MY PERSONAL STORY (dates, times, and names omitted to protect my identity)My story does not end in tragedy like so many others told through out the history of the "Church of Scientology." In fact, my story seriously pales in comparison to others who have shared their Scientology experiences. I was just one of the lucky ones. I was lucky because I barely scratched the surface and got out before I really got in. However, some things happened that absolutely blew me away.
It all started several years ago when I lived in an apartment with my girlfriend. It was a hot day and we decided to stay in and keep cool. There was a knock at the door. Upon opening the door, I was greeted by two well dressed young men. They were each carrying a stack of pink pamphlets. They said that they worked for "a company" that was offering a free, no obligation, personality test. Of course, I asked questions. They eventually said they were representatives of "Dianetics" (they never mentioned Scientology). They explained that Dianetics offered this free test and then would evaluate it and invite me to a free counseling session where my strong and weak points would be revealed. They also said that they offered self-improvement courses. I was young, a bit naive, but I also had low self esteem. I thought it could not hurt to look into it. Afterall, it never hurts to better one's self. My girlfriend and I filled out the test and mailed it in.
A week later I was later contacted and I made an appointment to attend the free counseling session. During my first day at a Scientology center, I was placed in a small room by a desk. A man entered the room and began talking to me. He was friendly enough, but he kind of gave me the creeps. His had this piercing stare. His eyes almost never blinked as he kept almost constant eye contact with me. The only time he blinked was when he was looking down at some paper work that he was scribbling on. He said, "This is a chart that I have prepared especially for you, free of charge. It is the results of your personality test." He showed it to me. It looked basically like a line chart and had a few notes written in random places on the page. He first described my strong points. The only strong points he mentioned seemed very mediocre at best. I started thinking that I was just a mediocre guy with nothing special to offer. After he was done with that, he moved on to my weak points. "oh boy, here we go", I thought to myself. As he progressed through the long list of things that were "wrong" with me, it progressively got worse and worse. The man became a little more blunt as time went on. By the time he was done with me, I honestly felt very low. I remember thinking that there were so many things about myself that I did not realize and that I did not want to be a "piece of crap." I was just about ready to do anything to fix my problems.
He then escorted me to a room which was a small movie theater. I then I watched what appeared top be a recruitment video that talked about L. Ron Hubbard and about his legendary life, yada yada. The video was narrated by an actor named Geoffery Lewis. It seemed very convincing. I was impressed by what I had learned about L Ron Hubbard. He seemed like an amazing fella.
A couple of days later, I attended a free seminar. It was held in a classroom-like setting. When they started talking about going "clear", "the bridge", "ARC", the e-meter, "the way to happiness", "OT", and my subconscious, the details started to seem a bit like science fiction rather than science.
None the less, we decided to try the first course. What could it hurt? It was free right? The first course I took seemed like a legitimate course that would lead into other more advanced courses. Around the same time, my girlfriend lost her job and we decided that we would probably not take another course until she was working again. One of the "supervisors" at this place came to the rescue (so we thought) and offered my girlfriend a job. They offered to allow her take some courses for free while she worked for them. She jumped on the opportunity. Strangely, they did not even interview her. They just accepted her with open arms with no real questions.
About 1 month later, everything just got stranger. I could not believe some of the things I was reading and hearing. Everything began to seem ridiculous to me. Some of the material seemed like it came out of a science fiction book. Some of it was going intot he realm of the super-natural. All of this too strange for me to ignore.
I confided in my parents about this experience. I was then warned about some "scandals" that "Dianetics" was recently involved in and that I should research it. Well, research it I did! At the local library, I was able to find a plethora of articles from reputable publications and newspapers about suspicious deaths, possible fraud, federal investigations, etc. I also learned that the organization was actually called "The Church of Scientology", not "Dianetics" as I was originally told. I found out that L Ron Hubbard was actually a fraud and that most of the things I had heard about him the recruitment video were lies. I remember seeing the "Church of Scientology" sign in front of the building, but I thought maybe this "church" was just renting classroom space out or something. I did not quite put the pieces of the puzzle together becausae I did not give it any thought.
That same day, I called my girlfriend while she worked at the Sceintology center. I told her about what I had found and I talked her into coming home immediately. She was careful not to say anything as she walked out of the building. A few hours later, she received a phone call at home from someone someone at the Scientology center. The person was arguing with my girlfriend. My girlfriend was getting flustered, nervous, and upset but she had the presence of mind to tell them not to call again and that she had no intention of returning. She told them about the scandals I had found out about. Of course, they tried to tell her that I was lying to her and that I would destroy her life. She hung up on them.
Thirty minutes later, the phone rang again. It was the Church of Scientology, but this person identified herself as someone from the Sea Org. It was a bit strange. She demanded to meet with my girlfriend "alone." My girlfriend became upset and began crying. I grabbed the phone and strongly told this person to never call again and never to contact either of us in any way. I hung up on her. I had no idea what the Sea Org was at the time. I later discovered that the "Sea Org" is the Church of Scientology's own para-military division charged with protecting the organization and also to "recover" people who quit the organization.
Two hours later, I hear a loud knock on our front door. I looked through the peep hole. I saw four people standing on my porch, two females and two males. They were all dressed in dark para-military style uniforms with what appeared to be badges of some sort. I knew they were not cops. I talked through the door. They said they were from Church of Scientology and they wanted to talk to my girlfriend. I was absolutely floored. I could not believe all of this. It was like something out of a bad movie! I became angry and used a few expletives and ordered them off the property. I threatened to call the police. They became argumentative with me and refused to leave. They tried to tell me that all I read in the news papers and magazines were propaganda meant to destroy the church. Suddenly, I hear the door knob rattle. They were seeing if my door was unlocked! I saw the shadow of another at a window trying to look in through openings in the blinds. This was it. I had enough! I swung the front door open so hard, the door knob put a hole in my wall. At the same time, my girlfriend was behind me dialing 911 and talking to the police. I threatened to have them all put in jail. I told them to leave immediately and to never contact us again or they would pay a hefty price. Luckily, they left without any more fuss. Over the next two weeks, they attempted to contact my girlfriend by telephone several more times. Finally, we stopped hearing from them for good.
To this day, I wonder how much worse it would have been if they actually had their claws in us. I wonder how much worse it would have been if we had been long time members of the organization. I mean, we were nobody. We were "pre-clear".....new members. We had barely scratched the surface. What was so important that they had to show up at our front door and harass us on the telephone?
Ever since then, I have followed the movements to expose Scientology. I had a lull and it had been a while since I have read anything, until recently. After seeing, hearing and reading some of the amazing testimony on Xenutv.com and other sites, I now realize more than ever, I need to be involved in this somehow. For the first time in my life, I am using my 1st amendment rights and attending peaceful public protests. I am talking to people about the organization's practices, hoping that I can prevent people from being victimized. Even if I am able to only help a few, it will be worth it to me.
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