exscientologist99999

Great question and something I've been concerned about. I am certainly not high profile, and while I perhaps chummed the water with my wallet, I get the sense that they were more eager to be rid of me (see Suppressive Person shit) than to risk me starting drama. My (now ex) girlfriend stayed in it and that is a huge asset they didn't want to lose. I of course still get calls and mail despite my requests, but I think that's on account of their poor data systems. I'm very lucky I was in for a shorter time, because I think that made it easier to legitimize the refund.

This is surprising to me even with hindsight. I had stopped with friends at a small CoS mission in my hometown when I was young and tried the "cans". My parents scoffed when they heard I went there and explained it wasn't a real thing, but it didn't seem serious. Especially as a young adult exploring my own ideas, and having a girlfriend who was very into it already, my judgement was definitely skewed. The church has a lot of money and a strong frontface if you haven't seen or heard the criticism. It is DEFINITELY possible to fall for Scientology and I think it's important to spread the news and regulate the malicious org more heavily.

This. It was part of the deal when they went tax-exempt. Granted they try to make it super difficult to actually execute the refund, but that's where the CC companies came in

I took my girlfriend back to my hometown to introduce her to my family and friends. I was excited to talk to my friends about my involvement in Scientology, knowing it was niche. My friends were immediately concerned, but unable to be too critical in person because my girlfriend was always present and never left my side. We took a road trip with my GF and two childhood friends, and on the way back we ended up visiting a CoS. My friends were spooked by the whole experience, but again, didn't say anything in front of my GF. One of my friends seemed genuinely interested during our tour, and agreed to take a 200-question Oxford Capacity Analysis home with him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Capacity_Analysis

A couple days later, I texted my buddy, asking if he had the chance to fill out the questionnaire. At this point, he called me on the phone and asked me to make sure my GF wasn't able to hear our conversation. He proceeded to expose his true concerns for the first time. It turns out, my mother was worried sick about me, and really disliked my girlfriend, but didn't know how to talk with me about this. A lot of people were concerned for me, but were nervous to confront it. My buddy rambled about how dangerous the CoS is, and how the questions on the paper were exactly like the disturbing interrogations in a film called "The Master," and how I needed to watch the documentary "Going Clear" as soon as possible.

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It became apparent that my girlfriend, and the other CoS staff members we had been in contact with, wanted me to know as little as possible about Scientology from the outside perspective. My friends arranged an intervention, and pretty soon I realized that the people I grew with were begging me to leave the CoS. The church staff on the other hand were primarily interested in knowing what rumors I had heard so they could debunk it. Red flag AF. I took my friends' advice to heart, did my own research, and got out.

edit: changed the link to something third party so we don't give anyone any ideas...

It was honestly part of the mentality being pushed on me by my girlfriend. I was infatuated with the idea of being more open-minded and flexible and not so calculated about my every move. It is a big step, and it occurred a few days after, and in direct response, to a fight with my gf. This seemed like as good a way as any to prove devotion. Right? Right...?