Taking a week off from the world of TM has been a wonderful thing. Spending time with trusted friends and having more mental space than usual has allowed me to have some new insights on where I am in my journey towards spiritual and emotional healing. Even though I purposely didn’t think about TM, or […]
Breaking Free from Old Paradigms Read More »
This week I’ll be taking a much needed mental and emotional break from all things TM. Since there won’t be any new posts this week, feel free to browse the archives. If you are a new reader, there is lots of great stuff from last year, especially critiques of popular TM teachings. Or you can
Just wanted to remind everybody of these very wise words*, via the SGM Survivors blog. You are not out of the cult until it is more important to you to see the victims healed of hurt, than to see the abusers shielded from the possibility of hurt feelings…. IF they have TRULY repented with great contrition
You Are Not Out of the Cult Until… Read More »
50 comments: Anonymoussays:July 29, 2010 at 10:44 AM Hahahaha!Oh boy oh boy the memories!Lots of people need to see this…. Anonymoussays:July 29, 2010 at 11:58 AM is this a real picture from ESOAL? Yes. Shilohsays:July 29, 2010 at 3:21 PM R.A. I’m really happy that you are exposing ESOAL. I honestly couldn’t really see what
Emma’s ESOAL story: I was truly excited for ESOAL. I thought that it would be a great experience, and that pushing myself to my limits would be really good for me. So in the auditorium, we sat in our companies and platoons. General Hasz walks up and says, “So this year we are doing things
Emma’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
Summer started for Global Expeditions in June. I was working in operations in GE, and we had to basically make “Immersion” happen for each wave of missionaries. We had to plan the services, the ceremonies to get them fired up to go, and send them off. Once the missionaries arrived, I was working 7am to
Emma’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
Just before my senior year in high school, I decided that I wanted to take a year off from school after I graduated, to travel or do something different. My grandma offered to pay for most of a 3-month trip to Europe, but I decided to turn that down to go to the HA instead,
Emma’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
There is no spiritual growth without love. None. Absolutely zero. We can see this most clearly in I Corinthians 13. If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain
Spiritual Growth Without Love = Nothing Read More »
Hannah recently sent me her story, but noted that in her TM days, she went by “Hosanna.” The thing about TM is that you have this weird “connection” with people. That “you understand the 1-2 years of the craziest, best, worst, emotional, incredible, unforgettable, hardest time of my life” type of feeling. And yet, everyone
How ministry placements are decided has always been a hot topic. During gauntlet week, the interns take a battery of skills and personality tests. At the end of the week, they are given their job assignments which range from cafeteria workers and janitors all the way up to Ron’s executive assistants. TM leadership constantly tells
Ministry Placements: God’s Will or Manipulation? Read More »
Have you noticed that ever since the conference call we’ve had more combative comments and we are hearing less and less from those who are in the process of healing from their time at TM? That is bass-ackwards. Some people have mentioned that they don’t feel as safe anymore with all the new people in
This is a Refuge; Not a Debate Read More »
It’s been hard to force myself to commit some of these thoughts to “paper”. I don’t spend much time thinking about my Teen Mania days. I don’t really keep in contact with many friends from the internship… and the relationships I still maintain have a kind of depth that doesn’t depend on the Honor Academy
Even though what we’ve been through has been devastating, its nice to look back and realize the things that we have gained as a result. I came across this great post at What Really Matters that reminds us about the good things that can come out of our experiences with spiritually abusive groups. I would like to
Several questions were asked about ESOAL throughout the conference call. @ 15:55 – Dave says that ESOAL has changed dramatically. In the early years, the entire group stayed together, but “as a result of that way of doing ESOAL”, there were a lot of GIs and even staff member who got “power hungry” and acted like “drill sergeants.” However, now
Conference Call: ESOAL Read More »
Moderator’s Note: “Chase” contacted me because he was concerned that this blog was not helpful but instead might be causing division. He graduated in 2009 and loves TM. He wanted to share his “positive” story. Trust me, its worth reading. Stay kind in the comments. Although the Honor Academy is tough, hard, and needless to
I have been following your blog with much excitement since my wife (HA alumni-99) told me about it several months ago. Although I never attended the Honor Academy, I religiously attended ATF’s through out high school and also went on two TM mission trips. In fact, I talked my wife into going to the Honor
Legalism has long been one of the greatest issues at the Honor Academy. One indicator of legalism is adding to the Bible. Do we believe that the Bible is sufficient instruction for us or do we add rules to follow, that Jesus never gave us, in an attempt to be even “holier” or more righteous?
Conference Call: Moral Standards Read More »
I’m not interested in training to live an “honorable” and “disciplined” life. I’m not interested in fasting to get my “vision from God” or to make a 5 year plan. I’m not interested in watching my brothers and sisters lives so closely that I can make a list of whats wrong with them and confront
My Interests Have Changed Read More »
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be talking about different aspects of the conference call. Today, let’s look at the “popular” HA teaching – Beat your body and make it your slave. MY QUESTION: @ 1:18:25 – Through the overuse and misapplication of “Beat your body and make it your slave,” interns are conditioned to believe
Conference Call: Beating Your Body Read More »
My second year, I started out on the Ministry team. It was great; it was the family I had always longed – for something real. But halfway into that program, they basically told me that I was not working hard enough so I was kicked off. Basically, I felt they were telling me that I
Brandi’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
Moderator’s Note: “Brandi” prefers to retain her anonymity, but I am allowed to tell you that this story took place within the last few years. Two years before coming to the Honor Academy, I was saved from wiccanism at an Acquire the Fire. I didn’t know what to do with my life so I ended
Brandi’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
I was catching up with an old TM friend today. We had a beautiful time of sharing and the conversation inevitably turned to talk of mutual friends and acquaintances from our time at the HA. I was saddened, but not surprised, to hear of several friends who are unable to even talk about their time
The Stories That Are Never Told Read More »
This weekend we celebrate Independence Day. But an even more significant independence day occurred two thousand years ago. An excerpt from the Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: The Christian life begins with freedom from dead works, from religious systems, and from all human attempts 5 comments: Recovering Alumni says: July 3, 2010 at 10:37 AMReply
Celebrating Freedom Read More »
A number of TM supporters have made it clear how disgusted they were with my tone so I addressed their criticisms yesterday. Today, I’d like to discuss Dave Hasz’ tone. As a man of God that supposedly loves teenagers and wants to bring them closer to Christ, what do you think a proper response would
The Question You Should Be Asking Read More »
