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Hi, I'm Laura Jean Thompson.

I'm a second-generation native Californian, born in San Diego in 1949. Currently, I reside in the City of La Mesa, County of San Diego, California, having returned to San Diego in 1985, having spent more than half my life in Los Angeles County.

I would suppose you could say I come from a sort of typical "Anglo-Saxon" heritage on the feminine side (paternal grandmother's last name of "Welsh" and maternal grandmother's name "Boynton"). Sounds very Anglo, right? Now add a dash of German, and a pinch of French, and víola you get a very nice blend - "strong stock" as they say. Oh, but what about the masculine side -- paternal grandfather Norwegian, and maternal grandfather - Bohemian (from the province of Bohemia in Czechoslovakia) -- adventurous, unafraid to chart unknown territories and firmly steeped in the earth and environment. After I wrote all this I wonder - why was I compelled to tell you these things about my heritage? Well, because I think it tells how, and explains some of the reasons I decided (before this life) to be a part of this heritage. This heritage brings with it feminine power, celebration of the universe and changes in it, connection to the gods and more importantly, goddesses, witches and a strong rooting with the earth and its bounty. Physically I am small in stature - 4'10", but I have never felt small. I feel large, very large - my physical body does not contain me, I overflow it.

One of the stories my mother is fond of telling is the "story" of my imaginary friend "Hompoon". My mother became aware of my friend when I was able to verbally communicate. Hompoon would be there all the time with me - walking, sitting, eating, talking to me, being my friend. My mother humored me, but Hompoon was and is real. Although I wasn't able to clearly communicate to my mother who Hompoon was, I knew him to be my friend, and part of my group. Although I had incarnated, Hompoon had not, but remained with me and my awareness of him was not diminished. Hompoon, decided to incarnate, using the same earthly parents, and is now my brother. When my brother was conceived and born, my parents did not want more children, my father was in college and working nights, just barely able to feed themselves and me and the time was "not right". But it was Hompoon's time to incarnate! (My mother has over the years, expressed curiosity about Hompoon's disappearance with the birth of my brother, has never put 2 and 2 together, it really is nothing to wonder about - he incarnated - simple as that.)

It's not unusual to hear stories of "only" children having invisible friends in their early years - but most professionals and society discount these friends as "imaginary", "not real", "figments of their imagination" and eventually after being told that these friends are not real, we who have had these friends, forget them! We forget our spiritual existence and truly identify ourselves as physical 3-D, earth bodies!

Now this takes me to about 17 months of earthly existence this lifetime. Our family moved to Los Angeles, California before my brother's birth so my father could continue his education at University Southern California (USC). (When my parents decided to re-locate to the City of the Angels it was only temporary, we would return to San Diego once my father got his engineering degree.) Through the years we moved to Norwalk, Whittier, Claremont and Pomona, all in Los Angeles County.

While we lived in Norwalk my sister was born, which completed the family! I was six when she was born, and we had really looked forward to her arrival. I have many fond memories of her when she was little (well, her body is still little - she's shorter than I am! Ah ha!) My sister seemed to want to make her entrance in a grand way - she started several times, mom went to the hospital several times - but I guess things were not quite right yet and my sister wasn't ready (or we weren't ready for her yet - I'm not sure which), and so there were numerous starts before the finalé! For her big sister and brother the best part of her arrival was our first night without mom which meant a "father cooked dinner" - noodles and butter! We loved it! After the first night's sleep dad would take us to our aunt and uncle to be taken care of while mom was in the hospital. When my sister did make her entrance - she was very small, 5 lbs at birth, but healthy. At the time of her birth, hospitals would not let children in to visit and my brother and I really wanted to see our new baby sister - after all we had been waiting for her for sooooo long. Dad set it up so we could stand out on the lawn at the hospital and mom and our new sister were in the window. I remember being so excited and still in awe of the whole process. (I didn't understand the process, but I sure liked the result!)

My formal education began at age 5 years. The school was somehow connected to one of the universities in Los Angeles, and they developed educational techniques. When I attended they were working on a technique for learning to read - large pictures and small text - a memorizing sort of thing. You look at the picture and memorize the symbols at the bottom that represent what the picture is. (Seems sort of complex, lots of things to memorize, huh?- it was, and it was not a successful technique. I didn't learn to read very well, no phonics, no sounding out words. Can you draw a picture that represents "was", "is", "be"? I can't. I guess they thought we would just catch on.) After this I went to several "public" schools and hey, I'm a smart girl, so I got by. (But that is about all I did - get by.) When I was nine my parents enrolled me in a Catholic parochial school in Claremont. Was I in for rude awakening, I couldn't read and my math skills - what math skills - I had none! All the other kids were whizzing past me. This is when I learned a very important lesson in life, which has held me in good stead. "If you want something bad enough, are willing to do whatever it takes to get it, you'll get it!" What did I want? I wanted to be like all the other kids, not laughed at because I couldn't read. So I worked hard, very hard at learning to read, phonics, sounding out words, memorizing multiplication tables. Sitting for hours and hours, while my brother and sister were out playing. I cried, I complained, but with my mom's encouragement and my dad's patience and help I didn't give up! My dad sat with me for hours helping me to bring my math skills up to level, drilling, encouraging questions, explaining, diagramming over and over until I understood the concepts behind multiplication tables, fractions, etc. (By the way, from these are basic understandings in high school I was able to easily understand and grasp algebra.) I wasn't just reciting things, I was thinking, I understood conceptually. This too, was an important part of my basic rules for life - "ask questions, ask more questions, and keep asking questions until YOU understand".

So here I am, after a year or so of intense study and hard work, 10 years old, in parochial school, saturated in Catholicism. I find myself being told to "believe" things that don't make sense to me, so what do I do? I ask questions.....lots of questions. I'm told to believe, have faith, you don't need to understand, just believe. Well, I go along with it for awhile, graduate from elementary school. I'm now a teenager. Yes, I'm 13, and my parents enroll me in another parochial school, but now I'm in high school, and it's an all-girl parochial school. Suddenly, there are no boys in class and for some unknown reason "boys" become these creatures that every girl wants, but they are "bad", and if you have one of these bad creatures, you become bad. Hey, what's all this talk about sex, and what is it? I think that these "bad" creatures are connected in some way to sex, but I don't understand how or why. I see the girls that have boyfriends are popular, laugh, have a good time, go to parties, and have lots of friends. I ask questions, why are boys bad? why is sex bad? why are these girls bad? I don't get answers. I get "do what we tell you to do." Now, I'm not supposed to be thinking for myself, I'm supposed to be following someone else who says they know what's best for me, but they can't explain why it's best for me. Why are they doing something other than what they tell me I should be doing? Why is it best for me, but not best for them? They tell me I will understand when I'm an adult. But then they tell me to act like an adult. I'm confused!

All of my religious training, indoctrination thus far has been limited to Catholicism. But I start asking questions! I'm asking questions about boys, sex, and now questions about "miracles", about Jesus, about Mary, the saints, on and on. I don't get answers that make sense. Things just didn't seem right to me. I keep getting the "do what we tell you to do" or now there's old "believe" thing again! I'm told I was created in the image and likeness of God. I'm told God is beautiful. Hey, why is it sinful to show too much skin? Through my life I'm told I have been given a great mind, use it. I'm confused, and frustrated. I realize there has to be something they are not telling me. What could this be? Why can't they, or won't they tell me? What's going to happen if I find out? Will I go to hell if I keep looking? Is this asking of questions a sin, is it a venial sin, or is it the dreaded "mortal" sin that will condemn my soul to burn in hell for all eternity? Can I just go to confession and confess these horrible sins? Is this a forgivable sin? Why do I have to ask the priest to ask God for my forgiveness, why can't I just ask God myself? God hears me when I pray, doesn't he? I asked a lot of why questions - and the usual answer either made me want to ask more questions because it doesn't make sense, or lets me know I shouldn't be asking questions! Maybe I'm just not asking the right question, if I ask the right question will all the answers come tumbling out? I guess I'm not supposed to think for myself, just follow in "blind faith." And above and beyond all this, the all important questions, who am I, and why am I here continue to go unanswered.

At this point, I'm 17 years old, have a good education and feel ready to jump with both feet into the adult world. There have been many life shaping events through my high school years. The VietNam war, watching friends and acquaintances leave and come back for their memorial and funeral services. More close to my heart, my "boyfriend" going to VietNam, coming home, and while on his way to see me, being killed in a freak freeway accident. My family has gone from "well-off" to bankruptcy. What I had thought all through high school would be my life - neonatal pediatrician - is not to be. What I thought was a complete and happy family is torn apart by divorce, with my father going is way to pursue his life and my mother to continue with hers. This process starting in my senior year and culminating a couple years later. I come to value things that can't be bought or held: love, trust, courage, steadfastness, perseverance, positive outlook, belief in oneself, learning to continue even when it all seems hopeless and I learn I am emotionally strong.

But I AM also at a spiritual cross-roads. Although I am consciously unaware that I don't feel whole, I am driven to find something. This one thing lacking -- my spiritual wholeness. I am not healthy spiritually. There are too many unanswered questions, too many contradictions. I'm not supposed to think for myself. I start searching outside my "religion". This is dangerous territory for me. If what I have been told is true, I could be condemning myself to burn in hell for all eternity! But I am unconsciously driven to find out, who I am, why am I here.

I am in the late 60's, ready to launch my life! What a exquisitely wonderful time to be exploring the spiritual realm! There are many of us, wandering and wondering. There are many ways to explore. Get back to nature, mind-expanding drugs, the ecstasy of physical love, transendental meditation, seeking to return to our native state. I go to the mountains (Yosemite) and live with nature, experience mind-expanding drugs, out of body experiences and continue my search. This life style is short lived and through a series of events and circumstances I once again find myself living in Los Angeles. I feel closed in, shut off, but I continue putting one foot in front of the other, doing what I must to survive. In 1969 I am working as a waitress, meet a man, and in early 1970 we marry. We have a hard go of it, experience the pain of a miscarriage and soon decide to move to the east coast - Trenton, New Jersey to be exact. We live there for a couple of years, experience a couple more miscarriages, infidelities and the emotional pain these all bring. But in all these experiences there is one that overshadows all.

During a surgery in late 1971, I had a near death experience. This experience significantly changed my life. I again experienced an out of body state, during this experience I viewed my body laying several feet below. While in this state I came to a new understanding, this is who I am. I am not a body, I am the entity viewing the body below, I am spiritual being. I felt an incredible calmness and ease.

Over the last couple of years, I had lost touch with the spiritual being that is Hompoon.

In 1973 we return to Los Angeles and who should reappear in my life only a few miles away - Hompoon of course. We all start communicating, and seeing each other. It seems he has found the answers to his questions and invites me to explore the possibilities. My dad and sister are involved too. This seems too good to be true. What is this that Hompoon shares with me? It is Dianetics and Scientology. I explore. I find a certain peacefulness. I continue my exploration for the next couple of decades, 12 years of which I am a member of the church working full-time and living on church premises. I study the tenets and philosophy of this religion and continued my search for the answers to the eternal questions through my experiences with Dianetics and Scientology becoming more aware of who I am and why I am here. While working full time in the church I feel fulfilled, I am helping my fellow spiritual beings in their quest for truth and answers. But I somehow get all caught up in helping others and let my own spiritual quest unattended. In 1979 I was ordained a minister.

A couple life changing experiences during this time are below.

My then husband and I, having been unsuccessful in having a family, decide in late 1975 to adopt a child. Within a few weeks of this decision, entirely independent of either he or I, my sister is approached by a pregnant friend who inquires if she knows of anyone who would consider adopting her unborn child. My sister relates that her older sister and her husband want to adopt and telephone numbers are exchanged. We meet with the mother and talk about the possibility of adoption, the legal details are explored and it is decided that we will not adopt the child. My husband has to go out of town and I agree to meet with the mother and tell her our decision. A meeting is set for a Sunday afternoon, I go where she work on the second floor of the building for the meeting. I begin the ascent up the staircase. Ascending only a couple of stairs, I felt another presence on the stairs with me. (Keep in mind I had arrived at the meeting to tell this woman I was not going to adopt her child.) The presence in the staircase asked me to be its mother. This was an overpowering communication. This spiritual being that was the unborn child wanted me as its mother, and although I communicated I was not willing to be its mother, this spiritual being continued to repeat the request. During these repeated requests I became aware that the request was part of plan of which I had no knowledge but was to be a integral part. I stopped trying to force my will, and agreed to motherhood, even knowing I had a lot of explaining to do to my husband for disregarding our mutual decision. On July 5, 1976, my then husband and I became parents of a beautiful baby girl.

In April 1981 my husband and I make an incredibly difficult decision to dissolve our marriage and go our separate ways. At the time of our decision, neither he nor I were aware of the serious interferences in our marriage by specific members of the church. The consequences of these interferences are hard to imagine. But it was not until 1997 that I became aware of the vicious lies and deceptions that were relayed to me about my husband and vice versa.

In November 1985 my father made the transition when his body succumbed to cancer. His transition had life changing effects for me. I felt an emptiness, a deadness.

I moved my daughter and I back to San Diego, the city of this life's incarnation, and started over. I arrived in San Diego with less than $5.00 in my pocket and a 9 year old daughter who depended upon me for her survival. I had to get it together and get it together fast. Initially, my mother allowed me to move into a small room in her home. I immediately found employment - I worked as a legal secretary, having worked in the legal department of the church for 12 years. I worked hard, saved my money and within three months, moved myself and my daughter into our own two-bedroom apartment with our own furniture.

I moved a couple more times and in 1987 made a huge leap and did something I had wanted to do for some time and that was explore more fully my artistic flare. I went back to school. It had been 20 years, but I excelled and found a new expression for my spiritual quest and approach for sharing with others. I obtained my graphic design certification.

After a few of years a dear friend and fellow Scientologist found me in San Diego and came to visit. I became more active with the church. In 1995, while on a spiritual retreat, I realized and conceptually understood and knew who I was. I finally knew. At first, I was unable to speak, unable to explain to the person in front of me what was happening, I was so overwhelmed by the experience. I knew I was a spiritual being, connected with every other spiritual being, connected to the Supreme Being, God, Principal, Infinity, Source, The Creator, Pure Love, Light whatever your choose to call It. I was Them and They were Me, Oneness. This experience was such a core experience it has remained in my consciousness awareness.

In January 1997, after several years of using the internet and e-mail, this incredible technology gave me a jolt. While checking my e-mail, I came across an e-mail from someone who wanted to know if I was Laura Jean. I was very curious and checked the profile for the sender and to my surprise, it was my ex-husband. Spiritually I was jumping for joy, I had been at a stand-still for awhile and of course still had not answered the question "why am I here?" I knew this e-mail was about to create a significant change in my life, I didn't know what kind of a change, but a change. As I said before, I became aware of the vicious lies and deceptions that were relayed to me about my husband and vice versa, but what I didn't say is how I became aware of these deceptions and lies. It was through e-mail correspondence that the truth came to the surface. (It always does you know!? - you can't hide the truth forever!) After becoming aware of the betrayal by those who had portrayed themselves as my friends, I again found I needed to start searching again for answers. My ex-husband was my catalyst, I needed that jump-start to get me out of my complacency.

Through that search I met my current partner and the current president of YOUtopia INstitute and we re-activated his long dormant charter with the Universal Life Church. I have taken on the role of Secretary of YOUtopia INstitute. I am exploring with an open-mind all avenues of spirituality that I was unable to explore while active in Scientology. I have become an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church, and now pursue my spiritual quest with new vigor including a study group of "A Course In Miracles", reading "Life and Teaching of Masters of the Far East" by Baird Spalding, "The Celestine Prophecy" and "The Tenth Insight" by James Redfield.

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