In Reply to: Re: well - don't let it get you down posted by for a kinder gentler approach on January 03, 2004 at 12:00:17:
We were individuals before we entered the Family and some of us were very different from others & had a very different way of thinking & relating. We were all put in the cookie-cutter cult & made to think & act the same, alwasy suppressing our doubts& critical thinking & personalities & force fakey smiles or else be sent for retraining. So now we come out and (surprise surprise) we are fiercely defensive of our right to individuality.
We come to the boards seeking more info that will help us unravel our former cult mindset, & I think many of us seek affirmation of our right to be who we now are. I think we sort of hope that others have taken the same road out of the evil witch's dark forest, but to our surprise, we find that everyone has escaped by different paths. And since we are all now in different head-spaces, the affirmation of "Wow, what you do and think now is cool" often doesn't come. BUT I think we do have a right to respect from one another, at the very least.
Example, some people come out of the cult & not only throw out all the repressive authority & sick pseudo-Christianity of the cult, but throw out Christianity as well. Others such as myself reject Berg's brand of religion & want to finally be able to read & interpret the Bible for ourselves.