Scientology scion: 'Cult' uses the most 'devious, systematic brainwashing' ever

The great-grandson of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard spoke to Current TV host Cenk Uygur on Thursday night and shared a stark warning about what he called one of the most "devious, systematic brainwashing systems that's ever been invented."

Claiming that Scientology is designed to play on the "narcissism" of supposedly intelligent people, Jamie DeWolf said members are taught to believe that they will soon be able to travel through space and time and remember all of their alien souls. "It's like a pyramid of self-mastery, and as you move up this pyramid you receive God-like status," he explained.

"And then as you continue up this pyramid you become more and more insulated, more and more watched, more and more guided by Scientologists themselves, and then they have handlers. They also specifically direct themselves to acquire celebrities, and that's been a policy ever since L. Ron first exploded with 'Dianetics.' Even Elvis himself turned down Scientology in its early days."

He went on to call the Church of Scientology a "cult," insisting that it is one of the most "devious, systematic brainwashing systems that's ever been invented," and saying that "no one has ever said my grandfather was an idiot."

"It works through electrified hypnosis," he said. "It works through past life regression therapy. It works through a lot of hodgepodge of ideas thrown together with this extremely brutal sort of security sense and this kind of like CIA-like structure that becomes really intoxicating to people. But to meet people who've been out of the cult -- I mean, yeah, you want to ask them about Xenu and aliens -- but the fact is these are smart people. They've just been completely destroyed."

This video is from The Young Turks, aired by Current TV on Thursday, January 24, 2013.