Sunny Pereira | The Underground Bunker

‘Dropping the body’ in Scientology: An example of that instruction from the Sea Org

TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: We’ve been hearing a lot from readers about the Whitney Mills lawsuit and what Scientology teaches about ‘dropping the body,’ as a thetan moves between lifetimes. We thought you’d want to see this eye-opening […]

Scientology’s Sea Org: Almost no pay and no sleep, but plenty of swearing and smoking!

Why do Sea Org members smoke and swear so much? I think the first time I remember hearing a swear word was when I was around four. By the age of five, I was swearing like a sailor. By 15 I was in the adult RPF, smoking nearly a pack a day of […]

How Scientology makes forced disconnection even worse than the separation

[Sunny and her mother]

“She knows what she has to do.”

It was a matter-of-fact statement to my husband from my mother. I was pregnant with our second child and we wanted to let my Sea Org mother know about it. She had never met my children or my husband. We had thought he could call her […]

One of the shocks of leaving Scientology: Immortality is overrated

“Yes ma’am, your application looks good and we are just about ready to approve it,” the man said over the phone. “We are just trying to understand why, at your age of 32, we are not seeing any type of credit history on your name and social security number. We just need to fill in […]

Scientology wanted you to believe that the urge to leave was a failing. It wasn’t.

[Sunny, serving her billion-year contract]

Scientology in the 1970s was known for being a fun place, a cool hang out, a place to make new friends. This appeal brought in many new followers. Scientology was supposed to be a different kind of religion, a hip and cool […]

Why growing up in Scientology can be so damaging, even years after leaving

Although this story is my personal experience, and many could have had variations of this, I think it’s worth noting what Scientology’s “applied religious philosophy” does to its youngest members as far as trauma and […]

Pre-trial Scientology special: The new episode of Up the Bridge, for everyone!

In 2013 we began a very popular series at the Underground Bunker which lasted more than a […]

Kirstie Alley: Forgotten by the Scientology Hollywood Celebrity Centre?

I’m glad I won’t be dying at the hands of Scientology.

I don’t even know (or care) if my death will ever be remembered, but hey, a couple of “goodbyes” would be nice, when the time […]

What the jurors didn’t hear: How Scientology keeps crimes under wraps

[Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre]

Our frequent contributor Sunny Pereira, a former Scientology Sea Org official at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre, came to the Danny Masterson trial on the last day of testimony. She was there as an advocate for her friend, Rachel Smith, who was the final witness to testify in the trial. We asked her […]

Watching Scientology lie to foreigners about ‘religious’ visas: A very personal account

[The Hollywood Celebrity Centre]

A thorough new piece in New York magazine about Scientology’s abuse of R-1 visas not only reminded us of research by RM Seibert for the Bunker that we published in 2016. It also inspired Sunny Pereira to send us this memory of what the R-1 visa abuse actually looked like at the […]

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