Welcome to the board Rebned! What an interesting topic. One thing I have to say about scientologists is that we were for the most part curious and hardworking folks.
Here are some posts I wrote 2 and 3 years ago regarding how to help people trying to get their lives together after scientology.
I hope it will be of some help to the many who are getting out now.
By: Ladybird
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 3883
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:07 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lulbelle wrote:
If you/ve spent your whole life being a Scientology auditor and you are now old and off staff and not able to audit any more, what do you do?
Ladybird wrote:
This is so true, Lulubelle. Unfortunately, "old" in scientology is actually pretty young. I would guess that Doug Long would have been in his late 40's now, he was much younger than me. He probably got in scientology in his late teens/ early 20's, like most of us, because that age group is scientology's main target and he was a dedicated and well respected Sea Org member for almost all of his adult life.
"What do you do?" is a very difficult question. Whether you are declared, provisionally declared, fitness boarded/offloaded, blow or you route out by the book, either way you are cut off abruptly from all your friends and family, and all the certificates and awards you thought meant so much are worthless in the real world.
Starting over is so hard, especially if you are alone. There is no where to go if you have burnt all your bridges to your non-scientology family and friends through disconnection and neglect, and your scientology family and friends are not allowed to talk to or help you. Your only potential friends who really understand are those who are in the same situation you find yourself, but you have been told over and over stories about them being squirrels and SPs and you are afraid to trust them, even though the same stories are being spread about you now that you have left. They are afraid to trust you, too.
It is not easy to jump back in to the job market when you are 50 or so years old, and all your peers have college degrees and decades of experience. It is humbling to realize you have to scramble for an entry level job. It can make everything you were told by the cult seem true...but in reality, if you can shove aside the black PRand invalidation, even working for McDonalds flipping burgers you will make more in a week than you made in a year on the RPF, you will have time for yourself to go to school or just have fun, and you will be treated fairly and with respect. You just have to get over Hubbard and DM whispering in your ear that you are a loser because you are not clearing the planet by kissing their asses anymore. They aren't clearing the planet either!!!!
The only "bank" they are clearing is the bank accounts of their deluded adherents (parishioners) and they are laughing behind our backs all the way to the cults bank in "Bulgravia".
Scientology is a scam, plain and simple.
In my experience, ex Sea Org are some of the most honest, hardworking and sincere people I ever met. We do well, even in the most menial jobs in the wog world, and our efforts do not go un-noticed. Even if you have to start out at the entry level, good workers and excellence are rewarded in the wog world, and you will move up quickly. Alot of what we learned in the dog-eat-dog world of the sea org is very useful in real life. We are graduates of the "Lord of the Flies" school of politics. If you just stop and look and listen you will see what is going on around you.
I wrote some posts on how to get back on your feet financially after scientology, and here is a thread with some good advice:
http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=13357&postorder=asc&highlight=jobs
Please read this thread! Here is one of my posts from it:
Ladybird wrote:
Programmer Guy, I am reviving this thread as you brought up a very good point about how Sea org who have been in for years can "get it together" so to speak. How do you go from nothing at age 40 after decades in a cult?
This thread has a LOT of good ideas for people in that situation.
(I want to note that my nick of "Ladybird" was defaulted to my user name of "Tammy" during the board update, so I am "Tammy" on this thread.)
Also, I will repost here some things I (Ladybird aka Tammy) wrote to Chuck anonymously when he first asked for help:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted March 6, 2005 by Chuck Beatty:
...<snip>...
Anonymous (Ladybird) answered me the following:
GOOD TIPS
Quote:
When I 1st left, I got jobs doing things I knew about, Call-In
translated to selling professional magazines on the phone, things like
"Agricultural Parts Trader", ""Airplane Exchange", Construction
Industry Magazine, etc. Telemarketers are always hiring, and it is not
a great job, but beats the hell out of selling a scam and there is no
Thursday at 2 to worry about! I also got my real estate license, takes
about 6 weeks and often the training is free through one of the large
brokers, and anything in sales kind of relates to regging. I also sold
Encyclopedias and learning materials to schools and churches, and
magazines door to door. Then I decided to go back to college, and found
there are many programs to help adults go back to college, whether for
a degree or certificate.
I STRONGLY recommend staying away from "Trade Schools", on-line
certificate programs, etc. Most are scams, and there was a recent "60
Minutes" show on CBS about this. I also read recently that some of the
largest, ( CEC, Smartcertify, etc.) are associated with WISE, and Jerry
DYAS (OT 8 from Clearwater) is one of the owners. Their certs are
essentially worthless in getting a job, all you end up with is a huge
student loan debt.
That said, the way to go is to enroll in your local community
college and apply for financial aide. After working for $scn for years,
you definitely qualify! I got Pell grants, State grants, and took out
student loans. While attending school full time, I got a part-time job
as a bartender/waiter in a nice supper club. I usually made 200 to 300
dollars a night working only Friday and Saturday. I doubled up on
classes and did summer school and winter breaks for extra credit, and
graduated in just less than 2 years. I saved money by living in a
really cheap mobile home, hell I was never there anyway, and it was
MUCH nicer than staff berthing!!! I started applying for jobs 6 months
before graduation, and landed a really good one that I started right
away while still a student. I continued part time in University even
after graduating Community College to get promoted at work.
Also, I used my knowledge of real estate to buy a crappy house in
a decent neighborhood using a government backed FHA loan. I lived there
for 2 years, fixed it up, and made enough to buy a better house, and
did the same thing. So in just a few years after leaving $cn, I was
making 70K a year salary, sold 2 houses and bought a third, paid off my
student loans and had enough money to pay off my "freeloader debt".
THANK GOD for the Internet!!!!! And A big Thanks to all the
critics who put the truth about $cn out there! I did not give one thin
dime to $cn for my "freeloader" debt, and never will, even though now I could buy the whole
"bridge" if I wanted to. (What bridge? There is no bridge!) The only
thing I have to thank the Sea Org for is teaching me to work like a dog
and live on almost nothing. Oh, and thank you very much for declaring
me an SP!
Anonymous(Ladybird)
------------------------
Another suggestion to ex-Sea Org from another ex-Sea Org member:
Coming out of the SO after years can be really scary. I remember
one of my juniors who had been in for decades, he was in tears because
his wife got pregnant and they were being sent to a Class V org. He was
a tough guy, had been a CO and held many exec positions since the days
when LRH was still around. But he was absolutely terrified of having to
go out in the wog world and pay rent and buy his own food, etc., as he
had been in the SO since he was a teen and had never had a "real" job.
I felt the same way after years of indoctrination. They came back to
the Sea Org years later, not looking happy or healthy at all.
When I finally left, I read about health care being one of the
fastest growing job markets due to the baby boom generation getting to
retirement age. There are a lot of great opportunities in geriatrics.
If I were coming out of the SO now, with my 500 dollars severance pay
and no work history, I would go to work at a Nursing Home. They are
ALWAYS hiring. They have on the job training so you can get a CNA.
(Certified Nurse Assistant Certificate.) Once you have that, you can go
to work at a hospital, they hire CNAs all the time. Check if a hospital
in your area has a tuition reimbursement program. You can start as a
CNA or a monitor technician or a unit clerk. Often training is
provided. Check with the Human Resources Dept., they usually have a job
board with the requirements listed. Once you are hired and have a few
months of good production, apply for training as an RN. Several
hospitals in my area have programs where you work 20 hours but get full
time pay and benefits to attend Nursing School. (There is a nationwide
shortage of Nurses.) You just have sign a contract promising to work
for them for a few years after you graduate. (usually 2 years). RNs
average over 25/hr, much more if you specialize. (ER, ICU, Surgery,
Life Flight, etc.)
Not every employee is chosen, you have to be special, but if you
were able to survive and move up the ranks in the insane world of the
SO, you ARE special. The real world is so much more sane than the SO,
especially if you were an exec. There are rules and laws and justice
that are actually applied. You get paid for your work, and you have
security and benefits. Plus, you can really help people, and isn't
that why we joined the Sea Org in the 1st Place?
An Ex-SO (Ladybird)