Archive for January 2015
The Scientology Abyss
“You can’t convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it’s based on a deep seated need to believe.” — Carl Sagan
It was late 1971, and I was not a happy camper. I had been searching for a spiritual path for a couple years, but nothing was clicking. In Austin, TX at this time there was a chapter for about every path, practice, persuasion, system, etc. that you could think of. And I had checked a lot of them out, to no avail. Until this one day when one of them actually pushed itself upon me.
At the time I was going to the University of Texas, methodically attempting to get some kind of college education. But a lot of the time my heart was just not into it. The world did not seem real to me, and I was searching for something more. Clarity? Truth? Honesty? Reality? I just didn’t get it and was thinking there was something wrong with me.
One day I was walking across the street just off campus on the main drag. A guy came up to me and stuck some kind of brochure in my face. I looked at him and then at the store front right behind him. Scientology. The brochure was about a book called Dianetics. I had heard of the book, but didn’t really know much about it. I had seen the storefront before, but hadn’t given it much thought. He talked to me and led me into the store. I was feeling a bit tired and just halfway listened to what he said. Somehow I wound up taking one of their tests, along with an E-meter reading someone gave me.