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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How to Talk to a Scientologist

I don't have the conceit that I'm an expert in this subject, but I think I can offer some advice and possibly point to other sources for more information.

This is an important subject.  If a family member or friend has become a Scientologist, you can still talk to them, you can help, but you need to be careful.

You need to educate yourself on what is going on with the Scientologist. There are a number of good people with insight and great advice:

• Steve Hassan's Freedom of Mind Center, especially his book, Combating Cult Mind Control.
  
• Cult Information and Awareness Library
  
• Wikipedia [cult]. Some good information and references.
  
• Google is your friend.
  

The most important thing for you to know about Scientologists is that Hubbard has installed a minefield around them to “protect” them from outside influences. You need to avoid this minefield if you want to help them.

So the very first rule is: Do not say anything that will cause the Scientologist to disconnect from you. This means you should not say anything critical or negative about Scientology at this stage.  This is one of the mines. If you have already moved in that direction you need to stop.

The reason for this is that you can't do them any good if you can't talk to them. That's why Scientology enforces disconnection so vigorously.

That doesn't mean you can't help them. You can help them leave the cult, you just need to avoid the minefield.

This may be difficult if you are aware of how dangerous and destructive the church is, but you must avoid disconnection to have them remain willing to talk to you.

You need to create a safe atmosphere for the Scientologist to talk and for you to listen. At first, that is the best thing. Do not comment or criticize at this point – just be a sympathetic listener. One of the key elements of listening is staying silent. The less you say, the better. Use “Uh huh?”, “Really?”, “I didn't know that” and anything else that is non-committal but encouraging. Allow the conversation to drift to other subjects but encourage them to talk about their experiences and hopes in Scientology.

Once this safe space has been established, you can ask carefully planned questions. You will know what questions, but along the lines of, "What do you want to accomplish?", "What do you hope for?" You don't have to sarcastically ask the obvious, "... and how's that going for you?" – they will automatically think that themselves. Try to be as non-judgemental as possible. The minute you scoff, criticize, roll your eyes or laugh at the wrong point, they will stop opening up to you.

The Scientologist may ask you “What have you heard about Scientology?” or “What do you think about Scientology?” Do not go into what you have heard or any criticism of Scientology. This puts the Scientologist into “handle the Enemy mode", another of the mines, and then you are no longer talking to the Scientologist but to automatic and carefully coached patter.

Say, instead, “Oh, you know, there are lots of rumors and stuff out there. It isn't important – I want to know about you. What have you been doing?” They may try to persist in their “handling” so you will need to persist as well. “Really, I'm not interested in what others say about Scientology. I just want to hear how you're doing.” Whatever happens, do not let them go into “handle the Enemy mode". That will not help them.

Note that you do not say "I want to hear about Scientology".   That would be very, very wrong.  You want to say something like, "I want to hear about your experiences."  You want them to talk about themselves.

They may go into “recruitment mode". This may be inevitable and you may need some patience to get through this stage. This one may be harder to avoid since you have said you want to hear what they are doing. They will usually start talking about how everything is wonderful and Scientology is perfect and solved all their problems. Do not express any negative attitudes but do not express any interest in doing any Scientology. If they try to press you into taking a course or buying a book just say something like, "I'm doing fine, I'm not interested right now" and leave it at that. Be patient. Trust me, it's as boring to them as it is to you. They will soon move on.

What you are waiting for is for them to relax and just start talking. If you are patient and non-judgemental, this will happen.

You need to understand that the Scientologist already does know that something is very wrong with their church. True, they have no idea how wrong things are, and they don't know how corrupt the leadership is, but they are definitely aware that things are not right. You don't have to convince them of this. You are trying to create a safe space for them to talk about those things.

When they start talking about the stuff they have noticed that is wrong with the Church of Scientology, do not be too enthusiastic in your agreement. Be interested. Say things like “I didn't know that!”, "What happened next?"  This is what you've been waiting for so just listening at this point is vital.  If you immediately bring up all the negative things you know about Scientology, you will undoubtedly push them right back into “handle the Enemy mode" – and destroy any progress you've made.

Note that, at this stage, they will start to disagree with the church but will still consider Scientology to be "wonderful". Don't worry, almost all Scientologists go through this stage. For most, this is just a temporary stage.  Note, also, that attacks against the Scientology belief system aren't very useful.  For now, the Scientologist will start to blame everything on David Miscavige.  Don't worry, this is OK at this stage.

After they have expressed some criticism of their own about the Church of Scientology, they might then ask you what you know. This is an entirely different question than the “handle the Enemy mode" earlier. Now, they really do want to know. Be careful. Do not, at that moment, bring up everything you know about the Church of Scientology, David Miscavige and L. Ron Hubbard – this might trigger “handle the Enemy mode". Answer any specific questions with specific answers and direct them to a specific Internet site. In my opinion, Wikipedia may be the best initial site for them. It really is one of the most balanced presentations about Scientology on the Internet – no ranting and each assertion, both pro- and anti-, must be documented.

If you want to know the attitude you should present to the Scientologist at this stage, read how the Wikipedia information is presented.  Nothing extreme, nothing accusative, some acknowledgement of good aspects while calmly presenting the negatives as well.

Other good sites for newly-awakening Scientologists are those that present Scientologists' "Doubt Formulas".  These are true believer Scientologists who are applying Scientology itself to decide about the Church of Scientology.  Examples: Leaving Scientology, Geir Isene, Michael Tilse, Luis Garcia.  As I've said, these people are using "standard Scientology" to determine that David Miscavige and his Church of Scientology are extremely bad and should not be supported.  This may seem silly to you but, to a Scientologist, these are very persuasive arguments.

At this point, they will probably continue to investigate on their own. They will need your help and support. Your best bet is to continue to listen and help them find good sources of information – keeping in mind that they can't go from Scientologist to non-Scientologist in one leap.

It is normal for them to be very, very afraid of what the church will “to do them”. This is no idle fear.  If they work for a Scientologist, they could lose their job.  If they have friends or family who are Scientologists, they could be disconnected.  Often, they need to keep their doubts secret from other Scientologists.  Assure them that this is quite common and is being done by many Scientologists.

As more and more people leave the Church of Scientology, this becomes less important.

Good luck.
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What It Means to Become a Scientologist

To anyone who thinks they might look into Scientology, you might want to know a bit more about what you can expect.

I'm not talking about what services you might take or what you might learn, I'm talking about how your life will change when you step onto their "Bridge to Total Freedom".

When you become a Scientologist, you will be inundated with "communication" from the church.

This is the very first result of contacting the Church of Scientology. Once they have your name, your address, your phone number and your email address, you will never again be at peace.

Actually, you don't have to be a Scientologist at this point. This happens immediately, once they have your contact information.

They will hound you for money. They will pester you to come in "for service". They will badger you to buy the latest book set, lecture set or whatever. They will remind you of the next big Miscavige Event™ and "confirm you" -- at least a dozen times. If they believe you have enough money (or enough borrowing power), they will show up at your doorstep, unannounced, and won't leave without a check.

You will get their junk mail and their email spam as well. They will call you late at night, especially Wednesday night (because their week ends on Thursday and they must get their "stats" up).

You should know that getting them to stop all this is virtually impossible. You can ask, but it won't do you much good. People have changed their phone numbers and even moved to a different city, and the Church of Scientology has tracked them down and continued their deluge.

When you become a Scientologist, you will lose all your privacy.

And I do mean all.

The Church of Scientology will insist that you tell them everything: Who do you talk to? What do they say about L. Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige and Scientology? What do you read? Where do you go on the Internet? What do you say and think about Hubbard, Miscavige and Scientology.

The church will demand to know all about your finances. Do you have any credit cards? How much do you owe? What is your credit limit? Do you own your own home, and how much equity do you have? Exactly what do you spend your money on, and why? Do you have savings? Do you have investments? Do you have any rich relatives?

They will want to know about your job or business. They will want to know how you spend your free time.

When you get auditing (counselling/confessional), they will work very hard to uncover every "bad" thing you've ever done: Every time you hurt someone, every time you did something you'd rather never mention again, everything you wish no one would ever find out about. They keep careful notes. Often they video your sessions using carefully hidden cameras. This information about you will be kept permanently.

They will insist on knowing everything about you.

When you become a Scientologist, you will become isolated.

You should know that Scientologists are not allowed to read certain things, look at certain things, talk to certain people, and that this list of restricted items can be quite extensive.

You will learn, as a Scientologist, that the only safe people to be connected with are other Scientologists. You will learn that the only safe source for information is the Church of Scientology. You will, eventually, accept these connections as your only connections -- because they are safe and allowed.

Undoubtedly, like most Scientologists, you will eventually avoid newspapers, radio and TV news and the Internet.

Most of your non-Scientology family and friends will learn to keep quiet about what they know about Scientology. They will learn that you, as a Scientologist, get very upset when certain facts are discussed. They will learn to avoid the subject and be very polite when deflecting your attempts to get them into the church.

When you become a Scientologist, you will give up control of your life.

You will be expected to buy everything they offer for sale -- every book, every lecture set, every course, every step up The Bridge. Even after you have bought everything, you're not done. The books, lectures and courses are regularly being altered by Miscavige and, when that happens, you will be expected to buy everything all over again. The pressure to do this will be intense. There are reports of gangs of Scientologists being sent to the houses of any Scientologists who haven't bought the latest -- to ensure they do so.

You will be expected to use up all your available credit -- max out your credit cards, take out a second/third mortgage, cut all other spending -- so that you can adequately donate to the Church of Scientology's many, many "campaigns". There's the Ideal Org Campaign, the Library Donation Campaign, the various IAS (International Association of Scientologists) campaigns, the SuperPower building, CCHR (Citizens Commission on Human Rights), the Way to Happiness Campaign and who knows how many others.

You will be expected to be on course, in session or volunteering for the church at every available free moment. Goodbye hobbies. Goodbye vacations. Goodbye holidays, "hanging with friends" and quiet evenings at home. If you aren't busy every available free moment with Scientology-related activities expect intense pressure from the church until you are.

Worse, if the Church of Scientology finds out that any of your friends or family have said anything at all negative about Scientology, Hubbard or Miscavige, even if absolutely true, you will be required to disconnect from them. Yes, you will be required to disconnect from any of them, including your own children, your parents, your wife or husband! Whether you want to or not. Even if you don't find their comments upsetting at all.

The church says such disconnections are "voluntary". Well, if you don't do exactly what they demand, you will be declared an enemy of the church. There will be punishments. "Disconnection is voluntary," yeah, sure. If a "choice" comes with draconian penalties for the wrong choice, that isn't voluntary.

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Anyone thinking of looking into Scientology needs to know what they are getting into. If you start believing in Scientology, your life, as you know and enjoy it today, will be gone.
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