Personality changes 2. Dramatic shifts of values or beliefs 3. Changes in diet or sleep patterns 4. Refusal to attend important family events 5. Inability to make decisions without consulting a cult leader or guru 6. Sudden use of a new ideology to explain everything 7. Black-and-white, simplistic reasoning 8. A new vocabulary 9. Insistence that you do what he or she is doing9One explanation of these symptoms is the development of a pseudo-identity, a new persona the individual adopts to fit into the cult environment.6To date, there have been many studies addressing the question of psychological harm caused by cult membership, but like any research into effects of trauma, ethics preclude much prospective study, which limits validity. In an extensive review of research, three researchers concluded that a substantial minority of ex-cult members have problems readjusting to life outside the cult.5Why some are harmed and others are not has yet to be pinned down. A Group Psychological Abuse Scale has been developed for measuring the degree to which influence exists in different groups
It was so beautiful. And there are many aspects for me that are still awesomely beautiful. My dearest friends to this day are from that beautiful time. The woman that invited me to my first fellowship thirty years ago is to this day my closest friend. There are 4 others that was in our fellowship and we all still bonded together. It is the love for the Truth that has held us together.
Thirty years ago, I had not yet heard of the way international. I was a christian searching for the answers I wasn't finding in my local denominations. I was just about to give up on god totally. One year after that, a friend took PFAL and started telling me about twi. Wow, it's been a long road from there to here.
If I had just taken PFAL and then walked away, I think I would still believe most of what I'd been taught.
If I had just gone thru the College Program, and then walked away, I would have felt like I was well-versed in the Bible cover-to-cover, and well-prepared for whatever might be out there in the great, wide world.
If I had walked away when Ralph D came through town warning folks of what had gone on behind the scenes, I would have counted myself lucky to have missed all that crap.
If I had walked away after corps training when I saw a lot of things first-hand and knew for certain that all was not right with the way, I would have known I gave it my best shot but couldn't help save twi from itself.
Instead, I walked away only after enduring the 1990s, and seeing the crap overflow the plumbing at HQ and seep out onto the field, contaminating almost everything it touched. Now I believe almost nothing they taught, but I am a happy person in spite of it all, and mostly content with my lot in life.
For me, I was introduced to twi in 1980. I didn't go wow till 82...
I admit too many of my decisions were based upon what "more mature" "beleivers" thought I should do and/or be doing. Without going into detail, I made some decisions that I wish that I wouldn't have made.
During my time in twi, I met some great people and I met some jerks. I have some friends that are still associated with CG that I still talk with.
One of the many things that people that were in twi that too many people (including myself) wrongly embrassed was' "I have no friends when it comes to the word". I wonder how many missed opprotunities that I missed to have and make friends because of those words. Now, I concider friends as more of a quality of life indicator than things...
I am the sum and substance of all my experiences, action, inactions and beliefs. There is no way of telling where my life would have been without twi (in some ways maybe better and in some ways maybe worse). However, I can say that I am happy with where I am at. I have a house, a car I bought new last year, a good job, a wonderful girlfriend, some good friends, good health, a racquetball sponsorship, and a cat who loves me.
Thirty years ago, I had not yet heard of the way international. I was a christian searching for the answers I wasn't finding in my local denominations. I was just about to give up on god totally. One year after that, a friend took PFAL and started telling me about twi. Wow, it's been a long road from there to here.
If I had just taken PFAL and then walked away, I think I would still believe most of what I'd been taught.
If I had just gone thru the College Program, and then walked away, I would have felt like I was well-versed in the Bible cover-to-cover, and well-prepared for whatever might be out there in the great, wide world.
If I had walked away when Ralph D came through town warning folks of what had gone on behind the scenes, I would have counted myself lucky to have missed all that crap.
If I had walked away after corps training when I saw a lot of things first-hand and knew for certain that all was not right with the way, I would have known I gave it my best shot but couldn't help save twi from itself.
Instead, I walked away only after enduring the 1990s, and seeing the crap overflow the plumbing at HQ and seep out onto the field, contaminating almost everything it touched. Now I believe almost nothing they taught, but I am a happy person in spite of it all, and mostly content with my lot in life.
What a journey it has been...
Its hard to walk away even just after PFAL,why is that?Personality changes 2. Dramatic shifts of values or beliefs 3. Changes in diet or sleep patterns 4. Refusal to attend important family events 5. Inability to make decisions without consulting a cult leader or guru 6. Sudden use of a new ideology to explain everything 7. Black-and-white, simplistic reasoning 8. A new vocabulary 9. Insistence that you do what he or she is doing9One explanation of these symptoms is the development of a pseudo-identity, a new persona the individual adopts to fit into the cult environment.6To date, there have been many studies addressing the question of psychological harm caused by cult membership, but like any research into effects of trauma, ethics preclude much prospective study, which limits validity. In an extensive review of research, three researchers concluded that a substantial minority of ex-cult members have problems readjusting to life outside the cult.5Why some are harmed and others are not has yet to be pinned down. A Group Psychological Abuse Scale has been developed for measuring the degree to which influence exists in different groups
Thirty years ago, I had just completed the advanced class and was in my apprentice year of the corps...
...As I look back, I am compelled to use my experience as a warning to others...a warning to steer clear of cults!
The roa starting out as being a fun time and then disitingrated into a regimented display of twi's legalism and oppression. Memories of good people?...of course...but I will not rationalize my participation as being anything other than a waste of time...I didn't need the cult experience to find Christ...
30 years ago I was on Spring Break of my junior year in college. I drove to New Knoxville Ohio with a group of friends to visit some friends working there on staff. While I was there, I was offered a "summer job." I accepted the proposition, not realizing how much that "summer job" would change my life. :o Ah, memories.
30 Yeras Ago was my sixth ROA after sleeping in a sheep barn my first, a tent for a couple of years, an RV a couple of more I finally got smart and booked a hotel........ :D
I was standing at the kitchen sink and quite clearly remember thinking, "What is life all about? There has to be more to it that just getting up and going out to work, living and dying." I started to get interested in religion again, visited a few local churches, met some nice people but heard nothing of substance...started to read the Bible in Genesis (why is this relevant to me?), Matthew (why is this relevant to me?), Romans (what the heck is this stuff?), Revelation (huh??).
Some years later I lit upon Acts (WOW, how exciting is this!!!) and got seriously interested, met a WoW and ...
My first RoA was immediately before entering the Corps. (My Country Coordinator dissuaded me from going before, saying it would be not the best (don't recall the words) - it would have been the first after PoP.) As apprentice Corps I had to work dishroom nearly all the time and felt rather disappointed because I saw hardly anything of this wonderful festival that everyone had talked about. Little did I know that that was the start of a whole lot of work and being at events but never seeing them.
30 years ago if you'd told me all this was going to happen I would have laughed in your face.
30 years ago [summer time] I was sitting in the Advanced Class at Emporia, Kansas…I remember a video of Doctor Nobel talking about the Marxist Minstrels…he said something like the Beatles were actually promoting communism in America with one of their tunes:"…back in the US…back in the US…back in the USSR…"
…Yes, and Mickey Mouse is wrong seed!
Yes, what a fantastic time of utter nonsense hosted by Fat Man and Little Boy, two of the most destructive weapons in this our day and time and hour.
30 years ago this past Christmas I was asked by my aunt to attend fellowship with her daughter, my cousin, who had just signed up for PFAL. My aunt was concerned about my cousin and wanted me to keep an eye on her. I attended a few twigs and signed up for PFAL myself. We completed the combined Foundational/Intermediate audio tape class on March 31st, 1978. My cousin dropped out a few months later when her infatuation with the twig leader wore off; I ended up sticking around, moving into a Way Home a year later and going WOW 2 years later.
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waysider
Just like Woodstock, it was based on an idealistic fantasy.
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cheranne
Personality changes 2. Dramatic shifts of values or beliefs 3. Changes in diet or sleep patterns 4. Refusal to attend important family events 5. Inability to make decisions without consulting a cult leader or guru 6. Sudden use of a new ideology to explain everything 7. Black-and-white, simplistic reasoning 8. A new vocabulary 9. Insistence that you do what he or she is doing9One explanation of these symptoms is the development of a pseudo-identity, a new persona the individual adopts to fit into the cult environment.6To date, there have been many studies addressing the question of psychological harm caused by cult membership, but like any research into effects of trauma, ethics preclude much prospective study, which limits validity. In an extensive review of research, three researchers concluded that a substantial minority of ex-cult members have problems readjusting to life outside the cult.5Why some are harmed and others are not has yet to be pinned down. A Group Psychological Abuse Scale has been developed for measuring the degree to which influence exists in different groups
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GarthP2000
At least Woodstock had better music.
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George Aar
And a more reality-based outlook...
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kimberly
It was so beautiful. And there are many aspects for me that are still awesomely beautiful. My dearest friends to this day are from that beautiful time. The woman that invited me to my first fellowship thirty years ago is to this day my closest friend. There are 4 others that was in our fellowship and we all still bonded together. It is the love for the Truth that has held us together.
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BackForty
30 yrs ago I was a wow in MN. I believe the snow was beginning to melt about now. Rock 78 was our home coming.
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What The Hey
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TheHighWay
Thirty years ago, I had not yet heard of the way international. I was a christian searching for the answers I wasn't finding in my local denominations. I was just about to give up on god totally. One year after that, a friend took PFAL and started telling me about twi. Wow, it's been a long road from there to here.
If I had just taken PFAL and then walked away, I think I would still believe most of what I'd been taught.
If I had just gone thru the College Program, and then walked away, I would have felt like I was well-versed in the Bible cover-to-cover, and well-prepared for whatever might be out there in the great, wide world.
If I had walked away when Ralph D came through town warning folks of what had gone on behind the scenes, I would have counted myself lucky to have missed all that crap.
If I had walked away after corps training when I saw a lot of things first-hand and knew for certain that all was not right with the way, I would have known I gave it my best shot but couldn't help save twi from itself.
Instead, I walked away only after enduring the 1990s, and seeing the crap overflow the plumbing at HQ and seep out onto the field, contaminating almost everything it touched. Now I believe almost nothing they taught, but I am a happy person in spite of it all, and mostly content with my lot in life.
What a journey it has been...
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Zshot
Not 30 years yet...
For me, I was introduced to twi in 1980. I didn't go wow till 82...
I admit too many of my decisions were based upon what "more mature" "beleivers" thought I should do and/or be doing. Without going into detail, I made some decisions that I wish that I wouldn't have made.
During my time in twi, I met some great people and I met some jerks. I have some friends that are still associated with CG that I still talk with.
One of the many things that people that were in twi that too many people (including myself) wrongly embrassed was' "I have no friends when it comes to the word". I wonder how many missed opprotunities that I missed to have and make friends because of those words. Now, I concider friends as more of a quality of life indicator than things...
I am the sum and substance of all my experiences, action, inactions and beliefs. There is no way of telling where my life would have been without twi (in some ways maybe better and in some ways maybe worse). However, I can say that I am happy with where I am at. I have a house, a car I bought new last year, a good job, a wonderful girlfriend, some good friends, good health, a racquetball sponsorship, and a cat who loves me.
There is life after twi, and a good life at that.
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cheranne
Its hard to walk away even just after PFAL,why is that?Personality changes 2. Dramatic shifts of values or beliefs 3. Changes in diet or sleep patterns 4. Refusal to attend important family events 5. Inability to make decisions without consulting a cult leader or guru 6. Sudden use of a new ideology to explain everything 7. Black-and-white, simplistic reasoning 8. A new vocabulary 9. Insistence that you do what he or she is doing9One explanation of these symptoms is the development of a pseudo-identity, a new persona the individual adopts to fit into the cult environment.6To date, there have been many studies addressing the question of psychological harm caused by cult membership, but like any research into effects of trauma, ethics preclude much prospective study, which limits validity. In an extensive review of research, three researchers concluded that a substantial minority of ex-cult members have problems readjusting to life outside the cult.5Why some are harmed and others are not has yet to be pinned down. A Group Psychological Abuse Scale has been developed for measuring the degree to which influence exists in different groups
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GrouchoMarxJr
Thirty years ago, I had just completed the advanced class and was in my apprentice year of the corps...
...As I look back, I am compelled to use my experience as a warning to others...a warning to steer clear of cults!
The roa starting out as being a fun time and then disitingrated into a regimented display of twi's legalism and oppression. Memories of good people?...of course...but I will not rationalize my participation as being anything other than a waste of time...I didn't need the cult experience to find Christ...
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ex10
30 years ago I was on Spring Break of my junior year in college. I drove to New Knoxville Ohio with a group of friends to visit some friends working there on staff. While I was there, I was offered a "summer job." I accepted the proposition, not realizing how much that "summer job" would change my life. :o Ah, memories.
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WhiteDove
30 Yeras Ago was my sixth ROA after sleeping in a sheep barn my first, a tent for a couple of years, an RV a couple of more I finally got smart and booked a hotel........ :D
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Twinky
30 years ago...
I was standing at the kitchen sink and quite clearly remember thinking, "What is life all about? There has to be more to it that just getting up and going out to work, living and dying." I started to get interested in religion again, visited a few local churches, met some nice people but heard nothing of substance...started to read the Bible in Genesis (why is this relevant to me?), Matthew (why is this relevant to me?), Romans (what the heck is this stuff?), Revelation (huh??).
Some years later I lit upon Acts (WOW, how exciting is this!!!) and got seriously interested, met a WoW and ...
My first RoA was immediately before entering the Corps. (My Country Coordinator dissuaded me from going before, saying it would be not the best (don't recall the words) - it would have been the first after PoP.) As apprentice Corps I had to work dishroom nearly all the time and felt rather disappointed because I saw hardly anything of this wonderful festival that everyone had talked about. Little did I know that that was the start of a whole lot of work and being at events but never seeing them.
30 years ago if you'd told me all this was going to happen I would have laughed in your face.
Now? No regrets, but no going back!
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T-Bone
30 years ago [summer time] I was sitting in the Advanced Class at Emporia, Kansas…I remember a video of Doctor Nobel talking about the Marxist Minstrels…he said something like the Beatles were actually promoting communism in America with one of their tunes:"…back in the US…back in the US…back in the USSR…"
…Yes, and Mickey Mouse is wrong seed!
Yes, what a fantastic time of utter nonsense hosted by Fat Man and Little Boy, two of the most destructive weapons in this our day and time and hour.
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doojable
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waysider
Oh, my.
Wierwille is wearing one of those neck scarves I've talked about in the past.
Not the same image, of course, just the same kind of scarf.
Creepy!
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cheranne
that just made me throw up a little!!!!
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Oakspear
30 years ago this past Christmas I was asked by my aunt to attend fellowship with her daughter, my cousin, who had just signed up for PFAL. My aunt was concerned about my cousin and wanted me to keep an eye on her. I attended a few twigs and signed up for PFAL myself. We completed the combined Foundational/Intermediate audio tape class on March 31st, 1978. My cousin dropped out a few months later when her infatuation with the twig leader wore off; I ended up sticking around, moving into a Way Home a year later and going WOW 2 years later.
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