Pinching, purification and finding The Bridge to Total Freedom: Inside a very sinister induction at the Scientology HQ

[WestVirginiaRebel]

UK Daily Mail:

I'd been pinched – hard – in some kind of strange lie-detector test and seen rooms where people went to be ‘purified’.

I’d spent an hour subjected to a gruelling and invasive ‘personality’ test and revealed my deepest inner thoughts as if hypnotised.

I’d also been invited to cross the Bridge To Total Freedom – but, in a panic, instead I found myself running away from Scientology as fast as I could – after just a day as a guest of the controversial religion.

I look back on my visit last week to Scientology’s Florida headquarters to celebrate July 4 as one of the most unsettling experiences of my life, and yet it all started so innocently...

The invitation from the Scientologists had suggested we celebrate Independence Day at ‘the Friendliest Place in the Whole World’. Why should I refuse? The event sounded fun. There would be a barbecue, pool games, live music, a petting zoo and fireworks – just like other celebrations across America.

However, there was a hint that this party would be different. The invitation also said: ‘Get briefed on Scientology’s exponential expansion across the globe, our penetrating 4th Dynamic Dissemination Campaigns and a full view to our future.’

It had been sent to a close relative of mine who had briefly worked for Scientology almost a decade ago, inviting him to the Florida town of Clearwater, Scientology’s spiritual headquarters – where Scientologists own more than 200 shops, restaurants, hotels, banks and small businesses.

Almost 9,000 members live and work here, alongside non-Scientologists. They run schools, day-care centres and a drug-rehabilitation clinic.

Given that Katie Holmes had reportedly just ended her marriage amid fears Tom Cruise planned to send their daughter Suri to Clearwater – known to Scientologists as ‘Land Flag Base’ – my curiosity was piqued and we decided to go along.

Bizarrely, the invitation did not mention times or venues. We called into the opulent Fort Harrison Hotel – owned by Scientologists – to ask for directions. A security guard stopped us. We showed him the invitation and my relative explained that he had previously been a Scientology staff member and still received event invitations via email.

‘Name?’ the guard asked my relative, striding to a computer. He tapped it in and the screen filled with information. Our information. My new home address was there. How did they have such personal details and why was this data accessible on a hotel lobby computer?

The guard looked at the screen and raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re Clear?’

‘Clear’ is one of the very highest levels within Scientology. The status had either been conferred on my relative without his knowledge, or there was a mix-up in the system. The cost of reaching this level is estimated at $128,000 (about £82,000) and Clear members are among the church’s most trusted.

‘It says you’re Clear,’ the guard repeated before giving us directions to the Sandcastle Spiritual Retreat, where the party was being held. We’d passed the first hurdle.

Scientology symbols are everywhere in Clearwater; on plaques, in paving stones, and engraved into the architecture. Security cameras are on all Scientology properties and even hidden in the shrubbery. Every move and, no doubt conversation, can be monitored. It feels incredibly sinister.

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A first hand look inside the Cult.