For our final Q&A show of 2023, we covered a bunch of topics including a breakdown of why “the greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics” is a farce, whether Scientology is racist, how to deal with family members who are taking a serious interest in a cult and more. Enjoy!

This week in our live stream we covered a lot of ground, including whether David Miscavige might be being paid by the IAS, how Scientology treats Thanksgiving as well as some real life lessons about blame, shame and hindsight bias. Enjoy!

This week it’s answers about prosecuting Scientology; how connected are the Sedona Method, EST & Scientology; some blunt talk about COVID conspiracies and more. Enjoy!

(1) When it comes to prosecuting the Church of Scientology, what’s in it for the government to go after the cult? Years of lawsuits, tying up courts, delay after delay and can it be proven better now that this isn’t a religion? Could the IRS fight Miscavige better now than before? 

(2) What do you know of former disciples of Hubbard such as Lester Levenson of the Sedona Method and Werner Erhard of EST / Landmark Forum? I had heard that both of these men had been declared SPs by Scientology. I wonder what is known of their relationship with The Master.

(3) What’s the strangest question about the cult you’ve gotten? And the oddest in general?

(4) Has anyone ever done a complete investigation into the death of Quentin Hubbard? I never really accepted the suicide story.

(5) What is your opinion of the assertion some are making that many people have died following the COVID vaccine? They are saying that it is not a side effect but that it was designed as a bioweapon. Just wondering what you think about that. 

(6) In a lecture to auditors called “Unknown Datum and MEST” in 1955, Hubbard talks a lot about knowingness and not-knowingness and how not-knowingness leads to knowingness (which makes no sense to me, but is familiar from Landmark/EST speak). Can you talk more about how not knowing something can lead to knowing something in the Scientology sense? It’s all word salad, and confusing concepts.

This week, it’s answers about how Scientology really doesn’t plan very well for the future, Miscavige’s lavish lifestyle, some thoughts about cult critics who body shame and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) In the United States, many big-name universities raise money from alumni. Some of it comes in during the alumni’s lifetimes, but a sizable chunk is derived from universities being written into the alumni’s wills (there are sizable tax benefits to doing it this way, too). Does Scientology have a similar practice or is David Miscavige more concerned with taking money from people while they are still alive? 

(2) What is your thought on why Miscavige is living such a lavish lifestyle compared to L. Ron Hubbard? Scientology expanded a lot in the 1960-80s and Hubbard had money but now with these Ideal Fraud Orgs, and the IAS whales, it seems like Miscavige is over the top. A pair of his shoes could buy pizza for all SO staff for 2 years straight. I have no doubt LRH enjoyed great meals and had the best cameras but even when on the run he had a little ranch or a trailer or stayed in cheap motels. It’s almost like LRH never wanted to be found whereas DM says ‘Here I am, look at me!’ and can do no wrong.

(3) Do you have any thoughts about the body shaming of David Miscavige over his height by some people on YouTube? I get the joke and how he’s insecure about his height but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for me. I’ve always thought cult leaders should be shamed for their behaviours and abuses, rather than their body. It also occurs to me that DM will probably never hear such comments in his isolated bubble, but anyone watching who is also insecure about their height or whatever will. There’s a risk of becoming an abuser whilst trying to stop abuse. What do you think?

(4) Is it possible that to declare a person a “suppressive person” is a violation of their civil rights? As we all know, the 1st Amendment protects speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. By declaring someone suppressed and removing their family from them, technically, they’ve interfered in a family’s right to be…..a family! Of course the church would say that the remaining family are free to go with the SP but they know that in doing so they’re be forcing the family to choose between alienation from their own religion, beliefs and friends or stay and forever lose contact with a wife, child, or husband etc. Article 12 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states; “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

(5) Is binging on true crime a cult behavior?

(6) In a lecture to auditors (1958) LRH mentioned something called a “bracket” which is a term I haven’t heard. What is a bracket and how does it apply to auditing?

This week we covered a lot of territory in our live show, including conjecture about Masterson being declared suppressive, commentary on Scientology lawsuits, my unfiltered opinion about Scientology word clearing and a lot more. Enjoy!

This week in our live show, we discussed how David Miscavige is gutting Scientology in a way no one else has seemed to notice, whether Scientology can survive the internet, a rundown on spirituality and cult recovery and a lot more. Enjoy!

This week, it’s answers about whether Scientology can be reformed, the Masterson court letters, belief and cognitive dissonance in Scientology and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) Do you consider Scientology to be unreformable? i.e. that there is nothing of workability there to fix, that it’s all fiction?

(2) Do you think Scientology personnel wrote the reference/character letters to the judge in the Masterson case and then instructed Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis to sign, and that somehow, they thought they had to go along? Those two looked extremely uncomfortable in their taped reaction to the public backlash. Scientology went to a lot of effort to protect this criminal and menace to women.

(3) I was recently talking with a Scientologist above the level of Clear, and asked him about the subject of Scientology. He was giving me the usual endorsement and said that one of the things he likes is that nobody tells him what to think. I suppose he was referencing the statement: “what is true for you is true”. I politely asked whether that is against KSW. He promptly denied and said that KSW is only about teaching the correct Tech. I don’t think what he said is true. To the question: was he lying or is he in denial? If so, how can he keep the dissonance together?

(4) Why does the CoS consider things like “The Way To Happiness” book a kind of LRH “technology?” What’s so ‘technical’ about telling people to brush their teeth and respect their folks? And is Criminon anything more than dispensing “Way to Happiness” pamphlets to inmates?

(5) Playing on DMs website I saw a photo of an awards ceremony of COB being pinned by a General for all the “humanitarian” work he’s done in Columbia? The site went on to further state that because of Scientology, violent crime decreased by 96% – which is laughable. I’m curious, what is the Colombian Government thinking in giving Miscavige this award? Did they have to pay off everyone from the top down, or is this a fake award like in the bottom of a Cracker Jack box? Please explain.

(6) An ex-Scientologist recently talked about how discussing a policy letter in Scientology called “Leavings and Leaves” with anyone would be considered a Suppressive Act. That’s a phrase I haven’t heard before. Is there anything in the “scriptures” about how just talking about leaving Scientology is a suppressive act?

This week, we covered a lot of ground in an extended-length episode including me relating the craziest thing I did while in the Sea Org, a discussion of memory and how unreliable it is, why Scientologists don’t need evidence and a lot more. Enjoy!

In this week’s live stream we covered a LOT of ground, from the differences between Scientology organizations to how to deal with negative self-imaging to commentary on the celebrities who wrote letters of support for Danny Masterson. Enjoy!

This week, it’s answers about coercive control vs public relations, sexually inappropriate Scientology, issues with artificial intelligence and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) Why is it so hard for people to agree to disagree and still get along? I don’t demand others to agree with me on everything in order for me to like them or be nice to them. I don’t quite understand why it’s so difficult to be able to disagree and not be treated differently. Of course I don’t want to hang out with a racist, but that’s a bit extreme and I see this behavior in the smallest opinionated differences or about things that don’t really matter. Are people that hard wired to their opinions/beliefs that they feel attacked with any little opinion difference and strike out? What do you think?

(2) It came to my attention, from a YouTube video from somebody who is not exactly your best friend, that there are supposed to be commands in Scientology to touch certain body parts in an audit situation. As a former “Auditor”, can you validate this claim? Are sexually inappropriate commands a regular “requirement” or is it mainly dependent on the auditor, who might misuse their power in some cases?

(3) Would you consider doing a video on crossover between undue influence and PR? It’s fascinating. When we talk to individuals they are so smart, but when we put something out to the masses, things seem to get mega-filtered and only some info and feeling get through and you have to deal with the unconscious. The themes common to PR and cultic manipulation are fascinating and you’ve touched on them many times but not in a specific video.

(4) Where do you think artificial intelligence (AI) is going? What are the risks? I was wondering if AI will have the ability to instantly see the consequences of the action it is about to carry out and then change the direction to a more survival action? For sure it won’t do what humans do now – either not see the consequences or see them but instantly justify the action as correct even with full awareness of the inhumane action. That’s what all cult members, addicts, parasites and predators do right?

(5) I had an observation (maybe?) which could be confirmation bias or may be a real thing but I don’t remember seeing it talked about anywhere. I’ve seen many people (including myself) gain weight once they leave the SO. I feel like for me there was a regimentation which may have caused some level of food disorder. For me there were 3 times a day where you ate, whether you were hungry or not – you had to eat at those times or you would get hungry later. Also there was not always access to food, the canteen would have to be open or you would have had to buy some before and store it somewhere. I feel like I can’t tell when I’m hungry or full. I will eat the amount of food that is available to me. Once I realized this I started counting calories to try and figure out how much I should actually be eating but I can’t tell based on my body when I should be eating or when I should stop eating. Have you observed anything like this? Is this already a known thing?

(6) You recently made some comments about emotional maturity and how common it is for men to tend to shy away from emotions in general.  I 1,000% agree with you on this but I’d like to hear your thoughts about why this is.  I understand environmental factors are a part of this but do you think neurological differences are a factor as well??