanced class is for new students at hq (June 13-26, 2021).
Lots of attention has being drawn to the waiving of their strict debt-free requirement, a policy that was implemented in 1994.......
But......the advanced class grads-only "camp" in May is the Loyalty Test and Purge that cometh.
Make no mistake about its importance. This is a "circle the wagons" maneuver....a planned, strategic, tactical, and controlled move. This is the SAME PLOY implemented in 1992 after "the fog years." Let's number the ways why twi would do this....
Twi does NOT have clergy "camps"........or corps "camps." Why? Already fleeced of their labor, get-togethers have little upside.
The whole concept of a "clergy household" is grade-A bunk. In my 14 years as clergy......we only had a few meetings, nothing more.
Corps grads will be pressured to attend this advanced class (all-grads class). Committed corps show up.
The committed get to attend first.....adv class grads and corps. Plus, "sit at the feet of the teachers"...who would miss THAT?
Advanced Class students, and therefore grads......are a prime target for twi. Faithful tithing and future corps applicants.
For the same reason, twi has AdvancedClassSpecials......exploitation at its maximum. Money. Power. Influence. Control.
Peer pressure goes both ways.....up and down the cult paradigm. You will be pressured to attend. Count on it.
Just like in Scientology......there is a subliminal control factor in promoting people to scale levels of "achievement." #8 -- Going Clear.
The advanced class completes the series. It is marketed as attainment of "spiritual maturity".....until you find out later it isn't.
The Way International is borrowing the same play from their 1992 playbook: Run an advanced class for grads-only at a twi-property location. Home Field Advantage. They control all the factors. Notice......it is an intense, condensed version of the advanced class. Nine days......long days......structured to the hilt. Very little time for hanging out in the scenic beauty of Colorado. No time to hike, explore or have a couple of afternoons hanging with "friends." Could it be that this intensely, structured time keeps questions and dissent to a minimum? Absolutely!!
Do you have to attend to keep your advanced class grad status?
If so........then this will purge from the ranks those who do NOT attend.
WARNING: Cults operate via a series of purges ...........and this is another one coming. For those who are happy residing in an institutionalized environment, then this thread is not for you. But to those who do not like being played......or jumping thru hoops to stand before your leadership year after year......stop and give this some thought. Do you a.c. grads really NEED or WANT to sit thru another advanced class again?
SSDD
.
Sky, how much do these classes cost? In 1985, my AC cost 500.00 dollars. I imagine these classes aren't cheap.
I still remember approaching the Advanced Class with an expectation of "spiritual enlightenment", only to be sorely disappointed with its content. It may be one of the most depressing realizations I've ever experienced.
I still remember approaching the Advanced Class with an expectation of "spiritual enlightenment", only to be sorely disappointed with its content. It may be one of the most depressing realizations I've ever experienced.
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Twinky
I don't know whether to hope you're right, Skyrider, and that some decent folk get purged; or to hope that you're wrong and that decent folk get to stay, and stay decent (if unenlightened) folk and sort-of respected for who they are.
Maybe somebody local could paint up a GSC billboard and position it nicely on an approach road to Camp Gunnison
.
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T-Bone
will this do?
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skyrider
Well, hopefully........some decent folk with use those critical thinking skills and realize that they are being played (again). I mean, c'mon......how many times do you have to spend your hard-earned money to hear the same class material?
Whether it takes you two days of drive time or extra money flying into Denver and then getting shuttled over to Gunnison.......it STILL is nearly two weeks away from work and money out of your pocket for a re-run class. Plus, it's going to be 1) intense and 2) condensed.......meaning, the ac grad students are AGAIN going to have their butts in seats for nine long days. Gawd.....it sounds nauseating just thinking about it.
Sounds like.......the subtle power of spiritual abuse, doesn't it?
Twi leadership holds power over them. The minute they step on the grounds of Camp Gunnison.....they are trapped in nine days of structure.
I really miss those days of sitting on my butt for 12-15 hours a day while overlords slip in and out of the backroom and bellow their fury from stage. Little did I realize back then, that even wierwille was a pathological plagiarist of the high order of hypocrisy.
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Rocky
It might get some attention, but I don't think Colorado officials would appreciate the distraction it might be to drivers.
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Rocky
I hope for those who want to be enlightened to be able to endure the purge without substantive emotional damage.
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Rocky
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skyrider
Through the years, anybody who knows about the long trek to Gunnison, Colorado.......knows it's a grueling task.
Imagine further.......that you spend two days traveling by car to get there.....and KNOWING that you will be sitting for nine days of class and two days of travel to get home. Oh sure.....there will be some afternoon breakout twig sessions where you sit on the grass with 20 others and maybe, if weather permits, a night owl campfire where you, again sit on your butt.
You see, twi is going to do what they've ALWAYS DONE.......subjugate you.
For them, offering this advanced class for grads-only puts all the strategic advantages in their corner. The property is an investment that sits "empty" for much of the time. It gives twi the ability to showcase Camp Gunnison and present to you where some of the abundant sharing goes (cough, cough). All the scenic beauty surrounding you.......and you paid good-money (again) to sit nine days on your butt.
At least, they didn't schedule this class in the dead of winter at this isolated campground......where you might get a glimpse of The Shining [link].
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Twinky
I was sent to Gunnison for the summer camps. It's a lovely place.
Camps are run two back-to-back, then a week off, then more camps. Between the two back-to-back, there's a really swift clean (people must leave by about 10 or 11am, and new arrivals come after, what, 4pm?) and then the middle week is a more thorough clean and other work that may be required at the camp is also carried out. It's quite intense. It was specially intense for me, because I was finishing my - wojja call it, paper, dissertation, project - during the early part of the time. The two camp weeks are full-on, with in rez Corps working from very early in the morning to quite late at night, with serving food (breakfast) at one end, and taking care of younger children at the other end.
So you'd think that after the thorough cleaning, there'd be a little downtime, wouldn't you? Then you'd think wrongly.
I recall one day off, or maybe afternoon off, when some of us (one must have had a car) went into the mountains somewhere or other and took a hike on a ridge. Lush and lovely scenery; I so wanted to be out in it!! Come to think of it - that might have been in the short period before the family camps started.
Another time, but working, I had to drive a vehicle to pick up or take some campers to a glorious river someplace where (low-level whitewater) rafting or some boating was taking place. Gorgeous place, sparkling river, set in a delightful wooded area. I must have been there for all of five minutes before I had to return to a job that could have been done much better with an automatic watering system. How I wanted to be in the river (like the Corps Coordinator) helping people have a fun time!
I relished getting up in the mornings (especially in my first couple of days, when most in-rez Corps hadn't yet arrived) - standing on the steps of the log cabin I lived in, looking out at the mountains, breathing in the fresh air; I looked forward to exploring just a small part of those mountains. I'm continuing to look forward to that... never going to happen.
Being at Gunnison is a bit like being in a beautiful cage. You can look out, but you can't get out. You can see what's available out there, but you can't access it. Look, but don't touch.
Maybe the forthcoming "intense" course in May (run, people, run. Far and fast! Get away!!) will build in a little downtime - river rafting might not be possible, but a hike in the hills could easily be made available.
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skyrider
Having just watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on netflix last week......
Maybe someone could snag a big RV......and load up his whole branch of students for a drive to a western saloon in downtown Gunnison. After a dozen pitchers of beer and a fun time boot-scooting into the night, slip back onto twi's property without getting caught. Hopefully, Rosalie Ratched is not waiting to pounce.
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T-Bone
If Rosie does pounce – I can “imagineer” a drunken brawl erupting and someone with enough beer-bravado applies a chokehold on her – reminiscent of the scene when Nurse Ratched gets strangled by Jack N ....oh happy day!
psssst ! it’s a 3 minute clip – the buildup to the strangle scene begins at the 2 minute mark…btw, after reviewing this YouTube clip a few times before posting it – I realized there's a lot of things about that movie that could be an allusion to a cult experience... ....anyway, great movie, Skyrider !
Edited by T-Boneformatting
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skyrider
Oh yeah........lots of things.
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Twinky
Not my favourite movie (I don't like Jack Nicholson), but the next clip analyses Nurse Ratched and how she keeps control of her patients. Now that indeed appears to be an allusion to a cultic experience. (Some here might feel there are allusions to Nurse Rosalie.)
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T-Bone
Thinking of Skyrider’s point, marketing the Advanced Class as the way to attain “spiritual maturity” brought back memories leading up to and then taking my first Advanced Class in 1978. I was held in rapt attention when a couple just came back from taking the Advanced Class and shared some of the things they learned – about the god of this world who works through the Illuminati, wrong seed, those controlled or influenced by devil spirits…but that it’s Christ’s eyes behind my eyes, his ears behind my ears…and that we believers are the only ones keeping this country from going down the tubes. Sounded like the ultimate action/thriller movie – so count me in! That was then…this is now (some 34 years after leaving TWI) – I now consider it the ultimate action/thriller fantasy con game.
Spoiler alert – this is a warning that an important detail of how cults work is about to be revealed…Cults proudly proclaim their uniqueness and superiority to other paths. They offer not just another path to knowledge and fulfilment – they insist that they are the one and only path to knowledge and fulfilment. This is the lure that entices you into the trap. After the love-bombing…long after the honeymoon is over…it’s all that soft-sell and periodic mini-social conditioning at the Twig and Branch level that preps you for the ultimate cultdom experience – seasoned con artists plying their trade on cult property. They are in full control…cue the beginning of The Outer Limits …yikes !!!
Here’s a few memories from Advanced Class ’78 that I shared on another thread:
This is a picture I took at Advanced Class '78 - I titled it Fat Man and Little Boy
(Fat Man and Little Boy were the code names for the atomic bombs that caused widespread destruction in Japan during World War II)
Edited by T-Boneformatting and typos
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Grace Valerie Claire
Sky, do you know how much money these classes cost? I paid 500.00 dollars back in 1985 for the AC I took in Rome City. After, the class ended, I wanted my money back. Too little Word; too much BS.
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Oakspear
Is this another "new" advanced class? What have they been running as the advanced class lately? I got out in 2001 and if I remember correctly they were having various people parrot Martindale's WayA&P class since they couldn't run the Martindale version.
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T-Bone
It doesn’t matter what it’s labeled – foundational, intermediate, advanced, “new and improved” advanced class – it’s still snake oil: a substance with no real medicinal value sold as a remedy for all diseases; a product, policy, etc. of little real worth or value that is promoted as the solution to a problem.
I have one question regarding all these classes. What qualifies them – any of them (past or present – wierwille, Craig or any other snake oil salesperson) to teach this stuff? What was/is their training and experience? And since we’re talking turkey – we can eliminate all the subsequent cult-leader-regurgitating-knockoffs and look at the original jive turkey – wierwille. So what training and experience qualified wierwille to teach about the holy spirit? He barged in on BG Leonard’s class and afterwards stole BG's class - even right down to the silly names of Maggie Muggins, Johnny Jump Up and Snowball Pete – and along with a lot of other plagiarized material put his own classes together. He did not do the research himself nor put forth any effort to develop theory and practice. The only way he made any of this stuff his own – was by slapping his name on plagiarized material.
He was a snake oil salesman – all talk but nothing of real substance. Speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy is just talk too – in that they can be faked – so put that in your Lo-Shanta and smoke it.
Whoa – how about those revelation manifestations - word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits. Sorry – don’t think I can ever trust the supposed spiritual insight of a guy who was up to his earballs in personal demons of lying, stealing, alcohol, sexual predation and who knows what else…all talk and no walk.
Last but not least – the power manifestations – faith, miracles and gifts of healing. Okay, show of hands – how many still believe wierwille’s supposed miracle of him telling the guy who didn’t believe in Jesus to raise his withered arm? Go ahead, now raise your hand.
I still remember the frustration I had trying to console the disappointment of a woman in our Twig. She just came back from an advance at Camp Gunnison – where she asked wierwille to heal one of her toes that was messed up from birth - always uncomfortable and occasionally very painful. Of course he couldn’t do anything – but lets her limp off feeling guilty about her lack of believing…
Soooooooo – back to present day…What qualifies any of these snake oil salespersons to teach this stuff?
Regurgitation is NOT a manifestation of the spirit.
Edited by T-Bonerevision
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Rocky
The closest thing to medicinal value might be placebos. Nevertheless, it's still not substantial in and of itself.
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chockfull
The Way always uses tiers of new classes marketed as the present truth as opposed to the past truth as purging tools.
Reporting will be done on
who signed up from fellowship
who did not and reason why
monitoring people at class location
All of this is similar to Scientology where the new path requirements are consistently introduced to keep money flowing in and control over the laeity. There is no auditing but definitely people telling misdeeds of others to leadership of non conforming thoughts or actions in private goes on and fuels further purging.
In fact the tattle and purge is inherent within the Ways culture. You can document it through multiple sets of classes and multiple generations of leaders.
Are you a NEW advanced class grad?
or an OLLLLDDD advanced class grad?
Interrogating minds want to know...
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chockfull
I mean it’s not like they have a research department working on any new material. That was completely shut down. So it’s just reorganize and reteach with fresh faces.
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Allan
you left out an 'e' between a & c at the end :)
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Twinky
LOL, Allan.
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Grace Valerie Claire
Sky, how much do these classes cost? In 1985, my AC cost 500.00 dollars. I imagine these classes aren't cheap.
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waysider
I still remember approaching the Advanced Class with an expectation of "spiritual enlightenment", only to be sorely disappointed with its content. It may be one of the most depressing realizations I've ever experienced.
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Grace Valerie Claire
Way, exactly!!
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