Growing Up as a Scientologist
As a kid, growing up in a Scientology family was fun, mainly because of my parents and the stable environment they provided.
Both of my folks were well advanced as Scientologists by the time I was born.
As a Southern-born only-child largely growing up in Southern California I had an interesting mix of lifestyles. Los Angeles was fascinating when I first came––so different than anything I'd seen in the South.
Our family moved out to California when I was young, so we could be close to a center for Scientology––advanced Scientology training was not available near our home. I missed my hometown but was happy to continue on to something interesting, and I had my parents along for the adventure, so all was well in my mind.
We drove across this great country out to California and took a little time to smell the roses and eat some hush puppies along the way. I still remember the sound of our beautiful old red truck and the scent of the countryside as we drove along.
Finally our family settled in what became my hometown on a long-term basis, Glendale, CA––right near Los Angeles.
I worked hard, for my parents who owned a cleaning business believed it was good for children to earn their own way and exchange something with the family, and so did I. I loved the feeling of independence it gave me to be earning my own money from a young age. And I worked hard on my education too. But I still had plenty of time to play. (My father was big on education and being “a man,” but my mother was big on children getting out and playing––a fun mix.)
My father was a serious but loving man and made sure I was prepared for life by being educated and knowing what people are really like. One thing he made sure I knew was the Emotional Tone Scale. The Tone Scale came out of research L. Ron Hubbard did in the early days of Dianetics and Scientology, where he discovered that there is a predictable sequence of emotions a person goes through and each emotional tone has various other characteristics connected with it. For example, if you know where people are at, you can predict how they will act as friends, whether they will be loyal or fickle, whether you can trust them to keep their word, whether or not you should lend money or go into business with them (or marry them), how they’ll treat children, and even whether they’ll laugh at your jokes (and mean it)!
My dad also helped me realize that as a kid you have to watch out for some people; not only other children but adults too.
I used this knowledge of Scientology, and the supportive environment my family fostered, to live a stable life. I realize that even when people don’t want to be friendly or agreeable, they are still basically good. This has sure been helpful in relationships.
Of course we all know you have to account for all types of characters in life and I had my share of people I would rather be able to avoid, but what my father showed me encouraged me to realize that even these people are okay underneath it all. And because of that and knowing from my Scientology training what causes them to act like they do, I can always look to the best in people and hopefully bring out the best in them too.
I have a wonderful career as a computer programmer, a great marriage and many wonderful friends. And even more important, I can encourage others to look for the best not only in themselves but their fellow men, women and children. Knowing what I know of Scientology, I can show them how to bring out the best in people so they can see what I spent my entire childhood seeing for myself, the good in Man.
The fact is, I'm a somewhat serious man at times, I can argue with the best of them if I need to, I can get upset and I’m all for a good fight when it’s needed. No one's perfect and that includes me. But what I can do is deal with the problems and move through life in good spirits and with a happy family. We don’t just expect everything and everyone to be sweetness and light. Instead we know how to handle life and we can create our own happiness by applying what we’ve learned in Scientology.
The funny and wonderful thing is (I'm trying not to sound too sappy here), when I left my parents’ house to “go into the world on my own,” I really just kept on enjoying life. I had the experience most children are lacking today, of working in the family business. I had studied hard and I had a strong education in the sciences. And with all that, and sincere and correct application of Scientology, it made all the difference in the world, and it still does to this day.
Matt