The weekly show where I answer questions from the comments section of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at AskChrisShelton@gmail.com.
Link to Jeff Hawkin’s book, Closing Minds: http://goo.gl/mmXUGb
This week’s questions are:
(1) Hi Chris, I was just wondering what your opinion is on Scientology private schools? Schools such as Delphi Academy. Why do they advertise their schools as an “Applied Scholastics” school and withhold the information of a Scientology link?
(2) What is your current view on psychiatry? If it has evolved, can you describe that evolution?
(3) Hi Chris, you define Scientology as a money making scam etc… but would it be correct to say you are then only referring to Church of Scientology (orgs, Sea org, management, IAS, etc) and not the texts and materials of Scientology as a philosophical subject? My question is how do you see those in the independent field who get and receive Scientology (auditing/training) at a fraction of the cost (one could say a fair exchange) and believe/think/feel/know they get benefit from it? Would you say they are still in a destructive cult induced state, or otherwise?
(4) A lot of the techniques used by Hubbard and later by Miscavage seems to blur the line between mind control and aggressive PR techniques. Would you consider that statement correct or maybe would you say that bottom line, PR and mind control are basically the same thing? And on that train of thought, given you lean toward answer B, could it also be said that somehow, corporations, states and maybe even professional corps and association could also be considered cultish?
(5) I was on some course or another for about a year in the CoS. While doing some of the courses I “learned” that suppressive people cause many of society’s problems. In particular some of those problems are physical in nature. Well, I am a disabled person. I was born with cerebral palsy. In the time I was in CoS I never saw another disabled person in the Orange County org or in the Los Angeles org. One of my questions is, what does Scientology think about people with disabilities and because I have cerebral palsy does it mean one or both of my parents are suppressive persons thus they caused my disability? My final question is, are there any physically disabled people in the Sea Org?
(6) Is Scientology racist?
(7) I have heard recently that now Sea Org members at Int Base cannot be married. Is this at Management only or Gold also? Also, when did this start? Do SO members wanting to go there get asked to divorce before then can move up? Can you talk about this topic.
(8) I’ve read on Tony’s blog that the church is going to release OT 9 and 10 later this year. I remember a post on Marty’s blog stating that OT 9 and 10 do not exists. What do you think Miscavage could possibly throw together to resemble an OT level that Hubbard never wrote? Also when the new levels fail to deliver the promised results, do you think that will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for many long time high up members?
(9) What is the thinking behind my endless eternity depends on what I do, here and now, in Scientology?
(10) In the event of Scn imploding, caused by a myriad of things, or Miscavige meeting with his just deserves, what is going to become of the buildings and land in the Scn portfolio? Will all the gullible doners, who have been responsible for their acquisition, have any rightful claim over them, or will they become null and void?
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Hi Chris,
I have read a lot about staff only getting about $50 per week. This just doesn’t add up, how can anyone live on $50 a week? I understand sea org members get food and berthing so assume have limited expenses, but do staff also ‘live in’? I thought they would have their own homes and if so, how could they possibly do so on such low wages? They couldn’t even pay rent, so how do they get fed, pay bills etc?
Also, do sea org members get to do courses? I have read that they do not have to pay for courses but then don’t have any time to actually do them because they work about 15 hours per day. If their aim is to ‘clear the planet’ don’t they notice that they themselves and their fellow SO members don’t even get to Clear?
Thanks
I was on staff at a mid-sized mission back in the early 80’s. Even though the mission was doing quite well by today’s standards, pay was low to nonexistent. I got by on unemployment. I had just quit my real job to join staff, and since I technically wasn’t an employee at the mission, I was able to do this. I felt very altruistic in doing this because what monies would have gone to me went to other staff members who actually needed the money even more than I did. Other strategies were to moonlight. Almost everyone was doing this. Many were on the dole collecting food stamps and welfare as well as cramming lots of roommates into a single housing unit.
The unemployment that I was collecting finally ran out and I was no longer able to support myself. I don’t like being hungry or homeless so I blew and got my real job back only this time 3 states away so that I couldn’t be ‘recovered’. People can get very creative when they are desperate. Back then, no one was making any decent money, not even the regges. I think the ED did ‘ok’, but that is all relative.
Chris – Great stuff as always but I think you were way too positive about the education provided by Delphi. From what I understand, Delphi has few if any college prep courses and sends very few graduates to college. Teachers tend to have no teaching credentials outside of Scientology. When students encounter difficulties, they are often instructed to make clay models. Hubbard’s insistence on clearing every word and demonstrating complete mastery of a subject before moving on means that a Delphi education can take a long time to complete. For example, I have a niece of seemingly normal intelligence who didn’t graduate until she was 19.
I would be curious to hear comments from your viewers who have attended a Scientology school or have any other inside information.