Source

I had the pleasure of meeting Craig and Suzanne on my last trip to LA. Both had been long-term, committed, active Scientologists. But like more and more Church members, they became increasingly disgusted with the excesses and abuse perpetrated by their Church. After making their own thorough investigation, they decided they could no longer be part of a Church that behaved in that way. Following is their Leaving Scientology announcement.

Dear Friends,

We are Craig & Suzanne Houchin and we are here to announce that we are leaving Scientology.

Suzanne has been a Scientologist since age 11. I have been a Scientologist since 1984, and we were married in the Church in 1986. I am an OT IV, Class IV, KTL, LOC and L11 completion. Suzanne is Grade III, Permanent Class IV, KTL, LOC, PDC and Briefing Course trained.

From 1994 to 2010, Suzanne and I were key leaders in the Boy Scout Program chartered to Celebrity Centre International (CCI), and all three of our bright and wonderful sons are Eagle Scouts.

We are Patrons and Honor Roll members of the IAS. And since 1998, our family photo and success story have been used to promote the effectiveness of Scientology on a Church website at this link (Note: as of 17 May 2010, the Church has removed us from this website).

http://www.scientologyreligion.org/pg012.html

We got into Scientology to understand the mysteries of Life, to understand ourselves, and to become more self-determined and causative beings. LRH’s words from Personal Integrity had the sound of freedom to us, “Nothing in Dianetics and Scientology is true for you unless you have observed it…”

Even now, the words are inspiring. Unfortunately, the reality turned out to be different.

We did gain a glimpse into the mysteries of Life, we did come to better understand ourselves and one another, but every good piece of Scientology came with a new chain that we had to wear. It was always a trade. For a little bit of tech, we had to give up a little bit of awareness, a little bit of integrity and little bit more self-determinism — which, of course, was tragically ironic.

By 2001, we were wrung out spiritually and financially. The trade-off just wasn’t worth it anymore and we began to quietly drift away. But, as well-indoctrinated Scientologists, we didn’t dare to discuss our doubts with each other. For “good Scientologists”, the band of acceptable communication, even between the most intimate people, is extremely narrow. So, we simply didn’t talk about the big white elephant in the room — until about 3-years ago. That’s when Suzanne broke the cardinal sin of the Church and began to LOOK.

For the first year she kept it to herself, fearing what my reaction might be, and swimming alone through a sea of shocking stories of personal tragedy that literally turned her world upside down.

We have been married for nearly 25-years and love each other deeply, but such was our indoctrination that she was afraid that our marriage might be in jeopardy over what she was doing. When she finally broached the subject with me, I agreed to look at what she was reading, to evaluate it, i.e., to discredit it.

Well, very shortly, I got my own severe reality adjustment.

For weeks, I resisted, denied, and justified what I was reading, but finally I accepted that there was just too damned much smoke for there not to be a fire somewhere.

After that painful reach, I withdrew. I dropped the whole subject and went on with my life. Then, some friends of ours caught on to us and made us talk. Thankfully, they joined us and began looking themselves. And all over again we began reliving with them the “WTF?” “This can’t be true!” “Oh, shit! I knew it!” roller-coaster ride.

Together, we all discovered the SP Times series, then Marty’s, Jeff’s and Steve’s blogs. We discussed, discussed and discussed forbidden topics, personal experiences, revelations, cognitions, and even wins from de-PTSing that we had never had the freedom to discuss before. It makes a huge difference to have others to go through this experience with.

For that reason, all of the blogs have been immensely valuable to us in this journey, but it was Counterfeit Dreams that, for both of us, finally stilled our minds, moved us from doubt, and marked a dramatic turning point in our journey.

That’s why it is such a privilege for us to make this announcement on Jeff’s blog.

We are no longer members of the Church of Scientology.

We are no longer Scientologists.

We are members of the human race, and as such, we want to help end David Miscavige’s reign of terror.

We want to thank all of the thoughtful and courageous beings who post on this blog and all of the other blogs. Every story, every viewpoint has made a difference on our journey.

And Jeff, from the bottom of our hearts to the very tip-top, thank you for telling your story, thank you for doing what you are doing, and thank you for being.

Craig & Suzanne Houchin

See Craig’s full story here: My Declare Saga