37 years ago: The eerie Hollywood Palladium sendoff for Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

[David Miscavige, master of ceremonies]

Thirty-seven years ago today, Scientologists in the Los Angeles area were instructed to come to the Hollywood Palladium for a special briefing.

For some of the people who were there that evening and that we’ve talked to, they didn’t recognize the rather diminutive man who came out on stage after several minutes of strange music had played.

It was David Miscavige in his naval Sea Org uniform, there to deliver the shocking news that L. Ron Hubbard, at 74, had decided to leave his body and pursue further “researches” elsewhere.

Hubbard had, in fact, died of a stroke three days earlier, on January 24, 1986. He had been in total seclusion since 1980, and most Scientologists had not seen him for even longer.

We know you’ve probably seen parts or all of the hourlong program that night at the Palladium, when Miscavige, church attorney Earle Cooley, and several other Sea Org figures spoke about Ron.

But for the first time, we’ve put together a transcript of the entire program, and we thought you might like to look it over, if you are not familiar with it.

[Wonderfully wacky sci-fi style music for the first 3:10]

DAVID MISCAVIGE: Thank you. Thank you. Hello, my name is David Miscavige and I'm very happy that you could all make it to this important briefing this evening. (OK, how about now.) In 1980 LRH moved off the lines so that he could continue his writings and researches without any distractions. For many years Ron had said that if he were given the time and if others wore their hats and did their jobs running and expanding the church, he would be able to concentrate on and complete all of his researches into the upper OT levels so that the Bridge would be laid out in full for us all. Over the past six years LRH has indeed been intensively researching the upper bands of OT.

You're already enjoying the fruits of some of these researches, most notably Solo NOTs, and more recently you heard in Ron's Journal 39 that he had fully written up OT 8, which would be released at the appropriate time by International Management. As you may have surmised LRH has completed many levels beyond that.

Approximately two weeks ago he completed all of his researches he had set out to do…[applause] He has now moved on to his next OT level of OT research. This level is beyond anything any one of us ever imagined. This level is in fact done in an exterior state, meaning that it is done completely exterior from the body.

At this level of OT the body is nothing more than an impediment and encumbrance to any further gain as an OT. Thus, thus at two thousand hours Friday the 24th of January A.D. 36, L. Ron Hubbard discarded the body he had used in this lifetime for 74 years, 10 months, and 11 days. The body he had used to facilitate his existence in this MEST universe had ceased to be useful and in fact had become an impediment to the work he now must do outside of its confines.

We felt it was important as Scientologists that you were the first to become aware of this fact. I can understand that many of you are probably experiencing the effects of a secondary. However, it is important that you can put this into the proper perspective. LRH defines a body in the tech dictionary as, "An identifying form or non-identifying form to facilitate the control of, the communication of and with, and the havingness of the thetan in his existence in the MEST universe. The body is a physical object. It is not the being himself."

The being we knew as L. Ron Hubbard still exists. However, the body he had could no longer serve his purposes. This decision was one made at complete cause by L. Ron Hubbard. Although you may feel grief, understand that he did not and does not now. He has simply moved on to his next step. LRH has said, "If I have fought for a quarter of a century, most of it alone, to keep this work from serving to uphold the enslavers of man, to keep it free from some destructive pitch or slant, then you certainly can carry that motif a little further."

He goes on to say, "I'll not always be here on guard. The stars twinkle in the Milky Way and the wind sighs for songs across the empty fields of a planet a galaxy away." As Scientologists we know more than anyone that we are not bodies. We have bodies and our current existences in our current bodies are but one in a million that we have lived and will live.

LRH in fact used this lifetime in the body we knew to accomplish what no man has ever accomplished. He unlocked the mysteries of life and gave us the tools so that we could free ourselves and our fellow man. L. Ron Hubbard completed everything he set out to do and more. The fact that he causatively and willingly discarded the body after it was no longer useful to him signifies his ultimate success: The conquest of life that he embarked upon half a century ago.

[Extended applause]

Hip, hip, hooray (x6)

Thank you for putting it into the proper perspective. That is the perspective that LRH had. The rest of this event is devoted to informing you of a few more details of this matter and what LRH's intentions were, and also a look to the future. The first person I want to bring on here with me is Mr. Earle Cooley who was the attorney who handled this matter at the time. Please welcome him.

EARLE COOLEY: It is not surprising that when LRH discarded the body that had served his being well for almost 75 years in this lifetime, he left some very specific instructions for its handling and its disposition. Thus, last Friday night I was furnished with a copy of his will, in which LRH provided that he was to be cremated promptly and his ashes scattered at sea. I was accorded the honor and the responsibility of making certain that these instructions were carried out. With associate counsel I proceeded to the San Luis Obispo area and took custody of the body of this great thetan.

I personally made all necessary arrangements and by 3:40 P.M on Saturday January 25th, less than 24 hours after LRH discarded his body, I bore personal witness to the fact that his instructions were precisely carried out. Scattering of the ashes at sea has by pre-arrangement been handled by the funeral director with whom I made all other arrangements.

There are several very important matters that I wish to bring to your attention. First, the body of L Ron Hubbard was sound and strong and fully capable of serving this mighty thetan for many years had that suited his purposes. Second, in the performance of my duties I have examined LRH's will and I am proud and privileged to announce to you that after making generous provision for his wife and certain other family members he left the very substantial fruits of his labors in this lifetime including all money, real estate, tangible personal property — and of paramount importance — all copyrights, to and for the benefit of Scientology.

Thus by the decision to continue his work outside the confines of his body and by the decision to do it now and to make Scientology the principal object of his generosity, L. Ron Hubbard has given the ultimate expression of his love for you, and his confidence in the present management of the church. He has in effect told us, "The church is in good hands, you can do it all, your future is assured. Secure in this knowledge I choose to go about my work elsewhere. You have all of the tools, you have all of the resources to take this planet and to save mankind. Support and rally behind your leaders. Together you will win total victory and achieve the ultimate goals of Scientology. Take what I have given you with my love."

MISCAVIGE: When LRH left in 1980 to do his researches he took with him his two most trusted friends and companions. These two people were Pat Broeker and Annie Broeker. They lived and worked with him for the last six years during the time period of this research. And this evening Pat Broeker is here to speak to you in regards to that. Please welcome him.

PAT BROEKER: Can everyone hear me OK? If there's anyone who can't then please move to where you can. OK, as David mentioned it was my honor to serve under him these last six years and before that in the Sea Org in general, and there is just no greater, there is just no greater honor. Those of you know, in the Sea Org, and his friends, know exactly what I'm talking about. Specifically because I was close to him these last six years there's four very, very important subjects that I want to discuss with you, just very briefly.

Firstly, I want to talk to you a little bit, in a little bit more detail as David mentioned about his decision — and yes it was absolutely his causative decision — to discard that body. Around January, late January 1982, he made a significant breakthrough on what is now New OT 8 Truth Revealed, and as, it was at that time that he found the primary cause for amnesia on the Whole Track as he mentioned in that Ron's Journal, RJ39 I think it is. That opened up to him significant stretches of Track that were previously unavailable and or in some cases not even known about.

Now I'm going to show you right now I don't know if you'll be able to see it in, you in the audience, but as this is being televised I'm going to show it to the camera so that later if you see a tape of this you can then see what I'm displaying.

I have here a worksheet from one of his sessions in later 1982. This makes up now what is OT 10 Character. Now I've xeroxed this worksheet and in so doing I took the liberty of blocking out a section above what I want to show you in a section below.

When you do OT 10 you'll thank me and you'll understand. I hope that's, I hope that's clear there. This block that you can see consists of a series of numbers. Three numbers, comma, another three numbers, comma. And it's about, well it's 12 down and it's 15 across. This there is a date.

I wanted to show you the significance, the magnitude of the research he's done these last six years. This level took him two years. While in that two-year period he did OT 9 Orders of Magnitude and OT 10 Character. Around about, sorry, around about summer 1984, he said at that time that he would not be able to, that he would soon come to a point, and he knew approximately where it was, but there were, as there were things intervening from where he was to where he knew he would find this phenomena that, in which he would have to discard the body and do it completely free from encumbrances. This was in summer 1984.

As we approached the end of the year he was just about there, discovered something else, called it off, went on into finishing this, went back with rear view mirrors to then complete, finalize, and polish up what he had been doing since 1980 — these advanced levels — and then proceeded on, until he got to that point. And then on January 19th he stated that this was it. And he then handled in session those things that were necessary so that he could completely sever all ties. All ties. Which by the way is research in itself because we now know what those ties are because he wrote it up.

And then on January 24th he laid down in his bed and he left. And that was it. And the attorneys were notified and the rest is as Mr. Cooley described. During that week from the 19th to the 24th he knew I would be at some time or another addressing you Scientologists and he expressively stated that I was to tell you that there was to be no grief, no mourning.

And I'll tell you why he said that. Because he asked, I told him that of course I would say that, and he said you think there will be some anyway? I said quite possibly. And he reiterated it, he said well you tell them don't let there be even the remotest possibility that some will try to unintentionally invalidate themselves. They know they're not a body, don't let them be confused about it.

Is that agreed? Excellent. Second thing I want to mention is that for the first time, for the first time since 1980 was the management of the church able to be totally completely weaned from his having to take over and straighten things out. Completely. What that produced was it allowed him to do his own hat.

The second, sorry, the third thing I want to mention is what's going to happen to the tech? That's easy. Firstly there's existing materials, so what happens to the tech is it stays exactly like it is.

With one exception, is that currently for some time for three four years there's been an exhaustive search on for those issues that got sandbagged through somehow or another, and what we're doing is checking them against LRH's tapes — he gave conferences and briefings his words are there.

Those things that came off his typewriter, those things that were written under his own hand, and dispatches and and notes that were written by Commodore's Messengers which can actually be verified. To completely sort out the wheat from the chaff, the truth from the crap, and you've seen some of these in the in the past years.

We're right coming right down to the road on that and there's going to be just a little bit more, because luckily those alleged thetans involved haven't been with us in a number of years and so that's, we're almost at the end of that. By the way the percentage of that: Get the idea of all the tapes, all the tapes, all the books, all the policy letters, all the bulletins, all the films, all the writings, all the collected works. Just get that idea just one copy each get the idea of how much that would be what kind of space that would consume.

Among that now — it would probably fill this stage — among that now are the ones that we're weeding out which would amount to, oh I would say, about that much. [Holding his hand shoulder high.] It's insignificant.

That's the existing tech. What I'm saying is 99.999999 stays. Now, the new stuff. OT 8 is completely written up and currently in the hands of International Management, as you know. What's going to happen is Senior CS Int Ray Mithoff has promised me that he's full bore on finishing his Solo NOTs, and he's going to be the first one to do it and I'm going to C/S it, and at that time Ray will — possibly even before he's done with it — we'll have a few of the other C/S's in — first priority being the ship's crew who are necessary to deliver this — and hopefully that will dovetail with management's current effort to get the ship.

And when the sea trials are done, any refit necessary, any corrections fully complemented, fully trained then off it goes it is christened and OT 8 is delivered. That's done.

OT 9 and OT 10 are also written up. Finished. There are several other OT levels that it is my job to compile. It consists of taking what he has written and putting it essentially in paragraph form, adding the appropriate HCOB references that entail the, that go along with the auditing necessary to do this particular level, and they'll be released in due course.

We have materials that are in this form. In his, in his, in a thick sheaf of notes per folder of OT 11, OT 12, OT 13 and so forth. And then about, oh a stack this high to be sorted out for subsequent OTs, OT levels.

We also by the way have the OT level that is going to be done immediately after every thetan discards his or her body. He wrote that up before he went.

Now this, don't take that as an invitation. Because you don't get it till you're through with the OT level before it. But know that when it's time the tech is there so you're not left with what do I do now or even having to figure it out for yourself. It's there.

We're, that will be written up right away because we have that word for word, and it'll be archived and made safe, and it will be eventually available at Flag and other AOs and people will be allowed to come into AOLA, before they discard it, read the materials, check out on them, be word cleared, demo, so you know it. Now you know it. Now you're ready for when it happens.

He finished his job. There's, there's not, there's not much else much else to say except that what he came to do he did. Now, now that he's out there, now he embarks on his further OT research at a completely new level. That's exactly what he's doing now.

[Extended applause]

And the fourth and last thing I want to say. This is important, this is very very important. If you learn nothing else here tonight then learn this. If you take nothing with you, take this. There is — is, not was, is — there is only one Source. Right, it's very important you understand that. Of course you know, you're here. But let me just hone in on it a little bit. Source does not pass to management. Source does not pass from LRH to any other thetan. Source is Source. What made Source? What is it about LRH that was Source? His technology, his discoveries, his Grades, his OT levels. Nobody else — nobody else — ever discovered it. He did.

That's what made him Source, and we still have that. Therefore, Source is with us and it is him. If you remember that there was only one and will be only one and there is only one, no other management body, no other individual, then you'll be OK. Because now you'll know whose stuff to read, whose stuff to apply, and don't listen to the others. And if you do apply his stuff, then you're there. It's as simple as that. Thank you for listening to me.

[Applause. Hip, hip, hooray x3]

MISCAVIGE: As a next step, we want to make sure that all of you here in this audience and anybody else watching this on television via satellite — and this is also being taped so that Scientologists may see it for the next few weeks — we want to make sure that all of us end cycle on this completely so we can get on with the job that is ahead of us. So now I'd like to introduce Mr. Norman Starkey who is going to perform the funeral service for L. Ron Hubbard as written by L. Ron Hubbard. Please welcome him.

NORMAN STARKEY: Our loss is gain in other times. Our hopes on future bent must then depend on incidents like these. For bodies wear and in the fine grist mill of time are spent in service such as yours and go, our time by smallest time into the yesterday wherein began the conquest of Eternity.

What did we know when yesterday we wept? What grip upon us had our ignorance that we in our conceit did feel that all of us were mortal here and lives once led were spent and wasted on our selves? How narrow is such scope to feel that we should be eternally the goal of all the toil and wretchedness from birth to death and like a play the curtain dropped and left an empty stage. How dull of us to feel that we were all the target of this strife and that we lived but once and living then did reconcile the whole in one brief life.

Oh no, a wider drama here was planned and staged and we with narrowness of mind did overlook the plan.

We said that all is mortal flesh the spirit is just a thing to send, for pence to some strange heaven there to waste its skill. Or, had we not the price, to some deep other place to pain, and waste again the life. To what dark depths we dropped our minds to feel that flesh is capable of love or trust or livingness, to feel that fingernails and masks are all we need to dream? To what deep places did our love go that mass could recompense?

Anxieties that ruled our years were nurtured here. And we made blind and dumb by other greed spanned down our lives to One. What waste! To feel that all our love our work, our gifts, our knowledge and our sighs were meant to be consumed all in one, one breath and flash and by one name?

Today, come wiser now the chains gone weak the tyranny of cult gone tired with the years, we look we find we live not once but on and on from body's birth to body's grave and then to birth again and yea to grave again so to dispose possessions oft come undone with livingness.

From century to century from age to age on and on we go in march along the path that leads forever up the countless tick of time. We crawl, we walk, we fly we win from here and evermore the heritage of all our lives and spend it once again.

Why this is no sad and bleakish look, no sorrowed thing this life. This is an adventure pure where without knife or provender we leap aloft into eternity and span forever in one breath. This is adventure where we step from tie to body tie and go our way.

Our suff'ring is self-centered here for we have lost, in truth, the smile, the touch, the skill and happiness we have gained from Ron who gave us from his past ability to live and fare against the tides and storms of fate. It's true we have lost his shoulder up against the wheel and lost as well his counsel and his strength but lost them only for a while.

He goes not with the dismal drum roll but with a whisper like a fairy's sigh to smooth the way for when we come. He'll be in some good future time and future place his smile his touch his skill invested there to make a way of life.

True, true we may not know him then and only know his work. But still if we not sent ahead our vedettes into time we would not have a race.

And so, branched off from this genetic line and into some new corner of a new world, you have gone, and there there'll be we know it now, a smile, a touch, a happiness for us and you, you could not find on Earth. And so it turns, the day, the year, the age. And so we go with furled banners and quietly upon our way. But now we know and now we'll find the way.

Into the dark has come the light into tomorrow enters night into heaven go no more. Into life our Spirits soar conquering ever wisdom's store we do not tremble faced with death we know that living is not breath. Prevail!

Go, Ron and take the life that offers now and live in good expectancy that we will do our part. Go, Ron you can control that which you must.

Our loss is gain in wisdom and in skill to future dates and other smiles and so we send into the chain of all enduring time our heritage our hope our friend. Goodbye, Ron.

Your people thank you for having lived Earth is better for your having lived men, women and children are alive today because you lived. We thank you for coming to us. We do not contest your right to go away. Your debts are paid. This chapter of thy life is shut. Go now, dear Ron, and live once more in happier time and place. Thank you, Ron.

And now here lift up your eyes and say to him goodbye.

Goodbye, our dear, goodbye. We'll miss you, you know.

Let the body now draw away to be consumed to ashes and to dust in Earthly and in cleanly fire to be no more, no more. That is done.

Come friends, he is all right and he is gone. We have our work to do. And he has his. He will be welcome there.

To man!

[Eerie music.]

MISCAVIGE: Did you all end cycle? All right. Now I'm gonna bring on some people from International Management. People that you've seen before who are going to talk to you about the future of Scientology and what we're going to do in this new era that we are entering in Scientology expansion. These people are the C/O of the Commodore's Messenger Org International Mr. Marc Yager, the ED International Mr. Guillaume Lesevre, the Inspector General of the RTC Network Miss Vicki Azneran, the Senior C/S International Mr. Raymond Mithoff, and the President of the Church of Scientology International Mr. Heber Jentzsch.

MARC YAGER: Thank you. LRH has given us the goals of Scientology, he's given us the root, and he's given us the capability to achieve that. I wanted to reaffirm those goals and share those. He said the goal was a cleared planet and he said that the aims of Scientology are, and I quote, "A civilization without insanity, without criminals, and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights." We are achieving those aims and we shall continue.

There are many things that we have begun which we have a duty to finish. And to bring to a full conclusion, and we intend to do them as well. For example — and I'm not going to give a full list -- but for example we intend this year to see that New OT 8 is released and delivered and the first mass making of full OT — not pre-OTs — OTs are made on planet Earth.

Further we intend to continue the action of opening up new countries to the technologies of L. Ron Hubbard and to seeing that far away places such as Japan — which now has a forming org — and China are opened and able to receive the full Bridge. Further we intend to ensure that all orgs achieve the size of old Saint Hill, as LRH intended, and that the Universe Corps is there and able to deliver to their staff the promise that was made. And a small item, those little yapping gnats that are trying and touch our juggernaut will be disposed of.

We currently have LRH's brand new grade chart and the Clear Certainty Rundown to deliver and to allow all to go upon that route and we will be working along with all staffs of all orgs to make that route available to all. In the past year LRH has, or actually the past several years, LRH has re-codified the entire training route with new check sheets for each level and we intend to make sure that that technical material is available so any person, any being on this planet can study the tech and also learn the tech to handle life and to make man free.

We stand ready to continue. The sun never sets on Scientology.

I'd now like to bring on the President of the Church of Scientology International to say a few words.

HEBER JENTZSCH: We Scientologists are a group. We have the capability of changing conditions because we have LRH tech. LRH defined the group in an essay on management. He said this: "A group then can be seen to have three spheres of interest and action. The first is the postulation of goals. The second is management. The third is the group itself, the executors of the plans, procurors of the means, and enjoyers of the victories."

We have the postulated goal of a clear planet as postulated by LRH. We have the resources of a strong dedicated on-policy management. We have in each of you as individuals the people who make those plans a reality and enjoy the victory. We must move more and more into the society with our programs of getting books into the hands of the public. We must also get the technology of auditing delivered and IHELP can well become the largest body of ministers on the planet.

We can pull together and broaden our reach with our use of LRH drug rehabilitation capabilities. With the tech LRH has given to us we can handle the problems of education. We could well change the face of this planet in a few short years. With touch assist technology, locationals, contact assists alone we could change the civilization. We as individuals must pull together as never before and we must bring the goal of a cleared planet into a reality. We can audit others we can disseminate the wisdom of LRH through his books to the planet. we can change lives with his technology.

Social coordination is reaching into the countries with education technology going into China, with interest now being expressed in that education technology in Turkey and Syria. We must then pull together and as a group bring about the change for ourselves as we become OT and for others as we work to change the environment. And if we do this well we will certainly achieve the goal of a cleared planet.

As LRH said in book one, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, talking about the future of Dianetics, "There is a higher goal, a better goal, a more glorious victory than gutted towns and radiation burned dead. There is freedom and happiness and plenty and a whole universe to be won. How much can man conquer? He loses if he conquers man. He wins if he conquers his own fears and conquers then the stars." Now more than ever — and that's the end of the quote — but now more than ever we will pull together and as a group we will change Earth.

LRH set the goal and management is managing and pushing it forward and you are helping in winning that victory. Now let's expand, let's expand upon that and let's move forward as a team all shoulders to the wheel and let us achieve that goal as LRH said it 35 almost 36 years ago, the goal of a cleared planet. LRH.

YAGER: In the past several hours the five of us made a decision, and in making that decision we reaffirmed our own determination to make those goals and the aims of Scientology and the many sub-products to those become a reality and before I leave tonight I'd like to ask you to join me from each of your positions in reaffirming that goal to LRH with a salute to him.

Salute! Two. Thank you very much

MISCAVIGE: I hope you feel briefed. We wanted to make sure that we were able to give you this information before you heard it on other lines and it appears that that is the case and I'm thankful for that. I think it is appropriate that we end this evening's event with an applicable quote from LRH out of Ron's Journal 67 and it says it all, thank you.

L. RON HUBBARD (RECORDED): Thank you very much for being here. I appreciate what you're doing. I need your help. And I'm very grateful for what you have done. Goodbye for now. I will see you up the line at the other end of the Bridge.

---

Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

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