Ignoring the Bad

And a Lot of Good Too

This post is in response to the winner of the opinion poll which ended December 5, 2024. Be sure to get your votes in on this week’s poll.

Early on in my journey in Scientology, I learned to ignore bad things people said about it. It was easy. Why? From the minute you walk in the door of a Scientology organization, you are taught that by practicing “the tech,” you become a superior being. Therefore, those who ridicule Scientology are simply ignorant. They have no clue what they’re talking about.

Almost immediately after getting into Scientology, the world turns into a tunnel. An adherent is forced to look only straight ahead. They are told there is no good out there. Only inside the doors you just entered.

It is frightening to me to look back and realize how much I willingly overlooked. From the outside looking in, it’s easy. No one in their right mind would willingly enslave themselves. Ahhh…but is that really true?

Although Scientology is an extreme example, it is simple to become a slave to almost anything. If a person goes to a job every day, they either love it, hate it, or are indifferent to it. But they are still going to show up every day. If not, they lose the job.

A person who feels they have to work somewhere they don’t want to be learns coping mechanisms. “Yes, my boss yells, but it’s a paycheck.” “I don’t even like this product but I can’t afford to quit.”

It’s the same way with food. “I know I am getting fat, but cookies are so good.” “I know these cigarettes are bad for my health but I can’t quit.” “I know alcohol harms my kidney, but a little won’t hurt.”

As with leaving Scientology, leaving a bad job or changing a harmful health habit usually requires a rude awakening. Some people stay in their dead end job for life. Some people continue drinking after being diagnosed with cirrhosis. Lung cancer doesn’t stop some people from smoking.

The same applies to Scientology. When you start reading my story, it’s plain to see. There were times I put on blinders when I should have run away.

Life doesn’t change because you wish it would. Life changes when you make changes to it. I am happy in my current life. Sure, sometimes I grumble a bit, but overall I have it better than most. Yet some days, I can’t help but wonder what my life would have changed if I’d followed my instincts. How would I be different? What if the first time I felt uneasy about my location, I had turned around and left?

Would I have felt bad for abandoning my group then? Did I need to punish myself enough I understood they didn’t care? I only escaped when I had children to protect. I saved my life to save theirs. That is a condemnation of Scientology. They destroyed my self worth. I ignored too much too long.

But if I had changed my life, would I have missed out on my children? Would I not be sitting here next to my husband on the couch? Maybe I would have missed the pain, but I certainly have joy now, so there’s my trade off.

And in the end, I won! I’m out.