About the Author

I have been a Scientologist for five years and am currently living in
London, England.

Being very interested in the mind and human behaviour, I studied Psychology
at college. It was a fascinating subject, which I enjoyed immensely. Saying
that, however, I did find that many of my questions could not be answered
within this field. It was during my studies that I first heard the word
'Scientology'. During a study about Drug Therapy, in particularly the
effects of Prozac as an anti-depressant, I learnt about a Scientology
organisation called the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. (CCHR is a
psychiatric watchdog group that exposes the dangers and the abuses within
the field of mental health).

Some years after I became depressed and miserable. I was very introverted,
very shy and very quiet. I had very few friends and could not talk to people
effectively. Life turned inwards and it was a very upsetting time. The
notion of suicide popped into my head on frequent occasions - it really was
the Dark Age of my life. Up til then I was not a religious person. I had
never been very interested in spirituality, and had no beliefs or opinions
on the subject at all. Thinking, then, that religion would give me a new
strength in life, I grabbed the nearest encyclopedia I could find and began
digesting everything I could on the subject, reading up on each and every
religion that was included. By the time I came to the end of it, the only
religion that had had any impact on me whatsoever was Scientology.
The segment was very short, but included information about Dianetics, its
theories of the mind, as well as the basic philosophy of the spirit as
contained within Scientology. As somebody who was interested in the mind and
improving the self, the data presented made a lot of sense. So I decided to
find out more.

Over the next few months I did as much research as much as I could on
Scientology. Newspaper articles, CD ROM archives, Church literature,
Internet sites, TV reports - the works! I came up against a lot of criticism
which did put me off at first. But I also came up against a lot of support,
good works and fascinating first-person testimonies. This only made me more
interested. It seemed too easy to make up my mind by believing everything I
had read. I wanted to see for myself and then make up my own mind. Yet the
scary stuff made me very fearful about what I could be in for.

Believing I would be brainwashed into signing blank cheques and forking out
huge wads of cash by robotic zombie-like drones I left my wallet at home and
made my way to my local Scientology Centre. (I say nearest...it was
approximately 2 hours drive by car!) I had no idea how to find it, so I went
up to a lady in the street holding a clipboard and asked where the
Scientologists hung out. She responded with a grin. I had met my first
real-life Scientologist. She certainly didnt look like a braindead zombie.
In fact she seemed lovely, very happy, bubbly, funny and full of life. She
walked me to the Centre where I was to take a 200 question Personality Test,
so as to locate my exact strengths and weaknesses.

I was shit-scared, it has to be said. I had heard so many wild scare
stories. And yet everyone there was happy and fun, people just like me who
wanted to improve themselves. It was so refreshing. It sounds so corny but I
had never witnessed so much 'happiness' before in one building. It was a joy
to behold.

I completed the test and was taken into a room with a Test Evaluator, a
lovely lady who I chatted with at great length. My results were mixed but as
I expected. I was quiet, lacked confidence and self-esteem. Generally
unhappy. Yep, that sounded right! In my research I had already read about
one particular Scientology self-improvement course that sounded right to
do - a Communication Course. I asked about it, and, indeed, it seemed the
best one for me to do if I wanted to.

I had so many questions, and each one was answered. I must have been there
for hours just talking, getting all my niggles and doubts out in the open.
Numerous misconceptions I had picked up from reading tabloids and Internet
sites just dissipated as I realised that Scientology did make a lot of sense
and seemed an interesting path for me to walk.

I left the Centre confident that it seemed right for me to explore further.
A few weeks later I returned and enrolled on my very first course - the STCC
or the Success Through Communication Course, a practical course that enables
the individual to confront life with improved confidence and self-esteem. At
first it seemed bizarre. The first drill involved me just sitting down
opposite a complete stranger with my eyes shut. Weird. Very embarrassing. I
began to get very fidgety. I went bright red in the face, knowing that I was
being looked at. Ewww...it was really strange. But soon, I began to feel the
changes in me. The awkwardness and embarrassment disappeared and what was
left was ME. The real me, with no mental baggage, no inferiority complex or
any fear or worry. I was there, being myself. For the first time in my life
I was at peace.

As the drills continued, and as I neared the end of the course I already
could tell I was a stronger person. I had so much more confidence, it really
was amazing. I had learnt simple but effective techniques so as to handle
various situations in life through communication. The fears that had haunted
me for so long in life were now gone. In that one short course I had been
able to scrape away a lot of mental baggage to find the real me. That is
something I am eternally grateful for.

I continue my studies in Scientology to this day. I have found true
happiness and sanity within Scientology and would recommend it to anyone
wishing to improve themselves. I have learnt invaluable data about the mind,
human behaviour and life, which I am also able to use to improve myself,
improve my life, and help others. Without the knowledge I have gained I
would be nothing. I may well have ended up on anti-depressants or, even
worse, dead in a ditch somewhere. I daren't even think about it.

I have been on the Internet ever since my interest in Scientology began.
Having experienced Scientology first-hand and exploring both sides of the
Scientology argument on-line I have found that much of the criticism is
unfounded and just plain wrong. I have created this site with the aim of
reaching people who have come into contact with anti-Scientology data, to
provide objective and factual information that should help to expose many of
the various myths and misconceptions being propagated around the Internet.

Mike

22 April 2001
theta@btinternet.com