My First Friend

Well the time has come and passed to enjoy being so full it's uncomfortable to move, hard to breathe and your back hurts. Alternatively, you can spend your Thanksgiving evening waiting in line to buy electronics or stab someone or other madness for Black Friday.

I have too much to be thankful for; so much that words could never express it. I have been helped along my way and continue to be helped by so many people, to whom I am very grateful.

I figured I would share one story about one of the first people I met, outside of the world of Scientology that changed my life forever.

Comment from The Underground Bunker

Scientology Desperately Wants Your Children: The Cruise Ship Come-On

I read a blog written by Tony Ortega, the same man who shared my story a few months ago. He has been reporting on Scientology for years, decades even and has done so much to expose the abuse that people suffer at the hands of this religion.

The Lure of Scientology

As a child who was raised in Scientology, I myself was not lured in through usual tactics. Scientology was basically all I knew. My parents were victims of these tactics and I was privy to many of the common ones that are used.

Scientology was designed by L. Ron Hubbard to infiltrate and dictate every aspect of a person's life. As you can imagine, if you were to present any problem  you were having in your life to a Scientologist, they can open a book and show you what Hubbard said to do about that particular problem.

On the outside Scientology seems to have all the answers. For example, when you are stressed at work, Scientology tells you to "take a walk". When you are having trouble with a business Scientology gives you a series of steps to follow that is supposed to correct the area in which you are having trouble. This aspect of Scientology really is just glorified common sense.

The First Disconnection

Chapter 2

My parents were introduced to Scientology through a front group named WISE. That is short for World Institute of Scientology Enterprises. They seek to recruit professionals who own their own practices into using Scientology Management Techniques to run their business.

These techniques are organizational techniques which Hubbard developed to manage his churches according to his specifications. WISE helps individual business adapt them to their own structure. These businesses are then required to pay royalties back to the church for using the techniques and furthermore are indoctrinated into Scientology. This eventually results in not only the business paying royalties, but also the individual paying for themselves to practice Scientology.

Scientology Childhood

Chapter 1

Unlike a lot of Scientologists that you see coming out in the media, I was not introduced to Scientology as an adult. I was practically born into it. I was raised in a Scientology environment from about age 6, under Scientology rules and using things called assists, which are faith healing techniques taught in Scientology that will supposedly help alleviate physical and emotional trauma.

One of the most commonly known rules in Scientology is the "rule of silence". Essentially Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, believe that the subconscious mind recorded moments of emotional and physical pain as things called "engrams". These engrams would act upon an individual unconsciously and cause him to feel pain or emotional distress, even going so far as to cause both acute and chronic physical conditions. Supposedly any chronic ailment should be treatable by this method.

Preface

Preface

I have been asked many times to write a book about my experiences and understanding of the religious practices and principles of Dianetics and Scientology.

At 6 years old I was put into a class to study the religion of Scientology. They have different books which you read that serve to teach you how to absorb the religion properly. They essentially modify a child's thought process to make it easier to absorb the religious philosophies and practices laid out by the leader L. Ron Hubbard. The same courses exist for adults.

Shame

I was introduced to this video on a message board that I visit often. I had started a thread questioning the efficacy of drug based therapy treatments. Someone thought this video was appropriate in relation to how the community on that board feels.

It is very appropriate because in Scientology your number one fear is disconnection just as she mentions in this video. Carrying around shame with themselves is something Scientologists do on a day to day basis. You constantly live under the threat of losing people you love and care about simply because you did something disagreeable.

Trying to Find Myself

I have been through a whole hell of a lot of social and behavioral conditioning. Right now at this moment, now that I have been almost entirely removed from that environment for several months I feel lost. For two decades I had solid, if unsound, structure in my life. I was forcibly ejected from that environment and away from my immediate family when I had gone online to seek out help with the questions I had about the religion in which I had been raised.

I was taught how to do everything, from how to properly eat food to how to tie my shoes and brush my teeth and even how to speak to people. The difference between my childhood and others is: I was not taught any of this by my parents. I was taught by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology and the writer of the book Dianetics.