I have known Mike Eldredge since December 1975 when he and his wife Penny were the first two new recruits to arrive at Flag in Clearwater. At the time the location was still confidential and they had not been told where they were going until they were given tickets at the airport. They were excited to be at Flag, but a little disappointed as they had only come from Miami! Mike went on to become a cramming officer, auditor and C/S who worked on many projects directly for LRH. I did a few Missions with him at various times. This write up only touches upon his history and experience. Perhaps he will decide to write more in the future.
He recently sent this letter to David Miscavige and others.
It is good to have another very knowledgable person contributing to the effort to end the abuses in the RCS.
ON BEHALF OF L. RON HUBBARD
12 August 2013
INTRODUCTION
My name is Mike Eldredge. I became a Scientologist in 1974. I joined the Sea Organization December 10th 1975 and served for 18 years. I am OT VII, a Class IX C/S, Commodores Messenger, founding member of ASI and RTC, I have studied the entire OEC, DSEC and a multitude of other minor courses.
Those to whom this writing is specifically directed know who I am. More to the point this writing is directed to David Miscavige, Norman Starkey, Ray Mithoff, Marc Yager, Mark Ingber, Terri Gamboa, Lyman Spurlock, Greg Wilhere, Shelly Miscavige, Marion Pouw, the staff and Trustees of CST, RTC, CSI, WDC and GOLD Base. In essence everyone I worked with closely at the base.
Over the last couple of months I have tried in vain to meaningfully communicate with all of the above persons specifically named. I have been absent from Scn lines for 20 years at this point, thinking mistakenly that the above very capable people would have things well in hand and that Scientology would be expanding. No, I don’t watch commercial TV, read “newspapers” or “surf the net” in hopes of finding out about Scn. I am a Scientologist and I have better things to do with my time and what I have been doing for the last 20 years is not the subject of this writing, I have always made it known to anyone who wanted to know what I did for a job, where I lived, my email address and my phone number.
Why am I saying something now? Simple, I tried to disseminate to a person over the internet by simply saying to them look it up on the net. Their reaction to this statement, after a couple of minutes was “They really do that?”. Well of course I had to investigate what was meant by “that”. ( I won’t bother to try to explain what “that” is, look it up on the net). Since that time I have spoken to a number of people that I have known for almost 40 years, some less, as to what has been going on, excluding people who are currently working in the church as apparently the only comm line is through Marion Pouw. Recently I had a comm cycle with Marion via e-mail where I laid out my plans to visit relatives in Fla. stating that it would be a opportunity to communicate in person with ANY of the above named individuals still working in the church. Knowing that at least one of them would be at Flag I went by for a visit. What I was greeted with was the Security Chief who stated to me that I was unwelcome there because I was “connected to SPs”. I left. It was certainly no way to treat a friend and that being the case I definitely know where I stand.
Some of the people I have talked to have alluded to my “not understanding” or “you would have had to have been there”. Such utterances are a precursor to justification of one’s irresponsibility . Not one of the conversations I have had with anyone have I heard someone say that they even attempted to use actual Scientology to solve the problem, apparently it is only used as a convenience and has all been relegated to “background data” or it is a product that is sold but not actually used by the people that are selling it.
I know that LRH cared about each and every one of you , as I do too, as well as the rest of humanity. He never claimed to be anything other than who he was. He simply shared his discovery of something meaningful that could better living conditions and one’s self determinism. A workable system of technology and administration of it.
Since LRH isn’t here to say anything about it all, I figured I would, since he was my employer and friend for a number of years and I know that before he died he went to great lengths to insure that certain people were given responsibilities and trusts to be carried out. Some of these were lifetime appointments, that’s how much he trusted these people. If he showed up today what would he say? What would he do? Maybe he would ask if his instructions had been carried out in his 27 year absence .
27 YEARS
Lets reflect on some things that could have been accomplished at a personal level in 27 years. Even if you only studied 2 1/2 hours a day ( 24,637. 5 hours). Is that enough time to complete training through Cl XII, OEC, DSEC? (maybe even Super Power and …..). Could one have progressed up the Grade Chart to maybe OT X?
Well if you haven’t made it that far after 27 years (even though it is a requisite for some of you to study 2 1/2 hours a day to even continue to hold corporate office), then one can safely assume that you have been doing something else (i.e.: NOT SCIENTOLOGY). Yet these are things public Scientologists pay a great deal of money for being able to do full time while you on the other hand can do them for free because you have unlimited access to the technology and people who are actually skilled at doing and training people to do and yes it is part of the daily work schedule .
ETHICS / TECH / CASE GAIN
The purpose of Ethics is well known to any SO member and is a technology within the overall body of Scn technology . The purpose of the SO is to ? …… (yeah it’s a pop quiz).
Now if one were to be standing next to another person while that other person was committing a felony act, one would think that the right thing to do would be to actually, maybe, possibly….. say something about it? Maybe do something about? Have them arrested? (Since witnessing a felony and doing nothing about it is legally viewed as becoming an accessory to a crime). From what I have gathered in my recent investigation this is a sort of grey area.
Well, just so it becomes abundantly clear, ( and please forgive me as I don’t have the entire OEC here with me for a reference I can exactly quote). There is an HCOPL that specifically states DON’T DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL. This should be a self evident policy but apparently it had to actually be printed as an HCOPL as some people just didn’t understand, and this is a policy that is pretty prevalent in life outside the SO.
In the SO it is expected that one is able and willing and it is ones duty to put period to Out-Ethics, Tech and Admin and yes this actually applies to EVERYONE. The principles outlined in the various policies and codes are not written for just some people in the SO and when one is confronted with a seemingly awesome class A uniformed individual who is blatantly breaking the law one is expected to act and put period to the action and then see that Scientology Technology is applied to the situation. An individual dramatizing their case on post is a crime as outlined in the HCOPL, in case anyone has forgotten thi). It is not a signal that a new pilot RD is in the works or that this is the new cool way to handle ones subordinates and should be copied by all those witnessing this “new found technique “.
So if you have not achieved complete movement up the Grade Chart and essential training levels in both Tech and Admin in a 27 year time span then you need only look in the mirror to find out who has been stopping you. The reasons for no case gain are not very many, either you aren’t doing it at all or committing continuous PT Overts, or doing something else and calling it Standard Tech.
I don’t recall a single reference in any HCOB, BTB, BPL, FO, LRH ED, LRH dispatch, PAB, HCO Info Letter, HCOPL or LRH Book that says that physical violence , imprisonment, kidnapping are part of any operating procedure in Scientology and especially as an “Ethics Handling”. However , my recent investigation into “what the hell is going on” has shown me that not only has it occurred repeatedly it is being promoted and continued as a “standard” handling in the lives of Scientologists as I write this.
Treason is too high a condition for you all. The future of Scientology WAS in your hands, it no longer is.
breppen says
Thank you Mike for this, “Treason is too high a condition for you all. The future of Scientology WAS in your hands, it no longer is.”
Indie8Million says
I just wanted to say that these are the most intelligent commenters and comments that I’ve seen on any blogs, on any subject.
One thing that can be said about the people here – They know what they are talking about and, if they don’t know something, they are genuinely trying to know.
Hat’s off.
Theo Sismanides says
Mike Eldredge, quite a letter. Thank you for coming out and speaking your mind. Some Ethics needs to be gotten in and i am speaking for all of us. Of course, the cool aid drinkers are in Treason. We may though be not higher than Non E and I am talking about the Indies. We are just finding out… let’s see how this goes. Where the majority of people is gonna land or when a person or two will decide we can do something more. It can go either way!
KFrancis says
Thank you for this communication Mr Eldredge. I always appreciate it when an adult enters the room.
Steve Poore says
Mike Rinder, earlier in this thread you stated: “I have to walk a fine line of what I think is fair to the majority of the readers here and what I think is going to continue to forward the objectives I have for putting all the time and effort into this that I do.”
I for one and I think the majority who comment here really do appreciate this and what else to stated clearly in those clarifying remarks above.
And I say, let the LRH haters go elsewhere. And I also pose this to same: What are you doing to put period to this situation that you also have some responsibility for, and you also contributed to?
Steve Poore says
Does hating on LRH, Scientology or The Tech really HIT THE REALITY of our Target Audience, the remaining Church Members TO HELP THEM SEE, and to relay the necessary data they need, To DO THE RIGHT THING?
ITNOX says
Steve, this is not about hating the man per say, it’s hating the results of his actions. Did he not create the sea org and write all the policies that governed it including fair-game and RPF? What were the results of people in the RPF? Everyone going through the RPF that has left Scientology(even during LRH’s time) reported that they were sleep deprived, malnourished, and worked for days without sleep. That sounds like slavery to me. This is the legacy he left behind. You can’t ignore it because you find his auditing tech useful.
I’m not an LRH-Hater. I’m an LRH-Realist.
ITNOX says
‘I don’t recall a single reference in any HCOB, BTB, BPL, FO, LRH ED, LRH dispatch, PAB, HCO Info Letter, HCOPL or LRH Book that says that physical violence , imprisonment, kidnapping are part of any operating procedure in Scientology and especially as an “Ethics Handling”. However , my recent investigation into “what the hell is going on” has shown me that not only has it occurred repeatedly it is being promoted and continued as a “standard” handling in the lives of Scientologists as I write this.’
Hubbard never wrote anything about advocating violence or incarceration. true. But this practice occurred under his watch. He ordered a small child to be locked up into a chain-locker on the Apollo for 2 days. This poor boy had to eat, sleep, and defecate on himself during this horrible ordeal. The source of this information came from an interview with the worlds first clear, John McMasters. He’s the one that finally removed the child from the chain-locker. The child’s offense was eating a telex. Hubbard ordered the boy’s punishment and there were plenty of witnesses. The Project Rehabilitation Force was created by Hubbard. This in practice is no more than a form of brainwashing and torture for those sea org members that dared have doubts about their commitment to Scientology. He may not have been there while people were abused, but he set in motion the machinery that is in place today where now Miscavige is at the helm. Hubbard did not care about anyone except for himself. Like Miscavige, he threw plenty of people under the bus when they became a threat or of no use.
Globetrotter says
“Hubbard did not care about anyone except for himself. ”
Right. The staggering amount of materials he created (it was a hell of a lot of hard work to write all those books and issues and deliver all those lectures, and manage all those projects and organizations, whatever you think of it) was because he “did not care about anyone except himself.”
That’s what you do if you are a selfish person. You work your ass off to create an epic amount of writings and lectures that you believe can help others.
Hope you don’t eat anything made of corn (Monsanto’s GMO corn is killing people) buy anything made of plastic (it goes into landfills and stays there for 50,000 years), drive a car that burns gas (the big oil companies are ruining the planet’s ecosystem) or set foot on an airplane (they are a major contributor to greenhouse gases that cause global warming) because you have such high sense of moral rightness and can clearly see how wrong and selfish all those people who provide these products are.
If you do, then just think about it. Will you go to a blog and comment how bad Shell is, how selfish they are? And THEN go fill up your car?
The “selfish” LRH, with his faults and mistakes and all, probably contributed more value to society than you could ever dream of doing. If his faults bother you so much that you think that his faults are the most important thing to say about the man, that speaks volumes about you, much more than it does about LRH.
Just don’t use his products if you hate him so much. It’s fine. It’s a big, free world.
And I certainly hope you don’t have an iPhone, because Steve Jobs is told to have been a brutal, and often abusive boss. And he did it all for MONEY. Phew.
Indie8Million says
+1+
I love your logic.
Jim Logan says
I have known and worked with Mike since way back when in the mid 70s at Flag. He put me through the paces on my Internships, and eventually we worked together at the Int Base, in an extremely able and productive Cramming Unit (which is why DM and cohorts worked to unmock it).
The sensibility he brings to the game is backed by competence.
And this is a game. One of the points omitted in evaluation of the 3D, its policies, the rules and regulations as it were, is that these exist mainly to have cooperation, and to form up channels, barriers as it were, to the freedoms that must exist and ALL in the aims of the subject: to help a being play a better game in their own estimation.
Exactly like is related here by personal knowledge of L. Ron Hubbard the man, his reality, was the reality relayed to me by another who lived and worked with him for decades, that Ron himself was loath to determine the entirety of how the group would work, despite having written the rules and regulations of policy. In fact, he also wrote policy expressly pointing out that it could be and should be evaluated routinely as to workability for the Admin Scale of the group, and that which is not forwarding those aims and that scale needs to be removed, cancelled, taken out of the game. Period.
I’ve said before, and perhaps controversially, that any policy that makes the rules, the barriers, the channels of the game fixed and “holy scripture” to be held in place ever more as robotic slavery, is NOT L. Ron Hubbard’s intention, nor the actual logos of Scientology itself: the subject as contained in the Axioms, the Logics, the Scales, the technology of application of these fundamentals that ARE Scientology.
Nice to have you back Mike, and to be working agin’ with one of my oldest friends and one of the most competent beings I’ve ever had the privilege of working with.
Persistence says
Thank you Mike for being there and communicating. I loved your story.
Penny Krieger says
Mike Eldredge,
Excellent post. Right to the point! Thank you for coming forward and communicating. Your last two paragraphs pack the punch! You are SO right!
The future of Scientology is out of their hands. What they are doing is not scn…but a shadow of what formerly was.
All the books now say, “Based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard”, not written by L. Ron Hubbard.
Who owns the copy writes? Have a look. By staying in the Church you are not supporting L. Ron Hubbard or the tech he developed. http://rundbrief.org/kd0044/archiv/sc-i-r-s-ology/index.html
Theo Sismanides says
Yes, Penny, I would like to hear from other ex-es what they think about his site. But it’s not confronted I guess.
ingrid smithj says
Great post Mike. for me Ron is an incredible friend as he has given me a tech that is unbelievable in its efficacy. i have never come across tech of his where there is an intention to harm. The fact that it can be used that way is very unfortunate, but most anything on this planet can be used to harm if that is the intention.
Hallie Jane says
+1
Paul J says
Mike, I can’t express enough how important it has been to me that people like you who have had first hand experience have come forward. It has made all the difference. Thank you for having the courage to communicate here.
Cristian Landivar says
thanks for the post. I think it will help more people to understand what is happening inside the Church of Scientology
Vertsurblanc says
“This write up only touches upon his history and experience. Perhaps he will decide to write more in the future.”
Mike E I hope this is part of your plan. Maybe a specific piece of tech related to now versus then? That you have observed?
You must have a zillion insights to share.
Indie8Million says
Mike Eldredge – Thank you. Correct targets – correct wave length.
I would like to hear your thoughts about something, if you have a minute.
I too come from way back in the day – mid ’70s – so I know how it was and I know how it’s supposed to be, FYI.
I’m also mad as a hornet’s nest that we worked so hard and so selflessly to forward this work that would help people and then this regime comes in, as you say, against LRH’s will, and makes it their own Federal Reserve, essentially printing money – by stealing from the members to get it.
____
What I wanted to ask you about is this.
I have dedicated friends who are still in but who are as much a friend of Ron as they ever were.
What they complain about, about people who are “disaffected” or ARCx with the church, is that “We all know that there are things that need to be fixed but when they air their dirty laundry in the news, etc., the public get confused between Scientology and these ARC breaks.”
But then, they WON’T look at footage of Scott Campbell on http://www.Surviving Scientology.com and his story about being kidnapped, drugged and beaten, for one example.
I’m sure you’ve given this some thought. HOW do we get them to LOOK? To put aside this idea that it’s an overt to look and that they are “giving up their eternity” if they do?
It’s one hell of an implant to get by.
Would love to hear your thoughts or anyone’s successful actions on this.
Sincerely, M lv,
Indie8Million
Mike Eldredge says
The carefully insulated environment created by the church is meant to be exactly that, one day though a person looks around and goes WTF? Why do you think the actions being done are all in a effort to introvert rather than extrovert. Scn works so well that people who suddenly see things are either immediately invalidated so as to introvert them or “offloaded” for one reason or another. The only power of suppression is restimulation. It is painful to watch but eventually the slaves always eat the master or as is happening now simply leave and do their own thing. It all boils to to a personal decision and no one can make that for you. You can lead a horse to water but you cant make them drink and so it goes.
USEDTOLOVEIT says
I was first at the Toronto org in the early 70’s and from there went to the ship in 1973 I believe it was. From there to NY when RONY was established as the secret location from which the S.O. CS’s (CS 1 through 7), ran the Orgs, while LRH was in the process of selling the ships and establishing the “Land Base”. I landed in CW Dec 1975 as did Mike E.
As Kevin stated, the time period of 1980 -1982 WAS insane at Flag and MANY of us asked the question, “Where’s Ron”? Where’s the Old man…? He MUST know about all of this stuff that’s going on, why is he allowing it? I am a very simple person folks. I dedicated my entire life, heart and soul to LRH, SCN and the S.O., as did most or all of you. I adored my fellow staff and I loved my public who came for services. One day, after receiving the Happiness Rundown, after sitting in on the FLB Mission Holder’s meeting, after seeing so many assigned to the RPF….I woke up. And that was that. It was scary as hell to have that waking up.. but once I saw what was going on .. and saw how it would continue to go on.. I couldn’t remain. It was literally an insane environment run by insane people. And then I had to figure a way to leave and be able to escape with my daughter.
The same insanity albeit at lower levels existed on board the Apollo in the early 70’s. The living conditions were awful, the locals were lied to and we were always in hiding. Those of you from back then know what I mean without getting into details. And with all of THAT being said…yes I got wins…here and there on certain aspects of the tech.. certainly not all of it. And I continue to utilize those aspects of the tech that work for me. Whether LRH was Source on the material is debatable….he had a lot of very talented folks helping him.. Mayo for sure. Point is with all of this ramble…the current scene is far past crazy and that is DM’s doing. The past scene had IT’S own level of crazy.. thank you to LRH. I believe DM saw how people blindly followed LRH and has worked himself into that position in the mindset and eyes of all still in. He has copied the successful actions of obtaining power that he observed in LRH. Those still in will either wake up or they won’t. It for SURE seems like they will have a lot tougher time now though due to the level of potential physical and mental abuse that seems to be the order of the day. Sorry to ramble…I guess I wanted to say a lot in a short space …..without coming to much of a point… other than..each person has to have their own “moment” and then figure a way out. Thanks to sites like this and all the outstretched arms…they at least have a place to run to.
Mike Rinder says
Thanks so much for commenting — I agree with your perspective.
It is good to hear from you and I hope you are doing well in life. I remember your daughter…. (and you :))
USEDTOLOVEIT says
To Mike Rinder: Thanks Mike. I didn;t know you knew my daughter.. she was pretty young when we left..6 or 7. I have only recently allowed myself to “follow” the goings on…the Kate/Tom split spiked my interest for some reason, more than anything else I had glimpsed. I am doing fine now thank you. It has taken my daughter a long while to come through S.O. induced childhood trauma’s and such.. but she is great. It’s all been a part of the journey. And many congrats to you and your new bride. May you only know success, love and fulfillment.
Mike Rinder says
Glad to hear it… She was in the nursery at the same time as Taryn wasnt she?
Thanks for your good wishes, same back atcha.
Kevin Tighe says
Thank you. Your experiences and conclusions parallel my experiences (though on different lines) and conclusions.
USEDTOLOVEIT says
Well Mike….I don’t think I remember Taryn..sorry about that. My daughter was good buds with Darius Wilhere and Carolyn Gabehouse… tempus fugits huh! lolol
Mike Rinder says
Right out the window!!!!
Indie8Million says
BINGO!
“The only power of suppression is restimulation.”
That hits the nail right on the head.
Problem with these folks is that if you even lead them to the water, they’ll stick your head in and try to drown you. lol!
I’m under the radar so ‘everyone’ still thinks I’m hard core in. Like Mike, I’m trying to get them to see what’s actually happening. The best thing I’ve found that will get people to listen is when it can be proven that the tech has been changed, like in the video about how PDC #20 was changed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG9X0gEedDs
Thanks for what you’re doing, Mike. Welcome to the strategy room.
Hallie Jane says
I love that you care about these people indie8. You’re a peach. The problem is that their answer is so irrational. They are not sharp on their axioms about how truth is achieved, with time, place, form and event and, the most basic product of Scn, which truth causes, as-isness. I approach it indirectly, by reminding them that they have the right to their own decisions, the right to communicate and comment on the opinions of others. I tell them and honestly feel, that I’d love to hear whatever they have to say about what they read. It really is funny, because their statement is actually the outpoint itself. The “dirty laundry” ie, the truth, about the actual abuses and out tech, is the actual thing that is destroying the RCS, not the fact that someone is speaking about it. There’s a lot of people with a missing scene. They have 2 wins a week and think that’s good. They’ve never conceived of 200 wins a week. Also Ron talks about how out-ethics people have lowered perception and are “not themselves”. Then there’s that definition of out ethics, “his own concept of his own ethics is not adequate to his survival.” There’s that missing scene again, so we have our work cut out for us, if we care to be in comm with people who are still in that suppressive group. The bottom line is one can’t force someone else to perceive, we can only speak our truth, with arc if we choose.
Indie8Million says
Exactly right, Hallie J. Thank you. I do care but I also see the lunacy in it. “I’ll lose my eternity.” What? Where exactly? Is someone going to take it from you? It has been yours all along. You found a good solution to rehabilitate YOUR abilities (said to the person still in) by finding Scientology. Scientology is a tool to REGAIN your talents and abilities, not the group that holds the licensing to them. They are YOUR abilities.
And, if the corporate Scn isn’t giving you all that Scientology can be, then YOU have the ability to perceive, to find a different path to what you really wanted in the first place.
Look for yourself, like Ron said to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACJSR-Smr8c&list=PL97bG9F7T-UeCh701KeAgAH6eZ3L1_FIg
DollarMorgue says
I think this blog and other blogs are successful actions. You know why? As Mike says, you cannot make the horse drink – but the water will be there when it wants to.
You cannot ask questions inside the CoS, and if you’ve been in it for any reasonable amount of time, you know that instinctively. You just don’t ask questions. Or rather, you don’t voice them. But the questions are there and add up, and someday living in an information vacuum becomes too much to bear, or curiosity/pain gets the better of you and then you start looking. And when you surface, several days or months later, you thank the gods that so much information was there for you. Finally, a refreshing outlook, some truth for a change. The church’s own actions are our successful action. And peoples’ own decisions to look. The SF Bay article shows it’s working.
Aeolus says
“The future of Scientology WAS in your hands, it no longer is.” I think this Eldredge guy means business! You go, Man!
Globetrotter says
Great observations, Mike. You are spot on with some very sharp observations. If Dave himself could not train himself up to the highest level in decades, how can he be the “head” of this movement? What does it say about him and his priorities? And how can he direct the repeated re-writing of its basic training, having never even taken the time to first DO the training he keeps “improving”?
Omitted is the hardest to spot outpoint. But if it becomes rampant, EVERYONE will notice it. If there would be 10% less people on Times Square, hardly anyone would notice. But if 80% of the people were gone, most people WOULD notice.
If there will be one, then the outpoint that will finish Dave will be the omitted, as in results, and most noticeably, people around. As faithful Scientologists will start noticing that the numbers around them are dwindling and most of their friends are MISSING (left, declared, or just staying away), there will be a tipping point when it will be impossible to NOT notice the outpoint of omitted people still “with the (evil) program”.
No one needs to overthrow Dave to end his reign. We just need to actively stay away and wait it out. He is doing the rest of the work.
Mike, you are also right in that Dave WAS the head of this movement, but the movement has by now separated from the institution, and the “freedom movement” of Scientology is out here, with Dave stuck on the wrong side of the prison bars.
While his destruction of this institution is really sad, he is powerless to destroy the MOVEMENT, which consists of all of us who respect the work LRH has done and use whatever part of it they find is true for them (just as he suggested), helping ourselves and helping others. That is the true spirit of Scientology which can not be destroyed.
Mike Eldredge says
I agree completely. Those who want to just get on with it will do so.
Theo Sismanides says
Globetrotter, well said. I agree.
Peter says
LRH was a man, not a God. Though I loved what I got from the tech…far beyond anything I’d ever achieved prior…I was in a position to see a lot of the illegalities going on. I still remember a green on white saying that LRH could no longer be chitted. My thought at the time was: “There goes the ball game.” Shortly thereafter, MSH could not be chitted, then those in the guardian’s office, filtering down all the way to Bob Thomas in LA. Thus Grade IV went totally out at the highest levels and the church would neither accept responsibility for some glaring errors nor bother to correct them, much less apologize for them. That continues to this day.
The tech will live on as long as it’s accompanied by full responsibility for results. When I ran a mission, if the auditor screwed up, he had to replace those hours without pay. The same held true for our outside C/S. Neither pcs nor students were financially penalized for our screwups. Ethics were light and easy and we literally never had any refund requests nor negative reports. IMHO, LRH’s ethics system was one of his greatest errors and flew smack in the face of his piece in which he said ethics was an internal matter while morals were enforced from the outside. Thus, at the mission, no “condition” was ever ASSIGNED. If there were a problem, we’d get into good comm with the being, discuss the problem, then ask “what condition do you think you’re in?” They always knew and were happy to apply conditions. We always accepted whatever their reality was. If it were incorrect, that would soon become apparent TO THEM and they would ask to revisit the whole situation. Worked beautifully.
The misuse of ethics by generally uneducated and untrained individuals has caused more PR damage than can be imagined, to say nothing of the system of fear which it has engendered within the organization.
To both Mikes: Great job, gentleman. It’s a pleasure to open this blog daily and not have to deal with so many who seem to be in hatred of all thing Scientological. Many of those were never in and have no experience from which to judge anything. That, however, does not stop them from doing so.
Simple says
Excellent comment. I would make one change: “The misuse of ethics (and justice) by generally uneducated and untrained individuals has caused more PR damage than can be imagined, to say nothing of the system of fear which it has engendered within the organization.”
I have seen this since day one, way back when. In my opinion, it has caused untold damage and has only gotten worse.
Moonshot says
I couldnt agree with you more. In my opinion, anything in the Green On White “tech” that doesnt comport perfectly with Red On White “tech” should be chucked forthwith. Otherwise you could have the absurdidty of a 5 foot tall physcial and spiritual dwarf usurping and dominating and entire global church–oh wait, that already happened.
Globetrotter says
“if the auditor screwed up, he had to replace those hours without pay” – now THAT’s fair. One of the things that made me realize there was something MAJORLY wrong with the “church” (the eye-opening moment) was when I was looking at people literally CELEBRATING Dave for announcing “WE FUCKED UP the materials earlier and now you can BUY the corrected version!” Then announcing “WE FUCKED UP YOUR PURIF but now you can BUY AGAIN the corrected version!” And it went on and on and on. Zero responsibility for any of this on the part of the “church”.
If a commercial manufacturer sells a faulty product, they will (or be forced to) recall and fix it at their expense. Not the “church”. They tell you that they fucked up (but now it’s all fixed) as a VICTORY and make you pay for it. How sick is that?
Note that even a for-profit, COMMERCIAL business is expected to fix their error at their own expense. They are NOT a charity – they are there to make money. But a “church” that poses as a tax exempt “charity” that makes YOU PAY for its mistakes while claiming to “help you”? Where is the “charity” in that? Bragging about how cheaply they can manufacture the new “corrected” books and then turn around and sell them to you at retail price at a handsome profit? They lowered their production expenses and use almost free labor all right, but who is it for? You are still sold the books at retail price. The “charity” somehow forgot to pass on the savings to the “helped” – oops.
Organizing “library campaigns” where YOU pay retail price for the books while the tax exempt publisher (a “charity”) donates NOTHING EVER, but only SELLS every single “donated” book to YOU at retail price, again, making a handsome profit on your donation? Oh, come on. What freaking “church”? It’s a for-profit freak show and business, and a rotten one at that.
Gayle aka TroubleShooter says
Thank you MIke.
Vertsurblanc says
Mike. Excellent article. Every aspect of the tech has been trashed. It is no longer there. It is now out here.
Aqua.
With tongue in cheek, I have it on good authority that there are a couple of conditions below confusion that may apply to Him.
First is ass-hole. Formula. Spread your legs, drop your shorts, dig a hole in the ground between your legs, look down at the hole you have dug, look up at your ass-hole, back and forth, until you can tell the difference.
If you cannot do this you drop down one condition.
Confused ass-hole.
No formula. Permanent state.
🙂
Aquamarine says
Laughter 🙂 🙂 I agree.
Indie8Million says
Yep. A condition somewhere down around “copyright”.
1984 says
“No formula. Permanent state”………….Kiss your ass good-bye!
threefeetback says
Hmmm. . . , after his 27 year absence. The Hollywood Test Center is still being renovated by Nova Construction, MSH’s house is being spruced up to be sold off, DM is wayyyyyy overdue for rehabilitation. . .
Hey Dave, How is that literal strategy to ‘Follow in the Footsteps’ working for you? Thinking of making a bee line for Crestin? Is the Bluebird operational?
EX SO AO says
I see the LRH haters are starting to creep in to the posts. Just as an FYI you won’t stir this group up. We are way to mature and have had too many wins to buy into that game.
Vertsurblanc says
ExSo, very true. You can look back on the good ole days and look for what you want to see. Booming missions, lots of auditor training, Stephen Hawkins book boom. Or you can look for the opposite. There is an amazing array of tech for anyone to use if they choose. If someone really, really wants to help others, they would check out this technology and see if they can use it to help others. Or they can rant on the sidelines and say “it is all bad”. Welcome to planet Earth. Ain’t it fun?
Kevin Tighe says
SF MIssion was “booming” in the late 1980s. Orange Country Org was “booming” in the 1990s. St. Petersburg Org was “booming” just a few years ago. Does that mean DM is a genius? Of course not as these are just anecdotal examples as just there are anecdotal examples pre DM. Apple Computers BOOMED. Facebook BOOMED. Nike BOOMED. Scientology has never boomed. Staff pay was non existent in the 1970s as it was in the 1980s as it was in the 1990s and as it still is. The ONLY reason Scientology organizations have survived at all is that staff are paid zilch except in the rarest of occasions. It’s always been that way with or without DM. Am I wrong? If so, be original – don’t attack the messenger but make your case with facts not rhetoric.
Indie8Million says
Not true, Kevin. It WAS booming in the 70’s. I was paid enough (on Mission Staff) to share an apartment with 2 other staff (a 3 BR) and could eat and keep my car. In today’s money, that was probably about $200 to $250 a week, on average.
We had 90 staff and so many public, we were bursting at the seams. Had to get there early to get a seat. No attack, just answering your question.
Kevin Tighe says
Anyone who knows me knows I have much admiration for Ron and as I’ve said many times I’d probably be dead or in jail if not for Ron but that does not preclude me from being truthful. The truth is that Scientology was an absolute dogs breakfast circa 1980 – technically, organizationally and ethically. IMHO the only real difference is between now and then is no internet. Can you imagine if the internet existed when Paulette Cooper was being fair gamed, the FBI raid went down or the damage claims cases were mushrooming? I doubt Scientology would have lasted long enough for DM to do his damage if the internet existed in 1980. So good ahead and attack me as an “LRH hater”. Attack seems to be the Scientology implant that just keeps on giving. “Attack Don’t Look”. Sigh.
Nomnom says
+1
1984 says
Charge!!!!! ……. OK, consider yourself attacked. (Feel better?…. No?)
Keven, a lot of what you are referring to is a reaction to perceived attacks. What were the attacks? In retaliation to what and what were the initial attacks (what caused that)? You have to see more than the caboose to as-is the whole freight train. Lets get the whole story.
If Ron was trying to solve a problem, and his actions didn’t make sense to you, maybe you don’t understand the problem that he was trying to solve.
Gayle aka TroubleShooter says
Hi Kevin,
I don’t see any haters or yelling at you going on Kevin. I just don’t see the pendulum swinging that far. I’ve met people who know you or know enough about you to care for you and consider you a really good guy. That’s good enough for me. Your son is also a great guy who is proud of you the way any father would be lucky to be cared for.
Remember the “we’re building a world with broken straws”? There is some truth to that mis-used, worn out justification. Or how about this one, “when you put order in to something confusion is going to blow off”? Ok, there’s some truth to that misused and worn out justifucation too. There are elements of responsibility and accountability and ownership for individual events, conditions, results or lack of them all around us in life everywhere to be taken by each one of us.
We can talk till the cows come home about what LRH did or didn’t do right. Mike R’s point about LRH being long since gone and the PT scene being what it is is the result of someone else”s createand what needs to be addressed as it exists now is well made. Mike Eldredge’s point that Scientology was clearly not actually practiced at the top and has lead us here was also accurate.
That it’s in their hands no more – is because the tech does work and the RCS failed to USE it, period.
You aren’t going to find many who have trained as many auditors as Mike E. It’s all about auditing tech and the results. The fact that he’s spoken out does show that he’s had his own revelations about the church or no-church. Those of us here commenting on this thread to acknowledge and welcome MIke E do so as FREE of the “policies” that forbid this dialog. I’ll speak for myself here but I’m friends with people mostly who are of like mind, who I am as a person motivates me to do what I think is right and to be here and not still in the RCS is what’s right. It’s also something I believe from my judgement of LRH’s tech/policy studied and applied to good result to be the right thing to do. Like you, I didn’t leave the tech I left the RCS.
You’ve got your feelings about LRH and yet you’re here. I think that’s great. You’re thinking for yourself and that IS what LRH wanted the tech to result in, it is the main thrust of all the tech of auditing. The attention put on what’s right about the RIGHT things LRH did gets us somewhere and the other direction gets us – what? as Mike R made the point. No one here that I know that is, believes there has been no mistakes or valid disagreements to be had with LRH. Mike E is able to make statements that involve technical rules, maxims or laws not because it’s written by LRH but because it’s what his breadth of knowledge and depth of experience and application of this subject panned out to show him was true – is that ok that he’s observed what he’s observed?
I don’t need everyone to be friends either but if a flow toward focusing what I perceive to be blurry helps me, which it does then maybe it might help another. It’s my purpose here in any case.
Kevin Tighe says
Mike seems like a good guy but I have a hard time taking him seriously considering he disappeared for 20 years during a very rough time in Scientology’s history.
I truly thank LRH for what he did for me. Really.
My only real point is that it ruffles my feathers when people talk so warmly about the good old days. Maybe it’s just me but the good old days pretty much sucked. No time off. No staff pay. Renting out my living room, my dining room and my attic to other staff and public in order to just barely pay my rent while working multiple moonlight jobs was the good old days! Gag me with a spoon? And my son that you refer to nearly died being brought into this world because we couldn’t afford a doctor and used Scientology “mid wives” instead. If the Old Man wasn’t aware that the average staff member barely survived from day to day he should have known. If he did know than shame on him.
LRH did much but he sure didn’t create many big booming orgs. Hell, he even pointed out my old Org, Boston, as an Org that went “St Hill Size”. Total bullshit.
Indie8Million says
Straight shooting, Trouble Shooter.
Formost says
Exactly …. ESMB & Ortega thataway —>
Kevin Tighe says
Drive by posting (don’t yell at me Mike!)
Ah yes, the good old days circa 1980. Let’s recount:
a. The fall out rom the FBI raids.
b. Clear “Interviews”, DCSIs, etc.
c. Flag was a dump.
d. Living conditions for Sea Org members were atrocious. Child care was downright criminal.
e. Personal damage lawsuits were everywhere.
f. The IRS
g. LRH was in hiding making amateurish tech films.
h. Gang bang sec checks were in use.
i. Staff pay was non existent
j. Crazy stat pushing on Battlefield Earth sales.
Try pinning any of the above on DM. Sigh.
I could go on but if those were the good old days you can have them.
Patrick says
Excellent post and well stated. Thanks Mike.
OTVIIIisGrrr8! says
Mike, we in RTC read your letter and want yo to know that you don’t understand because you weren’t there. COB RTC David Miscavige has made thousands of vital improvements to so many things including the exciting new Grade chart.: http://otviiiisgrrr8.com/2013/08/19/golden-age-of-tech-phase-ii-cobs-new-simplified-grade-chart/
Robin says
Wow!
Thanks Mike for writing this and thanks Mike for posting it on your blog.
This is probably one of the best postings I’ve seen in a long time.
Very precise, concise and to the point.
Something we can all agree on is what is happening now, even though we may have differing views of how and why it happened.
The whole thing reminds me of “A Story” written by Ron sometime back but seems more prescient than ever which you can read on the Friends of LRH website here:
http://www.friendsoflrh.org
Thank you again both Mikes for posting this.
LR
Aquamarine says
Then again, a Locational might just do him some degree of good.
Indie8Million says
But an SP won’t agree to be audited, Aquamarine, as you know, so there we are, back to square one.
I’ve been talking with someone in the Indie field who has taken on the task of compiling all of the tech in various ways, and who is a trained auditor and C/S (old skool). His opinion is that DM is the adverse effect of his own creation in that his case is stuck in and unflat on OT V. Not my opinion but my auditor friend’s.
But you’re right. He’s so out of valence, in PT (if he could find it) that it would be very, very difficult to get HIM in session enough to even correct it.
He’s broken and needs to be replaced.
Jane Doe says
And let’s not forget 150 hrs of Objectives, which is about the number of hours people are being programmed for today.
Aquamarine says
Mike Eldridge, thank you for this excellent post. From it I just realized that David Miscavige has to in Confusion as a Being. I never really saw that before. He is so keyed in, so out of valence, that he doesn’t know where he is, which means he has to do the Confusion Formula and find out where he is, which, in his case, would take a lot more than a locational, I would think.
Zlice says
Mike, unfortunately, LRH constantly lied about who he was, and violence in the Sea Org was policy started by him. I recommend the YouTube “Secret Lives – L. Ron Hubbard”. You can also look up original SO member Hana Whitfield and read her stories of what LRH did.
Mike Rinder says
Funny telling someone who worked directly for LRH to go read what someone else says about LRH in order to correct his opinion. There are a LOT of different opinions about L. Ron Hubbard. I don’t think his is less valid. And I doubt you are in a position to know better than him. But again, you are entitled to your opinion too.
Joe Pendleton says
Mike, I don’t think the “I knew Ron personally” thing is invalid as far as data goes. Certainly, people’s personal experiences are relevant. If you read any major biography of any significant historical person, you will find LOTS of remembrances about them, both their good and their bad sides, their endearing and caring qualities as well as the opposite. This would probably be true of actually ANY person you might be asking friends and family about, but certainly is the case for “big beings” (people who create large effects on the world). This applies sometimes to major artists as well (you can check out even an unbiased major bio of someone like Frank Sinatra for instance in this regard). There are many, many remembrances of LRH by people who knew him well and/or worked for him. They are definitely NOT all complimentary, though they all certainly acknowledge his brilliance as a thinker and his charisma and charm. They cover as well his dark sides, and ESPECIALLY those aspects of his personality through the years that very negatively affected the lives of others who got involved with him. Which remembrances am I speaking of specifically? For just a start, one can look at the writings of David Mayo, Phil Spickler, Ken Urquart, John McMaster, Hana Whitfield, etc. OF COURSE, one can not rely on any one person who might bear a great grudge against another person, or have their own overts which are affecting their point of view. That’s why one reads and investigates WIDELY if truly interested in a person or subject. I already know about the brilliance of auditing tech, having experienced it as a pc, auditor, CS and course supe. As someone who obviously has a lot of interest in how the third dynamic of Scientology developed and eventually went downhill to what it is today, I am most definitely interested in those personal qualities of LRH that have either directly or indirectly resulted in today’s scene and further I think THAT IS A TOTALLY LEGITIMATE AND QUITE NECESSARY POINT OF INQUIRY, though I understand it seems to upset greatly a number of a certain type of “true believer” (which is why Marty lost so many of his contributors over the past year as he continued to speak his mind).
Mike Eldredge says
I don’t get upset by peoples opinions of LRH as a person nor their relating personal experience, I do not however think that talking about him derogatorily in his absence is a fair practice, If you had something to say to him it should have been said to him. HIs own track record as a person speaks for itself as does anyone else’s. I could belabor my own personal disagreements with him and many other people, it does not serve any purpose to me, but to each his own.
Mike Rinder says
You are correct about this Joe. What I object to is people who assume that being able to type gives them some form of authority to tell others who are better informed than they are, how they are wrong. Of course, they can express their views. But I shall also express mine about this sometimes too. It is something I have a LOT of experience with — many people have offered their opinions as to what I should have known, what I should have “confessed to”, what I should have done, what I should be doing now, who I should apologize to, and what I should think. The assertions of such opinions become a bit tiring. And for someone who has a post on the blog for the first time, the “you need to know this” sort of attitude is impolite and its not much better than the fundamentalist Scientologist attitude of “I know the answers to everything because I can find an LRH reference that tells me what to think about it.”
The problem with the “LRH is all bad and responsible for it all” line is twofold:
1. It does not really align to the purpose of this blog, as unlike Marty I am trying to reach those still in the church or on the fence. The “LRH is bad” gives a justification in their minds for rejecting everything else that may be written here, so I try not to go there
2. LRH has been dead for a LONG time. The abuses being perpetrated on people in the name of Scientology are being done by people in present time. That they are following what L. Ron Hubbard wrote doesnt really help resolve anything. The only solution to that is to burn everything he wrote. Not much chance of that happening. But the people who are perpetrating abuses in present time CAN be called to account. Whether they are “just following orders” or not doesnt make any difference.
I realize there are people that read this blog who feel there are too many “blind” people that don’t see or are unwilling to see any flaws in L. Ron Hubbard. That may well be true.
I have to walk a fine line of what I think is fair to the majority of the readers here and what I think is going to continue to forward the objectives I have for putting all the time and effort into this that I do. If I allow it to simply become a free-for-all it will perhaps satisfy some that “free speech” has been upheld, but it won’t last for long as there will be no audience for that “free speech” and in fact, I would have no interest in participating in that sort of forum (there are already a few that exist that I have heard are primarily intent on proving that everything about Hubbard and Scientology is a fraud/scam/lie/harmful/evil/rotten).
I do allow considerable leeway to people posting here if they are polite. As I don’t think anyone has a monopoly on knowing what is right and wrong and multiple viewpoints are important. B
I just wanted to reiterate my views…..
Indie8Million says
+1
Right behind you on that, Mike.
I didn’t know him as up close and personal as you did but he and I corresponded personally and I know many people who have told me that he was a genuine and sincere person and that it pained him to see people being the adverse effect of their personal demons.
What is it that the Bible says? Let he who is without sin, throw the first stone.
Some of these people who find fault with Ron have only read about him on the Internet – essentially being third-partied. I suggest that people listen and learn from those who have walked a mile with the man, himself, if they care to have a valid and balanced view of the situation.
KFrancis says
Joe given all your experience and history with Scientology is there anything you want to DO (or not) with the subject at this point? I ask that honestly.
LRH has been gone now nearly 38 years. So given all that has transpired during that time and given the future is anybody’s to create is there anything good that can be come from all this either for you personally or others just in general starting now in August of 2013?
Joe Pendleton says
To: KFrancis: Very good question. My current plans/goals on what to do with the subject of Scientology is to apply in life (in order to improve conditions and have a life that I am in interested in and enjoy living) those LRH principles which have been real to me in my training and auditing. These include, but are not limited to, the ARC Triangle, the idea of responsibility as election of cause, the Comm Cycle & TRs, havingness – a sane and not obsessive approach to it, setting down anchor points throughout the world as a 4th Dynamic activity, an awareness of not dramatizing the serv fac brackets in dealing with other beings, the creation of my own universe per 8-8008, and not least to help other beings when the opportunity arises, etc. That “etc” could certainly be much added to, but this is essentially what I want to DO with the subject. I’m very happy with the gains I have gotten and the wins I have had in Scientology. I do not invalidate them and I take responsibility for them as best I can.
If you mean, is there anything I plan to do on a specific third dynamic sense re: Scientology – that is limited to just sharing communication/ideas on the subject. I have been thoroughly disabused of the value of central churches for any religion, whether authoritarian or not. I would say that part of this is my realization over the last couple of years that to identify oneself with any ONE religion as a member almost always requires that one pledges full agreement with all the ideas in that religion. With all of the truths of life I learned about in Scientology, I no longer think all of it is true, no longer agree with all of written LRH policy and I do not limit myself as to sources of knowledge or awareness. I would apply this attitude to any religion or philosophy.
Joe Pendleton says
To: Mike Rinder. Totally dig what you are saying. I support full your objectives for this blog of exposing the current abuses of the the CoS, so that the people who are being hurt by these abuses, STOP getting hurt by them.
I do also think while it is important in any group culture to understand where the current group values and ethic come from (especially those that justify not-ising the abuses that take place around one), people are responsible for what they are doing in the present, and these present time situations can and should be exposed for what they are, so that people DO have to look at them and their own actions and start to take more responsibility for them.
Furthermore, I have absolutely no respect for those people who use what others have done in the past to shove them into the area of “blame”, which is really just another way of reducing them to shame and reducing their effectiveness as beings. This is whether it is directed to you, Marty, myself or anyone else. I happen to admire you greatly because I have an affinity for people who stand up for what they believe in and take the bullets.
To: Mike Eldredge, re: your comment about saying things about LRH in his absence that he can not answer for directly. Well …… there are still books being written about Lincoln virtually every month of the year. The beings who create the biggest effects historically will be much discussed positively and negatively as long as people are interested in their lives and actions.
Formost says
Whether you are 100% correct or dead-wrong, fortunately it has no bearing on the benefits I experience in life applying LRH technology.
Personally I see posts that keep harping away on LRHs character or their supposed flaws as little more than a detraction from the real value of his work. And still, of the 20 years of my participation in Scientology it has never occurred to me LRH’s personal qualities are particularly reflected in his writings anymore than 3-swing F/Ns define a floating needle, although he does state his opinions no different than anyone else. Based on the best assessment I can come to, the reason for any downfall is exactly as LRH had stated … not applying the technology correctly. Plenty of nonsense was implemented after LRH’s passing such as illegal donations, disposal of a ‘Check & Balances’ management structure, Golden Ages of squirreling the Tech, etc. which one can hardly chide LRH for. It was never of any LRH’s doings why I ended up here in the Indie Zone. For that I can safely thank DM/RTC & associated background players, whoever they all may be.
KFrancis says
Joe I appreciate your thoughts on Scientology.
When I think of Scientology I wonder if it was even possible to bring something like it to this world without an inevitably high “body count” associated with it. Just look at the vested interests is rubbed the wrong way. In a culture (earth) obsessed with control, freedom or any grand vision of it was bound to incite people and interests.
Like Madame Currie maybe LRH was bound to be hurt (temporarily) by his own research and those in close proximity would inevitably suffer some of the consequences as well. Just imagine going after the reactive mind and it origins and not stir up some real spiritual pyrotechnics.
Scientology seems so high voltage to me that the challenge is getting it under control and channeled into a smooth and working route. While it is allowed to flop around uncontrolled like a fireman’s hose, people get killed or disfigured. Misused it brings so much pain and still in the hands of well intended auditor or course supervisor it brings a relief that cannot possible be expected or hoped for. I have experience this so I’m tremendously optimistic about the future of Scientology even in the face of the tumult surrounding it in the present.
Scientology is going to survive but, we are going to have to suffer up through the conditions on this subject. Not too long from now the church is going to collapse in on itself. This is going to bring great relief to many but a whole new wave of damaged religious refugees is going to be produced at the same time. So as a Scientologist or spectator we still have a lot living to go through with this subject before it get entirely straightened out.
Nomnom says
Mike was one of the nicest guys on the internships at the FH. There was Jorae (RIP) and Rosa and Dennis Ehrlich (who was in need of anger management at the time). That said, the letter come off as a bit of pie-in-the-sky. Scientology tech is wonderful but the layers of hidden data lines, contradictory policies and advices and LRH’s own multiple valences merits a deeper view.
Jan says
Mike, Excellent post! Thank you for speaking up, I agree 100%. ML, Jan
Jane Doe says
Wow Mike, right between the eyes! VVVWD. The purpose of the SO is putting in ethics on the planet (did I win a prize for that?) and you certainly put in ethics on DM and the other people listed in your “To” space in the letter. Welcome to the Indie world! We are lucky to have you.
calvin b. duffield says
Mike, welcome back to REAL, (authentic) LRH based Scn. It has been so under many guises, but of course ALWAYS labeled as ‘squirrel,” by usurper Supremo, DM. Check out “The Big List” for an alphabetical record of just those who have publicly made an exit. You’re in amongst an enormous number of ex-churchies. While it may take some time to break through the Miscavige-oholism to which many have fallen prey, it is essential to keep hammering home the truth, if there is to be any hope they will see it. As you know only too well, Mike ….it takes as long as it takes. Enjoy the liberated company you’re now part of, here.—Calvin.
TheWidowDenk says
This is a powerful, comprehensive, letter written to appeal to the common sense of the individuals to whom it is addressed and others who may have the opportunity to read it. It does not resort to commonly used trite labels i.e. bubble, Kook-Aid, etc., or name calling. It also has high impact. Thank you Mike for elevating the level of communication. It will surely result in greater understandings.
Richard Royce says
This is so right on the money! Thank you for saying it.
Love to all you beings out there who can look and not listen!!!!!!
Richard
gornz says
LRH “never claimed to be anything other than who he was?”
Mike I appreciate your letter and your openness but your investigation appears to still be in its infancy . To assign blame solely to current management is to ignore the undeniable and disheartening truth: This institution is – and has always been – corrupted at its core.
Mike Eldredge says
Sorry, I knew the man personally, my dealings with him were never short of being forthright and honest, and yes we didn’t always agree, thats not really the point. The technology he developed worked just as he said it would. You won’t find a person on this planet that doesn’t have shortcomings of one kind or another, things they have done wrong, mistakes they have made. Despite this being the case for 100% of the people you will encounter in life they are still capable of discovering incredible things and sharing them with the people around them and little by little we all benefit and people pass on the the real knowledge gained. To me thats the important thing. You try living under the microscope of the supposed “perfect majority” sometime and see how well you do.
Espiritu says
Thanks for stepping up and telling it like it is about Ron, Mike. And thank you for your whole post. The only voice LRH has right now is people who actually knew him as a person and his own works. Thank you for defending your friend. I don’t worship the man and from everything I have read, Ron was uncomfortable with people doing so. However, having been the recipient of a few of his products I can only have great admiration for this being as a incredibly intelligent, perceptive, well-intentioned, and able person. He was truly a GREAT man in the historical sense. Some who have emphasized his perceived or real faults and errors should also look in the mirror and ask themselves these questions: “Could YOU have developed the auditing techniques as he did, and then teach others how to use them too?” “DID you do so?” “Don’t you think that it is probable that Ron was (and is) a very unique and special person and that we are fortunate that he has touched our lives?” This is what deserves the most emphasis. Thank you for emphasizing what is most important. And thank you for having your friend’s back.
Theo Sismanides says
Exactly! Thanks for this differentiation.
linda mccarthy says
Hi Mike,
I remember working with you in the FH ballroom.
Love this post. It’s perfect.
Linda
Paul Foster (Martin Luther) says
Thank you, Mike. It’s a crying shame that many of these people, individually, and all of them, collectively, could have averted this disaster. This includes some people now in the Field. The result is the devastation we see before us in the Church (or what’s left of it). Now it’s incumbent on us in the Field to pick up the pieces and carry on, a job now made many times more difficult by the trouble the current Church has caused for itself in the last 27 years.
Mike Eldredge says
None of this situation is something that can’t be handled, its just unfortunate it has played out the way it has and so many people are faced with their hard work and dedication being thrown away because someone discovered an easy way to make money instead of making it through actual exchange of something valuable. In the end criminal exchange has only one result.
Silvia says
All this is evidenced in the unwelcome attitude offered to you by the Security Chief when you tried to reach old comrades, this is indeed a handling that is not deserved by a supposedly friend of yours. It seems to be the common rule of CST to deal with people: police state, unkindness, militant attitude, total control of others; this has become the “Policy” of the CST. However, this only indicates that they are closing more and more the comm. lines to others as they are afraid, in appearance, that someone could enturbulate their community, when in fact they are terrified to be found out of all their crimes and abuses they have been engaged into for many years. They may close the door to you and others, but they never would be able to hide the truth.
Jose Chung says
Well said ,Best wishes .
Michael Finley says
Well written and very moving.
Dickie says
What you said….Exactly!! And thanks for stating it so well!
Alex Castillo says
Mike Eldridge,
In our last communication a few weeks ago you gave me an inkling that you were planning to do something about the terrible situation Scientology has been put in by this maniac David Miscavige AKA COB, AKA POB and his suppressed/brainwashed/destroyed as souls minions. What you have done now is what I would have expected from you. Very Well Done amigo. You and I and Mike Rinder and others from our time know very well the terrific benefits Scn was causing when we were all really working as a team at Flag, not failing to mention all the Missions and outer org teams who were doing their best to see that the tech got into the hands of as many people as it was humanly possible. Many people complain bitterly about their days in the sea org, but I am one who can say that my work as an evaluator/manager/missionaire was very fullfilling because I was seeing the positive results of what I was doing. From what I can remember, I think it was the same for you, up to when I left in 1981.
To see our hard work and accomplishments being thrown down the toilet for the sake of a few million and a lust for power by Miscavige, who was really NOBODY in our day, apart from being an arrogant, know it all, brown nosing LRH all the time and not trained, not audited, and knowing f…all about Scientology, to see him actively destroying something that took so long to establish, is a hard pill to swallow.
So I welcome you Mike and know that we are of the same mind.
Alex
Peter says
Alex: A few million? Surely you jest. Tiny Dave is control of it all financially, likely billions, especially if you include the value of all the real estate.
Alex Castillo says
You got a point there Pete:))
Dan Koon says
Mike, good to read your write up. You lumped Terri Gamboa in with all those other folks but just for the record, she is out of the S.O., doing well and enjoying life, unlike the others.
Mike Eldredge says
Dan, Terri was there at the outset of ASI, she was constantly berated and invalidated by DM who controlled the comm lines to LRH. She left at the right time and I am glad that she is happy and doing well.
Martin Padfield says
The last sentence says it all. Well said Mike.
Cat daddy says
Welcome, now I feel a bit silly for the exchange of words we had on Marty’s Blog
Gayle aka TroubleShooter says
lol, you’re a cool Cat daddy.
Focus says
This is very good. Thank you!