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So you have questions about Scientology...
Null and void | 11/14/05 | null and void

Posted on 11/14/2005 6:24:28 PM PST by null and void

As a former member of that, ummmm, organization, I have a standing open offer to answer any FReeper's qusetions about Scientology, either in open forum, or via FReepmail.

I will do my best to answer as promptly, concisely and accurately as possible, but as I left some time ago, I'm not always privy to the latest wrinkles.

Still, from what I can gather from my few remaining contacts not that much has really changed!


TOPICS: General Discusssion; Other non-Christian; Theology
KEYWORDS: asdumbasmoslems; cult; helpful; scientology; suckersaplenty; thanks; thanksfreeper; xenu
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To: GOPJ
Hubbard picked Clearwater as the home base because of the words "Clear" and the mystical properties he attributed to "water"? Do you know what those "properties" were? And how does that played into the Sea Org thing?

Haven't a clue, but FWIW he was a Pisces.

Also, is it true they keep files on "enemies".

Yes. Extensive files. VERY extensive files.

Isn't it a little creepy that a religious organization outside the middle east would be so paranoid as to have "enemies"?

Yes.

( OK, it's also creepy that religions in the ME have enemies...)

A bit, but I don't think they've worked anywhere near as hard to create enemies as scientology did to create its' enemies...

141 posted on 11/15/2005 11:15:29 AM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: Delmont
In a couple of sentences, no, not really. I've got a score of paragraphs giving as quick an outline as I can, but that will have to wait until I'm on my home 'puter.
142 posted on 11/15/2005 11:17:23 AM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: null and void

Is it common knowledge that they do that sort of thing, and is it acceptable to people involved in Scientology?


143 posted on 11/15/2005 12:58:44 PM PST by In_The_Vine
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To: AxelPaulsenJr

That is the only one of his I liked, but it was a bad remake of a good spanish film.


144 posted on 11/15/2005 3:57:27 PM PST by Central Scrutiniser (Never pet a dog that is on fire)
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To: Delmont

Read post 74, it will give you all the knowledge you would get if you were to make it to OTIII.

And save you a few hundred grand.


145 posted on 11/15/2005 3:59:19 PM PST by Central Scrutiniser (Never pet a dog that is on fire)
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To: null and void

http://xenutv.bogie.nl/


They had to move to an offshore server.


146 posted on 11/15/2005 4:04:57 PM PST by Central Scrutiniser (Never pet a dog that is on fire)
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To: Central Scrutiniser

I see the light!!
Did L Ron Hubbard happen to watch "Clockwork Orange" before or after the cinema idea?

Also I thought I was just always talking to myself, those are Thetans telling old Delmont right and wrong, wow.


147 posted on 11/15/2005 4:49:21 PM PST by Delmont (Zuwarah-Love of my life, Velveeta)
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To: Delmont

OK, hold on to your hat!

This is cobbled together from several answers to similar questions in the past:

Let's start with a scientology sub-study, dianetics:

The really short version is:
Past events create current problems.

Examining the past events promotes understanding of why one (over)reacts to various current environmental stressors.

Understanding and propertly evaluating decisions made under pain and stress relieves the knee jerk reactions to current situations and frees one up to respond rationally.

The decisions build up on each other, and tracing back the chain of similar events and finding and evaluating the earliest one puts things in their proper perspective.

It takes an outside person to talk with to keep one on track to finding the earliest event, as the events themselves contain painful experiences and unconciousness that can easily cause one to quit before they reach the begining of the problem.

That's really just about all there is to it.

It goes a bit further in that one can have ALL the painful experiences moved into the light of day and be freed up from their influence.

This is the state of "Clear" - a name derived from clearing a calculator of all the previous answers before starting a new calculation.

A second answer:

Scientology grew out of Dianetics. Dianetics is a form of psychotherapy (although they would never call it that!) based on the belief that current ills are caused by past trauma, and traumatic incidents build on earlier similar incidents.

It works pretty well.

Fairly early on, Dianetics ran into a major problem: going back on a chain of incidents to an earlier similar incident often ended up with events that clearly didn't happen during this lifetime.

Now what? Either they are imaginary incidents, or they are real.

Insisting that they were imaginary caused most clients to relapse, lose any gains they may have derived by talking about these incidents. This clearly isn't in the best interests of either the client or the practitioner.

OK, so they must (!) be real. From accepting this premise it is immediately obvious that something survives this mortal coil. Scientology evolved to address the needs of this spiritual being, which Hubbard and The Church call a 'Thetan' a name derived from the Greek letter theta, an early symbol for life (For a while the Earth Day crowd was using theta for everything- much to the amusement of scientology true believers)

Scientology has any number of 'processes' designed to increase a thetan's spiritual ability. The lower level processes do provide some degree of improvement, notably in one's ability to perceive what is actually there, rather than just seeing what one expects to see. There is also an notable increase in ability to just 'be there' comfortably, even in situations that used to cause significant distress.

HOWEVER, Scientology is also an organization, with a strong survival instinct, and a very paranoid view of any outsiders.

Upper levels of scientology tend more and more towards making one dependent on the church, and actually blind one to some of the discontinuities in what the church says as opposed to what the church does.

The church used to have a 'Fair Game Policy' that stated that any former member of the church who bad mouthed it was fair game for any attack, legal or otherwise.

That policy has been rescinded as a policy but not as a practice.

Scientology will viciously attack anyone who publicly says anything bad about them. The have what? Hundreds of millions? Billions? to put anyone's life under an electron microscope one sliver at a time, and tie them up in legal battles for centuries, if need be.

And people wonder why the Hollywood press is sooooo quiet???

And a third answer:

More seriously, there are a lot of workable techniques for improving one's abilities to just be there, and relieving upsets from the past. Some of the administrative policies are very effective. The "study tech" is pretty good.

Hubbard spent quite a bit of time exploring other practices for things that worked. "Discovered" them, and organized them in an eclectic system that has something for everyone.

He tried very hard to take personal credit for everything he borrowed from elsewhere, and wanted to be known as "Source" for all "the Tech" to the exclusion of all other entities.

Finally a fourth answer:

Man is basically good. Evil happens because old unexamined memories of traumatic incidents and the related decisions are stored in the "reactive mind" and they kick in on a subconscious level and force people to respond in ways not appropriate to the current environment.

By reliving these events and examining them in session the old unexamined decisions are re-evaluated and placed in context, where they can be used -or not- by the "analytical mind" to make rational decisions about how to relate to the present situation.

When ALL the traumatic events one has ever experienced are are examined and refiled appropriately the person has attained the state of "Clear".

That's Dianetics.

Scientology grew out of Dianetics, as it was found most people when being asked to find earlier related traumatic incidents (more recent incidents owe their power to the older incidents they are built on) they found things that clearly didn't happen in their current lifetime.

Now what? Denying the client's truth that these events happened made them worse. Accept them at face value, and the client gets better.

The conclusion must be that they are real.

Therefore, Man is an immortal spiritual being, and that puts Scientology's ball firmly in the religion court.

Dianetics concerns itself with reducing/eliminating disabilities.

Scientology concerns itself with increasing/creating abilities.

At lower levels, where most practitioners are, this is simple drills to increase ones skills at observing what is going on around them, being comfortable in stressful interpersonal situations, techniques for improved learning, etc.

I can honestly recommend all these lower levels to most anyone.

BUT, the upper levels (OT-III and above) are pernicious at best.

This is where the inner circle gets exposed to the big secrets, all that Xenu stuff and other entities stuck to the body.

99% of the scientologist you are apt to meet are blissfully ignorant of what happens on the upper levels, they just have a vague idea that there are really bad things that happened on the "time track" and they require very special exacting and expensive handling.

The people you meet have seen and tasted the bait, the lower level stuff that actually did make positive changes in their lives. They are in a supportive community that shares a dream of a planet without war insanity and crime, a "Clear Planet".

For the most part, by the time someone gets to the trap part, they have bought into it's importances, and continue running it despite its result of leaving them less able to relate to the real world. They convince themselves that they are becoming more spiritual, and less interested in the mundane.

Sorry that it doesn't read easier, I just don't want to re edit and retype the whole thing!


148 posted on 11/15/2005 7:20:38 PM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: In_The_Vine
Is it common knowledge that they do that sort of thing, and is it acceptable to people involved in Scientology?

It wasn't when I was in. The notes from auditing sessions are said to be sacred and private. Once people start to doubt that, welllll, the whole house of cards starts to collapse.

There are policy letters specifically calling for a vigorous search of into the lives of anyone who dares criticize the church and broad exposure of any crimes or peccadilloes exposed. Generally public is only peripherally aware of these goings on, they are kept focused on their coursework, and sessions.

The more exposure these activities get the less inclined people become to maintain close relations with the church.

From some of the reports given on this thread, it looks like they are starting to implode. Finally.

149 posted on 11/15/2005 7:28:31 PM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: Central Scrutiniser
They had to move to an offshore server.

Gosh. I wonder why? < /Richter scale sarcasm>

150 posted on 11/15/2005 7:31:33 PM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: null and void

I'm having trouble pulling up the videos.

Xenu.net had to relocate to avoid the rapacious arms of the CO$ lawyers.


151 posted on 11/15/2005 7:33:10 PM PST by Central Scrutiniser (Never pet a dog that is on fire)
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To: Delmont
Did L Ron Hubbard happen to watch "Clockwork Orange" before or after the cinema idea?

No idea. Nor do I have any idea if he ever saw it.

Also I thought I was just always talking to myself, those are Thetans telling old Delmont right and wrong, wow.

Dude! You've GOT to get up the bridge!!!

152 posted on 11/15/2005 7:34:10 PM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: Central Scrutiniser

The Dutch site posted in #146 works.

Man, do some of those videos bring back bad memories!


153 posted on 11/15/2005 8:06:24 PM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: Petronski
"Apparently Mayor McCheese has been a Scientologist since the late seventies!

MUST SEE VIDEO! I choked on my coffee watching this one. LOL

Thank you Conan!"

And thanks Petronski!

154 posted on 11/16/2005 7:56:25 AM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: null and void

If you never saw Clockwork Orange I bet you would find it interesting, basically they tried to "train" the main character out of his violent ways buy making him watch movies and would put these little contraptions on his eyes so he couldn't close them. Later on they thought it was cruel and unusual punishment so he went back to his old ways of raping and pillaging.
Thanks for holding "forum" and answering questions.


155 posted on 11/16/2005 9:19:44 AM PST by Delmont (Zuwarah-Love of my life, Velveeta)
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To: null and void
Interesting; I actually read through the first 100 posts. I had a girlfriend once that was into EST and tried to convert me; It didn't last [*LOL*]. Thanks for the Thread and your time!
156 posted on 11/16/2005 9:34:18 AM PST by DoctorMichael (The Fourth-Estate is a Fifth-Column!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
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To: Central Scrutiniser; null and void; WestCoastGal; Rushmore Rocks

Fantastic link, once it finally finishes loading!

Strange thing,(nully, you're gonna love this). I initially tried to access the link early this morning. It seemed as if the page had loaded properly but when I would try to start any of the videos, nothing seemed to happen. As if it were, for want of proper terms, a dead link.

It was then time for that second cup of coffee. I left the computer room and went to the adjoining room, the kitchen/living/dining room, poured another cup and sat down to watch Fox news. About 30 minutes later, out walks hubby and we proceed with our usual morning banter. All at once,not only are we hearing Fox News, but there seems to be something broadcasting from our computer room!

Hubby seems to think that I have perhaps started playing a game already and have walked away from it, while some lengthy explanation of a further quest or some such nonsense is droning on. (yes, i am an old gamer) I assure him that that is not the case today.

We walk into the computer room and somehow, someway, one of the videos from the link is playing! It is the Anderson Cooper video that I clicked somewhere at the link. Heh...

Poor hubby. He looked at the screen and really listened for a few seconds to be sure he was hearing and seeing what he thought he was, and then he looked at me with such a strange look on his face. ROFL!!!!!!! I quickly assured him that it was only more "research" that I was doing. He's gotten used to the other "research" that he sees on my screen from TM : )

Of course, me being me, in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Dang! Have they gotten control of my computer somehow?" .... giggling..

Anyway, hope you get a laugh out of that!

As to the video, I've paused it to send you this post. What I have watched so far seems quite informative. I'm anxious to finish watching it and then see if perhaps there might be more videos stacked up for me to watch! I know I pushed about every stinkin download button on that page! LOL!!

Thank you so much for sharing with us.


157 posted on 11/16/2005 10:07:59 AM PST by KylaStarr
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To: DoctorMichael

No problem. It is a worthy use of my time.


158 posted on 11/16/2005 10:53:46 AM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: KylaStarr
I'll have to check it [Anderson Cooper] out.

The 2nd of July one was painful to watch...
159 posted on 11/16/2005 10:55:14 AM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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To: KylaStarr

BTW, I'm pretty used to getting strange looks...


160 posted on 11/16/2005 10:56:23 AM PST by null and void (The enemy of my enemy is my tool...)
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