If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Did you know that the founder of one of the world’s most secretive and powerful organizations started out as a pulp fiction writer with a hidden, high-stakes past?
- Have you ever wondered what specific, calculated strategies a modern religion uses to recruit Hollywood’s biggest A-list celebrities and keep them loyal?
- What’s the secret behind the aggressive, high-stakes methods used to silence critics and protect the inner workings of a multi-billion-dollar spiritual empire?
Listen to Going Clear — Free Audiobook
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Key Takeaways from Going Clear
- Discover how Scientology fought a decades-long battle with the US government to secure its tax-exempt religious status after initially being labeled a commercial enterprise.
- Uncover the science-fiction-like core beliefs of the organization, including the concept of immortal 'thetans' and the tyrannical galactic leader Xenu who trapped spirits on Earth.
- Learn how L. Ron Hubbard, a Guinness World Record-holding author, transitioned from writing pulp fiction to founding a mysterious worldwide organization.
- Understand the origins of Dianetics as a system of psycho-techniques that Hubbard initially created to cure his own post-war paranoia and deep mistrust of psychiatry.
- Explore how members use a psycho-technique called 'auditing' to supposedly confront painful memories, access past lives, and break free from psychological triggers.
Going Clear — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: Scientology sees itself as a science-based form of religion today.
Chapter 3: We are immortal beings imprisoned on Earth.
Chapter 4: L. Ron Hubbard was a prolific sci‑fi writer until his crisis.
Chapter 5: To cure himself, Hubbard created a system of psychotechniques called Dianetics.
Chapter 6: Once interest in Dianetics declined, Hubbard founded Scientology, at least partly to earn some more money.
Chapter 7: When Scientologists recruit potential members, they leave nothing to chance.
Chapter 8: Scientology has always set its sights on celebrities.
Chapter 9: Scientology goes to great lengths to gain political clout and battle foes.
Chapter 10: The history of Scientology is riddled with evidence of abuse.
Going Clear Summary & Overview
Going Clear offers a rare glimpse into the secret history and beliefs of Scientology as well as the conflicted biography of its founder L. Ron Hubbard. It also details some of the Church’s darker qualities: a tooth and nail method of managing criticism and systematic approach to celebrity recruitment.
Who Should Listen to Going Clear?
- Anyone who’s interested in the history of Scientology
- Anyone who wants tips on how to start his or her own successful religion
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