Have you ever noticed, that when talking to a Scientologist, it seems like you are speaking the same language but not exactly? Don't worry. It is that way by design. It gets even worse when you listen to Scientologists talking to each other. You know they are speaking your language, but you don't have any idea what they are saying. This is also on purpose. It is designed to accomplish three things. First, it aids the Scientologist to become more indoctrinated by understanding the "secret" language. Second, it hides what they are saying from the uninitiated. Third, it makes the Scientologist feel superior to the rest of us. Also, Hubbard re-defined some words so that he could further enslave the Scientology population which brings us to ethics and justice.
The actual definition of ethics is:
Moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior.
The moral correctness of specified conduct.
Now let's look at what Hubbard did with that:
ETHICS consists simply of the actions an individual takes on himself. It is a
personal thing. When one is ethical or “has his ethics in,” it is by his own determinism
and is done by himself.
The definition of justice is:
Just behavior or treatment.
The quality of being fair and reasonable.
Whereas Hubbard defined it as:
JUSTICE is the action taken on the individual by the group when he fails to take
these actions himself.
Let's look at ethics first. Notice that Hubbard left out a very important piece. Morality. If you look at his personal life, Hubbard may have known the definition of morality, but he certainly didn't think it applied to him. It is also not ethical or moral to take drugs while telling your followers not to. Actually though, his definition is a lie. It says that it is by one's own determinism and done by himself. I want you to get this. Any disagreement you may have with policy, coursework or Scientology administrators will get you sent to the ethics officer in a minute. If the ethics officer cannot get you to see the error of your ways then you get to go through justice actions.
Believe me when I tell you that I and many others have found out the hard way that the reason Hubbard defined justice the way he did is that Scientology justice is in no way fair or reasonable. Throwing a person into a concentration camp because they want to leave is not justice. Ripping a person away from their family is not reasonable. In Scientology, it happens regularly.
These two examples are only the tip of a very large iceberg. Look around and you will find many more. Hubbard wanted nothing less than world domination and if he had not gone 'round the bend at Creston ranch, he would have kept working toward that goal until his last dying breath.
What I really want you to get is this. If you join Scientology and especially if you join staff or the Sea Organization, you will become a citizen of Scientology and will be giving up the rights you have as a citizen of your country. Don't believe me? Ask an ex Scientologist.
Thanks for dropping by today. Make sure you come back often.
First off let's define who Scientology's enemies are. First, you have the public (Scientology's paying parishioners) that have left Scientology and spoken out, or have embarrassed Scientology in some way (usually by bringing a law suit against another Scientologist that could bring out some Scientology secrets into the public eye). Second, you have ex staff members and ex Sea Org members that have come to the realization that Scientology doesn't work as advertised and are telling their stories publicly so that others don't get hooked into this oppressive cult. Lastly, there are people outside Scientology (press, authors, television personalities, politicians, law enforcement, lawyers, judges and others), who dare to publicly disclose Scientology's crimes and anti social behaviors.
For the parishioners, Staff and Sea Org who have left and spoken out, the first step is to Declare the person a Suppressive Person (excommunication). This means that if you have any family and friends in Scientology, they will not be allowed any contact with you lest they too be declared. Also, for ex members that have been up into the OT levels (the secret sci-fi past of all mankind and the exorcism of the multiple layers of entities who inhabit humans bodies with them, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars) Scientology, through it's lawyers, spend thousands of dollars a day on private investigators just to follow and spy upon these people in an effort to make sure that they are not speaking out. I wish I was making this up, but I know more than one person who has this happen to them multiple times daily.
I also know people who have never been in Scientology who are harassed by PI's on a daily basis because they have taken a public stance against Scientology as they have seen only a wrongness of Scientology's actions. To those special people may I say a big thank you.
So what about police agencies and the press? By policy, Scientology attacks them the hardest. These policies were written by Hubbard and still in practice today. Here are some examples:
HCO POLICY LETTER OF 15 FEBRUARY 1966 - ATTACKS ON SCIENTOLOGY
Anyone proposing an investigation of or an "Inquiry" into Scientology must receive this reply and no other proposal: "We welcome an investigation into (Mental Healing or whoever is attacking us) as we have begun one ourselves and find shocking evidence." You can elaborate on the evidence we have found and lay it on thick attacking the attackers only. NEVER agree to an investigation of Scientology. ONLY agree to an investigation of the attackers This was the BIG error made in Victoria. I Okayed an Inquiry into all Mental healing. I ordered evidence on psychiatric murders to be collected. Non-compliance with these orders brought on the loss of Melbourne and the law in Victoria against Scientology. This was the non-compliance that began it. The original order I gave was relayed as "we welcome an Inquiry into Scientology . . ." or it was changed to that in Melbourne. This is correct procedure: (1) Spot who is attacking us. (2) Start investigating them promptly for FELONIES or worse using own professionals, not outside agencies. (3) Double curve our reply by saying we welcome an investigation of them. (4) Start feeding lurid, blood sex crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press. Don't ever tamely submit to an investigation of us. Make it rough, rough on attackers all the way. You can get "reasonable about it" and lose. Sure we break no laws. Sure we have nothing to hide. BUT attackers are simply an anti-Scientology propaganda agency so far as we are concerned They have proven they want no facts and will only lie no matter what they discover. So BANISH all ideas that any fair hearing is intended and start our attack with their first breath. Never wait Never talk about us - only them. Use their blood, sex, crime to get headlines. Don't use us. I speak from 15 years of experience in this There has never yet been an attacker who was not reeking with crime. All we had to do was look for it and murder would come out. They fear our Meter. They fear freedom. They fear the way we are growing. Why? Because they have too much to hide. When you use that rationale you win. When you go dishwater and say "we honest chickens just plain love to have you in the coop, Brer Fox," we get clobbered. The right response is "We militant public defenders of the freedom of the people want that there Fox investigated for eating living chickens!" Shift the spotlight to them. No matter how. Do it! You can elaborate on the formula. Let's say some other branch of government wants to investigate us via the press Just apply the formula: "We welcome a public inquiry into (that branch activity) as we already have begun to investigate their (...)." It will always work. It even would have worked on the U.S. F.D.A. when they first began five years before their raid on DC. They run! And that's all we want. HOW TO STOP ATTACKS The way we will eventually stop all attacks from there on out is by processing the society as follows: (l) Locate a source of attack on us. (2) Investigate it. (3) Expose it with wide lurid publicity. [..] Remember, CHURCHES ARE LOOKED UPON AS REFORM GROUPS. Therefore we must act like a reform group. The way to seize the initiative is to use our own professionals to investigate intensively parts of the society that may attack us. Get an ammunition locker full. Be sure of our facts. And then expose via the press. [..] Don't worry about libel if our facts indicate rottenness. The last thing that target will do is sue as then we would have a chance to prove it in court, which they are terrified of our doing. Remember - the only reason we are in trouble with the press or government is that we are not searching out and exposing rotten spots in the society. We must practice on the whole group called society. L. RON HUBBARD
And what if the "evidence" they dig up is not lurid enough? No problem. They will make it up as evidenced by what they "the church" did to well known writer Paulette Cooper , author of "The Scandal of Scientology", who testifies about the covert operations Scientology used against her to try to ruin her life.
I try not to get too emotional on these posts, some of my friends have told me I am not emotional enough, but I have a need right now to say something. At whatever time of day you read this, right now, there are people that I love and care about who are being subjected to this kind of terrorism and it MUST STOP NOW. Please God, LET IT STOP.
The Christian community as well as most life affirming religions consider that Source equals God, or the Creator. Scientologists believe that L. Ron Hubbard was source although there is no physical evidence that he created anything but another apocalyptic cult.
That, in itself, is not that disturbing. What I find more disturbing is that they put Hubbard's writings, Management and buildings above Scientologists. They place themselves above professionals and artists and those above "good citizens". I find it interesting that they place criminals above rocks, insects and fence posts, but all of these above The FBI, CIA and INTERPOL, and all of the above over squirrels (people who practice Scientology outside of the church). Lowest in the food chain is, of course, the psych's (psychiatrists and psychologists). Very strange but not if you know certain facts.
You see in 1974, Hubbard announced to the Scientology world who he "really was". He claimed that he was none other than Maitreya (a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor of the historic Sakyamuni Buddha. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya references a time when the Dharma will have been forgotten on Jambudvipa. It is found in the canonical literature of all Buddhist sects (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana), and is accepted by most Buddhists as a statement about an event that will take place when the Dharma will have been forgotten on Earth) Of course he changed the name slightly and called himself Metteyya, whether a misspelled word or artistic license who knows.
He made this epic announcement in a work called "The Hymn of Asia" In he claimed that:
I come to bring you all that Lord Buddha would have you know of life, Earth and Man. I come to you with Freedom I come to you with science I come to teach you I come to help you.
With arduous study With interest and love You will all In very few years Some in months Become Bodhi
I can be addressed But in our temples best Address me and you address Lord Buddha. Address Lord Buddha And you then address Metteyya.
Be attentive now. You have preserved Only a bit of what Lord Buddha Said. He said much more But then there came Men who said Other things And changed A piece of this A bit of that And so we strayed.
Censor not free speech And censor not free thought But recall In all these Twenty-five centuries None came And spoke The Great Lessons Again Nor added to them Then to make You free. I speak then So you can agree. So speak and think Whatever you will But come again to these Lessons If you stray And become lost and slaves as you have been. With these And your agreement to We now can build The Eastern And the Western Worlds Into one great Brotherhood of Man.
We can civilize the Barbarian We can make lawful the criminal We can make sane the insane We can ourselves be free. We can make just The ruler We can make Merciful the strong We can make well The sick We can make intelligent The dull person. We can make social The unsocial. We can make kind The cruel. We can reach Men's minds And change them.
I will undertake
To give you Golden
plaques
Two months of study
For the bright
Will place one's
Foot upon the way
To help the rest.
A week of help
From such a student
Can make a Bodhi
Of the best.
Gone are your
decades of study
To attain
A Light.
We enter into a
Golden Age.
We are Golden Men.
We are the New Men
The new spiritual
Leaders of Earth.
We will prosper
To that degree
That we work
We will become
Rich in peace
And palaces to
The degree that
We maintain good order
And reasonable conduct
And preserve or even create
The Sanity of Man.
You have waited
For Centuries Past
For the Lessons
Your freedom
And Man's freedom
Awaits
Your study
And your
Skill.
We who have watched Scientology these many years can see through the falsehood of many of the statements in this tome.
Making the sick well - If you have an illness and walk into an Org, you are told flat out that there is no cure here.
Making sane the insane - If you have a mental disease and have ever been treated professionally, you are marked an illegal P.C. and never allowed "treatment" in Scientology.
Address me and you address Lord Buddha. Address Lord Buddha And you then address Metteyya. - He has announced his return as the Enlightened One.
Censor not free speech And censor not free thought- If you have ever been in Scientology, you know that this is a bald faced lie. Not only do they censor free speech and free thought, they go to court to prevent them.
We can make kind The cruel.- If you have ever been on staff, you know that some of the most cruel and anti social people in the world make it to senior management positions.
I could go on, but I will leave it to all of you to fill in the blanks. So let's all play Find-The-Lie. You will not win any prizes but the best ones will have bragging rights. Thank you all for reading my posts. Be sure to tune in next time.
Possibly the worst thing for a young Scientologist is to find that they have a family member, friend or significant other who is antagonistic toward Scientology. They know that they will have to do one of two things with this person. "Handle or Disconnect". If they fail in this, they know that it means probable denial of further Scientology Services, a thought that strikes terror in the heart of any Scientologist. The problem for the new Scientologist is that he or she has not been trained to "handle" those who know nothing about Scientology. They have not been trained in the deceptive sales techniques that Scientology's Dissemination and Public Divisions have. So what to do?
No problem. The Ethics Officer will sell you an Audio presentation that you can give to your loved one (s). You can tell them that this might clear up some of their misconceptions, that you may have accidentally caused by not knowing the right thing to say. What they, and you as a new Scientologist don't know is that this audio is full of actual Dianetics and Scientology processes along with some Public Division tricks. It is actually devised to drive an unsuspecting antagonist down into their own "case" (used to mean the entire accumulation of upsets, pain, failures, etc., residing in a persons reactive mind). Let's listen to the first 5 minutes of this audio file and then we will discuss the insidious tactics being used.
Alright. Let's look at this. First, he uses Public Division (the people responsible for bringing new people in), tactics. He finds your ruin (Scientology definition - Ruin, before you can save someone from ruin, you must find out what their own personal ruin is. This is basically – what is ruining them? What is messing them up? It must be a condition that is real to the individual as an unwanted condition, or one that can be made real to him.) Then he tries to make you feel bad about it by insinuating that it may be, at least partially, your fault. Then he uses actual Dianetics Auditing (Scientology counseling, taken from the Latin word audire which means “to hear or listen.”) showing you the way you felt about something and then asking you to find a time when you felt that way earlier. This is a big part of Dianetics auditing. The awful part of this is that he spins you down into your case, but doesn't help you alleviate that now nagging feeling you have down in your guts.
Then at last, when you feel like crying, he offers you some hope. He gives you, the loved one, the responsibility of finding out about Scientology for yourself. But he does not want you to find out from another person or persons. You are only to look at Scientology (Hubbard) written sources. They hope, in this way, they will get you into a Scientology Org, and make you a Scientologist as well. Failing in that, at least to make you a little less antagonistic to Scientology.
So if your loved one comes up and tries to give you a copy of "Can We Ever Be Friends?", you can say that you already know about that, and share the information that you have learned here. Oh! By the way. If the above data isn't bad enough for you, I need to tell you this. The audio presentation was produced by OSA (Office of Special Affairs - Scientology's Secret Police) and narrated by an OSA chaplain. Something to think about eh?
Thanks for spending some time with me today, and come back often for more. As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions.
There are many people who believe, or would like to believe, that all of the abuses of the "church" of Scientology started with David Miscavige and that everything was Heaven on Earth while Hubbard was still at the helm. Please let me disabuse you of that notion. There were many, many incidences of abuse, abuse of power, sexual abuse, abuse and exploitation of children, and splitting apart of families long before the reign of Miscavige. As a matter of fact, just about from the very beginning Hubbard ruled with an iron fist and woe to anyone who disagreed with his Captain Bligh ways, even a 10 year old girl.
This is the story of Sharone Stainforth. Her story is heartbreaking. Many of you have heard her story, but many, many more need to hear it. This story should be at the ready if anyone tries to tell you of the virtues of Hubbard and Scientology. She was the youngest person to ever sign a Sea Organization (The elite command structure of Scientology) contract. She was also the youngest ever Commodore's (Hubbard) Messenger. Instead of trying to tell you her story in my words, I will let you hear it from her. Please send this to your friends. Everyone should hear it.
Warning: Have your hankies ready.
As always, I look forward to your comments. Thank you so much for being here.
In light of the recent deaths at Narconon Arrowhead and the news reports coming out about Narconon from around the world, I felt like I had to put in my two cents worth as well. Most of this is probably old news to Scientology watchers, but I hope to educate some folks, and hopefully, keep some unsuspecting victim from going to a non-medical, un-certified drug and alcohol treatment program.
Let's get this out of the way right off. Narconon is Scientology. I know, Narconon says they just use some of Hubbard's materials, but they are not part of Scientology. And, Scientology says that they support the actions of Narconon, but they are not over Narconon. So, in police detective language, let's "follow the money". By the way, the average charge for the Narconon program is $35,000 U.S.D. Cash.
The name Narconon is a trademark registered under a corporation named A.B.L.E. which stands for the Association for Better Living and Education which is a non-profit organization headquartered in Los
Angeles, California, established by the Church of Scientology. It states that it is "dedicated to creating
a better future for children and communities."It promotes secular uses of L. Ron Hubbard's works, and
has been classified as a "Scientology-related entity" Through A.B.L.E., Narconon send at least a 10% "donation" to Scientology from it's weekly gross income for the use of the Hubbard "trademarks". It may also only purchase it's training materials from Bridge Publications which is another Scientology corporation.
You need more evidence? Ok. One of our favorite sources, David Love (click here to see his web site), tells us that although the Scientology E-Meter is not used on patients, many staff members have their meters on the property to use on themselves and other staff members. Scientology says that no one may be in possession of an E-Meter unless they are a trained Scientology auditor (counselor) and they must be a Scientologist in good standing. Mr. Love also says that after a patient has graduated, they are given an interview, and then a Scientology security check, which is always done on the meter, then they are informed that the only way to make sure they remain stable in their sobriety, they need to do a process called the Scientology Drug Rundown, which can only be delivered at a Scientology Org at a cost of about $5,600 per 12 1/2 hours.
Then there are the famous Training Routines. At Narconon, these routines are done after the patient has finished the detox (kicking off drugs, always done cold turkey, which is not the medically approved manner). These training routines are completely Scientology. In Scientology they are used to train the auditor to be able to confront anything the pre-clear (person being counseled) says or does in session. In Narconon, the patient is told that they must do these routines in order to be able to confront the Purification Rundown (sweat program). Some of these training routines are as follow:
Body Control
The student moves the coach's body around a room. In the first half of the routine the student "steers" the coach by silent actions. In the second half, the student uses verbal commands such as "Walk over to that wall." Each successful verbal command must be acknowledged.
High School Indoc
This routine is similar to TR-6, except that the coach resists the student verbally and physically. The student may use physical contact to enforce a command. The routine continues until the student can fully control the coach despite attempts to stop control.
Tone 40 on an Object
The student repeatedly commands an ashtray to stand up and sit down, acknowledging each action. Although the student holds the ashtray throughout the exercise, the goal is to cause the ashtray to move purely by tone 40 intention. (Absolute knowledge that nothing will get in the way of your intention.)
Tone 40 on a Person
As in TR-6, the student moves the coach around a room with verbal commands. The coach resists, and the student must use a combination of smooth physical control and unspoken intention to make the coach obey. The routine continues until the student can maintain exact intention despite resistance.
In Scientology, these are known as the Upper Indocs (Indoctrination: to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle). The only purpose of these TR's is to teach the student to be controlled by another and to be able to control others.
As for the Purification Rundown (at Narconon it is known as the "sweat program"), it is a potentially deadly process that consists of taking massive (toxic) doses of vitamins and minerals, exercise and up to 5 1/2 hours in the sauna per day. They will not tell you this, (because secrecy is the Scientology way), but to a person who has suffered many years of alcohol or drug abuse, high amounts of Niacin can shut down a person's liver that has already been compromised by alcohol and/or drugs. If you have never seen anyone who has died of Cirrhosis, I can tell you it is a horrible way to die.
And lastly, I will let David Love tell you about the feeling of loss, pain and guilt that the staff member has to deal with. Thank you for being here.
Yes, I am scared. You should be too. You can call me paranoid. You can call me a conspiracy theorist. Hell, you can call me crazy if you want, but please look at the data and analyse it for yourself.
What has me so afraid? The Reverend Louis Farrakhan has made a wrong turn and is now leading his flock, the entire Nation of Islam, across the bridge to total destruction and despair. Farrakhan has not only admitted to studying and practicing Dianetics in his life, he has also said that he has been studying and putting into practice Scientology Technology at Scientology's Celebrity Center in Hollywood, California. He is also exhorting his followers to do likewise.
So why is this scary? For one thing, the Nation of Islam is very, very big. It appears that there are more members of the N.O.I. than there are existing Scientologists. Can you imagine if he actually gets his all of his followers to join Scientology? He is actively promoting the Scientology lie that you can be a Muslim and still study Scientology. We who have been in know how long that lasts. He likens Dianetics and the PTS/SP technology to locating and eradicating Demons, even giving references to the Bible and the Koran. He gives Biblical references leading one to believe that Hubbard's appearance on Earth was prophesied in Daniel and Revelation, and his followers are eating it up!
Here is another frightening thing. Have you ever heard Reverend Farrakhan speak? He is a truly charismatic showman. By his words and actions he can lead his followers to laugh and weep, sometimes simultaneously. He is one of the most powerful and (excuse the word), dynamic religious speakers of this day and age. If he truly desires that his flock join Scientology, join they will. By the busload. He is a natural leader that can draw the listener into his viewpoint in very short order. He is a much better public speaker than David Miscavige and when he draws standing ovations it is not just a per forma action. You know that his devotees are totally with him by the thousands.
Are you disturbed yet? Consider this. If the entire N.O.I. becomes indoctrinated in Scientology, can you imagine the number of recruits for staff, Sea Org and the Office of Special Affairs? Also, this organization has a very large constituency that are professional people, meaning a large influx of paying public into the Scientology Orgs and Scientology front groups like Sterling Management and W.I.S.E.
So am I crazy? Watch the video below. Make some popcorn and get out your most comfortable blanket. It is a Scary Movie! Thank you so much for being here with me today. Remember to pass this post along to all your friends. And without any further chit-chat from me, I give you the Reverend Louis Farrakhan.
Please Forward this to as many people as possible. We are hoping this letter gets through.
Our very good friend has been going through hell this past two years. Why? Because she walked away from her church after she found out that is had changed after the founder had died. To her, like so many others, it just wasn't the same church any more. Now, her children, who are still members of the church have been ordered to not speak to her. Is this right? We don;t believe so. Please read he open letter to her kids below the Picture of her and her kids taken when they were a family together in much happier times. Thank you for reading this and please re-post as as far and wide as possible.
Dear Jessica and Jeremy,
I have no way of reaching you directly, so I’m giving this a try. I’m asking all of my friends, family, and anyone else that gets this letter to please pass it on to each of you.
Despite what you might have been told, I am doing well in all areas of my life. The only thing missing is the two of you. I am still the same mom who loves you both very much.
But I want you to understand that I will never go back into the Church of Scientology. You have both asked me to talk to the International Justice Chief and get back in good standing with the church. I cannot agree to this. I am not a part of the church anymore and do not have to go by their rules. I am free now to think for myself and do what I think is best.
I don’t agree with the church’s Disconnection Policy that you both are following, forcing you to stay away from me. Your grandmother and I will not disconnect from you, and we will continue to love you.
I really want you both to think long and hard about this disconnection that is keeping you away from us. Do you both really never want to see me and your grandmother again? Do you never want to see the rest of the family because your grandmother and I won’t go back into the church?
If you both want to stay in Scientology we respect that, but at the same time you need to respect that we don’t want to be a part of it anymore. If I were in your shoes I would never agree to this disconnection. I would tell the church that I would remain a part of my family’s life. I would never allow the church to force me to disconnect from the people I love.
Your grandfather is 75, your grandmother is turning 75, and I am turning 50. Time is going by fast and we should all enjoy many more good times together.
You both know the reasons why I resigned from the church. It was mainly because of the way you were heavily recruited to be on staff or in the Sea Org at only 15 years old. I wanted you both to stay in school and get a full education. I fought with the church because my parental rights were being violated. I also saw what you both went through while being recruited and what you both went through while being in the Sea Org. I wrote everything that happened in “A Mother’s Heartbreak” which it would be good if you both read so you can really see what happened.
Samuel Johnson said "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
Almost all the staff members I ever knew had good intentions. Most of the parishioners too. So did I. The problem is, you can have all the good intentions in the world and still do bad things to people if what you believe in is not what was advertised. I am sure that the priests of the Inquisition thought they had good intentions when they burned the alleged heretics at the stake. Scientologists justify their actions sometimes by saying "greatest good for the greatest number on dynamics". (A human's urge to survive by himself, sex and children, his groups, all mankind, etc) Basically, what is meant by this is what is the greatest good for Scientology because they believe that Scientology is the only way mankind will be able to survive on Earth. At the time, I believed it too.
There were things that I did and cycles of action that I was involved in that, at the time I thought was doing the best for Scientology and mankind. Now, those same actions fill me with guilt and shame. I actually think that this, for me, is the definition of Karma. That little thing called a conscience. I know there are many ex-Scientologists that feel the same way. For many of us, exposing the lies and crimes of Scientology is a way to make up for the damage that we perceive that we have done.
The following are some of the actions that I did or was involved in. Sometimes I still feel like kicking my ass.
As the Public Executive Secretary (P.E.S. - Over the division responsible for getting new people into Scientology),of the Mission at Hesperia, California and the Organization at Las Vegas, Nevada, I personally sold over a thousand Dianetics books, and was responsible for getting others for selling even more, thus exposing thousands of people to Dianetics and Scientology for the first time.
Also, as the P.E.S., I personally signed hundreds of people to some kind of introductory service, (course, auditing or extension course). When I didn't have someone at my desk to sign up, I was busy on the phone, trying to get new people in, or existing parishioners back in for further services as recovering people is under the Public Division.
There were more than a few occasions that I recovered or helped to recover staff members and got them back on staff, even to the point of signing them to new contracts.
As the P.E.S. and then as the Executive Director of the Las Vegas Organization, I was responsible for signing many new people on staff, including kids as young as 15, with parental consent. Even "helping" some of them to decide to go into the Sea Organization.
Let me take a moment here to explain what parental consent is in Scientology. When a teenager has been convinced to sign a staff or Sea Org contract, it is considered a done deal, whether the parents like it or not. Yes, legally, you need to have the parents signature on the contract if that teenager is under the age of 18 but, these parents are already Scientologists, so they are easily manipulated one way or another. If the child is going to be a staff member there at the Org, it is pretty easy to convince the parents to sign. You assure them that they will be able to continue their education and just work evenings and weekends until they have finished high school. The odds are the kid will last only a short time on staff or will drop out of school to work full time at the org so they can get training and auditing for free. If the child is being signed to the Sea Org, you may have to get heavy handed with the parents. Again you assure them that the child will continue their education, even though you know that this is not true. The only education they will receive is Scientology. If the parents still balk, you bring in the point that this is for the greater good of the greatest number of dynamics. And if the parents still resist, then you get a little mean, telling them that they are "ethics bait" and that they may be giving up their entire eternity by not allowing this to go through. Most of the time this is effective as the parents know you have just threatened them with expulsion from the church. 99% of the time, they will sign.
After I was made the Executive Director, I appointed my best friend to the post of P.E.S. even though I knew he wasn't really up to the job. He was totally overwhelmed and I had to continually step in and convince him, step-by-step, that he could do the job. I was slowly bringing him along and he would have been good at it given enough time. Not too long after this, every Org was ordered to send two people to Los Angeles for some special "secret" training. Upper management had already decided who I was to send, it was just my job to convince them to go. Well of course, he was one of them. I didn't really want to do this, but I was under orders. So I did. Even though I know that he wasn't going to make it. What I didn't know was that it would damn near destroy his mind. I am so sorry for this. I hope he rests in peace. I was informed recently that he died of cancer several years ago.
For those of you who were on staff at the time, the above "secret training" was known as the Key to Life evolution.
The other person I sent was the Org's receptionist. She was also my fiancee. Shortly after she went to L.A. she joined the Sea Org. I was not eligible for the Sea Org, so that was the end of that relationship.
I need to tell all of these people above that I am heartily sorry for these actions. I really thought I was doing the right thing.
Thank you, my friends, for staying with me during this series. Stay tuned, there is more to come.
This is from my own personal observations from the Organizations I worked at. I was never in the Sea Org so I do not know about those, but I hear from others that it is even worse. If you were a kid in Scientology and want your story told here, please send me an e-mail.
In most Orgs, there is no nanny or day care services, as there are not enough staff members to even run the Org.
While I was on staff I met, and got to know several children ages 5 to 17. These were the kids of staff and of public (parishioners). They are not permitted to be normal children. If they are not on a Scientology course, they are expected to do work in the Organization. They are expected to clean, or stuff envelopes, or run messages back and forth all day. At events, they are supposed to help out serving food and picking up dishes. They are not paid for this, or even praised. They are expected to do these actions because they are blessed to be the children of Scientologists.
They, on the most part, are not allowed to go out and play. This, I consider, is a very strange thing because Hubbard said,"The most valuable thing that a thetan possesses is his spirit of play. His spirit of play is sensation of play and is not just energy. It's a tremendous sensation. A guy has practically lost it if he's here on Earth at all."
If they go to school, when they get out of school, they are expected to come to the Org, have a little snack and then get to work. They are also expected to be quiet while they are doing it. If they talk, they are not to be loud. It is almost a whisper. If they started out with a sense of humor, believe me, it goes away fast.
The Scientology point of view is that they are not really children. They are Big Thetans (spiritual beings) in small bodies. They are expected to be treated as adults, and expected to act like adults. I personally believe that this is one of the reasons there is a high incidence of sexual abuse of children in Scientology. And why it doesn't get reported very often. Also, it is considered a crime in the Church of Scientology to take your problems outside the church. One of the fastest ways to get declared a Suppressive Person, is to report another Scientologist to the police or press. Children who are abused in Scientology are usually informed that they need to go to the ethics officer and find out how and why they pulled it in. In other words, children, as well as adults, that have something happen to them are responsible, in some way, for those things happening.
If a child is sick or injured, it is expected that they will be treated in the Scientology manner. Touch assists, contact assists and other Scientology processes. They will not be taken to a doctor unless it threatens to become a legal issue. If a child has hurt feelings or is unhappy in some way, they are told that they are being "case on post" , which means that their feelings are getting in the way of them doing their job.
And last, many, many children in the church are told from a young age that as they are Scientologists, they will be expected to go on staff as soon as they get to a certain age. Their parents are hounded continuously to sign their children over to staff or the Sea Org. This is supposed to happen by age 14 to 16. Which means that, unless the parents are very strong willed, the child will get no further formal education.
And the look on their faces tell the story far better than I can. When I saw the photo below, I spent most of the day crying, then I wrote a short poem that I will include blow the photo. It was taken by a protester in Sea Org Alley, at Flag Land Base, commonly known as the Mecca of Scientology in , Clearwater, Florida.
Please rip out my eyes
So I do not see their tears.
Please seal my ears
So I do not hear their cries.
Please tear out my heart
So I feel no empathy.
For if I must see, hear and
feel these things,
I have no choice, but to act.
And I fear that I haven't
the strength,
to carry on.
Thank you my friends for reading my post. Please share it with everyone you know. People need to know the truth about Scientology.
"If Scientology is so bad, why did you stay in so long?" How many of us have been asked that question? There is really no single good answer to that question but there are a few answers that might give one an insight as to why a person might stay in even after they have seen some bad things, or have come to the realization that Scientology has not done what it promised.
From the very first time you walk into a Scientology Org (Place of business), You are exposed to the false promises of Scientology. In Dianetics, you are told that you can go "Clear". This means that you will have full objective memory of your entire life, and be free of illness. In Scientology, you are told that if you buckle down and study hard, spend a whole lot of money, and do everything you are told, you can go full OT. (Operating Thetan. Supposes that the Spirit has all the powers of a God) Which is interpreted by L. Ron Hubbard as "A thetan who is completely rehabilitated and can do everything a thetan should do, such as move [matter, energy, space, and time (MEST)]
and control others from a distance, or create his own universe; a
person who is able to create his own universe or, living in the MEST
universe is able to create illusions perceivable by others at will, to
handle MEST universe objects without mechanical means and to have and
feel no need of bodies or even the MEST universe to keep himself and his
friends interested in existence".
As a staff member, or member of the Sea Org, you are told that you are responsible for accomplishing something that has never been done before on planet Earth. You are going to create a world without war, crime
and insanity. The mechanism by which Scientology plans to
achieve this goal is by the process of "clearing" the planet. You are also promised that you will receive all of your training and auditing (Scientology counseling), at no cost.
The above, then, is the carrot. Always dangled in front of you but out of reach, designed to keep you plodding along.
Now let's take a look at the stick. The stick, in Scientology is what they call "ethics and justice". It is designed to accomplish only this: To keep you in line, and to keep you from making waves. What they tell you is that you cannot go up the "bridge to total freedom" if your ethics are not 100% in. They tell you that the purpose of ethics is defined as "rationality toward the
greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics" (parts of life,
such as self, family, groups, etc.). The purpose of ethics is said to
be "paving the way for getting tech in." But Hubbard also said, "the purpose of ethics is to remove counter-intentions from the environment. Having accomplished that, the purpose becomes to remove other intentiondness from the environment." What that statement really means is that anyone or anything that stands in the way of Scientology's stated goals of "clearing the world", is to be removed.
So what if you have read something by Hubbard that you totally disagree with? First, you are told that you have a misunderstood word, or words, that are getting in the way of your understanding of Hubbard's infallible logic. If you have looked up these words in the dictionary, and defined them to yourself as perfectly as a human is able and then still disagree, then you are sent to ethics. In ethics, it is pounded into you that if your really got what Hubbard was saying that you would, of course, agree. Or maybe it is that you are connected to someone who is antagonistic to Scientology. Also if you are ill. you are probably connected to someone who doesn't take to Scientology's ways. At that point, you may be pulled off your course to take another course called the PTS/SP course. (Potential Trouble Source/ Suppressive Person). And of course you will be expected to pay for this course.
If you are staff, or Sea Org, this applies to your post (job) as well. If your statistics for the week are lower than they were the week before, you are assigned a lower condition and sent to ethics to see how you can raise them. This applies to every staff member in Scientology. It looks, at first glance, like it makes sense. But let's look a little closer.
You are a dishwasher in an org, and your usual statistic (number of plates washed), is two thousand per week. Now this week, you have only washed 1900 plates. Your stat is down. You have automatically gone into a lower condition than normal. You will have to apply the Scientology conditions formula to get back up again. It does not matter if staff members have been shipped out for training, or have quit. It does not matter if there are fewer Scientologists on course or auditing that week. In Scientology it is your condition and your responsibility.
And if applying the ethics conditions does not fix your problem, not to worry, there is always justice. In Scientology, justice equals punishment. This can come in the form of having to prove your value to Scientology, usually in some sort of financial form, all the way up to being declared a Suppressive Person (excommunicated). Get punished enough, and they figure you will fall back in line and be a good little drudge.
As for the lump of sugar, that is done in a gradient as all things are in Scientology, only this one is in a downward gradient. As you grow in Scientology, the lumps of sugar are smaller and they come with less frequency. At first, whether you are on staff or a public person on a course or auditing, it seems like everyone is always clapping for you and giving you kudos. (Can anyone say love bombing?) Then as you go along, more and more is expected of you with less and less praise. Finally, it boils down to 2 or three words. You get a WD (well done) on your paperwork if you meet expectations, and if you exceed expectations, you might get a VWD (very well done). Unless you are Tom Cruise. Then you will get a medal and called the most valuable Scientologist on Earth. Which has pissed off a great deal of staff and Sea Org personnel. But mostly you accept the WD or VWD because it is part of the human condition to need at least a little praise along with being knocked down all the time. Everyone needs some kind of validation in life. If you have ever been on staff in Scientology, you know all about invalidation.
Thank you so much for sticking it out with me. Please understand that what I post here is my own viewpoint from things that I perceived while I was in the "church", as well as from my research since I have been out. I realize that other people may have different views and if so, I welcome all comments. Please remember to share this post and to subscribe to this blog. Again, I thank you.
Given all the recent noise about high level people leaving the Church of Scientology, do you think that maybe this might be the year that John Travolta leaves? I would like your opinion.
Yes, Narconon is a front group for Scientology. Here, our good friends David Love and Gerry Armstrong have a chat about Narconon and Scientology and some of the dirty tricks they play with their clients money. Narconon is not a medically approved treatment program for drug and alcohol addiction, and in fact, parts of the treatment can be deadly.
This film describes the painful, horrible and criminal realities of the Church of Scientology. It shows how they suck you in, then slowly indoctrinate you with their Training Routines and "love bombing". It shows how they get you to commit all of your money and when you can't give anymore, how the snatch you freedom by signing you up on staff. The movie then shows how they utterly destroy families even going so far as to turn your own children against you. I would hope that you get everyone you know to watch this film. The Church of Scientology must be stopped. It is in German but has English sub-titles. If you do not see the sub-titles at the bottom of the screen, click on the red "CC" button.
This gentlemen has done the entire 'bridge to total freedom'
listen to his one page sworn as true-notarized statement.
The author wishes this to be re-posted widely for the world to
know the true nature of Scientology.
Michael Pattinson
Beverly Hills, Ca 90211
20 September 1997
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
I strongly feel that it is my civic duty to bring to the attention of the competent authorities of the United States and other concerned countries a matter of severe abuses and destructive activities by the "Church" of Scientology. I am at their disposition for more information on all of this.
I was shocked at the use of top celebrities by Scientology to try and give an impression of it which, per my own experiences, is a false impression. When I compare the ridiculous charges made by Scientology against the German government with what I know Scientology (underlined) has been doing itself I find a very strong similarity indeed. I have decided to speak out about this publicly.
I was, until earlier this year, one of Scientology's "celebrities". I am a professional artist, having a 25 year career internationally with over 99% sales. I was in Scientology for 23 years, did very many courses, and reached the highest available level of "New O.T.8." My knowledge of the inner workings of Scientology is extensive. I have information about the many instances of abuses of current and former Scientology members and of lies Scientology has generated about itself to give a wrong public impression.
Among the many things I can relate, here are just a few from recent times:
1) From 1991 to 1996 I was the subject of viscous machinations by several "churches" of Scientology to destroy my name and repute, and to involve me in expensive "justice handling" within the organization. Apart from the horrific emotional stress over five years it cost me well over $120,000 to clear my name of accusations of things I had never done in the first place! I have full documentation of all these multiple abuses.
2) In June of 1996 I was held against my will in the Scientology, Clearwater, Florida facility and "ordered" to pay $7,400 before they would let me out of the room. I did not want to pay for what the two staff members insisted I must have, and what ensued was a verbal battle, emotional trauma and an attempt at financial extortion. After a time I managed to escape the physical detention, but two "Sea Org" members chased me right out into the streets of Clearwater to try to recapture me. I did not pay the money. This incident is on file with the Clearwater Police Department.
3) In June of 1991 I was forced to pay, despite vehement protestations, the sum of $7,400 to Scientology on the "Freewinds" ship. The ruse used on that Wednesday was that if I did not pay then they would withhold my passport from me until I did pay. They did so and I had to pay the money to get it back.
4) At the end of 1996 I was subjected to [a] horrible kind of "religious deprogramming" in the Scientology "Fort Harrison Hotel". This was done, using an "E-meter", by a top official of the "Religious technology Center" (RTC) namely Mr. Marty Rathbun. I was interrogated for several hours on the most intimate personal religious beliefs (Christian) and his actions were designed clearly to get me to give up my Christian religious beliefs in exchange for RTC's "eligibility authorization" to read a confidential publication about a defective "OT level" I had previously completed (OT 7). His utter contempt for my religious beliefs were all to apparent. He felt that all other religions apart from Scientology should be destroyed and probably would be in time by Scientology, using RTC's programs of "eligibility's" as the means of forcing people to give up other faiths.
I also had to undergo many hours of 'false data removal",,,to try to "get me to realize" that the ONLY valid religion was Scientology.
It did not work.
My considered, personal opinion is that Scientology is definitely NOT A RELIGION.
These are a few of the many things I can testify to.
I declare under penalty of perjury under California Laws that the above is true and correct per my own personal experiences.
There is no doubt that the practice of disconnection is still in effect. If you want to find out more about Scientology, and the practice of disconnection, GO HERE! Watch this video to see the effects of disconnection on this one person, and read her entire story after the video.
by Lori Hodgson
February 6, 2011 is a day that I will never forget, a day that haunts me
daily as I struggle with the insurmountable anguish and heartbreak of
being "disconnected" from my children at the hands of the Church Of
Scientology. My children, the very essence of my being were forced to
choose between remaining in contact with me after my resignation from
Scientology or their eternity and good standing in the church. I could
have never imagined that the belief system I once valued would actively
recruit my minor children to work on staff and induct my son into the Sea
Organization (a dedicated group within Scientology in which one signs a
one billion year contract to serve Scientology for this lifetime and
future lifetimes as well) against my wishes, restrict my contact with
them and force my son to sign a three million dollar gag contract,
silencing him from speaking out about his time within the Sea
Organization before he could effectively route out of the Sea
Organization. Unfortunately, this is my reality.
If I had known in 1976 when I joined Scientology at the age of thirteen
as Lori Moore, that if I chose to leave one day, I would lose my
children, my family and friends that remained in Scientology, I would
never have participated in such a cruel organization.
When I first joined, I liked Scientology. I felt it enhanced my
communication skills and improved my life. After two years, at age
fifteen, I signed a five year contract with the Church of Scientology
Stevens Creek Mission as an employee on a part time basis. At the age of
sixteen, I was actively recruited to join the SO myself. I had a sick
feeling at the pit of my stomach, something didn't feel right and my
instincts told me to say no.
In 1982, my fourth year on staff, I witnessed many odd things. I was
being instructed to help the full time staff wash their cars and donate
money to them, it seemed so crazy and I wanted to get out of there. I
stayed one more year finishing my contract with the church and went to
college for six years. I struggled in college due to the fact that I did
not receive a full high school education but I persisted and received my
BA.
While being away at college kept me away from actively participating in
Scientology courses, in 1987 I returned as a public parishioner, positive
that I did not want to be on staff.
In the years that followed, I
married a fellow Scientologist, becoming Lori Leake and we had two
children, Jessica and Jeremy. Bearing children while in the Sea
Organization is forbidden, however during my pregnancy with Jessica, I
was approached once again to joining the SO. I told the recruiter that
my then husband, Jim Leake, was not qualified for the SO and the
recruiter said that joining the SO was for the greatest good and not to
worry about my husband. I looked at her with disgust and thought to
myself, you can take your greatest good crap and shove it!!
In 1995, my children were two and four and a half years old, I became the
preschool director of a Scientology school. I remember an instance where
I saw the owner of the school crying. I approached her and asked," Why
are you crying?"
I'll never forget her response, "My daughter is joining the Sea
Organization and there is nothing I can do to stop it!"
I thought to myself, "Wow! That is strange, why would she be unable to
stop her fifteen year old daughter from signing a billion year contract
with the Sea Org!"
I went home that day and shared the incident with my then husband,
Jessica and Jeremy's father. I told him that I would never approve of or
allow our children to join the Sea Org. I thought it was nuts and had
heard horror stories of parents never seeing their children again.
Our opinions on this matter differed. His step son from his first
marriage, Chris Leake, had joined the Sea Org at the age of twelve or
thirteen and went "Over the Rainbow". This meant that he had gone to a
place within Scientology with an extremely high level of security (a
secret place) and his mother was not even aware of his location. I
couldn't imagine how his mother felt. Incidentally, Chris ended up
marrying LRH's granddaughter, Rhoanne.
We divorced in 2002, shortly thereafter; I removed my children from the
Scientology school and placed them in public school. As a single mother,
I could no longer afford the steep prices of the private Scientology
school. After growing up in a Scientology school, Jessica and Jeremy had
to transition to the different setting but adjusted rather well after a
few months.
In 2005, my parental rights began to be violated. Jessica was fifteen and
in her second semester of her sophomore year of high school. She was
excelling in school, receiving all A's and B's, had many friends and was
looking forward to college. However, after reviewing a staff recruiting
film and speaking with recruiters at the Los Gatos Organization of the
Church of Scientology without my knowledge or permission, she came home
repeating the alarming information that the film had suggested.
Essentially, it was a film demonizing psychiatry and implied that public
schools had a larger influence of psychiatric and street drugs, cheap
propaganda that public schools and the environment it provided was an
unsafe place for her. After reviewing this film, she expressed that she
wanted to drop out of school and obtain her GED in addition to joining
staff at the Church Of Scientology. My fifteen year old daughter, a
MINOR was being recruited to join staff! To put her education aside and
work for the "church". I was shocked by her sudden change of behavior, I
told her absolutely not! I told her that once she turned eighteen she
could make that decision but I preferred she go to college first.
The next nine months were a living hell. I was adamantly against Jessica
joining staff, a feeling that was relayed to the church. While attending
counseling within the church myself, I was pulled from what I was working
on and put into "interrogation" counseling. The Church demanded to know
"who" did not agree with Jessica joining staff, even after I told them
repeatedly that I was the only one who did not want her to join staff. In
Scientology they believe strongly that there is a Suppressive Person
behind this. When the "church" couldn't find their "who" they put me in
extensive Chaplain meetings with the Chaplain, my daughter, her father
and myself. This went on for a couple more months. After all the
pressure I had from Scientology and her father, I finally gave in. We
agreed that Jessica would go to a Scientology school and get her high-
school diploma before joining staff. Surprisingly, Jessica got her non-
accredited diploma when she was sixteen.
I was still trying to persuade
her to not join staff, but she did so against my wishes. She signed a
five year contract and was told if she breaks her contract she will have
a debt (called a free loader debt, for staff training and other
"services" received while on staff). Scientology told Jessica that she
would have to pay off her debt before she was allowed to do any more
Scientology services. I reminded Jessica that this would be her debt if
she left. She said "I'm not going to leave."
It was during this time I married a wonderful man on March 4, 2006.
He is the love of my life, I was now Lori Hodgson. I met him outside of
Scientology. He was not a Scientologist, but took a couple classes.
After observing what I was going through with the Church and my children,
he made the decision to no longer affiliate himself with Scientology.
After Jessica was on staff for a couple months, she was sent to Florida
for training. She was there three months, battling homesickness before
deciding it was not for her and came home. She then worked back at the
Los Gatos Organization for a couple more months, but came to the
determination that she didn't want to be on staff anymore. She had to
have special "interrogating" counseling and do specific "conditions"
before she left. When she left staff she had a $13,000 debt, mainly from
the counseling she was ordered to get because she wanted to leave. It
was completely asinine. On top of her $13,000 debt (at sixteen years
old) she had to do amends. This meant working 100 plus hours to get back
in "good standing" with the "Church". A couple weeks went by and the Los
Gatos Org told Jessica that they have a "Minor Rates Special". This was
that if Jessica could pay off her debt in full in 3 days, they would
knock her debt down to $6,000. It was rumored that fellow Scientologist
were helping Jessica find someone to loan her the money. My mom ended up
loaning Jessica the money; meanwhile, the Scientologist that assisted her
most likely received a commission on Jessica's debt.
In 2007, Jessica was seventeen, working at a preschool and taking junior
college classes in the evening. Jeremy was fourteen and beginning his
freshman year in public high school and actively trying out for the
football team. After a month in school he told me that he didn't like
public school anymore and wanted to attend the Scientology school his
sister attended. This conversation was eerily similar to the one I had
with Jessica not long ago. I was beginning to suspect an entirely new
nightmare was about to begin.
In November 2008, I went to the hospital for a knee replacement surgery.
It was an extremely complicated surgery entailing four long days in the
hospital. One week later on a Friday night, while I was in recovery, my
son Jeremy, at fifteen years old, attended a Sea Org recruiting event
behind my back. That following Sunday, he came over to visit me and
tells me he wants to join the Sea Org. That didn't go over very well.
At this time, I was in excruciating pain from my surgery and on high
levels of pain medication, I was not functioning properly. Jeremy told
me that joining the Sea Org was his sole purpose in his life and he is
aware that it is a billion year contract. Scientologists believe one
lives many life times, coming back with a new body and continuing their
contract to the organization and the Church. I always thought that was
totally crazy! Jeremy said that he needed to leave in a couple days. I
was hysterical, distraught and felt that I was truly at the verge of
losing it.
The pain and high dosages of Percocet (a strong pain pill)
didn't help my state. I told him absolutely NOT! My daughter heard us
and came to see what was wrong. She saw how upset I was and told me
there was nothing she could do. That she was already in an upsetting
situation with Scientology and she couldn't get in the middle. I told
Jeremy in no uncertain terms that he was not to join the Sea Org. He was
a MINOR, a fifteen year old boy without the life experience to make such
a profound decision.
Later that evening, Jeremy came back and continued to ask permission to
join. Every part of me ached, reeled and screamed from the mental and
physical pain. Seeing me in such distress, my husband tried to diffuse
the situation by asking Jeremy to leave and respect my decision as his
mother. Upon Jeremy's refusal, my husband contacted Pat Wehner who was
the ethics officer and Mission holder where I took services. Pat told us
there was nothing he could do, I had heard that before. In the following
days, I was harassed by recruiters trying to persuade me to allow my son
to join the Sea Org. Once again, I contacted Pat in order to help me
write up reports to Mark Warlick, the man in charge of Internal
Scientology Legal Affairs. My reports stated that as Jeremy Leake’s
mother, I was not allowing him to join the Sea Org and I wanted all
recruiting to stop until he was eighteen. The church had their agenda,
they wanted my son.
Because of all the stress, I was not healing properly physically. While
at home, recruiters arrived and stood outside my living room window
insisting that they talk to me. I told them to leave, I couldn't talk and
I had to leave for physical therapy. The interaction really startled me,
I couldn't stop shaking. My father arrived to take me to physical therapy
just as the recruiters left, barely missing each other. After physical
therapy, my dad brought me home and put me to bed and left. Within
minutes, the recruiters were back, pounding on my door for at least
fifteen minutes. I was frantic and frightened, I tried to call my mom but
she was unavailable so I left a message, the recruiters pounding on my
door was recorded. I then called Pat Wehner and he verbally tried to calm
me down. Although he lived right down the street, he did not come over to
assist me.
Seeing that the harassment and constant recruiting was harming my
recovery, my life- long friend Mari met with the two main recruiters,
Gerald and Alexis, at a Starbucks. Mari took time out of her busy day to
get them to understand my physical condition and state of mind. She got
my drug list and details of my surgery which included the information of
my leg basically as the equivalent of being amputated and put back
together. The recruiters told her that they heard I was watching TV and
that if I was able to watch TV then I was able to handle a recruiting
cycle of my son.
After the Mission Holder, Pat Wehner, failed to assist my mother and I in
our pleas to stop this insanity, my mother called Mari and met up with
her to seek guidance in the situation. Mari is a smart person; she
figured out how to best protect me in my condition and helped me secure a
doctor’s note which she then promptly delivered to Mark Warlick, the
legal officer for the Los Gatos org. Later, after the note had been
delivered Mari went to meet with the recruiters who have been pounding on
my door. She wanted to tell them that she orchestrated the contact with
my doctor and obtaining the note, to have this situation corrected once
and for all. Before she was able to tell them what had occurred, she was
told that whoever got the physicians note is a suppressive person! The
recruiting did not cease or even slow down. In fact, they went to my
parents home twice late at night with Jeremy to get my mom to "handle" me
and get me to allow Jeremy to join the Sea Org. They also showed up at my
mother’s place of employment with my son to talk to her again
My health was not improving, in fact it was deteriorating and I was
rushed back to the emergency room where I remained for ten hours. I had
an ovarian cyst rupture and was diagnosed with pneumonia in addition to
my knee which was not healing from replacement surgery. A rupture of an
ovarian cyst if not treated immediately can lead to death. I was
admitted for three days. During this time, the recruiting did ease
slightly and Jeremy and I were growing even closer. He told me he had
changed his mind and no longer wanted to joining the Sea Org. Hearing
those words filled me with such an immense amount of hope and joy!
That joy was short lived. Unbeknownst to me, recruiting was continuing
behind my back despite the many reports I had written to Mark Warlick
insisting the recruiting stop. Jeremy came back to tell me he did want to
join the Sea Org and they promised him that he would continue his
schooling, obtain his driver’s license and his orthodontic treatment
would progress as scheduled. They promised him his own computer and
trips to play golf as well as enticing him with the attractive girls
there, knowing how badly Jeremy wanted a girlfriend.
They also promised me that I could talk to him anytime I wanted to and he
would be able to come home for his birthday and most major holidays. I
fought the constant begging and the coercion by the COS and I felt
hopeless. I felt as if the only way to keep my son, to keep in contact
with him was to allow him to join. If I refused, he would surely
disconnect from me.
The recruiting within the organization is crude and filled with false
promises and lies, these kids do not know what they are getting into.
They are signing billion year contracts without having lived to
adulthood!
On May 4th, Jeremy left for the Sea Org after signing a one billion year
contract for the Church Of Scientology. I signed a power of attorney and
guardianship to Bob Wright. Bob Wright is Jeremy's uncle and worked very
closely under David Miscavige, the leader of the Church. Because Bob is
Jeremy's uncle, I believed he would look after Jeremy's best interest and
well being while in the Sea Org. What I didn't understand fully at the
time is that legally Bob was Jeremy's guardian but many of the decisions
made were made by the COS, not Bob.
The next two weeks, I was preparing for my second knee surgery to replace
my initial knee replacement that had complications. During this time,
Jessica went down to LA with her fiance. She and her fiance were heavily
recruited while she was there to join the Sea Org. Her fiance wanted to
join, but she didn't. The recruiters coerced her by screaming at her to
join, they eventually wore her down and she did join under extreme
pressure and they told her it was her only choice.
While in the hospital, on my second day after surgery, Jessica visits and
says good-bye to me and joins the Sea Org. She also mentioned that she
and Justin (her fiance) were going to get married in a couple days so
they can be together in the SO. I was extremely distraught about not
being there for my only daughter’s wedding and losing her to the SO, but
she was eighteen and as an adult, had the power to make that decision
herself no matter how against it I was. She also signed a billion year
contract like her brother. Now I had lost both of my kids to this
corrupt and cruel, kid stealing organization and the wedding is being
planned while I'm in the hospital! I couldn't wrap my mind around a
"religion" being so cruel and heartless. I was so upset that the next
day I went into shock and luckily my Dad was there, he went to get help,
he didn't think I was going to make it. He ran down the hallway yelling
for help! The medical response team came and pulled me out of the shock.
I felt like I almost died but I got a second chance. I ended up having
to get a full blood transfusion. Since I made it, I was going to make
some changes in my life. Little did I know what was on the horizon for
me.
On my fifth day post op, I was released to my house that used to have the
presence of my two children. I was incredibly grateful that at least I
had my wonderful husband and my loyal dog to greet me and my
compassionate stepson Peter. I had a very difficult recovery, mainly
from the loss of my children being gone and missing them so much! I
remember many heartbreaking nights missing my kids and trying to cope
with all the pain, my stepson Peter would bring me ice packs and just be
there for me.
At this time, my daughter and son were both in the SO, I tried calling
for two weeks, but the SO would not allow me to speak with them. Jeremy
was almost turning sixteen and Jessica was eighteen. Jeremy's sixteenth
birthday was coming up and the SO promised me that my son could come home
for his birthday. Birthdays are very big in my family and we were all
going to have a lovely sixteenth birthday party for my son with his
family who loves him.
I finally got through after three weeks of crying because I couldn't
reach my son on top of recovering from my knee with extensive physical
therapy. Jeremy told me he could not come home for his birthday that he
was not done with his EPF (boot camp type training) and the SO would not
approve for him to come home. Jeremy seemed really upset when he
called but was holding back. I knew how important coming home for his
big day was. The SO monitored his calls and he was not allowed to show
any negative emotions, but only positive emotions when in the SO. I was
extremely upset and so was all my family.
A month passed and Jessica called announcing to me, "I'm coming home!"
She was not allowed to tell me until she had gained authorization from
the SO to do so, another fact I was unaware of at the time. At dinner a
couple months later, Jessica told me what really happened. When Jessica
was packing to go to the SO a day before she left, the SO said there is a
problem with her fiance going with her to FLAG. She and Justin had
planned to marry once they had both arrived in Florida so that they could
remain together while in the SO.
Justin had an Ethics situation and was not approved to go with her, but needed
to go to the Mexico SO to get this handled before he could join her.
Jessica was DEVASTATED about this as she was joining the SO mainly for him,
so they could be together.
At the seven month mark, I still struggled to recover from my surgery but
the emotional trauma from missing my son was not helping I was still on
pain pills when needed and Advil. In the time that Jeremy was in the SO,
I was only able to speak to him five times. My husband would see me
crying because they would not let me talk to him and he was infuriated
and ready to fly me to Florida to get Jeremy even though my immense knee
pain rendered me unable to do so. During the minimal times we did talk,
I could tell something was wrong and Jeremy told me a couple times that
he was in school and doing well. On the contrary, Jeremy had sufficient
schooling only a handful of times, a total disregard for the “Power Of
Attorney for Care Of Minor Child” that clearly stated he would attend
regular schooling. I didn't believe he was doing well at all, I guess
it's a mothers intuition!! The Sea Org had promised me that Jeremy would
continue his orthodontic treatment that he had been in the process of for
the past three years and now he was ready for his final stage of
treatment, braces. He never got any orthodontic treatment, another
broken promise and the "Power Of Attorney for Medical Care Of Minor”
violated. Jeremy had his drivers permit and needed to continue his hours
of driving, another promise the church had ensured me, yet he never had
an opportunity to practice while he was there.
Jeremy was in the CMO (Commanders Messenger Organization, a very high
ranking section in the SO) and for three months was in the regular EPF
(boot-camp training) then went to the CMO EPF. In the seven month time
period that he was a member of the Sea Org, he had only a few days off
and was paid just $30.00 a week. I got a call from Jeremy that he wanted
to come home and that he was going to leave the SO. I was so excited, I
was beside myself. Jeremy said it would be a couple of days. The very
thought of having him home for Thanksgiving was overwhelmingly thrilling.
A couple days later and he says, "I'm still going through the procedure
of routing out and I won't be there for Thanksgiving." I was extremely
upset! I called Jeremy on Thanksgiving three times, very angered because
I couldn't get through.
When I did finally get through, I asked if he
was having Thanksgiving dinner to which he replied, "No mom, I am not
allowed to be on the SO base and around the SO members." He was off the
base in isolation and under guard. He had to stay away from the members
in "good standing".
I was really pissed now and so was the family!!!
The following week, I called three to four times a day attempting to get
my son home; Jeremy was isolated and kept under guard for seven to ten
days. Jeremy was only sixteen, held against his will and in isolation for
seven to ten days, to a teenager, that must seem like forever. My
multiple daily calls went unanswered while he sat in isolation wanting
nothing more than to come home. Fortunately, he was finally able to come
home!
In leaving the Sea Organization, Jeremy was issued a "free loader" debt
of $950.00. Until this debt was paid, he could not take any courses or
services with the church. He got a job at a motorcycle shop and made
payments with the church over a six month time frame to pay what they
claimed he owed them in order to remain in good standing with the church.
At seventeen, a minor legally unable to sign or adhere to a contract, he
paid the debt in full.
I was ecstatic!!
I got to the airport early and sat by the gate with
anticipation of seeing my son that I haven't seen in seven months. As he
approached, I was flowing with excitement to see him, we hugged and I
cried. Then we went to our favorite place for dinner, Chili's. I asked
Jeremy about his seven months in the SO. He told me "I don't want to
talk about it and what is important is that I am home now."
I kept trying to find out what he did there, but he adamantly made it clear he
did not want to discuss it. I thought this was very strange. Jeremy and
I usually talk about everything, so this was ODD to me.
I was full of JOY to finally have both of my kids back home. Slowly,
Jeremy opened up to me and said, "Mom, I know you had a really hard time
crying and missing me, but I want you to know it was even harder for me,
I cried many nights to come home and I couldn't tell you because the SO
said I shouldn't tell you while you're recovering from your knee
replacement”. He said that being there was really hard on him and that
he missed me a lot and was very homesick. I was furious that the church
kept this from me.
I got Jeremy back in school and found that he was very behind because he
had no schooling when he was in the SO. Per the law, he was required to
be in school and he only went approximately three days in the seven
months he was in the SO. Another violation that the SO committed. A few
months later, Jeremy mentioned that his toe was hurting. I asked him
about it and he said, "I had an ingrown toenail and had a toe procedure
done in the Sea Org by a doctor and it was very painful." I told Jeremy
that I should have been told about this being his mom. He seemed upset
about this procedure, but he was quite reluctant to divulge any
information regarding this procedure. His toe continued to hurt and when
I asked Jeremy if he wanted to go to the doctor he said "NO!!!” This put
up another red flag for me as a mom; I had an uneasy feeling about this
"toe procedure".
Six months later, we went to Clear Lake for my Moms 4th July Birthday
week. Jeremy was talking to his Grandma, my mom. My mom was asking him
about his stay in the SO. Jeremy slipped and said," Oh Nonie, I am not
allowed to talk about that I signed a 3 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT TO NEVER
TALK ABOUT WHAT OCCURRED WHEN I WAS THERE AND IF I DO TALK ABOUT IT I
WILL HAVE TO PAY THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY 3 MILLION DOLLARS AND LOSE MY
ETERNITY!" Additionally, he added that if he were to break this contract,
he would no longer be able to take any Scientology courses. My mom said,"
WHAT!!!!" That is not legal or binding you were only sixteen years old.
She asked if he received a copy and he said no. My mom told me this and
we both thought...HUGE RED FLAG THIS IS INSANE!!!!
I couldn't fathom any reason why a "church" would order anyone to sign a
contract blackmailing them into silence. What could have taken place that
was so damning and horrible that they required a gag contract?
Effective August 30, 2010, my mother and I resigned from the Church of
Scientology. Neither of us could deny that we were obviously a part of a
corrupt and manipulating organization and we no longer wanted any part of
it. The day we resigned, my mom and I met my kids at our office to
explain to them that we resigned and why. Jessica got very upset, she
voiced her concerns that her grandmother and I would be declared
suppressive (a bad person) and if she kept in contact with us then she
would be declared as well. Jeremy was more receptive and agreed with a
lot of things we were saying. We told them to take a couple days to
think about what we said.
The next weekend was Labor Day and I was told by a friend that their
father said to Jessica and Jeremy this, “If you don't disconnect from
your Mom then I will disconnect from you because no one is going to take
my eternity away from me!” We were all up at the lake for Labor Day, a
big family weekend and my daughter was very upset with me for resigning,
my son was a little more understanding.
After my mom and I resigned, Pat Wehner and Maryjoe Hyland came over to
me and my mom’s work to talk to my mom and try to handle her and convince
her not to resign. Pat told my mom, "This will be a shock wave across
the planet!" My mom said clearly, “Lori and I are done." They both
looked sick about this and left. In the following weeks Mary Joe
attempted to try to handle my mom and coerce her to not resign from the
COS and to not get a repayment of my mom’s money on account. She tried
to show her COS policies and tell her the consequences of her leaving and
getting her money back that was owed to her. My Mom and I have a lot of
integrity and stayed firm on our decision to leave the COS.
My Children were very upset with me and they would not listen to why I
wanted to leave. I was extremely upset about possibly losing my children
and what I had gone through the past five years with my kids. I was not
doing well; I struggled trying to sort out my feelings in addition to
figure out for myself if I could salvage what I did find helpful about
Scientology initially. I found Marty Rathbun, a former high ranking
member of the COS who counsels other ex members to help them with their
betrayals from the COS and if they choose to continue their counseling.
I visited him in December 2010. He was in Texas and I had not told
anyone of my whereabouts or what I was doing. The COS strongly opposes
anyone of their members or ex- members to practice Scientology outside
The Church; they refer to it as "squirreling".
After arriving home the following day from my visit with Marty in Texas,
I was harassed and threatened by John Allender, an undercover operative
for the Church of Scientology. He approached me in the parking lot at my
office in an aggressive manner and asked, “Do you enjoy beatings?"
Apparently, he was aware of my whereabouts, this became obvious when he
said, "You've been doing some squirreling over the weekend." I
immediately reported this incident to the authorities. It became rather
clear to me that I was being followed.
I decided to share my short story on Marty Rathbuns blog, “Moving on up a
Little Higher," and I went public about John Allender's threats towards
me. My children Jeremy and Jessica were coerced and manipulated by the
COS and their father to disconnect from me because I had left the
"church", "squirreled" and went public about John Allender's threat to
me. At this time, I spoke to Pat Wehner to request a refund on the
$11,000 that I had on account with the "church" for future services. My
daughter met with my mother and me and told us that if I got my money
back, I would become an enemy to her and to the "church". I was also told
that Pat had already spent my money and would have to pay it back out of
his own pocket and that I shouldn't have gone public about the threats
made against me by John Allender. I told her that I wanted my money back,
I would not be returning for any services and I had every intention of
going public with details about the injustices that the COS has inflicted
upon me, my family and my children!
My children told me that unless I got back in good standing with the COS
and take their steps to rectify the situation, they could not be around
me. This is the “church’s" disconnection policy, HANDLE OR DISCONNECT!
Since my mom and I could not be "HANDLED", my children were manipulated
to disconnect from us as of Feb 6, 2011. My mom and I have not seen
Jessica or Jeremy since Feb 6, 2011 and they both live near us.
My father, stepmother and brother tried to talk to my children on Easter
to get them to look at what the COS was doing to "fair game" me.
Fair
game is a cruel strategy the COS enacts on those who are blowing the
whistle on the "church's" abuses! My kids refused to look at anything
critical of their Church. There is a video showing Scientology's
harassment towards me. (link Squirrel Busters Video)
My children are no longer allowed to be around any member of the family
that is critical of Scientology or any member that has tried to get my
children to see how insane this "church" is and that disconnecting from
family and those who love you most is immoral and wrong! My parents are
in their seventies and cannot be a part of their grand children's lives
because of this disconnection policy. My sister is nine months pregnant
and Jeremy and Jessica cannot be there to revel in the joy of seeing
their new baby cousin and being a part of his life!
I was so upset that I felt I needed to go back to Texas to get help from
Marty. I was mentally unable to handle the pain from the disconnection
and the abuses I received from the "church". In April 2011, I went to
Marty's. On my first day in counseling, John Allender, the man who just
had threatened me in December and Mark Warlick (the man that I asked for
help to stop the recruiting of my son) from San Jose followed me across
state lines to Texas to try to stop me from meeting with Marty. They
showed up with two other men in heinous light blue t-shirts with Marty’s
picture on the front saying, “Squirrel" and cameras taped to their heads
with a camera man. They slammed on Marty's door while I was downstairs
having a lunch break. The slamming on the door was similar to how the
recruiters slammed on my door when they were recruiting my son.
I saw it was John Allender and was terrified, Marty told me to lock my door and
stay inside. Marty called the Sheriff and we reported the harassment and
the stalking me across state lines (all the way from San Jose, CA).
I also reported this to the authorities that I am currently working with.
This incident left me clearly shaken and even more determined to stop
these abuses from occurring. Three days later, a Squirrel Busters van
with the logo on the side drove down the street near Marty's house and we
saw them and they drove away. Then one morning I saw a man watching me
from across the Canal.
Upon arriving home, I found sexual liable about me on the internet. It
was a "blog" written by a person calling themselves Minerva, pretending
to be Marty Rathbun and even uses his name for the website when it isn't
him. In addition to Minerva's slander, a commenter on the blog uses my
name to continue to perpetuate the lies. This "Dear Diary" article has
very personal things probably taken from my confidential counseling
folders and put on the internet for the world to see. It is cruel and
sick and another fair game tactic Scientology uses on ex-members for
leaving and speaking up.
On May 27, 2011 I found a package in my mailbox with no return address
which implies that someone physically placed it in my mailbox. Inside
contained a letter that read, "It has come to our attention that Marty
Rathbun is auditing PCs who are smoking dope. Perhaps you are not fully
aware of the effects drugs can have on an individual. Therefore, I am
sending you this Truth about Drugs booklets, which are very educational
on the dangerous effects of drugs. Minerva".
Included were the
pamphlets that were mentioned.
My mother and I have continued and will always continue to reach out to
Jessica and Jeremy until we are reunited once again.
On February 1, 2011 I received this text message from my daughter:
"OK. Honestly, I don't feel comfortable going to you and CR's (my
husband) birthday dinner and sitting there acting like nothing is wrong
when I am very enturbulated (upset) about what is happening. I do wish
you and CR a very happy birthday, but I'm not going to come on Saturday.
I will be there for Papa's on Sunday to wish him a happy birthday and see
the family."
On Easter my mom and I sent Jessica and Jeremy Easter cards with money
and they both sent them back to us saying they could not accept them
because we are not in good standing with their Church. This past Mothers
day, I invited both of my kids over for a BBQ; they told me they could
not see me. Jeremy turned eighteen in June and I could not share this
very special day with my son. I asked him if we could do something fun
together for his birthday and I got no response. Another birthday we
missed together because of the COS! In July, my Mom turned seventy two
and we had a family celebration at the Lake. My two children always
celebrate this fun week at the lake with us. Jessica and Jeremy were
across the Lake with my cousin but did not come over to see us. Jeremy
sent me another disconnection text.
On July 4, 2011 I received this text message from Jeremy:
"Mom I'm having a very hard time too and I never thought in my right mind
that this would happen to us and it is a big bummer. But you know what
you and Nonie need to do to put this family back together and that's
that. I really hope you guys fix this and we are all a family again. I
miss u very much and hope everything is better soon but I can't be around
u guys with this going on. You are my mother I will love u and miss u
too."
On July 15, 2011 I received this text from Jeremy:
"Mom...Please just handle this situation. You know what steps you need to
do. It’s that easy and if me and sissy aren't worth doing that then I
have nothing else to say. I do love and miss you but I can't be around u
with this going on."
On May 1, 2011 I received this text from Jessica:
"I did. I even watched that video. I am a scientologist and I expect
that to be respected. I told you before that this would be a complete
different story if u just decided not to be a part of the church anymore
and went off and did ur own thing. But u are attacking my group. U are
being part of a squirrel group. By definition and fact they are squirrels
and are trying to put a bad name to my church. And I don't see how we can
have a comm line when u r attacking my group and committing suppressive
acts and by definition in the ethics book u r committing suppressive acts
and that is lrh. I really don't want things to be like this and I’d like
to handle it but we can’t have an OK comm line until this stop.
Scientology and my friends that are scientologists have helped me greatly
in life. I believe in it 100% and that won't change. This has even been
a wakeup call for me and made me realize how important it really is for
me to get up my bridge now."
Jessica turned twenty one in August and I sent her balloons and a
beautiful card to her place of employment and I got no response. I also
asked her if we could do something special for her big day and not tell
anyone so we could be together, no response. My sister is pregnant and
just had a beautiful baby shower which Jessica was invited to, no
response. This was the first summer at the Lake without my kids and it
was so very sad for all of us. We all miss them very much and hope soon
they come back to their loving family who cares so much for them. In July
my son changed his phone number so I can no longer text him. In August
my Facebook was broken into or hacked into three times from Texas and
twice from Washington. I have pictures of this and reported this to the
authorities.
The San Jose Mission (where I used to take classes at and where my kids
are being coerced to disconnect from me and my family) just moved 1/2
block away from me and my mom’s office. My ex has my son working
construction there. So my son is working a 1/2 block away from me and
yet I can't see him.
I also have been trying to get my money on account (never used for
services) back from the San Jose Mission of the COS.
Pat Wehner, the
Mission Holder of San Jose, will not give me my money back unless I sign
a Claims and Verification form signing away my rights, and do the steps
and "conditions" in Scientology that are required to get my money back.
It states that I can't go to an outside third party etc... This violates
my constitutional rights.
John Allender was watching me from his truck when he drove by me at the
Pruneyard in Campbell in August 2011. Just yesterday members of my ex
husbands family have disconnected from me fearing that staying in contact
with me would jeopardize a member of their family, to what extent I do
not know. They also feared that further contact with me would most
definitely lead to a disconnection from their family. My children are
being told by the "church" that I am crazy and that I am spewing lies
about the church.
The Church of Scientology is a dangerous, paranoid and unjust
organization. They utilize fair game which, in their opinion means that
they can lie, trick and do whatever it takes to destroy me utterly as an
open critic of the church. I have been harassed, threatened, stalked and
continue to be fair gamed even now. They also use disconnection as a
means of power over their members. Having thoughts that are not favorable
towards Scientology will inevitably lead to losing the ones you love
through this forced policy.
I did find value in some of my Scientology courses and counseling.
After leaving the "church", I was unsure of whether or not to continue my
belief in Scientology without the interference of the organization. I
sought help and counsel from Marty Rathbun. He is a phenomenal counselor
and helped me greatly in decompressing from my time and struggles within
the COS. For that, I am truly grateful. After leaving the church, I
spent a lot of time researching LRH and the policies of disconnection and
fair game, both of which I struggle to deal with daily. I am no longer a
Scientologist in any capacity.
Not a second passes that I don't miss my children with every fiber of my
being, that I don't ache to hear their voices and make new memories with
them. I'm telling my story to shed light on the abuses that continue to
go on within the Church of Scientology, to bring my children back where
they belong, with their family, with me.
