> You are a therapist? Would you recommend that a patient, once he saw > the error of his ways, spend the next 20 years wallowing in it?
Sorry, KH, I'm not following your thought here. I suggest that no one "wallow in it." Certainly not clients in my practice. My clients and I typically spend about 4 sessions or so talking about the processes that may have been present in their group. Then we spend 4 or so sessions practicing simple cognitive behavioral techniques to help cope with any lingering mental, emotional, social, or spiritual challenges they may be facing. For most that's it. Some few clients choose to work longer. Some choose to work less. If you have an interest, check out http://knappfamilycounseling.com/cultdefine.html or http://knappfamilycounseling.com/razor.html where I talk about the dangers of dwelling on "blaming the cult." In my work, I say blame is largely about the past: Who did what to whom when. It doesn't bring about change. I emphasize responsibility, which is about the future. No matter what happened to a client in the past, only the client can take responsibility for changing his or her life. As to my wallowing in it personally, if that was your meaning, TM is a relatively small part of my life -- and has been for some time. That's why I let the trancenet.net domain registration lapse. (I brought it back because I received a number of requests to do so.) I would say less than a third of my current clients were involved with TM. These days the largest group were involved with various Bible-based groups. But some people do feel called to being an activist. Nearly every religion has an active reform group. Do you feel the fellows who founded SNAP, who seek justice for children molested in the Catholic Church, should just get over it? They're an inspiration to many in and out of the Catholic Church. My influence is a tiny fraction of theirs, I know. But I do what I can. I wish I were more gifted. But we all work with the cards we're dealt. Being a cult activist is not something I recommend to anyone. In fact, quite the opposite. I recommend to my clients that they avoid replacing the high-intensity of their group with the high-intensity of cult activism for at least a year after leaving their group. I think it's important that people rediscover their authentic selves before rushing off into a new cause. I was offered this advice way back in 1995 as I was leaving TM. I wish I had taken it. My exit from TM was messy and painful. I think many of my more over-the-top writings at that time would have been quite different if I had looked to my own needs and challenges before rushing off into the Internet wars. But what's past is past. I've tried to be more temperate in the last 8 years or so. J.
