Scientologists REFUSE to look at the facts about their “religion”. Here’s why.

I’m writing this blog to help myself heal, but also to help others move on from toxic situations in their lives and know that there’s happiness and success on the other side.

That’s why it’s painful for me to think of all the Scientologists out there who refuse to look at anything that could possibly shed some light on what’s really going on with Scientology.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and in my view, it comes down to the following:

1. Loss of money.

2. Loss of family.

3. Loss of spiritual freedom.

4. General unwillingness to confront the reality that they were duped.

Let’s take these one at a time, shall we?

1. Loss of money.

Scientologists are incredibly insulated. As you’ve read in another post, it’s a very “Us vs. Them” situation. That’s definitely the case when it comes to business. Scientologists almost exclusively work with other Scientologists.

Let’s say you leave the Sea Org “the right way” and are in good standing. You need to get a job, so the first thing you do is tap into your network of Scientologist-owned businesses because they are definitely going to support one of their own.

Why are there so many Scientologist-owned businesses? Well, who else can afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars it takes to be a Scientologist? Anyway, let’s say you’re working with a bunch of other Scientologists, but you start to get an inkling that there’s more to find out about Scientology. And based on your past experience in the Sea Org, you know that it wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be.

Are you going to take a look? Hell no! If you get caught you’re in for a world of hurt, because you’ll be sent to “Ethics” and raked over the coals to find out why you’d be looking at anything negative about Scientology.

And actually thinking about giving up Scientology all together? NEVER. That would mean you’d lose your job, lose your income, and have to start over from scratch.

Money is a big motivator for a lot of people. Losing it is a lot tougher proposition than staying in the bubble and just continuing on with business as usual.

Here’s the funny thing about this. We’d all been told when we were at Int that anyone who left was a “degraded being” and would probably be flipping burgers at MacDonalds. Really? I know of many who have six-figure incomes — suck on that, Scientology.

2. Loss of family.

This is a biggie. When you disavow Scientology, any family members who are Scientologists are forbidden to speak with you or have anything to do with you.

Scientology will tell you that they no longer practice this disconnection policy, but they ABSOLUTELY do. Just watch a couple of episodes of Scientology and the Aftermath and you’ll get the picture.

Families have been torn apart by this policy. Parents no longer have anything to do with a child who leaves. They’re basically on their own, having to fend for themselves, with no support from family whatsoever.

That’s a scary place to be. One that many Scientologists just can’t face. I feel so incredibly sad for them, because I know that without the support of my family I wouldn’t be where I am today.

This one, to me, is probably the biggest reason Scientologists refuse to look at the facts. The loss of family would be too great.

3. Loss of spiritual freedom.

Scientologists are taught that the only route to total spiritual freedom is through the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard. They believe it to their core. I sure did. I mean, I’d dedicated two decades of my life to this, so I’d better believe it—right?

I remember specific moments in those horrific meetings with David Miscavige where he’d be telling us about the latest person who “blew”, i.e. escaped the Int Base. “Well, they’ve just forfeited their spiritual freedom for eternity” would be the gist.

Basically, when you leave Scientology, you will never be spiritually free again. It’s a scary proposition for many. I mean, it was scary for me. Before I escaped, I thought about it numerous times. The “losing my eternity” concept was enough to keep me there.

Luckily, I had my own personal wake-up call in the form of my loving family, so I was able to snap out of it and get out. Many others have done the same, and they’re living great lives.

I hope that someone is reading this who’s still in. Just know that there’s a great life on the other side of this, and if you take the leap, it will be well worth it. Which brings me to my final point:

4. General unwillingness to confront the reality that they were duped.

That was a big one for me, and a big one for many who have left. The concept that I gave up so many years of my life to something that was all a lie was a HUGE betrayal.

It also left me feeling stupid, embarrassed, and unwilling to share my story for 12 years.

If a Scientologist even starts looking at some of the information readily available on the internet, this mental process will begin:

“That’s total crap.”

“What if it isn’t?”

“Oh hell no, I can’t allow myself to think that. After all, as a Scientologist, I’m one of the most capable, smartest, most powerful beings on the planet.”

“What if I’m not? What if it’s all a lie?”

*****SHUTDOWN*****

The betrayal is too great to confront for many. Believe me, I understand. But it’s only by looking at the reality that we can actually free ourselves from the trap of Scientology mind control.

So those are my general thoughts. There may be plenty of other reasons why Scientologists refuse to look at facts, but these are the ones that seem most real to me.

Let me know in the comments if you think of anything else. I’d be fascinated to hear your stories.