Distinguished Speakers…
Who cannot be named.
You can bet this turnout is going to be YUGE.
It’s Monumental
And it’s from 10 years ago!
And you know what the “next strategy” is that is going to be revealed? We need more of your money.
Should be even YUGER…
Flag public are going to be being harassed to attend this mercilessly. Some will show up to help keep Ethics and Regges at bay.
Still, if they have 200 people it would be a miracle.
Your Ideal Scene
Well, I can imagine a few them would be thinking “how about releasing OT ICX and X, you’ve been conning us into attending these briefings for more than 20 YEARS now, isn’t it time to cough up the goods, or admit you don’t have anything to offer?”
“LRH Research”
That is an oxymoron.
How we are creating a new civilization in our city…
Hadn’t noticed anything? Not even anything noticeable within 100 feet of your front doors?
They don’t lack chutzpah these “Captains”
The Upper tenth of the upper twentieth of human beings
He certainly didn’t lack chutzpah either. Not that there aren’t some fine people who are auditors. There are also some absolute idiots. Such conceit that because someone studied your “technology” it somehow makes them above and beyond all others.
Man will have a new world…
When is this supposed to start happening? He wrote this decades ago.
Desperate in Atlanta
He “honested” with himself after 20 years and finally plucked up the courage to get “wining with the technology” again. Poor guy.
He thinks everyone else’s problem is lacking courage and not being honest. Does Kwame really think that this is the way to “recover” someone? This is the “technology” at work?
Doug isn’t following in his footsteps. He has a life.
Who is that again?
Drug free world Ambassador? What does that mean?
He is apparently “famous” because he is on one of the programs on scientologyTV. Really.
At the helm…
Right, walk past CLO EUS on W 48th St and it will give you a good idea of how “a the helm” they really are. Even the main org on W 46th St is an empty morgue.
These guys are like kids riding their pedal cars making zoom zoom sounds as they “win the Indy 500.” Except they have even less chance of accomplishing it.
Just for fun — this is the Google image of the “Helm” of New York City…
“OT night”
Get inspired — to hand over money. Be at cause over your credit card limit. Make that 2nd mortgage into reality.
Someone who FINISHED would be a good idea
And maybe some proofreading too.
“A new civilization already on its way…”
They bought it hook, line and sinker.
Guys, what have you actually SEEN that makes you believe this line?
Conquer time…
Win freedom.
Jeez, if this guys knows how to do this, why isn’t he as famous as Bill Gates?
Or at least David Copperfield.
What business does this guy run? Surely it rivals Amazon by now — he has been applying the ONLY real management tech for decades now. A continuous affluence would have him a multi-billionaire. Hell, if his sales were $100 a MONTH and they doubled each month, he would be a trillionaire by now…
“Market and Preparedness Fair”
Someone swing by this thing in their parking lot this weekend and see what the hell it is (if you can find it)…
Great Leaders
Why no picture of DM — he would be their greatest leader, no?
Or any of the other “great leaders” who have been “made” with this brilliant tech from L. Ron Hubbard?
The great leader they show here is who again?
Erm, not so great leader I guess…
He’s a stock photo model…
Not Funny — Just Heartening
It is good to see the British press going to town over the last few days.
Apparently in the UK, scientology has lost its mojo in being able to prevent lengthy stories about abuses that are very detailed and specific.
I am repeating these stories here if you didn’t see them elsewhere.
First, a story in the Daily Mail about a recent escapee (someone else who was assisted by the Aftermath Foundation):
Second, a story about Serge Gil and sexual abuse at Flag in The Sun
Is that Kayalami castle pic the photo op of false Certs that was advertised a short while back? IIRC, it was a cattle call for “extras” to show up for a photo shoot of a staged “graduation”; completion certificates to be supplied for all who needed one to hold up. Kayalami pic seems a LOT more elaborate an affair than I experienced at NY org or Flag. Seems funny for any org in a country with probably less than 1,000 members.
I want to sign up and save this sector of the universe.
Thanks, Kat. I would be interested in helping in some way those who qualify to participate in a class action, but I would not be able to do so because when I left the cult had no money of mine on account – it had all been used up. But if it turns out that I would be in some other way, for some other reason eligible to join in a CA I’d be all ears! I’d love to get back the money I donated to the IAS and to Ideal M’orgs!
Lyingtology’s founder L Ron Hubbard wrote the HAT on how to report fake news.
$ciendollatry is teaching others this amazing tech.
$cientrickery causes members to file bankruptcy and lose homes to foreclosure. $ciendollatry causes financial ruin.
$cientology causes divorce
$cientology KILLS babies
$cientology causes mental illness.
$cientrickery is allowed to have tax exemption and hide behind a religious cloak
It’s fucked up!
“Few Are Chosen”
Because….
No one applies
Few are manipulated and coerced…the unfortunate children of staff and Sea Organization
$cientology – the science of Human Trafficking
Save your kids lurkers – get everyone you know in your family OUT of Scientology NOW!
I love that the guy in Atlanta is the CHIEF BODY REGISTRAR.
He’s obviously worked his way up from regging desks and chairs, ashtrays and coffee mugs to the Human department. Then after working his way through hair, nails, knees and elbows he got promoted to the full Body department. Then he had to work his way up from apprentice body registrar to junior body registrar to senior body registrar to assistant to the Chief Body registrar to assistant Chief Body registrar, and finally after paying his dues he’s made it. He’s the Chief Body Registrar. Huzzah.
But then again, I may be misreading this and he only registrars the leaders of Indian tribes, provided they have a body.
Lol! I love your post!!! I’m sure they fail to see the ridiculousness that they put out there, which makes it all the more hilarious!
Don’t the already-fleeced sheeple already understand that the the “cleared city/region/state” hype is nothing BUT marketing with no actions of substance having even a nodding relationship with it? And will DM ever restore the SHSBC so Class VI auditors can be made? If you can’t make class 6 auditors, how do you get to 7, 8, 9, etc? Without them, how do you ‘clear’ anything? does ASHO do anything these days a class V org can’t? AOLA of course has the OT levels and LA org can do up to NED & the Grades, however bloated DM’s expanded them to. Otherwise, there just ain’t anything in the LA area that can ‘clear’ anything, so the hype is particularly hollow. And the micro-orgs called missions are completely hobbled; not allowed to do anything that would differentiate them from any other org, nothing to be proud accomplishing, IMO they have a right to be completely demoralized in what used to be the hottest hotbed of scientology in the world
Jere, there has never been a “clear” made. EVER. So it has ALWAYS been hollow. It doesn’t matter if missions are “hobbled”. NO ONE WANTS SCAMOLOGY. That is why the “unhobbled” 100% pure as the driven snow Indie groups are non-existent too.
“WHAT IS THE SURVIVAL Rundown? ” It’s something DM plotted out, the EP
of which is, “I SURVIVED!” Other than that, it’s a hugely expensive set of processes that they’re selling to the idiots who are still around after GAT, GAT II, GAK & GAG (us with spoons).
“An example of “LRH ‘research”: He scribbles something new down on the spur of the moment and says:”Try THIS and see what happens.”
“The Upper tenth of the upper twentieth of human beings.”
If he’d applied himself a little to learning simple arithmetic or even basic math, Tubby might have simplified that to being in the upper 2%, or one out of 50. See, that’s not even Algebra (which sure ain’t rocket science. (It’s a 7th or 8th grade subject for our generation) Even the Dwarfenführer should understand the subject, despite his blowing from a good school just as they were getting to the “good stuff”.I knew — lived 2 houses away from — the Algebra teacher, Mrs Ellis, he should have had. Great teacher, lovely woman; UNLESS you’d already piled up a shitload of overts and blew her class off. Mr Schmidt was fun for 9th grade Geometry, one of the younger teachers the head of the math department brought in
Michael deLeon? WHO the F…. is THAT other than a chubby guy with a too-tight “smile” in the picture? Might there be a REASON () for going to see him?
“See the monumental Chairman of board events that changed scientology forever” Yup, definitely crashed the stats, and they’ve stayed crashed since, despite the hype about things Ron didn’t CARE about, so neither should we.
HEY, DAVEY-BOY. What are the WDAH or “Auditors trained” stats for the last 10 years? Are they greater than zero? Is the trend even slightly up? One IS greater than zero, you pridefully uneducated moron.
I must apologize for the ad hominem expressed in ” … , you pridefully uneducated moron.”
As ad hom is a direct appeal to emotion often signifying NO interest in debating the ISSUES with reasoned, logical arguments, it is inappropriate for this venue, IMO.
Again, my apologies for allowing my temper too free rein. I’ll double my efforts to exclude such from my future comments. (Even though the pipsqueak fully deserves disrespect as the most effective squirrel in history.) [ I have NO respect for DM, obviously.]
(oh, well: So went the good intentions.
Love to read new stories of more escaping and their stories hitting the press. Excellent that Aftermath Foundation had a hand with one of the escapees. Well done!! Such abhorrent stories they both are disclosing. These stories fuel my anger even more.
@ LRH,
“FEW ARE CHOSEN.”
True.
Because so few audition.
The NYC flyer says “Come See If You Qualify”. It was said of auditors. “If your breath shows on a cold mirror you can audit someone.” “What turns it on turns it off” “Get the pc through it”
Very “causative”, one might say.
“If your breath shows on a cold mirror you can audit someone.”
Must they be so picky?
Regarding Volunteer Ministers – In the late 1970’s I was informed that I needed an official “Minister of the Church” certificate in order to audit paying public customers which wasn’t required for co-auditing or auditing staff. The Minister training course consisted of reading a book on comparative religions and reading over some ceremonies. They didn’t set the bar too high back then but maybe they’ve upgraded things.
I split in 1982 because of the monthly price increases and didn’t have any problem with The Tech at that time. The only scientology certificate I kept was my Minister of the Church certificate which I tossed in a trunk and I still have it. I figured I might use it on a job interview to prove I was “A Man of Good Faith”.
(silly but true – the cert even has a gold seal on it)
The Canadian Volunteer Ministries event is missing a word—it’s a FLEA market, not a quaint town market like they want us to think.
http://www.747flea.com
Now I’m convinced there are no Yeomen in the Sea Org…
Wonder how many LA Captains showed up on 25 “Febuary”…..
Their “next” strategy… and, coincidentally, their ONLY strategy…LOL!
Ok- off topic (again), and I’m sorry if this has already been suggested. As a never in, I have no real horse in this race other than moral outrage at a cult taking advantage of good people trying to do something positive. I recently watched all of the episodes of mikes show, and was struck by how many people had paid ahead to take courses but were denied refunds because of the “rules” about having to be a member in good standing. I was thinking about this, and started wondering (which is never a good thing for me to do but I can’t stop trying to devise a way to stop this craziness),
If there are millions of dollars sitting in church coffers that belong to former members, it might be possible to file a class action suit- you may not be able to gain much money back, but many lawyers would be interested in taking this on for a cut of the “winnings”- especially if it’s in the millions of dollars. Up side is that even if the suit fails, Scientology would have to pay lawyers a lot of money to defend against the suit.
If multiple former members were to file the suit and advertise for more people to join the suit, it could effectively bankrupt the church- especially if a lot of their money is tied up in real estate holdings.
Just an idea- has this been tried? Is it possible?
Kat
@ Kat,
1) Good ideas worth considering as re a Class Action,
2) Great that despite your having “no dog in this race” you CARE the way you do, and,
3) I LOVE your moral outrage!
Thanks Aqua- I know something can be done! It’s just a matter of figuring out what and how.
Aqua,
If you want to look into the possibility of doing this, I would suggest that you contact a well known law school to see if they can a) refer you to a civil litigation lawyer who specializes in class action suits and/or b) would be willing to take the case as a litigation class project. I would imagine that there are some lawyers who would love the publicity of taking on Scientology- especially as they are now so prevelent in the news as the evildoers that they are. It would be like “crusading for justice” and that’s how I would sell it to them…
Thanks, Kat. I would be interested in helping in some way those who qualify to participate in a class action, but I would not be able to do so because when I left the cult had no money of mine on account – it had all been used up. But if it turns out that I would be in some other way, for some other reason eligible to join in a CA I’d be all ears! I’d love to get back the money I donated to the IAS and to Ideal M’orgs!
Kat:
A Class action suit night be fun, a barrage of suits even more fun 9giving them a taste of their own tactics) but I’m afraid any complaints I might have would be well past the statutes of limitations.
Now that I’m out and not being bothered by them other than their spam, I’m satisfied to support those who have dogs who can be in the fight.
Let them quietly fade into the subset(err; sunset, though subset sorta works, too).
Jere,
The statute varies greatly. You may still be able to join in a class action, but if not, it should be fun to watch it unfold! And subset seems very appropriate!! I can’t file anything since I was never in, but if there are some people who also know others it could work. The more people on board the better….
Hey, even as a never-in, scientology’s criminal acts have affected you adversely, causing you great mental anguish that good people can by induced to do such vile things AND they’re being financed by YOUR tax dollars since they consume public services without paying their fair share of taxes to sustain such services
I get that. Unfortunately there’s no sue-able or prosecutable precedent for me to start a suit ( I wouldn’t want their money- it belongs to the survivors and the remaining victims who can’t get out). I just hate not trying to DO something! Anyhoo, I’ll keeep spitting out ideas in case someone can!
Kat, one of the secrets of Scientology, is that the amount of money left unused on account is vast, according to some pretty reliable calculations that have been made – probably half or more of their billion dollars plus in cash reserves (and possibly one of their justifications for keeping all that money on hand).
But Scientology guards that horde ferociously, and any lawsuit attempting to get it would probably be unprecedented both in terms of the legal fight, and the dirty tricks outside the courtroom. I’m pretty sure that some big-gun class action lawyers have already looked at it, and decided it’s not worth it.
At some point when Scientology seems fatally wounded and no long able to defend itself like it has, various vultures will descend, including lots of lawyers, as well as the IRS and other government agencies. But it’s hard to say when that day will come, and even then the process will be without precedent and may take decades to sort out.
Peace\Maker”At some point when Scientology seems fatally wounded and no long able to defend itself like it has,”
Then the time is NOW! where are the lawsuits against “Going Clear”, “Aftermath AND the anti-religious hate-mongers of the Aftermath Foundation (whose avowed purpose is to de-program scientology’s clergy)?
jere, Scientology may no longer be on the offensive legally, in part because they are now in a somewhat compromised position. But they still have their full defense-in-depth, with the best (and perhaps ethically worst) lawyers money can buy, and a willingness (and the resources) to drag cases against them out interminably and appeal them endlessly, and to try to game the legal process in any way possible, such as in the Garcias’ case.
I checked, and most class action lawsuits take 2 to 3 years – in part because the corporations typically sued, eventually want to cut their losses and move on. Suits against Scientology often take a decade or more – Lawrence Wollersheim had to continue to fight for 16 years just to get the money a jury had awarded him in his lawsuit – because their strategy is to spare no expense, and to be “unreasonable.”
A class action lawyer would have to consider that he might not even still be practicing, or alive, by the time money actually came through from a possible successful case – and that if Scientology is collapsing, that when the time to collect finally came around, the assets might be mostly gone. I’m pretty sure some have already done that calculus, and decided that it’s not worth it, unfortunately – even law enforcement and government prosecutors, including the IRS, have probably made similar calculations.
I think that the two things that are most likely to eventually take down Scientology, are the ongoing erosion of their membership, and some government actions over various violations and actual crimes when they finally look weak enough to take on. Both of those processes are ones that can be helped along by ongoing activism, including the hard work of writing letters and making complaints to lawmakers and authorities.
Peacemaker,
All great points and very true. I still think that if a law school took it on as an ongoing civil litigation project (like the innocence project and others), the timeframe and payout possibilities may not matter. I don’t have the time to do any thorough research anymore, but I know you are very good at it and will let me know if it’s something viable. If it is, I will see if I can get some movement on it.
Several things. The misogynistic feel to the sea org propaganda (these “guys”, “ handful of guys” etc.) reminds me vividly of miscavages interview where he referred to “girls/gals” in reference to his grab for power. How can any self respecting woman join this mess? Also, the wording in the recruitment for auditors calls their abilities superior to any other profession….are they serious? Reading a quasi lie detector test is superior to rocket scientists or neurosurgeons? Superior to everyone on the planet?? I had to take a moment to wrap my head around this. They must really be desperate! Also, the blatant “raise your status” hook in the ideal org glossy strikes to the heart of why some people stay in and give all of their money. They crave recognition and must not get it in other areas of life. To gain status from giving money is laughable, but seems to be a hook for some very self important people. This whole crazy mess just boggles the mind, especially the New York org nonsense. Thanks again for giving me a good laugh on Thursday. I always go back and re-read these to see what new bullshit jumps out at me- it never fails!
The scientology way of looking at psychology and psychotherapy is you sit down and “talk about things” for an hour. See you next week and maybe in a year you’ll feel better. Auditing is more specific and direct from a scientological point of view.
In my experience the e-meter worked as expected in a session. If an item (area of interest) read (an indication on the meter) it would run (successfully be addressed). If an item didn’t read and was run anyhow it would cause problems.
Dianetic auditing was a simple set of questions and commands.
Locate an incident of . . .
When was it?
Move to that incident.
What is the duration of the incident?
Move to the beginning of the incident and tell me when you are there.
Move through to the end of the incident.
What happened?
This is from memory but pretty close and is just some background info for never-ins.
Richard, isn’t it also true that an experienced auditor with good rapport and an ability to read people, can do as well or better without a meter? The admirable old-time indies I’ve known seem to have mostly given up on using the meter, and stick to the simplest “book one” auditing.
Also, never-ins might want to know that anything other than the simplest questioning – and, arguably, “commands” of any sort – quickly becomes leading or suggestive, as the subject of auditing typically ends up in what is more or less a light hypnotic trance. That can then easily lead to various types of false memories being produced in response to the questions or commands, including supposed “past lives,” or cryptomnesia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptomnesia
Modern research, for instance, has show these to be an impressive, but spurious, phenomenon – and the production of such supposed memories in Scientology auditing and processing demonstrates that hypnotic states, or something equivalent, are being induced:
” ‘memories’ recovered by techniques like past-life regression are the result of cryptomnesia: narratives created by the subconscious mind using imagination, forgotten information and suggestions from the therapist. Memories created under hypnosis are indistinguishable from actual memories and can be more vivid than factual memories.”
“A 1976 study found that 40% of hypnotizable subjects described new identities and used different names when given a suggestion to regress past their birth. In the 1990s a series of experiments undertaken by Nicholas Spanos examined the nature of past life memories. Descriptions of alleged past lives were found to be extremely elaborate, with vivid, detailed descriptions. Subjects who reported memories of past lives exhibited high hypnotizability, and patients demonstrated that the expectations conveyed by the experimenter were most important in determining the characteristics of the reported memories. The degree to which the memories were considered credible by the experimental subjects was correlated most significantly to the subjects’ beliefs about reincarnation and their expectation to remember a past life rather than hypnotizability. Spanos’ research leads him to the conclusion that past lives are not memories, but actually social constructions based on patients acting “as if” they were someone else, but with significant flaws that would not be expected of actual memories. To create these memories, Spanos’ subjects drew upon the expectations established by authority figures and information outside of the experiment such as television, novels, life experiences and their own desires.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_life_regression#Sources_of_memories
I suspect that people who get involved in Scientology are much more susceptible to hypnosis than average.
How the e-meter works and if it has any benefit in counselling is a never ending debate and usually ends up as a matter of opinion, useless or a valuable tool. Metered auditing was the essence of scn and without it scn would almost be a different subject in my opinion. There are some topics about the “E Meter” in the Categories section of the blog with hundreds of comments if anyone is interested
I can’t think of a suitable synonym for command. “Order” sounds equally nefarious so command it is.
Debates and opinions about the afterlife or lack thereof continue. A hypnotist can install a memory about a past life. So what? That’s a different topic and unlikely to be resolved on a blog – haha
After I blew scn in LA in 1982 I joined a blown scientologist get together group. There were about fifteen of us and we met weekly at someone’s house for about two months and we all determined that our “eternity” wasn’t dependent on Scientology. Apparently some people still think it is.
Richard, theory aside, doesn’t the practical example that so many old-timers and tech gurus (like Mayo, in his AAC days and later) gave up on the meter, show that at best it’s just a crutch that approximates what a truly perceptive and trained person can do – and that at worst, it actually interferes with the process of counseling people? That’s just what early advocates of psychometrometry like Bruer and Jung, figured out after a couple of decades, about a century ago – Hubbard and Scientology are, typically, just way behind the times and repeating the mistakes of the past, and even “mocking up” the failures of early psychiatry.
Also, relevant to Brian’s recent pieces about the “tone scale,” the e-meter doesn’t read in ways that correspond exactly to that, as Hubbard initially claimed – one of the failures that he just sort of buried, never acknowledging much less going back and correcting. I wonder how many similar failures and errors are there in Hubbard’s “tech” that he actually knew about, but wasn’t willing to own up to. In any sort of real, honest attempt at science, errors would have been acknowledged and earlier works would have been edited or annotated, or at least erratum and addendum would have been produced.
And it’s not just that hypnotists and researchers can “install” past life memories, it’s that investigation has shown – like in the infamous mid-1950s Bridey Murphy case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridey_Murphy), which Hubbard initially tried to claim as a Scientology-inspired success – that most or all supposed past life memories, just don’t hold up to scrutiny. As I noted, even Hubbard himself had to tacitly acknowledge, and try to explain away, the classic and long-known problems of multiple people seemingly being convinced of having been the same famous historic figures, as well as supposed past lives overlapping in time (such as someone imagining dying on the Titanic, which would have been 1912, and then also dying as a soldier in World War I, which couldn’t have been later than 1918 – which would be impossible).
And not, it’s not just “haha” that Scientologists were lead to believe in things that were entirely, or at least largely, false, and sacrificed their own and their families’ well-being, and their relationships with others, because of it. Were you yourself involved in or complicit with awful things, that you still find it hard to confront?
PeaceMaker – I don’t get notification of replies and just noticed this. Very briefly. IMO Scn methodology doesn’t work without an e-meter. A person lists, for example, six or seven attitudes connected with taking LSD. Which read and which didn’t. Run them all? How would you do a correction list? etc. etc.
Obviously people do all kinds of counselling without an e-meter but it wouldn’t be in the Scn methodology. If Mayo and others audited without an e-meter they were just winging it.
Nothing hard for me to confront from my scn experience. Just like everyone else I paid money for training and auditing which contributed to growth of the organization. In all the sessions I gave I considered I was helping the person.
Peacemaker,
Great post and very helpful once again. I would also think that implanted suggestions regarding past lives and other galaxies and whatnot were given to Scientologists during the classes. Their premise of body thetans and eternal Beings would already start the process.
Richard,
I get the e-meter- I would equate it directly to psychoanalysis prior to the changes that were made in the last century. Like Freud, it seems like Hubbard was overly interested in delving into areas of sex and aggression. The addition of the quasi lie detector (e-meter) was just an added layer of control- and a very scary thing. (You push people to talk about things they aren’t ready to confront and it can go bad- were there any studies on the suicide rates of people who did this auditing and maybe never really joined? Or joined them left?). Anyway, I think Freud did more to harm the profession than any other individual in the entire history of psychology. It became a universal joke (…and how do you feel about that” / lie on the couch and tell me about it). It’s also been suggested that Freud used monotone to slightly lull patients into a sleepy state- and later practitioners used hypnosis as well. This is how I look at the “auditing” sessions- they will help some people who have mild issues in their pasts, but is a very dangerous thing to someone who is truly wounded.
Kat – The e-meter is currently depicted as lie detector used in forced confessions. In the less suppressive days people enjoyed auditing and had fun with it. Myself and the people I audited weren’t afraid of the e-meter.
Further, facing up to the things you least wanted to reveal or confront would be the most therapeutic. A Buddhist wouldn’t get very far hiding things from his or her teacher. Likewise hiding things from a psychotherapist. This requires trust which scientology has demonstrated it has broken.
Very much in short, the debate about the e-meter is that it picks up or “indicates things” which are “just below” the awareness level of a person and therefore accessible. Figure that out – or don’t – laughter
As discussed in the above conversations a predisposition to or suspension of disbelief in scn tenets could lead in a lot of directions – to say the least!
Once again speaking only from my own experience, nobody was forced to look at anything they didn’t want to. One time in a session I came upon something I didn’t want to confront. I told the auditor so and we moved along.
These are just some anecdotes from my past and historical footnotes. I see no value in the current cherch. Good riddance as it declines.
Florida Psychiatric Society protest, “if they have 200 people it would be a miracle.”
What they did in London was to bunch everybody up behind a couple of crowd control barriers for a photo op. And that was basically it. Not much use doing any further protesting as they were standing at the wrong entrance, at the opposite end of the giant conference complex from where the delegates were going in. As always, it’s all about the photo op.
I’m curious as to what OT level Mike reached and if he was still doing training/ auditing while an executive. I mean, if you’re working very long days, almost 7 days a week, as the international spokesman for Scn, is there any time left for doing actual Scientology?
I reached OT V when I was in the Sea Org. But that happened in 1979 and never completed the level thereafter. Pretty much only sec checking after that.
Ouch! That’s Scientology for you and is proof the tech doesn’t go anywhere. The top of the Bridge is truly as hollow as an balloon.
Do you recall what went through your mind when the OT3 material was read to you the first time?
GREAT LEADERS == have all escaped the Cult of Scamology
I got a good laugh from the first ad in today’s blog. They are putting on some kind of event in my neighbourhood and the purpose of one of the exhibits is to put up a big yellow tent that wiil supposedly “Help people who need it”. I’m thinking about attending and telling them I need help to see just what kind of help they may offer.
Why do I get the feeling they will help me by helping me to empty all my bank accounts and transfer the money to them? I’m guessing their help will involve my cashing in all my annuities and all my RRSPs and all my stocks and bonds so that I can purchase all the courses they have in mind that will “help me” to become clear. I truly do wonder what they will promise me in exchange for all my assets plus all the credit I can get to buy More! More! More!
I wonder why always giving them More money proves to be the answer I’ve been looking for to help me in my daily struggles with this line of credit! Is it possible this help is just “too good to be true”? If it is, then I finally get it. It is truly too good to be true because it is not true.
Scientology’s belief is that courses and auditing is all the “help” the world needs* – along with a bunch of those booklets that are supposed to almost magically bring about world peace and an end to drug abuse. But they won’t admit up front how expensive they are – and are likely to disingenuously claim that there nearly free ways to get them, like co-auditing and doing correspondence courses, or joining staff (cough, yeahright**, cough).
Even the members they send out to recruit, are pretty well drilled and trained in dealing with the public, including criticism. Be careful about tangling with them.
* That – or, the portion who can’t be helped that way, can just be “disposed of quietly and without sorrow” according to Hubbard.
** See, for example, Mike’s post today about just how much bridge progress he made (cough, not, cough) as an executive.
“wining with the technology”
Heh. I like what you did there Mike. 😉
New York is a city of 8.6 million – and the center of a thriving and prosperous metropolitan area with a population of 20.3 million. Yet Scientology has just two typically idle “church” orgs that are almost never even heard from to serve the public in the whole area, along with one of the faltering missions that shares space with a dental office in a converted old house across the river in New Jersey. It’s really a reminder of their miniscule and even shrinking presence. Nationally, they have one “church” org for about every 7 to 8 million people – and the number of orgs has remained virtually static, with the number of missions declining drastically, even as the US population has grown by about a third in recent decades.
I find it curious that we see Scientology showing those old Miscavige-led events. I’m guessing that it’s in part because they were significantly larger in the past, and perhaps were more energetic, but it’s probably also indicative of Miscavige positioning himself like Hubbard, as the rarely seen leader and guru whose past appearances are to be revered. Plus I wonder if he’s less comfortable with his public appearances as he ages, and this is a sign of a trend Scientology portraying him in younger days.
“Market and Preparedness Fair”
EWWWW, the bottom left in that picture looks way too similar to what my neighbor’s dog sometimes deposits in my yard. (I actually do love the dog though and still give her belly rubs when she wants one 🙂 )
Maybe they should have spent a little more time cleaning up that picture. Yes! Come in for a big plate of doggie poo. Yummmm
GLODEN AGE OF TECH? I have to wonder at just what point in time the donors get tired of paying for the exact same thing over and over and over again. That gold in the golden age tech really has to be looking like a rusty old can to them at some point in time. When will they realize the greater good for them is actually to cut and run?
Yesterday I was playing a hidden object game and had to find a captain’s hat. (My mind goes from a to Q, then L then K then P all the time FWIW, so the fact that I thought the things I thought while playing this game would be no surprise to anyone who has been around with me for more than about 10 minutes).
The captain’s hat made me think of LRH and his captains’ hats and his fake navy and how he even forced his children to participate in his dream, I restate HIS dream, and play the pretend game he wanted to play and live his lies rather than be the people they wanted to become, or even be allowed to have their own dreams. For example, Quentin wanted desperately to fly airplanes.
On entering scientology, we were promised we would become more able, then were trained to be less able and more robotic.
All I can see in most of the ads is “show up with your wallet open” or “come hear about our next money-making scheme”.
I will never “honest” myself and go back in. That is a rock hard promise.
“I finally decided to ‘honest’ with myself.” Sounds kinky to me.
I could never get the color right about being honest with myself.
That is is just a tragedy! It’s tough when you start blending colors. You’ve really got to have fine eye. Now that’s honest!
Perhaps honesty doesn’t have a color. What a drab idea, is it cocktail hour yet?
The reasons people stay are found in the literature of high control organizations, including cults. It is not even a large number of reasons, but by the time a person is under that much control it is difficult to see a way out. Telling people they are stupid for doing such-and-such apparently does not work; people work out their own lives in their own way, even as highly controlled members of a cult.
If it were easy to leave, more would have left by now. I think the avalanche of information about the evil behaviors found in Scientology will eventually influence every member who possibly can to leave. But some are so advanced in years in, maybe so bound up in not having a job or career, maybe so fearful of the outside world, that they will stick it out to the bitter end. That’s their choice; I think all anyone can hope for is to stop the immoral and illegal behavior, and remove the tax exemption.
Ammo Alamo,
Pls excuse me. I skipped your post which was a big mistake because you provided many of the reasons why people stay in the cult despite the fact their “clear minds” show them the truth. That must be almost impossible for most people who are “outside the cult” to understand. Thank you.
“…I think all anyone can hope for is to stop the immoral and illegal behavior, and remove the tax exemption.”
Agreed. These are worthy, very high goals and they are realistic.
Each Still In, no matter how brain-washed, has to use his or her own power of choice to remain or leave.
Undoubtedly, there will be those who’ll never leave as long as there is some semblance of an organization.
But I have faith in the Still Ins’ ability to connect with their power of choice, their common sense, no matter how brain-washed they are.
After all – how brain-washed were WE?
And we left, didn’t we?
There’s lots of hope.
Aqua,
I agree with you.
After reading Mike’s intro to this edition of his blog, I am reminded of the stories from WW2 where most every citizen in the German Reich who was forbidden to listen to foreign radio broadcasts would listen to them anyway. At least a very great majority would listen. They told stories of how they would huddle together during the night and cover themselves with blankets so they would not be heard by neighbors. But they all listened anyway – under penalty of death.
Consequently, I can only assume that people who are “Still In” Scamology likewise read this blog and visit other Internet sites that tell the truth as well as the sites produced by “The Scam”. As someone said yesterday, every time The Fuhrer decides on a new plan of action, he just shoots himself in the foot. Well, by producing all these phony Internet sites, the listeners will obviously know which represent the truth and which represent lies. So, I must conclude that many people who are still in The Scam, but are not in the SO or some other location where they cannot get away with visiting Internet sites free from being monitored by The Gestapo (or whatever the people who work for The Scam are called). So, I have to assume that most people who are “Still In” know the truth. At least they know these events are just a way to rob them. They must be taking measures to protect their assets. I’m guessing they must have ways to hide their money so that no “Regs” will be able to discover they have some money and then demand they turn all their money over to The Scam.
Now, have I missed something here? Is there something I don’t understand? There must be because how is it possible people still choose to stay in this cult given they know the truth and they want to protect whatever precious assets they have remaining?
Once again, the Fuhrer’s plan becomes equivalent to shooting himself in the foot. Now, given this is all correct, (have I missed something?)
But even the German Gestapo didn’t regularly bring in every citizen, hook them up to lie detectors and interrogate them to find out if they had been listening to, or reading, forbidden material. Which gets to an interesting point, that not only is the comparison of Scientology to Nazi Germany fraught because of Godwin’s law type problems of sensationalism, but in some ways it’s not accurate because Scientology is an even MORE controlling totalitarian structure – closer to Orwell’s 1984.
It would be interesting to hear about this specifically from someone recently out or still UTR, but from what I can tell a very large portion of those still left in are oblivious to what is actually going on due to a combination of Scientology’s thought control, and the diehards left being people who just aren’t critical thinkers. My guess is that of the 20,000 or so people who probably are still on the books as members, half are effectively UTR and keeping up their affiliation only because of various connections, minimizing their involvement and protecting their assets as you describe; but the rest are true believers, including subscribing to what are essentially Scientology’s conspiracy theories such as that the “psychs” are out to get them, and are behind all the negative media and internet sites.
Thank you PeaceMaker,
You hit the nail on the head. I had forgotten about brianwashing or “thought control” as you put it. That is what I missed. Because so many are under “thought control” there is a very high chance that even when they hear the truth, they will not recognize it as such.
However, this all indicates to me that every day that passes, we grow closer and closer to the big celebration day – the day that this scam dies!
Thank you PeaceMaker,
I don’t remember who it was, but I remember reading a memoir about a sea org member trying hard not to think about the bad and off policy things she saw. That really hit home with me. How can you escape when you are afraid to even think your own thoughts for fear of losing your eternity?
That is certainly amazing indeed. I have to wonder if there exists people in this cult who are unable to think their own thoughts – for example – who are unable to think about ways to leave the cult for fear the cult leaders will know what they are thinking and will then inflict punishment upon them.
Talk about 1984!
I would bet on it.