All of them, those in power, and those who want the power, would pamper us, if we agreed to overlook their crookedness by wilfully restricting our activities.
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By Michael PattinsonMichael
Pattinson's Experiences with Scientology - Part 1 Source: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.religion.scientology/msg/fa6c6ef3c0d4c9ab Part 5After attesting to "Clear" in 1979 I was intent on getting along further towards the amazing abilities advertised on the "Grade Chart" and sold to everyone paying for the "O.T. Levels. I was specially interested in the O.T.3 .."Freedom from Overwhelm", and the O.T.8 ability promised; "A being at Cause over matter, energy, space and time, both subjective and objective". I remember it well. That was the one that really interested me. I stayed living in Paris, but moved to a new apartment where I could have good painting space and some pet Persian cats. I worked hard, toured with my slide show, paid in money to Scientology to pay for O.T. levels and went to start them in 1981 I believe.
I went to Copenhagen to do my solo auditing course (where I learned how to hold still both electrodes of the e-meter in one hand, write my session worksheets with my second hand and adjust the e-meter with my 3rd hand... lol, just kidding. I actually adjusted the e-meter with my writing hand. I then continued to do my "eligibility" program and "set-ups". Eligibility is where I was checked for all possibilities for "out-security" such as being connected to any psychiatrists, government agencies, spy agencies, media, etc so I could get "invited" to do the super-secret "O.T. Levels". Set-ups were to see if any of my previous auditing steps were incomplete. I got through both steps after a week or two and started "O.T. 1". I was shocked, however, when I read about Xenu the mad genocidal tyrant and the dead space aliens that I had to get rid of out of my body. I was also very scared of getting pneumonia if I did anything wrong. I was, however, in awe of Ron for cheating death in researching O.T.3 and almost dying while doing it. He said, after all, that he was the very first person in 75 million years to pass through the "Wall of Fire" of the Xenu incident and come out alive. The only thing I didn't understand too well at the time was the list of volcanoes and where they had actually existed, some of them, 75 million years ago. Anyway, I did the steps, finished the levels one-by-one up to O.T.4, then a part of "old" O.T.7 (to do with projecting intention) in Copenhagen. I was then persuaded that "my artist-celebrity status" necessitated that I do O.T.5 at Flag, and also the famous "L" processes (very "O.T. secret stuff) at Flag. I borrowed a lot of money and paid for 3 "L"s, and 100 hours of New OT5. I went to Florida in 1982 to get these services. The painting career paid for the auditing, accommodations, food, travel and other costs. For a brief time at Flag in the first half of 1982 things seemed really fine, for me and for the whole group. The atmosphere was good; we had staff and public working in cheerful harmony, wealthy public flowing in and out, fun events and soirees. Even Diana Hubbard was socializing, along with Cyprien Katsaris (a superb concert pianist) and we had impromptu or informal art evenings with live piano improvisation, cultural conversation and a feeling of starting to win in the battle to clear the planet. I did O.T.5, then L-10, but O.T. 5 took so many hours it "ate up" the other 2 L's and I never got to do them. I went straight on to do OT6 that same year and onto New O.T. 7 by the end of 1982. That, and other unusual personal things that happened in Paris for my art and general spiritual well-being, made 1982 a really good year. Then suddenly things started to deteriorate rapidly in Scientology. It was already showing as a sense of foreboding in 1982 but the sit (situation) hit the fan in 1983. Very fast, the atmosphere at Flag became awful, oppressive, worrisome, hateful, vindictive and alarming. Mission holders, who had been earning huge amounts of money, paying for Flag services for themselves and many of their staff were suddenly "under the gun". A management power struggle was occurring, with a very uncertain outcome, right in front of us. The executives of missions started to be alarmed at certain hostile actions against them. Some were holding meetings together to plan what to do, and others were being grilled in severe "security checks" on the e-meter and looked hunted and haunted. It was as if the lights went out on the bright expansion of Scientology that had been occurring. I was very concerned as what was occurring had a Gestapo-like flavor to it all. The whole expansion atmosphere collapsed in a heap, and never resurfaced again. Note: Scientology, as I had first known it and progressed within it, never recovered from that power putsch in 1983. It was as if the whole group was under a concentrated suppressive influence of some magnitude, and it was indeed. It had been taken over, by force, by David Miscavige, Norman Starkey, and a tight group of co-conspirators, including some lawyers/attorneys. Corporate structures and ownerships had been vastly "modified" to prevent any future litigants from getting any money from Scientology (I heard that directly from Miscavige at an event). An infamous "Mission Holder Conference" was held in San Francisco and acted like a coup d'état on the mission network. A new regime of very power-hungry staff members essentially took the missions and their monies away from the people who built them. One "excuse" was that missions were taking public from the organizations, or not sending them into orgs fast enough, and so all the mission holders were rounded-up, restrained in a hotel conference/event room with all exits guarded till they either complied with the new tyrannical regime or got expelled from Scientology on the spot. It was as if Hubbard himself had disappeared and a self-elected new management authority had simply forced themselves into power and abuse of power. At Flag, in Clearwater, where I was still auditing New O.T. 7 on myself, I saw that both public and staff were dismayed and in terror. I saw Sea Org officer Wendell Reynolds and accompanying slick, starched uniform aides spreading fear and emotional horror as "Finance Police"! Gestapo-like attitudes and cold tyranny reigned supreme. Many mission holders had not only lost their missions and sources of income but had been expelled never to return. Missions were forced to have "Finance Police" from the new regime and to pay something like $15,000 per DAY to have them there! In short, "my group" was self-destructing and it became most unhealthy to be in contact with it. Even the local Mission (Celebrity Centre) holders from Paris, the Rosenbergs, had been expelled in 1983. So had their Case Supervisor Andree de Thiersant, and others. I went home to continue auditing New O.T. 7 in Paris, but I had a horrible set of experiences there. I went to the Celebrity Centre for some "management technology" courses, but found that most often I was almost the only student there! The staff who still remained were edgy, afraid and insecure. I got tired of it one day and told the supervisor she was in error in handling me as a student with anger and hostility. I was immediately "routed" (accompanied with physical persuasion) to a basement room where 2 Sea Org "Missionaires" (uniform and all) were waiting. I had to hold the e-meter electrodes and they asked me very personal questions about my loyalties, my sex life, my sympathies with ex-staff members etc. I was very upset indeed at the kind of Gestapo-Nazi interrogation that it was. They got me to tell them, though I was not very willing, about my recent gay activities which were sparse and almost non-existent. They then went and held a staff meeting to relate to the personnel what I had just told them! I was appalled, specially as I was on O.T.7 and should never have been subjected to that kind of destructive interrogation. I had to return to Flag, at great cost, that very same week, to get my severe upsets handled and to get back on track with O.T. 7. I returned to Paris and decided to move to Monaco to continue my painting career, to continue my O.T.7 there and to disconnect from the Paris group and from the horrors of the new cruel tyranny of the uninvited management regime. WHAT I SAW, WHAT I LEARNED AFTER THE ABOVE (1979-1983) HAPPENED:1. The O.T. Levels did not produce Total Freedom, except, perhaps, maybe, possibly for the invisible space aliens blown off in sessions. I have, now, the gravest doubts as to the actual veracity of the Xenu story and the actuality of the space alien spirits etc... I would even say I doubt all of it to the point of feeling scammed. 2. When power-hunger and greed took over Scientology it lost its power to have a chance at being constructive. It became a travesty of its own stated goals. 3. Tyranny is self-destructive, but harms many in its suicide. 4. Scientology's management is taking the whole group down. I can not say that I feel any desire to help prevent that, seeing how destructive a group it is. In fact I hope they do the best job possible on all of that. They killed the spirit of "my group" back in 1983. They are now reaping what they sowed. R.I.P. to whatever positive personality Scientology ever succeeded in attaining by the hard work and dedication of a lot of hopeful people, myself included. |