Scientology on the High Seas: A Bunch of Dope Smokers, Say the Greeks!

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard’s previously unpublished “Orders of the Day,” which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time we’re looking at what was happening the week of March 4 through 10 during those years.

This week, L. Ron frets over Greeks spreading scurrilous rumors…

[Confused? Go here for our primer, “What is Scientology?” For recent controversies in the church, check out our stories on Debbie Cook, secrets of the Super Power Building, and our open letter to Tom Cruise. We know these 40-year-old ship’s documents aren’t for everyone, but they’ve been giving us some interesting insights into the mind of Hubbard as he ran Scientology from a yacht at sea. Check back here often for more breaking news about the church.]

1969

March 8: Beware Greeks bearing news of draft dodgers and marijuana smokers!

1. BIG NEWS

The Melbourne org and Melbourne are wide open again. The police have stated they will not prosecute and are returning the meters and books they seized long ago. The ban bill is considered useless.

So FDA, which began it, lost. Now Melbourne is open. If we keep working at it we’ll roll back the rest with luck.

LRH, COMMODORE
8.3.69

2. THE RUMOURS

The landing ships out in the harbour “breifed” their men on how this ship was out of bounds as “full of draft dodgers, marijuana smokers, free love, hypnotism,” said to have been briefed by their “upper echelon.” We are sending Ensign Dunleavy and a boat out (the sea sled) to call on their senior captain to get it handled. Their men are upsetting the Greeks also. We’ll take care of it. Captains in the US Navy who “can’t handle their men” (the one thing Admirals in the US go bonkers about) are seldom promoted any more. We hold all the aces. We’ll handle it on the lower echelon level and run it back to some psychiatrist they’ve got aboard, I’m sure.

Poor old SMERSH.

LRH, COMMODORE
8.3.69

3. All crew are once more reminded that they must report data which is of interest to Intelligence to the Intelligence Officer.

The arrival of U.S. Naval vessels and contact with their sailor and marines and comments made by them are of interest to Intelligence very definitely. SO PLEASE DON’T FAIL TO REPORT.

Those crew who have reported are thanked. Those who have not yet done so are requested to do so immediately.

W/O Monica Quirino
CS-2 7.3.69

4. LATE ITEM!!

CONDITION

To celebrate the Melbourne win and the progress the crew is making again, the ship is upgraded to Emergency.

Liberty is restored to those who attest to the QM they are upstat.

LRH, COMMODORE
8.3.69 0300 hrs.

1971

March 7: LRH’s bathwater no longer gives him a brown ring!

PRODUCT CONCENTRATION

We are concentrating on the following products:

A. Income

B. Students, quality and rapidity.

C. Preclears, volume and completions (we have the quality)

D. Additional future income not limited by ship size.

Organizationally an HCO existing and doing its job will bring things straight, Stewards will care for and Deck will secure operations and give the appearance needful. Thus Products A, B and C become possible.

As it is the lack of a high efficiency HCO, FAO, Stewards FSO and Deck FSO pose a potential breakdown of our Product line. Hence, a concentration on these points is very vital and I intend to get formed and operating.

We have some very fine units and activities aboard. Amongst them are the Flag Bureaux, the E/R, and the Household Unit. The Tech Divs HGC and its fine auditors and staff are now operating splendidly. Registrar and the Income Dept FAO are coming up fine. Most other units are in the twilight zones. HCO, Stewards and Deck have been almost nowhwere.

UNACKED WIN

Way back when, the ships water used to be chocolate colored and gave one a brown ring when he bathed.

This changed with the regular cleaning and care of filters. Today the water is crystal clear and stays so every day.

Thank you, Chief, E/R and Snipes. It is greatly appreciated.

LRH, COMMODORE

This is the first time I remember seeing a reference to Hubbard’s curious use of the word “ack” in these documents. During auditing, I’m told, a subject will be told that his progress is a “half-ack,” meaning that he should continue, that he’s not all the way to his “win.” So when Hubbard talks about an “unacked win,” I think he means that it’s unadulterated, or a full win. Am I right, veterans?

I bring this up because for LRH’s 101st birthday, which is Tuesday, we have something rather remarkable, and it will include a reference to a “half-ack” — and I want to make sure you get the sense of it. (Also, this is a blatant tease. Are you getting excited yet for March 13, the holiest day on the Scientology calendar? It’s going to be a blast.)

BONUS 1970s AWESOMENESS

While L. Ron Hubbard plied the seas, back on dry land Advance! magazine was thrilling Scientologists with its tales of “OT Phenomena.” Those church members who had reached the higher levels of spiritual training shared their stories of superhuman powers with fellow dupes — er, enthusiasts. This excerpt is from Issue 23, April/May 1974…

Since my wife and I have completed OT IIIX, we play a game with each other called “tag.” We place our bodies in a safe environment and then one of us will pick some place on the planet to hide. It’s the other’s job to find out where the hiding place is.

Last night I hid in a mummy in a buried pyramid in Egypt. It’s no trick to find each other. Wanda’s and my affinity level is high enough so we can spot each other quickly, regardless of mock-up. But the game is for Wanda to figure out where I am hiding.

Using her exterior perceptics she pieces together clues from what she sees and feels, hears, etc. This is a real fun game and helps us to practice OT abilities.

Ability requires practice so that it achieves full function. This game is how Wanda and I practice and have fun too. — Mike Madias, OT

I have to say, this stunned me. I mean, what a great use of your OT powers! Since you can peel away your thetan from your meat body any time you want once you’ve reached the heights of the Bridge up near OT VIII, why not go traipsing around the world to play an epic game of hide and seek! And of all the places you could insert your noncorporeal spirit self, of course you’d want to worm your way into the confines of some ancient sarcophagus! (Do thetans have a sense of smell? Just wondering.) This is astounding! Just think of all the famous coffins around the world that you could hang around in after paying several hundred thousand dollars to Scientology. There’s Grant’s Tomb! What’s Liz Taylor’s casket like these days? Hey, Michael Jackson is still fairly fresh, right? The possibilities are endless. I don’t understand why they aren’t advertising this on billboards — Go Clear and spend the night with your favorite dead celebrity!

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Tony Ortega has been the editor in chief of the Village Voice since March, 2007. He started writing about Scientology in 1995. You can catch his alerts at Twitter (@VoiceTonyO), at his Facebook author page, on Pinterest, and even this new Google Plus doohickey.

New readers might want to check out our primer, “What is Scientology?” Another good overview is our series from last summer, “Top 25 People Crippling Scientology.” At the top of every story, you’ll see the “Scientology” category which, if you click on it, will bring up all of our most recent stories. As for our regular features, on Thursdays we do a roundup of world press, on Fridays we visit L. Ron Hubbard on the yacht Apollo circa 1969-1971, on Saturdays we celebrate the week’s best comments, and on Sundays we publish Scientology’s wacky and tacky advertising mailers that people send us.

As for hot subjects we’ve covered here, you may have heard about Debbie Cook, the former church official who rebelled and is now being sued by Scientology. You might have also heard about the Super Power Building, Scientology’s “Mecca,” whose secrets were revealed here. We also reported how Scientology spied on its own most precious object, Tom Cruise. (We wrote Tom an open letter that he has yet to respond to.) Have you seen a Scientology ad on TV lately? We debunked some of the claims in that 2-minute commercial you might have seen while watching Glee or American Idol.

Other stories have looked at Scientology’s policy of “disconnection” that is tearing families apart. You may also have heard something about the Sea Org experiences of the Paris sisters, Valeska and Melissa, and their friend Ramana Dienes-Browning. We’ve also featured Paulette Cooper, who wrote about Scientology back in the day, and Janet Reitman, Hugh Urban, and the team at the Tampa Bay Times, who write about it today. And there’s plenty more coming.