I met many wonderful folks thru twi, that I would have neve met elsewhere. :)--> For that I am really thankful. But I do have the 'misgivings' (to put it MILDLY! :D--> ) so I guess I will hit that middle button on the poll.
I am what I am in large measure because of my past experiences. Pleasant or unpleasant, they combine to make me me. I can think of a lot of things that I really didn't enjoy, but I would be the less for coming through them. I can also think of times I have been deceived. Had I not been deceived then, I would be that much more naive now.
Although there are plenty who don't approve of me, I approve of myself. So, I can't really say that I wish I wouldn't have spent those years. I have no idea who I'd be now if I wasn't involved.
Having said that, I recognize that there are those who still are undergoing severe psychological problems because of TWI. I also understand that there are more than a few who killed themselves because of it. So, my reasoning does not universally apply.
I can say this: if I knew then what I know now, there's no way.
I can also say this: I would certainly be richer if I still all the ABS that got flushed down the toilet.
Yup.... I do...I look at my brothers and sisters my friends and realise that they did just FINE without *knowingthewordlikeithasntbeenknoensincethefirstcentury*
You guys and greasespot is about the nicest thing to come out of that whole mess.
I believe you are not alone when it comes to this question.
Yes, there were good times and people in TWI. Why else would we have stayed in as long as we did, right?
Yet, at the same time, I felt this cloud hang over me. It seemed to always be there and after awhile I didn't even realize the 'son' wasn't shining anymore. And when at times I would notice this absence of light in my life, I believed it was because of something ??? that I was doing wrong.
Either way, TWI was left blameless as we were taught to do.
I now have a tendency to not want to think of my experience in TWI as a positive one. Though I must be realistic and say there were some highlights during my stay...but the 'cloud' hanging over me surely overshadowed those good times.
I know I found God in my life when I was introduced to TWI, but also I was introduced to much misery. I believed in order to have God in my life I had to co-exist with this burden of misery.
It's a really hard question to answer. I went back and forth between "am glad that I was involved but have a lot of misgivings" and "I wish I had never been involved".
I'm glad that I was involved because of the people I know. I wouldn't know my husband if it wasn't for TWI. My life would have taken a different turn had I never been involved. I will never know if it would have been better or worse.
I think for me the best answer is "I'm not happy I was involved in a cult, but I'm thankful for the people I met there."
Oh - I just noticed the last choice... yeah - that's about right.
Hope R. color>size>face>
...I don't know who I am but life is for learning... we are stardust...size>face>color>
This is such a difficult question to answer because few things are totally good or bad and we had experiences and met people etc that otherwise we would not have done.
It's much easier to reply to the question "Are you glad to be out of TWI?"
There is no doubt that our lives could well have taken different courses and we might not be where we are now.
But thinking of what might have been is always speculation.
I am stymied by the choice of words in the poll, but I love the fundamental question. Do I wish I had never been involved with TWI?
I would have to say no.
Certainly, on some level, I wish I could relive that particular black hole in my life - spend it more wisely. Yet it is as much a part of me as all the sound and lasting choices I've made. Sure, I would have been better off had I used those years to finish college earlier, be smarter about love, pursue meaningful work sooner... a virtual what-ifathon. But I cannot realistically regret the nature of a path that taught me so much.
I cherish the parts of myself that led me into fellowshipping with the Way. The conviction, the rebellion, the drama and passion... I might never have embraced them so fully if I hadn't wasted them so thoroughly for the better part of a decade.
That compromise of my individuality is something I will never forget. And, more importantly, it is something that is no longer possible - not to THAT degree - thanks to a lesson learned the hard way.
TWI is a part of me. It's a ragged, sometimes bitter, but mostly-digested revision of self that I value immensely. I couldn't take it back. I would lose what I became.
[This message was edited by pamsandiego on February 09, 2004 at 2:16.]
I'd have to parrot many of the others in this one. TWI was both the best thing and the most dumb thing I ever did with my life on this planet. However............. :)-->
I "found God" long before my involvement with TWI and just prior to my involvement, had enjoyed a closer relationship with Him than I had ever known. When I first became involved with TWI, I felt my relationship with God was enriched. Then my relationship with God changed as I studied "The Word" and "The Word" became more and more important than this closeness with God I had once enjoyed. When I mentioned to someone how I missed my special close relationship with God I had before I came to The Way, they told me that relationship had to be counterfeit because outside TWI there WAS no relationship with God. By the time I ended my relationship with TWI, the God they then professed allegience to had nothing in common with the God they originally introduced me to.
I feel now they have ruined my relationship with God and my ability to trust anyone to teach me about God. They ruined my trust. I can't attend and enjoy any kind of "fellowship" or "Sunday service" without a great deal of mistrust about what I am hearing, and the motivations of the speakers.
Instead of finishing school, I was encouraged to go into The Way Corps. (After having been thrown out of The Way Corps after having dedicated my entire adult life to it, the person who dismissed me seriously asked me why I hadn't gone to medical school!) In addition, over 50% of my income went toward abundant sharing and otherwise supporting programs, REQUIRED gifts to leadership, and REQUIRED events, and REQUIRED classes and materials in order to stay involved with this cult. As a result, my retirement was stolen from me by fraud and duress and at this time in my life I am trying to finish college instead of having already spent 30 years in a profession.
Had I never run into TWI my life would have been totally different. I wish I'd never met them.
You can put me in the "wish I never did" column as well.
My life would no doubt have been different had I not squandered my youth on such dubious B.S., and I'm not entirely sure it wouldn't have been a whole lot better. Who can say?
At least I wouldn't have spent all that time living a lie. And sacficing my future so Herr Doktor could live a life of self-indulgent excess.
"I feel now they have ruined my relationship with God and my ability to trust anyone to teach me about God. They ruined my trust. I can't attend and enjoy any kind of "fellowship" or "Sunday service" without a great deal of mistrust about what I am hearing, and the motivations of the speakers."
EXACTLY! In this regard, I feel terribly damaged, kind of set adrift. I hardly even know how to approach God anymore. But one thing I do know: TWI IS NOT to way back to him.
That being said, I'm also in the ambivalent category, because it was very good for a while. I realize now that this was largely because of the tender and loving hearts of the Way believers I first encountered. Some of the word I learned, particularly that which taught me about the depth of the love that God has for me, was invaluable. However, I've come to see that much of the rest of "The Word" is not nearly so cut and dried.
You see, it was the people who made it good while it was good. And it was the people---particularly the leaders---who eventually made it hell on earth, who nearly cost me my physical and emotional health.
But when it comes down to it all, I can't say that I wish I had never been involved in TWI. I just wish I'd gotten out a WHOLLLLLLE lot sooner than I did!
I tend to agree with my friend George Aar, for the most part it was a total waste of time. Whatever friends I made and places I saw, etc., etc., were not worth being brainwashed into a group think cult that robbed my of the ability to make independant decisions for quite awhile.
Although, in hindsight, the experience did a super job of honing my bull.... meter.
This is a subject I had not really thought much about until I stumbled across Waydale a little over three years ago.
Did I get anything positive at all out of my way experience?
I would have to say no.
I met some nice people, but nobody I really had anything in common with outside of a twig meeting. Heck, most of them could barely carry on a conversation that wasn't centered on "the word."
I grew up in the Methodist church going to Sunday school every week, so it wasn't like this was all new to me. Of course, I never bought into the whole thing anyway, so I never thought the way had all the answers and every other denominattion was in error. The Weirwille-worship that I saw everywhere was completely ridiculous.
The bottom line is that I spent a lot of money that I didn't have on a lot of useless classes, books, tapes and other junk. I didn't really learn anything important that I didn't already know and it cost me a once in a lifetime relationship.
I met many great people. I saw God work in my life as I never even imagined He could. I met my first husband and have 2 wonderful grown up kids who both love God and seek His counsel even tho we left twi. Whatever abs I sent was done with a right heart and I believe we were blessed by God because of it.
I am glad I got out before all the "law" was imposed. But then again, I got out because it was begining and I knew it was wrong. Although divorced, I am glad I met the father of my children and helped teach him about God.
I like to think the whole experience made me a stronger person. I cannot say "what if" because I don't know. Maybe better, maybe worse. I am who and what I am because of all the experiences of my life.
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dmiller
Hmmmm not sure which way to vote.
-->
I met many wonderful folks thru twi, that I would have neve met elsewhere.
:)--> For that I am really thankful. But I do have the 'misgivings' (to put it MILDLY! 
:D--> ) so I guess I will hit that middle button on the poll.
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excathedra
i don't know
here i am today. don't know where i would have been or not been.
wish i could "see" the past
and the future for that matter
?
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markomalley
I am what I am in large measure because of my past experiences. Pleasant or unpleasant, they combine to make me me. I can think of a lot of things that I really didn't enjoy, but I would be the less for coming through them. I can also think of times I have been deceived. Had I not been deceived then, I would be that much more naive now.
Although there are plenty who don't approve of me, I approve of myself. So, I can't really say that I wish I wouldn't have spent those years. I have no idea who I'd be now if I wasn't involved.
Having said that, I recognize that there are those who still are undergoing severe psychological problems because of TWI. I also understand that there are more than a few who killed themselves because of it. So, my reasoning does not universally apply.
I can say this: if I knew then what I know now, there's no way.
I can also say this: I would certainly be richer if I still all the ABS that got flushed down the toilet.
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excathedra
moocho major major choo choo
mark, i loved that song you posted by the who, behind blue eyes
?
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rascal
Yup.... I do...I look at my brothers and sisters my friends and realise that they did just FINE without *knowingthewordlikeithasntbeenknoensincethefirstcentury*
You guys and greasespot is about the nicest thing to come out of that whole mess.
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Pirate1974
I really wish that somebody who was very special to me had never heard of twi.
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A la prochaine
Dear Oenophile,
I believe you are not alone when it comes to this question.
Yes, there were good times and people in TWI. Why else would we have stayed in as long as we did, right?
Yet, at the same time, I felt this cloud hang over me. It seemed to always be there and after awhile I didn't even realize the 'son' wasn't shining anymore. And when at times I would notice this absence of light in my life, I believed it was because of something ??? that I was doing wrong.
Either way, TWI was left blameless as we were taught to do.
I now have a tendency to not want to think of my experience in TWI as a positive one. Though I must be realistic and say there were some highlights during my stay...but the 'cloud' hanging over me surely overshadowed those good times.
I know I found God in my life when I was introduced to TWI, but also I was introduced to much misery. I believed in order to have God in my life I had to co-exist with this burden of misery.
Not anymore.
love you
'til the next time...
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Hope R.
Wino -
It's a really hard question to answer. I went back and forth between "am glad that I was involved but have a lot of misgivings" and "I wish I had never been involved".
I'm glad that I was involved because of the people I know. I wouldn't know my husband if it wasn't for TWI. My life would have taken a different turn had I never been involved. I will never know if it would have been better or worse.
I think for me the best answer is "I'm not happy I was involved in a cult, but I'm thankful for the people I met there."
Oh - I just noticed the last choice... yeah - that's about right.
Hope R. color>size>face>
...I don't know who I am but life is for learning... we are stardust...size>face>color>
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Trefor Heywood
This is such a difficult question to answer because few things are totally good or bad and we had experiences and met people etc that otherwise we would not have done.
It's much easier to reply to the question "Are you glad to be out of TWI?"
There is no doubt that our lives could well have taken different courses and we might not be where we are now.
But thinking of what might have been is always speculation.
Trefor Heywood
"Cymru Am Byth!"
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pamsandiego
I am stymied by the choice of words in the poll, but I love the fundamental question. Do I wish I had never been involved with TWI?
I would have to say no.
Certainly, on some level, I wish I could relive that particular black hole in my life - spend it more wisely. Yet it is as much a part of me as all the sound and lasting choices I've made. Sure, I would have been better off had I used those years to finish college earlier, be smarter about love, pursue meaningful work sooner... a virtual what-ifathon. But I cannot realistically regret the nature of a path that taught me so much.
I cherish the parts of myself that led me into fellowshipping with the Way. The conviction, the rebellion, the drama and passion... I might never have embraced them so fully if I hadn't wasted them so thoroughly for the better part of a decade.
That compromise of my individuality is something I will never forget. And, more importantly, it is something that is no longer possible - not to THAT degree - thanks to a lesson learned the hard way.
TWI is a part of me. It's a ragged, sometimes bitter, but mostly-digested revision of self that I value immensely. I couldn't take it back. I would lose what I became.
[This message was edited by pamsandiego on February 09, 2004 at 2:16.]
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WordWolf
I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it.....
I'm glad I got in, and I'm glad I got out.
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Shellon
I'd have to parrot many of the others in this one. TWI was both the best thing and the most dumb thing I ever did with my life on this planet. However.............
:)-->
A pretty darn decent marriage.
Two amazing, wonderful daughters.
The good parts that I'd never have known.
Yeah
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Catcup
I "found God" long before my involvement with TWI and just prior to my involvement, had enjoyed a closer relationship with Him than I had ever known. When I first became involved with TWI, I felt my relationship with God was enriched. Then my relationship with God changed as I studied "The Word" and "The Word" became more and more important than this closeness with God I had once enjoyed. When I mentioned to someone how I missed my special close relationship with God I had before I came to The Way, they told me that relationship had to be counterfeit because outside TWI there WAS no relationship with God. By the time I ended my relationship with TWI, the God they then professed allegience to had nothing in common with the God they originally introduced me to.
I feel now they have ruined my relationship with God and my ability to trust anyone to teach me about God. They ruined my trust. I can't attend and enjoy any kind of "fellowship" or "Sunday service" without a great deal of mistrust about what I am hearing, and the motivations of the speakers.
Instead of finishing school, I was encouraged to go into The Way Corps. (After having been thrown out of The Way Corps after having dedicated my entire adult life to it, the person who dismissed me seriously asked me why I hadn't gone to medical school!) In addition, over 50% of my income went toward abundant sharing and otherwise supporting programs, REQUIRED gifts to leadership, and REQUIRED events, and REQUIRED classes and materials in order to stay involved with this cult. As a result, my retirement was stolen from me by fraud and duress and at this time in my life I am trying to finish college instead of having already spent 30 years in a profession.
Had I never run into TWI my life would have been totally different. I wish I'd never met them.
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George Aar
You can put me in the "wish I never did" column as well.
My life would no doubt have been different had I not squandered my youth on such dubious B.S., and I'm not entirely sure it wouldn't have been a whole lot better. Who can say?
At least I wouldn't have spent all that time living a lie. And sacficing my future so Herr Doktor could live a life of self-indulgent excess.
It was a pathetic waste...
geo.
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def59
Off the cuff answer: duh ?
Reflective: If I hadn't gone through twi I never would have appreciated Jesus (as God) like I do now.
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waterbuffalo
O,
This is a tough one. I voted for the last choice.
WB
Asked why he began studying Greek at age 94, Oliver Wendell Holmes replied,"Well, my good sir, it's now or never!"
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frank123lol
I met my lovely wife,and have two wonderful kids.
Yet the cult crap I can do without.
Life has been better outside the cult.
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J0nny Ling0
I don't think I could have said it better than PamSandiego. I think I would only leave out the term "black hole in my life"..
Thanks Pam...
:)-->
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Cherished Child
"I feel now they have ruined my relationship with God and my ability to trust anyone to teach me about God. They ruined my trust. I can't attend and enjoy any kind of "fellowship" or "Sunday service" without a great deal of mistrust about what I am hearing, and the motivations of the speakers."
EXACTLY! In this regard, I feel terribly damaged, kind of set adrift. I hardly even know how to approach God anymore. But one thing I do know: TWI IS NOT to way back to him.
That being said, I'm also in the ambivalent category, because it was very good for a while. I realize now that this was largely because of the tender and loving hearts of the Way believers I first encountered. Some of the word I learned, particularly that which taught me about the depth of the love that God has for me, was invaluable. However, I've come to see that much of the rest of "The Word" is not nearly so cut and dried.
You see, it was the people who made it good while it was good. And it was the people---particularly the leaders---who eventually made it hell on earth, who nearly cost me my physical and emotional health.
But when it comes down to it all, I can't say that I wish I had never been involved in TWI. I just wish I'd gotten out a WHOLLLLLLE lot sooner than I did!
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Groucho
I tend to agree with my friend George Aar, for the most part it was a total waste of time. Whatever friends I made and places I saw, etc., etc., were not worth being brainwashed into a group think cult that robbed my of the ability to make independant decisions for quite awhile.
Although, in hindsight, the experience did a super job of honing my bull.... meter.
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Pirate1974
This is a subject I had not really thought much about until I stumbled across Waydale a little over three years ago.
Did I get anything positive at all out of my way experience?
I would have to say no.
I met some nice people, but nobody I really had anything in common with outside of a twig meeting. Heck, most of them could barely carry on a conversation that wasn't centered on "the word."
I grew up in the Methodist church going to Sunday school every week, so it wasn't like this was all new to me. Of course, I never bought into the whole thing anyway, so I never thought the way had all the answers and every other denominattion was in error. The Weirwille-worship that I saw everywhere was completely ridiculous.
The bottom line is that I spent a lot of money that I didn't have on a lot of useless classes, books, tapes and other junk. I didn't really learn anything important that I didn't already know and it cost me a once in a lifetime relationship.
The hell with the whole thing.
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Plotinus
I wish I'd never heard of them.
They took a lot
(time especially)
and gave nothing worthwhile in return.
But if having been through 'it'
helps me help others here
or others who make foolish decisions in life...
I'll accept that.
Still, I vote,
"wish I'd never heard of them."
And yes, I REALLY wish a loved one
hadn't..
hurt she was... badly hurt... by VPW.
When she was SO young!
(not that age matters much)
Peace,
Plots
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OnionEater
The finest friends I ever had were because of TWI. Too bad the organization sucks so bad.
Thus Sayeth "The OnionEater"
Ayuh
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ladycat
I met many great people. I saw God work in my life as I never even imagined He could. I met my first husband and have 2 wonderful grown up kids who both love God and seek His counsel even tho we left twi. Whatever abs I sent was done with a right heart and I believe we were blessed by God because of it.
I am glad I got out before all the "law" was imposed. But then again, I got out because it was begining and I knew it was wrong. Although divorced, I am glad I met the father of my children and helped teach him about God.
I like to think the whole experience made me a stronger person. I cannot say "what if" because I don't know. Maybe better, maybe worse. I am who and what I am because of all the experiences of my life.
Blessings to you all,
~~Cat
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