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Thanks for the recommendation, Rocky I read another book on why people fall into conspiracy theory rabbit hole Escaping the Rabbit Hole by Mick West and West also runs Metabunk website - and some members mentioned they’re currently reading a couple of McRaney’s books on a forum…After reading this blurb on Amazon about his book I’m definitely checking it out: When self-delusion expert and psychology nerd David McRaney began a book about how to change someone’s mind in one conversation, he never expected to change his own. But then a diehard 9/11 Truther’s conversion blew up his theories—inspiring him to ask not just how to persuade, but why we believe, from the eye of the beholder. Delving into the latest research of psychologists and neuroscientists, HOW MINDS CHANGE explores the limits of reasoning, the power of groupthink, and the effects of deep canvassing. Told with McRaney’s trademark sense of humor, compassion, and scientific curiosity, it’s an eye-opening journey among cult members, conspiracy theorists, and political activists, from Westboro Baptist Church picketers to LGBTQ campaigners in California—that ultimately challenges us to question our own motives and beliefs. In an age of dangerous conspiratorial thinking, can we rise to the occasion with empathy? An expansive, big-hearted journalistic narrative, HOW MINDS CHANGE reaches surprising and thought-provoking conclusions, to demonstrate the rare but transformative circumstances under which minds can change. From: Amazon book description of "How Minds Change" ~ ~ ~ ~ Thanks again Rocky – you’ve always got some good food for thought!

How to Subvert and Pervert “the self” part 1 Think about TWI’s operations that subverted our power of self-determination and perverted what it meant to be a Christian – and what it meant to be you. The processes varied some – depending on the classes, programs, day-to-day recurring activities whether on staff, on a field assignment - even down to the simple responsibilities of a seasoned PFAL grad taking on the role of Twig coordinator. I think in most operations there was a virulent strain of consequences to one’s true self. In a tightly controlled group setting – such as yearlong or longer programs of The Way International – one might describe them as a mass-production process of self-destruction. That’s got the makings of a plot for a sci-fi or thriller movie. Sci-fi and thriller genres are some of my favorite films. Relating to this thread there’s a few films that always come to mind because they have some themes about reshaping one’s identity. The Stepford Wives (1975) The Stepford Wives (2004) The original film version was released in 1975. It's an enticing premise and has some thought-provoking themes some of which are fear of feminism (for brevity’s sake, feminism gets into a whole a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes) and protecting the power of the patriarchy. ( see GradeSaver com: The Stepford Wives themes ) . It was more of a sci-fi horror story. The 2004 remake retells the story as more of a dark comedy. I like them both – and if you have a chance to catch them both as a rental or on a streaming platform, you might find some Grease-Spot-turn-the-tables-on-cult-leaders poetic justice if you think of the 1975 film as before Grease Spot / Waydale existence and the 2004 version as some justice served after Grease Spot / Waydale came online. I think there was a double whammy to the sexes in wierwille’s ideology. I knew women were generally viewed as more or less equals when it came to ordination and leadership roles. But there was still wierwille’s dogmatic fundamentalism that held to the patriarchy cultures represented in the Bible – and that was further twisted by his misogynistic attitude. I realize that now, thinking of all the times I’ve seen him while I was in-residence in casual settings and teaching us about counseling believers. If you think wierwille’s Christian Family & Sex class was matter-of-factly salacious – you ain’t seen nothing till you’ve seen him around the women in the way corps. Think Hugh Hefner touting a phony degree at a thinly disguised Playboy Mansion – only the unsuspecting women think it’s a Bible college…Reflecting on wierwille’s comments about women in books, magazines, and teachings to the general TWI-public it all seemed to serve as public appeasement…or more like a ruse…to throw anyone off the scent of a sexual predator. I got into that in an earlier post - here -where I said: To understand how TWI-followers get to the point of being unaware of wierwille’s licentious and malicious nature is to understand how a sexual predator can be hidden in plain sight. It is by masking his nature in the guise of a man of God, a teacher of the Bible. It all started with the PFAL class – which had vague and misleading directives like “as long as you follow the two great commandments you can do as you full well please” and the dubious justification of David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba saying “technically all the women of the kingdom belonged to the king”. when reading on GSC about wierwille, LCM and others sexually abusing women, I’m often hit with a poignant reminder that cult-leaders figured out a way – through psychological manipulation and the abuse of power - to approximate the 1975 Stepford Wives premise – create a sexually attractive and subservient woman who wants nothing but to please the man. Here’s the breakdown of the double whammy to the sexes in wierwille’s ideology. The ultra-authoritarian nature of TWI fostered a submissive attitude overall. The ideal believer is described as one who is compliant to the will of God. What is the will of God? Any PFAL grad will tell you the Word of God is the will of God. Where can one find the Word of God? Any devoted TWI-follower will tell you that The Way International has more of the rightly divided Word than any other group around. Now, the TWI-mindset is somewhat “adjustable” for men or women – of course other variables like upbringing, past experiences, psychological makeup and such also come into play - but to some degree there is a personality-changing effect in how the person with the TWI-mindset responds to a situation or interacts with others in TWI. Think about how much wierwille, LCM and others would dismiss - with GREAT disdain - logic (often labeled “worldly logic”) , emotions, and the five senses, and instead frequently encourage obedience, meekness, and subservience. While I was in TWI it never occurred to me those attributes of human nature / behavior could be subverted and perverted to approximate the robot-like behavior of The Stepford Wives. That’s all for now, folks… in part 2 I’ve got another more recent movie series that I think is a plausible explanation of how TWI programs can subvert and pervert “the self”.