My experience with the church of Scientology

My parents were members of the church of Scientology, and I was introduced to it from a very early age.<br><br>They met in a Scientology center, and my dad was very heavily involved for a while. He even went "Operating Thetan level 8" which is like the highest level you can get (although there are class 12 auditors who supposedly see things that no one else does). It cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars. <br><br>I was introduced to it when I was about 8 years old, when my dad took me to the local Scientology center and he got me audited for something that apparently was preventing me from getting good grades. It was ridiculous. The "auditor" asked me questions like "do you want to hold your mothers hand when you walk down the street?" or "do you want to be hugged by your father?" and I said no to both, and he went "oh you need to get past this block!" and my dad was like "oh yeah? what should I do?" And the guy was like "you need to make a clear statement to your son of how much you love him, and you need to make a clear statement to your wife of how much you love her" and my dad was like "oh okay! how much should I pay you to audit me again so I can do that?"<br><br>And the auditor was like "well, its a lot more expensive the higher you go. but I can get you to operating thetan level 7 for $20,000" and my dad was like "oh no, thats not high enough. I need to get to at least 8" and the auditor was like "alright buddy, thats $40,000"<br><br>And my dad was like "okay, I'll take it" and the auditor was like "great, here you go" and he ran me through some exercises and I was like "this is dumb and I don't see how it helps me with grades, I just want to get the session over with" and my dad was like "dont say that! he is helping you" and then we were done. I never went back, but my dad kept going for years.<br><br>My mom was never as heavily involved as he was. I think she spent like $20,000 on courses. But she would bring me to the center with her sometimes. <br><br>When I was 12 my dad decided he wanted to take me and my brother (who was 6) to the sea org base in florida and do some "work" together. We spent two weeks there, and it was like a prison camp for kids. There were thousands of Scientologists there who had signed billion year contracts, and they wouldnt see their families ever again. They were all willing to do it because they believed that they would get their thetans free one day. <br><br>They were all told to fuck kids who asked for sex, and they were all told to beat the sea org members and make them do work until they blacked out. All of the kids had shit eating grins on their faces the whole time I was there, and I kept asking my dad "why are they so happy? theyre not doing work, theyre just doing chores" and he was like "thats the point. theyre clearing themselves." <br><br>I was told to go out onto the streets of clearwater florida and get people to take drugs with me, because apparently clearwater was a major drug den and the people there needed help. I didnt do that. Then I was told to go into the local walmarts and circulate among the customers and see if I could pick out the "suppressive persons" (scientologys term for evil people) and I was like "fuck that" and my dad was like "fine dont do it" so I didnt do anything else either.<br><br>Then they told me and my brother to hit each other in the face as hard as we could until we started to bleed. So I hit my brother in the face as hard as I could, and he did the same to me. I started bleeding so my dad took me to the hospital and had me sewn up. My brother still has a scar above his left eye.<br><br>I was so fucking angry, and I told my dad and mom that I was never going there again and they both said "fine dont come to the center and we wont force you" so I never did. But my dad was always off doing his shit, and he would always bring home auditors to talk to me. He did that for years.<br><br>When I was 16 my dad had a major mental breakdown and he was hospitalized for 5 weeks. I went to stay with my mom and brothers grandma and grandpa, and my dad tried to get in touch with me from the hospital. He called me up one day and was like "can you come visit me" and I was like "no dad im good" so he tried to get me to come by saying he had something for me, and I asked what it was and he was like "a copy of xenu: monster under your bed" (that was a book written by some high ranking Scientologist where he explained that 65 million years ago there was an evil being named xenu who painted dead people with black paint, buried them in the ground six days a week, and then threw the paint in the ocean and it became covid) and I was like "thats cool, but i still dont want to come see you" and he was like "alright well you need to come see your mother" so I was like "fuck you" and hung up the phone.<br><br>He tried to contact me again a week later, and I told my mom what he had said and done and my mom was like "dont worry hes not a bad person hes just going through a hard time" but I was like "fuck that hes a bad person" and my dad tried to contact me again a few more times but I never answered.<br><br>I went to stay with my aunt and uncle in england when I was 17, and my parents tried to contact me and my dad even flew over there but I never met with him. I blocked his number and his email address and I have not had any contact with him since then. I turned 18, and then I contacted him to let him know I was ok and he was like "great glad you're alive, I hope you realize now that Scientology is bullshit" and I was like "yeah I did a long time ago" and we havent spoken since. He has tried to contact me a few more times, but I always just ignore it.<br><br>I went back to australia to live with my mom and my brother for a few years, and I started college. My mom had moved on from Scientology and started going to church again, and I was happy to see her doing that. I saw my brother occasionally, and he seemed ok.<br><br>I havent seen or spoken to my dad since i was 17, and i havent set foot in a scientology center since i was 8. I hate him for what he did to me and my brother. I think about that time at the sea org base every day, and I hope that dad is dead so i dont have to worry about him anymore.