Tony then quotes wild space opera "memories" from many ex-members. Great work, Tony!

* http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninsca ... _track.php

Those who have reached OT 3 kevel cannot tell the difference between the reality and a hallucination, that is why they accept the Xenu story (I dedicated a thread to this topic, OT Hallucinations).

More interesting question would be this -- what makes some Scientologists, who have reached OT 3 and the above levels, reject the Xenu story?

I might know the answer, although I am not entirely sure. I think that at some point they run out of money and cannot move up the Bridge. When a hallucination is not re-stimulated, so to speak, it tends to fade away. In other words, if conditions that cause a hallucination are no longer present, it disappears.

Skeptics talk about a "fantasy-prone personality.* The hard-nosed realists quit CoS early, but the ones who enjoy being coached into concocting space opera during sessions, stick around and keep paying.*

http://www.skepdic.com/fantasyprone.html

Yes, I agree -- fantasy-prone personality is the answer. These people are most susceptible to self-induced hallucinations.

Somehow though, this "space opera" layer needs to be specifically instigated/prepared before people get to OT III.

From Tony Ortega's blog it seems that many pre-historic "memory experiences" people claim to have revolve around "other planets" "spaceships" "intergalactic war" - all of it elements so apparently derived from 1950ies space opera pulp sci-fi.

Is the discovery of "space memories" somehow an effect of instigated expectations - e.g. through auditing questions or contextual materials?

Instructional videos with sci-fi content or design for example?

Contextual materials -- YES (see the thread that I started, OT Hallucinations). One of such materials is Hubbard's book, The History of Man (I hope I got the title right).

If you are referring to the auditing questions that are asked during PC (pre-Clear) sessions, then the answer is NO.

Instructional Videos? Probably, but I do not know for sure because I am not an OT.

Lets not forget that they have also been told not to question or discuss their case. By the time they reach OT III, they know that if it doesnt make sense that they have missed something and it is their fault...