What is 8-C

A Deep Dive Into Scientology Jargon

This is the second post in response to last week’s poll. Be sure to get your vote for this week’s poll in before 2pm Thursday. As early as 1957, Hubbard was writing policies about Communication, Control, Havingness (CCH). These evolved into counseling routines, rote processes which had to be done precisely, word for word as written. One of these was called Routine 8 – Control.

He then created the training routines. These were supposed to make a person delivering counseling capable of doing it the same way every time. Each time a counselor was with a different person, they had to treat that person exactly the same as the one before. No exceptions were made for personal quirks. If things were done exactly the same, that was a good thing in Hubbard’s eyes.

In a manufacturing setting, that makes sense. Things should always be the same. But, no two people are the same, so, treating two people the same will not give you the same result.

The actual definition of 8-C in the Scientology glossary is:

“the operation of making the physical body contact the environment, the name of a process. Also used to mean good control.

Routine 8-C became so well known in Scientology it became part of the everyday lingo. Without knowing the origin, it became commonplace to hear “just 8-C” him into the meeting. Consent is not necessary when 8-C’ing someone.

If you are in a Scientology Academy, various training takes place. One thing you see is where training is going on, it is one person leading another around. Sometimes, they silently make them do things. Other times, they are doing verbal commands. This is TR-6, 8-C. This is the most benign you will ever see it.

in real life, Scientology is not controlled. It is chaotic. There is yelling. To see 8-C as it occurs is commonplace in Scientology. When a person completes a course, it’s not over for them. They are immediately put on a routing form which includes:

• Qual – attesting on an e-meter that you are happt
• Writing a success story (and putting the right words in it)
• Going to the registrar to sign up for your next action

If you don’t sign up for your next action, you are sent to review. Why? Because obviously you didn’t enjoy the last thing you did. Really. If a person in Scientology doesn’t continue on to the next step, it is blamed on that person. They did something wrong on the prior step.

Behind closed doors, there are talks. “8-C him into review.” “8-C her to the bank to withdraw money from savings.” “8-C that supervisor into this office. We can sit the two of them down together.”

Verbally and non-verbally, 8-C is practiced on a person from the minute they enter the door of Scientology. Because a Scientologist believes they are superior, they think they can control your mind and your body. And, if you do try to leave, they go berserk.

Debbie Cook was a powerful executive of Scientology. She wanted to leave. They practiced horrific 8-C on her. She left. She had the audacity to send an email to people still in. Scientology, believing they were superior, sued her. After one day of her testimony, Scientology paid her to drop the lawsuit they initiated. Yes, you read that right. They paid her to stop their own lawsuit. What she said on the stand was that bad.

As long as Scientology can scare people with their intimidation and harassment tactics, they will win. Debbie had a lot more to lose than I did and she did not back down. I will not be 8Ced by them either.