What was your 'Tipping Point'?

[strativarius]

It has never been clear to me when it was exactly that I made the transition from being a Scientologist to becoming an 'ex-Scientologist'.

I know that when my wife and I drove out of the gates of Saint Hill Manor and out of the Sea Org in 1975, I still felt I was 'in' although I was 'blowing', so complete was my indoctrination and identification with Scientology.

I also knew that there would be repercussions in the form of ethics conditions that I would have to deal with sometime in the future, and that was of great concern to me at the time.

Fifteen years later I came across the book 'Inside Scientology', Robert Kaufman's deeply moving account of his encounter with the cult and the profound effect it had upon him, and just reading the text on the cover: '15 Million People Are Forbidden To Open This Book' sent a shiver of anticipation down my spine. (Far fewer people had Internet access in 1990 that they do nowadays of course, I certainly didn't.)

I think reading that book was the tipping-point for me, (although, and this might seem strange to anyone reading this now, I've only just realised that), and Veda's post has helped confirm it).

One of the powerful messages of that book was that the very tools Hubbard had developed to 'free us' were in actual fact being used by him to enslave us.

What happened in your case? Was there a specific event, incident or experience that caused your transition from 'Scientologist' to 'Ex-Scientologist', i.e. a Tipping Point?

 

[Dulloldfart]

What happened in your case? Was there a specific event, incident or experience that caused your transition from 'Scientologist' to 'Ex-Scientologist', i.e. a TIPPING POINT?

Nope. For me it was a long process covering years. Vedas posts helped a lot, though.

Paul

 

[Churchill]

The incontrovertible weight of factual information on the Internet
that the cult was unsuccessful in suppressing, despite the many millions of dollars they spent, and hundreds of thousands of man-hours, also expended unsuccessfully in an effort to hide the truth.

For me, that was the tipping point.

Today, Scientology's credibility is on par with flat-earth believers and Holocaust deniers.

 

[Dean Blair]

Yes there was most definitely a tipping point. I was a dedicated Scientologist for most of my life. I was a NOT's Auditor and CS at AOLA until I routed out in November 1991. I was in disagreement with the Sea Org and how it was being run. I still believed Scientology and L Ron Hubbard until about five years ago. At that point for the first time I decided to Google Scientology. What I found was shocking.

When I Googled Scientology I came upon the St Petersburg Times articles and interviews with ex Scientology executives. That opened my eyes to what I had been experiencing and I could tell from the interviews that what the ex staff were saying was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I guess that's why they called it the Truth Rundown.

I read all of the messages and listened to all of the interviews. I quickly came to a conclusion that David Miscavige was the reason Scientology was a failure and that he alone was destroying it. I disagreed that Scientology was hypnotizing people and disagreed more with many critics about the harmfulness of Scientology. I joined ESMB and began reading the various posts and threads. I privately laughed at those critics who were completely denigrating Hubbard and Scientology. I still felt that Hubbard had correctly mapped out the bridge to total freedom and that it had only become perverted by David Miscavige.

I read more. I read Madman or Messiah by Bent Corydon. I read the Ex Scientology Kids posts. I read Blown for Good, My Billion Year Contract, and Amy Scobee's book. I read Marty Rathbun's posts daily as well as everything I could find at ESMB.

I finally concluded after all of my studies that Hubbard himself was a fraud and thus it ended my relationship with Scientology forever. While some of the "tech" seems workable, it is extremely treacherous and dangerous and in my opinion should be permanently destroyed. I thus support those groups or individuals who share my own viewpoint and who have arrived at the same conclusion as myself.

 

[gbuck]

My tipping point should be called my wtf? point, and that happened in one fell swoop of clarity.

IT took 30 years since abandoning the bullshit tek to arrive at that wtf? insight, I think.

It was the honesty of the people on this site that enabled me to re-examine myself and my mindset seriously, without procrastination and without a feeling of isolation.

I think that when I decided that I could have a look at the scientology in my mind the wtf? moment occurred. It was still there! wtf?

Insight isn't verbalised, it's an observation of the obvious that's hidden in plain view as Veda pointed out. Because it isn't verbalised it's difficult to put into words.

But it is a wtf? moment and joyful.

 

[cleared cannibal]

I am not really sure I have had a tipping point other than realizing the"tech" was hurting more than it was helping. In many ways I have more in common with the never in's on ESMB than the hard core ex's. I was never a believer but I was willing to give it a try.(the dreaded open mind) Dean's post I 100% agree within that there are some ,even many good things in the tech but it is too dangerous to mess with.

I guess if there was a tipping point it was while waiting for my last session ,there was a Hubbard quote hanging there which said (paraphrasing)" we would rather see you dead than unable and we consider you here on the same terms as all of us." Well I definitly wasn't there on the same terms as the others I seen, so I took Hub at his word and decided that they would rather see me dead. It explained a lot to me and what I had been put through.

I would say I made my mind up about scientology before I ever really looked at the dreaded entheta on the internet. I probably wouldn't look or post if I was able to completely disconnect from them. As it is I am sort of tied to them.
As kind of a humorous side note I was writing a post the other night when the phone rang. As I was expecting a call I didn't look at caller ID and answered. Guess who ,the org wanting me to donate to the ideal org campagn, so I talked with them while I finished my post. Told them not now on the donation.

 

[everfree]

When I tried to route off Class V staff after 8 years as what amounts to a volunteer position so I could properly take care of my nascent family, but was not allowed to. Instead I was sent to PAC by my ED for almost a year (over two installments) so I could be subjected to heavy duty manipulation calculated to get me to abandon my own survival and that of my family in favor of re-dedicating myself to continued volunteering at the expense of myself and my family. My repeated requests to route off were completely ignored.

I was ultimately told that I could NOT route off staff, that the only way I could leave was if I was declared, which as we all know means all Scientologists disconnecting from you. My wife at the time had family deep in so I was trapped.

I stayed for three more years before I was able to successfully extract myself, but I vowed that CofS would never get an ounce more of free labor from me. Once I saw that they were completely willing to enslave me without a second thought, I knew there was no "freedom" to be found in CofS - any suggestion of freedom was illusory, but the slavery was not.

It was just a matter of time from then.

 

[Operating DB]

For me there were several tipping points. Jan 1985 I escaped. My first tipping point occurred within the next two weeks when I voraciously read the AAC Journals and listened to the Jon Zegal tapes. I knew then I was done with corporate scn and certainly the evil side of hubbard but not necessarily with the tech. I had always wanted the Grades and Power and I did so in the so called Independent field for barter, no money exchanged. When I learned what the OT Levels were about I'm super grateful I didn't go beyond Power Processing. After doing Power I was done except for an occasional session now and then to deal with life issues. My last session was probably in the later 80's. I threw all my scio materials out in March 87. So that must have been a major tipping point and being done with anything to do with the tech or hubbard. The only interest I had in scn was learning of the latest scandal or reading the latest tell-all book, etc.

It's hard to pinpoint a specific date for these tipping points because nearly 3 decades have passed and the memories start getting blurry.

ESMB has been very instrumental in understanding the mechanics behind the brainwashing as realizing more and more how insidious hubbard and his tech was. Could you classify these newer states of awareness as mini tipping points?

My sixth ESMB anniversary join date is this coming August 25th! Has it really been that long already?? Good gawd!

 

[Commander Birdsong]

my fifth martini or third zombie

 

[gbuck]

my fifth martini or third zombie

your bar stool fell over?

 

[ILove2Lurk]

Yes there was most definitely a tipping point.

< snip >

Dean, I thought your story was well written and simply great!

My tipping began a while ago and truthfully was sort of a crescendo.

View attachment 7908

GAT I . . Current services cancelled. Asked to pay all over again, so I quit.

Heretical Basics . .Must-read books by Corydon, Miller, and Atack.

blownforgood . .His riveting posts first surfaced in early 2006, shortly after he left the SO. Unmistakably "the real deal."

Truth Rundown Videos . .Everyone looked and sounded truthful. Videos speak for themselves.

Face & cowboy . .Doesn't get any better than these guys, does it?

Sarge 2013 . .The coup de grâce.

 

[strativarius]

my fifth martini or third zombie

your bar stool fell over?

Cheers CB & gbuck. It's only now I've started a thread of my own that I realise how annoying it must be for others when I come along and stick a picture of Homer Simpson slavering over some food item or another in it and derail it. I won't be doing that again in a hurry I promise. Lol!

And CB. Only 3 zombies? What a pussy!

 

[Dean Blair]

Dean, I thought your story was well written and simply great!

My tipping began a while ago and truthfully was sort of a crescendo.

View attachment 7908

GAT I . . Current services cancelled. Asked to pay all over again, so I quit.

Heretical Basics . .Must-read books by Corydon, Miller, and Atack.

blownforgood . .His riveting posts first surfaced in early 2006, shortly after he left the SO. Unmistakably "the real deal."

Truth Rundown Videos . .Everyone looked and sounded truthful. Videos speak for themselves.

Face & cowboy . .Doesn't get any better than these guys, does it?

Sarge 2013 . .The coup de grâce.

I very much enjoyed how you posted this. Very creative and understandable. I am glad that you and everyone here is out and most of us anyway are blown for good.

 

[gbuck]

Cheers CB & gbuck. It's only now I've started a thread of my own that I realise how annoying it must be for others when I come along and stick a picture of Homer Simpson slavering over some food item or another in it and derail it. I won't be doing that again in a hurry I promise. Lol!

it was my pathetic attempt at de-railing a de-railer

 

[Free Being Me]

The final tipping point for me was reading Dart Smohen's, lionheart's and Veda's posts about Elcon and $cientology here at ESMB. HelluvaHoax! showed up shortly bringing his unique humor/insights into the mix. The cult shackles fell to the floor.

 

[NoName]

Tipping point was googling a name of someone I knew a long time ago and coming across Monica Pignotti's memoir that is quoted in my signature line.

I was pretty much done with COB at that point, but reading a first hand account of LRH like that was jarring to the point that it sent me to ESMB for the full dose of undiluted entheta.

 

[Commander Birdsong]

your bar stool fell over?

no...

a hole opened in the floor

 

[freethinker]

Be careful, entheta is one of the most addicting things around and you may never kick it.

Tipping point was googling a name of someone I knew a long time ago and coming across Monica Pignotti's memoir that is quoted in my signature line.

I was pretty much done with COB at that point, but reading a first hand account of LRH like that was jarring to the point that it sent me to ESMB for the full dose of undiluted entheta.

 

[Gib]

One of the powerful messages of that book was that the very tools Hubbard had developed to 'free us' were being used by him to enslave us.

What happened in your case? Was there a specific event, incident or experience that caused your transition from 'Scientologist' to 'Ex-Scientologist', i.e. a Tipping Point?

As others have said, it was a series of events.

1.) After completing my staff contract, I got the MLM fever, I wanted to make a lot of money to go up the Bridge. So I studied on my own the PR & Marketing Series thinking it would help to market.

At one event, I forget which one, I all of the sudden realized the COS was doing the PR/Marketing Series on us members. (Mind you this is the 1990-2012 time period, as I'm a more recent out).

Specifically, w/o looking up the exact PL, it came be summed as: look around and find something to market, plan, make a big hoopla about it, jazz it up, release it to the public, while that is occurring, start again and repeat. Thus I realized every COS/DM quarterly event invoking some mystery sandwich of something great to be released, was what was being done to us. Just as LRH says to do, laughing to myself. I even told scientologists this during the time.

Realizing the above sort of steeled me from being hard sold on new releases as I realized the pressure would die down as a new release would replace it in the future.

But, although I realized the above, I was still interested in going clear & ot.

2.) The debbie cook email got me to look at the internet, and the truth rundown series was simply fantastic for me, it really was the truth rundown. It confirmed #1 above for me and something was wrong with management.

3.) reading many coming out stories on Marty's blog and other blogs. And I was then sold on the indie movement.

4.) The final tipping point was actually reading the Idenics story by Mike Goldstein posted at the home page or some page here on ESMB, and reading his book, and getting a few sessions. This handled the aspect of "The Bridge to total Freedom", for me. While going indie was cheaper, it was the same grinding in session that drove me nuts while in scientology, and I don't mean nuts literally, just jokingly, although it's crazy - I'll repeat the auditing question on and on. LOL

5.) The final final tipping point was finding out Hubbard knew and used Rhetoric as he stated in a 1936 letter to his Dean Wilbur, and since learning about Rhetoric, I realized scientology is a sales job over a long period of time. Scientology is a very elaborate system of persuasion using appeal to authority, emotion and reason (and the other aspects of Rhetoric), but not used to free, but entrap.

for instance, hubbard says he (authority) considers auditors to be the top 1% of the planet (here he makes auditors as authority). Hubbard used appeal to authority to entrap both ways. And of course he ad homs psych's and philosophers in his lectures.

 

[Veda]

Early 1977: Reading Hubbard's bizarre 'LSD Zombie' HCOB.

1978/79: Witnessing the Dianetic Clear frenzy and no longer being able to deny to myself the hypnotic power Hubbard had over most Scientologists. Kept that thought to myself and put it in the back of my mind, but stayed "off lines."

1978/79: Beginning to read the works of Aleister Crowley.

1980: Read the Way to Happiness Moral Code booklet and wondered, "What the ?" I had no interest in a "moral code." After all, wasn't the idea to assist those who are already "basically good" to rid themselves of their "aberrations," and thus there was no need for a "moral code"?

1980/81: When told by a tech terminal at AOLA that the upper Bridge had been changed and the money for old OT 8, etc. was available for other things, bought, amongst other items, the PDC tapes. Listened to them. Hubbard obviously was lifting ideas and entire sentences from Crowley's writings.

1982: Mission holders massacre. Read transcript. Saw that RTC was insane. Still didn't know that Hubbard was behind it.

1983: Read the Shannon biography docs which had been obtained through the Freedom of Information act. Realized Hubbard lied extensively about his past.

Resigned membership in corporate Scientology.

Talked, on the phone, or in person, with virtually everyone who was active in break away Scientology at that time: From Jack Horner to David Mayo to Pamela Kemp and many others.

1984: Became involved with a break away mission, and audited. I wanted to see what it was like to audit outside corporate Scientology.

Witnessed dozens of people on NOTs who had attested, years earlier (on OT 3), to having "no more BTs," now finding oodles more "BTs" simply because Hubbard had told them they would. (More evidence of Hubbard's hypnotic power over Scientologists.)

Also, 'Armstrong vs Church of Scientology' trial was occurring, and had access to transcripts.

1985: Had access to Paulette Cooper's and Michael Flynn's photocopies of the docs seized during the 1977 FBI raids. Began to study these.

Began communicating with Ron Jr. Confirmed that his father had been reading Crowley nightly before each PDC lecture.

1986: Other projects. Much new information examined.

And it went on from there.

If there was a breaking point it might have been observing the fear in my former Academy supervisor's face when I playfully held up a copy of "The Psychic Side of Sports'

while we briefly chatted outside a coffee house in the Village in NYC, around 1980, after a one man show by (former ISB) musician Robin Williamson. Did he think it was "mixing practices"?, an implant? Who knows. But he was sure scared.

I began to recognize how little I had in common with most Scientologists: Scientolgists who manifested a mixture of fear, hypnotic agreement, and "VVVGIs."