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What to do if you decide to leave Scientology

Ladybird

Silver Meritorious Patron
Did you leave it in CoS, did they give it to you or to your representative, did they shred it and gave you a statement about that, or what happened?

They do not give you your folders. Even if they did all the data is in the "INCOMM" system. Every single thing you ever said in session or as a part of an ethics handling or you wrote in your life history form or an O/W write-up; all of it is not private like the cult promised.

The cult seems to have figured out that attacking ex-members is not such a good idea but they still do it to high profile critics. It is just ridiculous for them to do so, it proves all the things critics have been saying for years about "Fair Game" is true.
 

Sis O' Sign

Patron with Honors
They do not give you your folders. Even if they did all the data is in the "INCOMM" system. Every single thing you ever said in session or as a part of an ethics handling or you wrote in your life history form or an O/W write-up; all of it is not private like the cult promised.
:omg:

Isn't it illegal to keep such sensitive data????? I suppose it should be so, no?
 

Freeminds

Bitter defrocked apostate
Young, staff/SO and miserable?

Dear lurker,

If you're reading this, perhaps you've started to see Scientology for the scam that it is, and you want out.

One of the things I hear all too often from the recently 'out' is how difficult they found it to leave. After all... where would you go? You've got next to no money, and no real chance of getting any. $50 a week doesn't permit savings.

Some people are lucky, and have friends or relatives on the outside who will give them a home while they get something permanent sorted out... but what if you don't? I've been pondering this for some time. I am certain that there are dozens if not hundreds of young people, children who have been given up to the cult by their Scientology victim parents, who want out.

And then I thought: seasonal work.

Sign up to work in a ski chalet, or a summer camp, or as an English teacher. Loads of companies hire young people to look after holidaymakers. You don't have to be on the run from Scientology for it to be a great opportunity to broaden your horizons... but think about this:

There is a huge variety of jobs to be done. And let's be honest... it's hard work. Which is why I thought of staffers and the Sea Org. Because you could work half as hard as the Scientology cult demands, and you'd be employee of the month. And you'd be helping people, doing genuine work aimed at keeping people safe, and comfortable. Nothing to do with fundraising or recruitment, for a change!

Seriously: if I owned a summer camp or a ski chalet, I'd be delighted to have a former Scientology victim working in it. I know I'd get an absolute bargain.

You don't need qualifications - most people who do seasonal work are still students anyway - and seasonal work is part work, part holiday. Most importantly, you get AWAY. You go somewhere nobody knows you, and where there won't be an org. You don't have to tell anybody where you're going. Just get away, settle into the new job, and think things over.

If I was young, and on staff (or SO) and rightly horrified at what Scientology has become, I'd set myself up with some seasonal work... and have at least half a year to myself. After all, what could possibly be wrong with seeing how the wider world works for a while? You can always resume your Bridge later, if you want to... (and how's that working out for you, by the way?) but you deserve a chance to see the world and make an informed decision about your future.

In the UK, I'd be looking at http://www.seasonworkers.com/

Elsewhere, there are equivalents.

You don't have to route out, because this doesn't have to mean you're 'blowing'. But why not take a chance of a working holiday? You deserve one. You know you do... and it'll recharge your spiritual batteries as well as your finances. Afterwards... who knows? But if Scientology is so amazing, why won't it still be around for you to resume, next year, when you've grown as a person?

Best of luck.
 
:omg:

Isn't it illegal to keep such sensitive data????? I suppose it should be so, no?

Why would it be illegal? The data was 'freely' entrusted to the Co$ for 'religious purposes'. :yes:

In the u.s. the government does not typically interfere in matters which arise between a religious institution & its parishioners. Dissatisfaction alone is insufficient in the absence of definitive evidence of active criminality. In order to establish criminality there are standards of evidence which must be met. What 'everybody knows' is not adequate. Thus the need for greater cooperation between former members with direct knowledge of criminal activities undertaken by the church and investigative agencies.

Unfortunately, those with direct knowledge are typically complicit and often are reticent to cooperate fully with authorities, either for fear of prosecution, or for fear of being targeted by the Co$ as 'fair game'.


Mark A. Baker
 

Clarence Rockaway

Patron with Honors
Re: More information on leaving with your funds on account - Repayment

If you would like to read how I received a large repayment in 2010, please visit my blog at:

http://repaymentangel.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-i-received-large-repayment-from.html
A poem for those contemplating leaving the Sea of Ass, but haven't taken that last step. Marvin...An auger from entrails of fish.... Foretold 'Now comes what we all wish'...But lo, the forecast soon was blunted....There came in fact what no one wanted...Marvin falling into a pit...Dug up by some obnoxious twit....But pits we're told only receive... The digger digging to deceive.... This rule it's found upon refl:coolwink:ection,...Is rampant with its odd exception...And Marvin like a faithful son....His UTMOST he had surely done...Yet his INNERMOST upon review....He was in fact supposed to do. Reuben Hart
 

DagwoodGum

Squirreling Dervish
What worked for me was simply ceasing to participate and telling them I was broke. They leave you alone if they think you're out of money.
The final hurdle was getting them to quit mailing me wheelbarrows full of promo. I had read an HCOB when I was on staff about never letting anyone ask off the mailing list UNLESS they threaten legal action and/or threaten to embarrass Scientology in the press. I wrote them a letter based upon that HCOB and never heard from them again! My next step was I would start trying to get them to give ME money but it never came to that. They don't want you, just what's left of your mind, time and money. Once you lead them to believe you have none of these they lose any and all interest in you and you've attained spiritual freedom at last...
 
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Miss Ellie

Miss Ellie
I was lucky... I turned 18, graduated from high school, had a job... I got my own apartment & moved out from my Mom who was an "innie".

I just never made a big statement of "outness" ... then I got caught up in a "scandle" of sorts where I had lots of info of bad things that had been done to COS by some Scio-bots. It was better than bad breath! They left me the hell alone.

That was.... OMG 38 years ago. But the effects of "the life" stayed with me due to family staying in for a lot longer. Now we are all "outies" & many old friends are also "outies" or "almost outies".

I wish as a kid I had stood up more but that was then.

If you are thinking about getting out... take a big step forward & JUMP! There are more folks than you know that will help catch you. Don't look back, don't worry about the future... there is no future with them.

Go have an ice-cream cone & enjoy the rest of your life.

:happydance:
 

uniquemand

Unbeliever
Hello. This subject is one near and dear to me, because I left abruptly, without any preparation, and made a mess of all my family connections, work connections. Luckily I had some place to go.

1) DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR SPOUSE, if you have one. You may be surprised that they would understand. You have nothing to fear except the inevitable non-enturbulation order, and eventual declare, and perhaps a slewe of knowledge reports. Don't worry about these, they are inevitably going to occur anyway, or it's best to operate as though you understood this was likely. They will be used against you. If you fail to communicate with your spouse, your family, and your friends, you may regret it later, when you cannot communicate with them any more because they close their doors to you. The only time I wouldn't do this is if you are concerned for your safety or autonomy, in which case get out at your earliest convenience and alert your family outside, or if you don't have any, I think many people (including me) would be willing to put you up in an emergency while you sorted things out. DO NOT FEAR LOSING YOUR FAMILY: it has already happened, if they won't come with you. Instead, realize that you may be able to live freely and happily with some or all of your family if you communicate with them. If you don't, realize they will be encouraged to close ranks against you.

2) If you work with scientologists, realize that your job will be likely threatened or lost if you leave. Prepare for this. Spiff up your resume. Start shopping it around about a month before you go. Don't worry about what sort of job you'll get, too much. Take something solid that allows you to pay your bills and live independently of any supports in the Church. Consider writing to someone on this forum and asking for their help finding a good job. This is a huge network, and someone here probably knows someone near you that is hiring. It's worth a shot, and people who post here will understand the extremity or difficulties you face.

3) Realize that you are not the only person ever to have trod the path out of the Church. If you have questions, realize that probably 90% of the people who have ever been involved with Scientology are no longer involved with the Church. You are not alone. I, for one, understand what you are going through. Some here understand even better. I was only on staff two years, very young. Some here have left after 35 years or more involved, with their whole lives revolving around the Church. Don't be shy about asking people what their successful actions were, and what troubles they faced.

4) If you consider that the Tech is worth keeping, realize that you don't have to stay in the Church to have access to it. I'm not promoting the FreeZone, here, but I do think it's important for people concerned about "loss of Bridge" issues that these issues have been addressed outside the Church. If you don't give a hoot about the Tech, and you just want to be free, don't sweat that last. The FreeZone was incredibly helpful to me when I left the Church. I learned more about scientology through these people than I ever knew in the Church, because the secrets are bared, and the prices people charge are subject to market pressures, unlike in the fiat monopoly in the Church. I then decided I wasn't a scientologist, but not everyone makes that decision, and I respect people who decide that they remain scientologists, although they have left the Church.

5) DO NOT PAY ANY FREELOADER DEBT. This flows power to an organization undeserving of it. You will need your money in your new life. F/L debts don't hold up in court. The debt is not real. You don't owe the Church anything if you've been working for them. Very likely, they actually didn't deliver the services or training you wanted or needed, anyway, and perhaps inflated the costs of offering you the service. I paid my freeloader debt. I was a damned fool to do so.

6) KEEP ANY CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE CHURCH. Sometimes they slip up and say stupid things. Sometimes you are facing a divorce, as I was, and the documents that IJC sent me would have been very helpful in establishing a mental cruelty charge and increasing my access to my children, perhaps obtaining full custody instead of losing it. Declares are hard to come by, these days, and the actual physical order that you are declared is quite a collectors item. If you never need that correspondence, great, no harm done. If you do, but have thrown away something because it upset you or you didn't think you'd ever take action on it, you'll kick yourself.

7) If you feel the Church defrauded you or abused you, consider suing them. While you may feel that Scientology always wins every case, take it from me, and others here, that this is not only not true, its completely false. They lose cases quite frequently, although many times settlements are obtained instead of court victories. If they told you you'd be able to levitate an ashtray, and you did the drills and paid your fees, and you can't levitate an ashtray, I'd say they both lied to you and took your money from you. Generalize that to any claims of Dianetics or Scientology services that were used to sell you on exorbitantly priced services that almost never deliver what was promised. You have a right to hold them accountable for this. This last I reserve for the feisty. It requires a willingness to fight, a little bit of resourcefulness getting lawyered up, but it is a tremendous moral victory if you do win, and lays stronger and stronger precedents with each person to do so. However, realize that the Church is structured to be a bit of a tar baby. They exist to fight with enemies real or imagined. The reason I encourage people to fight them, now (if they want to), although I've advocated against it in the past, is that critical mass has been achieved. The Church is overwhelmed fighting on more fronts than they can manage, and losing on all of them. Now is a time when you can pile on without much concern about their nasty tactics, as the people willing to employ them are getting caught on camera and put on youtube now, and what was once cloak and dagger is now just another chance to put the abuse on record.


I hope some of the above will be helpful to someone considering leaving. I stand by my words, by the way. My hope for this thread is that people will ONLY post responses of what they are willing to do to help people considering leaving. For myself, I will be willing to talk on the phone, email, and potentially take a single person in. If you have a college degree, I can help you get a job. If you don't, I can help you get on your feet with internet and phone access, food and lodging, temporarily, while you figure it out.

*BUMP for the NOOBS*
 

crm1978

Patron with Honors
The freeloader bill for staff is so poor exchange they get you to work like a sweatshop slave for so little money often for years then have the nerve to send you a bill after you do all that work .The freeloader bill is yet another way the cult controls and exploits it's staff and public and is proof that Cof$ is all about the money.
 

Demented LRH

Patron Meritorious
Let's say you are planning to leave Sea Org but want to remain in good standing with the church because of your relatives who are Scientologists. There are 3 ways of leaving the cult behind:

1. Go through the regular routing procedure which requires sec checks; this shit could go on for several months. During this time you will not be permitted to eat the Sea Org food; you will be spending money out of your pocket, as my friend did.

2. Write a KR on yourself saying that you took an LSD trip yesterday. You will be kicked out of Sea Org next day (I used this approach, it works perfectly).

You will not be disconnected from your family and Scientology friends.

None of my family members is a Scientologist, but I did not want to blow because I wanted to move my ass up the Bridge (I went through Purification Rundown after my departure from Sea Org, but I made no progress on the Bridge because I was too busy advancing my real-life career).

3. Write a KR on yourself saying that you had undergone a psychiatric treatment prior to your Scientology involvement (this approach won't work if you are a 2-nd generation Scientologist).

They might ask you why you joined Sea Org on the first place. Tell them that you were not informed that people like you are not eligible for the Sea Org service (this method of departure worked perfectly for my friend).
You will be booted out next day, but you will remain in good standing with CoS.

Once you are out, you can stop taking Scientology courses if you wish; if they try to sell you a course, tell them that you don't have money, and they will back off.

Oddly enough, after I left Sea Org no one raised the issue of free loader debt. I think that they want former Sea Org members who did not blow to spend plenty $$$ on Scientology courses, so they do not antagonize ex-memebrs with the debt thing.
 

NoName

A Girl Has No Name
Aren't suicide attemts effective ways of getting offloaded too? I heard someone got offloaded after she drank bleach and asked to be taken to a hospital. I'm not advocating a serious attempt or actually drinking bleach - maybe just spilling a bit of it on your shirt and claiming you drank some.

Don't try any drain cleaner. That shit will melt your skin and I don't want anyone to actually get hurt by faking a suicide attempt.
 

Gadfly

Crusader
I routed out of the Sea Org three different times. It isn't easy, and then put great amopunts of pressure on you, but as long as you persist and DON'T TALK ABOUT IT TO ANYONE (thus violating HCO PL Leaving & Leaves), you will do just fine.

Then once out, get an answering machine, and never call them back. If you have money and are a potential source of income, they WILL bother you. You need to figure out how to tactfully blow them off. If you tell them the truth about what you think, and thus "verbally disagree with any aspect of Scientology", you will open the door to justice actions (and eventual SP declare).

The ONLY way that you ever get declared is if you 1) remain connected to an already declared SP, or 2) disagree verbally or in writing with anybody about any aspect of Scientology.

Hubbard makes it clear in policy that "if you don't cause us any trouble, then we won't cause you any trouble". That is pretty much followed. For example, once any critic STOPS criticizing Hubbard or Scientology, they do forget all about you (as a target of attacks and handlings).

They don't get you or even go after you for "doing nothing". They only get after you if your actions harm or have the potential to harm Scientology. Protecting Scientololgy is a very senior goal in the whole paradigm.
 

Demented LRH

Patron Meritorious
I might be wrong about this, but I was told that OSA do not go after the people who post anti-Scientology data on the Internet. You must do substantial damage to the cult by participating in anti-CoS demonstrations, giving lectures about Scientology at the collages and giving interviews about the cult to get their attention.

If none of your relatives is a Scientologist, having an SP declare could be fun. I'm still waiting for my SP declare but it does not look like I will get it any time soon :biggrin:
 

Gadfly

Crusader
I might be wrong about this, but I was told that OSA do not go after the people who post anti-Scientology data on the Internet. You must do substantial damage to the cult by participating in anti-CoS demonstrations, giving lectures about Scientology at the collages and giving interviews about the cult to get their attention.

If none of your relatives is a Scientologist, having an SP declare could be fun. I'm still waiting for my SP declare but it does not look like I will get it any time soon :biggrin:

Posting on a web site is not the same as creating a web site. People have been attacked, and the subject of OSA Covert Ops in an attempt to shut down critical web sites. They have succeeded in some cases (and have not in other cases).

It starts with exaggerated C&D (Cease & Desist) letters from Moxon and Kobrin, and will continue on into covert black ops campaigns if one refuses to close the site. Apparently OSA gives up on some after awhile, if they fail to get what they want in shutting down the site.

I think that these days, there are SO MANY critical sites about Hubbard & Scientology, attacking the subjects from so many different angles, that their previous aims to shut them down must have changed. Simply, no amount of money, staff, volunteers and sneaky campaigns can TODAY silence the ever-increasing criticism.
 

Mick Wenlock

Admin Emeritus (retired)
I might be wrong about this, but I was told that OSA do not go after the people who post anti-Scientology data on the Internet. You must do substantial damage to the cult by participating in anti-CoS demonstrations, giving lectures about Scientology at the collages and giving interviews about the cult to get their attention.

If none of your relatives is a Scientologist, having an SP declare could be fun. I'm still waiting for my SP declare but it does not look like I will get it any time soon :biggrin:

It depends on what you post and who you are and what your connections are. If what you post is perceived of as a threat then they will harass you. If you have family still in they will definitely harass you.
 

Man de la Mancha

Patron with Honors
The ONLY way that you ever get declared is if you 1) remain connected to an already declared SP, or 2) disagree verbally or in writing with anybody about any aspect of Scientology.

What if a student or PC wrote a letter to the C/S about perceived technical contradictions and ambiguities in order that they might be harmlessly resolved. Would the C/S write a KR for that? Would the person be declared for suggesting that, in the millions of words LRH wrote, there might be a few imperfections?
 

Gadfly

Crusader
What if a student or PC wrote a letter to the C/S about perceived technical contradictions and ambiguities in order that they might be harmlessly resolved. Would the C/S write a KR for that? Would the person be declared for suggesting that, in the millions of words LRH wrote, there might be a few imperfections?

They will send you to Qual for handling first. To sort out YOUR confusion or misunderstanding.

There were times when I was in, even in the Sea Org, when I told really critical things to my auditor, BUT, as long as I didn't spread it around, and cause any upset with others, NOBODY CARED. They sort of view it as "case" - which you are NEVER to discuss out of session.

I am pretty sure that you could THINK that David Miscavige was a total asswipe, tell your auditor and write it up on KRs on "proper channels", BUT if you never told anybody else, didn't "spread rumors" and bring about dissent in OTHERS, and as long as you continued to play along nice, they wouldn't do anything.

The ONLY time people get in trouble is when they write KRs to LOTS of people, and/or TELL friends about what they see wrong with Hubbard or Scientology. If you keep it to yourself (and your auditor, MAA, etc.), and don't make waves, it seems that nothing is ever done. That sort of compromising of ones own reality is a learned behavior for Scientologists. You MUST suppress what you see as faults, or just be plain stupid and/or blind, because so many of the faults are so painfully obvious.

Hubbard says somewhere that the only crime in this universe is "to be there and communicate". Well, if you do THAT and communicate openly about faults and flaws of Hubbard or Scientology, you will find out just how much of a crime they really consider it to be!!!! :yes:

I wrote KRs about various things I noticed that were fucked in the Church of Scientology, and I was called into the MAA for "handling". When I persisted, told other people, and wouldn't back down, and after others wrote KRs on me for enturbulating them with my "entheta" facts, THEN it was time for the Comm Ev (Kangaroo Court) and SP Declare.

As an earlier example, back in about 1979, I told a few people that Hubbard's signature on SO #1 letters was a "rubber stamp". Somebody wrote a KR about it. I was asked about it in a Sec Check on Flag by Cl XII auditor Minty Alexander - who did you tell, who told you, blah-blah-blah. In the end, I wrote it up, and agreed not to tell others what I thought, and that was the end of it. But, if I had decided to "tell others" and "spread rumors" (whether true or not), I would have hit with heavy ethics and justice actions.

I think you can look at any of the various people who have protested actions of the Church of Scientology, such as the McClaughry's pointing out that 6-month checks for OT VIIs are additives and non-LRH, and they ONLY got declared because they made noise about it to others. They were bringing out upset and mutiny (which is NOT tolerated in Scientology).

Generally, just writing a KR on perceived faults in Scientology or Hubbard is NOT enough. You have to initiate dissent and rebellion in OTHERS too. And, as long as you keep paying money, doing services and "helping the cause" otherwise, they don't give a shit what you "really think". It comes down to two things:

1. Do you help Scientology?

2. Do you hurt Scientology?


There are no other criteria for determining "rightness" or "wrongness" in Hubbard's Church of Scientology. Every ethics formula ever done MUST take into account the "greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics", and THAT must ALWAYS take into account these two things mentioned just above - because to them, Scientology is the most important and vital activity on the planet. To them. Scientology underlies EVERYTHING else, and the future of everything else depends solely on what I, we or they do with Scientology NOW!!!!!!!! :happydance: :happydance: :happydance:

Yep, it is NUTS, and THAT is Scientology. :ohmy:
 
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