Hello to all you ex-Scientologists

[SchwimmelPuckel]

Well, yes.. Reality by 'agreement' in scientology.. Intriguing.. But observe that the most basic and important 'agreement' you have to accept is that you give Scientology all your money...

That sort of deflates the magnifiscent mystery for me..

 

[Kookaburra]

The psylocybin does allow you some different perceptions.

 

[Painter]

It's true that Scientology

mainly wants your money. I guess money is one of the primary modes of agreement in this (our?) society. Maybe it's not that way everywhere, but around here, money talks. A little too loud actually.

So in that sense, Scientology is subsidiary to money as a mode of agreement. But if that is so, how come so many staff and Sea Org work their butts off for nothing? To those people, money is just a means to an end. They have communally created an alternative value system, simply by agreeing with one another that it is so.

 

[Type4_PTS]

Though Scientology itself is probably in irreversible decline, and thankfully so, it came uncomfortably close to realizing Hubbard's diabolically ingenious scheme.

Hi Painter, Welcome to ESMB.

And for your words I quoted.........you have to thank Al Gore for inventing the internet.

Otherwise we might all be speaking Scientologese.

 

[SchwimmelPuckel]

<snip>.. how come so many staff and Sea Org work their butts off for nothing? <snip>

They have given Scientology all their money.. There's more to the 'basic agreement' though: If you don't have any money, or have pay'd all to Scientology, then you must work for Scientology.. Without pay of course.. The 'agreement' is about which way the money flows.. Always to Ron Hubbard, or David Miscavige these days.

Note that Scientology utterly fails to make it's busness viable for those who work for it. Seems that there is an 'agreement' in place about complete incompetence too!

 

[La La Lou Lou]

No Painter, staff do not agree with each other, that's bank agreement! They agree with policy.

Policy was written by the perfect being, the one who had no bank, the one who wrote about how staff do what they do for higher purposes than money. MEST is evil and must be avoided, it caves you in. On the other because he was so powerful he was able to have lots of the stuff given to him each Christmas and Birthday by the staff that earned peanuts.

Reality meant hisreality, actually not his reality just the one he wanted you to have ,no one else's, and when everyone had this reality the planet would be clear.

 

[Painter]

Well Schwimmelpuckel.

It's hard to spell your name. But what scared me most about DMSMH was how absolutely PLAUSIBLE it seemed. And then that, if I were to suspend my disbelief in Hubbard's yarn, even momentarily, there was a kind of psychic magnetism that drew me ever deeper into this.... what was it, philosophy? Point of view?

I was never quite sure what it was. But it seemed so internally consistent, so logical, and so fascinating to the open-minded, seeking spirit that I was, that it was very hard for me to resist it. And the promises, oh yes the promises. Guaranteed to keep me turning the pages, even against my better judgment. Because we who are human, we must hope, even against all odds.

I'd like to say more but I'm beat. I got to hit the hay, and farewell to y'all, it was a great welcome to the community. I shall return!

 

[AnonyMary]

Painter!!

Mary

 

[Arthur Dent]

It's hard to spell your name. But what scared me most about DMSMH was how absolutely PLAUSIBLE it seemed. And then that, if I were to suspend my disbelief in Hubbard's yarn, even momentarily, there was a kind of psychic magnetism that drew me ever deeper into this.... what was it, philosophy? Point of view?

I was never quite sure what it was. But it seemed so internally consistent, so logical, and so fascinating to the open-minded, seeking spirit that I was, that it was very hard for me to resist it. And the promises, oh yes the promises. Guaranteed to keep me turning the pages, even against my better judgment. Because we who are human, we must hope, even against all odds.

I'd like to say more but I'm beat. I got to hit the hay, and farewell to y'all, it was a great welcome to the community. I shall return!

A big welcome Painter!

Yes, this is the "glue." And this board has been the solvent for many!

 

[Lurker5]

Hello

I am a new member here, though I have been lurking around for awhile. I've never been a Scientologist, fortunately for me.... However I have always taken a keen interest in Scientology ever since I first knew of it, round about the early 70's. When I read DMSMH it seduced me at first, and then it scared the bejesus out of me.

First off, I want to congratulate y'all for breaking free of that particular spell, because obviously it wasn't easy. Secondly I want to thank everybody I've been reading here as a lurker, because I find the level of discourse to be generally very high, not to mention endlessly amusing.

I take Scientology very seriously. I don't think it is "just another crazy cult" but rather a kind of prototype for socio-political mind control systems in general. Though Scientology itself is probably in irreversible decline, and thankfully so, it came uncomfortably close to realizing Hubbard's diabolically ingenious scheme.

The various discussions here, in addition to exposing Scientological fallacies and thus helping to dismantle the cult, also provide valuable personal insights into the nature and purpose of spirituality in the contemporary world. This from people who have been burned, and burned bad, by one of the most skillful and dangerous frauds ever to have been perpetrated.

ESMB is a priceless resource. Perhaps I can add a little, here and there.

Hello - and Painter.

 

[Tiger Lily]

Painter! Congratulations on being able to catch how dangerous it was before you had "experience" with it. . . your BS meter is in good working order!

. . . But what scared me most about DMSMH was how absolutely PLAUSIBLE it seemed. And then that, if I were to suspend my disbelief in Hubbard's yarn, even momentarily, there was a kind of psychic magnetism that drew me ever deeper into this.... what was it, philosophy? Point of view?

I was never quite sure what it was. But it seemed so internally consistent, so logical, and so fascinating to the open-minded, seeking spirit that I was, that it was very hard for me to resist it. And the promises, oh yes the promises. Guaranteed to keep me turning the pages, even against my better judgment. Because we who are human, we must hope, even against all odds.

I'd like to say more but I'm beat. I got to hit the hay, and farewell to y'all, it was a great welcome to the community. I shall return!

Very well said!! That's exactly how it was for me -- I was also "seduced" by DMSMH; in almost exactly the way you described here. And I did have niggling reservations, until I went in and the e-meter "read" my thoughts on the pinch test, and they validated how "superior" I was to be able to cut through the "wog-think" and recognize the "truth". . . very seductive for a 25 year old idealist who wanted so badly to believe a planet could be "clear".

That "convenient agreement" allows Scientology to operate in its own world, to get its members to reject "wog" laws and values as inferior, then to get member agreement to enforce its own rules and conditions. Those rules and conditions are quite abusive and intrusive, are actually human rights violations and cause damage to the individuals they are applied to. I don't think that agreement is there by accident.

That is the most concise explanation I've seen! No, I don't think it's by accident either. Scientology may be about the money now, but for LRH I think it was about power and control.

Glad you're here Painter -- it's always interesting to hear from people who didn't fall for it, and what kept them from falling for it. Glad you stopped in.

-TL

 

[AngeloV]

Painter,

I used to live in Rio Rancho, a seemingly endless and boringly uniform suburb of Albuquerque. Northern NM is strikingly beautiful and I got married in the Jemez mountains there. Southern NM is to some beautiful in it's own way but to me is a dried out, arid wasteland...for the most part anyway.

To hook onto the current topic...DMSMH seemed to me, when I first read it, to be very scientific. Of course, never having been to any college level science classes before, I really could not examine the subject matter critically as I can do now. What made me say 'Wow' the first time I read it, makes me now say "what the f**k was that guy smoking?".

Consider that DMSMH is usually the first book that newbies read when they get into scio. Also consider that Dianetics is NOT a science in any sense of the word. And LRH knew it. And he called it a science anyway. I can imagine him laughing with delight all the way to the bank as the money rolled in.

The first book you read has a lie right on the cover. It goes downhill from there.

 

[FinallyFree]

Hello Painter, it's nice to have the intro!
I think you are wrong on one point only, I personally think you definately have something to add to this board and I am glad you started posting!

Welcome!

 

[Mystic]

I am a new member here, though I have been lurking around for awhile. I've never been a Scientologist, fortunately for me.... However I have always taken a keen interest in Scientology ever since I first knew of it, round about the early 70's. When I read DMSMH it seduced me at first, and then it scared the bejesus out of me.

First off, I want to congratulate y'all for breaking free of that particular spell, because obviously it wasn't easy. Secondly I want to thank everybody I've been reading here as a lurker, because I find the level of discourse to be generally very high, not to mention endlessly amusing.

I take Scientology very seriously. I don't think it is "just another crazy cult" but rather a kind of prototype for socio-political mind control systems in general. Though Scientology itself is probably in irreversible decline, and thankfully so, it came uncomfortably close to realizing Hubbard's diabolically ingenious scheme.

The various discussions here, in addition to exposing Scientological fallacies and thus helping to dismantle the cult, also provide valuable personal insights into the nature and purpose of spirituality in the contemporary world. This from people who have been burned, and burned bad, by one of the most skillful and dangerous frauds ever to have been perpetrated.

ESMB is a priceless resource. Perhaps I can add a little, here and there.

Hi Painter. Welcome to the Holy ESMB. Congratulations on never buying into the scam.

 

[TR'SIN]

Hello Painter and welcome to the board. Glad to hear fresh viewpoints.

Somewhere along the line I picked up on someone telling me that it is a PR world. And in the field of Public Relations you use a small piece of the truth to grab your publics interest. After that you embellish to "sell your message" and use the marketing tool of elaboration to "close the deal". Even those are not the exact words, it conveys the thought.

And sure enough as you pour through all the PR Series and Marketing Series of the Admin Tech you'll find as find a line of crap as was ever written to follow along with Ogilvy and Mather - the genius's of USA Marketing.

It takes quite abit of work to sift through all the crap to find any piece of truth and when you do - its probably something you already know.

 

[GreyWolf]

Welcome in the spirit of freedom. Yup, you are rught. Scn is social engineering at it's worst.