Category Archives: Immortality

Since Katie Holmes filed for a divorce against Tom Cruise, we've run a series of stories on life inside the Church of Scientology, including its real estate empire and the remote location where church leader David Miscavige's wife may be living in secret.

But we haven't examined why people join the secretive church in the first place, and why they stay (even after they've been kept in one of Scientology's informal prisons).

We spoke to Steve Hall, a former Scientologist who wrote speeches and TV scripts for Scientology leader David Miscavige for years, about why he stayed despite the grueling nature of his experience.

Basically, he told us, Scientology is a philosophy of rational self-inquiry akin to Buddhism, in that it requires an investigation and a reckoning with one's own demons and desires.

Many people find it incredibly helpful.

Here's Hall's explanation of the benefits of Scientology, which we've edited lightly for length and clarity:

Scientology is a body of know-how that is supposed to enable a person to make rational decisions in life you review that area and come to a better direction. It's rationality, but it's a bit more codified. They're really tools that help you look at a given area and come to an understanding.

Founder L. Ron Hubbard was an investigator. He wanted to know what made people tick. What was the cause of the problems they had? He found a human being has a spiritual component and the spirit has memories of prior existences, and by all the evidence he has past lives. You were somebody in 1812 or 1740. The information is there to be mined from a person's own memory. When a person dies he's not gone. They simply go and pick up a new body and start over.

It explains deja vu. It explains talent. How can such great artists have talent from such a young age? A person is more than just flesh and bones. They're actually an immortal human spirit, so that's very good news. So Hubbard developed methods, [just like] the Buddhists ask questions. Why does the tree grow?

But it's structured and it's called auditing. It's done in a safe environment and the counselor has a code of conduct. The auditor does not tell the person what to think and does not tell them what to say. He just guides them on a path of self discovery. And once you've experienced it you want more, because it helps you become a better person. You're able to open up new lines of communications with people you were afraid to talk to before. The shy kids who can't talk to girls can suddenly get up the nerve, that's the good side.

Originally posted here:
This Is Why People Join The Church Of Scientology

Contacted list of world's richest to offer immortality Will personally oversee brain transplant into robot body Entrepreneur claims to have 30 scientists working on project Aims to 'transplant' human mind into robot body in 10 years Claims 'next stage' of science is to create a 'new human body' 'This project is leading to immortality,' says Dmitry Itskov

By Rob Waugh UPDATED: 07:42 EST, 18 July 2012

A Russian entrepreneur who heads a hi-tech research project called 'Avatar' has contacted billionaires to offer them immortality.

Itskov claims he will personally oversee their immortality process, in exchange for an undisclosed fee.

Itskov, a media entrepreneur, claims to have hired 30 scientists to reach this goal - and aims to transplant a human brain into a robot body within 10 years.

'You have the ability to finance the extension of your own life up to immortality. Our civilization has come very close to the creation of such technologies: it's not a science fiction fantasy. It is in your power to make sure that this goal will be achieved in your lifetime,' says Itskov in a letter delivered to billionaires listed in Forbes magazine.

Eternal life? Iskov, a media entrepreneur, claims to have hired 30 scientists to reach this goal - and aims to transplant a human brain into a robot body within 10 years

He has contacted a list of billionaires with a proposal for funding his quest for immortality - which Itskov refers to as 'cybernetic immortality' and the 'artificial body'.

The initiative is opening its San Francisco office this summer, and will be launching a social media project connecting scientists around the world.

'The 2045 team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring ones individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality,' says Itskov's official site.

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Russian research project offers 'immortality' to billionaires - by transplanting their brains into robot bodies

Published: 7/17/2012 8:00 PM | Last update: 7/17/2012 8:00 PM

I'm really surprised that this immortality thing isn't the No. 1 news story of the decade. After all, the news announcement came from the Harvard School of Public Health, certainly one of the most revered and trusted institutions in the world. According to "50 Plus," the Hutch News health magazine supplement, "A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health shows that eating even a small amount of red meat every day raises mortality risk by 13 percent, while a daily serving of processed meat every day comes with a 20 percent increased risk of mortality." By extension, then, if you want to live forever, stop eating red meat.

Of course there will be a few glitches, but that is normal for any major social change. Since the only people dying will be those in accidents or those still hooked on the insidious drug of red meat, many morticians may have to find another calling. Of course, we'll always have black market red meat purveyors furtively hawking their wares in dimly lit alleys, and a few lonely and depressed people will try to end their lives by gorging themselves on steak. Perhaps there will be danger from the secondhand aroma of a freshly grilled juicy hamburger, but I'm assuming Harvard will be checking that out, also.

Of course, the biggest problem is long-term: We really will have a population problem, as well as its concurrent issue of limited resources. Our current seven-billion world population will creep upward slowly at first, then increase inexorably and exponentially. Our only recourse is to colonize space. Astrophysicists have already identified several Earth-type planets capable of sustaining life as we know it. One of the most limiting factors in space colonization is our longevity, but that will no longer be a problem if we have forever. True, we may get a little bored living centuries in a spaceship, but by then we will have developed the technology for being placed in a cryogenic sleep or suspended animation.

Just think, this great news was hidden away on Page 5 of a newspaper magazine supplement! It wasn't a banner headline; it wasn't even the lead for the article itself. Kind of makes me wonder about the supplement proofreaders and their inability to extrapolate the consequences of such marvelous statistics.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if one of the biggest negative consequences of immortality is one I've already mentioned: boredom. I challenge you to ask yourself, "What would you do if you had forever?" When I asked myself that question, I quickly came up with a plan of action: I decided to go to Burger King and order two Whoppers with all the fixin's.

Jim Schinstock lists hamburger high on his list of favorite food groups. Email: schinjc@yahoo.com.

Editorials represent the institutional opinion of The Hutchinson News. All other opinion content individual local and syndicated columnists and letter writers to the Western Front represents the viewpoints of the individual authors.

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Forever and a day

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Courtesy of Seattle Sounders FC

Chivas USA were a game from making franchise history. But in the end, the same old mistakes cost them a shot at immortality on Wednesday night as they fell 4-1 to the Seattle Sounders at the Starfire Sports Complex in the semifinals of the US Open Cup.

As has been the case several times this season, a slow start and a defensive miscue proved decisive for the Rojiblancos, who conceded three goals in the second half to the three-time defending Open Cup champions. A Cesar Romero goal ultimately cut the Sounders' lead to one midway through the second half, but Chivas were ultimately unable to recover from the early deficit.

The result is certainly disappointing for us, head coach Robin Fraser told MLSsoccer.com by phone after the match. The game was pretty much going as we expected until we gave up the goal, and then to make a mistake at the start of the second half and were really chasing the game. Once it got to that point, it was always a difficult proposition to chase.

OPTA Chalkboard: Floodgates open for Sounders after opening goal

Seattle got on the board early, when a classy pass from Osvaldo Alonso sprung Eddie Johnson behind the Chivas defense, where the US International was able to slip a shot past Dan Kennedy. Down a goal, the Goats generated several scoring chances during a cagey first half, but they ended the half without a single shot on goal their first didn't come until the 58th minute.

I felt like we were very close to being dangerous on a number of chances, said Fraser. I felt like we were a final pass away, we were getting crosses, crossing situations, blocks out for corner kicks and we were definitely getting in behind them, and thats the start to being dangerous. But the game was as we expected until we made the mistake [on the first goal].

With a difficult end to an otherwise bright Open Cup campaign, Fraser admitted Wednesday's loss must be viewed as a learning experience for his young team.

I think that you have to look at everything as a progression, he said. Certainly we were proud to get to the semifinals of the Open Cup and give ourselves a chance to win a championship, and certainly we looked forward to that opportunity. But in reality, its a bitter pill to swallow when you get to this point and dont put [your] best foot forward.

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USOC: Chivas dealt lesson in coming up short on history

Why fashion beats sport if you want to win immortality.

BY Luke Leitch | 06 July 2012

Until chronic bronchitis forced his premature retirement from tennis in 1929, Ren Lacoste won three French Opens, two Wimbledon Championships and two US Opens in just four years as a professional. It was a feat that earned him membership of the Four Musketeers, France's greatest-ever group of players.

Yet say "Lacoste" today, and what do most people think of? Not the ballistic precision of Ren's baseline play, but the clothing company he founded, and its famous crocodile-logo polo shirt (12 million sold in 2011 alone, with a total company turnover of 1.6billion euros). The story of Ren Lacoste is a smashing example of why, should you hanker after immortality, it's better to triumph in the fashion business than strive for sporting greatness. After all, can you name the other "musketeers"?*

READ: Mencyclopaedia: Orlebar Brown

To aid his training, Lacoste, born in 1904, invented a ball-lobbing machine so that he could practise without a partner. That ingenuity continued when, by now a champion, he ran up some shirts that resembled the impractically formal, starched numbers that were the tennis uniform of the time - but made of a light, piqu cotton to allow freedom of movement and maximum coolness. "The Crocodile" became Lacoste's nickname after his wager over a crocodile-skin bag with France's Davis Cup coach was reported by the Boston Globe in 1923. He played up to the nickname when, while still a player, he began to wear an embroidered crocodile patch on the left breast pocket of his tennis blazer.

READ: Mencyclopaedia: Duchamp

These factors all combined after that early retirement, when he launched a company producing those lightweight "L.12.12" shirts, complete with a scaled-down crocodile on their chests. This means Lacoste has the highly dubious - considering the blight it has spawned - honour of being the first ever company to display its logo on the exterior of its clothes.

After their introduction to the US in the Fifties, the shirts became available in various colours and popular among golfers. They were (and still are) rather expensive compared to other polo shirts, but by the late Seventies they - along with chinos, no socks and loafers - became the chosen uniform of America's "preppies", WASPy, privately-schooled college students. This in turn sparked a backlash marked by the 1981 publication of a book called Save an Alligator, Shoot a Preppie (Americans tend to confuse their Lacoste reptiles).

READ: Mencyclopaedia: Alan Paine

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Mencyclopaedia: Lacoste

SEATTLE Two and a half months after Philip Humber achieved immortality at Safeco Field, and a mere four days after Aaron Cook raised Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedges ire with an 81-pitch shutout at the same venue, Wei-Yin Chen took the Seattle mound on Tuesday.

For a long while it looked like something magical was going to happen for Chen. And then something totally unforeseen happened for the Mariners, who charged hard after what would have been their most rousing comeback victory of the season.

But in the end, it was the Orioles who rallied last, and best, to pull out a 5-4 victory at Safeco Field.

"That game was an emotional back-and-forth," Wedge said. "Casper (Wells) got us going, and the fight you saw after that no one saw that coming."

After the Mariners scored three in the eighth to tie the game, Robert Andino delivered a two-out homer in the top of the ninth off left-hander Charlie Furbush to provide the margin of victory.

"It was a two-seamer. I wanted to have it sink. It just didnt sink," Furbush said. "It stayed flat, and he put a good swing on it. Its a tough way to lose, after we had battled back. I just didnt get the job done."

Andinos homer to left his first since May 7, and fourth of the year came on a 2-2 pitch and ended Furbushs scoreless streak at 22 2/3 innings. Tom Wilhelmsen was unavailable after being used in three straight games.

"Charlie has been fantastic," Wedge said. "He just left one up in that situation. Hes been good against left-handers and right-handers. I felt he was the best guy to go to at that time."

The Orioles All-Star closer, Jim Johnson, worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 24th save, and the Mariners stirring rally had an anti-climactic ending

On a night when it looked early like Felix Hernandez again had the electric stuff to flirt with a masterpiece, it was Chen, a rookie left-hander, who flirted with history. And then the Orioles who flirted with disaster.

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Mariners rally but then fall to Orioles