Personal Items

What’s Mine Is Yours

This post is in reference to the May 1, 2025 opinion poll. Be sure to get your votes in on this weeks poll.

Hubbard had a lot to say about everything. How to eat, how to clean, what to feed your baby, how to discipline (or not discipline) your child, how to run your business, even the best way to sleep, the best way to communicate, etc. etc. And like lemmings, we all followed his words blindly, believing he knew exactly what he was talking about.

One habit I got into in 1975 that I still have a really hard time breaking is labeling my personal possessions. Hubbard did have a policy on that:

However, that isn’t really the reason I got in the habit of labeling my stuff. I labeled it because then I had a better chance of keeping some of it. Some items, including underwear, socks, food, books, clothes, toiletries, or anything that was not commonly seen in the berthing were the hot items that vanished no matter how diligently they were marked. In hindsight it’s kind if understandable.

In theory, per this policy, if every person labeled every single thing they owned, no one else would bother their stuff. Yeah right. The reality was so different. I can’t imagine it’s gotten better.

This was and still is a group of overtired overworked people shoved together in crowded conditions. They are underfed, grossly underpaid, and worked 12-14 hours per day or more generally with no weekends off. Even if there was money to buy something, there is generally not time.

Back in the day, there was no way to just jump online. But that’s still not an option to the people who are still in. Even if they had the funds, these people don’t have the luxury of online access, they can’t just order something online and have it shipped to them. The large majority of people in Sea Org still don’t have access to the internet, and those who do have their useage tightly monitored.

In this closed society, even though the group as a whole has it drilled into their head that they are “the most ethical group on the planet,” the group ethos is mostly that they are above the law. The greatest good for the greatest number justification allows a person to get away with things that are outrageous at best.

It is not uncommon for Sea Org members to assume ownership of any item they have a need for. It is also not common to have much for anyone to take. These two things are because of each other. The longer a person is in Sea Org, the person sheds the majority of their personal items. The main reasons to not have personal items in Sea Org are:to have personal items really fast.

• It will be stolen,
• Lack of personal space to keep it,
• Lack of personal time to enjoy personal possessions, and
• You may be in a totally new location tomorrow, and your possessions could likely not follow.

After spending time having even my underwear stolen, being forced to hide every penny I had, even hide my shampoo, I still find myself feeling the need to label my possessions just in case someone else wants them. No matter how long a person is out of Scientology, there are mental mines hidden just below the surface. It’s almost like having to reroute your synapses after brain damage. That’s how much damage is done by Scientology.