Historical - Total Freedom

On the Ex Scientology Message Board I made the following entry, at http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?27983-The-Pilot-Excerpts-from-his-Writings&p=852722#post852722

I also include a comment on it, which came in within an hour.

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Total Freedom

Total Freedom (blah )

In the basic material of Scientology there is material on games. They consist of freedom, purposes and barriers. Further more a statement is made in the direction of that a thetan (person) is "happiest" (perhaps you could say, most satisfied) when there are good goals, and a balance between freedoms and barriers. Shortly after I joined staff at Saint Hill (England) there came a long policy letter out. A bit of it shocked me. Paraphrasing, it said something like "we have made a survey to find out what the public wants [that in itself is a glaring generality] and we have found that they want total freedom. We will therefore offer them that." This was about September 1964, so from our perspective (2013) it was fairly early on. I was shocked.

I can understand that many feel that a bit more freedom might be a good idea. But there are also those who would be happier (or more "satisfied") if they had a few barriers, and some might be more satisfied with an extra goal or two (I can remember saying, in a whining voice, "Mummy, I don't know what to do").

In September 1964 (if it was September), my reaction was the standard action that builds cults, suppressive groups, and I accepted it and suppressed my own feeling of the lack of logic, and lack of integrity, in setting such a goal. But for me, to this day, Games Theory is an integral part of my personal philosophy.

I have taken a break to check my references. There is a chapter on this in Fundamentals of Thought. Let me quote:


That is from Chapter Six, The Reason Why, and it is from a 1972 printing of the book (I do not know how much the "Latter Day Church" has altered what Ron wrote).

Ron did some silly things, The Pilot did some silly things. Both did some sensible and valid things. I hope this thread will help people find the useable and valuable in what both of them wrote.

All best wishes,

Ant

 

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