All About the Mind

Everything you ever wanted to know about the human mind but were afraid to ask!

Here is the ultimate website about the mind: Anatomy of the Human Mind Course. The course is presented in several TV shows. Enjoy!

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Church of Scientology Australia has a great web site

A friend just sent me a link to the Church of Scientology Australia web site. It's a great site. Not only does it have all sorts of data about Scientology but it has a blog featuring news about Scientology and Scientologists in Australia. Check it out!

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

South Africa -- Scientology Victory

Today's story in IOL.co.za is a big dear for Church of Scientology in South Africa!

A tax exemption has been awarded to the SA Church of Scientology by the SA Revenue Services (SARS), the Church said on Tuesday.

"We are ecstatic, this is a memorable and historic day for us as it provides us with an even better opportunity to serve our community and scientologists," said President of the Church, Ryan Hogarth. He said that SARS issued the Church with a certificate on Monday approving its status as a 'Public Benefit Organisation'. "

This was after 42 years and 26 applications to the South African Revenue Service," Hogarth said.

He said the approval followed similar recognition in countries such as Sweden, Germany, Spain, and New Zealand, as well the European Court of Human Rights.

What a win for David Miscavige and everyone else who came to the grand opening of the Jo'burg church four years ago!

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others

Here is something that could bring a lot more peace and happiness to the world:




^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Conflict Resolution

I was delighted to find this article today, in the Himalayan Times. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour has arrived in Nepal!

Kathmandu, September 27 A Scientologist said at a workshop on Wednesday that good communication skills can resolve many conflicts. Speaking at a week-long training for security forces on effective communication skills, Marion Whitta, director, Scientology International Volunteers Goodwill Tour India and Nepal, said, "A policeman who knows how to communicate is much more powerful than a bullet will ever be." She said the root of every conflict is miscommunication or misunderstanding and the effective communication skills can resolve most of the conflicts of the world, rendering arms useless. By developing good communication skills, the security forces of Nepal can really change this country, she said.

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Scientology Books

When David Miscavige announced the release of the basic Scientology books and lectures last month I was impressed, and so I started on my study of them.

But I was really not prepared for how much it would affect my life.

But I've started noticing changes in myself, just from reading the books and listening to the lectures, and I'm beginning to sort things out about myself that have caused me stress. It's quite a relief!

So, I have to say I think if anything, Mr. Miscavige understated the magnitude and importance of these basic books and lectures.

I've been telling every Scientologist I know that they need to get them.


^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

A Man's Life is Changed by a Website

Good news seems to be in short supply these days, so it's great to see an upbeat article about something good that happened to someone: How the Scientology Handbook Helped Me

A large part of the book in question is online at: Scientology Handbook

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

L. Ron Hubbard in Phoenix

I was just reading about L. Ron Hubbard's house in Phoenix on one of the blogs I subscribe to
-- she's posting a nice article about the restoration of this Scientology landmark.

I thought this was particularly timely with the announcement by David Miscavige a few weeks ago about the release of all the Scientology basic books and lectures, now fully verified and restored and available to anyone to read and listen to.

These are the materials that document L. Ron Hubbard's basic research into the mind and life and I've been reading and listening, following his research path. It is the most fascinating journey and I am learning so much about myself!


^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Scientology -- Reaching Out to Help the Community

I read a story from an AP wire on Christian ministers using Scientology technology to help their own parishioners. But I noticed how the author just couldn't resist going to an ardent anti-Scientologist for his views on the subject.

If Scientology raises literacy, improves morality, helps people help one another, helps people to be more productive, why do people go so far afield to try to find controversy about it? Could it be some vested interests that profit off of people doing better in life?

And that points the finger right to the people who DO make a profit off of this (psychs and big Pharma).

That said, here's an excerpt from the article:

Hubbard teachings embraced by faiths

By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press
August 12, 2007

TAMPA, Fla. -- Rev. Charles Kennedy preaches the brilliance of L. Ron Hubbard's words. Children in his after-school program learn with the Scientology founder's methods. Church members study one of his books. The minister calls Scientologists the kindest people he's met and their programs the best he's found.

But he and his congregants are not Scientologists. They are Christians.


The Glorious Church of God in Christ here is among a number of houses of worship across the U.S. -- how many is not clear -- that embrace some Church of Scientology programs.

Scientologists say their interfaith partnerships show people of all faiths clamor for solutions to real-world problems. Detractors say it amounts to a cloaked effort to attract new members. And the clergy who have adopted aspects of the Scientologists' outreach say they're simply making use of programs that work.

"When I see something effective, I embrace it. I took what we could use," said Kennedy. "I haven't found anything that deals with man better than what Mr. Hubbard has written."

Kennedy isn't alone among clergy outside the Church of Scientology in his steadfast appreciation of programs linked to it.

In neighboring St. Petersburg, Imam Wilmore Sadiki's mosque uses one of Hubbard's texts.

At Wayman Chapel in Houston, Rev. James McLaughlin's drug treatment center uses Scientology principles and refers addicts to Narconon, its rehabilitation program.

And at Word Evangelism Ministry in Washington, Rev. Catherine Bego has distributed booklets spreading Scientologists' messages against drugs and for moral living.

Scientology was founded in the 1950s by Hubbard, a science fiction writer. It teaches followers they are immortal spiritual beings, or thetans, who live on after death. The church says there is a supreme being, but its practices do not include the worship of a god.

The Scientology programs being established in other faiths are from the Association for Better Living and Education, a nonprofit established in 1988. It has four main programs: the anti-drug Narconon; the criminal rehab program Criminon; the morality code of The Way to Happiness; and the educational efforts of Applied Scholastics.

ABLE considers its programs secular, and their non-Scientology champions say they are no affront to their faith.

Sadiki has allowed Scientologists to stage a "Good vs. Evil" skit at his St. Petersburg Islamic Center, offers a children's class using "The Way to Happiness" and is considering offering Narconon and Applied Scholastics programs too. Not all of his followers were pleased.

"What is in it that's not advantageous to everyone else?" he asked those in opposition. "They couldn't say anything."

McLaughlin said he was seeking a drug program with more staying power than what his African Methodist Episcopal Church runs. He heard about the Scientologists' efforts and established a new outpatient center after Narconon training.

He says he's seen nothing but good come of it: a higher success rate, saved lives and his own strengthened faith.



^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Reply to Anonymous Comments

I'm going to reply to the comments of a couple of anonymous posters.

But first let me say that the comments on this blog are moderated because I've noticed that on the Internet people tend to lose the normal self restrain and manners that they would practice in a real world, face-to-face situation. For example: can you imagine what would happen in real life if someone came up to you and yelled in your face that you must bow down before the one and only god? A cry of "Call security," would probably go up and the yeller would be thrown out or held until the police arrived. Yet on the Internet people feel they can act this way because they are (apparently) anonymous.

So to the first comment that was from a Christian gentleman who seems to have the mistaken idea that Scientologists think that the religion's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, is a god, I can only say: No we don't. Personally I think he's an awesome dude and I have great respect for him, but nobody thinks he's a god and nowhere in Scientology has it ever been suggested that he is. He never claimed to be any different from the rest of us.

I think that this gentleman was also misinformed about Scientology and God. In Scientology the area of God and what you do or don't believe is left entirely up to you. For more data check here: Scientology and God.

The second anonymous comment was from someone who was (surprise, surprise) also misinformed. They said: "Question authority and think for yourself" a sentiment I heartily agree with. Scientologists are some of the most strong minded people I know. In fact a few years ago in Europe there was a "Think For Yourself" campaign run by the Church of Scientology.

Anyone who wants to become informed about Scientology can buy a book on the subject (Scientology Books), read it and then make up their own mind. Personally I think that's the best way to go about many thing in life - study it at the source and then come to your own conclusions. Don't just take other people's word for it; find out for yourself.

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Can Taking Care of Yourself Help You Be Happier?

Do you know anyone who who doesn't want to be happier? If you do, that's a pretty lucky person (or someone who has completely given up, and really needs some help fast).

There's a lot of stress these days, and if affects people different ways. But one thing it pretty uniformly affects is happiness.

So when I saw this public service announcements for The Way to Happiness I thought -- here's something people need to see.

This video illustrates the first precept of The Way to Happiness a common sense moral code written by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard.




Click here to view other Public Service Announcements

Check it out. See if it makes you feel a bit better. Hey. We can use any help we can get! Right?

PS. You can upload them yourself for your blog too.

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Dianetics: The Original Thesis

Dianetics: The Original Thesis was Ron’s first description of Dianetics. Originally circulated in manuscript form, it was soon copied and passed from hand to hand. Ensuing word of mouth created such demand for more information, Ron concluded the only way to answer the inquiries was with a book. That book was Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, now the all-time self-help bestseller. Find out what started it all. For here is the bedrock foundation of Dianetic discoveries: the Original Axioms, the Dynamic Principle of Existence, the Anatomy of the Analytical Mind and Reactive Mind, the Dynamics, the Tone Scale, the Auditor’s Code and the first description of a Clear. Even more than that, here are the primary laws describing how and why auditing works. It’s only here in Dianetics: The Original Thesis.

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

This is where it all began. There were two books before Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, but DMSMH was the book that made Dianetics into a household word. It is the first book that I read and is the first book that most people read on the subject. Dianetics was the subject that led to the discoveries that became Scientology and Dianetics is still going strong in its own right.

If you want to find out what Scientology is then this is where to begin. The new edition contains:

• The Goal of Man

• The Dynamic Principle of Existence — the one word that motivates all living things

• The Four Dynamics — the drives upon which all of life is compartmented

• The Descriptic Graph of Survival — revealing one’s true potential and how to achieve it

• The discovery of and complete anatomy of the Reactive Mind

• The painful experiences — engrams — contained in the Reactive Mind which command one to act irrationally against their own wishes and goals

• The impact of prenatal engrams — what took place before you were born and how it’s influenced you ever since

• The complete Dianetics procedure to discover and eradicate these harmful experiences so they never affect you again, revealing the one person you’ve always wanted to know — you

It also contains an extensive glossary to make it easy to read, understand and use.

You can buy it here: Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

Basics, Basics, Basics

The new books, lectures and courses are here.

If you are a Scientologist then you probably already know about the basics, but did you know there was an entire website devoted to the subject? Scientology Basics

If you are new to Scientology or just wonder what the heck it is, then the new basic books are for you. They will tell you what it is and how to use it to see if it works. Get a basic book today.

To start, I recommend:
Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health
Scientology, The Fundamentals of Thought

Tackling Crime in Southern Italy

You know, so much money is spent warehousing prisoners, and such a high ratio of prisons return to the streets and commit crimes again. If we could put some effective rehab into prisons it would not only save the lives of the prisoners (and all their victims) but think of how much money could be put into programs to improve our communities, give incentives to people to start new businesses, build parks, protect the environment and improve education!

I just found an interesting story about the Scientology Cavalcade in Bari, Italy which is what got me thinking about this.

Apparently this city is infamous for the amount of crime in the city. A survey was published on June 26th that found that 60% of the people of Bari wouldn't have any problem moving away from the city. I think that's pretty significant, because the Italians I know seem to be about their home towns.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers European Cavalcade are working with police in the city to help with this problem.

It makes sense to me.

A few years ago I spoke with a Scientologist who did volunteer work with young offenders, using some of the materials from the Scientology Handbook. She was so pumped about how well the kids she was working with were doing. So I think this is a terrific idea.





^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

One Scientologist's Story

There's a concept that is really central to the Scientology religion. It's on the Scientology web site. "In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true."



In Scientology, nobody tells you what to think. Rather, Scientology is a route to self discovery.


When I read books by L. Ron Hubbard I find it's more like remembering concepts than learning them. So often I read something by LRH and it just hits me as an "of course!" kind of thing.

One of the most basic principles in Scientology is that man is basically good. And Scientology training and counseling (called auditing) helps you get back to your basic nature. I have found this to be so true, personally.

Scientology is also intensely practical. Everything you learn you can use. The Scientology Handbook is a great example of this. To me, it's one of the great pleasures in life to be able to help one of my friends, or my sister or my parents with something that's really bothering them. I can open the Handbook to exactly what they need and they try it and it works.

I helped one friend who was in an abusive relationship and she just couldn't seem to get out of it. Every time she tried to leave he would say he was going to reform and she'd just give in and stay with him. With the help of Scientology Handbook I was able to get her to see what she was doing and she finally left him. She's in a great relationship now and doing so much better.




^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

More Psychiatric Lies

I just watched a very troubling video. Gwen Olsen was a pharmaceutical rep for 15 years and she describes how she was taught to misrepresent the side effects of psychiatric drugs.

I also thought it was pretty amazing that she admitted that whenever someone would complain loudly about the dangers of one of these drugs, the pharmaceutical companies taught them to say "Oh they're just Scientologist, that's a cult," and then they would deliberately paint
Scientology as a cult to discredit Scientology, Scientologists and anyone who had the courage to criticize them or their product.

Watch it here:



^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

New Scientology Church for Philadelphia

I love the city of Philadelphia and I'm so happy to see a new Church of Scientology is being built there.

It's also great to see how Scientology churches are purchasing vintage buildings and restoring and renovating them, like the Church of Scientology of New York, Buffalo and San Francisco. And the Church of Scientology of Pasadena was recently featured on the Scientology Press Office site for the new building they are renovating.

It's great for Scientologists for these new churches to be being built, but it's also great for their communities as one of the features of these new churches is lots of room for community programs such as literacy programs and Volunteer Ministers activities.



^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Oscar Winner Leads Voices Criticizing Germany over Cruise Film

It's good to see German's speaking up about last week's official comments about Tom Cruise and Scientology It is good to know that unlike intolerance in years past, Germans of today will not put up with it.

Germany's Oscar-winning director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the creative brains behind Stasi film "The Lives of Others," which won the best foreign language picture award in February, slammed the government for wasting "a golden opportunity."


Having Cruise play Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg in director Bryan Singer’s film "Valkyrie" would promote Germany's image "more than 10 soccer World Cups," Henckel von Donnersmarck wrote in a full-page article in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

And now the official statement has taken a 180 degree turn, with German media reporting, "While some German politicians have said that Cruise, 44, is unwelcome because of his involvement with the Church of Scientology , officials have said that the decision to prevent filming at the Bendlerblock, now part of the defense ministry, was unconnected with the star's beliefs and was based purely on the disruption it would cause."

I'm sure the picture will be produced and that it will be a work of love and a work of art, and Cruise will excel in the genre he does better than any other actor today.

And here's to it being a blockbuster!



^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Scientologists Promoting Human Rights

Ms. Eden Stein (2nd from the right), President of the Church of Scientology of Pasadena, briefed Ms. Hellen Barber, Philippines Consul, Ms. Mary Jo Aragon, Consul General and Mr. Ricardo Saludo, Cabinet Secretary and advisor to Philippines President Arroyo, on the work Youth for Human Rights International is doing to bring about tolerance and peace through human rights education.


^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Support for Religious Tolerance -- Scientology and Germany

Kudos to Susan Estrich, the Robert Kingsley professor of law and political science at the University of Southern California Law Center, for her incisive critique of Germany's outrageous "lapse" in the religious freedom department. She wrote:

Defense Ministry spokesman Harald Kammerbauer said the filmmakers "will not be allowed to film at German military sites if Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise, who has publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult."

Count Stauffenberg was the German officer who opposed German treatment of the Jews and attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. But when the bomb he planted in a briefcase exploded, Hitler was wounded, not killed, and Stauffenberg was executed for his role in the failed plot. The code name for the project was Valkyrie, which is the name of the movie in which Tom Cruise is slated to star.

Scientology has been recognized as a religion in the United States. In Germany, they call it a cult. Whatever you call it, the film Mr. Cruise is set to star in has absolutely nothing to do with Scientology. Mr. Cruise is an actor seeking to work in his craft, and the Germans are seeking to prohibit him from doing so because of his religious views.

Ms. Estrich goes on to describe the systematic marginalization of Jews in pre-Holocaust Germany--the very actions that made it possible to "slid" into the Holocaust itself and the attempted extermination of an entire population. No one is comparing the treatment of Scientologists to what was done to the Jews, but Germany's record of religious intolerance is being examined once again in the public forum, and they do not stand up very well to this scrutiny.

Since the initial "announcement," hit the press last week, support for Tom Cruise has been pouring in, and German officials have apologized for official statement, saying they have no opposition to the film shooting in Germany.

Perhaps this incident will serve to make certain German officials, who have flaunted their intolerance unchecked over the years, the ramifications of their activities not just to minority religions but the the reputation of their country and adopt a policy of tolerance.



^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

New Scientology Churches

There are beautiful new Scientology churches being purchased and restored or renovated all over the world. And the reason is so they can deliver more service, not just to Scientologists but the their communities. Scientology has such a breadth of application to so many situations in life. According to the Scientology web site:

"Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life. The religion comprises a body of knowledge extending from certain fundamental truths."

By learning and applying Scientology anyone has new tools to address the things in their life they want to improve. Isn't there something in your life that could be better? If you could change something, isn't there something that would make you a lot happier if it were improved?

That's what you can use Scientology to accomplish.



^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

India Drug Awareness Events

A week of drug awareness activities is being held by the Foundation for a Drug Free World and the Kolkata Policy Department.











Cyclist line up to start a "Cycle Rally" in Kolkata India to raise awareness of the drug problem in the city.






^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Can we talk?

When I stumbledupon this article by linguist Deborah Tannen today it brought back not-too-fond memories.

She described a familiar scenario:

A married couple was in a car when the wife turned to her husband and asked, "Would you like to stop for a coffee?"

"No, thanks," he answered truthfully. So they didn't stop. The result? The wife, who had indeed wanted to stop, became annoyed because she felt her preference had not been considered. The husband, seeing his wife was angry, became frustrated. Why didn't she just say what she wanted?

Ms. Tannen goes on to explain the cultural norms of men vs. women and how to bridge the gap by understanding the cultural nuances and compensating in one's relationships. But to read her analysis of the scenario, you would have to know all about a person to be able to predict how they will react to what you say. If that's the case, how would you ever get to know him/her well enough? You'd always be getting into trouble!

In Scientology there is the concept of the ARC triangle.

To quote the Scientology Handbook:

The ARC triangle is called a triangle because it has three related points. The first of these points is affinity. The second of these points is reality. The third of these points and the most important is communication.

These three factors are related. By affinity we mean emotional response. We mean the feeling of affection or lack of it, of emotion or misemotion (irrational or inappropriate emotion) connected with life. By reality we mean the solid objects, the real things of life. By communication we mean an interchange of ideas between two terminals (persons who can receive, relay or send a communication). Without affinity there is no reality or communication. Without reality there is no affinity or communication. Without communication there is neither affinity nor reality.

Ms. Tannen concentrates on the "Reality" corner -- what molds a woman's response patterns, what cultural factors influence a man's reactions?

That's a real problem. Because how do you ever really know someone?

What I was so impressed with the Scientology religion when I checked it out, was that it contained so many simple things you could learn and use, and each time I tried them out they worked. One such tool is this ARC triangle. In various Scientology books, L. Ron Hubbard lays out how you can use this triangle to improve any relationship.

You can even avoid the inevitable "men and women think differently" problem. You can sort of bypass the differences and forge a really cool relationship.

Do you know anyone you'd like to get along better with? At home? At work?

Is there someone you would like to get close to but can't figure out how?

Is there someone who's making your life totally miserable, and even through he/she seems like a pretty decent person, boy can you not stand being around him/her?

This kind of thing brings like down from an enjoyable experience to an annoying, frustrating, hateful, frightening or even sorrowful trial.

Wouldn't it be amazing if you could spend a couple of days learning how to master using this triangle and then be able to systematically repair all the relationship problems that are making life a drag?

Everything you wanted to know about Scientology but were afraid to ask

I just found this site that has a gazillion links to all sorts of sites related to Scientology. This is the most concentrated collection of "related" sites I've ever seen:

Sites Related to Scientology, Churches of Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard

It is also kept up to date, so any new site will be added. Bookmark it!

Informative Brochures on Scientology

If you are interested in finding out more about Scientology or if you are a Scientologist and want to direct someone to a useful source of information on the subject then the brochure series about the Scientology religion and its activities is for you.

Covering everything from "Tools for Successful Living" to "Human Rights" the booklets tell you what Scientology is, what it is doing in the world and what it can do for you.

Polish Man Rivives from Coma After 19 Years

What a remarkable story:

Yesterday's story of Jan Grzebski, the 65-year-old Polish railway worker who awakened after 19 years of a coma, reads like a Hollywood movie plot.

It's hard to conceive what he must be thinking. So much has changed in the past 20 years. As the news reports are covering, when he had the accident that caused his coma there was still a Soviet Union and his home in Poland was behind the Iron Curtain.

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

John Sweeney - Ubiquitous Infamy

<sup>I wasn't expecting to see Sweeney show up in Switzerland. But I guess people all over the world like a good joke...



Check out this blog for good stuff on Scientology too.>>



"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard</sup>

New York Cabs to Become Environmentally Friendly

THEY ARE almost as iconic to New York as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, but the famous fleet of yellow taxicabs are about to receive a makeover: they must go green by 2012.

Michael Bloomberg, the Republican mayor, announced yesterday that New York City's 13,000 taxicabs would be required to switch to cleaner, hybrid engines within five years, as part of his plan to reduce the city's carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. continued

I think this a wonderful idea. We have to, as individuals, cities, countries and nations, make a major impact on the incredibly destructive practices we have been participating in that have cause global warming.

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

What Scientology is REALLY all about

<sup>You know, as a Scientologist it is a constant surprise to me to read about Scientology in the news. It so rarely resembles anything like what life as a Scientologist is like.

You hear such odd, skewed tails.

Scientlogists are really just like anyone else, except that they do have tools they can use to get them over the rough spots in life, they tend to be very spiritual people because they know they are spiritual beings, not bodies, and because they've gotten a lot of help, they are usually eager to help others too.

I've been assaulted on the street by kooks who have been enraged by crap they've read on the Net. Literally. I would invite anyone who has heard something they don't like about Scientology to actually examine the subject personally. I am sure they will be surprised by how basic and simple Scientology is. How sensible. And how worthwhile.





"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard</sup>

Nine lives - Kate Ceberano

I found this great story today in the Perth Sunday Times. I don't know how long they keep their stories online so I decided to copy the whole thing here for posterity (my apologies to other bloggers who like stories shorter but when you read the story you'll understand why I saved the whole thing.).

>

Trent Dalton

May 19, 2007 10:00pm

In a former life, Kate Ceberano had real fame at her fingertips -- and then she walked away. But for this all-singing, all-dancing Scientologist, what goes around always comes around.

Milla was a gift from Kirstie Alley. A plucky chihuahua with a torso the size of a soft-drink can, she came in a cardboard box resting on soft white tissue paper. Kate Ceberano named her after actor Milla Jovovich. The dog circles Ruthie Ceberano’s legs as she leads us through a hallway to a room where her sister-in-law, Kate, chats to a TV producer. Ruthie is Kate’s personal assistant.

The hallway’s walls are lined with framed photographs. There’s a picture of Kate’s father Tino, a Hawaiian-Filipino master of martial arts who moved to Queensland some years ago to escape the Victorian winter. Here’s Kate at her 1996 wedding to film-maker Lee Rogers. Her brother Phil is beaming, all tanned skin and teeth. There’s older brother Paul, a karate expert like his dad. Here’s Kate’s grandmother, one-time governess to the children of L. Ron Hubbard, the Scientology guru whose teachings are followed by Kate, Kirstie Alley, Tom Cruise and 10 million others. There’s Kate’s mum, Cherie. She runs a Scientology-based counselling service from an office off the hallway.

A well-used rocking horse rests in the corner of the lounge room beside a modest entertainment unit. An adjoining kitchen looks out through glass doors to the clear, green-for-a-drought

Melbourne suburbs. This is Ceberano HQ: home to Kate, Lee, their three-year-old daughter Gypsy and her grandmother.

Kate waves hello from the middle cushion of a three-seat lounge. She’s discussing the music for It Takes Two, the televised pros-and-amateurs singing show she signed on to before finishing her triumphant shot at Dancing with the Stars.

“I want it big, big, big,” she says, almost doing star jumps on the polished wooden floors.
The TV producer leaves and Kate slumps into a chair at a long, rustic wooden table beside a stereo system. She runs polished fingernails through her hair and loosens her shoulders. Deep breath.

“Aaaah,” she sighs. She laughs and her smile jolts her back to life. “My career has had the most berserk ebbs and flows,” she says. “It goes up and down. The weirdest things reactivate my career. It’s never anything I expect. I mean . . . a televised dancing competition?”

With hindsight, she was an obvious choice for Dancing with the Stars. The show appears to have two casting prerequisites: someone well known, or someone with a body that would melt steel.
Ceberano ticked both boxes. Flamboyant, opinionated, vocally brilliant, famous and yet not so famous to not be asked.

The one time she found real fame – Kylie fame – she sabotaged it, tore it up.
She’s been singing for 25 years. At 15, she sang illegally in Melbourne pubs. She was never corrupted. She never took drugs. (Scientologists don’t do drugs.) She simply watched. She was a voyeur of human nature. She watched them snort cocaine. She watched them drink. She studied the faces in the crowd as singer for the ’80s arty funk band I’m Talking. She studied the eyes of the record execs who revelled in the pop smash that was her 1989 solo album, Brave.

Her soulful voice once reached all the way to the British studios of Stock, Aitken and Waterman, the production trio behind Kylie Minogue and Bananarama. They threw more than half a million dollars at her. They were going to make her a pop princess. But Ceberano refused.

“I don’t know why I rejected it,” she says. “I had these guys smoking cigars telling me (she affects a rough British Midlands accent) ‘This is how you write a hit, luvvie’. I just knew it wasn’t right. I have an instinctive snobbery toward some things.”

She sacked her manager, came home and put her career in the hands of her mother. Manufactured pop wasn’t part of the Kate Ceberano dream, the one where she’s a jazz chanteuse singing in small clubs in Paris and Greenwich Village. Nor was compromise, but in the music world compromise pays the bills.

The Ceberano home is no mansion. It’s an idyllic suburban family home, but it doesn’t scream “set for life”.

Kate’s a working mother. Lee makes television commercials while pushing his feature films toward the green light. The Ceberano philosophy on money was best outlined when a tabloid magazine offered Kate payment for an exclusive snap of her wedding ring. She took the cash and gave it straight to Lee to fund a short film.

In the decade leading up to Dancing with the Stars, she released a string of well-reviewed adult contemporary albums that didn’t set the charts on fire. She went to Hollywood to make it as an actress.

A charming role as a Hawaiian princess in Paul Cox’s 1999 film Molokai showed she had the salts, but the big bite never came. She gigged, she changed nappies and she wondered where the next pay cheque was coming from.

“I gotta tell ya, there are times in my life where I’ve thought myself a fool,” she says. “But I’m grateful for the fact that I’ve had to travel this far. And it often seemed unendurable. I’ve spent time and money to try and understand why I made those choices back then. Then it suddenly all comes together in a strange, crazy way.”

In short, a television producer calls you and asks if you would join Jamie Durie, Wendell Sailor and Naomi Robson as a contestant on a televised dance competition.

“After The X-Factor debacle,” she says, citing Channel 10’s ill-conceived Australian Idol rip-off in which she was a judge, “I vowed I’d never work on television again. I despised the energy of any show like that. It was such an evil show.

“I hadn’t thought it possible that they would re-shoot someone’s grief because the first shot wasn’t good enough. Or that you’d be persuaded out of a decision in favour of someone to have the producers say it’s not going to get the ratings so you need to change your mind. That’s obscene. I didn’t think I’d recover from that one.”

She crosses her arms.

“Mum gave me the greatest compliment the other day. Someone asked her how she would sum up my character and she said ‘Kate recovers fast’. It’s true. You have nine lives in a life of music. If you get away with that amount you’re a freak, because there’s a lot to pull you down.”

Scientologists are big on the golden rule. Do unto others. What goes around comes around. Energy. Karma. Past souls. It still hurts Ceberano to think she might have unfairly crushed the spirits of The X-Factor’s contestants. It reaches to her core, right to the 19-year-old girl with acne who couldn’t say a word to idol Michael Hutchence while touring Australia with INXS; right to the 40-year-old woman comparing her curves to Beyoncé Knowles.

“I looked like Beyoncé at 25,” she says. “But I was too shy to put on a bikini and get on a beach.” Perhaps she could have conquered the world if she’d just played ball. It is unlikely, of course, that her mum would have encouraged a bikini beach shoot for her only daughter. Kate describes Cherie as “strong-minded, almost like a Germaine Greer, but not as f***ed up”.

In the early ’90s, record execs knew that to get to Kate Ceberano, then the foremost female music talent in Australia (Kylie was in London), you had to go through her mother. Then in late 1993, against her instincts, Kate left the family nest. She changed management and broke out on her own, moving to New York to take up a major recording deal with the Elektra label. Her long-awaited US-produced album Globe was in the can when she received a phone call telling her Elektra Records had been through major management changes and her album was not part of the new vision. Returning to Australia, she re-recorded it with the title Blue Box. After a three-year battle, it was released in 1996 and struggled to find an audience in a country unsure of Ceberano’s direction.

For her, the lesson was this – trust your instincts and family is everything.
“I probably let us down,” she says. “We were doing so well. It’s an indefensible argument to say that a mother is being a showbiz mum. If you say she isn’t, then it consolidates the idea that she is because she’s putting words in your mouth. It’s an impossible argument.

“I let us down by actually listening to those people who were saying that it didn’t look good. Now, the fact that we work again together and it’s prospering, it’s proof to me that that’s what happened. There were people around who couldn’t manipulate or get close to me because she was there. I was at an age when I was highly impressionable. There’s a litany of artists who have those vampires hanging off them right now and they don’t know it. They won’t know it until they’re 40.”
There’s a Kate Ceberano story that begins with the singer sitting in a plane bound for LA. She looks across the aisle to see a Hollywood movie star sitting across from her. This guy’s huge, as big as it gets. He’s on the A-plus list. Kate’s been a fan all her life. They start talking. The actor invites her to dinner that night. Over dinner, he becomes so enchanted by Ceberano that, impulsively, he leans over and plants a kiss on her lips. The kiss lasts longer than it should, longer than Kate’s then-boyfriend Lee Rogers would appreciate. She rushes home and tells Rogers everything. He forgives and forgets.

The story is from her own mouth. She once used it to describe the power of Scientology, which considers trust “the firmest building block in human relationships”. Now she responds to the story with caution.

“There’s been many things I’ve done in my life of which I have no regrets and I’ve loved every minute of. And so has my husband. And my whole family. We’ve all been wonderful and wanton and impulsive. And honest. That’s how you get away with having a real life and not having to live in a nunnery.”

She looks over my shoulder and smiles. I turn to find Cherie standing behind me holding a cup of tea. I have no idea how long she’s been there. In her late 50s with a pretty smile and a sharp mind, Cherie speaks in a calm, measured voice honed, no doubt, in countless counselling sessions in the office beyond the hallway.

“I was aware of man’s fragile nature,” she says while Kate, Ruthie and Milla prepare for a photo shoot in Kate’s bedroom. “We have the penchant and ability to behave badly. That includes me. That’s why I went to work for Kate. I was wise in the ways of man.

“We have built up a really tight-knit juggernaut of an organisation. You have extraordinary people, hand-picked, around you who you trust and love and who have no agenda. Tom Cruise has been accused of such a thing. I know for a fact he’s got one. I know who they are and why they are that way and to what extraordinary lengths they will go to see that he does well in his mission, his purpose, his dreams.

“We find that (it’s) a survival thing to do, to be in charge of your decisions and choices.”
She asks if I would like to hear a recording of a 15-year-old Kate singing in the Melbourne Town Hall. She leads me to her office, past a nude portrait of her daughter. “It was entered into the Archibald Prize,” she says, offhand. “It won the packers’ prize, not surprisingly.”

Her office is adorned with Scientology symbols and charts. There are rows of weighty hardcover books and piles of Scientology pamphlets. She places a worn cassette tape in a portable stereo by her desk. Kate sings Blue Moon; Cherie closes her eyes and listens. The sound is serene. You can forget how pure her voice is.

“It’s well known that Scientologists have a reality about having lived before,” Cherie says. “It would seem to me that these gifts came with her from some other time.”
I ask her to describe how Kate was raised.

“Prodigies do come. It’s a burden for them in life,” she says. “They don’t always understand it. She didn’t go to school very much. That’s not an easy thing. But I took what I knew about mankind and I knew that the child is not a child. It’s an old soul taking a break. You’re just their minder until they get going again.”

Above the desk is a Scientology Tone Scale. It’s used to evaluate the true character of humans.
Scientologists, explains Cherie, are taught to find the person behind the facade.

“See this? Your social tone is enthusiastic,” she says. “Your chronic tone is a wee bit conservative.” She stops the Blue Moon tape. “OK, that’s it. I’m going to get into trouble.”
We walk back to the kitchen, where Cherie takes a leg of lamb from the fridge and washes its plastic wrapping under water in the sink.

“I only learned to do this after she died,” she says, nodding towards an A3-size paper photograph of Kate’s grandmother stuck to the wall beside the kitchen bench. “I couldn’t cook before. When my mother died, I had no idea how to do it. I think I’m channelling her a bit.” She takes a garlic clove and chops it. “It was a dreadful experience when she died. I remember going off to Safeway and standing in the front door having a meltdown. I couldn’t find anything and I stood there at these rows of . . . stuff . . . and I’m screaming ‘Where the f*** is the butter?’.”

Cherie stabs the lamb, placing the garlic pieces in the holes. “There’s another story about Kate and me that nobody knows,” she says. “She helped me survive something horrible. I had a terrible brain tumour. It was her care that brought me back from that.

“She is amazing. I’ve seen her get kicked in the guts . . .” She doesn’t finish her sentence. Something over my shoulder has made her clam up. I turn to find Kate Ceberano with her eyebrows raised, smiling.

I have no idea how long she’s been there.

She stands in a long, figure-hugging black Dolce & Gabbana dress. A suburban kitchen is no place for a dress like this. It belongs on a catwalk, or in a Fellini film.

I think of one of the great Kate Ceberano quotes: “If I was six inches taller, I’d be such a f***ing bitch.”

Cherie puts the lamb in the oven. “I showed him the Tone Scale,” she says as she retreats to her bedroom. “He’s a bit conservative, but he’s really enthusiastic.” Kate laughs. She shakes her head, as much to acknowledge what could be considered an unusual domestic environment as to pay tribute to the eccentric woman whom she loves with all her heart and soul.

“I can’t imagine Gypsy growing up any other way,” she says. “For anyone else my age, they can’t stand the idea. But I couldn’t imagine living without her (Cherie’s) counsel. We walk a fine line. We don’t merge any more. We just walk together.”

She turns to the picture of her grandmother.

“My grandmother had a tough time dying. She was so youthful, yet her body was letting her down. I just said to her ‘Look, go in peace and I’ll just create you a new body. I’ll make one. I’ll manufacture another’.”

She pauses to gauge my response. I’m hoping my face is blank.
“Now, I don’t have any proof that this is true or not, but it made her feel comforted, that she’d be back and we’d have our trinity again. Gypsy was born just after she left,” she says.
“I don’t think it’s respectful to the nature of things to try to burden Gypsy with that, but I do, for my own comfort, imagine that it’s her. Because I just can’t imagine life without her.”
She ducks back into her bedroom to change and Cherie re-emerges to present me with a small black book. It’s a Scientology booklet, its title in bright gold: The Way to Happiness – A Common Sense Guide to Better Living, To You From Kate Ceberano.

In an empty kitchen, I thumb through the book. It’s full of straightforward commandments: “Do Not Take Drugs”, “Honour and Help Your Parents”, “Do Not Murder”, “Be Industrious”, “Be Competent”, “Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others”. My eyes settle on the Epilogue: “There is no person alive who cannot make a new beginning.”

Kate returns in a casual outfit. I ask her what her next move will be. What of the next 40 years? “I have no idea,” she says. “I think I’ll leave it in the hands of the gods.”

Kate Ceberano’s latest album, Nine Lime Avenue, is out now.

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

Freedom Magazine Blog

^{For the best in Investigative Journalism checkout the new Freedom Magazine Blog.}

So, what IS Scientology?

There is so much interest now in Scientology after this week's BBC Panorama show, I've had friends ask me about Scientology more this week than any time I can remember.

There are some good sites online that tell a lot about Scientology. Of course there is the official Scientology site but another site I like to tell people to visit is the Scientology Press Office and a site that has the online version of the Scientology Handbook which is particularly good because it includes information you can use. Scientology is a very practical religion and the best way to learn about it is to use it. I'd had friends tell me about it for years but it wasn't until I tried using Scientology that I realized, on a very personal level, just how valuable it is.

^{"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard}

BBC Panorama Exposed

Freedom Magazine has just released a documentary of their filming of what John Sweeney and his crew actually did in the filming of the "Scientology and Me" documentary. What you saw on YouTube was only the smallest part of what he was up to. It's amazing that BBC would support someone with his lack of integrity. I hope they realize now that he simply isn't up to their standards. Otherwise it's their standards that are in question.



This is the first of a three part clip on YouTube. You can watch the whole show on the Freedom Magazine web site.

How and Why Millions Celebrate the Birth Date of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard - PR.com

I really enjoyed reading this press release.

I've been a Scientologist since 1970, and I am absolutely thrilled at the level of expansion our religion has been experiencing over the past decade.

Obviously, it's because the discoveries of L. Ron Hubbard are so effective that as soon as people learn about it, they want to learn it and help others with it.

And I'm sure this expansion has everything to do with the vision of David Miscavige. I saw him at the event
(How and Why Millions Celebrate the Birth Date of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard - PR.com that's described in this article, and as always I was so inspired by what Mr. Miscavige said.

Scientology News

Last month was the grand opening of the Church of Scientology of Berlin. This was such a great thing for the Scientologists of Germany. Such expansion for the Scientology.

Now I hear there are a ton of new churches planned for the next few months.

It's only 3 weeks till the March 13th event. I'm sure David Miscavige will be there and there's bound to be exciting news announced.

Stay tuned!

"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard

< Hubbard

Beautifyl Illustrations

Just ran into a new blog for the Writers of the Future contest and some really beautiful illustrations.

I really love Writers of the Future. I love Sci Fi generally, but I find this anthology a lot more upbeat. Let's put it this way. I am almost always satisfied with how the story ends. Unusual for Sci Fi in my experience.

"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — Scientology Founder, L. Ron Hubbard

Presidents' Day

I think it's really fitting that we celebrate the births of two of the great leaders of America.

They represent the best qualities of our nation - courage and committment to freedom.

And they are proof of what individual men and woman can do to change the course of history for the better -- a lesson for all of us to use our potential to help our fellow Man.


"Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow." — L. Ron Hubbard
founder of the Scientology Religion.

Emotional Tone Scale

In the Scientology Handbook there is a chapter on the Emotional Tone Scale. With this information it is possible to know who to associate with, who to avoid and help those who are mired in uncomfortable situations with others. www.scientologyhandbook.org

Scientology in the UK

Scientology organizations at St. Hill, East Grinstead in the UK are very special. The buildings include the founder L. Ron Hubbard's home, St. Hill Manor with its beautiful surroundings as well as a castle for the Advanced Organization and St. Hill Organization. Here is a page with information about it. www.scientology.org.uk

Why I Love Scientology

Here's just one more reason I love Scientology.

Look at these people. They need help. the Scientologists from Scientology Churches in Australia and the Scientology Mission of Manila are right out there helping in the Philippines after last month's Typhoon Durian.

They show two things I really admire - the willingness to help and the ability to actually do so.

Snow in LA?

Okay. So what's the deal?

It actually SNOWED in Malibu and West Hollywood yesterday.

And a friend of mine landed flat on her bum after sliding on the ICE in Hollywood.

What is this!

It this the other side of global warming?

Man. We have got to do something about this joint!

2006 Was A Record Year for Scientology

2006 was the biggest year of expansion in the history of Scientology and 2007 looks like it will be even bigger!

Here is an article that gives you an overview of last year: The Church of Scientology International Announces Record Expansion of the Religion in 2006

Interview with Mr. David Miscavige

This summary of a St. Petersburg Times interview with Mr. David Miscavige gives an overview of Mr. Miscavige's tremendous ability and dedication to the expansion of the Scientology religious movement. www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart1.html

Scientology New Years Event

Some of my friends who hadn't seen this year's Scientology New Years Eve event and I went to see it yesterday (it's on DVD and you can go into any Scientology church of mission if you want to see it).

Watching it again I was even MORE struck by the excitement of what is going on with Scientology internationally than I was when I first heard David Miscavige give the overview on New Years Eve!

It was almost too much to take in at first.

I should have written down some of the figures so I could share it on my blog, and here's just a rough estimate.

If I remember correctly, there are over 7000 non-Scientologists who have been trained as Scientology Volunteer Ministers - rescue workers, doctors, nurses, police, firemen etc, using Scientology technology to help people in times of emergency and disaster.

Over 5 million people were helped by Volunteer Ministers in just the past year alone.

And try this one on for size - Criminon, which uses L. Ron Hubbard's technology in the rehabilition of offenders - has a program in all the jails in Israel, and of all the criminals who have completed the program there has not been a single cased of recidivism (going back to jail).

That's unbelievable considering that the entire prison system is known to be a revolving door!

But as a Scientologist and knowing what I know about Scientology it's not surprising to me at all. It's a technology of life. It sounds like magic. But it works!

John on YouTube

Just found this short video on YouTube.


I remember when I first saw John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Still love him!

An Introduction to Scientology

I got a copy of the newly restored interview with L. Ron Hubbard, called An Introduction to Scientology.

I always loved this interview. I saw it first on an old 8mm reel to reel camera in Black and White. But it has been impecably colorized and it is a really remarkable product.

First of all, LRH's whole attitude, his grace and warmth, his humar and brilliance shine through so clearly.

I've been a Scientologist almost 40 years, but listening to this interview I learned things I never knew before.

And on top of that, the word that was done by Sea Org members working at Gold to restore this is not just magnificent, it's miraculous!

At the event, David Miscavige showed us before and after clips so you could see the magnitude of the work that had to be done and the incredible quality of the final product.

These guys are professionals - starting with David Miscavige and then all the way down to the lowest technician on this assembly line.

What they produced was impossible, (and I'm sure glad they didn't think so!)