The recent threads about Scientology and the St. Petersburg Times expose last weekend got me wondering about this.
Has anyone here ever actually been inside one of their facilities or taken one of their “free” stress tests, and if so what’s it like?
There’s a Scientology center not too far from where I live, and I have to admit I did once or twice have a fleeting a thought of going in just out of curiosity (not that I had any intention whatsoever of getting involved with them). But I’ve heard they’re pretty aggressive toward anyone who shows even an inkling of interest in their organization - think of a time share presentation on steroids with repeated follow-up calls and mailings - and didn’t want to deal with the headache of fending them off.
So does anyone have firsthand experience dealing with these folks?
I lived on the same street as the Boston scientology church for 3 years while in college. It was pretty much standard for us to take their “Free Personality Test” on occasion, as a goof. This was all 20+ years ago, so things may have changed.
You’d walk in to a normal looking hotel-like lobby, with a large portrait of L. Ron on the wall. Someone would greet you and ask if you wanted to take a personality test. They’d put you in another room with a few desks, give you the test papers, tell you to bring it out when you were done, then leave. It was written, multiple choice, with questions like (I’m making this up, I have no memory of any actual questions):
You tell your best friend something in private. It’s somewhat embarrassing to you. You find out later they told another person. Do you:
A) Ignore it.
B) Confront your friend in private
C) Confront your friend and the person they told.
D) Stop seeing your friend.
Probably 50 questions or so. When you were done, you’d go out and hand the test to the person waiting outside the door. They’d tell you they have to score the test, and escort you to another room where there was a movie playing with information about L. Ron and Scientology. They’d never, ever, come to retrieve you from that room. One friend of mine said he fell asleep in there for more than an hour, and no one came to check on him. Eventually, you’d get bored, and walk out, at which point they’d say “Oh, we were just coming to get you. Your results are ready.” Then they’d show you some charts and graphs based on your test, and point out places where your answers diverged from the ideal, and offer a treatment plan to help improve your life. They tried to be persuasive, but didn’t get aggressive or anything if you turned them down - I never had anyone try to stop me when I said “No thanks, bye.” Unsurprisingly, no one I knew was ever told “You’re A-OK! No need for us to help you!” I know of at least one person who gave the exact same answers at 2 different times, to see if their treatment plan differed. It did.
The test did have a space for your name/address/phone number, but they didn’t complain when I left it blank and told them I didn’t want to give them that info. Knowing the people I lived with, they probably got a lot of tests from Richard Fromage of Pressingham Massachusetts.
I started a thread a couple of years ago asking if people thought I should take the test as a goof, just to sort of see what goes on there. The response was a resounding “Hell no” with some folks providing anecdotes about people they’d known that had bad experiences. I’m going to guess that Cos is more agressive today then when muldoonthief was playing around with them and that you should probably not get involved. I have never been inside one of their churches / offices but I’ve walked around downtown Clearwater where their headquarters are and while there are many of them and are clearly identifiable I have never been approached. I have however received the test in the mail on several occasions (that’s what prompted me to start the thread years ago). There were 100 questions and they seemed to mostly be concerned about any negative experiences or deeds. Have you ever taken illegal drugs, stolen money, physically harmed another person, etc. They also try to pinpoint your weaknesses, such as are you indecisive, do you consider yourself honest, yada yada yada. I could be wrong but I don’t recall them being multiple choice. Anyway, you were supposed to mail it in and one of the operatives would call you to schedule a lobot,er, consultation. Needless to say, I never sent mine in.
I’ve been in an Org building. I sat in a very cushy small theater and watched a recruitment film. Then, I talked with one of the workers.
I don’t know just how to convey the emptiness of her eyes. I have never seen anybody so dead inside.
I was in Basel, Switzerland and they came up to me. didn’t tell me who they were, just said they were doing a stress test for some experiment. I was thinking it was some University psychology thing, so I agreed. I went in and took the test, they got the results to me in minutes and then they took me into a room lined with Dianetics books. I immediately caught on to what it was and clammed up. They brought the results and kept telling me I wasn’t happy and tried to get me to expose some deep secret, I refused. Finally the guy asked if I was familiar with the Church of Scientology and I told them I had heard about it. He stopped trying to pressure me to buy the book after that. Luckily, I had given him a false name & address when filling out the test so they weren’t able to track me.
Yes, many years ago I did the survey. I was waiting to meet someone and had about half an hour to kill. So when one of the Scientologist representatives approached me, I accompanied him into their offices and filled out the survey. It was all pretty silly, but quite entertaining in its own way. At least it passed the time.
I can’t remember anything really interesting about the place but I spent a fair amount of time in an org back when I was a kid. My parents were into it so sometimes I would spend the day there roaming around while they were doing other things (it wasn’t as boring as it could have been, there was an arcade next door).
There was an L. Ron Hubbard bookstore on the ground floor, Dianetics and Scientology books and e-meters. Upstairs was a bunch of little offices, conference rooms for people taking courses, auditing rooms, and a larger room where people would stuff tons of mass mailing envelopes. Anywhere there was space you’d see a little display with some books or audio tapes on it. There was a ‘replica’ of L. Ron Hubbard’s office but it was roped off so I only ever looked at it from the hall. It was a pretty small office so I’m thinking it wasn’t the most accurate of replicas. The break room had the nastiest microwave and mini-fridge I’ve ever seen.
They were always polite to me and nobody ever pushed me to take a test or anything. Maybe they thought my mom would take care of that or maybe they just figured I was too young for a job so there wasn’t any money they could get out of me.
Intentional, or not?
I also took a Scientology test on a lark, and my experience was similar to yours – I took a written test, my host then went somewhere to total my score while I watched a boring video. My tester returned right after the video ended, and did a medium-soft sell on how I could be helped with Scientology. I declined to be helped, and was free to go.
20 years later, through five address changes, I still get junk mail from those folks.
I was intrigued by the billboard for the free personality test maybe 20 years ago too, but found out that it was a scam before I took it. So I answered all the questions like a star - Miss Positive. They still told me I was depressed and needed their help - tried to sell me a huge book by L Ron, moved me into a smaller room. I can see how the unsuspecting get duped. The friend I went with took ages to come out and then was trying to borrow money from me to get the book. He was a confused sort from the start - just their type.
A friend of mine became a scientologist while I was out of town, maybe 15 years ago. I went down to the place where she was working three times before they would let me see her. I threatened to call the police - we were both english girls living in Florida - I said I’d get the embassy involved since as far as I was concerned she was missing. I received a letter from her saying she was fine and had this new life. I went back a few more times and eventually they let me in, but told me where I could sit and kept circling around while we chatted. I tried to get her to come outside with me and she asked permission but they said no. She’d met this guy, married him after two weeks and had a kid. Shirley - I still miss you.
Do this lot do ‘flirty fishing’?
I study cults as a hobby, and Scientology is the best example we have of a live specimen. I have both taken the “stress test” and the “personality test”.
I took the stress test to check out the e-meter. They had a table set up on Hollywood and Highland, as they do many weekends. They ask you to think of stuff that concerns you. I was more interested in the e-meter. You can actually control the motion of the needle by gripping the cans tighter or looser. What a “scientific” instrument.
Years ago, I fished an invitation to the orientation movie out of a trash bin by the mailbox and went down to “Big Blue”. There I was led to a classroom with a vhs and a tv. An old guy, a Sea-Org “lifer” grilled me, asking if I have ever heard of Elron. I lied and asked him “didn’t he write Science Fiction?” and the old guy said “yes, but he was so much more, he was an amazing guy…” etc.
Seemingly satisfied that I wasn’t there on false pretenses, he started the VHS tape of a film that seemed pretty out of date, that was basically Hubbard’s bio according to the church, in other words, a pack of lies. After a while they came and got me and I took the “Oxford Capacity Analysis”. Some of the questions seem designed to sniff out if you are a good candidate for brainwashing:
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Do you intend two or less children in your family even though your health and income will permit more?
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Would you prefer to be in a position where you did not have the responsibilities of making decisions?
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Are you often impulsive in your behavior?
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Do you resent the efforts of others to tell you what to do?
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Would you rather give orders than take them?
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Could you agree, to strict discipline ?
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Would the idea of making a complete new start cause you much concern?
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Would you admit you were wrong just to “keep the peace”?
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When hearing a lecturer, do you sometimes experience the idea that the speaker is referring entirely to you?
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Do you ever get a 'dreamlike feeling toward life when it all seems unreal?
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Do you accept criticism easily and without resentment?
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Do you prefer to abide by the wishes of others rather than seek to have your own way?
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Do you pay your debts and keep your promises when it is possible?
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Do you rarely suspect the actions of others?
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When met with direct opposition would you still seek to have your own way rather than give in?
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Do you frequently take action even though you know your own good judgment would indicate otherwise?
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Would you like to ‘start a new activity’ in the area in which you live?
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Can you trust the decision of your judgment in an emotional situation in which you are involved?
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Can you take a “calculated risk” without too much worry?
You can look at the whole shebang (with correct answers) here:
http://www.xenu.net/archive/oca/
I gave random answers on the test and a fake name and address. When my results came back, surprise, surprise, I could really benefit from Scientology! 
I told them I would think about it. They tried to sell me a copy of Dianetics, and I told them that I already had a copy that I found in a used book store, and that I would give it a look, and got the heck out of there.
Whatever you do, don’t give them your real name or address. And don’t sign up for any courses or buy anything. They always tell you that based on the test results you should take the communication course. That course serves as the first step in the brainwashing process, so avoid it.
If you are curious as to what goes on in the communication course, check out this guy’s video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URg_PDFxnDc
For more on the TR’s, here is a demo:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-799954787514590907
Yes, staring at someone until you hallucinate, is part of the “communications” course.
I wonder how they respond to being challenged when it comes to you having to buy books/videos/tapes from them?
I’m not sure of what other “churches” wanting to help you are contingent upon you giving them money? Plenty of religions appreciate donations and even heavily suggest you make them but I’m pretty sure most (Mormon, Catholic, Luthern, Judaism, etc.) would probably give you a bible for free, not turn you away if you were broke, and encourage you to attend their services.
Of course shrinks charge you money for their services but then again they don’t try to pass themselves off as churches.
So how would the scientologists react if you told them “yes, I want to join and become a scientologist but I am unemployed and flat broke”?
You’d be put to work at the church. Labor in exchange for fee waivers.
ETA: For a moment, I forgot where I was. I have no citation for that. It’s just my speculation.
Working from memory regarding how they deal with broke folk. Can you borrow the money from family/friends? Do you have any credit cards? Can you get some? It isn’t just if you have money, have you exhausted every last opportunity to get money? We are talking about your eternity here. This is the most serious thing you will ever do. The fate of the world depends upon it. You will miss the opportunity to become clear. Don’t you want to be clear?
Now, let’s enroll you in the Sea Org for a billion year contract.
Wasn’t Lisa McPheresons credit cards used after she was dead?
This clip from the South Park episode on Scientology shows (for free) the truths the church will only reveal to you after many years and/or many thousands of dollars. This is actually true.
The South Park episode on the Mormon church is also an excellent source for the straight dope on their religion.
When I was doing my GCSEs my RS (Religious Studies, it was a fairly secular, academic affair at the school I went ot at least) claimed she (and some others) had taken the tests while they were doing a report on Scientology for their degree.
The questions involved financial stuff (how many cars do you have, are you married, etc). At the end of it they were all told something along the lines of “wow, you got a good score” and shown a graph with a peak in it. Then offered a copy of “Dianetics” (for about £30!). When they got back, they compared their graphs (they were all copies of the same ones). One of them was apparently taken in by it somewhat and bought the book (which was enough to convince him that it was bull****).
I’ve made this same post, essentially, before. Still, I’ll make it again.
Imagine there’s a person who was raised in a completely non-religious household. He wants to learn about different religions and what they teach.
Well, if he wanted to know what Judaism is all about, he could talk to any rabbi, who could and would gladly tell him the basics of Judaism in 5 minutes. Sure, one could spend decades studying the minutiae of Judaism, but any rabbi would be happy to give you the Reader’s Digest version in a few minutes.
The same is true of Islam. You want to know what it’s about? Talk to an imam for a few minutes, and you’ll know enough to decide whether it’s worth pursuing further.
You want to know what Catholicism is all about? Talk to any parish priest for 5 minutes, and you’ll know all the basics. Wanna know EVERYTHING? Pick up a copy of the Catholic catechism at Barnes and Noble, and you can instantly find out Church teaching on practically ANY subject.
Now, walk into a Scientology center and ask for a similar, fast rundown of their beliefs. See how much they’re willing to tell you without a major investment of tiem and money.
Most mainstream religions have mysteries, but few secrets. Scientology strikes me as one big secret.