I'll just say it -- any long-term current or former member of the TM movement or any other large spiritual organization who does not track down and watch all two hours of the HBO documentary "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief" is a COWARD. This film should be required viewing for anyone on a spiritual path, to teach them about the perils of following a spiritual path.
Here are a few random notes I scribbled down while watching it myself: ***************************************************************************** Off-camera voice (probably Alex Gibney, director): Scientology is such a subject of fascination for people...how did you get engaged in the story? Lawrence Wright (author of the book the HBO film is based on): Well, I've always been interested in religions, and why people believe one idea rather than another. I've studied Jonestown and radical Islam, and they're oftentimes good-hearted people, idealistic, but full of a kind of crushing certainty that eliminates doubt. You know, my goal wasn't to write an expose -- it was simply to understand Scientology, trying to understand what people get out of it. You know, why did they go into it in the first place? I was interested in intelligent and skeptical people who were drawn into a belief system and wind up acting on those beliefs in ways they never thought they would. ***************************************************************************** Onscreen photo of the actual legal contract: SEA ORGANIZATION Contract of Employment I, ...................................... DO HEREBY AGREE to enter into employment with the SEA ORGANIZATION and, being of sound mind, do fully realize and agree to abide by its purpose which is to get ETHICS IN on this PLANET AND THE UNIVERSE and, fully and without reservation, subscribe to the discipline, mores and conditions of this group and pledge to abide by them. THEREFORE, I CONTRACT MYSELF TO THE SEA ORGANIZATION FOR THE NEXT BILLION YEARS. (As per Flag Order 232) Date ................... Signed ........................... Date ................... Witness .......................... Date ................... Witness .......................... ***************************************************************************** Narrator: Hubbard was a prolific writer of pulp fiction, churning out stories for a penny a word. ... He found his true metier in science fiction. A lot of what Scientology is, he had previous written about in the form of his science fiction. He had the ability to fabricate these amazing tales and he transported these imaginary stories into his theology. ***************************************************************************** Narrator: After Pearl Harbor, Hubbard took command of a sub chaser. But he was still a man prone to invention. He would write that he sunk two Japanese subs. But in fact, just off the coast of Oregon, he opened fire on what turned out to be a log, and dropped most of his depth charges on underwater magnetic rocks. When he accidentally shelled a Mexican island, he was relieved of his command. ***************************************************************************** Spoken by Hubbard's ex-wife Sarah, whom the Church of Scientology denies the very existence of: We were surrounded by sycophants. He began to believe that he was a savior and a hero, that he really was this God figure. He was absolutely convinced that he had the cure for the psychological ills of mankind, and that the only reason it wasn't being promulgated far and wide was that the medical profession had a vested interest in keeping people sick. I think he was afraid that some psychiatrist would pop him into an institution. He degenerated into a really paranoid, terrifying person. Narrator: Sarah threatened to leave Hubbard unless he got psychiatric help. He responded by kidnapping their baby, and taking her to Cuba. He was incapable of her, so he put her in the charge of a mother and daughter who were both mentally retarded, and they apparently kept her in some kind of cage. Sarah: He called me and told me that he had killed her. He said that he had cut her into little pieces and dropped the pieces in a river, and it was my fault. Then he'd call me back and tell me she was still alive. And this went on, and on, and on. ***************************************************************************** [ Here's a section that should sound familiar to TMers ] Narrator: When Dianetics turned out to be a passing fad like the hula hoop, Hubbard repackaged Dianetics into a religion he called Scientology. Aware that people would seemingly pay for "auditing," he added more science and more structure, and a payment plan. Every step to "Clear" had a price tag. Off-camera voice: How would you describe Scientology's business model? Tony Ortega (journalist critical of the Co$): Rapacious. It's all about making money. Hubbard knew from the beginning that people would pay for this counselling at a pretty good clip, and so he continued to come out with more and more "levels." The real money was in paying for these higher and higher courses...you were getting into thousands and thousands of dollars. And those prices kept going up and up. That's really where Scientology begins to create this indoctrination: "It's Hubbard who came up with that, only HUbbard, and you have to be a part of our group to get that spiritual satisfaction you are looking for." ***************************************************************************** Hana Eltringham Whitfield (original Sea Org member, 19-year Scientologist): It was very exciting, it was that heady mix of emotion and belief, and you get stuck to it. It's so strong that it sticks you like glue, and there is no way you can get away from it. I was deeply convinced that we were going to save the world; I considered myself tremendously fortunate to be in that position. ***************************************************************************** David Miscavige, January 27, 1986 (compare this announcement to some made by Bevan and other in a similar situation):In 1980, LRH moved off the line so that he could continue his writings and researches without any distractions. [audience applause] He has now moved on to his next level of OT research. This level is beyond anything any one of us has ever imagined. This level is in fact done in an exterior state, meaning that it is done completely exterior from the body. At this level of OT, the body is nothing more than an impediment, and an encumbrance to any further gain as an OT. Thus, at 2000 hours Friday, the 24th of January, AD 36, L. Ron Hubbard discarded the body he had used in this lifetime for 74 years, 10 monhths, and 11 days. Although you may feel grief, understand that he did not, and does not now. ***************************************************************************** Mike Rinder (former official spokesperson for Scientology): My position as spokesperson was to evade the question or sleaze around some way or give what was an acceptable answer or something that I believed at the time. Because Scientology is perceived and conceived by Scientologists as being the salvation for mankind, you can have people who lie with a very straight face if they believe that what they are doing is protecting the Church of Scientology. ***************************************************************************** Interviewer: You know, most religions are tax-exempt, and many of them have beliefs and practices that in a modern context would be considered strange. Is Scientology any different? Tony Ortega: If you go to a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim and ask them 'What do you believe?' they can basically describe the most imortant part of their religion in a minute or two. Well, what does a Scientologist believe? You need to be in Scientology for seven or eight years and into it for a couple of hundred thousand dollars before you finally learn this back story of Xenu the Galactic Overlord. If you were told that on Day One, how many people would join? If they were more up front about it, I'd have more respect for them. But it's that sort of bait and switch, where people are told, 'Oh, it's an applied philosophy to help you with your communication.' Oh yeah? Then why is Tom Cruise paying a thousand bucks to have invisible aliens pulled out of his body? ***************************************************************************** There is lots more in this documentary that TMers who watch it with an open mind will identify with and feel a resonance with, but I'll end with this bit from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis about his experience of finally coming out and leaving the Church of Scientology publicly: I sent a copy of my [resignation] letter to Marty Rathbun and he put it on his blog, one page per day, and didn't reveal my name until the Friday. Monday morning I woke up, and 600 of the top newspapers in the world had it. It was in Bulgaria. It was reprinted in seven languages, and I went 'Oh my god, what have I done?' People will judge you one way or another. I figured people would judge me as really stupid. But then I WAS really stupid. I was part of this for thirty years before I spoke out. I felt deeply ashamed. Why didn't I do this earlier? Why didn't I look earlier?