Our old friend Brian Lambert reached out to me with a new guest post.
As always, he has an insightful take on things.
THE MOST PRECIOUS LESSONS I LEARNED BEING A SCIENTOLOGIST
My 11 year Scientology experience has yielded essential survival lessons. These lessons are so valuable, in my view, that countless times I’ve communicated to my wife (a never in) how grateful I am for my experience in the Scientology mind prison .
When I’ve dissected with great focus and unrelenting self inquiry what were key psychological elements of personal damage skillfully implanted into my mind, I find these:
1- the criminalization of curiosity
2- the criminalization of free investigation and research
3- the criminalization of doubting the powerful
4- the criminalization of disagreeing with the powerful
In a nutshell: the criminalization of questions.
I see this playing out in society today. I see some of the same signs in our society that I’ve seen while in Scientology. I see the weaponization of terms and words to discount people who doubt and question the powerful.
In Scientology the words and terms we used to devalue and dehumanize people were SP, wog, covertly hostile, low toned, reasonable, open minded, religious bigot, panty-waist dilettante, other practices and many others.
These terms are psychological weapons meant to delegitimize, devalue and demean the thoughts and views of others. It renders people unworthy of dialog because there is something mentally wrong with them, so why bother with a tin foil hat nitwit.
SIGNS THAT WE ARE IN TROUBLE IN OUR SOCIETY
In society there is a weaponized term that serves the same purpose as Scientology weaponized terms. That term is conspiracy theorist. There are others but I’ll stay with this term as an example.
When common everyday people question the contemporary narrative presented to us by the powerful and are shot down with weaponized language, I now understand it to be the same intention as defining someone as an SP. As soon as the term is used, it delegitimizes and dehumanizes others. These word labels stuff people into limited definitional boxes. They become unworthy of reasoned dialog.
This is the essence of psychological warfare. Destroying the enemy with thought instead of bullets. So instead of working out with reasoned and adult dialog any differences in viewpoint, those attacked with psychological weapons are instead thought to be needing reprogramming or deprogramming for having flawed thinking.
This is happening in our broad society today. These last three years have seen lifelong friends disconnect from my wife and I, permanently, just like Scientology, because our thoughts and views differ from the highly controlled narrative being implemented by the powerful. We are willing to speak to them to work out differences with love and maturity, but they have disconnected from us and will have nothing to do with us.
EXACTLY LIKE IN SCIENTOLOGY
My Scientology experience has allowed me to see what is happening. It’s allowed me to see that something has been introduced into these people’s minds to cause this to happen. The process of dividing people is a known and insidious political strategy. Hubbard was expert at it.
One person has been a best friend of my wife since they were teenagers. That’s a 47 year friendship! Same with me. And all of this happened within the last 2-3 years.
Something has been introduced to cause this to happen.
WE WERE DISCONNECTED FROM FOR ASKING QUESTIONS AND DOING RESEARCH INTO THE CONTEMPORARY NARRATIVES OF THE POWERFUL.
THE ENEMY OF DECEIVERS AND BOON OF TRUTH SEEKERS
If Harold says 2+2=5 and he is a social influencer there is only one way to resolve the issue: get on some mass media narrative delivery system with 4 stones. Gather all the experts from both sides, those who think Harold is right and those who think Harold is wrong. Put those 4 stones on stage and put a big ass spotlight on those 4 stones. Then have all experts count one at a time how many stones are there. That would resolve the issue instantly as truth has that quality of instant resolution once directly perceived.
But that is the method of those who seek truth. Not so with those who have something to hide and use deception as a means of maintaining power.
Those who have an ulterior motive and something to hide must at all times refuse the direct perception of what is true. Just think of LRH. His life was full of lies and anyone questioning the narrative were shot down with Scientology’s psychological warfare of weaponized words and terms. Instead of addressing the ideas of disagreement with reasoned dialog the person doubting the narrative is attacked as a person and stuffed into weaponized word boxes, dehumanized and rendered unworthy of dialog.
If I tell Harold 2+2=4 and he instead of solving it with the 4 stones example, he attacks me as a person, Harold has something to hide. To Harold, the truth is dangerous. To Harold, the truth threatens his power.
FINAL THOUGHTS
So my big take away lesson from Scientology is this: we are free to research, investigate, doubt, be curious about, disagree with anyone, anywhere at anytime. Especially those in positions of power.
And any institution, government, corporation, religion or political persuasion that uses weaponized terms against these above methods of truth seeking is not interested in finding the truth. They are hiding something and must use psychological word weapons to destroy the reputation and legitimacy of those who dare question.
The person must be “destroyed utterly” and completely before those pesky truth seekers uncover their deception and nefarious motives.
I’m so grateful I was in Scientology. My eyes are now open to seeing deceivers at work. Deceivers by definition hate truth, research and questions that challenge them.
When questioning the powerful with reason becomes a thought crime, that society is in deep trouble.
When people are attacked for disagreeing with the popular narrative it may be evidence of 5th generation warfare. Google it.
Thank you Ron, for helping me see the utter divine value in free investigation, unconditional questioning, free thinking outside the control narrative, doubting the powerful, standing up to the powerful and revealing the deception of the powerful.
There is only one true form of knowledge: directly seeing the true nature of something without any biased mind filters or installed mind control.
When truth becomes the enemy we have cult mentality. When lies become the norm we have tyranny.
Fantastic essay Brian! Your very best to date.
I can see that you have used your absence from social media very well.
You dug into the truth of the problems we are all facing in our current world with laser focus and crafted an essay that was not only brilliant but to the point of what everyone truly needs to start thinking about.
It’s like you spoke everything I’ve been feeling and then some. And you reminded me that I am not alone in these thoughts.
We are so often made to feel isolated and alone in this mad circus that our world has become. It’s like if you question anything then the name calling and social isolation starts. The media is spewing a narrative that many are too afraid, too comfortable or just too complacent to question.
So thank you Brian as a voice of light in an ever darkening world.
Excellent essay! Thank you so much!
Love to you and Margaret.
Pam
Hey Pam! Long time no hear from! Thank you so much for you kind words.
Is there any relation to my essay with your experience in Canada? I’ve heard freedom of speech and other liberties are being threatened there. Am I right or am I wrong?
How is Canada right now?
Hi Brian,
That is a loaded question but I will give it a try.
[UNFORTUNATELY, THIS COMMENT WAS ENTIRELY POLITICAL AND I TRY TO AVOID POLITICAL ARGUMENTS HERE AS THEY INVARIABLY DEVOLVE INTO BACK AND FORTH FLAME WARS, SO I DELETED THE MAJORITY OF THE CONTENT OF THE COMMENT BUT LEFT THIS HERE AS A REMINDER NOT TO ENGAGE IN PARTISAN POLITICAL DEBATE, THIS IS NOT THE FORUM FOR THAT. SOME SLIPS THROUGH, BUT GENERALLY PEOPLE ARE MINDFUL].
I could go on. But I’m tired.
I apologize for the length of this but give me a platform to speak out and….I will.
Good night my friend,
Pam
.
No problem. It was very political.
Let me try again,
Brian asked, “Is there any relation to my essay with your experience in Canada”?
Answer: Yes.
Brian asked, “I’ve heard freedom of speech and other liberties are being threatened there. Am I right or am I wrong”?
Answer: Yes. We now have a censorship Bill that restricts what Canadians are allowed to see on the internet. We have another regulatory Bill that dictates what language must be used. If you are a professional you can lose your educational degrees and certification and be sent for retraining if you do not use the language as so dictated.
Brian asked, “How is Canada right now”?
Answer: Google it.
That’s my best attempt to stay within the rules of the forum.
Although I regret voicing my opinions and generally I stay away from political comments in forums like this, I do not apologize for my viewpoints. They are all I have left.
Pamela
Ps, I’ll understand if you censor this comment as well. I still like you and like the content you provide.
i agree with you on every point. when labels replace caring about others we are dehumanizing them. caring about others is what those narcissists cannot abide. thank you for this thoughtful arrival.
You described your epiphany so well Brian.
Lovely essay.
You should write more.
Great article, Brian. I was fortunate to have had parents who never punished me for asking questions. I asked a lot of questions, as I recall My parents always made me feel free to challenge or doubt something unless or until it made sense to me. I lost them both early but the way they were with me in this regard made a deep and lasting impression.
When I first got into Scientology, long after their deaths, it appeared that the Scientology philosophy was an extension of what had been their attitude; read whatever you like, question whatever you like, its OK. I much appreciated what I perceived as this attitude and it kept me in Scientology for many years…until, at some point, that attitude began to change (or maybe I became more aware and perceptive). After about 20 years it became no longer OK to question or doubt or challenge. The emphasis appeared to shift from the importance of understanding, to simple obedience. This change didnt happen all of a sudden but somehow I found Scientology becoming less and less a spiritual philosophy and more and more a religion whose rules had to be obeyed – or else. DIRE consequences for anyone who didnt follow “the closely taped path” etc. etc. No more was there any room for – well, for anything, except what the Church of Scientology needed and wanted at any particular time!
Fast forward 10 years later, I’m out of the cult now, and I too, readily recognize individuals and groups that hold very solid beliefs and opinions about which there must be no debate, no challenge permitted, no doubt on their part allowed, and if one attempts to analyze a point or two with someone like this one is met with hostility, generalities, and ad hominem attacks.
I mostly feel sorry for people like this and quietly avoid them whenever possible. I know that sounds like a patronizing statement but I don’t mean it that way. I’m sorry for people and groups like this because are missing an awful lot in life. I know they derive a feeling of great security in never questioning what they “know” to be true. Their truth is the ONLY truth, period and must NOT be doubted or challenged.
Its sad and frequently annoying so I avoid people like this and count myself lucky to have had, for albeit a short time, parents who believed that just because someone in authority said something, or wrote something it was not necessarily true, and that truth itself would not shatter if it were questioned or challenged or doubted or even rejected. In fact, what they taught me was that if you reject truth, what shatters, eventually, is you.
I’ll add that at this stage of my life, as regards the search for truth, I feel comfortable living in the question and the quest for it, and the answers are all around us via listening to all kinds of people, even very close minded people, you know, the politically or religiously “my way or the highway types” – although with these I’ve found it a learning experience to listen to what they DON’T say. ( If I can keep my temper.)
In order for a cult, any cult, to recruit and hold onto it subjects, its leaders need naive, young, poorly educated, idealistic, low self-esteem, often altruistic people. Give them goals like ‘To Clear The Planet’ or ‘gain greater self awareness’ as lures. These kinds of recruits follow well. They will put up with lousy living conditions, poor food, lousy wages, take orders without question, abandon their friends, family, homes and even their lives. What does this say about the leaders? They desperately want their goals and will use any technique that helps to achieve them. They don’t need to respect those who work for them… they need people who they can lead around by their noses. Thus we have the Pol Pots, Lenins, Maos, Hitlers, etc. LRH accomplished his goals without murdering millions but he knew how to manipulate people. LRH did not respect people. If he did, he never would have required people to disconnect from their families. He never would have told you to lie to authorities about the workings of Scn. He never would have demanded you hate and use character assassination to those who disagreed with or left Scn. He hid from authorities when his wife and mother of his 4 children was sent to jail and, from reports, didn’t communicate with her from that time onward. LRH protected his own ass. If any of his minions were assigned to carry out an illegal act and caught doing so … neither LRH nor any in his organization would step in and support the offender. The offender, in fact, would be disavowed for being found out.
LRH was many things…but a love of and respect for humanity, was not among them. ‘Clearing the Planet’ is hard to do without love and respect.
Scn has things to hide…as do governments and organizations who don’t trust and respect others. Oddly (or maybe not so oddly), we see LRH tech on how to treat enemies every single day in our very own government…which begs the question, how come?
“In order for a cult, any cult, to recruit and hold onto it subjects, its leaders need naive, young, poorly educated, idealistic, low self-esteem, often altruistic people.”
Cults also recruit and hold onto worldly, old, highly-educated, cynical, high self-esteem, selfish people because they are exploiting vulnerabilities that are common to everyone.
Maybe some cult members are uneducated and naive, low self esteem like you say, but I found just as many who were educated and had high self esteem and had lived in the real world before joining, myself among them. In order to get out of a cult it does take some smarts and some confront and a willingness to look and question. Getting out is much harder than getting in.,
Good post.
“Scn has things to hide…as do governments and organizations who don’t trust and respect others. Oddly (or maybe not so oddly), we see LRH tech on how to treat enemies every single day in our very own government…which begs the question, how come?”
There are puppet masters above them. Their amusement and abilities to fool. trick and control knows no bounds, you never know what they take seriously. Wars and misery are like chess moves to them. They do not directly engage with the public, it’s not their style, but they influence via the many agencies they control. People like Hubbard and now Miscavige are easily forced to fall in line so they don’t get too cocky. Even Hitler listened to those who controlled the banks. Aren’t presidents members of secret societies? Someone’s got to run them, the Grand Pooh Bah so to speak. It could be suggested, the more screwed up the lower classes are, the more easily they fulfill their task of being an interesting playing field. Hubbard was paranoid about them, and rightfully so, apart from the fact he was a degraded being and couldn’t give or receive help – he was so chock a block full of crimes and ill will, no matter what he said or wrote to the contrary. “They” infiltrated and controlled his precious church anyway. Hubbard’s tech and the way the church expanded so quickly, especially with so much $ donated for a scam, must have been a fun motivation and cool tool for them to play with. I don’t think they ever took the game Hubbard presented seriously, it stimulated them! Just my opinion and assumption why the CofS is so damn hard to get rid of and copied around many govts.
wowie kazowie, that is so deep and so true
This is a great post. Recent research has shown that pulling out 4 stones and showing someone that counting them results in an answer of 4 is not as effective as it would intuitively seem. Humans are primarily emotional creatures, and human minds will go to great lengths to avoid counting stones if the answer goes against their core beliefs. The societal divide you mention comes from a combination of this human condition and the willingness of those who seek power to exploit it.
I believe that one of the most important things we can do as a society is to educate people about this vulnerability and teach them how to use curiosity, critical thinking, curtesy, and neurological humility to resist this kind of manipulation.
Thank you all for your comments, I was not in Scientology but in a family of CIA brainwashing, bullying and gaslighting. I found that when others were slick with their words and overly focused on their words, it is a way of ignoring important gut feelings, and sensory information that is telling me the truth. I got out by trusting my gut, the gut never lies.
Thanks Brian, you said it very well. My dad was a tort lawyer and he taught me early on about politics and ‘ad hominem’ attacks. Specifically: (of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining. Thus, when someone stopped discussing the topic and began attacking me personally I realized that they had run out of reasoning and was defaulting to making me wrong; often with strong emotions.
My big introduction to ‘critical thinking’ was as a college junior. My physical chemistry Professor had purchased for our 2 semester classes a brand new ‘highly touted’ text from a ‘brilliant’ new PhD. In 1962, $85 was a lot for a book. Turned out to be smoke and mirrors. Our prof turned the book into a teaching experience:. Our homework was to dissect the fallacies in every page with full references via other books. At the end of the academic year our prof showed us the 46 page, single spaced, letter to the publisher critiquing this jerk and asked for a refund for our 9 books. We didn’t get a refund but we darn well learned a lot of physical chemistry and ,at the same time, about critical thinking.
Succinct and deep, this is one of the best posts I’ve seen in a long time. Because of my experience in Scientology ( especially as the maxim”What is true for you is what you have observed for yourself” became an empty cliche, and then abandoned) I too could clearly observe the suppression of honest seeking of truth, of open discussion, and of free speech that has so escalated in the last three years.
Bravo for articulating some things of the greatest importance.
Thank you for this Brian. You’ve summarized so well what we’ve been seeing happen these last 3 years. For me, coming out of the cult I learned my lessons and have been extremely determined to ‘think for myself’ and investigate for myself and come to my own conclusions – and it’s been disappointing to see so many simply go with the flow…
I’ve concluded the big split in our culture is between the curious and the incurious. It was a confusion for me for a while how some people just follow what the magic screen says and some people question the pushed narrative.
The other split in my experience is that some people are capable of being disagreed with and some people get offended and angry if they are challenged. I love being challenged. Maybe the other person can teach me something new or maybe their challenge just verifies my understanding.
It’s a win win.
But then again, I prefer counting 4 stones and not just seeking agreement or disliking someone because they challenge me.
Congrats Bert for getting out of the cult and thinking for yourself. Our world desperately needs free thinkers.
We are in interesting times.
I’ve concluded the big split in our culture is between the curious and the incurious. It was a confusion for me for a while how some people just follow what the magic screen says and some people question the pushed narrative.
The other split in my experience is that some people are capable of being disagreed with and some people get offended and angry if they are challenged. I love being challenged. Maybe the other person can teach me something new or maybe their challenge just verifies my understanding.
It’s a win win.
But then again, I prefer counting 4 stones and not just seeking agreement or disliking someone because they challenge me.
We are in interesting times.
Thank you Mike. Nice to connect.
When I wrote for The Resister I told my editor that we didn’t have to dehumanize our opponents. I believed that our opponent had already dehumanized themselves.
Exactly! Once everyone sees the 4 stones on stage, everyone now has a confident view of Harold. He’s either looney or working a black ops.
Brian, I see the same signs and it scares me no end.
Have I finally escaped Scientology only to find out that Hubbard’s essential crazy ideas are now the norm?
Probably not, Hubbard had no original ideas. More likely that a lot of people who never heard of him want the same things he wanted. Eternal power over others and so on. And are using the tried-and-true totalitarian means to get them.
Great book for those who really need to know about these things. “The Weaponization of Loneliness” by Stella Morabito. It is really too long and rambles a bit, but the basic idea is bone-chillingly accurate.
Watching what is happening in our society it hit me: oh shit! It’s like Hubbard is taking over the planet. Of course that is only a metaphor.
I think the similarity is in the subject of intelligence operations, controlling the “melody and meaning of words” and mind control.
I believe now, after seeing the similarities playing out in society that Hubbard probably got his start in the Navy where he may have had access to things like MK Ultra and certainly from Milton Ericsson’s Confusion Technique.
I now see some of Scientology “tech” as an intelligence operation.
The same methods that Hubbard used with critics is the same methods I’m seeing out in world.
Destroy destroy destroy anyone pulling back the veil.
Good one as always, Brian.
Having been in the military and now knowing more about how our govt. keeps its secrets and how money and power work within that structure, I wouldn’t be surprised if hubbard did glean these things from his military service. Especially because he was in during a war time and he was an officer, albeit a junior grade one. He would been given many briefings and education on how we do war. Here’s a good book on it: https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-Man-3rd-dp-1523001895/dp/1523001895/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Sounds to me like you could summarize what you are saying as follows:
The most important lesson I learned from my 11 years in this cult was:
It’s a big mistake to ever join a cult. It’s a waste of your time, money, energy and life experience. Most anything else you do instead of joining a cult will prove to be a much better experience than belonging to a fahrshtankenen cult.
And imop, you’ve completely missed the point.
Don’t Waste, it was not a waste of time. It would have been if I didn’t learn from the experience. But I did learn. And those lessons are precious as I’m now armed with I highly developed bullshit detector lol!
It took, for me at least, to be deceived to learn that lesson. Now I know what it looks like to surrender my power to fools. Also, I was a very young man when I started- 17. So naivety played a part.
It’s all how we define our experiences. When we’re going through hell and pop out the other side, may as well learn something from it.
Everything is capable of expanding our awareness and knowledge. Even shitty experiences, if we choose.
Spot on mate! Spot on.
Well said.
Now, if I could just find a way to learn these tough lessons without having to go through the painful experiences first hand…
And if I could only find a way to share hard-won wisdom with my children and spare them their own struggles.
Very good points!