Terra is with us once more…
Scientologists, Lies, and the ARC Triangle
A bedrock of L. Ron Hubbard philosophy is the ARC Triangle. “A” = Affinity. “R” = Reality. “C” = Communication. He wrote that together these three equal “U”, Understanding. Anything that effects one point of this triangle, effects the others. For instance, the more one communicates with a person or subject, the greater his Affinity, Reality, and Understanding with them. Raising one corner of the triangle to a higher state, raises the other two—and vice versa. That which lowers one corner of the triangle, lowers the other two.
What happens when lies are introduced to this triangle, though? What happens when people don’t recognize falsehoods from truth?
Fall from Grace
As more lies and half-truths are introduced as Reality into a subject, the more Communication and feigned Affinity is required to rationalize and justify the deception. The longer this pattern continues, the more warped and artificial becomes Understanding. The bigger the lies, the more convoluted become the “explanations.” And the more distorted becomes Understanding.
Per theory, Affinity rises for these lies as this new Reality is accepted and validated. This causes chasms of distrust to develop between those inside the organization who’ve accepted these lies as truth and those on the outside who haven’t. Affinity with others is compromised.
Devotees of this false “R” become convinced that their Understanding is greater than what is accepted by mainstream society. Those who’ve accepted LRH’s doctrine believe they understand life, when in fact, their “U” is built on a foundation of false Reality. Their Understanding is illusory.
Justifications and Rationalizations
LRH introduced layer upon layer of false Reality into Scientology—each successive level justifying the one under it that failed to deliver. When reliving traumatic incidents from present life—per Dianetics—didn’t alleviate all our hang-ups, LRH created a new paradigm: our fears and phobias were consequences of pain and loss suspended in trillions of past life memories.
When Dianetics and the Grades didn’t make us perfect, he invented the theory that we were covered in disembodied spirits and were only “clear” on the first Dynamic. When one OT Level didn’t handle these pesky little buggers, he created a succession of higher levels. Lies followed lies. Justifications followed justifications. Understanding became more and more twisted and confused as LRH’s Reality spun out of control.
The more one accepts lies as Reality, the more his ability to communicate with others shrinks—and thus, his Affinity, Communication, and Understanding with the rest of the world is diminished. Communicating with people outside his group about religion, help, and self-improvement becomes not only awkward and uncomfortable, but talking about subjects contrary to Scientology’s Reality is considered a crime.
The longer people isolate themselves within a group advocating false Realities the more lies have to be concocted to explain all the earlier falsehoods and fabrications. Those forced to accept lies have to constantly rationalize those points of this Reality that don’t make sense.
Life. Yikes!
Scientologists are taught that life is dangerous. They believe the world is going to “hell in a handbasket.” That their fragile planet teeters on the brink of destruction. After decades of subscribing to this Reality, member’s Affinity with the outside world plummets, and Understanding of life becomes insular and biased.
Last Words
Despite their cheerful facades, Scientologists have low ARC for the world. Their Reality has been so impregnated with false data, their ability to communicate and empathize with those outside their tiny spheres has been compromised.
Few people withhold as much as does the average Scientologist. They have to. Except for basic and trivial topics of conversation, their Understanding of the world and human nature is so unrecognizable by those outside their church, communicating with non-members can be like communicating with another species.
Still not Declared,
Terra Cognita
The wonder of scientology was how it got even as “big” as it did based on unreality, lies, and an abiding need to fleece the sheep as closely as that, and so few of us noticed how false it all was until far too late. That LRH asserted being a science fiction author or scientist, explorer or whatever his flavor-of-the-week was is of little import, since it was a lie. Everything he said, AFAICT, was a lie and we were tasked with figuring out how it wasn’t and how to “apply” it to the bubble-of-unreality “life” he assured us was the real world, but was just a projection of his paranoia and false perception.
To Mike Rinder,
I must state that for someone who after so many years as you have spent being a member of Scientology,
it took you an absurd amount of time to figure out what you claim now as being a falsehoods of the workings ,teachings and learning abilities offered by the tech . Wow seriously , a very very long time . Too long. I feel in a way sorry you didn’t pick up on it much sooner. I’m not exactly sure what that says about your abilities to see the world for what it is. Something to reflect on.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Alex,
ANY time spent in that bubble of irrationality was time poorly spent and we all wish we’d wised up sooner.
Still, it was what it was, and most of us have moved on to a better life….
Perhaps our tiny voices out here on the fringes of the InterWebZ will prevent some other unsuspecting souls from wasting their time like we did. I SURE don’t miss the mistreatment.
To alex davidson,
I must state that for someone who comments here your underhandedness is obvious. Wow, seriously very obvious.
I feel in a way sorry that you have to use such tactics to get to Mike Rinder. I’m exactly sure what that says about you.
Very good article. Hubbard took love and virtue out of all of the classical and occult triangles. Only the left handed, dark triangles of the past had that characteristic of a lack of good which was defined as substance.
Blavatsky and even Crowley rested on some love in their foundation. Hubbard was the classical fool.
George, I don’t believe Hubbard ever understood “love”, only self-gratification in its many forms.
Well Ok, I am being summoned from the depths of Katherine Invalidate’s latest nightmare (suggest take some B1) so I will now use the ARC triangle to raise the er, ARC here:
1. It is ok to run OTIII on your back porch without a meter.
2. It is ok for Mike to think his Solo NOTs was all his imagination.
3. I believe the spoof April Fool’s version of New OTVIII
4. I don’t think Terra has MisUs.
5. Terra’s articles are not a complete dog’s breakfast of confusion.
6. Leah Remini doesn’t have MisUs on her OTIII.
7. There are other workable technologies of the human mind and spirit.
8. I think one would spontaneously combust if one ran the spoof version of OTVIII wrongly.
9. Critics of Scientology don’t have missed withholds and hidden crimes.
10. FoolproofJunior is not a Dianetic Junior Case.
11. The e-meter works on skin sweat.
12. I don’t believe that all (adverse) commenters are only envious that they didn’t get any case gain.
I could carry on here ad infinitum but now you all love me! See the ARC triangle works!
You’re like one of those cute little tree frogs. Nice to look at but the cult-jargon stands out like the bright stripes of a poisonous frog. Warning: Do not get in ARC with this being.
Unless you can croak?
Or preferably “croak it”
“I could carry on here ad infinitum”
How about:
13. Foolproof does not have narcissistic personality disorder.
Oh wow! Poof! Funny how some lies can blow up other lies, so one can see where truth lies.
————————–
Terra,
Thanks for this article. As a never-in, I never really understood the A-R-C concept or the hold it had on former Scientologists. You helped me get what is meant by it at the same time as explaining why Scientologists get so programmed so fast into Hubbard’s delusions. I’m not going to adopt the terminology, because I think outside adoption of Hubbard’s invented jargon can make it harder for people to see through it as jargon invented with the purpose of misleading people. But I really appreciate how you re-purpose the jargon to shine a light on what Scientology really does to people. In addition to aiding my understanding of what the former Scientologists mean, I suspect that it will also aid some of them in seeing what they were taken in by. A good service that you provide.
I won’t repeat what I have heard about you.
This is Foolproof applying the tone scale. Since he’s a true believer he is predictable. He believes he can apply the tone scale to us because he believes in Hubbard’s Metaphysical Voodoo.
He is being covertly hostile here.
It’s like robot emotions learned in robot school. No….. not like….the same.
He is a wonderful specimen for observation – he is a Ronbot true believer who feels so superior to us (Ron’s Narcissist part of the Malignant Narcissist) that we simpleton, MU ridden SPs aren’t even conscious enough to notice.
Me must be inside the bubble. I’ve never met a super mean nasty Indy yet. People like Trey Lots are wonderful people.
Only someone still afraid of the dreaded rice and bean slop on the ROF could sustain such vindictive meanness. Only a Scientologist could be this mean and nasty.
He’s better than a clay demo for aversion therapy. After reading him people feel repulsed and thank their lucky stars they are out of that cult.
Thank you Foolproof. You remind me how good it feels to think freely again. To respect others again.
I am behind you 100 percent.
Rambling again eh! Still this is what happens when you run OTIII for 3 weeks without a meter whilst watching the world go by on your back porch. And then after all that of course profess to be a Buddhist.
And I thought my statement was hardly covertly hostile, more like overtly hostile. As for being “mean and nasty” of course Cat W”s mean and nasty remark which started the nasty and mean ball rolling is not even seen.
And I’m sure Trey Lotz doesn’t want you associating yourself with him even covertly – he might take your advice and start auditing Advanced Levels without a meter! No no, of course, no one could be that daft.
When will you get over the back porch thing?
Do you really think anyone except you gives a shit?
I am honored, Fooproof, that you chose me as the first I your list.
I’m getting all teary eyed.
Thank you, you cuddly cookoo cult character!
Yep, there’s no bettering your antics on the back porch in harmony with the local cuckoos – even Torquemada George’s spontaneous combustion theory! You could start a cult and call it the “Back Porchists”! BTW lurn ow too spel.
Ah, Foolproof, the tuna casserole of Mike’s site. The unwanted party food that no-one really likes but keeps appearing again and again.
Hysterical!
He’s also like one of those awful 7-layer dips made with ingredients which aren’t fresh. Gross.
Oooooh! This is soooo funny. Yes definitely hysterical! Can’t stop laughing, such sophisticated humor, the wit, the repartee, of the 7 layer dips!
You’re just pissed off because the joke is directed at you.
But if it were directed at me or anyone else who challenges you, you’d think it was funny.
Spare us your hypocrisy.
Yes here we have a perfect example of the ARC triangle – one person thinks above is a joke another thinks it is about as lame and unfunny as you can get. One person thinks that the other person would be upset because said joke is targetted at him, whereas target of “joke” does not get upset over such trivial nonsense unlike first person who seemingly gets upset at the drop of a hat.
Oh, please.
Don’t pretend you didn’t get upset.
Keep trying to be funny. It’s kinda cute.
Hi Foolproof,
What I took from this article was that the principle of the ARC triangle works but only if the reality constituent id based on truth, otherwise the lies-as-reality corrupts the ARC triangle and makes it not work as it should, decreases its workability and at worst creates the reverse of its intended effect.
That’s what I got from Terra’s article. I don’t pick up tat all hat he’s debunking the workability of the ARC triangle per se.
What’s your opinion?
Sorry for the typos. Darned work is always getting in the way of my blogging 🙂
Yes, fair comment. But do you not notice the other stuff that he slipped in to the story? Terra is clever, he gives some true statements otherwise his daft articles would be so obviously daft to anyone but it is all the ancillary little critical titbits that float on past most readers, embedding themselves in their anti-Scientology sub-conscious, but not me (of course – haha!)
Yes, I did pick up on more than what I cherry-picked to address to you, Foolproof. That said, what I cherry-picked, i.e., the validation by Terra of the essential workability of the ARC Triangle per se, was a relief to me, because I know it works and I know how it works. Plus I use it constantly, in all kinds of ways, and I value it a great deal and it upsets me to see it perverted and twisted as it is now in Scientology. What’s occurring now is ENFORCED “reality” and ENFORCED “affinity” all done with lies with the result being less and less communication to the point where there is almost NO communication…anyway, I was glad that this distinction was made with regard to the workability of the ARC triangle which, never mind its name, I believe to be a very, very ancient principle, call it what you will. We’ve all been doing this for millions of years, perhaps. Or I don’t know, lets’ just say a very long time.
I’ll try to address your implied question as honestly as possible without offending the realities of those people here who might easily believe that I am being condescending or making them wrong for having different opinions, different experiences than they had, with the tech and with the organization which is the Church of Scientology.
I was helped by the tech. My courses, my auditing, were beneficial to me. What I experienced was positive. It helped me.
I left because of what I observed to be OUT-tech, OFF- policy actions and because of what I read pm tje internet of the sufferings of CO$ members afflicted by Disconnection and Fair Game. These last I consider to be TOXIC policies as they are used today in Miscavige’s church. I believe that Miscavige has emphasized these toxic policies but he didn’t invent them, Hubbard did, back in the day. They’re like malignant cancer though, seemingly invisible in the beginning but then spreading and taking over the organism. For this reason I think the entire structure , the – I’m not sure how to word this – the entire edifice has to be raised, and and afterwards, whatever was good, pure, honest and helpful will prevail, will last and maybe it will be called something else, but whatever is real nd true and truly helpful and beneficial will not die, it will go on.
There are people here for whom the entire SUBJECT of Scientology is toxic. They’ve been abused. Their trust betrayed, HORRIBLY betrayed. UNTHINKABLY betrayed. And in the NAME OF HELP. The worst kind of betrayal. And the NAME for that help was “Scientology”. These were and are good people – well meaning, unselfish people who WANTED TO HELP OTHERS. It was wrong, Foolproof.
So, yes, I acknowledge that my experiences with the tech vary widely with many who post here. That said, I respect their opinions, based as they are on their experiences. I respect Terra’s opinions based on his experiences. Do you know why? Because I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED as regards their experiences. Just like they don’t know MINE. What good does it do to argue or evaluate when I’m lacking the necessary data? What else can one do except listen to what someone is saying and acknowledge their opinion based on their experience? If i say the tech helped me, and others accept that even though the tech didn’t help them, can I not be equally as understanding for them?
Well, I think I’ve been far too verbose in making this point but if you’ve managed to get thru this then you understand my position as re the various and widely differing viewpoints on the tech being expressed on this blog.
I understand your position Aqua. Not too dissimilar to mine actually.
Yes, that is my perception also.
Twisting ARC into an evil method of mind control requires imagination. At least Aqua dug out one sensible part from the article. I didn’t bother trying to make sense of it.
If Tony Robbins or some motivational speaker presented the idea or concept that affinity, reality and communication leads to understanding would it be considered indoctrination and programming?
It would by a lot of people who see him as cult leader too.
So the message is ignored but not the personal bias or grievance against the messenger it seems. Bit like you and Dave then eh?
Yep, me and Dave. Two peas in a pod….
A lot of people regard Tony Robbins as a cult leader? That’s interesting. I didn’t know that. I thought he was kind of a role model in the field of motivational speaking. Oh well. Maybe it’s time for some of his followers to find a new guru.
After I left Scn I tried Transcendental Meditation but I got bored with it after two months although I did find some of it worthwhile. I went to a weekend retreat which focused on “quiet and peaceful” which was memorable but Maharishi didn’t become my favorite guru.
This is a first: someone else can’t make head nor tail of what the article is trying to convey!
It’s using the “bedrock” (?) of ARC to spin off into a general condemnation of Scientology and Scientologists, past, present and independents, I suppose.
Yep. And/or it is working out what the hell else he can write about.
I’ll add that this is just my opinion after reading the topic but some people are saying the topic makes sense to them. There are dozens of concepts presented in Scn with many interpretations. Some people internalized some of them and used and perhaps still use some of them in their thinking.
” Terra is clever, he gives some true statements otherwise his daft articles would be so obviously daft to anyone but it is all the ancillary little critical titbits that float on past most readers, embedding themselves in their anti-Scientology sub-conscious,”
Nice one Eff Pee. Your own cleverness is only exceeded by “all the ancillary little critical titbits that float on past most readers” and come from the hours spent in the OSA courseroom no doubt. Say high to Dave and the scilon staff and crew from all of us out here on the fringes.
One concept about the ARC triangle that I heard a lot was ‘never go to sleep on an ARC break.’ I wanted to live by that in my Scientology marriage. I remember talking to my spouse for about a half an hour. We were arguing some very important point.
I stopped for a second and realized, it’s past my bed-time, we’re repeating ourselves and if I didn’t have great self-control and not want to hurt his feelings, I’d do serious verbal damage on his wrong-ass self.
I said, “we’re done with this conversation. I’m going to bed.”
“But we haven’t worked this out.”
“Going to bed.”
“Not making it go right.”
“Going to bed.” Said while brushing teeth.
Now both brushing teeth.
I went to bed and slept great.
I woke up and felt fine.
I didn’t bring up the unsolvable ARC break of the night before and neither did he.
We ended up having a really nice day.
I decided that my mom had it right when she said, “The more you stir shit, the worse it stinks.”
I have seen plenty of instances where continuing to communicate when there is too big a gap between positions is not the way out.
Try being a democrat in a house of republicans.
Try being a tolerant person and one of your beloved uncles is an N word using racist.
Try loving a father who sometimes beats your mother.
The ARC triangle works great, until it doesn’t. Then you have to step out on a ledge and decide for yourself if your integrity means not loving someone, who’s deeply flawed, because their flaws aren’t yours.
The ARC triangle has been helpful to me. But it’s not the be all end all I used to think it was.
I loved the lifting feeling of lightness I got when I read this post and got the idea of what putting false reality into the ARC triangle really did. It made such sense.
I remembered like dominoes falling, times I faked affinity, and times people faked affinity with me.
There was a time I was nice to a person that a scientologist ‘friend’ thought I shouldn’t be nice to because they were ‘downstat.’ I was accused of being ‘fake.’ My response was, ‘yes, I was a bit falsely cheery.’ It was depressing to see this person so down about her life. But I did cheer her up. Yes it was work. No I didn’t feel cheery hearing of her woes. Yes I was fake. But my intent to lift her up was real. And to this day I’m glad I did it.
ARC in scientology turned in to a mine-field of correct levels of cheeriness. At events it was ‘he who donates the most gets the most orgiastic cheery reaction after the event.’ My best friend, who is near bankruptcy and only donated $50.00 deserves a chilly hello. Too bad. She got all my lovey attention because she’s who I loved.
I just keep thinking about times that using ARC, and how to act based on that concept, through various filters of scientology correctness twisted me up.
Reading this is untwisting me.
It is basically helpful in many situations, but not a be all end all, solve all, thing.
CNC – Very nice and an excellent overall perspective on the idea of ARC. Most people in civil discussion “talk things out” and agree or agree to disagree.
Got it on everything, CNC, and agreed. Sometimes in relationships the best thing to do just let things slide. And what you were referring to as regards “making yourself” feel affinity – well, that’s just horrible! Affinity cannot be forced, and neither can reality! If it is, then the person being forced is not – how do I say this – the person being forced is not PRESENT with you. Instead, some artificial personality is communicating what is being insisted upon. Now, we all do this for short bits of time for one reason or another, for one expediency or another, or possibly just out of a desire to be polite and not hurt someone’s feelings, but to LIVE this way is awful and damaging and in my opinion a sure-fire way to acquire some chronic disease.
Of COURSE we all love you, FOOLproof. You’re the source of much hilarity, giving us even more reason to CELEBRATE having revolted against that revolting little cult when we finally did.
Hope you’re able to enjoy a bit of summer away from the keyboard. The real world can be a wondrous place full of joy and LIFE.
hi, great short essay. How do Scientologists compute into their arc the fact that Ron introduced his amazing new science to the world through a science fiction magazine?, doesnt that raise all kinds of red flags? i.e he writes crazy fantasy stories for a living etc
Great piece, Terra. You make a strong point about how the lies endemic in Scientology undermine the triangle, while others like Mark point out that the triangle itself is an inaccurate over-simplification.
Reading the title, I had thought that you were going to address how members and staff are indoctrinated and continued to lie – tell “acceptable truths” – and how corrosive that is.
On a tangentially related note, over at Tony Ortega’s Bunker today, there is a fascinating never before published long 1972 piece by L. Ron “Nibs” Hubbard, Jr., in which he reveals a lot about the early days of Dianetics and Scientology. It gets into the lies upon which Dianetics and Scientology were based, and on which the organization operated – and also into such familiar themes as exhorbitant prices and the constant recycling of old material as supposedly new discoveries, all going back to the beginning, along with brutal and sometimes even violent practices:
https://tonyortega.org/2018/11/03/never-public-l-ron-hubbard-jrs-devastating-1972-takedown-of-his-father-and-scientology/
I know that some people had relatively positive experiences as public, and even staff, at outer orgs and missions into the 1970s and early 1980s. I think that Nibs’s account provides yet further evidence that the organization was always rotten at the core, and that what may have happened in places where the Sea Org had yet to extend its control, was more in spite of Hubbard than because of him.
TC,
Good article. What happens when a scientogist puts out lots of communication about Scientology and what he or she gets back is a complete disagreement on Scientology. A break in affinity and reality. Hence a ceasing of communication. And so Scientologists retreat into their bubble. And don’t let communication in or out.
When a being stops communicating he’s dead to the world. Thank you Mr. Hubbard.
If you’re upset with someone or having an argument, who tries to figure out if it’s a break in A R C or U? In auditing if someone came into session upset about something, isolating it to a break in A R C or U usually handled it so you could get on with the session.
A lifelong friend always thought I was nuts for getting into scientology. A few times I tried giving him an “R-factor” (Reality factor) about things I thought were worthwhile in scientology, but that makes him worry that I’m still stuck in scientology so I quit doing it.
Great article. It was a total mindf*ck for me trying to understand how lying to the public was in accordance with that basic tenet of ARC. I saw public being outright lied to every day. Never mind the policy of “always answer people’s questions”. Here’s a good rule: If the reg’s lips are moving, he’s lying.
“I saw public being outright lied to every day.”
As a public and never staff, for many years I didn’t see any lies.
Then towards the end, one day, towards the end, I saw. I caught staff, my entire org, actually, in a HUGE lie. A huge, bald faced lie not only to me but to a number of us being “briefed”. They lied right to our faces.
It was purely by accident that I discovered this because at the time I had no suspicions. A day later I literally stumbled on the truth.
Today I’m embarrassed to admit it, but at the time, discovering this, I was shocked.
Shocked to the core!
My org! The STAFF! , LYING to us! Lying right to our faces! And such an elaborate, detailed lie! How could they?
(Yes, that’s how naive I was.)
iMy world was rocked but as is mostly my way,when something is extremely important I got real quiet about it. Also I still didn’t quite believe it or more likely this was just denial on my part because I the lie was as plain as day and at that point I didn’t trust the staff to tell me the truth, necessarily. Maybe the would, maybe not.
So I waited until the right moments, saying little, and keeping my eyes and ears WIDE open, processing.
If they were lying to me and all of us (public) so easily and thoroughly about THIS, what ELSE were they lying about? What HAD they been lying about? All these years? What would they lie to me about in the future? OMG, was my world upside down! But I didn’t “tip my mitt” as the irish say. I bided my time
A few days later I queried the matter twice with 2 different people, one a staff member I trusted and liked a lot, the other an OTVIII, public I didn’t like that much but I knew he liked me and would grant me some of his time. I approached him and engaged him in a conversation very casually, letting him know the info I had stumbled on which gave the entire lie to the 2 hour long briefing the OT committee had given.
Well! I learned a great deal.
Amazingly, OTVIII outright admitted the entire briefing to have been a lie. If we had been told the truth, he said, the org would not have gotten the “product”.. Nodding, as if in understanding and agreement, I thanked him and casually excused myself on some pretext or another.
Now I knew the truth!
A few days after that I approached the staff member. I already knew the truth. I wanted to see what she would say, how she would handle this with me. So I told her what I’d accidentally learned, giving the lie to that org briefing.
She handled it very differently. Deer in the headlights. First she pretended not to know. Then, bobbing, weaving, justifying, explaining…I think my calmness unnerved her because finally, in desperation, she attempted to make it all about misunderstood words – MINE! As in, I had had misunderstood words on the entire briefing. By this time I had nothing but pity for this woman. I couldn’t watch her go thru these verbal contortions anymore so I told her I’d look for my MUs or whatever and clear them up and that it was all OK because it was for the greatest good – some bullshit like that I told her, because I couldn’t look at her lying to me anymore,degrading herself like that. I wasn’t angry, I was sad. That sounds condescending but I didn’t feel condescension just sadness, grief almost.. She was (and is) a nice person, a good, helpful person.who had helped me on more than one occasion. I had liked her and trusted her completely After that experience I still liked her but no longer trusted her.
Around that time I started reading the blogs, and within a year and a half I quietly withdrew and haven’t been back since.
wow.
That’s a helluva story.
Curious as hell as to what the lie was.
….
I was VERY suspicious of the LRH death story. There were so many “outpoints” to the whole thing, it rocked me to the core and I was very close to waking up.
Sadly, my desire for OT and having Scn all be true … was so much that I was able to get my mind right. 🙁 It was so close…. I could have saved myself so much time and life. (and money)
…
I’m glad you stumbled upon the lie.
Frankly I’d LOVE to to tell you what it was. I’m dying to share this because it would make for great RinderBloggerry in that it was no small obfuscation or hobson-jobsoning of the truth but an intricately detailed, carefully crafted, deliberate, lengthy WHOPPER 🙂
I can’t tell you, though. It would “out” me. I’m paranoid. At this point I probably shouldn’t be but what can I tell, you, I am.
By the way, as regards your having had your doubts due to your having observed all of the outpoints about LRH’s Dropping of His Body To Further His Research, WELL DONE, Rip, on your having observed those outpoints and having held those doubts!
I, for one, fell for it. HOOK, LINE & SINKER. 🙂
..we heard about the death on the radio before anything else. It was on the radio and on TV, and public were calling the org asking about it… the execs at the org knew nothing. Later that night we were told that there would be a meeting to clear up the BS in a couple days. It took about 3 days before the event was shown – they had to hold it and then ship us the tape.
When I began to watch it and it was confirmed that he was dead, I knew right then that he was a fraud. I kept watching and by the end of it ..I was very seriously in doubt. I wanted sooo much to believe, but it was really hard.
I had been around for a long time on staff and was highly trained on admin and tech. It didn’t make sense that he would causatively leave that way. No hat turn over, no big lead up, no last goodbye lecture/LRH ED, … it stank to HIGH HEAVEN.
Also, there had been the whole, “pre-ot” thing… and 8 – the first ‘real’ OT level wasn’t out yet. I KNEW LRH had said that OTs alone fall on their head, they have to be in groups to survive, and that’s why we have the SO and that’s how we’re now smarter than before, because it was THIS aloneness that led us to where we are…. blah blah..
so how does he leave to go do something ALONE??? and since there are no “real OTs” yet on the planet, how is he LEAVING US THE JOB TO FINISH???
…..then of course, there was the following cluster-fuck of Pat-N-Annie, and my “Loyal Officer” plaque thing was removed from my desk…. these janitors and house cleaning couple took over and were at the event but were just pretending and faking and they were actually nobodies…? and DM is the guy who was supposed to…????
That whole thing….I just shook my head.
And got my mind right.
I didn’t understand any of it, couldn’t talk around it to make it right…so I filed it and just re-embraced my certainty in LRH himself. I had spent years listening to him and reading him…he was in my head and was the closest person in the world to me. I just… let it go.
Pretty fuckered, eh?
🙂
“…that he would leave that way. No hat turnover?”
Exactly. Long after his death, after having done a number of Scientology admin courses including the Data SeriesI too, marveled (to myself) about this.
LRH’s dropping of his body, we were told, was a CAUSITIVE action on his part. He PLANNED this, they said. His death did not put him at EFFECT. He was at CAUSE. His body was no longer “serving” him in his “research”.
Yet, with all this planning, NO HAT WRITE-UP? Not even an R-Factor from him to us? After all, wasn’t he moving off of a Condition of Power? Didn’t make any sense! It puzzled me. I’d wonder about it, from time to time
Today, I’m having a hearty laugh at myself.
What a pile of horseshit 🙂
Well, look, when I was a little kid in Sunday School I also believed, for a while, in talking snakes, a man being turned into a pillar of salt, a male and a female of living species in the world fitting into an ark, and other Biblical Magic. Of course, I was 6 years old…and when I fell for that LRH Off To Target Two whopper I was over 30…hmmm…oh, well )
We have to just laugh and forgive ourselves, and let the past go, and celebrate the beauty of today, Rip.
yep.
I’m hoping that someday I won’t have to be utr.
I would love to have regular get-togethers, to help each other, to listen, and be a shoulder or to just share. To share and share and share and share… as long as it takes and is needed.
I’d like to form groups of friends, all over… to make a big family of all the Ex’s, to be united in our experiences and to have each other’s backs. (and be able to go to Howdy Com)
…
Being part of Scn, being staff and in the group, it was SUCH a dedication, such a purpose. I would like to channel all that goodness inwardly, for ourselves, to help each other heal and move on and then joyfully embrace all the good things and to give each other kudos and knowing smiles and such like. Move forward with all the nice things in life and share that too. To show and share all the things that are possible “after waking up”.
…….
for now…….
we have Mike.
and Tony….
and all the good ones who come here and say sweet things and offer support.
We have each other… but someday…. I’d like to be able to do it in person with my face known. <3
(Rinder has such a great thing going with the gang, I'm so glad for him. I think we all could use that, and we DESERVE IT.)
@ Rip – I like your vision and your ideas. Positive energy, making delicious, nutritious, refreshing and energizing hand-squeezed lemonade out of lemons.
Where do I sign? 🙂
I understand about not being able to give details. I have that exact thing going on too. I have some big parts of stuff I can’t give, including how I woke up. Too much the possibility of having it just name me.
The lie sounds wild though.. I hadn’t given this stuff much thought before. But..hell..I bet the GO..then later OSA..lied to us like crazy. The FBO… they stole our CGI sooo often.
All very ‘hush hush’ emergencies… barf.
Very good Terra (your ability writing short essays keeps improving remarkably. The subject material sucks but it’s very well presented).
I don’t have a problem with ARCU as a way of viewing the antics of human behavior, but the ramifications of the introduction of lies into such a system is exactly what you have described. Yes, that’s Hubbard and his Bridge. The more I look at what I studied of the subject the more I see the pincer type movement encircling the attributes of such things as human compassion, camaraderie, love of family, loyalty to friends etc and eventually snuffing them out completely, the Sea Org being an obvious example. A fully paid up, card carrying member of the Cof$, in good standing of course, is no longer human in the real sense of the word, they can’t be, for being human is bad, oh so very bad according to Scientology doctrine. It is not hard to see when you know what to look for that a hard core Scientologist is simply a cog in a big machine that doesn’t recognize any of the cogs except as a source of income and/or labor. Should any cog become unmanageable or not conform, well… no matter, that cog’s not important anyway and a whole heap of command intention flows from every which way, ethics tech and things like disconnection and the threat of spending eternity as a body part or some type of disease etc steps in and acts like a cage. Depending of course on how much kool-aid has been guzzled. Those that just do or believe whatever they are told, well… they call that robotism don’t they? Not unique to Scientology but very much the grease upon which the cogs in the Scientology machine turn.
Stupidity and Scientology, interchangeable in any sentence. (try that out, it’ll make you chuckle).
Very good point.
When will FP show up?
He says he’s too busy working but most people don’t work on Saturday or Sunday.
It’s clear he likes to stir the pot after the fact.
Yes, it is dog’s breakfast stew in the pot!
Speaking of a dog’s breakfast, my mother would only reheat leftovers once and whatever was left after that got mixed with some dry dog food and went out to our birddogs out in the pen. My uncle Steve was living with us and had a nighttime job as a security guard. One morning he came home and saw the pot on the stove which had the mix which Mom had made up for the dogs and helped himself to a tasty breakfast. Mom was an excellent cook.
oops – Uncle Steve had no idea that the food in the pot was meant for the dogs. He probably saw some meat and potatoes in the pot and dug in. Apparently a scoop of dog chow mixed with some of Mom’s tasty beef stew tasted okay. It became a family joke and Uncle Steve took it in stride.
That’s cute, Richard. Reminds me of that scene in “The Prince Of Tides” . But unlike the father in that film, your Uncle Steve sounds like he was a good guy.
FP —
You think you’re oh-so-clever. It’s quite embarrassing.
And please stop giving people asinine nicknames. Those are embarrassing, too — for you.
Asinine nicknames eh? What, like “Tubolard” and “Hubturd” and the myriad other nicknames in use here and well, you name it… As for embarrassment you can’t get any more embarrassing than the individual “topics” I list above.
People can call Hubbard whatever names they wish. He most certainly deserves it.
The ones you assign to some posters here are simply ridiculous and childish.
I have to be honest. I had to re-read this article a couple of times. I’m a NI so the terminology was a little, well, confusing. Come to think of it, that’s what it was designed to be. Only former, current, and/or UTR members can understand this with one reading. Wow, just, Wow!
Went on a comment-fest for Co$ Youtube vids-read & enjoy-this one on the ARC vid:
“You bet! My Regging Officer showed me his Affinity for my bank account, the Reality that they’d raise my credit limit, and being InComm with my loan officer for the Wire Transfer of the last of my money to IAS. Now that’s L Ron’s KSW Tech in action!”
Still there after several days-OSA snoozing?
Laughter!
That’s hilarious. OSA has definitely dropped the ball and/or just has too much “entheta” to deal with these days. Love it!
Yea … and where is that righteous Eff Pee when ya need ’em. He/she/it might want to git involved and do some commendation worthy retaliation to take that nasty blogger out!
Yo Dave,
You can remove the leash now.
To elaborate on my previous comment: The definition of terms is in the triangle is waaay over-simplified. There is a lot more to the concept of communication than ” cause-distance-effect” and similar cult-garbage definitions of the word. The same goes for the other words. The “ARC triangle ” is a typical, one-size-fits-all, thought-stopping cliché .
There is no nuance, no acknowledgement of contextual framing, no connecting reference to the muti-century, multi-cultural philosophical discourse on the subject of communication, and zero scientific rigor or processes suporting it.
Even WITHIN this little shitty, intellectually lazy triangle, it does NOT follow, for example, that MORE “communication” will AUTOMATICALLY create more ” reality and affinity” ; I can think of NUMEROUS examples when more communication simply raised the level of antagonism and disagreement and disparity of ” reality ” between two parties. It’s one of those hypnotically baked-in ” axioms ” of scientology; scientology indoctrination is truly insidious!
Scientology’s ARC triangle means the Scientologist will communicate and fake and pretend agreement with the Wog to manipulate the Wog into giving money, signing contracts, joining Staff and Sea Org and helping Scientology SCAM others. The normal unsuspecting Wog likes to have an agreement…so the wog communicates back whatever agreement the Wog desires. The Wog feels heard and underestood so Trust from the Wog to the Scientologist goes up.
Then the scamming and manipulating begins
There you have it in a nut shell.
How Scientoloigst’s manipulate and scam.
ARC = Scientologist’s formula to manipulate and bamboozle by pretending, lying, faking and being insincere.
This is the funniest definition of ARC I´ve ever read:-) ROFL…
This “triangle ” is another bogus concept that I heartily encourage ex scien-tool-ogists
( yes, I am one ) to ditch. The definitions of the words in the triangle and the validity of the triangle itself are shit. Read some George Lakoff. Poke around in the subjects of linguistics and cognitive science and-oh my god!-psychology. Disinfect your mind with real art and science and philosophy and a life lived in your body, in this physical world, with other humans; figure out for yourself what rocks your boat sensually, spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Enjoy the dangerous, delicious sensation of NOT KNOWING and devote the rest of your life to learning and questioning and exploring…and changing your mind as frequently as you wish to!
To the South Philly Shithead(tiny tin pot tyrant): living well and consciously is the best revenge! Enjoy your empty buildings and your expensive scotch and your enslavement to your blood money and sadism!
Hip hip hooray!
I absolutely love this.
Terra, you discuss the fact of a paradigm shift into a world of lies and falsities. All this false data is brought in by the truckloads as the scientologists stable foundation of the reality they’ve built. It’s just that there in Scientology, they all live in the same building. And these buildings, analogous to their idle orgs, have nice fasades on the public facing side, but the heart of the building is lacking with HVAC shutoff, old piping, dusty and unused rooms, libraries without people, and understaffed departments. It’s a great effort to hide the lies on their part, but very out reality, impracticle, and unsustainable.
To get them back into reality, we mock up these games to get back their sense of a consensus reality. Except all the bad sportsmanship and nobody wants to play. Put their hand on the hot stove one too many times…
That’s probably because their still on their unfinished game mock up of ‘the deadly serious business of saving this sector’ or whatever the anon pleebs repost on the alt web. Talk about entheta to Scientology. Mike’s blog is soft pawing compared to what the freedomphiles post, with documentation, about this group on ‘that’ whistleblower wiki site. Signing off. #ruthless
I just had a conversation with a friend that’s still on staff in an org. My friend is Jewish, and I asked him about Louis Fartakhans recent statement about being anti-termite. My friend went into a very long and convoluted explanation of how it is simply “dramatization”, blah blah blah, and this man “has received auditing”, so he should be excused as he’s on his way to sanity! This is exactly how any weirdness about the cult and it’s actions gets explained away as reasonable, including the blatant hatred spewed by Fartakhan. To anyone else on the outside, it’s bigotry. To them it’s acceptable.
Auditing Rev. Louie would be fun. He’d soon learn who was controlling the session. “Sit your ass back down and answer the auditing question!” Tone 40 all the way.
On a nicer note after he settled down I’d ask, “Do you want me to audit you or do you want to sit in your bank for the rest of eternity?” (This is from a Scn point of view, of course.)
Yeah, it would be sort of fun to audit an asshole like that. I’d make sure the demo kit on the table had a handful of 9mm rounds in it.
Calypso Louie is a despicable, cynical cult leader, just like that bouffanted homunculus in elevator shoes. They deserve each other; may they soon reap the effects of the devastation, betrayal, and suffering they have both sown for decades.
Ah, yes, yes, that hate spewing is just Louie’s “Bank”. His reactive mind. And he’s getting audited so of course its only a matter of time before the tech will work its magic on him. Its not like he’s a Suppressive or anything! Its not as if he’s a sociopath trying to make everyone in the NOI a Jew Hater. No, its just his reactive mind, dramatizing.
Amazing and beyond belief how the Still Ins justify these glaring, neon-fiery red outpoints! Its this kind of non confront and stupidity which makes me side with PT Barnum about suckers never deserving an even break.
I can’t believe he’s not furious! I wonder if he knows the extent of ugliness and hatred he spews? Hopefully he’ll see one day. That’s so very sad to me.
Auditing and cogniting be damned. He knows very well what he’s doing. He’s giving his parishioners a scapegoat. He’s keeping them herded together by giving them a group they can blame and hate. Its what he’s always done and when he kicks the bucket someone will carry on with the same schtick. Nothing new in this, really. Down thru the ages every organized religion I can think of has used this ploy effectively at one time or another.
That is just sad Dotey Very nice though that you have been able to keep in touch with your friend.
Richard, what does “sit in your bank” mean?
Peggy – bank is shorthand for the reactive bank or more formally called the reactive mind, the Scn description of the part of the mind which stores (banks) painful memories. Saying “He was getting banky” would mean he was acting under the influence of his reactive mind.
In order for Louie or anyone to want to continue auditing, he or she would have agreed that they have a reactive mind or bank which needs to be “erased”.
When I was a scientologist I believed that everyone should eventually become a scientologist, just like many or most Christians believe everyone should be saved. I didn’t realize how much of a believer I was until after I got out and looked back.
Thank you Richard. I can see the value of being able to resolve things from the past that are regrets and believe that you can start over with a clean slate with a better way to live. That would sure be something that would entice someone to keep wanting that good feeling.
Dotey – thank you for this insight about your Jewish friend. It’s making me NUTS right now that all my Jewish scio. friends could possibly be accepting this NOI alliance (and I’m born Catholic). I should of guessed it’s the typical sciobot excuse, “dramatization”, blah blah blah, and this man “has received auditing”, so he should be excused as he’s on his way to sanity!” AND I can just imagine how many more excuses. Because the tech is gonna set them free, blah, blah, blah. OMG.
I’m gonna say it again, I’m disgusted with all the old timers still sticking it out, justifying, blind. No excuse. If they don’t see or know what’s going on, then they are truly living under a rock and don’t deserve to live.
I know many of us here have differing views on why these guys stick around and I get it.
Aqua, I know you and I are on the same page about these blind old timers. I don’t feel bad for them just disgust.
I would just wonder what would happen if my friend went into the lobby at the org and shouted a racial slur loud enough for all to hear, insulting any and all NOI staff nearby. What would he think would happen to him? A nice comfy seat in HCO awaiting him!! Does Farrakhan go to HCO before his next session?? Why didn’t that happen to Farrakhan?? Three gue$$e$ and the fir$t two don’t count.
Exactly!!
Yes, Ms. P, you and I are on the same page. I can’t feel sorry for the old timers anymore, and I’m relieved to not be wasting any more emotion on them The truth blares in their faces. Some have seen it and have gone UTR. I’m with them. some will see it and go UTR and/or just leave. I’ll be with them too. The rest, the willfully, purposefully, stubbornly blind, well, they’ll go down with the ship, that’s all, and good riddance. I don’t care about the fate of fundamentalists of all ages and I can’t or won’t pretend that I do. Maybe I’m disgusting for not caring about such types and you can call me disgusting but at least I can’t be accused of pretending to care when I don’t, which, in my opinion, would be even more disgusting.
Spot on observations Terra Cognita.
And, based on these premises, another tool scientology used was enforced Reality. Remember when COB gave all FSO staff the order that no one at the base could read anything except LRH; this included public waiting at the lounge for their sessions or by the pool at the end of the day.
Very complying staff approached any public and told them that the new books were the only thing that should be read at the Base. Public complied with the order. This was a polite enforced Reality,
What I did was to use the cover of DMSMH and placed it over my Robert Ludlum book that I was reading at the moment and kept reading it; if the ethics officer came around he was only able to see the DMSMH cover…je, je, je
Good one Silvia. But you were SO then. How could a SO ever be allowed to stop and read a book even i they thought it was LRH?
Cute, Silvia,
In 1979(?) doing the purif in the apartment complex sauna with other scienos, I wrapped the DMSMH cover over the Bhagwan Rashneesh book and read away. One CLass8 kept smiling at me but said nothing. Not all scienos were hard core back then.
Your post started my cabesa spinning it’s wheels Terra. Thank you. And with my cup of coffee waiting to find its way into my brain cells I hope to enjoy a morning inspiration from your writing, by writing myself.
Scientology, it’s dictrines and beliefs are simply a projection of Hubbard’s mental state.
Scientology is Ron’s state of mind in writing. You are so right re the ARC triangle. While I have used it in a benevolent way to create a better condition with others – mostly in the past, the same thing could be said of simply talking to people with the intention of resolving issues.
Hubbard’s genius was to take normal human traits, define them in a unique way with new words, and claim that he discovered them.
And so here we have Scientologists claiming mastery of communication while actually being in terror of communication. David Miscavige being disappeared while the entire planet laughs at Scientologists and sees Scientology as a societal pariah.
If the ARC triangle was mastered as Ron says, Miscavige should be able to go on the media and bring everyone to a Jesus moment.
But Ha Ha! Ladies and Gentlemen! Now we have another piece of delusional garbage to justify the non application of the ARC triangle: you can’t talk to a suppressive – someone who thinks for themselves, you must destroy them because they are evil and can’t experience being risen up the tone scale with ARC.
It’s all just Hubbard’s Psychology being imprinted on his disciples.
If you don’t agree with me, you are evil and must be destroyed.
This in essence is the mindset of a Malignant Narcissist.
“If you don’t agree with me, you are evil and must be destroyed”, is the simple held down seven in Hubbard’s cognitive faculties that could the said to be the root cause of Scientology’s psychological sickness and the source of Scientology’s toilette bowl PR.
Masters of ARC my ass!
You are so right Terra, the more delusional reality used in the R part of the ARC triangle
the more closed off from the real reality a person becomes.
Once psyches are believed to be from the planet Farsec, a “reality” ; communication and affinity will pulled down into the world of Hubbard’s delusional make believe.
Once Hubbard is perceived as the “only being to discover the truths of life”, a “reality”; what then will usher out of a person’s mouth as communication will be delusional cult talk. Then the Scientologist has to hide that “reality” from normal people.
After years and decades of this self inflicted intellectual handicap acquired through study tech, on course, an irrational cult member is solidly formed.
Great comment!
Brian – I enjoyed all that you wrote with my cocktail in hand, unlike when you wrote this with coffee in hand – LOL. You and Terra, always food for thought.
Cocktails or coffee Ms P! Proof there is a god!
This paragraph describes how I felt even way back by the late 70’s: “Despite their cheerful facades, Scientologists have low ARC for the world. Their Reality has been so impregnated with false data, their ability to communicate and empathize with those outside their tiny spheres has been compromised.” I noticed the outside world, to us staff members, was made to be fearful and/or evil the way we talked about it. “Wogs,” were considered almost as if they were autistic spiritual beings and only those of us inside our little building were considered safe for eternity. That IS low ARC. Sheeeesh
Hot Damn Terra – that was one of the best write ups I have ever read that described the Bridge to Total Freedom inside the Cult of Scientology.
VWD!
Thank you RB. I am having a lot of wins right now.
ARC = deception, manipulation, lies and deceit. The dog and pony show of Scientology.
I hopped off the crazy train when I experienced ARC at Flag, the mecca of technical extortion. When I saw that the MAA’s are really registrars picking open the scabs of your past “Scientoloically MAA perceived” transgressions and making one pay and pay and pay. Later, I found Hy Levy’s videos and it confirmed my suspicions.
Young people are totally brainwashed and duped to believe they are in the Sea Org saving the planet, when in reality – they are robotic slaves that have no common sense or decency.
Scientology capitalizes on duping the youth to keep their scam going. It works as intended and it takes a pretty rational person to see through the façade.
Scientology audits out reasoning and rational thinking.
Spot on comment, rosemarietropf.
https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2015/03/its-a-sci-fi-trope-but-are-beings-of-pure-energy-really-possible/
thetans or souls inside of bodies, us, we are just somehow this energy creating “being” down deep below our layers of “case.”
Our supposed own “case” and our supposed “OT case” covers up us as the being down deep we supposedly are.
And Scientology’s here to give us the “modern” pseudo-therapy and exorcism to let us regain our powerful “OT” beingness again.
But none of the “OT” Scientologists can do anything like in modern sci fi entertainment’s “energy beings” who can do all sorts of the promised “OT” supernatural powers shown in popular entertainment.
That’s the most dismal out ARC false promise of Scientology!
Par for human history though. No one else has done anything, except entertainment in the promise of “OT” but no one’s demonstrating it.
Hubbard and Scientology take on a much deeper detailed light to me, after reading Alec Nevala-Lee’s new book, which is dense with the context of LRH’s realer sci-fi pulp writer career.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/006257194X/ref=rdr_ext_tmb
For me, the biography of LRH the story-teller is made disappointingly more realistic by Nevala-Lee’s putting Hubbard in correct context.
No energy being there, no thetan, no OT. Just human wishful thinking story telling.
Chuck – If somebody got into Scn to handle “What’s ruining your life?” per the dissemination drill and got it handled, then why stick around unless they go into agreement that they have a bank and a case? That’s the hook isn’t it? There’s no way you’re gonna get OT Powers while you still have a case! Christians want to be free of sin, Buddhists and Hindus want to be free of karma, and Scientologists want to be free of case.
You seem to be pretty down on the idea of OT Powers, but I’ve seen and experienced a couple of things which could only be classified as extrasensory or paranormal. Whether or not they were developed or just came naturally is debatable.
“What happens when lies are introduced to this triangle, though? What happens when people don’t recognize falsehoods from truth?….”
To me, in hindsight, Hubbard chose an already existing longterm human con, the “OT” or supernatural abilities that powers one has are buried under “case” and just need “case” removal and then drilling, and then anyone can begin being more “OT” (supernatural).
“OT” just isn’t happening.
The ARC triangle on “OT” being attainable is one of the biggest hardest lies for me to finally accept.
Alec Nevala-Lee’s book on L. Ron Hubbard’s pre Scientology career as sci-fi/fantasy writer with Heinlein, Campbell and Asmimov is revealing of where Hubbard’s inflated stories about himself really came from.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/006257194X/ref=rdr_ext_tmb