Our old friend Terra has some timely thoughts to share... Tis the Season L. Ron Hubbard hating giving anything away for free and insisted on charging a hefty price for most all things connected with Scientology. He preached that people didn’t value goods and services that were given freely. Anything worth having was worth paying for. Paying for something meant it was valuable. Given freely, it was not. This philosophy has hardened the hearts of countless Scientologists, driving many toward the level of “No Sympathy” on his infamous Tone Scale. The typical church member has little compa … [Read more...]
Do You Swear to Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth?
Terra is back once again... Do You Swear to Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth? Scientology has a reputation of attacking anyone they perceive as a threat. They bully. They coerce. They intimidate. Hire private investigators. Apply pressure. And last but not least, they threaten legal action via a cadre of soulless lawyers. That said, when is the last time the church actually sued someone? And won? Not this century, anyway. Appearing in Court? Oh, No! The problem for Scientology with regards to lawsuits is the potential of having to appear in court and back up … [Read more...]
Gaslighting: A Short Tutorial
After The Aftermath episode on the Watchtower Society, and thinking about mind control organizations in general and scientology in particular, I thought it fitting to republish an article from Psychology Today about gaslighting. Someone sent this to me recently in relation to a completely different topic, but it has a lot of application to world of cults (some would say all organized religion) and how people are persuaded to believe the unbelievable and do the unthinkable. I found this enlightening -- just as I found Martha Stoutt's The Sociopath Next Door which I highly re … [Read more...]
Squirrels and Change
Squirrels and Change L. Ron Hubbard defined “squirrel” as, 1. a squirrel is doing something entirely different. He doesn’t understand any of the principles so he makes up a bunch of them to fulfill his ignorance, foists them off on a pc and gets no place. (SH Spec 77, 611C08). 2. Those who engage in actions altering Scn, and offbeat practices. (ISE, p. 40). –v. change and invent processes. (HCOB 15 Jan 70 II).” In HCO PL 14 Feb 65, he defined “squirreling” as, “altering Scientology, offbeat practices. It is a bad thing.” Comparing anyone who would try something different to a rodent is a t … [Read more...]
Scientologists, Lies, and the ARC Triangle
Terra is with us once more... Scientologists, Lies, and the ARC Triangle A bedrock of L. Ron Hubbard philosophy is the ARC Triangle. “A” = Affinity. “R” = Reality. “C” = Communication. He wrote that together these three equal “U”, Understanding. Anything that effects one point of this triangle, effects the others. For instance, the more one communicates with a person or subject, the greater his Affinity, Reality, and Understanding with them. Raising one corner of the triangle to a higher state, raises the other two—and vice versa. That which lowers one corner of the triangle, lowers the other … [Read more...]
You Can Be Right about Being Wrong or, L. Ron Hubbard and Scales
Our old friend Terra has come up with another of his thought-provoking essays. You Can Be Right about Being Wrong or, L. Ron Hubbard and Scales L. Ron Hubbard was into scales. All types of scales. If a condition existed in life, the man scaled it. From the Emotional Tone Scale to the Know to Sex Scale, he created scales, graphs, and charts to measure the relative importance, rank, and position of everything. I prefer not using LRH’s own “technology” to describe what’s happening in Scientology today, but couldn’t help myself after reading one such scale from lecture 27 Aug 63, Rightness and W … [Read more...]
Dave Richards
Dave Richards was one of a kind, and a giant among friends. Tony Ortega did a post about him on Thursday thanks to Dave's great friend Ron Miscavige Snr. I could not process the grief and bring myself to write anything coherent, so I am a couple of days late. But the delay only represents the shattering of my world when I heard the news of his passing. The only small saving grace was that he died peacefully in his sleep. But that made it even more shocking as there was no warning. I met Dave on the Apollo in 1973. He was one of the really good ones. He was the Dissem Aide … [Read more...]
More OT VIII Folly
Here are a couple of “success” stories from recent OT VIII graduates. This is the top of the scientology bridge. The ultimate achievement of the tech (they say there are more OT levels and have been saying so since before Hubbard died in 1986 but nothing has ever materialized and nothing ever will). These people have paid hundreds of thousands to achieve these amazing things at the pinnacle of the "Bridge to Total Freedom." The official scientology description of this level is "Truth Revealed" and the “ability gained” is: Handles the primary reason for amnesia on the whole track. … [Read more...]
Terra Math, L. Ron Hubbard, and Wacky Cosmology
Terra joins us once again for some more thought provocation. Terra Math, L. Ron Hubbard, and Wacky Cosmology Definition of cosmology (Dictionary.com): the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin and general structure of the universe, with its parts, elements, and laws, and especially with such of its characteristics as space, time, causality and freedom. Per L. Ron Hubbard’s cosmological view of the universe, we, as spiritual beings, have lived for quadrillions of years—which is a whole lot of years and a whole lot of zeros. A quadrillion years is a long time. A really, really long tim … [Read more...]
John Sweeney’s Classic Scientology Expose
I was looking through old scientology shows and came across this one from 2010. I had not watched it in many years, but found it fascinating. Obviously, my views about scientology have changed. But I have a much greater appreciation for the show now having worked on 3 seasons of Scientology and The Aftermath. This is a terrific piece of investigative reporting and a finely crafted show that contains a LOT of information. John Sweeney and his brilliant producer Sarah Mole did a masterful job of putting this together. They battled with the legal constraints imposed on them by the … [Read more...]