From http://www.cultnews.com/2003_01_19_archive.html#87911939 ...Just so Dave Bird stops moaning about complaining to hunt down the info :-)

What could Christopher Reeve teach Tom Cruise about Scientology?

In his new book Nothing Is Impossible, Christopher Reeve offers inspiration and hope, but the Hollywood icon also demonstrates his enduring sense of humor.

In a chapter titled Religion, Reeve tells the story of his involvement with Scientology during 1975.

The saga begins outside a supermarket where the actor runs into a Scientologist promoting a "free personality test." Reeve obliges him and takes the test, curious to find out its results.

The next day in the "plush…inner sanctum of…[Scientology's] headquarters…suitable for the president or CEO of a major corporation"

he is told the bad news. Scientologists warn Reeve that he is carrying "heavy 'baggage'" and suffers from a litany of personal problems.

But of course they can provide the needed "'training'" to help him, which they say he should begin immediately.

So the future Superman takes Scientology courses hoping one day he will "go Clear," which is Scientology jargon for reaching a supposed advanced state of consciousness made possible through their training.

Reeve writes about an exercise called "'TRO' (Training Routine Zero)"

and explains, "The objective was to empty our minds of extraneous thoughts ('clutter')" And "whenever our own clutter tried to come back in, we were…to acknowledge its return and then command it to go away."

Doesn't this sound like "brainwashing"?

The actor tells readers that TRO only cost him "a few hundred dollars." But after that came "auditing," which he describes as "outrageously expensive." And Reeve says Scientology wanted "$3,000 in advance" for that service, which was billed at a "$100 an hour in 1975."

He explains that the "auditor" used an "E-Meter," which is "a simple box with a window that contained a fluctuating needle and a card with numbers from one to ten. Two wires running out of the box…were attached to tin cans," which he was asked to hold.

Apparently it didn't take x-ray vision for Reeve to conclude that the "E-meter was basically a crude lie detector."

What Reeve subsequently details sounds like an interrogation. The actor was asked to "recall the use of…illegal substances…painkillers…anything stronger than aspirin." He says, "My drug rundown used up for or five sessions."

But Reeve had "growing skepticism about Scientology." So he decided to run his own test.

He told the auditor a long story supposedly about a past life, but he made it all up, based upon a Greek myth.

However, the auditor didn't detect anything, even with the help of the trusty "E-Meter."

It was then that the "Man of Steel" decided he was done with Scientology. Reeve writes, "The fact that I got away with a blatant fabrication completely devalued my belief in the process."

Summing up a religious critique the actor says, "My problem has always been with religious dogma intended to manipulate behavior."

From: Skip Press <skippress@earthlink.net>
Mail-Copies-To: nobody Subject: Re: Christopher Reeves rags on Scientology
Organization: The Press Gang
Message-ID: <skippress-0B7AA2.07485024012003@nnrp06.earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 15:48:53 GMT

X-No-archive: yes

In article <Kp6Y9.15744$VU6.17173@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net>, "Susan" <enlightened10056@attbi.com> wrote:

>Praxis wrote:
>> From
>> http://www.cultnews.com/2003_01_19_archive.html#87911939
>> ...Just so Dave Bird stops moaning about complaining to hunt down the
>> info :-)
>>
>> What could Christopher Reeve teach Tom Cruise about Scientology?
>>
>> In his new book Nothing Is Impossible, Christopher Reeve offers
>> inspiration and hope, but the Hollywood icon also demonstrates his
>> enduring sense of humor.
>>
>> In a chapter titled Religion, Reeve tells the story of his involvement
>> with Scientology during 1975.
>>
>> The saga begins outside a supermarket where the actor runs into a
>> Scientologist promoting a "free personality test." Reeve obliges him
>> and takes the test, curious to find out its results.
>>
>> The next day in the "plush.inner sanctum of.[Scientology's]
>> headquarters.suitable for the president or CEO of a major corporation"
>> he is told the bad news. Scientologists warn Reeve that he is carrying
>> "heavy 'baggage'" and suffers from a litany of personal problems.
>>
>> But of course they can provide the needed "'training'" to help him,
>> which they say he should begin immediately.
>>
>> So the future Superman takes Scientology courses hoping one day he
>> will "go Clear," which is Scientology jargon for reaching a supposed
>> advanced state of consciousness made possible through their training.
>>
>> Reeve writes about an exercise called "'TRO' (Training Routine Zero)"
>> and explains, "The objective was to empty our minds of extraneous
>> thoughts ('clutter')" And "whenever our own clutter tried to come back
>> in, we were.to acknowledge its return and then command it to go away."
>>
>> Doesn't this sound like "brainwashing"?
>>
>> The actor tells readers that TRO only cost him "a few hundred
>> dollars." But after that came "auditing," which he describes as
>> "outrageously expensive." And Reeve says Scientology wanted "$3,000 in
>> advance" for that service, which was billed at a "$100 an hour in
>> 1975."
>>
>> He explains that the "auditor" used an "E-Meter," which is "a simple
>> box with a window that contained a fluctuating needle and a card with
>> numbers from one to ten. Two wires running out of the box.were
>> attached to tin cans," which he was asked to hold.
>>
>> Apparently it didn't take x-ray vision for Reeve to conclude that the
>> "E-meter was basically a crude lie detector."
>>
>> What Reeve subsequently details sounds like an interrogation. The
>> actor was asked to "recall the use of.illegal
>> substances.painkillers.anything stronger than aspirin." He says, "My
>> drug rundown used up for or five sessions."
>>
>> But Reeve had "growing skepticism about Scientology." So he decided to
>> run his own test.
>>
>> He told the auditor a long story supposedly about a past life, but he
>> made it all up, based upon a Greek myth.
>>
>> However, the auditor didn't detect anything, even with the help of the
>> trusty "E-Meter."
>>
>> It was then that the "Man of Steel" decided he was done with
>> Scientology. Reeve writes, "The fact that I got away with a blatant
>> fabrication completely devalued my belief in the process."
>>
>> Summing up a religious critique the actor says, "My problem has always
>> been with religious dogma intended to manipulate behavior."
>
>So, this makes Christopher an ex-scientologist, and a critic- an SP! Welcome
>to the ranks Christopher. You have LOTS of company.
>
>Susan

Chris was a good friend of Jeff Pomerantz - they were on the same soap opera in NY.

Then Helen Geltman wouldn't transfer the money Chris had on account to Celebrity Centre. Yvonne Jentzsch and Helen Geltman had a big fight about it.

Chris left $cientology while out here filming Superman.

Pomerantz left the soap opera and moved out here to be more "on purpose"

as a $cientologist and get into the movies. The last time I saw him, he was going to marry a girl who was 18 or so, this was about ten years ago and I think Pomerantz was pushing 50 at the time.

Reeve stopped talking to him because of the $cientology issue.

Contrast their two movie careers.

Looks like $cientology doesn't really work, does it?

--

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.

-- George Bernard Shaw

All the best,

Skip Press, the Duke of URL and The Sum of All Hollywood Fears at http://home.earthlink.net/~skippress/

From: janeebislis@hotmail.com (Praxis)
Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Superman's_Scientology_=91truth'?=
Date: 27 Jan 2003 05:29:43 -0800
Message-ID: <80ee9418.0301270529.1c59f7d6@posting.google.com>

From http://www.msnbc.com/news/864294.asp

Superman's Scientology ‘truth' With Ashley Pearson MSNBC

Jan. 27 — Perhaps Christopher Reeve and Tom Cruise could have a lively little chat about religion. The "Superman" star once dabbled in Scientology — the often controversial faith that counts Tom Cruise among its ardent followers — but Reeve doesn't give it a rave review in his memoir, "Nothing Is Impossible."

REEVE DESCRIBES HOW he took courses and underwent numerous, expensive "auditing" sessions during which he was quizzed about his life, including his drug use history, while hooked up to an "e-meter"

machine designed to get to the truth.

But Reeve says he "grew skeptical" of the whole process and told an outrageous lie — which wasn't caught by the auditor or the e-meter.

"The fact that I got away with a blatant fabrication completely devalued my belief in the process," Reeve wrote. He felt similar disillusionment with various alternative religions and cults he encountered in Hollywood.

"It's refreshing to find a celebrity that isn't another annoying Hollywood cliché, constantly promoting some leader, special mentor or weird group," notes Cultnews.com. "It seems Scientology has more to learn from Superman than he ever could have taken in from its endless courses and ‘auditing.' "

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