This was sent to me by my friend Andy Porter. It is a “disconnection” letter and his “Open Letter” in response. Andy is a very accomplished professional photographer — I included one of his shots above and two more at the end of this post. You will find many more at his website: www.AndyPorterImages.com
I received this letter last week from someone I have known through Scientology for 25 years.
“I am sending this letter as an official disconnection letter. I am remaining a member of the Church of Scientology. It is my intention to have no form of connection with you including any form of communication. I’d appreciate it if you will respect my decision.”
Signed…..
“I sincerely hope you return to the church in the future.”
Reading your letter produces a wide range of thoughts and emotions. I have taken some time to gather my thoughts and respond. But I do respect your decision and will not harass you with my…ideas.
I am a bit unclear about what I am supposed to do if we see each other. Living in a small town and being part of the same groups I expect to see you once in a while.
Do you expect me to shun you, to avoid contact, to pretend you don’t exist? Am I not to say “Hello” or give greeting? And if we do cross paths and I inquire “How’s it going?”, will you turn your back and ignore me?
Will having communication with me create enturbulation for you? Will my words have the effect of nerve gas or kryptonite? Or is there an anxiety that I will mention some new reports of David Miscavige beating staff, or share details from his father’s new book?
It has been more than a year and a half since we stopped working together. When we have encountered each other the conversation has been pleasant. And before that, it had been years since we had any communications about Scientology. So officially “disconnecting” does seem unwarranted…
As I recount our long friendship I recall fondly our interesting conversations about the world, discussing history and politics, sports and science. You were always welcome at our house and we shared great times watching super bowls, celebrating holidays. Your Santa impersonation was hands down the best, my son still remembers you!
When I moved here with my family almost 12 years ago my intention was to move away from Scientology and fly under the radar. After 20+ years of working for the church, both here and abroad I saw all sides of the church. Anything negative I observed I chose to ignore or make excuses for. But my last trip to Flag, to start OT 7, in 2000 just crushed me. I have detailed this trip earlier (https://www.mikerindersblog.org/andy-porter-speaks/ ). I was left with a deep gashing hole in my soul and came here to lick my wounds.
We had many conversations about Scientology. You opened up on your own, about your bad experiences with the church, the incessant demands for money, the nightmare of the Sea Org recruiters at your house trying to pry away your daughter, pressuring and threatening you… and I listened.
I had no plan then to speak out against the church, or make any noise.
For me what changed was reading the stories of multiple Sea Org execs that had recently left the church. Their detailed descriptions of the complete, bat-shit insanity of Miscavige moved me. The recurring re-release of the courses and materials, all obvious ploys to generate more money and the completely off policy “Ideal Org” program infuriated me
Following this was the church’s new fixation on disconnection: anyone who communicated with anyone who mentioned the obvious fact that Miscavige and the church were lost was declared suppressive and all others forced to disconnect from them.
This is what pushed me over the edge: the idea that one is not allowed to look, to see, to speak about obvious injustices is so unspeakably wrong. The fact that Scientology morphed into a complete mind control, soul crushing cult cannot be ignored.
The position of the church, that anyone who criticizes the church is a suppressive person is utter bullshit.
No one is trying to suppress scientology; there is no intent to stop anyone from attaining spiritual freedom. My intent, and the intent of many people who have spoken out about Scientology, is to stop the abuses of Miscavige and the Church; to eliminate disconnection, stop breaking up families; to reform the church so that its actions help make the world a better place for everyone.
And the effort of the church to paint these people as evil is a final confirmation and proof that the church has itself become a suppressive group. ANY group that demands completely blind adherence is insane.
As you may recall, the local org OSA people came up to visit me, at your clinic, to interview me after I had written a letter calling for reforms. Their questioning was all along the line of “who told you there was something wrong with the church?” When I answered that no one told me, I can simply observe for myself, they were not satisfied. When I detailed my own, personal experiences of what is wrong I was told that this was not important, and asked over and over, who was I connected to that told me the church was doing bad things.
I am guessing that that is what happened to you as well. Of course for you it more difficult: Your daughter is still “in” Scientology. If in the end you did not toe the line, then your relationship with her would be severed.
I have no issue with your continued pursuit of spiritual gain through Scientology. I wish you success. I harbor no hard feelings about you or what you have done.
One day I hope you will come back over for a cook out and maybe a World Series game. My family and I await you, you are always welcome.
Signed,
Andy Porter
PS: If you havent heard about it yet, the new season of Orange Is The New Black (in which Laura Prepon stars) takes a serious shot at scientology. See Episode 6 around 50 minutes. The parade of media now using scientology as comedy fodder continues to grow.
Andy – Very well said. Picking up on the details of this high drama “disconnection” that your friend was apparently ordered to do is a new “gash” to anyone’s heart.
A couple of other things you state in this blog entry truly penetrate: “The fact that Scientology morphed into a complete mind control, soul crushing cult cannot be ignored.” That is what the experience of being in this group had become for me as well. It grew so unpleasant and impossible to ignore.
Your recounting: “Their questioning was all along the line of ‘who told you there was something wrong with the church?’ When I answered that no one told me, I can simply observe for myself, they were not satisfied.”
This is what happened at our org, too. We had a special Sea Org mission come into town. In any one-on-one interview — in other words, it is just you answering questions in private and voicing what you experience and see — that was the response as well. “Who told you that?!” Very inflammatory, dictatorial, as though suddenly you are not in a place of spiritual learning but a fascist state. Eerie and off the rails from the L. Ron Hubbard issue, “Integrity” which is recited out-loud at every Sunday service. The essay about the necessity for a person to speak his or her truth as when you’ve lost that, you’ve lost everything.
“In this building?” I began to see, “Not a chance. It is an immediate means of getting in trouble.”
So disingenuous and, more and more, without any attempt to hide it.
Hi Andy, It is so good to see your beautiful pictures again.Thank you for your post.So Sad what The Cult does to all who venture in.So glad we are out.XO Ann B.
Hello, First time replying. I loved the Orange is the New Black comment. Laura Prepon plays a lesbian (spoiler) that kills someone. Then the show referenced LRH, Sci and Going Clear. I see some Sec Checks in Laura’s future.
Thoughtful and soulful reply Andy.
The great thing is that you wrote back with love and confidence, and let him know that you know the pressures he’s under. No defensiveness, no argument, just facts and good questions that will make him think. I think he’s already “out”, but hasn’t yet been able to reach his daughter. Here’s hoping they both will be sitting on your couch come the next World Series. You’ll probably be the first one he contacts.
Great shots and great words indeed, Andy. I share your view point, adding that indeed, this sentence oif yours:
ANY group that demands completely blind adherence is insane.
fits perfectly with my “brutality” against gurus and their successors:unle the “sacred scriptures” of any cult or religion is revised to erase the evident tendancies to affirm “We are right and You are wrong”, I’ll keep considering that cults and religions and their inner rules and orders are dangerous and lead their most convinced adepts as far as hate and assassinations and wars.
That’s hiow I want them revised or forbidden, lkike scientiology, or like daesh, or like some cukts of buddhism, or other abusive groups wanting to dominate the whole universe.
Great letter Andy.
I like your sentence:
“I was left with a deep gashing hole in my soul and came here to lick my wounds.”
That explains what happens exactly.
I saw and felt it coming and I refused to go any further.
This happened to be with a fz auditor.
Even though I stopped before I got sucked in, it still took me months to recover.
Dio
Andy,
I am still thinking about your so accurate, so significant statement:
“I was left with a deep gashing hole in my soul and came here to lick my wounds.”.
For one thing you are the first person I have met in my 19 yrs that was honest enough and intelligent enough and articulate enough to figure out and say the honest truth.
As far I can tell, everyone that has did the bridge, in whole or in part, has a hole like you describe, at least to some degree and a mind that is fucked up, at least to some degree.
Actually you only have to spend sometime “in scientology” to get at least some damage, even in the fz..
It is like hot tar and sulphuric acid on your skin, while you are in quicksand.
If you are in the “CO$” you will have more serious damage.
And the longer you are in and the more you do in scientology, (the more of the bridge you do) while you are in the CO$, the more serious the damage is.
The less you know (the more naive, ignorant and gullible you are) (and the younger you are) (the more vulnerable you are) (the more feebleminded you are) and the more fucked up are, before you get into scn, the worse you will be damaged.
I got into scn relatively late in mylife. I was 44 in 97.
I was actually doing my own version of ” dianetics and scientology” for 27 yrs, before I learned about Dianetics from a TV commercial in 97.
But I did a lot of reading and research, (but did not find any answers), that really worked to solve my severe PTSD.
I read 100s of books.
I was already a very learned and quite experienced person, before I got into scn.
So I had a lot of data and experience to compare to what I saw and read in scn and the CO$.
And within a few days of being on course in the CO$ I realized that there was a lot of good in the data, but I also saw that the management and staff of the CO$ were insane. The extreme contradictions were incomprehendible to me. So I objected to any bullshit I saw. I called them on it.
For example: During interviews and sec checking they showed me a video of DM talking. Then they asked me what I thought of him? In all honesty, I said I think there is something wrong with him. That did not go over well with them.
That is the short story.
I wondered to my self, how can anyone make such a mess of such a good thing?
This was all new to me. I did not know what the fuck was going on, until some yrs later.
After calling them on it, the short story is I was soon declared PTS.
But after getting declared (again long story short) I acquired all the scn books from used sources, and read them all a few times.
I have to be honest and say that the scn books had most of the missing data that I needed on “my bridge” , my version of dianetics and scn.
The good parts of dianetics and scn, the truths in dianetics and scn are the most valuable data in the world to me. Also to everyone else in the world.
That data is how to resolve the problems of the spirit, the mind and life.
It is the only thing that can “save” man that I know of. And I have searched the world over.
If it exists elsewhere, it is so scattered through out 100s if not 1000s of books, and so ambiguous that it is practically impossible for the vast majority of people to find it. it takes many life times to figure it all out.
In dianetics and scn, it is all there. Whether it was stolen or plagerized or not, is not part of this point.
But/and it takes great knowledge and experience (indluding having very serious PTSD, to the point of being very dysfunctional/disabled) to be able to have the knowledge it takes to glean that special data from the works of Hubbard.
I was lucky enough to have a very good dianetics auditor to give me a very good dianetics demo, giving me a release that lasted a few hours. From that win, I knew that I knew I was on to something good.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Now all that being said, I want to add, that Hubbard placed very evil, insidious, diabolical, entrapping, slave making, soul killing, mind controlling, brain washing postulates (egregores) into his work (spoken and written words) that follow the work where ever it goes.
The truth is the best bait in the universe.
It takes incredibly great skill and great knowledge to identify the morsels of truth and glean them from the false and limiting data and entrapping data, and avoid getting trapped or snared by the egregores or evil postulates.
And I mean, even doing it on my own, outside the CO$.
Dio
Heartbreaking.
I love your photography.
When I can use a post to mention another abuse I usually make it known. This time this one reminds me of something I heard when Andy Lenarcic escaped from the int base years ago. Maybe someone can verify this story. I heard that “they” at the base told him he better get his ass back there or else they would throw his daughter, a Gold staff member, Jenny Lenarcic Butler in the RPF for some ungodly long time….maybe until he finally returned. Andy’s post was in the LRH Personal PR Office, like a biographer or historian or something, so there was no option for failure in getting him back. He went back. Have I got this right?
I read both of your posts – I actually persisted and got on 7, and stayed on for several years. Then it all went to pieces.
What I find amazing is the “church’s” willingness to waste it’s staff and public. I don’t know if you saw this weeks Game of Thrones – Battle of Bastards episode, but Ramsey Bolton’s shooting arrows into the melee with no care if he killed his own men or not, was right out of the Miscavage playbook.
.
Those kids he has for MAA’s – are so deluded, they have no idea what the public goes through to get on to those services, the sacrifice’s made, the work to raise the funds. One seriously doubts they would ever make the cut. That they could ever get on the level. Years ago I became aware it had become a bureaucracy. Now – it has become much worse.
I really like your shots. I went to your site – nice stuff.
Mimsey
Thank you, Mimsey. Yes, it has become much, much worse that an organization simply doing its own laundry, it has become a full fledged extortion racket!
And I agree, those holier than thou MAAs wouldn’t be able to find their asses from a hole in the ground in the real world. What would they do when they threatened to withhold someones eternity and the person laughed at them? 🙂
Mimsey and Andy, great posts. I laughed out loud at your picture of having a person laugh right in the MAA’s face when they bring up that tired old bludgeoning club, “we’ll withhold your eternity…” I sure wish someone would do that. Thank for the laugh.
Regarding the PS comment, I saw Central Intelligence, the new Rock movie on Sunday, and the biggest slime ball character in it claims his colours as Scientology.
Spot on. Scientology has his daughter. That’s the bottom line. Poor bastard.
Hey Mat! 🙂
Another tragedy. Well played Scientology, another nail in your coffin.
Hello, Mr. Tony!
Yo Big daddy.
Tony,
It’s like squeezing a tomato with slits in the eyes and it screams.
Dave,
Have you EVER written a disconnection letter to ANYONE? Where is the KSW?
Great letter. Beautiful photos. Compassionate heart.
Hi Andy,
This is so sad, a 25 year friendship just down the drain, because, as Jack Nicholson in that movie so famously said, “Some people can’t handle the truth”. Your measured, calm, caring response ito him, in which you let him be who he is being right now (a total jerk and not himself) with no make wrong of him, while at the same time letting him know that you have not closed the door, was perfection. Thank you for sharing it. God, its all so useless, so pointless. But confronting the uselessness and pointlessness is infinitely better than acting out of delusions.
I think he firmly believes that he will yet attain a higher state by sticking with it. Once he has finally run the gauntlet of Ethics, and convinced his keepers that he has righteously smitten me and is “allowed” to continue to pay and pay and pay I think he will see the light. Let’s hope that this happens in time for him to come over and see the Cubs win the World Series!
According to the tech he is PTS and isn’t making gains. Likely he knows this and hopefully will begin to wonder this hasn’t changed even after disconnecting from you. Hopefully the truth that it doesn’t work to begin with will eventually pop into his view.
I got it. Fingers crossed, Andy! I’m an optimist at heart.
I am not too sure how optimistic I am…the Cubs may not get back to the series for another hundred years!
Awesome letter. Disconnection is the greatest tool the church uses to control their members. Scientology will tell you there is no such thing as disconnection, that it is a personal decision, but it is the biggest lie they spew to the public. Scientologists know with absolute certainty that if they do not tow the line then loved ones, whether they are family or friends, will disconnect from them. If you want to remain a member in good standing then you must disconnect! As I studied the SP PTS course and read the ethics book, it is plainly written for all to see, handle (get back fully with the program) or disconnect (complete severance of all scientology ties)! It is in the DNA of scientology and as a person studies these materials, they absorb the information and thereafter know exactly what is expected of them, handle or disconnect. No thought about it, this is what Ron says to do. Again, Hubbard’s words dictating ones actions. The line is that you may lose your gains if you stay connected. Is the technology so weak that you can’t retain your abilities gained by being in the vicinity of people who don’t want to do scientology anymore? The truth as I see it is that it has more to do with the churches fear of losing more of the flock. As people are waking up from the scientology stupor they have been in, the membership continues to go straight down and vertical!
A year or so ago, I had a dear friend of almost 40 years disconnect from me. I’d not spoken out about the czerch to that time, but a loved connection of mine had done so in a *very* minor way. That was more than enough. I was not even surprised. I wrote him a note to tell him I understood and would continue to love him no matter what. And that should he choose to reconnect, I would be there for him as though nothing negative had ever occured. I still feel the same way.
Very Nice Photos
The other day I was in the Glendale Galleria in LA. I was in a very good mood, walked briskly, and had a natural slight smile on my face. Ahead of me, about 75 feet, I spied a Scientology kiosk. The older man manning this Scientology kiosk spotted me from afar and locked onto me. He was holding some cards or fliers to give away.
As I approached him we both had a warm welcoming smile that we beamed at each other. As I got near to him to speak I said with a big loving smile,” no thanks, I am an SP.”
What I then saw was amazing. I saw his demeanor go from beaming bright to painful confusion. It was astounding to witness. What I perceived was this man go under a heavy hypnotic spell. All of the SP training. All of his Scientology “us vs. them” training exploded in this man’s brain and crushed and affinity he had.
He originally realized that I was an uptone happy guy. He knew it. He saw it. It was true. I was happy and simply beaming joy. My life was smooth and happy. So there he was, going to turn an uptone guy onto Scientology.
What I saw was his certainty of spotting an uptone guy go into utter conceptual confusion. His eyes went dim and he looked blank.
His went into a perfect illustration, before my eyes, of COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. His mind just seized up and froze in time. I wish I could have filmed it.
I made it a point to come back the way I came to see what became of his mind after processing his experience with further self hypnotizing commands with his standard word cleared and demoed SP tech.
He looked at me daggers as I still greeted him warmly. Hate poured through his being.
I then knew that his only justification for me being seen as uptone, the only way this man could process me being happy, was to put me into the category of 1.1.
As I walked past him I felt very sad. I so felt for this otherwise good person. I wished him an invisible loving prayer for his happiness and well being and acknowledged to myself:
I JUST WITNESSED A PERSON GO UNDER A HYPNOTIC SPELL
Scientology disconnection is evil. There is a black magic to it. Normal minds become demonic caricatures of L Ron Hubbard’s manic and paranoid tendencies.
And they pay to have this garbage instilled into their minds: UNBELIEVABLE!
Incredible story.
Loved your story and letter back, Andy. You have integrity and tons of compassion and so many other good things. I read your Flag story and it could have been mine. I was going through the same thing you were at the same time period.
True essence: “1.Ron Hubbard once said in a lecture that you have to be careful in what you fight, because that which you resist you become, and then he adds: if you lose.
And so it goes: Scientology, with all of if its vaunted purposes for Freeing Beings and Creating a New Civilization has become what it resisted and is now in the business of trapping beings in a strait jacket of fear, mind control and despair.”
Very astute evaluation of it all, Andy.
Thank you, Cindy! I hope we meet again, under less insane circumstances!
Me too. Let’s meet at Old Surfer Dude’s party on the beach. He said when the church goes down, he’s hosting. But let’s have an Exie or Indie party anyway even if they aren’t all the way down. They are circling the drain and that’s a good start!
I have had very similar experiences. The rare phone call, looking to hook one of my adult children, has me saying: “Oh you should not even cal here; as I am a declared SP!.” Truly the confused response and sputtering is a riot. But it is really a very unhappy situation and not funny.
Brian, you’re a wonderful lad! You didn’t harass him in any way. You were smiling broadly with a gleam in your eye. You were happy! And once he found out you were an SP, his social veneer cracked on the spot. You might have done him a service. So much for confront shatter suppression. Maybe all the cult members need to redo, 27 times, that course. Maybe then they wouldn’t just crumple up…
Thanks OSD;-), But I would change one thing, His original clear smiling affection was real. That was him. That’s what made it so sad. We actually connected as souls. That was him that was smiling. It was his brain explosion from his Scientology education being in conflict with his direct perception of reality that was the veneer; the out of valence if you will (God, those terms sometimes come in handy)
And it was his ignorance and brainwashing that assigned his hate as his “real” point of view.; for the greater good of the Galactic Confederacy of course.;-))
The guy was thrown violently into a mind fuck; so sad;-(
Thanks, Brian. Of course, you absolutely right!
Wow. what insanity. I recall myself, when I was working for the church, working in Div 6, speaking to people and once I discovered they were not worthy jettisoning them like yesterdays trash…yuck! Glad to be free of it! 🙂
Hating SPs has to be the number one all time favorite trait to dump. When I look back on these times when I believed in this there is a bit of an inward cringe. Like I want to upchuck lunch.
The other filter that just screwed with my sense of well being was always trying to evaluate other people’s tone and feeling I had a responsibility to bring them uptone………………… BWWOOOOUGH……………..YYYYEEEEEUUUCKKK!……………….. there went my lunch!…….. sorry, I’ll clean it up
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s creepy in a very sad way to observe the change isn’t it?
That’s what I feel; sadness, tragic.
Just think how Ron Miscavige feels. I know it’s easy to hate and despise Davie, but when I saw the interview Ron Miscavige was a father in grief.
He lost his son to the mad rantings of a demented philosopher.
He lost his son to the word cleared, clay demoed evils of Bolivar. Bolivar; the destruction of conscience.
I wonder if Ron Miscavige will ever connect the dots.
If you are reading this Ron, that is my take, L Ron Hibbard’s formular for keeping power and the total degradation of the value of family came from the man who demonstrated these traits.
One son suicide, one son hounded his whole life, one wife discarded like trash, one wife pistol whipped.
Teachers teach and students learn. I think I’d prefer a son with bad lungs to a son with no heart.
Sympathy is after all below hate on the tone scale.
Great story, Brian.
Dio
Andy, your experience is so well written and such a good observation of an irrational and cray cray reaction. He saw your smile and knew your cheeriness was real. He wanted to have you join up with him so he could be will your glowing self. Which he equates with freedom and sciloness.
When he learned the truth like an android with two conflicting imperatives he tilted.
That you came back smiling and he was hating is just such proof that you are the better being, the saner being and a loving and brave person.
Fascinating, thanks for sharing. I can relate to the cognitive dissonance. I came from several generations of fire and brimstone Baptist preachers. One of the things I was taught was that only Christians are capable of being happy. It would totally confuse me when I would meet non-chistians who appeared to be happy.
These “only way” ideologies need to go the way of the dinosaur. They are toxic to society and breed hynotized self righteous and sometimes dangerous fools.
In my experience it is India that got it right. Dalai Lama is kicked out of Lhasa; no problem come on in and we’ll give you a home.
The Zororastrians, Christians and Jews were accepted with open arms. They did not come to India through violent conquest like some others did.
The Vedic system only sees one Creator, one God. But recognizes that there is unity in diversity. Many paths but one goal; spiritual liberation.
Many diverse practices that suite the diverse natures and mindsets of its participants.
No one true authority, an open source system based on practice and direct experience.
Yet in the end they all say that the purpose of life is beautiful, the goal of life sublime and joyful.
Unity in diversity, E Pluribus Unum; the same thing.
Trying to reply to StatPush’s comments that to disconnect is to surrender to evil and sending occasional and innocent missives can’t hurt but the stupid tiny keyboard on my phone is making things difficult, so I am surrendering and just commenting at the top.
————————
You’re right, of course, but it’s difficult to separate the individual who is your friend or loved one from the cultist blindly obeying idiotic orders from above. I believe, as you do, that to completely cease all communication just because L. Ron or Davey Boy said so is to surrender to evil. It makes it even more unfair because you know that Scientology while demanding you disconnect from your friend will at the same time go right on sending you tons of junk mail and email in a stunning display of incompetence masquerading as petty cruelty.
I recommend that we throw the Tech right back in their faces. There are couple of things here: LRH said 1) to employ “Good Roads Good Weather” with antagonistic people; and 2) it’s the number of mailings out that matter not their quality.
We can observe that certain Wogs figured out this Tech long ago. My aunt and uncle, for example, send out their annual holiday letter to their huge mailing list. For a few years, I was getting three copies all forwarded from old addresses during a nomadic period of my life. My dear aunt kept getting my new addresses but hadn’t figured out PowerPoint (yes, PowerPoint) well enough to delete the old ones. It kind of reminded me of Scientology, except not creepy and annoying.
We should all send out perfectly innocent annual letters or emails to our own huge mailing lists that are poorly maintained. (Or even quarterly or monthly. Remember, LRH said quantity not quality!) If Scientology can do it, we can do it, too. Except not creepy.
Your disconnected loved ones might even contact you to demand to be removed from your mailing list, and you can assure them that you’ll “get right on it”. And know that they are still receiving your good intentions.
No need to worry about how to act should an encounter occur in that small town. He will cross the street to avoid you. That’s how shame works.
Absolutely love the photos! Good letter too. Your friend must have been really pressured by people in the organization to write that disconnection letter. A person does not do this voluntarily. I believe he must have been threatened with disconnection from his daughter. I also believe this will backfire on them, and lead to his own quitting the group, along with his family members, probably sometime soon. People won’t stand for such nonsense forever. As more and more people leave, he will find himself standing alone in the group, or choosing to come out and join everyone else. Again, such wonderful photos, I could look at them all day. Love, T.J.
From my experience, people start to consider leaving when enough bad shit has been done to them, personally. I give him two years at most.
May he come home sooner….
Bingo. I agree. The unfairness and abuse must be experienced personally and in sufficient volume to be viable 🙂 Sorry, bad joke, accurate concept.
“Will my words have the effect of nerve gas or kryptonite?” Yes, your very presence is ‘entheta’ and will cause the loyal minion of Miscavage to spout horns and a forked tail. And then the Sec Checks will start, expensive Sec Checks. Andy, you and your family have already planted the seeds of the clampocolypse and the minions can’t stand that. Perhaps your former friends were just forced into that by the staff at their mOrg, but they didn’t have to listen.
Beautiful pics…I want one for background and screen saver.
Yes, as Mike and many others have commented, the idea that you can get all these great gains and powers, that you can get audited and be like Yoda, A real Scientology Jedi…EXCEPT if you encounter anyone who makes fun of you, and then POOF, there go all your gains!!! How hilarious!
Andy, they actually have zero “confront” when it comes to questions or statements that don’t fit into their world views. If I started to tell the story of OT III, they would scatter like leaves in the wind. Let alone laugh at them!
Zeemoo: “Clampocolypse”! Wonderful early morning chuckle!
Do the clams turn into Clam Zombies when the Clampoclypse comes? I’d pay good money to see that….
the CoS does not accept your honesty, the CoS wants you to be faithful as a dog
Andy, what lovely and beautiful letter you wrote! You truly are a loving & compassionate being. No anger. No reprisals. No threats. All you did was state the truth. And you even invited them over to your home!
What you did, is the EXACT opposite of what the cult would do. Oh, and you pictures are fantastic!
May the BEST day of your past…….be the worst day of your future!
All the best to you and your family!
What OSD said ?
Hey OSD,
Thank you.
Have to think a minute…let’s see, BEST day of past, worst day of future…hey, that’s not a bad deal! 🙂
You deserve it, Andy! That and a whole lot more….
If everyone on Earth had your temperament, we would global peace. Unfortunately……we don’t.
Thank you Andy. I could have written this story (just not as well); it’s my story.
I came to my own conclusions without having read a piece of “entheta.”
Unfortunately for me I continued in the church well past my fruition date and blew off as “inconsequential” so many observed abuses. That cavalier attitude cost me my son.
I am fairly hopeful though that one day I will see him (and you will see your friend) again and I am sure our bond will be stronger than ever.
Also, your photography is amazing.
Pretty much my story.
Except I was unfortunate enough to get on and through ot7. Then they did their little com-ev stuff on me after I finished a major dissemination project. Was already on the top of the bridge (whatever that means) and I did not feel I wanted to go back and redo ot7 and sec checks as far as the eye could see. I did not get much out of ot7 to begin with. I did 2000 hours of sitting chasing away those darned space cooties.At say 50 space cooties per hour I blew off 100.000 space cooties. Lost the 100.000 cooties, lost $100.000 and added 40 pounds. Been out for 15 years now and things could not be better. because I can now think for myself and not be a Ronbot. Lost the 40 pounds and am in the best physical shape ever. After I went through a rough decompression period am more effective and happy and together than ever.
I attained:
Freedom from bankruptcy.I can spend my money on what I want to spend it on.
Freedom to think what I want and change my mind if I feel like it.
Freedom to see the world from my eyes instead of GAT eyes.
Freedom to live my own life and not someone else’s life.
Freedom to speak to my friends and not have to worry my friend has ratted on me.
Freedom to see the world as it is and not some nasty collection of anti-scientologist.
Freedom to grant beingness to everyone I meet without the impulse I must use tricks to make them into scientologist.
Freedom from solidity. I have regained my old sense of humor which I lost going up the bridge.
And….you got your original life back! You can now do whatever you want to do! Congrats on surviving this vicious & highly toxic cult. Congrats on losing 40 lbs and getting into the best shape of your life. Congrats on seeing the light. And…this is the most important, congrats on getting your sense of humor back! When I was at Flag, I did a skit in the Lemon Tree Restaurant which the public LOVED, but, the staff were horrified. Since Scientology is never going to lighten up, let’s just keep making fun of them!
Xenu’s son I love your freedoms. They are my freedoms too. I too finished OT VII and didn’t go to the ship or update myself endlessly. I was done. But not out. They had to abuse various members of my friends and family before mama bear got pissed.
Then mama bear went online, and saw Chris telling truth about Ideal Morgue’s, Mike sharing truths about the church heirarchy and of course Tony’s mind blowing exposes.
I gasped, I laughed and later I cried. But it was over. I saw the truth and felt shame.
I’m better now. I share your freedoms my friend. Thank you for articulating them.
Love your pics.
Same here, I stayed in the oven WAY past the moment when the red indicator stick popped up…got a bit over done!
I believe that you will see your son again. Blessing to you!
Andy, I refused to attest to being Clear back in ’82. I was using the old definition of Clear: “A Clear is to a normal person, what a normal person is to the institutionally insane.” Nothing had changed for me. NOTHING. So I quit…..
Thank you. And you as well
As free beings we are under no obligation to subscribe to the insane disconnection policy of the church. However, as social beings we often comply to the requests of others who wish to disconnect. In doing so, are we giving tacit consent to the suppression of a fundamental human right?
What if we decided to communicate with those who have disconnected from us? Write a letter updating them about your life and family? No need to mention Scn. You could even state that you are not expecting a response. Just once a month send them a letter. Simple.
The recipient could decide to destroy the evil writings of a madman, or maybe they’ll read it and realize you’re the same old “you”. In doing so, maybe they move just a little bit closer to rejecting disconnection.
To quote David Miscavige: “Power is when someone listens to you” (paraphrase). What if parishioners stopped listening to their MAA or OSA, even just a little bit? Would their power lessen?
Yeah , and isn’t it interesting that we mostly don’t try to communicate with those who disconnected from us. My brother , who has no connection with the church , remarked on it and told us we were still obeying the policy.
And he was right but on the other hand who wants to be rejected over and over again when we know to what extent our reputation has been ruined. At the beginning , it is hard.
But as time goes by , and the initial shock for both sides starts to fade a little , I completely agree with the monthly letter or whatever is appropriate in each case.
And yes I think their power would lessen. It has already happened , with the billboard , the multiple interviews etc…fantastic!
Yes, I will stay in touch with him. And I will also most likely send him the letter, and maybe Ron Miscavige’s new book!
You a good laddie, Andy! You wouldn’t, by chance, have any Scottish blood in you? Arrrrgggg…tis good to be a Celt!
Why, yes, as a matter of fact I am part Scottish! Brings back a memory of days at the Seattle Org…we created a Battle Field Earth float for the Seattle Sea Fair Parade…I marched along side of it, dressed in a kilt, with a “ray gun” holding a chained Terl at bay… Ah, the old days!!! 🙂
And yes, Arrrrrrrgggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aha! I knew you had Scottish blood! A Celt by any other name would smell as sweet. We’ve been here since the 1700s.
Andy,
Be sure to let him know that if he is having trouble with his conditions, Dave does not like it when this kind of stuff gets posted on the internet. Let your friend know that he is probably on the list of those to be driven out and declared through one of Dave’s & his minions’ whispering campaigns. Dave’s code for this is ‘persona non grata’ and ‘enturbulative source’.
I frequently text my son – to no response. Letters go unopened. I will continue to do so as long as I can. I have noticed it is less hard for me to do so because the church’s policy of disconnection has become more upsurd as I decompress.
Huh, what do ya know? The CoS is applying El Con’s PL’s & HCOB’s on SP’s, PTS’s & disconnection! That wacky Miss Cabbage, always a Company man.
Those are some amazing photos!
One sign of the seriously deluded mind of a scientologist is that they don’t realize how psychotic these letters are. Andy’s response is compassionate but firmly base in reality.
Great photos!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jge8qTUDIl0 Old Surfer Dude: is that you surfing?
No. I surf at Bolsa Chica State Beach. Just a couple of mile north of the HB pier. However, this is a great video about southern Cal! The beach lifestyle just can’t be beat…..