Reading between the Lies

Another Piece of Mind Shrapnel That You Need to Get Past

This article is a continuation in the series to address issues which people may have when leaving Scientology.

A while back, I had an interesting interaction with a former Scientologist. We had a minor disagreement. I let him know he hurt my feelings. We talked it out. The end…I thought.

I’ve been out of Scientology now for 42 years and am thrilled to report that I don’t feel like I have to look over my shoulder anymore.

But, the person I had the disagreement with didn’t understand that. Not once, but twice, he contacted me, trying to talk it out. To fix things. But they weren’t broken. It was a minor disagreement. I hope he understands now that I really mean it. I’ve moved past that blip.

The problem here is that there is no such thing as minor in Scientology, any infraction of a rule is treated an earth shattering. Even if you didn’t know you were breaking a rule. And the punishment is swift. And the report of your real or imagined wrongdoing remains written in your files forever.

In Scientology, a person never gets to move past their mistakes. They are judged harshly. And every mistake is treated as though it was equally bad as any other.

You are forced to do draconian punishment for something. While the guy in the next room does the same thing and buys his way out of trouble.

And, once you’ve fallen from favor, you are out of the cool kid club permanently unless you come into money. Then all is forgiven. As long as you keep throwing cash at people.

In the real world, it’s ok to argue with someone. That communication thing that Scientology claims they are teaching you? Guess what? In the real world, it’s not stylistic. And it works. Two people can say what they mean and move on.

I was punished in Scientology for something I didn’t do a long time ago. Some people who are in Scientology only know of me because of that scandal—which wasn’t real.

I was also fired from a job at a Scientology company because my long ago ex told my boss I was a liar. My boss believed him rather than accept that I was being abused. This is the way Scientology treats you.

The people who fired me are still in Scientology 43 years later. I found out a couple of years ago that the rumor was I had an affair with the boss’s cousin. That’s how hard Scientology holds on to imagined wrongs.

But out here, unless you meet really petty people, you have a really good chance of being able to move on when you make a misstep. So instead of thanking you’ve messed up next time you have an argument, just take a breath and say “let’s talk this out.” That’s all it takes in the real world.