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Subject: Screaming at Scientology on Colorado Blvd?
Answered by: Irmgard
Asked By: Anonymous

Anonymous asked this question on 5/4/2000:

I used to work in a sandwhich shop that was pretty close to an office of the Scientology cult that was located on Colorado Blvd. along where the Rose Parade is run every year, here in California.

One day I was with a co-woker as we walked past the place on our lunch break. I never would have gone in alone but since I was with my friend, we thought we would run in and see what it was about. We had worked close to the cult for years and never gave them much thought.

There was some little kid... couldn't have been more than 10 year old or so... that met us at the door. The kid was filthy and stank, desperately needing a bath. That was enough for me to want to leave but my friend whispered to me, "in for a penny, in for a pound." Whatever that means we stuck it out and started to get a lot of smooth talk about taking that stress test that they're always trying to sell people.

The kid's parents... at least I think it was his parents... came in and tried constantly to seperate me and my friend. We wouldn't let ourselves be seperated so we spent all the time in that little front hallway thing that the cult had. We were trying to politely leave when we hear some woman just screaming loudly.

We could see this woman sitting in a chair leaning over an ash tray screaming like an insane person at it to 'rise up!' She turned red and just kept screaming at the ash tray! One of the parents of this kid that was trying to seperate us walked quickly over to the woman, said something, and looked back at us extremely embarrassed.

My friend and I got the hell out of the place. I admit that we were very scared that these insane people would follow us out and we walked quickly away. After half a block or so, we both started shaking and laughing and we hoped that the people inside wouldn't recognize us at work since some times they would send people in for lunch or some times dinner.

What's that all about? Screaming like someone possess of Satan at an ash tray, for God's sake?!!!???

Irmgard gave this response on 5/5/2000:

Screaming at an ash tray is one exercise in the second part of the communications course.

The declared purpose of this exercise is to talk using full intention without any reservation - e.g. like you tell someone to do something and the other just does it.

The person tells the ashtray to stand up - then lifts it with his own hand - then tells the ashtray to sit down - and puts it down with their own hands.

And one step of this exercise is to order the ashtray at the top of ones voice - of course, this gives a strange impression.

As usual in Scientology, there is a certain mystery atmosphere around this exercise - of course, students who are not yet that far do realize that there is such an exercise, but no one tells them precisely what it is about, they just hear the course graduates tell radiantly how great this course was - and when they come to that part, there is a certain inhibition to state within a seemingly convinced group that "the emperor has no clothes" - so they do the exercise and do their best to feel good about it (if you really try that you will feel good in most cases) and don't admit that they think it a little nonsensical. ;-)

Irmgard

Anonymous rated this answer a 5.

Do they believe that Satan will come and lift these things?

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