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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Scientologists Disunited

The unity of the Scientology community isn’t so united today.

It used to be very simple.  All Scientologists had one very firm, very stable foundation for their belief system:  If L. Ron Hubbard said it, it was true.  Scientology was, and only was, what L. Ron Hubbard proclaimed.

Scientologists completely trusted the system.  If a policy letter or bulletin appeared, over Hubbard's signature, well, that was it – it came from Ron.  If it was later cancelled or revised, well, that must have been what Ron wanted done.

But it isn’t that easy any more.

Blame it on David Miscavige.

In the last three decades David Miscavige has been making massive alterations to just about every aspect of the Scientology technology and belief system.  He has drastically changed all the training.  He has changed how, when and why the tech is applied, changing basic definitions of key Scientology terms such as the “Second Dynamic”, the “Floating Needle” and so on.  Miscavige has completely rewritten Hubbard’s cherished books.  Miscavige even hired a voice actor to duplicate Hubbard’s voice to “fix” Hubbard’s lectures.  Everywhere you look in Scientology, you will see Miscavige, not Hubbard as the “Source” of the technology.  Everywhere you look in Scientology, you see Scientology as “re-created” by Miscavige.

And, today, Scientologists are finally realizing that things are not right.  Today, Scientologists are finally becoming aware of how much destruction and corruption Miscavige has inflicted on Scientology.

And therein lies the problem.

You see, Scientologists no longer know exactly which Scientology technology is “pure Hubbard” and which has been corrupted by Miscavige – or others.

The problem is this:  Every time Miscavige stuck his fingers in the technology and changed it the way he envisioned it should be, he claimed to have uncovered some heretofore lost letter or instruction from Hubbard

As time went on, Miscavige stopped even bothering with that canard and just changed whatever he wanted in whatever way he decided was best.  Even OT VIII (all the different versions) is believed by some to be authored by Miscavige and not Hubbard at all.

So, were there lost, hidden instructions from Hubbard for any of these changes?  Were some of the changes things Ron forgot?  Did Ron make fundamental mistakes that needed correction?  Are any of the changes something Ron would approve of?   If so, which?  Who can tell?  Who decides?

Given that Miscavige often bragged that he had mastered Hubbard’s handwriting and could forge documents and even Ron’s signature perfectly, is there any way to definitively prove any piece of tech changed in the last 30 years is “pure Hubbard”?

That's a major problem for Scientologists.  But wait, there’s more.

Now that the Scientology bubble has burst, Scientologists are now able to access hitherto forbidden documents.  Like the documentation that shows David Mayo was actually the person who developed and wrote the NOTs technology and the Happiness Rundown.  Additional documents indicate that other Scientology tech might have been developed by others – Power Processing, for instance.

What used to be a very simple thing for Scientologists has now become incredibly complex, if not impossible.

If a Scientologist still wants to apply Scientology, well, what is Scientology now?

And this is the primary source for today's disunity among Scientologists.  Without a trusted authority who can definitively verify and prove which Scientology tech is "pure" and which is corrupted, each Scientologist is forced to work that out for themselves.  And each Scientologist seems to have a different idea on it.

Undoubtedly, many will just find some new authority figure to make that decision for them, but there are now many different authorities with many different ideas on the subject.

No matter what, Scientologists can no longer be a completely united group.  From now on, a Scientologist's personal determination as to what works and what doesn't work is paramount, whether anyone verifies it as "pure" or not.

And that's actually the right way to do it.
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16 comments:

  1. Do you think an attempt at a breakway group would get shut down the way EISM was?

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  2. I guess it doesn't help that Hubbards "tech" was hardly perfect in the first place...

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  3. This is truly a problem. Many, many years ago I had intimate involvement with RTRC both before and after LRH died (RTRC is the unit in Snr C/S Int Office that LRH entrusted with his issues - it stands for LRH Technical Research and Compilations Unit) and there really are lots of instructions Hubbard left behind for that unit to deal with. For example, in 1979 he REALLY did say that the Second Dynamic is Creativity and wanted that included as part of the Life Orientation Course (he did NOT say to change the definition in the rest of his writings). There were also lots of notes and cassette recordings he left behind instructing the unit to write a tech issue or policy issue on something or another AND GET IT APPROVED BY HIM. Well, after he was dead that was a big problem. Some of these instructions were rather sketchy. But that didn't stop such issues from being written and issued as from Hubbard. Most of these are pretty obvious - they are dated after LRH had died. Really, the only way out is to issue the notes or recordings from Hubbard (once verified by him), but that will never be done. The way this line has been run for decades is truly what Hubbard called a "Hidden Data Line" which means you cannot discover the true source of the data. Now that Miscavige has sole access and ownership of these LRH notes and recordings(and there and many, many, many file cabinets of them), Scientologists will never be able to figure out what is Hubbard and what is something written by some RTRC compiler and approved by Miscavige. The real notes and recordings exist. So do the compilation submissions that have been approved by Miscavige. It's just that they are kept as secret as the Vatican's archives. I don't think Hubbard ever imagined it going this badly out of control.

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  4. Re: EISM

    While I don't know what EISM is, it is currently unlikely that the Church of Scientology will have the clout or resources to shut down any breakaway group. Those days or CoS power are most likely gone forever.

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  5. Re: Hubbard's tech

    Well, yes. That's why I think a new era where Scientologists are forced to evaluate tech based on real results is a good thing.

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  6. Re: RTRC

    Thanks for the additional info. Yes, that definitely makes it harder to verify "pure" tech.

    That data will never be open to regular Scientologists.

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  7. Great post, Just Bill. I fully agree especially your last point, that Scientologists are forced to evaluate tech based on real results is a good thing. You nailed it!

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  8. This is I've long predicted. All we have to do is make sure the CofS itself crumbles, then let competition and infighting do the rest.

    -Red Pill on Topix

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  9. As someone who isn't a Scientologist but has taken some courses, and feels that there is much in Scientology that is workable and useful, I agree that the actions of David Miscavige have greatly harmed the spread of Scientology, and so he is indeed a 'suppressive person'. Every religion in history be it Christianity or Muslim or Buddhism or whatever has undergone these splits and emerged stronger for it, and I hope the same thing happens with Scientology

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  10. Re: "Stronger for it"

    Several comments.

    While there do seem to be some good things in Scientology, for the most part, they appear only at the lower, entry levels. Therefore, newbies get the impression that there is lots of equally workable stuff "higher up". That does not actually happen to be the truth.

    The big prize, "OT", does not exist.

    If you got some good things from Scientology in your beginning courses, that's great! Enjoy! You have experienced just about all that Scientology has to offer.

    As for "Every religion in history ... has undergone these splits and emerged stronger for it". That is just not correct. Most religions that have undergone troubles, splits, etc. have disappeared. That's why you don't see them anymore.

    Scientology cannot "split" and it cannot "reform". It cannot change. Part of Scientology dogma is it cannot be altered, so there can be no split, there can be no reform. And without substantial reform, the Church of Scientology is doomed. Its destruction is built into its dogma.

    Now, it is quite possible that people will take what's workable or interesting from Dianetics and Scientology and make something out of that, but that type of activity would have to be done outside of Scientology's dogmatic control.

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  11. Your last comment is interesting Bill. In a way this is already happening in the "Free Zone" communities. There used to be a time when CoS was the total of scientology, but that is hardly the case any more. With the recent mass exodus of disenchanted members, it is quite possible that there are more practising scientologists outside CoS than in. Some form groups, others practice in private. variation and "squirreling" is bound to happen that way. We may not see a resurgence of scientology in society from the FZ'ers, but scientology itself may linger is such small groups for a century or more. I think the Golden Dawn movement may provide a parallel example.

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  12. The Church was taken over by the Powers with money,
    since the data was too powerful and could free their slaves...
    So, they planned and slowly took it over with the sole purpose to destroy and alter the data so it does not do what it is supposed to do, make the able more able.
    There is a time line and write up by CBR and others on how the take over happened and that it was predicted by LRH,
    and that is why he let the copyrights expire, so it can be free to any one who wants to use it.
    If some of you know anything about LTA, and TTA,
    you will know what is happening right now in the CoS
    and who is running the body of D.M.
    A good auditor or OT spots the anomalies in his body movements immediately, they match those of some one 'very famous',
    but not Ron.
    Any way Scientology is well and growing outside the Church, and there has been a lot more research done since LRH dropped the body, so that the subject is now understood even better than while he was alive.
    The church serves our purpose even in its degraded state. It gets all the attacks so we can Operate in peace.

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  13. Dear anonymous FreeZoner,

    That's nice.

    You're pretty deep into the conspiracies, mysteries, secrets and special powers, aren't you? I always thought those were the fun parts of the Scientology mythology. Especially "our" super powers battling the great Galactic Evil.

    It made me feel like I was part of something really, really important.

    The only problem is that for the "something really important" to be true, Scientology has to start actually producing the promised "super powers" in people -- producing it so that people can demonstrate advanced abilities, not just claim they have them.

    But it hasn't. Not ever.

    Oh, it produces a lot of words and a ton of claims, but absolutely no demonstrable, real results.

    Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you believe in it and I hope that your vision of what Scientology could produce comes to pass some day.

    Oh, and by the way, you appear to be talking gibberish -- you need to learn to translate Scientologese into English when you post if you want people to take you seriously.

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  14. Hi, Just Bill,

    Thanks for your replies to all of us who comment. Isn't it interesting, though, how hard it is for those of us who have bought into beliefs that are totally unproveable to stand outside of these beliefs or just let them go?

    I don't know if I can live without a "system" to live by or in which to feel invested, but more and more I want to try. I guess I have more faith in my own moral compass than I used to, and in my psychological strength. I guess you could say the one "superpower" that the Grades promise that I think I have attained is that "I know I'm not going to get any worse," ha, ha.

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  15. Oh, by the way, I am practically a clearinghouse for new age info (not necessarily proud of that!), and I can attest that people have already "taken from Dianetics and Scientology and made something of it." New age writers and practitioners just don't seem to want to credit a source so controversial.

    For an insight into how the Berkeley Psychic Institute and some other psychic bullshit places used Scientology--esp. its worst manipulative and coercive reg policies--see Jeff Watts blog.

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  16. @Anonymous

    Yeah, that is one of Scientology's most effective traps. With Scientology you have the "answers to everything" and the "exact steps to achieve anything".

    I know what you mean. Even when you eventually realize the "answers" are most often bogus and the "exact steps" just don't work, you can still miss the idea of having answers and solutions. Just the idea seems to be a great comfort.

    Sounds like you are working it out and getting back on your own feet. It is well worth it.

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