The widest angle lens I have found while trying to understand my experience on the way out of Mormonism was handed to me by a friend as I was going through some of my darkest moments of that birth canal. She referred me to comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. I found him and others like him…
November 29, 2005 version 2 Word formatted version of this document: how_denial_works.doc Whether we like it or not, each of us is constrained by limits on what we can do and feel. To ignore these limits leads to denial and eventually to failure. To achieve excellence, we must first understand the reality of the everyday, with…
The power of example has been so over worked that I hesitated to compose this note. However, recent experience has revived this concept for me in a way worth recording. So here I go. Almost 20 years ago I began developing knee problems while attempting to train for what I thought was to be my…
I still receive email on a fairly regular basis from the faithful of various stripes (Mormon, FLDS, Evangelical) who encourage me to take the time to consider their latest theories and evidence as to why they have “the truth”. Early on in my recovery/exodus process, I diligently followed up on much of what I received…
This does not happen much anymore, but I still occasionally get a letter from an LDS leader asking in a polite way what happened to my testimony and why I don’t do what he thinks might bring it back. In this case, the questions and comments were as follows: – My questioner understands that I…
I spent about 18 hours driving this weekend, and it had the opportunity to listen to a lot of music as well as a couple of books on tape. Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” has long been one of my favorites, and I listened to it probably a dozen times during the course of my drive. The…
Why We Believe The Edmonton Sun Spirituality Series A Critical Review April 25, 2006 bob mccue Table of Contents Introduction Overview of Principles Perspective What Attracts Us to Spirituality or Religion? Why Is There So Much Passionate Disagreement About Religious Belief? The Way Forward – Seeking the Good Life Day 1: THE GURU AND THE…
We may define therapy as a search for value. Abraham Maslow Abstract See http://www.virtualcs.com/blackboard/l… and http://www.spiritualcompetency.com/jh… for a summary of information related to recovery from the kind of spiritual crisis many of us pass through as we leave Mormonism. This is based on the DSM – IV, the manual psychiatrists use to diagnose mental dysfunction. The type…
I posted something this morning at http://www.exmormon.org/boards/w-agor… relative to Beck and her well-worth-reading book. A little while ago I received an email form someone whose views I respect politely taking me to task for some aspects of what I said there. Since I think that my response outlines some things that are important regarding how we…
The Use of Mythology in the Recovery Process One of the most comforting perspectives to be grasped as we deal with the trauma caused by a changing belief system is that provided by mythology. This shows how common this process is, and how integral it is to the creative forces that underlie both individuals and…