scientology

[mati]

Hi
anyone know something about this religion or is a member of it?

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by mati

Hi
anyone know something about this religion or is a member of it?

Yes, I know a fair bit about it. I was a staff member for 3 years. What do you want to know?

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Cantando

Yes, I know a fair bit about it. I was a staff member for 3 years. What do you want to know?

Really, Cantando? I am surprised to know that about you! Are you still a practicing scientologist?

[Spiritual]

I'm also fascinated by the Scientology concept. I've read some about it on Wikipedia, but it was a quite unclear text. It seems to me that they have good ideas and believes, but there were some issues with the leader or something.

Also a lot of celebs seem to enjoy it, like Tom Cruise, who really goes into it with quite some extremism. I've seen some sketch on it from South Park, but that seemed to give a wrong idea about it. They said Scientology folks believe we are here because of aliens, or something like that....

Would be cool if someone could tell me what this is all about and why all the celebs are so hot for it all of the sudden.

[Parthon]

Ooh, I'd like to know more about this too.

I've read up on some of the major literature on the web about it, including the webpage of Scientology and many crackpot anti-scientology sites. The questions that strike me strongly though are:

Are the methods used by Scientologists totally unique, or are they fairly common ideas that are used in a unique way?

How much do they try and subscribe you into more programs, or do they honestly want to help people improve?

And lastly, How much are their beliefs in regards to spirituality enforced in the organisation, and are they open to different viewpoints?

I don't have much of a problem with the methodology, but their intention is what I can't figure out. They say they want to help people, but only if you do it their way, at least as far as I can tell. The stories about them doesn't help either. I'd like to find out some real answers for a change.

[joecooool]

scientology is a cult

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by Angela

Really, Cantando? I am surprised to know that about you! Are you still a practicing scientologist?

No. I had 2 stints with them in the 70's in London. I was drawn into it after I had been living in Amsterdam for a few months on a camp site. My head was pretty messed up at the time. They did help me get through that. A lot of the staff were OK, but there were a few fanatics there.
What they give is a form of counselling called 'auditing' which is ridiculously expensive, but if you join as a staff member, you can get it for free, or at a reduced rate. A lot of it is concerned with 'erasing' painful memories from childhood and supposed past lives.
The ones who run the show (like L Ron Hubbard, who founded it, and died in the 80's) operate from a ship which sails around the world, so that they can avoid problems with governments and tax laws. They are probably insane. They are power mad and want to 'clear' the world on their terms.
They got religious status solely for tax purposes.
If you join, they want you mind, body and soul. If you have any doubts or are influenced by your family, you are declared a Potential Trouble Source. You are basically ostracised from other staff members, till you 'come round' and disassociate completely from your family. I knew of staff members who tried to escape and were physically restrained and kept in undisclosed locations. i.e. kidnapped.
The security wing is called the Guardians Office. They are pretty spooky and into high-tech surveillance and spying.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by Spiritual

I'm also fascinated by the Scientology concept. I've read some about it on Wikipedia, but it was a quite unclear text. It seems to me that they have good ideas and believes, but there were some issues with the leader or something.

Also a lot of celebs seem to enjoy it, like Tom Cruise, who really goes into it with quite some extremism. I've seen some sketch on it from South Park, but that seemed to give a wrong idea about it. They said Scientology folks believe we are here because of aliens, or something like that....

Would be cool if someone could tell me what this is all about and why all the celebs are so hot for it all of the sudden.

The big star name they paraded in the 70s was John Travolta. They are just used to advertise Scientology.

Hubbard published a book in the early 50s called Dianetics The Modern Science of Mental Health. It used to (and maybe still does) retail for £1.
He claimed he discovered the 'reactive mind', the negative part of ourselves that contains all our painful memories. By clearing the reactive mind, you become a Clear, a sort of enlightened state. There are higher levels called OT (Operating Thetan), running from OT1 to OT8 (and probably beyond). In these states, the person or 'thetan' is virtually (supposedly) all powerful - he can create anything he wants, travel into the past and future, meet life forms from other planets, remember all his past lives, etc.

Hubbard expanded his teachings to make them more religious. At the London office, there was even a Scientology minister, dressed like a priest, who could perform weddings!

He started out studying the occult (I think he knew Aleister Crowley) and supposedly travelled in India. He also wrote Sci Fi books.
Scientology staff revered him like a god. Some of his claims proved to be false. He claimed he was a war hero and was wounded, declared dead, then brought himself back to life. He was the ultimate fantasist.

[Spiritual]

Thanks a lot for your explanation Cantando, a lot is clear now. When I read about it I noticed the very interesting concepts they have, but hearing how it works out in practical sense, it dissapoints me.

[ming]

If you google EXCALIBUR REVISITED The akashic book of truth
You will download this 550 pages book for free. the author is Georey C. Filbert.
It is quite entertaining from the beginning.

[ming]

Originally Posted by joecooool

scientology is a cult

Cult is dismissive word invented by Christian Church to deter people from flirting with other ideas. they don't dare to call Islam or hinduism cults becuase they have millions of punters and it would end up in a holy war. but the y do attack minor and fragil faiths.
All religions are philosophies. What turns them into a religion? business.

[joecooool]

Scientology is a pyramid scheme, to sucker suckers out of their money

[Old Soul]

Scientology is a pyramid scheme, to sucker suckers out of their money

I don't think they are suckers, I think they go into it with eyes wide open, and they love the intellectual appeal of the beliefs

[Old Soul]

CTV.ca | Unauthorized book says Cruise lives in dream world

Unauthorized book says Cruise lives in dream world
Updated Tue. Jan. 15 2008 11:01 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Over the two years he spent researching and writing a controversial book about Tom Cruise, author Andrew Morton came to think of the actor as someone who is consumed by his faith to the point that he has lost track of reality.

"Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography" comes out today following weeks of speculation about what it would reveal about the fascinating super star actor's relationship with his wife Katie Holmes, his sexuality and his close ties to the Church of Scientology.

Read an excerpt from the book here
The book, which has been described by one Cruise lawyer as "a pack of lies," starts at the beginning, tracking Cruise's life through childhood and into his teenage years through the stories and accounts of people who knew him before moving into his more recent escapades, such as his infamous couch-jumping incident on Oprah and his vocal defense of Scientology.

"I think Tom Cruise is a proselytizer for his faith, I believe he's someone who believes in his way or the highway," Morton told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday.

[Parthon]

That's rather humerous, because many people would say Steve lives in a dream world. He doesn't eat any animal product whatsoever, which is toootally crazy, and has gone to raw foods, which is completely out of this planet. He makes all of his money primarily through an internet blog, also crazy, and he thinks that he can be a better person through self discipline and discovery.

If that's the kind of world that he lives in, I want to live there too.

Same with Tom Cruise, he's a multimillionaire that looks like he's doing what he loves. If the worse thing you can say is that he lives in a dream world, well it doesn't seem to be hurting his success, health, or his happiness.

As far as Scientology goes, yeah we've heard it all. It's a cult. It's a pyramid scheme. They are a whacked out bunch of crazy nuts. They believe that we are interdimensional thetans that have extraordinary powers. We know all that. I'd like to find things about the "cult" that we don't know.

And thanks Cantando for that interesting expose.