Post
by roxxi » Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:24 pm
Let's see. I'll try not to ramble too much.
When I was 16 is when I bought my first book by L.Ron Hubbard. That was 1977 and it was called "Self - Analysis".
Being the typical teenager I was having trouble with parents, siblings, teachers and school and why oh why could I not talk to that cute guy in Biology class.
At my first job, my boss was this really cool guy. He was always so cheerful and I felt like he actually listened to me and I really liked being around him. I made some comment like "Wow, I wish I could be as cool as you are" and he said he had read some books about Dianetics and Scientology. So I said, I want to read those books.
He took me to the center and I bought Self Anaylsis and started reading it. What I read really made a lot of sense to me and I started understanding more about why I reacted to things (like a knee-jerk reaction), why other people reacted the way they did to certain things. Overall, it made me feel better about school and my parents and family.
A few years later, I bought Dianetics and read that. That gave me a more in depth look at the mind. How things that have happened to me in the past can shape how I handle things in the present.
I also did a Basic Communications Course. That really really helped me a lot. Understanding that there is a formula for communication. Its really simple and basic, but for me, it really showed me why I was having trouble with my parents and a few others.
I had been looking for answers for a while. I was raised Catholic and went to church every Sunday, but what I heard there and even reading the Bible, it didn't give me anything that I could apply to improve my relationships, get over being shy, get over being introverted, etc.
I did the Astrology thing, Numerology, any other self help books that I could find at the book store. For me, none of them had the answers that I was looking for.
The biggest thing that I have gotten from being a Scientologist is realizing that I don't have to depend on anyone else for my happiness. For years I had the idea that I had to have a boyfriend to be truly happy. Like I couldn't be happy if someone else didn't love me, or something like that.
I haven't had much auditing. The majority of the data I have gotten is from books that LRH has written and his lectures that I have listened to. Everything that I've read, I can see how that is real and I can apply it to situations in my life.
As far as hanging out with other Scientologists, and if they have an upset or something with Scientology, I listen to what they have to say. Its ok to communicate. The reasons that someone would have a disagreement can come from a lot of things. I try and help them with their upset, or find some one who can help them.
As a Scientologist I try to improve conditions around me. I offer help and support to the people I know. If someone needs help, I do what I can.
It can be as simple as just listening to the person and letting them unload their worries or upset on me. I will listen and acknowledge them. I have offered them little handbooks that cover what they are worried about. They can read it and maybe get something out of it. If they don't, then they can give the booklet back to me or throw it away. But I do what I can to help others if they want it.
Another example is my brother. He'd been married for about 7 years. Then he told me that his wife was accusing him of cheating on her. Well, I knew from reading that when someone accuses you of doing something bad, that that person is probably doing that exact thing. If you are pointing the finger at someone else, then of course no one would think that you are doing anything wrong. I gave him a booklet about Marriage and Communication and urged him to read it. A few years later he found out that his wife was cheating on him and had been for a while.
People are all unique and believe different things. That's ok. I'm not interested in trying to convince people to believe something different. Just like I wouldn't want someone to do that to me. That whole golden rule thing. What's true for you, is true for you.
Anyway, that's basically my experience with Scientology. It was worked for me and improved my life for the last 30 years. I live my life by trying to improve things around me, through my job, my communication, my relationships with others.
Its like the ripple effect. The actions I do in life can have a positive or negative effect on others, and so on and so on.
I'm not perfect either. I fuck up, I say things I shouldn't, snap at my family, get mad at stupid things. But afterwards, I can look and see what happened and work on correcting it.
Anyway, I hope I answered your questions Dana :) and didn't ramble too much.
