From International Viewpoints (IVy) Issue 20 - January 1995
See Home Page at http://www.ivymag.org/
Hats in Fri Scientology
by Ant Phillips, Denmark
IN 1965 I BECAME responsible for personnel at Saint Hill (the only
one at that time, at East Grinstead, England). I had the impressive
title of Director of Routing, Appearances and Personnel. At
about that time Ron gave a rather friendly lecture with quite a
few references to personnel (staff of scientology), and also issued
a friendly policy letter. Amongst the things he said or wrote were
things like, staff should have a higher priority than paying preclears
with regard to auditing; while it might be neccessary to give them
jobs which they did not particularly want to do, they should in due
course be given the sort of work they wanted.
Although quite a few staff (myself amongst them) did get quite a good
bit of auditing when on staff, most of us know of people who got
very little, and we also know of instances where people were put on
jobs they did not like or want, and were never given a job they
wanted.
And in later years (before I lost touch with the organization, the
rule was introduced that you must not leave a job without there being
a replacement, and in certain areas the responsibility for getting
a replacement was left totally to the person himself, who possibly
was so overloaded with work that he never really got time to find
a replacement.
When I started on the Personnel post at Saint Hill, pay was
reasonable.
It got worse, and I have had information that it is not much better
now.
Said briefly, working conditions were poor. However, for myself, and
perhaps some other readers, that is a matter of history. I personnally
don't have any urge to reform the latter day church, though I consider
it a good thing for someone to do.
In the free world
I do, however, have a great interest in the better parts of
scientology
being available, talked about and delivered in the free world outside
the latter day church.
I'd say we ex or free- scns are a pretty diverse network (group),
working on some sort of a broad goal which we have in common. One
of the glories of this is our freedom. We don't have to sign up to
come on staff. We don't have to come on staff.
There are many jobs to be done to keep this network alive and thriving
(we can also call them hats - if we want to maintain our cultish
gobledegook). If we want to lend a hand, we can look around and see
what is wanted and needed, and find something we would like
to do. We can find something which is long term. Or we can find
something
which needs doing just once, or which is short term, and do that.
In the area of the two magazines I am connected with, many
have helped. Here are some of the, hats which various people wear,
and which all help to keep this part of the broad free scientology
network going: translators, proofreaders, typists, artists, computer
expert (or sometimes called computer freak), transcribing from
tape, distributing, writing, printing, subediting, collating and
stapling,
encouragement and suggestions. Our four regular contributors have
accepted a long term hat. In Terry's case particularly onerous, since
he has orders from me on what he should write about, and that it must
only be 3/4 of a page(1).
In the magazine The Free Spirit Mark Jones and Hank Levin have
taken on long term hats, but again they have been supported by a host
of others with similar long term and short term hats to those named
above. And in the fairly newly established computer communications
systems, Homer Smith has taken on a big hat, but again supported by
many more or less anonymous figures, wearing, for short or longer
periods a host of other hats. I suspect a number do not realise that
they wear hats. They just do things that seem a good idea at the time.
Cycle of action
There is another aspect to hats, or rather the people who hold
them.
According to Ron, and in this instance I believe him, we have people
who are stronger on the start side of the cycle of action, those who
are strongest on the continue, and those strongest on the stop. The
first category we call in Danish ivrksttere (meaning people
who get things going). I don't feel I really fit into this category.
I don't think I could have started this vast publishing network I
run at the moment. It took someone else (Soren Werk) to get the
thing going, collect addresses, collect finances, motivate volunteers.
Since his time three or four others have taken on the editorship for
short terms (for the Danish magazine, before IVy started)
before I succeeded to the top position.
If one is a 'starter', it might be worth recognising the fact, and
also recognising, that what you have started can be dropped, when
you have either achieved what you set out to acheive, are not getting
any fun out of it any more or others have taken over more ably. Of
course, if you want to maintain good relations with the world around,
you should fill all promises (including implied ones) that you have
made. In fact it is wise to consider carefully before promising, to
ensure that fulfilling the promise does not result in overruning
the goal.
An example of something which was started (and run a bit) and then
was dropped was the magazine Clearing Today. Flemming Funch
started it with a definite goal (a change in attitude of certain
people,
towards more cooperation), achieved that goal, and ceased to publish
Clearing Today.
Other hats?
Yes, of course, there are many other hats (jobs, tasks, hobby
activities,
to use more normal words) in the free scientology 'network'. One of
the most important would be to audit some one now and again (or
often).
Having got some idea of what you feel our common goal is, in free
scientology (otherwise called expanded scientology, sometimes also
called clearing), may be it would be an idea to assess what hats you
would like to drop.
Or take on.
Or suggest someone else takes on.
Or play together with a friend.
I think there will always be a need for communication. How about
arranging
a little 'get-to-gether' in your area? Your distributor will probably
have a few useful names
(1)Terry, who saw this article,
has another viewpoint on this. He writes '(Tech point:) Not really.
I create it in p.t., article by article. That lack of commitment
means I can continue long term. An actual long term commitment
would be overrun.'