Scientology: what is it, actually?

Question

Can anyone report first-hand experience of this strange, secretive cult?

Answer 1

No first hand experience. there are documentaries on it, showing how people are methodically humiliated and beaten (psychologically) into accepting the authority of certain leaders, taking their instructions (down to whom they should marry, hence the famous divorce of Mr. Cruise - first wife was unacceptable to Scientology leaders) and giving them money. The basic thing is that if you follow their training methods it can give you more self confidence, and hence more success, so people think that it works - however there are many other - cheaper - ways to attain the same goals, without all the mumbo jumbo.

Answer 2

It is not really all that secretive- but there are many who are anti- scientoligistic- if thats a word and are spaming all the sites with closed minded bigoted answers- Scientology is a system to help you deal with past issues and be more open to the possibilities of the future! Interesting - and it is a religion based on the theories od DIANETICS, hope this helps- Di

Answer 3

Scientology is a body of teachings and related techniques developed by American author L. Ron Hubbard over some thirty years beginning in 1952 as a self-help philosophy, an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics.


Check out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

Answer 4

Hi
Over 12 years ago I used to work for Scientology. I spend like 2 years working as a staff member in Puerto Rico and then I joined the Sea Org and was there like two more years. I left the Sea Org when I decided to start a family.
Later I joined the US Air Force and currently I'm a Technical Sergeant in the US Air Force working with airplanes.
This is Scientology:
1. First I want to clarify that the story of Xeno is just a fable and no Scientologist believe it to be true. In fact most Scientologist I have meet haven't even heard the story. Scientology is much like Buddhism but instead of meditation they use auditing with the same goal and faster results.
2. What is true for you is what you your self observe to be true.
This is a common believe with Buddhism in the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha teaches the danger in fashioning one's beliefs merely on the following grounds: on hearsay, on tradition, because many others say it is so, on the authority of ancient scriptures, on the word of a supernatural being, or out of trust in one's teachers, elders, or priests. Instead one maintains an open mind and thoroughly investigates one's own experience of life.
3. Man is his spirit not his mind or his body. This is a common believe with many religions.
4. The spirit creates his own mind. Please do not confuse the mind with the brain that is a physical thing. The mind is composed of mental image pictures as explained in Dianetics. These pictures serve the spirit to give him knowlege and experiance. These pictures are composed of energy. The energy in the picture can affect the spirit. You can feel better by remembering something that you like or angry by remembering something else. These emotions are actually energy waves emanated by the picture. You can actually feel pain by remembering a pain memory. Sometimes this pictures are acompanied by ideas or considerations. Lets suposed that you father beat you mom up in front of you. Your father was the dominating figure so you might conclude that you have to act like your father in some situacions. This is what we call in Scientology an aberation (a conclusion that is impose to you by a mental picture). This picture is what we call a engram; A pain memory that affects your judgement and free will.
5. A spirit is capable of considerations and ideas and this ideas are solely based on uglyness and beautyfullness. The spirit reject ugly things and intends on making everything beautyfull. Do you like your car, you house, your job, your friends? Are you friends nice with you? Can you improve things in your life? All these are ideas based on uglyness and beautyfullness. This is why the spirits rejects the ugly memories and by rejecting the ugly memories (not confronting them) he is unknowingly affected by them.
6. You can discharge the energy in this pictures true communication. This is Auditing, the Auditor directs your attention to this pictures regardless of how ugly they are and you confront the picture and discharge the energy of the picture true the communication line. Is like if you have battery, in order to discharge the battery you need to discharged against something. If you try to discharge it against your self is just going to chock you.
7. There are many types of Auditing. Objective Processing help you confront the physical universe and regain communication with the current environment. Creative processing improves your imagination and your ability to handle the energy in energy pictures.
8. Being in Scientology is like going to college. You take a course and then continue with the next one. Scientology keeps you busy. Scientology is a very interesting religion that takes years of study to master. I just mentioned a few fundamentals. Scientology is so advance and so different that people can't understand it. People think that they know everything there is to know about life. And when they see Scientology they jump to conclusions when in reality they don't have a clue what are they talking about. There are no secrets in Scientology just a long journey to understanding.
The reality is that man attacks what he can't understand. That's why Scientology gets so much bad press. Scientologist see all these bad press with pity. They understand that people are acting out of ignorance and using their reactive mind. Is like watching a bunch of cows in a stampede going towards a Cliff. They are going in that direction because the cow in front is going that way, What they don't know is that the cow in front is blind. Scientologist are the few blessed ones that can see the truth and get out of the stampede.

Answer 5

A: We are not 'strange'
B: We are not secretive - you can buy our materials at Borders book store!
C: We are not a 'Cult'

I have been in the church for a little over a year now and the things that I have learnt have helped me become a better person....to myself and to others

www.scientology.org

Go to that site for the honest to goodness truth!

Answer 6

A false religion


http://www.freewebs.com/king_of_crusade

Answer 7

Science friction.

Answer 8

See for your self, and no I haven't had first hand experience.

Answer 9

Apply for membership.
Chief requirement Fat wallet.

Answer 10

Anything that involves Tom Cruise, can't be a good thing!!