Scientology claims that it is fact based. Scientology claims that no one is asked to believe anything. Scientology claims that, if you don't find something to be true, it isn't true.
So why do Scientologists believe things for which there is absolutely no evidence?
As I've covered before in Scientology: Why Doesn't It Work?, one of the distinguishing characteristics of Scientology is that it doesn't produce any of the major results it promises.
Now what is most amazing about this fact is that Scientologists believe it works.
There are no Scientologists who exhibit any "OT" characteristics, yet they all believe that the state of "OT" exists and that Scientology will produce that state. Why?
There are no Clears, not as described by L. Ron Hubbard, yet all Scientologists believe that Clear can and has been attained. Why?
No Scientologist can "confront and shatter suppression" which almost all of them are supposed to be able to do, since they completed the course that "gave them those powers". But, no, they can't do anything like that. Yet they still believe that the "PTS/SP Course" works! Why?
Course after course, level after level, the results, promised by Scientology, never appear. And, course after course, level after level, Scientologists gladly "attest" they have attained the skills, abilities or powers promised but never attained. Why do they continue? Why do they believe?
What is the magic trick that keeps this charade going?
Well, first, you need to understand a few basic facts about how they do things in Scientology.
When a Scientologist completes a course or a level, they are rushed through to "attest" that they have attained all the wonderful things promised -- before anything else can happen.
Scientologists don't go out to test any alleged "new abilities". Scientologists don't get a few days or hours or even minutes to think about it and see if it stands up even over night. No, they are rushed through to attest immediately -- then go out and "enjoy their new abilities".
So, what they are attesting to is not actually what happened -- because it hasn't really happened yet. What they are attesting to is what they hope has happened.
But there is more to it than just that. There is another aspect of Scientology auditing, never particularly discussed, which complicates this and makes it even harder for Scientologists to see the truth.
There is something in Scientology auditing that causes a temporary feeling of tremendous well-being, or even euphoria. This usually occurs at the end of an auditing session -- the Scientologist temporarily feels good, sometimes quite good. Scientologists call this state "having a floating needle" after the particular manifestation that occurs on the E-Meter when this happens.
This is not connected to any one level or process, but is the expected and common result of each and every session.
Exactly what is the cause of this euphoria isn't real clear, but the state is quite temporary -- sometimes only lasting a minute or so. Whatever its cause and however long it lasts, it is temporary and it always disappears.
So, what does this mean?
While in this temporary state of euphoria, the Scientologist is very suggestible. They feel great and can easily believe they actually have amazing abilities. The church asks them if they will attest to some amazing new abilities and the Scientologist, in the midst of this euphoria thinks, "Well sure, I can do all those things!" And attests. This is the primary reason the church is in such a rush to get Scientologists to attest after session -- the feeling of euphoria wears off rather quickly.
When the euphoria wears off, the Scientologists don't have those abilities and they don't have the certainty any more.
They remember the good feeling, they remember the certainty about those amazing new abilities. They remember, but they don't have it any more. But then it's too late. They've attested -- and a "false attest" is a punishable offence. So, they pretend those abilities are real. They all do this.
And because they can never talk about it with each other, each one believes that the other Scientologists really did get all those abilities and they are the only one who failed to get the promised gains.
Each Scientologist sees all the other Scientologists saying that they all got all those wonderful skills, abilities and powers, and they believe it's all true except for themselves.
And they hope that all these skills, powers and abilities will come true for themselves on the next level.
It is interesting to note that auditors, the Scientologists who are trained and who give those sessions, are often the most ardent believers that "Scientology works". Day after day, session after session, they see people leave session in that temporary euphoria, and they think they are permanently making people better.
And those people, experiencing the euphoria, claim big "wins" and assert that they are "better", "more certain", "more powerful". And that's what the auditor sees and hears. They don't see it wearing off a few minutes or an hour later and the people going back to normal, so the auditor believes he or she has made a permanent change.
But if you look at the community of Scientologists out in the real world, you will see how "permanent" those gains were. In the Scientology community, Scientologists are in real trouble. Scientologists are more likely to be the ones losing their homes to foreclosure. Scientologists are more likely to be the ones declaring bankruptcy. Scientologists are stuck, not making progress, disconnected from their families and friends. They are neither happy nor successful.
And look at the churches themselves. They are empty. They are commonly months behind on their rent. The churches are combining, reducing hours and, finally, closing.
The euphoria doesn't last long at all, and reality, for Scientologists, is cruel. They believe. because they remember how they felt right after session. Without any evidence of any real and lasting results from Scientology, they remember and they believe.
And now you know why.
-
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Interesting. I've had a lot of auditing myself, and while I can't speak for others, often my end-of-session euphoria was just the relief that it was over with! However I have also experienced the temporary feel-good you described. And yes, it is a very temporary experience.
ReplyDeleteYes, some sessions are a pleasure to be done with. I've been there.
ReplyDeleteCould you explain more about why Scientologists aren't allowed to talk to each other about? And what sort of punishment would a "false attest" get a Scientologist?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Scientologists are forbidden from "talking about their case". All sessions are supposed to be confidential. Scientologists may talk vaguely about their "wins" but are not supposed to talk about anything that happened in session, not what the auditor said, not what they thought or said, nothing. It is forbidden. To do so is a crime and would be punished.
ReplyDeletePunishment means taken off of auditing or courses, isolated from other Scientologists while "doing conditions", having to pay for and do expensive and tedious "security check" auditing to discover all their other crimes, and so forth.
Likewise, "false attest" is a crime with similar punishments, or worse.
If the Scientologist does any of this a second time, they could very well be expelled from the church.
The penalties are severe from a Scientologist's point of view, so they don't talk, and they believe-believe-believe so that their attest "wasn't false".
I remember when I finished OT III, I had a feeling of euphoria, a feeling of empowerment. I believed that as I "got used to my OT powers" I would be able to leave my body at will, see things remote from my body, communicate to others at a distance and all of the other things we think of as "OT abilities." I would experiment with trying to leave my body and perceive things remotely and so on. But nothing happened. Pretty soon life went back to normal, and I thought, oh, well, I guess I'll get that on my next level. But I rememberd that feeling of euphoria and I would tell people I had "fantastic wins" on OT III. But I couldn't have put my finger on any specific abilities gained. I had the same abilities I had before.
ReplyDeleteI see this in the "OT VIII Successes" the Church puts out. A lot of "I feel great," "I feel powerful," "I'm like - zoom!" and so on ad nauseum, but no real specifics.
And Scientology "OTs" are not demonstrably any different from anyone else.
People don't even talk about "OT Abilities" any more, like we used to in the 1970s. It's a dead issue.
Further on "Scientologists forbidden to talk about sessions or their case".
ReplyDeleteAs I said, Scientologists are not forbidden from talking about their "wins", nor are they forbidden from using their "new abilities".
But they do not ever demonstrate these alleged abilities. They do not ever talk about what they've done with their alleged abilities.
Simply and only because they don't have them.
This is the true, most-secret-of-secrets of Scientology. This is the secret no one must ever know: The promised results of Scientology never occur.
well I think this is a aweful thing for people to fall for and i Believe its kinda weird how all these famous people got to the top using the grace of God and then they waste their earnings they made by praying to God for, on dumb allien stories I hate that this has happened to actors that I have grown up loving to watch act over and over and now I cant even look at because they choose to be in Scientology it has done something to them they look like robots its weird. And very sad and to me it makes them not look that smart after just finding out for myself what Scientology is about I even had a kneen since that it was not a good thing when I first heard about it. I cant grasp on the fact how these smart people allowed themselfs to be manipulated in to thinking this is the way to go. Its very sad.
ReplyDeleteOk, but How do they get people in the beginning??? Say they started talking to me? How do they get me?
ReplyDeleteAnd what do they do at the churches? Like what to they pray to and stuff?
And why do they deny the Xenu Story??? When so many people say thats what they believe in?
Re: Get people in.
ReplyDeleteThey sell a book filled with amazing promises. They use their infamous "Stress Test", or some other trick, to get you to talk about your problems, then they always say, "Scientology can help you with that!"
And some people actually believe them.
There is no prayer in Scientology. There is a lot of fund-raising, they take courses, they get auditing. No prayer and absolutely no "church-like" activities.
As for Xenu, it is confidential and Scientologists are told that hearing "OT materials" before you've been "properly prepared" will kill you.
So it actually is incorrect to say "This is what Scientologist believe" because very, very few Scientologists even know about it. The average Scientologist will, quite honestly, deny the story because they've never heard it.
The few Scientologists who have done OT III will also deny it, because they've promised to keep it secret -- so they cannot confirm it.
It is only those who have left Scientology who can speak freely.
I have a friend whose father just spent all their money on a time machine....why would they need this?
ReplyDeleteThey can go back in time and get their money back from the Church of Scientology.
DeleteAwesome post. Thank you. I would like to add another reason Scientologists believe. Personal Integrity.
ReplyDeleteFrom personal experience I can say that if I attested that I had gained a certain ability, then to admit later to myself that I hadn't, well then, doesn't that make me a liar. And I didn't think of myself as a liar so I tried really, really hard to convince myself that I had gained the ability. It is such a mind fuck.
Oh please! People need to get a life and stop this delusional nonsense. Can't people just live their lives, loving their friends and families, work for a living and enjoy leisure activities without this BS? No one needs this brainwashing indoctrination. No one needs to be affiliated to this cult, which enslaves people to a mentality and beliefs that are made up by a crazy man by the name of Hubbard. Wake up and smell the coffee everyone1
ReplyDeleteYes ; agree with the person above! I feel the same way about all religons they are all cults since the begining of humanity!
ReplyDeleteThe reason people get caught up in "religion" so to speak is to better their lives and improve their lot in life. Basically they are quite vulnerable to begin with. In the case of Scientologists, for example famous people, their desire to improve themselves becomes almost an obsession. My opinion is once you become part of a "religion" you form certain friendships and bonds with individuals and they become like family to the individual. To leave the organization would cause quite a bit of grief for the individual plus the riligious organization. It becomes almost a relationship of necessity due to the attention garnered by being a member. Basically you have to support your decision regardless how difficult your choice has made your life. Once you have been involved for a number of years you will look ridiculous if you leave and it will affect people's opionions of you. It becomes a catch 22 damned if you do and damned if you don't. There are pros and cons to every religion and unfortunately once you have become affiliated you will lose many ties if you leave. It is unfortunate but true. Leaving is like banishment.
ReplyDeleteThis is a new novel in the making. This is sad. If you don't believe in something you are likely to believe in anything regardless of how crazy it is. It is truly amazing how the brain works and how a suggestion can be believed as truth.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad. This is a cult. Open your eyes, people.
ReplyDeleteWe offer the silent, their missing voice.
The powerless, their forgotten strength.
The oppressed, their lost expression.
The isolated, their missing con solation.
The imprisoned, their freedom.
And for the disconnected, the opportunity to Reconnect.
Join us, and, if you wish, demand your human rights.
The leadership of Scientology knows:
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
We will not stop.
We are, the Legion of Legions.
Expect us.
Expect all of us.
Forever.