Going Clear by Lawrence Wright Book Report

General Overview
    Going Clear by Lawrence Wright is about Scientology and how it came to rise in the late nineteenth century. At the beginning of the book, Wright mentions L. Ron Hubbard's life and how he created Scientology and the different organizations within the religion. Wright also talks about the timeline of Scientology and the purpose of each organization under the religion. Furthermore, Wright also gives an inside look at the past Scientologists' lives and what they endured mentally and physically. Wright mentions on page xii why he was drawn to writing a book about Scientology to answer questions that society has about Scientology. Those three questions are, "what is it that makes the religion alluring? What do its adherents get out of it? How can seemingly rational people subscribe to beliefs that others find incomprehensible? Why do popular personalities associate themselves with a faith likely to create a kind of public relations martyrdom?"

Favorite Part
    My favorite part about Going Clear was learning about the different OT levels and what each level is supposed to accomplish. OT stands for Operating Thetan, and there are different levels, with OT VIII being the highest. When someone joins Scientology, there is a "bridge to total freedom," which is a metaphor for "one moves 'higher and higher up the bridge rather than across it" (Wright, 2016, p. 16). Each OT level stands for something different, and Scientologists have to do different things to climb higher and higher up the bridge. For example, OT 1 is called Operating Thetan One and "lists thirteen mental exercises that attune practitioners to their relationships with others" (Wright, 2016, p. 16). OT level 2 was interesting because those in Level 2 attempt to delete anything that gets in the way of their current existence. In order to be able to do this requires a lot of "exercises and visualizations that explore operational forces" (Wright, 2016, p. 16). I was so fascinated with learning about the different levels that I could not comprehend how a Scientologist can advance through the different levels.

Related
    Going Clear reminds me of lecture three, "10% of our brains and out-of-body experiences," because Scientologists believe they can use 10% of their brains to achieve the different OT levels. They also believe they can use 10% of their brains to achieve the auditing process, which is a form of "psychotherapy that involves the use of an E-meter" and is supposed to "locate and discharge mental masses that are blocking the free flow of energy" (Wright, 2016, p. 12-13). This relates to the 10% myth because they believe they can make a person clear and their IQ will go up. We do not use more than 10% of our brain.

Creative
Scientology Beliefs: The Eight Dynamics Of Life This youtube video was uploaded by Scientology and talked about the eight different Dynamics of Life.

Michelle Leclair Shares Her Story Of Leaving Scientology | Megyn Kelly TODAY This youtube video was uploaded by TODAY and is about a former Scientology member.

Extension
    Scientology is very confusing to me. I did not know Scientology existed till I watched a youtube video uploaded by Jasko. In the video, he played Randonautica, an app on your phone that generates different points based on your intent. When the app generates a point, the person is supposed to go to the point, and they are supposed to find something that relates to their intent. When Jasko generated his point, it took him to a Scientology location in Tampa, Florida. His intent was "behind closed doors," and the video starts at 41:21 and should watch until 47:30. RANDONAUTICA IS CREEPY - CHASED BY MYSTERIOUS GROUP OF PEOPLE. His intent lines up with Scientology because they do sketchy stuff.

Another instance was when Jasko was playing in Clearwater, Florida, and his friend, whom he was playing with, called him and said there were many cameras around and people were watching him. The video starts at 42:24 and should watch until 55:03. RANDONAUTICA IS CREEPY - THEY ARE WATCHING MY EVERY MOVE. Even though an intent was not used, I wanted to show this video because Scientology has a lot of money, and the building reflects the money of money they have.

    I do not believe it can solve a real-world problem. However, it can solve a current situation if someone is struggling and wants to turn to a religion that they think will help them. I want to clarify that not everyone who plays Randonautica will be brought to a Scientology building. However, it was interesting to rewatch the videos after reading Going Clear.

References

ChurchofScientology. (2008, April 3). Scientology beliefs: The Eight Dynamics of Life. YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swRZKtiktfQ

Randonautica is creepy - they are watching my every move. YouTube. (2021, January 13). Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://youtu.be/8m8qVOWS2N4?t=2544

TODAYNBC. (2018, September 10). Michelle Leclair shares her story of leaving scientology | megyn Kelly Today. YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tIB_mqR1uw

Wright, L. (2016). Going clear. Silvertail Books. 

YouTube. (2021, January 6). Randonautica is creepy - chased by mysterious group of people. YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://youtu.be/m7XjvZuTtD4?t=2481