Break my silence to say Hi

[fortymarriedandbalding]

Hi there.

Can’t really call myself an ex-scientologist.

In the late 80s I went to Melbourne with a friend who was studying during the day. While killing time I stumbled across a church so went in. Ended up doing a couple of days study and decided it was not for me.

Decades later, spent a while on Belief Net after the public face of Scientology aka Tom Cruise self destructed in public. Learnt a lot from the discussions over there and moved on again.

Have been lurking here for a couple of months now and thought I’d better say hello.

Will mostly lurk, but may chime in with a question or my two cents worth from time to time.

Also want to thank the board organisers – you are providing a great service to many people. Keep up the great work.

Best

FMB

 

[Kookaburra]

Welcome FMB! Nice to have you here. All the different viewpoints make for good debate.

Looks like your bullshit detector was in good working order. And yes, I agree the board organizers are providing a valuable service.

 

[Tiger Lily]

welcome fortymarriedandbalding. I'm glad you stopped in -- it's nice to know something about the "lurkers"

Congratulations on sniffing it out so fast and never really getting too involved in Scientology. I wasn't quite that smart

Feel free to ask questions if you have them -- it would probably help other "lurkers" too. Glad you're here!


-TL

 

[Tim Skog]

Welcome FMB, glad you are here.

 

[everfree]

Hi FMB. I too spent time on Bnet, though it was before Cruise self destructed so we probably missed each other. Welcome to ESMB.

 

[uniquemand]

It's sad that the public face of Scientology is the performance of it's celebrity members on television. This kind of ratifies their logic of going after celebrities in order to leverage their access to people's living rooms.

I would wish that the public face were the theories and beliefs that they promote and teach, but I guess they don't fit in a soundbyte. It's an indictment of our culture, to some extent, that we think about a religion or way of thinking primarily through association of which celebrities are connected with it in tabloid media.

 

[Good twin]

 

[Wisened One]

 

[Voltaire's Child]

THAT'S why your nick seemed familiar.

Welcome!

Claire
(fluffygirl)

 

[Kathy (ImOut)]

Welcome, FMB.

 

[SweetnessandLight]

Hello!

Welcome, Forty! Glad you joined us!

Really glad you never got in the COS!

 

[Mystic]

Hi FortyMB. Nice to meet someone who had enough sense to not get involved. Welcome aboard.

 

[GreyWolf]

I too am glad for the organizers of this board and I also welcome you and your two cents.

 

[pollywannacracker]

Welcome to ESMB Forty!

We value all opinions here.
Perhaps you can give us some insight as to why you were lucky enough to not become involved with Scientology. Would've helped me...

 

[AngeloV]

Welcome. Sounds like you have a finely tuned BS detector to have avoided much contact with scio.

 

[fortymarriedandbalding]

Thanks for all your welcomes.

I think we all have bullshit detectors, but they do not work all of the time. If we really want something to be true, then it is much harder for us to see reality. My life was good when I came into contact with Scientology. I was happy with my life, where I was and where I was going. Socially, personally, professionally and spiritually I was where I wanted to be. That probably reduced the need for me to believe.

Also, if someone can tap into one of your beliefs or perception of the world, they are more able to lead you where they want. Scientology conflicted with more of my beliefs and opinions than it resonated with.



Hi Claire,

Thanks for identifying yourself. Nice to see you again. I enjoyed my time on Belief Net and enjoyed reading your posts and hearing your take on things. I notice you are not the only one that has made the jump to ESMB – makes the boards that much more interesting to see familiar people again.

Best

FMB