Re: Scientology says Disconnection of 83 year-old grandmother “most humane thing to d
And Boston, in case you don't know about me: I have plenty of experience with disconnection. My dad got SP declared when I was 3 (1975) and I only reconnected with him after I got SP declared in 2004.
Currently my mom, Sea Org member, has been disconnected from me (and the rest of her family too) since I got declared in 2004.
It doesn't have to make sense, it's Scientology, right?!?!?!
How awful! You must have grown up in an environment where cognitive dissonance was a way of life. I think I grappled with this concept before, this idea disconnecting with someone to bring them to their senses, so that they will come back of their own accord. Somehow, it is dissonant with communication and the thetan's superior abilities to establish affinity.
This is where the polarization comes in that SallyDance mentioned. Anything critical of an idea of Hubbard is ABSOLUTELY forbidden. The Tech works 100% of the time, unless not applied properly. You must not communicate with an SP.
Brought up as a Catholic, we believed in mysteries. For example, no one knew the real nature of heaven even though there are vague descriptions of it. It is indescribable.
So, the idea of having to believe in these absolutes that spring from a writer of pulp fiction, no less, makes it seem crazy to an adult who grew up with a lot of mysteries and grey areas.
I mean as kids, we once speculated in catechism class about the fine line of what constitutes a mortal sin. And we could get away with questioning quite a lot of stuff... say, you stab someone with a knife but they don't die, what's that, or what about when you kill somebody in a war? I don't remember being told when I was 13 or so, that when I got older I would understand these things or that I would "know." Only that as you experienced more, you would come to your own understanding and it would always be a struggle. That's what you were supposed to do, examine your own conscience and think about what is right and wrong.
So, we never got anything about all the answers or how enlightenment would come at the next level. Regarding any super powerz, they were strictly in the domain of they came upon you out of nowhere or you were born with them, and not many people had them. There were no courses taught on how to heal people or raise them from the dead.
When it came to science, it was pretty clear there was so much we didn't know but things were advancing fast. Man had gone from flying a few hundred feet to reaching the moon. What an incredible scientific and technological achievement, and a real collaborative effort.
So, the idea that one individual unlocked the science of the mind and it evolved into this religion with "all the answers" is so preposterous, complete with all these draconian rules and high prices for the people who enter this group, the most ethical people on the planet...clear...super powers...Xenu...body thetan clusters...Helatrobus implants. It all sounds like a bad joke. And the idea you can talk about any of these things or ever question their wisdom or real utility.
On top of that, in the 50s and 60s, and even now, no one outside Hubbard's group talked about any of his great discoveries, or his research, or even quotes one damn thing he wrote.
So, Scientology builds an Org and it's an "oasis of sanity." Or, doesn't matter that little of this worked in Hubbard's own life, except at making him rich. The people who were closest to him, for the most part, ended up in distress and unhappy, and had to get away. I'm sure Mary Sue would have left him if he hadn't become rich.
So, what's left? The elation and feeling of release you get from auditing. The hope you are given that Hubbard knows all, and all you have to do is develop certainty of that and follow all of his policies. That's seems like it would be pretty hard going for anyone who is aware of the history of Scientology or the life of Hubbard. It's not a fly in the soup; it's a pile of crap in the soup.