ex10

Looks like we have the place to ourselves, Pete. Would you like a Guiness?

QT Thank you so much for using the word "duplicity." If I could choose one word, that describes the culture of the cult, that would be it. :B) Or maybe "duplicitous." I have posted my experiences time and time again here. I had mostly "positive" experiences with VPW himself. In the past, I have been accused of being a "VP sympathizer," etc. But I stick to my own personal accounts, to show the duplicitous nature of the cult. If I jointed the "all about VP and the Way was evil," crowd, then I betray all those who were suckered in, in their innocence and passionate desire to reach out and make a difference in others' lives. So THANK YOU!

Was any other scum besides me, baptized in Pond Emporia? Seems one day, my dear elder scum decided my attitude needed a little, uh, readjustment? and decided to kidnap me and thrown me off the bridge into the swan doo. Just before dinner. On corps night. And it tweren't even my birthday.....Harumpf.

Hi Pete! How do? (said in my best Yorskhire accent, of course.) And mucho gracias from moi, as well, Paw. To quote another Greasespotter, "You totally rock!" I am looking forward to reconnecting and chit chatting with many friends, and former comrades here.

WW Yeah it could have come from an exwayfer, since we have several in our church. I don't remember the specifics. Just being surprised at seeing the poem printed in our bulletin, and someone reading it at church.

Yeah, what tommy said. I never heard VP claim to have written this. As a matter of fact, I have heard the same adaptation read at my (Methodist) church.

Yes.

Why thank you, simonzee, I will humbly accept your instruction on the error of Hub's (not mine, of course) ways. I'm sure J is meek, and will heed the wise words of a fellow scum. Thanks for correcting that doctrinal error. And I think I'll tell him not to pack the saxaphone this time.

On our last vacation, my dearly beloved (also ex10 scum) forgot to use his jet-style packing technique, and we had to pay extra denaro for his suitcase being too heavy.....GRRR. Anybody still got their notes??? I need them quick like, cause we go on another vacation at the end of the month. (Hey, I'm kiddin.)

So does this make us SCUM ALUM?

I guess VP wasn't very good at renewing his mind.

That was incredibly moving, John. Thanks.

Wow, Jon got lotza emails! Thanks, guys. But if you got questions, gotta talk to him. I'm in a different department. :) If you wanna complain, or live outside the US, you get to talk to moi.

If anyone has old Way Books and Tapes, and you want to sell them, my employer will buy them from you. Email: jon@duffybooks.com Thanks.

Thanks for that Groucho. Of course, you are right. I confess to letting the history of the issue cloud my thinking.

Hope you have some great sushi today, George! Enjoy your day!

I really don't ascribe to the black/white, thinking of the cult anymore. Honestly, the thing that bothers me about not just the Momentous discussion, but there have been others as well, is the automatic bashing of it by people who maybe don't know all the facts. Reminds me of the Church bashing, Homosexual bashing, Catholic bashing, (the list goes on) that The Cult did. That's what bothers me the most. That if somebody wants to have a balanced discussion and talk about pros, cons, etc. it's impossible. Only one side of the story is tolerated. And all this garbage about people having to "repent" of their involvement is just pure bs. Not everything in life is "spiritual" despite what the cult taught. Seems to me that people do the exact same thing that they complain about happening in the cult.

Oh geeze. I would like to try to clear up some misunderstandings. First of all, the comments I have made recently on this thread refer to things that have happened in the past, when this subject has come up. I was not directing my comments to any specific poster, except to WordWolf, and then Chaz, when I related my experience from WD. Second of all, my own personal experience with the Momentous training was not really positive, not really negative, just kind of neutral. There were cool things about it, and not so cool things about it. Overall, I'm glad I did it, because of the experience of it. It was something I did at the time that stetched me. That's the way I view it. Thirdly, in my mind, there is a difference between talking about the training itself, and relaying incidents involving people who took the training, and how they acted after. Maybe it's just me, but there is a difference in my mind. I don't feel like it's my job in life to defend Momentous. It's just that in the past, it has been such a highly charged, volatile subject, I have found it difficult to try to objectively talk about it. So I don't anymore. (Ok, except for right now.) It's kinda the same thing with any way corps discussions that come up. Discussing the program is one thing, discussing the people that came out of it and how they responded to the training is quite another. That's the way I look at it. I hope this clears some stuff up. And it's nice to see you again, Dot.

radar I just saw a couple of your 13th corps brethern in Europe, as well as some other longlost friends. I'll pm you. ;)

Yeah, Chaz, I hear you. I remember what happened to your hubby at Waydale. It was horrible. I also got some pretty nasty pms and my email got bombarded with pornographic stuff. (Not necessarily because of that thread only, though.) So much so that I had to change my email address. My husband was sooooo mad. Obviously, this was the days before the good fliters and spam blockers all. Yeah, for some reason the anti-Momentous people can get pretty rabid.

Oh and thanks Wordwolf, for the kindness and consideration with which you approached me. I will remember it always.

This topic has come up time and again on Waydale, and the different incarnations of Greasespot. There have been many threads on this topic. Sorry I didn't elaborate on this particular one. But I have done so in the past, time and time again. But my Momentous experience is but a mere blip on the radar screen of my life, and to take the time to rethink, revisit, re-explain, whatever, has to wait til I retire, and maybe write my memoirs. I just don't have the mental energy to go there again. So please forgive me. I will now try to gracefully bow out of the coversation. I am so sorry I said anything.

What never ceases to amaze me, is how somebody's second hand experience takes prededence over those of us who were really there. Just shows to go ya.......

Gosh, I actually went to Momentous. I enjoyed it. Thought it was cool. I suppose if somebody thought I came out of it a "hard to be with-pain in the butt," they probly would've let me know by now. It's only been like, uh, let me see, 13 years? Maybe it's one of those things that is like anything else in life, you make of it what you will, and the person you come out being, is who you were when you went it. Sorta like the cult.

Maybe it's just me, and I know I am a total wuss, but I think there was a part of him that meant it. All the true stuff he said. Unpopular view around here, I know. But I think that he knew better, on some level, than what he lived. It's just me, but that's what I think. I think he spent his whole life struggling, living between what he knew, and what was possible, and what he lived. That's my own conclusion, having known him. Maybe some want to argue about it, but I've had alot of time to think about it, and many coversations over the years. It's a very sad story, really. It's all very complicated, but oh so simple at the same time.