Happiness and Morality? Is there any connection?

An article out of Baton Rouge asks a very interesting question: How can a person be truly happy when they are surrounded by immoral, behavior that is just everywhere today?

Right before I read that I was checking out Digg.com and saw on the first page an article on Britney Spears losing custody of her two boys because of her wanton disregard for standards, her excessive drinking, her use of alcohol and other actions which show her to be a bad influence on children.

But how unusual is this kind of behavior on her part today. Unfortunately, it's all too prevelant.

"Celebrities and many leaders are no example. They do stupid things that involve drugs, sex and money that are bad for themselves, their families and their groups. It's so bad, that we've almost become desensitized to bad behavior. Yet, by survey Americans are not happy, at least not as happy as they want to be.

"Our churches have promised happiness but even their promises have been shut down by laws so they can't help like they want to. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a public school in Kentucky could not post the Ten Commandments because this would violate the separation of church and state.

"Happiness cannot be gained alone. That's a big part of the problem. It's difficult to be happy without others. You just can't be happy when you have everyone around you doing crazy things that threaten your survival. If we could all only use our common sense.

"So, how can we help each other live happy lives? A common sense simple guide is available that isn't religious and is at the same time not unreligious. It's called The Way to Happiness. The book can be used by anybody of any race or religious background to help themselves, their families and friends. ">>more

In June, David Miscavige announced a very special program. L. Ron Hubbard wrote a common-sense moral code in the early 1980s which any person of any religion can use. It is extremely powerful. But it's not called the Way to Morality. It's called The Way to Happiness, because by following these precepts you can actually be happy. Mr. Miscavige released a beautiful new version of The Way to Happiness hardback book and the following night he announced that a new set of public service announcements -- one for each of the 21 precepts of The Way To Happiness had been created and that these are available on DVD but they are also starting to air on TV stations around the world.

If you are as sick as I am of conditions in your community deteriorating, you can personally do something to raise the quality of life around you, by distributing The Way to Happiness and/or copies of the DVD.

You can view the public service announcements online at http://www.twth.org/.

Far from being preachy, these PSAs are upbeat and very entertaining. But best of all the convey the essence of these precepts. By making them and the booklet broadly available, we can really make a difference.


^{A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest
beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion}

Communication Skills can Avert Conflicts: Scientologist

A terrific article coming out of Nepal today:

Kathmandu, September 27

A Scientologist said at a workshop on Wednesday that good communication skills can resolve many conflicts.

Speaking at a week-long training for security forces on effective communication skills, Marion Whitta, director, Scientology International Volunteers Goodwill Tour India and Nepal, said, "A policeman who knows how to communicate is much more powerful than a bullet will ever be."
She said the root of every conflict is miscommunication or misunderstanding and the effective communication skills can resolve most of the conflicts of the world, rendering arms useless.>>more

^{A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion}

Rich and Mark Take on Panorama

Thanks to Rich and Mark for sharing this outrageous clip on YouTube:



What a scream!

BBC's Mistake

I think BBC will come to regret defending Sweeney when they realize just how much he pulled the wool over their eyes.



There's no way they could continue to defend him after finding out he actually heckled John Travolta at the London Wild Hogs premiere while he was doing his story on Scientology. This has to violate their own code of ethics, surely!

London in Spring

I happened across this photo today. It's the Church of Scientology of London on Queen Victoria Street. Thanks. to Leyaya for this picture.

This church is right in the heart of London, and such a beautiful city, London is. Especially in April.

I felt so nostalgic I went looking for photos of London gardens and found a goldmine!

Here are some other views of London from this time of year (the absolutely most beautiful time to be visiting, with so many gorgeous gardens all over the city).

A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion

IMG_0002 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I happened across this photo today. It's the Church of Scientology of London on Queen Victoria Street.

Such a beautiful part of the city.

Here are some other views of London from this time of year (the absolutely most beautiful time to be visiting, with so many gorgeous gardens all over the city).

Volunteer Ministers in Flickr

I found out about a great new Flickr feature from the Engineering a New World blog. It's flickr maps, and you can post your photos on a map of the world, to appear where they happened in the world.





But what was even more cool were the pictures he posted.





I think the work Scientology Volunteer Ministers do is outstanding.





You know there's a team of Scientologists in the Solomon Islands now, helping with the relief effort after last week's tsunami. I don't know how they do it! They just pack a bag, rasie enough donations to get them to the disaster zone, roll up their sleaves and stay there helping people as long as it takes to get the job done and put a team of local residents whom they train to take over for them. As I said, I have no end of respect and admiration for what they do.





Here's the photo of one of the kids they helped.



Needs no further explanation!

A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion

Church of Scientology Buys Historic K.C. Office Bldg. - CoStar Group

It was great to see this story on the Church of Scientology of Kansas City
After hearing about the building at the L. Ron Hubbard birthday celebration when David Miscavige made the announcement, I was thrilled to find it in Google news!
Church of Scientology Buys Historic K.C. Office Bldg. - CoStar Group

Church of Scientology of Moscow Wins Landmark Decision In European Court of Human Rights—Confirmation of Scientology's Religious Bona Fides by the Hig

Here's a terrific story I found in Google News:Church of Scientology of Moscow Wins Landmark Decision In European Court of Human Rights—Confirmation of Scientology's Religious Bona Fides by the Highest Court in Europe

I'll bet they're having parties in Moscow tonight!

Scientology Media Information - Church of Scientology International

Today on the Scientology Media Information - Church of Scientology International :
New Life Improvement Center opened in Plant City, Floria.
Go Tampa! The Church of Scientology of Tampa is doing great!

L. Ron Hubbard's Birthday

This past weekend, nearly every Scientology church and mission in the world held their March 13th event.

March 13th is the anniversary of L. Ron Hubbard's birthday and the tradition sprang up in the mid-70s to celebrate it as a yearly event. Every Scientology church competes against all others to be the fastest expanding church on Earth. And this year the winners with the Church of Scientology of Denmark in Copenhagen! I'm pretty sure this is the first time they've ever won that prize and boy were they pumped.

It was great to see David Miscavige. Mr. Miscavige is the Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center (worth of visit to that web site to find out what RTC is all about. Pretty remarkable actually). Anyway, David Miscavige is one of the best public speakers I've ever heard, and his speeches always rock. I love being kept up-to-date on what's happening with Scientology and Scientologists around the world, and as usual his keynote speech delivered a walloping overview on that score.

The March 13th event is also special because of the presentation by the LRH biographer, and this year's was so terrific.

If you missed the event, you can still see it at the closest Scientology church of mission to you. There's a new global locator on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site, and you can even get driving directions. Check it out here!

A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion

Ron's Birthday

Tonight is the LRH birthday event in Florida (Clearwater and the Flag Land Base), and tomorrow is the event in LA and I can hardly wait.

I think this is my favorite Scientology event. What I look forward to most is hearing David Miscavige speak (he always does the keynote speech and acts as master of ceremonies) and learning more about L. Ron Hubbard. There is usually a video presentation by his biographer, Danny Sherman.

One thing is for sure, no matter how much I keep up with the news, there is always blow-away information I didn't expect at all at each event.

I've been a Scientologist for so long and it is just a dream come true to me to see how much and how fast we are expanding now, and how much we are reaching out to help people, which was the reason I became a Scientologist in the first place -- to get and receive help.

A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion

Scientology Theology

The Scientology Theology and Practice book is online and has a good overview of Scientology beliefs. But really, the best way to learn about Scientology and what we believe is to read a book or listen to a taped lecture by L. Ron Hubbard. LRH has a way of presenting the information he discovered that makes it really simple to assimilate, and it is quite incredible how timeless these communications are. It is very much as though he were speaking right to you, in my own experience. One book I have read over and over and continued to learn from each time is Science of Survival. I recommend it highly.

A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion

Mr. David Miscavige

This is an excellent, comprehensive biography page on Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center. His dedication to bringing real freedom to mankind is tremendous. davidmiscavige.rtc.org/eng/bio/miscavige.htm

The Scientology Handbook includes technology on how to resolve conflicts. With it one finds out what has to exist for a conflict to occurand how to resolve any conflict. Information on this is at http://www.scientologyhandbook.org

Scientology in England

The Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom has a beautiful location at St. Hill, near East Grinstead Sussex. I have been there several times and love it. Here is a page that describes the Church there and its services. www.scientology.org.uk

Scientology Creed

The best way to find what a Scientologist believes is to read the Creed of the Church of Scientology, and go into a Scientology church and get a book by L. Ron Hubbard, such as Dianetics or the Scientology Handbook or a copy of the This is Scientology DVD where David Miscavige describes the Scientology religion, take a tour, attend an introductory lecture or seminar.

Here's a video on the Scientology creed, so you can see for yourself right now.

Scientologists from Scientology churches in Australila and the Scientology Mission of Manilla are helping people in the Philippines recover from Typhoon Durian.

They worked right through the holidays, providing the help people needed so badly.

It's people like these Scientology Volunteer Ministers that make me so proud to be a Scientologist.

A Bit More on That

There has been a lot of news coverage on David Miscavige in the past year or so.

But one thing I want to say about him is that Scientology has so much to offer the individual it is really hard to even start to explain it. And Mr. Miscavige has been doing a lot of work to make it so that anyone can find out about Scientology at their own pace, with the public information panels that are going into our churches, like the Church of Scientology of Berlin, the Church of Scientology of San Francisco, the Church of Scientology of New York, Buffalo, Madrid and the Church of Scientology of Johannesburg. All of these new churches have these displays and anyone can walk in and find out about Scientology for themselves. (David Miscavige even attended the grand openings of a number of these churches and spoke at some of the events)!

Mr. David Miscavige is a tremendous religious leader, capable and effective. He accomplishes the aims of the Scientology religious movement. This page has an interview of Mr. Miscavige by the St. Petersburg Times that exemplifies this. www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart1.html

It's a New Year

Actually it's a whole WEEK into the new year, and it feels a lot longer ago than that, that I watched the Scientology New Years Eve event.

It was the most inspiring thing I've seen in ages.

For many years, as a Scientologist, I've been looking forward to the time that everyone would avail themselves of L. Ron Hubbard's technology.

I don't care whether a person is or is not a Scientologist, but I do care if someone is hopelessly lost in the mess we call the 21st Century vs. having some real tools to live a better, happier, more decent life.

It's a bit shocking to me to see how much our society has deteriorated over the past 60 years. I was born in 1947. Maybe it was a bit hypocritical, but when I was first going to movies, watching TV, the stories were largely about ethical decisions and people making the right choices.

Granted we'd just come through a helacious war where people's inhumanity to one another was so shocking it left most people who lived through it reeling.

And we were living under the daily threat of nuclear war.

And people were cheating on their husbands and wives then just as they have all down through history.

But the people we ideolized were those who were ethical.

I feel that society has deteriorated a lot.

I had a dream when I was a teenager and just into my 20's. I really thought we'd entered the Age or Aquarious, and that all it would take was waiting for everyone to realize it and it would all get better.

NOT.

But back the what I was saying to begin with. There is so much in Scientology that you can USE to live a better life, to be happier, to help the people who mean the most to you, to CHANGE things that NEED changing.

And there is no downside.

That may seem impossible, but I'm telling you it's true. And it is really worth checking out.

I recommend the newly restored DVD An Introduction to Scientology - an interview with L. Ron Hubbard. It will give you a really good idea of what Scientology is, and what you stand to gain from it.