A child learns by mimicry. Most children, unless they’re severely aberrated, are very good mimics. And they look at the adult and they try to use the adult as a pattern for their own actions. This is natural. Unfortunately, most adults around children have quite a few dramatizations. So the child may start now to mimic the dramatization….
L. Ron Hubbard (quoted in Children Learn by Mimicry – So What are you Teaching Them? | Scientology Parent)
(via scientologyparent)
(via scientologyparent)
Source: scientologyparent.com
Spectatorism is very great in our modern society. Because some people cannot conceive of causing[italicized] anything, they just watch it. They don’t do[italicized] anything. They are not PARTICIPANTS. They are spectators. You see this in magazines. Hee hee hee articles about how odd this is or that is. No understanding of it. It’s just odd and one watches it in a detached sort of way. Below this is somebody who doesn’t even notice. Such a person has to come up scale just to be a spectator.” — LRH (1969)
Indian Rise: It’s really funny to me that people think that they can judge someone...
It’s really funny to me that people think that they can judge someone or something based on what they’ve heard in the tabloids or on the internet. I’ve seen a lot of people bashing on Scientology like they know all about it, but in reality, they don’t. Reading online that Scientologists believe in…
Nice to see someone interested in the truth.
Source: malloryistheboss
One individual's experiences with Scientology
I’m 27 years old. I run and am training for my first marathon and half-ironman. I do sales and marketing for a sports nutrition company and a motocross suspension shop (two very different worlds). I like my work a lot but I love my two beautiful daughters that love to drive me crazy and keep me on my toes. I love my girlfriend who has taken on a lot these past couple years and keeps me driven. I plan to marry her.
I grew up in Scientology. I was always given the choice to participate and I did, kinda, sorta. I wasn’t very good at studying as a kid and did some courses because my friend’s were doing them too (even though my mom said I couldn’t for that reason). But I liked the courses and even though I didn’t always get it all I kept doing them. Scientology applies to so many subjects. Some of the first things I tell people when they ask me about Scientology is that it has courses and programs that help with education and study, relationships, children, work and goals, helping others, drug education and rehab, yourself and life. It’s different in that it’s fascinating and can be applied to anything. Here is one of my experiences:
I started a course in Scientology when I was 13 that’s purpose was to rehabilitate your education. The first part of this course consisted of clearing up all the small common words in the English language (of, that, the, he, to, or, and, it, etc.) in the dictionary to a full understanding. Some of these words have 40+ different definitions too! I was shocked how when someone asked me the definition of the word “the” I couldn’t answer. This course was tough. When you start going down the list of these words and have to look them up in a dictionary you all of a sudden get your whole education shoved in your face as a complete misunderstanding. Getting through that took some time but it was probably the best thing I could have done in all of Scientology because it made all other study in school and on other Scientology courses so much easier and faster. I finished the first part of the course just before moving to a new State and a new school and finally enjoyed learning. I caught up to and even surpassed some of my grade levels and felt I could understand what I was studying and it wasn’t a constant struggle. Just the simple action of looking a word up in the dictionary, understanding all the words in the definition and using the word in sentences to make sure you understand it can change a person’s whole education for the better, a school’s education, a nation’s education. This is part of the Study Technology that L. Ron Hubbard developed. Why? Because he found that some people had a hard time learning and studying and Scientology wasn’t just for a few select “educated” individuals. It’s for everyone.
Source: religious-freedom
Church of Scientology opens new Twin Cities landmark church
The latest Ideal Org opening:
Scientologists, guests, state and city officials assembled in downtown St. Paul, Saturday October 22, for the dedication of the new Church of Scientology Twin Cities. The Church stands at 505 Wabasha Street and was formerly home to the Science Museum of Minnesota. The acquisition of the 82,000-square-foot facility in the heart of St. Paul was necessitated by the meteoric growth of the resident Scientology community. The Church of Scientology Twin Cities is now the largest Scientology facility in the American Midwest and will serve parishioners from Wisconsin to the Dakotas.
Located just blocks from the State Capitol and St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Church is additionally adjacent to the famed Fitzgerald Theater and so forms an “historic square” of buildings in downtown St. Paul. The premises were carefully renovated to preserve its most memorable features, including the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Wabasha Street and the three-story atrium. Also faithfully preserved was the original 300-seat IMAX Theater, now to serve as the Scientology Chapel and community meeting ground for citizens of all denominations.
Just off the expansive reception is a Public Information Center presenting the beliefs and practices of the Scientology religion as well as the life and legacy of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. The Information Center further provides an overview of the many Church-sponsored humanitarian programs. These programs include a worldwide human rights initiative, an equally far-ranging drug education and prevention campaign, global networks of literacy and learning centers and the Scientology Volunteer Minister program now comprising the largest independent relief force on Earth. The multimedia displays include nearly 500 documentary films.
In tribute to the import of the occasion, Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, officiated at the ceremony. In pointing to the significance of the day, Mr. Miscavige cited all that new Ideal Churches of Scientology traditionally bring to their surrounding communities, pledging the Church’s resources and support across a broad range of civic programs for the benefit of all citizens. Thus, by dedicating a new Church for Minneapolis and St. Paul comes the inauguration of a new partnership in Twin Cities.
Welcoming the new Church were St. Paul City Councilmember Dave Thune; Minnesota State Senator Sandra Pappas; Minnesota State Representative Rena Moran; and President of the Minneapolis Chapter of MAD DADS (Men Against Destruction Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder), Mr. V.J. Smith.
In his salutary address, City Councilmember Dave Thune said: “I’m so happy to see that the Church of Scientology has moved into this landmark building. I always hate to see buildings go unused and sit vacant, especially in my Ward! So let me say this: thank you for moving across the river to the best side of Twin Cities.”
President of the Minneapolis Chapter of MAD DADS, Mr. V.J. Smith, addressed the Church’s anti-drug initiative: “I want to thank you, because we’ve already given out thousands of your Truth About Drugs booklets that show the impact drugs have on a person. The Church of Scientology and the Foundation for a Drug-Free World provided those to make it easier for us to do our job. You gave us a resource… and we’re really excited to see this beautiful Church open up in our community.”
Minnesota State Representative Rena Moran spoke of the Church’s pervasive volunteerism: “I believe very strongly in community engagement. And that is why I’m especially excited about your Volunteer Ministers and so impressed by the work that they do. It takes a certain kind of heart to give unconditional help to people you don’t even know and may never meet again. Your volunteers seem to specialize in that. They’re reaching out, they’re engaged, they’re facing the needs in our communities—and proving that something really can be done about it.”
Minnesota State Senator and leading proponent for human rights and human trafficking legislation, Sandra Pappas spoke to the Church’s award-winning Human Rights education materials and its longstanding support of human rights in general: “At the core of this support is an educational campaign that delivers a clear and impactful presentation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That is certainly a credible endeavor that I think you should be acknowledged for, so thank you. …I am proud of my work and you should be proud of your work to educate others on what are human rights. Please continue.”
What exactly is fair exchange between parent and child?
This is a great article on what parents should expect from their children, at all ages, in exchange for raising them, feeding them, taking care of them, etc.
The other day my teenage daughter asked me a question that totally took me by surprise. In my studies and upbringing, the idea of “exchange” is an important part of life and of surviving well. The concept is easy and clearly observable: you will receive help and cooperation to the degree that you give help and cooperation. It is taught in every religion and family in the world.
So for all her life my daughter has heard at home, in church, at school, “it is important to keep your exchange in with the people around you.” And honestly in most cases she is very good about doing just that but not always. Sometimes she just wants to “relax” or “do her own thing” instead of cleaning or helping me out with a particular something. It is a common problem between teens and parents. Some teens are better than others and not all teens have had the advantages other teens have, but in one fashion or another I have heard this problem come up in my counseling sessions both from the parents and from the teens themselves. Frustration abounds.
One thing became abundantly clear to me when my daughter asked me, “How can I possibly be in exchange with a person who carried me for nine months, cared for me, gave me everything and has helped me my whole life?” When she asked, I was at first surprised and then discovered that I was no longer confused about any of her unexplainable behaviors. It was a completely fair and honest question.
My mind raced to all the things my parents and grandparents taught me and to the teachings of a dear friend of mine:
“Continually in this society, you’ll find a sixteen-, seventeen-, eighteen-year-old kid is in a high state of revolt. ‘Papa, Mama – they’re no good anymore; they’re old-fashioned. They can’t understand. They wouldn’t be able to understand a woman of the world.’ Or a man of the world, as the case may be. ‘They don’t have a person’s best interests…’
“All the kid is trying to do there in his teens is simply break this ‘You’re helping me, you’re helping me, you’re helping me. I’ve got to do something about it because I’m getting owned, owned, owned. And I don’t own myself anymore. And I’m getting worried about it, so I’ve got to protest, and I’ll find anything to protest against.’ And the kid at that stage will have the doggonedest things wrong with his parents. Oh, he has just terrific numbers of things. The parents have done this and done that and done this and done that to him. And actually, what he can’t face is the fact that his mother fed him every day.” – L. Ron Hubbard, from Route to Infinity, Lecture #6 May 21, 1952
All these things went racing through my head and so I wanted to answer her as simply as I could since honestly, I have felt exactly like that myself! Yes, even adult children find themselves at one point or another asking that question regarding their parents. It would be so easy to become overwhelmed and just say it is impossible and then start to become critical of their parents.
With little children it seems easier and clearer than with babies and teens and adults for some reason. You tell them, “I will buy you this toy if you clean your room every night before bed.” Simple. “I will give you a dollar if you clean up the living room.” It’s very clear-cut.
But parents seldom tell their infant daughter or son what their exchange with the family is. Now that must sound crazy to you right? But a lot of times when a parent brings a inconsolable baby to me in desperation, telling me the doctor could find nothing wrong; no gas, no physical maladies, no observable physical discomfort, the first thing I do is ask them if they told the infant that they want him/her and totally intend to keep him/her.
The second thing I do is find out if they told the baby what their job is in the family. And when I tell the child, “Your job right now, until you are older is to grow this body very healthy and strong, to sleep and eat well and to get as many smiles as you can from others,” I swear, every time I do this they stop crying and either become very calm or smile! To which others around them smile and I tell them, “See, you are winning already!”
OK – so that is for babies and young children. What then is the answer to my daughter’s question? I simply told her what is true for me:
“At this age and through your adult life a good exchange for me would be: be self-sufficient as you can be. Get yourself up on time in the morning; help us get out of the house on time. Get a good education, be interested in your studies, do good work and help your teachers gear your education to your purpose in life so you will be happy in your education and your future work. Start earning things that you want for yourself to take some of the burden off of me. Be vigilant in your relationships with your friends so that you and they are kept safe and healthy but can still have a good time. Help out at home as much as you can. If you see I have work responsibilities that are taking a lot of time, pitch in and help more.
“But first and foremost, stay in good communication. Eighteen years old is the time when we move from being a child into becoming a friend to our parents if we want that. I would like for you to be a friend so that when we are together we can laugh and have fun and exchange ideas and ideologies. Live a happy and successful life and be willing to allow me to share it with you by staying in communication with me.
“Then as I grow older, it might be a nice exchange for you to help me out as you can, if you can. And if not in any other way, then call me and come to visit with me.”
After I said this my daughter actually let out a sigh as if she had been holding her breath forever. I am not saying that if you tell your teenager what you expect as an exchange it will then suddenly all go smoothly for you, but it might. I do recognize that in their struggle for independence that mistakes are made and conflicting expectations result in secrets that need to be dealt with. They must be dealt with and confronted.
I am saying though that in order to do a job well done and to not make mistakes, the boundaries and expectations must be known and understood.
Let’s be honest here – a fair exchange for a child (regardless of age) to a parent is not always an immediate thing. Sometimes it takes time, even years for the opportunity to come up. On one visit to my parent’s house, my mother was sick; an unusual thing for her even at 83 years of age. She was upset for me that I was assisting her and helping her to get cleaned up. All that ran through my mind was how many times she cleaned up after me when I was a baby and when I was sick. How many times had she given me a hand up as an adult when I ran into some difficulty? To me this was not an obligation. “Are you kidding Mommy? This is nothing. I love you; this is love.” And that is exchange.
I hope that this article helps you and gives you a guide of what to tell your children about their exchange to you as parents. Exchange is a very important part of surviving well. Let’s help them understand it well.
Looking back on the past ten years of the Volunteer Ministers movement
A salute to the valiant Scientology Volunteer Ministers:
The work of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers who served at Ground Zero in the months following 9/11 served as a model and inspiration for a movement that now spans the globe.
Although the Volunteer Ministers program was first established in 1976, when the twin towers collapsed 10 years ago it marked a turning point for the movement, signaling to Scientologists around the world a greatly heightened necessity to make a positive difference in society. There were 6,000 Volunteer Ministers in September 2001—today more than 200,000 wear the signature yellow T-shirt, reaching out in their communities and wherever disaster strikes—no matter how small—to help others improve their lives and those of their friends and family.
Over the past decade, time and again, Volunteer Ministers have acted with selfless courage in the manner described by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard:
“A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.” —L. Ron Hubbard
