Absolutely true. They make ambulance chasers look like Holy Saints.

Alonzo — I thought you had a major issue with Tony from reading some of your comments. You read his blog?

Will do!

Yes Doug!!! leaving isn’t enough. To heal you do need to tell your story to others. When I came out publicly about leaving I received such an influx of love and support and admiration. IT was amazing. But more importantly, it moved me from Effect to Cause and so it was indeed therapeutic.

Doug, you voiced my sentiments exactly. I’ve always thought that the ones lower on the Bridge who were aspiring for the top, but who couldn’t move quickly due to money constraints were the most brainwashed and loyal die hards of all. That is because they still have the dream intact and still believe all the claims and promises that will come to them “at the top of the Bridge.” It is what keeps them on board the slow train up the Bridge to Total Freedom. The people who were on OT VII and VIII saw first hand the predatory regging for every dime you had or would ever make, saw the non-results in some cases. I personally knew a lot of OTs who were disillusioned and unhappy with the way they were treated at Flag and on the Ship. The ones lower didn’t have to deal with any of this and so still believed in “the friendliest place on earth.” And you’re right that Scn actually safeguards its membership by slowing these people down or finding ways to sidetrack them on expensive side-routes not on the Bridge. Good comment, Doug.

No, apparently I can’t… Sorry Ole Server Doodle

“The higher up the Bridge people were, the less honest.” Indeed. Talk to the majority of those that left and ask them what leaving the cult did for them, it was a resurgence of their personal integrity. And speaking out is therapeutic as it puts them into a “causative” posture that unsticks “the flow” of withheld communication, suppressed and invalidated views and observations that were NEVER SAFE to utter openly to another Scientologist lest they be subject to the “Knowledge Report” snitching culture. Leaving isn’t enough, it’s important to tell your story to another human being. It actually makes a person more able and they can heal.

Bonnie there has always been a large segment of people in Scientology who took limited services and also lived paycheck to paycheck. The pricing structure in Scientology (in my opinion) is such that it keeps people on the slow train and keeps more people engaged and active dedicated members in the culture in order to maximize donations over a long long period of time. Many of these people never make it up the higher processing levels due to the exorbitant costs. These people are more likely to toe the line, stay off the internet and form social alliances within the culture, isolating themselves from outside world mindset. “Bitter enders.” People who make fast progress find out how expensive the OT7 hamster wheel is and how crazy the organization really is the closer you get to the top. So Scientology actually safeguards it’s membership by slowing them down or finding ways to sidetrack them on expensive side-routes not on the “Bridge to Total Freedom” I think this is a copyrighted phrase even.

Can you fix my user name? Now it says: Old Surver Dude.