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rabbit-ina-trenchcoat · 1 month ago

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idk if the paper thing was a joke BUT i'm willing to listen to what you have to say in defense of tom cruise (/gen) because rn I kinda don't vibe with him because of the whole Scientology stuff so .. feel free to lay it on me

This is gonna be so long and I apologize for that. Prefacing this by saying 2 things: 1) whatever you choose to feel is your decision, 2) I used to also dislike Tom before I started doing research on COS. (I also do not mean this to sound aggressive toward you – you’re asking a genuine question and I appreciate the interest!)

This is my opinion based on my research + I have no personal experience with COS. God bless, peace and love on planet earth, etc, etc.

My paper is centering around victims of Scientology. It’s not an expose, it’s not some newfound evidence – its just approaching the evidence in a different direction. I’ve had the opportunity to interview several people who have escaped the church, and the results are horrifying.

The victims of Scientology are the members of Scientology. The only person there who truly has an awareness of what is happening to these people is Miscavige – and even he was groomed into leadership by L. Ron Hubbard.

What happens to new members, is they are sent through a series of ��auditing” sessions, that have been described as brainwashing sessions. They are forced to admit to deep insecurities and are verbally abused – sometimes physically abused – based on them. Everyone I have spoken to has admitted to being a victim of physical trauma in the church.

Their families are also targeted if they leave. Escaping doesn’t just risk them. People have been harassed, stalked, and ruined because they didn’t want to be there.

It's a cult. People don’t choose to be brainwashed, and they don’t choose to be abused. Just because someone is rich and famous doesn’t make them immune.

Tom Cruise did not want to be in Scientology. His ex-wife made him join, because she was a Scientologist. Specifically she put him through “couples therapy” because their marriage was not fully built on romance. Unfortunately, Miscavige wanted him there really bad, assuming that it would benefit the church. Spoiler alert, public reception has gotten WORSE since Tom joined. Especially in the early 2000s, when he was actually promoting it. And he was specifically told to STOP because he was fucking it up for them.

He's tried to leave multiple times, but unfortunately it is one of the hardest things to do. He is not a Sea Org member (one of the highest branches of SCN), he does not benefit from anything in the church. Claims that he’s abandoned his youngest child because of it ARE simply claims, and we will probably never know the truth because she wants to be a private citizen.

Yeah, he probably holds certain beliefs that have been hammered into him. He, however, is not successful because of Scientology. Scientology snagged him because he’s successful, and they expected it to work in their favor. Also the claims that his marriages were arranged by the church are still speculation – from what I’ve read, people only theorized it because of how close the ties were to the church. Miscavige forcibly broke him and Nicole Kidman up because Tom was close to leaving the church with her.

I don’t like Scientology, I hate it, because I hate that people are abused by something they trust. The victims of Scientology are Scientologists. I do hope one day he can leave – it’s just I doubt he will because him being there keeps his family safe.

These are just a few reasons I don’t agree with throwing him under the bus. He doesn’t want to be there, but he shows face when he has to because that’s what you have to do to survive in it. I mean the church hates him, why do we have to.

If you’re interested in learning a lot more – I seriously recommend books like A Billion Years by Mike Rinder (RIP) and Inside Scientology by Janet Reitman. I’ve read both and they have incredible insight from different perspectives – and both had a lot of information about Tom’s experience. And some extra reading potentially. I’m not personally recommending Leah Remini because she – in my opinion – victim blames a lot, but I know a lot of people do trust what she says.

Again, whatever you feel is fine, obviously. I actually tried to research before I became a TC fan because everyone else was talking about SCN being bad, but I didn’t know anything about it – and no one could give me a straight answer. So uh, moral of the story, do your research, I guess? I don't expect people to change their opinions on HIM, I would rather they just show more support for victims.

I like Tom Cruise cause he makes good movies! He advocates for crew members and has done a lot of good activism! I really like when he gets shoved against walls!

#no tags we die like goose

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tabloidtoc · 4 years ago

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Star, May 10

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Meghan Markle having twin girls (oops!)

Page 1: Famous for doing his own stunts, Tom Cruise helicoptered in to the tiny English village of Levisham to film aboard, or rather hanging off of, a vintage train and along for the ride was his Mission: Impossible 7 costar Hayley Atwell, who was spotted running along the top of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway car and while the pair, surrounded by crew and tech experts, were total pros, it's an open secret on set that their romance is going strong and Tom and Hayley hang out non-stop when the cameras are off and are pretty much joined at the hip but not in a showy, PDA way; it's a very discreet thing they've got going on -- off-camera, 58-year-old Tom and 39-year-old Hayley enjoy quiet nights holed up in Tom's London digs, eating meals specially prepared by his private chef and they'll watch movies or read books or just chill out doing their own thing -- chilling out isn't Tom's forte, as audio leaked of him berating the film's crew for violating COVID-19 protocols, but things have calmed down considerably as the spy flick, due in theaters May 2022, closes in on its wrap date, but the ensuing publicity push will put Tom and Hayley's relationship front and center, but don't expect the devoted Scientologist to jump on any couches (a la Katie Holmes) announcing wife No. 4 as Tom has learned the hard way about putting everything out there and getting picked to pieces; this time, it's all about subtlety

Page 2: Contents, Cher got up and personal with the World's Loneliest Elephant Kaavan, who she helped relocate to Cambodia

Page 3: Brie Larson in a swimsuit with butterflies on it during a getaway to Hawaii, with headphones at the ready Brooke Burke was itching to cut a rug with friends before teaching a silent disco cardio party at the Rafi Lounge in Malibu, Maria Shriver and Christina Schwarzenegger enjoyed some quality time on a stroll in L.A., Boy George sporting a bold look on The Jonathan Ross Show in London

Page 4: In a recent interview, AnnaLynne McCord revealed a shocking diagnosis: for years, the 90210 alum has been battling dissociative identity disorder (often erroneously referred to as multiple personality disorder) -- she told Dr. Daniel Amen she is absolutely uninterested in shame about opening up despite the stigma surrounding mental-health issues because that's how we get to the point where we can articulate the nature of these pervasive traumas as horrible as they are -- for her part, the 33-year-old traces back her troubles to sexual abuse she suffered as a child and as had many of the 200,000 people diagnosed with DID each year, she suppressed those horrific memories and it was only within the past few years that they began to resurface, largely after she sought treatment for PTSD related to another sexual assault and she doesn't have any memories of abuse until around 5, then from 5 to 11, she recounts incidents throughout and then, when she was 13, she has a singled-out memory and it was at that age that she developed what doctors call a second personality identity: as Little Ann, the Georgia-born daughter of a pastor said she was balls to the wall, middle fingers to the sky, anarchist from hell who will stab you with the spike ring that she wears and that helped her survive her nightmarish situation -- ironically, acting created the same dynamic, making it sometimes difficult for AnnaLynne to let go of characters she'd played and all of her roles were splits but she didn't even realize she was doing it

Page 5: Jennifer Aniston wasn't exactly touched when Justin Theroux gushed about how much he still loves her in the issue of Esquire -- complaining about feeling like a hermit during the pandemic, 49-year-old Justin nearly got misty discussing FaceTiming and texting his ex, saying he cherishes their friendship and they can not be together and still bring each other joy and he'd be bereft if they weren't still in touch and he'd like to think the same for her -- but 52-year-old Jen, whose love life has been low-key since the pair's 2018 divorce, has stayed on good terms with most of her exes including Brad Pitt but doesn't want anything more than a friendship with Justin and sure, it's flattering but she's just moved on and wishes he would too, and that goes double for some of her friends who griped that Justin tried to milk Jen's connections to further his career -- in the end, Justin needs to know he's got no chance whatsoever of winning Jen back and she doesn't feel anything remotely close to passion for him anymore

* Roseanne Barr showed off her newly svelte frame on Instagram -- back in 1998, she lost 100 lbs after undergoing gastric-bypass surgery, but yo-yo'd over the next decades but now she's determined to keep the weight off by totally changing the way she eats and she's growing her own fruits and vegetables and has a whole new appreciation of food

* Five months after he entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Mossimo Gianulli finished up his stint at his plush Hidden Hills home and now, the 57-year-old, who along with wife Lori Loughlin, pleaded guilty to paying a $500,000 bribe to get their kids into USC, can't wait to get back to normal and his biggest priority, besides spending time with Lori and the girls, is to get out there on the golf course -- the designer, worth a reported $70 million, still has to perform 250 hours of community service while Lori, who finished up her prison stint in December, is chipping away at hers, doling out meals at L.A.'s Project Angel Food -- Lori and Mossimo have resolved not to dwell on the past and they want to move forward with a positive and grateful attitude

Page 6: Fans of Angelina Jolie's stunts in movies like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Mr. & Mrs. Smith are looking forward to her return to the screen as a wildfire fighter in Those Who Wish Me Dead and in the upcoming Marvel flick Eternals but 45-year-old Angie would rather be behind the camera and she explained the real reason behind her comeback is she loves directing, but she had a change in her family situation that's not made it possible for her to direct for a few years and she needed to just do shorter jobs and be home more, so she went back to doing a few acting jobs -- that change in her family situation, of course, is her divorce from Brad Pitt, ongoing since their 2016 split and with no bitter end in sight and it could drag on for years

* Catherine Zeta-Jones says it's no secret her 20-year marriage to 76-year-old Michael Douglas hasn't been easy and it wouldn't be normal if there weren't any ups and downs -- it's another Michael, her Prodigal Son costar Michael Sheen, who has friends whispering as both are Welsh and only a year apart, the two have been having a lot of fun shooting the serial-killer drama and they had never met before the series but they keep discovering how much they have in common -- while Michael, who has been linked with Kate Beckinsale, Rachel McAdams and Sarah Silverman, has been with Anna Lundberg for two years, friends can't help worrying because it's a little to close for comfort

Page 8: Star Shots -- Marlee Matlin kicked back during a portrait session in La Canada Flintridge in California, a loaded-down Irina Shayk in a Victoria's Secret photoshoot in NYC, Gavin Rossdale and his dog Chewy leaving tennis practice in L.A.

Page 9: Kelly Clarkson and her battle advisor Luis Fonsi on The Voice, John Stamos at the drive-in premiere of his new series Big Shot in L.A.

Page 10: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley toting her $3800 Bottega Veneta Shell bag in NYC, Niall Horan and Anne-Marie jumped into a classic Jaguar XK120 for a music video in Essex in England, Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci on the set of House of Gucci on a bicycle in Rome

Page 11: Jay Leno takes a selfie with a fan, Kate Hudson and her daughter Rani busting out some mommy-and-me moves

Page 12: David Beckham filming a commercial for Maserati, Kaley Cuoco working out with ropes, a windswept Olivia Culpo held on tight to pup Oliver while enjoying a sunset ride aboard a boat named after her dog, Miles Teller looked both ways during a cruise in his blue Ford Bronco which is the same car he flipped in a 2016 accident

Page 13: Garrett Hedlund hit the pavement in a jog in Hollywood, Johnny Depp got behind the camera at the photocall for his film Minamata during the Barcelona Film Festival, friendly exes Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry masked up for a walk in L.A.

Page 14: 2021 ACMs -- country celebrates its best in Nashville -- Elle King and Miranda Lambert kicked off the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards by rolling up in a hot ride before performing, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, co-host Keith Urban

Page 15: Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd performed together, Carrie Underwood

Page 16: Margot Robbie inline skating during a beach day in Malibu, Kate Beckinsale carrying her two cats and her dog as she tried to read, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend and their daughter Luna took a silly mid-game family selfie while playing Hedbanz

Page 18: Normal or Not Normal? A sleepy George Stephanopoulos was caught yawning on the Good Morning America set -- normal, Emily Blunt kicked back a little too much at The Jonathan Ross Show -- not normal

Page 19: With a $1400 rainbow Gucci sweater wrapped around her shoulders Selling Sunset's pregnant Christine Quinn with her dogs in L.A. -- normal, Chelsea Handler works out with her dog on her back -- not normal, Zach Braff stuck his tongue out as he took a silly selfie filming the Cheaper by the Dozen reboot -- not normal

Page 22: Fashion -- stars shine in metallic frocks -- Becky G, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Karen Gillan

Page 23: Miranda Lambert, Cynthia Erivo, Renee Zellweger

Page 26: Travis Barker didn't hold back in his birthday tribute to girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian -- sharing a series of sexy shots with 42-year-old Kourtney, including a NSFW video of Kourtney sucking his thumb and the rocker's risque pics quickly went viral, as did Kourt's TMI essay posted to her health and wellness site Poosh titled "Rough Sex: Love It or Leave It?" -- definitely leave it, if it were up to the pair's kids; 17-year-old Landon and 15-year-old Alabama, who are 45-year-old Travis' children with ex-wife Shanna Moakler, are mortified by their dad's behavior and like most teenagers, the two are active on social media and can't avoid the new couple's loved-up posts and Travis' kids are happy that he's happy, but the PDA is weird and takes some getting used to, while Travis' stepdaughter Atiana De La Hoya, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have a problem as the 22-year-old posted a heart-eyes emoji -- as for spending time with Mason, 11, Penelope, 8, and 6-year-old Reign, Kourt's kids with ex Scott Disick, the pair try to restrain themselves but still the lovebirds are happily oblivious and have a hard time toning it down and Kourt and Travis are just being themselves and going with the flow; they're in love and want the world to know it

Page 27: After 10 months of dating Australian model Vanessa Valladares, Zac Efron is officially back on the market -- 33-year-old Zac called it off with the 25-year-old after things got too serious, too soon and they spent every moment together and it was too claustrophobic for him, as Vanessa, who quit her job and gave up everything to be with Zac, became a fixture on set as he worked on Down to Earth with Zac Efron and he felt guilty that she was giving up her dreams and aspirations to be with him -- despite their split, Zac, who had put his L.A. home on the market and extended his stay in Australia after meeting Vanessa, has no plans to rush back to the States because he has made a lot of friends there and feels at home

* Like many planning their vows during the pandemic, Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost had to get strategic when it came to their big day -- Scarlett said they wanted it to feel like it had an intentional intimacy as opposed to being something that felt like they were restricted by all these things -- the intimate and small event the pair threw was at their $4 million Palisades, N.Y. home in October and the ultra-private pair kept their guests safe, and the guest list was tiny and it was understated but lovely, just what they wanted -- now Scarlett and Colin have settled in to married life and Scarlett and Colin both like to steer clear of the spotlight which makes them perfectly suited for each other

* Vanessa Hudgens revealed the surprising way she was introduced to boyfriend Cole Tucker, who she's been dating since November -- 32-year-old Vanessa and 24-year-old Cole met on a Zoom meditation group and Vanessa admits that the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop is just perfect for her and Vanessa and Cole, who debuted their romance on Valentine's Day, moved their budding friendship offline after feeling sparks via the virtual meeting app and they started communicating on their own and found out they have a lot in common -- now Vanessa, who dated Austin Butler for nine years before their 2020 split, is zooming ahead and she doesn't want to rush or jinx things, but she's saying Cole could be The One

Page 28: Cover Story -- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Twin Girls -- it was a somber, but loving occasion as the royal family celebrated the life of Prince Philip and amid the pomp and truly touching moments, like Queen Elizabeth sitting frail and alone, viewers waited to see what would happen when Harry and Prince William reunited for the first time since Harry and Meghan stepped down from senior royal duties in March 2020 and just weeks after their bombshell TV interview rocked the monarchy and tensions had been running high before the funeral, but everything went better than expected as William and Harry bonded and united in grief at the loss of their beloved grandfather, the estranged siblings along with William's wife Duchess Kate Middleton, waved away their waiting cars, opting to walk the half-mile from St. George's Chapel to Windsor Castle together and the trio chatted easily as they strolled -- back home in Montecito, Harry has been by pregnant Meghan's side around the clock making sure she takes it easy and the couple are in full-blown prep mode and Harry has been helping baby-proof their mansion and designing the nursery and Harry's been on his hands and knees making the house baby-friendly and he's got the latest, state-of-the-art safety devices installed around the pool -- Harry's promising visit with the royal family has given him one less thing to worry about, but still he and members of The Firm will always have different perspectives and after dismissing William and dad Prince Charles as trapped by the monarchy, Harry was persuaded by Kate to take the first step and she went up to Harry to suggest he have a heart-to-heart with William and their father, then she stepped back; Harry felt nostalgic being back home and it's a work in progress -- Harry made headway with his grandmother as well as he and Queen Elizabeth had a private meeting and spoke for three hours and seeing Harry's face made her smile again and Harry loves his grandmother very much and he's promised to bring his kids back to England later this year and he wants the Queen to spend quality time with them

Page 31: The Home Birth Brigade -- Who needs hospitals? These fearless celebrity moms opted to welcome their babies in the comfort of their own homes -- Ashley Graham, Eva Amurri, Hilary Duff, Gisele Bundchen, Gigi Hadid

Page 32: Kim Kardashian: Billionaire Bachelorette -- months after officially filing for divorce Kanye West, Kim is majorly ready to mingle -- Kanye's miffed that fans think he's the one who got dumped when he simply let her file first

Page 34: Not Boyfriend Material -- celebs share tales of dates gone bad, and guys who definitely didn't deserve a second chance -- Patricia Arquette, Mindy Kaling, Jenny Slate

Page 35: Awkwafina, Emma Watson, Kelly Clarkson

Page 36: For Mom -- for Mother's Day, express gratitude to the No. 1 lady in your life with the perfect gift -- Naomi Watts cofounded the ONDA Mama Box

Page 40: Entertainment

Page 48: Parting Shot -- in honor of Earth Day, Alison Brie kicked off the second year of the Planet Oat Project by planting trees at Rancho Sierra Vista -- the 38-year-old also took to Instagram to bring awareness to the wildlife restoration initiative, noting that a startling three million acres of trees in California have been destroyed by recent wildfires

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gayforgoodomens · 5 years ago

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It's okay lmao,I don't mind So,I was asking if there is a reason as to why you hate on Neilman so much(outside of his social life,,as in,if you have smt to object on his literature or smt) because I'm a big fan of his and I honestly feel so embarrassed sometimes of his choices(like that breakup for instance. I mean,who does that???) And no,I'm not here to hate on you,because that's simply unethical and everyone has the right to have an opinion on anyone and anything. Oops I'm running out ofwords

ok first off : thank you so much for sending your ask twice, clearly as you can see i’m not very skilled at technology lol

second : why would you feel embarassed at his choices? you’re not the one who made them. and you have every right to be a fan of his writing, that’s totally normal and healthy- i like art from unethical people as well, even if i avoid giving them money as a moral choice (once again, that’s just me). I only partly read 2 of his books (american gods and coraline) and found them ok (I clearly remember disliking the way he wrote women, but as I haven’t read him in years, I can’t comment)

I was very fond of Gaiman as well when i first read Good Omens- he was friends with my favorite author, and then he went out of his way to create a show they both dreamed of when Pratchett died. I had a lot of respect for him, and kind of loved him by proxy, because Pratchett loved him.

But now all that respect is lost after only a month or so of learning half of the stuff the guy’s done/said. the biggest offense is him giving millions to Scientology- a cult that hurts, enslaves, tortures, and even kills people. A cult that sells fake science and pays politicians to do their biddings. A cult who hurt and ruined thousands, maybe millions of innocents. Regardless of everything else Gaiman’s done- I’ll never, ever again see him as anything other than a spoiled, uncaring, selfish rich man with little to no understanding of how his actions hurt others- he qualified Scientology as “just another thing I am, like being jewish”. It’s not. It’s a cult. It’s a cult that his family financed and promoted for decades, and profited him as well with their ill-gained gains and contacts (his ex wife is also a scientologist) ; even if we don’t know the going-ons on his financial situation, anyone who knows the first thing about Scientology knows that scientologists tend to interact only with other scientologists and promote one another financially, socially, and politically- that’s the cult’s whole game. The simple fact that he has never once spoken up against the Cult is a huge red flag IMO- and very telling whether or not he still supports it. this view of him being another rich self-centered guy just keeps being confirmed again and again ; he abandoned his ex-family for a younger woman, and he abandoned his new family AGAIN, including his 4yo son, during a global pandemic, to flee to his private mansion in a quarantined space at the other end of the world without caring for the people he risked infecting, or even aknowledging how horrifyingly privileged or selfish that was- I mean, jesus, the scottish authorities even showed up at his house, and because of his privileged position, he didn’t have to pay a single dime or be arrested by the state. ANYONE ELSE who broke the quarantine order would have had repercussions. ANY random 59yo man who acted the way he does would be absolutely despised by his peers. Those are not “bad choices” or “accidents”- this is a pattern.

If you want more info on the way he acts, I strongly invite your to search his name on Reddit- better journalists than I am have a lot more info on his past behavior, and it really just confirmed my disdain for him as another rich white male who plays the “socially woke” card for brownie points (there’s some stuff about how he called palmer “mannish and ugly” in a public interview, which just. idk man. roasting the woman you’re supposed to love publicly like that, it’s just. such an abusive and careless thing to do)

Once again, you’re completely justified in liking his writing and no one can fault you for that- just means you appreciate good art. And your favorite author’s faults do not, in any way, reflect badly on you- it’s his life, not yours. So don’t feel guilty for a second. Just stay informed if you want to, and if you feel hurt by reading this stuff, just ignore it- I wouldn’t fault you for that either, and no one should

#personal gayforgoodomens #discourse

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forgotten-or-unknown-truestories · 7 years ago

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If you have not watched the ABC News Nightline of David Miscavige. I would highly recommend doing so. There are two reasons why....

1. Ted Koppel put Miscavige in his place.

Ted didn’t back down when it came to asking questions Miscavige clearly did not want to answer. I will admit one thing, yes I do feel at some points in the interview Ted did interrupt to much of course David is just as guilty.

That is why most people believe Miscavige doesn’t do interviews because he doesn’t want to be asked a question he doesn’t have the answer to.

A lot of people fear the church members, ex-members, and sometimes people who were never involved. Ted, like the many others who call out the faith, he should be praised for not backing down.

2. David Miscavige’s reactions.

After about ten minutes into the interview, you are going to quickly realize Miscavige is NOT use to being questioned. By that I mean, he is use to just saying something and people believe or do it.

He is like “The Messiah’’ for the religion. Which means, I can promise you that if he walked outside, pointed to the sky, and said...”The sky is purple.’’

Scientologist not even going to slightly doubt it.

However, if you do not like sitting through long interviews. Here is a summary for you....

David:

Ted:

#scientology #scientologist #anti scientology #david miscavige #ted koppel

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dearly · 4 years ago

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i love your brain

i hope this is about my scientology tags because i have so many more ideas hahaha. i just watched an amazing discussion between two ex-scientologists who were both in what is essentially “re-education camps” and discussed that specifically. she was sent there for kissing a girl, and was continuously punished for any contact with women. it’s such an intense interview/discussion. a lot of ex-scientologists specifically have said they think once there’s more movies and series that cover the insane stories and abuses will people start to understand what’s been going on. cause i guess listening to hours of interviews is not really something the average person does...

#i can't remember who said it but that narrative is so important #bc people respond to stories so ya #maybe i'll write some more screenplays to live on my harddrive #Anonymous

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sewmythoughts · 5 years ago

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Scientology: What I’ve learned

Since the beginning of COVID-19, some friends and I are have been choosing a different topic to learn about each week. We then discuss what we’ve learned on a weekly Zoom call.

This week we learned about the church of scientology. We’ve got our call tonight, so I thought I’d jot down everything I’ve learned here:

Premise of Scientology

It is the belief of scientologists that humans are immortal, spiritual beings called thetans. Scientologists believe thetans have infiniate past and future lives, and that all our past lives existed in extraterrestrial cultures.

Members of the church of scientology don’t worship a god, instead they believe in a certain path which must be adopted in order to “save the world”. Scientologists follow an in depth program (which comes at a monetary cost) of ideas or courses called dianetics, where they learn about “religious technologies”. As you advance thorugh the program and reach higher levels you are believed to gain extra sensory powers. The highest levels are called OTs (Operating Thetan levels). The highest OT you can reach is 8... Tom Cruise is currently at a 7. This program is called the “Bridge to Total Freedom”.

The first major goal of scientology is to “go clear”. In his book ”A Brief Guide to Secret Religions: A Complete Guide to Hermetic, Pagan and Esoteric Beliefs”, David Barrett describes clearning as “the attainment of Man's dreams through the ages of attaining a new and higher state of existence and freedom from the endless cycle of birth, death, birth … Clear is the total erasure of the reactive mind from which stems all the anxieties and problems the individual has.” Clearing is achieved via a number of drills, one of the most important and important which is called “auditing” (see the key definitions below list to find out more). The more “clear” you become with auditing, the more open you are to remebering stories from your past extraterrestrial lives.

As stated in “Scientology, what Exactly is it?”, written by Tricia and Dan Gilgoff: “ The core of Scientology teaching lies in the belief that "each human has a reactive mind that responds to life's traumas, clouding the analytic mind and keeping us from experiencing reality." Scientologists undergo auditing to discover sources of this trauma, believing that re-experiencing it neutralizes it and reinforces the ascendancy of the analytic mind, with the final goal believed to be achieving a spiritual state that Scientology calls "clear".

Leadership

Scientology was founded by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950s. Hubbard serves as a Lietanant during World War II, after which he became depressed and fell ill. He requested psychiatric treatment (paid for by the Vetrans Admininistration), later condemning psychiartry as evil, which has since grown into a major theme of scientology.

In 1950, Hubbard’s book “Dianetics: The Evolution of Science” was published. This book discussed a therapy technique Hubbard termed as “auditing” (used “ to clear”) which became one of the key beliefs and systems in scientology. Originally promoting the practice of dianetics as a science, Hubbard soon after formed the religious movement we now know as scientology.

At the very top level of scientology is the Sea-Org, is a fraternal clergy of “top tier” scientologists, made up of 5,000 of the orginsations most dedicated members. To enter the sea-org you must sign a billion year contract, work for low pay and donate between $500,000 - £2,000,000 USD. The Sea-Org is captained by David Miscavige, the modern leader of the church who appointed chairman of the board subsequent to Hubbard’s death. Miscavige has been accused of emotional and physical by several ex-church members. There are several other allegations against him including harrassment, coercive fundraising practices and forced separation of family members.

Ex-church members have said that if Miscavige got the sense that you were more liked than him, or better at any activity he would flip out. He is recorded 24/7 (the Scientology headquarters are constantly recording everything).

Key Definitions

Because so much of Scientology is based in Huber’s novel, members of the church have a lot of off “jibberish” phrases they use to describe people and practices. Some of these can be found below:

Blew: To escape or run away

KSW (Keep Scientology Working): This essentially is a part of the doctorine requiring members of the church to only take actions/act in a way which is acceptable to the church. In the words of an ex-church member, if you break KSW, you “get crushed”.

One of the major KSW polocies is to have a “dedicated glare”, which explains why Tom Cruise and many other seems slightly insane in interviews when speaking about it.

Sea-Org: Top tier scientologists; the members of the church who commit the most conterversional acts.

Auditing: A form of therapy founded by Hubbard to enable “clearing”. Auditing uses a primitive lie detector called an “e-meter”. Members of the church talk about their past memories or traumas (this include memories from past lives) which are called e-grams. They talk about these memories until the e-grams disappear from the e-meter and they are clear.

Religious Technology: The program of courses you must pay to work through and advance yourself as a scientologist.

Thetans: Scientologists believe humans are all immortal, spiritual beings called thetans.

OT (Operating Thetan): The most advanced levels of the religious technology program. It is in these levels where you are able to develop extra sensory powers.

Squirrelling: Someone is considering a squirel - or to be squirrelling - is someone who uses the official scientology practice outside of the organisation.

Squirrel-busters: A team of scientologists who harrass squirrels (lol).

Tone-Scale: According to the offical Scientology website, "the Tone Scale below is a numerical scale (scaled to show relative position),"The vast majority of emotional tones a person experiences can be found somewhere on this scale." The site also states, "By knowing where a person falls on the scale, one can precisely predict his actions."

In Scientology, it is drilled into you that you must talk at tone 40 (ie. the serenity of beingness).

Bullbaiting: According to Louis Therox, this is “ learning how to withstand verbal assault and not be upset or show any visible reaction to unfriendliness or just keeping your composure. And so, you literally sit across from someone and they more or less shout abuse at you, and it can go on for hours. And you learn how to take it and then you dish it out as well."

This is one of the many drills people in the church participate in.

SP (Suppressive Person): A suppressive person is one who has commited suppressive acts. These people are defined as “anti-social individuals” who make up 2.5% of the population. The term is often applied to people the church views as their enemies, sprouting “misinformation”. They consider suppressive people to be a danger to those around them.

Golden base: The officical HQ of scientology.

Mind Control

Through repeating drills such as the “tone-scale”, and following policies like “always having a dedicated glare”, it appears as though the church is able to control the actions and minds of its followers to some degree.

They also run drills to encourage others to be able to control other’s minds (this is the higher you become as an OT). They teach you how to place intention into an object, and how to then place than intention into someone else’s mind.

Why doesn’t the FBI raid the Golden Base?

People (and I am one of these people) often ask, why aren’t legal authorities doing something about this?

I’m sure there are plenty of reasons, but ex-church members claim mind control as one of the major factors. You are so drilled into believing the church’s doctorine, and that anything positive you have done in your life is due to it, and anything negative is a result of you straying from it. You believe you willingly partake in the torture that is inflicted on you.

If the FBI was to raid the premises, the church members would likley say they are willing victims.

Why don’t more people escape?

Putting alleged murders aside, ex-church members say you would have to be in a state of extreme desperation to escape, and most people probably haven’t reached that level yet. They say you would need to be desperate to leave, because leaving the Golden Base would mean:

- You would leave everyone you have ever known

- You would go into a world you don’t know or understand, with no support

- You wouldn’t know how to get a job

An ex-church member described leaving as a “suicide of sorts”.

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soycrates · 8 years ago

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Why I’m Looking at an Alien Cult’s Manga at 4 in the Morning

I fell down the Wikipedia rabbit hole tonight after learning that Neil Gaiman’s entire family is (or in the case of the deceased, was) devoutly Scientologist. Or how his father was nearly excommunicated from it as a scapegoat involved in various operations intended to infiltrate and undermine the government for the benefit of their “religion”. Or how, when Gaiman was about 7, a South African man studying Scientology staying at their residence committed suicide, and his father lied to the media/government that the man had anything to do with Scientology and claimed he killed himself to escape gambling debts. Or that there’s a transcript of an interview Gaiman gave when he was 7 about being a Scientologist. (Honestly, just click that link if you’re at all curious about Neil Gaiman’s ties to Scientology - it sums it up much better than I can!)

And all he’s really ever said about it is “I’m not Scientologist, that’s more my family’s thing”. Considering the fact that his sisters and ex-wife (whom he has multiple children with) are still part of the “Church” - and followers are told to cut off communication with anyone who openly denies or criticises Scientology - it’s not too surprising there’s no record of him saying “Yeah, fuck that crazy cult shit”. Still kind of makes me wonder how much of that silence is dedicated merely to keeping ties with the family.

While discussing this with Joe, we looked around to see if there’s anything out there more widely believed, but just as bonkers as, Scientology. When looking up “most popular religious cults” I did get a list of “Most Dangerous Cults” that included the KKK, The Children of God (cult about paedophilia being okay), and the Church of Euthanasia, among other more well-known groups. One I didn’t recognize, or really understand being on the list, was Raelism, described as advocating “for world peace, sharing, democracy and nonviolence, and also has a very liberal attitude towards sex”. This, on a list of dangerous cults? I had to know more.

Looking over Raelism’s wiki for the last hour or so has been a fascinating learning adventure about the French-based cult that uses a Jewish star of david with a swastika embedded in it as their symbol, comprised of a body of people advocating for cloning, GMO’s, an intelligent electorate body that governs the Earth, and a lot of “sex-positive feminism” (as a means to rationalize their leader’s numerous orgies with a group of sex workers dedicated to him alone, who are told to defend him with their very lives). Their metaphysical philosophy, though often actually grounded in scientific beliefs about the nature of the universe and the lack of an eternal human soul, often takes sharp turns into a pantheism resembling Stargate SG-1 lore.

What I also happened to notice while reading is just how many locations were mentioned when discussing the followers of Raelism: China, Israel, Japan, France... Here in Canada, in Quebec?! It just seemed like... too many places, with too many people, for a religion so fringe and yet without the popularity and star-power of something like Scientology.

Turns out that what they lack in celebrity endorsements, Raelism made up for in a frequent and well-maintained online presence and moderate low-impact scandals. The website for their (probably fake) cloning company still exists - the cloning company that garnered them attention in the early 2000′s for claiming, quite often, to have successfully cloned healthy human children, despite never stepping forward to substantiate these claims. They have Youtube channels dedicated to regional chapters of their organization, along with websites updated as recent as a few days ago. Pretty functional websites too, with smooth user interfaces and modern graphics, hi-res images with their slogans emblazoned on them. Despite trying to rebrand in the early 2000′s, they’re still using the Star-of-David-Swastika; that crazy offensive religious combo that feels like a culturally insensitive gut punch.

I’ve danced around the subject too much, and I’m itching to get to it, not just because it’s five in the morning. Having navigated to the website for the “Canadian Raelian Movement” - which is, may I remind you, a “religion” that believes all major religious prophets were aliens (who just heckin’ love sex positivity, LGBT rights, and genetically modified food) that simply cloned humanity in cloning facilities and will visit us again once humanity achieves unanimous and democratic world peace - I have scrolled down to see none other than their free “manga”.

Which I feel it is the utmost importance you know: this is not a case of some old, out of touch peace and love alien cultists not understanding what the word manga means.

It’s a manga.

Free-Loving Cloney Alien Cultist Propaganda Manga has made my cup runneth over with images that provide for dank out-of-context reaction memes.

Haha same dude

“Wow, there it is!”

There it is indeed.

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danithebookaholic-blog · 7 years ago

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Audio Book Extra

Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion

by Janet Reitman, Narrated by Stephen Hoye

I bought Inside Scientology from Audible for a couple different reasons.

1) I’ve always been a little curious about what exactly Scientology is. I’ve always played along with most people and kind of made fun of it, looked down a little on people who believe it, and thought it was this new cult that was sweeping the country. I knew none of this was good of me to do. I was raised to never judge a book based on its cover and to do the same with people, so why was I doing that all of a sudden with this religion? What made me superior to a Scientologist? And how could I answer any of these questions without doing the research to be able to form a valid opinion?

2) I know myself well enough that if I had I gotten the physical book for me to sit and read it I probably would have gotten bored with it, and set it down for it to be years before I returned to finish it. And I would have been correct with this hypothesis because even just listening to it I got bored and it would take days for me to get back to it. Not saying that this wasn’t a good book. Inside Scientology gave me a lot of information, and what I believe to be rather unbiased information, considering the drama that is currently going on around this religion. But there was a lot of background information and history, all pertinent information, but when you’re not really into that kind of thing, it becomes very monotonous. So, I did have some difficulty getting through this book.

So, putting all biased opinions aside, I listened to Inside Scientology to free my mind of a stereotype and to learn something new.

Some History:

Janet Reitman is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and a journalist for multiple publications. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Inside Scientology is the outcome of her National Magazine Award-nominated story for Rolling Stone that she spent almost a year working on.

Scientology is a religious system based on the seeking of self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment through graded courses of study and training. It was founded by American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1955. (Google Dictionary)

The Synopsis:

*The following synopsis is a direct quote from goodreads.com. I thought it was a perfect description of this book and didn’t think I could do any better.

Scientology, created in 1954 by pulp science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world’s fastest growing religion, with millions of members, and huge financial holdings. Celebrity believers keep its profile high. Teams of volunteer ministers offer aid at disaster sites like Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a very closed faith, harassing journalist and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating high levels of the government to further its goals. Its attacks on psychiatry and its requirement that believers pay as much as tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars for salvation have drawn scrutiny and skepticism. Ex-members use the internet to share stories of harassment and abuse. Reitman offers the first full journalistic history of the Church of Scientology, in an evenhanded account that establishes the truth about the controversial religion. She traces Scientology’s development from the birth of Dianetics to today, following its metamorphosis from pseudoscientific self-help group to a global spiritual corporation with profound control over its followers and ex-followers. Based on five years of research, unprecedented and extensive interviews with current and former members, this is a defining book about a little-known world. (Goodreads, August 24, 2017)

The Review & Wrap-Up:x

First, I don’t believe that anyone can really call Scientology a religion. There isn’t a set dogma that Scientologists are worshiping (unless you count Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, which there are definitely some people out there who do worship him.) The “god”, Xenu—the dictator of the “Galactic Confederacy” who 75 million years ago brought billions of his people to Earth on spaceships—, was a creation of L. Ron Hubbard’s own mind which Scientologists are only told about once they make it to the Eighth Dynamic. I know that most Scientologist could say the same about Christianity and any other religion out there, and I give them that, however Scientologists do not outright pray to a deity. This “story” is kept from them until they reach the Eighth Dynamic and officials of the Church of Scientology will widely deny or try to hide the Xenu story. How can you call yourself a religion if those in the religion don’t even know the history of their religion or pray to anyone? While I don’t personally call it a religion, based on the dictionary’s definition of “religion”, I can see how it is classified as one.

re-li-gion: noun the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods -a particular system of faith and worship -a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance (Google Dictionary)

Second, I am happy that I listened to this book. It made me understand the Religion of Scientology a lot better. And even though I personally don’t believe that it is actually a religion, I do agree with some of their beliefs. To always strive to be a better person and to be spiritually intelligent are things that I think all people, no matter your religious beliefs, should be doing. It’s a struggle that a lot of people, especially Americans, have, and I’ll admit that I’m one of them. That’s one of the beautiful things of the Muslim faith (and Scientology) that I admire and even envy. To have the devout discipline that the Muslim faith has is awe-inspiring. I don’t think Scientology is quite as devout as the Muslim faith, but I could be wrong on that. I’m curious to know Scientology’s secrets and what I think of as “self-help” tips. I’m so curious that, who knows, I may pick up L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health to see if I can get any clues.

Last, I think Janet Reitman did a great job of not putting too must bias on the subject matter that she was writing about. Inside Scientology was exactly what I was looking for: informant, unbiased information about a topic I knew nothing. Not being a Scientologist herself, she did spend some time in the community (and therefore, according to Scientology is a Scientologist, but then again, so am I?) going through some auditing sessions of her own to get an inside scoop. She also interviewed as many people as she could who were a part of Scientology and no longer believe and/or were exiled from the religion, or were a part of Scientology and still do believe, but don’t believe the rules of the current leader of Scientology, David Miscavige. She did a great job researching her topic and did an even better job of telling the truth and history without putting the religion down or putting it high on a pedestal. You, the reader, get to decide for yourself how to think and feel about this religion.

From one wine-loving bookaholic to another, I hope I’ve helped you find your next fix. —Dani

Love this book? I don’t have a book to suggest here because this is the first book that I have read like this. However, if that ever changes I will make sure to post an update. If you have a book to suggest for those who loved this book, please comment down below!

Pair it with: Summer Water Rosé. This wine is a light crisp dry wine, with hints of peach, strawberry and grapefruit. Served chilled, this is the perfect drink for a hot summer day.

I chose this Rosé for two reasons:

I think Rosés are misjudged just like Scientologists are. Most people think that Rosé isn’t real wine and that real wine-lovers don’t drink it. That’s a total misconception. Rosés are great wines, especially during the summer time, and a lot of wine sommeliers do drink them.

I picked this one in particular because of its name. Scientologists don’t believe in drinking (even though many of them do, including the founder, L. Ron Hubbard) and so to call this wine “water” made me giggle a little.

Start a conversation: What have you been judgmental about before getting the facts? Once you did the research, did it change your opinion?

Have a book you’d like to suggest or one you’d like me to review? Please feel free to leave your comments down below.

#religion #scientology #janet reitman #l. ron hubbard #dianetics #rolling stone #columbia university #goodreads #tom cruise #xenu #christianity #david miscavige #summer water rose

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kiddiemom-blog · 6 years ago

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Weird Star Parenting Tips

Take Placenta Pills

Nikki Reed recently posted on Instagram that she was down to the last of her placenta pills. She's not the first celeb to publicly celebrate the supplements —Kim Kardashian touted hers too. "Ps sending love to all you mamas out there doing whatever feels right for you!" Reed wrote. "This was recommended to me by my doula but that does not mean it’s for everyone :). Just do you." Hopefully "do you" means that you *don't* plan on following Reed and Kardashian's lead. In June, the CDC issued a warning after a mother who had eaten her placenta passed a serious blood infection on to the infant she was breastfeeding, and more recently, the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published a study revealing that there's likely no benefit to be gained from consuming one's placenta.

Don't Use a Microwave

Kourtney Kardashian said on her app and website that she never uses microwaves. “When I had Mason, I did a lot of health-related research and decided to get rid of my microwave when I read that toxins from plastic containers can be transferred to food when reheated (this applies to BPA-free plastic containers too),” she wrote. But scientists say there's no need to forego the convenience of your microwave oven, so long as you're following the manufacturer's instructions.

Keep "No Secrets" From Your Kids

While, in theory, this sounds like it could make sense, it's also important to remember that several of the Jolie-Pitt kids are under 12 — way too young to be overburdened with adult worries. That's why parenting "white lies" exist, duh.

RELATED: 10 Former Celebrity Couples Who Are Proudly Co-Parenting

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The former Hollywood couple known as Brangelina adopted an anything-goes attitude when it came to their kids' questions about life. "We have a policy in our family, no secrets," Pitt, 49, told . "I mean, there's an age of understanding, so you've got to present it in a way that is age-appropriate, but we know our children very well [...] We want everything to be on the table and any questions they have, for them to ask."

While, in theory, this sounds like it could make sense, it's also important to remember that several of the Jolie-Pitt kids are under 12 —way too young to be overburdened with adult worries. That's why parenting "white lies" exist, duh.

Eat Your Wife's Placenta

." He later downplayed what he said and joked about it as if he'd never planned on doing it, but given that he's someone who also ascribes to Scientology's "silent birth" weirdness, I'm not so sure he was kidding. Terrifyingly, he's not the only dad who's thought this was a good plan either.' title="Eat Your Wife's Placenta" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/tom-cruise.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

Before baby Suri was born in 2006, proud soon-to-be dad Tom Cruise told GQ, "I'm gonna eat the placenta. I thought that would be good. Very nutritious." He later downplayed the comments and joked about it as if he'd never planned on doing it, but given that he's someone who also ascribes to Scientology's "silent birth" weirdness, I'm not so sure he was kidding. Terrifyingly, he's not the only dad who's thought this was a good plan either.

"Hot Sauce" Your Child's Tongue to Discipline Them

Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel publicly confirmed that she's used this method of punishment on her kids.

"It does sting and the memory stays with them so that the next time they may actually have some self-control and stop before they lie or bite or something like that [...] It's a logical consequence," Whelchel said on Good Morning America. Suffice it to say, this antiquated disciplinary method is borderline child abuse and more likely to make your kid afraid of you than anything else.

' title='"Hot Sauce" Your Child's Tongue to Discipline Them' src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/lisa-whelchel.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

"Hot saucing" is exactly what it sounds like — forcibly dousing your kid's tongue with spiciness in an attempt to punish them for something. Former Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel publicly confirmed that she's used this method of punishment on her kids.

Let Your Kids Run the Show

," Remini said. "We're definite pushovers and at the end of the day you have to follow your heart."

Their first attempts at weaning the little girl went poorly when Remini, yet again, gave in. "Sofia was crying again for a bottle of milk and then I started crying I think because I felt so bad," she said. "It just doesn't feel right for me to have a screaming baby and to say no to a bottle." So, basically, the exact opposite of how you're supposed to deal with toddler tantrums.

RELATED: These 24 Celeb Moms Are Basically Their Kid's Twin

' title="Let Your Kids Run the Show" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/leah-remini_1.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

Leah Remini once famously asked Rachael Ray for help in breaking her "pushover mom" habit. At age 4, the former Scientologist's daughter Sofia was still drinking up to 6 bottles a night and wearing diapers. "I'm very consistent; I give in," Remini said. "We're definite pushovers and at the end of the day you have to follow your heart."

Spend Entire Days Naked Around Your Kid

While teaching kids that sex is good and natural is smart (and plenty of parents do walk around naked in front of their kids), there are probably better ways to do it than spending entire "Naked Sundays" doing everything in the buff.

' title="Spend Entire Days Naked Around Your Kid" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/christina-aguilera.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

For Christina Aguilera, being naked quite often around her child — not just casually changing clothes in front of her then 2-year-old son — was about teaching him that his mom wasn't embarrassed of being a sexual creature. "I think it's important that he sees mommy not be ashamed for her sexuality," the singer once said. "I mean, he's two. We're art collectors, there are a lot of female nudes around the house. Max will be growing up in a house where it's just the norm... It's only weird when you shame it...."

Encourage Them to Experiment With Drugs

While most parents are pretty gung-ho about the no-drugs-in-my-house rule, Pamela Anderson was a little more lax when it came to her own teenage sons with ex-husband Tommy Lee. In a post on her website, she talked about wanting them to try out illicit substances — safely. "We want them to practice safe sex, drink, and experiment with drugs in moderation, find true love," the former Baywatch star wrote. I mean, the true love thing is nice, at least....

Take a Bath Together

Harper's Bazaar in 2012. Which isn't too shocking or weird... except when you realize that Paltrow's kids Apple and Moses were, respectively, about 7 and 5 at the time of the interview.

Bonus Paltrow parenting weirdness: "Apple was cross as I only let them watch TV in French or Spanish. When I'm in France, I go to Boulevard Beaumarchais and buy all their cartoons."

' title="Take a Bath Together" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/gwyneth-paltrow.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

Obviously, all moms have bathed with their toddlers or infants — it's the fastest and simplest way to bathe a kid who might not be thrilled about getting scrubbed clean. Gwyneth Paltrow can be counted among that number. "We all get into the tub together," the actress told Harper's Bazaar in 2012. Which isn't too shocking or weird... except when you realize that Paltrow's kids Apple and Moses were, respectively, about 7 and 5 at the time of the interview.

Bonus Paltrow parenting weirdness: "Apple was cross as I only let them watch TV in French or Spanish. When I'm in France, I go to Boulevard Beaumarchais and buy all their cartoons."

Hold Your Infant Over the Toilet to Potty Train Them

claimed that her son Benjamin was potty-trained when he was just 6 months old — and the way she did it is a little eyebrow-raising.

Using "elimination communication" (or carrying the baby around totally naked and learning to recognize and immediately react to signs that the infant's gotta go), Bündchen would race her baby over to the toilet and just kind of... hold him there 'til he went. "Give it about five minutes, and bang," she said, noting that she also had him on a strict schedule in order to anticipate bowel movements. Ain't nobody got time for that, lady.

' title="Hold Your Infant Over the Toilet to Potty Train Them" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/gisele-bundchen.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

Potty-training is rough, and there's no one-size-fits-all method to get it done. When a kid is ready depends on the individual child and lot of other factors. But retired supermodel Gisele Bündchen claimed that her son Benjamin was potty-trained when he was just 6 months old — and the way she did it is a little eyebrow-raising.

Be Overly Strict

RELATED: 23 Celebrities Who Embraced Adoption

' title="Be Overly Strict" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/madonna.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

Madonna has a notoriously rocky relationship with several of her children, and her admittedly strict parenting style could be partially to blame. "Insiders" have said that Rocco and Lourdes find their mom to be "too controlling," with Madonna "micromanaging" Rocco's life while he was on tour with her in 2015. Supposedly, they were also made to follow the strict macrobiotic diet she's known for, with sweets of any kind totally outlawed. TV, newspapers, and magazines were also a hard no, according to a list of "rules" apparently sent via email from her assistant to her ex Guy Ritchie.

No Nannies or Babysitters

Big Bang Theory star has said. "So we're making it work that way, because that's what we feel is best for our children, and everything else fits in around that. To us, nothing is more important than being with our children at any given point of the day."

This would all be well and good, except for the fact that, in the same interview, Bialik admitted that she didn't sleep as much as she should and had no social life outside of her kids. Logically, being only a mom (and, in Bialik's case, an actress) and having literally nothing outside of that sounds like a one-way ticket to misery town.

' title="No Nannies or Babysitters" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/mayim-bialik.jpg?crop=1xw:0.9996667777407531xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

Mayim Bialik is known for her hardcore adherence to attachment parenting, which involves a lot of 24/7 momming — and, apparently, never using nannies or babysitters. "[It's] not because we think we're better than anyone else, but it's just a personal decision that we want to be the caregivers for our kids," the Big Bang Theory star has said. "So we're making it work that way, because that's what we feel is best for our children, and everything else fits in around that. To us, nothing is more important than being with our children at any given point of the day."

Mouth-Feed Your Child

Clueless actress wrote. "This video was taken about a month or 2 ago when he was a bit wobbly. Now he is grabbing my mouth to get the food!" According to PopSugar, Silverstone's parenting book The Kind Mama also included gems about babies not needing diapers of any kind and putting your kid in a crib rather than co-sleeping being "tantamount to child neglect." Um. No. ' title="Mouth-Feed Your Child" src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/rbk.h-cdn.co/assets/17/15/alicia-silverstone.jpg?crop=1.0xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*">

Notably "crunchy" mom Alicia Silverstone once shared a video of herself feeding her then 11-month-old son Bear — by chewing up food for him and then having him eat it out of her mouth. Like a bird.

"I fed Bear the mochi and a tiny bit of veggies from the soup from my mouth to his. It's his favorite…and mine. He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if I'm eating," the Clueless actress wrote. "This video was taken about a month or 2 ago when he was a bit wobbly. Now he is grabbing my mouth to get the food!" According to PopSugar, Silverstone's parenting book The Kind Mama also included gems about babies not needing diapers of any kind and putting your kid in a crib rather than co-sleeping being "tantamount to child neglect." Um. No.

0 notes

the-connection · 6 years ago

Link

In the summer season of 1973, Conrad Romo, a 19-year-old kid from L.A. whose Catholic childhood had actually been thwarted by books like Hermann Hesse's Siddartha and John G. Neihardt's Black Elk Speaks-- anything that "mentioned more than simply this world"-- switched on the TELEVISION and saw an ad for a brand-new faith called " Scientology. "

The advertisement was appealing-- a tight one-minute clip with a jingle from '70s radiostar Edward Bear and the unclear guarantee of much deeper significance. When a contact number flashed throughout the screen, Romo bore in mind.

"I'm a sucker for a little advertisement," Romo, now a grey-haired Buddhist with a goatee, informed The Daily Beast. When he telephoned the line to hear more, the kid talked to a lady who called herself "Spanky." Later on, he would acknowledge her as Spanky Taylor, a representative for Scientology's promotion arm, Axioms Productions, and John Travolta's individual "auditor"-- lingo for a type of therapist. In the minute, he believed she appeared cool. "Spanky had an actually attractive voice," Romo stated, chuckling. "I was fascinated."

Forty-five years later on, Conrad Romo would indicate that ad as the genesis of a 14-year dedication to the questionable spiritual group. In some methods, Romo's story of Scientology looks like many of the survivor tales informed by ex-members: he got seduced, invested years of his life and countless dollars on Scientology, then "got up," puzzled and lonesome, at some point in the late 1980s.

But in current interviews with The Daily Beast, Romo and a number of other previous members discussed another element of scientologist life-- one seldom reported on in the documentaries or chart-busting tell-alls-- a specific niche market that utilized numerous confident converts around Los Angeles and San Francisco for almost a years: offering meat.

For 4 years, in the name of Scientology and its charming, sci-fi-writing leader, L. Ron Hubbard, Romo drove a climate-controlled truck around higher Los Angeles, parked it outside food stamp shops, and hawked pricey steaks to anybody who went by.

"I'm a sucker for a little advertisement."

When Romo talked to Spanky, she informed him to come down to a put on L.A.'s 8th Street, near MacArthur Park. It was a Friday night around 10 p.m., simply after a lecture had actually ended. Romo was at first shut off, he remembered. The location was sort of seedy, he stated, and Spanky had not discussed anything about a "church," which sounded catholic and stodgy. Romo presented himself. He checked in. A member quietly led him to a personal space.

In the space, Romo saw a brief video of L. Ron Hubbard setting out the group's standard tenets, and scanned a copy of Hubbard's very popular text, Dianetics. The member asked him to purchase the book, Romo remembered. "I stated no and he left."

Romo may have simply left then and there, cult and meat-free. As he was leaving, a lot of members welcomed him to a celebration. He stacked into an automobile with the group of attractive youths. They were talkative and the celebration was enjoyable, Romo believed, although, as a guideline, scientologists remain quite straight-edge.

When the night was over, Romo's brand-new good friends had actually persuaded him to register for the very first Scientology course, "Communications." Hubbard supposedly obtained a number of his practices from other religious beliefs and Romo stated the very first course appeared raised directly from Zen Buddhism. "It was a kind of meditation where you simply sit, not doing anything, being still," he stated. "As I remember, we would sit dealing with somebody else. You simply sit 3 feet apart from each other and you do not blink. You're simply there."

The class just cost $30 or $35, Romo stated, and after he attempted the very first session, it appeared worth every cent: "I felt something sort of shift in me." He registered for the next class right away after. The rate was a little greater, although still affordable-- but quickly, the costs "simply got crazier and crazier."

Unlike a lot of significant faiths, Scientology needs substantial monetary contributions from its members, by method of these courses and an alternative type of treatment they call "auditing." After the very first course, trainees are motivated to enlist instantly in the next level, so that they can start climbing exactly what members call " the Bridge ," an increasing scale that assures to help trainees to "go clear," or reach the Scientology equivalent of Nirvana.

As in Romo's experience, the very first sessions for these practices are constantly the most affordable-- some are now provided totally free online-- however with each extra course, the costs skyrocket.

"The entire thing is loan," stated Tory Christman, a previous scientologist whose ex-husband operated in the meat-selling circuit. "It's not a religious beliefs. It's a company. Think about it as a triangle-- the greater up you get, the more pressure to invest more. You constantly need to purchase the next thing."

The installing monetary pressure on scientologists like Romo and Christman typically required them to discover supplemental earnings, birthing a string of micro-markets that were controlled by members of the cult seeking to payroll their method to "overall liberty."

In a declaration to The Daily Beast, an agent from the Church of Scientology rejected any main relationship with the pursuits of their subscription."Scientologists, like people from lots of faiths, participate in a wide array of occupations," a spokesperson composed. "Scientologists originate from all strolls of life and from practically every you can possibly imagine profession."

Even without main recommendations, nevertheless, insular Scientology markets grew up as early as the 1970's, producing pockets of salespersons with specializeds in pretzels, gold, black velour paintings, aluminum etchings, Olympic flag tschochkies, chimney sweeping services, a weight-loss beverage called Slendernow, numerous various multi-level marketing products (consisting of the billion-dollar nutrition organisation Herbalife), insurance coverage, and-- in Romo's case-- wholesale pork chops, hamburger patties and beef by-products.

"It's not a faith. It's a service. Think about it as a triangle---- the greater up you get, the more pressure to invest more. You constantly need to purchase the next thing."

Only months into his newly found way of life, Romo stated, he was currently strapped for money. He was operating in a factory and disliked it. When he saw an advertisement at some Scientology occasion for a gig in sales, he stopped his task. His very first address offering started with exactly what struck him as a not likely item: pretzels.

The business was run by a couple of scientologists from New York. Pretzel stands were still mainly an East Coast business, and they were a novelty in Los Angeles. The scientologists would park their carts by outlet store or outside the Rose Bowl and lose consciousness hot pretzels, making 7 or 8 cents for each piece offered. In a single day, Romo made someplace around $120.

Soon, he finished to larger foods. He became aware of a wholesale meat supplier called Mr. Sirloin in San Francisco, which was working with young scientologists to assist with sales. Another business called Tully Premium Meats had actually begun a comparable practice in Gardena, a city in southwest L.A. County, and closer to where Romo lived.

In meat sales, Romo would still make commission. The items cost more than pretzels, so his day-to-day revenues would increase. When he appeared for training, Romo fulfilled among the owners, a high, charming redhead called Brian Tully.

In a declaration to The Daily Beast, an agent from the Church of Scientology rejected any association with Tully. ("Mr. Tully of Tully Meats was expelled from the Church years back," she composed, including, "We have no records of a Mr. Sirloin," misinterpreting the name of a meat supplier for an individual). In the late 1970s, Tully was still really much part of the Church, and so were many of his workers, both Romo and Christman declared.

Tully provided his students a long discussion on their company strategy: salespersons would lease a freezer truck on credit, then purchase some solidified carbon dioxide and a week's supply of meat. They would patrol areas, knock on doors, and intend to negotiate.

In training, they practiced their pitches: "Hi, my name is Conrad and I'm with Tully Meats," Romo kept in mind. "We're a dining establishment and wholesale shipment service and I got some steaks out in the truck that thick." They would hold their fingers up 2 or 3 inches, to reveal their size. "We 'd make them appear far larger than the steaks that we had. We 'd state, 'Wait here!' We were expected to do it with a great deal of interest," Romo informed The Daily Beast.

Tully's training was brief-- an hour, at many-- however Romo studied up on sales technique in his leisure time. He had not gone to college, so he chose to make offering his profession. "I discovered I had a propensity for sales that I didn't understand I had," he stated, "and I liked that."

Senior team member of Scientology studied sales as part of their recruitment work, and Romo started to gain from them. He checked out a book called Big League Sales Closing Techniques, composed in 1971 by a man called Les Dane. Dane wasn't a scientologist, however after the book came out, Hubbard made it needed reading for all "registrars"-- the scientology employee accountable for signing individuals up.

"It's amusing to hear [President Donald] Trump utilizing the term 'Big League,'" Romo stated, describing an occurrence in 2016, when Trump, then a governmental prospect, guaranteed to accelerate the migration procedure "major league," implying a lot. "Back then, that was the Scientology handbook."

Scientology salespersons likewise check out Sun Tzu's The Art of War, the ancient Chinese military writing composed in the 5th century B.C.E., and Romo stated its lessons were extensive throughout the meat-sales organisation.

"Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak," Romo stated, estimating among Tzu's maxims. When he was pitching an item, he would frequently play dumb, letting the purchaser believe they were the ones scamming him.

"Sales was everything about withdrawing and reaching. You're reaching when you're talking. When you're listening, you're withdrawing," Romo described. "We would physically lean forward and return. We would knock on the door and state, 'Hey, I simply talked with your next-door neighbor and they got a lot of these, and we believed you may desire a few of them too. I have no idea.'"

Then, the salespersons would go peaceful, Romo stated, leaving the clients to fill out the silence. "We would place on this face like we were so dumb, and state absolutely nothing. Constantly, they would state, 'What are they?' We would act like we had not heard them. We would state, 'scuse me'? And they would state, 'What are they? The 2nd time, they would usually have a smile on their face, like they were speaking with the stupidest individual on the planet."

The organisation was something of a fraud, in part since meat was a dangerous, high-pressure item. "It's a disposable product, so you actually needed to hustle. Otherwise you ended up needing to either toss it or consume it," Romo stated.

To make sure they made back their financial investment, the salespersons would target bad individuals. "You weren't going to offer meat in Beverly Hills," Romo described. They would visit low-income communities and real estate tasks, or stake out food stamp shops.

One of Romo's colleagues, a guy called Larry Wollersheim (who would later on take legal action against Scientology for $86 million in a case that extended for 22 years, then among the longest cases in California history), even leased a shop front right throughout from a food stamp workplace, and employed stringers to lose consciousness leaflets.

The managers at Tully Premium Meats appeared to believe that individuals on food stamps would quicker invest their "complimentary money" than other prospective customers would invest non-food-stamp cash, although little research study bears this out. It held true, nevertheless, that parking outside a food stamp workplace supplied the scientologists with a consistent stream of individuals all set to purchase components.

At the time, Romo didn't believe the meat-racket was a rip-off. He frequently consumed the hamburgers himself or offered the additionals to his household. He did keep in mind that the items were substantially marked up from comparable meats at significant grocery shops. "If you did the mathematics, no, it wasn't a good deal," he stated. "But we had to consume too."

Eventually, the meat ended up being more of a fraud than Romo understood. Almost 10 years later on, inning accordance with a 1988 Los Angeles Times post , numerous Tully executives pleaded guilty to charges that they had actually lied about their active ingredients, including chicken gizzards to their hamburgers, and passing them off as pure beef. Among the offenders confronted a year in prison, and another combated a fine of approximately $100,000.

"Well, you weren't going to offer meat in Beverly Hills."

Most of the meat sellers were scientologists, however the suppliers likewise worked with residents. Sam Quinones, an L.A. Times reporter who blogged about a female called Leona Logan, the mastermind behind a comparable racket in Clearwater, Florida (where each year she offered over $1 million worth of black velour paintings to cover training expenses), stated he worked for among the meat providers in the late '70s.

"They had this primary workplace with refrigeration and all that ideal throughout the shopping center from the food stamp workplace. My task was to offer these individuals leaflets to obtain them to purchase pork chops and things like that," he informed The Daily Beast. "But it was odd. I keep in mind [the scientologists] having a long discussion among themselves, and thinking, 'I wish to go work. I do not wish to relax discussing whatever odd things they were discussing.' It was total mumbo jumbo. There, I was like, possibly I must go."

He gave up the next day. Romo stuck with the task for years, till his partner Larry Wollersheim encouraged him to join him in a brand-new business: travelling art dealership.

"They were these sh * tty, postcard size, four-by-six example. They were foil, when you moved them a bit, they sort of captured the light and had the impact of motion," he stated. "We would have these things matted and framed. I went on the roadway for practically a year to Denver, Houston, Dallas, Chicago. We would knock on doors. We would hire individuals and train individuals. We would leave a workplace running and we would go to the next city."

Then, in 1986, L. Ron Hubbard passed away of a stroke, and Romo's faith in Scientology began to fluctuate. In a wild power grab to takeover Hubbard's seat, the Church's existing leader David Miscavige stated another leading scientologist, David Mayo, a "suppressive individual"-- the Scientology variation of ex-communication.

"It was actually astonishing. It resembled, wait a minute, how could he be stated a suppressive?" Romo stated. "Scientology declares that 2 percent of individuals in the world are these antisocial types that would be called a 'suppressive.' Here was Hubbard's right-hand guy. How could Hubbard not have seen that?"

Within 6 months, he had actually stopped going to classes and left his belief system, his pals, and his substantial sales profession behind. Now, years later on, when the semi-retired Zen Buddhist can lastly discuss his old faith without "shaking and sweating," he states the sales lessons he discovered resembled the extremely recruitment methods that brought him to Scientology.

"Oh yeah," he stated. "It's directing attention to where you desire it to be. It's not taking no for a response. It's large control."