Answers to the first couple, at least:

> 1) Firstly, what is a GO/OSA and a pc’s? (is the latter person of concern?)

GO = Guardian’s Office
OSA = Office of Special Affairs

Those are the names of the group that “defends” Scientology by taking aggressive actions toward those perceived as or declared enemies.

pc = preclear, the person on the receiving end of auditing

Basically, as the auditing session is occurring, the auditor is taught to regularly evaluate the emotional state of the person they’re auditing.

> 2) At what stage is a parishioner first introduced to the ‘tone scale’.

I’m pretty several of the earliest basic courses on Communication teaches it. (Basic courses are somewhat introductory, relatively inexpensive, and focused on things like “Personal Integrity” and “Communications”.) Many are introduced before they know much else.

Of course, much of the focus is on the emotions people have more understanding of – boredom, anger, grief – so what they’re doing is creating agreement without deep understanding.

I am keen to get a better understanding of the tone scale, how and where it sits in the scientological ideology. However, having never been a scientologist and only having read about it and listened to Mick and Leah’s podcast, I am somewhat unfamiliar with certain anagrams such as GO/OSA or pc’s, so please forgive me for asking any question which probably have very obvious answers.

1) Firstly, what is a GO/OSA and a pc’s? (is the latter person of concern?)

2) At what stage is a parishioner first introduced to the ‘tone scale’.

3) I have seen an image of the tone scale. Are all the descriptions in the top boxes, with the highest number ascribed to them, what every scientologist aspires to be? Or has to be?

4) What happens if a scientologist does not or cannot reach those higher rated descriptions?

5) I’m a little confused as in the big grid ‘tone scale’ I have seen online, it’s rows are numbered: 0.1, 0.5, 1.1, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4 and it has 24 columns. However, in your above article, you use a different numbering system: 0.9. 1.2, 1.4, 1.9. How do the two correspond? Am I looking at the wrong thing?

6) Mike and Leah talk in their podcast about anger being desired as a scientologist; why is this?

7) I’ve read and heard of the phrase ‘going clear’ and believe I have a fair understanding of its meaning. However, I have also heard the phrase ‘clean’ living spoken by a scientologist and how scientology promotes and encourages this; is it a term you are familiar with and if so, could you please explain it? Does it just mean living life free from alcohol and drugs?

I apologies for the barrage of questions! If you feel you cannot answer any, please don’t worry. If it is easier to email directly, please feel free to do to.

Many thanks, and best wishes.

Right on Brian!

Hi Sheila, I do know what you mean. I’ve had that problem too back in the day. But that is not sympathy. That’s being a doormat. That’s having a low self image with a bullseye on your back.

That’s not having the right discernment with reading people.

Defaulting to other people’s needs and denying our own needs is not sympathy. That’s a problem with self worth.

Being used by people is not the byproduct of sympathy. It can be if the person being sympathetic has a self worth problem.

This essay is about how decent people feel for the suffering of others, not how they are used by others in a negative way, or how certain mindsets get abused by being nice.

Hilarious. $cientologists have no sense of irony. ?

Me too Katherine!

Damn right. Nothing whatsoever would “register” because the e-meter is a hilarious joke.

Yep, I sure would run away from such quackery.