OT VIII

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OT VIII is the highest current course and level in Scientology. Collectively, the OTs are referred to as Operating Thetan course materials. OT VIII is known as "The Truth Revealed".

"This Solo-audited level addresses the primary cause of amnesia on the whole track and lets one see the truth of his own existence. This is the first actual OT level and brings about a resurgence of power and native abilities for the being himself. This may be done at the Flag Ship Service Organization only."[1]

Until April of 2008 the "Flag Ship Service Organization" operated aboard the Freewinds, a church-owned seagoing cruise ship staffed by the Sea Org. Operations aboard the Freewinds have since been suspended due to the presence of asbestos.

Contents

[edit] Versions of OT VIII

There have been at least two versions of the OT VIII course, the latter of which is called "New OT VIII." An outline of New OT VIII is known from ex-members who have completed the course, such as Ariane Jackson and Michael Pattinson. Jackson has described the course as having two parts: a preparatory e-meter drill, followed by a review of Scientology: A History of Man and an examination of previously identified past lives to find out which ones are false.[2] According to Pattinson, the course included an affirmation from L. Ron Hubbard that "now he [Pattinson] knew who he wasn't, and was interested in finding out who he was."[3]

[edit] Fishman version

The Fishman Affidavit claimed that the older version of OT VIII included (among other things) a revelation that Jesus Christ was a "lover of young boys and men," but the Church of Scientology has called the affidavit's description libelous and a forgery.[4] The Church alleged in the trial of Arnaldo Lerma that the Affidavit's version of OT VIII infringed its copyright but later said this was a mistake.

[edit] Wikileaks version

On March 24, 2008, Wikileaks placed what it claimed was a complete set of OT levels on their site, including a version of OT VIII not previously publicly available. They state:

A former Scientologist contacted by Wikileaks and known to have studied OT8, states that material marked "OT8 (old)" he has seen before, but that he does not have a recollection of "OT8 (new)" (which the text describes as having been put together based on the recall of one or more of the renegade group).[5]

The Church of Scientology has complained that this is a copyright violation; Wikileaks said that this confirmed the documents' veracity, but the complaint does not expressly claim the alleged versions of OT VIII as Church-owned material.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Church of Scientology International. Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  2. ^ Jackson, Ariane (1996-09-03). NEW OT8 RUNDOWN!!. alt.religion.scientology. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  3. ^ Pattinson v. Church of Scientology et al., US District Court for the Central District of California, 1998
  4. ^ Prendergast, Alan (1995-10-04). Stalking the Net. Denver Westword News. Village Voice Media. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  5. ^ Church of Scientology collected Operating Thetan documents. Wikileaks (2008-04-10). Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
  6. ^ Metz, Cade (2008-04-08). Scientology threatens Wikileaks with injunction. The Register. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
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