A good friend of mine told me something quite scary the other day. She told me that that during her time in Scientology, and up to a year after leaving Scientology, her pupils were constantly dilated! She told me that she had noticed many Sea Org members having dilated pupils too.

Now, what I know is that when people are high on drugs, their pupils dilate, and when under fear of attack, one’s pupils dilate too. So it seems to me as though Scientologists, and especially Sea Org members, exibit symptoms of extreme stress and/or of being drugged.

Now if you consider that many Sea Org members go for MONTHS at a time on 3 hours of sleep a night, live off cigarettes and coffee, often eat only beans and rice, do extreme manual labour, and are exposed to riddicule and threats a lot of the time, whilst being hypnotised by Hubbard’s writings and voice recordings, it makes sense that they exibit stress/drug responses.

Scientology silently pervades so many aspects of one’s life, that after one leaves it is often difficult to tell the scientology apart from what is normal. And it important that one be able to do so.

So here is a list of things I found helpful in shedding the last vestiges of the cult from my life:

* Study the hell out of all the TRUE scientology information you can find on the internet, as opposed to all the PR bullshit they feed you at Scientology events. All of the most important data, showing the ACTUAL source of the troubles, I summarised on this web site scientology101.org So if you have not already done so, fully study this site. In fact, I’d say study it twice, just to make sure you get it.

* Remove all your scientology “friends” from your Facebook–they are not true friends, and they will drop you as soon as they find out that you are capable of thinking for yourself.

* Do not date Scientologists, “Freezoners” or “Independent Scientologists.”

* Get over any ideas you may have that sex is bad, or that masturbation is bad, or that watching porn is the biggest sin in the world. In the real world, people masturbate all the time, and they also watch porn from time to time. You’re fucking human, sex is a LARGE part of life.

* NEVER, EVER use the term ARC. Find something else to use. Such as “like,” or “really dig,” or something like that.

* Make a conscious decision to not use any Scientology terms.

*Here are some ideas of real words one can use instead of Scientology terms:

“Hat writeup” = “Manual”

“2D” = “Boyfriend/Girlfriend”

“Terminal” = “Person”

* Wear deodorant: the real world thinks you stink if you DON’T wear it. Sorry Hubbard, you just had OCD, what with wanting your clothes washed 13 times before you could wear them and all that nonsense!

* Try not to use the word “data.” Use the word “information” instead. Only Scientologists use the word “data” a lot.

* Don’t use the term “Life and Livingness,” as real people don’t know what the fuck you are talking about when you say that.

* Forget about wearing your key holding belt buckle, as it will eventually destroy the lining of your car seats.

* Forget about the Calmag formula, as it contains some of the worst absorbed forms of both calcium and magnesium, despite the addition of an acid. Also, supplementing calcium is probably not such a smart idea, as any form of calcium, when supplemented in greater amounts than magnesium, could deposit in your arteries and kidneys.

* Breast feed your baby, barley water is not for infants, and cornstarch will make your baby fat and unhealthy.

* Get rid of all your Scientology materials. Yes, that includes The Way to Happiness.

* Arrange to get your “SP Declare,” so that you can be sure the org no longer contacts you.

* Find employment with a non-Scientologist.

* Pick up on those interests you had prior to Scientology, and start doing them again. Or find another hobby you enjoy doing.

* Go out and do some of those “out-ethics” things you were so afriad of doing at least once, and find out that it’s really not that bad afterall, and that you’re not a degraded piece of shit. Gee, so you got drunk–who fucking cares? Life is for living, so LIVE!

* Reconnect with your family and former friends.

* If you don’t have one yet, get your own place. It makes a world of difference owning your own territory.

* Get a decent motor vehicle. You might be surprised how easy it is to get financing through a bank once you’ve been working at a real job for a few months.

* Try not to waste your energy on explaining things to your Scientology friends. I have found that only those who are already pissed-off and complaining obout things in Scientology themselves will listen to you. If you want to explaing things to these types of people, send them something such as this letter, and have them read the entire site it links to. Once they’ve read that, show them scientology101.org. Please don’t try to explain things to them, as it is very draining. They either get the web sites, or they don’t. If they don’t, fuck it.

* Write up your Scientology story, and when it is done, post it on something like Ex Scientologist Message Board. You will find this very cathartic.

* Make a point of looking in the eyes of Scientologists you bump into. You’ll find out that they are too scared to lok at you, and you will realize the power you have, now that are truely free!

* Stop looking for some self-help tool to fix your life. Life is Live, live it!

Good luck, and enjoy your new life!