#Scientology and the Aftermath

[torijamesart]

Former Scientologist & Current Whistleblower against Scientology Mike Rinder has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and insurance is not covering the treatment that is the most successful and the one that is needed. You can donate to his treatments through the link below.

If anyone sees this please share it if you can donate please do if you can’t please share this post or the donation link with someone.

Mike Rinder has been one of the many reasons that Scientology is being exposed for what it has been doing and has saved countless of peoples lives for speaking out against Scientology.

!NOW HE NEEDS OUR HELP!

Picture below is of Mike Rinder

[crushondonald]

power couple ⚡️

Leah Remini and Mike Rinder

Yet again, I finished reading their compelling biographies and watching the fascinating documentary series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" ... once more, I've realised how much I love and adore them both as well as all the other wonderful people who managed to escape the cult. Hopefully, their courage to speak out and continuous fight will help to eventually destroy that exploitative, brainwashing company! Oh dear! I will never comprehend how fascist, inhuman crap like CoS could ever become a "church" ... tax exemption included!!! 🫣

book recommendations on the subject:

Leah Remini - Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology (2013)

Mike Rinder - A Billion Years: My Escape from Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology (2022)

Lawrence Wright - Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief (2013)

[mulderscully]

I thought Gillian was still with Peter??

girl i have everything abt celebs personal lives blocked i just hope people are joking abt her being with tom or even WANTING her to be with him

[msclaritea]

ONCE BRIAN KENT GOT EXPOSED THESE CELEBRITIES BLOCKED ME. THIS IS WHY I STAND WITH SPTV by Rabbit, Down The Rabbit Hole.

She breaks through with investigations and is the one to first bring Brian Kent to everyone's attention. Listen to her GO OFF, in explaining the blow-by-blow and how foul and filthy the Aftermath Foundation apparently is.

[gemstarb]

Watch "SCIENTOLOGY EXPOSED RECAP! Protests Around the World - YouTubers RESPONSE Aftermath Board Member" on YouTube

[stellarbisexual]

watching the twin flame documentary

and I think I might be going insane

[thatseventiesbitch]

If anyone is interested, last week Danny Masterson's team moved for him to be freed on bail. It will go to the judge now.

It's pretty funny.

Among their arguments:

He's lived an 'exemplary, law-abiding life' (except for all the raping, I guess??), and he isn't a threat to anyone, including the Jane Does from the trial (they have an ongoing Civil case against him claiming he/Scientology have harassed and threatened their families for years, including poisoning one of their dogs).

He's very close to his family - mother, siblings, wife and daughter - and they depend on him (Maybe true, idk - but also true that they're all Scientologists and DM has officially been declared as a 'Suppressive Person' in the wake of his conviction, which means they are to cut him out of their lives completely. In the wake of this, his ex-wife quietly left the organization. This is a whole rabbit hole, y'all).

And of course, Danny's philanthropic efforts to aid a charity for firefighters in the aftermath of 9/11 is heavily emphasized. Because, you know. That's really fucking relevant.

This goes in front of Judge Olmedo next. I, uh. I don't think it's going to get a whole lot further than that. But we shall see!

[dreamweaversfavsandthoughs]

Rick and Morty S7 Ep. 3: Air Force Wong

(We’ve come a long way since Pickle Rick)

Spoiler Alert. Can’t say I didn’t warn you.

My Favs

Unity!

Really wasn’t expecting to ever see them again so it was a pleasant surprise! Bringing back Unity could have crossed the line into being too fan service-y but I think they were incorporated into the ongoing story of the Rick/Rick Prime saga nicely.

“Don’t be a Space Mormon!”:

But immediately being apologetic about making fun of the SS agent’s religion.

“I volunteer to do acid to prove I’m not a cop!”:

Me too. Me too

President’s cellphone wallpaper:

Rick and the President posing with a recently caught Nessie cracked me up more than it should have.

“Call in a chopper. I’m being cockblocked!”

Rick almost died trying to defeat Rick Prime?!:

I need the details! I NEED THEM!

Summer and Rick’s interaction:

We haven’t gotten a lot of Summer this season so it’s nice to see her trying to reach out to her grandfather. Summer is probably the second smartest member of the Smith/Sanchez and made the connection pretty quickly that Unity was back and that Rick would be deep in his feels. I love seeing Summer’s empathetic side but it was also sad to see Rick shut her out in the guise of creating “boundaries.” He still has a long way to go.

The President becoming a hive mind in order to achieve an 100% approval rating:

Honestly, a politician enslaving the minds of his constituents in order to get unanimous approval is something that would happen in real life if they could. Absolutely realistic.

*traumatic flashback of the last 7-8 years*

David Miscavage voicemail:

Unless you are familiar with the history of Scientology, you’re probably not going to get that joke. That was written for nerds like me. (Real talk though, I believe Scientology is a dangerous cult. The actress, Leah Remini has done some great work exposing this cult for what it is and some of their abusive practices.)

My Not Favs

Has anyone seen Morty? He’s gone missing and we’re so worried about him:

I have it on good authority that he’s going to be more prominent in the season going forward. Hope my sources are correct…

Mr. Stabby:

The bit didn’t really do it for me.

The romantic arc between the President and Dr. Wong:

Fortunately it was ditched as quickly as it started.

My Thoughts:

A couple of things come to mind:

First, I want to discuss my biggest problem with Auto Erotic Assimilation as an episode. The episode ends with a pretty moving scene of Rick attempting suicide after Unity breaks up with him. Iconic scene no doubt, but a scene I felt had poor justification. The reasoning being is that the only thing we ever really learn during that episode is that Rick and Unity like to fuck…a lot. And abuse substance…a lot. Frankly, the relationship struck me as being awfully shallow. This most recent episode, however, added some much needed substance that was previously lacking. We find out that Rick has confided in them about Rick Prime and possibly Diane and Beth. They were around for the disastrous aftermath of his previous attempt to hunt Rick Prime and when they find out Rick is going to attempt to go after him again goes to extreme lengths to get Rick’s attention and dissuade him from going through with it.

Now, I don’t really want to see Unity and Rick get back together and I do see this episode as a sort of resolution to this relationship. Two people may not be able to make a romantic relationship work but sometimes that can pave the way to something better. Maybe a friendship can form from this that is much more meaningful than a romance, when they’re ready. They both still care about each other that’s for sure, but Rick still has some work.

Secondly, I’ve seen some conversation that Dr. Wong was in the wrong to side with Unity and tell Rick he was squarely in the wrong. Rewatching the episode, in the scene before Dr. Wong and Rick confront Unity the two of them discuss how they are going to convince Unity to take over the President’s hivemind in order to restore everyone. In this discussion they say,

Rick: “So you need to convince [Unity] I’m worth it.”

Dr. Wong: “You aren’t”.

Rick: “So lie”.

A possible interpretation is that Dr. Wong took his advice and said what she thought would be necessary to bring order back to earth which meant placing the blame on Rick. It’s a thought. I don’t know if if clears anything up but that’s kinda how I see it.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t nearly the fun romp we had with the second episode, but I appreciate a fresh insight into Rick and Unity’s relationship and I like to see Rick gradually warming up to therapy to the point that he values his relationship with Dr. Wong. She’s one of the few people not intimidated by him or afraid to call him out on his BS. Sometimes, finding a therapist that really clicks with you can be a monumental task so Rick got pretty lucky finding the perfect therapist on the first try.

[irreplaceable-spark]

Raised by Thetans in a Galactic Gulag | Aaron Smith-Levin | EP 413

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson speaks with former-Scientologist and podcaster Aaron Smith-Levin. They explore his upbringing within the “church,” how Scientology entices new members, the basis for Dianetics in Freudian psychology, the religiously inspired twist only found behind multiple paywalls, the higher being known as Xenu, what broke Aaron’s belief, and his now ongoing fight against the manipulation of this still relevant, international cult. Aaron Smith-Levin is a former Scientologist and host of the “Growing Up In Scientology” YouTube channel. He was also a main interviewee on the docu-series “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.” Since leaving the cult, he has devoted himself and his career to unmasking the harmful practices and beliefs held by the international religion.

[generic-whumperz]

CW: IRL cult experience, MLM (as in “multi-level marketing,” not “men-loving man”), mentions of depression and thoughts of suicide, talk of pursuing legal action

***

Disclaimer- This is all my personal experience, and thoughts and feelings expressed here are only my own and do not reflect the organizations or all persons within the organizations.

***

I know this is a weird place to be sharing what I’m about to, but quite honestly, I don’t know where else to divulge this information other than Reddit.

Here we go-

Several years ago, I accidentally joined a cult within a cult, a subset of Amway at the time called “World Wide Dream Builders.” They have since renamed their organization “World Wide Group” because they began getting negative affiliation with their name as people began exposing them online. (Just Google “World Wide Dream Builders” if you are interested.) But make no mistake, this is the same damn company cult, run by the same people, doing the same shit, and probably using the same or similar tactics.

After moving out of state in 2018 for a myriad of reasons, but a determining number of them being my need for a clean slate, I began to slowly unpack what the fuck I was just a part of and started a long healing journey (from that and much else). A significant component to my understanding of what was really going on and how cults and MLMs operate were the podcasts “Life After MLM,” “Sounds Like A Cult,” “Sounds Like An MLM But Okay,” and “The Dream.” And, of course, Leah Remini’s series “Scientology and the Aftermath” helped me realize just how deep-rooted cults are in American culture at large. If you’ve been in one cult, you’ve kinda been in all of them. (Additionally, r/antiMLM is an excellent source for all things anti-MLM, and this Facebook group is great for ex-members of WWDB/WWG specifically.)

It took me years to make peace with myself over how I could have gotten mixed up with such blatant bullshit and fuckery. I wasn’t in for very long, but those five months where I was dedicated and “all in” (as they say) were a roller coaster, and my mental and physical health was at an all-time low. I was extremely depressed and, at a point, even suicidal, largely due to the “brainwashing” (thought-stopping clichés, love-bombing, and bait-and-switching) and being fed the narrative that “all my problems would go away if I just practiced CORE” (the cult’s acronym for how each good little IBO {another bullshit acronym short for “independent business owner”} should be living day-to-day). I was extremely volatile at the time, and instead of being told that I just needed to “lean into my upline” (my culty superiors), by my upline, they should have urged me to seek professional counseling and help. They were not therapists, psychiatrists, or counselors to any degree, yet they loved to masquerade around as such. 

I could go on and on about all this, but the point of me sharing all this is that back in 2020, I submitted a formal complaint (against either Amway or WWDB, or both; it’s been a while, so I do not remember which) to the FTC. A couple of months ago, I was finally contacted by a senior investigator regarding my submitted complaint. But at the time, I was sick and bedridden with COVID, and I still haven’t responded to them. To be honest, I don’t know what to do or say. Amway is no stranger to class-action lawsuits, and I believe WWDB changed its name because of class-action lawsuits against them.

I still have some of my official paperwork/documents and notes that I took during our “meetings,” but I don’t know if these have any teeth, as so much has changed internally now. My question is if anyone has dealt with the FTC in regards to MLMs and what their experience was. I’m afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing- I don’t know what to say- where to even start. Or is this more so the FTC trying to add me to a class action lawsuit against one or both companies?

I’m hoping to find someone who has gone through this process and can share some words of advice. Or, if you have an Amway/WWDB/WWG/BWW/etc., feel free to reach out to me or reblog this with your experience! My DM’s are always open to those seeking catharsis in this strange and unusual experience and to validate you that yes, that was happening, and yes, that shit was whack!

*A note to my fellow whumpers: I decided to share this here, on my whump blog of all places, because I feel like there is an overlap of connoisseurs of whump and people who have been through some strange experiences. And because this is the first time I’ve felt safe enough in a space to do so. Know that you are not alone! I shared this in hopes of it reaching and helping someone-anyone. Even if one person gets something from this, that’s more than enough for me. Again, my DM’s and asks are open to fellow culties!

P.S. If you are an Amway/WWG/general MLM sympathizer who feels the unnecessary need to DM me or send me an anonymous ask, don’t. Practice self-restraint. I don’t care to hear whatever string of words you feel so compelled to share, insisting that I’m “wrong,” a “loser,” or a “failure,” and that “the system works” because your upline Crown Diamond, Double-Eagle Ruby, Emerald, or your brother, sister, mom, dad, cousin, or whoever else told you so or claims to be a living testament of- it doesn’t and I’m most certainly not. Even if you do know “someone at the top,” it is at the expense of hundreds, if not thousands, of people beneath them, funneling money back up through WWG tool kit systems and dubious “recruitment bonuses.” I won’t read whatever hogwash you send; it will be promptly deleted, and I will block you.

[gay-jesus-probably]

Update on writing episode 2 of my podcast, the first parts are going to be a lot more manic than I expected. I thought there was only one guy completely abandoning any concept of reality, but nope, theres a totally different insane person involved earlier in the political drama that gets everyone kicked off the mountain for 9 years.

I mean, most of his whole Deal isn't super relevant to the main point of climbing the tallest mountain on earth, and honestly it doesnt even have much to do with the politics subplot. But I had to read about a guy inventing off brand scientology in the 1910's, so everyone else gets to deal with it too.

...god, theres just so many choices being made in the aftermath of the 1924 expedition, and all of them are so bad. We're ending episode 1 with a solemn analysis on the deaths of two good men, and then we pick the story back up in episode 2 with one guy who believed transluscent space aliens wanted him to be more racist, followed by the guy that wanted to summit Everest by crashing a plane into the peak.

Truly, we are going on a fucking journey here.

[michaelcosio]

Jehovah's Witnesses v. Scientology - Ep. 4 - Faith Versus Faith

In the fourth installment of the Faith Versus Faith series, I interview ex-Scientologist and former Sea Org member Chris Shelton to learn of the differences and similarities between Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Scientology - the latter having recently gained considerable notoriety thanks to Leah Remini's "Scientology and the Aftermath" series.

from Lloyd Evans

[msclaritea]

Harassing someone on social media to the point where they block you is not something to brag about.

All you're doing is making a nuisance of yourself. You're just seen as this annoying nutjob and that's it. Because that's what you are. You're not helping anyone with your behavior. Least of all you. All this anger and bitterness will only make your life even more miserable. When is the last time any of your friends and family offered to spend time with you? I bet they're ignoring you now so they won't have to endure your rants.

I wish I was as Magical, having sent her all of ONE tweet. Alas it seems that Leah has been arbitrarily blocking a shitload of people, for various, self possessed reasons. Meantime:

1. I should have known that Yashar Ali was suspect, with his connection to Huffpost.

2. You sound awfully familiar. Have you sent other messages, to harass people, because they support Benedict Cumberbatch?

[gemstarb]

Watch "SCIENTOLOGY EXPOSED: NEW AFTERMATH BOARD Members - STREETS LA SERVED - Ex Scientologist SEEKS HELP" on YouTube

[bluewhale-news]

25 Disturbingly Haunting Cult Documentaries

4. Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (2016) It’s easy to look back on the Peoples Temple and the Manson Family and distance it from the now, but Leah Remini’s intense documentary about Scientology highlights how real and ongoing cults are. Many people enjoy this documentary, in particular, because it reveals celebrity behavior and the underbelly of Hollywood.