Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Meet a Scientologist - Yulia Gould's Path to Freedom


Yulia Gould spans the landscape of arts, professions and interests. A Clearwater, Florida-based graphic artist, professional interpreter, public relations officer and events coordinator, she is also a certified scuba diver who loves skiing, skydiving and traveling the world. And although raised in the Soviet Union where the only “religion” was atheism, she has been a Scientologist since she was 14.

“I have walked a long way from being born and raised an atheist to finding my spiritual side through Scientology,” she says. “Realizing that I am not just an ‘animal’ as I was taught in school gave me a different level of responsibility for my actions. It matters what we do with our lives. I want to make the world a better place through my art and work.”

From a background where freedom and basic human rights were not available, Gould doesn’t take these rights for granted. One of her passions is promoting religious and cultural diversity, a goal she pursues by volunteering in groups that promote religious tolerance. And she is particularly proud that her painting “The Awakening” is part of the collection of the founder of the “Pave the Way Foundation,” a nonsectarian public foundation that identifies and eliminates obstacles between faiths.
“As a professional and an artist I really appreciate freedom of speech and expression,” she says. “I am very gratified that I belong to a church that sponsors an international human rights campaign.”
Yulia became involved in Scientology in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
“Both of my parents are MDs,” she says. “They knew that there was more to life than what is normally taught in school. They were searching for the answers. We saw a TV show featuring Dianetics and they became really interested, as it showed the way to help people alleviate psychosomatic illnesses where traditional medical approaches are not enough.”
Gould and her parents enrolled in a Dianetics seminar in Moscow.
“It answered all my question about human behavior—why people sometimes act in a way that seems to have no explanation. I realized here was something that could change my life and the lives of others for the better,” she says.
The entire family continued to study and practice Scientology and Dianetics and it made an enormous difference in Gould’s life.
“I used to be very shy. I was reluctant to speak up,” she says. “Now I really enjoy communication and working with people. Scientology has really helped me get my message across confidently and professionally, whether in interpreting, art or personal relationships. Through Scientology, life has become much easier to understand. If I have an issue or a problem in some area, I know that there is some aspect of Scientology technology that I can learn and use to make things better for myself and others.”
To meet Scientologists from all walks of life, view more than 200 “Meet a Scientologist” videos on www.Scientology.org.
###
The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total more than 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.
A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, with videos now viewed more than 8.1 million times.

Scientology Video: Why we help

Saturday, August 18, 2012

SCIENTOLOGY VOLUNTEER MINISTERS

 The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Corps is an embracive program of the Church of Scientology to provide community service, disaster relief and emergency response. Created more than 30 years ago by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, the program has expanded to over 200,000 Volunteer Ministers worldwide who have served at 161 disaster sites, including Ground Zero after 9/11, the Southeast Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Haiti and Japan.

Volunteer Ministers have trained and partnered with more than 1,000 different groups, organizations and agencies including the Red Cross, FEMA, the National Guard, and police and fire departments. The Volunteer Ministers Corps motto is “Something can be done about it.”

In addition to assisting people in need in their own communities, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have helped hundreds of thousands in major cities around the world and in far flung outposts.  Our 18 Continental Volunteer Minister traveling centers (marquee yellow tents) and have toured through 170 countries covering over 300,000 miles, including a Volunteer Ministers barge traveling on the Amazon River, two centers traveling throughout Western and Central Africa and a traveling center in the outback of Australia.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers also routinely work side by side with other emergency response and relief organizations helping to save lives and bring order to disaster zones. 

In 2001, more than 800 VMs responded to the World Trade Center disaster and provided spiritual and practical aid to emergency workers for many weeks.  They have also been an integral part of rescue and salvage efforts at the sites of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and fires. 

More than 500 VMs from 11 nations served in relief efforts in Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka in 2005
after the Tsunami.  Their work was reported on by international media including CNN, The Economist, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

The service of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers has been recognized by politicians, police, military, other relief agencies and civic authorities.  A mayor in Louisiana whose city had been hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 said, “I was very happy when more than 900 of your Church Volunteer Ministers arrived in my city from all over the world and became a major force in bringing physical and spiritual help to those in need.”

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers click here.

Scientology Video: Why we help

Monday, April 09, 2012

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY HAMBURG CELEBRATING CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Musicians representing five diverse cultures perform a concert in the new chapel of the Church of Scientology of Hamburg

The Church of Scientology Hamburg hosted a Concert for Diversity in their new chapel March 9, featuring artists from five different nations.

The eclectic mix of genre and style spanned the cultural landscape from Iran to Nigeria, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Germany. Each of the seven groups or artists brought to the audience their unique sound and expression, and the finale where they performed together capped the evening.

The theme of the event was the role of the artist in bridging cultural differences and bringing about a better world, as expressed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard: “A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists.”

The Church of Scientology of Hamburg newly opened its doors in a dedication ceremony on January 21, 2012, attended by 1,500 Scientologists, guests and dignitaries. The grand opening marked the culmination of the transformation of the seven-story Church into an Ideal Church of Scientology to better meet the needs of Hamburg’s growing Scientology congregation and the community at large. The renovation and grand opening was part of a program to open Ideal Scientology Organizations around the world to fulfill L. Ron Hubbard’s vision for the religion. They are designed to provide all Scientology religious services to their parishioners and to serve as a home for the entire community and a meeting ground of cooperative efforts to uplift citizens of all denominations.

Scientology Video: Why we help

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Scientology Disaster Response in Thailand

Scientology Volunteer Ministers are providing relief in Bangkok, Thailand, where flooding has affected some 3 million people.

Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Bangkok are working with other relief organizations to cope with the needs of those at a temporary shelter at Chon Buri College where more than 4,000 evacuees were moved to two weeks ago where they cooked and distributed food and provided Scientology Assists.

Teams of Volunteer Ministers also packed some 5,000 food boxes and delivered them by boat to those stranded by the floodwaters.

To join the response team, fill out the disaster relief form on the Volunteer Minister website.

Scientology Video: Why we help

Thursday, August 26, 2010

L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Contest

L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Contest
This week is the 26th annual Writers of the Future Contest. Writers of the future is my personal favorite when it comes to Sci Fi and Fantasy anthologies. The stories are just so much better than you find these days in magazines.
I also think it's great that L. Ron Hubbard created this anthology and contest to give young (and not-so-young) writers and illustrators a start in a very competitive industry, where the door is so often nailed shut to new talent.
From their press release:
Founding Chairman of Challenger Center for Space Education is Keynote Speaker at Writers of the Future Awards Ceremony
June Scobee Rodgers to Address Winners of L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest at Festive Gala

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- June Scobee Rodgers, Founding Chairman of Challenger Center for Space Science Education, will deliver the keynote address to winners of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest, the Contest judges and several hundred attending guests this Saturday night at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Challenger Centers have the purpose to carry on the educational mission to utilize the excitement of space to inspire and motivate our nation's school children to take interest in mathematics, science and technology. Scobee Rodgers will address the evening's attendees on the vital role played by writers and illustrators of science fiction as the dreamers of a new tomorrow which will inspire the next generation of scientists.

It is not only as the founding Chairman of the Challenger Space Centers that she will be addressing the audience. She is also a published author. And, as the 25th anniversary approaches of the Challenger 51-L Teacher in Space mission, commanded by her late husband Astronaut Dick Scobee, she says that she is pleased to launch a new project, ''A series of novels that I developed with Writers of the Future judges Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson, called Star Challengers.''

The highlight of the ceremony will be the announcement of the year's two Grand Prize winners who will each receive $5,000 and release of the annual anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future, Volume 26 (Galaxy Press, 2010). Also being released is a special coffee table book edition of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future: The First 25 Years, a photographic retrospective of the 25 years of the contest and containing over 1,000 images.

The Writers of the Future writing contest (www.writersofthefuture.com) was initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers to get a much-needed break -- its winners have gone on to sell an impressive 31 million copies of their works combined. Due to the success of the Writing Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was created in 1988.

For more information about the award or the ceremony, go to http://www.writersofthefuture.com.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

How does one know that they are a spirit?

It is a matter that each individual must examine for themselves. Scientologists believe Man is more than a mind and body and that it is he, himself, the spirit, who can control the mind and the body.
"You may have been taught that the mind is a very difficult thing to know about. This is the first principle of Scientology: It is possible to know about the mind, the spirit and life."—L. Ron Hubbard

Monday, August 16, 2010

Volunteer Scientologists to be Recognized at Historic Fort Harrison

Volunteer Scientologists to be Recognized at Historic Fort Harrison
August 9, 2010 (FPRC) -- Clearwater – A Volunteer Awards Ceremony will be held in the historic Fort Harrison to honor the over 800 Scientologists in Tampa Bay who have donated over 300,000 volunteer hours to raise funds for the needy, rehabilitate inmates in Florida’s prisons, tutor children, and to spread the message of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights and that a Drug Free Life is More Fun. Pat Harney, the Public Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization will be presenting the awards. She said, “In 1961, L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology wrote: ‘…a being is only as valuable as he can serve others.’ This is an ideology that Scientologists internationally practice, including those here in the Tampa Bay area and I want them to know that they are appreciated for the tremendous work they are doing to raise the standard of living of the people of Tampa Bay and throughout Florida.” Harney continued, “Participation in Scientology volunteer groups, however, is not just limited to Scientologists. People of all faiths are welcome to volunteer, and most of our programs count a wide range of community volunteers.” Here is a partial list of the volunteer groups established and led by Scientologists in the Tampa Bay area>> A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard