Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Jason Beghe Interview

You'll have to dodge many an F-bomb, but here is the interview that was supposed to be posted on YouTube until Mark Bunker's account was pulled. Like there aren't other places on the Internet it could be posted to. So, if having Mark Bunker's account pulled was a Sci-ploy, it's another case of Scientology not being able to "handle the Internet".

http://xenutv.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/jason-beghe-interview/

He still uses a lot of Sci-terms that many who either haven't followed Scientology, or has actually been in, wouldn't understand. But what is understandable is Jason Beghe was a member of a "church" that was anything but. For one, how many churches' members get a commission for bringing someone into the fold? Pyramid scheme, much?

What brought him to Scientology was a need to know who he was. What got him to stay was his first personal "win" where in an exercise he was to sit in a chair, facing another person, but with his eyes closed for some amount of time. He was told not to think during this time. Just sit still with his eyes closed and not think. After awhile, he said he went "exterior" and discovered who he was.

Hmmmm....sounds like a simple meditation exercise to me. And this was some great, magical thing L.Ron discovered?

What got him to leave? Realizing that the longer he was "in" and the further he traveled up the"bridge", the worse he felt. And, he just left. Unfortunately, it isn't as easy for others just to "up and leave". Money and time invested (and time is money, really), keeps people in. Would you be able to so easily walk out the door if you knew that you invested tens of thousands of dollars into a "religion"? And that's just one of the many traps used to keep people in.

Another trap is the "ethics folder". An ethics folder contains Scientology's equivalent to a Catholic's confessional. If you knew all your dirty little secrets were being held over your head, that would make it just that much harder to leave.

What impressed me about Beghe in the interview was he stated that he believes that Scientoloists are good people. That for the most part, they honestly believe that they are doing their best to save this world. And for the most part, I'd like to believe that, also. I know that they all aren't these rabid adherents who pester picketers, trying to "find their ruin". Most of them are just stuck in what Tory Christman, ex-member since 2000 (I think) describes as "The Truman Show".

But, the "We're just following orders" doesn't keep one from being an accessory to the fact. They all can't be clueless to the disconnections, the abuse, the con. There has to be that itch of doubt in the back of their minds. And it seems that more and more are scratching that itch instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

1 comment:

  1. I'm learning Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction right now, and that's sitting around thinking about nothing and concentrating on your breath. I don't believe, as the Scientologists apparently do, that the Scientologists have a lock on it. Nor did I have to give up exhorbitant amounts of money to learn its secrets. In fact, I'm trained to teach. And no, I'm not going to start some bloody cult because I know how to teach it.

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