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Grease Spot is a good conduit for therapy. I think discussing bad experiences is more than telling the other side of the story (as important as that is). Thinking about these recent posts reminded me of how much good therapy I get from Grease Spot. I know I must bore some old timers here when I go over and over again and again some of my experiences . Some of what motivates me is to provide a point of resonance for others who have had similar experiences – so they won’t feel they’re weird or alone. But I sure get a lot out of it too! So I googled “therapeutic to talk to others about bad experiences” and found a cool article – excerpts are below and the link to the article is below that: 1. To get support – a 1995 study squashed the idea that human traumas are uncommon. Now, we might even say it’s the norm. While that might be true, trauma still isn’t something most people feel comfortable publicizing. Therefore, a solution for many people is a survivors’ group. Survivors’ groups can be some of the best ways to find understanding and empathy. If you’re simultaneously in recovery from substance abuse, groups like AA and NA are full of fellow trauma survivors. Support doesn’t have to come from an organized group—it can come from family, friends, a hotline volunteer, or mental health professional. But there’s something about a group of people who have been through a similar experience that can feel like the freshest of air. 2. To make sense of what happened – trauma doesn’t make sense, it’s a mess of emotions, reactions and questions – it’s unspeakable – more of a roar than words; therefore turning the unspeakable into language is necessary to make sense of trauma. 3. To realize you are more than your trauma; Trauma can sometimes seem like the defining point in one’s life. There’s life before the assault, the accident, or the war, and then there’s an entirely different life after. The degree to which people define themselves by their trauma is what psychologists refer to as event centrality. One study found that centrality of trauma can be both a bad sign and a good sign. It’s a bad sign when the trauma overwhelms your identity; But centrality can be a good sign when survivors assimilate the event into their identity. It becomes part of who they are. It made them who they are today. The trauma is central to their lives, but they’ve become a victor rather than a victim. 4. To get a reality check; trauma turns our understanding of the world upside-down. We think it’s our fault. We think no one can ever be trusted again. We think if anyone gets to know the real us, we’ll be abandoned faster than a beachfront house during hurricane season. But talking about trauma can debunk these mistaken beliefs. In particular, talking with a therapist about how a trauma has changed your worldview can illuminate your assumptions and force you to question them, as in, “Wait, maybe it was my rapist’s fault I got raped, not mine,” or “Wait, maybe getting help doesn’t mean I’m weak,” or “Wait, just because it happened once doesn’t mean it will happen every time.” 5. To make meaning; Like pressure turning coal into diamonds, a trauma survivor may make something more meaningful out of trauma; Why? Trauma makes us look inside ourselves. People work hard to make sense of it and to re-evaluate what’s important to them. Often, trauma sharpens our sense of purpose, reminds us to focus on our family or community, or sets us on a mission to give back, appreciate life, or realize our own strength and resilience. == == == == end of excerpts the above from Psychology Today – 5 reasons to talk about trauma

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 !

Oh yeah........twi had its own hamster-wheel of justifying its doctrines and practices. Have the 2nd and 3rd generations ever heard the story of what life was like before 2000? before 1980? Of course.....twi's practices have been self-serving.....and only self-serving......for a long, long time. It didn't have to end this way (spiraling down to its doom). It seems to me, those years 1977-1979 were ripe with outreach and "Word in Culture." With musical groups and outreach......some professional athletes from the NFL and tennis were taking pfal. A professional bull-riding clown took the stage to speak at roa. Doctors, professionals and business people were coming on board. When the 1979 Rock of Ages came around......there was an arts, music and crafts tent for the sole purpose of purchasing merchandise from other believers and enhancing Word in Culture. Another tent was set aside for an evening "Dinner Theatre"...... where you pre-purchased a ticket for dinner and a theatrical performance (following the big top teaching). Imagine that! Yeah, imagine that. There was more to this event than just the pilgrimage to the Big Top to hear Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille teach another sermon. The spotlight was no longer solely on the cult leader on main stage. Imagine the possibilities. "Word in Culture" was the growing buzz-word. The fire had been lit.....and the flame was growing. The tent was a-buzz with believers selling their wares to others All kinds of music groups and solo artists were popping up. Cassette tapes of Lisa Lochridge and Dave Lutz were flying off the shelves. Not the "Way Productions sanctioned music" that was promoted from the main stage.......but the upcoming singers that were putting out good songs. Simple, down-to-earth music from the heart. This "Word in Culture" sparked a short-lived movement of enterprise from the bottom up.........NOT from the top down. Musicians, composers, writers, short-stories, artists, cartoonists, sculptors, screen-printers, etc.......lots of energy on the rise. Medical WOWs.........nurses, doctors, interns, administrative types. Another arm of outreach. Military WOWs..........Paul Norcr0ss headed up medical outreach and worked alongside the Trunk Office and International Outreach to help military personnel stationed throughout parts of the world. Some military guys were given special exceptions for corps training and/or their corps assignment. Why is any of this important now? There was a short window in time when twi almost (maybe?) broke from its cult-trajectory and let people live freely. That short time frame of "Word in Culture"........was closed back down, because twi could NOT control its outcome. By 1980 Rock of Ages......there was no tent set aside for buying/selling other believers' merchadise. Songs, wording and content HAD to be pre-approved and filtered thru upper cult management. Many of the hippie-types saw the writing on the wall.........and left. And, yeah.........add coerced-corps labor during in-residence training into the mix. Then, heap a mandatory "corps week" on them so that all corps are required EVERY YEAR to attend.....and don't leave until the Rock of Ages is over. This burdened the corps exponentially.......financially, family responsibilities, work/career challenges, nearly 3 weeks away from work each year, keeping corps from promotions or career paths, etc. etc. The Way International has refused to learn the lessons of yesteryear ...........for 4 decades !!! This story didn't start in 2000 with Rosalie.........it started a long, long, long time ago. .