I'm seeking advice, guidance, input or "whatever" you may wish to
consider it. I've a project in mind, and I can feel an odd sort of
"seriousness" about it that's telling me this isn't quite the same as
the gajillions of "ideas" I churn out every day but never follow up on
(A.D.D. - ain't life grand...). I actually think I might be _serious_
about this, and that's kind of "new" to me. This feels like something
that could turn into a lifelong commitment if it goes right, and I
would really rather like that to happen. Here's the deal...
<snipped>

I'm not talking about a chit-chat list across the internet or through
a newsletter, although that will definitely be part of it.
Face-to-face support with an optional side of political advocacy is
what I'm shooting for. I've never been _really_ active politically,
but I've been feeling lately that it's about time to start.

Naturally with that last one, you should be able to tell I mean this
in a very "long-term" sort of way. I'm going to begin looking for
resources and such for pulling this type of support group together
here in Knoxville, and I think "S.O.R.T." is a rather useful name to
start with ("We help you SORT it out!"). But ultimately, I want to
try setting up something that can be independantly duplicated anywhere
- kind of like "AA" or "Weight Watchers". A resource people can
utilize to get the kind of help they need.

I'm seeking advice, guidance, input or "whatever" you may wish to
consider it. I've a project in mind, and I can feel an odd sort of
"seriousness" about it that's telling me this isn't quite the same as
the gajillions of "ideas" I churn out every day but never follow up on
(A.D.D. - ain't life grand...). I actually think I might be _serious_
about this, and that's kind of "new" to me.

I'm seeking advice, guidance, input or "whatever" you may wish to
consider it. I've a project in mind, and I can feel an odd sort of
"seriousness" about it that's telling me this isn't quite the same as
the gajillions of "ideas" I churn out every day but never follow up on
(A.D.D. - ain't life grand...). I actually think I might be _serious_
about this, and that's kind of "new" to me. This feels like something
that could turn into a lifelong commitment if it goes right, and I
would really rather like that to happen. Here's the deal...

Sooner or later, everybody hurts. Some pain can't be helped, and some
can. When a person in childhood has been traumatized by religious
indoctrination to such a degree that they are unable to function as
reasonable, sane adults, that's a pain that can be helped. I've made
a decision, and I actually believe this one may be "final" - quite an
unusual kind of decision for me to make, to be sure! I've decided
that whatever else I may need to do to put food on the table, I want
to commit the rest of my life to helping people overcome their own
traumatic experiences with religion. It need not be limited to
childhood trauma, of course - I just suspect that's the most common
kind.

I'm not talking about a chit-chat list across the internet or through
a newsletter, although that will definitely be part of it.
Face-to-face support with an optional side of political advocacy is
what I'm shooting for. I've never been _really_ active politically,
but I've been feeling lately that it's about time to start.

I feel I need to emphasize at the outset that "helping people overcome
traumatic experiences with religion" does _NOT_ mean I want to turn
them into atheists. That's certainly one possible outcome, but not a
pre-determined "goal". It just means that religion has been used to
abuse and control a lot of people in a lot of different ways, and I
want to do whatever I can to help people deal with the damage caused
by such trauma. If a person becomes more inspired or comforted by
their faith as a result of this interaction, that is a perfectly
acceptable outcome to me. I want only to help them move past the
abuse, not to tell them where to go once they've done so.

Granted, I'm not in tip-top condition myself. But I can so easily see
this path as being a major part of my own recovery process. I could
"recover" whether I helped anyone else out or not, but I'd really
rather recover in a way that means something to more than just myself.
But I don't think I can do it alone.

My goals are simple to state, though not nearly so simple to achieve:
1. Help people deal with the damage left over from religious
traumatization;
2. Teach people how to "break the chain" by not inflicting similar
trauma on their own children (this includes developing methodologies
for religious members to communicate their religion in ways that are
not abusive or exploitative);
3. Eliminate all forms of abuse - especially psychological - that are
inflicted in the name of any religion.

Naturally with that last one, you should be able to tell I mean this
in a very "long-term" sort of way. I'm going to begin looking for
resources and such for pulling this type of support group together
here in Knoxville, and I think "S.O.R.T." is a rather useful name to
start with ("We help you SORT it out!"). But ultimately, I want to
try setting up something that can be independantly duplicated anywhere
- kind of like "AA" or "Weight Watchers". A resource people can
utilize to get the kind of help they need.

This is a real problem for people. Once society truly begins to
address it, then perhaps religion can truly become a unifying force
rather than the instrument of divisiveness and tyranny that it's been
for thousands of years. Mickey's already given me some idea on where
to start, and I plan to try that out. If anyone else would have any
advice or might want to be "involved" (though in "what" at this point
is up in the air), I'd be grateful to hear from you, either here or in
private (shroyerw at bellsouth dot net).

That's all. Thanks as always for your time and consideration. :-)