Scientology in the spotlight

Tom Cruise has brought Scientology into public discussion. His fiancee, Katie Holmes says she's excited to learn more about the religion.

Dan Flynn's Flynn Files has a post on Xenu. Belief in Xenu is a core belief to those who've advanced to the highest level of Scientology. This story is just too bizarre to excerpt--where does one begin?--so just click here to learn more about Xenu, the one time ruler of 76 planets.

From Dan's post:

All religions contain teachings that weird-out non-believers. Where Scientologists differ is that they try hard to obscure some of their stranger beliefs. Tom, believe anything you want, but c'mon: let your freak flag fly.

The Chicago Sun-Times' Shamus Toomey has an article today about Cruise, Holmes and Scientology.

You'll learn it can be pretty expensive to be a Scientologist. From that article:

Scientologists use several methods to get people started, including a device called an E-meter, said to measure stress and root out problems. There are also one-on-one sessions called "auditing."

"Auditing is basically a procedure Mr. Hubbard started to help a person locate problems and stress or pain and discomfort, to relieve themselves of unwanted emotions or sensations," explained Mary Anne Ahmad, director of public affairs for the Church of Scientology of Illinois.

A goal of the auditing sessions is to ultimately be "clear" of what is referred to as the "reactive mind," the part of the mind that is not under a person's control, that works on stimulus-response.

According to church teachings, during times of emotional or physical pain, the reactive mind takes over and records images -- called engrams -- which can later lead to problems that a person can't explain. To become a "Clear" is to erase the engrams and no longer be under control of the reactive mind or its ill effects.

But it's not cheap. Auditing can cost thousands of dollars when done by a professional auditor. Ahmad said costs can be reduced when local church auditors trade services. But members also pay for a series of courses and for literature. Some experts estimate the cost can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Yeah, I've heard that Scientology has indeed helped some people kick drug addiction. But in my opinion, there are safer, cheaper, and more spiritually uplifting ways to kick substance abuse.