Scientology chief's niece spills the beans on abusive Sea Org
Posted by:
SeekingTruth
()
Date: February 11, 2013 03:46PM
Scientology chief's niece reveals how she was forced to 'dredge rocks up from cold streams' and endure hard manual labor as a child at the strict Sea Org church camp
[www.dailymail.co.uk]
[www.huffingtonpost.com]
A new book tells of how children raised in Scientology camps were allegedly forced to carry rocks out of freezing streams in cold weather and went through years of mental anguish as they tried to meet the church's strict code of conduct.
Though the book is just the latest to condemn the controversial church, the author is a niece of one of the top Scientology heads, adding to the weight on the claims.
Jenna Miscavige-Hill, the niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige, left the church in 2005 and has since published 'Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape'.
The Church put out a statement condemning the book, saying to The New York Post that they 'will not discuss private matters involving Ms. Hill nor any of the efforts to exploit Mr. Miscavige’s name.'
That has not stopped 29-year-old Miscavige-Hill from moving forward with the project.
Her parents were leaders in the religion's Sea Organization, which serves as a compound and manual labor camp for members, and because the church reportedly urges executives not to have children, Jenna was largely raised by other members as opposed to her own parents.
Instead, she was made to work throughout the day, alternating roles between manual labor, internal religious inspection, and left to contemplate her various 'sins' for hours on end.
In 2000, when she was 16 years old, Ms Miscavige's parents left Scientology, disillusioned with its practices.
In the five years that followed, she has claimed that - because of the church's policy of 'disconnection' with relatives and friends who do not support the cult - all letters between them were intercepted and she was not allowed to answer the telephone for over a year.
'If you flunked your uniform inspection, sometimes if you were late... you would be dumped with a five-gallon bucket of ice water,' she told investigative journalist Philip Recchia in 2008.
'We were also required to write down all transgressions... similar to a sin in the Catholic religion.
'After writing them all down, we would receive a meter check on the Electropsychometer to make sure we weren't hiding anything, and you would have to keep writing until you came up clean. This is from the age of 5 until I was 12.'
Revealing: The book gives a glimpse into life at the controversial Sea Organization of Scientology
The book details the fact that her first glimpse into the outside world came after she married a fellow-church member, named Dallas, and they were both sent to Australia by the church, in almost a missionary or work-exchange program.
It was there that she reportedly first came into contact with the internet- which is banned at the Sea Org, along with television- are began to realize that much of the outside world views the religion and her uncle in a negative light.
Another important discovery came when Jenna realized that she may want to have a family of her own- the prospect of which is strongly discouraged of Sea Org members.
'If you do become pregnant when you're there, you get kicked out,' she told The Huffington Post Live at Huffington Post Live
'Or many of my friends were actually coerced into having abortions,' she alleged.
During those pivotal months, she was helped by her once-distant parents who coached her through the difficult process of leaving the church. Though Scientology members accosted both she and her husband when they started talking about leaving, they remained strong and stayed together.
Now the couple have two children of their own and she has gone through with the book to help encourage others wavering within the religion, as well as publicizing the wrongs she sees within the organization that kept her ignorant of the real world for so long.
'I’ve struggled to see what was going on in their minds when I was a child but more than anyone I understand that when you’re there you’re being brainwashed. We can’t change the past. But my parents are unbelievably great grandparents. They love my kids. What better way to make up for something like that?' she told The Post.
Read more: [www.dailymail.co.uk]
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2013 03:53PM by SeekingTruth.
[www.dailymail.co.uk]
[www.huffingtonpost.com]
A new book tells of how children raised in Scientology camps were allegedly forced to carry rocks out of freezing streams in cold weather and went through years of mental anguish as they tried to meet the church's strict code of conduct.
Though the book is just the latest to condemn the controversial church, the author is a niece of one of the top Scientology heads, adding to the weight on the claims.
Jenna Miscavige-Hill, the niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige, left the church in 2005 and has since published 'Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape'.
The Church put out a statement condemning the book, saying to The New York Post that they 'will not discuss private matters involving Ms. Hill nor any of the efforts to exploit Mr. Miscavige’s name.'
That has not stopped 29-year-old Miscavige-Hill from moving forward with the project.
Her parents were leaders in the religion's Sea Organization, which serves as a compound and manual labor camp for members, and because the church reportedly urges executives not to have children, Jenna was largely raised by other members as opposed to her own parents.
Instead, she was made to work throughout the day, alternating roles between manual labor, internal religious inspection, and left to contemplate her various 'sins' for hours on end.
In 2000, when she was 16 years old, Ms Miscavige's parents left Scientology, disillusioned with its practices.
In the five years that followed, she has claimed that - because of the church's policy of 'disconnection' with relatives and friends who do not support the cult - all letters between them were intercepted and she was not allowed to answer the telephone for over a year.
'If you flunked your uniform inspection, sometimes if you were late... you would be dumped with a five-gallon bucket of ice water,' she told investigative journalist Philip Recchia in 2008.
'We were also required to write down all transgressions... similar to a sin in the Catholic religion.
'After writing them all down, we would receive a meter check on the Electropsychometer to make sure we weren't hiding anything, and you would have to keep writing until you came up clean. This is from the age of 5 until I was 12.'
Revealing: The book gives a glimpse into life at the controversial Sea Organization of Scientology
The book details the fact that her first glimpse into the outside world came after she married a fellow-church member, named Dallas, and they were both sent to Australia by the church, in almost a missionary or work-exchange program.
It was there that she reportedly first came into contact with the internet- which is banned at the Sea Org, along with television- are began to realize that much of the outside world views the religion and her uncle in a negative light.
Another important discovery came when Jenna realized that she may want to have a family of her own- the prospect of which is strongly discouraged of Sea Org members.
'If you do become pregnant when you're there, you get kicked out,' she told The Huffington Post Live at Huffington Post Live
'Or many of my friends were actually coerced into having abortions,' she alleged.
During those pivotal months, she was helped by her once-distant parents who coached her through the difficult process of leaving the church. Though Scientology members accosted both she and her husband when they started talking about leaving, they remained strong and stayed together.
Now the couple have two children of their own and she has gone through with the book to help encourage others wavering within the religion, as well as publicizing the wrongs she sees within the organization that kept her ignorant of the real world for so long.
'I’ve struggled to see what was going on in their minds when I was a child but more than anyone I understand that when you’re there you’re being brainwashed. We can’t change the past. But my parents are unbelievably great grandparents. They love my kids. What better way to make up for something like that?' she told The Post.
Read more: [www.dailymail.co.uk]
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2013 03:53PM by SeekingTruth.
Re: Scientology chief's niece spills the beans on abusive Sea Org
Posted by:
SeekingTruth
()
Date: February 17, 2013 06:10AM
'Suri Cruise had a lucky escape': Niece of Scientology's boss tells of harrowing childhood that led her to try and jump off roof of church's L.A. headquarters
* Jenna Miscavige is the niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige
* Her new book tells of her harrowing upbringing inside the church
* She was forced to join chain gang and quizzed about sex life at the age of 13
* Finally left after being sent to Australia where she first used the internet
* Now runs a support group for others who want to leave Scientology
By DANIEL MILLER
PUBLISHED: 14:26, 16 February 2013 | UPDATED: 16:24, 16 February 2013
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279585/Suri-Cruise-lucky-escape-Niece-Scientology-boss-tells-harrowing-childhood-tried-jump-roof-churchs-L-A-headquarters.html
The niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige has told of her miserable upbringing inside the church and how she tried to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of its celebrity headquarters in Los Angeles.
Jenna Miscavige, said she was kept away from her parents sometimes for over a year at a time, forced to break rocks on a riverbed and grilled on her sex life at the tender age of 13.
Things got so bad that at the age of 16, when she was stopped from seeing a boyfriend, she climbed out onto the roof of Scientology's celebrity headquarters on Hollywood Boulevard and was ready to jump before church elders frantically pulled her back inside.
In her new book Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology And My Harrowing Escape, Ms Miscavige tells how she managed to escape the clutches of the church, famous for its celebrity devotees like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
And she claims Cruise's six-year-old daughter Suri had a lucky escape after her mother Katie Holmes split from the superstar actor.
Ms Miscavige, 29, told the Sun: 'I don't know what will happen to Suri in her relationship with her mother but I know the Scientologists tore my family apart'.
In her incredible account of growing up inside the church, Mrs Miscavige Hill told how her parents had joined the Sea Orgs, the church's elite inner circle, and worked 14 hour days.
She was brought up in a Scientology Nursery before being sent to a ranch in the Californian desert where her days were spent breaking rocks on a riverbed.
At 13 she was given her first 'audit' in which she was quizzed about her sex life, by elders who demanded to know if she masturbated or had homosexual feelings - the sort of information which she believes they later use to blackmail members.
At the age of 16 she fell in love with a boy, but when church leader discovered they had had sex they hit the roof and tore him away from her to be 'purged' - the event that led her to attempt suicide.
Eventually the church agreed they could marry with the ceremony being held at the celebrity Scientology centre in LA, none of her family attended, there was no honeymoon and the couple were imemediately sent back to work.
Ms Miscavige's parents had left Scientology In 2000, when she was 16 years old, after becoming disillusioned with its practices.
In the five years that followed, she has claimed that - because of the church's policy of 'disconnection' with relatives and friends who do not support the cult - all letters between them were intercepted and she was not allowed to answer the telephone for over a year.
Her book details how she and her husband Dallas, were sent to Australia by the church, in a missionary-style or work-exchange program.
It was there that she reportedly first came into contact with the internet, which, along with television, is banned by the church and began to read negative reports about her uncle.
For Ms Miscavige, a major turning point was when she decided she wanted to become a mother. While married Sea Orgs are allowed to have sex, they are not permitted to have children.
'If you do become pregnant when you're there, you get kicked out,' she told The Huffington Post.
'Or many of my friends were actually coerced into having abortions,' she alleged.
===
VIDEO: Jenna Miscavige on growing up in scientology community ==> See Daily Mail
===
During those pivotal months, she re-connected with her once-distant parents who coached her through the difficult process of leaving the church.
Though Scientology members accosted both she and her husband when they started talking about leaving, they remained strong and stayed together.
After leaving the church, Ms Miscavige, with Kendra Wiseman and Astra Woodcraft - both also raised in Scientology - founded the website http;//www.exscientologykids.com
The site was launched as support group offering 'non-judgmental support for those who are still in Scientology, discussion and debate for those who've already left, and a plethora of easy-to-understand references for the curious'.
Memoirs: Jenna Miscavige Hill, 28, daughter of David's older brother Ron, has been a frequent critic of the Church of Scientology since publicly breaking with it in 2005
Following the public split between the cult's most famous member, Tom Cruise, and wife Katie Holmes, Ms Miscavige Hill spoke out in support of Holmes and the couple's daughter Suri.
'My experience in growing up in Scientology is that it is both mentally and at times physically abusive,' she said in a statement released through the Ex-Scientology Kids website.
'I was allowed to see my parents only once a week at best – sometimes not for years.
The site was launched as support group offering 'non-judgmental support for those who are still in Scientology, discussion and debate for those who've already left, and a plethora of easy-to-understand references for the curious'.
Following the public split between the cult's most famous member, Tom Cruise, and wife Katie Holmes, Ms Miscavige Hill spoke out in support of Holmes and the couple's daughter Suri.
'My experience in growing up in Scientology is that it is both mentally and at times physically abusive,' she said in a statement released through the Ex-Scientology Kids website.
'I was allowed to see my parents only once a week at best – sometimes not for years.
'We got a lousy education from unqualified Teachers, forced labor, long hours, forced confessions, being held in rooms not to mention the mental anguish of trying to figure out all of the conflicting information they force upon you as a young child.
'While it is very unlikely that Suri Cruise would have the same upbringing as me (due to her parent's celebrity status), any organization that is capable of mistreating and neglecting the needs of children, regardless of their social status, and which has a long history of breaking up families is no place for an innocent child.
INSIDE THE CONTROVERSIAL 60-YEAR OLD RELIGION
Scientology has been dogged by controversy almost since the day it was created.
The belief was founded in 1952 by L Ron Hubbard who until then had been known for writing pulp and science fiction novels.
Followers believe that inside them are ancient alien beings known as thetans which have lived for thousands of years on other planets and were brought to Earth on a space ship that looks like a Douglas DC-8 plane.
Through a process called Dianetics they make themselves far better people, and even massively boost their IQ.
Such claims however have never been proved and instead Scientology has faced allegations it charges outrageous fees for its services and abuses its followers.
Among the most controversial aspects are 'audits' in which followers have to explain their inner secrets to a superior, including their sex lives.
There have also been reports of bizarre punishments and questions have been raised over what happened to the wife of its current leader David Miscavige, who has reportedly not been seen since 2007.
Those who join the higher order of Scientology, known as Sea Org, pledge their allegiance for one billion years - a vow supposedly made by children as young as 10.
Scientology courts Hollywood stars and famous followers include Tom Cruise and John Travolta but it is very rare that they speak about their beliefs.
Cruise's marriage to Katie Holmes was said to have ended over her refusal to allow their six-year-old daughter Suri to be indoctrinated.
She was also said to be concerned about the child being sent to the Scientology Gold Base in California where members are banned from having children, are paid just $50 a week and can be punished for simply looking at somebody the wrong way.
Scientology was also the basis of the current cinema hit The Master in which a drifter is taken in by the leader of a cult-like group.
* Jenna Miscavige is the niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige
* Her new book tells of her harrowing upbringing inside the church
* She was forced to join chain gang and quizzed about sex life at the age of 13
* Finally left after being sent to Australia where she first used the internet
* Now runs a support group for others who want to leave Scientology
By DANIEL MILLER
PUBLISHED: 14:26, 16 February 2013 | UPDATED: 16:24, 16 February 2013
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279585/Suri-Cruise-lucky-escape-Niece-Scientology-boss-tells-harrowing-childhood-tried-jump-roof-churchs-L-A-headquarters.html
The niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige has told of her miserable upbringing inside the church and how she tried to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of its celebrity headquarters in Los Angeles.
Jenna Miscavige, said she was kept away from her parents sometimes for over a year at a time, forced to break rocks on a riverbed and grilled on her sex life at the tender age of 13.
Things got so bad that at the age of 16, when she was stopped from seeing a boyfriend, she climbed out onto the roof of Scientology's celebrity headquarters on Hollywood Boulevard and was ready to jump before church elders frantically pulled her back inside.
In her new book Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology And My Harrowing Escape, Ms Miscavige tells how she managed to escape the clutches of the church, famous for its celebrity devotees like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
And she claims Cruise's six-year-old daughter Suri had a lucky escape after her mother Katie Holmes split from the superstar actor.
Ms Miscavige, 29, told the Sun: 'I don't know what will happen to Suri in her relationship with her mother but I know the Scientologists tore my family apart'.
In her incredible account of growing up inside the church, Mrs Miscavige Hill told how her parents had joined the Sea Orgs, the church's elite inner circle, and worked 14 hour days.
She was brought up in a Scientology Nursery before being sent to a ranch in the Californian desert where her days were spent breaking rocks on a riverbed.
At 13 she was given her first 'audit' in which she was quizzed about her sex life, by elders who demanded to know if she masturbated or had homosexual feelings - the sort of information which she believes they later use to blackmail members.
At the age of 16 she fell in love with a boy, but when church leader discovered they had had sex they hit the roof and tore him away from her to be 'purged' - the event that led her to attempt suicide.
Eventually the church agreed they could marry with the ceremony being held at the celebrity Scientology centre in LA, none of her family attended, there was no honeymoon and the couple were imemediately sent back to work.
Ms Miscavige's parents had left Scientology In 2000, when she was 16 years old, after becoming disillusioned with its practices.
In the five years that followed, she has claimed that - because of the church's policy of 'disconnection' with relatives and friends who do not support the cult - all letters between them were intercepted and she was not allowed to answer the telephone for over a year.
Her book details how she and her husband Dallas, were sent to Australia by the church, in a missionary-style or work-exchange program.
It was there that she reportedly first came into contact with the internet, which, along with television, is banned by the church and began to read negative reports about her uncle.
For Ms Miscavige, a major turning point was when she decided she wanted to become a mother. While married Sea Orgs are allowed to have sex, they are not permitted to have children.
'If you do become pregnant when you're there, you get kicked out,' she told The Huffington Post.
'Or many of my friends were actually coerced into having abortions,' she alleged.
===
VIDEO: Jenna Miscavige on growing up in scientology community ==> See Daily Mail
===
During those pivotal months, she re-connected with her once-distant parents who coached her through the difficult process of leaving the church.
Though Scientology members accosted both she and her husband when they started talking about leaving, they remained strong and stayed together.
After leaving the church, Ms Miscavige, with Kendra Wiseman and Astra Woodcraft - both also raised in Scientology - founded the website http;//www.exscientologykids.com
The site was launched as support group offering 'non-judgmental support for those who are still in Scientology, discussion and debate for those who've already left, and a plethora of easy-to-understand references for the curious'.
Memoirs: Jenna Miscavige Hill, 28, daughter of David's older brother Ron, has been a frequent critic of the Church of Scientology since publicly breaking with it in 2005
Following the public split between the cult's most famous member, Tom Cruise, and wife Katie Holmes, Ms Miscavige Hill spoke out in support of Holmes and the couple's daughter Suri.
'My experience in growing up in Scientology is that it is both mentally and at times physically abusive,' she said in a statement released through the Ex-Scientology Kids website.
'I was allowed to see my parents only once a week at best – sometimes not for years.
The site was launched as support group offering 'non-judgmental support for those who are still in Scientology, discussion and debate for those who've already left, and a plethora of easy-to-understand references for the curious'.
Following the public split between the cult's most famous member, Tom Cruise, and wife Katie Holmes, Ms Miscavige Hill spoke out in support of Holmes and the couple's daughter Suri.
'My experience in growing up in Scientology is that it is both mentally and at times physically abusive,' she said in a statement released through the Ex-Scientology Kids website.
'I was allowed to see my parents only once a week at best – sometimes not for years.
'We got a lousy education from unqualified Teachers, forced labor, long hours, forced confessions, being held in rooms not to mention the mental anguish of trying to figure out all of the conflicting information they force upon you as a young child.
'While it is very unlikely that Suri Cruise would have the same upbringing as me (due to her parent's celebrity status), any organization that is capable of mistreating and neglecting the needs of children, regardless of their social status, and which has a long history of breaking up families is no place for an innocent child.
INSIDE THE CONTROVERSIAL 60-YEAR OLD RELIGION
Scientology has been dogged by controversy almost since the day it was created.
The belief was founded in 1952 by L Ron Hubbard who until then had been known for writing pulp and science fiction novels.
Followers believe that inside them are ancient alien beings known as thetans which have lived for thousands of years on other planets and were brought to Earth on a space ship that looks like a Douglas DC-8 plane.
Through a process called Dianetics they make themselves far better people, and even massively boost their IQ.
Such claims however have never been proved and instead Scientology has faced allegations it charges outrageous fees for its services and abuses its followers.
Among the most controversial aspects are 'audits' in which followers have to explain their inner secrets to a superior, including their sex lives.
There have also been reports of bizarre punishments and questions have been raised over what happened to the wife of its current leader David Miscavige, who has reportedly not been seen since 2007.
Those who join the higher order of Scientology, known as Sea Org, pledge their allegiance for one billion years - a vow supposedly made by children as young as 10.
Scientology courts Hollywood stars and famous followers include Tom Cruise and John Travolta but it is very rare that they speak about their beliefs.
Cruise's marriage to Katie Holmes was said to have ended over her refusal to allow their six-year-old daughter Suri to be indoctrinated.
She was also said to be concerned about the child being sent to the Scientology Gold Base in California where members are banned from having children, are paid just $50 a week and can be punished for simply looking at somebody the wrong way.
Scientology was also the basis of the current cinema hit The Master in which a drifter is taken in by the leader of a cult-like group.
Re: Scientology chief's niece spills the beans on abusive Sea Org
Posted by:
Mark Scheiderer
()
Date: March 03, 2013 03:31AM
Read it.
IT ROCKS!!!
Godspeed to the incarceration of David "The Demon" Miscavige.
IT ROCKS!!!
Godspeed to the incarceration of David "The Demon" Miscavige.
Re: Scientology chief's niece spills the beans on abusive Sea Org
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: March 03, 2013 07:33AM
Isnt incarceration the proper and legal function of a sovereign state/ local government of a sovereign state?
And only after due process of law --secular law-- as administered by city, state, or federal courts?
On or in US territory, is it legal for a **church** (which is currently registered as a tax exempt religous group to put a member in chains --as described by Jenna Muscavige???
And only after due process of law --secular law-- as administered by city, state, or federal courts?
On or in US territory, is it legal for a **church** (which is currently registered as a tax exempt religous group to put a member in chains --as described by Jenna Muscavige???
Re: Scientology chief's niece spills the beans on abusive Sea Org
Posted by:
Mark Scheiderer
()
Date: March 10, 2013 02:02AM
Imagine a world "cleared" of Scientologists.
I predict that some day, David Miscavige with reap what he has sown.
Perhaps, in light of all the mental problems he has caused in individual's lives, it will be a breakdown into complete insanity, much like the "grandfather" of Scientology, Alistair Crowley, experienced.
Or perhaps, in light of all his physically VIOLENT assaults on people, he will be beaten to a pulp, or to death.
Regardless, he WILL reap what he has sown.
And that's a good thing.
I read Jenna Hill's book and have been reading "Going Clear" by Lawrence Wright. As an ex-cultist myself ( not Science-fictiontology ) , the more I read, the more infuriated I get.
I predict that some day, David Miscavige with reap what he has sown.
Perhaps, in light of all the mental problems he has caused in individual's lives, it will be a breakdown into complete insanity, much like the "grandfather" of Scientology, Alistair Crowley, experienced.
Or perhaps, in light of all his physically VIOLENT assaults on people, he will be beaten to a pulp, or to death.
Regardless, he WILL reap what he has sown.
And that's a good thing.
I read Jenna Hill's book and have been reading "Going Clear" by Lawrence Wright. As an ex-cultist myself ( not Science-fictiontology ) , the more I read, the more infuriated I get.
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