T-Bone

This thread made me think of Tank Man – the unknown rebel who stood in front of the column of Chinese tanks in Tiananmen Square in 1989 Tank Man I can only imagine it must have been just as scary for Paul A to take on LCM / TWI a big thanks to him, Waydale and Grease Spot for sure !!!!

Ever since I’ve been coming to Grease Spot I periodically find myself so flabbergasted over the blinders I wore in my way-daze. So many things stuck out like a sore thumb but I never addressed it back then – ah yes , the power of a mindset. Like the absence of the power and knowledge manifestations in a ministry that made such a big deal over them! I never experienced them in my own life and just chalked it up to my lack of believing / spiritual immaturity. Maybe it had something to do with the way vp got folks to focus on themselves in order to make PFAL "work"….so I never concerned myself with questioning the validity of PFAL and never realized that “the teacher” was just all talk and hype. After you mentioned never witnessing the operation of power/knowledge manifestations by vp or LCM, I remembered a lady in our twig confided in me of the time she went to vp while at some camp – to see him about healing for a longtime problem she had with one of her feet. vp didn’t do anything for her of course – no ministering, no healing – but the way she related the incident to me - as I recall now – she must have suppressed the ache of shattered hopes – with that stiff-upper-lip teary-eyed manner of a determined PFAL grad foiled again - she told me vp said something along the lines of “it’s still god’s word even if no one believes it”. Reflecting on that now I can only imagine how vp’s callous and dismissive words must have lodged a ticking time-bomb of disillusionment in her heart.

Hey Krys, back in the day I really liked the Sandpiper’s tune Guantanamera .....and thanks for posting Come Saturday Morning Don't Worry, I listen to the Cream’s version of Crossroads almost every day on the way home from work – it’s also one of my all-time favs for Eric’s guitar work AND Jack’s busy bass …And I must say I love Jimi’s All Along the Watchtower version better than Bob Dylan’s (who wrote it). Here’s a couple of my favorite alternate versions of familiar tunes - Bluebird by James Gang – check out Tom Kriss on the bass – he plays it like a lead instrument – you can’t really appreciate it unless you have some decent speakers and/or a subwoofer though (though I am partial to the bass I should mention for DMiller’s sake that I also like the original by Stephen Stills that features a banjo) Sledgehammer by Morgan James – (she was the lady on the right in All About the Bass by Postmodern Jukebox that DMiller posted awhile back.)

I agree - I am thankful for folks like Don't Worry, Penworks, and yourself, Skyrider - as well as all the other brave souls who have shared their stories at Grease Spot and in published books! I don't think any single person could have connected all the dots and realize what a crazy evil mess TWI was and still is...because the dots are people (that's right - soylent green is made of dots)....with security mechanisms in place like the lockbox or expecting folks to hid their head in the sand - I mean "renew your mind...the love of god thinketh no evil - so keep your mouth shut and don't go murmuring, gossiping, spreading rumors, hurting the ministry / body of christ"...blah blah blah... to connect the dots - that's the point of Grease Spot and wherever else folks tell the other side of the story

I want to go to there thanks for sharing those pictures, Lanikaigal

Don’t Worry – thanks for the Victor Wooten tune – I have his Live in America CD – love his sense of melodious funk. Waysider, Epiphone does make good equipment at an affordable price - I had an Epiphone Semi-Hollow Body guitar (pawned it and some tools to go to the Rock one year – again with the sacrifices ); I know what you mean about getting old – I can’t sit for very long playing with my plucking hand bent over the body of the bass guitar – carpal tunnel kicks in; most comfortable position is standing with bass strapped on – and only can do that for so long….maybe it’s time to switch to an upright bass; back in the day I was a decent bass player… with a wooden ear – now it’s just a fun hobby. Since Tonto found out our secret clubhouse I thought I’d post a Paul McCartney clip (I think Paul M was Tonto’s first crush on a bass player); Waysider, take note – even the best of musicians can "damage" a high end machine.

Don’t Worry, that is a gorgeous looking Strat! A good number of the guitarists I’ve played with had Fenders. Matter of fact, the first band I was in the guitarist played a Fender Jaguar Guitar – it had a whammy bar and a bunch of slide switches to vary the tone and I think the pickup circuitry also. Fender knows how to build a great guitar. I fell in love with the Fender Jazz Bass – specifically the 1970s series – there’s nothing like the feel and sound of that series. Did a dumb thing – I gave my Fender to a believer before I went WOW. Currently I own a Yamaha and a Kramer (see picture below) – but – every once and awhile I look online at the Fender 70s Jazz Bass and think hmmmmmm maybe I’ll get another one someday…funny thing the other day when I was looking up that Fender Mustang Bass you posted I came across a something funny a bass player posted – it was something like “my wife used to say if I buy one more bass she would leave me…I wonder where she is now.” On the left is my 6 String Yamaha Bass with active EQ – it has a lot of range and a variety of tones. On the right – my Fretless Kramer with an aluminum neck is a sweet soulful thing. Had a piezo bridge installed on the Kramer and it gives the strings a very organic – maybe sort of a wooden tone – definitely different from regular pickups. Its DiMarzio P Bass pickup sounds nice – however I’m got a modification in the works – I bought a thing called Black Ice from Amazon – it’s an on-board battery-free overdrive for bass or guitar – still haven’t decided how I want to integrate it with a switch to change options or cut it off. Yikes – this is a long post for song of the moment – oh yeah 6 string Yamaha bass – Jimmy Haslip often used one with the Yellow Jackets – jazz with a sting – one of my very favorite bands – enjoy…

Something about that Sanford Townsend tune has a Steely Dan feel to it – maybe cuz it’s a little jazz-ish - and it sounds familiar to me - must have heard it ages ago….and speaking of jazzy I love the jammin’ in Angry Eyes…Tonto has the Robert Plant / Alison Krauss CD – I'm grabbing that to play in my car tomorrow…she also has some Alison with Union Station live that’s good too…That Fender Mustang Bass is a beauty – I was checking them out on the Internet after the picture you posted – looks like in later years Fender sort of re-issued them in a Pawn Shop series and the one I saw had a humbucker pickup… …anyway…Stevie’s version of Voodoo Child reminded me of a CD I bought recently of Winwood & Clapton and their version:

here's another tune for Don't Worry - sorry for the loss of your friends - it's The Rideout by Acoustic Alchemy - listen especially to Gunnar Plumer on the acoustic bass - from his lilting bass runs alone i get the feeling I'm on a horse galloping thru the hills jumping over rocks and brush

Penworks, Please excuse this mess – I kind of jump around - hope you don’t mind – I’ve rewritten this post… I don’t know how many times – so I figure I better just put something down – I owe you some kind of feedback for writing an exceptionally deep book that I know will help so many people. Like Skyrider said Undertow should be on every therapist’s shelf ! Undertow is red-hot poker into the dark underbelly of TWI ! I was involved for 12 years - but was late to the party (if you want to call it that) - I didn’t go into the corps program until the latter part of my involvement – and just shortly after my 2 years in residence I left during my assignment year – slowly distancing myself from the madding crowd post-passing of a patriarch. I heard it in the Chapel on that fateful corps night – and it was very eerie reading your experience of being there in person when G33r read it! Every time any way-leader shouts “lock the doors” you know something bad is going down! On another thread – TWI’s spiritual legitimacy is waning – Skyrider spoke of a lot of reasons for the mass exodus in ’86; and that got me thinking about the perspective of seasoned corps – involved in the daily grind…life out there in the trenches following vp’s dictates to the letter - which is of course the bulk of your story….I believe I have a better understanding of why there was such a massive breakup after passing of a patriarch - - - it was a train wreck that was so many years in the making….vp may have designed The Disoriented Express but it ran on the tracks laid down by his loyal way corps. And what is the payoff for them? Never have so many given so much for so little…the sacrifices, frustrations, fears, vp’s constant berating takes a huge toll ! You certainly delivered the goods on giving this reader an engrossing glimpse of the inner workings….not only of TWI’s deleterious group dynamics but I was also fascinated by how you walk the reader through your thought process. Like Skyrider was saying about seeing similarities in his corps experiences - I could identify with you in so many ways when you spoke of your early involvement. I mean that hooked me big time – and that was only the early chapters. Things like you mentioning getting rid of the “old man” stuff (things that tied us to our old identities) I have not thought of in a long time. But reading your book did more than bring up old memories of my early years. It got me looking at the bigger picture – trying to wrap my mind around the whole shebang. After I took PFAL for the first time, I threw out songs and poems I wrote, sketchbooks from art school…even gave away my customized Fender Jazz Bass and amp to a believer – thought I didn’t need it anymore because I was going WOW. Flash forward to being in a band while in residence. I submitted a song I wrote to the assistant corps director for approval so the band could play it in the Chapel. The song was nothing special – it was just another PFAL influenced song – but a lot of folks liked it at coffee houses back home. But his nitpicky critique to make it “line up with the accuracy and integrity of the word” kinda squelched any musical aspirations I had – figured I was still not there spiritually. Talk about creative frustration. Never wrote another song after that…life goes on – maybe I want to believe in reincarnation….of my “old man”….this would be for a different thread or maybe something for a private message - you talked about mourning the loss of those things. I was wondering what got you back into writing – if it was partly a return to your “old self” or a discovery of a different side of you or what? You referred to vp’s audible voice of God / snow story several times as that being a key element of your belief system – you often coupled that with the assumption that he had more of the rightly divided word than anyone else – and that pretty much describes my belief system too. It’s embarrassing how gullible we were back then. Chalk up another demerit for lack of critical thinking skills in youth. And besides that – factor in idealism, curiosity, lacking real life experiences a young person could easily get swept up in the one-stop shop of PFAL, TWI, etc…not sure if this makes any sense but I kept thinking of that phrase “don’t go shopping on an empty stomach” while I was working on this post. Maybe I spent too much time in the junk food aisle. Do I have any coupons? No – but I have this green card. Then there’s the emotional frustration that you articulated so well in Undertow. TWI was such a man’s world – don’t know what it’s like now; how annoying - you seeking counsel from the limb coordinator’s wife – only to have her defer to her husband – such “diplomacy” as you put it! I appreciate your candor in talking about relationships –with your dad, your husband and others….way-speak certainly leaves a lot to be desired….come to think of it – I could have made this post a lot shorter by simply saying “I really got delivered by what you shared.” But seriously getting down to brass tacks – by far the biggest thing I get from your book – and it goes a long way to satisfy some curiosity I have about the whole mess – and why it was doomed to fail; it was the suppressive political culture (I use that term to describe the beliefs and assumptions that govern life in way-world see political culture ) everything was geared to reinforce vp’s doctrine and practice. This was especially evident in the pressure put on the research department to never contradict vp…. I love the account of you all stewing over how to handle vp’s insistence on a certain Greek word in Ephesians should have an athletic reference – whereas according to context as well as strict definition it is a military term – and then a co-worker leans in close to you and says something like “I love Doctor Wierwille but his Greek is not so good.” Oh I love that !!!!! I just love your book…well done, Penworks !

good idea - Christmas came early for us - I'm almost finished with my copy - - tried not to mark it up too much with stars, arrows, underlining, and highlighting - - so i can give it to Tonto when I'm done....I'll post about it soon to give Penworks some feedback me too !

Brubeck, Gershwin, and Mozart - all greats in my book too - thanks for those links Don't Worry as far as current American composers - I love the work of John Williams John Williams - some popular compositions for the big screen

Thanks Twinky - i did not know that

I found something a long time ago that i thought was helpful in gaining a biblical perspective on the tithe - in Decision Making & the Will of God by Garry Friesen with J. Robin Maxson “…the tithe, which was foundational to the economic system of the theocratic nation of Israel, is not part of the economic system of the church. In the church, there are no taxes, dues, membership fees, or any other prescribed assessments. The ministry of the church is supported as each member gives “as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion” (2 Corinthians 9:7). And so, Christians are not under obligation to practice tithing.” (from page 357) The chapter also talks about there being something almost like a planned obsolescence to the tithe in that the local church was not considered a “storehouse” like the temple, the reward of material blessing to faithfulness promised to Israel is not mentioned for the church, according to the Apostles the Mosaic Law was set aside for Christians, and that the express command to tithe is not carried over into the New Testament. Another thing I wanted to comment on was your mention of what other churches are doing with the tithe in your first post. while I certainly don’t think it’s proper for them to blunt the joy of giving by pressuring folks (calling it the tithe) – it does make me think of another shady aspect of TWI in that The Way International does not have open books like other churches - that can be reviewed by the public – so you don’t know where your money goes!

interesting....i've heard of "how the other half lives"...but you're talking way way back...about the other half being born

Methinks thy speech doth buttress a familiar opinion of a dispensational dullard most lewd – medieval thinkster indeed! In my earlier days of TWI life - i believed PFAL was there to provide all the keys to succeed in life…and the Advanced Class was going to make me a bad-azz in spiritual warfare – kicking devil spirit’s butts. Now Flash forward some five to ten centuries…I’m out of ye olde way-world and have come to realize PFAL and reality do not mix well together - something gotta give - and it won't be reality I assure you. And being a simple Christian I take Romans 6, 7, and 8 very seriously and think the biggest war-front I face is the war within – dealing with my sinful nature, weaknesses and the temptations that confront us all. In my humble opinion, trying to live a morally sound life… to honestly love God and my neighbor seems to be a lot more practical (preparation-wise) for any spiritual battles....matter of fact I think there's more in the gospels and the rest of the New Testament for that matter - that challenge us to reflect on our own ways rather than looking to call out devil spirits for an imaginary Advanced Class brawl. ….i can do without the seeing-devil-spirits-behind-every-windmill mentality.....

mmmmmm that sounds good! a few years ago we had a Turducken - everything is de-boned (no relation) - which is a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey inside a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma...that was good too.

that does say something about the stifling environment in any of TWI's programs that were supposedly a way to accelerate your spiritual growth. people always fared a lot better directing their own journey.

welcome to Grease Spot Out'n'About - thanks for sharing the update...and listen to what Twinky said about being discreet ....so continue to operate in stealth mode...and...we've never had this conversation...

Ditto on what Twinky said Pawtucket & Grease Spot will abide

Hey Grease Spotters, Happy Thanksgiving !!!!! those old Wild Turkey decanters come in handy for the holidays

Not to be confused with… The Grease Spot Café at the End of Way-World

I happen to think Maurice playing a Rickenbacker bass is an interesting event too

now that we got kicked out of the classroom i wonder if this thread will still be fun

how about a get well card ?