The weekly show where I answer questions from viewers left in the comments section of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at askchrisshelton@gmail.com. This week, the questions I answer are:
(1) You seem to have recovered so well and so quickly compared to the many ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses I know who were in the cult for a similar amount of years (including myself). That’s all the more surprising considering that Scientology seems to do a much greater mindf@@k on the followers than even the JWs, but of course, there’s no good or healthy cult. What has been most helpful to you in your own recovery and what would you recommend to new cult escapees?
(2) I am a retired psychiatric nurse practitioner who has become fascinated by Scientology and its mind control methods. Fifteen years ago I was teaching Psychiatric Nursing at a state university and had two young men in my class. They kept to themselves, did not mingle with the other students, and seemed uncomfortable with the class material as well as the clinical experience in my Psychiatric Nursing course. After the final exam, they told me their beliefs about psychiatry, which were, of course, shocking to me. They confessed that they thought all psychiatrists were evil and were intentionally trying to harm people.They asked me if I had ever heard of Scientology and invited me to their “church.” I politely declined, and as they were walking away, they turned and said, “Oh, she’s just a wog.” At the time, I had no idea what that word meant. Do you know if Scientology in the past has actually sent some of its parishioners or Sea Org members to universities to become nurses? This is a chilling thought, as I do not think that the philosophy or practice of nursing would be compatible with the belief system and practices of the cult of Scientology.
(3) Is there any affiliation between the Church of Scientology and Landmark International (formerly EST)? An acquaintance of mine went through that program, and when she described it to me, it sounded very familiar in structure.
(4) Do Sea Org members vote or take an active interest in politics? If so, do those in charge influence the membership to vote in a particular way or for particular candidates? Does the Sea Org vote as a fairly homogeneous block or are political opinions within the organization as varied as the general populous?
(5) I have a statement, not a question, but I would like to hear your response to it. In an earlier video you talked about the way that dangerous cults foster an “us versus them” mindset into their victims. You ended with saying something like that is never true. I live in a place (I shouldn’t name names) where people are deeply divided along racial/religious lines; where people can be hurt, and even killed, for literally no reason, for hatred. Now, I do not know anyone who would not like go be at peace, I do not believe there is anyone who does not recognize that the other people are real folks who deserve respect and life and all that, but at the same time our lives are in danger, our children are in danger: that is paramount, it is literally us versus them. Nobody alive created this situation, we just have to live with it. The point is that sometimes “us versus them” is true. Sometimes it is reality, and one must face reality as it is.
(6) I’m still curious to know what your opinion is on Shelley Miscavige. What do you think happened to her?
(7) Can you tell us what has changed for you emotionally? What do you feel now that is different from your years in Scientology? I know you have said that in Scientology you had learnt to hide your emotions and pretend that everything was just fine. What is it like for you to no longer have to control your feelings? Frightening? Freeing? Exhausting? Thank you for the very interesting and informative videos. I have enjoyed ever single one of them. You are a talented writer, speaker and presenter.