Not quite sure where to begin

My first encounter with scientology.

I visited the church of scientology in my city, out of pure curiosity and wanting to put across a few questions. I kept polite, interested and heard there opinions on different things.

After hovering around outside for a short while, a member of staff came out of the building and invited me. I was taken up in a lift and givena tour around the office-like church.

I noticed a picture of a smiling John Travlota, and a wall of donations and expensive membership fees.

I heard their extreme views on drugs, psychology and 'degraded people'. The first woman I spoke to had been part of the group since 1989, the second just 96.

I never expected the staring, strange jargon, over friendliness and personality tests with strange devices...but it was all there. Interestingly enough it was the woman who has been a scientolgist since 89 that spoke the strangest.

And she DID speak strangely.

Apparantly the media likes to give scientology a bad name, Scientologists are against the Internet and extremely against the story of Xenu. I mentioned xenu.net being taken off the top of googles links, I didn't get much of a response.

I asked about the different levels of scientology and attaining them, and what you learn at the end...thats when she started speaking against aliens being in scientology. Apparantly it's all about getting to a state of total freedom, I couldn't help thinking after belonging to scientology for decades the last thing you'd be is 'free'.

The younger girl...seemed nice enough. She explained her friends aren't scientologists and she still has many interests outside the religion. I can't help but think she only said this in order to try and put my mind at rest.

Oh, and I almost forgot the worst thing of all. The video I watched. It featured L Ron speaking over easy listening music, clips of people being healed by scientology and wild canned laughter whenever L ron says anything remotely funny.

Actually, the worst thing is that I'm still interested in asking more and I might have another look tommorow...

What do you think? I'm kinda paranoid, I feel as though they've subliminally put something in my mind haha...ridiculous, but just how I feel. They gave me a lot of leaflets, so I'm gonna look through them in a bit.



[This message has been edited by Iskalla (edited 02-03-2007).]

[Hare_Geist]

quote:What do you think? I'm kinda paranoid, I feel as though they've subliminally put something in my mind haha...ridiculous, but just how I feel.

I felt the exact same thing when I read up on them.

Honestly, I recommend staying away from them. They’ll try anything in the book to get you to become a member, and once you are, you’ll have a hell of a hard time leaving, if you ever want to. And they’ll fuck up your life for good.

I’m being honest here, you don’t want to end up dead, do you? Because people have died due to scientologists keeping them against their own freewill and not giving them proper medication.

Whoa, it's funny you should say that. In one of the leaflets I have they kinda speak against painklillers and using medicines when ill.

I just feel as though there's something there that I want to get to the bottom of. I think it'd be best I took your advice though, I think I'd be better off if I stayed way from the 'Sunday Service' tommorow haha. If they've got me curious now, I could end up thinking all sorts tommorow.

They said you can stop learning about scientology whenever you like and just take what you want from it, but I kinda doubt that.



[This message has been edited by Iskalla (edited 02-03-2007).]

[Hare_Geist]

quote:Originally posted by Iskalla:

Whoa, it's funny you should say that. In one of the leaflets I have they kinda speak against painklillers and using medicines when ill.

A girl died because they held her against her will and wouldn't give her proper medication.

They're against psychiatry and medicine because it showed what a bunch of shit Scientology is.

quote:They said you can stop learning about scientology whenever you like and just take what you want from it, but I kinda doubt that.

Yeah, you can stop whenever you like, if you don't mind what you said during auditing sessions getting out.

You mean that they'd find out about you and try and blackmail you with it?

[Rizzo in a box]

Scientology is taking all the bullshit from past religions, throwing a few bits of occult wisdom in, stacking on some sci-fi mythos, add some fraud and deception, and WHAM-O. The Hubbard-Satan love child.

[Hare_Geist]

quote:Originally posted by Iskalla:

You mean that they'd find out about you and try and blackmail you with it?

People assume there is confidentiality in the auditing sessions. There is not. You tell them your innermost secrets thinking it's confidential, then when you try to leave, they blackmail you. They threatened one man that they would tell everyone he was a homosexual.

And if I'm not mistaken, they actually believe that homosexuality can be 'cured'. I might be wrong there though (which I'm willing to admit, unlike blind, following Scientologists).

I am extremely against hompphobia and the idea that being gay is some kinda flaw that should be cured. I'm straight myself, but I couldn't be part of something that supports those ideas.

I was telling myself over and over on the way back home that I'm not a scientologist and I never will be one haha.

I think you've helped me see things clearer, fuck em, I'm staying away.

[Rizzo in a box]

I believe homosexuality can be viewed as a flaw which has the possibility of being reveresed.

quote:Originally posted by Rizzo in a box:

I believe homosexuality can be viewed as a flaw which has the possibility of being reveresed.

Your entitled to, just don't hate me for thinking otherwise yo, it's just what I believe.

[Hare_Geist]

quote:Originally posted by Iskalla:

I was telling myself over and over on the way back home that I'm not a scientologist and I never will be one haha.

Dude, I did the exact same thing when I read up on it.

This is making me suspicious.

[This message has been edited by Hare_Geist (edited 02-03-2007).]

There was something wrong about the canned laughter.

Oh, and about the xenu stuff. I tried to suggest it made sense and that I believed it could be true. I think I said;

"Don't you think scientology is about getting rid of negative feelings and becoming free, and spirits of some kind could be stopping us"

I still didn't get anything to suggest that there are aliens haha. I was hoping for some kind of agreement. I DON'T think it makes sense, I just wanted to see if she thought it did.

[This message has been edited by Iskalla (edited 02-03-2007).]

[Hare_Geist]

They won't admit it until you're high up. It's mean to be some big secret you're only ready for when "cured" enough - i.e. brainwashed.

[Rizzo in a box]

quote:Originally posted by Iskalla:

Your entitled to, just don't hate me for thinking otherwise yo, it's just what I believe.

Of course not, I love you.

[boozehound420]

scientology sounds fucken nuts. So you have to be a little mindless robot before they even tell you the story of the aliens.

What a perfect scam. Can you get to a level where you start making money from the lower people?

LOL, no I couldnt take money from people that way.

I just had the worrying thought that the laughter was real, a room full of scientologists laughing heartily at all of l rons jokes.

[Rizzo in a box]

I want to do a lot of drugs, then study the scientologists HST style.

[Hare_Geist]

quote:Originally posted by Rizzo in a box:

I want to do a lot of drugs, then study the scientologists HST style.

I think Hunter was about more than just drugs.

Anyway, I don't think you'd want to do that. I was really sick when I read about it.

I had tonsillitis really bad, so I hadn’t eaten in days, putting me in an ‘altered state’. Man, I got so paranoid. I'm still paranoid about it now somewhat, just not as bad.

quote:Originally posted by Rizzo in a box:

I want to do a lot of drugs, then study the scientologists HST style.

Fear and loathing in the church of scientology.

"We began our personality tests just as the drugs began to take hold"