est was started by an ex scientologist, or so I've been told.
No familiarity with the Forum. One cult per lifetime suffices...
So I'll ask again.. do Scientologists believe literally in all the stuff about Xenu, aliens, atomic bombs in volcanos etc.? I've read quite a bit about all that though I didn't retain much of it, most of it, as I recall, seemed similar to a bad Sci fi B-movie.
I find it difficult to accept that so many seemingly otherwise normal people buy into it. Say what you want about Cruise and Travolta, I don't see them as complete idiots.
Or perhaps I should fist ask if all that claptrap is really what Scientology is all about?
I read the Scientology book at a fairly young age at a time when I was
searching. I don't remember too much of it as I didn't get much from it. The only impression that stuck with me was that L. Ron seemed to have a fixation on his mother and was hung up about her supposed infidelity when little L.Ron was still in the womb. According to him (IIRC) this happens so often that it's one of the main causes of mental illness because you
hear all the bad stuff going on even from within the womb.
I quickly moved on to Carlos Casteneda and his mushrooms...
I eventually got over that one as well...
EST, The Forum and People Synergistically Involved (PSI) were all spinoofs FRom Scientology.
I callem "California touchy huggy, feely, kissy seminars. All have been semi-successful FRom time to time.
Don't know if any of them are still out there or not -- I lost interest in them in 1999.
C.F. Werner Earhardt (sp?)