Don't Do Nothing

[00:00:00] Andy: Scientology is like a buzzword on the internet. I have been working at the Church of Scientology in San Francisco for 20 years. There’s nothing that I could do to help a person that would be more powerful than delivering Scientology to them. Mm-hmm. I think that the role of religion in society is because the root cause of violence and crime and drug use and war on this planet, people no longer believe that they’re spiritual beings and the role of spirituality in society, it should be very prominent.

[00:00:30] Andy: Religion in general is going through a bit of a renaissance right now. I, so people are waking up to that. They’ll be like, oh, there’s more going on than my credit score or 

[00:00:38] Aaron: mm-hmm. 

[00:00:38] Andy: The car I’m sitting in, I’ve heard everything. Mm-hmm. About there is to know about Scientology 

[00:00:43] Aaron: today. I have possibly the most famous Scientologist online today.

[00:00:49] Aaron: Okay. It’s Mr. Andy Holmes who runs the TikTok, YouTube, all these other social media accounts for the Church of San Ology, San Francisco. Yeah. Where he has worked. [00:01:00] For 20 years as a volunteer, uh, primarily. Right. Um, he has two children, 13 and five years old. He’s been married for 14 years. This guy also has what we call, uh, a kind of side gig to pay the bills, which is working marketing at an accounting firm.

[00:01:20] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:01:20] Aaron: And he is a first generation Scientologist who is literally famous with multi multimillions of views. Um, and man, it’s really exciting to have you on. Andy. 

[00:01:31] Andy: Welcome. Yeah, thanks. Appreciate it. 

[00:01:32] Aaron: Let’s go, Andy. 

[00:01:33] Andy: That was awesome. Yeah. That was quite the introduction. Yeah. Yeah. So anyways, I’m excited to be here.

[00:01:38] Andy: Um, that was a, that was a great intro. Um, yeah, I have been working at the Church of Scientology in San Francisco for 20 years. This will be my 20th year there. 

[00:01:47] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:01:48] Andy: So I’ve seen a lot, I’ve pretty much seen it all, heard it all, been on all kinds of adventures, you know. And I’ve been all over Scientology, you know, the whole Scientology world from the, the top to the bottom.[00:02:00] 

[00:02:00] Andy: But the thing for me is San Francisco’s always been my home. Mm. I’m, I’m very like, 

[00:02:07] Brad: did you grow up there? 

[00:02:08] Andy: I didn’t grow up there. 

[00:02:09] Brad: Oh, wow. 

[00:02:10] Andy: I actually grew up in Southern California. Mm-hmm. 

[00:02:12] Brad: Which 

[00:02:12] Andy: is a good story. Um, but yeah, I’m very connected to San Francisco. I mean, I, I love it there. I’ll die there. I’ll, I like, I like go through like different physiological reactions, even if I leave the city limits, just because I’m so rooted there.

[00:02:27] Andy: Like, even if I have to go to Oakland, I like, don’t like it, you know? I, I love it there. It’s awesome. 

[00:02:32] Aaron: That’s great. Yeah. So, so I guess, I mean, the first thing that I, I want to know Sure. And kind of, we, we address this with most guests, but like. How did you start in Scientology, right? You’re first generation, you kind of discovered it or found it or whatever.

[00:02:46] Aaron: Like how, how did you start? 

[00:02:48] Brad: And by first generation, we mean his parents weren’t Scientology, 

[00:02:51] Aaron: correct? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry that, 

[00:02:53] Andy: I don’t 

[00:02:53] Aaron: think that was, anyways. 

[00:02:54] Andy: No worries. Okay. So I didn’t grow up in Scientology. 

[00:02:57] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:02:58] Andy: I didn’t hear the word [00:03:00] Scientology until I was 19 years old. Maybe I was 18. 18, 19.

[00:03:04] Aaron: Yep. 

[00:03:04] Andy: Okay. So what happened was, um, when I was growing up, you know, I’m gonna, I’m gonna back up. I’m gonna tell you the whole story. It’s a great story. 

[00:03:13] Brad: Please. 

[00:03:13] Andy: So, when I was growing up, I was, uh, I had a really hard time in school. 

[00:03:19] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:03:20] Andy: Super hard. And when I was in middle school, I was falling very, very behind and I was really literate.

[00:03:28] Andy: And my parents were really worried about this. They were really worried about my literacy and, and like, you know, he’s gonna get held back in school. Mm-hmm. This is a problem. I actually ended up seeing one of the school psychologists. Mm-hmm. And they diagnosed me with something called an auditory processing disorder.

[00:03:45] Andy: Okay. 

[00:03:45] Brad: What does that, what does that mean? 

[00:03:46] Andy: Yeah, so auditory just means like listening and it basically means that I didn’t pay attention. You can’t listen. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. The technical thing they, like the psychologist was saying is like he can’t process things audibly, whatever, but to me it just [00:04:00] meant I was just daydreaming, not really paying attention a lot.

[00:04:02] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:04:02] Andy: Right. So, uh, I was, you know, getting a lot of private tutoring and they were trying to like, handle me, handle my literacy, so I wasn’t gonna get held back. They were looking like holding me back possibly in like sixth, seventh grade. Mm-hmm. Because my literacy level was so low. Okay. Obviously getting held back in the sixth, seventh, eighth grade, whatever would be incredibly demoralizing.

[00:04:25] Andy: So I was like really determined to not have that happen. 

[00:04:28] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:04:29] Andy: And a really funny thing, the year between eighth grade and ninth grade, I stumbled upon a book. It’s a really famous book that everyone’s heard of. It’s called The Hobbit. 

[00:04:39] Aaron: Okay. 

[00:04:39] Andy: By a Tolkien, right? 

[00:04:40] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:04:41] Andy: And I devoured this thing. 

[00:04:43] Aaron: Oh, wow. 

[00:04:43] Andy: Yeah.

[00:04:44] Andy: And it changed my life, actually. This book, it, it, it really opened my whole universe up to art and other worlds and, you know, I was completely invested in this story, you know? And then I became obsessed [00:05:00] with reading science fiction and fantasy. 

[00:05:03] Brad: Oh, 

[00:05:03] Aaron: wow. Wow. 

[00:05:04] Andy: Obsessed. And, 

[00:05:04] Aaron: and, and how, 

[00:05:05] Andy: so how were you 

[00:05:06] Aaron: able to even read that book?

[00:05:08] Andy: Yeah. Was it, it sounds like, I don’t know. I don’t really know. Yeah. To be honest with you. Yeah. Okay. I, I don’t really know. I think that, um, I think that my, the handle on my literacy, I think I just needed something that was interesting to me. 

[00:05:21] Brad: Mm. 

[00:05:21] Andy: Right. I think I was just bored. Wow. Yeah. I think I was just bored in school.

[00:05:24] Andy: Wow. To be real, you know, that I think I was just, that’s 

[00:05:26] Brad: super real to me. 

[00:05:27] Andy: I think I was just bored. Right. I don’t think I was dumb. 

[00:05:30] Brad: Yep. 

[00:05:30] Andy: You know? Um, so I just was really engrossed in it. So if the book. So the summer between eighth and ninth grade, if the book didn’t have a dragon on it or a spaceship, and if it wasn’t at least 500 pages long.

[00:05:44] Brad: Yes. What? That’s a real science fiction 

[00:05:47] Andy: nerd. I wouldn’t read it. Yes. Oh, a total science fiction nerd. And I got super into this. 

[00:05:51] Brad: Wow. 

[00:05:52] Andy: Then I got into high school. 

[00:05:53] Brad: Dude, you know what’s funny is that’s totally real to me. I actually, so I read a lot of science fiction as a kid, especially in probably, [00:06:00] probably like eighth to like 10th grade.

[00:06:02] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:06:03] Brad: And I literally had the same idea as if a book, the thicker the book, the more excited I was to read it. Wow. Which is a weird kind of, you think of it, well, 

[00:06:09] Andy: you’re like, you want to get into the world, you wanna, it was, 

[00:06:11] Brad: it’s more, it’s more like 

[00:06:13] Andy: immersive. For me it was escapism, right? 

[00:06:15] Brad: Mm-hmm. Same 

[00:06:15] Andy: because I was pretty introverted.

[00:06:17] Andy: I was a pretty depressed kid. 

[00:06:18] Brad: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[00:06:19] Andy: Right? Didn’t have a lot of friends. I wasn’t super social, and to me, real life just sucked. 

[00:06:24] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:06:25] Andy: Mm-hmm. You know what I mean? I’d go to school, I would get bullied. Like I wouldn’t like get the right girl. It just sucked. 

[00:06:30] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:06:30] Andy: But if I would read these books, I’d be like, oh, I’m.

[00:06:33] Andy: Fighting someone with a lightsaber, I’m on a dragon or mm-hmm. It’s awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Right? Mm-hmm. Okay. So all through high school, I, uh, I would, I would not do homework ever. 

[00:06:44] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:06:44] Andy: Mm-hmm. I, I almost failed out of high school. I did really poorly and my parents would be really confused ’cause my parents would be like, okay, you’re gonna sit in this room and you’re gonna do homework for two hours and you’re not allowed to like go on Nintendo or do anything until your homework’s done.

[00:06:58] Andy: But what they didn’t know is I would open [00:07:00] my math book or my history book and I would put a sci-fi book in the middle. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I would just do that. And I was reading, you know, two to three hours a day science fiction fantasy and, um, that eventually just handled my literacy. I had enough interaction with the language where my literacy went up and, okay.

[00:07:21] Andy: So you asked me how I got in Scientology. This, this is sequitur, so I’ll come back to that. So I didn’t know that El Ron Hubbard was the founder. Of Dianetics and Scientology. Mm. I didn’t know that. 

[00:07:33] Aaron: Yeah. Mm-hmm. 

[00:07:33] Andy: And somewhere along the line, I had picked up a book that El Ron Hubbard wrote called Fear. 

[00:07:39] Aaron: Mm.

[00:07:39] Aaron: Oh. 

[00:07:39] Andy: And this was the first El Ron Hubbard book I’d ever read. Mm-hmm. And the reason why I picked fear is because when I was in high school, I was a huge Stephen King fan. 

[00:07:47] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:07:47] Andy: I read anything in everything that Stephen King wrote. Wow. And I saw an interview with Stephen King and in the interview he suggested fear mm-hmm.

[00:07:58] Andy: By Arun Hubbard. Mm-hmm. He spoke very highly of [00:08:00] it. Mm-hmm. I was like, okay, well if the master is saying this, I’m gonna read this book. So I read that book, loved it. Okay. Um, four years later I was graduating from high school. Um, I, you know, handled my literacy. I was very literate at this time. Mm-hmm.

[00:08:14] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:08:15] Andy: And I don’t know why, but I just felt this urge that I had to get out of Orange County. 

[00:08:22] Aaron: Mm. 

[00:08:22] Andy: I grew up in this world, in Orange County, and it was great. I don’t really have a lot of co. About it. You know, I actually had a pretty good childhood. My parents were, were amazing. But it was very like, I was in this like bubble and I knew there was so much to the world out there that I didn’t know about.

[00:08:40] Andy: Mm-hmm. And I just had this like, urge to go on an adventure, like just get out of there. 

[00:08:44] Brad: Wow. 

[00:08:44] Andy: And I, and I had to leave and what happened was I told my mom, I’m gonna move to New York City. I’m gonna go to New York City and I’m gonna study journalism. And my parents begged me, begged me not to go to New York.

[00:08:57] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Wow. 

[00:08:58] Andy: Because they knew I was never coming home. [00:09:00] 

[00:09:00] Aaron: Right. 

[00:09:00] Andy: They knew. They knew I was out, I was gone. Right. I was going on adventure and they were like, new York’s too far. It’s too far away. So, and 

[00:09:06] Aaron: you’re 18 at this point 

[00:09:07] Andy: or? I was 18. Okay. 18. 18. So I wound up going to San Francisco. Um, and it was interesting, I went to San Francisco because the newspaper there, the San Francisco Chronicle is quite famous and it actually got really famous because, you know, they’ve done a lot of investigative journalism.

[00:09:25] Andy: And there was all that buzz around. I don’t know if you’ve followed True Crime or anything like that, but this, you know, the Zodiac killer. You heard about that at all? No. Okay. Anyways, I’m not gonna get a whole thing on the Zodiac, but basically the Zodiac was a serial killer in, it was super active in the, in, in the eighties?

[00:09:43] Andy: Or 

[00:09:43] Aaron: is this, this is real life, not, not fiction? No, 

[00:09:45] Andy: this is real life. Okay. Real life. Okay. Okay. Okay. Real life. I 

[00:09:48] Brad: don’t know the details, but 

[00:09:49] Andy: I, yeah, yeah. And I could be screwing up the dates. Maybe it wasn’t the eighties. I don’t know. They made a movie out, out, out of it with like Robert Downey Jr. A few years ago.

[00:09:55] Andy: Okay. It’s a great movie. Okay. Anyways, the Zodiac was [00:10:00] like sending letters and like all kinds of threats to the public via the San Francisco Chronicle. Mm. It was pretty dark, right? Mm-hmm. But at this time in my life, this was like exciting to me. I was like, I wanna like go on adventures and like try to catch killers or whatever.

[00:10:15] Andy: So I moved to San Francisco and I went to the University of San Francisco. 

[00:10:19] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:10:20] Andy: And I went to school there for a year. I was majoring in English. It’s so funny because I was like, you know, illiterate, almost held back. Wow. And what I wanted to do was actually be a writer. This was like my dream, my passion.

[00:10:32] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:10:33] Andy: Okay. And what happened was I started to spend a lot of time around the newspaper industry and right around this time, this is like 2004, 2005, the Internet’s like exploding. 

[00:10:45] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:10:46] Andy: Facebook’s becoming a thing and the newspapers are dying. 

[00:10:50] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:10:50] Andy: They’re, they’re firing journalists left, right, and center.

[00:10:53] Andy: And I’m like, this isn’t gonna work. 

[00:10:54] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:10:54] Andy: Like, how am I, by the time I graduate, this is not, this industry’s gonna be gone. 

[00:10:58] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:10:59] Andy: Yeah. Which [00:11:00] at the time was a pretty, um, hard blow for me, you know? ’cause I was like really excited about this and, you know, it was like, I, I was pretty directionless and I’d moved from Orange County as this like very confused teenager with some hope of like, discovering myself in San Francisco.

[00:11:17] Andy: And that wasn’t happening. Okay. So like I fell into like very deep depression and I was really susceptible to influence. 

[00:11:27] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:11:28] Andy: And I fell in with like, kind of the wrong crowd. 

[00:11:31] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:11:32] Andy: Really. You know, just people I shouldn’t have been around. And I got into like, I basically got into all the trouble that you could get into as a freshman in college with no life experience whatsoever.

[00:11:46] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:11:47] Andy: Mm-hmm. Okay. And what ended up happening was I, I, I ended up falling into like really heavy drug use, like really bad. Um, 

[00:11:59] Aaron: wow. [00:12:00] What does that mean exactly? 

[00:12:01] Andy: Lemme tell you, I’ll tell you. So, so, you know, I was just drinking and partying a lot. 

[00:12:07] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:12:08] Andy: Right? I was using marijuana a lot. Um, and this really escalated to the point where I was using drugs, you know.

[00:12:16] Andy: Every day for, for a couple of years. 

[00:12:18] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[00:12:20] Andy: And what happened was right around, right before, right when I turned 19, I, um, I got really sick. I actually had like a minor overdose from taking too much ecstasy. Mm-hmm. And I had a minor overdose, and it, it scared me. It, it scared the hell out of me because after that happened, I was ill, I was sick for three weeks.

[00:12:41] Aaron: Hmm. 

[00:12:42] Andy: Whoa. Three weeks. And what would happen is every morning I would wake up and I would dry hea and that dry, it’s like I’d throw up and nothing would come out. Mm. And I’d wake up in the morning, I’d feel like crap. And I’d go to the bathroom and then I would dry hea for like 20, 30 minutes. Mm. And the only way I could get my body to [00:13:00] stop doing that was to take more drugs.

[00:13:03] Aaron: Mm. 

[00:13:04] Andy: Yeah. It was crazy. Oh, 

[00:13:05] Aaron: wow. 

[00:13:05] Andy: Yeah. I was a wreck. Right. Total wreck. And the worst part about all this is because I was so physically messed up and I was like addicted to all these drugs and whatever. Um, I actually was beginning to lose my ability to write as, as an artist, and my literacy level started to like decline and my, my mental aptitude really started to go down.

[00:13:27] Aaron: And at that time, what were you writing? Were you writing, uh, 

[00:13:29] Andy: everything, 

[00:13:30] Aaron: articles, you submitting it for school? 

[00:13:32] Andy: Did you publish anything? I mean, I was writing for the school paper. I wasn’t ever, I was just trying to, like, I was just throwing stuff on the internet. I was writing a lot of short stories mm-hmm.

[00:13:39] Andy: Things like that. You know, I had written a full length book that got rejected like 70 times by major publishing houses, you know what I mean? That’s a whole nother thing. Yeah. But, but what happened was, I was so freaked out ’cause I was, I was only like 18. 

[00:13:54] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:13:54] Andy: And I was like, I’m 18 years old, where am I gonna be in 20 years?

[00:13:58] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:13:59] Andy: My [00:14:00] health, if I have these health problems at 18, I’m in trouble. 

[00:14:02] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:14:03] Andy: So this is what happened. I called my dad. I called my dad, um, and I, I just spilled my guts to him. I told him everything. I was like, I’ve been spending all my tuition money on drugs and alcohol and partying. I just had this overdose.

[00:14:20] Andy: I’m sick. I didn’t know what to expect. Wow. I was like, is he gonna kill me? Is he gonna like scream at me? Like what’s gonna happen? But I was at, I was at the bottom. Right. So I just spill all my gut to him, and I tell him all this, you know what’s happening? And he says to me, well, while you’ve been away at college, I got really involved in this new religion called Scientology.

[00:14:43] Aaron: Hmm. 

[00:14:44] Andy: And I’d never heard of Scientology before. And I was like, okay, tell me about it. 

[00:14:47] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:14:48] Andy: And then he starts telling me about Scientology, and he tells me it’s a religion founded by the writer, Arun Hubbard. 

[00:14:52] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:14:53] Andy: And I went, I know who that is. Wow. I read that book, fear. And I had read, I’d read another book by Arun Hubbard at, by [00:15:00] this time called Battlefield Earth.

[00:15:01] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[00:15:01] Brad: Amazing book. 

[00:15:02] Andy: Amazing. Fantastic. Amazing. Yeah. Top five. All favorite all time for me. Mm-hmm. For sure. 

[00:15:07] Brad: So good. 

[00:15:08] Andy: But I didn’t ever know that El Ron Hubbard was the founder of Scientology. 

[00:15:12] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:15:13] Andy: So to me, you know, my dad tells me this and I was like, you’re telling me that El Ron Hubbard, the guy, the science fiction writer that wrote these books, this amazing master storyteller, founded a religion about unlocking your full spiritual potential?

[00:15:28] Andy: And he’s like, yes. I was like, where do I sign up? Literally, that was the whole conversation. I was like, where do I sign up for this? Right. So he told me, go online, find the local Church of Scientology and walk in there and there’s a wow. And walk in there. Good 

[00:15:46] Brad: advice. 

[00:15:46] Andy: Yeah. And there’s a program, there’s a program they offer called the Purification Rundown, and it’s a, it’s a detox program to help you rid your body of like drugs and toxins.

[00:15:55] Andy: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know, it’s a sauna program and at this point I would’ve done anything. [00:16:00] Mm-hmm. So I go in there, I go in there and I just walk in the front door and I tell the receptionist, my dad’s a Scientologist. He told me to come here and do the, the sauna program and I was on that program the next day.

[00:16:12] Andy: Whoa. Wow. I was on that. It was the first service in Scientology I ever did. Wow. 

[00:16:16] Brad: That’s quick. ’cause you get a, gotta get a doctor’s note too. 

[00:16:18] Yeah. 

[00:16:19] Andy: Yeah. So you were 

[00:16:19] Brad: freaking running. 

[00:16:20] Andy: I was ready to do whatever it took. Wow. Right? Mm-hmm. So I was in there and that program saved my life. 

[00:16:27] Aaron: Wow. 

[00:16:28] Andy: Completely saved my life.

[00:16:29] Andy: Uh, it was nothing short of a miracle. 

[00:16:32] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:16:33] Andy: Um, two weeks later, two weeks into that program, everything that was wrong with my body was, was corrected. Wow. I, I wasn’t sick anymore. I, I was healed. It was not, it was honestly a miracle. It was an honest to God miracle and I was such a lost soul at that time.

[00:16:52] Andy: Right. I didn’t know if, like, am I gonna be a journalist? Am I gonna do this? Like, what am I gonna do? Um, so for me, when I first got [00:17:00] in Scientology and I was reading Scientology books while I was on this program, for me it was like walking into like. Hogwarts or like Xavier’s School for Gifted children. I was like an X-Men or something.

[00:17:11] Andy: I was like, this is incredible. And um, I was all in and I started working for the church mid that program. Wow. Two weeks into it. I, I, you know, I took a break from college and I started studying and practicing Scientology practically full-time, like 10 hours a day. Every day. 

[00:17:27] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:17:27] Andy: For three, four years.

[00:17:30] Andy: ’cause at that time I was just a kid. I didn’t have the wife, I didn’t have the bills, I had all this freedom and I just went all totally all in on it. 

[00:17:38] Aaron: Wow. 

[00:17:39] And 

[00:17:39] Andy: I really haven’t looked back since. And I’ve, since that time, I’ve essentially done almost everything you can do in Scientology. Mm-hmm. You know, so that’s the story.

[00:17:49] Andy: Incredible. That’s how he got Scientology. 

[00:17:50] Brad: Incredible. Yeah. Incredible. 

[00:17:52] Aaron: Wow. 

[00:17:52] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:17:53] Brad: What, what made you want to, because there, there’s people who. Experience great gain. [00:18:00] Yeah. From Scientology, but they’re like, you know, I want to tell people about it, et cetera. It’s another level of commitment to actually decide, hey, I wanna actually work at the church Yeah.

[00:18:09] Brad: And actually fill one of the functions there. What, what made you decide to do that? Yeah, 

[00:18:12] Andy: so, okay. That’s a really good question. 

[00:18:15] Brad: Thanks. 

[00:18:15] Andy: Um, and I honestly think the answer to that question has changed many times for me. ’cause I’ve been doing it for 20 years. Mm-hmm. 

[00:18:23] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:18:23] Andy: And the reason why I do it now is different than the reason why I did it when I was 19.

[00:18:29] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:18:30] Andy: Yeah. Okay. When I was 19 years old, the unfiltered, honest to God truth was I was terrified of going back on drugs. I was, I was, I was, I was terrified of relapsing. 

[00:18:46] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:18:47] Andy: And I knew that if I didn’t make new friends and if I didn’t get in a clean group, that was ethical, that was productive in society.

[00:18:56] Andy: I was just gonna become a deadbeat again. Right. I [00:19:00] mean, I had friends that were getting arrested, going to jail for doing drugs, whatever. And it was like I had to get away from that. Okay. So when I first got involved in working for the church, it wasn’t out of some like humanitarian drive to help other people.

[00:19:15] Andy: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Just to be really honest with you. Yeah. It was like, oh, I can learn about this technology, I can learn about this religion, and I can make all of these great friends. And I saw that a lot of people in the Church of Scientology were quite successful, very happy. And I wanted that. And I wanted to be around it, and I wanted it to rub off on me.

[00:19:33] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:19:34] Andy: And I was in this position where I could just immerse myself in that. Okay. So then that was the original reason why I ended up getting involved. 

[00:19:42] Aaron: Wow. 

[00:19:42] Andy: Wow. The deep. So 

[00:19:43] Aaron: how was that? How on that? 

[00:19:45] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:19:45] Aaron: So that was your reasoning? How was like. I guess the recruitment, like, was there like, Hey, sign up.

[00:19:50] Aaron: You’re like, cool. Like how 

[00:19:51] Andy: I, 

[00:19:52] Aaron: that It’s interesting because, you know, I I, I was recruited a certain way 

[00:19:54] Andy: Sure. 

[00:19:55] Aaron: When I started working at the church. Right? Yeah. And like, I just wonder like, how was that? 

[00:19:59] Andy: [00:20:00] Yeah. It was a very fast conversation. 

[00:20:01] Aaron: Okay. 

[00:20:02] Andy: Actually, it didn’t take a lot, it didn’t take a lot. Basically what, the way it was positioned to me at that time was, um, you know, I, I was very, like I said, I was very lost.

[00:20:14] Andy: Mm-hmm. I was very directionist. I didn’t know where I was going in my life. Mm-hmm. And the thing for me is part of why, in some weird way, part of why I always wanted to be a writer 

[00:20:23] Aaron: mm-hmm. 

[00:20:23] Andy: Or why I wanted to get into journalism or something like that, is I wanted to do something that I felt was fulfilling.

[00:20:29] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:20:29] Andy: I wanted to do something where I felt I was helping people. 

[00:20:32] Aaron: Yep. 

[00:20:32] Andy: Okay. Whether that was like getting involved in like, political journalism mm-hmm. Or exposing the truth about what’s really going on in the world, whatever. Or even just writing science fiction, fantasy books mm-hmm. To help people.

[00:20:45] Andy: Escape the way it helped me. 

[00:20:46] Aaron: Yep. 

[00:20:47] Andy: Right. I always wanted to do something like that I thought would better mankind mm-hmm. Would help humanity. And when I experienced all of those gains and all those miracles doing that [00:21:00] initial purification, that detox program 

[00:21:02] Aaron: mm-hmm. 

[00:21:03] Andy: I, I just knew, I was like, there’s nothing that I could do to help a person that would be more powerful than delivering Scientology to them.

[00:21:13] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:21:14] Andy: Mm-hmm. And I had complete subjective and objective reality on that. And, and, and I knew that to my core. Right. So I was very excited to learn this, this technology for myself, um, not only just to help myself, but also to help other people. Mm-hmm. So the way I was recruited, the way that basically went is they basically sat me down.

[00:21:34] Andy: They said, look, here’s the deal. Um, we’re hiring, you’re 19 years old. You don’t have a, like any ties right now, if you want. You can start working here at the Church of Scientology, and we can train you, you can do all the Scientology training that there is full-time. Kind of like a scholarship. Mm-hmm.

[00:21:54] Andy: Right. 

[00:21:55] Brad: Oh, wow. 

[00:21:55] Andy: And I just jumped at that. Right. Wow. So I, yeah, so I [00:22:00] started working there at the Church of Scientology in San Francisco. Um, I did a lot of different jobs working in like, you know, marketing, introducing new people to Scientology. Basically what I did my first job there, I was basically touring new, new people.

[00:22:14] Aaron: Okay. 

[00:22:14] Andy: New people would come in, I would just tour them around. 

[00:22:15] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:22:16] Andy: So I did that for a few months and then from there. 

[00:22:19] Aaron: And is that in the location that it is still now? Right now? 

[00:22:21] Andy: Oh yeah. 

[00:22:21] Aaron: Oh, wow. 

[00:22:22] Andy: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, it’s the same, same location, same church, the original Transamerica building. 

[00:22:26] Aaron: Wow. 

[00:22:28] Andy: Yeah. It’s pretty wild.

[00:22:28] Andy: That building. That’s cool. Yeah. It’s where, yeah. 

[00:22:31] Aaron: Yeah. I did a lot of services there myself. 

[00:22:32] Andy: Awesome. 

[00:22:33] Aaron: Oh really? Yeah. Oh yeah. San Francisco. Absolutely. 

[00:22:35] Andy: That’s cool. Yeah. And then from there I went up and I, I trained, I trained at higher levels in Scientology and different organizations in Scientology. Um, the reason why I’m doing it now is a lot different than back then for, back then it was a lot about me.

[00:22:49] Aaron: Yep. 

[00:22:50] Andy: It was a lot about, okay, I wanna be around these people. Mm-hmm. I want to make friends with these people. Mm-hmm. I wanna learn how they’re making money. How are they having kids? How are they so happy? How are [00:23:00] they like handling their depression without like, you know, smoking weed? I wanted to know those answers.

[00:23:05] Andy: Right. So I was just all in on that, and that was really the original reason. And as I progressed in Scientology, I became a lot more aware of the broader mission of Scientology. That’s, that’s a much different thing than what I was originally did. Right. So now my viewpoint on, that’s a lot different, but that was why, how I originally started.

[00:23:25] Aaron: Right. 

[00:23:26] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:23:26] Aaron: Amazing. 

[00:23:27] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:23:28] Aaron: Now, I, I may have mentioned this to you on a message where I 

[00:23:31] Brad: commented 

[00:23:32] Aaron: on 

[00:23:32] Andy: one of the, yeah. 

[00:23:33] Brad: On one of the things. 

[00:23:33] Andy: No worries. 

[00:23:35] Aaron: Well, back in roughly must have been 2008. Okay. 2009. Yeah. Here in Clearwater. Mm-hmm. I was over here and I was having a rough time, and, uh, they brought in this guy to help me.

[00:23:54] Aaron: And that was you. 

[00:23:55] Andy: Really? 

[00:23:56] Aaron: Yes. You [00:24:00] actually, uh, gave me an auditing session. 

[00:24:02] Andy: Really? I think I remember this 

[00:24:04] Aaron: in flag. 

[00:24:05] Andy: Now I remember 

[00:24:06] Aaron: it. Wow. Right. And, uh, man, I, it was, I would just have to tell you, dude, when I, when I met you for the first time, I was like, dude, this, like, this guy is amazing. 

[00:24:15] Andy: Really? 

[00:24:15] Aaron: I was so impressed because I, I don’t know exact, well now I kind of understand what was happening, but I was just in a tough moment personally myself and, and, and I didn’t know, and I, I wasn’t sure what I was doing and I was kind of like off.

[00:24:29] Aaron: Right. Kind of lost. And of course, I mean, I’m, I’m at the church, but still, like, it doesn’t mean that everything’s perfect. Like, I, I don’t know. It was, it was a little bit rough for me. And, uh, you spoke with me or you listened to me, I would say is more of an appropriate thing. It must have been two hours, maybe something like that, maybe an hour, maybe three hours, whatever it was.

[00:24:46] Aaron: It wasn’t a long time. And I promise you, like in that short time, I had a big change, like a huge change. Like I was really, I don’t know, I just felt like a different person and I just felt like whatever this [00:25:00] magical thing you’re doing with that e-meter Yeah. Was something happened. Wow. It was really unbelievable.

[00:25:05] Aaron: And so, um, thank you for that. 

[00:25:08] Andy: Yeah. Wow. That’s, let’s go Andy. That’s amazing, man. Yeah. Yeah. That’s amazing. Yeah. Yeah. I remember. 

[00:25:13] Aaron: Yeah, 

[00:25:13] Andy: I do remember that. I mean, I’ve done a lot of Scientology counseling on a lot of people. Mm-hmm. You know, and it is, it is very powerful as you guys know. Yes. That’s awesome.

[00:25:22] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:25:22] Andy: Well, that, that came outta left field. Yeah. Yeah. No, not hitting me. Right. Yeah, no, like, wow. That was cool. Yeah, that was super cool. Super cool. And I appreciate it. 

[00:25:30] Aaron: Absolutely. 

[00:25:31] Andy: You know, I will say the thing about Scientology Okay. Is. It’s not like some magic that only I have. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Like, like Scientology really empowers people to help each other.

[00:25:45] Andy: Right. And the thing is, is like in Scientology, I’ve learned what the basic purpose and meaning of life really is. I, I really have. And it’s funny ’cause people, you know, there’s so many philosophical [00:26:00] debates, like what’s the meaning of life? What it is? And the simple answer is the actual purpose and meaning of life is to help.

[00:26:05] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:26:06] Andy: And when you are helping on the level of magnitude that you feel you should be, that’s when you really happy. Right? Mm-hmm. And that’s when you’re really, really there. And I think that to me is the biggest gift that Scientology has given me is it’s made it so I could help people at the level that I really want to.

[00:26:25] Andy: And it’s also made it so I could receive the help. Right. ’cause even like that experience you talked about, I’ve had that exp experience. People have sat down and helped me. Mm-hmm. It’s not like I’m just sitting there helping everyone. Mm-hmm. Like, while I’m like going through it. Right. You know? Yeah.

[00:26:39] Andy: That’s powerful. That was a great story. 

[00:26:41] Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. I mean it’s, 

[00:26:42] Andy: that’s 

[00:26:42] Aaron: awesome. Absolutely true. And that’s, it was, it was, uh, that’s 

[00:26:45] Andy: awesome. 

[00:26:46] Aaron: It’s interesting ’cause you know, there’s some times that like things change. 

[00:26:53] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:26:54] Aaron: Right. And, and it’s just, it, it, it’s what I love about this religion 

[00:26:59] Andy: mm-hmm. [00:27:00] 

[00:27:00] Aaron: Is how many people are there for you.

[00:27:04] Andy: Right. 

[00:27:05] Aaron: Like, it’s very surprising, like as you’re saying, I mean, like at the church you get paid not much. Sure. I mean, let’s just, let’s put it, that’s primarily a, well 

[00:27:14] Andy: I’m not working at the church for money. 

[00:27:16] Aaron: No, exactly. 

[00:27:16] There’s 

[00:27:16] Andy: much easier ways 

[00:27:17] Aaron: to 

[00:27:17] Andy: make 

[00:27:17] Aaron: money. Yeah. It’s, it’s not like I’m a real estate mogul or something.

[00:27:19] Aaron: It’s, it’s a, it’s a. Again, we can talk about maybe how much it is. It’s not, it’s not a lot guys. It’s not you, you do not like, it’s, it’s not where maybe it should, maybe you could be great. Like, you know what I mean? Like definitely in other religions, you’re making a lot more working at the church. Sure.

[00:27:34] Aaron: From, from my understanding. Right. Like, it’s very, very difficult raise a family with a church pace. So most people have two jobs. Like, anyway, all I’m saying is, dude, you’re not there for money. Right. If you weren’t there for money. Okay. That’s the point. 

[00:27:46] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:27:46] Aaron: And it wasn’t just, it was various people. Right.

[00:27:48] Aaron: I could name a lot of people that helped me through and get things and like, now I feel like I have a fantastic life and I was on a very different path at one point. And it’s just the [00:28:00] amount of people, like the fact that like, you happen to be the guy who helped me in that time, and then you’re like, also the guy doing social media and then we’re doing this podcast.

[00:28:07] Aaron: It’s like, 

[00:28:07] Andy: yeah, 

[00:28:07] Aaron: dude, it, it, but there’s, there’s people like all over doing this. And so I just, I just think like it’s so wonderful and I think a lot of religions are the same way where people are just there to help you. 

[00:28:18] Andy: Right. 

[00:28:18] Aaron: And, and it’s such a beautiful thing because. Man, the psychiatrists and psychologists are, are, are not, I mean, yes, some guys maybe signed up to help people, but like at the core, you know, there’s a lot of documentaries.

[00:28:30] Aaron: Guys, you can go on, watch some documentaries on psychiatry on Scientology tv. Okay. Check out the psych. I, I’ll put the link on there. But like, the documentaries on what psychiatry does, it is money fueled, uh, the diseases are invented, right? And, uh, you build the insurance, thousands, tens of thousands of dollars.

[00:28:45] Aaron: And it’s like, that is the help that’s offered in a lot of places, right? And those are the guys that say that religion is bad and ev every religion is bad and this, and, and, and Christianity’s bad and Muslim’s bad and Scientology’s bad and whatever. Jewish Jews are bad. Like Mormons are [00:29:00] bad. Like the guys saying that are not religious people, right?

[00:29:04] Aaron: They are the psychiatrists that want you to not have any solution. They’re 

[00:29:07] Brad: anti-religious. 

[00:29:08] Aaron: Anti-religious. Yeah. Openly. And so, I dunno, I just think it’s so cool that like that happens here. You know? I, 

[00:29:14] Brad: yeah. 

[00:29:14] Andy: Well it is cool. It’s definitely super cool. And it’s interesting you bring up all these other religions, right?

[00:29:19] Andy: Um. Ah, I read an article, you know, I didn’t like super deep dive into this, but I read an article a few weeks ago that, uh, church attendance is skyrocketing. 

[00:29:31] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:29:31] Andy: Yeah. And, and, and not just like all church. Mm-hmm. Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, church attendance in general is going way, way, way up.

[00:29:40] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:29:41] Andy: I also read in the same article, um, the Sale of Bibles. 

[00:29:46] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:29:47] Andy: Yes. 

[00:29:47] Brad: It’s gotta be 

[00:29:48] Andy: through the roof is is going through the roof. Mm-hmm. Which is interesting, right. Because I think that when I was growing up, that wasn’t the case. 

[00:29:56] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:29:57] Andy: You know, 

[00:29:57] Aaron: it’s probably going 

[00:29:58] Andy: down. It was, it was going down.

[00:29:59] Andy: Church [00:30:00] attendance was quite, was declining. Mm-hmm. I mean, I’ve only been to Catholic school. 

[00:30:03] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:04] Andy: I went to Catholic school through preschool all the way through college. USF, university of Francisco mm-hmm. Is a, is a Jesuit Catholic school. 

[00:30:10] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:11] Andy: And I saw the decline in church attendance my whole life up until, you know.

[00:30:17] Andy: But recently I’ve seen the opposite. I’ve seen the churches are starting to, to boom again. 

[00:30:21] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:22] Andy: Right. Really start to grow again. And I think that is awesome. I really think that’s awesome. ’cause I think that the role of religion in society and the role of spirituality in society should be very prominent.

[00:30:36] Andy: Right. I think that if we’re gonna have a civilization that’s, that’s kind, that’s caring. 

[00:30:44] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:45] Andy: Right. It’s going to be built on religious principles. 

[00:30:49] Aaron: Yes. Yes. 

[00:30:50] Andy: It doesn’t matter to me what your religious background is. 

[00:30:53] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:54] Andy: Just ’cause there are commonalities amongst all religions. And one of those commonalities, I think the, [00:31:00] the strongest point of, of all religion is that it acknowledges that you’re a spiritual being.

[00:31:05] Aaron: Yep. Yes. 

[00:31:05] Andy: And if I know that you’re a spiritual being, I’m not gonna, I’m gonna look at you differently than I would look at like this table. 

[00:31:12] Aaron: Yep. 

[00:31:12] Andy: Yeah. Okay. 

[00:31:13] Aaron: Yep. 

[00:31:13] Andy: Or, or, or this like microphone. 

[00:31:15] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:15] Andy: Right. Obviously, you know, you probably would get mad if I broke this microphone. It’s like a little bit of money down, right, right.

[00:31:22] Andy: That your property, but I, I wouldn’t treat this microphone with the same level of respect as you because you’re a human being. Yeah. Because you’re a spiritual being. 

[00:31:30] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:30] Andy: But if I actually like, take on the viewpoint that you’re not a spiritual being and you’re just an animal. Mm-hmm. Or you’re just chemicals.

[00:31:40] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:40] Andy: All your feelings are just chemical reactions in your brain. 

[00:31:43] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:44] Andy: Right. Then what’s to stop me from ripping you off? 

[00:31:47] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:48] Andy: Yeah. From, from harming you. Mm-hmm. Hurting your business from killing you. 

[00:31:51] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:52] Andy: And I actually believe that the root cause of violence and crime and drug use and war [00:32:00] on this planet is because people no longer believe that they’re spiritual beings.

[00:32:07] Andy: Yep. Yeah. And I think that if someone, I think that these people that are causing war, right. The people behind it, I think that they’ve really, if they. Truly understood that their fellow man was a spiritual being. 

[00:32:19] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:32:20] Andy: I, I, I think that they would think twice before harming him or killing him. 

[00:32:25] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:32:25] Andy: And I actually, and the only institution that’s going to bring that viewpoint shift about on a mass scale is religion.

[00:32:34] Andy: Yes. Yes. It has to be religion. Right. I’m not saying it has to be exclusively Scientology. Mm-hmm. That’s not what I’m saying. 

[00:32:41] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:32:41] Andy: I, I, I think it’s, it’s religion in general is, is going through a bit of a renaissance right now. Yes. I think it’s, and people are waking up to that. They’ll be like, oh, there’s more going on than my credit score or 

[00:32:52] Brad: mm-hmm.

[00:32:53] Andy: The car I’m sitting in like, what, what, what’s, what does all this mean? Charlie 

[00:32:56] Brad: Kirk helped a lot with that. 

[00:32:57] Andy: Absolutely. 

[00:32:58] Brad: A ton. 

[00:32:59] Andy: Yeah. [00:33:00] I agree. I wasn’t gonna bring that up, but I do think that his, there we 

[00:33:04] Brad: go. 

[00:33:04] Andy: I think that his work really 

[00:33:06] Brad: well, dude. Yeah. If you look at the age group that he was, was really affecting Yeah.

[00:33:10] Brad: It’s the, the 20 to 30 age group. 

[00:33:12] Andy: Right. 

[00:33:12] Brad: People who are like, when when something becomes cool, it becomes cool with that age group first, and then it ages up. 

[00:33:18] Andy: Right. 

[00:33:18] Brad: You know? 

[00:33:19] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:33:19] Brad: And that’s, that’s what I see happening with 

[00:33:21] Andy: Yeah. I agree. And I think a lot of what he did was a driver behind the increase in church attendance.

[00:33:26] Aaron: Absolutely. 

[00:33:26] Andy: Bible sales, things like that. Yeah. But I’m, I’m all for it, man. I’m all for a religious life, a spiritual life, you know? Yep. 

[00:33:33] Brad: So on, on that same kind path of like you. Religious renaissance, you, uh, what you’re doing with obviously the social media 

[00:33:42] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:33:42] Brad: For the Church of Scientology, San San Francisco is amazing.

[00:33:45] Andy: Thanks. 

[00:33:46] Brad: It’s, I, I think of like, when I started seeing, um, like, you know, there’s a lot of people who like make tiktoks about the fact that they get, like every other feed or every other video in their TikTok feed is a Scientology video from all the different orgs. 

[00:33:59] Andy: Sure. 

[00:33:59] Brad: Do you know about this [00:34:00] phenomenon?

[00:34:00] Andy: Yeah, I do. 

[00:34:00] Brad: Yeah. So when I think about that, when that started, I just picture your face. 

[00:34:05] Andy: Yeah, 

[00:34:06] Brad: because yours. ’cause I’m a Scientologist, obviously. That’s gonna know. Boom. Gimme that content as soon as it comes out. 

[00:34:11] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:34:11] Brad: Mine, it’s like everyone, right? It’s just Scientology. Right. On my TikTok feed. But, uh, why did, what, what made you, and obviously it’s more than just TikTok.

[00:34:19] Brad: Why, why, like what, what made that start? 

[00:34:22] Andy: Yeah. Well let’s get into that. Okay. 

[00:34:23] Brad: Was it you? 

[00:34:24] Andy: Oh, no. 

[00:34:24] Brad: Oh, okay. Giggling like it was him. 

[00:34:26] Andy: That’s right. Well, okay. I’m, I’m in an interesting position. Okay. Because I’ve been around Scientology for a long time. 

[00:34:34] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:34:34] Andy: Right. Like, like we said, 20 years I’ve been working there.

[00:34:37] Andy: So, uh, there’s virtually no question that I’ve heard about Scientology, uh, that I haven’t heard before. I’ve heard everything mm-hmm. About there is to know about Scientology, or I’ve heard everything people have to ask about it. 

[00:34:52] Aaron: Yep. 

[00:34:52] Andy: Their confusions, their curiosity, the weird stuff that they’ve heard, you know, the laughable things that they’ve heard mm-hmm.

[00:34:59] Andy: Is like obviously [00:35:00] false, whatever. I’ve just heard it all. Okay. And I have this like, long experience of that, of, of dealing with people who are uneducated about Scientology and educating them. So I had that in my background. The other thing I had for me in my background is that I’ve essentially done every Scientology service that you can do.

[00:35:21] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:35:21] Andy: There’s maybe like two that I haven’t done, which I will do. 

[00:35:24] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:35:24] Andy: But I haven’t done them yet. Right. 

[00:35:25] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:35:26] Andy: But in terms of the written word. Everything that El Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology wrote, or everything he ever said, I’ve studied and listened to all of it. 

[00:35:36] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:35:37] Andy: All of it, you know. Um, so, you know, 

[00:35:42] Aaron: and just so people get it, like context, that’s roughly like, I think there was somewhere we talks about the amount of words, but it’s like a lot of words.

[00:35:49] Brad: 76 million? 

[00:35:50] Aaron: No, I think it’s, it’s, it was either like 4 million or 20 million. No, I don’t, it’s a lot of words dude. It’s a lot of books. Like 

[00:35:56] Andy: I know the actual word 

[00:35:57] Aaron: count the hour. Yeah. 

[00:35:58] Andy: Okay. I don’t know the actual word count. 

[00:35:59] Aaron: It’s a [00:36:00] lot of millions of words, dude. Like, come on. It’s ridiculous. 

[00:36:02] Andy: Yeah. So, okay.

[00:36:03] Andy: So it’s interesting, and I’m not saying I’m gonna, I’m just gonna say this to you guys. I’m not saying this to like win some trophy or it’s outta like some bragging thing, but the reality is get the trophy. Exactly. You guys brought me a trophy. Right? The actual reality is because of how much Scientology I’ve studied and how many Scientology services I’ve done, um, there’s actually very, very, very few people who have done more in Scientology.

[00:36:25] Andy: Than me. 

[00:36:26] Aaron: Wow. 

[00:36:26] Andy: Very few. It’s probably like, you know, I’m in the top 1%, probably less than 1%. Mm-hmm. Hmm. Most, uh, educated Scientologists around. Right. Yeah. And I’ve had interaction with Scientologists from all over the world, from all the different branches, from the very top to the bottom. I’ve had interactions with, you know, and I have good relationships with top church management.

[00:36:49] Andy: Yep. The, the, the highest, you know, leaders of our church all the way down to the, the guys like me working on the ground. Right. 

[00:36:56] Aaron: And you were an ordained minister? 

[00:36:58] Andy: I’m an ordained minister. Okay. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I’m an [00:37:00] ordained minister of Church of, of Scientology. I was ordained when I was 21 Wow. When I finished my ministry.

[00:37:04] Brad: Wow. 

[00:37:04] Andy: Right. 

[00:37:05] Brad: Good job. 

[00:37:06] Andy: Yeah. One thing people don’t know about the ministry. 

[00:37:07] Brad: How many people have you married? 

[00:37:09] Andy: I’ve actually never done, 

[00:37:10] Aaron: you’ve never 

[00:37:11] Andy: done a marriage. Whoa. I know, I know. I’ve done a lot of other types of things. I did like a, a, like a christening, christening, you know, I’ve done some of that, but I’ve never done a marriage.

[00:37:20] Andy: Someday it’s on the bucket list. 

[00:37:22] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:37:22] Andy: Yeah. But what I was saying was, um, oh yeah. So why I got into social media thing as I looked 

[00:37:27] Aaron: No. In the ministry they were say about the ministry. 

[00:37:29] Andy: Oh, 

[00:37:29] Aaron: tell me about ministry. What people don’t know about the ministry 

[00:37:31] Andy: or Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So one thing you have to understand about Scientology is Scientology is not a belief system.

[00:37:39] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:37:40] Andy: Okay. It’s not a faith-based system. Sure. You’re never asked to believe anything in Scientology. You’re only asked to to look and make up your own mind about something because if you look right and you make up your own mind about something that is real faith. 

[00:37:55] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:37:55] Andy: Okay. Like if you guys were in the other room and you guys hadn’t, hadn’t been in this room [00:38:00] before, and I was trying to convince you that there was a microphone and a desk in here, you’re just taking my word for it.

[00:38:04] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:38:05] Andy: Okay. Um, and someone else could come along and argue that there’s not a desk and microphone in here and you don’t know who to listen to. 

[00:38:11] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:38:11] Andy: Yeah. But if you walked in the room and you saw the desk touched it, touched the microphone, okay. There’s a microphone and a desk here. It’d be extremely difficult for me to convince you that.

[00:38:21] Andy: This microphone, a desk was not in here, it was something else. 

[00:38:24] Aaron: Right. 

[00:38:24] Andy: Really, really impossible. And when you apply something in Scientology and you see that it works, you see that it helps you. You see that it raises your iq, it increases your happiness level, increases your stability, um, 

[00:38:37] Aaron: got you off of drugs, 

[00:38:38] Andy: got you off drugs, whatever.

[00:38:39] Andy: That’s real faith. 

[00:38:41] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:38:41] Andy: That’s real knowingness. That’s real belief. Okay. And that is an unshakable faith. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. Which is why Scientology is so powerful. It means the study of knowledge. Right. Knowing how to know it’s the definition of Scientology. So when you know how to know something, you don’t bend on that [00:39:00] you really have high integrity.

[00:39:01] Brad: Mm-hmm. That’s true. 

[00:39:03] Andy: So the thing in Scientology though is that nothing in Scientology invalidates other religious practices. 

[00:39:11] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:39:12] Andy: We didn’t, you know, El Hubbard didn’t design Scientology to. Detract or take away from other churches. 

[00:39:18] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:39:18] Andy: It was actually designed to compliment them. 

[00:39:20] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:39:20] Andy: Okay. And as part of my ministry training, the thing that people, you know, people ask me all the time, what do you do to train to be a Scientology minister?

[00:39:28] Andy: I could talk about that for a long time. But one of the things that you’re required to do is you do exhaustive studies of other religions. 

[00:39:34] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:39:35] Andy: Because there’s a lot of basic fundamental truths in other religions. And it’s interesting ’cause I grew up Catholic. I grew up Catholic. Um, and I truly never really understood the teachings of Christ.

[00:39:48] Andy: Mm. I really didn’t quite get them. And as part of my Scientology ministry training, I had to do an exhaustive study of the Bible with a heavy emphasis on the Gospel of John. 

[00:39:59] Brad: Wow. 

[00:39:59] Andy: Which was the [00:40:00] gospel that Arun Hubbard specifically directed the Scientology ministers study and get examined on that gospel to really understand it.

[00:40:08] Brad: Did you know this? No, I did not know 

[00:40:08] Andy: this. I had 

[00:40:09] Brad: no idea. 

[00:40:10] Andy: And it’s incredibly powerful. It’s incredibly powerful. You know, because the, the basic tenets of Christ and his teachings and the kingdom of heaven and what he was trying to communicate to humanity are laid out in that gospel. So I am a huge advocate of spirituality, the teachings of Christ, the teachings of all world religions.

[00:40:34] Andy: And, um, yeah. Anyways, it’s a kind of a fun fact about what I had to go through to be a Scientology minister. 

[00:40:39] Brad: Wow. 

[00:40:40] Andy: Okay. So all that being said, I looked at all of that and I looked at all of my knowledge of Scientology, all my experience, and I kind of just looked in the mirror one day and I was like, I don’t think that there’s a better person more suited to get on social media and just start disseminating our [00:41:00] religion.

[00:41:00] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:41:01] Andy: Because I’m just an encyclopedia when it comes to Scientology. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I have all the answers. I know it’s history. I’ve had interaction with all of church management from the top down. I’ve done everything there is to do. You know, and when you have that, there’s a little bit of responsibility that comes with it, right?

[00:41:18] Andy: Mm-hmm. So I was like, okay, I feel like a bit, this is like my, my duty. 

[00:41:23] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:41:23] Andy: My responsibility to start to start doing this. Um, I didn’t necessarily do it, start doing it outta some idea that like, oh, I’m gonna become famous from this. That wasn’t my intention, but I also wanted to like, like start doing it to one.

[00:41:41] Andy: ’cause it was exciting for me. It was very adventurous. 

[00:41:43] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:41:44] Andy: And two, I, I had a lot of conversations over the years of other people wanting to do it. 

[00:41:48] Brad: Mm. 

[00:41:48] Andy: Wanting to get involved with doing it. Like you mentioned the other churches doing it. Right. And I was like, well, someone’s gotta break the ice on this.

[00:41:54] Andy: Someone’s gotta break the ice on this. And one thing, I’ll never let it be said about me, [00:42:00] I’ll never let it be said anywhere. You can say a lot of things about me. I’ve been through like. I’ve had a wild life, but I’ll, I’ll never let it be said that Andy Holmes was deficient in guts. I’ll never let that be said about me.

[00:42:12] Andy: So I was like, oh, no, no. If, if something is, like, if the only consideration to not doing it is that some kind of fear or anxiety, I’ll jump. 

[00:42:21] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:42:22] Andy: I’m always the first guy in that room to do that. I don’t, I don’t care. Right. And I’m very proud to like, of, to talk about my life, my experience, and my religion.

[00:42:31] Andy: You know, you mentioned the other churches. So when this whole thing first started, people, I, my phone just started blowing up like crazy. People were like, how are you doing this? Whatever. And I would just say, you know what you should do? If you wanna start, just start. And if you don’t know where to start, just start copying my videos.

[00:42:46] Andy: Mm-hmm. Shot for shot, word for word. And you’ll get a feel for it. You’ll start learning social media and you just start going, you know, so that’s kind of how that started and why, you know, why I started doing it. 

[00:42:56] Brad: Yeah. And, uh, how’s it been, [00:43:00] like what, like how have the results been for the San Fran work? 

[00:43:02] Andy: Oh, it’s been awesome.

[00:43:04] Andy: It’s been awesome. You know, it’s really exciting because the truth is, as you guys know, when you’re a Scientologist, all you want to do is tell other people about Scientology. That’s that’s 

[00:43:13] Brad: true. Yeah. That’s why 

[00:43:14] Aaron: we’re 

[00:43:14] Brad: here. 

[00:43:14] Andy: I know. And it’s like something really helps you, something truly saves, changes the course of your life.

[00:43:19] Andy: You wanna tell other people. 

[00:43:20] Brad: Yeah. What I would say, Andy, is it’s like, you’re like, you’re like, you wanna be like, guys, I found it. What we’ve all been looking for. Here it is. Like, 

[00:43:29] Andy: right. 

[00:43:29] Brad: Like, 

[00:43:31] Andy: yeah. 

[00:43:32] Brad: You know, you wanna 

[00:43:32] Andy: do 

[00:43:32] Brad: that. That’s kind of my experience of what you’re describing, 

[00:43:35] Andy: for sure. 

[00:43:36] Brad: Yeah, 

[00:43:36] Andy: for sure. And the thing is, is I, I love to talk to people.

[00:43:40] Brad: Yeah. Right? 

[00:43:41] Andy: I talk to people all day, you know? Um, and I love to talk to people about Scientology. Yeah. So I sort of just opened up all my communication lines and I was just, let’s just blow ’em open. Here I am. I’m a Scientologist. You have questions far away. Let’s, let’s, let’s get into it. Um, some of the results, I mean.[00:44:00] 

[00:44:00] Andy: I don’t know. The, the metrics are crazy. Um, I’ve like done work in social media before and I’ve, you know, worked with different social media accounts mm-hmm. Or different businesses trying to do social media, and there’s definitely like scientology’s, like a buzzword on the internet. Mm-hmm. People wanna know about it, they’re curious about it.

[00:44:20] Andy: They’re like, what is it? So, it was pretty shocking. All I had to do was stand there and I obviously in my church uniform, I basically just stood there and said, hi, I’m a Scientologist. I work for the Church of Scientology. And that in itself just garnered an insane amount of inten attention. 

[00:44:37] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:44:38] Andy: You know, I think like the first month, I wasn’t even posting every day the first month.

[00:44:43] Andy: I think in the first three weeks I did like 3.2 million views in like three weeks. 

[00:44:49] Aaron: Wow. 

[00:44:50] Andy: Which was, 

[00:44:50] Aaron: and this is all organic, right? 

[00:44:51] Andy: Yeah. I don’t pay anything. Yeah. We just post it, you know. It’s kind of funny, like I’ll walk around the city and I’ve been recognized a few times, you know how I go to like coffee shops and people [00:45:00] come up to me like, oh, you’re the Scientology TikTok guy.

[00:45:02] Andy: You know? It’s pretty wild. It’s pretty wild. And you know, I get all kinds of, the thing that’s amazing about social media is it goes planet wide. 

[00:45:10] Brad: Yep. Yes. 

[00:45:10] Andy: And now I have, like, I have like my dms are just loaded with people all over the world asking me questions about Scientology, how do I get started?

[00:45:19] Andy: Mm-hmm. Whatever. So, yeah, it’s been really exciting. 

[00:45:21] Aaron: That’s a, it’s a great question. So they’re asking like, Hey, how do you start in Scientology? 

[00:45:25] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:45:25] Aaron: And like, obviously you’re the wealth of knowledge as we’ve discussed. 

[00:45:29] Andy: Sure. Sure. 

[00:45:31] Aaron: How should someone start? 

[00:45:34] Andy: Yeah, that’s a great question. Well, the first thing I’m gonna do is tell you how not to start.

[00:45:38] Andy: Okay. 

[00:45:38] Aaron: Okay. 

[00:45:38] Andy: Good. Okay. I’ll tell you how not to start. Okay. 

[00:45:40] Brad: Good. Good. 

[00:45:41] Andy: The first thing you should do, what you should not do is go seek out someone else’s opinion about it. 

[00:45:46] Aaron: Mm. 

[00:45:47] Andy: Okay. Um. Because then you’re just getting someone else’s opinion about it. Mm-hmm. And one of the very first principles in Scientology is that you should look for yourself.

[00:45:56] Andy: And what’s true for you is what’s true for you based off of what you [00:46:00] have seen. Mm-hmm. What your experiences are, you know? And when you decide for yourself, like we went over, that’s real faith. Mm-hmm. That’s when you’ve really believe something. 

[00:46:09] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:10] Andy: Yeah. Your own perception. Okay. So, so much of what happens in our society today is when you’re confronted with a decision or you’re confronted with like a crossroads is you’ll go out and you’ll get everyone’s opinion about it.

[00:46:22] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:22] Andy: And you’ll talk to like 10 different people about your career path, whatever it is, you’ll get 10 different opinions. 

[00:46:27] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:27] Andy: And if you build your life path based off all these opinions, you’re not gonna go anywhere. 

[00:46:34] Aaron: Yep. Right. 

[00:46:34] Andy: Okay. Mm-hmm. So if you wanna get started in Scientology, I would not advise going out and getting a bunch of opinions from a bunch of people.

[00:46:40] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:41] Andy: I would really advise that you look for yourself. Okay. And the first thing I always say is, you should read a book by our own Hubbard. 

[00:46:48] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:49] Andy: Pick up either a copy of, it’s a book called Dianetics. 

[00:46:52] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:52] Andy: Right. And that was the first book he wrote on the subject, um, Dianetics Modern Science and Mental Health.

[00:46:57] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:57] Andy: That, that book really covers [00:47:00] how past trauma and, and loss, uh, affects you in your life now. Okay. And how to get alleviation from that and how these things really cause negative emotions, irrationality. And you can use the material in that book to like get your, get the pieces of yourself that you lost in these moments of trauma.

[00:47:20] Andy: You can get them back. 

[00:47:21] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:47:22] Andy: Okay. And that book all lays it out for you. The other book always suggests people read, it’s called Scientology, A New Slant on Life. 

[00:47:29] Aaron: Mm-hmm. So good. 

[00:47:30] Andy: It’s a great book. It’s a collection of essays that Arun Hubbard wrote on the subject of Spirituality, religion. And if you read those two books, you will know what Dianetics and Scientology is about and the reason why I say read a book.

[00:47:42] Andy: Okay. Um, if you wanted to get involved in Christianity. And you went all over the internet to research Christianity and you talked about a bunch of people to a bunch of people about Christianity, but you never bothered to pick up the Bible. 

[00:47:58] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:47:58] Andy: And read the Bible. [00:48:00] Your opinion of Christianity will be based off of other people’s opinions.

[00:48:06] Andy: Mm-hmm. But if you went to Sunday service and you observe what happened in a church, church of Christianity Right. Or a Catholic church, and you read the Bible, now you know, now you’re educated. Okay. And you’ve, you’ve formulated your own opinion about it. Mm-hmm. And you can say, this is for me, or it’s not for me.

[00:48:23] Andy: So yeah. The simple answer, if you wanna get started in Scientology, look for yourself, read a book. The amount of questions and things that I have to, that I answer for people that, that they’ve gotten from just opinions of others mm-hmm. Yeah. Is really out there. 

[00:48:39] Aaron: Yeah. 

[00:48:40] Andy: It’s really wild. And, and I could spend the rest of my life fielding those questions.

[00:48:45] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:48:45] Andy: But the reality is. Just read the book for yourself and that will answer your questions, and it, it’ll give you the full scope of what Scientology is really about and what it can do for you. 

[00:48:55] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:48:56] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:48:56] Brad: What’s, uh, what’s your favorite question to get asked by [00:49:00] public on social media? 

[00:49:01] Andy: My favorite question?

[00:49:02] Brad: Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:49:03] Andy: Oh my God. That’s a, that’s an in, um, let’s see. Well, I guess the thing for me is, um, I get asked why do I work for the Church of Scientology a lot? 

[00:49:16] Brad: Oh, wow. 

[00:49:16] Andy: Yeah. Sometimes I’ll get asked like, oh, what have you gotten out of it? What gains can I expect? Whatever. But people will ask me. It’s one, because the thing is Scientology is a religion is, is big.

[00:49:27] Brad: Mm-hmm. Yes. 

[00:49:28] Andy: But the vast majority of Scientologists do not work for the Church of Scientology. 

[00:49:33] Brad: True, true. 

[00:49:33] Andy: Yeah. The ministry is not the majority of our religion. 

[00:49:38] Brad: Yep. 

[00:49:38] Andy: Right. So. Because I’ve been doing it for 20 years. I get asked that question, well, why? Like, why are you working there? 

[00:49:45] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:49:46] Andy: You know, and I’m gonna come full circle here ’cause you guys asked me why I started working for the Church of Scientology in the first place.

[00:49:52] Andy: The reason why I work for the Church of Scientology now is vastly different than when I first started working 

[00:49:58] Aaron: there. Mm-hmm. 

[00:49:59] Andy: Um, [00:50:00] so now, uh, I’ve got a lot more life under my belt. I’m not a 19-year-old kid anymore. Right now I’ve been been married, I’ve got two kids. I’ve got the 13-year-old daughter. So I’m learning all about that, you know, and I’ve got the sassy 5-year-old daughter, which is super cute.

[00:50:18] Andy: So I’ve got this family, right? And for me, I something You guys are parents, right? Yes. Mm-hmm. 

[00:50:26] Aaron: I have four. He has two. 

[00:50:27] Andy: Yeah. When you become a parent, something changes in you. Oh yeah. Completely right? Um, life all of a sudden. Has very little to do with what you personally need and want. 

[00:50:41] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:50:42] Andy: And it is all about that child.

[00:50:44] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:50:45] Andy: Okay. And you know, and, and, and sometimes when people look at that and they don’t have kids, I’m like, oh, I don’t want kids. That’s a lot of sacrifice, whatever. And the thing that people don’t get, this will be real to you guys, is when you have a kid, that’s a sacrifice you willingly make. 

[00:50:59] Brad: [00:51:00] Absolutely.

[00:51:00] Andy: Because your existence, your sole purpose in life is now to make sure this child grows up in a sane world where that kid can be a better version of you. 

[00:51:12] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:51:13] Andy: Right? Mm-hmm. I mean, people get competitive, right. And it’s like, you know, they’ll talk like you, you get in like your industry, you wanna like one up your competition, whatever.

[00:51:22] Andy: The only real person in the world that you’re like, oh, I want this person to surpass me is your children. 

[00:51:27] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:51:28] Andy: Right. So for me, it really became, I don’t want my kids. To grow up doing all the dumb stuff that I did. Mm-hmm. I don’t want them getting into the, the drugs, the bad environment. I don’t want them getting exposed to all this, and I don’t want them to grow up in a world where there’s war and, and mass shootings and just insanity.

[00:51:51] Andy: Right. So for me, uh, I’m extremely motivated by the idea that religion and the expansion of religion [00:52:00] can bring about the next great renaissance on this planet. Mm-hmm. Yes. And our children will inherit that. And I’m willing to put in the work for my kids for future generations. You know, I actually consider it the, the highest calling that I, I could answer to.

[00:52:16] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:52:17] Andy: You know, um, ’cause sometimes I’ll get like weird questions, like, almost like degrading questions like, oh, don’t you feel like you’re wasting your life? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. 

[00:52:27] Yeah. 

[00:52:28] Andy: You know, it’s sort of funny, like I always had an adverse reaction to like. Growing up an adverse reaction to like getting a job at like a corporate job.

[00:52:38] Brad: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:52:39] Andy: Right. And it never made sense to me why I hated that so much. But the real reason why I think I pushed back against it is because I, I feel, and I have always felt almost a divine purpose 

[00:52:53] Aaron: mm-hmm. 

[00:52:54] Andy: To help other people, you know, and I’ve never, the, the happiest times of my life [00:53:00] is when I was helping someone else.

[00:53:02] Andy: Mm-hmm. And that person was really being helped and that there’s no feeling like that, no feeling like that whatsoever. Right. So, yeah. The, like, how could you have an unhappy existence if every day full-time you were, you were helping people get off drugs, save their marriages, save their businesses, attain higher spiritual awareness, become part of a, a very positive community.

[00:53:24] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:53:24] Andy: I mean, I live a very fast. Electric life. 

[00:53:28] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:53:29] Andy: I couldn’t even imagine doing anything else. It would be as fulfilling. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, that’s, that’s the long-winded answer. 

[00:53:36] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:53:36] Aaron: Amazing. 

[00:53:37] Brad: Yeah, dude, I, I, I’m thinking about what you said about putting a better world there for your kids. Yeah. I, I was at a, an event, I guess this was like last, like early last year now, about a year ago.

[00:53:48] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:53:49] Brad: And somebody was, was asking for me to help with, uh, basically contribute financially to a project 

[00:53:55] Andy: Okay. 

[00:53:55] Brad: That needed to be funded. And, and I went to this, this event on kind of like [00:54:00] explaining what, what the plan was, like, what it was gonna be, what the re like results are gonna be. And it was all, it was really about, you know, the message was, was really like, it was, it was a small piece of it, but it really like, hit me super hard.

[00:54:14] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:54:14] Brad: Like what, what kind of a world do you want your kids to grow up in? Right. And, and, and this was specifically focused on, on drug use. It was like, like, what, what type of friends do you want your kids to have? Do you want them all to be on prescription drugs? Do you want them to be all on recreational drug?

[00:54:30] Brad: And it was just like, I was like, oh my God. It like, it, it really hit me. And it was like the, the amount of money that was needed was more than I had. And I literally went, it was so like, inspiring and it was so, you know, to your point of like, you’ll just do whatever it is willingly, happily for your kids.

[00:54:48] Brad: I literally went and borrowed the money to go and fund what was asked, and it was like, happy to do it. And it was, and it was tough. Like it handled it, like got it paid back, but it, it was not an easy thing to do. Um, [00:55:00] but I, I was extremely happy that I did it and I still am. Um, you know, it’s easier to say it now that the money’s paid back, but it’s like, yeah.

[00:55:08] Andy: Now that 

[00:55:08] Brad: it’s done even, yeah, even, even then when I was like, how am I gonna handle this? It is like, 

[00:55:12] Andy: yeah. 

[00:55:13] Brad: Yeah. I, I think to any of the parents watching, it’s, it’s a great point and, uh, you know. You probably, I would have to imagine, feel that to some extent about the new people that walk into the church course and you’re like, I’m like, these people have no idea how much I’m gonna help them.

[00:55:29] Brad: Or the lengths you will go to Yeah. To help these people who you don’t even know. 

[00:55:33] Andy: Yeah. I mean, the thing is, I, I really believe in people. It doesn’t matter where they are in life, how, you know, rich or poor, they are, how criminal they’ve been. Um, one thing that Scientology has taught me is that people are basically good.

[00:55:54] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:55:54] Andy: Right. And the idea behind Scientology is not to focus on all the negative [00:56:00] about you. 

[00:56:00] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:56:00] Andy: And go, oh, we’re gonna fix all these negative things about you. The idea is to find that piece of you that’s good. 

[00:56:06] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[00:56:07] Andy: And grow it and make it better. And if you can expand that goodness in the person, it’s like a light that will then erase.

[00:56:15] Andy: Yes. All of the negativity around the, around the being. That’s the whole purpose of Scientology. And the thing is, is like, 

[00:56:22] Brad: it’s almost like it pushes out the 

[00:56:23] Andy: negativity. Yeah. Yeah. And like the, the thing that I get so passionate about Dynamics and Scientology is the general, when people are suffering, they don’t have to, and they don’t know that they don’t have to.

[00:56:40] Andy: They actually don’t. Right. 

[00:56:41] Aaron: It 

[00:56:43] Brad: that’s a great 

[00:56:43] Aaron: point. You know, I, I, I just, uh, it is that, that statement right there. 

[00:56:48] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:56:49] Aaron: I really wanna say it’s, it’s so true. Like, I, I remember being, watching the tv right? When all I, when all I did in the day [00:57:00] was watch tv. 

[00:57:00] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:57:01] Aaron: As a kid. Teenager, yeah. Young teen. And watching like these commercials, right?

[00:57:06] Aaron: The, the, the Zoloft. Have you guys ever seen the Zoloft commercial? Right. I remember a little thing bouncing around, little bouncing guy and like, Hey. You’re depressed. It could be this thing and maybe just how somehow you might have a little shred of hope and just take this pill and you’ll be fine. Yeah.

[00:57:18] Aaron: People have fallen for it. 

[00:57:19] Andy: I know. 

[00:57:20] Aaron: I mean, the, the, the use is somewhere estimated between one in six to one in four of Americans are on some sort of psychiatric drug. 

[00:57:27] Andy: Right. 

[00:57:27] Aaron: Some sort of medication. I mean, it is an insane, people fall for it because I was very close. Luckily I didn’t have a credit card, so I couldn’t buy the thing, but I was like, I want this.

[00:57:36] Aaron: I I don’t wanna be sad anymore. And the fact that it’s available, like instead of being on a pill for life, it’s gonna destroy your health and cost you a lot. 

[00:57:48] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:57:49] Yes. 

[00:57:49] Aaron: You could do a, a a hundred dollars seminar. 

[00:57:51] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:57:52] Aaron: Uh, uh, you could buy a rent a book from the library and do, do, do work with a friend. Yeah.

[00:57:56] Aaron: You could do like such simple things and, and not have to live without [00:58:00] suffering. 

[00:58:00] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:58:01] Aaron: It’s, that’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re on this thing. Like, please like. Go see for yourself. That’s the message. Like go see, be like, look, dude, don’t take the other people’s opinion. We’ve already taken other people’s opinions.

[00:58:11] Aaron: I 

[00:58:11] Brad: know 

[00:58:12] Aaron: you’ve already been taking the opinions, like this drug will be the one that helps you. This whatever thing is the one that’s been tested and blah. And, and those trials are, are, are, are manufactured, but, and it’s fine. 

[00:58:21] Brad: A joke. 

[00:58:22] Aaron: So it’s true and it’s possible. And, and, and what you’ve been saying in the last little bit reminds me to the beginning of the story.

[00:58:31] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:58:32] Aaron: With The Hobbit. 

[00:58:33] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:58:34] Aaron: I mean, I’m serious, like, yeah. When you look at a person’s potential, no, no. Listen, listen. When you look at, we’re 

[00:58:39] Andy: living the plot, 

[00:58:40] Aaron: listen of the Lord of the Rings. Right now, when, when you look at a person’s potential, could you imagine like Frodos coming out and you’re like, oh dude, you’re too short.

[00:58:48] Aaron: You’re too this. You’re, yeah. No, you’re like, dude, somehow you’re just a clean guy. 

[00:58:52] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:58:53] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:58:53] Aaron: You have, you like, there’s nothing really special other than like. You’re not corrupted 

[00:58:58] Brad: his 

[00:58:58] Aaron: ethics? No. Is that like, is that [00:59:00] like ethics? His 

[00:59:00] Brad: ethics, 

[00:59:01] Aaron: he, he had a, I don’t know if you know this, you know the story more than me.

[00:59:03] Aaron: I haven’t read it. Okay. I haven’t read it, but like, it’s in the movies. I know. 

[00:59:07] Andy: The movies are good. The movies are good. Yeah. 

[00:59:08] Aaron: There’s like, the guy is, he’s not like a super special dude, but you bring out through the, the occasion, through the stories and, and I’m homeschooling my kids now. 

[00:59:17] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:59:18] Aaron: And one of the things they, they, I’ve read some podcasts and stuff or listened to podcasts about like homeschooling that Listen, make sure you read stories of heroism.

[00:59:26] Andy: Yeah. 

[00:59:26] Aaron: Of making a difference, of doing these big things. Because if not, the alternative to doing some of this making a difference is to go to some random corporation who you don’t care about the mission. You don’t care about the purpose. Right. You don’t mind drugging little kids to make a profit. Right.

[00:59:41] Aaron: ’cause they’re not inspired by heroes. 

[00:59:44] Andy: Right. 

[00:59:44] Aaron: So I just think there’s, there’s this idea where if, you know, heroes can be, and it’s in the moments that define ’em, what you do with your life. Then you decide to do something heroic. Like you need stories. Like, I, I just don’t know this light, without stories, without [01:00:00] art, without music, without something, you just go to the corporate route.

[01:00:02] Aaron: Like, oh good, I’m gonna, 

[01:00:03] Andy: yeah. 

[01:00:04] Aaron: Look online, top paying job. That’s what I’m gonna take. Yeah. And let the money follow you. 

[01:00:08] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:00:08] Aaron: But, but that’s not like, 

[01:00:10] Brad: yeah, 

[01:00:10] Aaron: that’s not heroic. 

[01:00:12] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:00:12] Aaron: I dunno, I think this all ties back to The Hobbit. The Hobbit. No, 

[01:00:16] Andy: sorry. Yeah. I’ll coming back to Tolkien, the one ring. 

[01:00:21] Brad: Geez. 

[01:00:21] Andy: Yeah.

[01:00:22] Andy: But I’m with you. I mean, I think that part of why, I mean for, for me, everything’s like so connected. It’s so funny that you brought up the Hobbit again, but like to me, 

[01:00:32] Brad: okay, I have to interrupt and say Yeah, go ahead. Whole thing about the Hobbit that I was like, tell me, I’ve been burning a say my, when I was a kid.

[01:00:37] Brad: Yeah. Like, like five through, probably like age, like five through nine. My dad used to read me the Hobbit before bed. 

[01:00:43] Andy: That’s awesome. 

[01:00:44] Brad: That was my first fiction book. ’cause that’s, my dad would read me before. 

[01:00:47] Andy: That’s awesome. 

[01:00:47] Brad: Anyways, sorry. Continue. 

[01:00:48] Andy: That’s cool. Well, the thing I love about The Hobbit, honestly, it’s not just the Hobbit.

[01:00:54] Andy: The reason why I was so invested in science fiction, fantasy, whatever. Um, and these different [01:01:00] stories, and I, and I really like what you said, but the thing is, is the me, the message that I like to communicate in those stories, even as a writer or even reading those stories, right, is the whole idea is not to convince people that dragons are, are like real.

[01:01:18] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:01:18] Andy: Obviously, right? But the metaphor of it is to, to convince, to show people that yeah, dragons are real. There are some evil people out there, but not only are they there, the message is you can also slay them. 

[01:01:32] Aaron: Yep. Yes. 

[01:01:33] Andy: You can win over them. Right. You don’t need to, to hide or to, to run away or whatever.

[01:01:39] Andy: And whatever that dragon is, whatever that piece of evil is, it’s different for different people. Right. You know, um, you know what the number one fear in America is 

[01:01:49] Brad: What? Fear of heights. 

[01:01:50] Andy: What I’m about to say might be, might be statistically true. So like, I’m not gonna say it as an absolute fact, but I’ve read this before.

[01:01:55] Andy: It’s public speaking. 

[01:01:57] Brad: Yes, no, that’s true. What the number one fear. 

[01:01:59] Andy: Yeah. [01:02:00] 

[01:02:00] Brad: Yes. 

[01:02:00] Andy: Public speaking. 

[01:02:00] Brad: Yes, that’s true. 

[01:02:01] Andy: Biggest phobia people have is public speaking. 

[01:02:03] Brad: That’s crazy. 

[01:02:05] Andy: I know, I know. 

[01:02:06] Brad: I’ve read that from many, many, many, many, many different sources. Yeah. 

[01:02:09] Andy: But that could be the dragon that people have, right?

[01:02:11] Andy: Yeah. But it’s kind of illogical if you think about it. 

[01:02:14] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[01:02:14] Andy: Because when you’re public speaking, um, it’s not like they’re gonna shoot you. 

[01:02:19] Aaron: Right, right, 

[01:02:19] Andy: right. Or stab you or beat you. The only thing that happens is you see and you hear something. Yeah. Right. But that could be a big dragon for someone that they might have to overcome.

[01:02:30] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:02:31] Andy: Another thing that’s really, you know, that I bring up to people about Scientology is like a lot of people come into me, come to talk to me, and, and I’ll talk to ’em about what they’re running into in life. And it’s very interesting ’cause I’ve, like so many people have opened up to me over the past 20 years about what’s bothering them, what’s ruining them, what’s upsetting them.

[01:02:50] Andy: One commonality, a common thing that people bring up is they don’t like confrontation. 

[01:02:55] Aaron: Yes. 

[01:02:55] Andy: Or they, like, my wife gets angry at me and I just shrink up. Or I can’t, [01:03:00] my boss, I can’t confront talking to him. 

[01:03:02] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:03:02] Andy: Right. And the thing that’s wild about it is if you think about it objectively, okay. All that happens when you’re talking to someone, even if they’re yelling and screaming at you mm-hmm.

[01:03:14] Andy: Is you are seeing something and hearing something. 

[01:03:17] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:03:18] Andy: That’s it. That’s it. 

[01:03:20] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:03:21] Andy: They’re not physically beating you or assaulting you or whatever. Right. All they’re doing is making noise. Yeah. That you can hear and doing something with their body that you can visualize. 

[01:03:33] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:03:34] Andy: And the thing that that people don’t understand is what actually makes them really uncomfortable is what’s going on mentally.

[01:03:40] Andy: Mm-hmm. When they’re hearing and seeing these things. Right. And the beautiful thing about Scientology is that it puts you fully in the present. So you can perceive and see and hear without having your attention just thrown into your mind. 

[01:03:56] Aaron: Yes. 

[01:03:56] Andy: Mm-hmm. Right. Totally. Just thrown into your mind and you can just be there [01:04:00] and handle that thing.

[01:04:02] Andy: So yeah. If you really can master that, Scientology gives you that tool. You can slay that dragon we call come back to the, to middle earth. Right. But you can conquer that fear, that thing, or whatever it is. So anyways, I just thought about that. It’s kind of interesting. It’s great you brought that up. It’s getting 

[01:04:16] Brad: off the white of communication.

[01:04:17] Andy: That’s right. The white, 

[01:04:19] Aaron: uh, one thing I wanna, uh, propose here 

[01:04:22] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:04:22] Aaron: On air. 

[01:04:23] Andy: Sure. 

[01:04:23] Aaron: Um, oh, here 

[01:04:24] Brad: we go. 

[01:04:25] Aaron: There is, uh, an advice I guess from, uh, our founder, right? Arun Hubbard. 

[01:04:30] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:04:30] Aaron: Um, which is to gather a sort of question and answer, and this is para phrased or whatnot, but like question and answer. It’s like the most common misconceptions.

[01:04:38] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:04:39] Aaron: About Scientology. The most common misconceptions about what we do, about that stuff. Put it together and be like, Hey. Here is all the answers. Yeah. Here is the truth. Here is the, the citation, the source of like, here’s this rumor, here’s the answer. 

[01:04:52] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:04:53] Aaron: You know, and I, and I, and I’ve read that and I’ve never found a place that has that put together 

[01:04:59] unless 

[01:04:59] Aaron: you [01:05:00] know of one.

[01:05:00] Andy: There’s two places. Okay. There’s a book that anyone can order. It’s called What is Scientology. Mm-hmm. 

[01:05:04] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[01:05:05] Andy: Um, and it is a, it’s like an FAQ mm-hmm. Has all the common questions and answers. 

[01:05:09] Brad: Well, that’s not a book, that’s a tome. 

[01:05:11] Andy: Yeah. It’s pretty big. It’s, it’s one of those fat one that means you be excited to read it.

[01:05:14] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:05:14] Brad: It’s like, it means you be 

[01:05:15] Andy: so that tome, that tome, that entire tome, um, all the content in that has been like, put in like PDF digital form on scientology.org. 

[01:05:26] Aaron: Mm mm 

[01:05:27] Andy: And if you have a question, you just go on scientology.org and you type in the question and it will link it to the FAQ that, you know, a Hubbard.

[01:05:37] Andy: Created. Mm-hmm. And that the church put out to answer common questions. And it has an answer to like, virtually anything. Anything you could think. Mm-hmm. It’s really interesting. I’ve even, I like read pieces of it and there’s like questions in there that have asked that there are answers I never even thought to ask.

[01:05:51] Andy: It’s like I’ve been around a long time. 

[01:05:52] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:05:53] Andy: It’s really wild to see that, but yeah. Yeah, for sure. 

[01:05:56] Aaron: Okay, so we’ll put a link on that. I was gonna say, we should put something together 

[01:05:59] Andy: we can 

[01:05:59] Aaron: and [01:06:00] offer like, hey, 

[01:06:01] Andy: yeah, we absolutely 

[01:06:03] Aaron: can go search your stuff and maybe it’s already there. I just didn’t, I didn’t know.

[01:06:06] Aaron: I mean, I know that I’ve seen a few where I’m surprised. I’m like, well, I didn’t know that answer 

[01:06:09] Andy: existed. 

[01:06:09] Aaron: Yeah. 

[01:06:09] Andy: Yeah. It’s already there. It’s all there. There’s, there’s virtually no question, uh, that you could come up with that isn’t in there. Exhaustive. Exhaustive projects have been done to put that together.

[01:06:19] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:06:20] Andy: But anyways, like even if you wanna ask me directly, whatever, I don’t comment. No, no comment. Dm, whatever. So I’m like, I’m easy to reach. 

[01:06:27] Aaron: What are like, what’s like the most common question you get, I guess, that like. Uh, here’s the answer. I mean, you probably answered already, already on your 

[01:06:33] Andy: Okay. It’s fine on 

[01:06:34] Aaron: your, on your thing, but 

[01:06:34] Andy: it’s, well, the most common question I get is what does Scientologists actually believe?

[01:06:39] Aaron: Mm. Ah, 

[01:06:39] Andy: that’s the most common question I get, and it’s a tricky one to answer. ’cause like I said, Scientology’s not a belief system. 

[01:06:46] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[01:06:46] Andy: Yeah. Okay. The reason why, oh 

[01:06:48] Brad: my God, I never considered them. 

[01:06:49] Andy: Yeah. It’s not a belief system. 

[01:06:51] Brad: True. It’s like, I believe what’s true for me. 

[01:06:52] Andy: Exactly. 

[01:06:53] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:06:54] Andy: Exactly. 

[01:06:54] Brad: Wow. 

[01:06:55] Andy: And the idea of Scientology.

[01:06:57] Andy: Okay. So if you were to ask me, [01:07:00] like, when Tesla first started, like blowing up, release the electric car, right. What is a Tesla? 

[01:07:05] Brad: Dude, you know what I, I’m sorry for interrupting. Yeah. You know what I just realize is that’s why people ask that keep asking that freaking question so much is because there’s not an answer.

[01:07:14] Andy: Right. 

[01:07:14] Brad: There’s not one answer. No. There’s infinite answers. Right? Like the point of Scientology is what’s, what’s true by your observation is true. 

[01:07:23] Andy: Right? You got it. 

[01:07:25] Brad: Oh my gosh. Wow. 

[01:07:26] Andy: Yeah. So 

[01:07:26] Brad: I, but people are expecting there to be like, no, you believe this, this, this, and that’s what it is. But that’s not how Scientology 

[01:07:33] Andy: works.

[01:07:33] Andy: No, it’s not how Scientology works. Not how Scientology works at all. So, okay. So yeah, if you’re like, so let’s 

[01:07:38] Aaron: say the Tesla. 

[01:07:38] Brad: What? 

[01:07:39] Andy: Tesla? Yeah. You’re like, what’s a Tesla? I’d be like, oh, a Tesla. It’s in, it’s a car that works on electricity. 

[01:07:44] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:07:45] Andy: And that makes sense to you because you can compare it to something else, right?

[01:07:47] Andy: Mm-hmm. 

[01:07:47] Aaron: Yeah. 

[01:07:48] Andy: So when people ask me, you know, um, like you could say Catholicism is like Christianity. 

[01:07:55] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:07:55] Andy: But it has a, a little bit different color to it, a little bit more structured or different belief [01:08:00] system, right? I don’t have something like that to compare Scientology to. It would be inaccurate for me to say, oh, Scientology is like.

[01:08:08] Andy: Buddhism. 

[01:08:09] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[01:08:09] Andy: Um, there’s commonalities. 

[01:08:11] Brad: Well, Scientology is like physics. 

[01:08:12] Andy: Yeah, exactly. 

[01:08:13] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:08:13] Andy: Right. 

[01:08:13] Brad: There’s, there’s a guy who did a bunch of experiments Yeah. And found out that this holds true over as many experiments as he could possibly do, and then derived the law from it. 

[01:08:23] Andy: Right. You got it. 

[01:08:25] Brad: That’s actually, that’s actually, it’s, it’s science.

[01:08:27] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:08:27] Brad: That is the closest parallel to Scientology. 

[01:08:29] Andy: It’s, it is science, 

[01:08:30] Brad: and if you test and observe that it is true, yeah. You then would adopt that law. That literally is the definition of how science works. 

[01:08:36] Andy: Mm-hmm. 

[01:08:37] Brad: I have a bachelor’s in physics. 

[01:08:39] Andy: I can tell 

[01:08:39] Brad: just by, by definition. That is the definition of science.

[01:08:42] Brad: That is the, the ca 

[01:08:44] Andy: Nice. 

[01:08:44] Brad: The comparable. 

[01:08:45] Andy: I have a bachelor in, uh, English literature. 

[01:08:48] Brad: There you go. I love English literature. 

[01:08:50] Andy: Nice. 

[01:08:50] Brad: Sorry, 

[01:08:51] Andy: but that’s the question I get asked the most. What does Scientologists believe? And the, the, the best answer I can give is that there are certain basic truths [01:09:00] that you have to sort of take on.

[01:09:04] Andy: Adds truth. You have to believe in order for Scientology to work. 

[01:09:07] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[01:09:08] Andy: And those basic truths are you’re not your body. 

[01:09:10] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:09:11] Andy: You are a spiritual being. 

[01:09:12] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:09:13] Andy: Okay. You are basically good. 

[01:09:15] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:09:15] Andy: Okay. Um, Scientology does acknowledge the existence of a supreme being God, a creator. But Scientology actually isn’t a subject about God or the Creator, but there’s no way where you could develop a spiritual religion around you as a spiritual being without acknowledging the divine.

[01:09:36] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:09:37] Andy: But the divine and the supreme being, we leave that up to you. And the reason why I love that and why that’s so beautiful in Scientology is because when you, again, when you decide for yourself what that relationship between you and God is going to be, and you define that for yourself, is a very powerful unshakeable.

[01:09:59] Andy: Thing. 

[01:09:59] Brad: Mm-hmm. [01:10:00] 

[01:10:00] Andy: Yeah. It’s not something that’s being, you’re not being told how to have that relationship. Scientology is actually more about you as an individual, spiritual being. It’s not about a supreme being, but those are like the basic things that we believe in. 

[01:10:12] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:10:12] Andy: Um, another few, a couple beliefs that we have in Scientology that how I, you guys know this, but how I answer this question is people can get better.

[01:10:20] Aaron: Yes. Yeah. Yes. 

[01:10:22] Andy: And that might sound over simple oversimplified, but there’s so many like philosophies or different ideas out there that where people can’t get better. 

[01:10:31] Aaron: Yep. Yes. 

[01:10:32] Andy: Oh, you have depression. Mm-hmm. Every psychiatrist out there will tell you, and they’ll tell you this, you can’t cure it. 

[01:10:38] Aaron: Right. 

[01:10:38] Andy: You have it, you have it for the rest of your life.

[01:10:41] Aaron: Yeah. 

[01:10:41] Andy: It’s not true. Mm-hmm. It’s not true. You, you can cure your depression without s Scientology. Absolutely. I mean, I don’t know what to tell you. You’re depressed. Go to, you know, go on a hike, go to Disneyland, go on a vacation, go ride a 

[01:10:53] Brad: dirt 

[01:10:53] Andy: bike. Yeah. You’ll probably feel better. 

[01:10:55] Brad: Ride a jet ski. I’ve never seen a depressed person on a jet ski.

[01:10:57] Andy: Yeah. So that’s, yeah. Yeah. Exactly. [01:11:00] Exactly. So those are like the basic truths that you, you do have to study Scientology from the viewpoint of those things in order for it to really work. 

[01:11:07] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:11:08] Andy: Right. If you study Scientology from the viewpoint that I’m nothing but a body, and all of my emotions are just electrical impulses or mixtures of chemicals in my brain, yeah.

[01:11:19] Andy: It’s not gonna work. 

[01:11:20] Aaron: Yeah. Even, even if destiny is laid out rock and you cannot do anything. 

[01:11:23] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:11:24] Aaron: If it’s all laid out for you then and you’re nothing, you know, you’re not gonna, it’s not gonna really work out. 

[01:11:28] Andy: Yeah. Yeah. Well, it’s hard to have a meaningful life when. The idea is that this is it, this is my body.

[01:11:36] Andy: I live into like, you know, my eighties, nineties, maybe I make it to a hundred and then I go back to the dirt. 

[01:11:42] Aaron: Yep. 

[01:11:42] Andy: And that’s the end of it. It’s kind of a depressing existence. 

[01:11:44] Aaron: It’s very depressing. Yes. 

[01:11:45] Andy: Yeah. But it’s also, it’s that viewpoint I feel that has led to a atomic war. Yes. And the mass drugging of people.

[01:11:53] Andy: Mm-hmm. And whatever, because, you know, I’m gonna, this is also really interesting ’cause I, I, I had [01:12:00] a really big blinding realization about Christ. Mm-hmm. And about Christianity. Um, and some historian could challenge this. I’m not claiming to be like a, a religious historian or something, but Christ, you know, I think that that Christ, his teachings, I actually think that he brought about the destruction of, maybe destruction’s not the right word, but the reshaping and the downfall of the, the Roman Empire.

[01:12:29] Andy: I really believe that because. One of the things they were doing is they were losing control. They were losing control of the population because Christ was out educating people about spirituality and they didn’t like that. So they’re, they’re gonna off this sky, right? Yeah. The thing that he did that’s so beautiful is that Christ on a mass scale, taught people that they were spiritual beings and that there was life after death.

[01:12:55] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[01:12:55] Andy: And if you died here, it’s not the end. Mm-hmm. And you’re an immortal spiritual being. You [01:13:00] continue. 

[01:13:00] Aaron: Yeah. 

[01:13:01] Andy: You’ve lived before. You will live again. Mm-hmm. Right? And if you live correctly, you’ll inherit the kingdom of God. 

[01:13:07] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:13:07] Andy: Now, if you have a mass population that believes this, and then you go out, you know, people, sometimes people think they only crucified Jesus.

[01:13:16] Andy: Oh, they crucified thousands of people. Yeah. 

[01:13:18] Aaron: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[01:13:19] Andy: You know, they crucified thousands, millions of people. Right. And you hear these stories of the saints, they would die on the cross with a smile on their face, wouldn’t renounce their beliefs. Why? Because they knew this wasn’t the end. 

[01:13:31] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:13:32] Andy: And that wow, sole principle Wow.

[01:13:35] Andy: That Christ communicated to the masses is what is what caused the Roman Empire to lose control of its people. Because you can’t, you can’t control a population that believes there are a spiritual being. 

[01:13:49] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:13:50] Andy: And how would you control a person that believes, this is my one life, this is all I have, I am the body.

[01:13:55] Andy: I’m flesh. There’s nothing more to it than that. Very 

[01:13:58] Aaron: easy control, 

[01:13:58] Andy: very easy. Mm-hmm. [01:14:00] You punish them, you hurt them. 

[01:14:01] Aaron: Yep. 

[01:14:01] Andy: You know, you threaten them with death. Yep. But if everyone believes this, isn’t it? 

[01:14:06] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[01:14:06] Andy: There’s more to it. Take my body. Okay. 

[01:14:09] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:14:10] Andy: You lose control. 

[01:14:11] Brad: Yes. 

[01:14:11] Andy: And, and I think that that was the, the big disruptor that Christ put in.

[01:14:16] Andy: Wow. And I think that that belief actually had a huge, huge part to play in the origins of Scientology. 

[01:14:24] Brad: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[01:14:24] Andy: That’s my belief. Right. Yeah. That’s what I really think when I really studied these things. 

[01:14:28] Brad: Well, I mean, there’s, uh, I mean, I think it’s actually in the, the, what is Scientology tome as we called it earlier.

[01:14:36] Brad: Um, and like one of the first chapters is about like the origins of Scientology, and he talks about, it’s, it’s the culmination of 10,000 years of thinking men. 

[01:14:46] Andy: Right? 

[01:14:47] Brad: Right. That’s not the quote, but that’s the idea is like, he, like, literally there’s a picture where there’s all the different, like religious men in history.

[01:14:53] Brad: It’s like, this is what this is all led to. Like it’s on, based on looking at all of that. 

[01:14:59] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:14:59] Brad: You [01:15:00] know? 

[01:15:00] Andy: Totally. 

[01:15:01] Brad: Yeah. Amazing. Okay, so there, there’s a question. 

[01:15:04] Aaron: Oh, yeah, yeah. 

[01:15:05] Brad: Go, go do it his way. Question. There’s a question we ask with every guest. 

[01:15:08] Andy: Yeah. Yeah. 

[01:15:08] Brad: Okay. Uh, and the question is, in your own words, what is Scientology?

[01:15:13] Andy: All right. In my own words, what is Scientology? Scientology is a tailor made personal roadmap to take you from where you are to where you want to go spiritually. It’s the toolbox that you can use to architect the life that you want. And here’s the thing, the goal of Scientology is literally to help you achieve your goals.

[01:15:41] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:15:41] Andy: So to me, Scientology is that, is that tailor made blueprint for you to obtain your full potential and achieve the goal that you want. Right. Because your goal is probably different than mine. Your goal is different than mine. You guys have different goals. Mm-hmm. Obviously there’s similarities.

[01:15:59] Andy: Mm-hmm. [01:16:00] Right? We want healthy families, healthy kids help people. But still, your, your ideal life looks different than my ideal life. 

[01:16:06] Aaron: Mm-hmm. 

[01:16:07] Andy: For you, it might be whatever it is. Right? Whatever you have. Like one guy might wanna go start a Fortune 500 company and live on the beach in Miami. The next guy might wanna backpack through, you know, third world countries and help people.

[01:16:19] Andy: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[01:16:20] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:16:20] Andy: But like the. The goal is different person to person, and your goal is unique to you just by the fact that you’re an individual, your ideal life, your goal is unique to you, and Scientology gives you the tool set. It is like a, you can tailor make a blueprint for yourself to thrive spiritually and make that goal a reality.

[01:16:38] Andy: It’s kind of a long-winded answer, but that’s, I was 

[01:16:40] Aaron: amazing. 

[01:16:41] Andy: Great answer. 

[01:16:42] Aaron: I feel like you practiced that one. 

[01:16:43] Andy: No, 

[01:16:44] Aaron: I mean, I felt like it, I was amazing. 

[01:16:47] Andy: I didn’t practice practice very, I thought about it a little bit, but I didn’t practice. Okay, good. No, no. Well, I’ve been doing this, I’ve been talking about Scientology for 20 years, man.

[01:16:55] Andy: So, you know, I’ve got a lot of experience talking about it. And you’re still a 

[01:16:58] Brad: young dude. 

[01:16:59] Andy: Yeah. [01:17:00] Thanks. Thanks. 

[01:17:01] Brad: I mean, it’s just that you’re 38. 

[01:17:03] Andy: 38. You’re a young guy. I’m, I’m 38. Yeah. I’m feeling a little older though. 

[01:17:05] Brad: Got a lot of road 

[01:17:06] Andy: ahead. The cheese, the cheeseburger affects me a little different than it used to.

[01:17:09] Andy: You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. That happens. That happens. 

[01:17:12] Aaron: Um, amazing. All right, Wadi really appreciate it. And if somebody does have a question 

[01:17:18] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:17:19] Aaron: Um. How should somebody reach out to you if they wanna talk to the 

[01:17:23] Andy: Yeah. 

[01:17:23] Aaron: Authority figure. 

[01:17:24] Andy: Yeah. So the best way is to send me a direct message on my socials.

[01:17:29] Andy: Um, I do not get to all the comments. There’s certain days where I have like, 

[01:17:32] Aaron: but when you mean your socials, what social are you talking about? 

[01:17:34] Andy: The best one is actually TikTok. That’s the one I check the most. If you want to send me a direct message. And 

[01:17:40] Aaron: what and what’s the, what’s the handle there? 

[01:17:41] Andy: Uh, I think it’s just at Scientology sfo.

[01:17:45] Andy: I think we’ll put it, I’ll give it to you. Put it, yeah. I, 

[01:17:47] Aaron: it’s, I think it’s sf probably sf, 

[01:17:48] Andy: yeah. Yeah. There you go. You got it. Scientology sf. Yeah. Yeah. You know better than me. Yeah. Yeah. Scientology sf. I don’t read all the comments. I can’t read all the comments. Yeah. It’s impossible. Right? Like the other day I had a video.[01:18:00] 

[01:18:00] Andy: I mean, I had 1200 comments in a single day. 

[01:18:02] Aaron: Well, 

[01:18:03] Andy: there’s no way for me to read 1200 comments, but if you send me a direct message, I always respond to it. I always try to respond all the direct messages within 48 hours. Awesome. 

[01:18:13] Brad: Fantastic. 

[01:18:13] Aaron: Well, thanks for coming on the show. 

[01:18:14] Andy: Of course. It was my honor. It was awesome.

[01:18:16] Andy: This was great, guys. Thank you, Andy. Great. Yeah, yeah, 

[01:18:17] Aaron: I remember. Don’t do nothing. 

[01:18:19] Andy: That’s right. Hey, boom.