Let's Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky: Hubbard, Dianetics and Scientology (71 page)

To sum up: Hubbard saw the individual’s current state as a
fall from grace, but the individual’s own grace, not that of God. He saw the
Thetan as an all-capable individual, who has gradually restricted his powers,
over “quadrillions” of years, in part to have a “game,” and in part for fear of
hurting others. He called this degeneration the “dwindling spiral.” In
Scientology counseling, the Preclear is directed back to incidents in his past
existences which have shaped his way of thinking (and consequently his current
circumstances). A better future is to be obtained by release from quadrillenia
of long forgotten conditioning, and guilt. Sociologists use the term
“neo-gnosticism” to describe such beliefs when they are allied to a supposed
system of enlightenment (many of the original Christian gnostic sects spent
their time learning the passwords which would give them entry to heaven after
death).

The more indoctrination into Hubbard’s ideas they receive,
the more Scientologists fall in with his view of universal history. When first
reviewing “past lives” in counseling, famous lives will be offered. There are
many Napoleons and Christs. Several Guardian’s Office staff have told me that
they felt they were paying for the harm they had done in former lives as
Gestapo or SS officers. With more indoctrination, the individual starts to
offer incidents which occurred in outer space, and at “implant stations.” Even
so, no-one is required to accept Hubbard’s cosmology whole-heartedly until the
Operating Thetan levels. Much of the philosophical underpinning of Scientology
and Dianetics is as defensible as many of the current crop of belief systems;
OT3 is the point of departure. If you refuse to believe in Xenu or the body
thetans you can go no further. The courses leading up to OT3 (specifically
Grade 6, the Clearing Course, and OT2), are actually part of the same conception,
but their mystifying procedures are not explained until OT3, when the
individual learns he has been dealing with OT3 implants, which had to be
relieved before it was safe to reveal the horrible truth of the entire
incident. At any given time, the majority of Scientologists have not done OT3,
so will not know its content. To them it is a mysterious and compelling promise
of future liberation, but deadly to the unprepared. In over 20 years, only a
few thousand people have actually done OT3, many deciding it was of
questionable value at least, and mind-bending at worst. The secret OT levels up
to OT8 are simply extensions of the body thetan idea (sleeping body-thetans,
body-thetans in parallel universes, etc.).

Certain tenets are essential to Scientology. The first is
the assumption that Man is basically good (although this does not extend to
critics of Scientology, even those who helped to create and sustain the movement:
those who criticize Scientology are irrevocably evil). Scientology aims to
raise the Emotional Tone Level of the individual to Enthusiasm and beyond.
Scientologists believe that any problem, whether physical or mental, exists
because there is some distortion in their perception of it (the lie or
“alter-is-ness” which brings about persistence). They are positive thinkers,
believing that their “postulates” will come true, and seeing their failures in
life as simply failures to postulate with sufficient conviction. To paraphrase
Hubbard: considerations are senior to the mechanics of matter, energy, space
and time. So the Scientologist sees all problems, including his own, as
essentially mental, and self-generated. Scientologists have an optimistic
persistence, allied to acute gullibility. OTs have died of cancer believing
they could postulate it away, avoiding proper medical action.

Despite its claims to be non-denominational, and to welcome
members of all religions, Scientology is essentially anti-Christian. In
confidential materials Hubbard attacked Christianity as an “implant,” and said
that Christ was a fiction.
⁷
He railed against “priests.” The belief
in reincarnation is also necessary for progress through even the early levels
of Scientology. Hubbard’s Scientology morality is opposed to Christianity.
Certain basic Christian values are despised by the Scientologist, who considers
them misconceived. Humility is supplanted by self-pride. Searching
self-criticism is considered dangerous (“never disparage yourself,” to quote
Hubbard). Material wealth is a virtue. Charity creates dependence. In
Scientology, there is no concept of God, nor one of grace. The Scientologist is
in every respect a self-made Thetan.

Nor is Scientology compatible with the beliefs of other
faiths. A Buddhist, for example, could not truly be a Scientologist. The core
of Buddhism is the disintegration of the self (anatta), where Scientology
believes the self to be all-important, and perpetual. Hubbard dismissed yoga,
and all other mystical systems as traps: “Data from India, even that found in
the deepest ‘mysteries’ ... is knowingly or unknowingly ‘booby-trapped’.”
⁸
While receiving counseling the Scientologist is prohibited from other
practices, including meditation. There are specific steps in auditing to erase
adherence to other systems and beliefs. Scientology is the only way. Recently,
the Scientologists have trotted out one of their number who is a Catholic
priest. He says there is no conflict, but has a surprise in store on the OT
levels.

 Hubbard also insisted upon “exchange.”
⁹
Despite
Church claims, no-one has ever told me that they received even an hour of
charity auditing from the Church. In Scientology, it is considered immoral to
do something for nothing. The starving and the crippled are seen as living out
self-generated misfortune. Coupling this to Hubbard’s philosophy of exchange,
Scientologists do not usually give to charity, except to Scientology causes, or
in the interests of public relations (the exchange being the generation of
public goodwill towards Scientology). This can result in an alarming lack of
fellow-feeling. Scientologists are told to have ‘no sympathy’ towards
‘victims’; not to be ‘reasonable’ about their self-induced problems.
Compassion, the foundation of most religions, is strongly discouraged.

On first meeting, most Scientologists have a friendly
demeanor, but this is unsurprising in a group so eager to gain converts.
¹⁰
To promote a practice which supposedly brings about cheerfulness it is
necessary to appear cheerful. Sea Org members are trained to be friendly to the
public, but behind closed doors they are ruthless and scream at their
subordinates, giving them “severe reality adjustments.” Some have a private
conceit that they are the elect, seeing even their own paying public as no more
than cattle to be milked.

Scientologists are often self-confident and self-assertive.
They are not allowed to discuss their “cases” (difficulties),
¹¹
and
are discouraged from even thinking about personal problems outside the
counseling room. They are also prohibited from entering into detailed discussions
of Scientology (“verbal Tech”
¹²
), and from voicing criticism of Scientology.
This can lead to a suspension of the analytical faculty, especially as it
applies to self-observation and self-criticism. Scientologists often take
vitamins instead of medicinal drugs, even avoiding aspirin. Hubbard was not
averse to sleeping with female students, though he did so discretely, until he
became impotent. Promiscuity was not unusual, though by no means the norm in
Scientology into the early 1970s. By the time I joined, in 1974, these days
were over. I did not find Scientologists especially prudish, though Sea Org
members are prohibited from sexual relations with anyone except their legal
spouse. Homosexuality is outlawed, Hubbard insisted that the Emotional Tone
Level of a homosexual is “covert hostility”
¹³
: they are backstabbers,
each and every one.

Scientologist communities have a limited social life; there
is no time. Staff members are hard at work bettering their stats, and public
Scientologists are hard at work to pay off the loans they’ve taken out for exorbitantly
priced Scientology courses. The work ethic prevails. Wealthy people and
celebrities are doted upon by Sea Org members.

There are financial benefits in selling Scientology to
others. Field Staff Members (FSMs) are paid a 10 percent commission on any
counseling, and a 15 percent commission on any training they sell.
¹⁴
There are even a few Scientologists who have derived their entire income, and
paid for their own Scientology, by working as FSMs. Scientology “Registrars”
(sales staff) are openly trained in hard-sell techniques.
¹⁵
They
believe in the power of Scientology to such an extent that they will push
individuals into financially disastrous situations, and many people have been
financially ruined by Scientology. There is a widespread belief that people
will automatically become capable of repaying loans after they have taken the
Scientology courses or counseling those very loans paid for. The Registrars
receive a sales commission, and are usually the only people in an Org who make
anything like a living wage.

Recruitment for staff is a constant pressure on public
Scientologists. There is a push to “recruit in abundance,” to use Hubbard’s
expression. Students are carefully routed through various sections of the Organization
when starting and finishing a course. Recruitment is built into the “routing
form” at the end of every course. The majority of Scientologists spend some
time on staff.

Most Scientologists genuinely want to improve society. They fervently
believe their ideology is the only hope for a better world. Hubbard’s motives
are highly questionable, but the motives of the great majority of
Scientologists are good. They wish to make people happier and more capable.
Nothing in their philosophy jars with receiving a commission for doing so,
though most take their commission in Scientology “services.”

In some respects, Scientology is a philosophy well-suited to
the last phase of the rapacious Industrial Age. It glorifies personal wealth,
and teaches people that they are not responsible for the condition of the
world. It is geared for the high speed of modern society, raising statistics
and increasing production, concentrating on quantity at the expense of quality.
It is also claimed to be virtually “instant,” though after decades of noisy
claims the Scientologists are still incapable of producing anyone who meets the
criteria laid out for a Clear in Hubbard’s original book,
Dianetics: The
Modern Science of Mental Health
¹⁶
Some Scientologists have given
almost forty years of their lives, and enormous sums of money, without
attaining any of the promised abilities of the state of Operating Thetan.

 Membership of Scientology is split into distinct
categories. Having become involved, some people remain “public” Scientologists.
They pay for their auditing and training and do not become staff members.
Because they cannot afford the exorbitant cost of Scientology, many join the
staff of a Mission or Org. A large proportion go on to join the Sea Organization.
The majority leave the Sea Org within a few months, and end up paying huge
amounts in “Freeloader Bills” for the Sea Org training they received, before
they are allowed to receive any more Scientology. All Scientology staff members
are under contract, and a Freeloader Bill is imposed on anyone who leaves
before their time is up - whether it be the two-and-a-half or five year staff
contract, or the Sea Org’s round billion. Freeloader Bills often amount to tens
of thousands of dollars. Those who fail to join, or drop out of, the Sea Org
often feel guilty or inadequate.

As well as the distinction between public and staff
Scientologists, there is a divide between those who have taken OT levels and
those who have not. At any given time, the majority of Church members will have
no idea of the contents of the secret OT levels. They adulate OTs, believing
them capable of all sorts of magical feats or “OT abilities.” It is amazing how
well this mystique is maintained, as in Scientology there are no credible
demonstrations of paranormal abilities. Bathing in this admiration, many OTs
begin to feel they really do have psychic powers. Most encourage the uninitiated
to believe their fantastic notions about the state of “OT.” Dissatisfied OTs
usually believe that their inability to perform is their own fault, and avoid
disabusing others of the beliefs Hubbard has given them about OT.

After years of claims about the powers of OTs, Hubbard
redefined the state in 1982. He said the available OT levels were actually a
preparation for
real
OT levels, which were yet to be released. Even so,
each level confers a new status upon the recipient, and the OT is convinced he
knows a dangerous secret. OTs usually believe they are influencing events
through psychic power.

A set of beliefs can create a community which is almost a
nation apart. This is certainly true of Scientology. Comparison with real nations,
and their agencies, sheds a different light on the behavior of the Scientology
community. While the totalitarian system of the Communist bloc provides far
closer parallels with the authoritarian and absolutist nature of Scientology,
Hubbard’s roots were in North American soil. The tremendous virtues of the
Freedom of Information Act, and of Congressional Hearings, have made knowledge
of US government agencies’ malpractices available, and individuals have been allowed
to speak out against abuses. Watergate, Irangate and revelations about the
CIA’s violations of international law have drastically altered public opinion.
It became obvious in the 1970s that immoral means were being used in an attempt
to maintain and extend the American dream of a democratic world of free
opportunity. The public Scientologist, and most staff, are in the position of
the American public before this information became known. They believe that the
Church exists to “Clear the planet,” and create an ethical society. As with the
pursuit of the American dream, the truth shows an ideal severely tarnished.