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I went to the London Scientology centre today to see what it was like......

ToeOut83

Patron
Damn! Hit the 'Enter' button prematurely.

There IS NO WAY TO DISCONNECT from the registrar politely, without registering. Every reason or excuse will be met with a seemingly-reasonable response. BE PREPARED TO BE RUDE if (when) you find this happening.

Seriously. The English, and especially Londoners, have a reputation for being polite (that's a compliment, if you're wondering)---$cientology registrars use courtesy as a tool to manipulate you, and will not give you a polite way to leave during a "registration cycle".

My personal advice is, don't go inside a $cientology Org (church) unless you are prepared to BE RUDE when (not "if") necessary: Be prepared to say, "I'm done here!" and mean it, and turn your back on someone talking to you and walk out of the building even though they're calling "polite and reasonable" questions to you as you leave. If you stop to answer, --they've hooked you back into their well-rehearsed protocol for registering you. No matter how well-reasoned or logical your answer, they'll have a 'reasonable' response that will keep you engaged.

Again: if you are not prepared to be rude when the time comes--and it probably will--then you have no business going into any $cn Org/church/mission. If you take a friend, be sure your friend is prepared to follow your lead and leave with you.
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
There WAS a well-scripted patter. Registrars drill on sales techniques EVERY DAY. Registrars with years of experience have seen every objection, and have trained themselves to have a counter for everything. They are either smooth and efficient at getting the sale, or they are quickly replaced, in a Darwinian process.

They are under siege and I expect they have a siege mentality. Seems DM doesn't trust newbies and Scientology culture is a cloning of the top dog's mindset so they are probably highly conflicted - need raw meet but raw meat is a legal, PR and logistical liability. LRH was much more tactful in navigating this problem. The warm and fuzzy New Age angle is so passé. Fanaticism used to be cultivated but now it is demanded. I think much of the reliance upon slick props like intro videos and display booths that they can use to respond to walk-in's questions don't reflect a technical upgrade or increased sophistication so much as it represents a lack of faith in staff''s ability to smoothly proselytize people any more. Staff used to be more free thinking and nimble on their feet instead of robotically indoctrinated and they are more likely to be brought in from a poorer country because it is so difficult to recruit more educated people now. Colleges used to be their prime hunting grounds but now Scientology is a running joke on campus and the more abundant friendly mission feeder network that set up shops around campuses was decimated decades ago.

The tone of the letters they send out has changed. It isn't so much "Come in for a free Dianetics co-audit" anymore as much as it is "Why you no like me esé?"
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
It should probably be SOP to post a link to info about the Dissemination Drill on these kinds of threads where someone is planning to visit an org. I couldn’t find a copy of the policy online but I found these references. The 1965 original is in the old Green Vols on page 112 and it looks like there was a revision in 1991.

HCOPL 23 October 1965 Dissemination Drill page 112 OEC Volume 6

http://www.xenu-directory.net/scriptures/

HCO PL 23 Oct. 1965
Dissemination Drill
OEC Volume 6 // PUBLIC DIVISION (1991), p. 214 (§ DIVISION 6A // PUBLIC CONTACT DIVISION)
_____

Discussion about this policy often focuses on how they try to find a person’s “ruin” or failing and offer Scientology as a solution but what I find most interesting about this policy is the instructions on “coaching” a person to apply the drill.

The stated purpose is: "To enable a Scientologist to disseminate Scientology effectively to individuals. To enable one to contact, handle, salvage and bring to understanding another being. To prepare a Scientologist so that he won’t be caught “flatfooted” when being attacked or questioned by another”.

This coaching is conducted on an increasing level of difficulty with challenging questions or subjects. People who work in Div. 6 handling raw public may hold these posts for years or decades and they will have trained on these coaching techniques a lot during that time. However, there will be a limit to what they know. Unless a Scientologist has worked in OSA where they have clearance to read about or deal with all the legal and PR situations that we can all find on the internet, they are probably not prepared to deal with the more contentious stuff and if they find themselves getting in too deep then I expect they will show you the door or call OSA or security. Also, this kind of coaching requires personal conviction in the validity of what you are defending and can serve to increase a fundamentalist orientation. If you have reservations and doubts about the coaching question or subject then you are probably not a good candidate for dealing with front lines public and visa versa, if you have no doubts then that staff member is probably a very hard core case.

The Dissemination Drill is designed to “handle” people and route them onto an income generating service, not to represent the Church in Legal or PR or provide access to services for someone who might constitute a threat or liability. So this point of contact isn’t just about proselytizing - it is a culling process.

I expect the threshold for triggering a rejection is very low these days.
 

Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
This is just my tuppence worth, but....I personally found that when I was ready to leave but the registrar was still in the process if trying to register me on a course, s/he has a well-scripted patter (verbal routine) to counter your every reason/excuse to leave: There IS
Indeed. I think that the best way to approach a registrar, when faced with them countering your every reason with a reason why your reason is not a reason, is to simply say "because I've decided I don't want to" followed by insistent "because I've decided "no"". The reason for "no" is cos I say so. No other reason will grant you an escape. It involves that slight awkward moment of mutual discomfort, caused by your refusal to be socially acceptable (which is what you are aiming for). But it will stop the registrar in their tracks. I've used that approach with all kinds of hard-sell salespeople. It's the only thing that works. It's a must that you cause that slightly awkward moment of "ARC break".

Hard sell relies on the fact that most victims will bend over backwards to play by the rules of polite conversation: "I don't want the double-glazing because I've heard that it only lasts 10 years, much less reliable than quadruple glazing". The salesman will prove that that's wrong. You're fucked at that point. You'll buy the product to avoid being impolite. So forget being polite as soon as the hard-sell switches on, and simply state the real reason: "because I said 'no'".

This is also a reason I have no faith in debates as a method of discovering truth. Debates are an educated person's TV. They are just entertainment. Nothing to do with finding truth. Clever logic doesn't produce truth, in my opinion. It just reveals (if you look closely) what assumptions you've made. And nothing else.

If you want to do that in a clever way with a Scientology reg, ask them "have you heard of the concept of prime postulate?" If they have, then that's your reason. You just made one. If they haven't, show it to them in their own tech dictionary. Then tell them, "that's my reason". No further justification.

I'm never polite with sales people. I become VERY honest about what I think when they try to sell to me. Fuck being polite when you're trying to sell me something I don't want. Forcing something on me and trying to bludgeon me into buying it is not polite, smile-and-water-tight-logic or no. So I just return the flow back to them.

Oops - where's my soap box?

W.
 
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Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
They are under siege and I expect they have a siege mentality. Seems DM doesn't trust newbies and Scientology culture is a cloning of the top dog's mindset so they are probably highly conflicted - need raw meet but raw meat is a legal, PR and logistical liability. LRH was much more tactful in navigating this problem. The warm and fuzzy New Age angle is so passé. Fanaticism used to be cultivated but now it is demanded. I think much of the reliance upon slick props like intro videos and display booths that they can use to respond to walk-in's questions don't reflect a technical upgrade or increased sophistication so much as it represents a lack of faith in staff''s ability to smoothly proselytize people any more. Staff used to be more free thinking and nimble on their feet instead of robotically indoctrinated and they are more likely to be brought in from a poorer country because it is so difficult to recruit more educated people now. Colleges used to be their prime hunting grounds but now Scientology is a running joke on campus and the more abundant friendly mission feeder network that set up shops around campuses was decimated decades ago.

The tone of the letters they send out has changed. It isn't so much "Come in for a free Dianetics co-audit" anymore as much as it is "Why you no like me esé?"

When I first worked in Div 6, we did the OCA questionnaire on people and drew their graph. Then we had a hat write-up that we used to explain the graph to them. It was not written by Hubbard - somebody else had figured it out, and the pack was, IIRC correctly, hand-written or typewritten photocopies. It was very good, and quite effective. There were different categories, like a "high D" (the fourth point on the graph, point D, representing 'certainty', was higher than all the others) - you read this by saying "your certainty is high, but you know you are fucked. Then there was the "theetie weetie", a person whose points were ALL in the high range. You read this as being a weak individual with a very thick social veneer, and lots of politeness, all sweetness-and-light. You had to penetrate that social veneer with absolute frankness. Another one was where the beingness section of the graph was all low, but the havingness was all high (IIRC): this was a criminal. There were several standard patterns like these.

The hat write-up worked very effectively. I remember reading a test back to a school pal I had invited into the org. When I saw his results, I didn't think the reading would work on him. But I read it back according to this write-up, and he was immediately 'stuck in his ruin' by it. It worked on others, too.

At some point, the church decided this pack was 'squirrel', and replaced it with the bullshit they probably use to this day, where they just read each point on the graph one-by-one, according to a script (presumably from a bulletin). It doesn't work. ETA: But it certainly follows the trend set by modern large corporations of trusting no-one's judgement, and replacing it with robotic nonsense. Presumably post-GAT auditing is also this way.

Does anyone else remember that old hat write up for the OCA?

W.
 

JackStraw

Silver Meritorious Patron
Indeed. I think that the best way to approach a registrar, when faced with them countering your every reason with a reason why your reason is not a reason, is to simply say "because I've decided I don't want to" followed by insistent "because I've decided "no"". The reason for "no" is cos I say so. No other reason will grant you an escape. It involves that slight awkward moment of mutual discomfort, caused by your refusal to be socially acceptable (which is what you are aiming for). But it will stop the registrar in their tracks. I've used that approach with all kinds of hard-sell salespeople. It's the only thing that works. It's a must that you cause that slightly awkward moment of "ARC break".
And nothing else.

{ snip }
If you want to do that in a clever way with a Scientology reg, ask them "have you heard of the concept of prime postulate?" If they have, then that's your reason. You just made one. If they haven't, show it to them in their own tech dictionary. Then tell them, "that's my reason". No further justification.

I'm never polite with sales people. I become VERY honest about what I think when they try to sell to me. Fuck being polite when you're trying to sell me something I don't want. Forcing something on me and trying to bludgeon me into buying it is not polite, smile-and-water-tight-logic or no. So I just return the flow back to them.

Oops - where's my soap box?

W.

This reminded me of a time when I was on staff at a mission. The staff routinely had 2 1/2 hours study each day.
There was a fairly new guy and he was on the Treas. Sec. full post hat. One of his drills (a special TR) was to stand in front of a mirror and say "No." He had to do this repetitively, "to a major, stable win!":dieslaughing:

Funny, the public don't get to do this drill before seeing the reg.:bignono:

Jack
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
Indeed. I think that the best way to approach a registrar, when faced with them countering your every reason with a reason why your reason is not a reason, is to simply say "because I've decided I don't want to" followed by insistent "because I've decided "no"". The reason for "no" is cos I say so. No other reason will grant you an escape. It involves that slight awkward moment of mutual discomfort, caused by your refusal to be socially acceptable (which is what you are aiming for). But it will stop the registrar in their tracks. I've used that approach with all kinds of hard-sell salespeople. It's the only thing that works. It's a must that you cause that slightly awkward moment of "ARC break".
Or just say no, and when they ask why, just say:

"There are a very limited number of people to whom I may feel the need to explain or justify my decisions.
You are not one of them".


As Wilbur says, they are trained to use politeness against you. So be as rude as you need to be. Be prepared for the possibility of needing to use physical violence. Best approach: don't go in.
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
This reminded me of a time when I was on staff at a mission. The staff routinely had 2 1/2 hours study each day.
There was a fairly new guy and he was on the Treas. Sec. full post hat. One of his drills (a special TR) was to stand in front of a mirror and say "No." He had to do this repetitively, "to a major, stable win!":dieslaughing:

Funny, the public don't get to do this drill before seeing the reg.:bignono:

Jack

Flag Banking Officers did the "No Drill". We need money for TP..."No". That's how that works in case anybody is wondering.
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
Or just say no, and when they ask why, just say:

"There are a very limited number of people to whom I may feel the need to explain or justify my decisions.
You are not one of them".


As Wilbur says, they are trained to use politeness against you. So be as rude as you need to be. Be prepared for the possibility of needing to use physical violence. Best approach: don't go in.

An old horse trader tactic is to be completely rude to the prospect. It seems counter intuitive but a lot of people respond by wanting to prove that they are cool with the low brow and to prove it they will buy what you're selling. Scientologists will use similar shock treatments to break a person's resistive reactive mind routine.
 

strativarius

Inveterate gnashnab & snoutband
Seriously. The English, and especially Londoners, have a reputation for being polite (that's a compliment, if you're wondering)---$cientology registrars use courtesy as a tool to manipulate you, and will not give you a polite way to leave during a "registration cycle". <snip>

Really? That's reassuring. Personally, I thought the rest of the world regarded us as a bunch of abusive beer-swilling lager louts. :)
 

ThetanExterior

Gold Meritorious Patron
Flag Banking Officers did the "No Drill". We need money for TP..."No". That's how that works in case anybody is wondering.

I did that drill as part of the OEC course even though I was public.

The problem with saying "no" to a Scientology reg is he can route you to ethics. My time in Scientology though wasn't completely wasted. I now feel quite comfortable dealing with sales people because, as an ex-Scientologist, I can be more rude than they could possibly expect a normal person to be.

When someone knocks on my door and says with a cheerful smile: "Hello, how are you today?". I just reply: "What do you want?". That breaks their circuit and I can despatch them quickly thereafter.
 

Irayam

Patron with Honors
I now feel quite comfortable dealing with sales people because, as an ex-Scientologist, I can be more rude than they could possibly expect a normal person to be

Well... it's look like a good win!!
Would you like to write a success story?

NO!!!!!

:buzzin::clapping:

Irayam
 

Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
If the registrar is OTVIII, then the handling is easy.

OTVIII Registrar: So you NEED to pay me $300,000 dollars now for your OT package. This will transform you life. With your newly regained OT supernatural abilities you will make back this money ten-fold and...

VICTIM: But you haven't answered my question yet.

OTVIII Registrar: What question?

VICTIM. Thanks. You've answered it now. I guess OTVIII DOESN'T give you telepathic abilities. Now where were we? Oh yes, it's time for me to go home now.

W.
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
I did that drill as part of the OEC course even though I was public. The problem with saying "no" to a Scientology reg is he can route you to ethics.
///

Good point. I've also done the "No" drill. The authority to say "No" per the original purpose of the drill is reserved for those staff who decide what the irreducible amount of money is that is needed to sustain the org without unnecessarily diverting funds that could otherwise be sent to LRH. And even the org's Treasury Secretary and the respective org's Flag Banking Officer are not the final say on this. They are only doing what they are told from above and if they don't squeeze the org enough then they are canned and the next more compliant pawn takes their place.

This is really just about all anyone needs to know about Scientology "Finance Tech".
 

HelluvaHoax!

Platinum Meritorious Sponsor with bells on
.
Good point. I've also done the "No" drill. The authority to say "No" per the original purpose of the drill is reserved for those staff who decide what the irreducible amount of money is that is needed to sustain the org without unnecessarily diverting funds that could otherwise be sent to LRH. And even the org's Treasury Secretary and the respective org's Flag Banking Officer are not the final say on this. They are only doing what they are told from above and if they don't squeeze the org enough then they are canned and the next more compliant pawn takes their place.

This is really just about all anyone needs to know about Scientology "Finance Tech".


LOL

Actually, there is one other thing to know about Scientology Finance Tech. It's an extremely confidential piece of tech--so I'm not surprised you didn't know about it. It is based on an LRH briefing about "validation of upstats" and applying his senior finance policy called "The Bean Theory":


AO STAFF MEMBER
So we have this Hill Ten because we just sold three
complete OT packages and all three are starting today
but our Ideal Org is completely out of toilet paper! And
my CSW for TP was not approved by FP which is a real PTP!

AO TREASURY SEC
I'm going to have to say NO. Besides, this is DevT because you
need to put this on the correct lines in writing.

AO STAFF MEMBER
This is a real emergency because Pete Powers just
laid down $67,000 on his OT Package and he's in
the head right now!

AO TREASURY SEC
The answer is NO.

AO STAFF MEMBER
What do you mean "no"? This is
a total flap! Ron states that purpose
is senior to policy per the OEC and you
just put CI on a PC in the HGC!

AO TREASURY SEC
Read my meat body's MEST lips.
NO!

AO STAFF MEMBER
Then what am I supposed to tell Pete Powers
when he keeps yelling for toilet paper?

AO TREASURY SEC
I don't know. Slide a copy of HCOB "The Supreme
Test of A Being" under the door and tell him to
"make it go right".

AO STAFF MEMBER
This is insanity! How can we collect $ 67,000 from
Pete Powers, a public PC, and then tell him we can't
afford a 49 cent roll of toilet paper?!

AO TREASURY SEC
The answer is still NO.

AO STAFF MEMBER
What about approving just a
few sheets of toilet paper while
Pete's stuck in the head?

AO TREASURY SEC
NO. Not one thin sheet
for water-closet Pete!

AO STAFF MEMBER
What if I were to tell you that
Tom Cruise was in the org today
doing his PDC--and he was just
complaining of stomach somatics
after eating lunch at a Mexican
fast food joint? And what if I said
that he just told the course sup that
he needed to go to the rest room? And
TC's the actual one with the TP PTP?

AO TREASURY SEC
The answer's still NO. Because that's
bullshit! You already told me it's Pete Powers.

AO STAFF MEMBER
That was just a shore story, because it's out
PR for anyone to know that TC's in the WC.

AO TRESURY SEC
Seriously?

AO STAFF MEMBER
Yup. Now what are you going
to do?

AO TREASURY SEC
Well now that you r-factored me on
the data Tom ate Mexican food I am
going to apply Ron's senior finance policy. . .
(he efficiently dials up the
combination of a massive
safe, then uses both hands
to tug the door open)


AO STAFF MEMBER
What finance policy is that?

AO TREASURY SEC
(inside the cavernous safe a light
turns on, highlighting a
lone roll of toilet paper)

It's a confidential HCOPL called
"Messianic Moviestars, Mexican Meals
& The Bean Theory".​
 
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TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
.



LOL

Actually, there is one other thing to know about Scientology Finance Tech. It's an extremely confidential piece of tech--so I'm not surprised you didn't know about it. It is based on an LRH briefing about "validation of upstats" and applying his senior finance policy called "The Bean Theory":


AO STAFF MEMBER
So we have this Hill Ten because we just sold three
complete OT packages and all three are starting today
but our Ideal Org is completely out of toilet paper! And
my CSW for TP was not approved by FP which is a real PTP!

AO TREASURE SEC
I'm going to have to say NO. Besides, this is DevT because you
need to put this on the correct lines in writing.

AO STAFF MEMBER
This is a real emergency because Pete Powers just
laid down $67,000 on his OT Package and he's in
the head right now!

AO TREASURY SEC
The answer is NO.

AO STAFF MEMBER
What do you mean "no"? This is
a total flap! Ron states that purpose
is senior to policy per the OEC and you
just put CI on a PC in the HGC!

AO TREASURY SEC
Read my meat body's MEST lips.
NO!

AO STAFF MEMBER
Then what am I supposed to tell Pete Powers
when he keeps yelling for toilet paper?

AO TREASURY SEC
I don't know. Slide a copy of HCOB "The Supreme
Test of A Being" under the door and tell him to
"make it go right".

AO STAFF MEMBER
This is insanity! How can we collect $ 67,000 from
Pete Powers, a public PC, and then tell him we can't
afford a 49 cent roll of toilet paper?!

AO TREASURY SEC
The answer is still NO.

AO STAFF MEMBER
What about approving just a
few sheets of toilet paper while
Pete's stuck in the head?

AO TREASURY SEC
NO. Not one thin sheet
for water-closet Pete!

AO STAFF MEMBER
What if I were to tell you that
Tom Cruise was in the org today
doing his PDC--and he was just
complaining of stomach somatics
after eating lunch at a Mexican
fast food joint? And what if I said
that he just told the course sup that
he needed to go to the rest room? And
TC's the actual one with the TP PTP?

AO TREASURY SEC
The answer's still NO. Because that's
bullshit! You already told me it's Pete Powers.

AO STAFF MEMBER
That was just a shore story, because it's out
PR for anyone to know that TC's in the WC.

AO TRESURY SEC
Seriously?

AO STAFF MEMBER
Yup. Now what are you going
to do?

AO TREASURY SEC
Well now that you r-factored me on
the data Tom ate Mexican food I am
going to apply Ron's senior finance policy. . .
(he efficiently dials up the
combination of a massive
safe, then uses both hands
to tug the door open)


AO STAFF MEMBER
What finance policy is that?

AO TREASURY SEC
(inside the cavernous safe a light
turns on, highlighting a
lone roll of toilet paper)

It's a confidential HCOPL called
"Messianic Moviestars, Mexican Meals
& The Bean Theory".​

LOL! To be read to the tune of Alice's Restaurant...


TheOriginalBigBlue's Law: "As an online discussion about Scientology grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving TP shortages approaches."
 
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