We all know that the Church of Scientology has collapsed but that isn't the subject of today's post. Today I'm talking about the belief system of Scientology as embodied by the ex-churchies calling themselves "Independent Scientologists".
A number of these stalwart true believers are factually and thoroughly destroying Scientology.
Now, in my opinion, some parts of the Scientology technology are beneficial, or could potentially be useful, and should be investigated. A majority of Scientology technology could be considered harmless -- if someone wants to work with it, no known harm will befall them.
A small, but growing, portion of Scientology is harmful, destructive or just plain evil. The Church of Scientology itself, under David Miscavige's direction, has been emphasizing and building upon these harmful parts. It now could be said, with some validity, that the evil parts of Scientology have become the dominant technology used by the church.
Earlier escapees from the Church of Scientology, often referred to as the Freezone, have, for the most part, discarded such harmful aspects of Scientology. However, many of the newer ex-churcies, these new "Independent Scientologists" seem to have embraced the most disturbing, most barbaric, most tyrannical aspects of Scientology as practiced by the Church of Scientology.
Early on, L. Ron Hubbard said that Scientologists should not consider Scientology the only way out, and not even the best possible way out. They should, he said, only consider Scientology as a workable way out.
Hubbard also admonished his followers, most specifically auditors, to never, ever invalidate or evaluate for others.
As with David Miscavige's Church of Scientology, a number of these "Independent Scientologists" do not seem to follow these precepts from Hubbard. They are offensive, insulting and arbitrary.
They will tell you that Scientology is perfect, and that all other technologies are wrong-wrong-wrong. And if you don't agree with them, completely, you are evil, you have crimes, you must accept the "truth" of Scientology and follow all the "formulas" and "procedures" to "correct yourself" and become a good, compliant, obedient, "standard" Scientologist.
These autocratic Scientologists are heavily into labels: you are a Suppressive Person; you are a "No Case Gain" case; you have "continuous present time" crimes, and on and on.
They are always and forever right, can never be wrong and you must agree with them or suffer the appropriate consequences. They can dictate to the rest of the world because they are applying STANDARD SCIENTOLOGY.
Of course this only describes a few of the "Independent Scientologists", but they are the vocal ones -- and few of the others dare voice any disagreement!
It's the Church of Scientology mindset all over again. The threats, the accusations, the labels, the invalidation and evaluation, the capricious and punitive "assignment of conditions", the attempt to dictate what other people see and think, and the suppression of dissent.
This attitude and public face of Scientology guarantees the destruction of Scientology. Sane people will categorically reject these tinpot dictators and their crazy communication. Appropriately so.
Obviously, I'm not talking to these fanatics. I wouldn't expect these self-proclaimed "STANDARD SCIENTOLOGISTS" to listen to reason -- but I do expect the other Independent Scientologists, who are sane, who do know better, to challenge these fanatics. If you truly believe in Scientology, then you must protect it from the fanatics. You must let them know that they do not speak for Scientology and they do not speak for Scientologists. Call them out for the fanatics they are.
More than the fanatics, it is the silence of other Scientologists in the face of such fanaticism that guarantees the destruction of Scientology.
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Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Church of Scientology Responds!
This is very good.
The Church of Scientology has gotten quite upset with my post The Church of Scientology Loves Disasters as quoted in Catholic Online's article Scientologists in Haiti: Volunteers or Vultures?
It seems they took issue with my statement:
Let's take a look at the Church of Scientology's claims, shall we? Here's the "facts" from Tommy Davis, Church of Scientology spokesman:
How many Scientology doctors has the church provided? None! How much medicine and medical equipment has the church paid for? None! What has the Church of Scientology done besides fly planes donated by others?
Oh, and by the way, the Church of Scientology didn't pay a penny for the Volunteer Ministers to be there. Those Scientologists paid their own way, and use their own money while there. The Church of Scientology didn't and doesn't help.
And the claims go on and on, I won't bother quoting them. In each claim made by the Church of Scientology, they want you to to be fooled into thinking they organized things (they didn't), they provided food, doctors, specialists (they didn't) and were doing vital, important work (the Volunteer Ministers are untrained, fit only to "help" the real relief agencies).
Go ahead and read the full statement from the church. Look at what isn't being said. Look at the carefully worded claims. Note that the Church of Scientology's official statement confirms everything I said. The Church of Scientology didn't supply anything, didn't pay for anything, didn't send doctors, didn't send skilled personnel, didn't pay for food, clothing, shelter -- even for Scientology volunteers, in short, they are making vast claims without having to pay a single, solitary penny.
No, what I said in my post is absolutely true. The Church of Scientology didn't spend a penny to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. But with this "response" they continue their real agenda -- using disaster as a public relations opportunity without spending any money.
Sorry Tommy, no corrections or apologies coming from here -- I told the truth and your church is trying to profit from disaster.
What I said before still stands -- even more so:
The Church of Scientology has gotten quite upset with my post The Church of Scientology Loves Disasters as quoted in Catholic Online's article Scientologists in Haiti: Volunteers or Vultures?
It seems they took issue with my statement:
“The Church of Scientology provides no money towards the victims in Haiti. None. Not one penny. The church supplies no food, no water, no medicine, no building materials, no personnel, no expertise, nothing for Haiti.Well, do I need to issue an apology? Do I need to make a correction?
“But they claim, in their press releases, that their Volunteer Ministers are 'a major relief agency' helping in Haiti. If they do nothing, how can they claim this?"
Let's take a look at the Church of Scientology's claims, shall we? Here's the "facts" from Tommy Davis, Church of Scientology spokesman:
- Volunteer Ministers who have served or are currently serving in Haiti: 146OK, but a lot of people would not call that a good thing. These Volunteer Ministers have been known to interfere with vital, legitimate help.
- Doctors, nurses and EMTs transported to Haiti since January 16: 394These were not Scientologists. The Church of Scientology is trying to claim credit for what other organizations are providing. These other organizations accepted the church's offer of transport, not realizing the church would try to claim credit for all their good work.
- Doctors, nurses and EMTs on waiting list for next VM flight: 100
How many Scientology doctors has the church provided? None! How much medicine and medical equipment has the church paid for? None! What has the Church of Scientology done besides fly planes donated by others?
- Approximate individuals directly helped by Volunteer Ministers: 41,000And that "help" was... what? "Touch assists?" Directions to the locations where the victims could get real help from real aid organizations? Interference in the activities of the real aid organizations?
- Approximate meals served to patients, refugees and medical teams: 6,000The Church of Scientology wants you to think that they supplied the food, but the Church of Scientology didn't give one penny for these supplies. It just so happens that Volunteer Ministers were there, as were hundreds of other non-Scientology volunteers, to assist in distribution.
- Tons of food and supplies transported to Haiti since January 16: 20
- Tons of food and supplies distributed with World Food Program: 420
Oh, and by the way, the Church of Scientology didn't pay a penny for the Volunteer Ministers to be there. Those Scientologists paid their own way, and use their own money while there. The Church of Scientology didn't and doesn't help.
Seven MDs and two Volunteer Ministers gave tetanus shots and delivered hygiene supplies to 175 villagers in a remote area cut off from supply lines.Seven non-Scientology doctors. Note that all the other non-Scientology volunteers who were there and helped are carefully not mentioned -- as if the Scientologists were key organizers. Nope!
And the claims go on and on, I won't bother quoting them. In each claim made by the Church of Scientology, they want you to to be fooled into thinking they organized things (they didn't), they provided food, doctors, specialists (they didn't) and were doing vital, important work (the Volunteer Ministers are untrained, fit only to "help" the real relief agencies).
Go ahead and read the full statement from the church. Look at what isn't being said. Look at the carefully worded claims. Note that the Church of Scientology's official statement confirms everything I said. The Church of Scientology didn't supply anything, didn't pay for anything, didn't send doctors, didn't send skilled personnel, didn't pay for food, clothing, shelter -- even for Scientology volunteers, in short, they are making vast claims without having to pay a single, solitary penny.
No, what I said in my post is absolutely true. The Church of Scientology didn't spend a penny to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. But with this "response" they continue their real agenda -- using disaster as a public relations opportunity without spending any money.
Sorry Tommy, no corrections or apologies coming from here -- I told the truth and your church is trying to profit from disaster.
What I said before still stands -- even more so:
All decent people, including Scientologists, should add their voice to absolutely condemn the Church of Scientology for their disgusting greed in the face of such human suffering.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Squirrel!
If you love a good comedy, especially one with a hefty dose of irony, then you will be loving the accusations all the various flavors of Scientologists are slinging at each other.
It really is quite wonderful.
So the Church of Scientology is crying that, well, everyone else is a squirrel.
Oh, this is a terrible insult!.
One of the earlier breakaway groups was the rather large Ron's Org groups established by "Captain" Bill Robertson. Robertson established his Ron's Org because, in his words, the Church of Scientology was squirreling the tech.
Other individuals and groups have broken away from the Church of Scientology before and since. Many of them have also accused the Church of Scientology of squirreling. However, these other individuals and groups avoided joining Ron's Orgs because, they said, Ron's Orgs were squirreling.
David Mayo, kicked out of the Church of Scientology for protesting David Miscavige's squirreling of the tech, established his AAC (Advanced Ability Center) group to deliver "standard Scientology". He was, of course, condemned by the church for squirreling the tech.
And so it goes. Each new breakaway accuses both the Church of Scientology and all previous breakaway groups of squirreling!
So, today, you have all the newest Scientologists who have left the Church of Scientology, but who still believe in Scientology, eschewing the Freezone and all other non-church groups and calling themselves "Independent Scientologists" -- although they are, truly, no different than those who have gone before. Of course, all the older breakaway groups will undoubtedly accuse these newest ex-churchies of being squirrels, since they are tainted by Miscavige's squirreling!
So, it appears that everybody practicing any form of Scientology, inside or outside the church, are, in fact, all squirrels.
Well, I have something to add to all this. Since L. Ron Hubbard knowingly used the "Ls" and "NOTS", both of which are proven to be authored by David Mayo (not Hubbard), not to mention Hubbard adopting into Scientology various techniques from many other people, I'd like to add to this universal list of squirrels the name L. Ron Hubbard.
There, the list is now complete. Might as well call it Squirrelology, everybody is doing it!
Look, a squirrel!
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It really is quite wonderful.
Squirreling: The act of using Scientology techniques in a form different than originally described by Hubbard is referred to within Scientology as "squirreling", and is said by Scientologists to be a "high crime".According to the Church of Scientology, every single person who practices any form of Scientology outside of the church is a squirrel -- unless, of course, they pay a licensing fee to the church.
So the Church of Scientology is crying that, well, everyone else is a squirrel.
Oh, this is a terrible insult!.
One of the earlier breakaway groups was the rather large Ron's Org groups established by "Captain" Bill Robertson. Robertson established his Ron's Org because, in his words, the Church of Scientology was squirreling the tech.
Other individuals and groups have broken away from the Church of Scientology before and since. Many of them have also accused the Church of Scientology of squirreling. However, these other individuals and groups avoided joining Ron's Orgs because, they said, Ron's Orgs were squirreling.
David Mayo, kicked out of the Church of Scientology for protesting David Miscavige's squirreling of the tech, established his AAC (Advanced Ability Center) group to deliver "standard Scientology". He was, of course, condemned by the church for squirreling the tech.
And so it goes. Each new breakaway accuses both the Church of Scientology and all previous breakaway groups of squirreling!
So, today, you have all the newest Scientologists who have left the Church of Scientology, but who still believe in Scientology, eschewing the Freezone and all other non-church groups and calling themselves "Independent Scientologists" -- although they are, truly, no different than those who have gone before. Of course, all the older breakaway groups will undoubtedly accuse these newest ex-churchies of being squirrels, since they are tainted by Miscavige's squirreling!
So, it appears that everybody practicing any form of Scientology, inside or outside the church, are, in fact, all squirrels.
Well, I have something to add to all this. Since L. Ron Hubbard knowingly used the "Ls" and "NOTS", both of which are proven to be authored by David Mayo (not Hubbard), not to mention Hubbard adopting into Scientology various techniques from many other people, I'd like to add to this universal list of squirrels the name L. Ron Hubbard.
There, the list is now complete. Might as well call it Squirrelology, everybody is doing it!
Look, a squirrel!
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Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Scientology Conundrum: What Are Lies?
It is quite interesting to me that Scientologists who are now waking up to the fact that David Miscavige has been doing bad things and is a liar, still believe almost everything Miscavige and the Church of Scientology had said in the past.
For instance, while finally seeing that David Miscavige has been corrupting and destroying Scientology, some Scientologists still believe that the criticisms and protests against the church are “unfounded”, “anti-religious” and “a conspiracy”. They believe that Anonymous is a "terrorist, hate group" in the pay of big drug companies. They believe that all critics are "suppressive persons". They believe that the Freezone is filled with squirrels. They believe these things because David Miscavige said so.
You would think that, seeing with their own eyes some of the blatant and profound falsehoods that Miscavige has been spreading, Scientologists would automatically question everything the Church of Scientology has been claiming. Now, it isn’t necessarily that everything was lies, it is just that the source of all the church’s proclamations, David Miscavige, has been proven to be a destructive, corrupt, habitual liar – so, really, you have to be suspicious of everything Miscavige or the church has said.
You’d think so. But many Scientologists, while rejecting a few, isolated and obviously false statements by Miscavige, still accept, without question, just about everything else. This really doesn’t make any sense.
Well, the problem is that most Scientologists don’t realize what they are doing. They have been trained to always completely trust all information coming from the Church of Scientology leaders. Always. And they have been trained to always reject all negative information about Scientology coming from any source. Always.
This has become so automatic that it ends up operating below the conscious awareness for many Scientologists. They “know” something is true, but they don’t realize their only criteria for “truth” is that the source was the Church of Scientology. They also “know” that anything at all negative about Scientology “is false”, but they don’t realize their only criteria for that judgement is that the church said it was “false”. Even when a Scientologist sees and thinks negative things about Scientology, they still reject such negative information from elsewhere as "false".
The simple concept that the Church of Scientology might be lying simply cannot be contemplated by true Scientologists. It isn’t that they considered it, evaluated it and rejected it; it is that they cannot even consider it.
And most don’t know they have this blind spot. They actually believe they are being intelligent, logical and observant. They will get quite upset with the idea that they are not in full command of their thoughts and conclusions.
This makes it difficult for these Scientologists to come to terms with, and effectively handle, what is and has been going on in their church and in the world. It is quite difficult to reconcile a church that is “always right” and “superior to the rest of the world” with the obvious and consistent failures Miscavige and the Church of Scientology have created.
So what to do? How does anyone talk to a Scientologist about this stuff? What does a Scientologist do to inform themselves? What is true? What are lies?
Simply listing list all the “facts” from Miscavige and the church that have been proven false, with all their associated links to documents, evidence and other proof simply does not work. Scientologists, after all, have been trained to automatically reject such information – Scientologists are probably not going to suddenly throw off all that Scientology training in a day.
But they will. Most Scientologists actually want to know the truth; the problem is that they are only used to accepting “truth” from the church. It will take awhile for Scientologists to break that habit.
I have one piece of advice for newly-awakened Scientologists. You do have one piece of information you can be sure of, because it is obvious now: David Miscavige is a liar and has been for decades. This is what you know. As for everything else, you can now find out for yourself.
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For instance, while finally seeing that David Miscavige has been corrupting and destroying Scientology, some Scientologists still believe that the criticisms and protests against the church are “unfounded”, “anti-religious” and “a conspiracy”. They believe that Anonymous is a "terrorist, hate group" in the pay of big drug companies. They believe that all critics are "suppressive persons". They believe that the Freezone is filled with squirrels. They believe these things because David Miscavige said so.
You would think that, seeing with their own eyes some of the blatant and profound falsehoods that Miscavige has been spreading, Scientologists would automatically question everything the Church of Scientology has been claiming. Now, it isn’t necessarily that everything was lies, it is just that the source of all the church’s proclamations, David Miscavige, has been proven to be a destructive, corrupt, habitual liar – so, really, you have to be suspicious of everything Miscavige or the church has said.
You’d think so. But many Scientologists, while rejecting a few, isolated and obviously false statements by Miscavige, still accept, without question, just about everything else. This really doesn’t make any sense.
Well, the problem is that most Scientologists don’t realize what they are doing. They have been trained to always completely trust all information coming from the Church of Scientology leaders. Always. And they have been trained to always reject all negative information about Scientology coming from any source. Always.
This has become so automatic that it ends up operating below the conscious awareness for many Scientologists. They “know” something is true, but they don’t realize their only criteria for “truth” is that the source was the Church of Scientology. They also “know” that anything at all negative about Scientology “is false”, but they don’t realize their only criteria for that judgement is that the church said it was “false”. Even when a Scientologist sees and thinks negative things about Scientology, they still reject such negative information from elsewhere as "false".
The simple concept that the Church of Scientology might be lying simply cannot be contemplated by true Scientologists. It isn’t that they considered it, evaluated it and rejected it; it is that they cannot even consider it.
And most don’t know they have this blind spot. They actually believe they are being intelligent, logical and observant. They will get quite upset with the idea that they are not in full command of their thoughts and conclusions.
This makes it difficult for these Scientologists to come to terms with, and effectively handle, what is and has been going on in their church and in the world. It is quite difficult to reconcile a church that is “always right” and “superior to the rest of the world” with the obvious and consistent failures Miscavige and the Church of Scientology have created.
So what to do? How does anyone talk to a Scientologist about this stuff? What does a Scientologist do to inform themselves? What is true? What are lies?
Simply listing list all the “facts” from Miscavige and the church that have been proven false, with all their associated links to documents, evidence and other proof simply does not work. Scientologists, after all, have been trained to automatically reject such information – Scientologists are probably not going to suddenly throw off all that Scientology training in a day.
But they will. Most Scientologists actually want to know the truth; the problem is that they are only used to accepting “truth” from the church. It will take awhile for Scientologists to break that habit.
I have one piece of advice for newly-awakened Scientologists. You do have one piece of information you can be sure of, because it is obvious now: David Miscavige is a liar and has been for decades. This is what you know. As for everything else, you can now find out for yourself.
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Ask a Question
The old Ask a Question thread has gotten quite large and unwieldy. It's still there and has some great questions, but please put any new questions into this thread.
I'm serious. All questions and suggestions are welcome.
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I'm serious. All questions and suggestions are welcome.
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Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Church of Scientology Loves Disasters
This really is the most disgusting thing I've seen recently about the Church of Scientology: Their reaction to the Haiti earthquake.
The actions of the Church of Scientology are dispicable, in the extreme.
The Church of Scientology provides no money towards the victims in Haiti. None. Not one penny. The church supplies no food, no water, no medicine, no building materials, no personnel, no expertise, nothing for Haiti.
But they claim, in their press releases, that their Volunteer Ministers are "a major relief agency" helping in Haiti. If they do nothing, how can they claim this?
John Travolta supplied an airplane, not the church. Individual Scientologists volunteered to go using their own money. As usual, the Church of Scientology did nothing.
Along with a few untrained Scientology "Volunteer Ministers", Travolta offered a lift to health-care workers from the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad and from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those other non-Scientology groups were sending trained medical personnel and the Scientologists were completely untrained. And yet, in a most disgusting bit of lying, the Church of Scientology is actually claiming they sent the medical personnel!
As is usual, the Church of Scientology volunteers showed up at the disaster without food, without medicine, without supplies, without equipment, without shelter, without expertise -- so they are a burden on resources already stretched very, very thin. As is usual, the Volunteer Ministers make the situation worse by requiring food and shelter that should be going to the victims!
But they have bright yellow t shirts that show up well for the Church of Scientology photographer! Yes, while the Volunteer Ministers are useless to real relief agencies, they are very useful to the Church of Scientology's PR department.
But, as disgusting as all this is, the Church of Scientology's response to this disaster is much, much worse.
The Church of Scientology is officially urging all Scientologists to "help Haiti by giving to the IAS (International Association of Scientologists)". Not to any legitimate relief agency. No, Scientologists must help Haiti by "giving to the IAS".
And the IAS has not ever given a penny to any disaster relief effort. The IAS will never give a penny to any disaster relief. The money goes to David Miscavige. Period. Last I checked, David Miscavige wasn't in Haiti and didn't need any assistance.
Yes, the Church of Scientology is using the Haiti disaster to make money! They are profiting on human suffering!
But wait, there is more!
Bridge Publications, the publisher of Scientology books, is urging Scientologists to buy Scientology books to "send to Haiti"! Scientologists are not being urged to pay for food or water or medicine or shelter for Haiti. No, they are being urged to pay for Scientology books to Haiti!
But get this: Bridge Publications is charging full price for these donated books, meaning Bridge Publications is making full profit on all the books. They are profiting on human suffering!
Further, judging by how Bridge Publications handles donated books (Library Program, Mission Starter Program), those donated books will never be shipped. Of course the books are useless to Haitians, but it is highly likely that Bridge Publications will simply keep all the money. Profit!
Yes, the Church of Scientology has reacted quickly and decisively on the Haitian disaster -- they are making millions of dollars of profit, generating many nice press releases for the church, without having to spend a single penny, nor actually help anyone.
All decent people, including Scientologists, should add their voice to absolutely condemn the Church of Scientology for their disgusting greed in the face of such human suffering.
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The actions of the Church of Scientology are dispicable, in the extreme.
The Church of Scientology provides no money towards the victims in Haiti. None. Not one penny. The church supplies no food, no water, no medicine, no building materials, no personnel, no expertise, nothing for Haiti.
But they claim, in their press releases, that their Volunteer Ministers are "a major relief agency" helping in Haiti. If they do nothing, how can they claim this?
John Travolta supplied an airplane, not the church. Individual Scientologists volunteered to go using their own money. As usual, the Church of Scientology did nothing.
Along with a few untrained Scientology "Volunteer Ministers", Travolta offered a lift to health-care workers from the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad and from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those other non-Scientology groups were sending trained medical personnel and the Scientologists were completely untrained. And yet, in a most disgusting bit of lying, the Church of Scientology is actually claiming they sent the medical personnel!
As is usual, the Church of Scientology volunteers showed up at the disaster without food, without medicine, without supplies, without equipment, without shelter, without expertise -- so they are a burden on resources already stretched very, very thin. As is usual, the Volunteer Ministers make the situation worse by requiring food and shelter that should be going to the victims!
But they have bright yellow t shirts that show up well for the Church of Scientology photographer! Yes, while the Volunteer Ministers are useless to real relief agencies, they are very useful to the Church of Scientology's PR department.
But, as disgusting as all this is, the Church of Scientology's response to this disaster is much, much worse.
The Church of Scientology is officially urging all Scientologists to "help Haiti by giving to the IAS (International Association of Scientologists)". Not to any legitimate relief agency. No, Scientologists must help Haiti by "giving to the IAS".
And the IAS has not ever given a penny to any disaster relief effort. The IAS will never give a penny to any disaster relief. The money goes to David Miscavige. Period. Last I checked, David Miscavige wasn't in Haiti and didn't need any assistance.
Yes, the Church of Scientology is using the Haiti disaster to make money! They are profiting on human suffering!
But wait, there is more!
Bridge Publications, the publisher of Scientology books, is urging Scientologists to buy Scientology books to "send to Haiti"! Scientologists are not being urged to pay for food or water or medicine or shelter for Haiti. No, they are being urged to pay for Scientology books to Haiti!
But get this: Bridge Publications is charging full price for these donated books, meaning Bridge Publications is making full profit on all the books. They are profiting on human suffering!
Further, judging by how Bridge Publications handles donated books (Library Program, Mission Starter Program), those donated books will never be shipped. Of course the books are useless to Haitians, but it is highly likely that Bridge Publications will simply keep all the money. Profit!
Yes, the Church of Scientology has reacted quickly and decisively on the Haitian disaster -- they are making millions of dollars of profit, generating many nice press releases for the church, without having to spend a single penny, nor actually help anyone.
All decent people, including Scientologists, should add their voice to absolutely condemn the Church of Scientology for their disgusting greed in the face of such human suffering.
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Saturday, January 9, 2010
What Does Being "Pro-Scientology" Mean?
When I started this blog, my motivation was to clear up much of the misinformation and misunderstandings about Scientology and the Church of Scientology that were rampant at that time. The bad information came not only from the church itself, but even a lot of the negative information about Scientology was incorrect as well.
I knew a lot, and I was in touch with many Scientologists and ex-Scientologists, so I felt compelled to clear up the confusion.
All I have endeavored to do was get the truth better known and to expose the lies.
Obviously, this would cause the Church of Scientology to consider me an Enemy. The church is built on lies, misinformation and exaggeration and they didn't appreciate what so many, many people were doing.
Today there are many people who have left the church but who still firmly believe in the Scientology belief system. One would think that, free from the systemic lies of the Church of Scientology, these people would seek to discover and live with the truth. One would hope that Scientologists would seek to root out all lies from their lives. After all, they are on the "Road to Truth".
So it is with considerable surprise that I find that my blog, Ask the Scientologist, is considered, by some true believers, to be "anti-Scientology". I read that "true" Scientologists are being warned to avoid this blog at all costs.
Let me be very clear about this, I am not anti- the Scientology belief system. Never have been.
However, I am pro-truth.
All I have asked from believers of Scientology is honesty. It's a simple request: If a Scientology process, formula or procedure does not deliver what was promised for that process, formula or procedure, then don't claim that "it works"! That's all.
This isn't about whether "Scientology works". Whether it does work, or should work, or might work is not the point. The point is whether or not the explicit promises made for various Grades, Rundowns, Levels, courses are actually delivered.
And, for a large majority of the services delivered by Scientology, the promised results are not delivered.
I experienced some good things in the early days. But I can see -- anyone can see -- that the grandiose claims of Scientology on its Grade Chart, in its promotions, in conversations with Scientologists, are not happening. I've listed many of these things before. The actual results from public school students using the "Hubbard Study Method" have been analyzed and the technology does not detectably improve student results. The actual results from Narconon show worse results than other methods. Grade 0 Releases are not able to "talk to anyone on any subject". Grade I Releases still have problems. Graduates from the PTS/SP course can't handle antagonistic people or situations. Clears and OTs do not have the promised abilities and powers. And so on and so on. Whether Scientology could, possibly, produce those results is not the point. The point is that it hasn't.
The Church of Scientology does something quite evil about this. When a Scientologist does not receive the promised results from a Grade, Level, course or Rundown, the church says it is the Scientologist's fault, and has them pay for their own "correction". When the Scientologist still does not receive the results promised by the church, the church again blames the Scientologist and has them pay to redo everything. This goes on and on with the church forcing Scientologists to pay and pay and pay and never delivering what was promised. And all the time blaming the Scientologist for the missing results.
Finally, when it becomes obvious that the church will never deliver what was promised, and the Scientologist has run out of money, the church blames the Scientologist, saying the Scientologist is "too out-ethics" and kicks them out.
This policy of the Church of Scientology of blaming their customers for the church's failures ultimately destroys Scientologists. Many Scientologists end up firmly believing that they are evil, they are the cause of the failures, they are "degraded beings" and "suppressive".
This is so very wrong.
All I'm asking of the true believers of Scientology who wish to practice and promote the Scientology belief system outside of the church is that they don't do that.
If those who believe in the Scientology technology want to stop destroying people, then they need to promise only results that they can actually, provably and consistently produce. They need to actually deliver every result promised -- and if they don't deliver it they must not blame the customer. And they need to stop claiming results for Scientology that Scientology has not delivered.
Believe what you want but only promise what you can, for certain, deliver. And then always deliver what you promised.
That is living with the truth. That is honesty.
Now, if that request is "anti-Scientology", then you Scientology true believers have major problems -- because all I'm asking for is honesty and truth. If that's unacceptable to Scientologists, then that says worse things about Scientology than any real anti-Scientology blog or site ever did.
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I knew a lot, and I was in touch with many Scientologists and ex-Scientologists, so I felt compelled to clear up the confusion.
All I have endeavored to do was get the truth better known and to expose the lies.
Obviously, this would cause the Church of Scientology to consider me an Enemy. The church is built on lies, misinformation and exaggeration and they didn't appreciate what so many, many people were doing.
Today there are many people who have left the church but who still firmly believe in the Scientology belief system. One would think that, free from the systemic lies of the Church of Scientology, these people would seek to discover and live with the truth. One would hope that Scientologists would seek to root out all lies from their lives. After all, they are on the "Road to Truth".
So it is with considerable surprise that I find that my blog, Ask the Scientologist, is considered, by some true believers, to be "anti-Scientology". I read that "true" Scientologists are being warned to avoid this blog at all costs.
Let me be very clear about this, I am not anti- the Scientology belief system. Never have been.
However, I am pro-truth.
All I have asked from believers of Scientology is honesty. It's a simple request: If a Scientology process, formula or procedure does not deliver what was promised for that process, formula or procedure, then don't claim that "it works"! That's all.
This isn't about whether "Scientology works". Whether it does work, or should work, or might work is not the point. The point is whether or not the explicit promises made for various Grades, Rundowns, Levels, courses are actually delivered.
And, for a large majority of the services delivered by Scientology, the promised results are not delivered.
I experienced some good things in the early days. But I can see -- anyone can see -- that the grandiose claims of Scientology on its Grade Chart, in its promotions, in conversations with Scientologists, are not happening. I've listed many of these things before. The actual results from public school students using the "Hubbard Study Method" have been analyzed and the technology does not detectably improve student results. The actual results from Narconon show worse results than other methods. Grade 0 Releases are not able to "talk to anyone on any subject". Grade I Releases still have problems. Graduates from the PTS/SP course can't handle antagonistic people or situations. Clears and OTs do not have the promised abilities and powers. And so on and so on. Whether Scientology could, possibly, produce those results is not the point. The point is that it hasn't.
The Church of Scientology does something quite evil about this. When a Scientologist does not receive the promised results from a Grade, Level, course or Rundown, the church says it is the Scientologist's fault, and has them pay for their own "correction". When the Scientologist still does not receive the results promised by the church, the church again blames the Scientologist and has them pay to redo everything. This goes on and on with the church forcing Scientologists to pay and pay and pay and never delivering what was promised. And all the time blaming the Scientologist for the missing results.
Finally, when it becomes obvious that the church will never deliver what was promised, and the Scientologist has run out of money, the church blames the Scientologist, saying the Scientologist is "too out-ethics" and kicks them out.
This policy of the Church of Scientology of blaming their customers for the church's failures ultimately destroys Scientologists. Many Scientologists end up firmly believing that they are evil, they are the cause of the failures, they are "degraded beings" and "suppressive".
This is so very wrong.
All I'm asking of the true believers of Scientology who wish to practice and promote the Scientology belief system outside of the church is that they don't do that.
If those who believe in the Scientology technology want to stop destroying people, then they need to promise only results that they can actually, provably and consistently produce. They need to actually deliver every result promised -- and if they don't deliver it they must not blame the customer. And they need to stop claiming results for Scientology that Scientology has not delivered.
Believe what you want but only promise what you can, for certain, deliver. And then always deliver what you promised.
That is living with the truth. That is honesty.
Now, if that request is "anti-Scientology", then you Scientology true believers have major problems -- because all I'm asking for is honesty and truth. If that's unacceptable to Scientologists, then that says worse things about Scientology than any real anti-Scientology blog or site ever did.
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Saturday, January 2, 2010
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.
-
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.
-
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year
Just a note to wish everyone a happy New Year.
In the Ask a Question thread, I made a few predictions for 2010, and I'll paraphrase them here, since it is appropriate.
I'm thinking that 2010 will contain a lot more of what we've already seen in 2009: More major media stories around the world exposing more and more of the Church of Scientology's crimes, abuses and fraud. There will be more investigations and legal actions against the church from governments and individuals. Who knows, there even may be a class action lawsuit.
There will, of course, be a lot more people leaving the Church of Scientology. It is collapsing and even hard-core Scientologists are well aware of that.
As Miscavige drops farther and farther into insanity, the church's actions, under his close supervision, will make less and less sense, which will only increase the exodus of Scientologists and will engender even more major media stories -- all of which, in turn, will cause Miscavige to go even more insane.
It just isn't going to stop.
Note to David Miscavige: You know how you really hated 2008 and hoped 2009 would be better? You know how 2009 was a lot, lot worse? Are you hoping that 2010 will be better? It won't be.
I made a few other predictions, such as that we'd see a local Scientology Org declare its independence from the Church of Scientology, and that David Miscavige would run-run-run away in abject fear of prosecution. Those are more speculative. We'll see.
In any case, it will be another interesting year in the wacky world of Scientology.
-
In the Ask a Question thread, I made a few predictions for 2010, and I'll paraphrase them here, since it is appropriate.
I'm thinking that 2010 will contain a lot more of what we've already seen in 2009: More major media stories around the world exposing more and more of the Church of Scientology's crimes, abuses and fraud. There will be more investigations and legal actions against the church from governments and individuals. Who knows, there even may be a class action lawsuit.
There will, of course, be a lot more people leaving the Church of Scientology. It is collapsing and even hard-core Scientologists are well aware of that.
As Miscavige drops farther and farther into insanity, the church's actions, under his close supervision, will make less and less sense, which will only increase the exodus of Scientologists and will engender even more major media stories -- all of which, in turn, will cause Miscavige to go even more insane.
It just isn't going to stop.
Note to David Miscavige: You know how you really hated 2008 and hoped 2009 would be better? You know how 2009 was a lot, lot worse? Are you hoping that 2010 will be better? It won't be.
I made a few other predictions, such as that we'd see a local Scientology Org declare its independence from the Church of Scientology, and that David Miscavige would run-run-run away in abject fear of prosecution. Those are more speculative. We'll see.
In any case, it will be another interesting year in the wacky world of Scientology.
-
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Scientologists, Trapped by Lies
When I stepped away from the Church of Scientology, I experienced an amazing feeling. It took a while to recognize the feeling. After all, I'd been in Scientology for over 30 years. I finally recognized what it was: I was overwhelmed with relief that, now, at last, I could accept and live with truth.
Up until that exact moment, I had not allowed myself to see how much lying was part of Scientology.
Now, it isn't that everything in Scientology is a lie. There are things that are true. In fact, it is the truth in Scientology that brings you in.
It is the lies that trap you.
After I left, I was free to look at everything, all the "forbidden" sites and the "forbidden" books. I could talk to "forbidden" people. There was lots and lots of information out there and I wanted all of it.
But, at first I could not figure out what was true and what was false. That simple ability had disappeared over my years in Scientology. While in Scientology, it was the church, and only the church, that told me, and all Scientologists, what was true and false.
Without this "guidance", I had to figure it out for myself. But how?
Well, to help any newly-out Scientologists, I'll give you a few pointers. Of course, you have to work out what is the truth for yourself, but here are some simple rules of thumb.
Liars will, of course, insist that they are telling the truth but, when challenged, will get very, very annoyed, adamant, defensive and/or insulting. But they will never, ever provide proof of their claims.
Those telling the truth will, when challenged, provide proof. If they have an opinion, it will be stated as such.
Liars will insist that you not look at opposing viewpoints, not do any research on your own or read anything that contradicts their lies. They will say terrible things about anyone who dares contradict them, accusing them of crimes and horrible behavior (but never providing actual proof).
Those telling the truth will have no objections to your research, your reading habits or who you talk to. They will ask you to look for actual proof when deciding on something, but won't care where you get it.
As "proof" of their lies, liars will provide anonymous anecdotal stories, vague "statistics" that say nothing, and more lies. They will not provide actual statistics, real facts or any proof.
Those telling the truth have evidence like original documents, videos, photos, court documents, official papers, declarations, attestations and so on.
When presented with evidence of their lying, liars will claim the evidence is false (but not provide any proof of that). When presented with an overwhelming amount of evidence of their lying, liars will claim there is a vast conspiracy against them (but not provide any evidence of that either).
In case anyone missed it, my description of liars' behavior is exactly what the Church of Scientology does.
To newly-out Scientologists: It is embarrassing to find out how much you've been lied to, but that isn't any reason to continue believing in lies. True freedom comes from living with the truth, whatever it is.
-
Up until that exact moment, I had not allowed myself to see how much lying was part of Scientology.
Now, it isn't that everything in Scientology is a lie. There are things that are true. In fact, it is the truth in Scientology that brings you in.
It is the lies that trap you.
After I left, I was free to look at everything, all the "forbidden" sites and the "forbidden" books. I could talk to "forbidden" people. There was lots and lots of information out there and I wanted all of it.
But, at first I could not figure out what was true and what was false. That simple ability had disappeared over my years in Scientology. While in Scientology, it was the church, and only the church, that told me, and all Scientologists, what was true and false.
Without this "guidance", I had to figure it out for myself. But how?
Well, to help any newly-out Scientologists, I'll give you a few pointers. Of course, you have to work out what is the truth for yourself, but here are some simple rules of thumb.
Liars will, of course, insist that they are telling the truth but, when challenged, will get very, very annoyed, adamant, defensive and/or insulting. But they will never, ever provide proof of their claims.
Those telling the truth will, when challenged, provide proof. If they have an opinion, it will be stated as such.
Liars will insist that you not look at opposing viewpoints, not do any research on your own or read anything that contradicts their lies. They will say terrible things about anyone who dares contradict them, accusing them of crimes and horrible behavior (but never providing actual proof).
Those telling the truth will have no objections to your research, your reading habits or who you talk to. They will ask you to look for actual proof when deciding on something, but won't care where you get it.
As "proof" of their lies, liars will provide anonymous anecdotal stories, vague "statistics" that say nothing, and more lies. They will not provide actual statistics, real facts or any proof.
Those telling the truth have evidence like original documents, videos, photos, court documents, official papers, declarations, attestations and so on.
When presented with evidence of their lying, liars will claim the evidence is false (but not provide any proof of that). When presented with an overwhelming amount of evidence of their lying, liars will claim there is a vast conspiracy against them (but not provide any evidence of that either).
In case anyone missed it, my description of liars' behavior is exactly what the Church of Scientology does.
To newly-out Scientologists: It is embarrassing to find out how much you've been lied to, but that isn't any reason to continue believing in lies. True freedom comes from living with the truth, whatever it is.
-
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