This week, it’s answers about Scientology and the COVID vaccine, my time at Bridge Publications, do thetans have gender and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) What do you think Scientology’s attitude is regarding the COVID vaccine? Would they encourage their members to take it or not?

(2) You mentioned that you discovered that you have a mild case of color blindness when you were working for Bridge Publications. How did your managers and co-workers treat you?

(3) Are thetans inherently male or female? It sounds as if a thetan is just a thetan. So why would homosexuality be a problem? Also what would the point of marriage be? I would think you would have had a relationship with thousands of people over your multiple lifetimes. Is it possible to have had one lifetime as a man and one lifetime as a woman?

(4) I have done introductory Scientology services and they were actually helpful and hence, I got more hooked into it. But I encountered problems doing an auditing step on the TRs and Objectives co-audit course. For the first time, I started having anxiety and would get up in the middle of night feeling afraid. Nobody at Mission could explain it. They did some corrective auditing but without result. The only answer I got was “Something got turned on”. 

In your experience with Scientology, did something like this happen to anyone? Is it a nervous breakdown? Also, I was told I was red-tagged but I don’t know what that means. I got medical tests done but nothing appeared in them. Furthermore, after a few weeks a Scientologist called me and told me that “LRH says that a person can become OT at any point”. Does she mean that I have become an OT?

I used to be enthusiastic towards life and would be focused in my efforts. I journaled about these thoughts for around 4 years after, which the anxiety has reduced but still I have not bounced back. What can I do to regain my earlier mental status? Whom should I see for help – a psychiatrist or psychologist or anybody else?

(5) If Scientology ever lost their tax-exempt status in the U.S, and if there was enough pressure brought to bear on them from ex-SO members and staff (such as numerous lawsuits), could you see a time where a class action lawsuit could be filed and successfully won? I would think there would be a lineup of ex-SO members ready to sign to get compensation from all over the world really.

Do you know if a class action lawsuit can be filed against a Church even? I would not care so much about the amount of damages but just a recognition of the harm done. Curious if you could also comment on the Church’s cash flow. We know they are worth billions but is this in buildings/real estate? Or serious cash reserves?

(6) If copyrighted material was not an issue, what would the most awesome graphic t you could imagine look like?

(7) I think we’re all familiar with the term wog. I was wondering where the term came from. Was it an acronym or just a random word that Hubbard made up?

(8) Would you trust a CPA who has a tongue ring?

This week, it’s answers about how Hubbard tried to validate Dianetics as a real science, off-limits movies for Scientologists, etiquette in the Sea Org and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) Hubbard was known as a writer to go off into a room and write for hours on end, even being up all night, and pounding out voluminous works whether they were stories or Scientology. Did anyone at any point demand Hubbard present some kind of proof or evidence of his work? Did everyone just take him at his word? 

Could this play into the fact why Scientology was never publicly debated or examined because deep down he knew it was a scam and did not need negative publicity?

(2) Are there any movies that involve Tom Cruise, John Travolta, or any of the other usual suspects that are forbidden for Scientologists to watch because they don’t adhere to their values? The only one I can think of off the top of my head is maybe “Eyes Wide Shut” but they’ve both been in controversial movies, even for the secular crowd.

(3) Given the regimentation of the Sea Org and CoS in general, did anyone ever display simple etiquette like saying “Please?” and “Thank you” or giving an acknowledgment of good work, or asking to open a door? Seems simple, but nothing in Scientology is simple.

(4) L Ron Hubbard died in 1986. That means that in 2037 (life plus 50 years), his works enter the public domain in New Zealand, Canada, and a few other countries. That’s only 16 years from now. Does the Church of Scientology have any plan for what happens when Hubbard’s works enter the public domain? Without the copyright protection, what would stop someone from taking Hubbard’s writings and starting a rival church?

(5) What the heck happened to Mission into Time? I remember people in my org discussing it a lot but I never met anyone who actually read it and it was never available in any org’s bookstore. Clearly everyone wanted it back then so where did it go?

(6) Would you watch a rom-com that’s set in prison?

(7) Have you ever heard of Access Consciousness/Access Bars? Do you know about its connections to Scientology?  I’ve heard people say it’s a watered down version of Scientology but I couldn’t really make the connection other than the founder, Gary Douglas, was married to a Scientologist at one point in his life. 

(8) What is your favorite graphic t-shirt ever?

This week, it’s answers about past-life Clears and OTs, the differences between Hubbard and Miscavige as far as Scientologists are concerned, OT Sea Org members and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) When I was still an active Scientologist in the 90s, it seemed like every other person I met in Scientology was a past-life Clear. It was a very popular memory to have been audited by LRH himself and for some reason always in Saint Hill. Even then this made no sense to me. There were past-life Clears who were born in the 1940s but the first Clear, John McMasters, wasn’t  introduced until 1966, so that doesn’t make sense. Still, these Clear statuses were thrown around like candy to anyone who wanted one.

Also, where are all the past-life OTs? Seeing there are probably more past life Clears than Clears were actually made, you’d think you would have a lot of past-life OTs too, after all it’s way easier to remember your past life as an OT, right? Yet I cannot remember ever having heard of even a single past-life OT.

(2) Whom do Scientologists revere more: Hubbard or Miscavige? Would a member get in trouble for exalting LRH over DM in a conversation?

(3) Given how expensive it is to reach the higher levels of the Bridge and how little staff get paid, is there a really big shortage of qualified staff members to teach the OT level teachings?

(4) Are there Scientologists that have committed suicide because things weren’t working out and they were convinced they could just hit the reset button and start all over again due to being an immortal being? For example, maybe you lost all your money or you couldn’t pay for more services or you ended up on the street, etc. What would keep you from just saying “Oh, I’ll get this on the next round” and just suiciding? I’m not trying to be facetious but I wonder if I was 100% convinced of Scientology’s version of reality, if that would cross my mind.

(5) What type of cataclysmic event would it take for those in Scientology, as a whole, to seriously reconsider continuing to be Scientologists? Might it be Tom Cruise going public that he now believes it’s a money-grabbing cult and he’s been conned his whole life? Or maybe David Miscavage gets arrested and while standing trial admits that he was running a financial con in an attempt to reduce sentencing. Or is it the case that, no matter what, the situation is those 25,000 remaining members are staying in regardless?  

(6) Did people ever refer to COB as SOB in private?

(7) What is your favorite spacecraft in the Star Wars universe? Mine is the B-wing.

(8) How are the LRH homes that are kept secret “a memorial and show” when they can’t be seen by anyone? Not even Scientologists are told about them. Creston Ranch and Gold Base mansion are two such homes.

This week, it’s answers about the staff attitude in Scientology, why cults might be a bit more prominent than some people seem to think, the straight scoop on Leah Remini being stalked by PIs and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) We all know that Scientology is toxic and I cannot believe that Scientology staff members are delivering positive news every week. Surely they must get together and discuss the fact that they cannot get new members. Do you think it ever occurs to them now that their ability to attract new public is not going to get better? How do they reconcile their dismal results, week after week?

(2) Why is it that despite their excellent skills/tools of manipulation and control, why have cults and similar high control groups managed to remain fairly insignificant? It sometimes feels like these groups should have no problem taking over countries, and yet they always seem to cap out early.

(3) Jon Atack said on his podcast that Tony Ortega reported that two private investigators were arrested for a rape but their primary mission was to assassinate Leah Remini. He really didn’t elaborate on it other than what I just told you. I’d really like to hear your take on this one. I don’t know how Miscavage could be that stupid. If anything happened to her he would be the first person they would look at. I don’t really know the details but I’d like to hear them from you. 

(4) Suppose somebody were to take their first steps into Scientology today. At what point would they be introduced to the concept of ‘implants’? This seems to crop up all over the place, without ever being treated as a discrete subject in itself.  Even when all the engrams have been cleared away, and all the body thetans exorcised away, they are somehow still there, lurking in the background. They seem to fall into three categories: 

a) Current, ‘this world’ abuses of power (psych-ops and so forth);

b) ‘False ideas’ installed in us by the various extra-terrestrial forces of old;

c)  It’s further implied that there will be a ‘re-implanting’ of such ideas in the period after we die.  Is there any explanation offered for how this is done?  Who or what does the implanting?  Where is it done, how is the thetan taken there, and what is the purpose of it?

(5) Hello, I vaguely remember you saying in one of your podcasts that if any Scientologist is convicted of a felony, or misdemeanor that hurts their PR (in a real court of law, that is), then they are kicked out/declared. I was actually surprised to hear this because I know of a few who have been convicted of crimes, (not going to name any names) and sentenced to prison time, (some who were somewhat prominent people and/or had celebrity status) and they are still widely accepted in the church. Which brings me to my question, how does Scientology deal with people, and in particular, public figures/those of celebrity status within the church who are accused and convicted of crimes that substantially tarnish their image, and as a result could make bad PR for the church?

(6) I know in that court case with Danny Masterson there is a religious arbitration excuse Scientology is using because of something the alleged victims signed. Do I need to call Scientology and cancel some kind of contract to make sure that excuse doesn’t get used on me ever?

(7) Every year I go to Dragon-Con, a multi-fandom convention in Atlanta, Georgia.  Every year I see a booth dealing exclusively in Hubbard’s science fiction publications in the dealer’s hall.  It’s pretty obvious that this is a Scientology outreach effort, and in your most recent Q&A you mentioned that Scientology did in fact use sci-fi as a “gateway” to credulous people.

So, my question is this: what kinds of people do they have staffing these booths?  Are they hardcore Scientologists who may be looking for possible recruits, or public Scientologists who are more plugged into the con scene, or something else?  I recognize that you left Scientology some years back and are not likely to have the most current info on minutia like this, but I’d be interested in what you think is likely.

(8) Do you think that it’s appropriate to have a functioning disco ball installed in a daycare?

For the second week in a row, we did a live stream Q&A show and this week I was helped by my beautiful wife, Melissa, who reads out the questions as we go. We had fun with this hour-long episode and I hope you enjoy it too! 

This week we went live to answer questions, mostly having to do with Scientology and my interests in sci-fi shows. Enjoy!

This week, it’s answers about getting out of the cult headspace, the euphoria of Scientology auditing, stress and pain, and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) As you approach the end of your Master’s education with the goal of helping people exit and recover from destructive cults, how would you guide recovering people to learn to relax and have fun?  What did you discover on the outside that was the most fun when you got away from the bubble world?  Along with that, how would you advise these people to steer clear of the excesses available on the outside?

(2) I would think that many people who might otherwise leave Scientology choose to stay because they fear that an absence of auditing will leave them without a mechanism that they’ve become so invested in psychologically. What was your experience with this detachment from auditing? Once you left the cult did you seek out auditing sessions outside Scientology, or did you feel unsupported without auditing? Are you aware of others who either pursued auditing as ex-Scientologists or did not but suffered a sense of despair or hopelessness relative to their detachment from auditing?

(3) Hannah Eltringham-Whitfield has spoken about the frequent headaches she experienced while in the Sea Org, and how these eventually disappeared after she left. I think that this must be part of the body’s defensive mechanisms. It makes perfect sense that, if a person is under constant and intense stress, the mind will initiate pain. Defending the body from threats and harm is the original function and evolutionary purpose of pain: to force the person to extricate himself or herself from a situation of danger, which in this case is constant and extreme stress.

There is a section in Steven Hassan’s first book Combatting Cult Mind Control where he argues that, within the mind of a cult member, there is a struggle of two selves: between the cult-self and the original self, where something of the original self that has, deep down, survived and still resides in the mind, but which struggles to make itself heard, only occasionally surfacing. 

I know that this is in large part an analogy to simplify and aid understanding, but I am curious to know your opinion on how you see these episodes of pain experienced by cult members, as indicative of a struggle between the cult-self and the original self, for example?                      

Did you experience unexplained (that is, with no obvious physical cause such as injury) and chronic pain while you were in the Sea Org, that you can retrospectively attribute to an ongoing inner struggle between your original and cult selves, or at least your body’s physical/psychological defenses?

(4) Given the massive secrecy around the Xenu story (and as I understand lukewarm reception from the OT III participants), isn’t the Church afraid to put this kind of space opera stuff out there for the public? I mean, even to lower level parishioners that are expected to read all of Hubbard’s material. How would they interpret these gems from their new local “self help” group? The closest thing we had in the JWs would have to be the Revelation stories from John and the subsequent interpretation/illustrations from JW, but even that doesn’t quite compare on several levels.

(5) Among other nonsense, on some lecture LRH described how there’s actually a working and a living civilization with trains and such hidden below the hostile and impenetrable clouds of Venus. Regarding Mars, he said all the bases are hidden behind force fields so I guess you could use that as an excuse why there doesn’t seem to be anything even though it’s surface is pretty much all mapped by now. But he forgot to throw this in for Venus and clearly stated the infrastructure is there, no force fields. But probes have landed in Venus too and if I remember correctly 99% of its surface has been mapped from orbit. There were no trains. How would a current Scientologist explain this to himself and to others?

(6) I would like to know if you think David Miscavige has a “golden child” in the wings that he is mentoring to be the next Chairman of the Board so there wouldn’t be a free-for-all power struggle like when LRH died.

(7) What is your favorite graphic T-shirt currently in your wardrobe?

(8) I have learned through years of looking into Scientology that once one reaches OT 8, Hubbard tells people that they will acquire all the unbelievable powers. Have you met anyone who can display these powers or has anyone ever seen anybody admit to acquiring these powers? How do the very small number of OT 8s currently living come to terms with the fact that nothing they were promised is true?

This week I answer questions about Sea Org members who are OT, what happens to senior citizens, my take on Transcendental Meditation and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) How does your position up the Bridge affect you in the Sea Org? I believe I heard you mention that the Sea Org don’t really recruit people already high up on the Bridge (on the OT levels), probably because it is better for the church that they are paying money for their courses rather than earning 50 bucks a week. You also mentioned that when you were staff and in the Sea Org, even though all your courses and auditing were free, you never had time to do them. However some Sea Org members must get to OT. They are the ones who deliver the OT Levels at the Advanced Orgs, Flag and on the Freewinds, so surely they must be OT themselves. Also to work in “sensitive” areas like OSA and RTC, I expect they would be well up The Bridge. Are they kids of rich public who put their children through the OT levels at a young age? Are they selected based on their dedication or knowledge of the tech or something else? It seems some people join the Sea Org and slave away at some lowly post for decades, while others will hot-shot to the top to be personal envoys of Miscavige (until he throws them in The Hole). How does this all work?

(2) The Sea Organization is made up of the most fervent and dedicated followers of Scientology and as a result they have dedicated their lives to Scientology earning a mere  pittance working crazy hours for virtually no income at all. Eventually these individuals will become infirm and unable to contribute to do Scientology and at that point what happens to them? Do they just dump them somewhere or is there a scheme to take care of these people?

(3) Do you have any insights on Transcendental Meditation? I think it was John Atack who said it is as fraudulent as Scientology. Oddly enough the reason I know about it is from Howard Stern. He swears that it fixed his mental health. The thing is, it’s not a religion and it doesn’t cost money. I’m assuming it’s just kind of daydreaming your way out of bad thoughts. I haven’t been able to find a lot of information about it online that would really satisfy my curiosity so I was wondering if you had your own take on it. 

(4) Can you please explain GPMs?

(5) Of all the criticism that is directed at L. Ron Hubbard on various websites, one thing that surprises me is how few people comment on how poor an author L. Ron Hubbard was. Near the beginning of “Dianetics”, Hubbard poses the following question: “What is the goal of thought?” Despite the question’s obvious ambiguity, I can recall reading onward with eager anticipation of getting some insight into this question. For the remainder of the book, he did not even indirectly return to this question. I have this vision of Sea Org members burning the midnight oil in their dormitories engaging in exegetic discourse, debating the possible meaning of such rhetorical questions. Am I right?

I read his book “Fear” (1941). I couldn’t believe how shallow and one-dimensional those characters were. Here’s a bit of irony. In the book, the main character slips into a vortex and loses 4 hours of his life. By chance, it took me 4 hours to read the book. And like the main character, I want those 4 hours back too! 

(6) In your latest Q&A you talk about thetans coming into the universe at different times. Did Hubbard ever say where the thetans come from?

(7) I wondered if you were fair gamed when you left the Church? Also is there someone or a process to determine who is fair gamed and who is not?

(8) How did you and Melissa meet? Was she ever involved in Scientology?

This week, it’s answers about cult personas, billion year Sea Org contracts, the coverup of Hubbard’s life as told to Scientologists and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) Steve Hassan talks about the cult persona, which is the obedient, conformist persona built on top of the true persona of the member individual. It is the cult persona which enables the person to commit destructive actions, toward oneself or others, in a way he or she normally would not — in the name of God, planetary salvation or whatever is indoctrinated. I’m very curious about your take on, and your own struggles with, this cult persona. How did you retake control? What happened to it after that? Did it just disappear, or can you ever still sense it? Because I assume it was a strong force in your life for a long time. I’m asking because some ex-members, such as Marty Rathbun, seem to have remained in an inner conflict/limbo between past and present selves.

(2) I’m trying to figure out the logical implications of billion-year contracts. Since Scientologists take all of that at face value, they should expect to see reincarnations joining the Sea Org. Does the Sea Org ever try to recruit people by claiming they signed a contract in a previous life? Did Hubbard try to develop a tech to locate the reincarnations of Sea Org members, the same way Vajrayana Buddhists have methods for finding the next incarnation of a tulku? Conversely, can people claim that they don’t have to sign the contract because they already did in a previous life, maybe if they uncovered “past life memories” that fit the narrative? Is there any tech or procedure for that specific situation? If that’s not the case, does it mean every single Sea Org member ends up “blowing” when they die? That would be a depressing thought, for a Scientologist.

(3) It’s well established now that L. Ron Hubbard spent the last few years of his life on the run from the FBI after Operation Snow White and became a sort of Howard Hughes figure. He was hugely paranoid, was injecting strong sedatives when he died and was drinking heavily resulting in pancreatitis that almost killed him a few months before he died of a stroke in a camper van. I’ve even read that he had a massive golf ball sized cyst on his forehead. Now I’m sure within Scientology this is not the grisly picture that is painted of Hubbard’s twilight years. So how exactly is the grim last decade of his life depicted through the air brushed, Vaseline smeared lens of Scientology? Is Operation Snow White even addressed? 

(4) I was watching a TV show recently where a CEO, or some other management equivalent, visits their business in disguise. It made me wonder, what would happen if Miscavige or Tom Cruise visited an Org in disguise and looked for services. If they were actually audited or reg’d for money, how would they react? I’ve heard before that people auditing Tom Cruise were told to finish up because he thought the session was over and they were afraid to anger him. I believe he wanted to leave without a floating needle and was irritated and told the auditor that it hadn’t happened in time (forgive me if I’ve got that totally mixed up!) Would they realise just how empty and badly run Scientology really is? Or do they know and just not care?

(5) I was hoping to get your insights on a matter I’ve often wondered about. Scientology seems to have had sales of books as a fundamental basis of its “growth strategy” since its inception. However, I’ve observed that among Hubbard’s massive literary catalog, only his dreadful science fiction seems to be available in e-book format.   For example, Amazon sells most of his science fiction in both physical and electronic formats, but only offers the actual Dianetics and Scientology books in physical form. Why have e-book offerings been so limited?  One must assume this is a conscious strategy concocted by Miscavige, but it seems paradoxical since the group’s recruitment process so prominently focuses on “read a book”. 

(6) On OT VIII you learn that most or all of the past lives you recalled in auditing weren’t even your memories. So now that they “know” that, why do they still keep auditing these on the lower levels just to tell the PC later, after hundreds of thousands of dollars, oh yeah btw those things never happened.

(7) I know you said Scientology will not completely go away any time soon but if it did completely fall apart, what would David Miscavige do to survive? He has proven he couldn’t get a job in management cause he would be physically abusive to his employees. He would be the worst manager/ director ever. 

(8) Has the Church of Scientology ever been implicated or strongly suspected to be behind the death of any individual that transgressed the church? 

This week, I give a rundown of how soon Scientologists are introduced to the more hardcore stuff, describe a Committee of Evidence, discuss the Key to Life course and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) How long or far enough up The Bridge do you have to go before you learn about PTSness, suppressive persons and disconnection? I can’t imagine it’s immediate or no one would want to join. At what point does it start to turn into something completely different than what you thought it was going to be?

(2) Hey Chris, I saw Aaron Smith-Levin tweet about Comm Ev (Committee of Evidence). I’m not sure if you’ve explained it or not before but I didn’t understand what he was talking about, can you please explain it?

(3) Hi Chris,I read a comment on Mike Rinder’s blog about how you delivered KTL. I’m interested only in Study Tech (not the other insanity in Scientology). The Church no longer offers it; Do you know where KTL is offered?

(4) I was watching your Materials and Directives of Scientology video. You briefly touched upon CBOs, which you had to read and memorize to do your management job. I was wondering if you could expand on those and possibly recite one or two off the top of your head.

(5) I’ve been reading some descriptions of Scientology’s core theology, and as you well know, it states that people were originally god-like thetans that created the physical universe, then forgot their godhood.  But apparently there are also purely physical beings that seek to trap and control thetans?  Does that mean Scientologists believe that some people don’t have souls?

(6) I guess this is a rather tongue in cheek question but once you’ve signed your billion year contract was it ever discussed what happens once you have completed the contract? Do you sign up for another billion years?

(7) Under what circumstances, if any, would Scientology give away their books and lectures for free

(8) Does it seem that Marty, in trying to dismiss/discredit the story of the Headleys, is finally choking on his own words? When I watched his YouTube: Going Clear Movie,  Part 8, he started to have a hard time swallowing and speaking. My gut reaction was that his body was rejecting what his mouth was trying to say.