Got lucky and someone invited me over to watch.

Wow. Trying to collect my thoughts.

How is it possible to be involved with Scientology for so many years and not hear any negativity or controversy?

Are they that isolated from media? Or are they threatened to not listen?

Do they make a promise to not believe anything negative?

jill w:

The same old trick and mind games that all groups called "cults" use.

See [www.cultnews.com]

There are two chapters about Scientology in the book "Cults Inside Out"--one about the organization and its history and another about deprogramming someone that was in for 27 years.

Scientologists are told that anyone who is critical is part of "suppression" and/or a "suppressive person." Negative information is likely to be labeled as "entheta" and dismissed.

Scientologists, like many people in groups called "cults," live in a bubble of control where they largely only talk with other Scientologists. It's and echo chamber with no accurate feedback or outside frame of reference.

Scientologists that talk negatively or look at negative information riske be labeled a PTS (potential trouble source).

Control of information, association and environnment. If you can effectively control what goes into the mind you can largely control or gain undue influence over the mind itself.

zeuszor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Frankly, you'll have to wait for the DVD (pretty
> much).


Besides, the book (of the same name) on which the film is based is also really good. It's even better IMO, because it's more detailed, and one gets to know the principals better (so to speak). The film is pretty much a documentary version of the major highlights of the book, a "Reader's Digest" version of Lawrence Wright's tome.

Thank you for the easy to understand explanation.

My irritation with those involved quickly turned to compassion once I heard their stories.

Families that are torn apart over Scientology is a needless tragedy.

It clearly takes courage to get out and go public. The one thing that seemed to be the deciding factor was the love for their families.

To be told to not have contact with a PTS could be the very thing that motivates many of them.

How is it that the FBI or IRS isn't taking notice? There are so many abuses going on, it's staggering.

[en.wikipedia.org]

"Allegedly, Scientology officials, including Church leader David Miscavige, paid private investigators to acquire some unspecified compromising information on Goldberg during his time as commissioner, and then strode into his office without an appointment one day to demand terms.[1][2] The meeting was not listed on Goldberg's appointment calendar, which was obtained by The New York Times through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

While details are not known, it was under Goldberg's administration that the long running IRS/Scientology legal conflict ended, though it took two years (under two other Commissioners) to work out the details.[3] Scientology received a unique tax exemption in 1993 and the IRS has refused to release the agreement, even after a FOIA request by the NYT and when requested by the court in the Sklar case.[4] (A draft version of the agreement was leaked to the WSJ and published late in 1997.)"

.

Article text here:

‘Going Clear’ subject Tom DeVocht visited by Burbank PD after suspicious anonymous tip

[tonyortega.org]

Comments are interesting, well worth reading.

Interested readers should copy this material so as to preserve it
for future use.

Saturday Night Live’s genius spoof of Scientology

[tonyortega.org]

"“In 1990, the Church of Neurotology made the following music video.
It has been updated based on new information about the church.”

ALWAYS BELIEVE

Reach out your hand and follow me
I have the code, the code to the key
The key to the secret, the secret of space
It’s Neurotology

Religion and science intertwined
Aliens live inside of our minds
A billion-year contract we have signed
It all makes sense to me

We’ll always believe this,
We are invested, invested till death
We’re in this forever,
Never to leave it until our last breath

We are here
Our path is clear
We are finally free with Neurotology

The gorgeous religion, old and true
Started in 1982
Our founder brings us endless life
‘cause he can never die

Our brain machines can fix our minds
Our brain machines can save mankind
Each brain machine costs twenty grand
And that is fair and fine

We, we are the children,
The children of Meepthorp, the science is there
We, we are a family, joined by the knowledge
The knowledge we share

We are light! We are life!
We are proud to be
Neurotology

Ooh we, ooh we, we believe
Ooh we, ooh we, we believe
Ooh we, ooh we, we believe
Ooh we, ooh we, we believe
Ooh we, ooh we, we believe…

We, we are the future
We’re like a rocket into the sea…
We used to be starfish
Enslaved by the seagulls
But now we are free

We are home
We are one
We will always be
Neurotology!"

Brian, you are sure using a lot of derogatory psychological terms toward Hubbard without having the credentials to do so, and you have not evaluated him (not qualified to do that either). Perhaps you could stick to what you know, and restrain your self righteous judgments.
Cathleen Mann PhD

C.A. Mann, PhD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Brian, you are sure using a lot of derogatory
> psychological terms toward Hubbard without having
> the credentials to do so, and you have not
> evaluated him (not qualified to do that either).
> Perhaps you could stick to what you know, and
> restrain your self righteous judgments.
> Cathleen Mann PhD

You are right, ma'am. I am neither a clinician nor a diagnostician, and I never claimed to be.

In any case, the notion that LRH was a seriously psychologically imbalanced (or "mentally ill", or "insane", if you prefer) person is manifestly obvious.

In other words do not need a Ph.D. to know (or to say) that, do I?