Eric Bohlman wrote:
Mark Probert wrote in
:


Hmmmm....gives me an idea....

Alternative Scientology!

Remove thetans with a cleanse.


Well, the Purification Rundown, which is a sweat-and-fast based "detox"
is indeed a core ritual of $cientology (as well as being marketed as part
of the "Narconon" (or should I say NarCONon) "drug rehab"). But its
actual purpose is to cure your Body Thetans of their drug addictions,
which is necessary before you can remove them.

Let's get some terminology straight (or should I say "clear"?):

According to L. Ron Hubbard, a person consists of:

1) A body, called the "genetic entity."
2) A soul, called the "Thetan."
3) Cooties, called "Body Thetans."

The idea is that people can't reach their full potential as long as their
cooties are preventing their souls from being able to transcend the
limitations of their bodies. Thus the $cientologist's ultimate goal is
to remove all their Body Thetans and become an "Operating Thetan." In
principle, you achieve that once you've completed the highest-level
"course" called OT8 (OT stands for Operating Thetan). In practice, as
you approach that level, you start learning that you have to redo much of
your earlier processing; you may in fact be told that much of your
previous "auditing" was done by incompetents, and that it's up to you to
pay to have it redone properly. The light at the end of the tunnel turns
out to be a bulb mounted on a treadmill.

You have to admit that Hubbard was a true genius to be able to
incorporate the childhood notion of "cooties" into a religious belief
system. In a similar vein, there are documented instances of the
"swirly" being used as a form of ecclesiastical discipline for errant
staff.


Hubbard should be admired for his creation of such an efficient money
maker.