The Enemy

Posted on March 21, 2013 by | 463 comments

I commented twice in the discussion on the post Scientology Regression that there is no enemy; the malady is having to have one.  Apparently, Scientology instills the firm belief that there are people worthy of the label ‘enemy’, and that such people must be depowered and dispensed with, or in some cases made to be and act in an acceptable way.  I’m sure someone will cite to What Is Greatness?, originally published as a magazine article in March 1966, to stop this train of thought.  In that case, someone else can just as easily cite HCO PL The Responsibilities of Leaders, issued as policy less than a year later, which justifies murder provided it is carried out stealthily against the enemy of a worthy enough power.

You even have a self-auditing process in Scientology designed for people deemed by authorities in the group to have acted in a way that warrants the label ‘enemy.’  That formula requires the individual to change the very essence of his being – his very concept of his own identity – to conform to the liking of the powers that be in the group.  That can be a rather dysfunctional, destructive process given the fact that finding out who one really is is the end product of the Scientology bridge itself.  In order to be accepted back into the group he must, in addition to other steps, ‘deliver an effective blow to the enemies of the group one has been pretending to be part of despite personal danger.’

I think it is worthwhile for someone who has adopted Scientology beliefs to think about what notions have been inculcated into oneself about labeling people as ‘enemy’ and treating them as such.  Think about the effect it might have on your relations and your own peace of mind.  For contemplation about how to deal with anyone who might declare you an enemy of him or her, an apt passage from the Tao Te Ching describing what is a ‘great man’ might assist:

      He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts.

463 Comments

Posted in ethics, healing, independents, Integral Theory, justice, l. ron hubbard, policy, Scientology, Tao Te Ching

Tagged , , ,

Something Can Be Done About It

Posted on March 20, 2013 by | 104 comments

by Mike Rinder

For 4 years, Marty Rathbun’s Blog – Moving On Up A Little Higher – has provided an invaluable service.  It has been the best source of news on the current goings-on in the world of Scientology, exposed truths about what has happened in the past,  provided a venue for those newly emerging from the bubble of the Church to announce themselves to the world, given insight into squirreling of the tech, offered helpful advice on sources of wisdom and became a place to find new friends or reconnect with old ones.

Marty has always said that it was his desire to help raise spiritual awareness, to move on up a little higher.   If you are a regular reader you have probably noticed his blog evolving away from the daily news into higher concepts and discussions. This is something that is important. And it is a message directed to those who have well and truly left the church behind and are moving onward and upward.

But I feel there is still a need for coverage of day to day news and activities. And a place where those who may just be emerging from the bubble that is corporate Scientology can find information to help them to break free once and for all.  And perhaps a place where even the seasoned veterans of Moving On Up can keep up with current news.

Tony Ortega’s blog covers a lot of ground, but I don’t see everything from the same perspective he does, and no doubt anyone inside the church, or “under the radar” or recently stepping away would reject a lot of what he says due to his clearly expressed skepticism about the entire subject of Scientology.  That being said, there is no question of the service he continues to provide, standing tall and strong in exposing abuses as a journalist rather than a former insider blogging for a different public.

Sinar Parman recently began a Facebook private group where he keeps everyone abreast of current media, but Facebook doesn’t lend itself well to any in depth articles, and it is fleeting, unindexed and unwieldy to use as a reference source for information even a few hours after an initial posting, let alone weeks or months later.

I have assisted Marty moderate his blog since the early days.  We have agreed that while he continues Moving On Up A Little Higher I have started a new blog Something Can Be Done About It  that will hopefully help fill the vacuum on the “daily news” about Scientology, slanted to the perspective of those who consider themselves Scientologists. And by that I mean nothing more than those who have found something workable in the subject and apply it to their lives. It is not intended as a label, just an easily understandable shorthand for whom I consider the target audience for the blog. I would like it to be a place where those “sitting on the fence” or “under the radar” as well as those who want reassurance that progress is being made towards ending the abuses in the church can find information of value.

I intend to share the latest news about the Ideal Orgs and events in orgs. About who has announced their departure from the church. I plan to cover current news and pose questions that should be asked by those who are still in the church.

As has been the moderation policy on Moving On Up since its launch, a lot of leeway will be given to people who are sincerely expressing a view. But if it becomes clear their only intent is to stir up trouble and distract from the discussion, they will be told they can go somewhere else. It’s simply a matter of deciding whether one person demanding their “right” to yell “Fire” in the theater trumps the right of everyone else who is there to watch the movie.  Anyone who feels aggrieved is welcome to start their own blog. It costs nothing and WordPress makes it very easy to do.

I have tried to make this blog seem relatively familiar to readers of Moving On Up, but I have also added some features. You will see on the right side there is a menu that shows the 10 most recent comments  as I know it is sometimes difficult to navigate through the comments to find what you haven’t read if there are a lot of responses. I have also included several fundamental articles – the 31 Factors, Debbie Cook’s Open Letter and The Letter from Garcia.  The earlier posts I wrote that were published on Marty’s blog (see the button at the top of the page “All Posts”). And recommended books are also included. Not all features and aspects are fully finalized, but its operational enough to get started then fill in all the blanks and iron out any bugs as they arise.

If you have an article or information you think may be of interest, send to me at idealorg@hushmail.com.

I look forward to hearing from you.

104 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Scientology Regression

Posted on March 18, 2013 by | 360 comments

Michael Moore, President of the International Freezone Association, posted an article on the iscientology blog apparently in protest of the message this blog, and my book What Is Wrong With Scientology?, have been proposing as a course to assure the future relevance of Scientology:  integrate, evolve and transcend.   In his article, What is RIGHT With Scientology, Mr. Moore asserts that the reason Scientology has a bad rap is because:

In today’s western society man is cultured into believing that he is basically bad, cannot be changed for the better, and is a body only run by a brain and all efforts are in the direction of reducing man’s level of responsibility through the encouragement of laziness and increased regulation. Through repetition such mores become the accepted norm and efforts to introduce a more causative approach for man, such as Scientology, hit this head on. Hence it takes time to assimilate a new and radical ‘think’.

“All efforts” in “today’s western society…are in the direction of reducing man’s level of responsibility through encouragement of laziness and increased regulation” and apparently to condition him into believing “he is basically bad, cannot be changed for the better, and is a body run by a brain”?   This statement is so sweeping and absurd as to communicate to the world that Scientologists are uninformed, isolationist cultists.   Perhaps, even fascist cultists, given the  political slant he apparently felt compelled to toss in.  At best, it is a complete effect point of view, rivalling the victimhood that Scientology Inc. instils in its members to be totally certain and right in the face of the most fantastic wrongnesses.

Mr. Moore goes on to assert:

There are many philosophies and religions with promises either based upon behavior or practicing certain rituals to assure oneself a place among the gods so to speak. But not one of these religions or philosophical ideologies or practices, prior to Scientology, attempted to increase the abilities, responsibility and causative levels of an individual using a practical application of the philosophy in the form of a technology, the techniques of auditing and the bridge over which to travel to attain higher states of being in a measured and predicable fashion. On the contrary it was a case of pray hard or meditates (sic) hard and leave everything to the gods.

Does anyone have an idea what religion and philosophy is promising people a ‘place among the gods’?  Ironically, of all religions, this claim fits Scientology more than any other, what with the hyperbole of ‘powers’ and total ‘causation’ to be had by following its rituals and behavior.  His sum up of every religion and philosophy outside of Scientology as ‘pray[ing] hard or meditate[ing] hard and leave everything to the gods’ is far more ignorant and bigoted than anything that would possibly emanate even from David Miscavige’s Scientology Inc.

Moore’s  article more than bristles at the repeated suggestions on this blog that Scientologists recognize the similarities between it and other practices (which incidentally, never once imply that a single Scientology auditing procedure be altered).  His implication that there is no possible gain to be had by the hundreds of millions of people on this planet who in some form or another confront their minds is indicative to me – aside from serving to make Scientologists look arrogant and narrow-minded – that he does not understand the first thing about how Scientology auditing actually works.  He apparently believes it has to do with the ritual and not the act of seeing something exactly as-is, so as to as-is it.  Yes, yes.  The ritual is remarkably workable.  It is directed and patterned and performed  with an exacting discipline that is extremely effective.  But the ritual does not blow the charge – the individual observing, or witnessing, exact time, place, form and event is what blows charge.  To say that witnessing never happened anywhere else in the world ever is to tell the world you are a pack of mislead idiots who never did anything worthwhile with your mind and yourself as a spirit.  I got news for Michael, that attitude got Scientology where it is today.

Are there any practicing Scientologists out there who see these types of public statements as uninformed, bigoted, and/or arrogant?

Are there any practicing Scientologists who believe it is a wise course to attempt to integrate, evolve and/or transcend?

I really would like to know the answers to these questions.

I don’t think piling on or launching assaults on the alleged character deficiencies of me or Michael will contribute to anything constructive.  I really think we need answers to the two questions posed.

360 Comments

Posted in David Miscavige, healing, independents, Integral Theory, l. ron hubbard, office of special affairs, tech, the future, the Reformation, the world

Tagged , , , , ,

Ron the Integral Thinker

Posted on March 15, 2013 by | 199 comments

I finally got around to watching several of the interviews of Phil Spickler that are posted on You Tube. What a breath of fresh air. A wise man who evolved through Scientology and lived long enough to speak about it with measure, intelligence, compassion and hard won experience. Clearly, Phil doesn’t have a horse in the race nor any agenda other than sharing his experience and what he took from it for the purpose of helping others. I am including one video in particular here where he and I share some observations. I am going to tell a back story to demonstrate why I think it speaks to Phil’s credibility and teaches an important lesson about Scientology.  Phil and I have never met, spoken nor corresponded.

For the past several months I have been studying sources that L. Ron Hubbard once credited as being influential on his thinking. Several of the critical ones he later eschewed and effectively denied had any connection or relationship to the development of Dianetics and Scientology. From my reading, it appeared to me that some indeed had little influence. That was particularly true for some of the more sensational ones that certain journalists have obsessed with because it made good copy, such as Aleister Crowley (note: in my final analysis though, Crowley’s influence was a dastardly one). However, after reading Alfred Korzybski, the founder of General Semantics, I found far more influence than Ron ever let onto, even if he consistently made more references to Korzybski than just about anyone else.

Korzybski’s 1933 opus Science and Sanity is as close to a template for Dianetics as exists anywhere. Science and Sanity is a 900 page foundation for the creation of a “Science of Man.” Korzybski finds the underlying principle aberration of the human mind is ‘identification.’ He isolates one of the most important foundational skills to develop as that of differentiation, which he calls ‘to distinguish.’ He begins by establishing the need for the use of infinity logic, and to eliminate two-valued logic and the belief in absolutes. Being the first general semanticist he puts extreme importance on knowing all definitions of words, and emphasizes the importance of creating an entirely new nomenclature. Central to a ‘science of man’ is revolutionizing the science of communication. He is the one writer I have ever read whose tone and voice closely resembles Ron’s. He repeatedly emphasizes, with unrestrained vehemence, the need to reject much of what has come before: scholarship, institutional education, mental health profession givens, politics.  He even preaches a heavy disdain for ‘democracy.’ That was the extent of my comparison by the time I ran into Phil’s talk below. He identifies another parallel between Korsybski and LRH that is probably more important than any of those I have noted.

I found the several videos of Phil that I have watched (the 5 part series and the 6 part series) to be chock full of credible information given in a credible manner. I chose the one segment below to introduce the idea that Ron was indeed influenced by his learning – and did not immaculately conceive Dianetics and Scientology, as miraculous as his discoveries were.  Though some might bristle at the suggestion his discoveries were ever represented in such wise, I believe such a reaction would be born out of denialism. It is critical for growth and transcendence to understand that the technologies of Dianetics and Scientology were evolved out 10,000 years of evolution in thought that preceded them.  Unless of course one desires to regress by holding to the idea one can, or must, cling to that which is already written to the exclusion of any other evolved or new original thought.  L. Ron Hubbard applied Integral Theory decades before Integral Theory was even conceived of.  And I agree with Phil’s assessment of and attitude about Ron, he is a hero for accomplishing what he did, particularly in the environment in which he did so.  At the end of the day, I believe what I am noting here, in combination with what Phil talks about, are validations of the credibility of Ron’s work.

Watch the rest of Phil’s talks when you get the chance. The ones I have watched are poignant and contain rich history and observations we all could learn from.

Thanks to Tatiana for having the foresight and for expending the time and effort to capture Phil on video and make it available.

Thanks to Phil for demonstrating that study and practice of Scientology can contribute to our evolution into wise folks.

199 Comments

Posted in acknowledgments, healing, independents, Integral Theory, l. ron hubbard, tech, the future, the Reformation, Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , ,

The Tao of Scientology

Posted on March 13, 2013 by | 377 comments

 

377 Comments

Posted in acknowledgments, ethics, healing, independents, Integral Theory, l. ron hubbard, policy, Tao Te Ching, texas, the future, the Reformation, the world

Tagged , , , ,

Integral Theory

Posted on March 10, 2013 by | 338 comments

There is a tremendous body of work available on the subject of Integral Theory.   It comes from the idea to ‘integrate.’   That is, to bring disparate parts together into a synergistic whole.  Its principle author is a philosopher by the name of Ken Wilber.   Wilber sought to provide maps for those interested in rising to higher levels of consciousness.

He approached the problems of humanoid existence from a completely different perspective than L. Ron Hubbard.  Hubbard’s approach could be characterized as more ‘subjective’ whereas Wilber’s was more ‘objective.’   Hubbard tackled the problem of what was eating him, figured out how to deal with it and developed a technology to share the route.  It was a masterful process of elimination – differentiating those datums that assisted his journey from those that did not, and then codifying the former while rejecting the latter.  His rejection of that which did not assist his route was done in the most emphatic terms, emphasis perhaps added in part, to clearly differentiate his route.  In this regard, he was unparalleled in his ability to detect and label what and who was ‘wrong.’  His emphasis became dissociation and exclusion from other thoughts and ideas.

Conversely, Wilber began with the proposition that ‘everyone is right on some level’.   All routes have a place somewhere on a bigger map.  His emphasis was on association or inclusion.  He looked for the common denominators of great religious, philosophic, contemplative, and psychotherapeutic practices over centuries and placed particular emphasis on objective indicia of workability. From that he developed scales outlining evolutionary phases, levels, and states that people went through from birth to the highest states of consciousness.  Whereas Hubbard was the founder of a mental/spiritual practice or lineage, Wilber was more a philosopher/academic who mapped common denominators of many practices and lineages.

Probably in part due to the vehemence with which Hubbard rejected and condemned other routes, and his established reputation for severely punishing critical analysis of his route, apparently even though Wilber approached the matter with the stable datum that ‘everybody is right on some level’, Scientology was never included in the analysis (at least it was never mentioned).

Ironically, at the end of the day, the work of Hubbard fits quite tidily into the broader maps drawn by Wilber outlining what objective analysis tells us are workable means toward higher states of consciousness.  In that respect a study of Integral Theory serves to enrich one’s understanding of how and why Scientology works.  It also serves as an objective, even scientific validation of the work of Hubbard.  Wilber projects and advocates integral psychotherapeutic and spiritual practice – subjects that all too often are treated as two disrelated practices .  And so it is somewhat ironic that Hubbard gets nary a mention in Wilber’s work when L. Ron Hubbard was a pioneer in the integration of spirit into psychotherapeutic practice.  That is likely due in large measure to the intensity of prohibition on integrating Scientology practice with any other learning or discipline. Sadly, virtually none of the rapidly expanding ranks of Integral practitioners and thinkers – whose work over time increasingly treads on ground tilled by Hubbard – recognize a single word of Hubbard.

Interestingly, Integral Theory also validates virtually all of the commonly agreed upon distinctions that integral-thinking Independent Scientologists seem to have agreed upon that make Scientology workable on the outside and potentially deleterious within corporate Scientology.  That, by no means, applies to many Indies who have shown a violent disdain for the ideas of integration, evolution and transcendence as outlined in What Is Wrong With Scientology? Healing Through Understanding.

There are four potential benefits for learning something about Integral Theory.

First, one can attain a much broader, far-reaching understanding of the technology of Scientology than one could possibly attain from denying himself from studying data of comparable magnitude to it.  Ironically, to those literalists unwilling to expand their horizons, such an approach to learning is recommended in Hubbard’s Data Series (Scientology logic) and Scientology Logic 8 itself: a datum can be evaluated only by a datum of comparable magnitude.

 Second, if one wants to begin thinking rationally with how the subject of Scientology might be communicated to the world, post corporate Scientology Armaggedon, one had better know the vast array of parallels that exist between it and other subjects. In the Age of Information a cloistered, my-way-or-the-hiway, damn the ignorant infidels presentation will likely wind future Scientologists up in remote caves clinging to AK 47s.

Third, for those who have ventured quite a ways up the Bridge it gives you  a number of informative standards by which to evaluate what Scientology has done for you and what perhaps you seek but have not found in Scientology.  In other words, you might find there are ways and means available on this big, wonderful planet that might serve you in moving on up a little higher.

Fourth, for prospective Scientologists and those applying it at all levels of the bridge, integral theory can help you to maintain your own intellectual integrity and sovereignty, integral to full expansion of consciousness and yet put at risk if approaching Scientology with tunnel vision.

For the curious, a good introductory overview of Integral Theory is covered in The Integral Vision by Ken Wilbur, which can be picked up used on the cheap on Amazon books.  A more in-depth, but very well articulated overview is covered in a ten-part interview series with Wilber conducted and published by Sounds True (available on Amazon, and sometimes EBay).

Word of advice.  I am not promoting or recommending Wilber’s own suggested introductory integral program at chapter 6 of the book.   It is a reflection of Wilber the guru or practice teacher, as opposed to Wilber the researcher and philosopher. The former grew out of popular demand by much good
work as the latter.  But, I think anyone who reads this blog is intelligent enough to differentiate when the two hats collapse – which in the broader field of the map making work does not happen often.  I do happen to agree with Wilber’s initially emphasizing the wisdom of an aerobic and weight-training regimen.  I read a Canadian medical study once that found that muscle stress training can greatly reduce the speed of body-aging deterioration (even claims, though I don’t grok the science of it well enough to vouch for it, that on a certain level it can reverse the aging process of the body).  In either event, I have found on a subjective level that a fit body frees all manner of attention units for work on the mind and spirit.

Note for the Kamikazee KSW crowd.   In Wilber’s more in-depth, purely research/map-making work he emphasizes that it is not wise to monkey with workable contemplative lineages. In other words, don’t change workable technology – instead, supplement it where it does not address or meet all of your needs or goals and purposes, and better utilize it by understanding it in greater depth against advances in science, the mind and spirit.

338 Comments

Posted in acknowledgments, healing, independents, Integral Theory, Ken Wilber, l. ron hubbard, Scientology, the future, the Reformation, the world

Tagged , , , , ,

Lessons From Man’s Best Friend

Posted on March 9, 2013 by | 38 comments

A little something we can all likely learn something from:

Thanks to Michael Fairman for passing it along. I learned a few things from it.

38 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Open Your Eyes And Your Heart

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | 99 comments

 

If you can spare ten minutes check this out:

Thanks for this, Chris.

99 Comments

Posted in acknowledgments, healing, Integral Theory, the future, the world

Tagged ,

The Great Ideal Orgs Scam — Update

Posted on March 6, 2013 by | 261 comments

By Mike Rinder

The continued descent of the Church of Scientology from theta into MEST is well illustrated by the Great Ideal Orgs Scam.

You may recall earlier posts describing the beginning of the incident of this 3rd dynamic engram – Buffalo org the subject of an eminent domain action and Tampa org in a strip mall and an embarrassment to Dear Leader who was in Clearwater to ensure his role as executive C/S of Lisa McPherson didn’t surface in the legal proceedings following her death.

With a continued campaign of propaganda by redefinition of terms, Miscavige’s “bright idea” has now morphed into the “LRH Ideal Org strategy.”  Of course, it is nothing of the sort. It is in fact the David Miscavige ideal money making strategy. Anyone who has ever read the Ideal Org PL knows it does NOT call for buying large, unfillable buildings and spending a fortune to turn them into over-the-top demonstrations of wasteful extravagance. In fact, this and other policies warn against just such a thing. But the clubbed seals have swallowed his rotten fish and continue to pay for the privilege to boot. This “strategy” has now taken on the mantle of “Command Intention” (once a term that referred exclusively to the plans, programs and orders of L. Ron Hubbard, now exclusively the whim of Miscavige) and to question/disagree/fail to instantly salute, bow and scrape “on command” is a thought crime of magnitude. Likely to get you declared and subsequently feel the effects of the non-existant disconnection policy enforced by the Hitler Youth (who seem to occupy all MAA/EO positions these days).

So, where does he stand with his “only guarantee of planetary clearing”?  Well, truth be told it is just one of several “only guarantees” including turning over all your worldly possessions to the IAS, 10,000 on OT7 (and it seems no matter how many decades they keep people grinding away they still can’t even get halfway there), handing over more cash to “complete” the Superpower “bridge to nowhere” pork barrel project, or getting books into every library (at least sending them, few libraries put the books on their shelves – that’s known before they are shipped).

The church, through its puppet spokesperson Karin Pouw (Charlie McCarthy to Miscavige’s Edgar Bergen) constantly refers to the “new churches” opened around the world – “10 in just the last 12 months”, “30 in the last 5 years” etc etc as “proof” of the huge expansion of the church under the brilliant leadership of the Dear Leader.  Miscavige hammers this home at every event. In fact it is the ONLY thing there is to show to “prove” the “massive, straight up and vertical expansion.” It has become his obsession and along with the IAS, THE most important activity of the RCS.

But there is a gaping hole in his theory that even the media has started to  comment on.

There are no NEW orgs, there are only new BUILDINGS. And they are empty.

In spite of the astonishing, mind boggling international expansion, there isn’t a new org to be seen ANYWHERE on planet earth. Not one since Moscow, St Petersburg and Athens in the 90’s. Not a single one of the “more missions than ever in history and opening at a rate beyond anything ever experienced” has turned into an org. Not even Kaoishuing which has had an empty “Ideal Org Building” for a decade.

So, now it seems a new strategy has emerged. Take an existing small and failing non-org, move it to a different town nearby, and herald it as “new.” Thus Kitchener “org” (many had never heard of it) becomes “Cambridge” org as it moved 5 miles from its old location to the adjoining town. Maybe he thinks this will fool people into thinking this is a NEW org? My god….

And what of the latest “Ideal Org” to open?

Pretoria in South Africa (another non-org most outside of church management have never even heard of).

It is the first “Ideal Org” in South Africa since Joburg – one of the few orgs that really was expanded by the “Ideal Org” program when they moved out of crime ridden downtown Joburg to a campus in a more upscale neighborhood. In fact, it may be the only “ideal org” where the move resulted in a bettered scene (at least temporarily).  Miscavige made a big deal about it, “South Africa will be the first clear country” and he is “personally going to see to it” hype. That was 8 years ago now. Capetown, Port Elizabeth, Bulawayo and Harare (the last two where there are no full time staff) have had “Ideal Org” buildings purchased for many years and they sit empty — let alone the “AO” at the Kyalami Castle where the church has to pay to hold events as it is being rented out to others.

Joburg today has about 40 staff and backlogged utilities bills of a million rand — all the attention is on collecting money for more “ideal orgs” and IAS and book packages and no attention is on expanding the org. So, even this “model” that started out as a bright spot has faded in the face of the church of MEST.

Now, here’s the rub on Pretoria.

The South African public have dedicated themselves to making “Command Intention” a reality. So, in spite of all odds, they pushed forward and managed to get Pretoria “done.”  Pretoria, another non-org like Kitchener and Canberra and St Etienne and Long Island and Lausanne and, and, and….

The opening was held last weekend. But that is when things went oh so wrong. The wheels are coming off the emperor’s command intention wagon train.

First, despite 10 years of “massive expansion” there were less than HALF the number of people at the opening as for the Joburg opening nearly a decade ago (and it was primarily Joburg staff and public that made Pretoria happen – they are about 30 miles apart).

Second, the org reportedly has a grand total of 80 staff – many of whom are part time. No longer a standard Day and Foundation (that idea was scrapped some time ago it seems).

Third, they have not completed funding the interior furnishings.

Fourth, in the ultimate slap in the face, “COB” sent a “representative” in his place (he has attended every grand opening, even “re-openings” except where he fears things may not be safe — he didnt go to Moscow for example, though he did go to Melbourne).  So, who was his personal emissary?  Not ED Int (not on post), nor President CSI (not on post) nor even anyone from RTC (there isn’t anyone left to send as they have all been busted too).  No, he sent the CO CMO IXU, Kerrie Ibert.  A nobody.  And they don’t have anyone apparently capable of being the local MC, so he also dispatched Erin Banks as the event “MC” — another nobody.

Of course, it’s a Catch 22 for Dear Leader. He didn’t want to go himself (and this HAD to be done so he would have something to show at the upcoming March 13 event) but he doesn’t have anyone of stature to send. The Scientology public have never been told that Guillaume Lesevre, Heber Jentzsch, Ray Mithoff, Marc Yager etc etc are “declared SPs” long since removed from post.  So, the South African staff and public took this as a direct, personal insult. Miscavige thinks so little of them and their efforts, he sends some flunky nobodies to conduct their “grand opening.” And he even went to “Cambridge” in the middle of a blizzard just a few weeks ago.  Major field opinion leaders didn’t even attend the event….

As a result of his disdain for the “little people”, South Africa may become the first country to secede from the RCS. There are a lot of very unhappy people with a  bad taste in their mouth. And like Australians, they tend to have a rebellious, independence-minded attitude…

So, don’t be surprised if there is some big news coming out of South Africa in the near future.

But what has happened in Pretoria “ideal org” since the “grand opening” a week ago?   Someone who toured the org in the middle of primary production time (one of the “87 new people who came in since we opened” hype they have been sending around to show how great things are going) reported that in the SIX courserooms there was a grand total of ONE public student (and one staff member). And in the TWENTY NINE auditing rooms there was a grand total of ZERO people in session.

Not only that, there are still piles of construction rubble and incomplete painting and other “punch list” items outstanding throughout the “ideal org.”

This is what happens when MEST becomes the priority, and even more so, when Miscavige’s events and showing phony videos takes precedence over delivery of Scientology (the March 13 Pretoria video will make it sound like the place is “taking off like a rocket with unprecedented expansion as part of the IDeal Org strategy of planetary clearing.”

Here is a shot of THE lone public in the “new” Pretoria “ideal org”:

Pretoria (3)

Meanwhile, anyone have a clue what happened to the “Ideal Org” buildings that were purchased and have never opened in Battle Creek, New Haven, St Louis, Chicago, San Diego, Kansas City, Auckland, Portland and other cities?

Or any reports on the current scene in the “Ideal Orgs” in Rome, Nashville, Phoenix, Denver, Cincinnati, St Paul, Malmo, DC, Moscow, Berlin, Seattle, Brussels, Madrid, London, Buffalo (since it was “reopened”) or any of the other “ideal” orgs?  I would like to get current reports from any with first hand knowledge.

If Scientologists actually got the facts about what is REALLY going on in the “Ideal Orgs” it might help save some of them from financial ruin supporting a false cause.

Captain Miscavige is sailing his listing ship in ever smaller circles, soon to disappear into its own vortex. It is inevitable. But the sooner it happens, the sooner the passengers are going to jump overboard and can be saved from drowning in a sea of out tech and red ink.

If you have information about the current scene in the orgs, or can pay a visit to your local org for some eyewitness accounts (photos would be a wonderful addition), I would love to hear from you at idealorg@hushmail.com.

261 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Practicing Scientology

Posted on March 4, 2013 by | 197 comments

 

I came across a little something that I think that people practicing Scientology – inside or out of the church – ought to consider while pursuing the higher realms of cognitive development and consciousness it can assist with the attainment of.  The following is a segment of a talk by philosopher Ken Wilber on traps that certain spiritual teachers can set for students.   I think this applies to both the teacher (auditor/supervisor/advisor) and the teachings themselves.  The latter being so, in fact, has prompted several essays by me of late suggesting that while you strive for as close to perfection as you can with technical Scientology procedure, you not fall into the trap of becoming a radical, fundamentalist Scientologist (literalist) whether you are affiliated with the church or not.

From Kosmic Consciousness with Ken Wilber by Sounds True.

Indeed we do have these one or two dozen developmental lines, like cognitive development, interpersonal development, moral development.  And you can be very highly developed in some of those lines, medium development in others and very low development in yet others.

What seems to happen with a lot of meditative, contemplative or spiritual teachers is that one or two lines are very highly developed; and they are, indeed, the lines that have to do with the capacity for introspection, for awareness, for cognitive capacity and they can get into some very, very high states of consciousness.  So in that capacity they are very highly developed, really authentically highly developed. It is not to take anything away from that accomplishment.  It’s just perhaps that their own practice or personality has left two or three or five other developmental lines not very well developed, or possibly atrophied, or possibly even pathological.  And particularly in certain types of spiritual development there is an emphasis on, let’s say meditation or personal interior development – that spend hours and hours and hours inspecting the “I” but not giving a lot of time to polishing your inter-personal skills, or your sexual skills, or your moral skills even for that matter.

The fact that you are a great meditator does not mean that you are going to be a great mathematician or have great musical skills or have any of these other developmental lines.   The problem comes because some of these states of consciousness are so overpowering and appear to be so all-inclusive in a certain way that it’s easy for individuals to say that ‘because I now have this experience of enlightened oneness, that therefore everything about me communicates this perfect oneness.’  And teachers fall into this trap all the time.  And I think anybody who has had these kinds of experiences can see that tendency in themselves; because that experience of ‘one taste’ , particularly when you are tapping into the absolute truth – not just relative – but you are also getting this blast of absolute isness, then it is just impossible for that to be wrong in a certain sense. And in its formlessness that’s right.  It is impossible for it to be wrong because there are no parts.  It just is.  And there it is, you just see it.

That doesn’t mean therefore you excel in all these other areas.  The problem comes when students come to spiritual teachers and the spiritual teacher is trying to help the student overcome ego which is a very important part of spiritual growth.  You have to sort of grow beyond your own individuality, your self contraction, your separate self.  And what the teacher tends to do is then – half the advice they give the student is very good, half of it is usually a disaster.

The good part has to do, indeed, with the areas that the teacher is competent in, and can spot self-attraction, can spot ego and so on.  But the areas that the teacher is not competent in, then they start criticizing the student for things that might in fact be very wise on the student’s part but can’t be spotted by the teacher.  It can be in anything, it can be in any sort of relation, it can be in the job, it can be in work, it can be in marriage, in any sort of relation you are in.  And the teacher is telling you ‘no, you are doing that because you are contracting ego, you are doing that because you are being egoic, you are not taking my advice because you are resisting me.  And your resistance to me – the teacher, guru, master – is evidence of your ego, your contracted, illusory ego.’  But it might be evidence of your discriminating wisdom growing and evolving.   But because the teacher is not evolved in those areas, the teacher can’t spot that.  All the teacher can do is spot any disagreement you have with the teacher as if that is egoic contraction, when the disagreement you might have with the teacher is with that part of the teacher that is a jerk – and you should disagree with that.

If teachers don’t have some form of integrally informed awareness, then it is going to be hard for them to discriminate the areas in which they are competent to make these kinds of judgments in and the areas they are not very competent in.  And that is a real nightmare, for everybody.  We’ve all had teachers like that. To the extent that any of us are teachers we get caught in the same traps ourselves.  And the only thing that we can do is to continue to have this dialogue in an integrally informed context.

 

197 Comments

Posted in healing, independents, Integral Theory, quotations, tech, the future, the Reformation

Tagged , , , ,