In the face of the Danny Masterson trial, I have spent quite a bit of time recently explaining this Hubbard concept and how it relates to treating victims in scientology.
Every scientologist knows and uses this phrase, “What did you do to pull it in?” as a pat response to those on the receiving end of something harmful or upsetting to them.
It is the go-to answer for a broad spectrum of things: from being criticized unfairly by your boss, to being run over by a car or mugged on the street.
The basic concept is that you are “at cause” and create everything in your life.
In scientology, Hubbard explains that for something bad to happen to you, you had to have done something bad to someone else before that and crave being punished as a result. The bad thing that happens to you “motivates” you to commit another bad act. And so it goes on, until this vicious chain can be broken using scientology “technology.” Typical of many concepts in scientology, it is rather convoluted. Hubbard called this the “Overt/Motivator Sequence” — an overt is a bad act or sin, a motivator is something bad you receive that prompts you to do more bad things.
What is important to understand here is that the theory is that YOU commit the first bad act, which sets off a chain reaction. To relieve this need to receive “motivators” (there is even a term for this — “motivator hungry”) you must find your “original overt” — hence “what did you do to pull it in?”
There is a LOT written by Hubbard on this subject, and I have simplified it, but if you understand that every scientologist believes with unshakeable certainty that for ANYTHING bad to happen to you, you must have done something bad of a similar nature to someone else, you will understand the concept perfectly well.
There are two other related concepts from Hubbard that support his “Overt/Motivator Sequence” theory.
Full Responsibility. This is a very loaded term in scientology. It is something that all scientologists strive to achieve. Hubbard wrote about this is one of his earliest books and it is a concept threaded through scientology — that you are completely the cause of your own state. See my earlier post Full Responsibility a Fundamental of the Scientology Trap.
Here is what Hubbard says “Full Responsibility” is:
It means responsibility for all acts, all emotions on every dynamic and in every sphere as one’s own. It includes such “disrelated” data as the death of an individual one has never met on a highway on which one has never traveled at the hands of a stranger, no matter how culpable. One does not “send to find for whom the bell tolls” without full willingness to have tolled it and to have caused the cause of its tolling.
Victim. Almost a curse word in scientology. To be a victim is to be “at effect” (not “at cause”). In fact, Hubbard defined scientologists like this in one of his writings:
Scientologists, people who aren’t victims.
The idea that one could be an innocent victim of abuse has no part in scientology thinking.
This applies to serious medical issues as well right? Val Kilmer has been dealing with medical problems for a while, and when Cruise got him in Top Gun 2 the media were playing up how great he was sticking up for his “friend”. I thought it was funny given that if Cruise were honest he’d admit in his view that Kilmer “deserves” his condition.
Victim blaming, what a typically disgusting response from scientology.
During the 16 years I was “in” I never believed I pulled in whatever happened to me. It was one of the few bits I couldn’t abide: it just made no sense. Obviously, other bits DID make sense so I stayed with it, thinking I’d eventually get the outcome stated on the grade chart. In my own way, I did finally make it: I left and by doing so, I found my freedom. I have many scientologists to thank for pointing me to the exit.
I suppose “karma” might enter the conversation. Many people give lip service to the idea while not necessarily giving it a lot of credence. As the Beatles song said, “Instant karma’s gonna get ya.” or “What goes around comes around.” It seems that if I shoo a noisy bird from my yard that within a few days a bird will crap on my shoulder or at least on my patio furniture so there might be something to it. As usual Hubbard took a philosophical idea which might be worth discussing and turned it into a control mechanism.
karma noun
kar·ma | \ ˈkär-mə also ˈkər- \
Definition of karma
1. often capitalized : the force generated by a person’s actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person’s next existence
Each individual is born with karma, the residual from past lives that must be resolved …
— Diane Goldner
broadly : such a force considered as affecting the events of one’s life
Claude says, “You reap what you sow.” I call this idea karma, that what goes around comes around.
— Anthony Walton
I figured I needed all the good karma I could get if I was serious about winning Noah’s heart.
— Robin Palmer
2: a characteristic emanation, aura, or spirit that infuses or vitalizes someone or something
… he wrote a book entitled Maverick in which he talked about his drug use and his teammates’ karma …
— Sam Smith
Graffiti on the walls of trains or subway stations create bad karma.
— Ed Koch
Reminds me of the policies on Comm Ev’ing people for getting sunburns and for getting mugged.
Scientology has lots of magical thinking and this certainly qualifies. For fun ask a Scientologist what Hubbard did to pull in his conviction for Fraud in France and his many physical ailments and the terrible reputation Scientology has!
See how it works?
I must have committed mass murder or the like to pull in something like scientology on myself.
Lol
If Masterson is found guilty, and they can implicate Scientology as an accomplice, can Scientology loose their tax exempt status?
Scientology is not charged in this case so there will be no finding about them other than in the court of public opinion.
Also a concept near and dear to rip-offs, like NXIVM . Season 2 of the The Vow, ep2, has a lot about people learning to be “at cause” and how when bad things happen to people, it’s their own fault,
Mind you, the leaders are quoted as wondering why these bad things (the trial, the companies being taken away) is happening to them, and they are NOT blaming themselves.
Those in charge are always the exception to the rule…..
Hubbard drew deeply from A. Crowley. A Theorem from “Magick in Theory and Practice ” seems to have led Hubbard:
“Every man has a right to fulfill his own will without being afraid that it may interfere with that of others; for if he is in his proper place, it is the fault of others if they interfere with him.”
Hubbard was strong on fulfilling his WILL, and to hell with what others wanted/needed.
Loved this article. May I share a win relating to how EACH of us – every one of us, LRH says, is responsible for “pulling in” what happens to us, good or bad, in life?
Back when I was in, my little org was visited by an OSA member. For what reason I don’t know but he was around a lot for a few weeks. He was very nice to all of us. I shared a few problems I had about confronting the public while bookselling and his responses were kind and understanding. I liked him! Back then, even though I’d been in Scientology for 20 or so years, I knew NOTHING about OSA as a group. Anyway, I was die-hard Innie Public at the time, and he was kind and down to earth and non-judgemental and well, normal in his interactions me, and I therefore felt comfortable with him and (privately) considered him one of the rare “good” Sea Org members (most of whom I would avoid whenever possible). So one day this “nice” OSA guy approaches me and tells me that Celebrity Centre Paris was in a bad way, that the ED of CC Paris was being sued or reported to the French government, and that other staff members there were being reported also…my memories for the details of what he was relaying are somewhat hazy but the gist of it was that CC Paris was in real trouble and might have to close down, and would I be willing to “flow” something (donate some money) to efforts to counter-act the suppression of Scientology going on in France. Well, this was nothing new, of course. Many times were we public asked to help out in the way. But I didn’t want to give any money for this. And because I felt so comfortable with this man, I blurted out the first thing that came into my head. It went something like this: “Wow! That’s huge suppression going on! How did CC Paris pull this in? Out -tech? Out – Ethics? What did they DO?”
WELL!
You should have seen this guy’s FACE! For a brief instant, total shock. And then the mask (i realized years later when I googled him that his friendliness and pleasant kind manner was all a mask) came down again. His uptone cheerful mask was once again in place. I don’t recall his answer, He said a short sentence and then excused himself and took off in a hurry – a big hurry!
Later that night it dawned on me that unintentionally I had hit on THE point to utilize as a response to any staff member or Sea Org member asking me for money for Scientology in trouble in other areas.
“How did they pull this in?”
PS: And yes, years later I googled this guy and found out that he was one of the slimiest of slimes. But wow, was he good at “mocking up” a cheerful, frank, friendly persona. Really good, I must say. These upper level, or maybe he was middle level OSA people probably get endlessly drilled.
Wow! What a story! And kudos to you for a brilliant use of the tech! Here we go again! In some part of the world Scientology is in trouble and we can eradicate all the suppression and enturbulation involved if everyone will just cough up a massive amount of cash!
Way to handle it! You go, girl!
Thanks 🙂 Can’t take credit for it though because, Cultie that I was and feeling relaxed and “safe” with this OSA guy (can you imagine) I just blurted out unthinkingly the automatic LRH response to PTSness that came into my head. Pure luck that it freaked him out 🙂
It’s amazing what happens when you hold a mirror up to people like that.
Well done!
Just pure luck, but thanks, Yawn – yeah, it was a kick 🙂
Great story, thanks for sharing
“Guilt” and “religion” go together like cookies and milk. By using guilt, real or imagined, the individual is made to feel worthless and malleable.
Mike, As I was reading your explanation of these mind-f**king Scientology concepts (that it takes years to undo in one’s thinking), all I could think about was, Hey Dave – have you asked yourself yet what YOU did to pull all this in for Scientology—which is now peaking at probably the worst reputation it has ever had in its history, with YOU at the helm…And Danny, do you and your family still see yourself as the “upstat, ethics protected” dude that you’ve imagined yourself to be, and what have YOU done to pull all this in? Pathetically, neither of these bubble-dwellers have the luxury of honest self-reflection. Scientology inoculates them against truth.
That would be the logical train of thought. But in that bubble, the higher up the food chain you go, the less any of that stuff applies to you. It’s almost like all of that “technology” is little more than a big P/R con that gets dished out to unsuspecting outsiders to pull them in.
I was thinking the same thing!!
What did D Masterson do to “pull in” all the shit he (and scientology) is going thru now?
Rhetorical quesion of course. We know exactly what the asshole did.
Imagine he’s undergoing intensive audting? Or does his celeb status put him above all that.
Loved the book, TY for being brave and vulnerable in writing it.
@MBDMc
You just gave me an idea. Maybe we should all send Captain Miscavige a note commiserating with him and asking him to “take a look” at how he keeps “pulling in” this sort of suppression.
LOL!!!!!!
To: Aquamarine (not you again!)
From: David Miscavige COB RTC
Re: you and your entheta
I AM TIRED OF YOUR ENTURBULATING COMMENTS AND, TO EVERY SP ON THIS BLOG, LET ME MAKE MYSELF CLEAR! I DO NOT PULL IN ENTURBULATION! I AM SIMPLY TOO THETA TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ENTURBULATION OR ANY SORT OF REACTIVE MIND MUMBO JUMBO! SO CEASE YOUR COMMENTS AT ONCE OR I WILL SEND MIDSHIPMAN SHANANAY MUHAMMAD TO YOUR HOUSE! BOY, WILL SHE DEAL WITH YOU!
ML,
Dave.
To: David Miscavige COB RTC (again, ha ha!)
From: Alcoboy
Re: sending stupid comm particles.
First, leave Aquamarine alone. Second, you can’t send Shananay Muhammad to anyone’s house until you bail her out of jail.
My, my. What has the Sea Org come to?
No love at all,
Alcoboy.
As always, thank you, Alcoboy! What would we pen-is-mightier-than-the-sword sarcastic-big-mouthed broads on this blog do without our Enforcer?
As always, Aqua, my pleasure.
They done nothing wrong, that blame ofcourse all lies at the feet of the poor victims and stays there!
Mike,
There are no victims. So when bad stuff happened (like illness, disease, declining health, numerous lawsuits, what have you) to L. Ron Hubbard, apparently he did something to “pull it in”? I guess suggesting that or asking that question of LRon would be tantamount to heresy.
And with David Miscavige, what would happen if you suggested that? You could ask Shelly.
Yes, the laws apply to everyone except Hubbard, now Miscavige, and the organization itself
Ahhh, the old double standard move.
So this means that very likely no one ever used this PTS SP reference about pulling suppression in on oneself on LRH. I’m wondering if anyone – anyone, at any time, back in the day. ever had the nerve to ask LRH to take a look at that for which HE could be responsible, suppression-wise.
Probably David Mayo asked it when he audited him. And we see where that got Mayo.
Right! Wow, yes!
Typical narcissist! The rules are for everyone except them!
And that IS the scam of Scientology. It also converts to, “do as I say not as I do.”
I like & often use the term, ‘burning the candle at both ends,” to describe Hubbard’s endless use of contradictory statements. If you really look at what he says he does this all the time. An example is, he states often a thetan (that’s you) will do just about anything to create randomity, that is, something to keep you occupied or amused etc. Yet, he also says to destroy enemies or employ ‘fair game’ to obtain your goals/objectives etc . All these things should result in ‘motivators’ for the definition of an overt is – that which you do that you are not willing to have happen to you.
Scientology tech sort of eventually gets into your head and round and round it goes, it gaslights you! You sort of scare yourself into not stepping on an ant.
That’s not even mentioning the space opera stuff where you really let lose with thought beams and all sorts of nifty tricks you played on other thetans. Eventually because you’ve been so naughty & bad you end up in meat body. Then you can really be hurt and cop heaps of sicknesses, injury and so forth. Of course Hubbard said he could get you out of all that and make you a happy camper once again, or play a better game as he called it.
Look at Hubbard’s life and now Miscavige’s – that’s where the stated condition of OT leads to…
Study and apply Scientology in that organisation at your own peril – it will and does, do you in eventually.
Relationships are complicated and for most people it’s normal to think you may be partly responsible for someone causing you pain. When my young neighbor was dumped and humiliated by her boyfriend I explained with the parable of my childhood neighbor:
Ms. Doris was about 80 but still active. She was a cookie-making ball of sunshine and served as neighborhood grandma to all us kids. On day on her way out of the grocery store she was accosted by some ‘men’ who attempted to grab her purse. When she resisted they knocked her down and kicked her for good measure breaking some ribs and leaving her bedridden in pain for several months. Using Hubbard logic what did she do to pull this in?
Obviously Ms. Doris did nothing to deserve this. It happened because some greedy scum wanted her purse and had no problems beating up a nice old lady. Sometimes people do bad things to you because they suck. Period.
I was surprisingly old when I became comfortable with this conclusion. If there is any ‘genius’ in Hubbard it’s harnessing and reinforcing normal human doubt to serve his ends.
Hey Dave, nobody around you can do anything right. You have to do everything. All this bad that happens to you, what did you do to “pull it in?” Hold these cans we will find out..
Not.
To: safetyguy
From: David Miscavige COB RTC
Re: above comment.
How dare you insinuate that I am surrounded by incapable people! I do everything myself to show them the correct method! For your insolence I am sending Midshipman Shananay Muhammad around to ensure future compliance!
ML,
Dave.
To: David Miscavige COB RTC
From: Alcoboy
Re: Midshipman Shananay Muhammad Nation of Islam/ Sea Org
First, you haven’t bailed her out of jail yet. And second, why are you too chicken to do it yourself?
Oh, that’s right. Process servers.
No love at all,
Alcoboy
Corn cob, go to the nearest brick pile and pound sand………
You know the rest. 😂
Ooooohhh! Now you’re going to get a visit from Shananay Muhammad! Well, as soon as the little dwarf bails her out of jail.
You know, he’s such a cheapskate you ain’t got nothing to worry about.
I just don’t get it. You have to be young and vulnerable to the point where you believe all of this?
And then one day you wake up and you say oh “HELL NO!” Like you Mike, and Leah, and others. You would have to be very strong to erase that way of thinking and being who you are now♥️👏
Marie says, “I just don’t get it. You have to be young and vulnerable to the point where you believe all of this?”
Someone once said, “Most of us were intellectual adolescents when we entered Scientology, having little or no background in science, religion or philosophy.”
Hubbard said scientology was applying Western science to Eastern philosophy and religion so that was an entry point for many people when Hubbard was alive and maybe still is today. At the beginning levels many half truths are presented which keeps people following along.
Laughter!
Hubbard first determined that man has a reactive mind which is detrimental to man’s survival and that this is the reason for most of mankind’s ills (aside from Body Thetans). Hubbard then proclaimed that dianetics and scientology technology can free man of that reactive mind.
Since Scientologists all fall for this hook, line and sinker, Hubbard devised a plan to control mankind completely: whatever comes your way is your responsibility, especially if it’s bad. Hubbard then proclaimed that the Confessional, security checks and the writing up of Overts and Withholds can free man of everything man has ever done since time began.
Without dianetics, scientology and Confessionals, mankind is doomed. Hubbard’s technology has secured an eternity of bliss for every man, woman and child.
Yeah, right.
This is exactly what Stockholm syndrome is : justifying mid deed of suppressor by denying onself of respect and freedom.
A mental slavery, going since eons and providing fertile grounds for Cults.
A well crafted technology exit since thousands of years but get identified in 80’s.
The ‘overt/motivator sequence’ was one of the first red flags I observed in the cult. I was on the ‘comm course’, the first course that newly recruited scientologists usually do. There was a young woman on course that came in late. The course supervisor took her aside and grilled her for committing the ‘overt’ of being late. She said her bus was late and she got to course as soon as she could. This was not an acceptable excuse for the supervisor. He explained that it was actually her fault the bus was late and sent her to see the ethics officer. I didn’t ever see that young woman again. She was actually smart enough to get the hell outta that nightmare. Not so for me. I endured another decade of the bullshit before I woke up and blew that Kool-Aid stand.
“What Did You Do To Pull It In?”
A great question COB, now ask yourself.
Of course, the one thing that is ALWAYS thought but never spoken is what is Scientology’s original overt. “Oh no… we are perfect and doing nothing but good.” Yeah, right. I never bought it after that.
But a lot of Scientologist really believe they ARE doing good, I think, right? I believe that most of them don’t know just how evil this organization is.
until they do🙏
Once I was in a traffic incident. I was driving East across the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Lyndale Avenue when my car was hit by a drunk driver driving South on Lyndale Avenue.
What did I do to pull it in?
Nothing.
Perhaps but we’re you hurt in any way? How did you come out of it? That’s sad that you had that happen to you.
Okay, Scientology! Yes, it is a sympathy engram! What of it?!
Thanks Mike. I remember very early on in my tenure in scientology learning about the primary overt (sin or transgression): “BEING THERE AND COMMUNICATING.”
It’s a very insidious thing that gets imbedded into one’s psyche that everything bad that happens to an individual is ultimately their fault or responsibility (as this church likes to say).
Then, of course, everything good is because of The Church of Scientology because they are the ones helping you get off and realizing all of the bad things you have done in your past trillions of years. It is such a mind F..K.
Yo Dave,
Speakin of mind fucks, howz yers comin along taday good buddy?
Yep, really the shits that ya have to sit through all that praise being heaped on yer cult. Soooooo …………. whadayathink ya did to pull in that load of BAD PEE ARE Dave? It’s gotta be somethin really big, ya know like not takin full responsibility fer yer cherch, especially when yer supposedly in charge an all.
Think, think, think ……… good buddy, whadidyado ………… and ya know its a really bad thing.
Auditor: (sees Tic!) “whats that!!!!!”
Dave: “theres nothin there!
Auditor: (sees read on meter) “That!, that right there?”
Dave: (wakes up from dream in a cold sweat)
BTW, Enjoy another fun filled day in yer compound and don’t fergit to push those stats tomorrow. Bad news is always good news for yer cult. Think of the publicity and reach for Scamology that Danny is doin fer You. He really packs a punch don’t he?!!!!!!
Hip Hip! 😉
💫🍷🍷💫
Cheers! To you Coop!
To: Newcomer
From:, David Miscavige COB RTC
Re: me on the e-meter
Your little scenario will never happen! Why? Because I am so theta that I don’t register on the meter! Get it? I HAVE NO REACTIVE MIND! I have achieved OT levels that a downstat like yourself will never be able to understand! And that goes for the rest of you SPs on this blog!
Especially you, Rinder!
ML,
Dave.
To: David Miscavige COB RTC
From: Alcoboy
Re: above comm particle.
Honestly, I have no idea how to respond to what you just said. I mean, it makes absolutely no sense at all. Then again, neither does anything else you say.
So much for that comm cycle.
No love at all,
Alcoboy.
Hey Mike, reading your book now and just read about the IRS snowjob.
Do you think david miscavige has read your book?
I would imagine he had someone excerpt every reference to him.
In that case, he has read quite a lot of the book…
Good
Oh, he must not be very happy!