by Mike Rinder
To hear Miscavige tell it, Scientology is expanding like never before. “10X expansion in the last decade than in the 50 previous years” etc etc.
Of course, there are no new orgs in decades, but that gets fudged over with the A=A=A of new building=new orgs. And never mind the fact they are empty.
Then he stands tall 0n his applebox and announces the wonders of massive expansion at the “bottom of the Bridge” in the Mission Network. You even see it in ads on TV – “10,000 churches, missions and associated groups”. Of course, if you go to Scientology.org and try to locate these entities, its impossible. There is NO listing of anything. Even the “Org and Mission” locator will not allow you to get a listing for the United States or any country for that matter. So, no numbers can be gotten. You just have to take his word for it….
But, every now and then specific examples pop up that disprove the lies.
Which brings us to this. And its a doozy.
Now, with all this enormous expansion happening, one would expect the Mission Network to be an unstoppable juggernaut of unbridled expansion (shermanspeak ®) and especially one would expect this of a Mission in a relatively large city in the United States that has no org in it or even within 200 miles.
And especially one would expect this if the Mission was one of the original “ideal missions”, in a large, prominent building in the city. Not hidden away in a strip mall out on the outskirts of town….
And extra especially if the Mission was sponsored by two famous celebrities – hometown heros in fact.
And even more so if the Mission was staffed by the best “mission staff” money could buy.
And then, to put the cherry on the cake, the Grand Opening ribbon was cut by two very prominent celebrities and the biggest celebrity of all – Mr. David Miscavige himself. Accompanied by massive free publicity.
In the words of the immortal Dan Sherman, a veritable perfect storm of perfectness where the forces of nature combined in harmonious wonder in deference to the amazingness of Dear Leader hisself: Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the Church of Scientology of Memphis Tennessee.
Opened to enormous fanfare on Central Ave in 1997 by Lisa Marie Presley and Isaac Hayes, this should be THE model of Mission prosperity. But somehow, the Mission seems to be out of step with the rest of the world’s runaway expansion, in spite of all the advantages it had.
But there is more to the corrupt world of Miscavige than merely falsifying stats to make himself look good in the face of his shriveling empire. This is the world of financial irregularities and “buying favor.”
Enter Miscavige cronies and erstwhile spies, Benetta and David Slaughter.
For any who don’t know them, they were the employers of Lisa McPherson. Big contributors to the IAS and other projects, Benetta was at least at one time, a Miscavige “pet.”
Benetta left Clearwater to become Miscavige’s hand-picked ED of the Applied Scholastics Spanish Lake headquarters outside St. Louis. As that project wallowed and eventually failed, Benetta and David moved on to greener pastures.
And that would be Memphis, TN.
The Mission was failing, reportedly defaulting on their mortgage. In what could well have been an amends project for failing at Spanish Lake, now the Slaughters ride into town to take over the Mission.
But they apparently didn’t do anything to increase the activities and viability of the Mission. Things didn’t go well. But to avert a “flap” of a foreclosure of “Isaac and Lisa Marie’s Mission” , on 21 May 2008 David, as the “Mission Holder” sold the Mission to himself for $635,000. But this wasn’t a move designed to increase the delivery of the Mission. In fact, the Slaughters proceeded to convert it back into a home — for themselves! And earlier this year, they put it on the market for $995,000.
Here is an article from the Memphis Daily News, Friday, May 23, 2008:
Church of Scientology Sold, Will Be Converted to Home
By Eric Smith
The sale closed Tuesday, and Slaughter said he will renovate the 10,500-square-foot building into a residence. He said he will live in the home temporarily and eventually put it on the market once the renovations are complete.
Meanwhile, the church will stay in Memphis, but it has found another location and will move soon, Slaughter said. He wouldn’t comment on the new site, but he did confirm that the church is moving “east,” as detailed in a Feb. 3, 2006, story in The Daily News.
He said details on the Church of Scientology’s plans for Memphis are coming.
“We’ll be making an announcement in a few days,” Slaughter said when reached by phone Thursday, adding that the church is not currently meeting at the Central Avenue property.
The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2008 appraisal of the building is $440,500. It sits on 1.14 acres and is zoned for religious use. The building was built in the early 1900s and served as a private residence for about 30 years. Then it was home to St. James Episcopal Church for roughly 50 years after that.
The Church of Scientology Mission of Memphis bought the building in June 1997 for $475,000, opening its doors later that fall. The building has 7,500 square feet on the top two floors, plus a 3,000-square-foot renovated basement.
Slaughter said the home needs to have regular bathrooms put back in, and that he’s started doing “minor, deferred maintenance stuff,” but after that he wouldn’t disclose other details about the renovations.
“We haven’t really decided what we’re going to do yet,” he said. “It’s kind of early for me to give a full description because we’re still investigating what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it and how long it’s going to take. We’re still in the planning stages and under design.”
In conjunction with the latest sale, Slaughter assumed a Jan. 20, 2006, deed of trust on the property for $550,000 through Slaughter Enterprises LLC. Slaughter himself signed as the managing member for that entity.
(Photos from the Zillow entry for 1440 Central Ave Memphis)
Now, you may well be wondering: what happened to the Mission?
The Slaughter’s moved it to a strip mall in the sticks.
If you Google “Scientology Memphis” you get a number of official church links. The one at http://www.scientology.org still lists the Central Ave. address and a disconnected phone number.
There is another entry under http://www.scientology-memphis.org. Click on that one and it takes you to a page that still has a nice photo of the Central Ave. premises at the top, but the address is now given as Colliervillle TN, 20 miles outside Memphis.
And here is the final proof of the shriveling world of Miscavige. Right on the webpage, the opening hours of the “Memphis” (Collierville) mission are listed:
Wednesday and Thursday 7pm to 9pm
Saturday 9am to 1pm.
This is the “booming” Scientology Mission Network as it ACTUALLY is.
When the lights and cameras are packed up and there is no more “PR caper” to be had, the sad truth is that the Mission network is disappearing from the face of the earth.
Moving On Up a Little Higher 
Mike, its no wonder DM hates you. What a party-pooper you are.
Just today, my wife and I were wondering what it must feel like to be a staff member in the know, inside Miscavige’s fortress walls. These people see the reports of missions closing, declares being written, refund requests, the dwindling numbers of ‘bodies in the shop’, fellow staff disappearing to God knows where, orgs defaulting on their bills, etc.
They know about the horrific stories in the world press that have generated massive amounts of black PR for the church, and are aware of church directed campaigns to go after their critics (who are increasingly, Scientologists).
Can you imagine the utter loneliness they suffer? Can’t talk to the Chaplain. Can’t talk to their senior. Can’t talk to the E.D. Can’t write anyone uplines. Can’t talk to the few public who remain, and most certainly can’t talk to any ‘bitter defrocked apostates’ and ‘SPs’. They can’t even talk about it in the (supposed) sanctity and safety of an auditing session. They see this enormous disaster unfolding before their eyes, and don’t have a solitary soul to talk to about any of it. I think I would go mad.
Or, just go.
Benetta Slaughter ~~ more about
A David Miscagive Friend and PET.
Benetta Slaughter, owner of AMC Publishing – was Lisa McPherson’s employer until her untimely death. Lisa attested to “CLEAR”,
(Miscavige looking in to her session from a video feed “knew” she was clear and she was sent to attest) And shortly before she had had
“L-11”.
Soon after, Lisa took off her clothes and walking naked down Fort Harrison Avenue.
Slaughter and Miscavige were directly connected the enforced “O/W write ups” that Lisa was made to do, week in and week out, looking in the depths of her soul to find her “CRIMES” and her downstatness in not making Slaughter more $$$$ on her post in AMC.
Lisa’s Final O/W Writeup | The Lisa McPherson Files
http://www.lisafiles.com/scn/ethics/ow/6027.html
As such Lisa shared with 2 other people on a daily basis the traumatic details of a year-long ordeal of threats, coercion, tricks, betrayals, and the mind-bending technology applied to her at the Flag Land Base, under the direct supervision of David Miscavige, which ultimately resulted in her psychotic break and death. The electrifying details of the final hours of she spent in an Orlando hotel room with Lisa, was Brenda Spencer, who Lisa talked to. After weeks of sleeplessness and relentless intimidation by Slaughter, Lisa finally reached her breaking point. Every word of what she said about her auditing, and the ranting hysteria and psychotic fits leading up to being committed to a psychiatric ward is on record, probably a story that has yet to be told. It was Slaughter was able to gain Lisa’s release from the hospital and commit her into the “care” of David Miscavige at the Flag Land Base.
Some 25 days later she was dead at 36 years old.
The Church of $ickentology strikes again.
Mike, Great find and totally accurate. I wrote the video announcing the new Memphis mission to the world — it was presented as one of the three “Sector Videos” at the New Year’s event right after the mission opened in late 1997. It was a huge deal — Lisa Marie and Isaac Hayes had put their money and reputations behind it. They were filmed giving statements for the video. They had created a free after school reading program for kids (to generate good will, of course and not because DM cared about kids. DM’s only interest in children was to have them aborted before they were born).
In the video, Memphis was presented as a racially polarized city and, in Isaac and Lisa Marie, Memphis now had both cultures uniting together for the common good: “to heal a racially divided city.” I used a bit of Dicken’s Tale of Two Cities to kick off the video, “This is the tale of two cities, one black, one white — both Memphis, Tennessee…” The grand opening and every space inside the mission was filmed, but Miscavige decided he didn’t like the shots with people in them because you couldn’t see how nice the place was. All you could see was those pesky bodies getting in the way of the nice wall paper and wood paneling. So he had the whole tour part of the video re-shot without people. Staircase, course rooms, offices, etc.
Then came the grand opening. Of course the press and local community was invited. Lisa Marie and Isaac had both grown up in Memphis so the video presented them as coming home to give something back. In his deep soulful voice, Isaac told the local people, “Don’t believe the hype” [about the Church of Scientology] a statement that was featured in the video. The whole video ended on a playful interview of Lisa Marie and Isaac.
The Gold shoot crew was all over the place filming every room and Miscavige micromanaged every aspect to make himself look since of course he took credit for it at the New Year’s Event — since he learned early on in 1986, whoever announces the feat gets automatic credit by association. That’s what his totally off-policy events are all about.
When the mission opened, there was no other mission like it. It was really the first “Ideal Mission” based on the DM formula that gave birth to every Idea Org:
If you…
A) Get prominent Scientologists to finance the whole thing so it doesn’t cost the Church a penny,
B) Spare no expense to get the building and furnishings “PERFECT,”
C) Stock the place with special Miscavige® Robotized Stepford Staff Members,
D) Bring in actors and local people pretending to study and film all that,
E) Black mail a scriptwriter to write a video promoting all this,
F) You can generate huge donations from Scientology public for years to come…
But since none of this has anything to do with real Scientology, the place foundered as per usual and sank to the bottom of the ocean where the bottom feeders live like Benetta and David Slaughter who do their best to emulate their last name. Not only that, but 15 years later Isaac is dead and Lisa Marie has left the CoS, along with most everyone who worked on the mission and it’s presentation if anyone cared to document the fact.
What a story Mike!! Very revealing.
The schedule of the Mission makes me laugh! One can’t even deliver an intensive of auditing on that schedule. How do they run a standard course room or a Purification Rundown? Oh ya…they don’t!
Mike, this unprecedented expansion of missions and groups that I am hearing about all these years… what a lie! Athens became an Org with no Missions around it. And never has there been any Mission here, ever. So this is the expansion they are talking about.
What a hoot! Good one Mike.
Theo — I think in fact that Athens was the last NEW Class V org to open in the world…. What year was that?
Mike, I rambled on about Benetta Slaughter, but back to the issue at hand.
Very well written essay.
An OT VIII still with the Scientology Inc. recently told someone that all the Ideal Orgs combined made a total of 1 Class V auditor in the last year.
That’s how fraudulently using the banner of “religion” is.
One lower level counsellor made in 1 year for the “Religion” of Scientology.
By the way San Diego Ideal org has 50 auditing rooms.
But only 1 auditor.
49 auditing rooms are empty.
Wow – So Benetta Slaughter aided and abetted to Lisa McPherson’s death – her name is so appropriate. SLAUGHTER – evil woman!
Ronnie,
It isn’t like that if you are in the SO (I have been there and for many years). PURPOSE is pushed, drilled, chinese schooled and what not on a daily basis. “Good news” (propaganda) is pushed regularly so that becomes the group “R” and bad news are blocked. You don’t read the news. You don’t read blogs or anything on the internet. You don’t watch TV or listen to the radio. You only hear about them on a “need to know” basis and isolated, so it becomes (as it has been pointed out on this blog by others) “an org/mission out of step with the spectacular expansion that is happening all over the world”. It is so ingrained you actually BELIEVE that’s how it is. They see no disaster unfolding before their eyes. They see themselves winning, clearing the planet, and any external flaps as PROOF of them winning (after all, LRH said that if you are succeeding, the SPs start to howl, so all the “black PR our there” is further proof that they are doing a good job).
And no, it is not lonely, because all the other people live in the same world so actually, there is usually a quite high level of ARC in a Scientology organization (except for Int I hear – haven’t been there, but my experience is that the further away you get from Int the saner it is). ARC, by definition, doesn’t require the R to be true to anyone else but those who share it, that’s enough for it to work. Filtering out anything that doesn’t match the artificial Reality helps keeping it alive and being perceived as “truth”.
Many people who make derogatory comments about staff members and Sea Org members do so because they can’t imagine the Orwellian world that exists (especially in the SO) where they are actually not Cool Aid drinkers (“drinking” being a voluntary, self-determined act) – they are connected to an unlimited supply of Cool Aid intravenously and removing the needle is a capital crime, so you actually believe that the Cool Aid story IS the real world. Think about it. Your only source of data is propaganda fed into you every waking hour of the day and there is a voluntary police force (every other staff member) to report on any “unkind thoughts” or attempted contact with the outside world. As an executive, I was once sent to the galley to wash dishes for days and had to do lower conditions because I attempted to connect to the internet with my Pocket PC and it came up in a O/W write up – imagine that, what a crime! A few months later I tried again and succeeded on my desktop computer 🙂 – but then it got discovered and then I had a CMO Messenger sitting next to me for hours checking every single history item on my computer to find out what web sites I visited. If you would be cut off from every external source of information, how well would you (or anyone) do telling what the real world really is like? You would have very little chance realizing that you actually live in the matrix. For many people who escaped, the reason was that it got so insane that the cognitive dissonance between “clearing the planet” and the daily BS revealed too much of the rickety scuffolding holding up the shiny props and the break in reality was severe enough that they started looking outside, starting to suspect that after all the needle permanently attached to their arm may not be “for their own protection” and removing it may not bring about instant and ethernal death, as they were taught.
Having been there, I have a better personal understand of what is happening inside. I shared this so those of you who haven’t been in the SO can get a better picture of how it actually is. Hope this helps.
And in contrast to when I was on Mission staff…we had 4-6 full-time auditors delivering 25-40 hours a week each, with waiting lists of people wanting to go in session. Our Comm Cs always had a number of students in it and our “upper courses” room was always packed full at night…probably close to 40 students in that evening time slot alone. We were open Monday thru Friday, 9am to 10pm, and 9-5 (maybe 6) on weekends. There were always public in the place, on course, and not just 1 or 2. I can’t recall exactly how many staff there were, but I want to say about 20-25…all full-time, and a few part timers as well.
So this current expansion of 10x in the last decade than in the 50 previous years…??? Really?
Wow. Thanks for the great post Mike and and the additional great insights, Thoughtful. The Emperor is not only naked, but probably having a hissy fit right now… what a flap 🙂 I guess he is now ordering Marty and Mike to be declared every day in a new unit of time, and everyone associated with them declared once a week 🙂
Great article, Mike!
I wonder if the fact the Issac has passed and Lisa Marie is (reportedly) out of the cult has anything to do with them just abandoning the mission (and building!)?
It’s hard for me to even imagine what life is like now-a-days in the Mission Network, here in the US…The Mission I started at, Bellevue Mission had 25 staff when I got on lines in 1980, and averaged 7 to 12 First Starts a week.
Now the “mission” is down to a handful of staff, and maybe gets an average of one, or less, First Starts a week…
Makes me wonder what is the current state of Witchita Mission. Peggy Crawford ran it, with the money for the building put up by Kristie Alley…
There is NO way any mission can survive with out a steady flow of new public signing up for services. For decades now the ONLY MIssions that I have known to be expanding were in Taiwan and Russia (and maybe Hungary), but the last time I was in Saint Petersburg, Russia (4 years ago) their Number of First Service Starts was down from 125 a week (in 1999/2000) to 15 or 20. When I was working at Moscow Mission in 1999 they had 175 to 225 First Starts a week. 2 Years ago I spoke to the Moscow ED and he told me they were down to 7 to 10 First Starts a week. So, even there, the stats have CRASHED.
It is one of the most obvious out-points in Scientology…but one that no-one dares question: Why are so few new people signing up? Just pulling the string on the one out-point would soon uncover all that is rotten in Corporate (Suppressive) Scientology.
Karen; good reporting. However, the Church is dead. It has long since ceased its heartbeat. In fact it has long since lost its heart. All it has now are random psychotic impulses that strike out at people who can see it for the ugly thing it has become. You and I and anyone else that cares will build this back up into the entity it once was, when it helped people get better. And it willl once again sucor and heal and help.
ML Tom
This was in the mid to late 70’s.
After a while all the hoopla and PR lies just sort of run together like a big dark mass, but I do remember parts of that one, probably largely because of Lisa and Issac. What a fricken shame.
And I should say how fortunate we are to have the real people that were there able to tell it like it is.
Hi Karen;
I guess they should consider renting those 49 rooms out, make some money to pay bills.
Karen#1 what was done to Lisa McPherson was criminal period. As for Slaughter, she was a piece of work alright! just observing her was enough to turn me off.
I like this blog because people with first hand knowledge are commenting (usually) confirming or enhancing or clarifying or (sometimes) correcting the blog’s post or comment(s).
It looks like Thoughtful meant: DM’s formula = If {A,B,C,D,E} then F.
I rarely say that someone is pure evil; however, Benetta Slaughter is the closest I can think of. She ALMOST rivals dm.
In fact, I would IF she had had the power base that dm had — she would have been worse.
Of course,we’ll never know since she was never given that position.
She’s cruel.
Christine
Ronnie, I was just chatting with someone about the Houston mission and it hit me how cold, hard, lonely and full of effort and PTSness their world must be. The mission holder there was a really great woman when I knew her – and many of you know her daughter Cara, (maybe still an MAA) from Flag (who was an awesome kid/teenager back in the day herself). 😦
Mike, this post was flippin hilarious, especially your Shermanspeak…till you hit the facts of the matter.
NOTHING BUT LIES & DECEPTION coming out of that place.
Just had to comment on your article. It is great. What with the Voice article and the Rock Center episode this Thursday and Rathbun in one of the ads for RC saying “can you handle the truth”, the antfarm must be going crazy with Miscavige at the helm screaming at the audacity of all of you. I cannot see Tom Cruise avoiding comment on this episode on Thursday especially with his opening remarks being played. Eventually, he is going to have to address this. If the media continues, he is going to have to address something. But then again, if he does comment, he will bring a @##@load of attention to himself and Scientology – so I guess he will avoid as long as he can. However, that cannot last forever.
Isn’t the internet wonderful! And your humor is not too shabby either. Great article!
Funny Mike, I just Googled this last night and wondered why the address was in Collierville. I searched a little more today because I had a hunch. Now I can tell you exactly why it is located there. There is a Scientologist Chiropractor who lives in Collierville. The mission addresss is the exact same address as his office which probably explains the hours. Their FB page says they are about “Life Improvement and the restoration of self determinism”, but there is very little activity. The last post was in June of 2011. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Church-of-Scientology-of-Memphis/181036418619725
It appears that not only did the Slaughter’s end up with the home, but also want nothing to do with the responsibility of running a mission. And here’s another hunch…I wonder if what was left of the mission materials that Isaac and Lisa Marie paid for was sold for pennies on the dollar to the “new” mission holder? Perhaps the proceeds would make a nice renovation fund for a lovely home.
Thanks for the additional info DC2.
Makes perfect sense that this booming celebrity model mission is operated 8 hours a week out of a chiropractors’ office in the sticks. No outpoints….
Yeah Mike, coming down so hard on the poor unfortunate Micavige and Slauter. Have you no shame?
Please continue with your shameless disgusting exposure of truth. I love it.
That is why they keep looking for ways to leave while taking as much money from Davy as possible. The rats always jump off a sinking ship.
Karen, as much as I hate to admit it, she would have been better off in a psych ward that with these evil sub humans.
The underlying issue to the whole Mission scene is of course the question “Why would anyone in today’s Internet age get INTO Scientology?” As information spreads to countries which were previously closed off from the internet, we see the stats dropping there too. Miscavige made the decision in 1982 to take the Mission networks’ money and started that money grab at the 1982 SF Mission Holder’s conference. He threw out of Scientology the biggest disseminator’s in its history, people like Martin Samuels. As less and less people got into Scientology, Miscavige showed the area of his true genius, how to continue to get money from the folks already in Scientology (WITHOUT delivering a valuable exchange to them) and make tons and tons of money WITHOUT getting any new people in. Thus GAT, the Basics, 6 month checks, mandatory accomadations, HUGE donos for new buildings and IAS, etc etc etc. ALL built around the single idea that NO new people would be getting into Scientology anymore, so how could the CoS continue to get money from the folks who were already in. I’m kinda suprised there is ANY mission network left. At first on reading this post, I thought “why didn’t Miscavige just put money into the building in Memphis and keep it there?” and of course the answer to my stupid question came quickly. Miscavige and the CoS don’t OUTFLOW money into anything that will not have (as we say in accounting speak) “return on investment.” They only TAKE money and invest it in enterprises that will flow them MORE money. It’s business, baby, business. Oh, and you thought it was about spiritual enlightment? Please,, let’s not get into any silliness here.
Hi Marty, just a little tid bit. Collierville is hardly the sticks. Collierville/Germantown are where a lot of the big money live.
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Wow. It’s hard not to take a loss on this data after knowing what the Mission Network once was. Oh well.
Good thing Scientology is still alive and well in the Independent field!
Globetrotter, although I was never in the Sea Org, I worked as hired staff in a Sea Org org for almost a decade, so I’m very familiar with the hive mindset of the inner sanctum. You’re quite right in your characterization, generally speaking.
I was referring more to Class V org staff, who live half in – half out of the real world. These guys see much of what I was talking about, and it’s they who probably feel isolated and without a terminal to communicate to.
Yes. Mission and Class V org staff are the kind of people I was referring to in my post. As I said to Globetrotter above, I well understand how individuated Sea Org staff can become from the real world, and how their perceptions of the true scene can be literally programmed anyway the managers want. It truly is a hermit kingdom in there.
My thoughts run to the people who ran that mission in Memphis, and to other people who are still working in shrinking, non-viable orgs. Some of them are my friends. I can only imagine the turmoil they must be in, as they watch every real life indicator going in the opposite direction of what Deah Leadah claims.
The *real* Mission Network, a la Martin Samuels, Bent Corridon, Carl Barney, Dean Stokes, etal, died in the very early ’80’s. Sure, there continued to be “field activities”, and pockets of success here and there (mostly outside the U.S.), but the *heart* that had been driving the growth had been stilled, making it more of a zombie network. Just like the current Scn Inc.that still sees a few folks getting wins here and there, but as anyone who really knows the power of LRH Tech and how to deliver it can easily recognize, is no longer the group and the mission we had signed on to.
With Scientology Inc., the Tech has died; Long live the Tech in the Indie Movement.
Mike, Great article on another DM false image where the actual truth is easily seen through the web. Google maps, through their streetview has an image of the building facade and front landscaping, before the Slaughter renovations as seen through the Zillow photos of their digs. It’s more than slapping paint on the walls and adding bathrooms.
Not sure if this link works: https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=scientology+memphis&fb=1&gl=us&hq=scientology&hnear=0x87d57e1eea439745:0xd193f315601ab6fe,Memphis,+TN&cid=0,0,148757973816224132&ei=8LwqUJ2UEOmuiAKf54EY&ved=0CIQBEPwSMAc
You can put in the address on google maps and look at streetview if it doesn’t.
That was around 2000, mostly 2001 as it did get to become Class V org when I was doing some TV shows here in Athens about Scientology. I do remember that and thought to myself “oh now, they make it a Class V to throw dust on people’s eyes. Now that Theo and Olga, who were SPs are off the translations, look what we did accomplish”.
Indeed the last “NEW Class V Org”. It was a PR number. My appearance on those 6 TV shows in Athens was very well received, and I said I am an Independent Scientologist I do not belong to the church nor to the Government. People liked it and were very much interested.
Right at that time Athens became a Class V Org. With NO Missions around it, lol!!!
Thanks Sinar. Yes, they redid the whole front of the place and put a pool in back — along with all the interior work.
Wonder if they had to get design approval from COB before they could begin their renos???? 🙂
Thanks Theo. So its been more than a decade (a decade of 10X expansion the 50 years previously!) since the last new org was opened.
My, that is some mighty impressive leadership by Dear Leader. No wonder all those clubbed seals hang on his every word and buy the water he drinks and the shampoo he uses at the Flag canteen….
Mike,
They’re running out of trained and tuxedo-ed circus seals to club with that ‘tone 40’ stuffy.
Or is that Command Intention with that ‘cold chrome steel’ Inc. think?
Oh well, it still bares mentioning that it sucks to be a usurping sawed-off pecker-less wannabe pope.
So DM personally cut the ribbon on Bennetta’s home.
Bet that stings.
Thanks for passing this story on. I love “news from the field” that shows that Miscavige is a BOFFL. Big Ol’ Fat Freakin’ Liar.
Precisely!
Now that I think about it though, I believe he originally purchased the mission package but did not have a building picked out. He then collaborated with SMI on the Memphis project and supplied the materials. Either way it’s very sad that it came to this.
She is definitely cruel and dishonest. She took everything from her partner, hiding behind the Co$dm.
Some good reporting from Izhar also shows the SOMA mission – sponsored by Jenna Elfman and also with ribbon cutting by DM is now CLOSED and the place is up for lease.
John Travolta Olaca Mission = Empty
Jenna Elfman Mission = Closed
Lisa Marie Presley Mission = Building sold and moved out of town.
Were there any others where DM did the ribbon cutting? I think that DM cutting the ribbon on a mission should be considered like the kiss of death. You just know that the whole thing was quickied for a fast photoshoot.
Interesting that these missions were the forerunners to the ideal org program. Mike was very smart to point that out.
Wichita — Kirstie Alley’s Mission.
On the upside, when the “Ideal Orgs” go under the hammer, finally… inevitably, and oh so ironically. There will be prefabricated buildings for the Independent Scientology community to move straight into.
FOR SALE: SCIENTOLOGY IDEAL ORG Building.
PERFECT FOR A FIRST ORGANISATION FOR INDEPENDENT SCIENTOLOGISTS. COMES WITH HARDLY EVER USED AUDITING ROOMS, COURSE ROOMS AND RECEPTION AREA.
COME IN FOR A VIEWING! (BYO TP).
Joe, you are so right about this. It has been clear to me for YEARS that it is Scientology public that has been funding this operation instead of new public. And I might add, especially RICH public.
Otherwise intelligent people like Bob Duggan who made his money by developing a method of ferreting out vital information about the true condition of various public companies, sort of a “due diligence” on steroids. And yet he apparently cannot see beyond the fog spewed out by Miscavige and gladly donates 15 million or more to keep this ugly show going.
I recall back in about 1990 going into a very large storage room of a business owned by some very well known, once-wealthy Scientologists. Every square foot was FILLED with boxes of books, tapes, and e-meters. All brand new, all unused, just more mest sitting around gathering dust because these clowns wrote out yet another check to fill the quota of some reg. As opposed to, say, having been sold to someone who might actually USE it to help people.
I’m sure the “little guys” who mortgaged their homes & ran up their credit cards have contributed much to feeding the monster. But it is the rich ones who bear the most responsibility for injecting the serious energy that has kept this zombie organization (under DM) lurching forward for as long as it has.
Oh that would be a mega-super-irony if an Indie did buy it!
Lol, and it would get international press.
SCIENTOLOGY BUILDING BOUGHT BY INDIE SCIENTOLOGIST.
Come in for a cup of tea, have a look around.
Feel free! (And yes, TP well stocked).
Globe,
you state —“You don’t read the news. You don’t read blogs or anything on the internet. You don’t watch TV or listen to the radio. You only hear about them on a “need to know” basis and isolated, so it becomes ”
Thus it is true for a current public of staff member.
But as I recall, there is a question on the OCA Personality test – Do you keep current with world news or something like that.
So, how many members will answer that question truthfully?
As there is only one source of news, Scientology News.
“Miscavige and the CoS don’t OUTFLOW money into anything that will not have (as we say in accounting speak) “return on investment.” They only TAKE money and invest it in enterprises that will flow them MORE money. It’s business, baby, business.”
He has Lawyers to help with this business plan, I believe but don’t know. Only speculating.
This is called a Stat Push.
Wow. Even the Class IV Org (evening/weekend hrs) I worked at in the mid-80s was smaller than that. We had 1-2 full-time auditors, maybe one PC at any one time, our academy usually had 2-5 students in it, and the Div 6 course room maybe had the same. Most new people blew after the first few days, or if they had wins, they were usually recruited for staff and then blew a few weeks later. We generally had about 10-15 staff on average.
I don’t know if its still on the market, but here’s a listing:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1440-Central-Ave_Memphis_TN_38104_M74010-78792?source=web
What would you expect after Miscavige and his cronies DESTROYED the mission network back in 1982. I knew nothing of it at the time and only learned of it a couple of years ago. Finance Police, initimdation, threats, “declaring” people on the spot, forcibly taking mission funds, etc. Nothing could have been more evil. I knew nothing of this visiting the San Francisco Missions a few years ago but observed that despite good-hearted, dedicated people working at them, they were not thriving and were relatively empty of people. What was once a bustling activity had become a hollow shell. The unnecessary, expensive top-down management structure imposed by the corporate church was highly antithetical to any success. I am sure it is even worse now that it was a few years ago. It is sad, but we ought not to be sad, we ought to be furious.
Also, I might add.
the selling of the Basics books when altered by DM was a stat push and PR push. It is pretty obvious.
Sell the new basics books to existing scientology public, and at the same time promote to them to get them books into public library’s. All a stat push, and the existing public fund this PR ACTION. There is no expense to the church, it is a business ploy, as Joe Pendleton states on this blog.
And then later this action is PR’d as OMG, look at what is happening, great expansion, see how many books were sold. Round and round it goes.
Last time I was there (December 09) there where two with one on her class IV internship at Flag. Hmmm?
Thank you for this post. It explains the environment and the conditioning better than I have ever seen it done. I can only imaginge how lonely it must feel to begin waking up when everyone around you is still either asleep or pretending to be asleep. It really is like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
“Why are so few new people signing up?”
I think they aren’t signing up because staff no longer honestly think that they can help them. So they don’t sign up public.
Would you sell a course to a new person, if you thought that person would be hounded out of an org or mission by an IAS reg?
Would you sell auditing to a pc, if you thought the GAT auditor would bypass and overrun the pc’s wins waiting for a 3 swing fn?
It would be an overt to take people’s hard earned money for that.
Most staff left, I presume are basically good and don’t want to screw their fellow man. So they don’t really push an overt product.
Therefore, orgs and missions are empty.
Ahh…That explains the ‘Dianetics and Scientology’ sign in the dingy strip mall/office complex in Cville. I drove past it every day for a year. Couldn’t tell if any of the cars parked there were for it’s few staff or public, but I never saw anyone there.
And there was NO community presence. Yes, Germantown and Collierville are home to people with a lot of money, but they are both pretty small communities. There were NEVER any book sellers, body routers, ‘stress testers’, nor promo handouts, community outreach events, etc in the 4 years I lived in the area. (I moved away this last November.)
Pretty much a scene in non-existence.
The transcript of the famous mission holder’s conference of 1982 is printed in SOED 1278. I recently reread this on David Mayo’s web site.
It is a classic example of criminals accusing others of what they themselves are doing. DM, the int fianance police accuse the mission holders of trying to take over scientology and steal all the money.
Different celebrities + same management = dead mission.
http://idleorgs.com/2012/06/28/soma-mission-san-francisco/
They probably did, Mike, and had to match donations to the Cof$ for approval.
““Why are so few new people signing up?”
Because they are not delivering Scientology.
The Slaughters probably host the 12 or so IAS regges that arrive in town when there is news of a new Div 6 start called in by the chiropractor.
Dan – you are spot on – when I was going to the org’s and flag – I was embarrassed and did not want any of my friends to know I was in the Co$ – and I would never tell them to do anything due to the CRUSH REGGING that was constant
On top of that – I had not had wins for so long and after grinding away for years – I stopped going. Waste of time and money!
Now the Orgs are in bad shape – the staff are really unhappy – and don’t hide it. No new people coming in for years and years! They move the staff around a lot – sending them to Flag and LA for training and new pilot programs. It is musical chairs, empty course rooms, 1 auditor in 4 of the Class 5 orgs I visited and went to – bleak, empty, vacant Ideal org buildings with dwindling staff is the current state of affairs in the Church of Scientology Worldwide!
Thanks for the local insight Mike. That’s about how it looked on Google’s satellite view also.
Sorry Dave, facts are facts and they are abundant if one cares to look these days YOU really CAN’T HIDE anymore. It’s a world IN COMM now, and you clearly didn’t anticipate enough about that.
Ya little prick.
It’s getting bad and it’s only going to get worse Dave… yup, your ARC S/W is about as unflat and flapping all over the place as a landed salmon.
Seriously dude, it’s really time to move on. Forget your boyfriend(s), take your stashed millions and get the fuck out of Dodge. That’s what I would do, seriously, before the shit that’s coming really hits the fan (soon).
Perhaps you could buy a small rock off the coast of Somalia, and make friends with some of their finest. Start a new purpose with fresh meat, uneducated & like minded. Hell you could even name this one after yourself! Think about that!!
Time is running out.
Excellent and reflective posting Ronnie! Just had to rub
my eyes there for a moment.Thought you had written
“Death”Leadah.Makes no diffs. to the intent either way!
It hasn’t sold or it wouldn’t be on the market. It’s on several listings.
This is so disgusting. Lisa Marie basically bought it? The slaughters tried to steal it and the CO$ sold it for profit. And yet the fund raising continues in the Inc World. I would love to hear Lisa Maire’s story.
Mike, this whole scenario is turning quite ugly!
In fact, It’s no big stretch of the imagination to
connect the dots in front of us, that lead to
another “Jonestown!”
And as your excellent introduction hinted,
Miscavige is definitely running out of options.
The “kool-aid” so fervently drunk by the clubbed
seals, had a most ominous precedent, and we
may yet see some of the more dire predictions
on this blog, come to pass. With a totally insane,
heavily dramatizing psycho at the helm of CO$,
the remaining clubbed seals, and especially the
staff, don’t have much of (if any!) a chance.
History has taught us one thing, if nothing else:
These nightmarish developments all eventually
lead to a tragic ending. Sorry to make such a
sombre prediction, but just calling this as I see
it unfolding.
Damn, I like this Idle Org site.
Think about a “global locator”.
There is a plugin for WordPress you could use for this purpose
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/store-locator-le/screenshots/
This week I pointed out to a friend and church member the many outpoints of the corporate church, from the lack of auditors to the fake stats given at the events . Her reply was: You are not paying attention to all the incredible growth that COB is mentioning!!!!!
So, I had some proof that the Potemkin Village Mission Network is a very effective tool used by DM’s apparatchiks to keep the blinders on the heard nice and tightly so that they indeed are convinced that there is massive expansion.
The one thing I like about this blog is that it is so spot on with its commentary and observations that I can go into the field and get the practical along with the theory. And damned if you can get the EP almost every time!
Now, try to do the same process with what DM is telling you, and if you look to far, or try to lose the blinders, well, we know what that can mean.
Good job, Mike.
It’s the self-licking ice cream cone.
I hear there was a small mission in VA that recently closed up shop, threw everything in storage because they weren’t viable! I guess that should tell the staff that people don’t want what they have to offer!
Thanks, Globetrotter, interesting story!
“… I was once sent to the galley to wash dishes for days and had to do lower conditions because I attempted to connect to the internet…
A few months later I tried again…”
Love it!
How did you finally cog. and leave?
Over the years most missions in Denmark have closed down as well. For years the same few dedicated publics kept the missions alive but not kicking, with no new publics starting. Finally the missions succumbed. I have even heard of dedicated mission staff members who spent all their spare time running a mission being given a free loader bill as a final thanks for all their work, when the mission closed down. Talking about keeping the money rolling in no matter what the situation is!!! And ARC breaking staff members with free loader bills! The greater part of those staffs have now left the church.
Why are so few new people signing up?
Because the remaining hand full of Scientologists don’t disseminate.
They know, that no one they know, would take the shit they take!
I told one OTVIII friend that was sent to handle me:
“Okay, you bring one of your non-Scientologists friends into the Org.
and I go do my conditions!”
He stormed out of the house and was never seen again!
And one can add to the no delivery as a reason for crushed BOIS stats, that with the internet anyone can research and find out what the truth is about Corporate Scientology.
Don’t forget that Miscavige tried to sell via powerpoint slide the idea that the SMI sector of Scientology has increased 70x since the wake-up call in 2001.
Globetrotter: thank you for your interesting comment. It gives a good insight in how indoctrination in the Sea Org works.
It really looks like the indoctrination used by other totalitarian systems. It is remarkable how those systems/religions sell themselves, always with notions of freedom: freedom for the people, freedom for the soul, etc. Political parties in my country on the (extreme) rightwing have ‘freedom’ in their name. They are the only ones …
How on earth can a totalitarian system lead to ‘total freedom’? There seems to be only one way: escape!
Reminds me of when I started services at Stevens Creek in 1974. But that was before the “Great One” jumped in and destroyed the Mission Network. What a pity. They were the best years I had in Scientology. Sad they are now a thing of the past.
Nice presentation Globetrotter. I haven’t been in the SO and your discription really communicates. Thanks. Gives me more Reality.
Slaughter – seems the reactive mind interpreted that verbally.
Mike. You made a good post here about the Memphis mission. If anyone should still think that Miscaviges church is not dead then they should read your post very closely. I.e. Radical Scientology fails under the very best environmental conditions. Something tells me we are going to be seeing a lot of this type of sales of buildings in the future where Radical Scientology pockets the money from the real estate. The only problem Miscavige has is: What to do with that thing called Scientology??!! Oh, he’ll just sweep it into the local chiropractor’s office and say that’s the org or mission now. (Another commenter said they tracked that new Memphis mission address to a local Scientologist Chiropractor. I haven’t checked that but it wouldn’t surprise me.)
“Our Hours:
Wednesday and Thursday
7 pm to 9:00 pm
Saturday
9 am to 1 pm”
http://www.scientology-memphis.org/?q=node/11
8 hours a week Scientology “delivery” serves a Memphis population of 651,000 people?
Their link above shows their own limited hours of operation.
Sickening and quite revealing.
Thanks, Mike!
Great article Mike. Sad tale. Isaac is dead and Lisa-Marie it appears is now on the outside. I worked with Benneta Slaughter when she took over Winter Wonderland in Clearwater. She’s an evil manipulator and quite simply full of shit! Personal PR is everything to her. Whatever it takes to achieve that…that’s what she does!
The depth of deceit by the Church of Scientology is nearly unfathomable.
What irony of the Sea Org’s mission of “getting ethics in on the planet”, when they can’t even get ethics in on themselves. There doesn’t appear to be even one ounce of personal integrity in the “church”.
When it’s said “the church is dead”, this is no exaggeration. It truly is DEAD.
de·ceit
noun
1. the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating:
wow. I guess thats one way to buy yourself a house.
Taiwan is definitely not expanding. According to my source here, at last count there were only 300 active Scientologists in the whole country.
I thought it was a little higher than that but with all the crush regging from Flag, AO ANZO and the worst of all criminals, the IAS it has probably dwindled.
It used to make me laugh hearing about the massive expansion in Taiwan when it was all bullshit. I would go to Flag for my dreaded 6 month money-$uck and OTs would keep saying to me how wonderful it all was with the Taiwanese. I would just look at them blankly and say oh er yeah, yeah. We really were such Schmucks!!! ~LOL
Phil
Simple Thetan, someone who I knew and was very close to for many years would be dead or a street person without the help of meds.
Napolean Bonaparts way to great success in business is
“Promise Everything and Deliver Nothing”
No wonder the IRS finally granted tax exemption! The greedy government and it’s IRS agents finally found a church terminal they could relate to…….Mr. Demented Management……who could lie, cheat and steal with the best of them and not even wince!!!!!!!!!!
That 8 hours a week the Memphis mission is open for delivery is probably more than they need. It’s a dead mission, long past it’s crashing stats and dying gasps. Any sign on the door and posted hours are nothing more than a camouflaged hole.
As for Benetta being buddies with DM, is anyone surprised? Not if you’ve ever met her. It’s a “birds of a feather” kind of thing. Anybody with an ounce of decency would be repelled by Miscavige.
I knew Bennetta in passing. A very able lady who gives a shit but like so many others, she refuses to look (so far). Have faith folks as Bennetta, like so many now in corporate Scientology, could easily be posting here tomorrow. That no would be surprised were that to happen speaks volume to what has happened these past three years. There are so many people under the radar it’s mind boogling.
I lived in Memphis for several years and often drove past the large building on Central Avenue. It was universally dead *every* time. That was before I really knew anything about the conduct of the Church of Scientology. The building is pretty, yes, but is about 100yards from the really crappy end of the street (near Lamar Avenue, I think).
It is true, in my experience, that Memphis is a racially divided city, with blacks and whites rarely mixing… IMO. So I am not surprised that the CoS/Co$ used that phrase during the grand opening. However, Memphis is also a very religious city and claims to be the buckle of the Bible belt. Even those that no longer attend Church are most-likely from families that did, so the Baptist way of looking at things is a given. Anything non-Christian is considered out-there (maybe with the exception of Jews), and anything not mainstream is considered weird.
While Isaac “Black Moses” Hayes is a legend in the city and quite rightly so, he got a lot of stick when he became a Scientologist. How could someone who was Memphis through and through abandon his Southern Baptist roots? So while his name probably sounded like a ringing endorsement outside of the Bluff City, within the city of Memphis itself his backing of the CoS didn’t do much.
Lisa Marie also falls into the same boat, with Memphians mostly thinking that she has little, if anything, to do with the city. She doesn’t live there, spending most of her time in LA., and only turns up occasionally on Elvis Death Week. Yes, it was very generous of her to pay for the thing but again her name meant more outside of the city than in Memphis itself.
What I’m trying to say is that the PR outside Memphis about the place opening was a misrepresentation of what the Isaac & Lisa Marie coupling actually meant within the city. Maybe in the puny mind of David “You’re a Celebrity? Then we want you in here!” Miscavige, having Hayes + Presley open the Idle Morgue seemed like a masterstroke, but in reality it barely caused a ripple where it counted most, in Memphis itself.
As you write, the Org faltered from day 1 and no one was surprised to see it close its doors. I’m shocked, though, to learn how the property changed hands and to learn who made a nice little sum off the sale and resale.
As a final note, after finishing University in Memphis I applied for a bunch of jobs in the city. One of the places I sent my CV to was the Chiropractor in Collierville! Hah ahah. I didn’t get a response in the end and drove out to C’Ville to ask what had happened. After seeing their windows plastered with CoS materials I quickly jumped back in the car and drove home. The Chiropractor is in a strip mall, and from my memory the Mission and Chiro-practice are side by side, but maybe at the same address.
And yes, the place was dead then. While C’Ville is indeed home to lots of big-money-Memphians, it is a very spread out place, and where the office is is truly in the middle of nowhere. Basically no passing traffic, and any “body-routing” would probably be reported to the local Police (who have earned a reputation for being hard-asses).
Could be one of the reasons Lisa Marie left.
Speaking of inverse expansion, the following article lays out a potential strategy for independent Scientologists to finish the job of taking DM down, perhaps so someone can do a cash grab on the IAS treasury. Regardless, there are a couple of interesting ideas in here: Is Independent Scientology The Key To Unlock The Church Of Scientology’s Secret Agreement With The IRS.
http://www.forbes.com
I would think that a class V Church and a mission are two different entities, or at least they should be. Or could it be that things are so bad in Memphis that both the church AND the mission are operating out of a back room in a chiropractor’s office in the sticks eight hours per week? Straight up and vertical “expansion”.
THAT is funny!
FORMER MIAMI MISSION HOLDER DECLARED
SUPPRESSIVE – August 9, 2012
Received today in the mail a formal suppressive person
declaration by Clara Golashesky, FLB Justice Chief.
It includes my wife as well.
Can anyone advise on how best to get a refund
of the $6,000 my wife has on account at Flag?
May all suppresive persons be well and happy!
George M. White
Thanks Dan. Here’s the direct link
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2012/07/26/is-independent-scientology-the-key-to-unlock-the-church-of-scientologys-secret-agreement-with-the-irs/
Here, Miscavige, this one is for you:
Indeed, I found out that some people do have low seratonin levels. You could provide them with natural means of increasing it. Either way without handling it physically they will end up dead.
Many of these people were pretty up tone once their seratonin was handles.
Even LRH mentions mild sedatives for a psychotic.
Mike, thank you for your well written article. Your laser insight is just cutting poor old POB to shreds.
Isn’t POB turning the orgs into missions by ripping off their public and delivering lower grade actions at Flag? I guess in POB’s mind the orgs are only good for getting people in (and not doing such a great job of it now).
With people like yourself, Marty, Karen, and many more on this blog pointing out his insane actions…. It really does suck to be Miscavige.
Now you are talking Dan! That will likely be the last ‘hair-ball’ to be coughed up by the silent minority of the CO$.
Now that the true Scientologists are showing up and getting ethics put in on the impostors the change should follow somewhat exponentially. For the Demented Moron…. he will soon realize which end of the ‘straight up and vertical’ he is on and I’m thinkin it will go something like ‘straight down and horizontal with a classic FACE PLANT followed by a few moments of twitching!
It does suck to be in that position!
+1 and an accurate description of the situation.
And Bennetta has invested heavily in the Greyhound Bus lines ……….she will through anything and anyone under it to save her grody ass. A true CO$ example of how to apply integrity.
Thoughtful,
You nailed it. Thank you.
Pat,
Speaking of camouflaged holes, I wonder how Davey is doing this morning in preparation for tomorrows TV broadcast?
+1, “Science of Survival”: DMonic Decimator of Scientoloty is DELUSIONAL.
Re: http://www.scientology-memphis.org/?q=node/11
“Church of Scientology Memphis Mission
We are located at: 346 New Byhalia Rd, Suite 203, Collierville, TN 38017”
However the top right picture looks like 1440 Central Ave, Memphis.
Re: http://possiblyhelpfuladvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011ias_0020_.jpg
It says: “70x since wake up call [2001]
2011 expansion of planetary help”
This is just BS.
What do they mean by “planetary help”?
It’s not LRH’s “Orgs have only 2 major final valuable products. One is well-trained auditors. The other is satisfied pcs.” (LRH ED 131 INT, Life Repair Block, 8 Dec 1970, OEC Vol. 4)
Can they show verifiable high strength statistical correlation between (their own definition of) “planetary help” and (future) stats of well-trained auditors and satisfied pcs?
Based on their own definition of “planetary help”: where are the verifiable stats of 70x expansion in a decade?
I sent this entire post, including the Memphis Daily New article and pictures, to four people who had, only last week, sent me advertisements for the Church of Miscavology … Alice Pero , Ian Brooks <Ian Brooks , Pat Crowder , and Tom & Jan Houston-Solari , assuming that since they persisted in communicating to me, despite the fact that they knew, or should have known, that I have been “declared”, that, well, that they had enough integrity to think for themselves.
Shortly after I sent Mike’s post, however, Ian Brooks and Alice Pero responded with emphatic requests to “remove me [them] from your [my] mailing list”. Both of these requests puzzled me, since, in point of fact, I do not have a “mailing list” and actually merely responded to the communications THEY initiated to me. Still, I did the best that I could, and “blocked” them from sending me emails … which led me to wonder, why, if they REALLY didn’t want to communicate with me, they did not “block” my email address? It is a very easy thing to do, actually. My supposition is that they WANT to feel aggrieved about something. But, they cannot allow themselves to feel aggrieved about Micavology, since they are its loyal supporters and foot soldiers (regardless of what blinders they may be operating from behind) and are, therefore, as responsible for the fall and destruction of Hubbard’s Scientology as is the founder of Miscavology, David Miscavige. Sooooooooooo they lash out at anyone who suggests that they actually do exercise their personal integrity and look for themselves. Or to put it in another way, I ‘missed their withholds’, so they lash out at me for reminding them how out-ethics they are living their lives.
In any event, I’ve got better things to do than send emails to people that do not appreciate me, so I’m really happy to delete/block them from my rather sizeable address book. Frees up my attention units to other things … such as to suing the Church of Miscavology, and its Officers and such, personally, for refusing to refund my money … well, actually, for “declaring me” as an excuse to not return my money …. In this regard, I find it funny that the Church of Miscavology would go out of its way to cause trouble for itself. If they want to run a cult, I say, “Let them!”. I don’t propose to save all those people who have exercised their personal integrity so as to become willing slaves to Miscavology, in fact, the ONLY interest I have in communicating with anyone associated with the Church of Miscavology, is to get my money back … … … … … soooooooooooo if they would just give me my blessed money back, I’d leave them alone, forever AND wish them good luck to boot!l
But, since they refuse to give me my money back, I have a continuing and ongoing reason to send my communications into the Church of Miscavology. Oh well, I guess I have to do what they are forcing me to do, right? I’d rather be pruning my rose bushes, but a thetan’s got to do what a thetan’s got to do!
Happy Wednesday All!!!
Hi Centurion,
I have a similar experience. I have a friend still in the CoS, I am trying to pass him the data about what Debbie Cook, Mark Rathbun, etc. are saying, and he just does not believe it. He says: “they blew because they have O/Ws, we have a huge expansion on the 4th dynamic (Colombia, India, …), the guys you mention do nothing for the 4th dynamic”. If I am trying to push, he is getting angry, not a proper tone to listen to something.
However I have a problem with the Internet: how to assess the truth of these data, when I am far away from the scene? I learned something in Scientology: when several persons are reporting the same outpoint (for example “the hole”, DM violence), you need to investigate the scene. Moreover Debbie Cook testified under oath. Debbie Cook said “what I said is only the tip of the iceberg”, unfortunately she was stopped before talking about the immersed part of the iceberg. Thus I smell something unbelievable, something very bad occurring.
I have also my own considerations: my own progress was stopped by the high prices and the GAT, thus I was stopped in fact by DM. This guy was destructive even to me! And I am not particularly down-stat, as I gave about $250,000 to the church (maybe to DM?).
The bad repute of Scientology comes from 2 main factors: the high prices and the disconnection practices. Both are in violation of LRH policies and RJ68.
The day Scientology is affordable, friendly and does not break families, it can be alive again and have a good reputation.
Ave Centurion!
It’s probably another “by appointment” Mission like the one in Phx that I believe closed a couple years ago.
Denmark is not alone.
During the dark age of Miscavige, a few German Missions did bite the dust, too.
I’m sure there is (future) positive statistical correlation between well done community help and dissemination, because this is one of the techniques taught in Sterling type programs.
Obviously, this is not a substitute for: honest non compulsive well done valuable service (now missing in Co$), honest non compulsive relation with clients (also missing in Co$), and honest P.R. (also missing in Co$), underlined with honest fair non compulsive good treatment of employees (also missing in Co$).
As per usual, flailing around in his DELERIUM TREMENS, threatening his zombies with being declared SP if they don’t prevent it from being aired.
“Makes me wonder what is the current state of Witchita Mission. Peggy Crawford ran it, with the money for the building put up by Kristie Alley…”
Well if Peggy Crawford had her hands in it I’m sure it didn’t go well. Talk about slimy reg – she’s one of the slimiest – to me 1.1 all the way!
Writing KRs on her was an exercise in futility. The lesson seemingly is: the more out-ethics, the more financial irregularities, the more protected by the DM money machine!
A little background on Ms Bennetta Slaughter that you may find entertaining:
I was one of 14 upstat Scn that moved from Dallas Texas to Clearwater Florida, December 1993 with AMC Publishing. Bennetta and David had recently bought into the company from founder, Jeff Schaffner and our goal for the move, as she & David states was for all of us to get onto Solo NOTs., David would audit the lower Bridge for all those not Clear.
In Dallas, she had the creme de la creme of the rege material — Lisa McPherson, Brenda Hubert Spencer and me. After we arrived in CW, the pool of potential reges was much larger, so the evil bitch began to cut commissions, crazy selective policy that would drive you to the brink — all with a master plan to run the core group off, and replace us with lesser paid robots.
I was the first to leave in May 1995, and by December 1995, LIsa was dead.
Bennetta is a self-absorbed, cunning, maniacal, evil bitch from hell — think that is enough adjectives — maybe not, but you get the picture.
She would cheat you out of anything she could, with the knife drawn closely to your shoulder blade ever so subtle — a very polished 1.1 tone level.
The most interesting thing about the mission deal is that David loathed people. His agreement when we all moved from Dallas to CW was that he would audit a few of the spouses that were not Clear, as he was a NED interned auditor. David Slaughter never had one WDAH (well done auditing hour) and not one of us that made the move with the promise of all of getting on to Solo NOTs did any Bridge actions as we were always not sessionable nor studentable.
We all spent every waking hour working for Bennetta OR working for Bennetta–to include Winter Wonderland (with all the acks and admiration showered on her, while the us peons were beat down working at AMC and working off-hours there).
You get the picture. So, for them to even be a part of a mission is the epitome of a joke.
Steve Hall’s depiction of how things roll with Bennetta on the line are 100% accurate.
As I recall, she moved on to “run” Memphis as a “hired gun.” I may be mistaken about this, but I think that is how they ‘staffed” the Mission, with imported, paid “experienced” Msn staff and Peggy was one of them.
I was happy to see a post about Bennetta Slaughter on this site. It spurs me to devote the time and energy it will take to tell the long and painful story of what I know about her from years of close personal interaction — 10 years working for her at AMC Publishing and from being close friends with Lisa for several years as well. I failed at an attempt on a personal level to get Bennetta to take responsibility and I failed to out her on COS lines. Knowing what I know today, it is obvious there was no way that either could ever have happened, but of course connecting the dots has taken over 10+ years and I did not then have the benefit of the revelations that others have brought forth that were missing pieces in my massive puzzle. However, I ultimately acted on a vast number of outpoints that I could no longer justify (I was enraged by that point). I held true to my own certainty in the end. I assigned Bennetta the condition in writing, held my ground against massive efforts on the part of some heavy-handed folks in OSA, Flag and others to get me to recant and “get back in line” and make nice with Bennetta. They were very nervous that I might tell all that I knew about the Lisa matter. I have not done so, but the day will come. That was 10+ years ago now. I might be waiting for a number of lifetimes for Bennetta to act on the condition assignment…. At least I am not wearing that condition any longer! There is much, much more — and ugly and sick it is — but just felt I had to step out and say at least this much today in response to the post. I’ve been reading this blog since 2009 and have never posted anything until today. My husband earned an SP Declare over ONE POST he made on this blog. Can’t wait to get mine — it will be the first right indication from the COS to come my way in a very long time indeed. Perhaps my post will move it up in the big stack they are wading through these days.
Hmm, I didn’t know that. A little dropped out time here, my experience was with her doing idle org fundraising a few years ago, 2008. As her being a reg, the ends justified the means.
That’s Memphis not Wichita? Well so much for Memphis in the end.
B.r.e.n.d.a.,
VWD!. You definitely need to keep at this posting. You certainly may shed an enormous amount of light on the
entire Lisa saga. Please do continue and it is very much
appreciated.
Calvin. B. Duffield.
Durban,South Africa
Wow! Hello Brenda Spencer!
I got someone one out by writing up my out points, observations, like no one in org and my own bad indicators and simple cut and paste from a few websites.
Please tell us the story …
Brenda,
I don’t know you but I did get what you said. Thank you for your first post. I personally know what that feels like. I have found that this is a safe place to communicate what one has observed or done. I will assume that you are a Scientologist and thus will welcome you to the world of real people, real data and the chance to be who you truly are with no pretense. If you don’t want to post more then feel free to write to Marty and his email is in the above headers.. Peace be with you.
The great thing about the Anon protests is that there was about one or two staff members with confronts’ worth of effort required to actually get those protesting bodies into the shop .. Any Comm Course grad could have done it ..
For me this was an enlightening article that sheds the light on what is really happening with Scientology Inc. I didn’t realize how much of a house of cards the whole thing has become, but I have been out for over 25 years. It certainly wasn’t like this in the 70’s.
David the Drunkard
Yes, I understand. I am sure Class V and Mission staff have more insight (or should I say “outsight”? 🙂 ) into what’s happening in the real world. But I think they are probably kept away from most external information sources by threats like sec checks, etc. I have a close friend (public, not even staff) I told about the current situation in the “church” who ended up starting to slowly look for himself, but man, it was hard work. He first simply refused to listen, asked me to stop. I did, but kept giving him little bits and pieces of the puzzle here and there without being pushy. He took months before he dared reading Debbie Cook’s email which I forwarded to him. He still doesn’t dare visiting this blog. He is very smart so he will, but it is amazing to see how hard it is to go against what one is indoctrinated in (it is dangerous to look, checking out Scientology on the net is a crime, anyone who criticizes what the church is doing is an SP, etc.).
I didn’t. I left for personal reasons that had nothing to do with the scene in the church. But I am a free person and no one can tell me NOT to do something I want to (and that DID play a little part in leaving the SO). Once out, I gradually started figuring out what was going on. I am Data Series junkie. I can see outpoints from a thousand miles away. And there were just too many to count. And I was interested. I mean what sort of intelligent person wouldn’t care about what’s going on with his religion? I did care. I kept my own integrity, but I saw all these “attacks” and decided (actually wanting to protect my religion/church at that time) that I had to know what the enemy was up to, so I had to LOOK. It made sense to me. And I found that there were two different kinds of critics out there: blind haters and objective whistleblowers. That was when the curtain started to fall and I discovered what was really going on. I had been “out” for years by that time though. Integrity will sooner or later lead anyone to find out – unless they are cut off from all sources of information, which IS the case for most of the SO. People inside mostly act with their integrity IN, except their data is wrong. Those who DO have access to the data but NEVER find out (e.g. Craig Jensen, Tom Cruise, etc.) just don’t have their integrity in place.
Ronnie,
I was mIssion staff for 14 years and it was exactly as you described, except worse. I almost did go mad. FInally I came to my senses and left, but only after I got so sick in 2008 that I couldn’t get out of bed for a month.
The whole time I was there the mission kept shrinking and shrinking, staff kept leaving, there was basically no pay (and we were supposed to support ourselves how? While slaving away 80 hours a week and not allowed to “moonlight”???) It was a nightmare, pure and simple.
And my mission was in “Flag’s field”; we were supposed to be one of the best. HA. That only meant the SO members from Flag could drive down the street and harass us anytime they wanted. I’m only a little bitter, can’t you tell?
You hit all the nails on the head.
P.S. My MH was actually at the Memphis grand opening; I remember hearing about how fast they had to work to get it ready for DM. Funny.
From my experience, I wouldn’t waste your time trying. Flag isn’t returning any monies on account and your energies would be better spent in other directions, sorry to say.
Sorry, but your “I knew Bennetta in passing” left you with a misguided conclusion about her “giving a shit” — not. Bennetta cares about one thing and one thing only — Bennetta. She will use anyone and everyone to her greatest advantage and leave the rest in shattered ruined (or dead [literally] or in other shades of death) in the process. She aligned herself with DM and now lies in the hell that will take one to. Some sooner or later see the massive error of judgment (and associated overts they committed as a result) and begin the long crawl out of the pits of hell and up the conditions, but others are going to remain long in Confusion. After all, it requires a lot of confront and a willingness to take responsibility for the overts committed to suffer up the Conditions. She is capable of neither. Take it from one who experienced the ‘joys’ of Bennetta first-hand. I believed in and defended her for a long time despite many out-points before I couldn’t deny the obvious to myself any longer. She, in concert with her Super Hero, DM (and with the help of others who have their own overts for their part) has blood on her hands in the death of Lisa. All for the love of power, money, greed and status.
“…. probably a story that has yet to be told.” Well, Marty and Mike have told the pieces of the story that were a mystery to me at the time and for all the years in between. That information completed the puzzle for me — all the pieces finally fit. Unfortunately, so much damage had already been done by that point that it was impossible to obtain justice (not that such actually is likely at the hands of the beings on planet earth anyway… we have a ways to go on that count). What I know is of long years of personal experiences with Lisa, her family and friends, Bennetta, years of working with her and numerous others on the AMC team, being on staff with Lisa before AMC, our years in Dallas, our years in Clearwater and all that happened there, including the role Bennetta played in driving Lisa insane and the puppet master role she held in managing our lives in every aspect she could get us to agree to or hold over us through other means. Alas, we all trusted her and pushed her to the forefront to be our leader — our greatest error. We failed to realize that she had no power of her own and we failed to take responsibility for how powerful each and every one of us really was. Instead we gladly agreed for her to lead and we gave her the power to do so. It was a betrayal of self —ah, Flow 0. Other Flows, of course…… Seeing my own responsibility
has allowed perspective and a resurgence of my power. And some peace for self.
Hi guys,
I haven’t been speaking out about much lately but I did post on Tony Ortega’s site about Narconon as I know a lot about that screwed up area in the Church. Purif delivery, Narconon, FPRD alterations and repayments are where you’ll see me commenting. I just wanted to alert you all on the point of handling your repayment PRIOR to coming out on Marty’s site.
I agree the fastest most painless way to leave is just post here and announce. It’s all black and white in the Church when it comes to Marty as he has been set up to be the SP behind ALL disaffections period.
However, for all you guys still “under the radar” please listen up. If you have money left on account, you must handle your repayment first. I have always recommended you do everything perfectly, standardly, fully documenting you have done so going above the expected down to recording every phone call and email during a repayment. If you can prove you followed the policies and they didn’t you will get your money. It still works, if you follow the directions and be persistent. Do everything properly, do the routing form which is painless in fact. You have nothing to fear.
If you come out first, do anything that they can call a suppressive act prior to doing the routing form, you will be declared and no longer eligible to do the routing form.
So if you’ve talked to the press, posted openly on sites, you will not be getting your money back without a big fight. The worst cases were those who came out then thumbed their nose at the routing form and LRH policies, those guys will never get a penny without a very long and drawn out legal battle and will probably lose as they didn’t even follow the “contract” they believed they had with LRH.
I just had a cycle go through that I coached from beginning to end and it was very smooth, some enturbulation and slows but it went through. You can still get your money but only if you do everything properly and be a good little sheeple until the minute they give you your check at which point you are expelled and then you can come out and speak all you want. If you have no money left on account, then just go ahead and post here and get it over with.
One thing people don’t talk about much. You are in a condition being under the radar. I have two friends happily moving up the Bridge in the Freezone who are under the radar for financial reasons and another because her kids are in the Church. That one cognited finally that she is in lowers by not completing doubt and is PTS to this connection and has to figure out how to handle it. You will feel so much better once you are truly out. You will have relief that is indescribable. So go for it. Even if you are losing family for awhile, it is the right thing to do and it will actually help them in the end. You are only stalling the inevitable.
But get your money back first, don’t let them keep it! Okay, hope that helps some people.
Cheers!
Carisa
All true, Kay. Lots more to say about the details, of course — especially as regards Carol South’s breast cancer diagnosis while on OT III (just a bit of an out-point), the loans and how they were used by Bennetta to manipulate us, the intervention into our lives on every dynamic (including the 2nd), the threats, the long hours, the demands to work every COS project as her slave, robot Craig Burton who remains to carry on at AS, the bringing in at AMC of looney-tunes Brian Rakestraw and other CW nut cases who were supposed to be super-admin trained (couldn’t apply an LRH policy if their life depended upon it), undermining DeDee Cage (the most capable, able and most on-policy person ever), her announcement of the “new AMC organization” and how we should leave immediately unless we all agreed to how it was going to be (screw all the previous commitments)….. How about our trip to the Freewinds you and I made and all we discussed on that trip? Oh, and we shouldn’t fail to mention Bennetta and David’s “fair shake” with the Jeff & Sheryl Schaffner over the sale of AMC and their parting of the ways financially speaking. You and Jay left before the worst came to pass…. 1995 and beyond was the definition of hell.
.
Roy, thanks for the updates, but really, not surprising.
All totally predictable unravelling of the sociopathic one!
S/O/Survival and the tone scale lay it all out, in detail, for anyone intent on finding out about emotion / s
In fact, It is a great test as to the validity and accuracy
of LRH’s research, to assess the progressing decline
toward “succumb,” the lower one descends this scale.
Of course, anyone intimately or directly connected to
the individual, can be similarly, though not always, brought
down in concert with this this decline.
Probably the one biggest mistake, we, as Scientologists
can make, ( and btw, Ron himself has admitted to this
failing!), is to refuse to acknowledge the entirely accurate
predictions, of what to expect from a person, according to
their CHRONIC position on the tone scale.
This “mistake” of course, seems to occur when one’s
alertness shuts down, or one conveniently becomes too
“trusting” of another’s behaviour,( which may actually be
sending out actual warning signals!) …..Ie. the trusting
parents of a covert drug using or even criminal child!
IMHO, is it impossible to overstate the vital importance
of using LRH’s breakthrough discovery (the tone scale,)
in our daily dealings with anyone & everyone.
In case anyone is interested, there is a fine, ready ref.
book, written, ( in the early pre-Miscavige era days,&
(then) fully endorsed by LRH,) by Ruth Minshall.
This work conveys the broad impact of successfully
using the tone scale, while brilliantly undercutting
the lengthy, somewhat heavy going of SOS!
The title is—-“How To Choose Your People”
available through the web.
Calvin.
Ronn S, VWD, on one! …Flunk on the other!
I like the first bit, but why on earth would you
deem it acceptable to foist “180 dave”onto
either a rock (MEST) it’s inhabitants, fresh
meat (molluscs?), uneducated & like minded.
(whoa, don’t go there!) The least it would likely
achieve is to create yet ANOTHER toxic environ-
ment.(unsurprisingly, yields a boomerang effect!) You and I, (& many others too,btw,) already
know there is just one acceptable solution!
and unfortunately, unmentionable on this blog!
Full link to the “Church of Scientology Sold, Will Be Converted to Home” article:
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=37196
how to choose your people is the book i gave to mick jaggar.
For once I’m lost for words Calvin… !
I am only, for the last couple of months, learning about Scientology- with the fallout of “TomKat” (lol ridiculous) I began hearing about Scientology being at the root of the problem and began a little investigation on the subject myself. I am blown away by the accounts I have read about Marty R, Greg and Debra B, Tory M,etc…. But my very favorite to watch and read about is Mike Rinder!! First of all he has the BEST accent, lol. I have read lots of articles on him and watched lots of YouTube videos with him discussing what he has been through . I just find him most interesting. This article was well written and quite a nugget of information! It amazes me how this man can still be at the top of this stupid cult religion and locked away in some prison somewhere in the desert eating the same slop he forces others to eat!
I dont know where to put this question, so I’ll put it here. As an outsider, first of all, I had some dianetics auditing in columbus – dianetics was good and there is alot to be said for the way you are trained to sort of look at your mind. great exercises. Something that no scientologist EVER talks about, the free ones, you, rathbone.. what was hubbard thinking when he gave that Xenu speech? Was it just a random rambling of sorts, or is that belief part of the religion? Id love someone to shed some light on that- someone with nothing to lose by doing so.
I think Scientology needs to coome out of the closet and just be cool about their past and their mistakes and open their doors up to the public. It just looks to everybody that its a secretive paramilitary organization that noone trusts.
thanks for the indulgence