Bridge

Question answered by honorarykid in Scientology

jacklin16 asked this question on 10/11/2000:

What type of bridges are there?What is the difference?

honorarykid gave this response on 10/11/2000:

Since you're asking this question in a Scientology forum, I'll assume you are talking about the Scientology "Bridge."

In Scientology, there is only one bridge, the Bridge to Total Freedom.

Curiously, Scientologists don't "cross" the bridge, nor do they go "over" the bridge. They use the term going "up" the Bridge.

The Bridge to Total Freedom consists of taking various Scientology courses, doing auditing, and doing drills.

The early courses usually start with largely innocuous things, such as learning how to study and learning how to communicate, Scientology style. The customer also gets introduced to Scientology's high-pressure sales techniques, called "regging."

As they advance further up the bridge, Scientologists begin to do hypnotic training drills, called "TR" drills (TR=Training Routines). TR drills include TR-L, which is learning how to lie, TR-Bullbait, which is a program to teach the members how to provoke others, while being emotionless ("flattened buttons") when faced with provocations from others.

They also do auditing. Auditing is a mildly hypnotic, one-on-one speaking/confession therapy, in which hypnotic suggestion takes place. Auditing is the core activity that hooks Scientologists. From what I understand, auditing can be quite a cathartic process for some people. It can make them feel good.

One thing that probably doesn't feel so good, is that the results of a Scientologist's confessions and admissions while undergoing auditing are carefully recorded and filed by the Church. The Church of Scientology also keeps files on a whole lot of other people, as well, including all critics. I'm dead certain that Scientology keeps a file on me, and I feel somewhat confident that a copy of this very answer will ultimately find it's way into that file.

But I digress. Back to the Bridge.

At some point, the Scientologist advances far enough into their program (or up the Bridge, as it were) to become "Clear" (Clear=a state of mind in which Scientologists claim to be enlightened).

That's when things really get interesting. After they attest to being Clear, Scientologists begin on a series of courses called the OT levels (OT=Operating Thetan). The alleged outcome of becoming an operating Thetan is that a spirit being (you) learns that he is not a biological organism, but really is an immortal, God-like spirit being, who can do anything, travel in space, travel through time, and even create and destroy Universes at will.

When you get to that point, I think it could be safely said that you have finished going UP the Scientology Bridge to Total Freedom.

Oddly, no one seems to have ever gone that far up the Bridge in practice, not even it's ultimate OT, the founder, L. Ron Hubbard. LRH died a deluded, unhealthy old man, fat, addicted to cigarettes, with his body full of pain-killing drug (I wouldn't normally mention the drugs, but taking "psych" drugs is a big no-no for Scientologists).

For more details about the contents of the OT levels, just type the word "Xenu" into the AskMe.com search window. You'll get a lot of the bizarre specifics. Or go out to any of the Internet search engines. Another great resource for learning more is

http://www.xenu.net/

Hope this answers your question.

Return to The Skeptic Tank's main Index page.