Many years ago, I thought Ivan Obolensky was bigger than life when he was C/O AOLA. I later realized that what I admired was his applied intelligence from his pre-Scientology exceptional education, his terrific social skills (also part of his earlier education, as he was raised upper class) and his management skills, which were extraordinary.
I later found out that In his personal life, he certainly had major flaws and he wasted many, many years of his life in Scientology, so he could and did make some terrible, destructive decisions and in family and other matters had poor judgement. He wasn’t Bodhisattva, not even close. Just a flawed human being.
Then there was Michael Silverman. Again, it was his charm, intelligence and other skills that impressed me. Silverman was much warmer and caring about individuals than Ivan and I saw him help others with his own money and make personal sacrifices many times. When he was at his best, he could connect to a person in the most personal, deep way. No judgement, just completely accepting the person in front of him with love. Thousands loved and cherished Michael in the years he worked at AOLA. Michael went through a lot of pain and turmoil working for Scientology but tried to stay positive no matter what. For all the joy he got from his vast array of friendships, his mistreatment there and the horrible schedule and demands kept him from ever creating a happy personal life for himself while in. Poor Michael. Thank goodness he is out now! I was so happy when he finally left that place. He deserved and deserves better.
So there were two people with great skills and intelligence who could have been successful anywhere at anything but still managed to make a terrible decision and get sucked into the cult of Scientology and work like slaves for a belief in a state that it couldn’t produce. They were human.
I think it’s important to know that long after they’ve left, these people and others we admired in Scientology never considered their time there as wasted, despite later leaving. If one is to become a Bodhisattva, learning to humble one’s self enough to accept your mistakes, fix them however you can and forgive yourself and shift gears and start over takes inner power, self-inspection and a determination to fully live. To still love others and the world and succeed at a new venture and life takes incredible strength, humility and character. Michael Silverman was and is flawed, but he was and did all these things and is as close to a Bodhisattva as I might have ever known in this life. He was real. He was humble and he loved others and used his skills as best he could to help. Too bad the Scientology Bridge was a Bridge to Nowhere. And Michael moved on without losing his humanity. He was wrong. We all were. But we can’t ruin the rest of our lives with regrets and he didn’t, just shifted gears and moved forward. Good for Michael.
I hope Michael reads this, wherever he is now.
Hi Michael!
