The Church of Scientology's New Training Center: Designed To Give You ‘Super Powers’
Sept. 28 2011, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
The Church of Scientology is putting the finishing touches on The Super Power Building, a $90 million training facility that puts those of most professional sports teams -- heck, even space stations -- to shame, and we’ve got all the pictures for you.
It’s an 889-room development in Clearwater, Florida, that will include amenities such as state-of-the-art training equipment, similar to those astronauts train with; an anti-gravity simulator; dozens of audit rooms; a bookstore; a library; 42 bathrooms; a 1,140-seat dining room; a gorgeous outdoor terrace; and two kitchens.
The idea behind the center -- originally conceived by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard -- is to enhance the followers’ senses and capabilities via the gauntlet of rigorous training tasks. (Scientologists subscribe to the belief there are an additional 57 sense-like attributes known as perceptics that can be honed and developed by practitioners.)
Scientology spokesman Ben Shaw described Super Power training as "a series of spiritual counseling processes designed to give a person back his own viewpoint, increase his perception, exercise his power of choice, and greatly enhance other spiritual abilities."
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Hubbard once wrote that the upside to creating a facility such as The Super Power Building would be to put "Scientologists into a new realm of ability enabling them to create the new world ... it puts world clearing within reach in the future.”
The massive undertaking almost did not come about after many money-related delays held up construction in 2003.
Celebrities such as Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley have been main factors in the project getting off the ground, as Alley reportedly contributed $250,000 out of her pocket to see it through.