Other Practices

[Claire Swazey]

When I was in CofS, as we all know, there were the prohibitions against "Other practices". While some of it was obvious, it did seem open to varying interpretations. I bet if you asked 5 staff members about something, you'd get at least 3 different answers.

In any event, I did know that you couldn't do all kinds of stuff if you were doing Scn. I also noticed that some people had that kind of conjoined in their heads with mixing methods. In any event, if it isn't just 100% Hubbardism, one is not supposed to.

Part of the fun of being out and away from all that is being able to try things that were previously forbidden.

I'm interested in astrology. My Dad used to be really really into it. I think there is some truth to it.

I've found out that meditation does not introvert or fuck a person up, as Hubbard claimed. I really like it.

Buddhism- IMO- better than my experience with Scn and Dn.

I've been interested in yoga quite a while. Some time back (two different stints) I was doing Bikram yoga. Well, that's, well, hot as FUCK. Literally. The room is about 100 degrees- even 105 sometimes, and it's 90 solid minutes in the heat. 26 poses (asanas) and it's intense. I found it excellent exercise but I never ever got the serenity one is supposed to feel. Yoga is not just stretching, etc. It is supposed to be part of a bigger practice that involves spirituality. I know there are people who only use it as a workout and that's totally fine. But still, there is a sense of serenity that can be had. So anyway, I recently started doing yoga again. Regular yoga. Not hot or Bikram*. Man, it's great. I think is wonderful. And I did have some catharsis and serene feelings. Plus, man, it stretches and tones as well. Very healthy.

I saw a new age practitioner a while back who read my tarot cards. I liked her. I've arranged to see her next week for a counselling session. Could I have done that when in CofS? No. Imagine the ethics sessions!

I downloaded some books on ayurvedic medicine and shamanism and Buddhism on my Kindle. I recently read a book on the Australian aboriginal dream time. Ok, CofS doesn't prohibit one from reading a book, but, still, if some trigger happy staff member thought a person was reading something so they could try out doing magic, imagine the shitstorm.

I'm not sure what else I'll get into as time passes. Hell, I don't want to know now since I like the idea of a very elastic mutable future. But one thing that is for certain, I don't have anyone hanging over my neck waiting to KR me or something and the options are just wiiiide open.

So anybody got a neat experience with other stuffies?






*footnote:

Bikram yoga is trademarked and all that. The eponymous Bikram has sued people who started spin offs. He does do a cult leader type thang. Very opinionated guy. So that's why you see "hot yoga" studios and "Bikram yoga" ones. The former have to brand their stuff that way so that Bikram doesn't come after them.

 

[Purple Rain]

When I was in CofS, as we all know, there were the prohibitions against "Other practices". While some of it was obvious, it did seem open to varying interpretations. I bet if you asked 5 staff members about something, you'd get at least 3 different answers.

In any event, I did know that you couldn't do all kinds of stuff if you were doing Scn. I also noticed that some people had that kind of conjoined in their heads with mixing methods. In any event, if it isn't just 100% Hubbardism, one is not supposed to.

Part of the fun of being out and away from all that is being able to try things that were previously forbidden.

I'm interested in astrology. My Dad used to be really really into it. I think there is some truth to it.

I've found out that meditation does not introvert or fuck a person up, as Hubbard claimed. I really like it.

Buddhism- IMO- better than my experience with Scn and Dn.

I've been interested in yoga quite a while. Some time back (two different stints) I was doing Bikram yoga. Well, that's, well, hot as FUCK. Literally. The room is about 100 degrees- even 105 sometimes, and it's 90 solid minutes in the heat. 26 poses (asanas) and it's intense. I found it excellent exercise but I never ever got the serenity one is supposed to feel. Yoga is not just stretching, etc. It is supposed to be part of a bigger practice that involves spirituality. I know there are people who only use it as a workout and that's totally fine. But still, there is a sense of serenity that can be had. So anyway, I recently started doing yoga again. Regular yoga. Not hot or Bikram*. Man, it's great. I think is wonderful. And I did have some catharsis and serene feelings. Plus, man, it stretches and tones as well. Very healthy.

I saw a new age practitioner a while back who read my tarot cards. I liked her. I've arranged to see her next week for a counselling session. Could I have done that when in CofS? No. Imagine the ethics sessions!

I downloaded some books on ayurvedic medicine and shamanism and Buddhism on my Kindle. I recently read a book on the Australian aboriginal dream time. Ok, CofS doesn't prohibit one from reading a book, but, still, if some trigger happy staff member thought a person was reading something so they could try out doing magic, imagine the shitstorm.

I'm not sure what else I'll get into as time passes. Hell, I don't want to know now since I like the idea of a very elastic mutable future. But one thing that is for certain, I don't have anyone hanging over my neck waiting to KR me or something and the options are just wiiiide open.

So anybody got a neat experience with other stuffies?






*footnote:

Bikram yoga is trademarked and all that. The eponymous Bikram has sued people who started spin offs. He does do a cult leader type thang. Very opinionated guy. So that's why you see "hot yoga" studios and "Bikram yoga" ones. The former have to brand their stuff that way so that Bikram doesn't come after them.

I've always been drawn to that kind of stuff - partly because it was forbidden - firstly by Christianity, then by Scientology, then because my boyfriend disapproved so much of that moonbatty stuff. So, like, he just wouldn't go out with a Christian girl, although he has Christian friends and so forth. So now I am really interested in astrology and tarot. I guess like with Christianity and Scientology I half believe it and half don't. If I didn't believe it at all, I wouldn't do it, but in the minutiae it can often be wrong although there does seem to be something that always resonates with me about it in a broader sense. For instance, if I was expecting a yes/no response from a tarot card I would take it with a grain of salt, but it still amazes me how you can look at a Celtic cross and see your own perceptions about yourself and the forces acting in your life spread out before you.

And the same with astrology. On a day to day level I find it unreliable to the extent of just being plain wrong, but when you look at personality traits and so forth - particularly with all the planets involved - then it seems amazingly descriptive to me.

 

[Spirit]

Had some fun with biocircuits. Did some experimenting and increased the energy flow at least 10x. Produced a balanced energy field and frequent exteriorzations.