How Scientology lured a Sci-Fi fan, but drove him away with its lack of imagination

I first heard about Scientology from a cousin at my mother’s kitchen table. From that introduction, I entered the Church of Scientology on Sunday, December 27, 1970 to attend a Sunday service. I wrote about that experience here previously. That story was written fifty years to the day after that first visit.

It’s now a few days past the 50th anniversary of my leaving, which took place on Thursday, August 30, 1973.

That’s 977 days I spent in Scientology. I was seventeen when I entered; nineteen when I left.

Scientology was on Toronto’s cult row, between the Krishna Temple and the grey-robed Process Church members who worked the subway. Within a short walk there were Moonies, Children of God, Jesus Freaks and a wide array of Eastern Mystics. There were lots of cults and each of them sure seemed to have lots of members. Katie Lye, the Toronto Scientology executive involved in hiring, claimed 120 staff and that they were planning for 100,000 staff in the future. I believed her at the time, though I now think there were likely about half that number on staff.

When I first walked through Scientology’s doors, I was a kid about to finish high school. Scientology’s founder L. Ron Hubbard and I had two things in common: Our given names, and that we both liked science fiction, I as a reader, he as a creator. The earliest Scientologists were SF fans familiar with Hubbard’s writings. The precursor to Scientology, Dianetics, was first promoted through the magazine Astounding Science Fiction after the brilliant though gullible editor John W. Campbell became an adherent. By 1970, the Scientologists were mostly hippies who were seeking something meaningful in life. I resided in both camps.

Over those 977 days I took two courses, finishing only the first. I also read almost every book Hubbard wrote about Scientology or Dianetics. They included Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, Dianetics 55, Science of Survival, A New Slant on Life, Scientology 0-8, Scientology 8-80-08, The Creation of Human Ability, Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, Self Analysis, The Problems of Work and Scientology: A History of Man.

I found the books to be bizarre and confusing but also intriguing. I did not find them to be helpful. Though my coursework was minimal and I had had almost no auditing, every time I was with my extended family Scientology was the topic of discussion. During those 977 days an aunt, an uncle and four cousins were also involved in Scientology. And it wasn’t hard to understand what so many of us saw in it. Many of us were engaged in seemingly insoluble problems not of our own making. There had been a suicide in our family. There were also gays and lesbians in our family who grew up when homosexuality was illegal and believed to be a psychological disorder. Added to that, one cousin was a registrar and he was very good at his job. All eventually left.

Scientology made me special but in a way that did me absolutely no good. My mentioning it was almost always met with quiet antagonism. Scientology was just too weird. A few friends tried to help me. One close friend said, “I wish it was true, but it isn’t.” Another said, “You used to talk about everything. Now you talk about Scientology and not doing drugs.”

In early August 1973 I quit my summer job and signed up for the HQS course. Each morning I would bicycle to the cult offices from my parent’s home in the north end of the city — 15.2 miles round trip. I found out for myself. And I found out that the tech was crazy. I expected that the whole “science” would be proven or negated in the HQS course. The litmus test, I thought, would be “Opening Procedure by Duplication” a/k/a “Op Pro by Dup,” “The Book and the Bottle,” and “Getting Duped.” But, in the end, the outcome of Op Pro by Dup was cryptic, confusing and vague.

Op Pro by Dup went something like this — As instructed by a partner I looked at a bottle, walked over to it, described it, then repeated those steps with a book. I would continue, back and forth between the book and the bottle until I supposedly exteriorized. Here’s the trick. Only two things could happen — 1. I could decide that I had exteriorized. 2. I could walk away, leaving the Scientologists to claim that had I only stayed on longer, I would have exteriorized.

Before doing it I asked a trusted cousin who had finished the HQS course what it felt like to exteriorize. He said that it differed from person to person and then told me what it felt like for him. The feeling of exteriorization he described lacked substance and sounded delusory.

I did Op Pro by Dup for 23 hours (a few hours at a time) at which point I felt disoriented. I initially decided that this was the feeling of me leaving my body. The Scientologists congratulated me for reaching that exalted state. But I didn’t feel good about it. I should have walked out the door and never come back.

Aside from The Book and the Bottle we engaged in other Scientology processes that for most people took about a month. Here are the memorable parts. I did the Self-Analysis lists. The SA lists, instructed me to remember, to ‘return’ to moments in my past. There may have been some benefit though none of it was lasting or in any way profound. I also did a strange process that involved reacting to statements like, “Touch the table.” and then, “Touch your nose” said alternately and in repetition. Eventually, I was supposed to have a cognition. Through a series of cognitions I invented the rocket fuel currently being used by NASA. Just kidding. Actually, the only cognition I remember was, “the wood is not my nose.” It could have as easily been “the wood is my nose.” The important thing to Scientology was that the cognition occurred. Again, either you have a cognition or you walk away with the Scientologists claiming that had you only done it longer you would have had a cognition.

While on course, I invited a friend down to the cult offices. As we were walking in, an ambulance with its characteristic siren drove by. One of the “parishioners” began imitating the ambulance sound at the top of his lungs. The nearby Scientologists laughed at this droll wit. But I saw the action through my friend’s eyes. The Scientologist wasn’t funny at all. He was obnoxious. The people laughing at his mimicry were foolish. They were becoming crazy.

Another time I invited my brother down and he brought along a friend. The three of us stood on the sidewalk just outside the cult offices with two Scientologist cousins. Then a staffer joined us. The staffer held keys in his hand, joined together with a metal ring. He said to my brother, “I am going to let go of these keys. What’s going to happen?” My brother replied sharply, “I don’t know.” The Scientologist responded by opening his hand, dropping the keys to the sidewalk and saying, “You knew what would happen! You have had a lifetime of experience to tell you what would happen! But you wouldn’t admit it to yourself just as you won’t admit the truth that is Scientology!” I am doing my best to paraphrase closely.

My brother then brought out his own keys, also joined with a ring. He held the keys in both hands, so they were difficult to see. My brother said, “I am going to let go of these keys. What’s going to happen?” The Scientologist responded, “They will fall to the ground.” My brother, however, had slipped the key ring over a finger and when he opened his hands the keys just hung there. My brother said, “You’ve been fooled, just as you have been fooled by the Church of Scientology.” My brother and his friend then horse-laughed at the poor sap, doing their best to make him feel like a pile of dirt. After my brother, his friend, and the staffer left, my two cousins said, ‘Yes, the man is a fool, but he is improving.” More likely he was getting worse.

My post-Scientology cognition : The poor sap and the droll mimic were much more enlightening than the HQS course.

Much of the course was done with a partner. But suddenly my partner was assigned to something else and he was gone. Curiously, like me, he was a student at York University so I looked forward to connecting with him at York when school began next month. However, I didn’t run into him until January. At that point I asked him how things had gone with Scientology. He didn’t want to talk about it. I have to conclude that he got in over his head but broke away, only after losing a semester of school. I found him on Facebook recently but he did not respond to my message.

Anyway, that fellow whose Scientology assignment was changed late that summer, left me without a partner. Instead of doing HQS I was doing mail room sorting and doing L. Ron reading. And the month that I reserved for the course was rapidly coming to an end. I had something else important coming up on August 31. As I said, I had loved science-fiction. I had already acquired a membership in the World Science Fiction Convention, a festival that was to attract 5,000 SF fans to Toronto over the Labor Day weekend. My plan was to go off to the World Con, then continue my studies at York University and, if necessary, finish the HQS course on weekends or as time would allow. However that was not what Scientology wanted of me.

After a few days of cooling my heals, my course supervisor, who I know today as the wonderful Willie Jones, said to me, “It looks like we’ll have a twin for you tomorrow.” I replied, “Thank you. I’ll be going off to the World Science Fiction convention on Friday, regardless.” This innocent comment was interpreted as a threat to blow. I was sent to see Earl Smith in the ethics office. I cooled my heels there for a couple of days waiting for Earl. Once he found the time, what we did together took about ten minutes. Earl asked me who was saying bad things about Scientology. I thought about it. I soon told Earl that my friend Mike didn’t think well of Scientology. He told me to call Mike and ask him to “grant me beingness as a Scientologist.” And I am pretty sure that those were his exact words. So I called Mike and did as I was told. Mike had no idea what to make of it but replied that he would “grant me beingness.” Pretty weird, eh?

So, I returned to the course room. I had an afternoon left to complete the course though I would have had a good chance of finishing it off had I not been waiting for Ethical Earl. I brought that to the attention of course supervisor Willie, and she responded, “Well if you go Tone 40 on it, you’ll be able to finish.” A couple of hours later I was out the door for good. One cousin told me to return, telling me that without Scientology I could interiorize into a rock for a trillion years. I took my chances. A registrar called me a few times but gave up soon. After all, I had no money and no property. My parents were not well-to-do. I had nothing on the Scientologists that I could spill to the press or the police. There was simply no reason for them to chase me anymore. Honestly, a few years later a Toronto Toyota dealership pressed me more a when I walked off their lot not having purchased a car.

Scientology remained a mystery to me but one which was too risky to further explore. I did not speak of them poorly for another seven years. Then, in 1980, I walked through their doors for the very last time. In a phone conversation, a staffer led me to believe that I could put up an ad on their bulletin board to sell all my Scientology books. But once he had me in the building, he reneged. He told me that each book I sold would stop the Scientology bookstore from selling one. I countered that my books would give a Scientologist a good deal, further disseminate Scientology and make me some money. Wins all around. But instead he had decided to be deceptive and waste my time. At that point I better understood just what had been going on all along. Then, I began sharing my experiences.

— Ron Kasman

Addendum: Ethical Earl stayed on and became the president of the Toronto organization. My friend Mike became a journalist. We remain close friends. My uncle and aunt and all my cousins either walked out the door or were thrown out the door. I don’t know what happened to the poor fellow with the keys or the loon who tried to sound like a siren. Willie Jones lives about a hundred miles down the road and I am fortunate to see her every once in a while.

 
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Technology Cocktail

“After several years of trying to find the precise mechanics of havingness, I think I’ve come very close. Havingness is apparently the willingness and ability to duplicate in all senses of the word. It also has many lesser connotations but the havingness ability of a pc apparently depends upon his willingness and ability to duplicate, again in all senses of the word.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1960

 
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman

 
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Source Code

“Confidence in treatment on this planet is at its lowest possible ebb. The only planet I know of where it dropped any lower was the Marcab Confederacy, and it dropped much lower in the Marcab Confederacy. The way they taught medicine there, they had a number of drawers with dead, dried tissue in them. And they’d drag these drawers out, you see, and show the students, ‘And this is a dried head, you see. And this is tissue that’s been affected by tuberculosis. And this is this…’ and it was all dried, and so forth, and that was their total command of medicine. The only thing that was wrong with this particular activity is these really were infected tissues, and they were still carrying the germ spores, which I thought was always a little bit rough. But I remember giving medical lectures occasionally, and any student gave me any trouble, why, I’d just drop some tubercular tissue on his desk. This was all sort of raw. But there it got to a point where you weren’t ever permitted to get a new body. And this is typical of many space opera societies and is getting typical of this one. This one will go along too.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 5, 1961

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“I cognited on why it feels so good to be at sea — This is the Sea Org — of course.” — Capt. W.B. Robertson, September 5, 1969

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Overheard in the FreeZone

“DO NOT VOTE. Your vote will make zero positive difference in the outcome of the country’s future as all parties and the entire structure of voting is part of a huge negative creation and trap. By voting you immediately become ‘part’ and not ‘whole.’ By voting you become disempowered and no longer the person who decides your experience on Earth. It is the entire ‘democratic’ system that is the trap. There is no democracy. The system of democratic governance is designed and created to oppress the people of Earth. It is based on division, righteousness and aggression. The people are so busy fighting with each other that they do not see or are even interested in what really rules our reality. So… what rules our reality? YOU rule our reality. By giving your power away, you give the power to a system, person or organization to rule reality FOR YOU. So, what do you do instead? DO NOT VOTE. Create and support new educational, living and working structures and organizations. KNOW that covid19, global warming, racism and terrorism are ALL false flag creations made to DIVIDE AND CONTROL YOU. DO NOT get vaccinated for ANYTHING. This is very important.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1996: Zenon Panoussis was raided by the RTC for posting the NOTS materials to a.r.s. The raid occurred while he was away from his home. In a series of posts, he described the events. “When I returned home this afternoon, I found my apartment broken into. The hard disks were missing from my computer, as well as some diskettes and one copy of the printed OTs. On my bed-pillow was a message from the bailiff that he had executed a decision by the primary court of Stockholm. I am (sometimes) a prudent nature. Foreseeing the raid, I have not used my computer for the storage or production or distribution of any material to which the RTC claims copyright. I count therefore on having my hard disks back within a week. Foreseeing the raid I have also spread the files in question to a large number of untraceable acquaintances, and instructed these to spread them to their acquaintances in case I was raided. This further spreading is taking place right now, with the result that the RTC will NEVER be able to cut me off from the material in question. Foreseeing the raid I have also stored the printed OTs elsewhere than in my apartment (one single copy was taken from my apartment, and one was missed and left back). Their distribution continues as usual, or rather MORE INTENSELY. Today I learned from the bailiff that the scienos’ Swedish lawyer, two American scienos by the names of Warren McShane and William Heart, as well as a scieno computer technician were allowed by the bailiff to search my home. This is not only irregular, but highly illegal in this country. In the total mess that my apartment is (and was already before the raid), I have had no possibility to check what might be missing. No time either. The bailiff had also planned to let the scienos search my hard disks today. But after hearing that I would be present, the scienos didn’t show up at the bailiff’s office for a meeting at 9 am. They later called and made a new appointment for 10 am. Shortly before 10 they phoned and postponed it for 12 noon. Three people from the bailiff’s office and me waited from 12 to 1.10 pm in vain. The scienos didn’t show up and didn’t even bother to phone. At the end the bailiff phoned them and arranged to arrange a new meeting tomorrow (or rather this morning Friday).”

 
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Random Howdy

“Dictators don’t like picking successors. It makes them nervous knowing there’s an official next guy. If DM croaks it will be just like when LRH croaked. He who dares, wins.”

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentencing on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Trial scheduled for August 15.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, first hearing set for Dec 4.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through sentencing of Masterson on Sep 7. Next hearing set for Sept 26.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Next hearing Nov 6.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

 
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SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. 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 a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Confirmed: Law enforcement was informed about another alleged Danny Masterson victim
[TWO years ago] Tom Cruise’s Scientology superpowers, No. 1: Shattering the suppression from a 15-year-old
[THREE years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 16: James Packer
[FOUR years ago] Available today, a new thriller based on a former Scientologist’s experiences
[FIVE years ago] Scientology’s Colombia strategy becomes clear: It’s total war
[SIX years ago] Missouri school district boots sneaky Scientology front group after Underground Bunker article
[SEVEN years ago] As Scientology declines, its members are even giving up on their spooky super powers
[EIGHT years ago] Jon Atack: The mystery of mysteries that all Scientologists chase — and can never find
[NINE years ago] Angry Gay Pope loses ownership of ‘KendrickMoxon.com’ to … Kendrick Moxon
[TEN years ago] THE MARTY RATHBUN AFFIDAVIT: Scientology Leader David Miscavige Lied To Texas Court
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology and The Master
[TWELVE years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 12: Tommy Davis

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 5, 2023 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, 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, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | 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 | Shelly Miscavige, 15 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 | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone