Fair Play: Before Leah Remini takes another whack, here’s a word from Scientology itself

 
Tomorrow, Leah Remini and Mike Rinder launch season two of Scientology and the Aftermath with an episode which is going to eclipse everything they’ve done before. (Yes, we’ve seen it, and we’re going to tell you more about it tomorrow morning.) Once again, social media will be swamped with people expressing shock at what they’re seeing on their television screens, and this place will gain curious new onlookers and commenters.

But all of that is tomorrow. Today, we figured it would only be fair to give Scientology a turn.

Thanks to Rasha, we have a copy of Scientology’s new Expansion magazine, and it contained one article that we thought spoke about as well as any other for what Scientology is trying to bring to the world, in its own words.

Leah Remini and Mike Rinder will have their turn tomorrow. Today, we present to you the “First Person” column of Expansion magazine in its entirety.

Tell us what you think about Scientology’s offer to the world of what it means to go “Clear.” (“Clear” is an intermediate goal that Scientologists achieve by paying between $16,000 and $75,000 to obtain.)

FIRST PERSON
En Route to Spiritual Freedom

Life Goes Into High Gear Since Going Clear
Amanda Townsend is no longer just responding to life. She’s going for it. Without a reactive mind weighing her down she’s able to get more done. Now there’s no stopping her on her journey up the Bridge or in life.

I had heard other people’s success stories who went Clear and things for them are quiet and calm. For me that happened on Grade IV. But in going Clear, I became feisty!

My life has been so much more active since I went Clear. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that I’m doing a lot more.

Before reaching this state, my bank had kept me very introverted. I could not fully reach out across my dynamics.

But when I went Clear, I realized that the bank had been keeping me so withdrawn and interiorized and I said, “WOW!” I saw that I was actually the total opposite of that. I just wanted to do more.

Before my life was busy — but not in a positive way. I was overwhelmed by the amount of randomity and felt like I couldn’t handle it. Now, it’s like, I have this to do — I’m going to do it and have that cycle to do — I’m going to do it. It isn’t that the cycles are increasing, but actually it’s that my viewpoint has changed — it’s not negative anymore.

Life isn’t “coming at me.” I’m going for it! So while yes, it’s quiet internally, externally, there’s a lot going on! And then the night after I went Clear, I scheduled myself to go do my next step, my OT Preparations. There are no stops on my Bridge progress.

 
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Kansas City goes pillaging with a Viking theme

The folks in Kansas City are amping each other up to fork over huge sums in order to complete the “Ideal Org” renovation there. An historic downtown building was purchased years ago, but it’s a wreck and will take millions to turn into the kind of Ideal Org good enough for a personal David Miscavige grand opening.

So the pressure’s on, and the membership responded with a Viking-themed fundraising party. The young couple you see in this video explain that they had just moved to Kansas City in June from New York, where the young bloke had worked on staff for a while. At their first Kansas City gathering, they pledged $500 to the new Ideal Org, but then later they decided to increase their donation to $5,000 in order to get their names on a brick on the Org’s wall. But at this party, caught up in the fervor, they announce that they’re increasing their donation another $95,000 to reach the “Humanitarian” level.

Sure hope they don’t have young kids who were planning on going to college.

 
Meanwhile, another bushel of fanatics were celebrated for reaching the “New Civilization Builders” status for donating $1 million or more. What a racket.

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 14, 2017 at 07:00

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Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield