Blown for Good

Ooooh, an insider formerly employed at my favorite wacky cult is publishing a tell-all exposé! This isn't as juicy as the Scientology exposé that I hope will eventually exist one day so that I can read it. (This imaginary book is/will be Katie Holmes' account of her enslavement to and eventual harrowing escape from her insane Scientologist husband. Just for fun, let's call it Hubbard's Creek.)

But, anyway, this book sounds promising too:

"Blown for Good tells the story of one man’s journey growing up inside Scientology and ultimately escaping from the Scientology International Headquarters he worked at for 15 years."

Here are some highlights (according to Radar Magazine):

Scientology employees are forced to watch video montages of Tom Cruise as part of their training.

According to a former member of the church, the eccentric star is used as inspiration to those working at the sprawling compound in Gilman Hot Springs California.

And, while they are banned from reading newspapers or watching regular television, they are gathered at random times to view Cruise' appearances.

"Everyone there thought Tom Cruise was just brilliant," said Headley, who left nearly five years ago. "Absolutely all the employees looked up to him. They think he is an exhilaration, which is very high up on what they call the 'tone scale'. People who work within the organization were not given access to newspapers or television shows. The only thing we knew was what we were told or shown.

"At the International Headquarters they would record any appearances on TV shows or even mentions of Tom Cruise, or little stories they heard about him. Then they would re-edit them and cut them together into a five or ten minute video of all the snippets of him on TV. But it was never the full interview or story.

"For example the actual footage might have said; 'Scientologist Tom Cruise, the biggest movie star in the world, acts like a crazy person on Oprah.' But what we saw was 'Tom Cruise, the biggest movie star in the world.' Then it would cut to the next thing."

It wasn't until just weeks before he left that he realized the truth. "I just knew he was a superstar who talked about Scientology everywhere he went and encouraged people to join. I thought everyone was embracing Scientology and that millions of people were joining because of him.

"But somehow just before I got out I happened to see a few episodes of Conan O'Brien and he was making fun of Tom Cruise and the church. I had only been shown the good. I had never been exposed to anything else. But it got me thinking that if jokes are being made and people are laughing at them then not everyone thinks Scientology is so great. They don't think Tom Cruise is awesome, they think he is a freak show."

He also revealed how Cruise' ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, could be banned from seeing their adopted children, Connor and Isabelle if she speaks out about her experiences with Scientology. "If you want to leave Scientology and publicly announce it, then you run a high risk of being branded a suppressant person," he said. "You will not be able to speak to your mother or your children or you family members again if they are still part of Scientology."

"If Connor or Isabella said, 'I don't want to do anything in Scientology anymore' and didn't speak out or say its crazy then they would be fine. But as soon as they say 'I don't want to do it anymore and I don't believe in it' and they make that fact known publicly then they stand a strong chance of being branded a suppressant person. If that were to happen, then they are living with Nicole."

Headley also claims that Cruise' current wife, Katie Holmes is now a Scientologist.

"Katie has had to do stuff for Scientology too," he said. "Scientology will say, 'you don't have to be with a Scientologist'. But you have to remember that their goal is to clear the planet. The underlying theme in Scientology is an effort to clear the planet and make a new civilization of all Scientologists."