Scientologists: The Disappearing States of Clear and OT

When I was first introduced to Scientology, I was quite enamored with the states of Clear and OT as described and promised by L. Ron Hubbard.

In Dianetics, the Modern Science of Mental Health, in 1950, Hubbard described 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

I also discovered Hubbard's description and promises for OT from his lectures and materials from 1952.  Hubbard said, when a person attained OT:

• They would be "cause over matter, energy, space, time, life, form and thought". 
• An OT could leave the body at will and go anywhere in the whole universe in an instant.  
• An OT could view any portion of the time track clearly and precisely.  
• An OT could easily create and destroy MEST (matter, energy, space and time).

Who wouldn't desire these states?  I wanted the powers and abilities of Clear and OT.

So, I did Scientology, and I became Clear.  And I was quite disappointed that I never gained any of the abilities and powers that I expected.  But I forgot that these had been promised to me by Hubbard.

I continued, and I did OT levels.  Again, I was disappointed.  Where were the powers and abilities that Hubbard had promised?

Weren't all those wonderful things promised to all of us?

Well, no, they aren't.  Not any more.

In Scientology today, those things are not promised any more.  Oh, sure, Scientology wants you to read Dianetics and think that you are getting that kind of Clear -- but that isn't what they promise.  They love for you to listen to Hubbard's lectures about OT from 1952 and think that's what you'll be getting -- but they don't promise anything.

Today, this is what Scientology "promises":

Clear: a highly desirable state for the individual, achieved through auditing, which was never attainable before Dianetics. A Clear is a person who no longer has his own reactive mind and therefore suffers none of the ill effects that the reactive mind can cause. The Clear has no engrams which, when restimulated, throw out the correctness of his computations by entering hidden and false data.

That is very, very different from what Hubbard promised.  It used to be an amazing state full of abilities and powers far beyond the normal person.  Now it is a vague state, described as "highly desirable" but without any specific reasons why anyone should consider it desirable at all.

Today, a Clear, is just someone who "no longer has his own reactive mind", but that no longer means any specific improvements or abilities.  Nothing is promised and nothing is delivered.

Today, the determination of whether you are Clear or not has nothing to do with abilities or powers, the determination is, if you had the "Clear cognition", you are Clear -- until David Miscavige decides you aren't.

So, between Hubbard's fantastic descriptions and promises of 1950 down to the vapid and meaningless description and promises of today, the State of Clear has become powerless and meaningless.

For OT, it's even more drastic.  Today, the Church of Scientology's description of OT is:

By “operating” is meant “able to act and handle things.” And by “thetan” is meant the spiritual being that is the basic self. “Theta” is Greek for thought or life or the spirit.

An Operating Thetan then is one who can handle things without having to use a body or physical means.

Basically one is oneself, can handle things and exist without physical support and assistance. This state is Operating Thetan, or OT. It doesn't mean one becomes God. It means one becomes wholly oneself. 

Very little is said and nothing is actually promised.

The statement "handle things without having to use a body" sounds pretty good, but, well, what "things", and what does "handle" mean?  Is anything specific actually being promised here?  The statement could mean anything and so, ultimately, it means nothing.

And the statement: "One becomes wholly oneself" is devoid of any actual meaning.  With that description, anyone could be "OT" as long as they considered that they were "wholly themselves".

Whatever happened to "cause over matter, energy, space, time, life, form and thought"?  Whatever happened to "going exterior at will"?  Whatever happened to "creating and destroying MEST"?  Whatever happened to OT?

In today's Scientology, there are no promises or expectation of any special abilities or powers from becoming OT.  You finish OT VIII and, "Congratulations, you are OT".

Again, from the fantastic promises and descriptions by Hubbard in the 1950s down to the vapid and meaningless description of today, OT has become nothing much.

While Scientologists may have been lured in by the description of Clear from 1950 and the descriptions of OT from the early days, they have no reason to complain when those states never occur -- because the actual descriptions used today by Scientology for their "advanced states" are empty of all meaning and significance.  Today, nothing is promised and nothing is delivered.

This is why David Miscavige can declare thousands of Clears and OTs "not Clear" and "not OT" and send them all back to redo everything -- there are no criteria to determine or validate these states.  It's completely arbitrary, no one can say otherwise.

This is why there are constant arguments inside and outside of the church about who is and isn't Clear -- there is no way to test it, no way to prove it or disprove it.  You are "Clear" only if some "authority" says you are.

Neither Clear nor OT actually exist as exceptional states, they are just arbitrary labels assigned by some "authority" to indicate you finished some level -- nothing more.
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What Price the "Promise" of Total Freedom?

Dear Scientologist,

What price are you willing to pay for the promise of "Total Freedom"? Only the promise. No one actually has this "Total Freedom". No one shows any evidence of even being close. All Scientology gives you is a promise that sometime, far in the future, you will attain something L. Ron Hubbard called "Total Freedom".

And it's a rather vague promise at that. Exactly what someone is supposed to attain, and exactly when they are supposed to attain it is very undefined. It obviously isn't available now. No one has it. Let's face it, none of the OT VIIIs are showing anything special -- and if they don't have "Total Freedom", no one does.

All anyone has is a "promise" of Total Freedom. Some day.

And for that, you pay. And pay.

Not just money, although that is substantial. The most significant payments that Scientologists make are much more than just money.

You, basically, pay with your life.

• You certainly give to the Church of Scientology more money than you can afford, and then go deeply into debt. And that certainly affects your whole life, but that is only the beginning.

• You give the Church of Scientology all your time. You work long hours, even overtime, at your job, in the struggle to make enough money. You volunteer at the Church of Scientology to help with various church projects, OT Committee projects and Volunteer Minister activities. You sell books -- or at least try to. Any "spare moment" must be used in doing something for Scientology. Your time is not your own.

• You give the Church of Scientology your family and friends. You've tried to bring all your family members and friends into Scientology, but that didn't go over very well. Even those who did get involved usually dropped out again. And the church won't let you stay in contact with friends and family who know and think and say negative things about Scientology. And so you've lost your family and friends.

• You give the Church of Scientology all your attention, hopes, plans. Scientology is your life. Everything you say, everything you think, everything you read, everything you listen to, it's all Scientology. When you plan for your future, it is "your future on the Bridge". You have invested everything in the Church of Scientology.
  

And in return you have a promise.

But that isn't enough. David Miscavige keeps telling you that you must give more. You simply are not giving enough and you must find a way to give even more.

For this promise.

Unfortunately for you, and all Scientologists, David Miscavige has never been very good on keeping his promises.

Where are all the "Saint Hill-sized Orgs"? That was a huge promise years ago. What happened to that promise? It was huge, it was vital -- and it disappeared when Miscavige failed to do his job.

Where is SuperPower? You probably gave a ton of money for that "very important project" that he promised. Turns out Miscavige collected four times what the SuperPower building cost. What happened? You paid, but Miscavige never delivered on his promise.

Miscavige keeps promising that he'll do everything he's supposed to do if only you give him your money and your time. So you gave more money, you gave more time, but Miscavige never delivered on his side of that bargain. It's his job to deliver a "Scientology boom" and that never happened. Miscavige failed to deliver what he promised, Scientology is collapsing -- and he just keeps demanding more from you.

Now he's pushing the "Ideal Orgs" project, requiring more and more money from you. But those buildings Scientologists worked so hard to buy are standing empty and all the churches are struggling to survive. Again, Miscavige promises that if you give and give and give, then he will produce that Scientology expansion. You do the giving, but Miscavige never delivers what he promises.

You've paid and paid and paid, but you're not getting "Total Freedom"; you're not getting Scientology expansion. You are only getting more demands, and more promises, from Miscavige.

It's time to stop paying Miscavige for his endless empty promises.
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