Geir Isene

Geir Isene
Isene in 2013
PronunciationEASE-neh
Born1966 (age 58–59)
Oslo, Norway
CitizenshipNorway
OccupationBusiness coach
OrganizationÅ
Notable workNineteen Eighty-Four, My Journey Into Scientology's Innermost Secrets - And Out Again
SpouseKatrina
Children4
Website
Notes
Fluent in English [1][2]

Geir Isene (born 1966[3]) is a Norwegian IT consultant, business coach, writer, and critic of the Church of Scientology.

Isene left the Church of Scientology in 2009 after having been a member for 25 years.[4][5] His turning point came in 2006, shortly after having reached the uppermost spiritual level within the church, OT VIII, when he met the leader, David Miscavige.[1]

He released his autobiography, Nineteen Eighty-Four, My Journey Into Scientology's Innermost Secrets - And Out Again on September 18, 2013, in which he reveals details about the secret OT levels.[6]

Isene is known as an open-source advocate,[7] a public speaker, coach and blogger.[8][9]

Scientology

Isene joined Scientology in 1984 and left on 7 August 2009[10] after 25 years. He had become Norway's foremost Scientologist by rising to OT VIII in 2006, the highest level, making him a significant Scientologist internationally. He met Scientology-leader David Miscavige several times and found him arrogant, impetuous, presumptuous and rude.[1][11]

Isene cited issues with Church of Scientology management as his primary contention, and especially highlighted the high-pressure tactics in mandatory meetings requiring large donations "for nothing".[a] It took Isene two years of extensive researching and evaluating before deciding to leave, and when he did the Church pressured two of his employees (who were Scientologists) to leave his company, and about 25 Scientologist friends disconnected from him.[1][11][12]

Isene was one of three OT VIIIs who left that year.[1] At first he declared he would remain a Scientologist though no longer be affiliated with the Church of Scientology,[1] but just two years later declared he was no longer a Scientologist.[13] Isene is the only person having reached OT VIII who has released a book detailing his journey into and out of Scientology.

Career

Isene is an IT entrepreneur,[11] who previously led several recruiting, consulting and IT companies including U-MAN Norge (WISE-affiliated), Creo Pario AS, and Linpro AS [no].[2] Isene has been the leader of Abelia, an association for technology and knowledge companies in Norway.[8]

He founded the software company FreeCode AS [no] in 2004, and operated it until 2012, and in 2008 was awarded the Oslo Municipality's Entrepreneur Award for "promoting open innovation and value sharing... and taking social responsibility with its social commitment". FreeCode was "based on open source code, and provided training, consulting, software, development, implementation, operation and support."[7][1]

In 2012, Isene and Brendan Martin started the business coaching company Å; still in operation as of 2024.[14]

Autobiography

  • Isene, Geir (2013). Nittenåttifire, Min vei inn i Scientologiens innerste hemmeligheter - og ut igjen [Nineteen Eighty-Four, My Journey Into Scientology's Innermost Secrets - And Out Again] (in Norwegian Bokmål). Oslo: Humanist Forlag [no]. ISBN 9788282820592. OCLC 1028488518. OL 25430365M.

Notes

  1. ^ Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard repeatedly wrote that Church of Scientology services should require an exchange of money, and railed against the practice of organizational fundraising to obtain money without giving something of value in return.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Childs, Joe; Tobin, Thomas C. (31 December 2009). "Three of Scientology's elite parishioners keep faith, but leave the church". St Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b Isene, Geir. "Geir who?". isene.org.
  3. ^ "Geir Isene". Humanist Forlag [no]. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Nittenåttifire". Humanist Forlag [no]. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013.
  5. ^ Lee, Dave (17 July 2013). "How Scientology changed the internet". BBC News. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Lansering av Nittenåttifire" [Launch of Nineteen Eighty-Four]. Litteraturhuset i Oslo [no] (in Norwegian). 18 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013.
  7. ^ a b Stokke, Ole Petter Baugerød (16 October 2008). "Freecode vant etablererpris" [Freecode won the founder award]. Computerworld (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Norge kan avgjøre OOXML-striden" [Norway can decide the OOXML dispute]. IT-nytt Norwegian and international IT news (in Norwegian). 28 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  9. ^ Ortega, Tony (26 June 2013). "VIDEO: Scientology Told Google's Sergey Brin It Wanted Only "Good" Search Results". The Underground Bunker. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  10. ^ Isene, Geir. "Me & Scientology". isene.org.
  11. ^ a b c Hansen, Asle (26 August 2009). "Løgner, trakassering og undertrykkelse : Norges fremste scientolog, Geir Isene, har brutt med bevegelsen" [Lies, harassment and oppression : Norway's foremost Scientologist, Geir Isene, has broken with the movement]. Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 23 February 2018.
  12. ^ Childs, Joe; Tobin, Thomas C (2009). "Inside Scientology: High-ranking defectors provide an unprecedented inside look at the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige" (PDF). Digital Newsbook (215 pages). St. Petersburg Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2023.
  13. ^ Isene, Geir (29 September 2011). "I am not a Scientologist". isene.me.
  14. ^ "About us". A-Circle.

See also