You would be amazed about the people that will talk about the Masonics...in hushed tones...can't speak. won't speak.
It's a unspoken about cult, and believe me if you talk about it...well, it's a bit like scientology...you will be shunned.
A bit like I am shunned, by most supposed EX scientologists...and media...you expose the truth and you are dead. Nobody wants the truth...it's too hard to live with...
My Father went on a MISSION for L. Ron Hubbard in January of 1969 to AOSHDK(Denmark), by March of that year, he was an SP( Suppressive Person).
By late August/early September of that year 1969, my Father returned, to be be locked in a cupboard under the stairs at Abellund(AOSHDK), a whole night of bullbaiting, and thrown off the premisses before dawn, to make sure there were no wittnesses.And I say "At what cost?" Joe and Jill Van Staden ran that Mission...Jill ain't speaking but Joe say's "It was an adventure" You seperate Father and Daughter and that is an adventure? Really? You are a fucking arsehole!
And Neville Chamberlain says "let's all move on", it's about time we let this go" Yeah lets just forget this ever happened shall we? Good one! All forgotton!
When you are in scientology you are meat, dead meat, Liver, heart, kidneys, lungs, you are there for the taking...
And then of course we have the nation of ISLAM!
It may be hard to believe that there was a time on staff and in the SO when the spirit of play was often more prevalent than the burden of saving the planet – when people had a sense that they were involved in an adventure and not in a do or die struggle for survival. This was before individual freedom of choice along with real ownership of the material and personal creation were labeled as suppressive tendencies.
Personally, I wouldn’t change my years on staff and as an SO member for anything. As for my relationship with LRH; it was an extraordinary education to say the least. The word robust comes to mind. Being in close proximity to the old man for long periods of time, as was the case when captain of the flagship, required certain attitudinal adjustments. Such as; don’t take things too seriously, which I never did in spite of being fired several times as captain. I should add; it was never long before I was reinstated.
On one occasion after having been fired and put in a low condition by LRH, I decided to make full use of my luck. Being relieved of my duties as captain I could now spend some evenings with my buddies in the bosun’s cabin drinking beer and getting acquainted with some of the latest female recruits from LA. But what about the master at arms, did he not make sure I complied with the harsh conditions of my condition? Suffice it to say, he tried but failed miserably.
On this occasion LRH lost his patience with me ambling my way up the conditions. Everyday he sent a messenger to “product officer” me through the conditions. When I finally reached emergency I was told “the commodore wants to see you”. As I entered his office he said “your holiday is over” and reinstated me as captain.
The SO experience was never and still isn’t the same from one person to the next. Those who did not lose sight of the game being played – those who remained in touch with their own sense of value and worth – the experience turned out to be more of an adventure than a grim duty. I doubt if anyone in the SO today will think of their involvement in terms of an adventure.
Why was my time in the SO more fun than pain, more laughter than grief, experienced more as freedom than a trap? Was it because I was lucky, because of divine intervention, a guardian angel or because I had friends in high places? I have a suspicion that it was at least partly due to me not compromising my personal integrity to a point I would not easily be able to live with myself, which in a way amounted to not taking things too seriously.
For instance, when ordered by LRH to comm-ev my entire crew I refused. On more than one occasion I intervened to correct the old man’s navigational decisions at the risk of having my head bitten off or worse. For instance, we were approaching Tunis in Tunisia; visibility was limited by an eerie haze. On the bridge was LRH who had the con and several other officers. I had been fired as captain the day before, so took up position outside on the bridge wing.
Now, the entrance to Tunis is through a channel demarcated by two rows of buoys. Go outside the buoys and the ship runs aground. So here I am peering out into nowhere when I notice that we are actually outside the channel. I go up to the officer of the watch and tell him he had better inform the commodore to change course. Well, the officer went pale – imagine telling LRH he was wrong, Anyway he wouldn’t do it so I walked up to LRH and said, “excuse me sir but we are entering Tunis on a wrong course” His response was a loud “WHAT” in my face followed immediately by dashing into the chart room to check the course and order a change. As expected, I was reinstated as captain the next day.
Ex- Scientologists are often asked; if it was so bad in, why didn’t you just leave? As reflected in the answers by those questioned, it was never that simple or easy. Nonetheless, there are many who just up and left when they had had enough. In my case, when last on the Apollo, I decided the game was no longer what I had originally signed up for; the adventure had become a somber crusade. Even though I had just completed a project for LRH compiling all the internships up to class 12 auditor, with which he was very pleased, I made it clear I was going back to South Africa. In spite of the pressure on me to stay I left.
(See note below from LRH handed to me as I walked down the gangplank for the last time). .
Yes, the old man could be a real SOB at times, but the idea that he gave nothing of value to the world is ludicrous. As I see it, the image one has of LRH is one of perception – an image shaped by the prevailing mindset. The truth of who LRH actually was is a variable, and considering the scope of the old man’s activities, we are looking at a diverse range of truths. Anyway, this is pretty much the case with most of our assumptions about other people.
As for the philosophy and technology of L Ron Hubbard, even the most outspoken critics of Scientology who were once in and actually applied the technology, are hesitant to condemn its workability outright. Regardless of what one thinks of the upper OT levels, the value of some procedures at the lower end of the bridge are easily confirmed Take one of the simplest procedures, like hand squeezes for instance, of which I have done plenty. Whether it was applied to a passed-out drunk, someone having an epileptic fit or someone knocked out, invariably in less than a minute they “returned” opened their eyes staring at me.
Getting someone out of a deep depression or heavy grief takes longer, but it works. Yet, simple as it may seem, the procedure is unlikely to be effective unless the one applying it has had some auditor training. The procedure only works to the degree that the practitioner’s TR’s are in – thank you to the genius of LRH. So, my suggestion to those who are out and have totally written off the years they have been involved; don’t through the baby out with the bathwater.
People who outright condemn Scientology without ever having experienced it and Scientologists in general, in or out, have something in common. Both sides believe they have “the truth”. Personally I believe many critics will be surprised at what they find should they take a closer look at the subject.
Moreover, it has been my experience for quite some time that there are truths beyond the truths of Scientology and that many Scientologists will be surprised at what they find should they care to look.
They may find the shift in perspective required to break through the ceiling they are currently up against.
Joe van Staden.
It's a unspoken about cult, and believe me if you talk about it...well, it's a bit like scientology...you will be shunned.
A bit like I am shunned, by most supposed EX scientologists...and media...you expose the truth and you are dead. Nobody wants the truth...it's too hard to live with...
My Father went on a MISSION for L. Ron Hubbard in January of 1969 to AOSHDK(Denmark), by March of that year, he was an SP( Suppressive Person).
By late August/early September of that year 1969, my Father returned, to be be locked in a cupboard under the stairs at Abellund(AOSHDK), a whole night of bullbaiting, and thrown off the premisses before dawn, to make sure there were no wittnesses.And I say "At what cost?" Joe and Jill Van Staden ran that Mission...Jill ain't speaking but Joe say's "It was an adventure" You seperate Father and Daughter and that is an adventure? Really? You are a fucking arsehole!
And Neville Chamberlain says "let's all move on", it's about time we let this go" Yeah lets just forget this ever happened shall we? Good one! All forgotton!
When you are in scientology you are meat, dead meat, Liver, heart, kidneys, lungs, you are there for the taking...
And then of course we have the nation of ISLAM!
Freemasonry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Written by Joe van Staden...
Truth is a variable...
Scientologists back in comm
It is my opinion that some people, not all by any means, who call for Miscavige’s blood are pissed off because they allowed themselves to compromise their “soul” and be humiliated. Particularly, since it was at the hands of a twit like DM.
It may be hard to believe that there was a time on staff and in the SO when the spirit of play was often more prevalent than the burden of saving the planet – when people had a sense that they were involved in an adventure and not in a do or die struggle for survival. This was before individual freedom of choice along with real ownership of the material and personal creation were labeled as suppressive tendencies.
Personally, I wouldn’t change my years on staff and as an SO member for anything. As for my relationship with LRH; it was an extraordinary education to say the least. The word robust comes to mind. Being in close proximity to the old man for long periods of time, as was the case when captain of the flagship, required certain attitudinal adjustments. Such as; don’t take things too seriously, which I never did in spite of being fired several times as captain. I should add; it was never long before I was reinstated.
On one occasion after having been fired and put in a low condition by LRH, I decided to make full use of my luck. Being relieved of my duties as captain I could now spend some evenings with my buddies in the bosun’s cabin drinking beer and getting acquainted with some of the latest female recruits from LA. But what about the master at arms, did he not make sure I complied with the harsh conditions of my condition? Suffice it to say, he tried but failed miserably.
On this occasion LRH lost his patience with me ambling my way up the conditions. Everyday he sent a messenger to “product officer” me through the conditions. When I finally reached emergency I was told “the commodore wants to see you”. As I entered his office he said “your holiday is over” and reinstated me as captain.
The SO experience was never and still isn’t the same from one person to the next. Those who did not lose sight of the game being played – those who remained in touch with their own sense of value and worth – the experience turned out to be more of an adventure than a grim duty. I doubt if anyone in the SO today will think of their involvement in terms of an adventure.
Why was my time in the SO more fun than pain, more laughter than grief, experienced more as freedom than a trap? Was it because I was lucky, because of divine intervention, a guardian angel or because I had friends in high places? I have a suspicion that it was at least partly due to me not compromising my personal integrity to a point I would not easily be able to live with myself, which in a way amounted to not taking things too seriously.
For instance, when ordered by LRH to comm-ev my entire crew I refused. On more than one occasion I intervened to correct the old man’s navigational decisions at the risk of having my head bitten off or worse. For instance, we were approaching Tunis in Tunisia; visibility was limited by an eerie haze. On the bridge was LRH who had the con and several other officers. I had been fired as captain the day before, so took up position outside on the bridge wing.
Now, the entrance to Tunis is through a channel demarcated by two rows of buoys. Go outside the buoys and the ship runs aground. So here I am peering out into nowhere when I notice that we are actually outside the channel. I go up to the officer of the watch and tell him he had better inform the commodore to change course. Well, the officer went pale – imagine telling LRH he was wrong, Anyway he wouldn’t do it so I walked up to LRH and said, “excuse me sir but we are entering Tunis on a wrong course” His response was a loud “WHAT” in my face followed immediately by dashing into the chart room to check the course and order a change. As expected, I was reinstated as captain the next day.
Ex- Scientologists are often asked; if it was so bad in, why didn’t you just leave? As reflected in the answers by those questioned, it was never that simple or easy. Nonetheless, there are many who just up and left when they had had enough. In my case, when last on the Apollo, I decided the game was no longer what I had originally signed up for; the adventure had become a somber crusade. Even though I had just completed a project for LRH compiling all the internships up to class 12 auditor, with which he was very pleased, I made it clear I was going back to South Africa. In spite of the pressure on me to stay I left.
(See note below from LRH handed to me as I walked down the gangplank for the last time). .
Yes, the old man could be a real SOB at times, but the idea that he gave nothing of value to the world is ludicrous. As I see it, the image one has of LRH is one of perception – an image shaped by the prevailing mindset. The truth of who LRH actually was is a variable, and considering the scope of the old man’s activities, we are looking at a diverse range of truths. Anyway, this is pretty much the case with most of our assumptions about other people.
As for the philosophy and technology of L Ron Hubbard, even the most outspoken critics of Scientology who were once in and actually applied the technology, are hesitant to condemn its workability outright. Regardless of what one thinks of the upper OT levels, the value of some procedures at the lower end of the bridge are easily confirmed Take one of the simplest procedures, like hand squeezes for instance, of which I have done plenty. Whether it was applied to a passed-out drunk, someone having an epileptic fit or someone knocked out, invariably in less than a minute they “returned” opened their eyes staring at me.
Getting someone out of a deep depression or heavy grief takes longer, but it works. Yet, simple as it may seem, the procedure is unlikely to be effective unless the one applying it has had some auditor training. The procedure only works to the degree that the practitioner’s TR’s are in – thank you to the genius of LRH. So, my suggestion to those who are out and have totally written off the years they have been involved; don’t through the baby out with the bathwater.
People who outright condemn Scientology without ever having experienced it and Scientologists in general, in or out, have something in common. Both sides believe they have “the truth”. Personally I believe many critics will be surprised at what they find should they take a closer look at the subject.
Moreover, it has been my experience for quite some time that there are truths beyond the truths of Scientology and that many Scientologists will be surprised at what they find should they care to look.
They may find the shift in perspective required to break through the ceiling they are currently up against.
Joe van Staden.
1) he worked as many hours as anyone else. I took very little sleep on post, but could see that LRH took just as few hours as myself, with many hours working on his own during the night;
2) managing to stay afloat during the oil shortage – a huge concern at the time;
3) constantly harassed by staff as he came on deck, especially Int Managers firing, ‘solve this problem for me, Sir’ type of questions, close staff, and wild-cat Messengers (man, they were crazy – sometimes he had to shout);
4) managing the ship, supervising the Apollo AllStars, planning sailing courses, writing ship hats, navigation and seamanship data, including radio and foreign-language comms, weather-forecasting, senior staff problems, writing for the OODs, keeping his in-tray empty;
5) running the GO, and monitoring WW stats, initiating programs;
6) monitoring the WW political scene, as outside forces were ramping up their covert ops on him and Scientology, the AMA and psyche groups – yet he still managed to sneak in and out of the US to personally handle sits;
7) churn out mind-bogglingly brilliant and incredibly innovative tech in HCOB’s and HCOPL’s such as Word-Clearing, Data Series, Purif;
8) research and pilot tech in the face of robotism, literalism, out-R, fawning, and at times incredulous staff, and run his own case (still on the Mk VI);
9) turn out for social events like marriages, birthdays, parties, find time for his family;
10) lectures, briefings, interviews and socialising with guests, including at least on one occasion one of his old-time writing associates;
11) take time out to ride one of his many motorbikes ashore;
12) CS folders;
13) with all these strands, plan the future of Scn and accommodate the relentless expansion of orgs and success of his ideas.
And that’s just what I knew as a lowly FSO crew member. Now that we have more information, there was also the problem with org plants and the RV program.
Not the least of LRH’s problems was attempting to obtain both duplication and comprehension of his despatches to the GO, who without MSH on the lines, were running rampant behind his back, returning good roads and fair weather replies when local GO stats were far from that, especially in the UK. I still believe to this day, that the attack on Paulette Cooper was a personal mission by a certain GO St Hiller, attempting to ingratiate herself to LRH; on the one hand, sending him misleading reports, and on the other, using his ethics advices as a shield for her own horrible personality. And yes, I’m violating some shuns, but when did LRH while still on lines make such a catastrophic blunder? He had tougher opponents than Ms Cooper, who let’s face it was just a poorly-informed chancer with no other credit to her name before or since than her brush with Scientology. How on Earth was Paulette Cooper given the status of enemy of Scientology, when she was ostensibly a nobody out to make a quick buck? LRH would have spotted that immediately, accorded her every civility, and wished her on her way, as he did with the Granada interview.
Factor in good old-fashioned admin (Chinese-style) org in-fighting and jockeying for position amongst the senior execs, Scn promotion and recruitment with the out-dating Personality Test and Letter Registrar system, changes to the Org Board and Bridge.
But above all else, far and away LRH’s abiding preoccupation would have been how to get more auditors trained and auditing. Sod the CoS, sod the ships, sod the governments and assorted anti’s, SP’s, PTS’s, wogs, DB’s, cases, bank – who cares, really? I’m sure he didn’t, as he often said.
Just get out there and audit, for Pete’s sake!
Without a doubt, LRH was steady and sure of what he was doing, and used what he had to appeal to as many people and viewpoints as possible.
Finally, there is one glaring omission: what did LRH make for himself out of all this effort?
Richard Kaminski
Independent Scientologist UK
As I said, "Appears Mental" does not just apply to LRH