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CUL:The church of Scientology
"Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wanted to
make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own
religion."
- L. Ron Hubbard
The word Scientology means "the study of knowledge" or the "science
of knowledge" from the Latin "scio" which means know or distinguish,
and from the Greek word "logos" which means reason itself or inward
thought. So it means the study of wisdom or knowledge. It means
"knowing how to know."
It is also the name of what is perhaps the world's oldest, largest,
richest, most influential...and possibly most dangerous...of the
world's major religious cults.
"Have Increased Confidence In Yourself!" Call the Dianetics Hotline,
1-800-FOR TRUTH (1-800-367-8788)
This advertisement is typical of the many similar ads that can be
found in the Personals in some newspapers.
Several television networks carry advertisements for a book called
"Dianetics, " written by a man named L. Ron Hubbard. The book promises
better mental health, and it has been so heavily advertised that it was
even promoted during the 1988 Indianapolis 500. Some of the commercials
are very hi-tech, featuring stunning computer graphics. All of them
feature an exploding volcano, which can be found on the front cover of
"Dianetics."
If you walk down the city streets, you might be accosted by men and
women in businesslike attire who offer to give you free "personality
analysis" tests.
Or maybe you'll hear about how representatives from a civil rights
group called the Citizens' Commission on Human Rights is fighting to
keep the controversial drug Ritalin from being prescribed to children
who have been diagnosed as "hyperactive."
All of the above are tied into Scientology in one way or another.
This is only a sample of the amount of influence this group, founded by
the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in the early 50's, has
over America and the rest of the world as well.
So who is this L. Ron Hubbard, anyway? It's perhaps best to learn
some information about him in order to learn more about Scientology.
L. RON HUBBARD: ORIGINS
Lafeyette Ronald Hubbard was born on in Tilden, Nebraska on March
13, 1911, the son of Commander Harry Ross Hubbard of the United States
Navy and Dora May Hubbard, nee Waterbury de Wolfe. Concerning his
boyhood, the cult publication "What Is Scientology?" had this to say
about his boyhood:
Ron spent many of his childhood years on a large cattle ranch in
Montana. It was on this ranch that he had learned to read and write by
the time he was three and a half years old.
It was there that Ron spent his childhood years riding, breaking
broncos and hunting, and taking his first treks as an explorer. The
knowledge Ron gained of the open spaces was firsthand.
At an early age Ron gained an understanding of a variety of people.
He grew up with old frontiersmen, cowboys, and had an Indian medicine
man as one of his best friends.
In Montana Ron had his first encounter with another culture - the
Blackfoot (Pikuni) Indians. He became a blood brother of the Pikuni and
later was to write about them in his first pub- lished novel, BUCKSKIN
BRIGADES.
Before Ron was 10 years old, he had become thoroughly edu- cated
both in schools as well as by his mother.
So it was that by the time he was 12 years old, L. Ron Hubbard had
already read a large number of the world's greatest classics. He had a
great interest in history and mankind's delvings into causes and laws
underlying the nature of things.
In the 1920s Ron studied the work of Sigmund Freud. His teacher was
Commander Thompson of the United States Navy Medical Corps who had
studied under Freud in Vienna.
But Freud's theories to release people from human problems did not
answer for Ron the questions he had.
Ron sought to find knowledge and understanding that people
themselves could use to handle their own problems.
In 1925 Ron went to the Far East to find out if there was wisdom
there. He journeyed throughout Asia exploring its cities and remote
villages, getting to know the peoples' customs and beliefs.
He travelled up and down the China coast several times in his teens.
He ventured from Ching Wong Tow to Hong Kong and inland to Peking and
Manchuria. In Peking Ron met old Mayo, last of the line of magicians of
Kublai Khan.
Deep in the hills of western China, Ron visted the lamaseries. There
he conversed with monks and made friends with them and the people.
In the isolation of the high hills of Tibet, even native bandits
responded to Ron's honest interest in them and were willing to share
with him what understanding of life they had.
On the other side of the world in the South Pacific Islands, Ron
continued his search into the beliefs of various cultures and the
nature of things in general. He came to respect a wide number of
peoples and their ways of being...
Ron enrolled at the George Washington Engineering School in the fall
of 1930.
At George Washington University, Ron took one of the first nuclear
physics courses ever taught in the United States.
With the knowledge of many peoples acquired by his world travels and
explorations, Ron realized that if Man were to handle the atom sanely
for optimum survival, he would first have to learn to handle himself...
In 1941 Ron was ordered to the Phillipines (which he had known as a
youngster) at the outbreak of World War II.
He survived the early war in the South Pacific...In 1944, crippled
and blinded he found himself in Oak Knoll Naval Hospital. Using the
extensive education in the field of the human mind that he had received
earlier from Commander Thompson, Ron deve- loped techniques that would
help him overcome his injuries and regain his abilities.
Ron concluded that the results he was obtaining could help others
toward greater ability and happiness. During this period some of the
basic tenets of Dianetics and Scientology were first formulated...
By 1947 he recovered fully, a fact that shook the medical and
psychiatric officers of the United States Navy's Retiring Board. Their
fixed ideas and practices had received a hard blow...
In 1950 Ron wrote DIANETICS: THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH
which defined the anatomy of the mind and a technology called auditing
that was making people feel healthier and happier.
Many people have come forward to challenge such claims, some of them
being Hubbard's former associates.
Eugene Methvin stated in an article about Scientology for the
READER'S DIGEST that Hubbard "served in the Navy, but Navy records do
not indicate he saw combat or was ever wounded. He was discharged and
later given a 40-percent disability pension because of an ulcer,
arthritis, and other ailments."
Gerry Armstrong, an ex-Scientologist who left the group in 1982,
stated:
He was not a member of the first U.S. course in nuclear physics. He
did not excel in his subjects at university.
He attended George Washington University two years, 1931 and 1932.
He was placed on probation after the first year, and in the second year
his grades deteriorated. He failed both his mathematics courses his
first year and got D's when he repeated them the second year. The one
course he took in molecular and atomic physics he failed. He did not
return to George Washington University thereafter...
I had seen diaries Hubbard kept of his time spent in Asia, and
correspondence between him and his parents and associates from the
period, and was able to determine fairly accurately the truth behind
his claims about this period.
He was not in China at fourteen and did not spend several years
travelling throughout Asia.
He did not study with lama priests.
He was never in India. ["What Is Scientology?" claims that Hubbard
came in contact with holy men there.]
He attended school in the United States during the years four- teen
through eighteen. ["What Is Scientology?" also claims that he was in
Asia during these years.]
Hubbard's father, who was a naval officer, was stationed on Guam,
and Hubbard travelled twice by ship to Guam to the U.S. and back, once
in 1927 and once in 1928. On those trips the ships stopped briefly at
various Asiatic ports in Japan, China, Hong Kong and the Phillipines.
The only time Hubbard travelled into the interior of China was on a
tour sponsored by the YMCA given to children of the U.S. service
personnel stationed in the Pacific. His total time in Aisa was a few
weeks. Indeed, Hubbard wrote in his notes in 1929 that "The trouble
with China is there are too many Chinks here!" He did come in brief
contact with lama priests, but noted that they sounded like "bull
frogs."
As for Hubbard's education, he eventually claimed a doctorate, and
added "Ph.D." to the end of his name. It was eventually revealed that
Ron was awarded his doctorate by Sequoia University of California, a
nonaccredited institution referred to by psychologist Christopher Evans
as "a degree mill where 'qualifications' could be bought for suitable
sums."
Armstrong also wrote about Hubbard's service in the Navy:
I amassed approximately two thousand pages of documentation
concerning Hubbard's wartime career: what he was doing, what vessels he
was on, fitness reports and VA disability records...
He was not crippled and blinded during the war.
He did not cure himself with his discoveries. In fact, he apparently
kept collecting the 40% disability pension through at least 1973, long
after Dianetics and Scientology propaganda would claim he had healed
himself with his techniques.
Armstrong also revealed that Hubbard commanded two ships during
World War II and was relieved of command of both of them; the first for
exceeding orders, and the second for firing the ship's guns while in
Mexican waters, touching off an international incident. Scientology
claims that Hubbard was awarded 21 medals and palms, and that he sunk
two Japanese ships during his second command. Both claims were proven
false by Armstrong, who claims that "he was awarded four standard
medals for his wartime service."
What is definitely known about Ron's life before forming Dianetics
and Scientology is that he learned how to pilot a glider, eventually
setting some record for gliding over Chicago, letting the heat waves
rising from the heated tarmac keep his glider airborne. Ron then turned
to flying propeller-driven aircraft, and quickly started barnstorming
around the country, flying "under every telephone wire in the Middle
West." An article that appeared in the July 1934 issue of THE PILOT, a
West Coast aviation magazine, stated that "Whenever two or three pilots
are gathered together around that Nation's Capital, whether it be a
Congressional hearing or just in the back of some hangar, you'll
probably hear the name of L. Ron Hubbard mentioned, accompanied by such
adjectives as 'crazy,' 'wild,' and 'dizzy.' For the flaming-haired
pilot hit the city like a tornado a few years ago and made women scream
and strong men weep by his aerial antics."
Hubbard was also elected to join the Explorer's Club in 1940,
becoming at that time the club's youngest member. He was recommended by
some of the most influential members of the club. Hubbard would then go
on to lead three expeditions under the Explorers Club flag: one in 1940
to Alaska known as the Alaska-Radio Expedition, an
Oceanographic-Archeological Ex- pedition in 1961, and the Hubbard
Geological Survey Expedition in 1966. The Explorers Club credits him
with conducting the first complete minera- logical survey of Puerto
Rico during 1932 and 1933.
Throughout these years, Ron managed to earn a somewhat decent profit
as a science-fiction writer. Starting with BUCKSKIN BRIGADES in 1936,
he would go on to write dozens of science fiction novels and short
stories, including TYPEWRITER IN THE SKY, SLAVES OF SLEEP, KINGSLAYER,
DEATH'S DEPUTY, FEAR, FINAL BLACKOUT, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, and his final
writing: a huge, 10-volume series titled MISSION EARTH. Scientologists
claim that "over fifteen million words" have been written by Ron and
are still in print. Considering the amount of books he wrote, whether
science fiction, Dianetics/Scientology, or otherwise, they may be right.
By the end of World War II, Hubbard had taken Margaret Louise Grubb
as his wife and eventually had two children by her: a son, Ron Jr.
(nick- named "Nibs"), and a daughter, Katherine May.
As for those who influenced Hubbard, he had one very large influence
that Scientology would rather the public know nothing about...the self-
proclaimed "Great Beast 666, " Aleister Crowley.
According to Hubbard's estranged son, L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. (aka Ron
DeWolf), Ron went with his mother to the Library of Congress in
Washington, D.C. While his mother traced back her family's genealogy,
Ron was poking around, looking for something that interested him, when
he stumbled upon what may have been the most important book to him.
The tiny volume bore the title "The Book of the Law." Its author was
Aleister Crowley.
Crowley himself denied authorship of the book, but claimed that a
spirit being named Aiwas dictated it to him in 1940 while he was in
Cairo between 12 noon and 1 p.m. on three successive days: April 8, 9,
and 10. The book proclaimed "The Law of Thelema" ("Thelema" is the
Greek word for "Will") which consisted of the solitary command: "DO
WHAT THOU WILT." This one statement, taken from the writings of
Renaissance priest and satirist Francois Rabelais, has formed the main
core of Crowley's eclectic and bizarre beliefs, which are a mixture of
Satanism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Taoism, Yoga, and mainstream occultism.
The book obviously had a great impact on the youthful Ron, who would
later study Crowley's other writings and incorporate them into
Scientology teachings. It should be noted here that Hubbard and Crowley
never met each other.
RON AND THE OTO
Crowley had helped to form an occult society known as the Ordo
Templis Orientis, or OTO for short, at the beginning of the 20th
century. He eventually received permission to set up an OTO lodge in
California, and in 1942 he appointed Jack Parsons, who would later
become a key figure in rocket research at Cal Tech, as head of the
California branch.
Then, sometime in fall of 1945, Parsons met up with Hubbard and the
two became good friends, even though Parsons' girlfriend, Sara
Northrup, ended her relationship with Parsons and started one with Ron.
Although Hubbard never joined the OTO, he and Parsons then began a
lengthy ritual in which they would try to impregnate a woman and then
get a spirit named Babalon, likened by Parsons to "the mother of the
uni- verse, " to possess the unborn baby and thus enter the world. Such
a baby is known in occult circles as a "moonchild." Towards this goal,
Parsons and Hubbard engaged in eleven days of preparatory rituals
during January 1946. Following some bizarre visions and events, they
finally located a woman who was ready and willing to conceive Babalon.
During the first three days of March 1946, Parsons (in the capacity of
High Priest) had sexual intercourse with the woman while Hubbard, who
was present at the time, acted as a seer or clairvoyant and tried to
explain what was supposed to be happening on the astral plane during
the sexual union.
Parsons then wrote a bizarre letter to Crowley describing the prep-
aration and outcome of the ritual. Part of the letter reads:
I am under command of extreme secrecy. I have had the most important
- devastating experience of my life between February second and March
fourth...I have been in direct touch with the One who is most Holy and
Beautiful as mentioned in the Book of The Law. I cannot write the name
at present. First instruct- ions were received directly by Ron, the
Seer...I am to act as instructor guardian guide for nine months; then
it will be loosed upon the world. That's all I can say now...
Crowley replied with:
You have me completely puzzled by your remarks. I thought I had a
most morbid imagination, as good as any man's, but it seems I have not.
I cannot form the slightest idea what you can possibly mean.
But to Karl Germer, who would assume leadership of the OTO after
Crowley's death, he wrote:
Apparently Parsons and Hubbard or somebody is producing a moonchild.
I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these louts.
In another letter, he added (with perhaps a more sympathetic tone):
[Parsons] has got a miraculous illumination which rhymes with nothing,
and he has apparently lost all his personal indepen- dence. From our
brother's account he has given away both his girl and his money -
apparently it's the old confidence trick.
Alva Rogers, who frequently visited Parsons, said about Hubbard:
I liked Ron from the first. He was of medium build, red headed, wore
horned rim glasses, and had a termendously engaging personality. For
several weeks he dominated the scene with his wit and inexhaustible
fund of anecdotes...Unfortunately, Ron's reputation for spinning tall
tales (both off and on the printed page) made for a certain degree of
skepticism in the minds of his audience. At any rate, he told one hell
of a good story... Ron was a persuasive and unscrupulous charmer, not
only in a social group, but with the ladies. He was so persuasive and
charmingly unscrupulous that within a matter of a few weeks he brought
the entire house of Parsons down around poor Jack's ears. He did this
by...taking over Jack's girl for extended periods of time...
Ron was supposedly his best friend, and this was more than Jack was
willing to tolerate...
Parsons eventually became thoroughly disenchanted with Hubbard,
partially due to the loss of his girlfriend Sara and partially due to a
failed business venture between the two. Ron and Sara would eventually
marry on August 10, 1946, making Ron a bigamist until his divorce from
Margaret became final a year and four months later.
As for Parsons himself, he was killed in an explosion in 1952. A
crater on the moon was eventually named after him.
EVOLUTION OF "THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH"
Many of Ron's earlier science fiction stories were printed in the
popular ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION magazine, edited by fellow author
John Campbell. Hubbard and Campbell eventually became acquainted, and
Campbell found himself interested with Hubbard's psychological and
philisophical ideas. He eventually started experimenting with them in
1949, and found his chronic sinusitis alleviated by the techniques.
(The "cure" proved to be only temporary, however.)
Needless to say, Campbell was very impressed. In the April 1950
issue of ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, Campbell stated:
Next month's issue will, I believe, cause one full-scale ex- plosion
across the country. We are carrying a sixteen-thousand word article
entitled "Dianetics...An Introduction to a New Science, " by L. Ron
Hubbard. It will, I believe, be the first publication of this material.
It is, I assure you, in full and absolute sincerity, one of the most
important articles ever published.
This is no wild theory. It is not mysticism. It is a coldly precise
engineering description of how the human mind operates, and how to go
about restoring correct operation tested and used on some two hundred
fifty cases. And it makes only one overall claim: the methods logically
developed from that description WORK. The memory stimulation technique
is so powerful that, within thirty miuntes of entering therapy, most
people will recall in full detail their own birth. I have observed it
in action, and used the techniques myself.
Needless to say, the May 1950 issue of ASF practically sold out the
very same day it was released. 2, 000 letters flooded the publisher
over the first two weeks. The magazine's telephone was constantly
jammed by Dia- netics enthusiasts. Demand for more information
mushroomed so much that Hubbard shortly afterwards gave Hermitage House
leave to publish what many Scientologists still consider his greatest
work: "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health." It became a
best-seller overnight. Within weeks the Dianetics fad had spread like
wildfire throughout the United States. Hubbard even founded the first
Hubbard Dianetic Research Founda- tion in April 1950 along with John
Campbell and another enthusiast, Dr. Joseph A. Winter, who claimed to
have successfully used Dianetics therapy on his son, curing his fear of
ghosts. The Foundation was located in Bay Head, New Jersey.
The movement spread quickly, but Hubbard had little control over it,
as many followers of Dianetics organized into local groups rather than
linking with him, resulting in variations and twists in Dianetics all
over the nation. Also, Hubbard was publicly embarassed by several
fiascos where Dianetics training failed to deliver the effects Hubbard
had promised, and in 1951, the Foundation suffered a financial crisis.
Many members of the Board of Directors resigned, including Campbell,
Winter, and Hubbard himself, who was also being sued for divorce by
Sara, who charged him with physical and mental abuse, testifying to
(among other things) an incident where Hubbard strangled her in 1950
and ruptured the eustachian tube in her left ear, causing partial
hearing loss in that ear. Hubbard fled to Cuba, taking their fourteen
month old daughter Alexis with him.
He then handled problems with the group in two ways. First, through
a prolonged struggle that involved much correspondence and eventually
bitter feelings, he purged the movement of "amateurs," "heretics," and
"revisionists, " consolidating control over the "licensing" of persons
who could formally claim expertise in Dianetics. Hubbard could now
control who taught Dianetics and how it was taught. Second, a lot of
disciples had already reached the stage of "Clear" (see "Beliefs" for
details"), which was the highest stage in Dianetics. Hubbard then
established the Hubbard Association of Scientology in Phoenix, Arizona,
where his parents lived. Notions of reincarnation, extraterrestrial
life, and more complex levels of emotional and spiritual health were
incorporated into Hubbard's belief system, serving as expansions to the
more purely psychological Dianetics.
In 1953, the Church of Scientology was incorporated. In 1954,
Hubbard officially opened the first church in Washington, D.C. The
organization then applied for and received tax-exempt status as the
Founding Church of Scientology in 1955. In 1959, church headquarters
were moved to the 57-acre Saint Hill Manor estate in East Grimstead,
Sussex, England. Its former owner was the Maharajah of Jaipur. Today it
still retains its tax-exempt status, although it has been challenged in
several states.
After the mid-60's, L. Ron Hubbard's leadership role in Scientology
declined in prominence, culminating in his official resignation from
the Church management in 1966. However, as "Commodore" of an elite
Scientology group called the Sea Org (described later), he ramined in
full control of the movement. His third wife, Mary Sue Whipp, played an
increasingly more important role in the movement, as did Hubbard's
daughter, Diana, and his son, Quentin, both from his third marriage.
(Quentin even- tually committed suicide in 1977.)
L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. also served as a VIP in the Church of
Scientology during its first years. He had always had a strange
relationship with his father. Although Ron Jr. was never struck by his
father, Hubbard did put barbituates in his bubble gum at times.
In late 1952, during the formation period of Scientology, Hubbard
went off the deep end during a conversation with Ron Jr.:
You snot-nosed kid. You don't know your ass from a hole in the
ground! All you are is a fart in a hurricane, kid; now read about the
Real Power!
The books and contents to be kept forever secret. To reveal them
will cause you instant insanity: rip your mind apart; destroy you.
Secrets, techniques and powers I alone have conquered and harnessed. I
alone have refined, improved on, applied my en- gineering principles
to. Science and logic. THE keys! My keys to the doorway of the Magick,
my magick! THE power! NOT Scientology power! MY power! The real powers
of Solomon, Caligula and Alice too. Your past is your enemy, the enemy
of all.
Ron Jr. listened as Hubbard named books such as "The Book of the
Law, " "Sex Magic of the Ninth Degree of the OTO, " and other books. He
remarked when he opened those books, "I open the books intending only
to thumb through. I am awed and amazed; I KNOW these books! How could
I?"
Hubbard went on with his explanation:
They were used to conceive you, and birth you, too. I've read them
to you while you were asleep - while you were drugged and hypnotized,
for years.
I've made the Magick really work. No more foolish rituals. I've
stripped the Magick to basics - access without liability. Sex by will.
Love by will - no caring and no sharing - no feelings. None. Love
reversed. Love isn't sex. Love is no good; puts you at effect. Scarlet
women! They are the secrets to the doorway. Use and consume. Feast.
Drink the power through them. Waste and discard them...Scarlet: the
blood of their bodies; the blood of their souls.
Release your will from bondage. Bend their bodies; bend their minds;
bend their wills; beat back the past. The present is all there is. No
consequences and no guilt. Nothing is wrong in the present. The will is
free - totally free; no feelings; no effort; pure thought - separated.
The Will postulating the Will. Will, Sex, Love, Blood, Door, Power,
Will. Logical.
The doorway of Plenty. The Great Door of the Great Beast.
Hubbard, according to Ron Jr., considered himself to be Crowley's
successor, assuming the title of "Great Beast." He also told Ron Jr.
that Scientology really began on December 1, 1947...the day Crowley
died.
Ron Jr. left Scientology in 1959 and has since crusaded against the
movement.
Today, the Church of Scientology claims a worldwide membership of
around 6, 500,000 adherents, and has access to some $80 billion dollars
in total assets. Due to its size, wealth, and influence, Scientology
has few peers in the world of religious cults. Even with peers such as
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Trancendental
Meditation, Scientology is definitely in a class by itself.
DOCTRINE AND BELIEFS
Scientologists insist that Dianetics and Scientology are separate
subjects that address different issues. Dianetics centers on erasing
illnesses, "misemotion," somatics, pain, and other physical ails. On
the other hand, Scientology concentrates on increasing spiritual
freedom, intelligence, and ability. However, just as one man formed
both belief systems, one group still retains control of them. Those who
enter into the study of Dianetics can be expected to start learning
about Scientology and perhaps become Scientologists themselves.
"The urge, purpose, and thrust of life - SURVIVE!"
This principle, coined by Hubbard, is the guiding force behind human
behavior and development, according to Dianetics and Scientology. He
refers to survival as the Basic Dynamic and has broken it down into a
series of Dynamics, originally four in number, but expanded to eight
under Scientology:
1st Dynamic: Survival as self. 2nd Dynamic: Survival through the sex
act, children, and family. 3rd Dynamic: Survival through groups. 4th
Dynamic: Survival through Mankind. 5th Dynamic: Survival through animal
and vegetable life. 6th Dynamic: Survival through the physical
universe. 7th Dynamic: Survival as spirit. 8th Dynamic: Survival
through Infinity.
(Ron has also claimed at one point that there are two other Dynamics
that exist beyond this universe, but what they are is unknown at
present.) Such are the goals of every individual soul, which Ron names
a "thetan" after the Greek letter theta. A thetan, also known as a
"life static," is defined by Ron as "having no mass, no wavelength, and
no energy and no time or location in space except by consideration or
postulate." The thetan is immortal, and Ron says that each thetan has
fantastic powers locked within it, but that the thetan, unfortunately,
has forgotten how to use them.
"Man is basically good, " Ron wrote, "but can act badly." The reason
for Man's faults lies in the very mind itself, which Ron divided into
two parts; the "analytic mind" (the human consciousness) and the
"reactive mind" (the subconscious). Under severe stress, according to
Dianetics, the analytic mind, which regulates the person's everyday
actions, breaks down or malfunctions temporarily, thus allowing the
reactive mind to record details of the traumatic experience such as
sounds, sights, sensations of touch, temperature, etc. Such a mental
scar is known as an "engram." This term was first coined by Richard
Simon in his 1923 book "The Mneme, " and Hubbard has admitted in the
past to being familiar with Simon's work. Engrams can be picked up
anywhere, even in the womb; for example, if a pregnant woman were to be
hurt in a car wreck or beaten by her mate, an engram would be implanted
in the embryo's mind. Scientology also teaches reincarnation, and
believes that thetans keep all the engrams they've accumulated from the
past lives. To start working back towards "Total Freedom, " the subject
must remove all engrams from his mind by means of the exercises created
by Dianetics, which include what is referred to as "auditing." Auditing
sessions are very expensive (A one-hour session costs around $150 for
one hour), but they are considered necessary to remove all flaws from
the human mind.
In an auditing session, the subject must "relive" the engrams that
are in his mind by going through a sort of past-life regression. As the
auditor speaks with the pre-clear in hopes of triggering the engrams,
the subject might stumble across one of them and expound on it, usually
saying what has been picked up by the reactive mind during the trauma.
When the engram is fully relived, it ceases to have power and is erased.
Auditing sessions also make use of a curious device called the
electrometer, or E-Meter for short. The device is a crude form of lie
detector, composed of two electrodes (sometimes nothing more than tin
cans with the labels removed) connected to a meter with a needle and
dials on it. Scientologists are able to buy E-Meters for their own
personal use, and can choose between several different models,
including the spartan Mark V E-Meter, an old but reliable E-Meter which
is fondly referred to as "the faithful workhorse, " and the hi-tech
Mark-VI E-Meter, "the computer precise, " which features a striking
oval shape and a built-in clock. The Mark VI model is even available in
several colors. A Mark VII model has recently been released. The price
of an E-Meter can reach $3, 000.
The subject holdes the two electrodes while the auditor runs drills
and processes on him. Any sign of tension or anxiety, supposedly caused
by active engrams, causes the E-Meter's needle, which rests at the
center of the indicator, to fall. As the subject relives the engram he
tries to erase, the auditor makes adjustments with the E-Meter until
the needle is resting in the center again.
Once all engrams are erased, the thetan is now considered "Clear," a
term named after the button on the calculator that erases all previous
calculations. A Clear is defined as "A thetan who can be at cause know-
ingly and at will over mental matter, energy, space and time as regards
the First Dynamic." His reactive mind has been erased, and instead of
reacting unknowingly to situations, he acts knowingly. He now needs
auditing only to deal with impulses and considerations on the other
seven Dynamics, and Clears are also advertised as having, among other
things, superior health. (Scientologists who have not yet reached the
state of Clear are called "pre-clears.")
Although Clear is the highest stage obtainable in Dianetics alone,
Scientologists who wish to progress further can study higher
disciplines that will reeducate them about their archaic origins in the
distant past. As a Clear learns more and more about his past, he will
eventually achieve the state of "Operating Thetan, " or OT. Operating
Thetans are promoted as being more able to control themselves and their
enviornment. There are currently eight levels ranging from OT I to OT
VIII, the highest Scien- tology discipline released to date. OTs
supposedly gain greater wisdom and supernatural powers such as
clairvoyance and telekinesis as they climb higher in rank; for example,
an OT III Scientologist "goes through the 'Wall of Fire' [described
later] that no one could even approach without resultant sickness and
death before L. Ron Hubbard found the way for you to go through safely
and reach the other side, shining and free from the curtain of
degredation that has hung like a poisonous veil over this planet." The
OT V discipline features "Gradient scale drills to handle matter,
energy, space and time from outside your body." And OT VII
Scientologists can take a course where "one confronts at source the
origination of thought and progresses up to realms wherein is revealed
the total truths of spiritual existance and power."
Psychiatrists are among one of Scientology's biggest headaches.
Insisting that they use unnecessary electroshock and drug therapy in
their treatments, Scientology has crusaded against almost all mental
health organizations in the world, and would later form the Citizens
Commission on Human Rights to try and push for better treatment for
mental patients while at the same time conducting covert operations
against groups such as the AMA.
Scientology officially does not try to enforce belief in any one god
or deity, and claims to be compatible with all religions and faiths,
in- cluding Christianity. However, Scientology does have its own
ministers who are licensed to perform marriages and funerals. However,
Scientologist Michael McGee states that "Scientology is drawn from the
Hinayana [also known as Theravada] teachings of Buddhism." There are
many similarities between the two, such as a belief in endless
reincarnation unless one finds his way to that state of awareness and
ultimate enlightenment known to Buddhists as "Nirvana" and to
Scientologists as "Total Freedom."
A secret belief held by many Scientologists is that Hubbard himself
is the reincarnation of Buddha, also known as the Metteyya ("Meitreya"
in Sanskrit). Perhaps Hubbard felt the same way, as indicated in his
poem "Hymn of Asia:"
Everywhere you see I can be addressed But in your temples best
Address me and you address Lord Buddha Address Lord Buddha And you then
address Metteyya.
SCIENTOLOGY VOCABULARY
While many faiths have developed a rudimentary list of phrases and
words unfamiliar to outsiders, the Church of Scientology has probably
surpassed all other cult vocabularies in terms of size, flavor, and
com- plexity. Most of it was single-handedly developed by Ron himself
and has become known as "Scientologese" or "Org-speak."
To help novice Scientologists learn this complex terminology, Ron
wrote the "Dianetics & Scientology Technical Dictionary, " a
suprisingly large and detailed dictionary consisting of almost every
Scientology word and phrase used by the group except for those
pertaining to ultra-secret activities and beliefs familiar to those who
control Scientology. However, such knowledge doesen't come cheap:
Scientology has been known to charge $80 or more for the book.
Some of the more prominent Scientologese phrases are listed below:
ARC TRIANGLE - A triangle composed of Affinity, Realization, and
Communication. Together they equate to Understanding. You could be said
to have ARC with someone you really like or love.
BRIDGE - The technology developed by Ron to help people achieve
"Total Freedom" within their natural lifespan.
CHARGE - The harmful energy or force accumulated in the subconscious
mind.
COMMAND INTENTION - Used to describe whatever Ron (or, nowadays, the
elite of Scientology) wants.
COUNTER INTENTION - Opposite of Command Intention. In other words,
disobeying the wishes of Scientolgy's elite.
DOWN STAT - Any Scientologist who does not obey, or successfully
comply with, the dictates of Scientology, and thus referred to as
having "down statistics." A down stat is also referred to as being "out
ethics."
ENTURBULATE - To upset. EXTERIORIZATION - Where the thetan is
outside of its host body.
HAT - Any job or assignment in Scientology. If a Scientologist says
that you're "wearing your hat, " he simply means that you're doing your
job.
IMPLANT - According to L. Ron Hubbard, "A painful and forceful means
of overwhelming a being with artificial purpose or false concepts in a
malicious attempt to control and suppress him."
MEST - Acronym for "Matter, Energy, Space, Time." By definition,
this universe is a MEST universe.
MOCK-UP - To create an imaginary picture within the mind. This is
easily done when one closes his eyes and imagines a picture of a cat.
That mental picture is a "mock-up."
OVERT - A harmful act. PROCESS - "A set of questions asked by an
auditor to help a person find out about himself or life."
R2 - Routine 2. Describes one of 75 exercised prescribed by
Scientology to help the thetan leave, or "go exterior of," its body in
a manner similar to astral projection. A complete list of R2 exercises
can be found in Hubbard's book, "The Creation Of Human Ability." One of
them is called R2-45, and is simply defined as "AN ENORMOUSLY EFFECTIVE
PROCESS FOR EXTERIORIZATION BUT ITS USE IS FROWNED UPON BY THIS SOCIETY
AT THIS TIME." This is because the "45" is acutally a .45 pistol.
Granted, being shot is a VERY effective way to cause a thetan to "go
exterior!" (It has, in fact, been prescribed by some ranking officials
to be used on enemies of Scientology, and not in a joking manner. To
this day, however, no one in the cult has been known to use it.)
R6 BANK - Another name for the reactive mind. It is often simply
called the Bank.
ROCK SLAM - Any movement of the needle on an E-meter while a subject
is being audited. Also known as the "Theta Bop."
SEC CHECK - A Scientology security check, done by hooking the
subject to an E-Meter and asking him questions to confirm his
truthfulness or loyalty.
SOURCE - Used to denote L. Ron Hubbard, the Source of Scientology.
Often used in conversation the same way "God" is used.
SQUIRREL - According to "Scientology 0-8, " a squirrel is defined as
"one who alters technology...instead of learning and applying the
workable system of Standard Technology." In other words, a rebel
Scientologist or organization that breaks away from Scientology. Some
of them will be discussed later.
S.O. #1 - Standing Order #1, instituted by Ron. "All mail addressed
to me shall be received by me." In reality, Ron himself saw very little
of the mail he received and answered even less of it. His aides
answered most of the letters for him. Most exceptions to this policy,
as a matter of curiosity, were letters from non-Scientologists,
including fellow science fiction authors.
TIME TRACK - Defined as "The consecutive record of mental image
pictures which accumulates through the pre-clear's life or lives."
TONE SCALE - A scale of emotional states developed by Ron:
40.0 Serenity of Beingness 30.0 Postulates 20.0 Action 8.0
Exhiliration 6.0 Aesthetics 4.0 Enthusiasm 3.5 Cheerfulness 3.3 Strong
interest 3.0 Conservatism 2.8 Contented 2.6 Disinterested 2.5 Boredom
2.4 Monotony 2.0 Antagonism 1.9 Hostility 1.8 Pain 1.5 Anger 1.3
Resentment 1.2 No sympathy 1.15 Unexpressed resentment 1.1 Covert
Hostility 1.02 Anxiety 1.0 Fear 0.98 Despair 0.96 Terror 0.94 Numb 0.90
Sympathy 0.8 Propitition 0.5 Grief 0.375 Making amends 0.3 Undeserving
0.2 Self-abasement 0.1 Victim 0.05 Apathy 0.01 Dying 0.0 Being a Body
(Death) - Failure - 0.2 Being other Bodies - Regret - 1.0 Punishing
other Bodies - Blame - 1.3 Responsibility as Blame - Shame - 1.5
Controlling Bodies - 2.2 Protecting Bodies - 3.0 Owning Bodies - 3.5
Approval From Bodies - 4.0 Needing Bodies - 8.0
Hiding ¢ Hubbard wrote in his book "The Science of Survival" that
"In any event, any person from 2.0 down on the tone scale should not
have, in any thinking society, any civil rights of any kind..." Which
means that if Ron were to realize his goal of controlling the world,
anyone from
2.0 down on the tone scale would probably be locked up in a concen-
tration camp. (Many ex-members believe that Hubbard's rating would be
1.1, or "Covert Hostility.")
TOTAL FREEDOM - "Existence without barriers." In a nutshell, the
final goal of each Scientologist.
TRs - Training Routines. These are Scientology drills designed to
provide communication skills necessary to auditors. There are at least
a dozen of them, all denoted by a number such as "TR 0" or "TR 5."
There is also a secret Trianing Routine called "TR L, " which is
designed to teach OSA agents (see "Scientology Ethics") how to lie
convincingly.
UP STAT - Any Scientologist in good standing. VALENCE - Identity
assumed by a person unknowingly. For example, someone who picks up his
father's habits could be said to be "in his father's valence" by
Scientology.
WHOLE TRACK - One's complete "time track." WITHHOLD - Any secret a
person isn't willing to reveal.
WOG - Scientology slang for any non-Scientologist. "Wog" was
originally a racial slur used by the colonial British to denote Asians.
As the British hated them, they sarcastically referred to the Asians as
"Worthy Oriental Gentlemen, " or wogs for short.
SCIENTOLOGY ETHICS
To maintain discipline within Scientology, Hubbard devised a system
of "Ethics, " which he defined as "a code of agreement amongst people
that they will conduct themselves in a fashion which will attain to the
optimum solu- tion of their problems." Ron also states that "On Earth,
it would be quite impossible to bring in the totality of Scientology
technology without first bringing in Ethics." Thus, Ethics is very
important to Scientologists and maintained along very strict guidelines.
The status of a Scientologist is closely monitored by an Ethics
Officer, who watches the progress of the individual and adjusts his
"Ethics Condition" according to his progress. The following list of
Ethics Conditions can be found in "Introduction to Scientology Ethics."
They are, in order from highest to lowest:
Power Power Change Affluence Normal Operation Emergency Danger
Non-Existence Liability Doubt Enemy Treason Confusion
Each Ethics Condition carries its own rewards or penalties. For the
very few who attain the coveted Condition of Power, the benefits
include very special privileges such as a pay raise with bonuses within
the cult and gifts of considerable value, such as a tape recorder or
typewriter.
Those who attain the exalted Condition of Affluence will also
receive pay raises, plus free gifts that ae somewht less substantial,
such as free razors and soap for men and hairdos for women.
Most Scientologists find themselves in the realm of Normal
Operation, and are entitled to shave, wear makeup, bathe, wear nice
clothes and hair- dos, and receive standard pay.
Once Scientologists reach the Condition of Emergency, however,
things change drastically. Their pay is reduced, and their lunch hour
is taken away. They are also expected to put in overtime without pay,
possibly to affirm their loyalty to Scientology.
The Conditon of Danger carries heavier penalties. Scientologists in
this state may not wear hairdos or makeup, shave, or even bathe. They
are expected to work at night and do not receive a lunch hour. They are
also paid less than any other Scientologist.
Those who find themselves demoted to the Condition of Non-Existence
suffer all of the above penalties, plus they must wear old clothes
which they are not allowed to change. They are also forbidden from
leaving the local Scientology Org.
Those who have the Condition of Liability imposed on them cannot
wear any sort of uniform, and must wear a dirty grey rag tied around
the left arm. They can only eat stale food and drink only water.
Scientologists who are assigned a Condition of Doubt, furthermore,
must wear handcuffs on their left wrist. In lieu of genuine handcuffs,
a chain can be made from paperclips. They can also be locked up in
their Scientology Org or, if deemed necessary, thrown out.
Those grim unfortunates who fall to the status of Enemy or lower
fall under the cult's "Fair Game" policy. In Hubbard's own words, an
Enemy is anyone who "may be deprived of property or injured by any
means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist.
May be tricked, sued, or lied to, or destroyed."
A Scientologist who finds himself demoted by an Ethics Officer may
reinstate himself by doing various "amends projects" such as writing
100 times that you were wrong, scrubbing floors, composing papers about
your shortcomings, or collecting signatures from fellow members.
It is interesting to note what Hubbard's official stance on
punishment is:
Punishment doesen't cure anything...Man is basically good and is
damaged by punishment...
When cruelty in the name of discipline dominates a race, that race
has been taught to hate. And that race is doomed.
The real lesson to learn is love.
Considering that these excerpts and the "Fair Game" policy were both
authored by L. Ron Hubbard himself, there seems to be a gravely serious
inconsistency in his own beliefs.
The cult also carries on an ongoing war with enemies of the group,
referred to as Suppresive Persons, or SPs, because they "suppress" the
improvement of Scientologists. Those members of the group who are
friends of SPs are referred to as Potential Trouble Sources (PTS) and
ordered to "handle or disconnect" the SPs, even if the SPs are
Scientologists, or else find themselves declared SPs and face
ostracization from Scientology. Families have been literally shattered
in the past when one member was declared an SP and the rest of the
family, still loyal to Scientology, "disconnected" from him.
Sometimes cult members who choose to "disconnect" from their former
acquaintances write letters to them. Some are sorrowful and optimistic:
I had hoped that during [the] three week period after you made
yourself a suppressive towards Scientology, that I would be inluential
enough to get you to take steps to change that condition...
Gosh, Ray, I don't have to tell you a thing. If you could only hold
off your Bank while thinking about this Ethics bit, you would see that
Ethics is right.
Sincerely, Mary
Others are all too blunt:
Dear Ann, I hearby disconnect from you. Love, Barbara
Officially, disconnection and the "Fair Game" policy were terminated
by Hubbard in November 1968. Many ex-Scientologists maintain that the
amnesty was merely a sham, and that Scientology continued its fight
against Supressive Persons. Scientology continues to keep a close watch
on known "suppressives" with help from the Office of Special Affairs
(OSA), once known as the Guardian's Office. This Scientology
bureaucracy handles the cult's legal matters, intelligence, and public
functions. It also handles "Fair Game" directives, sometimes with
frightening results.
THE SEA ORGANIZATION
Of all Scientology "Orgs, " the Sea Organization is the most
prominent of all. In Hubbard's own words, "Its mission is to bring
Clears through the upper levels safely and certainly and with speed,
and it also has the mission of getting in Ethics."
The Sea Org, which was directly controlled by Hubbard until his
death, consists of Scientology's elite, most of whom are OTs. Sea Org
personnel, often dressed up in impressive blue naval uniforms and white
sailing caps, constantly cruise around in international waters onboard
several vessels, including ARIES, ATHENA, DIANA, EXCALIBUR, FREE WINDS,
NEPTUNE, and the flagship APOLLO, which was for a long time L. Ron
Hubbard's home. Solid white, immaculately scrubbed, and boasting a
telex system rivaling those of major corporations, the APOLLO remains
one of the chief nerve centers of Scientology.
Hubbard developed the idea of a naval force in December 1966,
calling it the Sea Project, which he envisioned as an all-out project
to "Clear the Planet." Towards this purpose, he purchased a yacht and
two ships in England, the largest of the three being the 342-foot ROYAL
SCOTSMAN, once used as a transport for Winston Churchill during World
War II. Hubbard also purchased a small flotilla in the United States
for crew-training purposes.
Sea Org members command widespread respect (and, in some cases,
fear) throughout the movement, and to join the Sea Org, all one has to
do is sign a billion-year contract with Hubbard to work for him. Most
Sea Org members fully expect to serve the billion years; after all, the
thetan never truly dies, and after everyone on the planet reaches the
state of "clear, " there would no doubt be many other planets that
needed to be "cleared." Sea Org members work for an average weekly
sustenance pay of $10 to $60. Most members have had little or no
experience with sailing, and thus one of the more frequently heard
expressions on any Sea Org ship is: "Make it go right!"
The Sea Org also acts as an enforcer of Scientology Ethics, making
sure that all orgs are earning enough money for the cult. If a mission
or org in Scientology should turn "down stat" by not pulling in enough
money or new members, it can expect a visit from a Sea Org Ethics
Mission very soon afterwards. Such a visit could be a grim experience.
Irv Williams, an ex-Scientologist, describes one such Ethics Mission
to Saint Hill:
There were three major Sea Org missions to Saint Hill during late
'67 and '68.
The Van Staden mission was the third and the scariest. Ron was on
the ship - somewhere - and was telexing things, and fired this mission
off. I was the staff Ethics Officer at Saint Hill, and they put all
ethics officers in "liability." All ethics officers and Hubbard
Communi- cations Office people were just automatically assigned
"liability." [The reason given to them was that they hadn't been tough
enough.]
Joe Van Staden, a high-ranking Sea Org official, led the expedition
into Saint Hill in an officer's uniform, wearing a dagger on his belt.
Irv went on:
And Joe Van Staden got a ladder and climbed up to the ceiling and
slammed this dagger into a beam. Then he said, "This will fall on you
and kill you!" Everybody was jumping to. I mean, anyone who looked
cross-eyed would be declared suppressive immediately.
They were just looking for heads to put on pikes. That state of
siege lasted for a couple of weeks...Everyone was on "battle stations"
(running on a laid out "battle plan") 24 hours a day. This continued
until they decided that things were under control and then they went
away...
By this time we began to believe that Ron meant it. We still
couldn't understand why he was doing this because it was in such
contradiction of all his basic teachings and principles. With the idea
that force doesen't work, with the idea that pun- ishment is a former
practice, and it's been tried for thousands of years and it doesen't
help. And here are these people run- ning around wearing Gestapo boots,
and punishing and threatening. And it was being done at his direct
order.
It was very grim.
Of all members of Scientology, Sea Org members undergo the strictest
discipline of all. As there is no way to escape a Sea Org vessel in the
middle of the ocean, Sea Org members have no choice but to accept the
harsh punishments, which include being locked in the ship's chain
locker for up to weeks at a time, being "overboarded" (thrown off of
the ship into the sea), and various other punishments. Not even little
children were spared, according to ex-Scientologist Bent Corydon, who
claims that Hubbard ordered a four-year-old boy locked in the APOLLO's
chain locker for eating the paper coming out the ship's telex machines.
He was left in there for at least 48 hours. John McMaster also claims
that Hubbard imprisoned a deaf mute girl in it for over a week,
claiming it would cure her deafness.
To illustrate how bad the chain locker is, Corydon explains: It was
the place where the section of the chain [holding the anchor] not in
the water was stored. When the entire chain was brought up it filled
most of this comparatively small, wet, dark, and sometimes rat-infested
locker.
The only thing that was holding the chain in the locker was what is
called a devil's claw, which was located well above the locker on the
deck of the ship. If someone were to kick the claw, the entire chain
would be pulled at high speed out of the locker by the weight of the
anchor, and anyone down in the locker could very easily get caught in
the outgoing chain and be yanked to his death.
Overboarding was also a tradition often practiced by the Sea Org,
sometimes with the victim having his hands tied behind his back. In
case Sea Org members were on shore and an overboarding was needed, the
offender was usually dunked in a bathtub filled with freezing water and
ordered to read a statement such as "I am a disciple of Freud. I love
to kill preclears."
Since July 24, 1986, each Sea Org member now has a series of cards:
Social Card (blue) Bonus Card (green) Allowance Card (orange)
Berthing Card (yellow)
Chow Card (red) The social card allows each staff member that owns
one to participate in parties, outings, holidays (Scientology has many
holidays), sports events, etc. The bonus card gives the holder a slight
increase in his salary. The allowance card entitles a staff member to
his usual pay. The berthing card grants a bad to sleep in. And finally,
the chow card entitles the Sea Org member to receive food. In addition
to the cards, if one owns all five cards he also receives a silver star
to be worn on his lapel at all times. If he should become "down stat, "
he starts to lose one card at a time, starting with the blue card and
going down the scale to the red card. If the staff members loses all
cards, he goes on rice and beans and must sleep in pig's berthing.
Naturally, the silver star is lost with the first card.
Sea Org members sometimes fantasize of a day when the Sea Org will
evolve into what they call the "Space Org, " where spaceships with the
Sea Org emblem (a star partially surrounded by a laurel wreath) on them
would sail through the universe to other planets that needed
Scientology training after Earth had been made a "Scientology planet."
THE WALL OF FIRE
Once a Scientologist attains the level of OT III, he begins to learn
startling new revelations about the dawn of mankind, including the fact
that Jesus Christ, loudly toted by Scientology as a great man and
teacher who reached the level of "Clear, " never even existed. But even
this pales in comparison to a catastrophic event that happened 75
million years ago, according to Ron. He made these seemingly fantastic
discoveries in 1967 on the Canary Island of Las Palmas which he claimed
was THE most important spiritual breaktrhough in the history of
humanity.
It all starts with "R6 bank symbols, " which Hubbard defines as
certain words and pictures that "key in, " or activate, engramic
"implants" locked deep within the human mind. He explained that people
"do not respond to reason, they respond only to 'R6' symbols." Hubbard
started using some of those symbols in his own org, including an
exploding volcano, the frontal view of a speeding train, a woman
dressed up in a monkey suit eating what looks like a turkey leg, and a
star partially surrounded by a laurel wreath (Which, of course, is the
Sea Org emblem). Hubbard taught that these sym- bols would command
instant respect from people. They were put on the front of every
Dianetics and Scientology book, hoping that they would literally draw
people to buy them. (Each copy of "Dianetics" features a volcano on it,
and its significance will be explained shortly.)
Another R6 bank symbol was the man on the cross.
Hubbard explained on a confidential training course cosisting of
twently lectures taped on the APOLLO:
Somebody on this planet, about 600 B.C. found some pieces of "R6."
I don't know how they found it; either by watching madmen or
something. But since that time they have used it. And it be- came what
is known as Christianity.
The man on the cross. There was no Christ!
The Roman Catholic Church, through watching the dramatizations of
people picked up some little fragments of R6.
Priests soon found themselves targets of the cult, with one Danish
priest who spoke out against Scientology being mailed pornographic
materials in 1983 by cult agents.
But where did these R6 implants come from, anyway?
And who, if anyone, put them there?
Hubbard explained that early in 1967, he stumbled upon a key implant
that caused him to become very sick, and he supposedly almost died from
the ordeal. The implant dealt with a horrifying event that occured 75
million years ago, and are said to be life-threatening to anyone below
the state of OT III. Part of Ron's secret OT III writings on this
matter are reproduced here:
The head of the Galactic Confederation (76 planets around larger
stars visible from here)(founded 95, 000,000 years ago, very space
opera) solved overpopulation (250 billion or so per planet - 178
billion on average) by mass implanting.
He caused people to be brough to Teegeeack (Earth) and put an H Bomb
on the principal volcanoes (incident 2) and then the Pacific ones were
taken in boxes to HAWAII and the Atlantic area ones to LAS PALMAS and
there "packaged."
His name was Xenu. He used renegades. Various misleading data by
means of circuits, etc., was placed in the implants. When through with
his crime, Loyal Officers (to the people) captured him after six years
of battle and put him in an elec- tronic mountain trap where he still
is. "They" are gone. The place (Confed.) has since been a desert.
One can FREE WHEEL through the implant and die unless it is
approached as precisely outlined. The "free wheel" (auto running on and
on) lasts too long, denies sleep, etc., and one dies...
In December '67 I knew somebody had to take the plunge. I did and
emerged very knocked out but alive. Probably the only one ever to do so
in 75,000,000 years. I have ALL the data now but only that given here
is needful... Good luck.
Now for the complete story:
Earth turns out to be one of 76 planets governed by a tyrant named
Xenu. Back then, Earth was known as Teegeeack. He was about to be
deposed as leader of the Galactic Confederation, which Teegeeack was
part of, when he decided to solve the "overpopulation" problem once and
for all.
He sent in troops and renegades who captured the godlike beings who
inhabited those worlds and froze them with an injection of glycol and
ethyl alcohol in the lungs. The "packaged" beings were then sent to
Earth in space ships that looked like DC9s. Xenu then detonated
powerful nuclear devices on top of all the major volcanoes, utterly
destroying the beings but releasing their spirits, or thetans.
But this was not enough for Xenu. He then captured the spirits with
electronic ribbons and force fields and pulled them back down to
Teegeeack, where they were packaged into "Clusters." There were two
assembly points where the thetans were collected; one in Hawaii, the
other in Las Palmas.
Then, in a stroke of malevolence, Xenu "implanted" the R6 bank
symbols into the thetans over a 36-day period with the aid of pictures
projected on huge screens. These included the crucifixion, auto
accidents, sexual perversion, psychiatrists, surgeons dissecting boides
right down to the skeleton which writes in agony, sickness and spinning
sensations, etc. Built into the implant was a safety mechanism so that
anyone recalling the sequence would "free wheel" through a 36-day
period in which the pictures would constantly play inside his head,
rendering him unable to sleep or eat, until he was dead from exhaustion
or sickness at the end of the period. After the implant was complete,
Xenu let the beings go.
Fortunately for the forces of truth and justice, the Loyal Officers
were still loose. They fough Xenu in a vicious war that lasted for six
years, turning entire planets into nothing more than billiard balls in
the struggle for intergalactic domination. Finally, the Loyal Officers
captured Xenu and imprisoned him inside an electronic wire cage powered
by a wire battery in a mountaintop on the island of Madeira, back on
Earth. The Loyal Officers had won, but Earth had become a radioactive
cinder thanks to Xenu's atrocity. It became known as "The Evil Place."
The nuclear devastation that rocked this planet is known as "The
Wall of Fire."
An interesting note is that even though Hubbard said the information
is dangerous to those not ready for it, he planned to release the main
portions of "The Wall of Fire" as a movie called "Revolt in the Stars."
Millions of dollars were raised from investors for the film, but highly
questionable methods of fund raising killed the project.
Hubbard himself claimed that one of the principle reasons for
forming the Sea Org was to reunite the reincarnated Loyal Officers in a
concen- trated effort to rescue Earth, and later this corner of the
Milky Way galaxy, from the devastation inflicted by Xenu and his
henchmen.
Former Scientologists ridicule the whole idea. Doing so can be very
dangerous. Ex-member Frank Notaro explains:
I went down to the Advanced Organization in Los Angeles to ask for a
refund of monies paid for a level of auditing. My request was in
writing.
A security guard told me to get out or I would be arrested. "O.K. I
will have to picket, " I said.
The next day I picketed by myself in front of the entire Cedars of
Lebanon complex.
One sign said "Ron is Xenu!"
A Church of Scientology "Security Guard" came from the front and
grabbed my signs, while three or four others jumped me from behind and
threw me to the pavement in the middle of the street, where they pinned
me down and handcuffed me from behind. Then they took me inside the
building across from the Advanced Organization.
On the way I managed to shout to a friend to call the police, as I
was afraid. I was held captive for an hour or so until the police came
and released me.
The police officer told me I had every right to picket and escorted
me to safety.
If this seems too incredible, remember that Scientologists believe
that anyone who learns about "The Wall of Fire" before they reach OT
III will die. Apparently seeing the name "Xenu" was considered to be
dangerous enough by itself...unless the Scientologists simply wanted to
protect what was until recent times one of their greatest secrets.
ORGS, ORGS, EVERYWHERE
Aside from the Sea Org and the various Scientology churches,
missions, and offices located all over the world, they also control
dozens of other entities specializing in everything from mental health
to computer soft- ware. Below is a partial list of Scientology orgs
found in the United States and Canada, as well as their basic functions.
ALCOHOLISM:
National Alliance on Alcoholism Prevention and Treatment (NAAPT)
CARE FOR THE ELDERY:
Gerus Society New England Eldery Demands Society (NEEDS)
COMPUTER SOFTWARE:
Practical Software RealWorld Corporation
CRIMINAL REHABILITATION:
Committee to Re-involve Ex-Offenders (CREO)
DRUG ABUSE:
Narconon
EDUCATION:
Applied Scholastics, Inc. Apple Schools Childbirth Education Group
The Delphian Foundation Education Improvement Centre Greenleaf School
Innovative Program School Learning, Interest and Motivation (L.I.M.)
The Pumpkin School The Ranch School
LAW ENFORCEMENT:
National Commission on Law Enforcement and Social Justice (NCLESJ)
MENTALLY RETARDED:
Task Force on Mental Retardation
PUBLIC HEALTH:
Committee on Public Health and Safety (COPHS) HealthMed Clinic
PUBLIC MEDIA:
Bridge Publications Golden Era Studios
RIGHTS OF MENTAL PATIENTS:
Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) Florida Task Force on
Mental Retardation
Narconon was started in 1966 by William Benitez while serving time
at the Arizona State Penitentiary. Having been addicted to drugs for 19
years, a fellow prisoner gave him a copy of Hubbard's book
"Fundamentals of Thought." He studied the book for 15 months before
founding Narconon, which was dedicated to helping drug addicts kick the
habit. The Phoenix branch of the Church of Scientology assisted by
donating materials to the project. By the time Benitez left prison in
1970, Narconon was spreading rapidly. At last count there were 31
Narconon programs throughout the world, all of them backed by
Scientology.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, however, is probably the
most outspoken Scientology group. Founded in 1969, the CCHR "primarily
concerns itself with issues involving the rights of mental patients,
in- voluntary commitment and treatment, and reform within the field of
mental health." Although one of its leaders, Dennis Clarke, claims that
the CCHR is no longer under control by Scientology, it is perhaps best
to keep this organization under the magnifying glass for a while and to
monitor it carefully. The CCHR has claimed to have released many mental
patients who have been misdiagnosed, and brought those who mistreated
mental patients to court. Today the CCHR also crusades against the
prescription of Ritalin for children diagnosed as being "hyperactive, "
and have held demonstrations in several cities.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing orgs sponsored by Scientology is
RealWord Corporation, a manufacturer of accounting software for
computers. RealWorld, which is based in Concord, New Hampshire, is a
privately owned corporation affiliated with Scientology, and all of its
stockholders are members of the cult. In the name of "company training,
" RealWorld will send employees who are also Scientologists to the Fort
Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida, which also serves as one of
Scientology's main power bases in America as well as headquarters for
the Sea Org. RealWorld has had its share of controversy; in addition to
giving thousands of dollars a month to Scientology, it has also
contributed thousands of dollars to shutting down the psychiatric wing
of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, funding billboards and
radio ads to support their cause. Real- World has also ordered tax
forms and istruction booklets from the IRS in the largest quantity
possible, and upon delivery they have thrown them into the garbage. It
is currently unknown how much this is costing the government, but
Scientology rationalizes that anything that costs the IRS additional
money is worth doing. Scientology would very much like to see the IRS
disbanded, as the latter constantly seeks to remove Scientology's
tax-exempt status.
REHABILITATION PROJECT FORCE
Of all the orgs in Scientology, the Rehabilitation Project Force
(RPF) deserves special attention, as it is essentially a Scientology
slave labor force. L. Ron Hubbard himself created the RPF while
recovering from a motorcycle accident in 1974 on the Portuguese island
of Madeira.
RPF groups can be found only on the Sea Org or at major Scientology
headquarters such as the HQ site in Los Angeles or the Fort Harrison
Hotel Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida. Members are easily
identified by the plain blue overalls they wear. They must perform many
menial and dirty tasks (such as scrubbing floors, taking out the trash,
and chipping rust off of ships). They must run everywhere they're sent
to, address all other Scientologists as "Sir, " and eat only leftovers,
which are given to them in buckets. RPF members are not allowed to use
eating utensils and must scoop the food out by hand. They are also
forbidden from using toilet facilities, and must improvise their own.
Those who are placed in the RPF are often members who seek to leave
Scientology. Hubbard taught that the only reason anyone every left
Scien- tology was because they had many secrets they were keeping from
the cult (called "withholds") or because they were insane. The RPF was
designed to "cure" both afflictions. And since the ships that harbor
RPF members are often at sea, escape is impossible.
EFFECT ON MEMBERS
Scientologists object to their movement being called a cult, but
critics who say it is point first of all to the extremely high fees for
auditing and other Scientology courses. Mrs. Mary Weeks, a Scien-
tology critic in Portland, Oregon, reports that the Portland chapter
charges $150 an hour for auditing. Some claim that the avergae amount
spent to try to become "clear" is $2, 500; Mrs. Weeks places the figure
at $5, 000. Several have spent $10,000 to $15,000. One ex-Scientologist
said he spent $23, 000 in nine months and had not even completed the
second course. A few have spent over $100, 000 on Scientology. The cult
is almost exclusively run on the fees, and 10% of all church income
goes to the headquarters in England.
Ex-members claim it is very hard to get refunds if one is not
satisfied with the results. Some contend that when they attempted to
stop their auditing they were strongly discouraged. They were told that
they were unhappy with the results because they hadn't taken enough
sessions, and they were pressured into signing up for more. In any
case, it is necessary to go through eleven or twelve church officials
to get the refund. Reverend Michael McGee, a Scientologist who served
(and may still serve) as Assistant Guardian of the New York church con-
ceeded that refunds were possible: "We will ask him to sign a statement
saying he is expelled and renouncing all further benefits. If he
rejoins, he'll have to make an act of contrition."
As the costs for sessions are prohibitvely high, some pledge to work
for the church in return for continual training. Many members work very
long hours for little or no payment. One ex-Scientologist said he
worked a 100-hour week for only $10 a week. Another former
Scientologist, Julie Titchbourne, who joined the cult when she was 17,
worked sixteen hours a day for $4 per week. When she left the cult, she
then filed a huge lawsuit against it. This will be dealt with in the
"History" section.
Some critics say that prolonged auditing with an E-Meter can cause
subjects to experience hallucinations that grow more realistic over
time until they can no longer tell what they imagine apart from what
they ex- perience. Critics also charge that some ex-Scientologists have
gone insane from auditing and some have even committed suicide because
of auditing. Dr. Margaret Singer, who testified at the Julie
Titchbourne trial (see below), said that Julie suffered from "a stress
response syndrome that has impaired her recall, use of language, and
concentration."
Frank Johnson is a former Scientologist who stayed in the cult for
around three years before his family deprogrammed him. "Scientology had
me believing my father was a homosexual, " he explains. "First, they
had me believing that he was an SP...They are psychotic, but want to
appear normal." He was slowly turned against his father, who spoke out
against Scientology, until his family deprogrammed him with help from
an ex-Scien- tologist and an ex-Unificationist. Afterwards, his
relationship with his father greatly improved, and he made plans to
return to college.
One anonymous ex-Scientologist and Sea Org member claims that on two
separate occasions while in the Sea Org she was raped, if you can call
it that, by a high-ranking cultist, one of them an OT VII, the other
POSSIBLY being L. Ron Hubbard himself. She claims that both men
undressed her, sexually penetrated her, and lay on top of her for an
hour without ever engaging in actual intercourse. The OT VII explained
to her:
You are an invisible spirit operating your body. You and I actually
live in a totally different universe...This Earth, this galaxy, our
bodies are just pictures we are mocking up to play and have a game. Sex
for a thetan is nothing...
If I POSTULATE you will have a baby from the viewpoint of my home
universe, you will. ¢She didn't. For that she was demoted to Treason.
She eventually escaped from Scientology. (One is left to wonder if this
practice was derived from Hubbard's experiences with the OTO and
Parsons' attempt to produce a "moon- child.")
It is important to note that there are many who also claim to
benefit from Scientology, some of them famous personalities. A few
famous Scien- tologists include Grammy Award-winning jazz musician
Chick Corea:
I resolved problems and misunderstandings and achieved a kind of
physical as well as a mental and spiritual well-being that I had been
striving for for years and years and years through meditation and study
of other philosophies...
L. Ron Hubbard set a star-high goal for us. He documented it with
pure science. He taught it with pure love. He's left nothing but pure
inspiration.
Actor John Travolta:
My future in terms of Scientology is going to be terrific... My
career has always done well, but now I'm getting into a bigger game.
And with Scientology, it's going to be a really big game because I'm
going to have that much less in my way. Those little things that used
to stop me before just don't stop me anymore.
Musician Sonny Bono:
My only sorrow is that L. Ron Hubbard left before I could thank him
for my new life.
Actress Karen Black, who has attained the state of Clear:
One of the things that Scientology auditing does is expand your
attention...In acting, you can direct your attention to what you have
created.
Artist Larry Gluck:
Money didn't wake me up. Success didn't wake me up. Going on trips
to Europe didn't wake me up. Talking with my stimula- ting friends
didn't wake me up. Drugs didn't wake me up. The only thing that woke me
up was Scientology.
Actor Jeff Pomerantz:
L. Ron Hubbard and his writings have been the stabilizing influence
on my life for many years now...His discoveries and technologies ended
my confusions, brightened my perceptions, increased my sense of ethics,
rehabilitated me as an artist and generally made my heart sing. No man
had a better friend.
And Academy award-winning writer/director/producer Bert Salzman:
My biggest win in Scientology was finding out who I really am and
once that happened I think things really changed my life.
Pricilla Presley, former wife of rock legend Elvis Presley, is also
a member of Scientology, and she also indroduced their daughter, Lisa
Marie, to the cult. Both are still Scientology members in good
standing, and Lisa Marie, now 20, married fellow cultiest Danny Keough,
23, on October 3, 1988, in a Scientology church in Hollywood. They then
embarked on a three-week honeymoon cruise on the Sea Org ship FREE
WINDS.
"SQUIRRELS"
Scientology also has its share of spinoff groups, many of which have
been harassed by the parent cult over the years.
One such group is Dianology, formed by actor/writer Jack Horner, a
former Scientology priest. He says, "There are several thousand people
right here in this country who basically go along with the techniques
and the processes and the applications of Scientology and its
philosophy. But they will not or cannot, for whatever reasons, go along
with the Ethics."
Another group, called Amprinistics, was formed by a famous British
auditor named Harry Thompson. Some of its basic tenets, according to
adherent Gary Watkins, are that "It is possible to discover the true
nature of man and existence...the highest form of being, the highest
activity, is purely knowing."
Yet another "squirrel" group known as Abilitism was formed by Chuck
Berner. Although little (if anything) is known about the group's
beliefs, Scientology has heavily persecuted it, shooting up one branch
with guns and ransacking another branch, stealing materials such as
E-Meters.
And then there is the Process Church of the Final Judgement, founded
by ex-Scientologists Robert and Mary Anne DeGrimston. Unlike other
Scien- tology splinter groups, which are simply human potential and
development movements, the Process (which disbanded in 1975) worshipped
four gods: Jehovah, Lucifer, Satan, and Christ. It featured its own
version of the E-Meter, known as the P-Scope, and uses some of
Scientology's Training Routines (TRs), but those were the only true
similarities it shared with Scientology. Of all "Squirrel" groups, the
Process probably suffered the least persecution. The Process and its
own splinter groups will be dealt with in detail in a separate writing.
Charles Manson, architect of the bloody "Helter Skelter" murders of
1969, received Scientology training in prison while serving time for an
earlier offense. Some of his ragtag followers were also
ex-Scientologists. Vincent Bugliosi, Manson's prosecutor during the
Tate/LaBianca slayings, said in his book "Helter Skelter, " "What
effect, if any, Scientology had on Manson's mental state cannot be
measured. Undoubtedly he picked up from his 'auditing' sessions in
prison some knowledge of mind control, as well as some techniques which
he later put to use in pro- gramming his followers." It is also
believed that Manson and some of his followers may have been in contact
with the Process before the murders.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The many activities that Scientology has been involved in could fill
dozens of books. However, some of the more important ones are listed
below.
The cult's troubles really got started around 1963, when the Food
and Drug Administration made a raid on Scientology headquarters, con-
fiscating three tons of literature and E-Meters. They then tried to
declare E-Meters ineffective. The Church of Scientology replied with a
charge of illegal search and seizure.
On April 19, 1967, the FDA finally won their case against E-Meters,
and ordered them destroyed, along with all literature pertaining to
them. After Scientology appealed, the decision was overturned in
February, 1969 by the U.S. Court of Appeals. Since then, Scientology
has placed the following label on all E-Meters: "The E-Meter is not
intended or effective for the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of any
disease."
Scientology then assumed a policy of threatening and attacking those
who fought against the cult. Julie Titchbourne, a former Scien-
tologist from Seattle, sued the cult in the late 70's, and one of the
prosecutors affirmed that the cult had arranged to set her up on a fake
kidnapping charge. In fact, one of the alternate jurors for the Titch-
bourne case, Marie Killman, told the judge that she was telephoned by a
man who told her, "If your findings are against the Scientology Church
you will be killed." Later, he phoned her again with the message "I
will get you, I will get you." Killman was removed from the trial.
One of Scientology's chief bugbears is a free-lance journalist named
Paulette Cooper. In 1971, she wrote a scathing expose of the cult
called "The Scandal Of Scientology, " in which she referred to their
methods as "resembling a combination of psychotherapy and the Catholic
confession." The cult filed 18 libel suits against her, each one coming
from a different branch of the cult. Cooper was able to make a
settlement with Scientology by pledging not to republish the book and
by releasing a statement that said fifty-two passages in the book were
"erroneous or at least misleading."
Not too long afterwards, an Arab consulate in New York City received
bomb threats over the phone from someone who sounded like Paulette
Cooper. Then, more bomb threats were sent to several people; all
threats written on Ms. Cooper's stationery. Her fingerprints were even
found on the bomb threats. Cooper's neighbors received letters threat-
ening her friends and stating that she had venereal disease. Finally,
in May, 1973, Cooper was indicted by a Federal grand jury in connection
with the bomb threats, and may very well have been convicted of them
had she not taken voluntary sodium pentathol tests in 1975 to prove her
innocence.
In the fall of 1974, the APOLLO was docked at Funchal, Maderia (a
Portuguese island) when a riot broke out. Angry locals threw rocks and
bottles at the ship and the Sea Org officials, injuring some cultists.
The riot became known as the "rock concert." It is believed that the
townspeople rioted because they thought the Sea Org officials were
spying on them, which some ex-members affirm had been taking place.
In 1976, two people obtained jobs in the Internal Revenue Service
and the Justice Department. Both were Scientologists who used falsified
credentials to secure the jobs. They then proceeded to steal 15, 000
documents from the organizations related to tax-exemption inquiries and
controversies concerning Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard. This became
known as "Operation Snow White, " so named because Hubbard believed it
would leave the Government "white as snow" after it was completed.
In that same year, Scientology purchased the Fort Harrison Hotel in
Clearwater, Florida and converted it into a training center for
high-level Scientologists called Flag Headquarters. Guards armed with
billyclubs and Mace patrolled the complex. Five other buildings in
Clearwater were also purchased. In 1977, Scientology also bought six
buildings in Los Angeles, including the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital
complex, which sold for $5, 500,000 and was converted into seminar
headquarters.
Then it happened.
On July 8, 1977, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a
massive raid on the Church of Scientology headquarters at Washington,
D.C. and Los Angeles. The raid took over 20 hours and involved around
134 FBI agents armed with crowbars and sledgehammers. Along with
elctronic sur- veillance equipment and lock-picking tools, a total of
100,000 pages were seized, turing up the most damaging testimony
against the cult to date. Among the documents were files dedicated to
critics and opponents of Scientology kept by the Guardian's Office. One
of them, which was found at both locations, was a huge file dedicated
to Paulette Cooper bearing the title "Operation P.C. Freak-Out."
According to the file, the purpose of this covert operation was to "get
P.C. [Paulette Cooper] incarcerated in a mental institution or jail or
at least hit her so hard that she drops her attacks."
Along with "P.C. Freak-Out" was a paper detailing how Scientology
planned to use the Mafia against her, but the idea was abandoned. A
diary kept by Jerry Levin was also found. He met Paulette under
myseterious circumstances and became her confidant during the
proceedings. He was, in reality, an agent for Scientology. In part of
his diary, he wrote: "She can't sleep again...she's talking suicide.
Wouldn't this be great for Scientology!" (Scientology also released a
PR book called "Can We Ever Be Friends?" in which it features a
document of retraction signed by Paulette Cooper, saying that this was
one of many times that critics apologized for their remarks against
Scientology.)
Also unearthed by the raid were papers implicating the church in a
fake hit-and-run auto accident involving Gabriel Cezares, then mayor of
Clearwater, Florida, after objecting to the cult's extensive pur-
chases in the city, burglary of a law firm representing the ST. PETERS-
BURG TIMES, attempts to discredit the editor of ST. PETERSBURG TIMES,
infiltration of the CLEARWATER SUN office to report on the paper's
daily activities, and infiltration of the WASHINGTON POST newspaper
office, among other crimes. The seized documents outlined plans to
infiltrate more than 130 Federal agencies, private organizations, and
businesses.
Among other things, the documents revealed many previously unknown
developments concerning the cult, including the fact that Jerome
Johnson, the man that shot Mafia leader Joe Columbo, was a member of
Scientology and even talked about joining the Sea Org. They also
revealed that the Government had an unsigned report that says on Sept.
18, 1968, "data rec'd that LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] was arrested a few
years ago on counterfeiting, went to trial defended by Attorney
Williams, won and paid in counterfeit money."
In response, the Church of Scientology launched a $7,500,000 law-
suit against the FBI and two United States attorneys implicated in the
raids. The D.C. raid was declared illegal, and the Federal judge
ordered all papers taken from the D.C. headquarters to be given back.
This still left them with a ten-inch stack of 48, 000 documents to be
used against the cult, as the Los Angeles raid was declared legal in
September, 1979.
In August, 1978, 11 high-ranking Scientology officials, including
Mary Sue Hubbard, wife of L. Ron Hubbard and "Worldwide Guardian" of
the Church, were indicted on 28 counts by the United States Government,
including conspiracy.
1979 proved to be a most disastrous year for Scientology. In June,
the Church was accused of obtaining fradulent loans from Cali- fornia
banks as high as $10, 000, then sticking the funds in the cult's
treasury. 100 people in the Church have been questioned about the
loans. In August, an Oregon jury awarded Julie Titchbourne $2,067,000
on the grounds of "outrageous conduct" and "common law fraud" by the
Church of Scientology. And on October 26, 1979, eight Scientology
officials were convicted of conspiracy. Mary Sue Hubbard, Cindy
Raymond, and Gerald Bennett Wolfe were each sentenced to five years in
jail and a $10, 000 fine, with the others receiving lesser sentences.
The ten-inch stack of Scientology documents was also made available to
the general public. In January, 1980, the Scientology officials were
released on bail pending an appeal.
A raid similar to the FBI break-ins was conducted in 1983 by Canada,
when 100 officers conducted a 20-hour raid on Scientology's Toronto
head- quarters. 2, 000,000 documents were seized in the raid, and
charges were brought against the church in 1984, in which 11 cultists
were accused of photocopying Ontario government documents, apparently
fearing the church was about to come under attack.
While Scientology publications intended for the general populace
would only occasionally hint at "The Wall of Fire, " all of the details
about this secret doctrine were made public on November 4, 1985, at the
Los Angeles County Courthouse during a $25, 000,000 lawsuit against the
cult by Larry Wollershiem, an ex-Scientologist, when the secret OT III
files were ordered available for public scrutiny. In response, around
2,000 Scientologists mobbed the courthouse in an attempt to prevent
people from seeing the files, but the LOS ANGELES TIMES managed to get
hold of the files and printed part of their contents. The files were
resealed shortly afterwards at the request of Scientology lawyers, who
claimed that exposing the documents violated their religious freedom.
In December, 1986, the government of Italy closed all 16 Italian
offices of the Church of Scientology and seized books, documents and
financial records. No arrests were made, and no charges were filed. The
office of Milan investigating magistrate Guicia Mulliri said the raids
were part of an investagation into possible physical abuse, fraud,
violations of labor laws and tax evasion.
On July 30, 1988, Scientology offered the Canadian government to
donate a million dollars or more to needy citizens if the government
dropped charges against it stemming from the 1983 raid in Toronto. A
major Canadian news- paper then accused Scientology of trying to buy
off the government.
DEATH OF A MESSIAH
As for L. Ron Hubbard himself, no one has admitted to seeing him
after 1978. He was believed to be living in isolation either in an
elegant penthouse at the top of the Clearwater headquarters or on the
APOLLO.
Finally, Lafeyette Ronald Hubbard passed away on January 24, 1986,
while staying at a secret 160-acre ranch in Creston, California. The
cause of his death is believed to have been a brain hemorrhage. His
body was quickly cremated, and his last will and testament, written the
day before his death, left the entirety of his estate to Scientology.
In a farewell "Directive" to his followers, he named Sea Org member Pat
Broeker as his successor and posthumously promoted himself from
"Commodore" to "Admiral." He also told Scientologists:
You can do it all. Your future is assured. Secure in this knowledge
I go about my work elsewhere. You have all of the tools. You have all
of the resources to take this planet and to save Mankind.
Support and rally behind your leaders. Together you will win the
total victory and achieve the ultimate goals of Scientology. Take what
I have given you with my love.
Pat Broeker was also put in charge of what are believed to be seven
OT levels as of yet unreleased. Ron supposedly mastered all seven of
them, and Scientologists believe that he willingly discarded his body
in order to progress further, seeing it as nothing but an inconvenience.
OT XIV supposedly enables a person to get instructions from Flag
Headquarters on how to "drop the body." The final unreleased stage, OT
XV, is simply described as "Total Freedom."
Hubbard had stated in his earlier writings that it was possible to
reach "Total Freedom" within this lifetime. However, this appears to
have been changed. It appears that the "Bridge" that Ron had
constructed now requires a detour through the local mortuary.
OVERVIEW
Lisa Marie Presley's life is certainly going to be interesting.
She and her new husband, Danny Keough, are probably planning the
rest of their lives together as husband and wife and as fellow members
of the Church of Scientology.
Lisa can expect to rise to a very high position in the cult if she
has enough patience; she'll have more than enough money to do so when
she turns 30, when Elvis' millions will be legally hers. No doubt she
will use much of that money to attain the state of Clear (if she hasn't
done so already), and then progress up through the Operating Thetan
levels as she continues her trek on the Bridge.
Maybe she'll join the Sea Org. Maybe she'll even get command of her
own ship in due time.
It's doubtful that a celebrity of her magnitude will be placed in
the RPF or the APOLLO's chain locker; after all, fame does carry a
certain amount of clout. But she may instead receive a lot of subtle
yet intense programming that may soften her heart towards the wishes of
Scientology's leaders. She may find herself "disconnecting" from good
friends or even loved ones...even her husband or her mother...if either
should be declared a "suppressive."
Maybe she will be "impregnated" in the same way one female ex-Scien-
tologist was. Or maybe she will become a Guardian, trianed to lie con-
vincingly and bypass the most elaborate security systems so she could
even infiltrate Government offices.
She might even be ordered to run an R2-45 routine on a critic of
Scientology.
Or perhaps she herself will, one day, find herself looking down the
barrel of a pistol held by a Sea Org member ordered to run the exact
same routine on her.
Conjecture? Definitely, but all of it is based on events that truly
happened within the Church of Scientology...and are still going on
right now.
Scientology. Critics refer to it as "the science-fiction religion."
Constance Cumbey calls it "an integral part of the New Age movement."
Others simply dismiss it as a curiosity whose missions and churches sit
benignly on street corners in their neighborhoods.
Yet there are some who are not content with stopping there.
Dr. John G. Clark testified at the Titchbourne trial that
Scientology is a dangerous cult that is "designed to tear apart the
fabric of the mind." Its exercises are "utterly mutilating to the mind.
Taken to its extreme, you can teach someone to kill."
Omar Garrison, who wrote two books defending Scientology although he
was never a member, later said about the group:
I think, at the moment, that organization, the cult, is in the hands
of the most fanatical followers and adherents of Mr. Hubbard, who you
can equate with the followers of Ayatolla Kho- meini.
Everyone who has taken these courses comes out with a super ego.
With a truculent, if you will, truculent view of anyone who dares to
disagree. Because the person who disagrees is perceived as what they
call a suppressive person, and must be dealt with as such...
That's the dark side of Scientology.
The final word is best stated by Alan J. Levy, a writer for TIME
magazine, who described his experience with the cult in 1969:
Scientology is scary - because of its size and growth, and because
of the potentially disastrous techniques it so casually makes use of.
I have Hubbard to thank for a true-life nightmare that gnawed at my
family relationships and saddled me with a burden of guilt I've not yet
been able to shed...I explored some nooks and crannies of my own psyche
that I wish to God had never been unearthed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ALL GOD'S CHILDREN - Caroll Stoner and Jo Anne Parke (1977; Chilton
Book Company; Radnor, Pennsylvania)
"America's Cults: Gaining Ground Again" - Linda K. Lanier (July 3,
1982; U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT)
"Church Tries Canadian Bribe" - Jeff Bradly (July 30, 1988;
Associated Press)
THE CULT EXPLOSION - Dave Hunt (1980; Harvest House Publishers;
Irvine, California)
THE CULT MOVEMENT - Joan Johnson (1984; Franklin Watts; New York,
New York)
CULTS OF UNREASON - Christopher Evans (1974; Farrar, Straus and
Giroux; New York, New York)
HELTER SKELTER - Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry (1974; W.W.
Norton & Company, Inc.; New York, New York)
L. RON HUBBARD, MESSIAH OR MADMAN? - Bent Corydon and L. Ron
Hubbard, Jr. (1987; Lyle Stuart, Inc.; Secaucus, New Jersey)
"Lisa Marie Will Give Elvis Millions To Religious Sect" (October 25,
1988; GLOBE)
NEW GODS IN AMERICA - Peter Rowley (1971; David McKay Company, Inc.;
New York, New York)
PRISON OR PARADISE? - Arnold James Rudin and Marcia R. Rudin (1980;
Fortress Press; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
SATAN'S POWER - William Sims Bainbridge (1978; University of
California Press; Berkeley and Los Angeles, California) <*>
"Scientology: Anatomy of a Frightening Cult" - Eugene H. Methvin
(May 1980; READER'S DIGEST)
"Scientology: Money-Maker Or Religion?" - Cynthia Garvey (July 24,
1977; WASHINGTON POST; Washington, D.C.)
SCIENTOLOGY: THE NOW RELIGION - George Malko (1970; Delacorte Press;
New York, New York)
"Scientology Beliefs Revealed" - Dana Rubin (November 6, 1985; SAN
JOSE MERCURY NEWS; San Jose, California)
SEARCHING - Harriet S. Mosatche, Ph.D. (1983; Stravon Educational
Press; New York, New York)
STRANGE GODS - David G. Bromley and Anson D. Shupe, Jr. (1981;
Beacon Press; Boston, Massachusetts)
THOSE CURIOUS NEW CULTS IN THE 80'S - William J. Petersen (1982;
Keats Publishing, Inc.; New Canaan, Connecticut)
"War On Scientology" - Pat Leisner (Feb. 29, 1980; FORT LAUDERDALE
NEWS/ SUN-SENTINEL; Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
"Wedding Belle" - Brad Darrach, Lois Armstrong, Eleanor Hoover,
Karen G. Jacklovich, and Jacqueline Savaiano (October 24, 1988, PEOPLE)
<*> In SATAN'S POWER, Bainbridge gives Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard
aliases to protect their privacy, but describes in detail the beliefs
and practices of Scientology.