Chew the Fat

After uneventful experiences with scientology we have decided to move on to something we can really get our teeth into, The New Age Movement. This appears to be by far the most diverse belief system in town. It is not one system but many spiritual and philosophical ideologies mashed together to make an interesting brew.

Though there are no formal or definitive boundaries for membership; those who are likely to sample many diverse teachings and practices (from both 'mainstream' and 'fringe' traditions) and to formulate their own beliefs and practices based on their experiences can be considered as New Age. Rather than follow the lead of an organised religion, "New Agers" typically construct their own spiritual journey based on material taken as needed from the mystical traditions of world religions, and also including shamanism, neopaganism and occultism.

The name New Age was popularised by the American mass media during the late 1980s, to describe the alternative spiritual subculture interested in such things as meditation, channelling, reincarnation, crystals, psychic experience, holistic health, environmentalism, other fields associated with pseudoscience, and various “unsolved mysteries” such as UFOs, Earth mysteries and Crop circles. Typical activities of this subculture include participation in study or meditation groups, attendance at lectures and fairs; the purchase of books, music, and other products such as crystals or incense; patronage of fortune-tellers, healers and spiritual counsellors. (http://en.wikipedia.org/)

All of this makes an exciting couple of weeks for us. We are in the process of booking interviews with fortune tellers, mediums and alien abductees. We will be purchasing crystals and tarot cards this week and going to the spiritual church healing service on Sunday. On Friday we will be spending the night in a well known haunted house in Wellington. We will have a séance there and see what happens. I have got a couple of books from the library on positive thought and self hypnosis, and I have downloaded some New Age music which has subconscious messages hidden within.

I will eat only vegetables and do Tai Chi and meditation in the mornings. I will attempt to speak and think only positive thoughts.

Experiences will follow.

Our first week as Scientologists has been a bit of a struggle. Not because the life of a scientologist appears, at the face of it, to be particularly hard, but because of the difficulties in contacting anyone for decent answers, support and conversation. I have sent numerous emails and left messages on answer phones but as yet have received no reply.

The official site of scientology (http://www.scientology.org/) contains pages of obscure words which describe what is wrong with people and the world, and how scientology can solve these issues. It diagnoses the disease yet does not prescribe an antidote. These answers are in over 15,000 pages, written by the church founder L. Ron Hubbard, which can be bought at the scientology online bookshop. It is somewhat like an Anthony Robbins ‘Get the Edge’ infomercial and I do not have enough money to pay for these books.

From the hours I have spent reading about this religion I am still struggling to get any perspective, but somehow I think that is the point. Some of the interesting things we have found out so far.

The goal of a scientologist is to reach a state called ‘Clear’ The cost varies depending on which path one takes.

Clear is the name of a specific state achieved through auditing ( i'll explain that in a second). A Clear is a being who no longer has his own reactive mind, and therefore suffers none of the ill effects the reactive mind can cause.

You go clear by moving along the scientology Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart and then continuing up the levels set forth on this chart.

A scientologist desires to move through 8 stages called dimensions. This is done via training. Training consists of reading and using the techniques in the hundreds of books by L Ron. Hubbard, and doing courses which are administered by the church.

Another part of becoming a ‘clear’ is auditing. This sounds like one spends a huge amount of hours with a trained auditor. An auditor listens and computes, applying standard technology to preclears to help them achieve the abilities stated on the Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart. An auditor’s job is to ask the preclear to look, and get him to do so.

One part of auditing is when the thetan (spirit) separates itself from the body, like astral projection. This is called Exteriorization

Scientologists have over 15,000 pages of scriptures all written by L. Ron Hubbard. These include advanced scriptures which are kept secret until one have developed enough in the religion. One doctrine of the advanced scripture is XENU.

Xenu (also Xemu) is an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of people to Earth, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together and stuck to the bodies of the living, and continue to wreak chaos and havoc today.

These events are known to Scientologists as "Incident II", and the traumatic memories associated with them as The Wall of Fire or the R6 implant. The story of Xenu is part of a much wider range of Scientology beliefs in extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in Earthly events, collectively described as space opera by L. Ron Hubbard.

Hubbard detailed the story in Operating Thetan level III (OT III) in 1967, famously warning that R6 was "calculated to kill (by pneumonia etc) anyone who attempts to solve it." The Xenu story was the start of the use of the volcano as a common symbol of Scientology and Dianetics from 1968 to the present day.

Much of the criticism of the Church of Scientology focuses on the story of Xenu. The Church has tried to keep Xenu confidential; critics claim revealing the story is in the public interest, given the high prices charged for OT III, part of Scientology's secret "Advanced Technology" doctrines taught only to members that have already contributed large amounts of money to the organization.

The Church avoids making mention of Xenu in public statements and has gone to considerable effort to maintain the story's confidentiality, including legal action on the grounds of both copyright and trade secrecy. Despite this, much material on Xenu has leaked to the public.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu)


If this is wrong, please explain. I am keen to learn. There are no Scientology churches in Wellington. But I am working hard to see if there is a scientologist here who I can have and auditing session with.

I have purposely missed a lot of information as the point of this is to comment on my experience of the religion. As yet there has been very little.