Man who took a Scientology 'free stress test' on a Sydney street 11 years ago gets a handwritten note asking if he had 'read the booklet' and would like to join

Daily Mail,Australia/July 15, 2015

By Sarah Michael

The Church of Scientology is targeting people who bought a booklet more than a decade ago with handwritten letters in an attempt to recruit new members.

A Sydney man, who did not wish to be named, started receiving letters from the church last month along with brochures about Scientology's 'Purification Program' and other books.

The man said he was approached by Scientology recruiters outside a Woolworths supermarket in 2004, when he had recently moved to Sydney from Japan and did not speak much English.

He said they gave him a free 'stress test' and persuaded him to buy a booklet titled 'Fundamentals of Thought'.

'I can now remember that they provided demonstration as stress test in front of Woolworths, I just bought a booklet for small dollar to study English,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They stopped me and offer free stress test that measuring how much I have stress, and they wheedled me into buying the book.

'It wasn't cost much. That was a bit difficult for me to understand at that time, so I hadn't finish at all.'

The handwritten letter from the Church, sent to the man on June 23 this year, reads: 'Hi! I am Lucy! How is going [sic]?

'You bought a book "Fundamentals of Though" book in 2004 [sic].

'Did you read it all? Did you apply the process of the book too?

'If you want to learn more, please let me know :) ML, Lucy.'

The letters 'ML' stand for 'much love', a popular sign off amongst Scientologists.

The church also sent a brochure titled 'Purification Rundown', which urges the reader to 'give yourself a fresh start'.

'We live in a world riddled with drugs, while our air, water, and even our food contain chemical toxins,' the pamphlet reads.

'Their effects dull sense, cloud memory and lower energy. The harmful physical and mental effects from drugs don't end when a person stops taking them.

'The Purification Rundown is the LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] solution to effectively rid your body of these harmful substances, eliminating their devastating effects, opening the way to mental and spiritual advancement.'

Earlier in June, the man received another handwritten letter and brochure trying to sell him a Scientology book. He said he had no interest in joining the church.

Figures from the most recent Census, conducted in 2011, show just 2163 Australians identify as Scientologists – marking a 13.7 per cent drop in five years.

A spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology said the Census figures were wrong, with many leaving the religion question blank for 'privacy concerns and fears of discrimination'.

She said the church does not write to people who merely take a personality test. 

'If someone bought a book, then they may get the odd letter - regardless of whatever time has passed,' the spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

'Such a letter asks if they read the book and found it useful and if they would like any more information. 

'There is nothing unusual about that. Interested people write back and if they are not interested, then they don't. 

'We certainly want to remove anyone's name from our list if they request it to be removed - they just need to call or write to us.' 

The spokeswoman added that the church was trying to introduce Scientology to new people.

'This is something all religions engage in and nothing unusual,' she said.

'In Scientology we have something to offer people that can answer questions about life, who they are, where they are going and how we can help to better a person's life. That is our goal - to help people and make the world a better place. 

'We are not an exclusive religion, only for our existing members. We have new people walk in our doors every day and it is at an ever increasing rate, I might add, as people seek answers and workable solutions to the problems of life and understanding themselves, their spirituality and what this all means.'

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