I'm a former Scientologist who has been out for about 29 years now. I was worked on staff in Northern California and was briefly in the Sea Org, but never became a full member, (Never completed the training) I was at "Big Blue" the former Cedars complex , in Los Angeles. But pretty much from the minute I got there something just felt wrong, though I couldn't quite put a finger on it. I didn't see anyone being screamed at or abused. I wasn't particularly abused myself, though it did bother me that we were working with asbestos without safety gear, and I was blithely assured that any illness resulting from it would be "audited out".
I had overheard a conversation between two S.O members where one had been trying to route out of the S.O for about 6 months and was not making much progress. This was back in 1983, there didn't seem to be anything furtive or shamed about the discussion so I'm figuring the heavy punishment for trying to route out or even expressing a desire to had not been intituted yet.
I had pretty much decided that I wanted to leave, and I had no intention of taking that long to do it. So I the next sunday I made reservations for a flight back up to Northern California and then let my CO know that I intended to route out. He gave me a formidble list of routing forms to complete. I told him I wanted to leave on good terms with the Church and remain active in Scientology, but my plane was leaving that afternoon and I was going to be on it, even if it meant blowing.
He just gave me a long look, then he smiled! Told me we could expedite things. All I really needed to do was write out why I was leaving, he would sign me out, and I could go. So I did, he signed me out, said I'd be informed about what I would need to do before I could re-join the SO, shook my hand, wished me success, and I was out.
In all honesty I was most likely allowed to go so easily only because I was still a recruit on the EPF and, quite frankly, just not particularly valuable as a Sea Org member yet.
I continued practicing Scientology, took the Book One training course and did co-audit with some friends, which I enjoyed and benefited from, but heard a lot of rumblings over increasingly oppressive practices by upper management. One mission worker expressed it as "I love the tech but the management sucks". I began to distance myself from Scientology. I was beginning to have some real questions about the tech and how much was valid and workable and how much was just b.s that LRH made up on the fly. I'd made friends with someone who was friends with LRH and worked with him during the early days of Dianetics. He commented that LRH would often do exactly that, make things up as he went along and then a few hours later claim to have spent years researching and testing it.
Things were in an unsettled state at the center I was going to and they had a lot bigger things to worry about than one member drifting away, so I didn't have to deal with any sec checks, heavy metal ethics, or any other such problems. I was very, very lucky.
Since then, I've kept up a lively interest in the goings on in Scientology. I still get some mail from them every now and then. (How do they track down new addresses so fast?!!)
That's about it. Happy to find what looks to be a pretty good group of Folks.
I had overheard a conversation between two S.O members where one had been trying to route out of the S.O for about 6 months and was not making much progress. This was back in 1983, there didn't seem to be anything furtive or shamed about the discussion so I'm figuring the heavy punishment for trying to route out or even expressing a desire to had not been intituted yet.
I had pretty much decided that I wanted to leave, and I had no intention of taking that long to do it. So I the next sunday I made reservations for a flight back up to Northern California and then let my CO know that I intended to route out. He gave me a formidble list of routing forms to complete. I told him I wanted to leave on good terms with the Church and remain active in Scientology, but my plane was leaving that afternoon and I was going to be on it, even if it meant blowing.
He just gave me a long look, then he smiled! Told me we could expedite things. All I really needed to do was write out why I was leaving, he would sign me out, and I could go. So I did, he signed me out, said I'd be informed about what I would need to do before I could re-join the SO, shook my hand, wished me success, and I was out.
In all honesty I was most likely allowed to go so easily only because I was still a recruit on the EPF and, quite frankly, just not particularly valuable as a Sea Org member yet.
I continued practicing Scientology, took the Book One training course and did co-audit with some friends, which I enjoyed and benefited from, but heard a lot of rumblings over increasingly oppressive practices by upper management. One mission worker expressed it as "I love the tech but the management sucks". I began to distance myself from Scientology. I was beginning to have some real questions about the tech and how much was valid and workable and how much was just b.s that LRH made up on the fly. I'd made friends with someone who was friends with LRH and worked with him during the early days of Dianetics. He commented that LRH would often do exactly that, make things up as he went along and then a few hours later claim to have spent years researching and testing it.
Things were in an unsettled state at the center I was going to and they had a lot bigger things to worry about than one member drifting away, so I didn't have to deal with any sec checks, heavy metal ethics, or any other such problems. I was very, very lucky.
Since then, I've kept up a lively interest in the goings on in Scientology. I still get some mail from them every now and then. (How do they track down new addresses so fast?!!)
That's about it. Happy to find what looks to be a pretty good group of Folks.
Hi and 
. Thanks for sharing that. Glad to have you here. I hope we hear moar from you 
