Emma, I'm an ex and have been for more than forty years. I left and stopped talking Scientologese the day I walked out the door and have been doing other things, many, many other things for years and I am currently embarked on the profoundly ambitious task of getting a proposal to amend The Constitution of the United States of America, an initiative which as it happens, is predicated on a court case against CoS
But I am a trained auditor and I learned much from the study and practice of auditing which I have used often and given tremendous amounts of benefit to many people w/o the use of meter or model session or any sort of CS1 education of a preclear. I cannot honestly have anything but a very high regard for the better aspects of Hubbard's work. Which is not to say I'm an "Indie". I don't even know any Indies.
And...
As a PC I am a ARC Straghtwire Release but before I ever heard of Elron or Scn I was exploring and practicing "exteriorization" and other "charismatic", "psychedelic", "psychic" or "OT" phenomena. Never mind doing the "OT" levels just studying the Axioms and other basic thoroughly accessible materials one can learn to develop "OT" abilities and I have done some FANTASTIC things. I provided immeasurable comfort for my lifelong best pal as he lay dying of cancer and then studied my own time track of the process and discovered an anomaly which led to a theory which was communicated to the University of Washington Hospital a year later. I do not know if my own research was directly influential but the theory was verified three years later when Massachusetts General announced a huge breakthrough in the early diagnosis of cancer which is saving lives even as we speak. In 1985 for months I had, for lack of better terms "a nasty hot blip on my theta radarscope" which prompted the weaving of a sublime improvisational theatre spiderweb. It trapped Leonard Lake who had tortured and murdered twentythree people the last of whom was my personal friend Maurice Osakas. Leonard's career was over within 24 hrs. A real peachykeen kinda guy. He and his amigo videotaped their adventures. One of the victims was a young hippie couple and their baby and there is tape of a young woman in chains being taunted "Baby die, Mommy cry"
Please pardon me if I dispute those who say there is no such thing as "OT"
Yes, I understand your vision of ESMB
It's not here for committed scilons seeking reform.
BUT!!!
Those who are out are people still hoping to reconnect with family and friends still in and often have other interests and concerns for those inside or might be going inside.
That perforce means some members are engaged with reform and it will have to be reform. Scientology and Dianetics are not going away, the church has a right to be there so it has to be reform and Alanzo a goddam scilon jackass the two of us would have trouble staying in the same room for three minutes.
Maybe I am a jackass myself but contrary to the opinion of some of my detractors I am not a scilon jackass