Quote
vlinden
But for those of us first-world (mostly white) wanderers in the bleak terrain of the 21st Century, with no real roots or community or tribal paradigms to guide us, there is a new set of responsibilities to self and to the world. We have to maintain our humanity, dignity and sanity all on our own now, and learn to stand alone. I'm starting to feel that those of us who can do this will really stand out amongst the crowd, and that's how we'll find each other and start to feel the community we all do miss on one level or another.

Here is where I usually feel left out. I can trace my roots back to the founding of this country, unlike most Americans, from there back to when England and Spain controlled North America. Back even further to Europe. For me growing up it was difficult for me to understand that people didn't know their ethnic back ground or family history. I've learned even more about my ethnic background in the last few years and months. Often times people confuse me for being a forigner in my own damn country. Especaily people that aren't American's! Some people might think it's cool. Sometimes I do, but it's always accompanied by an ache in my gut to know that most of my family has been in America for 500 years, other members much much longer than that and people can't even tell it.

But one thing is for sure. I know where I came from and where I'm going to take it! I encourage everyone to take a look at ones history with an open mind and accept it for what it is. If you can't trace it back past yourself, so what? Start now and create your own family history from this point on. Plus with the rapid advancements in DNA analysis eventually you'll have the chance to trace your lineage and know your history.

This is a facinating subject unto itself.

Hi Zorro,

Yes, things got a little squirrely today on this board. We'll call it miscommunication and let it go at that.

Personally I'm ultra sensitive to anything that appears to be a mind game lately. Not only did I lose my love to a frigging cult, but I also had someone I've known for years try to undermine my belief in my own sanity-- claiming we had a conversation that never once took place - because he wants to convince me that we're "meant" to be together. I tell you . . . it just gets weirder and weirder . . .

Anyway, I agree that the conversation about roots is important. Part of why cults trap people is lack of identity, and that is a HUGE issue in our culture today. Many of us are just wandering mutts! Not much we can do about it. Even if we can trace our geneology it's often so mixed up that we can't identify with a particular lineage.

I lived in a small town for many years with two very strong local populations -- Native American and Hispanic -- that went back hundreds of years. The newcomers were white hippy types, radical and disassociated from almost everything, their own cultures, often their families. The mix was volatile! Interesting town . . .

Well, I'd better sleep before the sun comes up.

Quote
vlinden
Oh, and I wanted to say --

Elena, you also are among my top three favorite writers and thinkers here on this board. There are many fine people posting here, but your articulate and meaningful insight really deserves to be collected into a book. I want to thank you for continuing to write here, this board is very important and you really are doing a service to the world by helping to clarify the issues being dealt with here.

How kind of you to say.

I've been a cult-watcher since the 1960s when many of my contemporaries got sucked into these things. No family on my street growing up didn't lose at least one child to a cult or to drugs. My family lost one to each.

Have you read James Endres' piece, by the way? Here's a link, if not:

[www.win.tue.nl]



Ellen

How kind of you to say.

I've been a cult-watcher since the 1960s when many of my contemporaries got sucked into these things. No family on my street growing up didn't lose at least one child to a cult or to drugs. My family lost one to each.

Have you read James Endres' piece, by the way? Here's a link, if not:

Thanks, Elena, I'll check it out.

I'm sorry about your family. My ex's involvement with Landmark has opened up a new understanding of our current reality to me. I had no idea to what extent cults, mind control, brain washing, etc, have infiltrated the culture. Of course, where we draw the lines around organized religions is also a contentious matter. All of this is making me examine more closely the influences that have shaped me. We're all infected to a certain degree by the meme viruses running unchecked, you know . . .

As Vic-Luc said during our fight yesterday, I am someone who once may have been sucked into Landmark. Well . . actually, no, because the whole LE scene -- the cheesy conference room and the jargon and the droid volunteers and the "sharing" and the abuse -- always would have turned me off! Completely! But certainly I was someone who was searching for absolute answers. I was more prone to search for them through drugs and the counter-culture. From what I understand of "est" it largely attracted people who had missed out on the 60's cultural revolutions and experimentation with psychedelia. It seems to be geared more toward the folks with money anyway, and that usually isn't the hippy.

Anyway, there is more than one book floating around in the pages of this board. At some point someone should take the task on.

V

You know after reading all these posts, I do believe it's all good. I don't think we can get through the hellish experiences we've all been through without popping off on occasion? I have to agree with Vic-Luc that he can drop the psych mode and just be like everyone else on this forum. I think we're all intelligent enough to understand why blood boils a bit here. Who the hell should put boxes around anyone especially a therapist who has to keep there damn cool about them all day with their clients. There's plenty much hurtin to last lifetimes. There is just no getting around that fact. I think it would be tough to be in that line of work. My therapist is an awesome person. If i wasn't her patient we would be having lunch, going to a movie-hell we'd be great friends.

FF