Successes after leaving Scientology
- Thread starter Alan
- Start date
Alanzo
Bardo Tulpa
I wonder how many exes here have faced the same thing as Barky and I have?
I wonder how many would like to express whether they ever declared bankruptcy for Scientology?
For me, I recognize it as a kind of "religious addiction" very much like being addicted to cocaine, or heroin. I now know that I am capable of becoming completely dependent upon, and a slave to, a religion.
I think it's a human vulnerability that is common. I think it's a vulnerability that Hubbard knew a lot about, and one that he intentionally exploited as much as he could.
Breaking free of that is quite a success. It can give your whole life new meaning and a huge amount of freedom.
I wonder how many would like to express whether they ever declared bankruptcy for Scientology?
For me, I recognize it as a kind of "religious addiction" very much like being addicted to cocaine, or heroin. I now know that I am capable of becoming completely dependent upon, and a slave to, a religion.
I think it's a human vulnerability that is common. I think it's a vulnerability that Hubbard knew a lot about, and one that he intentionally exploited as much as he could.
Breaking free of that is quite a success. It can give your whole life new meaning and a huge amount of freedom.
One of the things I've struggled with is exactly what kind of addiction is it?
With coke or alcohol or whatever, yeah, it's easy to blame the physical dependency caused by these intrusive substances. That, to me, is very understandable.
But what is the nature of hte addiction with Scn? Is it the wins from auditing that keep us going, or the comaraderie, or the hard-sell, or what?
And (here's the hard question), is it really a sign of a character flaw?
This is the fundamental reason why I still just can't let go of my Scn past: the notion that it's my own flaws as a person that made me susceptible to a cult.
Bleah, depressing topic. I'm gonna go have a drink now.
svonhatten
Patron with Honors
I never spent money that I didn't have, but I felt a lot of pressure to do so. It's like this:
Seller: "This course can help you out."
Me: "oh... how much?"
Seller: "<price>"
Me: "Uh... maybe another time."
<dead silence as the "seller" gives me a blank stare like something is wrong with me>
Me: "Uh... uh... uh.... uh... look at the pretty book!"
-Steve
Seller: "This course can help you out."
Me: "oh... how much?"
Seller: "<price>"
Me: "Uh... maybe another time."
<dead silence as the "seller" gives me a blank stare like something is wrong with me>
Me: "Uh... uh... uh.... uh... look at the pretty book!"
-Steve
Alanzo
Bardo Tulpa
I saw a definition of addiction once that I liked, and it really was the definition I was using when I said that. The definition was "something you do that causes damage in your life. You recognize that damage and continue doing it any way."
That's an addiction.
Having said that, it was when I could no longer LOOK AWAY from the damage that I finally stopped it.
In the beginning, for me, Scientology really was a step up. I could truly look around at my life and see it improved as a direct result of doing Scientology and becoming a Scientologist.
It was when I looked around later and saw all the damage, and then looked away from that damage, and then placed the earlier good there for me to see that it was an addiction.
Or a self-delusion.
Can a self-delusion be an addiction?
And (here's the hard question), is it really a sign of a character flaw?
This is the fundamental reason why I still just can't let go of my Scn past: the notion that it's my own flaws as a person that made me susceptible to a cult.
Bleah, depressing topic. I'm gonna go have a drink now.
I don't think so. The best parts of me are what first drew me to Scientology. The most helpful, the most idealistic, the most ambitious parts of me.
I had no idea I was being lied to, and I can't blame myself for being lied to. Maybe I can blame myself for wanting to believe those lies, but, like I said - it was working.
It was later, when those lies were right in front of me, and I looked away from them, that I can blame myself.
To me, that was really a lack of courage. I lacked courage to get rid of all my friends and family and any way to make money, and to be fired from a job making six figures, followed across country by people wanting to frame me for "CRIMES" that they could manufacture....
I'm think I'm gonna give myself some slack on that one, though. Not many people have the courage to face something like that, and I finally did. So, in the end, I did gather the courage to face the damage, stay true to my integrity, and do what I needed to do.
I'll bet, Barky, that if you looked around, you could find positive parts about your actions, too.
If you had a best friend who went through what you have gone through, would you give your friend some slack?
haiqu
Patron Meritorious
The Canadian is Peter Munk......I met him and his wife Linda, in Torronto....in 1966, I stayed at his house.....He attended a Money Course I was teaching.
They had gone to Saint Hill for Grades and Power....he was very upset with how Scio had handled him and people he had sent to them...
I asked him a simple question......Were you processed against your goals?
He just fell apart....itsa-ed for about an hour on his goals.
We then spent the rest of the night planning how he could make it big....
Despite being an engineer, Munk's rise came from a career in business. He is Chairman and founder of Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining corporation. Munk was founder, Chairman and CEO of Trizec Corporation, now known as Trizec Properties (one of the largest U.S. REITs – listed on the NYSE), where he remains Chairman.
I guess he followed the plan!!
Alan
Nice handling. I've had several major goals, including a) becoming a successful musician, and b) making a million before 30yo, completely ignored in Scn. The standard thing is "That will be dealt with in regular processing as you improve" and, of course, it never was.
And now, 32 years after I started down this road, I'm finally beginning to see the sort of results I was seeking in 1975. With my knowledge of the tech as it is now, it seems to me that a decent C/S could have programmed my case to achieve both of those goals in about 50-75 hours of auditing, and thereby made me a lot happier and more capable of continuing on the bridge.
Success in terms of MEST or status, or alignment with one's dreams, isn't everything when you're going for a target of total freedom, but it sure makes travelling that road more fun. Sitting in a session bewildered and lost, having gone off onto some divergent path towards an unknown destination, serves only to disorient and confuse the PC and ends up only in an eternal round of correction lists.
What ever happened to giving the client what they wanted?
haiqu
You can't always get what you wa-aant
You can't always get what you wa-aant
But if you pay enough, you just might find
You get what you....
Oops... wrong song
Zinj
programmer_guy
True Ex-Scientologist
haiqu said:
I would think that something like this wouldn't take anywhere near $360,000 and years to do. Just get your goals, get some understanding on what might be hindering you, then get on with it. There is no gigantic expensive SCN "bridge" to cross in order to do what you want to do. (Unless you want OT powers... that's another story.)
haiqu
Patron Meritorious
My contribution was less than 1/4 of this amount, over a 20 year period. I got as far as the Sunshine R/D and just couldn't progress any further until I finally realized the church wasn't going to be able to make me an OT no matter how much money was involved. Last church-delivered "service" was in 1995.
In the past two years I've gotten up to OT III - mostly under my own steam, which was tough - and am on Excalibur, as of the last fortnight. I still haven't achieved either of the above goals, but know that I could now if desired. Well, except for the fact that I'm well over 30yo now, anyhow.
A very nice change indeed.
haiqu
programmer_guy
True Ex-Scientologist
haiqu said:
Okay... that was a long time ago.
haiqu said:
So, this was in the freezone somewhere? (Your last delivered service was in 1995... right?)
haiqu said:
This makes no sense to me whatsoever. Care to explain?
Last edited:
haiqu
Patron Meritorious
Obviously, by elimination.
Not sure what you're having trouble with there. Not know of Excalibur? It's Bill Robertson's next level above OT III.
haiqu
programmer_guy
True Ex-Scientologist
haiqu said:
The only Excalibur that I read about was the one LRH talked about.
However, I am not surprised that Bill would use that term.
Where are you on-lines? If you don't mind my asking.
haiqu
Patron Meritorious
Not at all. I'm soloing at home, and an old friend who is CBR trained is C/Sing.
Here's a link to the Ron's Org bridge, for further details.
http://www.freezone.de/english/e_bridge.htm
haiqu
Last edited:
Voltaire's Child
Fool on the Hill
Haiqu,
Regardless of his unfamiliarity with Excalibur, Programmer Guy knows a bit about the Freezone. In fact, he's made a number of comments about it here and elsewhere. Negative ones.Frequently.
Regardless of his unfamiliarity with Excalibur, Programmer Guy knows a bit about the Freezone. In fact, he's made a number of comments about it here and elsewhere. Negative ones.Frequently.
programmer_guy
True Ex-Scientologist
Fluffy,
I think that is the nicest thing that you have ever said about me.
I think that is the nicest thing that you have ever said about me.
haiqu
Patron Meritorious
Yeah, maybe he has aspirations to become RolandRB or something. I appreciate your concern for me, Fluffy, but they did a really good job of Grade 0 and so I'll just talk to anyone about anything. I don't have to go effect of it.
haiqu
Voltaire's Child
Fool on the Hill
Sounds good to me!
Colleen K. Peltomaa
Silver Meritorious Patron
Yes, excellent. I cannot recall the author, but a very nice phrase is:
"Within each failure lies the seeds of future success".
- jodie
Confucius said, "Failure is the father of success".
Dulloldfart
Squirrel Extraordinaire
The concept of the quote maybe comes from Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, Chapter 2, paragraph 85.
I already numbered every paragraph in the book as part of my free online Yawn and Grow Rich course.
Paul
Colleen K. Peltomaa
Silver Meritorious Patron
My hubby and I don't beat ourselves up about money anymore. Perhaps because of that we are earning more now, and enjoying the process 1000 times more. We are both training in our new careers as forex (foreign exchange) traders. Hubby loves the study tech. Me, I am resorting back to learning by what I was doing before I had to learn study tech: permeating.
I find myself free to pursue my interest in scientological researches (back to my original purpose for getting into CofS) and the auditing style I adopted is the most fun and simple auditing I have ever worked with in my life.
I had to leave the CofS to find this type of auditing and I am seeing my hubby change before my eyes.
Similar threads
