Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
Claire, last week on our trip up the Bridge to Total Freedom we completed New Era Dianetics and went Clear. That was a big moment. But you were telling us that in recent decades, there’s been an additional step at this point to make certain that we’ve actually gone Clear. Do we have that right?
CLAIRE: Yes, the Clear Certainty Rundown, or CCRD, is a set of steps to confirm the state of Clear, once the person has voiced the Clear cognition.
Let me just point out that if the person did all the NED rundowns of the level we talked about last week and still did not voice the Clear cognition, he or she would be programmed for what is referred to as the alternate route, R6EW. I’m not too familiar with that route. In all my years in Scientology, I know of two people who did that route.
Either way, once you have stated the Clear cognition, you’ll be programmed to receive the CCRD.
The steps are quite simple: First, you’ll be asked to talk about your wins all over again, so the auditor can verify you actually did have the Clear cognition. Next, you’ll do Two Way Communication on the state of Clear. This is where you’ll be asked for thoughts, feelings, and considerations on the state of Clear. Then you will run Date & Locate on the exact time and place you went clear. The needle phenomena that will need to be present on the e-meter is a floating needle or floating Tone Arm, with a very loose floppy needle.
And that’s it. If you’ve made it, you’ll be congratulated on achieving the state of Clear, and you’ll get a Clear number.
Or you’ll be told you didn’t make the grade, and you’ll be programmed for more Dianetics auditing.
THE BUNKER: Help us understand the “Clear cognition.” That sounds like someone simply says, “Hey, I’m Clear.” But we suppose there’s more to it — after all, Scientology is an exact science.
CLAIRE: Yes, there is more to it. The Clear cognition is a statement to the effect that the subject has created his or her own reactive mind (or “mocked it up”) and that it’s now gone and they are no longer mocking it up.
THE BUNKER: So the subject has a cognition (revelation) that he had mocked up (created) his own reactive mind to begin with, and now it’s gone, and the floating needle confirms it.
So if we “mocked up” our creative minds, does that mean that it was never “real” to begin with?
In Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, Hubbard writes about the reactive mind as if it were a product of evolution — in other words, a real, biological part of the human brain. So isn’t it bizarre that we would eventually conclude that we somehow invented the reactive mind as a mental construct??
CLAIRE: Believe me, I couldn’t agree with you more. This has always been to me one of those befuddling items. When I first studied about this theory as a child, I remembered thinking it was superbly complex for no apparent reason.
THE BUNKER: You also wanted to point out that there is something controversial about CCRD?
CLAIRE: I don’t think there is any person in Scientology who is unaware of the issues that have surrounded the CCRD. Namely, people being declared and then undeclared Clear like it is going out of style.
You see, it used to be that they would do C/S Series 123 checks on people. Quite simply, this is where the person is asked on the E-Meter if they have received auditing in a prior lifetime.
If they say yes, then it is reviewed and discussed with them to see what auditing they had and what level they think they achieved. I often saw this result in the person being programmed for a CCRD. That was my own personal experience as well.
And from that, I was declared Clear. That was in 1992. Well, in the early 2000s, Scientology leader David Miscavige decided that was all BS. So he went around the property and questioned all base staff about their case level. If they said they were Clear, he asked if they received Dianetics auditing and when, and if they said last lifetime, their Clear status was cancelled on the spot.
This is how I ended up in the situation of being well into OT 5 (I’d had 3 intensives according to my freeloader bill) and then was told I was not Clear and was put back on Dianetics.
THE BUNKER: Auditing in a previous lifetime? Hey, wait a minute.
Auditing was only discovered by L. Ron Hubbard around the year 1950. So if someone born in the year 1963, say, claimed to be a last lifetime Clear, it would mean that they had not only, in a past life, been someone who got auditing between 1950 and 1963, but also had died by 1963.
Wouldn’t that describe a pretty limited number of people?
CLAIRE: Yes that’s precisely right! And you just reminded me of two other things related to this.
You’d be surprised how many people claimed they were audited by Hubbard in a prior lifetime. Now that would be a number I’d love to see. I can tell you it was very high.
As was the number of people who claimed they were Quentin Hubbard in a prior lifetime. (L. Ron Hubbard’s second son, and his first son by Mary Sue Hubbard, Quentin committed suicide in 1976.)
THE BUNKER: No wonder L. Ron made it a rule not to compare notes with other members. So Claire, what are we spending for the CCRD?
CLAIRE: I believe this action runs around 10K. It gets delivered at the “Advanced Org,” so you’re paying more now for a higher class of auditor.
COST THIS WEEK: $10,000
COST SO FAR: $193,197
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KATE BORNSTEIN IS CANCER-FREE!
We got amazing news this week — Kate Bornstein has kicked cancer’s ass!
A year ago, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and we worried mightily about Kate, whom we had written about in May 2012, for a Village Voice cover story. Earlier in her life, as Al Bornstein, she had been the first mate on the Apollo with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard as he ran the organization from the ship. Bornstein later went on to become one of the most noted transsexual performance artists in New York City, and her books about gender issues — Gender Outlaw, for example — became classics of the genre.
After her diagnosis, Kate’s friends put up a GoFundMe page and rapidly raised more than $100,000 for her treatments. And now, she’s cancer-free! We’re thrilled, and if you haven’t yet read her amazing memoir, A Queer and Pleasant Danger, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.
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Steve Cannane Interviews Jon Atack!
We heard from Australian TV journalist Steve Cannane last night, who sent us a link to a radio interview he did with the Underground Bunker’s good friend and Scientology historian Jon Atack. They manage to cover a lot of ground in an hour, and you really get a sense of what a walking encyclopedia Jon is!
Cannane does an excellent job with his questions, and we’re really happy to see a program go into such depth on issues that still matter today.
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Amped for Super Power!
Another hilarious send-up by Karen de la Carriere, J. Swift, and Angry Gay Pope…
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Wendy Williams Has Leah Remini’s Back
Yesterday on her talk show, Wendy Williams played the clip of Leah Remini talking about Scientology on Monday night’s episode of Dancing With The Stars. Not only is Leah dancing this season with Wendy’s old dance partner, Tony Dovolani, but Wendy was really intrigued by what Leah had to say about her former church. And she didn’t think much at all about the church’s response. Take a look…
“I was shocked to find out that she was part of the Church of Scientology, but even more shocked that she’d left them. Because that seems like the kind of organization that you don’t leave or you’ll be found bloody in the alley out back. Don’t they seem like they don’t play? Cult-like? Anyway, she recently left the church, and she’s still talking about how important it is for her to have a good life after the church, including doing well on Dancing With The Stars…”
“We might find her sleeping with the fishes if she keeps talking. Leah, girl, you are like one of the bravest women I know. People don’t talk out about that Church of Scientology in such a way. Do you all know that? That what she’s doing is very brave of her? I mean, she’s really doing something, and this is what the church said…’We know this may come as a surprise to someone as self-absorbed as Ms. Remini, but we could care less if she wins or loses on Dancing With The Stars.’ Can you imagine if your reverend or your rabbi talked to you like this? Like, this is a person of the cloth here, talking to her like that. Well look, Leah, they’re watching you. Tony, those six hours, six days a week that you practice with Leah, lock the door, you might want to hire security outside if you know what I’m saying. Ms. Remini’s talking a lot. But we like it!”
And last night, Dan Harris on Nightline gave a nice wrap-up of Leah’s story, along with a number of other things that readers of the Underground Bunker are well versed in…
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Mark Bunker Raising Money for the Homestretch
We’re still dying to see Mark Bunker’s documentary about Scientology that’s been in the works for a couple of years now. He’s crowdfunded it from the start, and now he’s making another request for funding which hopefully will put him over the top. And he’s also revealed a new full title for his film:
“Knowledge Report: Scientology’s Spies, Lies and the Eternity Prize”
Intriguing! Head on over and help Mark out.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 25, 2013 at 07:00
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