Scientology a new slant on Life by L. Ron Hubbard

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No, but I have browsed Dianetics, and Scientology:The Fundamentals of Thought. I have a degree in psychology, and found it all to be BS. I even went to a scientology organization (“org”, the equivalent of a parish), and took a course, then wrote about it for one of my psych classes. Scientology mixes in a lot of valid points, then adds their own twist to it. This is how Scientology gets you to stay. It all “works” at the beginning, but then when it stops working, you’re hooked. Their method of recruitment is also interesting, as it plays heavily on your emotions and “fixing” things in your life. I’ve been inside both the DC org and the NYC org.
 
Religio71 said:
No, but I have browsed Dianetics, and Scientology:The Fundamentals of Thought. I have a degree in psychology, and found it all to be BS. I even went to a scientology organization (“org”, the equivalent of a parish), and took a course, then wrote about it for one of my psych classes. Scientology mixes in a lot of valid points, then adds their own twist to it. This is how Scientology gets you to stay. It all “works” at the beginning, but then when it stops working, you’re hooked. Their method of recruitment is also interesting, as it plays heavily on your emotions and “fixing” things in your life. I’ve been inside both the DC org and the NYC org.
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Agree. Scientology is more like a combination of cult and pyramid scam. Best advice is to stay away - they have a lot of practice at deception.
 
Very scary stuff.

I found it interesting that Scientology calls disaffected members “apostates” and warns its members that if they leave Scientology, they will commit suicide within a year. When I was leaving Mormonism I was warned countless times that “apostates” always wind up dead in the gutter. My LDS brother still maintains that this will be my fate. I enjoy reporting to him that I have been out of Mormonism for 23 years and am still gutter-free. 🙂
 
PaulDupre said:
When I was leaving Mormonism I was warned countless times that “apostates” always wind up dead in the gutter. My LDS brother still maintains that this will be my fate. I enjoy reporting to him that I have been out of Mormonism for 23 years and am still gutter-free. 🙂
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👍
 
PaulDupre said:
Very scary stuff.

I found it interesting that Scientology calls disaffected members “apostates” and warns its members that if they leave Scientology, they will commit suicide within a year. When I was leaving Mormonism I was warned countless times that “apostates” always wind up dead in the gutter. My LDS brother still maintains that this will be my fate. I enjoy reporting to him that I have been out of Mormonism for 23 years and am still gutter-free. 🙂
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Paul, you were not.

You were not told that you would commit suicide, or wind up dead in a gutter when you left Mormonism, and I’m getting really tired of this stuff.

You may, however, have been warned that you were making very much the wrong decision. By the way, just how obnoxious WERE you about leaving?

Were you the charming and tolerant gentleman you are here on the forum, or have you mellowed out in the last 23 years?
 
dianaiad said:
Paul, you were not.

You were not told that you would commit suicide, or wind up dead in a gutter when you left Mormonism, and I’m getting really tired of this stuff.
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Sorry, but were you there to see what took place?

How would you know what was said to Paul?

By the By: He didnt say anything about being told that he would commit suicide.

Back to the topic:

I would not read this book because it would mean that I would be giving the CoS my money when I buy it, something which I cant do.

If you know of a free way for me to read this book, I would give it a go. Although I wouldnt trust anything that Hubbard has to say, he is a compulsive liar whose own biography is fiction (The great “War Hero” never actually saw combat, his only “wounds” was a stomach complaint that got him sent off his ship when it was leaving for combat).

As others have said they are a dangerous group that are best avoided. Speaking out about them is dangerous and can make you a target.
 
I don’t think any of them are online. Many libraries carry most of the intro books, or you could browse Dianetics in a bookstore. They all have nice cover images, but the actual material is bland and contrived. Very difficult to read (as in, the material isn’t difficult, it’s the way Hubbard writes).

If you’re brave, you can walk into a church of scientology and read them there for free, but I wouldn’t recommend that for most. 😃
 
Elric said:
Sorry, but were you there to see what took place?
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Nope.

It’s a credibility issue. His posting history and my own experiences with inactive and ex-Mormons sort of keep me from taking his claims at face value.
Elric said:
How would you know what was said to Paul?

By the By: He didnt say anything about being told that he would commit suicide.
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Close enough. the implication was quite evident.
Elric said:
Back to the topic:

I would not read this book because it would mean that I would be giving the CoS my money when I buy it, something which I cant do.

If you know of a free way for me to read this book, I would give it a go. Although I wouldnt trust anything that Hubbard has to say, he is a compulsive liar whose own biography is fiction (The great “War Hero” never actually saw combat, his only “wounds” was a stomach complaint that got him sent off his ship when it was leaving for combat).

As others have said they are a dangerous group that are best avoided. Speaking out about them is dangerous and can make you a target.
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Believe me, I’m not recommending the book. I read “Dianetics” on the recommendation of my brother, who got ‘into’ it for a little while about twenty years ago. I don’t really know what attracted him to it, or why he left, for that matter; he wasn’t all that forthcoming.

However, “Dianetics” was so full of clap trap that I didn’t see any reason to go further, and I’m not all that thrilled about an organization that sues and puts snakes in mailboxes. (shrug) I don’t see the need to go further with it.
 
This is the way Scientology gains all members:

Every single person has a “problem” or an issue that keeps us back from succeeding in life, whether it’s pride, depression, greed, laziness, difficulty communicating, etc. Scientology calls that your “ruin”. When I walked into the CoS the first time, I was asked, what in your life would you like to change that would further your life goals? I said, nothing, I’m already doing well in life! Well, they pressed further. The second time I went, to a different “org”, they asked this again. No matter what your “ruin” is, they will tell you that Scientology has the answer, and can help. They are also taught to zero in on the ruin and exploit it. So, when I went the second time, I said that I procrastinate a lot (true enough 🙂 ). Well, Scientology can help you with that!

They take you off to speak to a “registrar”, who will tell you how amazing Scientology is. The initial person I spoke to told the registrar that I am in “dire” need for help with procrastination, since I’m studying to be a physician, and it is “extremely” important that I get on course to fix this before it’s too late. I didn’t dare tell them that I was studying psychology, since Scientology HATES psychiatry and psychology with a passion. I needed to go to an ATM to get some money to pay for the course, and they had someone come with me to the ATM :eek:. This is because many people would probably run while they “went to the ATM”, so they want to make sure that they get as many people in, and to stay in.

It really was an interesting experience. I did it purely out of nerdy interest related to my study in psychology. I stayed in the course for a couple weeks, listening and observing. One time in the course room, there was a teenage boy in there studying. The supervisor went up to him and said that he heard from the boy’s dad about how people were making fun of him at school for “studying at the church”. The boy mumbled that it wasn’t true, but I guess he was afraid to actually say what people said about scientology.

They show you lots of videos about how wonderful Dianetics is, and they try to make it sound “legit” by using words like “reactive mind”, “analytical mind”, etc. Auditing is a form of hypnosis, and you start to recall things that probably never happened. Indeed, Scientologists don’t tell you about this initially, but they believe in past lives, so when you’re instructed to “recall an event of pain or trauma”, and told to go back, and back, and back, you’ll start to say random things, and they’ll tell you that this was from a past life. This then goes further until you get to the higher levels where space aliens from 75 million years ago are attached to your body, and they cause your problems, so you need to get rid of them by paying for more auditing.

It’s all interesting. and very weird. :mad:
 
Religio71 said:
I didn’t dare tell them that I was studying psychology, since Scientology HATES psychiatry and psychology with a passion.
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I find this very weird (Their hatered of psychiatry & psychology that is).

I have seen their propaganda film: “Psychiatry: an Industry of Death”, that was quite amusing the way that they tried to warp history and exadurate the effects of medication (they blamed anti-depressiants for a person going on a shooting spree, he had been on them for 20 odd days before hand. From what I understand, they would not have been in his system properly yet). As someone with a mental illness and a recently diagnosed neurological disorder, I also found a lot of it offencive.

But I recently borrowed the DVD: “An Introduction to Scientology”, this is essentally an interview with L. Ron Hubbard in I think 1966(all very staged and rehersed).

The strange thing about the interview is that Hubbard basically contradicts the “aversion” to psychiatry. He says that scientology cant help the mentally ill because they have failed or a beyond redemption (something negative like that anyway) and should be left to the psychiatrists/psychologists.

All very strange.
 
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