Well, for just one insight into why people would be dumb enough to join the Co$, consider the case of Ron Miscaviage. He was just a normal Pennsylvania man in the late Sixties who had to deal with headaches and struggled to help his real estate job. Then he overheard someone talking about Scientology at a conference and he learned about some odd techiques, including "the next time you get a headache, look into the mirror and give it to that guy." Crazily enough, it worked. He then ended up going to meetings and learned some techniques to help him with his job, like acknowledging people when they talk to you, making sure they know you understand them. That also helped him. Then he sent his son David in to see if they could help with his Asthma.

Twenty years later, Davey-Boy became the grand Pooh-Bah of the whole goddam enterprise and, by this point, he had become entrenched in the church, and even though he was in the Sea Org working with little pay (for all Miscaviage's faults, nepotism is not one of them), he remained loyal to the church. Eventually, he left and, despite all of the shit he had to endure under his Tyrannical son, he still practices Scientology (outside the CoS, naturally).

How did it retain such a hold on him? Simple: they started with the thin end of the wedge. Start with a little exercise to help with some personal problem, and then, if it works, then the path is cleared for them to get into the stranger things.

I know what you're thinking "everyone knows about the crazy shit Scientology does to people. Why bother? Well, in addition to that, the Church emphatically denies anything that could potentially be embarassing, and given how bizarre both the official doctrine (OT 3) and the abuses David Miscaviage inflicts on his underlings (North Korea-like POW camps in double wides in California?) can be, it can be easy to assume that it's all exaggerated if you don't look too closely into it. It's not too hard to see that, if one's curious, but willing to trust the Church, it's certainly not hard to see how one can believe it.

Also, it's worth noting that the Xenu story is only told to people who've made OT3, which only accounts for 10% of the total number of Scientologists, so it's certainly a distinct possibility that if your Friendly Local Scientologist is asked about it, they may not only deny it, but genuinely do so if they haven't reached that point.

(May 5, 2017 at 8:26 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: Also, it's worth noting that the Xenu story is only told to people who've made OT3, which only accounts for 10% of the total number of Scientologists, so it's certainly a distinct possibility that if your Friendly Local Scientologist is asked about it, they may not only deny it, but genuinely do so if they haven't reached that point.

And if they actually do know about the Xenu story, they are told to deny it when people ask them about it, lest these people develop pneumonia ...

Is that right? Or did I misremember what Leah Remini said in that interview with Joe Rogan?

(May 5, 2017 at 8:40 pm)Grandizer Wrote:

(May 5, 2017 at 8:26 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: Also, it's worth noting that the Xenu story is only told to people who've made OT3, which only accounts for 10% of the total number of Scientologists, so it's certainly a distinct possibility that if your Friendly Local Scientologist is asked about it, they may not only deny it, but genuinely do so if they haven't reached that point.

And if they actually do know about the Xenu story, they are told to deny it when people ask them about it, lest these people develop pneumonia ...

Is that right? Or did I misremember what Leah Remini said in that interview with Joe Rogan?

Bear in mind, I remember watching Going Clear and listening to Hana Eltringham describe developing a severe depression upon completing OT3, and at one point, she actually considered suicide, but didn't follow through with it only because it would make the Church look bad (start around 4:30)





In the book, it says:

Quote:For years after attaining OT III, Eltringham had frequent thoughts of suicide. The unremitting migraines and voices in her head made her despair. Several times, she came close to jumping off the top floor of the church’s headquarters in Clearwater, but restrained herself because she was worried that it would bring disgrace upon the church and Hubbard’s teachings. It was only when she left the church and began taking Prozac that her headaches and her suicidal thoughts went away. “It has changed my life,” she claimed.

Believe it or not, there can, in fact, be some poor consequences to going through it, but not quite what the church claims.

By the way:

L. Ron Hubbard spelled and pronounced Xenu as Xemu on occasion.

Emulating Joe Smith to even the extreme degree of being unable to keep all his lies organized.

Religion shouldn't be "treating" psychological problems nor providing marriage counseling. It's the equivelent to providing such services based on Lord of the Rings, except religous fiction is often more harmful.

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(May 5, 2017 at 10:39 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: By the way:

L. Ron Hubbard spelled and pronounced Xenu as Xemu on occasion.

Emulating Joe Smith to even the extreme degree of being unable to keep all his lies organized.

To be fair, In the Class VIII Course, Lecture No. 10, Assists lecture (date: 3 October 1968), he does say it could be spelled either way, even pronouncing it Xemu a couple times, by the time of Revolt in th Stars, he settled on Xenu. To be fair, as a fiction writer, I know it can be difficult indeed to settle on a name for my characters, and I know on at least one occasion, I've put a manuscript aside and then given it the once over and found a character had their name change, and in more radical ways.

. . . as a fiction writer . . .




Indeed !!

(May 5, 2017 at 11:52 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: . . . as a fiction writer . . .




Indeed !!

Before he started Scientology, he did, after all, have a career as a pulp author of debatable quality, and even returned to outright fiction in his later years with Battlefield Earth and the Mission Earth series, sci-fi of even less debateably poor quality.