The Questions Scientology Should Answer, but Won't

In the same vein as Seven Questions Every Scientologist Has a Right to Ask here are some more, but different, questions.

Like the Seven Questions, these are not esoteric or philosophically unanswerable questions, these are just simple, obvious and important questions -- but the Church of Scientology will not be able to answer them.

These are questions that are on the minds of most Scientologists. These are the questions that should be answered by the church.

First question: When the Church of Scientology has made a mistake, why do the parishioners have to pay?

The biggest example is the so-called "Golden Age of Tech". David Miscavige announced that all previous training had been horribly flawed, so bad that every person trained under the previous system -- including those trained personally by L. Ron Hubbard -- were incompetent. Everyone was ordered to retrain from the very beginning at their own expense.

It was the church's error. It was the church's "horrible training". Why would the "victims" of the church's mistake be required to pay for the retraining?

The most common example is auditing. The Scientologist gets auditing, and the auditor, for whatever reason, goofs it all up. Now the Scientologist is in trouble, sick, failing. The church calls them in for "correction auditing" which they must pay full price for.

But that's not all. Then the church announces some technical change or some new requirement and the Scientologist is now required to re-do all their previous auditing all over again -- and pay for it all over again.

This never ends. The church announces major errors in auditing, training, books, lectures -- and requires all Scientologists to pay all over again for the church's mistakes.

Why does the Church of Scientology do this? Why does the Church of Scientology think this is OK?

Question: If "man is basically good" as L. Ron Hubbard said, why is so much of the Bridge based on the premise "Scientologists are evil"?

A Scientologist is, at almost every step of the Bridge, required to purchase, at great expense, a large block of auditing hours to prove that the Scientologist has done no evil, thought no evil, spoken no evil (as extensively defined by the Church of Scientology).

Then, at the very next step, the Scientologist is required to purchase yet another large block of auditing hours to, yet again, prove that the Scientologist is not evil.

And again. And again.

Sometimes the Scientologist can't actually get to the next proper step of The Bridge, because they are caught in this endless search for evil.

Are Scientologists that evil? Are Scientologists prone to suddenly become evil? Why is so much of The Bridge now spent on Scientologists attempting, endlessly, to prove they are not evil?

This is "inspection before the fact", a basic no-no of LRH's. Why doesn't Scientology management follow basic Scientology principles?

Why aren't Scientologists trusted at all by the Church of Scientology?

Question: Why is Scientology now all about threat and punishment?

Participation in Scientology used to be voluntary. Participation in Scientology used to be fun. Scientology used to be what you did because you wanted to do it.

Now, everything is done by threat of punishment. Now, we are forced to buy things -- or else. Now we are forced to re-do levels and courses -- even when we don't think anything is wrong in the first place. Now we are forced to abandon the courses and levels we were on and take other courses -- we have no choice.

Now, we are required to go out to other Scientologist's houses to force them to buy things.

Now, we are hounded, day and night, to give money -- and more money -- until we are deeply in debt. Ron said to never, ever go into debt. This is one of his most important financial policies -- and yet the church demands that we go deeper and deeper into debt -- even to the point of losing our homes and bankruptcy.

Why are threats, force and punishment now the primary characteristics of the Church of Scientology? That isn't Scientology!

Question: Why are the current church programs so horrible?

Today, when every available penny is being squeezed from Scientologists to pay for new buildings, and the IAS, and library donations, and the archive project, and CCHR, and LRH homes, and-and-and -- there is very little money left for local Scientologists to take the courses or auditing they might have taken locally.

All these current Church of Scientology programs seem designed to suck every last penny from every Scientologist. This leaves every Scientologist dead broke, deeply in debt and struggling. How is this a good thing?

This means they don't have any money to take courses or buy auditing. This destroys the viability of all the local churches. The local churches were already having a real tough time, now they are facing a catastrophe.

Most of this money just disappears, leaving the local area entirely. The new building monies, at least, go to buying some new property -- but LRH would call that "having to have before you can do". Buying new property first is not the correct sequence. First you put the church there in its existing location (be), then you expand (do), then you use the additional money to buy things, like a new building (have). LRH knew this -- why doesn't Scientology management? This is completely backwards!

Why doesn't Scientology management know and use the basic principles of Scientology?

All these projects are killing the local churches. Why is this being done? Why isn't International Management supporting projects that help Scientologists and the local churches.

Why do these programs exist? Why are these programs pushed so hard? Why do such destructive programs even exist in Scientology?

Question: For the second time in a few years, David Miscavige has extensively rewritten L. Ron Hubbard's books. How is this justified?

Hubbard considered his books on Dianetics and Scientology to be the most important things he had ever done. He spent much time, over thirty years, making sure the books were up to date, in good shape and were available.

Over those thirty years, his attention was often on his books. They were, he said, vital.

Now, Miscavige claims that Hubbard missed some very major errors in the publication of his books. Miscavige claims that Hubbard completely missed these huge, significant errors for over thirty years!

That means Miscavige is saying that L. Ron Hubbard was very stupid -- missing so many "significant errors" in his most important works? That's really stupid!

So, was Hubbard really stupid, as Miscavige claims?

On the other hand, if Hubbard wasn't stupid, then he didn't miss anything in his books. But if that's the case, Miscavige drastically altered Hubbard's works without authorization and without reason. That means David Miscavige is a squirrel (altering LRH).

Which is it? Hubbard was really stupid -- or Miscavige is a squirrel? It is simply one or the other.

Question: Why have Scientologists who have attempted to uphold Keeping Scientology Working been expelled?

Why is that a crime in today's Church of Scientology?

Question: Why have so many important projects, like SuperPower, Saint Hill Size Orgs, Global Dissemination, been abandoned?

And where did the money go that we gave to all those projects?

Question: David Miscavige continues to make major changes to the books, the technology and administration of the church. What are his qualifications to do so?

And why is it OK, anyway?

Question: Why is asking such simple, obvious and important questions considered a crime by the Church of Scientology?

I could go on. There are so many more questions that bother, or should bother, Scientologists.

Scientologists asking such questions will be punished by the Church of Scientology, so these questions will not be asked, and they would not be answered.

And you know why.
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Seven Questions Every Scientologist Has a Right to Ask

This article was sent to me some time ago from a Scientologist, before Ask the Scientologist even existed. It was published elsewhere, but I'm finally posting it here, to give it an official place to live.

It is odd to me that the answers to these questions, which are perfectly normal questions, are not available. Ask any Scientologist in the field these questions and they don't know. This is alarming, and strange.

This is the document I received:

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Seven Questions Every Scientologist Has the Right to Ask

The following list was compiled after discussions with a number of Scientologists. There are questions we all have about current Scientology events, sometimes unstated, sometimes just nagging feelings. The list below is intended to get such questions out in the open where we can discuss them in a forthright manner, and, hopefully, find answers.

1. Who runs our Church?
This is not a minor point, yet, outside of half a dozen familiar faces that appear at events, Scientologists in general do not know who is in charge of the Church. LRH (L. Ron Hubbard) designed a system of Church management that involved managing committees and oversight groups who would act as a system of checks and balances within the Church.

So who are these people? Specifically, who, by name, are the executives of RTC (Religious Technology Center), the members of the Watchdog Committee, and the International Executives under ED Int?

Why is this information kept secret? Shouldn't we know who the people are on these posts, and their qualifications (such as training and auditing level)? And shouldn't we know when they are removed or demoted, and why?

2. What are the stats?
LRH stresses the importance of managing by statistics. Yet the average Scientologist has no idea of what the international statistics are. The stats shown at events are typically short-term. Yet, long term, what are the statistics of such things as Clears and OTs made, Auditors made, membership numbers, books sold and so on.

In other words, how are we doing? And specifically, what do the statistics look like long-term, from back when LRH was on the lines? How do today's stats compare to, say, the mid-1980's? Wouldn't you like to know?

3. Who owns the copyrights to LRH materials?
It is supposed to be CST - the Church of Spiritual Technology. But who is that? Who are the people on their Board of Directors, by name? Where is CST located? Shouldn't we know this?

4. What happened to broad dissemination?
There used to be big campaigns for Dianetics in the 1980's, with TV ads and so on. It seemed like Dianetics was everywhere. What happened? Why don't we have big campaigns like that anymore?

5. How did this practice of regging for pure donations get started?
We are regged for everything from IAS donations to the Superpower building to the local org's building fund.

Yet such donations without exchange for services were never done when LRH was on the lines. Donations were for services. With the forming of the IAS (International Association of Scientologists), this idea of just regging for pure donations got started, and now it seems like a major push from the Church.

Why? What is this based on? Why was it not done when LRH was on the lines but is done now?

6. Where does the money go?
Between donations and services, we give a lot to our Church. Shouldn't there be some sort of accounting for how it is spent, such as one might expect from any church or charity?

Certainly there are orgs to support, but the Church doesn't found or support hospitals, orphanages or charities like other Churches do. Entities like Applied Scholastics, Narconon and WISE all tithe to the Church. Local organizations send a portion of their income weekly to Management.

Flag sends the bulk of their income to Management. Money flows up the lines. How is it then spent? Don't we, as the ones donating, have the right to know?

7. Are the revisions to LRH materials on-Source?
Books have been and are being edited and recompiled. Tape lectures have been and are being edited. Compilation books are appearing "based on the works of LRH." Are these materials faithful to the original LRH works? Who is doing these revisions? Based on what?

How can an individual Scientologist know that the materials he is provided with are correct? How can we, as individuals, enforce "Keeping Scientology Working"?

You may personally have other questions. The point is, don't we have the right to ask such simple, obvious questions about our Church and expect answers?

If you agree that there should be more openness, more transparency and more accountability within the Church, pass these questions to your friends and discuss them. Take them up with your local Org or Mission. Write to International Management about them. Make your voice felt.

Beware of those who try to keep you from asking these questions, or any others you may have. There is nothing wrong with asking questions. You do have rights, and you do have a voice in your Church.
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Why Do Scientologists Believe?

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.
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The Importance of Dianetics in Scientology

You may be a bit confused as to why the word "Dianetics" comes up so much when it's really Scientology. What's going on?

Dianetics was developed first. When Scientology was developed, L. Ron Hubbard considered it an improvement and a replacement of Dianetics. He said that Dianetics wasn't workable enough, wasn't fast enough and that Scientology was the answer. He even declared that the goal of Dianetics, the "Clear", was now attainable through Scientology.

And so, with the development of Scientology, Dianetics faded away.

Originally, Hubbard declared that Scientology was not a religion, but he soon learned of the value of calling it a religion. Being a religion was a way to avoid those pesky laws about "practicing medicine without a license", those annoying requirements about "truth in advertising", and other legal liabilities. Plus, there were nice tax benefits. So, he decided that he would cloak Scientology as a religion.

At first, most Scientologists thought it was pretty much a joke, but to pull off the religion gimmick, they had to take it seriously and make Scientology look more "religious", and they did -- as much as a business can.

But, despite the legal and tax benefits, the religious cloaking wasn't all to the good. As time went on, it became obvious that there were serious drawbacks to this religion gimmick. While it was working to shield Scientology from a lot of legal problems, the religion angle also closed many doors to aggressive business expansion.

Religion really isn't a good way to get the maximum number of paying public in the door. A lot of people are turned off by religious proselytizing.

Not only that, but most of the countries in the world are very strongly controlled or influenced by one or the other of the major religions. In some, any religious activity outside of the official religion is illegal.

What to do? A business wouldn't have any trouble at all expanding into these areas. What to do, what to do?

Sure, the Church of Scientology created all their little front groups: Narconon, Applied Scholastics, Criminon, A.B.L.E. and the rest, but those were pretty narrowly targeted to the type of person they could pull in. The church needed something that was "non-religious" and could be used to pull in a more general type of person.

And so Hubbard brought back Dianetics as a "non-religious, self-help" technology -- separate from the 'religion' of Scientology.

Of course that's a lie. It isn't separate. Dianetics is thoroughly and completely part of the Scientology belief system. You cannot do Scientology without doing Dianetics. And, of course, the intention with Dianetics is that people will automatically progress through the cheap Dianetics processes onto the more expensive Scientology services.

So, Dianetics was brought back from obscurity as the ultimate front-group for Scientology. That's why you don't see Scientology in the malls. That's why you don't see Scientology on the streets, at the "stress test" tables. You only see Dianetics. It's a trick.

And that's why you see "Dianetics Centers", as a business, in countries and cultures where the religion of Scientology would be unwelcome. But, even with that name it is and will always be Scientology.

In this way, the Church of Scientology attempts to have its cake and eat it too. It tries, with Dianetics, to get all the benefits of being a money-making non-religious business, while still, under the Scientology name, attempting to get all the benefits and protections of being a religion. It's the same organization, trying to play the game both ways.

But it's just another lie. It's just another trick. It's just another way to try to get around the "wog" (non-Scientology) laws and "wog" cultures, to expand their business and, they hope, take over the world.
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Correcting Scientology

Scientology, and especially the Church of Scientology, is a closed system. Think of it as a steel bubble. The "bubble" is, essentially, everything that L. Ron Hubbard said, wrote or demonstrated. Everything that Hubbard "created" is included in that bubble, but nothing from the outside world is permitted in. It is very much a closed system.

And there is no allowed procedure or method for correcting Scientology. In fact, "correction" of the actual technology of Scientology is strictly forbidden. Since it is postulated to be "perfect", any alteration is considered a corruption.

As covered in Using Scientology to Solve Scientology's Problems, all of the "solutions" to problems in Scientology are directed at "handling" the Scientologist. As the technology is asserted to be "perfect", all problems must be with the Scientologist. All doubts are wrong. All questions are answered within Scientology. All solutions are Scientological.

There is no procedure, method or formula for correcting Scientology itself. There is no way to correct Scientology leadership. There is no method of detecting when the actual technology of Scientology has failed. And there is no monitoring to locate when Scientology leadership has failed.

Because perfection is assumed, because Hubbard declared himself and his technology so, there is not and can never be any assumption of error.

But the technology has failed. Even Scientologists can see this, though they don't necessarily recognize the cause and effect: Fewer and fewer Scientologists are making progress "up the Bridge". More and more are stuck somewhere. More and more are in trouble. And those that do "make progress" find that nothing happened!

The "releases" end up without the promised "new abilities". "Clears" end up without any of Hubbard's promised abilities. The "OTs" look, feel and act just as they did before any of this stuff.

The technology has failed.

And the church's leadership has failed. Again, even Scientologists can see this, even if they don't admit it. Scientology groups are disappearing, churches are closing, recruitment of new members has dried up. Attacks, protests, legal problems, lawsuits, bad press, leaked documents, laughter are increasing. Scientologists are leaving.

Big projects are announced. Big expansion plans are presented. Big "wins" are shown. But months and years pass and nothing happens. Again and again, the big projects are quietly abandoned. Again and again, plans are silently scrapped. New Scientology buildings stand as empty monuments to those failed plans and programs.

Scientology leadership has failed.

But, since there is no method for detecting or correcting the failures of Scientology's technology and there is no method for detecting or correcting Scientology's leadership, the situation can never be fixed.

Even if Scientologists did want to correct the technology, they will never be permitted to do so. It would be considered "squirrelling" (altering the tech). No matter how much the technology fails, it must never be altered.

Even if Scientologists did want to correct or replace Scientology's leadership, they would never be permitted to do so. It would be considered an "enemy action" and they would be stopped. They would be expelled.

And, of course, no one from outside the Scientology bubble would be permitted to affect any changes. That would be completely impossible.

And so, for these reasons, the Church of Scientology cannot ever be corrected.

But it can get worse.

David Miscavige keeps on "improving" the Scientology technology, Scientology's books and Scientology's administration. Each change makes things worse: More Scientologists stuck or in trouble, more failures, more collapse.

Like any completely closed system, it can and will only get worse. While it remains completely closed, its problems, and its corruption will increase. And increase. One can see that this has been, and will continue to be, a geometric progression -- not only will the problems continue to increase, but the rate of increase will accelerate.

As bad as it is now for the church, it will only get worse.

Is there a solution? Is there a way out for Scientology? Not the way it is constituted. Because the bubble-factor and the assertion of "perfection" is built into the very foundation of Scientology, correction of the church is, and will always be, impossible.
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Using Scientology to Solve Scientology's Problems

In several recent discussions, I've seen the seemingly odd suggestion from Scientologists, that Scientologists should apply the Doubt Formula as regards the Church of Scientology.

And you have to be asking, WTF? Why would a Scientologist suggest that other Scientologists apply the Doubt Formula? Wouldn't that result in the Scientologist leaving?

And this leads to related questions on the basic idea of using Scientology "solutions" to solve problems with the Church of Scientology.

Things like writing reports about problems and sending them "up lines" to Scientology management.

Things like seeing the Ethics Officer, or applying conditions.

Each of these Scientology "solutions" is perfectly acceptable to the Church of Scientology and its representatives (and trolls).

The answer as to why these are acceptable should be obvious, but if I left it at that, I'd leave this article a bit short.

The church thinks these are acceptable "solutions" because they are part of the mechanisms that keep Scientologists in line and well-behaved. They are not actual solutions.

It doesn't take long to figure that out, but this fact is mostly hidden from Scientologists.

Let's take a look at a few of these "solutions".

Report any problems "up lines" to management!

And...

What? This informs management and David Miscavige that the reporting party is a troublemaker. No, really. If the problems of Scientology are systemic, and they are, it is obvious that the source of the problems is at the top. Otherwise the problems would be localized -- and eventually handled.

Woe betide the person who reports something about how Miscavige's training now violates Hubbard's policies -- they will get declared. Woe betide the person who reports that the emphasis on money-money-money is ruining the church. You really don't want to do that.

At best, someone will acknowledge they "received your report". And that is it. Guess what? There is no one "up lines" posted to handle such reports! That post is empty. The only person posted is someone to do the "acknowledgements", part-time. The International Base used to have over 1000 staff. Now there are around 300, with quite a few of those "off post, doing conditions".

Will the problem get resolved? Magic 8 Ball says: "Don't hold your breath".

Talk to the Ethics Officer about it.

The Scientology Ethics Officer is the person in charge of handling the local troublemakers to get them back into the fold.

What do you think will happen? The person "with the problem" will be "handled". That's the deal. The squeaky wheel gets, um, "handled".

Most likely the Scientologist will be assigned a lower condition, and supervised to ensure that they comply and, ultimately, stop complaining and start doing good Scientology things, like giving more money.

The "condition formulas" are designed to force the person back into agreement and compliance with Scientology. The "problem" the formulas are designed to handle is wayward Scientologists. More on this below.

But will the Ethics Officer solve the original problem? Nope. Not her job. Per Hubbard policy, reports get filed. Yep, that's it, filed.

The Ethics Officer's job is to handle the complainer, the troublemaker, so that the environment becomes "peaceful" again.

Talk to the Chaplain.

This is an especially delightful "solution". The post of Chaplain in a Church of Scientology is never posted. Isn't that the funniest thing? The one post in every Church of Scientology in the world that you can guarantee is never posted is Chaplain!

However, someone will "hold it from above" so the Scientologist can find someone to talk to.

And the power of the Chaplain to do anything? Zero. Another delightful irony, the post is one of the lowest in the entire organization. No power. So what is going to happen? Yes, nothing.

Apply the Doubt Formula.

We get back to this one. The Church of Scientology actually wants people who are wavering or have questions to apply this formula. Scientology trolls have said it should be done. They are all very, very certain that this "formula" will bring the wavering Scientologist back into obedience.

Why are they so sure?

Because the whole thing is designed to work that way. Let me explain. Yes, I've done this before, but, since I got such nice arguments from trolls, I figured it deserved more attention.

To recap, the Doubt Formula looks like this. L. Ron Hubbard wrote, in part:

When one cannot make up one's mind as to an individual, a group, organization or project, a condition of Doubt exists.

Doubt Formula:

1. Inform oneself honestly of the actual intentions and activities of that group, project or organization, brushing aside all prejudice and rumor.
2. Examine the statistics of the individual, group, project or organization.

Then,

4. Evaluate oneself or one’s own group, project or organization as to intentions and objectives.
5. Evaluate one's own or one's group, project or organization's statistics.

(The missing parts say you have to choose, and uses a bunch of Scientologese to say it.)

Now, combine this with several pieces of very important information.

One is that the real, complete and raw statistics of the Church of Scientology are completely hidden and will not be shown to anyone. Ever.

Another is that the real activities, intentions and objective of the Church of Scientology are hidden and, again, will not be available to a Scientologist.

A third factor is that Scientologists, especially those applying this Doubt Formula, are forbidden to access any source of information that is at all negative about Scientology. Their only source is, and must always be, the Church of Scientology.

The last factor is that, in many, many writings and lectures, Hubbard says that the Church of Scientology is the only group working for good in the entire universe! And that they are opposed by a vast, evil, conspiracy!

Now, Scientologist, go and apply your Doubt Formula, OK?

Get it?

It's completely booby-trapped. If the Scientologist is still "following all the rules", they cannot apply the formula. If they are still "following all the rules" they must come to the conclusion that all doubts are evil, all opposition to the church is evil. And they must come to the conclusion that they have been evil to have had any doubts.

And, ta dah! They are back in the fold.

It's designed that way. This is not accidental, it is deliberate. And, yes, this is thought control

The real solution.

The basic concept here, which is so very important, is: If the problem is with Scientology, then using those "solutions" is pretty much guaranteed to be part of the problem.

You need to step outside the problem to see the truth, and see the solution.

And it is simple.

I trust people. I trust that people will recognize truth when they see it -- if they are willing to see it. And I trust that people, when they have the truth, will do the right thing, whatever that is.

All you need to solve the problem is enough data. Step outside your preconceptions, step outside the control of those who are causing the problem, and look for the information you are missing.

And the information is abundant. I suggest they check out Recovering from Scientology -- the sub-section titled Get more information has links to a lot of great sources for more information.

Scientologists don't need the "Doubt Formula" or Ethics Officers or Chaplains. To solve their problems in Scientology, they just need the truth.
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Scientology Thought Control - Part 4

We covered, in Scientology Thought Control - Part 1, how simple definitions can change the way people think. In that example, the Hubbardism "entheta" causes Scientologists to reject "negative" information about the church even when true, and accept "positive" information about the church even if false.

In Scientology Thought Control - Part 2, we looked into some hard-core thought control technology embodied in L. Ron Hubbard's "Keeping Scientology Working" and his "Study Technology". With these things, key "facts" are installed, which cause a Scientologist's subsequent perception and thoughts to conform to the "correct" pattern. After that, no ideas can get a foothold if they conflict with the approved L. Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige and Scientology "reality".

In Scientology Thought Control - Part 3, we find that the Church of Scientology is not responsible for any harm they inflict on their believers.

But what happens when, after all that, a Scientologist doesn't properly control their thoughts? What happens when a Scientologist has any doubts about something that Hubbard or Miscavige claims?

If left unsupervised, these Scientologists might just look around for more information.

As you might expect, Scientologists are not left unsupervised when they are in this precarious condition. If a Scientologist dares to question something from Hubbard or Miscavige, they become tightly controlled and are isolated from other Scientologists.

It works like this.

To give you a little background: Hubbard created a whole hierarchy of "Ethics Conditions". When you're doing well, you will "be in Normal" or perhaps "Affluence" or even "Power". But if you're not doing well, you'll get into trouble, you'll be in "lower conditions". Below "Normal" is "Emergency", then "Danger", "Non-Existence", "Liability", "Doubt", "Enemy", "Treason" and, finally "Confusion".

Each condition has its own Hubbard-created "formula" to be followed under the watchful eye of the "Ethics Officer". Each lower condition has its penalties.

You can find more on all of these things on the Internet. The details of these are, for the most part, not important to this discussion, but please note that this represents complete control over all Scientologists. No matter what they are doing, Hubbard has a specific "formula" for them to follow.

Also note that there are lots more "lower conditions" than there are "good" conditions. It's a penalty and control system more than anything else.

Sorry for the digression into Scientologese, but it is important to understand that, in Scientology, doubt is a lower condition. It's bad! It's just above "Enemy"! If you doubt, if you question, if you don't think Hubbard was right, if you don't agree completely with Miscavige, then you are in trouble. You are in "Doubt". With penalties.

And you will continue to be in trouble, with penalties, until you stop doubting, stop questioning and completely agree with Hubbard and Miscavige. The penalties will continue until you are 'happy'.

But wait, there's more!

As part of the "Doubt Formula" Hubbard wrote:

When one cannot make up one's mind as to an individual, a group, organization or project, a condition of Doubt exists.

Doubt Formula:

1. Inform oneself honestly of the actual intentions and activities of that group, project or organization, brushing aside all prejudice and rumor.
2. Examine the statistics of the individual, group, project or organization.

Then,

4. Evaluate oneself or one’s own group, project or organization as to intentions and objectives.
5. Evaluate one's own or one's group, project or organization's statistics.

Did you get the switch? Someone is questioning what Hubbard said, or what Miscavige said and they are given this formula to follow -- and suddenly it's "them against us". Huh? How did that happen?

Well, you see, that's the way Hubbard thought. That's the way Miscavige thinks. If you aren't in absolute and full agreement -- then you have joined their enemies!

Is there anything in that "formula" for isolating the factors of the person's questions and discovering the truth about those specific questions? No, it's just them or us -- choose! Now, how does that answer any questions?

But wait, there's still more.

What about evaluating one's own organization "as to intentions and objectives"? What about one's own "organization's statistics"? Eh? Where are the true, accurate and complete statistics of Scientology? Where is the true, accurate and complete information about Scientology's 'intentions and objectives'"?

Sorry, they're secret. They're confidential. They're not available. Scientologists can not see this information. All they are allowed to see are the fanciful event presentations from Miscavige. Raw data? Raw statistics? Open access? Not going to happen, ever.

So, how could a Scientologist ever be able to apply this formula? There is no data to decide!

Someone starts questioning what they're told by Scientology and this is the formula they are told they must apply to resolve their questions. No, this formula deliberately changes the scope from "Is this true?" to "Are you with 'us good guys', or are you with 'the enemy'?"

No, this won't help Scientologists resolve questions or doubts, this is just another thought control mechanism to keep Scientologists from straying from their allowed beliefs.

This "Doubt Formula" catches any who start to question things and herds them back into "right thinking".
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Scientology Thought Control - Part 3

We covered, in Scientology Thought Control - Part 1, how simple definitions can change the way that people think. In that example, the Hubbardisms entheta and theta cause Scientologists to reject "negative" information ("entheta") about the church even when true, and accept "positive" information ("theta") about the church even if false.

However, I don't want to give the impression that these are the only words and the only concept that inculcates the thought control ability in Scientologists. There are many, many Scientology words, phrases and concepts that work in that direction.

One of the most pervasive and powerful concepts for thought control is Hubbard's ideas about the "Overt-Motivator Sequence". This is, really, Hubbard's reworking of the idea of karma. The short version is: One first does something bad (an "overt") and subsequently, one "pulls in" (causes something to happen to oneself) something bad (a "motivator") as an after-the-fact excuse for the previous overt.

Get it? If anything bad happens to you, it's because you "pulled it in" -- because of your overts!

Understand that, in Scientology, this is an absolute. Anything bad that happens to you is your fault!

The engine falls off a jetliner and lands on you, it's totally your fault. How can that be? Well, it's probably because sometime, in some past life, you dropped a jet engine on someone else -- or something.

See? It's all your fault.

And one of the manifestations of having an overt is that you start complaining about what was done to you. The Scientological response to someone complaining about what was done to them is, "What did you do?"

This is one very important component in Scientology thought control.

Now, it must be noted here that this concept does not include David Miscavige or the Church of Scientology, nor did it ever include L. Ron Hubbard. If anything bad happens to Miscavige or Scientology, it is because they only do good -- and Evil People are attacking them. When Miscavige complains about all that has been done to him, it's because he is the only good person around. No overts there!

So, to get back to the rest of us, this means that you can never complain. If you're in deep debt from paying Scientology so much money -- it's completely your fault. If you didn't get the expected gains from Scientology -- it's your fault. If you ran your business strictly according to Hubbard and it failed -- it's totally your fault.

And here is a key point: Anything the Church of Scientology does to you is your fault! And you can never complain.

If the church, or Miscavige, does something harmful to you -- you "pulled it in".

Woe betide you if you dare complain or even hint that it's not right. Oh boy! If you did that, you'd be in serious trouble! "What did you do? It's your overts! It's all the bad things you've done!"

So Scientologists never complain. Further, to stay out of trouble, they will actually lie and say "I'm happy, everything is fine!"

Scientology thought control: It's all your fault, you are the criminal, so shut up and "be happy!"

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So, for Scientologists, here is a little thought exercise: Why don't you apply the same criteria to Miscavige and the Church of Scientology that they impose on you.

• Miscavige constantly complains about everyone else, what they've "done to him", what "crimes" they're committing against him, how bad everyone else is. His rants are famous. So ask: What are his crimes?

• The Church of Scientology is collapsing. Governments are investigating and taking Scientology organizations to court. There are protests -- and they are not stopping. Lawsuits are being filed against the church. People are leaving and very few new people are coming in. Bad things are happening to the church all over the world. So ask: What did the church do to "pull it in"?

Hmmm?

I'm not saying this whole "Overt-Motivator" theory is absolutely correct, but if you believe it, then apply it to Miscavige and Scientology as well. What did they do?

Then find the answers. You will learn a lot.
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Scientology and the Emperor's New Clothes

You are, undoubtedly, familiar with the fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Anderson.

Plot summary from Wikipedia:

An emperor of a prosperous city who cares more about clothes than military pursuits or entertainment hires two swindlers who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime. The Emperor then goes on a procession through the capital showing off his new "clothes". During the course of the procession, a small child cries out, "But he has nothing on!" The crowd realizes the child is telling the truth. The Emperor, however, holds his head high and continues the procession.

The point, of course, is that when people buy into some idée fixe that does not match reality, they inevitably have to choose: Deny reality or deny the fixed idea. What makes the story so odd and funny is that all the adults in the story chose to deny reality.

Scientologists will be familiar with this concept as Hubbard's "held-down seven". He compared the aberrated mind to a calculator with a stuck "7" key. No matter what you enter into that calculator, the results will be wrong, because "7" has been arbitrarily and automatically entered into every calculation.

So what does all this have to do with Scientology?

Scientologists have a very, very strong and inflexible idée fixe that alters and colors everything they see, everything they hear, everything they do. It is completely arbitrary, unproven and even uninspected, yet it is the foundation of all they believe in.

It is this:

L. Ron Hubbard created a technology that solves everything and always, always works perfectly.

There is, actually, no proof that this statement is true, but all Scientologists would agree, without hesitation, that this statement is absolute Truth.

Because reality doesn't conform to this statement, once this idée fixe has been accepted as absolute Truth, more assertions must be made and must become incorporated into a Scientologist's "reality".

If Scientology "always, always works perfectly", what do you do when it doesn't work? It can't be that Hubbard was wrong! It can't be that the technology was ineffective, or wrong! It must be someone else who is wrong. And so you get this:

If Scientology doesn't work, you haven't applied it correctly.

Ah! Now everything is OK! This is the ultimate excuse and the most amazing and perfect way to ensure that Scientology "always works perfectly".

If Scientology failed, well, by definition, it wasn't Scientology!

If Scientology succeeded, then it was Scientology!

It's the ultimate excuse for any failures in Scientology. No one can prove that Scientology works, no one can guarantee that Scientology works -- but they can redefine any failures as "not Scientology", and, well, that fixes it.

Almost.

You will still get a few people who will very carefully apply Scientology exactly as Hubbard said, and it still doesn't work. What to do? Scientology was applied exactly as Hubbard said, and the good results didn't occur!

Do we accept that Scientology is flawed? Nope! Here's what we do:

Scientology won't work on Evil People!

Perfect! If you don't get better from Scientology -- it's your fault! You are an Evil Person!

Ah! This is really nice! Now you can't complain if you don't see any results! To do so would be to confess that you are an Evil Person! Perfect!

Here is what happens: There are probably several tens of thousands of Scientologists out there, and each one of them didn't get the promised gains from Scientology. I'm not kidding here, not one single person got the promised gains from Scientology. They will inevitably claim they were "happier" after this action or "more certain" after that action, but it is absolutely true that none of them actually got the promised gains from Scientology.

Let me be very clear, here. Some people are confused about what I'm saying. I'm not saying they get no benefit, I'm saying that no one is getting what is specifically promised as abilities to be gained from each and every one of the Scientology levels. These abilities are explicitly promised by Scientology, but never delivered to anyone.

But Scientologists can't admit it! They think that every other Scientologist got the promised gains, and only they didn't. And, because they didn't get the "guaranteed" gains from Scientology, they believe they must be Evil! So they can't admit it. Since they can't talk about it, and they certainly can't tell anyone that they didn't get the gains, nobody in Scientology knows that this lack of results is universal.

No one is getting the promised gains from Scientology. They're all pretending they did and thinking that everyone else really did. And they are all hoping that the next Scientology level will be the one where they get the gains.

They are all wearing Hubbard's New Clothes! Each one is naked and pretending that their clothes are just as beautiful as the clothes every other Scientologist is pretending to wear.
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Scientology Thought Control - Part 2

As mentioned in Scientology Thought Control - Part 1, there are many ways that Scientology trains people to properly control their thoughts so that they can accept concepts and controls that, under normal circumstances, would be difficult to accept.

In that article, we saw how the concept of "entheta" allows Scientologists to reject "negative" information, even when true, and accept "positive" information without inspection.

While this is a start to good thought control, it really isn't enough.

The next part of training Scientologists to control their thoughts is embodied in L. Ron Hubbard's famous "Keeping Scientology Working" (KSW). This policy letter from Hubbard is the very first thing that every Scientologist must read and "duplicate" when they do any Scientology training.

Now, you must understand what that "and duplicate" phrase means in Scientology-speak. While the official Scientology definition is to "make a perfect copy", this isn't how it is applied when you're studying Scientology. To "duplicate" when studying Scientology means "completely agree with".

Let me explain. In Hubbard's Study Technology, the source material being studied is always assumed to be 100% correct and 100% workable. If the student doesn't understand the material or (gasp!) disagrees with the material, it is the student's fault, never the material's -- and once the student "handles their study difficulty" they will agree with the material being studied.

And the very first item on every course that a Scientologist takes is this "Keeping Scientology Working" issue.

And what does this policy letter say? In it, Hubbard modestly states that he has created an absolutely perfect and always workable technology for everything. No one helped him; everything anyone else has ever done is, from Hubbard's analysis, horrible and destructive; only Hubbard's solutions are good; if you apply Hubbard's technology and it doesn't work, it's your fault, you did something wrong; and (in my opinion the most clever assertion), it is the very evil people who disagree with Hubbard and his technology.

And all Scientologists, as the very first order of business, must completely agree with these concepts before they can get on with any other studying.

From that point on, the Scientologist's ability to control their thoughts in the proper Scientology manner is quite simple.

If Hubbard said it: It is true.

If evidence disagrees with what Hubbard said: The evidence is false.

If someone disagrees with Hubbard: They are evil.

If someone applies Hubbard's technology and nothing happens, or something bad happens: It's their fault, not Hubbard's.

If someone doesn't get wonderful results from Scientology: They are one of the Evil People.

And so on.

The "Keeping Scientology Working" policy letter has installed these fixed ideas. Once these "facts" have been installed in a Scientologist, all their perceptions, all their logic, all their conclusions must be warped around to fit into these "facts". Actual, independent thought is no longer possible.

The thought control works like this:

• "Gee, this thing Ron said just doesn't make sense!" (Thought Control: You must have a study problem, it's all your fault. Keep studying it until you agree with it.)
• "I did exactly what Ron said, but nothing happened!" (Thought Control: It's your fault, you did something wrong, go back and restudy the material.)
• "I got some processing, but I don't feel any better." (Thought Control: Be quiet! Only evil people fail to get gains from Scientology!)
• "I don't really like this part of Scientology!" (Thought Control: Shut up! Shut up! That means you're one of the Evil People! You do like it, you can't be evil!)
  

This is the real reason that "Keeping Scientology Working" is the first thing studied and why it must be agreed to before going on. From that point on, good Scientologists never criticize L. Ron Hubbard or David Miscavige or Scientology, no matter what they see, no matter what happens. To do so would mean that they are EVIL! Any failure, any disagreement, any problems in Scientology are always and only their fault.

Now, Scientologists believe that the reason "KSW" is first in every course is to ensure that Hubbard's technology remains pure and to insist that every Scientologist defend it. Well, if that were true, then why has every single bit of Hubbard's technology been altered since his death? Nothing of Hubbard's remains exactly as he left it. Nothing. No, nobody is using "KSW" to defend and protect Hubbard's technology. Obviously, that isn't its purpose.

Even after someone has left Scientology, they often retain this fixed idea that any and all failures were their fault and that they are evil. But most finally do recover their ability to see what is really there, evaluate what is really true and to know who and what is evil and why.

Hubbard never provided any proof that he was "always right". He never provided any proof that his technology was "100% workable". He never provided any evidence that "all who disagree with him are evil". None. Not ever. He just said it was so and insisted that anyone who questioned him, doubted him or disagreed with him was evil and must be punished.

If the person gets through "Keeping Scientology Working", and "duplicates" (agrees with) it, they have truly mastered their advanced thought control skills.

Now they are a full-fledged Scientologist.
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