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This is strictly my opinion, but I kinda feel like some of the really early groups came into the ministry with an already established, solid catalog. Then, they adapted it and reconfigured it make it align with the Way agenda. (I used to write a bit of music in my "old man" days. That's basically what I did. Instead of continuing to be creative, I revamped old material to make it "on the word".) When it was time to produce new material, the agenda superceded the music, which is why it sounds artificial. There might be a few of the originators still around to comment on that. I don't Know if any of them post here, other than Socks.

They do get more and more out of touch with what connects in the world. That was a cringe worthy display. Contrast it with the Christian group that won a Grammy last night.

I have to say reading several of the experiences people have had with twi is upsetting at the least. My heart goes out to all of you . I grew up as a young child #4/5 yrs old in the ministry back in “72” and only have this to say , I’m thankful my mom (single parent) was introduced to it because I would of never been able to use my “spiritual abilities “if not taught to me . My life has been one spiritual roller coaster and not knowing would of put me on these tv shows or even made into movies. Have I been almost taken advantage of by men from twi….. yes , did I let it happen …. No!!!! I always blamed the person and not God . I never saw “love” with twi or with a couple of the splinter groups . Oh I left twi in “89” . Hows my life now , I still have a relationship with my Heavenly Father , I will never ever end that . It does get lonely not having people that are like minded around . Anyone out there live in NC? stay faithful, read , do your own research, God will work with you .

Welcome to Grease Spot Café, Cheri ! Thanks for sharing…your post is open and honest…I think I might relate to what you said about it getting lonely not having people that are like minded around…but I will also add that since I left in ’86, I’ve experienced some intersocial "adjustments". Without the mental/emotional/busy involvement strain and drain of TWI, I’ve been able to devote much overdue attention to my wife and kids…family life is sweet - it's a shame it was given a low priority in TWI. …since I’ve joined Grease Spot in 2006 I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find some “kindred spirits”...a lot of friendly folks…some compatible with my take on TWI and even those who disagree are cool with the fact that we can’t be like-minded on everything…I think you might find there’s a lot more genuine love, sympathy and empathy in this little corner of cyberspace than in all of past or present TWI…In my humble opinion, it seems Grease Spotters are like-minded on at least one of the most important aspects/benefits of leaving a harmful and controlling cult – freedom to think and choose your own path. I wish you the best on your journey and look forward to other stuff you might choose to share with us.

I’ve probably overstepped some standards in this forum with my silly musings. I don’t mean to sound like I’ve figured anything out …but discussions about trying to find meaning always fascinates me – I’m always tempted to chime in. my criteria for finding meaning is more in a state of flux than when I had a TWI-mindset…and I’m the super-cautious type now – so I lean more on hindsight, and use different criteria to reflect on things of the past… for me, synchronicity in real time - the meaningful coincidence that leads to an awareness of an underlying connecting principle still seems somewhat elusive… I sometimes think this could be just a big waste of time if there is no higher power…I think I’m always in search of the metaphysical underpinnings of the cosmos - guess I think big ...anyway, in my belief system – at its most basic level – and I could be wrong on this – but I assume we live in a moral universe. The following def. approximates it: “ A moral universe implies that we live in a basically spiritual universe that is somehow ordered by a higher power, by invisible feelings of good and bad, a 'cosmic order' reminiscent of the early Greeks that underpins and motivates our actions. Or a 'moral force' that means our actions must have definite effects which we carry with us. In this respect its meaning comes close to the Hindu concept of Karma.” From: Wikipedia - moral universe Bolen said synchronicities are incidents of spiritual significance that ask us to momentarily dampen our self-obsession and consider the possibility of the divine. What exactly is the divine game plan? That’s what I want to know. I would like to be a team player – for the good guys! One instance that exemplifies how challenging this topic is for me – and it’s kind of a complicated-twofold-hindsight-versus-synchronicity thing – it’s the Jonestown massacre of 1978. At that time, I was really involved with TWI – and I accepted wierwille’s spin on it – his Sunday Night Teaching tape “The current psychological hoax – inducing men to fear”. If I correctly remember wierwille’s conspiracy theory - it was something along the lines of a military or political black ops that staged the mass murder/suicide to make it look like Jim Jones led the people astray…yeah and in 1978 I bought into wierwille’s switcheroo – his message was beware of the government INSTEAD OF cult-leaders like Jim Jones and BY WAY OF EXTENSION ALL religious leaders who are not mainstream religions – LIKE wierwille…in other words, you must trust wierwille…must trust wierwille…trust wierwille (said as if in a deep hypnotic state ). Recalling that time in my CURRENT frame of mind changes the significance of the Jonestown massacre…This is one of those if-I knew-then-what-I-know-now-things…what is worthy of attention…what is so revealing in the Jonestown massacre and TWI’s spin on it, is how cult-leaders like wierwille usually try to obscure the underlying connecting principle of really tragic and devastating consequences that can happen in cults. Fundamentally it all goes back to the harmful and controlling cult-leaders…so reevaluating my old mindset of the Jonestown massacre brings forth new significance…new meaning…a new way to evaluate religions – rather than holding to a certain wooden…dogmatic ideology, theories and speculations as a litmus test for orthodoxy – I think I should look more into what morally underpins and motivates a person’s actions. Feel free to correct me on anything…I’m still trying to figure stuff out…I don’t take it personal – this is just more of my silly musings. Have a good night all

Jesus wept.

My favorite source on synchronicity is a little book of 111 pages: The Tao of Psychology: Synchronicity and the Self by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. Pg. 6 - "[C. G.] Jung described synchronicity as an acausal connecting principle that manifests itself through meaningful coincidences. There are no rational explanations for these situations in which a person has a thought, dream, or inner psychological state that coincides with an event." I think most people try to make meaning out of what happens in life. That, among a few other things, motivates me to write. Cheers, Charlene https://charleneedge.com