My experience with the church of Scientology

First I just wanted to say that this isnt some really extraordinary, super exciting story in particular, I just wanted to tell about a little experience I had with them and it seemed like a good first post here also.

So here goes:

I'm studying photography in the university i attend and we had an assignment about people. I had been looking around for interesting things to shoot but had been turned down the people i wanted to shoot in my first ideas.

After an afternoon of walking around in the city i live in, me and some friends went by the Church of Scientology. After hearing so much about them in the news with all the Cruise stories and everything else ive been really curious to go in there and see for myself whats it all about.

So we went in there and i was also hoping that i could get a few shots in there for my assignment.

After walking up to the reception we met this really nice and happy lady who I talked too about the project i had going on. My friends walked around a bit and looked on all the merchandise (dvds, magazines, books, jewellery) and as i was talking to the receptionist lady i could notice another person walking up to them and asked if they wanted to buy books or take classes and whatnot, and this was after being there for only a few minutes.

But anyway, i continued to talk about the project that i had and asked if there was any possiblity to take pictures there for my assignment. The lady i was talking to seemed really positive and almost eager about it and said that i should come back tmr around the same time and talk to this other guy who usually handles questions like this, but she seemed very positive to the idea so i persumed that i could to my assignment there.

The next day I called them before i went there just in case they wouldve tried to trick me or something, considering it was easter and a public holiday.

But they picked up and I said that i had an appointment there at 4pm and they said that i was indeed welcome there and that they were open.

So i went there and got introduced to a guy im gonna call John, as he wanted to remain anonymous. He asked me to come with him in one of their offices and we sat down and started talking abou the project i wanted to do.

In the middle of my description about the project he stops me and says that i cant take any pictures what so ever but if i had any questions about other stuff he would be willing to talk about it.

I, of course, gets very confused about this considering that the lady from the other day seemed so eager for me to do this. I askwed why and he just said that it just wasnt allowed for anyone to take pictures in there and that the information and books in there were available on the internet anyway.

I got very annoyed now and said that it wasnt the information i was after but i wanted to take pictures there to show what kind of people worked there and about their workplace (or church..).

He refused and said that he couldnt do anything about that. He then said that there werent anything interesting there anyway but i explained to him that i thought it was really interesting with all the books and e-meters and stuff they had lying around.

But he just smiled and nodded. This whole thing ruined my entire assignment and i knew that i had to keep on asking coz othervise i would be in big trouble not getting anything for my assignment.

I left the chair and said: okey, thank you anyway. and went out of the office. John stillsaid that he was sorry for the misconception. But then outside the office i started to ask him a lot of questions regarding everything there and about him.

He then opened up a bit and started talking, this could be my chance i thought and after a while i asked again if u could take some pictures there. He then seemed a bit more open to the idea coz i wanted to take a picture of this big chart which is called:

The Materials Guide Chart.

I'll tell you my story with them. While working in NYC I walked in front of the Church on W. 46th street and was approached by this really hot Scientologist and persuaded to come in and and talk with her. I bought the book and have been getting annoying emails from them every couple of days ever since. She was hot though. Good marketing.

Sorry for cutting you in half on your post. I asked the mods to fix it



[edit on 24-4-2009 by timewalker]

Which is a chart for the members they use to keep track of their progress and what books to read next.

I also asked if John wanted to be in the picture but he said that i could take pictures as long as he wasnt in them.

This seemed like farily ok deal considering that i wasnt allowed to take any pictures at all before. But i new that my assignment would be crap without any people in the pictures.

I continued to take pictures anyway and asked for permission before taking every new picture.

We walked around in there and i shot some pictures of all their merchandise and asked a whole bunch of questions to John. He then showed me a photography book about the life of Ron Hubbard and showed me that he was a photographer as well. I asked if i could take a picture of John holding the book and he said that he didnt want to, but after a bit of persuasion he said okey as long as i didnt show his face.

I then started to ask about the e-meter as i had almost no idea how they worked. He then asked his co-worker if he could set one up, which he gladly did. We walked back to Johns office and his co-worker was there and was ready do to the test.

After giving me the two "cans" (which was like two aluminum cans connected to the e-meter) he said that the next step would hurt.

I got a bit nervous but before i could think any further he pinched me on my arm. He asked if it hurt and I hesitated but said yes to amuse him. He then explained that the e-meter was like an tool to help people to get over bad memories. He then adjusted the e-meter and turned up the currency (i think).

All of a sudden he then said with a loud voice: THINK ABOUT THE MOMENT OF THE PINCH!! and i thought, i thought hard, or so i persumed.

The e-meter barely moved. He then again said THINK ABOUT THE MOMENT OF THE PINCH!!! This time i made it really look like i was thinking about it, but all i could think of was that this seemed so hilarious and like something straight out of a movie.

The e-meter didnt move and we tried one more time. John then said:

Yeah i think it moved...the first time the most. They both agreed with eachother but they actually seemed a bit dissapointed.

After that John said that there was nothing more for them to show and that maybe i should leave. So i walked with john towards the reception when i noticed another office where it said: FOUNDER, RON HUBBARD, above the door frame.

So i asked about that and John explained that they keep the office as a tradition and in memory of Hubbard, as he also used to travel a lot and in case he would drop by, they would have an office for him.

I asked if i could go in there and take some photos which was alright. Oh yeah, just on a sidenote; while i was there the mood of the people working there seemed really relaxed with me being there. There were even kids running around and having fun, who wouldve thought :p.

But anyway, i took some photos and i then felt ready and wanted to leave. So while me and John are walking to the exit this woman runs up to us and says that she want to talk with John and that i should stay put where im standing. I feel a bit awkward coz it seems like ive done something wrong. She talks to John for a few minutes in his office and after a while they both come out and she walks up to me.

She says that i instantly have to delete every picture that ive taken and that its not allowed to "just walk in there and take pictures". I explain myself that says that John granted me to take pictures and that i havent just walked in there but made an appointment and everything. She refuses to listen to me and says that i have to delete the photos anyway.

I get a bit shocked and starts to go through the meny in my camera looking for the format memory card section. She then asks if she can see when im deleting the pictures and i proceed.

When hit the format button i suddenly remembers that: oh crap, if i format the memory card i cant retrieve the pics :O.

After i was done said that they were really sorry about the whole thing and blabla. I was really pissed at this point and went back home.

I then went on the internets to see if there was a chance to at least retrieve the pictures for privat use and woopidoo, there was, even though i had formatted the memory card.

Another thing i can say is that i didnt take any pictures of anything ANYONE can see by just walking in there themselves. So i really couldnt understand the fuzz but then again, they are scientologists.

After some days of looking through the pictures i noticed that i had taken a picture of some book in Ron Hubbards office called The Hymn of Asia. It was a leatherbound limited edition version, which had a pretty low number but i dont think i will write it coz it can probably reveal the location of the church. I Googled it and found out that in that book; ron hubbard claims he is an reincarnation of Buddha :O.

So yeah, that is pretty much everything that happened. Im seeing it as good experience for a photographer cos you never know what will happen when u go to different places to shoot. Live and learn, as my teacher later said.

reply to post by Sambell


I would advise everyone to steer clear. These people are dangerous. For one thing, they ruined my sister's life.

They are into brainwashing and feeding you disinformation.

Yeah you can retrieve the pictures. As long as you haven't overwritten the card, formatting doesn't remove them. You just need a proper software to get the pictures out.
Post url to the pics after you've retrieved them. Maybe you caught something scandalous on one of the pictures?

[edit] Oh you retrieved the pics.

[edit on 24/4/2009 by PsykoOps]

[edit on 24/4/2009 by PsykoOps]

I thought about posting the pictures somewhere but I dont wanna get in any trouble considering that i dont have any rights to show the pictures.

I also dont know how anonymous im on this board? It can also be revealed where this church is located in the pics and then someone could contact that place, let them know that i still got the pics, and they would contact my university and yeah u see where this is going, maybe im just paranoid .

The pics dont show anything scandalous im afraid, with the exception of the Hymn of asia book beign the most scandalous i guess, and a picture what i think was the summer house of Ron Hubbard but im not sure anymore.

Spellbound
"I would advise everyone to steer clear. These people are dangerous. For one thing, they ruined my sister's life.

They are into brainwashing and feeding you disinformation. "

How did they ruin your sisters life if you dont mind me asking?

[edit on 24-4-2009 by Sambell]

reply to post by spellbound


I will have to go with you on this one. Especially after finding out that L. Ron, Jack Parsons and Anton LaVey were good buddies. Bunch of dark ritual perverted occultist. That girl was hot though. Probably already brainwashed. Too bad.

Originally posted by timewalker
She was hot though.

Originally posted by timewalker
That girl was hot though.

Was she hot, though? I really need to know if she was hot, dude.

reply to post by Sambell


Sam, I'm with spellbound....be very careful, these people are tenacious and evil.

Oh...BTW...L. Ron Hubbard died over a decade ago!!!

One more thing....if you want to get good grades, might look into some spell-checking for your written reports. Just sayin'...

reply to post by weedwhacker


Yeah I'm aware of that Hubbard is dead. Maybe they are hoping for him to be resurrected?

But as I wrote, they kept the office for tradition and in memory.

Sorry for any misspellings, English is not my first language.

reply to post by Sambell


Sorry, Sam, I really don't want to go into the details here.

Basically, they altered her perception and ensured that she made all the right choices in order to wreck her life. They also took all her money.

Originally posted by Roark

Was she hot, though? I really need to know if she was hot, dude.

If she was any hotter she would spontaneously combust.

Just out of curiosity, why did you stay where they told you to when the woman pulled 'john' aside? At that point, i would've ran. Those people freak me out.


TA

I'm gonna echo what a few have allready said...Stay clear of them..I personly would dump the pics and forget it ever happened..They are ruthless..

look up the seaorg

Some of my in-laws are Scientologists, and although their beliefs are a little weird, they are not dangerous. A couple of years ago my mother-in-law paid to send my daughter to a summer program at a Scientologist-run boarding school, and my daughter had a good time--didn't really learn anything, but didn't get brainwashed either. To my mind, Scientology is a scam, but only dangerous to the weak-minded.

reply to post by TheAssociate


I wasn't under the impression that I was in any danger at that moment as I thought that John had made an error in allowing me to take photos in there.