Scientology wants you to bring your kids to its creepy ‘mecca’ in Florida — it’s an adventure!

Thanks to Rasha, we have the latest copy of Source magazine, which the Church of Scientology puts out to advertise the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida to its members. In general, this issue is a lot of rah-rah repetition of the stuff you’ve heard a million times before. But one article really stood out from the rest and we thought you’d like to see it.

It’s a feature about what a load of fun it is to pack up your kids and take the whole family to Flag for a great adventure. And it features the Deneko family from, of all places, Siberia.

On their stay, mom went OT. Dad did Super Power, and the kids did their own courses while everyone had a blast. Hey, why not throw your own kids in the car and come on down!

We’re really looking forward to your responses to this piece, but the first reaction we had to it was to think of another Siberian family that experienced Scientology’s Flag Land Base. We’re referring, of course, to Katrina Reyes, who was only 11 years old when she came with her mother to Flag and signed the Sea Org’s billion-year contract. After the Source article, we’ll remind you about Katrina’s experience, and relate some things she had to say about the Deneko family.

Here’s the story. Prepare for some happy trans-Siberian orchestration…

THE ULTIMATE FAMILY ADVENTURE

Imagine packing up your four kids and traveling halfway around the world to speed up the Bridge. For the Denekos, it was a trip of a lifetime.

 
AS ANYONE WHO’S BEEN HERE CAN TELL you, Flag has a real family atmosphere. So, what could be better than to be here, surrounded by your loved ones as you move up the Bridge? “If you are going to Flag, you have to go there as an entire family,” says Yulia Deneko. She and her husband, Anton, made the trek from their home in Tyumen, Russia, with their four children, who range in age from 4 to 12. During the course of their stay, both parents and their two oldest, 12-year-old Sofiya and 9-year-old Asya, have all flown up the Bridge and completed a number of Flag-only Rundowns.

When your home is in Siberia — 10 hours ahead and 10,000 miles away from Clearwater — the combination of sunny climate, proximity to world-class tourist attractions and a place that propels you to spiritual freedom, surrounded by a global community of Scientologists, well, that really is the ultimate family adventure.

While Yulia admits the trip took a lot of planning, she and Anton, in the environmental consulting business, knew coming to Flag was the best and most efficient way for their family to move up the Bridge. And move they did. The girls both completed the Purification and Survival Rundowns, the Cause Resurgence Rundown and Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought. Anton rocketed from the Survival Rundown to Clear and did L11 and Super Power. Meanwhile, Yulia has been the family pacesetter, soaring up both sides of the Bridge, from the Purification Rundown all the way to Clear and beyond, through the Solo Auditor Course. Oh, she also trained to Academy Level II, did Super Power and the Ls. Whew!

THE BACK STORY
Yulia first learned about Scientology from a Russian acquaintance who had been to Flag. And the couple’s first service was a Flag Extension Course on Dianetics. So, from the beginning, Yulia and Anton considered Scientology synonymous with Flag. In fact, Yulia helped form a Russian group of Flag Extension Course students. It has since expanded to over 150 people in groups across several CIS countries. (One of the Extension Course groups became so active that they formed a mission.)

For Yulia, coming to Flag, going Clear and becoming a trained auditor was not only the logical next step in her own spiritual progress, it was “a necessity.”

And for Yulia, there was only one way to do it. And that was to go up the Bridge together. “That way you gain personally and as a family.”

THE FLAG FAMILY EXPERIENCE
What Yulia predicted is exactly what happened. While most families sitting around the dinner table talk about what happened in their day at school or work or who’s doing the dishes tonight, the Denekos’ mealtime conversations went something like this: Nine-year-old Asya — the world’s youngest Cause Resurgence Rundown completion — shares a win. “There are a lot of kids I can talk to, and it’s much easier for me to make friends. If I see someone I want to have as a friend, I just go up to them and I make a friend.” Anton talks about how sharp his perceptions are since completing Super Power. “Unexpected things don’t surprise me because I predict situations and then control them.”

Then there’s 12-year-old Sofiya who’s saying what she most likes about being at Flag: “I love the friendly staff, the great coffee and the food. It’s so clean and cozy and warm here.” Mom, Yulia, agrees. “Everything is so awesome, from the Russian food to the healthy desserts. And the place is always perfectly clean, which is so important when you are here with your kids.”

At Flag, the environment is completely tailored to every individual in the family becoming more able and free. The best benefit, in Yulia’s view, is how it has also affected the family as a whole. “The most exhilarating part was the wins we got to share and how we motivated each other to move faster. We became a real family.”

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The individual changes could be seen in their relationships. Anton observed much higher levels of understanding and support among each of them. “We became friendlier and started caring more about each other. My wife became more attentive and the kids are more responsible.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PROGRESS
The Flag environment was a major plus when it came to speed of progress for each family member. “Being in Flag’s friendly, safe and sane environment, we all had a greater opportunity to get maximum results in the minimum time,” observes Yulia. And with no distractions, Bridge progress was much faster. “How much we got done in a day amazed me,” she says. “We didn’t waste a minute on day-to-day matters, so we were all moving through the lines so quickly, and everyone was busy getting their abilities rehabilitated.”

Anton, for example, started with the Survival Rundown, did Super Power the Happiness Rundown through Grades and NED to Clear, and then L11. Besides all he gained from the services in a short period of time, he says he also benefited from the upbeat, supportive atmosphere of Flag. “There are a lot of happy, smiling people there,” he says. “My awareness increased a lot, and I became able to control my time and use it more effectively.”

Sofiya says she loved the Cause Resurgence Rundown. “Before, I couldn’t wake up without an alarm, and I didn’t pay attention to how I looked. Now I understand others better. My imagination got better and now I can imagine something and draw it.”

Asya, too, was happy she increased her artistic ability with the Cause Resurgence Rundown, but also says she straightened out her relationships with her siblings. “When my little brother or sister try to pick a fight with me, I don’t react or fight back. I can control and generate my own energy as a thetan.”

Yulia, who has done the most Flag services so far, says she attained “a whole new level of survival” and is thrilled about getting onto her OT Levels. “Flag service is just the best on the planet. I love Flag Graduations where people share their wins and inspire each other. Flag is the most theta atmosphere in the world. Flag is home.”

So if packing up the whole family and setting in at Flag while you move up the Bridge seems like a major undertaking, consider the experience of the Denekos. Take everything you will have in your personal Flag experience — light-speed service, the most highly trained and experienced technical experts in the world, the support of over 2,300 staff, great food and ideal accommodations — all with zero distractions. Now add into that equation higher understanding and harmony on your Second Dynamic, and you’ll have your own ultimate family adventure.

Wow, where do we start. Let’s provide a few definitions for readers who aren’t up on all of the Scientologese. The “Cause Resurgence Rundown” that they’re so proud of at Flag is a program of literally running around a lighted pole in a giant circular domed room on the sixth floor of the giant Flag Building. Originally, it was conceived as a punishment in the hot California desert, but now these geniuses actually think of it as a sort of spiritual exercise, with its own set of sportswear and running shoes. Essentially, you run and run until you’re so delirious you have some sort of mental breakdown, which you become convinced is a vast spiritual advance. Imagine putting your 9-year-old through that.

The Survival Rundown is equally brutal, as well as mindless, and involves hundreds of hours of robotic instructions in moving around a room, touching things and repeating phrases and motions until, again, your brain is so fried that you decide you’ve had some great epiphany.

Katrina, who helped set up courses at the Flag Land Base during her seven years in the Sea Org there, tells us that based on the description in the article, the cost for what the two children completed ran somewhere around $10,000 to $12,000.

The adults spent much more. She estimates that the course costs alone (not counting accommodations, which would also be expensive) would run around $200,000 — but, she adds, they would have been given a hefty discount, of around 35 percent, to get them to come as a family and do so many levels of work. So maybe about $130,000 dropped in this one stay at Flag.

Katrina says that a family from Russia may have been featured so prominently in the magazine not only because it’s becoming increasingly hard to convince American families to drop that kind of cash, but also because of what’s been happening in Moscow. “Scientology has been having a lot of problems with the Russian government, with the Moscow org being raided. I think in part this is about creating internal hype — look, we have OTs in Siberia,” Katrina says.

Katrina herself came to Flag at only 11 years old and was put right into the Sea Org to work around the clock for almost no pay. Seven years later, after a brief trip home to Siberia, she told her supervisors that she wanted medical attention because she believed she had been sexually assaulted during her trip home. She was instead treated to brutal interrogations because in Scientology, rape victims are always at fault. Traumatized by the experience, she left the Sea Org and was eventually “declared” a “suppressive person” — Scientology’s version of excommunication. Her mother, however, remained at her post and disconnected from her daughter.

Katrina’s Siberian family, such as it was, got ripped apart at Flag. She isn’t amused that another Siberian family is being used to advertise the place.

“It’s devastating. This Yulia Deneko would have gotten to know my mom while she was there. All of the Russians are very close together. It sucks. It really sucks,” she says.

 
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Start making your plans!

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!

Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Sunday Scientology sermon: L. Ron Hubbard on freeing kids from their bodies
[TWO years ago] Move over, Xenu: Scientology’s other great space opera figure, the Duke of Chug
[THREE years ago] Scientology in forced-abortion case: We treat people no worse than Catholic Church does
[FOUR years ago] Scientology secrets in government docs: Did the feds have a chance to stop ‘Snow White’?
[FIVE years ago] Drug flashbacks from one million years B.C.? It’s time for Scientology’s New OT 4!
[SIX years ago] Lawrence Wright’s Scientology Book Gets Some Thrashing from Cult Expert Steven Hassan
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology Half-Cocked: Commenters of the Week!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 28, 2019 at 07:00

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