We are joined by Jeff Hawkins, an extremely talented, thoughtful and articulate former Sea Org member to recount his experiences with David Miscavige, his role in making Dianetics a bestseller again the 80's and his journey into and out of scientology. He is the author of 3 books on the subject. Jeff's brilliant book Counterfeit Dreams Leaving Scientology Closing Minds The Sociopath Next Door One of the famous Dianetics "Question" ads from 1980's that Jeff created, returning … [Read more...]
Reforming Scientology?
Leah recently reminded me of this wonderful website, and in particular, this article by my old friend Jeff Hawkins. Jeff is one of the kindest, smartest and most decent people I know. When Miscavige blew him off, he lost one of the only real marketing geniuses in scientology. Jeff was responsible for the single successful marketing campaign in scientology -- returning Dianetics to the top of the NY Times bestseller list in the 80's. He is a wonderful writer -- I highly recommend his book Counterfeit Dreams -- and a thoughtful analyst of the world of scientology. I am taking the liberty … [Read more...]
Scientology Violates Priest-Penitent Confidences — When It Suits Them
This comes from another of the entirely inappropriately titled scientology internet fronts, the "Truth Newsroom". This thing, with no names or identities associated, not even the word scientology - is clearly an OSA operation. They send out a constant stream of material taken from former Sea Org members' files. They put one out from one of my confessions that I felt bad about lying as if this was some sort of proof that I was lying today -- it made no sense as I said this when I was still the International Spokesperson for scientology and I continued to be that. But the … [Read more...]
Scientology — The Art of Cognitive Dissonance
Somewhat random thoughts after returning from an out-of-town trip. Cognitive dissonance has reached an art form within the walls of the RCS bubble. Cognitive dissonance is described this way: Mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. The concept was introduced by the psychologist Leon Festinger (1919–89) in the late 1950s. He and later researchers showed that, when confronted with challenging new information, most people seek to preserve their current understanding of the world by rejecting, explaining away, or avoiding the new information … [Read more...]