Originally published February 2, 2014 on Scientologists Getting Back In Comm blog (here) under the pseudonym “Galactic Patrol”.
Note: This article is specifically addressed to those of you who are still actively “on lines” in or around the Scientology orgs. I want everyone to read this and hopefully make use of it in some way, but my message of action is directed to those still in.
Bringing in the New Year is always cause for reflection of things past, and a time when we resolve to do better, to take charge of our lives and make decisions about where we are going into the future. In light of recent events, I felt it important that we take a moment to consider what is happening in Scientology now and your role in that.
There are some who don’t want you to read these words. They are just words and certainly can’t hurt you or anyone else. Yet if you were to ask your org’s Ethics Officer about these words, if you were to call into question why you shouldn’t be allowed to read these particular words, you would soon be sitting with cans in your hands, answering questions about whether or not you mean to bring about the total destruction of the Church. It’s interesting that simple words can have such an effect.
To quote one of my favorite passages, “While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.” And the truth is: there is something terribly wrong with the Church of Scientology, isn’t there?
Where once there was a freedom of thought and expression, there is now fearful conformity. Where once there was the simple idea of taking incremental steps to a place of happiness and spiritual salvation, there is now an endless grind of repetition, being told that you can attain that long-sought for freedom if you will just give that much more of your hard-earned coin. Where once there was Personal Integrity and the Code of Honor, there is now only Command Intention.
How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Certainly there are those who are more responsible than others. And they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? Ethics Officers and Masters-at-Arms, interrogatories, knowledge reports, Courts of Ethics, Committees of Evidence and disconnection from all you hold dear. These are not just words, they are real threats to your dynamics and to your very existence as an eternal being. These all sit just on the sidelines, just out of sight but always present to keep you in line. It was this environment of fear which slowly eroded your reason and your common sense.
Let’s look at this in terms of actual Scientology tech. The ARC triangle is a popular and easily understood fundamental of Scientology. It’s the light, fluffy triangle of understanding, composed of affinity, reality and communication. But what about that other triangle in Scientology, the one LRH refers to as the “Top Triangle”. That triangle is composed of Knowledge, Responsibility and Control.
Like the ARC triangle, this triangle of causation rises in direct proportion to each of its components being raised. In other words, the more knowledge you have of something, the more control you can exert over it. The more responsibility you take for something, the more you are able to know about it and influence it. A simple idea yet how is it actually practiced these days in the Church?
You’ve handed responsibility for your spiritual eternity to an organization which says “Trust us. Look to no one else but us for your truth. Don’t believe what anyone else says. Obey what we tell you to do and your freedom is assured.” Your only source of information about the Church and how it’s doing is the Church itself, through its own event presentations, which are opulent affairs full of fast talk and big words, designed to dazzle and delight but which present very little in the way of actual substance or statistics.
So the question becomes, how are you supposed to achieve the ultimate in responsibility – cause over all your dynamics – if you relinquish your knowledge and control across those same dynamics?
You don’t have to believe anything I tell you. Rumors and entheta are just spread to enturbulate and upset you, right? There isn’t any truth to be found in any person who leaves the Church. They have overts. They went PTS. They are just dramatizing evil intentions. They just want to destroy the church and stop you from making it to full OT, right?
Apply the KRC triangle and find out for yourself. You may recall that ED Int used to stand on stage and preach for people to Think for Themselves. Before he disappeared years ago, that is. It was still good advice straight from the top of the org board. Why not try it?
Ask any of your local org executives, “How many IAS members are there?” or “What are your local org’s actual long-term statistics?” Look at the graphs if they will show them to you. What happened to those broad dissemination campaigns we used to hear about? And I don’t mean a few commercials at the Super Bowl. I mean dissemination campaigns.
How come the org’s courserooms are so empty most of the time? Weren’t all the LRH materials reviewed and released as 100% standard in 1991? In 1996? In 2004? It’s like deja vu all over again. When are they going to really be “on-Source”? And why do you have to keep paying for it each time they find errors and alterations?
I’m sure you have many other questions of your own. Ask them. What’s the worst that could happen?
It’s not easy to stand up and take responsibility. Who said doing the right thing was easy? It’s still the right thing to do.
In the end, responsibility is the only thing that is going to set you free.
Thanks, Chris!