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Paddy, I don't see that there is any difference between happiness based on lies and happiness based on truth. Happiness is happiness and it may not be the point but if someone posts here on ex-PF that premies are miserable I will continue to reply: not all the ones I know because I prefer the ex-PF to be based on truth.
There is a huge difference between living "happily" based on lies as opposed to happiness that's based on the truth in one's life. When people think they are happy but their lives are based in lies and they hide it, that's called denial. Drug/alcohol addicts do this every day of the week, and their co-dependents assist them. Similarly, someone who is dependent upon a fake guru for their happiness, but is in denial (if they're aware of all the information about their guru/master and won't look at the information) they are also in denial.
A personality cult is definitely not the same thing as a Ponzi scheme, Paddy. Ponzi schemes, as far as I know, don't involve avatars, coersive persuasion/thought reform (to the degree a personality cult leader uses it), meditation, entire belief-systems, prayer to the leader, worship, foot-kissing, and life-long involvement. To say that Rawat runs a Ponzi scheme is minimizing the issue. Folks just can't easily report a fake guru to their attorney general or the FBI for fraud, because it's just not that simple, as they do when they've become involved in a Ponzi or MLM scheme. The money given to Rawat is a big part of the cult, but it's still only part of the picture. Both Ponzi schemes and cult leaders use fraud to bilk folks out of money, that's true, but that's about all that makes them similar.
Paddy, I don't think all premies are miserable and I don't think it's fair for anyone to say they know how every premie in the world feels every day of the week. In general terms, I would suspect that some premies are "happy" (in quotes on purpose) and some are miserable.
As Joe and John pointed out, there is an enormous feeling of freedom, a great relief that can be felt, upon finally leaving the cult. Sure, there are also painful things that come up as a result of leaving, but for me the overall feeling was liberation and exhilaration. For me, it was like breathing free air for the first time in decades, and believe me I was a true-believer, a church-lady in the extreme, a fanatic. You just can't beat that kind of happiness, and it gets better and better every single day. And I'm not different or more "special" than any other person in the world, either. I'm just a regular person, like anyone else.
Cynthia
Modified by Cynthia at Thu, Mar 24, 2005, 07:02:33
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