A Forward -- For Scientologists
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Over the course of billions of years I have paid no
attention at all to people who told me that I shouldn't look.
L. Ron Hubbard [1]This book came about through L. Ron Hubbard's own device. And I want to confess - its origins were also connected with pain. Sometimes it seems that the pains of realization are proportional to the amount of the realization and the duration of the associated process.
For some of you it may be a surprise that I am publishing a book critical of Scientology. After over twenty years (including breaks) of membership, after employment in the establishment known as the Frankfurt College for Applied Philosophy in the early 70's, as active assistant to the Office for Special Affairs in Zurich and after having been a Class IV auditor, course supervisor and completing OT5, including all three L's, I have finally left Scientology after a long period of separation.
I did it neither lightheartedly nor in a sudden fit of anger. It was more as a result of my adventure with WISE International and the rest of the international management systems which will be described in more detail in this book. The more than questionable method of dealing with critical members and the contradictions in the works of Ron had left me increasingly puzzled. I could no longer reconcile them with my integrity. In spite of the "knowledge reports"
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which I had written in vain all the way up to RTC because of grievances I had uncovered, I could not detect any corrections; instead I was put under pressure, I was the target of professional "black PR" both in my country and out, and was hurt economically as far as the power of Scientology could reach.
There was not much left of the philosophy of the salvation of the world and the readiness to conduct honest, open communication in many Scientology organizational positions. I began to do some research. I dug out works of L. Ron Hubbard which I had never read before and which are probably also unknown to you. I studied an abundance of Hubbard's writings in chronological order, comparable in extent only with the largest course that I had ever taken with Scientology, the Academy Steps. Now I suddenly began to understand. One thing led to the next.
If you have the courage to read this book, then I ask you to consult the references which I have named and draw your own conclusions. Inside of the Scientology Church you will surely be informed of me in a completely different manner than I am presenting here. That I am avaricious and that I had only wanted to get rich from Scientology. And because I had not succeeded at this, I had finally left Scientology, in accordance with the overt-motivator sequence and am now publicly voicing my opinion. This is only an apparently logical explanation, because if you really analyzed the events for the four years prior to my departure step by step, then a whole different picture would take shape. This situation is not done justice by the Scientology dead-agent machinery which operates incessantly in order to cover up its own contradictions. In this regard I can assure you of one thing: that I have seen with my own eyes different people's ethics folders, and checked their contents with the subject people.
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More than once the person in question could document that his ethics folder contained essentially false information. Apparently the sole purpose of the folder is to tell a plausible story about the person so that the truth about him will never be known.
I thank the few brave Scientologists who permitted me to express my critical points, and who, out of personal friendship, did not turn me in despite pressure from above, but participated in discussion with me. To the others I say: If you wish to speak with me about this book or my experiences and do not wish to blindly carry out the dead agent orders of the ethics department or the Officer for Special Affairs (OSA/DA), then my door is open to you. Convince yourself how much Scientology would like to prevent contact with me, for which reason they draw a picture of me which is as black as possible -- conveniently forgetting the pile of "recommendations" which I have accumulated over the course of years, including the time I was under extremely high pressure. I became curious -- so curious that I demanded to know every fact which Scientology uses to keep their members and staff so wrapped up, relatively speaking, that their purpose would be served.
This book may not be simple for Scientologists to digest. By its end you will know a part of what is important for you.
The forward contains Scientology technical vocabulary and is difficult for non-Scientologists to understand.