Happy New Year 2012

It has been a considerable time since I posted any significant article.  It isn't that nothing was going on, obviously, but it was, instead, a combination of too much going on for me personally (good things) and things going incredibly well in exposing the crimes, lies, abuse and fraud of the Church of Scientology.

All I could say was "Well done!"

But, here it is, a new year and I had in mind doing a pretty ordinary look back and then make predictions.  It's fun to do.

But there is a new and significant event that just happened which changed my plans for what would probably have been a predictable and boring article.

I am, of course, referring to the Debbie Cook email.

This is significant.  While it is true that Scientologists "in good standing" have been talking with each other about some of the problems and it is true that prominent Scientologists have spoken out after leaving the church, there has never been a prominent Scientologist speaking out while still, technically, "in good standing".

This email went to a lot of well connected Scientologists who have no reason to doubt that Debbie Cook is still in good standing.

Let's take a look at what Debbie says.  She is not attacking Scientology or Hubbard in any way.  She uses the line "The truth is that as a Scientologist you are more able, more perceptive and have a higher integrity" to appeal to the Scientology ego.  While she names David Miscavige, she doesn't personally attack him (i.e. call him "suppressive").  She quotes Hubbard appropriately to make her points.  While lengthy, her email does not get bogged down in too much detail as so many other "doubt formulas" have.  She has done a good job talking to Scientologists in their terms.

I believe this will be effective.  I'm guessing that speaking freely about everything Debbie has brought up will become common within Scientology.  That is all to the good.

I read a concerned comment by someone to the effect that we don't want Scientologists to rebel and reform Scientology as Debbie urges.  We want, the commenter insists, the church to continue to abuse and defraud Scientologists in order to speed up its collapse.

I'd say that this email will greatly speed up the church's collapse.  First, Debbie urges all Scientologists to stop sending any money to the church except for donations for services -- which monies remain (mostly) local.  This cuts off Miscavige's lucrative income from all his bogus fundraising tricks.

But wait!  By pointing out all the "out-tech" now being enforced by the church, she is discouraging Scientologists from actually taking services.

And, finally, by detailing the total destruction of the upper management of the church, Debbie is making it perfectly "legal" to ignore the dictates coming from "management".

UPDATE: I see some speculation as to why Debbie emphasized that she hasn't spoken to the media and then says "Please keep this email among us, the Scientologists. The media have no place in this" when she must know it would be quickly spread everywhere.

I assume this has to do with her gag agreement with the Church of Scientology when she left the Sea Org.  She is, undoubtedly, forbidden from talking to the media.  By saying what she says, she is abiding by the agreement.  If others ignore her request and spread it about, it's not her fault.

If this doesn't cause a majority of the remaining churchies to disassociate from the Church of Scientology, I'll be very surprised.

They may remain True Believers, and they may then be captured by the Independent Movement, but that group is not organized and is not effective.

And remember this:  True Believers must use Scientology and only Scientology for all their endeavors.  They must use the Admin and Ethics "tech".  The built-in flaws in all of that ensure that any future Scientology organization will not succeed.

This certainly is a good way to start a New Year.
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"Inside Scientology" by Janet Reitman

I do apologize for coming late to this.  I wanted to read this book when it first came out but I was in the middle of a couple of very large projects.  Now that they are successfully completed, I've finally had time to read this wonderful book.

If anyone has not yet read this book and, if they have any interest at all in Scientology and the Church of Scientology, I highly recommend it.

In her Introduction, Ms. Reitman says:

It has been my goal to write the first objective modern history of the Church of Scientology.

To say that Ms. Reitman succeeded would be an understatement.  I, personally, could not have done that -- as an ex-Scientologist, I am definitely not objective about Scientology.   Most people who have been touched in any way by Scientology cannot be objective about it.  Scientology is a completely black and white belief system -- there is no grey.  You are either completely pro-Scientology or you are an Enemy.  Those who become opposed to the Church of Scientology often, in reaction to Scientology's absolutism, take an opposite, and just as absolute, negative position.  It's hard not to.

Yet, without a doubt, Ms. Reitman has produced an objective book.  Since I know she too was attacked by the Church of Scientology for her earlier piece in The Rolling Stone, my admiration for her journalistic integrity is boundless.

But don't let the term "objective" mislead you.  This is not a dry dissertation, it is not boring and it doesn't indulge in that false "journalistically neutral" rhetoric.  You will get the facts surrounding the real events -- untouched by the Church of Scientology's spin, cover-up and lies.

Scientology is, ultimately, about people and Ms. Reitman brings the story of Scientology alive by bringing alive the people who have been involved in Scientology -- from L. Ron Hubbard, struggling to find his path to fame, to those who have struggled in and out of the church, to the latest wide-eyed, ever-hopeful new Scientologist.  This is a book about how people were changed by Scientology -- and how Scientology has been changed by people.

I found it a bit disturbing to read this long history of Scientology from L. Ron Hubbard's troubled life, through the heady early days of hope and excitement and finally to the logical conclusion of Hubbard's paranoia and greed.  It was disturbing because it was true.  It stirred up memories of my own hopes -- and my own disappointments.

In case you might want to question how very thoroughly and diligently Ms. Reitman has researched and fact-checked the stories in this book, her extensive Notes section detailing the exact sources for each chapter is beyond impressive.  This section alone makes the Church of Scientology's cries of "sloppy journalism" completely laughable.

All-in-all, this book was a great read, enlightening, fascinating, informative and with the ring of truth in every page.  This book is now at the top of my list for anyone interested in Scientology and I would highly recommend this book for anyone currently in or recently out of Scientology.
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How LRH Destroys Scientologists' Ability to Think

It becomes obvious, while watching Scientologists* try to "think" their way through all their problems, that Scientologists, as a group, have completely lost their ability to think logically and rationally.

Now, I don't want anyone to construe this as a broad insult of Scientologists' intelligence.  This has nothing to do with intelligence, it has everything to do with Scientology indoctrination.  Certainly it makes Scientologists look stupid, but they all recover their original, higher intelligence when they free themselves of Scientology's thought-control.

While we have discussed Scientologists' inability to think logically before, we have never specifically addressed how they lost this important ability.

It is obvious, from the fact that this failing is universal to all Scientologists, that this destruction of the ability to think is built into Scientology.

I think you'll find that Hubbard intentionally created this nightmare.  Let's see how he did it.

1. Hubbard Study Technology

This "technology" is key to destroying a person's ability to think logically and rationally.  Every Scientologist is carefully indoctrinated into this method as the only way to study Scientology.

One of the fundamental assumptions in Hubbard's Study Technology is that the source material is always assumed to be completely and unquestionably correct in every detail.  This flows from Scientology's basic premise that L. Ron Hubbard is always correct.

Therefore, any and all difficulties, confusions and doubts that Scientologists might have are their fault.  The defect is always with the student.

So, when Hubbard's assertions don't match the reality that the student knows, the only solution allowed in Hubbard's Study Tech is for the student to modify their thinking so that they can "make Hubbard's words 'true for them'."

This aligns perfectly with Hubbard's statement that "what is true is what you, yourself, have found true."  This is also called, in Scientology, "making the data your own".

Scientologists cannot use logic or scientific method or rational thinking to do this.  Technically, logic, scientific method and rationality have proven most of Hubbard's assertions to be false.

Instead, Scientologists must alter the way they think, so that they can make whatever Hubbard says "true".  They are actually learning a whole new way of thinking that doesn't use logic, but uses belief, "postulates" and quite a number of logic fallacies.  "Your" opinion must always match what Hubbard said or someone will quote Hubbard to "prove you wrong".  Eventually, Scientologists' "thinking" is reduced to just quoting Hubbard [Leaving Scientology].

After a Scientologist has completed a few Scientology courses, they will have mastered how to do this.  This is not thinking in any normal sense of the word.

2. Redefinition of "true" and "false"

As part of his Scientology ideology, Hubbard coined two new, very unique words:

theta

The word "theta", in the context of information, means positive information about Scientology, Dianetics and Hubbard.  More exactly, it means any information that aligns with Scientology's viewpoint.  For example, negative information about psychiatry would be considered theta by a Scientologist.

entheta

The word "entheta" means negative information about Scientology, Dianetics and Hubbard.  Specifically, it means any and all information that contradicts, disproves or disagrees with Hubbard's statements or Scientology's viewpoint.

Note very carefully that this is completely unrelated to whether a particular "fact" is true or false.  If a "fact" aligns with Hubbard's statements, it is theta, even if false.  If a fact contradicts something Hubbard said, it is entheta, even if true.

However, Hubbard and all Scientologists use theta as if it meant "true" and use entheta as if it meant "false".  To Scientologists, "theta" equals "true" and "entheta" equals "false".  They will say things like, "Oh you can't believe that, that's entheta!"

It becomes impossible to think if you don't know what is really true and what is really false.

3. Censoring "other" information

Further, Hubbard expressly forbade all Scientologists from viewing, reading or listening to anything labeled entheta.  It would "enturbulate" them, he claimed, and interfere with their "gains".  There are penalties for Scientologists who access entheta information.

Now to make sure you understand exactly what this means, let me use non-Scientology words.  Scientologists are expressly forbidden from accessing, in any way, information that contradicts anything Hubbard or Scientology says.

How can anyone think logically and rationally about a subject when they are forbidden from seeing or even knowing any differing information?

4. Asking for proof is outlawed

The first thing any normal person would do, when presented with fantastic claims about some subject is to ask for proof.  "Show me the data!"  "Do you have pictures?"  "Can I talk to them?"  "Let's go look!"

This is normal.  This is healthy.  This is good, logical thinking.

Well, Hubbard condemned it.  Demanding proof was bad, it was "suppressive".  He devoted one entire lecture (Flows: Basic Agreement and Prove It!) where he ranted on and on about how horrible it was to demand proof of anything.

In Scientology, asking for proof of anything Hubbard said or anything the church claims is a punishable act.  If you insist on seeing proof, you are a suppressive person!

And, with that, Hubbard yanked one of the most fundamental principles of scientific thought right out of Scientologists' minds.

In Scientology, you can't ask for, and you will never get, any proof of anything.  You can't even notice that you have no proof.  How can anyone possibly think about a subject that they cannot verify any part of?

And that is, in a nutshell, how Hubbard effectively and intentionally destroyed every Scientologists' ability to think logically and rationally about Scientology.

All that is left is belief.  As Hubbard often said, if you believe strongly enough, it will be true.  This is why Scientologists always state their beliefs as if they were proven facts.  Hubbard taught them: this is how you "think".

After leaving Scientology, the most difficult task may be learning how to think again and how to tell what is true and what is a lie.

*EDIT: By “Scientologist” I mean, very specifically, those who believe in Scientology, exactly as Hubbard taught it. I do not mean Freezone or those who only accept some of Scientology. Anyone who rejects some of Hubbard's technology would be called a “squirrel” by true believers. I'm not talking about squirrels.

In my mind, those who are able to disagree with Hubbard and who are willing to reject parts of Scientology's dogma are well on the way to re-learning how to think. I commend them totally and this article is not about them.

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Scientologists: Can You Remove The "Cult" From Scientology?

Scientologists keep insisting, "Scientology is not a cult!"  OK then, if that is so, then removing all the cult characteristics from Scientology should be quite simple and certainly very desirable.  After all, if you believe Scientology is not a cult, then you, of all people, would want to remove all possible doubt by eradicating as many cult characteristics as you can.

Of course, this couldn't be done by the Church of Scientology.  David Miscavige has pushed the church too far into the cult thing to change now, but one would think that the outside Scientologists would want to avoid any and all aspects of cult behavior.

Unless, of course, you think that these cult attributes of Scientology are vital to its basic functionality.  Do you?

No?  Good.  Let's look at how that could be done.

Most cult experts refer to Robert Lifton's eight criteria as basic indicators of cult behavior. (Robert Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China).

Lifton details the following eight characteristics that typify a destructive group environment:

1. Dictating with whom members can communicate

Boy, Scientology really does this one!  You've got disconnection, "enemies" lists, suppressive declares, "lower conditions", "sources of entheta" and many other ways to interfere with and control Scientologists' communication.  And, yes, this attitude is very much alive in Scientology outside of the church.

Scientology says this kind of super-control is "for your own good".  Oh, really?  In no other endeavor is less information considered good.  The bottom line is that the ostensible leaders of Scientology benefit from this kind of control, not the members.  They don't trust people to get all the information and make up their own minds.  No, they say, you must be "protected" from other viewpoints and other ideas.

No legitimate philosophy, belief or religion requires this kind of super-control.

Get rid of it all: Disconnection, "enemies" lists, suppressive declares, "sources of entheta" and all other methods of restricting and controlling communication.  Scientology is supposed to be all about "communication", so remove all the artificial and cult-like barriers to communication.

2. Convincing members they are a chosen people with a higher purpose.

The Scientology version of this is: Scientologists are Homo Novis, more advanced, superior beings who are the "only ones" who can save the universe from the "dwindling spiral".  Part of the Scientology doctrine is that "Scientologists are better, more ethical, more causative and more intelligent.  They are the top 1% of the top 1%."

While this may make Scientologists feel puffed up with self-importance, the real reason for this message is that it makes it easier for the leaders to keep asking for more commitment, more money and more effort from their followers without having to explain why or account for any funds.  Scientology's professed leaders can suppress any questions or dissent because of this "higher purpose".

In the real world such statements of superiority are seen, quite correctly, as vain and self-serving.  In the real world, the status of being better can only be bestowed by others in acknowledgement of a person's or group's good work or high quality results or products.

You'd best shut up about how "superior" Scientologists are.  That's obvious cult-talk, guys.  It would be an excellent improvement to Scientology's dogma if that disappeared.

3. Creating an us-versus-them mentality, whereby everything in the group is right and everything outside is wrong.

This attitude is embodied in the Great Anti-Scientology Conspiracy created by L. Ron Hubbard.  Such a "conspiracy" doesn't exist.  You are not surrounded and opposed by the "Enemy".  You are not engaged in a "Great Battle".  If you keep thinking like that, you will fail -- as Scientology has for so long.  This "conspiracy" exists only to isolate Scientologists from the real world.  It's a cult thing.

Already I see "Independent Scientology" moving in the direction of more and more us-versus-them, more and more isolation and more and more fear of contact with difficult questions, disagreements and other ideas.

You will never be accepted by society at large if you keep looking at society and non-Scientologists as either the enemy or as too stupid or evil to "see the 'truth' of Scientology."  If you stop fighting your imaginary "enemies", you might just find the world is filled with some very good people doing very good things.

Drop the us-versus-them rhetoric and belief -- it really screams "cult!"

4. Encouraging members to share their innermost secrets and then purge whatever hinders their merging with the group.

In Scientology, whether on course or in session, any Scientologist who "disagrees with Hubbard", "questions Hubbard", "has doubts" or "thinks there is a better way" must be, and is, handled until they give up any disagreements, questions, doubts and such.  Woe betide the student who says, "That doesn't match my experience!"

If the disagreement persists, Scientology's automatic accusation is that it is the Scientologist's "out ethics" (meaning evil acts) that is causing the disagreement.  The Scientologist is required to confess all their transgressions to the "Ethics Officer" or auditor until they abandon their doubts and disagreements and fully agree with Hubbard's words.

The purpose of this is to punish disagreement and doubt.  According to Scientology, the "source" of the disagreement is never Scientology, it is the person's evil intentions.  The purpose of this bit of cult indoctrination is control, not enlightenment.

Why would any legitimate philosophy, belief or religion require such suppression and punishment for disagreement?  This has got to go.

5. Convincing members that their philosophical belief system is "the absolute truth".

While early Hubbard was known to have admitted his mistakes and the imperfections of Scientology, his later pronouncements have led true believers to assign Scientology technology a status of absolute perfection.  They now believe that every single piece of Scientology is perfect, "works 100% of the time" and solves every single problem known to man.

And the many, many times Scientology has failed?  Well Scientology has a built-in excuse for that: "It was misapplied!"

This cult attribute allows Scientology to continue to fail, when it does, while continuing to claim "absolute perfection".  Followers must continue to believe in Scientology's "perfection" or admit to the crime of "misapplying Scientology".  It's a control thing, not an honesty thing.

The Scientology belief system is not perfect.  There are significant flaws.  All you have to do is take an honest, unbiased look.  Honestly review your own experiences and the results of Scientologists in general.

Be honest, admit the failures of Scientology so that any successes might stand a chance of being believed.  Any truth in Scientology, any good results from Scientology, will be proven in the real world, not in rhetoric.

6. Creating an "in" language of buzzwords and group speak which becomes a substitute for critical thinking.

You may have noticed that, from the cult attributes list so far, one of the overreaching themes of cults is isolation.  Scientology's insistence on its own very unique terminology, and its insistence that these strange terms have nothing to do with concepts from other philosophies and religions, works very well to isolate Scientologists' thinking and concepts.

This is not for the benefit of members of Scientology.  In truth, Scientology's terminology does have parallels to concepts from other philosophies and religions.  A minor amount of thought and study proves this to be true.  The more Scientology allows parallels to be drawn and the less Scientology insists on only using its very unique terminology, the better Scientologists will get along with the rest of the world and the better Scientologists will understand universal spiritual concepts.

Scientology must change to take advantage of all the richness there is in the world.  Get rid of this cult isolation technique.

7. Reinterpreting human experience and emotion in terms of the group's doctrine.

Scientology does this in how it describes the mind.  Scientology's "Reactive Mind" is, they say, the cause of all sickness, upset, problems and failures.   Further, all difficulties that a person might have, every single one, has its cause in something Hubbard has described and is solved by something Scientology sells.

If a Scientologist feels good or succeeds at something, it is only "because of Scientology".  If a Scientologist feels bad or fails, it is only because they "misapplied or failed to apply Scientology".

Nothing in this universe exists in isolation.  To believe, as Scientologists now do, that all good things are due exclusively to Scientology, is ludicrous and very, very cult-like.  Likewise, to believe that all bad emotions or failures are due only to a "failure to apply Scientology" is preposterous, extremely simplistic and, again, a cult thing.

What must be ignored by all Scientologists is that many in world outside of Scientology are happy and living quite well without Scientology.  Quite a few are even doing much better than your average Scientologist.

To take all the complexities of life, all the factors, all the conditions and to reduce it down to just one cause and only one solution is neither logical nor sane.  Cults are like that.  Get rid of this cult attribute.

8. Reinforcing the idea that life within the group is good and worthy, and life outside evil and pointless.

Scientology teaches that the only good being done in the world is being done by Scientology.  Scientology teaches that the only worthwhile activities and goals are Scientology's activities and goals.  Scientology teaches that all other solutions in the world are worthless and pointless because Scientology has the solutions to everything.

Scientology teaches that life within Scientology is full of happiness and success, but life outside of Scientology is doomed to failure.

As with most of these attributes of a cult, this is designed to isolate members from the rest of the world.  If the rest of the world is grey, pointless and doomed, why have anything to do with it?

Since the rest of the world is not grey, pointless or doomed, and is, in fact, filled with many good people doing many good things, the only purpose of this cult attribute is to further isolate the Scientologist to make them easier to control.

Get rid of this bit of indoctrination, it doesn't benefit Scientologists, only their purported leaders.

• Summary.

Dear Scientologist, if you are like I was when I was first looking beyond Scientology, you will be shocked and alarmed by the fact that Scientology exhibits all the attributes of a cult.  This cannot be acceptable to you.

This subject is very important to any Scientologist who wants Scientology to go forward into society.  Cults cannot do that.  You may insist that Scientology is not a cult, but unless you remove all the cult attributes from Scientology, it really doesn't matter what you believe.  In the real world, if it talks like a cult, acts like a cult and controls its members like a cult -- it is a cult.

Can you remove the "cult" from Scientology?  In truth, I'm betting Scientologists won't even try, especially those who aspire to leadership in the "new" Scientology.

The benefits of Scientology retaining all its cult characteristics are to the leaders of the cult, not to its members.  When the supposed leaders of "new" Scientology vehemently support the retention of all these cult attributes, be aware of why they do so.
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Message to Nation of Islam Members About Scientology

This post is applicable to anyone who is looking into Dianetics or Scientology.

You are being asked to participate in Dianetics/Scientology services from the Church of Scientology.

That's fine, nothing wrong with that if that's your choice.

But you need to be very, very careful.  You are being asked to believe quite a number of things without proof, and there is no reason for you to accept this situation.  You should ask for, and should receive, valid proof before you give the Church of Scientology any of your money.

You may have read Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.  You may have read or heard about L. Ron Hubbard's description of "Clear":

A clear, for instance, has complete recall of everything which has ever happened to him or anything he has ever studied. He does mental computations, such as those of chess, for example, which a normal would do in a half an hour, in ten or fifteen seconds. He does not think “vocally” but spontaneously. There are no demon circuits in his mind except those which it might amuse him to set up -- and break down again -- to care for various approaches to living. He is entirely self-determined. And his creative imagination is high. He can do a swift study of anything within his intellectual capacity, which is inherent, and the study would be the equivalent to him of a year or two of training when he was “normal.” His vigor, persistence and tenacity to life are very much higher than anyone has thought possible.

L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

And you might think that this definition of "Clear" is what the Church of Scientology is promising when they say they are "producing Clears".

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I urge you to check it out for yourself.  Ask to talk to one of these Church of Scientology "Clears".  Find out what their "complete recall of everything which has ever happened to him or anything he has ever studied" is like in reality.  Can they tell you the name of their second grade teacher?  Can they quote, verbatim, from a book they read last year?

Can this "Clear" do "mental computations, such as those of chess, for example, which a normal would do in a half an hour, in ten or fifteen seconds"?

Check it out for yourself before you give the Church of Scientology any of your hard-earned money.

If you look, I am sure you will find what many ex-Scientologists already know, that not one Church of Scientology "Clear" has the abilities and powers that L. Ron Hubbard promised.  In fact, you will discover that Scientology "Clears" have no special abilities or powers at all.

Look for yourself.

If you participate in any Church of Scientology "auditing" you may experience, as many have, a temporary feeling of euphoria at the end of the session.  No one knows why this happens, but it is always and only temporary and does not indicate any permanent "gains".

Check it out for yourself.  Talk to "Clears" and "OTs".  Don't ask them about Scientology, because they will just give you the standard sales spiel.  Ask them what they do for a living.   Are they "industry leaders"?  Are they successful?  Are they still allowed to talk with their family?  Ask them difficult questions.  Press them to answer instead of evade.

Go to the Internet and search for "Scientology".  No legitimate organization would forbid such an investigation.  The Church of Scientology will tell you that "everything you read on the Internet is a lie" but they will never, ever provide any proof of that.  They want you to trust them on this, but they don't trust you to make up your own mind.  The Church of Scientology will tell you there is a Great Anti-Scientology Conspiracy but they will never provide any proof of that either.

In fact, if you want to really upset a Scientologist, ask for proof of anything they claim -- they won't have any proof at all, but they will get very upset when you ask.  If that doesn't ring any alarm bells for you, then nothing will.

I am not saying that Scientology does nothing.  For some people, it certainly may help -- but it never, ever delivers on any of its big, miraculous promises.

Do what you want, believe what you want, but look for yourself and get actual proof before you give the Church of Scientology any of your money.
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Scientology: Selling Invisible Things

There is a marketing phrase, "selling the invisible", used to describe the challenge faced by advertising to sell potential customers on the "sizzle" instead of (or in addition to) the steak.

But that's not what I'm referring to when it comes to Scientology's selling of the invisible.

What I'm referring to is the amazing marketing success of L. Ron Hubbard and his Dianetics/Scientology organization in selling something that may not exist at all.

I don't want to get into an argument about the validity of Scientology, since that is a matter of belief, I only want to point out this amazing fact:  There is, and never has been, any actual, valid evidence that Hubbard's "Reactive Mind" exists.  It cannot be detected by any physical means.  It cannot be measured, weighed or tested.

And yet Hubbard sold it quite lucratively for many, many years and his Church of Scientology continues to sell it to this day.

Hubbard said, "You have this very, very evil, horrible thing attached to you that is the cause of all your problems.  You can't see it.  No one has ever seen it or detected it, but it is there and it is very evil.  Pay my organization a lot of money and we will get rid of it for you."

And then, after tens thousands of dollars and many months, or even years, of "auditing", the Scientology organization declares: "We did it!  Your Reactive Mind is now gone!  Congratulations! You are 'Clear'!"

What is the difference between having something you can't detect at all and not having it?  Apparently, tens of thousands of dollars.

Whether it is true or not, the miraculous thing is, how the heck do they sell that?  This truly is the ultimate in "selling the invisible".

I have spoken to many "Clears" after they have left Scientology and have recovered from the Scientology thought control, and every single one of them has confessed that they felt no significant difference after they were "declared Clear".

And yet, most of them were happy to continue on "up the Bridge".  I know I was.

"But," as they say on TV, "that's not all!"

After Scientology has gotten rid of this invisible, undetectable thing, what else is there?

Amazingly, but not surprisingly, it turns out there are a lot more invisible, undetectable things that you need to get rid of.

Sure, there is no physical evidence that these things exist.  Sure, there is no way to measure, test or validate their existence -- but they are there and only Scientology can get rid of them -- if you give them much more money and spend much more time getting auditing.

And quite a number of people buy that.

And, after much, much money -- now hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and many years, Scientology finally declares, "We did it!  All those bad things are now gone!  Congratulations! You are 'OT VII'!"

And all these "OT VIIs" and "OT VIIIs" look and act just like everyone else.  They aren't demonstrating any amazing successes or powers.  They aren't demonstrating great changes.  Again, I've talked to a number of "OT VIIs" after they have left Scientology and they confess that things aren't that different.

Even current True Believers only claim vague gains, "My life has changed," "I'm better," -- the kind of "improvements" reported by any and all religions and self-improvement technologies.

What do you want to bet that, if David Miscavige decides to create some OT levels above OT VIII, that it involves some newly discovered, undetectable, invisible things that only Miscavige knows about and you just have to get rid of?

Hubbard, and Scientology, do an amazing and, some would say, an impossible job of selling invisible things.  There is no evidence that any of these things exist.  There is no evidence that these things have been removed.  And there is no indication that the "removal" of these things made any noticeable difference.  And yet the Church of Scientology rakes in millions and millions selling these invisible, undetectable "results".

There are, I am sure, many sales people who would love to know how to do that.  It is a truly amazing sales miracle.
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Scientology In Perspective

We're not playing some minor game in Scientology. It isn't cute or something to do for lack of something better.

The whole agonized future of this planet, every Man, Woman and Child on it, and your own destiny for the next endless trillions of years depend on what you do here and now with and in Scientology.

This is a deadly serious activity. And if we miss getting out of the trap now, we may never again have another chance.

Remember, this is our first chance to do so in all the endless trillions of years of the past. Don't muff it now...

L. Ron Hubbard

Keeping Scientology Working Series 1

Scientologists live in a mythical world of titanic, universe-wide, trillion year struggles between Ultimate Good and Ultimate Evil.

The above quote from L. Ron Hubbard has been read by every single Scientologist many times.  They believe it with all their hearts.

Today, they are fighting for their very survival and the survival of "every Man, Woman and Child".  I simply cannot exaggerate how very serious and  crucial everything is to a Scientologist.

Every time David Miscavige announces his fictional "Good News", it is a sign that Ultimate Good is winning.  But every protest, every bad news article, every exposé on TV is a sign that Ultimate Evil is winning.

It is all so very, very, very important.  To them.

And sometimes, with all this importance being artificially imprinted on Scientology by Scientologists, it is difficult to keep things in perspective.

Let's look at reality, shall we?

Scientology doesn't exist.  That is the reality in the rest of the world.  Outside of Scientology and its critics, Scientology really doesn't show up on the radar of most people.  A few might know that Scientology has something to do with Tom Cruise, and that's about it.  To most of the world, Scientology simply does not exist.

Scientology's "solutions" have been tried in a very few places, but were found to be expensive and to not work very well.  So these "solutions" have been, or are being, dropped wherever they were tried.  You look for what effect Scientology is having on the world and the answer is: None.  For all their posturing and bragging, their results are nowhere to be found.  It's like they don't exist.

Psychiatrists are not much aware of Scientology.  They know that, for some reason, Scientology attacks them, but, since the effects of those attacks are negligible, it doesn't matter to psychiatrists what they do.

Politicians are finding out that, as celebrities already know, association with the fraudulent, deceitful Church of Scientology is a huge negative to their careers.  The church has no influence there.

And, actually, Scientology is not very important to Scientology's critics either.  Yes, critics care about the victims.  Yes, they want the abuse, lies, fraud and crimes to be stopped.  Yes, they want the destroyed families to be brought back together.  But criticizing and protesting Scientology is what they do with their spare time.  It isn't their life, it isn't their survival, it isn't some "epic battle".

Outside of Scientology's bubble, Scientology just isn't important. 

In this struggle, Scientology is fighting a desperate fight for "the whole agonized future of this planet, every Man, Woman and Child on it," while its critics are happily living their lives and, occasionally, when they have some spare time, criticizing and protesting Scientology.
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Scientology and Humor

How many Scientologists does it take to change a light bulb?

First, 12 Scientologists have to carefully research all writings and lectures of L. Ron Hubbard to find everything that LRH ever said that, however remotely, might have something to do with light, lightbulbs, repairs, the effect of electricity on thetans, and so forth.

This research will result in several Scientologists being assigned to revise the official L. Ron Hubbard biography to include the newly discovered fact that Ron actually invented lightbulbs (and, it may be hinted, even light itself).

30 Scientologists will then be assigned by David Miscavige to create a "standard" program, with purposes, policies, major targets, etc., etc. They will work for months to try to get the program approved through David Miscavige.  This approval can never happen.

Eventually, Miscavige will, with great drama, declare everyone a Suppressive Person and "do it all himself" (meaning make minor, unnecessary changes to the original program).

150 Scientologists (everyone left at Int. Base) will then work for years on this program, attempting to create and pilot the "Hubbard Standard Tech Lightbulb Changing Course".  The course will include extensive, new Golden Age of Tech drills for changing lightbulbs.

This will never get approved by Miscavige.

Eventually, Miscavige will, with great drama, declare everyone a Suppressive Person, again, and "do it all himself" (meaning make minor unnecessary changes).

1,256 Scientologists (all Scientologists left in Clearwater) will show up at the Big Release Event put on by Miscavige to wildly applaud this new step in "Bringing Scientology Effective Solutions to a Dark and Troubled World".

The new course will be priced at $10,000.00 and will also require the purchase of all Miscavige's newly re-re-revised "Basics" books.

13,126 Scientologists (all remaining Scientologists in the world) will be forced off of whatever they were doing to purchase and take this new course.   Promoted as something that can be done "in a week", the course will actually take over six months.  Only 153 Scientologists will ever actually complete the course.

They will never be able to change a lightbulb again.

I was recently reminded of the fact that all Scientologists, as part of their indoctrination, receive a humorectomy.  Scientology carefully and thoroughly removes all possibility of a sense humor.

While "jokes" might be permitted if the target is a declared Enemy of Scientology, these must be approved by Miscavige and, if approved, are not funny.  Humor, laughter, sarcasm, parody -- these things are not allowed by Scientology dogma and are thoroughly removed through Scientology indoctrination.  Believe it or not, Hubbard actually wrote a Policy Letter forbidding jokes.

This is an effect of Scientology, not just the Church of Scientology.  Scientology, even outside the church, is Serious Business.  No one is laughing.  If you read any of the Independent Scientologists' websites and blogs, you will be overcome with how Serious It All Is.  A criticism isn't just a criticism, it is an attempt by Whole Track Evil to destroy all of Scientology forever.  A bit of a fuss is A Major Battle.  Without humor, every molehill becomes a mountain.

Even some ex-Scientologists do not recover a sense of humor.  They are battling Scientology and the Church of Scientology and they are very, very serious about it.

But then there is Anonymous.  Where Anonymous has been most wonderfully successful is with humor.  They laugh at the church, they laugh at Scientologists, they even laugh at themselves.  They are a lot more sane than any True Believer.

Humor brings perspective and sanity.  It may be Scientologists' lack of humor that is most responsible for Scientology's destruction.  They just don't get the joke.
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Scientology Logic

In a recent comment, a Scientology True Believer was absolutely convinced that when I criticized L. Ron Hubbard, it was exactly the same as saying I wished for the total destruction of the belief system of Scientology.  No amount of logical discussion could alter that bizarre thought process.

Anyone following along in the discussion thread would have thought the Scientologist to be very, very stupid.  There was no way the actual words written could mean what he interpreted them to mean.

But to the Scientologist, it was completely logical.

Let us explore, once again, a bit more into the strange world of Scientology.

For those who have never talked to a Scientologist, Scientology logic looks, to an outsider, like this:

• If A
• And if B
• Then: Tuesday!

It just doesn't seem to make any sense.  For instance, let's take a very common example:

Does Scientology work?

• L. Ron Hubbard proclaimed that his technology would and does produce a "Clear", who would have perfect memory, be able to do lightening fast calculations, be free of most diseases and mental upsets.
• On inspection, in the entire history of Dianetics and Scientology, with tens of thousands of people applying Hubbard's technology, not one person has attained this mythical state of Clear.
• Therefore, Scientology works!

This is exactly what happens when you try to discuss Scientology's failures with a Scientologist.  Of course this makes it impossible to have any reasonable discussion.  But how can they be so, so ... illogical?

Logic is not taught in Scientology, obviously.  In fact, logic is frowned upon.  They have a drill, called the "Obnosis Drill" which drills a Scientologist to not draw logical conclusions. (Ironically, "obnosis" is a bafflegab word created by Hubbard to mean "observing the obvious").  For example, the course supervisor brings in a person for the students to do the drill on.  The drill would go like this:

Supervisor: What do you see?
Student: I see an old man.
Supervisor: Flunk! Do you see "old"?  Do you see "man"?  What do you see?
Student: I see a person with wrinkles and short grey hair.
Supervisor: Where do you see wrinkles and grey hair?
Student: I see a person with wrinkles on this side of its face and on the one hand I can see, and grey hair on this side of its head.

Do you see?  Students are drilled not to think, not to draw obvious conclusions, not to assume the self-evident fact that there is an old man there.  As ridiculous as you may think my example is, it is essentially a verbatim quote from a real course room drill I witnessed.

And that is just one of a number of Scientology techniques that turns off logic.

Another technique is the constant repetition and enforcement that you may never question anything Hubbard says.  What you see, if it contradicts what Hubbard said, is wrong.  You must work at it until you can work out that what you saw actually validated what Hubbard said.

The final trick is the installation of certain "truths" that may never be questioned.  Some of these are:

• L. Ron Hubbard is always right.
• Scientology always works.
• Evil forces are fighting Scientology.
• Anyone who disagrees with this is Evil.
• ... and so on.

And now you have Scientology Logic.  Let's look at that example, above, but let's peek behind the scenes to see what is going on inside the Scientologist's mind:

Does Scientology work?

• L. Ron Hubbard proclaimed that his technology would and does produce a "Clear", who would have perfect memory, be able to do lightening fast calculations, be free of most diseases and mental upsets.
• L. Ron Hubbard is always right.
• On inspection, in the entire history of Dianetics and Scientology, with tens of thousands of people applying Hubbard's technology, not one person has attained this mythical state of Clear.
• That statement must be a lie because it contradicts what Ron said, and Ron is always right. 
• There must be Clears somewhere, even if I've never seen any, because Hubbard said that Scientology does produce Clears.
• L. Ron Hubbard said Scientology always works.
• Therefore, Scientology works!
  

Now you can see it.  Now you can see why, to a Scientologist, that whole "logic" sequence makes sense.  They have these additional, hidden, "truths" that color every thought -- and they can't think about or question these "truths", they must only believe and accept them.

Now you can see why, when I dared to criticize Hubbard, I was (to the Scientologist) actually saying that all of Scientology should be destroyed.  That's Scientology Logic!

And, until a Scientologist recovers their ability to think logically, to perceive what is really there and think about and draw obvious conclusions from what they actually see, they will continue to make the most bizarre statements and erroneous "leaps of logic".

But now you know why you can't reason with a True Believer.  Their "logic" is pure Scientology Logic.
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Scientology: Seeds of Its Own Destruction

With any in-depth and dispassionate analysis of Scientology, it becomes obvious that the organization and technologies of Scientology contain the seeds of their own destruction.

This is almost impossible for a True Believer to understand or detect, but it is clear to anyone who can see and think logically.

Now, I have written about some of this, such as Scientology's Admin Tech, which, while some is workable, if applied fully and exactly as written will effectively destroy any organization.  And there is a great essay on why Scientology's Ethics Tech is so destructive over on Leaving Scientology.

But now I'm talking about how the very structure of the Church of Scientology, as carefully designed by L. Ron Hubbard, made the takeover and subsequent destruction of the Church of Scientology not only possible but inevitable.

Let me explain. 

You see, Ron carefully structured the whole organization of the Church of Scientology around himself.  In all the thousands of policies that he wrote over all those years, there is one huge, glaring omission concerning the very top of the church:  The leader of Scientology and his duties, his responsibilities, how he is chosen, how he is removed, how he is evaluated, are all completely undefined.

Because of this, the leader may never be removed.  There simply is no way to remove the leader.  There is no way within the church to evaluate how the leader is doing.  There are no requirements that a leader must meet.  There are no results a leader must produce.  No one in the whole world has the power or authorization to remove the leader of Scientology.  This, of course, was intentional, since Ron had no intention of ever relinquishing control -- but it was a fatal omission for the church.

Some may believe that there are currently "others" who are really in charge and who could remove the leader, but that simply isn't true in the slightest.  The leader of the Church of Scientology has no boss and cannot be removed.    For more information about that, see Larry Brennan's blog.

The leader of Scientology is fully protected from everything.  Any internal threats or attacks are immediately dealt with, per policy, by the destruction and expulsion of the attacker.  The leader is always assumed fully innocent and any attacker is always presumed horribly guilty.  Any external attacks against the leader are, per policy, met with everything the Church of Scientology can throw against the attacker, both legal and illegal.  No expense or effort is spared in the leader's defense.

The leader's word is law within the Church of Scientology and must be complied with immediately and without question.  The leader can order anything be done and it will be done, no matter how much money or how many people are required.  If it is impossible, the church must still keep trying as long as the leader desires it.  The leader's power is absolute within the church.

The actions of the leader are completely protected by the church.  His whereabouts and actions are secret and carefully concealed by the church.  What the leader reveals is all that is visible, all else is hidden behind many curtains of secrecy created for that purpose.  If the leader commits crimes, lies, fraud and abuse, these actions will never be reported to the police (or anyone).  The leader of the Church of Scientology is protected from any exposure.

The leader of the Church of Scientology has absolute control over all of Scientology, all the money, all the property and all the people.  This is much more than just being very, very wealthy, this is total domination.

In case you are thinking this sounds like a super-desirable job, to an honest person, it really isn't.  Obviously it was perfect for Ron, because it was whatever he wanted it to be.  But now, because the job has no defined duties or limits, all the problems, disasters, failures and chaos of Scientology would end up at that desk.  The job is totally responsible for everything, but no clear limit to what the job actually is or is not.  For an honest person, it would be a horrible position, a complete disaster waiting to happen.

So, what kind of a person would want the job?  Not only would want it but would do anything and everything they could to gain that position?  What kind of a person would feed on chaos and disaster?

Yes, the person most likely to want that position would be a psychopath.  They would only see the unlimited power and wealth and care nothing about the responsibilities.  Who cares about responsibilities, problems and failures when you can just lie about everything?

And that is why David Miscavige took control of the Church of Scientology, the position is perfect for a psychopath.  He just had to have it, and he took it.

But the truth is, if Miscavige hadn't been there and hadn't taken over the leadership position, it is inevitable that some other psychopath would have done so.  Such a cruel and destructive person would be in danger of being found out and expelled unless they got to the safety of the top job of the church.  That is why it was inevitable that it would happen.

The seeds of the takeover of the Church of Scientology by the most destructive person is built right into the way the position of the leader was set up.  Once Ron was no longer able to defend his leadership, the church was truly doomed.
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The Scientology World

Someone, a while ago, asked me to expound on what a "Scientology World" would be like, and the story about Germany would be a good place to start.

In 2008, Germany, after an extensive investigation of the Church of Scientology, declined to ban the group (which is not recognized as a religion) in Germany.  The church likes to tout this as a "win", but it was and is very, very far from the success that Scientology claims.

The German government did find that the Church of Scientology was anti-constitutional.  This is very far from finding the church "innocent".

The German constitution guarantees basic human rights, and the Church of Scientology violates human rights every single day.  The church works very, very hard to suppress free speech and freedom of religion all over the world.  The church does not support a decent wage or adequate time off for its workers.  The church runs secret prison camps where it sends its "dissidents" without due process and without recourse.

While it is true that the human rights record of the Church of Scientology is abysmal, that isn't actually what the problem is in Germany.  The German constitution is quite special.  In addition to many other good features, it also is carefully designed to safeguard the German people from fanatic, totalitarian groups bent on world domination.

And, yes, that is exactly what the Church of Scientology is.

However, the German government declined to ban Scientology.  While the Church of Scientology intends to take over the world, suppress free speech, suppress freedom of religion and suppress basic human rights, it has, so far in Germany, been unable to make much headway in its goals.  Therefore, the German government stated that they will keep monitoring the group because it is a potential threat but declined to ban it at this time.

Not banning the church may seem wrong to some, but it really is correct.  Germany grants freedom of speech even to groups that work to suppress freedom of speech.  Germany grants human rights even to groups that work to suppress human rights.  As unfair as this may seem, it is the decent thing to do.  It would only be if the Church of Scientology became an actual, realistic threat to the German people that the government would be forced to take action.

A Scientology world would be just as Germany found: a threat to all free people, a threat to democracy and the end of human rights.

Let's look at some specifics of Scientology's planned wonderful world, shall we?

Totalitarian

Democracy would end.  There would be no elections.  The general public would have no voice in how, or by whom, they were governed.  According to L. Ron Hubbard, the "ideal government" is a "benevolent monarchy", therefore that's what it would have to be -- and you know the leader, and all people of power, would have to be Scientologists.

You have to understand that "wogs" (meaning all non-Scientologists) are, according to Scientology, "aberrated" (meaning unable to think clearly), and so no wogs would be allowed to have any power or any say in matters of importance.  Only Scientologists would be trusted in this Scientology World.

All the wog laws would be replaced with Scientology policies, because these were written by Hubbard and are the only rules the Scientology World would need.

Scientology "justice"

All wog justice would be replaced by Scientology justice.  Let us review what that means.

• There would be no judges.  The most severe justice action would be the Committee of Evidence.  The Scientologist in charge of that sector would, as "Convening Authority", assign three Scientologists (with no specified qualifications) to sit in judgement.
• There would be no lawyers.  The accused would not be able to bring anyone to advise them, speak for them or defend them.
  
• All rules of evidence would be discarded.  Under Scientology justice, any "evidence" presented has more-or-less equal validity.  Nothing is excluded (as immaterial or prejudicial, for instance) but there would be no particular effort to be complete, or accurate.  In practice, all Scientologists are assumed to be telling the absolute truth (because they were asked to) except for the accused.  However, the "evidence" provided by the Convening Authority, no matter how vague or unproven, is assumed to be true and factual unless disproven.
• The accused would no longer be permitted to confront or even know about his or her accusers.  In fact, in a Committee of Evidence, the accused might not hear, read or see the evidence against him or her and might not even be allowed to attend at all.
  
• While an appeal is "permitted", that means little, since it just involves more of the same.

Yes, justice, as you know it, would cease to exist in this Scientology World.

And there is more.  Assuming that the Scientology world is run exactly like the Church of Scientology, then the leader or any Scientologist in a position of power, would be able to assign people to prison at any time and not necessarily for any specific crimes.  Those assigned to prison would have no appeal, would have no specific sentence duration and could be held in prison forever without recourse.

Scientology prisons would undoubtedly be patterned after the church's RPF (Rehabilitation Project Force) and would carefully treat all prisoners like scum, giving them table scraps, requiring all prisoners to engage in hard labor, and to run everywhere.  Prisoners would not be allowed to communicate to anyone outside of prison at any time for any reason.  And all prisoners would be required to study and practice Scientology every day.

Human rights

Under a Scientology-controlled world, there would be no human rights.  Dissent or, indeed, even the mildest disagreement with Scientology would not be allowed.  Period.  Anyone who persisted in such disagreement would be declared "Suppressive" and would be cast out of society.

Likewise, anyone deemed "low-toned" would also not be tolerated.  Homelessness, joblessness, depression, mental illness, and so on would not be allowed.  If someone persisted in "being low-toned", they also could be "disposed of quietly and without regret".  In Science of Survival, Hubbard spoke of an unnamed "Venezuelan dictator" who got rid of leprosy by the "simple expedient of collecting and destroying all the beggars in Venezuela."  A good example of how this Scientology World would deal with such "low-toned" problems.

Other religions might be tolerated if they supported all the Scientology principles and beliefs -- since, according to Hubbard, all other religions are "false".

The idea of a living wage and decent working conditions would cease to exist.  In the Scientology world, working to further Scientology's goals should be all the reward you need.

Marriage and children might be permitted, but not if one were deemed "low-toned".

Scientology Ideals

Mostly, the Scientology world would be dominated by Scientology's ideals.  No, not the words they mouth, but the "ideals" as shown by their actions today.

The most important Scientology concept is that being "correct" (by Scientology definition) is much more important than truth, facts, evidence, honesty or dignity.  In the Scientology World, you will listen and believe everything that Scientology tells you, and you will close your eyes to the truth you can see.  In this world, you will always bow to their dictates rather than stand by what you know to be right.

The second concept is that approval, authorization, adherence is much, much more important that doing what actually works.  Hubbard has created "solutions" to every single problem that plagues mankind.  None of his solutions have been actually proven to solve anything, but they would be the only allowed solutions.  Any other solutions, no matter how effective, would be outlawed and only the approved, authorized, Hubbard solutions would be permitted.

And how soon can we expect to enjoy this Scientology world?

Luckily for all of us, the Church of Scientology religiously follows all of Hubbard's policies and procedures in its quest for world domination.  I say luckily, because the result of that is failure after failure after abysmal failure.

David Miscavige, while obviously having even greater desire for world domination, has expanded and improved on Hubbard's failure rate by orders of magnitude.  He has made unworkable solutions even more unworkable.

The Scientology world was never going to happen.
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The Church of Scientology Accidentally Tells the Truth

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

Mark Twain 

The Church of Scientology has a problem.  Well, actually, they have a lot of problems, but one major one is that the Church of Scientology can't keep all its lies straight.

As any accomplished liar knows, you should always tell the truth as much as possible.  One lie engenders another to back it up, then another and another.  Unfortunately for the church, they have drifted so far from the truth, so long, long ago, that they are trapped.   They can't even begin to tell the truth now.

But, oddly enough, if you look carefully, you can discover the truth in what the Church of Scientology says.

Let's take a look.

• Non-OTs, reading OT III, are not harmed.  In fact, even running OT III when you "aren't ready" does not harm you.

Yes, this is true.  The church has definitely said that.

You've heard the stories, there are hundreds of them, but you may not have realized what they meant.  Certainly the church didn't understand the truth they let slip.

Typical story: A loyal Scientologist, an OT 3, 5, 7 or even an OT 8 is informed that they "aren't Clear", they "never did the lower levels".  They are told they must go all the way back to the beginning and start (and pay) all over again.

You've heard those stories, they are quite common in today's Scientology.  But understand what the church is actually saying.  You see, these people were not "properly set up"; these people "weren't ready";  these people "hadn't properly done their lower levels" -- and they read the super-dangerous OT III materials without any problems!  That's what the church is saying!

Not only that, these poor, unprepared souls actually ran the dreaded OT III materials without any harm!  No flu-like symptoms, no coma, no death.

The OT III materials can be read and even run by un-prepared individuals without any harm at all.  The Church of Scientology has officially said so!

• L. Ron Hubbard is a huge embarrassment to the church.

Miscavige was interviewed at length by Ted Koppel of ABC News. When played an audio recording of L. Ron Hubbard describing a visit to the Van Allen belt, Miscavige rejected it as "[not] part of current Scientology." Wikipedia

That is exactly what Miscavige and the Church of Scientology are doing to handle the "L. Ron Hubbard problem".

You see, at first they tried to cover up the truth about Hubbard and that didn't work.  They then tried to disprove the truth and that didn't work.  All that's left is to distance themselves from Hubbard.

They are rewriting and "sanitizing" what Hubbard said and wrote to remove the embarrassing, discreditable, racist, homophobic and just plain crazy statements by L. Ron Hubbard.  As time goes on, there have been fewer and fewer references to Ron at events, fewer and fewer mentions and photos in church publications.

All of Hubbard's books have been sanitized.  All the lectures are being gone through with large sections excised.  Some lectures have been removed entirely as "too crazy".  In fact, there is an entire congress put on by Hubbard that will never, ever be heard.

Not only has the church removed large chunks from Hubbard's lectures, they have employed a voice actor to add in words that they think Hubbard should have said.

All of this is a clear and obvious acknowledgement by the Church of Scientology that they find L. Ron Hubbard to be a big embarrassment.  He lied -- a lot.  He was a racist and a homophobe.  He was into crazy, space opera fantasies.

Soon you will hear the Church of Scientology quietly add a notice that "Scientology is based on 'concepts from L. Ron Hubbard', but that Hubbard is no longer considered the source of current Scientology practices."

• The Church of Scientology knows that their "solutions" do not actually work.

In this case, you need to pay attention to what the Church of Scientology is not saying to get to the truth.

Scientology's "solutions" have all been commercialized.  They are all actual businesses, selling their "solution" to the public.  There are dozens of various front groups, but the main ones are:

• Narconon/Crimanon - Selling drug and criminal rehabilitation.
• Applied Scholastics - Selling Hubbard's "Study Technology".
• W.I.S.E - Selling Hubbard's "Administration Technology".

Like I said, there are dozens and dozens of others.

Now, these businesses are selling their "solutions" and they promise fantastic results.  But listen to what they do not say.

The Church of Scientology does not, ever, show actual, verifiable, evidence that their "solutions" work.  They are amazingly silent about that.  Any normal, legitimate business would happily provide proof of all their claims -- but the Church of Scientology will not do that.

If you request actual evidence, you will only get PR and glossy brochures.  If you insist that they provide actual proof of any of their claims, they will stop talking to you.

The Church of Scientology's refusal to provide any evidence of their claims is their tacit admission that their "solutions" do not work -- and that they know it.

This, by the way, is Scientology's kryptonite.  Just ask them for proof of anything they claim and they wither and fade away.

---

This is, by far, not a complete list of all the truths that the Church of Scientology has accidentally admitted to, but it's a start.

When the Church of Scientology says something, it is a sure thing that they are lying.  But if you pay attention to all they are saying, or notice where they are conspicuously silent, you can find out the truth -- the truth the church doesn't know they let slip.
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The Hubbard Scale of Formulas and Procedures

(Many Scientologists would take that title seriously and expect this post to be about something called "The Hubbard Scale of Formulas and Procedures".  But it's just a joke.)

L. Ron Hubbard was compulsive about putting everything into some kind of scale.  He developed the Tone Scale, the Communication Scale, the Behavior and Physiology Scale, the Cycle of Action Scale, the Admin Scale, the Scale of Conditions, the Tone Scale of Decisions, the Scale of Whosits and Whatsits, dozens and dozens of scales, lists and codes.

And he was compulsive about creating very exact procedures for everything.  Every condition, problem, situation had an exact Hubbard-written procedure for solving it or changing it.  Thousands and thousands of procedures.

Scientology is all about Hubbard's scales and his procedures, processes and formulas.  And Scientologists are supposed to know and follow all the key Hubbard formulas and procedures.

As a Scientologist, you are not allowed to just "work things out".  You can't ignore things.  You can't think for yourself.  You are always, always, always in a specific "condition" and you are always, always, always supposed to follow Hubbard's "condition formulas" to improve your condition.  Before taking any action, Scientologists must first check these formulas to see what Hubbard said to do.

[sarcasm]That's why you see so many successful Scientologists [/sarcasm]

This is what Hubbard did.  Everything had to be plotted against some kind of scale and every situation had to be solved via one of his procedures.  He just didn't trust "humaniods" to do things the "right" (meaning Hubbard) way, so he wrote procedures to ensure everyone would do everything "correctly".

And they must be followed, even when they don't work, as is often the case.  Even when the formulas don't fit the situation.  Even when those scales don't make any sense.

Of course, public Scientologists are not strictly held to these standards.  They are expected to do all that, but the Church of Scientology doesn't have that kind of absolute control, so many Scientologists go on with their lives mostly ignoring all that stuff.

But on staff, and in the Sea Org, under David Miscavige, all these procedures, checklists, formulas, scales and whatnot must be adhered to religiously (pardon the pun).  As a result, this usually brings everything to a grinding halt.  There are factually more people "ensuring compliance" than there are people doing actual work.  There is absolutely tons of paperwork, requests for authorization, proof of compliance, formula write-ups, programs written, filled out, verified, checked, rejected, redone, and on and on.

It is micro-management gone insane.  You can't do anything in the Sea Org without a massive amount of paperwork, with all the associated time wasted in writing these things up and verifying and authorizing and rejecting.

And this is all because this is the way Hubbard said to do it. 

You can't, according to Hubbard, just go out and get something done.  That is wrong.  You have to work out what condition you are in, what formula to apply, what is your Admin Scale, what policy are you applying, what are the Hubbard-specified procedures? And this must be all analyzed (using Hubbard procedures) and written up in a program, with all the "proper" policies and procedures noted.

And then it must be authorized.

And, of course, it is never, ever authorized.  The people who are supposed to authorize your program never will.  You see, they must forward everything they authorize up to David Miscavige, who is the ultimate approval for everything, and they know that David Miscavige will hate it and he will assign everybody in that hierarchy some low condition for approving such a "horrible, f**ked up program".  So every program gets rejected and rejected and rejected.

Eventually, the program probably will get approved by the middle managers and sent up to Miscavige, who does hate it and does assign everyone some lower condition.  Then Miscavige will "write it himself," which usually means copying the original program as written, with a few insignificant changes.

And then the program must be complied with, exact step by exact step.

Now, you understand this program was written before any work was done and before anything was investigated, so the steps of the program are, invariably, completely bogus and don't fit the actual situation once real work starts.

But the program steps cannot be altered and must be complied with, no matter how ridiculous they become.  It was approved, it was "written by David Miscavige!"

So, as the situation changes, and as the changes multiply, you have the ridiculous situation where people are being forced to comply with steps that have become meaningless and forced to ignore new conditions and problems that have popped up.

You can blame Miscavige for making it so horrible, but, actually, that's what Hubbard created.  That's all strictly according to Hubbard's policy letters and his tech.

That's the inside view as to why pretty much nothing gets done in the Church of Scientology and why, if something ever does get done, it is such a mess.   Hubbard built it that way.
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Scientology vs. Creativity

This may come as a bit of a surprise to some, especially to Scientologists. Everyone knows how much the Church of Scientology pursues "celebrities". Everyone knows how much Scientology wants the celebrity's creativity to be viewed as something "improved by Scientology".

So, you might not expect it, but creativity is actually frowned on by Scientology. If you are a creative person, make sure you do not apply that creativity to anything relating to Scientology. It is not only discouraged, it is, to all intents and purposes, forbidden.

This has many manifestations.

The most obvious one is with the Scientology technology itself. In the early days of Dianetics and Scientology, creative people would take ideas from L. Ron Hubbard and see what they could do with them. They created, they changed, they improved.  They saw what worked and what didn't.  They would send reports back to Hubbard who would then incorporate these proven ideas back into Scientology as his own.

Later, Hubbard would claim that no one ever contributed anything useful to Scientology -- but the early practitioners knew differently. Without the contributions from those early creative people, the success of Dianetics and early Scientology, such as it was, would not have happened.

But now, creativity is suppressed.

In the Scientology administrative area as well, creative people have been the only ones who could get things done. Hubbard's administrative policies, when applied very exactly and very strictly, simply cause problems. Historically, the only work getting done in the Church of Scientology was accomplished by creative people who were willing to work outside of the rules. This really was the secret that kept Scientology going for as long as it did. These people found creative ways to get around Hubbard's unworkable restrictions and actually get their jobs done.

As creativity has been further rooted out and suppressed in David Miscavige's Scientology, these creative people have left. Today, pretty much anyone who is still there does everything "by the book". Hubbard's administrative policies are strictly adhered to. Miscavige's unworkable dictates are followed to the letter.  And, of course, absolutely nothing gets done.

Scientology suppresses creativity and this is one of its fatal flaws.

When one thinks of the great religions of history, one often thinks about the art that they inspired -- great works of art, great mosques and cathedrals, music to inspire generations.

Not, of course, the Church of Scientology. No great art. No amazing music. Ever wonder why? Well, Hubbard fancied himself an artist and a musician. He wrote policy letters about it. Any music produced by and for Scientology must follow Hubbard's policy letters exactly. The result is "upbeat" -- and vapid. There is very little creativity allowed or demonstrated.

What little artwork is produced by and for Scientology is, likewise, constrained to follow Hubbard's extensive directives. As anyone can attest, who has seen the "art" in the florid stage settings of the excessive event videos, the results are simply awful.

How about Scientologists who are not on staff? Don't they produce music and art? Yes, but ... they are constrained as well. They must not produce anything mentioning "Scientology", "Hubbard" or any other Scientology-related terms. If they tried to do so, they would have to get official approval from the church. And approval is not forthcoming.

Scientology does not like creativity. It is too hard to control. It is too unpredictable. So, it is forbidden.

If you've been told that Scientology will "help you be more creative" (and Scientology does say that), that is about as far from the truth as it can be.

If you are creative, and if you cherish your creativity, then you need to stay as far away from Scientology as you can get.

Creativity is fun. But then fun is also forbidden in Scientology.
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Scientology Attacks!

OK, so that really isn't news. The Church of Scientology always attacks, has always attacked and, for as long as they can, will always attack. Since this is mandated by L. Ron Hubbard, they just have to do it.

So what?

Well, things are changing.

First, the attacks are much more narrow. David Miscavige has directed that the broad attacks cease and that his henchmen focus on major media and those individuals who have the greatest potential for damaging the church. Why? Because he is running out of money and, more importantly, personnel. He can no longer support the broad attacks of the past.

While this means the general critic community is seeing fewer attacks, it, unfortunately, means that a few major figures are seeing more.

Second, the attacks are becoming more vicious. It did appear that Miscavige had realized how his ill-conceived and poorly executed attacks were more damaging to the church than to his "enemies" -- and had started easing up on his criminal attacks. However, recent times have proven that, once again, Miscavige didn't learn at all.

And, once again, his attacks are, indeed, seriously damaging the church.

Attacking the media

As is standard Hubbard policy, Scientology has continued to attack any news outlet that dares report the truth about the Church of Scientology.

But things are different now. The news media isn't backing down out of fear anymore. They are reporting the attacks. And the attacks by Scientology are causing the news outlets to expand their exposés, dig deeper and report even more about the lies, crimes and threats by the Church of Scientology.

Only Scientology would think that viciously attacking news media outlets would result in positive articles.

Attacking big names

There are people who are no longer in Scientology who were very big names in the church, and who have never spoken out against Scientology -- but who are being viciously attacked by the church.

They are being attacked because, if they ever did speak out about what they know, the results would be devastating to Miscavige's church.

These big names do not wish to speak out and criticize anyone. They have many friends who are still in and do not wish to harm them. If left alone to get on with their lives, they would remain silent. But the Church of Scientology continues to viciously attack them, and continues to work very hard to control and destroy their lives.

Don't look for logic here, neither Scientology nor Miscavige are capable of thinking logically.

Only Miscavige would think that viciously attacking these people, who have done nothing, is the right thing to do. Eventually and inevitably Miscavige's attacks will result in exactly what he fears most.

(Private message to big names: While I respect your desire to not hurt your friends, you do have all the power, Miscavige has none. Please, write up everything you know, give it to a lawyer and then demand Miscavige stop all attacks against you and your family -- or you will release it. You have the power, please use it.)

Attacking critics.

While the broad attacks by Scientology have abated, the focused attacks against prominent critics have increased.

But the reaction is different now.

The church's illegal activities, hacking, lies and attacks are being carefully documented. They are being reported. They are being investigated.

Before, police, government agencies and corporations couldn't believe that a church would do such things. But now they know it is true. They now know that the Church of Scientology does lie, does commit crimes, and these organizations are more than willing to investigate and report. We hope that, soon, there will be more criminal prosecutions.

Times have changed. And it is the Church of Scientology itself, that has caused these changes. By continuing, robotically, to attack and attack and attack "by any means possible", they have created a world-wide backlash and a broad awareness of how vicious and criminal they really are.

They have no one to blame but themselves.
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Church of Scientology Recruitment

When looking at the way the Church of Scientology operates, it is important to compare it with how one would expect a normal, honest organization to operate.

We can get so lost in the Church of Scientology's justifications for each and every strange, unethical, illegal and convoluted action of theirs that we forget how very far from honest and normal the church is.

Take, for example, the way the Church of Scientology attempts to recruit new members.

What does a normal religion do? Why, they might get a listing in the local paper's Religion Section. They might put of one of those message signs in front of their church or temple, telling people when their services are. I've even occasionally seen a few mailings. That's normal.

What does the Church of Scientology do?

They pretend they have "the solution to illiteracy" and attempt to get their "Study Technology" into schools in a covert, stealth recruitment effort. They don't admit up front that this is Scientology. When their vaunted "Study Technology" is debunked by respected educators as pretty darn worthless, they ignore it and keep trying to fool schools into allowing them in -- in other words, it isn't really about improving education.

They pretend they have "the solution to drugs" and attempt to con people into going to their "Narconon Centers" in a covert, stealth recruitment effort. They don't admit up front that this is Scientology. When communities and families find out that Narconon's reported statistics are false, and their "solution" really fails most of the time, the Church of Scientology ignores it and keeps trying to fool the vulnerable and their families into coming to their Narconon Centers -- in other words, it isn't actually about handling drug problems.

They pretend they are "helping disaster victims" with their Volunteer Minister program. The church orders some Scientologists to act as Volunteer Ministers and sends them out every time there is a disaster, but without any medicine, without food, without supplies, without materials for shelter. Why do the Volunteer Ministers show up? They bring materials for dissemination and then attempt to start Scientology courses in a covert, stealth recruitment effort. When the real relief agencies expose their bogus actions the Church of Scientology ignores it and keeps showing up at disaster sites -- in other words, it isn't really about helping disaster victims.

They pretend to give "Stress Tests" at tables set up on public streets and in malls in a covert, stealth recruitment effort. They don't admit up front that they are Scientology, they have "Dianetics" signs on the tables. When these "stress tests" are exposed as meaningless sales tricks, they ignore it and keep setting up their little tables, hoping that someone will be fooled -- in other words, it isn't really about finding and handling real stress.

And so it goes.

Do you see the common thread here? All these actions are covert and stealthy actions. When debunked as worthless, these actions are always continued because they are actually recruitment efforts. The Church of Scientology is not open. It is not honest. And the church certainly is not normal.

Even before Scientology became the punchline for jokes, they operated this way. This isn't a recent phenomenon. David Miscavige has certainly made it worse, but L. Ron Hubbard specified these kinds of covert, stealthy recruitment actions in his policy letters many years ago. They have always hidden who they were and what they were really doing.

Why?

Well, back to that comparison of the Church of Scientology with what you'd expect from an honest and normal organization:

If a product is good and the organization behind it is honest, you don't need to trick people into trying it.

The fact that the Church of Scientology uses tricks, lies and covert, stealthy actions for recruitment says it all.
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Scientology's Turning Point

Something has happened in the Church of Scientology that is quite significant. It has taken several years, but the change is now complete.

It hasn't been acknowledged, or even mentioned within Scientology, but the change is radical and comprehensive.

It first became obvious when David Miscavige created and released his so-called "Golden Age of Tech". With this release, Miscavige completely changed L. Ron Hubbard's training methods, courses and checksheets.

One very key element of this change was Miscavige's declaration that everyone's training had been "horribly flawed", even including those trained directly by L. Ron Hubbard.

This is very important. With this release, Miscavige was saying, in no uncertain terms, that Hubbard was wrong, Hubbard had goofed, and that he, Miscavige, had fixed Hubbard's mistakes.

Lest anyone think that Hubbard thought his training might need improvement, here is what Hubbard said about his training.

With what we know now, there is no student we enroll who cannot be properly trained.

L. Ron Hubbard, Keeping Scientology Working Series 1

But what Miscavige says about Hubbard's training is quite different. It was flawed, it was wrong, it didn't work. People who had been trained using Hubbard's methods were improperly trained. And he, Miscavige, the "Savior of Scientology", fixed it.

And only a very, very few Scientologists objected. Of course, any that did object were quickly expelled. They were supporting Hubbard, and that had now become a crime in Miscavige's new Church of Scientology.

Hubbard explicitly said in Keeping Scientology Working that his technology must never be altered by anyone. His instructions, in Keeping Scientology Working, are that every Scientologist must work hard to keep the technology exactly as it was written by Hubbard.

But Scientologists, in the main, didn't do that. The vast majority of Scientologists just let Miscavige make all his changes. They even applauded.

This event was the watershed event for Scientology.

The silence of all the remaining Scientologists gave David Miscavige a blank check to do anything he wanted to with the technology, the administration, with anything in Scientology.

And, believe me, that's exactly what he's done. From that moment on, he knew then that no one would object, no matter what he did.

With Miscavige's next major alteration, his so-called "Golden Age of Knowledge", Miscavige savagely edited Ron's lectures, cutting and splicing to "fix" them. He even had a voice actor who could imitate LRH's voice fill in the words "Hubbard should have said". It was open season on Hubbard's technology.

In all his announcements and releases, Miscavige keeps promoting this concept: Hubbard's training was flawed. Hubbard's lectures were wrong. Hubbard was stupid. Hubbard needs correction -- and Miscavige is the "Savior of Scientology" who is "fixing Hubbard's terrible mistakes".

And, with each step down this road, Scientologists applaud.

Not long ago, David Miscavige issued a commandment from his office: From now on, Miscavige's orders were senior to anything written by Hubbard. No one at International Management objected. This is now the law in Scientology. Most Scientologists don't know this, but if they did, would they object? Or would they applaud?

More recently, with the release of "The Basics" Miscavige has made his message clearer than ever. With "The Basics" Miscavige made significant alterations to Hubbard's books. With these alterations, Miscavige's message is unequivocal: Hubbard was too stupid to see these "major mistakes" in his own books, year after year, reprint after reprint, revision after revision, for over thirty years.

And when Scientologists burned their old LRH-written books, and bought the "new improved" Miscavige books, they were implicitly agreeing: Ron was stupid and Miscavige, the "Savior of Scientology", had "fixed" Ron's work.

Again, most Scientologists applauded. While Scientologists today might not explicitly say the words "Hubbard was stupid and careless", they are agreeing with Miscavige, they are abandoning Hubbard's tech and embracing Miscavige's tech. Hubbard was stupid and Miscavige is smart. Hubbard was flawed and Miscavige will fix everything.

Miscavige didn't get his authority to rewrite Scientology from his accomplishments, which are truly horrible, he got his authority simply because Scientologists didn't object. Scientologists let him do it. Scientologists applauded!

Miscavige has almost no tech training. He studied at Saint Hill but did not complete the Briefing Course. Miscavige has virtually no admin training, none. Miscavige can't audit -- he was stuck on OT VII for many, many years and simply gave up. He has no qualifications for doing anything with Scientology tech. Yet, he continues to make massive changes -- and Scientologists continue to applaud.

Step by step, change by change, Miscavige is erasing Hubbard from Scientology and is creating his own version of the church.

Now, one might argue that his extensive alterations to Scientology might be justified if things got better as a result, but that is definitely not the case. After Miscavige's training "improvements", the number of auditors, and the quality of auditing, deteriorated drastically. Under Miscavige's leadership, the Church of Scientology is collapsing. Under Miscavige's technical "guidance", most Scientologists' progress has slowed, stopped, or even gone backwards while they retread, retrain, and repeat endlessly. Under Miscavige's direction, the Church of Scientology has become a dark organization, full of threats, intense pressure, grinding guilt and frequent abuses.

With their silence, their applause, their purchases, Scientologists have agreed and supported Miscavige's elimination and defamation of Hubbard and Miscavige's extensive revision of Scientology.

The turning point has been passed. Scientologists let it happen. It would be cruel to say that they now have the church they deserve -- but it would be the unfortunate truth.
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