Indoctrination. Betrayal. Escape. Freedom. This blog's got it all!
Gratitude. Some people think it's trite. Not me. I'm incredibly grateful. That's what happens when you leave a life of deprivation, indoctrination, and control and discover the world isn't nearly as horrible as they led you to believe. This world is amazing. Life is amazing. It's a far cry from where I was in the … Continue reading My gratitude isn’t a platitude
Honestly, I'm getting so tired of looking at photos like this. But as Yoda would say, "Confront it, I must." (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) UPDATE: Well, it's two years later, and much has changed — though much has not. I reread this post today, and it still rings true. I wanted to share it again … Continue reading My thoughts about this week’s events in the USA
Buh-bye. “If you move in with him, consider yourself disowned. We’ll have nothing more to do with you.” Sounds like something out of a soap opera. Or a crappy romance novel. But it isn’t. Victor and I met and fell in love while I was still in college. A summer romance turned into something much … Continue reading What NOT to do as a Parent.
I don’t know anyone who isn’t dealing with some degree of existential angst these days. It’s pretty much par for the course with all the shenanigans going on around the world. If you’re unsure of what the hell is happening right now, well, join the club. Most of us are having a tough time figuring … Continue reading In an existential crisis? Join the club. Just don’t join a cult.
There's a big, beautiful universe out there, and I'm finally getting to know it. (No, that's not me—but it's a great image!) Open-minded. Defined as "willing to consider new ideas; unprejudiced." Synonyms include approachable, impartial, observant, and tolerant. Sounds good, right? Well, I'd consider myself open-minded these days. I do a lot of impartial observing. And … Continue reading Being open-minded isn’t a bad thing. Who knew?
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... If you've read a few posts in this blog already, you know some of what I went through in my years as a Scientology staff member. You'd be right if you said I was a cult survivor. I got out of the cult — and the cult mindset — and have moved on to … Continue reading Instead of channeling my inner cult victim, I’ve decided to channel my inner Canadian.
So yeah... this was me about 16 days ago. I'm doing much better now. Well, hi there! I haven't written much on the blog over the past few weeks, because I was in a place. A dark place. An "I don't want to go there" place. It comes with the #cultsurvivor territory. It's a complex … Continue reading My “mindset reset” month is going pretty well.
Yeah, this isn't me — but isn't it cute? All props go to @cookiethepom. Who's a good boy? Yeah, I'll admit it. When I first started writing this blog a little over a year ago, I was a mess. I was so stuck in my trauma I couldn't move forward. I had big dreams, but … Continue reading How writing a book about scientology chilled me the f*** out.
Kintsukuroi, “to repair with gold,” is the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. Just like me. I had an interesting conversation with an old friend the other day. I hadn't spoken to him since about 2003, when we worked together at … Continue reading From Post-Traumatic Stress to Post-Traumatic Growth: A Continuing Journey
My Scientology Story 