Hi I would like to thank Sparky for his kind words. And share a little bit of my story with everyone about how I found this website.
I am 23. As a kid life was truly good. I had alot of freinds and family and a good school and chruch. And then when I waas 12 unfortunately I had to move. And things in some ways things started to get bad, personally. And then again I had to move when Iwas 15. And when I was 15 I moved to Asheville, North Carolina. And it has been a truly frightning experience. And for me I didn't figure out how full of cults this place truly was untill 2006. I was going to a community college here and it was an awful experience. The only serious teachers I had were the ones that taught at this community college and the local universsity. And in 06 I had a sociology class and really enjoyed it. The teacher also taught at the nearby university. Well after that class I remember resaerching on the internet about sociology and one of the pages I found had a link about cults. And frankly that set the stage and just opned everything up. I can't even desrcibe. I am leaving out alot and ton of details but it's teh truth. And then again in 07' I found a website about abuse that really opned up alot of things. And that is basically what led me to this website. So again I truly appreciate what everyone has to say. and respect everyone for telling and recounting their own personal experiences with cults and destructive movements. And I appreciate everyone's encouragment.

Hi GEB,

Congratulations for your courage to attempting make sense of what has happened & put it into a different context.

One of the things that struck me reading your post, was that you talk about the move having been a kind of trigger for you to feel 'off balance'. I can genuinely emphasise with you - how unnerving & destabilisng 'moving' is - it is at any age or time, but when you're 12, it is, I feel, twice as hard because you're right in the middle of "changing" from a child to a teen, a time where we are learning to experience ourselves & how we 'fit' into our environment in a different way than the child we were who takes things as a given - metaphorically speaking (there are always variants from one individual to another and certainly I am not talking about children that come from an abusive background) - but going by your story, your life was good.

And maybe precisely because things were just 'so right' for you, it was the more distressing for you to have to leave such a good place (also, the place in your life where you found yourself).

Having to move so shortly after bearily having had any chance to 'settle in', I intuit (& correct me if I'm wrong), made you more vulnerable to questionable influences, being an easy target for what was to follow.

Given that this happened all during your 'formation' years of developing a solid sense of Self that was strong & trusting, I can understand how unsettling it must have been. I've been uprooted myself numerous times prior to age 10 & it is one of the reasons I could never grow any 'roots' anywhere. I felt like an outsider, 'out of place' & like a stranger no matter where I happened to be.

I sense a similar "feeling lost" from you, of not knowing where you belonged, from your own account...which is an 'ideal' prerequisite for anyone on the "recruiting" rounds of any dubious orientation no matter what 'cloak' it may present itself in.

I am sure you will find all you need to find out & also receive the information, the help & guidance this site provides us with; with such abundance.