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Eight things I learnt after visiting London's Scientology centre

triumph

Silver Meritorious Patron
Telegraph UK
Eight things I learnt after visiting London's Scientology centre

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My intrigue recently peaked, so on a quiet weekday I paid a visit to the free public information centre at the Church of Scientology’s London headquarters. This is what I learnt.

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They’ve got money. Lots of money
Real estate doesn’t come cheap in central London, particularly not on Tottenham Court Road or near the capital’s financial centre, so one of the first things that strikes you when you approach 146 Queen Victoria Street is the grandeur of the building.

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It's free to visit (but you have to let them know…)
It seems that just about every day is an ‘open house day’ at the London Scientology Centre, and while they encourage you to schedule an appointment online you can also just pop in. On arrival, you must introduce yourself at the front desk (it is your choice as to how much personal information you give up on a form) before taking a seat in the waiting area.

If you are at all like me, your palms will be practically spurting water by the time somebody comes to collect you and lead you up the winding staircase...

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You may be the only visitor there
Well, I was on my visit. I was hoping to have a comfort blanket of a smattering of fellow visitors milling about, but when I walked up the white marble staircase and turned into the information centre, it was just me and the friendly young woman who had come to collect me.

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L. Ron Hubbard wrote loads of books
The first thing that strikes you on reaching the first floor is the stacks and stacks of books written by L. Ron Hubbard, in every imaginable language. According to the Church of Scientology, its founder wrote 65 million words on the subject of Scientology during his lifetime. Some are focused on mental health, ‘Dianetics’ and self-improvement, although he also wrote plenty of sci-fi, such as ‘Typewriter in the Sky’ and ‘Battlefield Earth: a Saga of the Year 3000.’

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The tour is ‘self-guided’ (but it isn’t that self-guided)
On the website it sells the visit as a “self-guided tour”, which strictly speaking it is, although there is the fairly constant presence of a rotation of young women who staff the public information centre. When you’ve just finished watching one video (such as, for example, the history of L. Ron Hubbard’s life, from childhood Scout hero to global swashbuckling hero) it will only be a matter of seconds before somebody appears at your shoulder and softly asks, “how was that?”.

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You may never eat a boiled egg again…
In one video explaining the concept of Dianetics (broadly, the quasi-scientific system devised by Hubbard to ‘cleanse’ our minds of harmful mental images), there is a memorable scene where a poor young fellow eats a rotten egg. Fast-forward to his college years and said boy is confronted with – you guessed it – a plate of hard boiled eggs.
He rubs his stomach, feeling sick, and furrows his brow. When I survey the room to see there are half a dozen other videos to get through – spanning topics such as crime rehabilitation (Criminon) to drug rehab (Narconon) – I get a similar feeling.

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They really want you to take a personality test
That sign outside beckons you to take a personality test. When you introduce yourself at the reception desk, they invite you to take a personality test. When you head upstairs, they mention it again. Then when you leave, they give it one more shot, to which I politely declined, but not before accepting a pamphlet that you can fill in and ‘send off’ if you so wish.

more@link
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/...nd/london/articles/london-scientology-centre/
 

Leland

Crusader
How did the "young women" look.....?

Softly whispering to you.....:cool:

Sounds a bit like "Flirty Fishing..."
 
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F.Bullbait

Oh, a wise guy,eh?
Oh, Dianetics gives you the 'ate a rotten egg feeling'...well... how does that make you feel?

chickenpsychiatristman2.jpg
 

strativarius

Inveterate gnashnab & snoutband
How did the "young women" look.....?

Softly whispering to you.....:cool:

Sounds a bit like "Flirty Fishing..."
My future (now ex) wife hit on me while she was 'flirty fishing' for the CofG. I turned the tables on her and got her into scientology instead.

I've also been involved with a follower of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (orange people) and a 'white witch'. I dunno, I was just a sucker for these weirdo culty types. LOL.
 
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Leland

Crusader
My future (now ex) wife hit on me while she was 'flirty fishing' for the CofG. I got her into scientology instead.

I've also been involved with a follower of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (orange people) and a 'white witch'. I dunno, I was just a sucker for these weirdo culty types. LOL.

When they’re hot, they’re hot!
 
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