From uo880@freenet.victoria.bc.caSat Apr 6 16:24:53 1996 Date: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 03:48:33 -0800 (PST) From: "Martin G. V. Hunt" To: Rev Dr David Gerard Subject: Re: Cyril Vosper This is the final proofread version: Notes on the transcription; * A capital "L" was used to indicate British Pounds Sterling. * Obvious spelling and typographical errors in the original have been corrected; roughly 25 were found. * The use of asterisks "*" indicate both italicized or stressed text and footnotes in original. Italicized book and magazine titles have been left as plain text. * Pages are numbered at the bottom. * Remarks on the transcription are enclosed in brackets "()". * All [sic]'s in original. The Mind Benders Cyril Vosper Unabridged Mayflower (2) (blank page, 3) CYRIL VOSPER THE MIND BENDERS SCIENTOLOGY `...capable of such danger that the public interest demands that people should know what is going on' LORD DENNING THE BOOK THEY TRIED TO BAN A fast, furious, funny, _violent_ exposure of a major global cult `Indicates quackery of a type which might be dangerous behind closed doors...' HIS LORDSHIP, THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS 583 12249 3 Mayflower (4) (blank page, 5) Granada Publishing Limited Published in 1973 by Mayflower Books Ltd Park Street, St Albans, Herts First published in Great Britain by Neville Spearman Limited 1971 Copyright c Cyril Vosper 1971 Made and printed in Great Britain by C. Nicholls & Company Ltd The Phillips Park Press, Manchester Set in Intertype Times This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. This book is published at a net price and is supplied subject to the Publishers Association Standard Conditions of Sale registered under the Restrictive trade Practices Act, 1956. Australia - recommended price only (6) Contents List of plates 7 Prologue 9 1 Why Scientology? 17 2 Assumptions 27 3 The Thetan 41 4 The Mind 49 5 Past Lives 60 6 Auditing 70 7 Training 89 8 Clear 104 9 Operating Thetan 112 10 Ethics 121 11 Promotion 140 12 The Organisations of Scientology 152 Epilogue 169 Appendix 171 Acknowledgements 175 (7) (blank page, 8) PROLOGUE God! Was I tired! I'd been working for eleven solid, ghastly days. And not just days; eleven nights too. With maybe two hours' sleep on a hard floor in Saint Hill every twenty-four hours. I hadn't had a bath or a square meal in all that time either. I felt like death. It was Saturday, 30th, August, 1968. August Bank Holi- day. I had two jobs at Saint Hill - Dissemination Secretary, World Wide and Dissemination Secretary, Evening and Weekend Foundation. For all the big titles, I still felt like death. An Open Weekend was going on at Saint Hill over the holiday and I conned my way into getting home because I was beginning to look and act like a zombie. It's not at all good for Scientology's public image for visitors, newcomers and newspaper reporters to see a zombie walking about the place. Why had I been there for 264 hours non-stop? Because on one or other of my jobs I had been in a Con- dition of Liability and under the justice system of Scien- tology, when you are in a Condition of Liability, you just stay there and work your way out of it. I didn't give a damn for Scientology or all its sweet little Ethics systems. If I had told any of those crazy Scientolo- gists what they could do with their Condition of Liability, I'd have been declared an even lower condition - Enemy, a Suppressive person; then I would have had to discon- nect from my children. I had been declared an S.P. in April 1968 and had not seen my children for a week. I couldn't stand the thought of going through all that again. Mind- bending self-recrimination, degradation. No. I would go ahead and act out my part and hope to get out of Scien- tology painlessly. I got home at 8.30 p.m. The children were asleep. I went up to see them. They were so beautiful it hurt. I felt I had failed them. If they woke up now and saw me like this, I'd feel ashamed. 9 I went downstairs again, to bed. Ever since I had been declared a Suppressive Person in April, I had not been allowed to sleep with Rosalie. After all, she was the Assis- tant Guardian and I was an ex-S.P.! I fell into bed and into sleep. A loud thumping on the door. It went on and on, imperi- ously. In this half-awake, half-asleep state, I was terrified. What in God's name was going on? I tried to shut the noise out but it still went on. Finally it stopped and I heard Rosalie opening the front door. After a few moments she came in. "There's an Ethics Officer outside, Cyril." I reached for my watch. "It's half-past ten! Tell him to go away." "He wants you to go for a Committee of Evidence." "Tell him to get lost. I'm bone tired. I'm in bed. I'm asleep. I may need some things right now but I do not need a Comm. Ev." Ros sat down on the bed. It was the nearest we had been to each other in months. She looked concerned - almost affectionate. Ye Gods! What a life! "You had better go. It could be hard for you if you don't go." "Ros, do something for me. Tell that stupid bastard at the door that if he doesn't get out of my house now, I'll call the police and charge him with malingering, breaking and entry, attempted murder, trying to rape my wife and other- wise making a bloody nuisance of himself." Rosalie fixed me with a pitying look and went out to talk to Peter Warren, Ethics Officer World Wide. I tried to get back to sleep but it was only acting. There was a cold and resigned fear in me. I knew I would go to Saint Hill and give evidence at their Comm. Ev. and I had a deep foreboding that this would be the end for me. Ros came back. "Go out and talk to him. Do it for me." Do it for Rosalie. Do it for my wife. Do it because she used the same surname as me. Do what any good Scientol- ogist would do. I jumped out of bed. I had pyjamas on which was nice for Ros. "Since he is such a thick-brained nit, I'll go and tell him myself or maybe I'll just kick him a few times." I went into the hall with a stern look to my face but really 10 just wishing they would all clear off and leave me to get some sleep. These people needed to be put over some- body's knee and spanked hard. "Peter, I'm not going to Saint Hill or anywhere else with you. I was at Saint Hill two hours ago and if you wanted me you should have got me then. Right now I'm here and you had better clear off rapidly or I'll do something violent to you like castrating you without anaesthetics." He adopted that patient, pitying look that's a stock-in trade of Scientologists, especially ones like Peter Warren. He was dripping wet from the rain and I thought that was justice even if nothing else was. "It will go very bad for you if you don't come. In any case I have been given very strict instructions to bring you in." "You take your instructions right back to the idiot who gave them to you and tell him you failed. For once the Scientology Gestapo failed." That was as withering as I could make it with my eye- balls burning with tiredness, but it did not shake his determination. After all, he had the weight and majesty of Scientology Ethics behind him. I nearly vomited. "I must bring you back for this Comm. Ev. There's a taxi outside and I must bring you back." "For Crissake, don't you understand anything? I was asleep. I haven't slept properly for eleven days. What the hell are you trying to do - kill me? " "I'm not trying to kill you. You must come to Saint Hill with me to give evidence at a legally convened Committee of Evidence. The more you argue, the worse it will be for you." I went back to see Ros and get dressed. I knew this was the end of everything. Marriage, children, everything worthwhile. That it would inevitably be the end of Scien- tology for me seemed the only real relief. I felt like crying. Like getting on my knees to Ros and beseeching her to jack all this nonsense in, but I knew it would do no good. "I'm going to Saint Hill." "Good. I'm sure you will manage fine." "I'll be declared S.P." "Do you really think that?" "I know that. Once an S.P., always an S.P." The ride in the taxi to Saint Hill was a bit strained. The 11 driver seemed embarrassed and bewildered. He would learn soon enough if he took many bookings from Saint Hill. This Ethics Officer sitting next to me had been learn- ing long-division in school and kicking the toes out of his shoes when I was first auditing preclears. Twenty-four, maybe younger. Six months or maybe a year a Scientolo- gist. Whoever it was said: "there ain't no justice, no justice nowhere" was dead right. I had persuaded Peter Warren to join staff at Saint Hill. I must have been out of my mind. "Do you like your job, Peter?" I asked by way of con- versation. "Yes, it is very interesting." He smiled with that tolerant smile reserved by the superior for the very inferior. If I had had a gun, I would have carefully aimed it and blown his head off. Maybe he didn't know he was accompanying me to the end of my family, the end of my marriage. Or maybe he found that interesting too. The Committee of Evidence consisted of Allan Fergu- son, Chairman, Brian Day, member, Lucy Duncan, Sec- retary, and a tape-recorder. At least the tape-recorder didn't look hostile. By regulation there should have been four or preferably five human members and a tape-recorder. But the accused are held guilty whatever they say in a Scientology trial, so who worries about how many people are there to see your final degradation? "Sit in that chair," said Allan Ferguson with a stern look as if he were a supreme judge sentencing a Train Robber to thirty years. I was already sitting in it but I stood up and sat down again to try to make him feel in control. I don't think it worked. He had that glazed, bemused look about him that is very common with Scientologists. He was going through a ritual. The ritual implanted by L. Ron Hubbard said: "Find the S.P.'s." He was finding an S.P. - me! The word of Hubbard is senior to any minor thing like smash- ing up my family. "Turn on the tape-recorder." The way he said that sounded as if he were saying "Fire!" at an execution. I felt I wasn't there. I felt I really were dead. I'd died of the bloody silliness and grief of it all. My children. Christ - at the ages of seven, five and three they had more sense than these three had ever dreamed of having. But I sat there wearing a studious expression and wondering what was coming. 12 "This is a recording of the proceedings of Committee of Evidence convened under Ethics Order 727 World Wide, on 1st September, 1969. The time is 11:20 p.m.," said Allan Ferguson, self-consciously to the microphone. "Cyril Vos- per; on Tuesday, the 27th August, 1968, did you receive orders to plan an Ethics Mission to New Zealand and Aust- ralia?" "Yes," I replied. I lit a cigarette. My hand was trembling ever so slightly. I didn't offer them around. Sometimes cool- ness can go too far. "When did you start to plan the Ethics Mission?" "Right away." I'd won that one. "Did you fail to immediately draw up the plans for the Ethics Mission to New Zealand and Australia?" I looked at him for a moment. What sort of a loaded question was that? "Well, it's actually impossible to immediately draw up plans for anything. Planning takes time. You have to get facts, find out who is going and all sorts of things. It takes time." "Answer the question, Yes or No?" Allan Ferguson would have made a good village idiot. He lacked the panache for anything more demanding. "All right, if you want me to admit that I failed to do something impossible, I failed." I had lost that one. "Did you pass completed orders to the Executive Coun- cil and Alert Council before copying or duplicating those orders?" "I circulated the orders I had written to as many mem- bers of the Exec. Council and Alert Council as were avail- able but due to the fact that most of the members were not around, I went ahead and copied them in order to speed the thing up." "You consider yourself senior to the Exec. Council and Alert Council, then?" "Not at all. I worked on the basis that ANY orders given to the Mission were better than none, since I was unable to get a decision from either of the Councils." "You took it upon yourself to act over the heads of the Exec. Council and Alert Council. That's what you're say- ing, isn't it?" "Policy says that I must submit plans and orders to the Exec. and Alert Councils for approval before copying. It 13 does not say what you do when you cannot find the men- bers of these Councils." "You went over their heads." I shrugged. The whole thing was pointless. I should have stayed home and had a good night's sleep And so it went on. I didn't know what they were talking about most of the time. I certainly didn't care. Just get it over with. After about thirty minutes, the tape-recorder started to creak which was no help. "Finally, Vosper, how long have you been a Scientolo- gist?" "Since 1954, about fourteen years," I said with no pride Just a deep-down conviction that for fourteen years I'd been well out of my mind. "And how many times have you left Scientology?" "I've not actually left Scientology but I..." "Answer the question. How many times have you left Scientology?" Ye Gods. This guy was going to get his pound of flesh. "I've left Scientology organisations twice to get more money. Once when I went into private practice; once when I got married." "So how many times have you left Scientology?" "Twice, I suppose." "Thank you - we eventually get to the truth." Allan Fer- guson turned to the other two. "Are there any further ques- tions from the other members of the committee?" They shook their heads sheepishly. They had been friends. People I bad respected at one time. I couldn't blame them for keeping their mouths shut. They could be de- clared S.P. along with me if they spoke up. "You can go now, Vosper." "Do I get a taxi to get me home again?" "That's up to you." If there had been any possible point to it, I'd have bashed his smug face in. I went out and walked the two miles home, crying. Not because of the Comm. Ev. Not because I wasn't as good a Scientologist as Peter Warren, Allan Ferguson, and all the others. But because it was the end of that special thing that existed between Lindy Lou, Sean and Ashley and me. 14 I didn't think of Ros. She was part of Scientology. Part of all the nonsense. The next day I was declared a Suppressive Person. Per Gardstrom, International Ethics Officer, World Wide, found me in the Lower Hall working and handed me HCO Ethics Order 729 WW (World Wide), 388 SH (Saint Hill), 9 EU (Europe), 1 SH FND (Saint Hill Foundation). He did not give me time to read it. "Get off the premises right away," he said. "But my children are here somewhere. I must see them and say goodbye." "Get off the premises right away." "One day you'll have children, Per. I hope you will then remember what you have just said. I hope you will feel very proud of yourself," I said. He escorted me to the main gate and told me to get out. He was doing his job by the book. He was being the In- ternational Ethics Officer, World Wide. A great title for a wretched job. I went to London, booked into a hotel and slept and slept. 15 (blank page 16) Chapter One WHY SCIENTOLOGY? The word SCIENTOLOGY was constructed by an American science fiction writer, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, from the Greek word SCIO, to know in the fullest sense, and the Latin word LOGOS, to study. Thus Scientology is the study of knowledge or knowing- ness and the technique whereby knowingness is acquired. Scientology evolved in 1952 from L. Ron Hubbard's DIANETICS (DIA. Greek - through; NOUS. Greek - mind, intellect), which had been started two years earlier with the publication of Hubbard's Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. This 400-page book outlined methods whereby the unqualified person could apply the techniques of Dianetics to resolve his problems, neuroses, psychosom- atic ills, repressions, inhibitions and such. By comparison with the pessimism of mainstream psychology and psychotherapy, Hubbard described Dianetics as simple commonsense that invariably produced the desired results and by virtue of this optimism, Dianetics gained wide- spread, though short-lived, acceptance. Almost total rejection of the assumptions of Hubbard by authoritative psychologists, psychiatrists and psycho- therapists, along with medical opinion, did not deter Hub- bard from cashing in on this widespread acceptance and he formed organisations to apply Dianetic techniques on a professional basis. Although many thousands of people throughout the United States and Canada tried Dianetic techniques on their friends and acquaintances and in turn had these friends and acquaintances try it out on them, and although the vast majority of these dropped the sub- ject after a short while, yet a hard core of support grew. Through much public rejection, derisive press and tele- vision comment, the movement slowly snowballed. It is almost impossible to establish precisely what the early his- tory of Dianetics and Scientology was, since there are now very few of the early supporters left, but one of the keenest supporters was John Campbell, Jr., editor of Astounding 17 Science Fiction Magazine (now Analog Science Fiction- Science Fact). John Campbell, Jr., was than and still is regarded as the doyen of adult intellectual science fiction. In his editorials, regarded amongst science fiction fans in the same way as the editorials of The Times, both New York and London, are regarded by the press world, Camp- bell was unstinting in his praises for Dianetics. The May 1950 issue of his magazine carried an article by Hubbard entitled "Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science" and it took up the entirety of the magazine. In this article, Hubbard compares the human mind to vastly complicated electronic computer. He claims that if a computer has a "held down 7", that is an input which con- tinuously registers 7 in all calculations, then this is roughly analogous to an aberrated mind. Whenever a calculation is performed on the computer with the "held down 7", all results will be incorrect to the power of 7. Similarly all human minds have their own "held down 7's" which alter the accuracy of mental computation. The only difficulty is that whereas with the computer the fault is easily de- tected, with the human mind it is not so easily detected since the mind's "held down 7's" are obscured by justifica- tion, reasonableness and fear. The word ENGRAM is borrowed from biology where it means Cellular Scar Tissue and is adapted to mean Mental Scar in Dianetics, used to describe all of the "held down 7's" in the human mind. Precisely, the Engram is defined as: "A mental image picture of an experience containing pain, unconsciousness and a real or fancied threat to sur- vival; it is a recording in the Reactive Mind of something in the past which actually happened to an individual con- taining pain and unconsciousness, both of which are re- corded in the mental image picture called an engram." Thus is constructed a whole new mental science. The Di- anetic Engram could be compared to psychiatry's trauma, but is more specifically delineated by Hubbard. Similarly the Reactive Mind of Dianetics is somewhat comparable to Freud's Unconscious, but again Hubbard is more precise in his definition, as follows: "Reactive Mind - that portion of a person's mind which works on a stimulus response basis (given a certain stimulus, it gives a certain response) which is not under his volitional control and which exerts force and the power of command over his awareness, 18 purposes, thoughts, body and actions. It consists of Goals Problems Masses, Engrams, Secondary Engrams and Locks." Much more information on the human mind, as seen by Hubbard in his Dianetics and Scientology, will be given in later chapters but the Engram and the Reactive Mind formed the basis for Dianetics and still form the main areas of attack for Scientology. It is a more easily under- stood concept than all of the verbosity of psychiatry and psychology and Hubbard claims it as the basis of all mental and mental/physical ills. His techniques for the reduction of the power of the Engram, i.e.: his methods for turning unconscious mem- ories into conscious memories, were, at the outset of Dianetics, comparable to psychoanalytic techniques. How- ever, as he widened the scope of his subject into a religious philosophy - Scientology - Hubbard introduced a mech- anistic precision in an attempt to bypass the random per- sonal inter-relationships which had bedevilled the original Dianetic methods and at the same time introduced an ele- ment of the esoteric and mystic. It is this last element that distinguishes Scientology from other psychotherapies. Hubbard has attempted to produce an essentially prac- tical philosophy that is both a summation of Mankind's knowledge of himself and his environment, and a means to increase this knowledge. He has described his subject as being senior to all other pursuits since self-knowledge and self-control are prerequisites to certainty in any other study. He claims to have been a member of the original research team that developed the American Atomic Bomb, presumably the Manhattan District Project, 1942-1945, though it is difficult to credit this since he was a comman- der in charge of a U.S. Navy corvette in the Pacific during this period. However, from the knowledge of nuclear phy- sics gained and his claimed intimate experience of Eastern mysticism he has welded Western ideas to Eastern faith in Scientology. So it is that much of his writing is in the style of a motor-mechanic's handbook while at the same time dealing with the most stupendous ideas. After the pon- derous wordiness of most other studies in a similar vein Hubbard's direct statements, right or wrong, are refreshing indeed. The greatest impact of his approach, both in his twenty 19 or so books on Dianetics and Scientology, and in the thou- sands of hours of tape-recorded lectures he has made, must surely be the certainty with which he deals with problems. With unbounded self-confidence, he tackles such Gordian Knots as the definition of Life, reincarnation, communica- tion, Flying Saucers, sex, politics, together with the minor problems to do with the resolution of the human mind, with a pragmatism greater than Alexander's. Some of the things he says are absurd but equally many are very pertinent and it is this curious mixture of truth and untruth, fact and fiction, that gives Scientology its impact, AND its strength. The newcomer to Scientology is attracted by the engin- eering-like practicality of the early stages of training and therapy. Good, solid stuff; applicable to everyday life; little hint of the wild non-proven and non-provable material to come. At this stage, the conditioning, which is an integral part of the whole procedure, sets in, whether this conditioning be accidental or by design. With the same easy authority that Hubbard has used to succinctly analyse communica- tion, so he takes our newcomer into more debatable areas. "Life is basically a Static", an assumption which Hubbard describes as A SELF-EVlDENT TRUTH. He goes on to explain that "...the life Static has no mass, no wavelength, no location in space or in time. It has the ability to postulate and to perceive". This is a neat description of a non-mat- erial, non-physical universe, life unit. It is a nice piece of reasoning and may indeed be the self-evident truth that Hubbard claims, but at no time is the newcomer to Scien- tology permitted to question these assumptions. He ac- cepts these assumptions as TRUTH or he is out on his ear. There is no argument with Hubbard's word. There are hun- dreds of similar assumptions which one bas to accept as "fact". It is not that these are necessarily incorrect. They may well be facts, may well be the purest truth that Man has ever seen. The danger is that hundreds of thousands of Scientologists all over the world have an implicit faith in Hubbard's every word, without ever having compared his words and actions with those of other teachers. On one hand Hubbard offers undoubted benefits in terms of increased awareness, mental calmness, a point to an otherwise often pointless existence. On the other, he de- mands strict adherence to an extraordinary set of beliefs, 20 pseudo-science, opinions and folk-lore. He presents a com- prehensible psycho-therapy that can certainly increase happiness and self-confidence. From this limited success, Hubbard predicts and promises the most astonishing fur- ther benefits. No superman in a pulp comic, no hero of space-opera, can equal the mental prowess of his Operating Thetan. No postulated goal of the Eastern Mystic can equal the assured ability and supremacy of a fully trained Scien- tologist. Hubbard outperforms any other science-fiction writer. Not only are his fantasies more extraordinary and more carefully worked out, but people actually believe them There have been many fads of an extravagant nature that have been believed by many people, often with little more justification than that it seemed a nice thing to believe in. Wilhelm Reich's Orgone Energy (or Life Energy) and his Orgone Box: Pyramidology and its pseudo-archaeological determination of the sacred Cubit and the sacred Inch; Dr. S. C. Hahnemann's Homoeopathy and his Law of Similia: Iridiagnosis, in which all physical ailments can be diagnosed by inspection of the iris of the eye; Count Al- fred Korzybski's General Semantics: Naturopathy; Phre- nology; these and many more, people have believed in, have accepted "proofs" with an astonishing naivety. Most of these subjects have contained a basis of factual observa- tion upon which a superstructure of wild assumption has been built. Scientology bears striking similarity to most of the other pseudo-sciences. It has been developed and firmly control- led by one man whose words are regarded by followers as sacrosanct. The attitude to criticism is that the critic is either supported by a vested interest with aims to keep the human race at a primitive level, or he is insane, or perhaps both. Successes are loudly claimed: failures are Ignored or studiously explained away. The originator is openly des- cribed by his followers as a genius of supreme stature and divine inspiration and he obviously regards himself in the same way. The subject is the ONLY way to resolve difficul- ties and it does so with an ease that makes other researchers in the same field appear as bone-headed dolts. The leader and his followers assume an authority for judgement of human affairs which is not borne out in reality. Unlike all the other fads and eccentricities, Scientology 21 is not purely a comic subject that appeals to those who need to have something in which to believe. It is a far more com- prehensive subject touching every aspect of life. Perhaps the early success of Dianetics rested mainly on L. Ron Hubbard's confidence and salesmanship but no such con- fidence trick can sustain itself for twenty years and attract hundreds of thousands of dedicated followers without there being a real value. There is definite value in Scientology, even if it is only a form of self-delusion or the result of a carefully constructed mental conditioning. Scientologists are happy because they feel themselves to be doing a vital job in saving the qualities of humanity and civilisation which they, and many others, see being eroded by materi- alism and selfishness. Take Scientology from these people and they will join the frustrated crowd. Take away their raison d' etre and you take away their faith. But, although Scientology does have a more profound impact than, say, Theosophy, and although it probably does produce results of a worthwhile though limited value for its followers, there are two aspects of Scientology which make it unique. Although Hubbard claims that Scientology is a practi- cal philosophy without attachment to any political move- ment and ideology, he appears quite willing to "accept responsibility", as he puts it, for the destiny of mankind in a very political and ideological sense. For instance, he has constructed his worldwide organisation in such a manner as "...to pull the society under us". Meaning that his long- term goal is for the entirety of the human race to be controlled, albeit benevolently by him and his followers. Having had fourteen years' experience of the chaos existing in Scientology organisations, because of the rigid and im- practical structure into which they have been fitted (L. Ron Hubbard's famous "Org. - short for organisation, not Orgy or Orgasm - Board"), I can only say that if the world is ever blessed with this miraculous system, it will have justly earned it. The second feature which makes Scientology unique is Scientology Ethics. Claimed by Hubbard to be essential for the correct working of the therapy, his system of Ethics ranges from a code of behaviour for Scientologists through to ways of dealing with those antagonistic to Scientology. This latter has brought much public comment. 22 "Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil. Usually the strength of a mass movement is proportionate to the vivid- ness and tangibility of its devil."* The "devil" of Scientology is the Suppressive Person - the S.P. Anyone antagonistic to Scientology is obviously antag- onistic to himself and the whole human race since Scien- tology is the only way for humanity's problems to be solved. By "labelling" someone a Suppressive Person, so goes the theory, that person is shown how the astute Sci- entologists are on to him. If he knows what is good for him, he will mend his ways, pay his fees and get on the Road to Total Freedom. Usually it does not work out this way but it is a good theory to feed to the believers. It makes the inhumanity of "Disconnection" and "Fair Game" seem humane. It also makes potential enemies of everyone. The most reliable Scientologists can become S.P.'s, given the right stimuli. In the eyes of Scientologists, only L. Ron. Hub- bard is 100 per cent reliable. The whole world is inhabited by "devils" or potential "devils". Only Hubbard is depend- ably on the side of progress, humanity and love. Follow him, do exactly as he tells you and there is every chance that you will make it in the end. Do not believe anyone else. An S.P. can be very devious. People who believe this sort of thing, and there are hun- dreds of thousands who do, will believe anything. Such a belief is not a rational thing. It is a need. L. Ron Hubbard has satisfied a need for a lot of people with his Dianetics and Scientology. They are grateful to be led. Grateful to be obedient. Their critical faculty is missing with regard to Hubbard. Such people have always been at the core of the mass movements. Hubbard does not preach a message of racial intolerance, although there are strong hints in many of his lectures that he considers the negro races, in particular, to be spiritu- ally inferior to the whites. Of course, like many another of his statements, his admiration for the Anglo-Saxons, of whom, curiously, he is one, is backed up by proofs of his *Eric Hoffer: The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements; London, Secker & Warburg; 1952 23 attitude. He cites the technological, political, artistic and social achievements of the British and Americans, and stu- diously ignores their failures in these areas. But colour or racial prejudice is not a strong factor in Scientology. If a coloured person has enough money to afford therapy and training in Scientology then he is welcomed with open arms. What is most ominous is that Hubbard has analysed various aspects of existence into gradient scales. For in- stance, with emotions there is a Tone Scale which, stated simply, lays down a semi-mathematical guide to the quality of emotions. A person in a state of Boredom is at a higher emotional state than someone who is Angry, who again is in a better state than someone in Covert Hostility on down through Propitiation, Fear, Grief, Apathy and Death. Leaving aside any considerations that this scale is purely and simply the opinion of Mr. Hubbard and does not have any statistical basis in reality, the individual in a state of Boredom is BETTER THAN the individual in Grief. Better in a moral, ethical, reliable, health-wise and general worth sense. Used in the ambivalent world of Scientology such a distinction is not solely used to assess the individual and his ability to cope with the environment, which if the Emo- tional Tone Scale were based on reality, would be of value in many fields outside Scientology. Scientology uses it to judge. If an individual, group or country is low on the Emotional Tone Scale it is NOT WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION. This is very close to the type of philosophy which can regard people as "not quite human". Taken to extremes it can justify any action against another who is regarded as unworthy of rights. That this is part and parcel of the whole of Hubbard's approach is seen in his withering description of non-Scientologists as "WOGS". His declaration that a Suppressive Person is "Fair Game". As Sir Elwyn Jones, Q.C., said in the recent Scientology libel case, S.P.'s "could be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist. He could be tricked, sued or lied to, or des- troyed". There are reports of ex-Scientologist Suppressive Persons being beaten up by "heavies" from the Sea Org. though these are not substantiated by any police action or reports. A photograph appeared in The Auditor - the worldwide tabloid news magazine of Scientology, pur- 24 ported to have a copy circulation of five million - during 1968, showing an erring Suppressive Person being thrown overboard from the "Royal Scotsman" by two brawny Eithics Officers. I assume the victim was fished out again, but it's a long drop from the deck of a 4,000-ton ship! Of course all of these things, and many more, are justi- fied within the weird philosophy of Scientology. They are shrugged off as being a means of "getting Tech. in", or, in straightforward language, "making the therapy work!" If such measures are needed to make Scientology work there is something terribly wrong with it. So why Scientology? Why are there millions of people who receive the magazines? Why are there hundreds of thousands who think that Scientology is the only possible way for the human race to find itself and to survive the threat of an Atomic Bomb, the Population Explosion, the eroding of standards, or any of the other multitude of prob- lems we live with? Why, after all the radical philosophies down the ages and the trouble and misery they have caused, do people still throng to yet another magic wand that will solve all their problems and make the world a place of sun- shine and love? This must surely be the reason. The world is not full of sunshine and love. We all wish it were. When someone comes along who says he has the formula and can back up his claim with boasts as to the efficacy of his methods, this man will be followed. If he is careful to always hold a juicy carrot just in front of the noses of his followers, enough will think it worthwhile to follow. If he can, at the same time, talk grandly of the worth of his followers, their in- tegrity and ethical superiority, that it is they who will in- herit the earth, he will appeal to both the shallow and the profound natures of his followers. If he can display a mag- netic personality and a pretence of humility, many will love him and follow no matter where he goes. The following chapters outline the main things that Scientologists believe and do. It is my personal interpreta- tion of the curious world of Scientology, based upon my experiences during some fourteen years of very close con- tact. Very few people outside of Scientology know what goes on inside it and those inside it are the very last to speak frankly on their life. It is a strange world of insubstantiali- ties, hopes and achievements, happiness and misery, of 25 hero-worship and degradation, of intolerance and conceit. I think Scientology could herald a new form of mental and moral tyranny to a world already obsessed with a large number of enslavements. It could be the deadliest of all as it deals with the spirituality of the individual and when, in the past, religions have been intolerant, their pogroms have been bloody, sickeningly self-righteous and degrading to human self-respect. Many governments around the world are taking half- hearted steps to limit Scientology. One, the State of Vic- toria, Australia, banned it. The British Government is holding an inquiry but at the rate of growth of Scientology, particularly in the United States, by the time any concer- ted effort is made to control it, Scientology will be uncon- trollable. This book is an attempt to tell people the truth about Scientology and what it is trying to do. I fervently hope it will be effective! 26 Chapter Two ASSUMPTIONS The major sources of basic assumptions in Dianetics and Scientology are the Axioms, Prelogics and Logics. Scientology Axiom One is the assumption upon which the rest of the subject stands. "LIFE IS BASICALLY A STATlC", and this is further defined- "a Life Static has no mass, no motion, no wave-length, no location in space or in time. It has the ability to postulate and to perceive". Hubbard has redefined in modern, scientific-sounding terms the ancient Hindu Vedanta concept of a soul or spirit that whilst appearing to inhabit the physical universe is of a distinctly separate order. This static is called Theta (eighth letter of Greek alpha- bet 0). Individual units of Theta, such as people, are called Thetans. Theta could be regarded as God, Infinity, the Supreme Being. An analogy could be made with an ocean of Theta, each drop of which is a Thetan. The explanation of what provides the animation of lesser creatures such as parrots or boll weevils is a little hazy but it is suggested that degenerate Thetans "run" one or more such creatures, which is similar again to the Hindu beliefs. The physical universe is inferior since not, of itself, ani- mate. The presence of Thetans within it is explained by the fact that in the beginning of the universe, variously stated by Hubbard to be seventy-six trillion, 142 trillion and 320 trillion years ago, we were all "young" Thetans who had nothing better to do than construct a universe for our- selves in which to have a game. Hubbard explains at great length, but with no great lucidity, in his version of "Games Theory" that there must be barriers, freedoms, rules, in- tentions and willingness to participate for any game to exist. Ludo, for instance, has these ingredients and is there- fore a compact version of life as Hubbard sees it. Axiom Two states: "The Life Static is capable of con- siderations, postulates and opinions." By thought and thought alone, life can adopt or relinquish any role, 27 situation or environment. Whilst it is, by definition, at total and permanent cause over its own situation, by the same definition it can be at varying levels of effect - it can CAUSE itself to be at effect. This is an important fundamental of Hubbard's reasoning. Axiom Three: "Space, energy, objects, form and time are the result of considerations made and/or agreed upon or not by the Static, and are perceived solely because the Static considers that it can perceive them." This extends the properties and capabilities of the Life Static to god-like dimensions. The physical universe exists essentially because life considers it to exist and by co-operative effort, life is able to introduce reality into it. (Axiom Twenty-six: Real- ity is the agreed upon apparency of existence.) Thus whilst Scientology contains the mystic concept of life being an illusion - being primarily a matter of thought - by an agreement between life units that the physical universe is ordered and arranged such and so, it becomes "Real". Such enigmatic questions as: "If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a noise?" are thus handled. As also the fact that if someone leaps from the top of a cliff whilst "considering" that all is illusion and in the mind, that someone's neck will still be broken in a painfully "real" manner. Obviously a Tbetan is immortal. Each of us has been around since the outset of the universe. We made it or at least helped to make it. We are not able to make universes now though. We are not even able to "hurl a few planets around" as Hubbard says. We have lost these abilities and live now in a shallow and fearful way. Potentially, we still contain the abilities of Gods and by the grace of Hubbard through Scientology, we have the opportunity to regain these abilities. It would appear that all Theta existed in a state of total knowingness prior to the creation of the universe. This creation occurred because of the perverse desire on the part of Theta - to experience. Why some- thing in a state of total knowingness needs to experience anything, or even if it is possible for it to experience any- thing, is not very clear but presumably total knowingness was extraordinarily trying without any thing to experience, since in the state prior to the universe there was no THING. Such profound information as Hubbard has uncovered would appear to be of intense interest to cosmologists and 28 astronomers since they might as well give up and go home - all their work has been done for them. Yet they persist in squabbling amongst themselves about expanding or static or pulsating universes, and they will keep discovering those quasars. Axiom Four: "Space is a viewpoint of dimension." Again one sees that life, by looking, creates dimension and space. There is no space until one adopts a viewpoint and looks. Axiom Five: "Energy consists of postulated particles in space." Thetans, a long while ago, said the equivalent of "Let there be light" and, lo, there it was. At the same time we created the laws whereby energy operates. "These as- sumptions or considerations are the totality of energy" as Hubbard coyly puts it. Why Einstein and many others worked so hard to establish a Unified Field Theory when Hubbard could have told them all about it is further proof that scientists are crazy. Axiom Six: "Objects consist of grouped particles in space." Axiom Seven: "Time is basically a postulate that space and particles will persist." Axiom Eight: "The apparency of time is the change of position of particles in space." Axiom Nine: "Change is the primary manifestation of time." Axiom Ten: "The highest purpose in thls universe is the creation of an effect." The remaining forty eight Scientology Axioms consist, in the main, of enlargements of the ways in which life handles itself in relation to the physical universe environment. It is apparent from all of the Axioms that Theta is at total cause over the universe. Only by a series of errors, probably deliberate at the outset but now accidental - since we have reduced our abilities to such a degree that "accidents" can occur - and over a vast span of time, have we been re- duced to our present level of spiritual unawareness. From our original state of total awareness and power we must have postulated unknowingness for ourselves and have ever since been descending into greater unknowingness. Almost the entirety of Scientology consists of the dis- covery and refinements of methods whereby the Thetan can be persuaded to relinquish his self-imposed limitations. 29 The concept of the individual being only a shadow of his true state, the result of a fall from grace, is not original since all major religions contain something along this line. Hubbard has placed this assumption on a factual basis and claims it is not purely a matter of faith to re-establish sup- remacy but is a problem resolvable by scientific proced- ures. Although Hubbard claims his Axioms are self-evident truths, one is at a loss to put them to any direct tests for validity, Certainly at this time, subjective faith and convic- tion play a more important part than scientific tests, analyses and statistics. This is not a major criticism since to attempt to validate any of the material of Scientology, let alone such awesome points as the creation of the universe, is objectively impossible now, if it ever will be possible in the future. One is dealing exclusively in subjective im- pression and probably the least reliable evidence is that given by a Scientologist. A non-Scientologist, no matter how closely he observes, will not be able to appreciate the full subjectivity of a Sci- entologist. He must become a Scientologist in the full sense of the word and by so doing be automatically barred from objectivity. Hubbard's Axioms are self-evident truths to Scientologists although not at all self-evident to anyone else. It is claimed that the validity of Hubbard's words are apparent in the successes achieved by the publication of Scientology theory and practice. Even if there be real suc- cesses, which is open to some doubt, one is still left with the question of whether the success is by Scientology or for Scientology. Surely no Scientologist would admit his philosophy is anything less than Hubbard claims for it. Be- yond anything else, he would not be allowed to remain a Scientologist if he doubted any of the material. Only by a total faith can a person expect to "gain" anything from Scientology. His own opinions are worthless and harmful. An astronomer can hold doubts as to the validity of much of the sacred cows of astronomy - this is, in theory at least, a healthy attitude in a science - but his is an essentially ob- jective pursuit. Scientology is a highly subjective pursuit and thereby involves aspects of personal motives and de- sires. Strangely, under the circumstances, the Scientology 30 Axioms, by stating, "fundamentally all is thought", give the clue to much of the successes of Scientology and unexpect- edly invalidate the entirety of the remainder. If considera- tion be the major ability of life and if Scientology is presented as one of sufficient power and attractiveness that one considers it to work, then and only then will it work. Although this may Indeed invalidate the claimed objec- tlvity of Scientology it does not necessarily make it less valid. Psychology, psychotherapy, medicine and many an- other authoritative subject would find it difficult to claim objectivity. If Scientology can better the state of the in- dividual in a real, pragmatic and applicable sense then the reasoning behind it matters little. The question then be- comes one of quality of result rather than method. The end, perhaps for once, could justify the means but that end must be a superlative improvement. It is claimed for the Scientology Axioms that they are unique. No other subject has commenced operations with as complete a set of assumptions. This is true, but from the outset the Axioms limit objective analysis and as in so many subjects which are the brain child of one man, personal preference limits the application of analytical techniques. If a Scientologist other than Hubbard were to discover and establish an error in these assumptions he would have to set up another sect apart from Scientology. Also, if he were a true believer, he would be pathologically incapable of even questioning Hubbard's pronouncements. Various splinter groups from Scientology have appeared from time to time but these have been so bizarre as to make Scientology appear the height of rationality. By the construction of a set of assumptions from which further conclusions may he drawn, a methodology can rap- idly he built for ascertaining these further conclusions. This is fair enough, provided the factors of which the fun- damentals consist are indeed fundamentally true or are sufficiently fluid as to allow change. Truth would always appear to be comparative. Yet Hubbard claims his assump- tions to be TRUTH and offers no further proof. In other words, he, unique amongst men, has established absolute truth and graciously offers, or rather sells it, to mankind. Scientology is not a science because its assumptions are stated as truth from the outset and no further inspection is permitted. It may be of worth but it is not a science. 31 The seven Prelogics are concerned with self-determinism as regards the life unit or static as opposed to the overall concept of Theta. The Prelogics add nothing to the axio- matic definitions of life units except to show self-determinism as the motivation for all life units. This contradicts Axiom Three, and other Axioms which state agreement be- tween life units is necessary for the creation of a real universe. Hubbard stresses in earlier material the concept of an individual in a state of "Other-determinism", that is, his considerations, postulates and opinions are overruled by another agency, will, through the application of Scientology techniques, regain Self-determinism to such a degree as to be able to practise Pan-determinism, which means his con- siderations, postulates and opinions take into account the best survival for all aspects of life and the environment. This pleasing statement is more easily said than achieved. In recent years, Hubbard has relied less on Pan-determin- ism in his own approach to his followers, than on simply telling them what's what. The twenty-four Logics are adaptations of Alfred Kor- zybski's "General Semantics" and contain a curious mixture of Aristotelian and what Korzybski called "non- Aristotelian" logic. Hubbard appears to have read Kor- zybski's 800-page "Science and Sanity" and to have taken the most sweeping and simply stated "Logical Facts" there- from. A major factor in Scientology, which gives it the appearance of a technology, is the aspect of relativism derived directly from "General Semantics" and called by Hubbard "Gradient Scales". In Hubbard's Gradient Scales, human characteristics are given arbitrary values in rela- tion to each other as can be seen from the brief example of the Tone Scale given in the last chapter. Although these scales may be valid within known realms, Hubbard extends them to absolute points, even though Logic Six states "Absolutes are unobtainable". Korzybski's theory of logic says thought arrives at in- correct answers by considering there to be only the alterna- tives of Black or White, Good or Bad, Right or Wrong (claimed to be Aristotelian!) and he propounds a theory of semantic usage which would precisely indicate the shad- ings of greyness, the degree of goodness or badness, right- ness or wrongness. The Scientological adaptation of this 32 theory shows typical Hubbardian enthusiasm by taking the Gradient Scales to absolute points. The Tone Scale is extended from the known levels of Fear (1.0), Anger (1.5), Boredom (2.5), Enthusiasm (4.0), to take but a few of the arbitrary values, and extends it to Serenity of Beingness (40.0) and states this to be an attainable absolute. Hubbard also states Tone 40.0 to be such an exalted state as to be unreal within the physical universe, e.g. the player in the game of life would have such superior abilities as to be unable to play. At the same time, the Logics of Scientology contain as- sumptions of very great value to Scientology itself. Logic Five: "A definition of terms is necessary to the alignment, statement and resolution of suppositions, observations, problems and solutions and their communication." If one reads the books of Scientology or listens to Hubbard's taped lectures, one wonders that the same man had orig- inated this "Logic", for even the numerous glossaries of terms in his books do nothing to clearly define his terms or their parameters. The Scientology Dictionary probably reduces understanding of Scientologese. Lastly on the subject of the Logics, number Seventeen states: "Those fields which most depend upon authorita- tive opinion for their data least contain known natural law." Surely there can never have been a subject that con- tains more authoritative opinion than Scientology? Even when Hubbard states a Natural Law, he does it with an authority which changes it from a Natural Law to a peculi- arly Hubbardian Law! In addition to the Axioms, Prelogics and Logics of Scien- tology, there are 194 Axioms of Dianetics. As with all of Hubbard's pronouncements as to the way in which things are arranged throughout the Cosmos, the Axioms of Dia- netics are a mixture of established fact and convenient assumption. Mind-boggling though the universe may be, all 10,000 million observable light years' radius of it, con- taining about 100,000 million galaxies each composed of about 50,000 million stars, Hubbard's easy summation of it all is even more stupefying in its audacity. The Dianetic Axioms cover some of the same ground as those of Scientology even though Hubbard describes Dia- netics as purely a psychotherapy and claims that all of the spiritual matters belong in Scientology. Dianetics is 33 supposed to cover Dynamics One to Four: Scientology cov- vers the lot. Dianetic Axiom One: "The source of life is a static of peculiar and particular properties" is only another way to say "Life is basically a static" - Scientology Axiom One. Much of the theoretical matter of Scientology is outlined in the Dianetic Axioms. "That part of the Static of Life which is impinged upon the physical universe has, for its dynamic goal, survival and only survival" - Dianetic Axiom Three. This introduces one of the major assumptions of Scientology. The urge towards survival is regarded by Hub- bard as the most generalised motivation of life. This urge is divided into Eight Dynamics: "First - is the urge toward survival of self; Second - is the urge toward survival through sex or children; Third - is the urge toward survival through a group of individuals or as a group: Fourth - is the urge toward survival through all mankind and as all mankind: Fifth - is the urge toward survival through life forms such as animals, birds, insects, fish and vegetation and is the urge to survive as these; Sixth - is the urge toward survival as the physical universe and has as its components Matter, Energy, Space and Time from which is derived the word MEST; Seventh - is the urge toward survival through spirits or as a spirit; Eighth - is the urge toward survival through a Supreme Being or, more exactly, Infinity. This is called the Eighth Dynamic because the symbol of Infinity stood upright makes the numeral "8". The eighth letter of the Greek alphabet is Theta, which must mean something too! The Eight Dynamics demonstrate a neat expansion from singularity to infinity or at least that is what they are supposed to demonstrate. An individual could be assessed as demonstrating a greater or lesser degree of ability to survive - survival potential - by the number of these dyn- amics on which he is operating. The fullest life would be the one which includes all of the eight. This fortunate in- dividual would be vastly superior - would be Homo novis rather than Homo sapiens or "Homo sap", as Hubbard has expressed his opinion of the current norm of human being. In the Tone Scale mentioned earlier and illustrated be- Iow, the level of 2.2 between boredom and antagonism is a mid-point between survive and succumb. The urge to survive is the essential motivation but when aberrated in 34 --------------------------------------------------------- | | 40.0 Serenity of Beingness | 8.0 Exhilaration | |---------------- | THETAN | 4.0 Enthusiasm | TONE | 3.0 Conservatism | SCALE | 2.5 Boredom | | 2.0 Antagonism | Well below | THETAN 1.8 Pain | body death | PLUS 1.5 Anger | at `0' down | BODY 1.2 No-sympathy | to complete | 1.1 Covert Hostility | unbeingness | 1.0 Fear | as a Thetan | 0.9 Sympathy | | 0.8 Propitiation | | 0.5 Grief | | 0.375 Making Amends | | 0.05 Apathy | | | |----------- 0.0 Death | | -1.0 Punishing Bodies | -1.5 Controlling Bodies | -2.2 Protecting Bodies | -3.0 Owning Bodies | -3.5 Approval from Bodies | -4.0 Needing Bodies | -8.0 Hiding | -------------------------------------- THE EMOTIONAL TONE SCALE spirit and mentality, the individual works towards suc- cumb. In the Awareness Scale illustrated below, those points descending from Need of Change (-4) down to Un- existence (-34) are diminishing awareness - the individual is succumbing to a greater and greater extent - and those points ascending from Need of Change up to Power on All Eight Dynamics (presumably +22 to infinity) demonstrate an increasing awareness and desire to survive. As the indi- vidual progress further from the points of 2.2 (Tone Scale) and -4 (Awareness Scale) direction, the urge to survive or the urge to succumb increases proportionately. Simple this may seem at first sight. Difficulties arise when it is applied to life as it is, rather than to life as viewed by Scientology. The aim of Scientology is to first establish the self-determinism of the individual which is another way to say, to get him living and surviving as himself and fully on the First Dynamic. Since the mental state of EVERY individual with the sole exception of Scientologists auto- matically means he is not living self-determindly and there- fore cannot be on the First Dynamic, it means that all activities towards survival on any other Dynamic are in- verted and unreal. No matter how much pride the 35 21 SOURCE 20 EXISTENCE 19 CONDITIONS ^ 18 REALIZATION / | \ 17 CLEARING | 16 PURPOSE | 15 ABILITY | 14 CORRECTION | 13 RESULT | 12 PRODUCTION | 11 ACTIVITY | 10 PREDICTION | 9 BODY | 8 ADJUSTMENT | 7 ENLIGHTENMENT | 6 ENLIGHTENMENT | 5 UNDERSTANDING | 4 ORIENTATION | 3 PERCEPTION | 2 COMMUNICATION | 1 RECOGNITION | | -1 HELP | -2 HOPE | -3 DEMAND FOR IMPROVEMENT | -4 NEED OF CHANGE | -5 FEAR OF WORSENING | -6 EFFECT | -7 RUIN | -8 DESPAIR | -9 SUFFERING | -10 NUMBNESS | -11 INTROVERSION | -12 DISASTER | -13 INACTUALITY | -14 DELUSION | -15 HYSTERIA | -16 SHOCK | -17 CATATONIA | -18 OBLIVION | -19 DETACHMENT | -20 DUALITY | -21 SECRECY | -22 HALLUCINATION | -23 SADISM | -24 MASOCHISM | -25 ELATION | -26 GLEE | -27 FIXIDITY | -28 EROSION | -29 DISPERSAL | -30 DISASSOCIATION | -31 CRIMINALITY | -32 UNCAUSING | | -33 DISCONNECTION -34 UNEXISTENCE -------------- LEVELS OF AWARENESS SCALE 36 non-Scientologist Husband or Wife may take in marriage or children (Dynamic Two); no matter how successful the business man, union leader or pop star may be in relation to groups (Dynamic Three): no matter how helpful to humanity at large the statesman may be (Dynamic Four); no matter how good at growing his crops or tending his herds the farmer may be (Dynamic Five); all is set at naught and is delusion and pretence unless Scientology is present and has made sure the individual is operating as him- self, first and foremost. Only with Scientology can the in- dividual be sure to operate as himself through the other Dynamics. Further complexity is introduced when one sees that in real life an individual could be successful on some Dynam- ics and unsuccessful on others. On Dynamic Eight, he could be in total Apathy (0.05) and Unexistence (-34) on the subject of God and Religion. He could be at Enthusiasm (4.0) and Understanding (+ 5) as regards his new o.h.c. twin carburettor GT car, Dynamic Six. On Dynamic Two he could be in a state of Boredom (2.5) and Need of Change (-4) as regards his marriage. His ability to keep goldfish alive for more than a few days could be low and he may not be able to tell the difference between a Sweet Pea and an Oak Tree which probably means he is at Grief (0.5) and Disaster (-12) on the Fifth Dynamic. Strangely though, he has a magnificent Alsatian dog about which he again feels Enthusiasm (4.0) and Energy (+7). All this makes life very difficult. People will refuse to obey the rules! The Tone Scale levels below 0.0 are those in which non-Scientologist human beings are found at this time. Having lost the awareness of operating a body as a non- material static with no mass, no motion, etc., the majority of people have descended into extremely degraded Tone and Awareness Levels from which they just about manage to energise sufficient mental mechanisms to maintain the body at levels of apparent tone. We, poor degraded things, think we are our bodies. We do not know we are immortal and beautifully separate entities who joyously play the game of life like a puppet master. If we demonstrate Anger, Fear or Enthusiasm through our bodies this is purely a dramatisation and it is not the true us, the awareness of awareness units, who are feeling it. A mental mechanism causes our bodies to enact the part whilst we cower deep 37 down inside wondering what on earth is going on and "Needing Bodies"! And Hubbard accuses psychiatrists of having a degraded view of their fellow man and claims he has an elevated and loving view. Dianetic Axiom Eleven: "A life organism is composed of matter and energy in space and time, animated by Theta. Symbol: Living organism or organisms will hereafter be represented by the Greek letter Lambda (^)." Beyond the fact that Lambda is not used to represent the living organ- ism or organisms thereafter either in the rest of the Dianetic Axioms or the remainder of Dianetics and Scientology, the following Axioms sound rather like a Readers Digest style introduction to biology and mysticism. For in- stance, Axiom Forty-two: "The virus and cell are mat- ter and energy animated and motivated in space and time by Theta" which one would have assumed from Axiom Eleven in any case since it is not a heavily guarded secret that complex organisms are quite often composed of viri and cells. Evolution is lightly discussed, Axiom Sixteen: "The basic food of any organism consists of light and chemicals. Organisms can exist only as higher levels of complexities because lower levels of converters exist. Theta evolves organisms from lower to higher forms and sup- ports them by the existence of lower converter forms." And so on. Throughout Hubbard's pronouncements as to the inter-relationships between the spirit, bodies, minds, thought and psychical universe, there is lip-service paid to currently accepted scientific opinion linked to his personal interpretation as to how life, as he sees it, manipulates its environment to fit the rules. It is a pleasing and somewhat flattering outlook since it means that every living creature has the opportunity to regain immense powers over the implacability of the uni- verse. It is the same message, though in very different terms, as has been purveyed by all other major beliefs in the es- sential spirituality of the human race. The greater part of Hubbard's opinions remain as opinions even though he claims scientific objectivity. This must surely he the great- est error in the whole of his subject. If he claimed to have introduced a new variation on the theme of religion and was honest in his approach by stating that by faith alone could a man gain the blessings of Scientology, he would attract those who agreed or found comfort in his faith. By 38 stating that Scientology is the ONLY truth, the Road to Total Freedom, and so on and by mixing his credo with pseudo- scientific mumbo-jumbo, the faith is reduced to the level of a cheap confidence trick. There are many very admirable points to Scientology and it deserves more than this treat- ment. If Scientology is a science, then there are some enormous gaps in the reasoning, gaps which should be filled before any further assumptions are made. Even if one grants that there is some totally separate and distinguishable essence or elan which animates matter, energy, space and time, to produce, for instance, people, it would have been a better use of all the pompous and repet- itive words had Hubbard explained, in precise and observ- able terms, exactly how this is done. It is much too easy to say that Theta controls the physical universe by considera- tion and postulate. Even if one grants the current examples of life on this planet to be too degraded to postulate or consider in a positively creative sense, in his wisdom, Hub- bard must know HOW it is done. Unfortunately he is care- ful not to claim any such powers for himself or for his most highly trained followers, on the justification that if one were to lift his body six feet above the ground or to mentally move objects without any contact with the body, it would drive all non-Scientologists insane. The only reason why a non-Scientologist cannot naturally demonstrate mental power over his environment is that he is too degraded by his experiences with the physical universe and has lost all knowledge and confidence in his superiority. Hubbard and his closest followers certainly should be able to demon- strate their ability to make changes in their environment. They do not show any such abilities and one can only con- clude they do not know how to do it and the entire theory structure is erroneous. If the Thetan is the primary cause which energises the mind through the brain to the body to the outside universe, where does he get the energy from? Does he create it out of thin air and if so how does he create it? If he uses an- other source of energy, how does he utilise it? Since it is such an important function of whatever one thinks or does and is so intensely personal, most Thetans should know how it is done. Hubbard would claim that the source of en- ergy is the Thetan who creates it but being in a state of 39 unconsciousness, he has placed even this primary function on to a mechanical basis. Even it this also be true, there must be a point where even such an automatic function is given impetus, energised and the question still comes down to HOW? This question is not unique to Scientology. It is probably the concern, or should be, of many branches of science. There IS a difference between living and non-living things. What is this difference and how does it animate matter? That Scientology does not know the answer is not seri- ous. That it acts and claims to know is sad for so long as it thinks it has the answers to everything, it will not even look. 40 Chapter Three THE THETAN "Who Are You? "What Are You? "Why Are You? "Deep down inside; down where you are free to dream, free to know - down there you aren't a casual event. "You are not the result of a few millennia of accidental blendings of chemicals. You know with a keen awareness, your life is a beautiful and exotic continuance. "You are a fine and a true being, capable of love, wis- dom and beauty. "An immortal. "A man fearless. "A being who can look and see. An awareness of aware- ness. "Down in the deepest recess of your being you know and need nothing but to know. "You are a THETAN. "No longer need you hide your true self even from your- self. "Scientology is here to rescue you." So might read an advertising blurb for Scientology. Cut away all the pseudo-science, the conceit and the exaggeration and this is what Scientology is all about. The fundamental aim is to produce true people from fearful half-people. We are all living at but a fraction of our true potential. When we discover Who we Are, What we Are and Why we Are, we assume again our true identities. The I, the Soul. the Elan Vital, the spirit, the motivation of life, life itself, this is the Thetan and the concept is not unique to Scientology. What is unique is the level of importance given to the Thetan. No Western religion or philosophy gives quite this degree of responsibility to the individual - the true, immortal, all-cause individual - that Scientology does. All Thetans are potentially equal. Obviously Scientologists 41 are better than other Thetans, by implication, for they have shown the good sense to join the only possible move- ment that holds the key to their salvation. Rather like Jehovah's Witnesses, every soul is worthy but some are favoured more than others. There are powerful Thetans. Hubbard, obviously one, has described himself as a Meteor. My meetings with him bear this out - an incredible dynamism, a disarming, mag- netic and overwhelming personality. Once I met him early in the morning at Saint Hill Manor on a Sunday when there were few people about. He was then at the age of fifty- three (he was born at Tilden, Nebraska, U.S.A., in 1911) and radiated health and good will. We spoke for some thirty minutes about Scientology generally and a breath- taking stream of ideas and new projects poured from him with youthful enthusiasm. His brilliant red hair and broad smile, his benign authority, made it not difficult to believe that here was the new Messiah. The twentieth-century, science-orientated, super genius on whose broad shoulders and intellect the fate of the world rested. Yet not so far removed from the plain man as to be unable to stand and gossip while taking snapshots with his Leica. There are also degraded Thetans. These poor souls are probably well-intentioned and nice enough but they lack "Theta Energy" - whatever that might be - due to a mysterious and particularly revolting event on their Past Track, prior to this life, that makes them pretty useless until they have had a lot of high-level Scien- tology therapy. Hubbard probably invented degraded The- tans, or sometimes "Weak Thetans", to explain failed cases who yet kept trying. Most Thetans one comes across nowadays are closely associated with a human body. If any of them ever give much thought to it, they probably reckon they are their bodies. Yet interestingly they will say: "My Brain", "My Hand", "My Body", thereby giving the secret away. Of course it also happens that one says: "My Soul" and, crime of crimes, a new Scientologist may well say: "My Thetan!" Having said it once, he never says it again. Thetans as badly off as human beings do not feel partic- ularly distinct from their bodies. This is a subject of amuse- ment to L. Ron Hubbard. He regards anyone who is not thoroughly aware of being a totally distinct entity as being 42 something not quite up to the level of a village idiot. In Scientology though, thank goodness, a goodly proportion of us can readily find out that we are not our bodies. "Be three feet back of your head", commands the Scien- tologist, and over 50 per cent of people sail out of their heads and adopt a position three feet behind their cran- iums. This is known as the "One-Shot Clear" technique and is so routinely effective as to make the task of saving the world very simple. People actually do it. They don't just imagine they are three fed back of their heads. They don't just adopt a viewpoint as if they are three feet behind their heads. They are actually in a position exterior to their heads. At least, according to L. Ron Hubbard they are. How one can demonstrate where a Thetan is at any par- ticular moment when he is a nothingness is not very clear. One can ask the Thetan - "Are you three feet hack of your head?" and, of course, Scientologists will answer - "Yes". Through their bodies, you understand - a newly exteriorised Thetan can hardly be expected to demon- strate a high level of telepathy or to have perfected the technique of talking without a larynx, mouth, wind-pipe and so on. Nevertheless, it is not very convincing that Sci- entologists, who invariably know about exteriorisation and who are always prepared to co-operate in proving Sciento- logy right, seem to be the only people who can do this magical trick. It is also confusing that Hubbard has more recently described the relationship of the Thetan and his body to be like a wooden splinter in a thumb. The splinter is the body and the thumb is the Thetan. If this be the case, then how can the Thetan exteriorise from the body when the Thetan is bigger than the body? The Thetan is occupy- ing, in all probability, a volume with a radius much greater than three feet from the body, so it is a mark of pure genius for the Thetan to be able to exteriorise therefrom. Addi- tionally, and according to Scientology Axiom One: "... A Life Static (Thetan) has no...location in space..." The whole thing becomes more and more mysterious. Nevertheless, Thetans are capable of all manner of won- drous things and this is probably one of them. Most religions and therefore the majority of people pay lip-service to the spirit or soul as being immortal. Even if at no other time, at death, the soul must detach itself from the body to do whatever the particular religion says it does. 43 Hubbard has not been content to leave his ideas at the somewhat vague level of other religions. He more or less follows the Buddhist and Hindu belief in eternal reincar- nation and has attempted to give some sort of rational basis for this. A Thetan runs a body though he is poten- tially capable of a quite distinct existence without one. The body is used as a communication terminal - it being easier to locate and communicate with a body than a nothing- ness. Dependence on a body is a very low-grade pursuit. As a symbol of oneself it is quite a good idea but one has a tendency to become the symbol. Ideally, a well-off Thetan would be able to have one or more bodies, or not, as he thought fit. In Scientology there is a revulsion and con- tempt for bodies and indeed, all materiality. Hubbard speaks scathingly of our types of bodies as: "Meat Bodies!" There are also Robot, Metallic, Doll (stuf- fed with Kapok?), Vegetable, Gaseous and Amorphous Bodies and probably many more besides. One hopes that these other types of body are not on this planet right now but one should always be very careful. Whatever they are made of, all bodies are a trap. Thetans treat them badly, give them psycho-somatics, break them and kill them off and, after feeling remorse and guilt, become them. Despite the superhuman potential abilities of Thetans, they seem to fall for some of the corni- est traps in the vicinity. In the mentalities of the beings who constructed the physical universe and responsible for all the wondrous parts thereof, including the human body, there seems to be a perverse desire to get into deep trouble. If one can follow Hubbard's reasoning, this fits the desire of Thetans to experience and to create effects - "Scientol- ogy Axiom Ten: The highest purpose in this universe is the creation of an effect". One way of looking at it is to see Thetans as very bored with being super-stars all the time and so they decide to get mixed up and involved. Even from the limited view of a poor old Homo sapiens, one can perhaps understand that to he the epitome of efficiency, effectiveness, happiness and success with everyone smiling the whole time could drive one, after a few trillion years, to desire above all else to be a miserable, ineffectual, stuttering, bent, bitter and twisted mortal with sinus trouble and B.O. Just to introduce a bit of variety. 44 Hubbard's justification for Scientology, which will ruin our self-deception by making us into those boring super- stars again, is that we have all embedded ourselves so tho- roughly as to be unable to extricate ourselves. We so threw ourselves into the whole concept of self-entrapment that we did not bother to leave the combination of the lock to let ourselves out again. At least, not until Scientology came along. It is analogous to a Monopoly player who becomes his Battleship or Smoothing-Iron and really Goes to Jail, Goes Directly to Jail, Does Not Pass Go and Does not Collect $200! This is an observable trait in people. They throw them- selves into events and situations "just for the hell of it". Young people, in particular, want to experience life whether the consequences are good or bad. Children want to try things for themselves. They do not put much cre- dence in advice. They want to experience. Bravado is an admired trait. None have it to the degree of Hubbard, ac- cording to Hubbard. He, without more than a passing thought for the consequences, took his sanity in both hands, nay his very spiritual existence, and sailed out into the storm-tossed and uncharted waters of the stuff of life. Into the realms of insanity he ventured, head high, eyes nar- rowed...and so on and so on. Some might say - "Was your journey really necessary?" Thetans show their genius by the ways in which they so deny their own existence and god-like capabilities as to end up as human beings. A shrewd self-negation is necessary to turn a being at total cause over the physical universe into us. Progress in sociological, political, medical and techno- logical subjects is meaningless. Scientology sees such pro- gress as Orwellian but vastly more subtle and insidious than outlined in "1984". NASA'S Apollo programme may be an admirable achievement technologically and within a limi- ted framework but it does not expand human awareness. In fact all "progress", with the sole exception of Scien- tology, is a step to make the individual less self-reliant and confident whether purposeful or accidental. If only the re- sources used to develop a biological detergent or a better can for brown ale were used to help the desperate cause of freeing the Thetan from his self-imposed hell, we would 45 not now be facing a future of horror from atomic war, overpopulation/starvation, pollution, dwindling natural re- sources, social unrest, racial intolerance and so on. Political systems and solutions which ignore the individual are des- tined to failure or to remove the thing for which they are designed - the individual. Hubbard bases this conclusion not solely on observation of this civilisation but also on memories of other planets which surged ahead materialistically at the expense of re- cognition of the spiritual needs of the individual, only to destroy themselves. Earth is apparently following the same course at a vastly accelerated rate and has little time to save itself. His answer to these problems is Scientology. Only Scien- tology recognises the paramount worth of the individual for only Scientology knows what the individual really is. Only Scientology acknowledges the true worth of the indi- vidual and counts all else as of lesser import to the free expression of the individual. This is not anarchy. Very much the opposite. Freedom is earned. Justice is not a natural law. Truly free individuals will choose always the optimum course and in such choice will often relinquish their own personal de- sire in the cause of the overall good. This is not at all the similar sounding concept of Marx and Engels' Dialectical Materialism, in which limited personal freedoms must be cast aside in the greater cause of the full freedom of the State - the true organism. Marx and Engels postulated that human evolution would be given freedom to occur in their socialist state. Hubbard says that human evolution with the aid of Scientology is necessary before any political system can be expected to work. Once this evolution has occurred, limit- ing political systems will not be necessary and the breadth of the newly acquired comprehension of every individual will be so great as to make any system so far devised ap- pear absurd. This is understandable since politics now seems absurd, even without the benefits of Scientology. Lenin demanded revolution as the only way to free hu- manity for a more worthwhile future. Hubbard demands evolution. Revolution is meaningless destruction since the people are not changed. If the people are not changed, then the society emerging from a revolution will not be changed. 46 Only by an evolutionary process can the people so change as to alter the basic assumptions of their society. The only possible worthwhile evolution for the human race is up- wards towards self-awareness. "Know Thyself" is an in- junction which finally carries some practical hope. Each individual must be aware of himself as a Thetan - an actual individual free of the only limitations that can enslave him, his own self-constructed limitations. It is not enough to pay lip-service to the concept of the immortal and all-powerful individual. Only by a direct experience through the application of Scientology techniques can the true picture be discovered - that each of us is unique, totally responsible for ourselves and there is only one way out, and that is through. Mental aberration makes individuals act in destructive ways; mental aberration held in common by groups and nations causes wars, riots and, more tragically, apathetic acceptance. It is the sum total of frustration, apathy, grief, anger, bitterness and fear of the individuals comprising a society that makes up the aberration of the society. The society does not have an entity of itself. Depending on the form of the aberration will depend the actions of the na- tion. A society without aberration would move rapidly forward rather than as now two steps forward and four back. Leaders, statesmen, politicians are but reflections of or catalysts for their nation. It is not enough to instal better systems or leaders. To avert catastrophe, the individuals must be given the opportunity for freedom. Personal, indi- vidual, mental and spiritual freedom. Free individuals will work constructively towards height- ened survival for all life and do not need systems to tell them arbitrarily what to do. This is heady stuff. Given a new meaning in Scientology by the assurance that evolu- tion of human mentality is available. The evolution is very definitely upward to a grander and more humane state. All else but striving for the greater awareness of the individual is absurd or worse. A free and aware Thetan has good, practical and achievable intentions. He has no unknown blocks to the implementation of these intentions. He will work co-operatively for the overall good but will retain and strengthen his own individuality. To try to establish a sociological standard at thls time when human mentality is so open to the unpredictable 47 whims of aberration is pointless. Nothing will work unless humans are free to look and see. When they are, they can be relied upon to sort these problems out for themselves with a cool and rational comprehension of the true situa- tion. The future is indeed rosy with Scientology. It is the most important single power on this planet to resolve the immense difficulties of the human race. Just get enough people cleared of their mental hang ups and every- thing will be reversed to an upward trend. In 1950, Hubbard wrote: "One sees with some sadness that more than three-quarters of the world's population will become subject to the remaining quarter as a natural consequence and about which we can do exactly nothing." Every religion, political ideology and dictator, no matter how degrading, has propounded a theory "for the good of Mankind". All Scientologists believe and utter with the gleaming eyes of the proselytiser: "Scientology is the only thing that can save Mankind." Having seen, worked with and intimately known large numbers of Scientologists who have been cleared, the future proposed by Hubbard is at once ludicrous and terrifying. These people are no longer in control of their own minds. Their outlook and contact with reality is so limited as to be absurd. Yet they are convinced with a deep-down cer- tainty that they are supermen. They are convinced as no other religious adherents can ever have been convinced of their infallibility. They intend to "save the world from itself" whether the world wants to be saved or not. The very thought of such a fate for the poor old world is horrifying. 48 Chapter Four THE MIND Plato introduced the idea of the mind as being completely separate from the physical body. Wundt, Freud and other psychologists continued this convenient concept. It has been the subject of massive tomes and has certainly become the dumping ground for all the perverse and inexplicable phenomena of human conduct. None of the people who spoke of the mind bothered to explain where or what it was. With Dianetics and later with Scientology, there has been an attempt to state in more than meaningless abstractions the composite of the mind. The mind exists as a measurable entity. It consists of energies and masses that are part of and obey the same laws as the physical universe. Under ideal conditions, it can also obey the laws of the Thetan. It is a halfway house be- tween the Thetan and his body. It is at once coarser than the Thetan and finer than the gross composition of the brain. It occupies space but not necessarily in the brain or the body since it extends from the body for anything up to twenty-five feet. It is the property of the Thetan and not an extension of the body, since in his mind the Thetan stores all memories of his experiences. The energies of which the mind is composed are of the same family as 230- volt alternating current or sunlight but they are of such fine wavelength as to be unmeasurable at this time. Four bands of mental energy have been discovered by Hubbard - Aesthetic, Analytical Thought, Emotion and Effort. Aesthetic wavelengths are estimated at 0.000000000- 00000000000000002 cm.; which is very fine indeed and cer- tainly not measurable, with any accuracy, by normal means Hubbard does not specify how he came to measure it); Analytical Thought is given as 0.0000002 cm.; Emotion is given as 0.02 cm.; and Effort would appear to be either 0.0 cm. or Infinity, which is curious. The conclusion to be drawn is that the Aesthetic wave- lengths are nearest to the Thetan in being so tiny and Effort 49 being an obvious part of the physicality of the universe is gross and therefore 0.0 cm. (which is non-existent) or Infinity (which is meaningless as a wavelength except as a mathematical convenience) are, by some odd quirk, op- posites. To further confuse things, Hubbard states: "What most closely approximates Theta? It would be one of nearly infinite length, and that wave is found to be Aesthetic, the wavelength of the arts." Nearly infinite length would hardly be 0.(25 noughts)2 cm.; or would it in Hubbard mathem- atics? Leaving aside these discrepancies, the Axioms state energy to consist of postulated particles and objects to con- sist of grouped particles. In just such a way does the energy of the mind condense into matter or masses under certain conditions. The mind is a collection of masses. The energy of the Thetan is used in the main to make Facsimiles (a mental copy of one's perceptions of the physical universe sometime in the past, and also known as a mental image picture). These mental image pictures con- tain much more than would normally be understood by memories. They are precise mirror images containing over sixty sense impressions (Hubbard does not list what they all are), together with the emotions, thoughts and conclu- sions of the Thetan. They are recorded at high speed rather after the style of cine film and have limitless durability. Presumably, the very earliest facsimilies are some 320 tril- lion years old! There are three divisions of the mind - the Analytical Mind, the Reactive Mind and the Somatic Mind. "Analytical Mind - The `Computer', or the part of the mind which perceives and retains data, analyses them, and uses the answers thus received to resolve problems and direct the organism along all the dynamics. The analytical mind, as a computer, is incapable of error as it thinks in differences and similarities; given accurate data, there would be perfection in every conclusion. Each iota of information picked up by any of the senses is filed in the memory banks, where it is accessible to the analytical mind. "All these data are scanned by the analytical mind before it makes a computation on any problem, no matter how minor that problem may be. When not aberrated by false data, the analytical mind, which has full charge of the or- ganism's functions, can control or change all muscular, 50 glandular, rhythm and fluid functions of the body instantly and for the optimum benefit of the organism concerned." By contrast with the Analytical Mind - "Reactive Mind - This was once called the `subconscious mind'. It is alert during any moment of life, even when pain or emotion is so great that the analytical mind temporarily is not functioning. The analytical mind reasons; the reac- tive mind acts only on a stimulus response basis. The ana- lytical mind records the fact that a pain exists; the reactive mind records the pain itself, together with all perceptics of the environment. "When a person is below 2.0 on the Tone Scale, he is a product of his aberrations, constantly stimulated by his engrams, and under the command of his reactive mind. Man at this stage is operating under a decision to succumb, because his mind no longer considers him to be a proper tool for Theta's conquest of the Physical Universe." The Somatic Mind is that portion of the mind in closest contact with the physical organism. It is subservient to the Thetan and to the other sections of the mind and holds automatic psycho-physical mechanisms within it. These can be either pro- or anti-survival. The Somatic Mind contains no ability to reason. It translates mental instructions into physical actions. The human mind is thus comparable to an electronic computer of vast and specific functions. Each of the three divisions has memory storage banks but the only one which has consciously accessible memories is the analytical mind. It is the unconscious or semi-conscious memories which cause all the trouble. These are recorded in the Re- active Mind and, as with conscious memories, can be re- stimulated by analogous stimulations occurring in the environment in present time. If one sees a green car, one is reminded of other green cars and may compare with, or differentiate from, other information already held on green cars to form an opinion. These will be conscious analytical observations. At the same time, memories may be restimulated from the Reactive Memory Bank of the time when one was knocked uncon- scious by a green car. If the present time situation is suffi- ciently analogous to the reactive memory, i.e.: wet roads, smell of exhaust fumes, humid atmosphere, traffic noises, etc., then the reactive restimulation may be so great, even 51 though completely hidden from conscious awareness, as to cause the PAIN of the accident to recur. One could get a headache or other pains corresponding to the experiences of the accident. Even more seriously, one could start to obey or feel the command phrases of the accident. People would have gathered around: "He's dead", "Don't move him", "Careful now", could well have been said. Such phrases are accepted as sounds only by the Reactive Bank. They are not understood or analysed by the Reactive Mind - they are items of information to be met with during serious threats to survival. Essentially, the Reactive Mind is a survival mechanism since it was designed to contain data on traumatic situa- tions in order to protect the organism from getting into similar situations. Because of its uncontrolled ability to affect the organism, it very often becomes a threat to sur- vival. The areas of its reference are extremely wide for it doubtless would be able to dredge up data on any sub- ject and to thereby "warn" the organism against anything. Hubbard considers the entirety of the human race to be permanently under the influence of the Reactive Mind to a greater or lesser degree and it is the command phrases such as "He's dead", "Don't move him", "Careful now", which cause the greatest contra-survival effect. These sounds are brought forward as part of the inci- dent unanalysed for meaning. Therefore, by seeing a green car, the individual could unaccountably feel he is dead and not want to move - he may say he wants to go and lie down for a while - and he may start to be very careful. Analytic- ally, he will rationalise these feelings: "The day is so muggy, I've got my headache back again and I think I'll just go and lie down for a few minutes" Unwittingly, he gives in to the restimulation. The memory recording of the period of unconsciousness is the Engram - "A recording of what occurs during a period of pain and unconsciousness, which is not available to the analytical mind as experience or memory that can be contacted and resurveyed at will. Engrams, since they are stored only in the reactive mind, act like hidden com- mand posts, and force the individual into patterns of think- ing and acting unguided by reason". However, to make the Engrams operable, there must also be a Secondary Engram - "Mental image pictures 52 containing misemotion (encysted grief, anger, apathy etc.) and a real or imagined loss. They contain no pain - they are moments of shock and stress depending for their force on earlier engrams which have been restimulated by the cir- cumstances of the secondary". The Primary and Secondary Engrams make a core upon which other lesser incidents build. There can be an inde- finite time lapse between the formation of the Primary Engram and the addition of the Secondary. Once the Sec- ondary occurs, the chain can be built up by a "Key-In" - "The first time a similarity or duplication of environment activates a period of unconsciousness which was brought about by pain or emotion is called a Key-In. An engram never enforces itself upon the body until it has been keyed in; therefore, a person might live a lifetime and never have cause to know he has an engram, or if his environment is sufficiently restimulating, he could live in a constant state of semi-consciousness (`dopey' or `dull'). This shutting down of the analyser permits other engrams to be keyed in more easily, and a decline may be so rapid and sure that the person suddenly may find himself seriously ill, dead or in an institution". With each Key-ln, of which there could be millions in any Engram chain, a reactive memory recording is made called the Lock - "An experience during consciousness that approximates the perceptics of an engram can cause one of two types of locks: those that merely restimulate and cause the individual to dramatise the engram, or those which break the dramatisation demanded in the engram. The second is more severe, since it causes a physical pain to turn on and results in psychosomatic illness. A third type of lock is formed any time affinity, reality or commu- nication has been inhibited or enforced. "Locks can be received only when the person is in non- optimum condition, such as weary or upset by reverses or emotion. During a lifetime a person picks up thousands of these locks, but they are not aberrative in themselves, only as they encyst the underlying engrams, usually, it is neces- sary to remove some of this encystment before the engram itself can be contacted, but on a real low-toned person, the lock itself must be run as an engram". The Locks diversify the scope of the underlying Engram. Whereas the original Engram contains a specific number of 53 elements which can cause restimulation, i.e.: Green Car, Wet Road, Exhaust Smell, Humid Atmosphere, Traffic Noises, etc., the Locks may be created by only one or two of these being similar and may also introduce elements which were not present in the original incident thus widen- ing the overall scope. For instance, on a day when the roads are wet and there is a strong smell of exhaust fumes, one may see a red bus and a beautiful blonde. One could thus get a beautiful blonde involved in the Engram. The Engram group becomes encysted energy - matter or mass of an admittedly minute energy potential but capable of wreaking a strong psychological and/or psycho-physical effect on the organism. Many millions of such groups exist within the mind. A few are in constant restimulation producing the adverse effects of most human illnesses, general low emotional state and awareness, neuroses, psy- choses, marital breakdown, discontent, wars and accidents. Someone classified as accident-prone, and there are such people, denies and is totally unaware of causing his acci- dents since he is not aware of causing them, they stem from his Reactive Mind. Chronic psycho-somatics are caused by the incessant re- stimulation of an Engram. Acute psycho-somatics are caused by the sudden and heavy restimulation of an En- gram. The attempt to free the individual from these stimulus- response influences is what Dianetic and Scientology auditing is all about. All contra-survival actions on the part of human beings, no matter how reasonable the justifica- tions may be, are directly blamed on the content and hid- den nature of the Reactive Mind. When the entire content of the Reactive Mind is examined and thereby transferred from the Reactive to the Analytical Mind, then the individual is dependably rational at all times and free of auto-generated limitations. Since Hubbard discovered that Engrams could be pro- duced as early as conception many of the most destructive phrases concern references to sexual intercourse, rape, sex- ual deviations and attempts at abortion. Pain, unconscious- ness and general stress on the foetus is caused by its mother belching, suffering from constipation and banging herself and "junior" against furniture. Extraordinary powers of hearing and sight are even accorded to a foetus of a few 54 weeks old. From its mother's womb, a foetus is reported to see and hear the unwelcome advances of its father and to pick up the revulsion of its mother. Hubbard's ideas on this subject appear to stem directly from Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey's "Sexual Behaviour in the Human Male". The Birth Engram was regarded for a while as the basic- basic - the resolution of which would resolve the entire structure of the Reactive Bank. Every Dianeticist tried to "Run Birth" - a Scientologist expression for erasing mem- ories of birth. An Engram phrase: "Don't look at me" could make it very difficult to contact and examine the Engram. "You're just like your father (mother, brother, Aunt Cynthia, an ele- phant, etc., etc.)" could cause a "Valence" - "the unwit- ting assumption by one individual of the characteristics of another individual". Such phrases are known as Valence Shifters - they shift the individual from his own identity or valence to another. Until 1952, Dianetics was concerned with trying to re- solve the Reactive Mind and its recordings of this life. With the advent of Scientology and the discovery we had all had an endless stream of lives going far back to the beginning of the physical universe, the problem expanded enor- mously. Since unfortunately we had all carried our Reactive Banks with us from life to life, the total number of En- grams and the impossibility of examining each made it necessary to develop other techniques. Now there were un- told millions of lives incarnate, robot, doll, spider, cat, snake and other mysterious and bizarre bodies. The mun- dane incidents of this life were as nothing to the impact on our personalities of all these lives which, according to Hub- bard, were like an incredible science-fiction adventure with Zapp Guns, Fifth Invaders, Cavemen, Weepers, Galactic Federations, Flying Saucers, Space Wars and everything else possible to an uncontrolled imagination. There were Implant Stations, and still are - one is in the Pyrenees, another in Northern Sweden, yet another on Venus. These are run by Thetans who have become so de- graded and tricky as to be incapable of running a body. When a body dies, the Thetan often gets drawn to these Between Lives Implant Stations and is given a very vicious form of mental conditioning. The mental image pictures of his just-ended life are taken by the Implanters and jumbled 55 about and made to appear worse than they actually are. In their place are put images of angels complete with wings and Irish harps, Athenian columns holding up the roofs of marbled halls, choruses singing hosannas and the pan- oply of primitive Christian symbolism. This imparts the belief in a benign God with the overlay that the individual is not obedient enough to join the righteous host and must return to the worldly vale of tears to work out his own sal- vation. Aleister Crowley first thought up a theory very like this. The Thetan returns and takes over a baby body at about the time of birth and generally feels the sooner he forgets even to think of himself as an immortal being, the healthier for everyone. This is one of the main reasons why the sub- ject of reincarnation is taboo. Whether the 1,000 million- odd humans who believe in Hinduism and Buddhism and therefore openly subscribe to reincarnation do not for some incomprehensible reason go to Implant Stations is not explained. Precisely why these Stations exist and why Thetans, no matter how degraded, should bother to run them is also not explained. However scary these Implanters may seem they are as cuddly as teddy bears by comparison with some of the ghoulish characters "down the Track" ("Time Track - The consecutive mental image pictures or facsimiles recording the consecutive moments of `now' through which the indi- vidual has lived"). These playful individuals would scramble and destroy the whole mind by bringing super-cold objects into contact with it. The intense cold - absence of heat and energy - would suck all of the mental energy away from the Thetan, leaving him a mindless zombie who could be mani- pulated for devious ends. Only with the aid of Scientology can the individual overcome such traumatic experiences and regain the memories rightfully his; though if all the energy has disappeared into a super-cold object, it is diffi- cult to see how they can be regained, remarkable though Scientology be. Hubbard explains this by claiming that the Thetan is superior to the mind and is capable of anything no matter how wondrous and no matter how much it con- tradicts other statements. However, of much greater impact than all of the fore- going is the major cause for the Thetan ever to have got himself into a state where be could be implanted, receive 56 Engrams or any of the other grim things that have caused him to devolve from a shining superman to his present level of inability. The Thetan started his career through the physical uni- verse with basic goals. These goals were creative and well- intentioned. Good intentions are a mark of a Thetan and only become bad by the influence of the Reactive Mind. Analytically, the Thetan will justify his reactive and bad actions in an attempt to make them good. Perpetrators of the most heinous crimes justify their actions to themselves if no one else. The Nazi ideology was justified in the eyes of its followers since the purity of the Aryan race could only be preserved by the "Final Solution of the Jewish Problem" at Auschwitz and such camps. The path to Hell is paved with good intentions. The Thetan, full of happy and buoyant goals early in his career through the universe, and potentially capable of achieving his goals, lacks experience of the wrinkles and pitfalls to be met. Hubbard uses as an example of a goal "To catch a Catfish", not that it is one of the basic goals but since it is a non-restimulative subject. The actual goals would obviously be more comprehensive but if he gave them out to uninitiates, the degree of restimulation would be so great as to cause violent sickness, and possible in- sanity in many cases, so "hot" are they. Thus our Thetan starts out into the physical universe in the role of a catfish catcher. Such roles are known as Ter- minals - "anything that can receive, relay or send a com- munication (most common usage); also, anything with mass and meaning". Eventually he fails in some way to come up to his own expectations as a catfish catcher and due to the quantity of encysted energy which has built up on the sub- ject of this goal in the form of Engrams and opposition, he finds it expedient to join the opposition. He then be- comes an opposition terminal or OpTerm in Scientologese and assumes the role of, perhaps, a catfish protector. After a while, he fails at this too and adopts the role of an op- poser to his catfish protector but does not revert to the original role of catfish catcher since the mass or aberration remains on this original goal and prevents him from reus- ing it. He becomes, maybe, a catfish hook maker; this goal being similar to but much less than the original goal. When he fails at making catfish hooks, he again opposes this by, 57 say, becoming a catfish line cutter, and so on. Each switch from Terminal side to OpTerm side reduces the strength of the goals. It is comparable to sliding down a spiral. The masses acquired reactively in trying to achieve these goals are called GPM's - "Means Goals Problem Mass. A GPM is composed of mental masses and significances which have an exact pattern, unvarying from person to per- son, whose significances dictate a certain type of behaviour and whose masses, when pulled in on the individual, cause psychosomatic effects, such as illnesses, pains or feelings of heaviness and tiredness". Thus the Engram of Dianetics has expanded in Scien- tology to the GPM. It is larger and involves multiple inci- dents over a long span of time. The real difference lies in the goal at its core. This goal being of immense value to the Thetan, it is of immense significance when it becomes invalidated. Just as the goals shrink in importance and buoyancy so the confidence of the Thetan in his approach to the universe shrinks. He starts to lose the game of life. Everyone is currently enacting a portion of a goal chain - trying to achieve something of which he has no conscious awareness at this time. This theory is obviously based upon the observation, albeit cursory, of children who set up goals, e.g. to be a fireman, to be a nurse, and who then, through invalidation from adults and the environment, turn these goals into less hopeful ones. It is not very often that they become anti- firemen or anti-nurses, but they certainly change their goals and very often they end up doing something less satisfying. The child plays out his tragic life in the micro-existence of threescore years and ten. This is only an insignificant part of the whole existence of the Thetan which stretches over a span of hundreds of trillions of years. Though no one has ever had the opportunity to question Hubbard on this theory or any other, he would explain the fact that some people who are very successful, happy and stable are still caught up in this depressing downward spiral but they lacked the wit and awareness to realise success, happiness and stability are just illusion and quite impossi- ble without having been freed by Scientology. Hubbard's view of the mind started off being not too dif- ferent from the standard psychological view - he describes Dianetics as being only a psychotherapy. As Scientology 58 has progressed, his view has changed very radically. Cer- tainly the results obtained by the more standard and ac- ceptable mental sciences - psycho-analysis, various other psycho-therapies and psychiatry - do not give much con- fidence as to the validity of their view of the mind. If one adopts an objective view of humans, life, the uni- verse and all the other incredibilities, one is forced to conclude that there must be explanations for it all that are so "unacceptable" at this time that perhaps a fertile im- agination is the best way to arrive at some sort of answer. Hubbard does not lack imagination but his claim to know the totality of the human mind and the position of sentient life in the entire universe would hold more validity if he explained HOW he had arrived at it. 59 Chapter Five PAST LIVES "Have You Lived Before This Life?" asks the title of one of L. Ron Hubbard's books. The question is soon answered. From the "Case His- tories" of approximately seventy students who investigated each other's past lives during the six weeks of the 5th Lon- don Advanced Clinical Course of 1957, it is obvious that everyone has lived billions of lives before. Q.E.D.! Q.E.D. - Quad erat demonstrandum - Nothing! Those students were Scientologists who knew what was expected of them. I was one of them. I knew past lives to be a proven fact - Hubbard has so stated it. I knew that unless they could bring forth a past life with full recall, pain, emo- tion, full perceptions, the lot, they would be regarded as something less than real Scientologists. No one even bothered to verify, or not, the recent past lives, which should be traceable from extant records. Hub- bard had mentioned Zapp Guns, Tractor and Repeller Beams, Flying Saucers and Mother Ships and Galactic Empires in his lectures. His son, L. Ron Hubbard, Junior, nicknamed "Nibs" and no longer a Scientologist (rumour has it he is looking for a Flying Saucer that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico), was one of the instructors on this memor- able course. When a student was having a lot of difficulty in making his story or, rather, Past Life gel, Nibs would helpfully fill in bits. Amazingly, many of the Past Lives sound like pulp comic "Flash Gordon meets The Brain from Galaxy X", complete with Zapp Guns, et al. "Have You Lived Before This Life?" is palpable non- sense as far as a proof of Past Lives is concerned. It can probably be put down to seventy-odd vivid imaginations and the very prevalent habit on the part of Scientologists to "prove" Hubbard right. What would happen to them if they proved Hubbard wrong? Nevertheless, some interesting questions are raised. Scientology is not the only psychotherapy to have uncov- ered phenomena on Past Lives. Unlike the ultra-caution of 60 other psychological subjects, Scientology is only too eager to accept the unpopular since it proves the truly revolu- tionary nature of the subject and gives Hubbard the oppor- tunity to criticise other philosophies for their lack of imagination. Whilst it is probably true other philosophies would reject Past Lives without full inspection since it is unacceptable and would raise too many questions of a spiritual nature for those who are trying to prove their scientific materialism. Yet Hubbard has given no checkable proofs. Admittedly, it is nigh on impossible to prove Past Lives one way or the other. It has been the subject of hoaxes and a lot of pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo, yet if Hubbard had mounted a procedure to attempt to verify his claims and had been able to show hundreds of checked- where-possible case histories, his claims would have carried some weight with some people. One can only conclude that either it cannot possibly stand up to any inspection or his contempt for the human race is so complete as to not re- quire him to verify anything. Probably both. He explains that in 1950 he gave no thought to spiritual immortality. He was forced by the techniques of Dianetics to finally admit Past Lives did exist and were of paramount importance in the resolution of the mind. This is probably nonsense since Hubbard claims to have lived and travelled extensively in India and China where reincarnation is an accepted element of life, or rather of death. Even in the West, reincarnation is a word in most dictionaries Hubbard has stated that his discovery of memories from before this life was a logical extension of Dianetic tech- niques. One of the methods to uncover hidden memories is to take a clearly recalled memory and to "back track" along the chain of Locks with a similar content until the basic Engram is located. Certainly, I have experienced many memories appa- rently inexplicable by accepted theory phenomena, both when undergoing Scientology therapy and when applying it to others. Doubtless, they can be comfortably explained away, but having seen Past Life incidents being run, I was left with the distinct impression that they are as distinct as any memories from this life. To compare two incidents: Neither of the subjects was particularly interested in Scientology as a philosophy, nei- ther had read anything on the subject and was only 61 interested in resolving problems which did not appear re- solvable by standard medical treatment. Both were aware that their problems could be psychogenic in origin though they obviously were not sure and did not know the how or why of this. Due to lack of time for applying Scientology therapy and also since both were fairly stable mentally, I determined to go for the more surface manifestations rather than digging for the root causes. Scientology has never seemed to me to be effective for deep analysis, if anything is. A nurse, seemingly happy in her work, kept getting more and more frequent and severe attacks of bronchitis. She had not had bronchitis or more than slight colds before be- coming a nurse, as far as could be determined. I traced each time she had had bronchitis - each time she had had difficulty breathing - back and back into the half-remem- bered times and into the completely occluded areas of early childhood. Under the particular Dianetic technique I was using, a state of "Reverie" was induced. Hubbard placed some importance on the originality of this state, claiming it to be unique to Dianetics. It seems nothing more than a relaxed, receptive and co-operative state which people experience every time they concentrate on something. Hubbard states the difference to be that a per- son in reverie has his eyes closed and is free to inspect memories. This state of "Reverie" must be experienced by anyone being psychoanalysed, hypnotised or any of the forms of psychotherapeutic suggestion. In this magical state, one is able to dredge up Mental Image Pictures - Facsimiles - in fair detail, even from formerly completely forgotten incidents. Continuing in this way, back and back there it is - the basic Engram. At the age of four, she had been given anaesthetic for a tonsilectomy. The gas had not worked right away. Strug- gling wildly, half breathing from the mask, half breathing air, she was convinced she was being suffocated, and had finally gone under and into the full Engram. Quite a distres- sing experience which, understandably, would not be readily recalled. It is not difficult to imagine it leaving a form of mental scar. And not difficult to see that the smell of ether, bright lights, white-coated and masked nurses, could re- stimulate, quite unconsciously, at the age of twenty, the terrifying events in the operating theatre sixteen years before. As soon as mental buoyancy and resistance fell 62 through tiredness, worry or any of the dozens of things that happen in any day and especially any nurse's day, the feeling of being unable to breathe could recur. Eventu- ally, bronchitis could set in to give a physical backing to the reactive fear. The Reactive Mind is performing its part in giving a warning that danger is associated with all places that smell of ether and so on. The stresses became intense since the Reactive Mind was "advising" leave this place and the Analytical Mind and presumably the Thetan could not see that there was any threat in an environment in which the individual was happy. A fairly standard variation on the psychotherapy theme so far. In the second case, a man of about thirty-five had suf- fered slight and intermittent attacks of asthma. His normal breathing was slightly strained and despite many types of treatment, nothing had seemed to effect more than a pass- ing relief. After scanning down through the chain of Locks relating to difficulty with breathing and, interestingly, only the more intense instances seemed to come forward unbidden, we reached very early babyhood and it looked as if this En- gram would be one of the famous Birth Engrams. Yet suddenly, the preclear was describing a totally different situation from either birth or early babyhood. He was lying in a shallow pool of water, semi-conscious. He had landed in the water having been thrown from a horse which had refused, at the last moment, to jump a hedge. It took a long time for him to finally drown. The date given was 1768! We could not discover the common denominator which had caused the Key-ln in the present life. BUT in this case and in the nurse's, the breathing troubles cleared up IMMEDIATELY and remained out of the way for at least some years, though they could now have recurred, of course. Imagination? If so, then a psychotherapy dealing exclu- sively in imagination should be developed. A desire to please the Auditor and fit in with his ideas of Past Lives? Hypnosis? Mental conditioning? Suggestion? Or perhaps Hubbard is right? Who knows? The whole field of psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy and probably all subjects that try to heal are fraught with imponderables. Unfortunately, Hubbard's 63 opinions seem only to make the imponderables more im- ponderable. Unless one is prepared to credit that a divine inspiration motivates his every word. As an example of the type of divine inspiration upon which he relies, the follow- ing examples of Past Lives are taken from his books and tape-recorded lectures. The Markab Confederacy - a group of planets in the region of the Great Square of Pegasus - contains a human- oid civilisation, the main preoccupation of which is driv- ing racing cars at very high speed around tracks. Because they go so fast and have a Freudian "Death Wish" going at full blast too, they crash and mangle themselves in vast numbers. Surgery is very advanced in the Markab Confed- eracy. They can patch up practically any body and get it back into the driving seat again. This only makes the drivers go faster and more recklessly to try to finish them- selves off. One gets the impression that a large proportion of this curious civilisation is engaged in this pastime and why someone does not stand up and say - "There must be some better way of running a Confederacy than this" is difficult to imagine. This weird set-up is responsible for The Motor Car, apparently. The explanation for the Population Explosion - 2.000 million in 1930; 3,500 million in 1970; estimated 7,000 mil- lion in 2,000 - is that new Thetans are being dumped on Earth. They are packed in "Ice Cubes" and dropped into the oceans from Flying Saucers. How a Static "with no mass, no motion, no wavelength, no location in space or in time" can be packed into anything is not explained. The arrival of all these new beings also explains our technologi- cal revolution, since they bring skills and knowledge with them from technically sophisticated planets. The reason why they are shipped here in such vast numbers is that the Galactic Federation is crumbling apart with wars. The newcomers to this planet are political prisoners and men- tally unbalanced types who are shipped to this arm of the Galaxy to get rid of them. This explains the degree of poli- tical unrest and insanity here. Hubbard also implies that it explains Scientology. Ob- viously the monolithic Galactic Federation would not want some genius popping up with a better way of doing things. They want to maintain the status quo. Hubbard is quite categorical that Scientology does not exist anywhere else 64 in the universe. They, poor bone-headed things, are not bright enough to have thought out all the clever Scien- tology stuff. Which makes Hubbard not just the greatest person to have ever lived on Earth but the greatest person to have ever lived in the physical universe in all 320 trillion years of it. We are indeed living in a truly remarkable age. A further indication of Hubbard's greatness is his casual understatement of the most astonishing Past Life facts. He says: "With one body in a trance and another body here on Earth, trouble occasionally occurs." Trouble Occasion- ally Occurs! If in this Double Body situation the body on Earth becomes unconscious, the Thetan will transfer to his other off-Earth body. Strangely, this other body often dies of shock at suddenly being reinhabited, thereby forcing the individual back to his Earth body. Vast interstellar dis- tances are involved in all these transfers but these do not daunt any Thetan worthy of the name for it can all occur in the passage of a few minutes. "This incident leaves a patient very, very disturbed", com- ments Hubbard with a nice appreciation of the types of events that upset people. The written history of this planet is nonsense, of course. Historians, in order to make everything reasonable and not to give children nightmares, have studiously ignored the various bands of invaders to have hit poor old Earth during the last 40,000-50,000 years. The most recent of these were the Fifth Invaders. Insect- like creatures, six feet tall with horrible mandibles and crawly claws who came to this planet some 2.000 years ago in, presumably, Flying Saucers and scared the living day- lights out of all the poor humans who met them. Why they came is not explained although it is obvious they were up to no good These Fifth Invaders explain the aversion which many of we primitives have towards spiders, insects and all creatures with mandibles and claws. Presumably the re- vulsion was so intense no one could get around to writing it down and so it was lost to historians until the advent of Scientology. The Fourth Invaders, between 10,000-20,000 years ago, brought a piece of electronic wizardry with them, known as the Coffee Grinder and produced Facsimile One. This incident was called Fac One since it was the first aberrative incident. This is curious since Hubbard has implied there to 65 have been quite a lot of aberration in all of us for trillions of years. Nevertheless, Fac One is a very important incident because "asthma, sinus trouble, chronic chills [sic] and a host of other ills" stem from it. "The Coffee Grinder...is levelled at the preclear and a push-pull wave is played over him, first on his left side then on his right and back and forth from side to side, laying in a bone-deep somatic which cannot be run unless you recognise it as a vibration, not the solid board it seems to be. When this treatment is done, the preclear is dumped in scalding water, then immediately in ice water." "The Coffee Grinder is a two-handled portable machine which, when turned, emits a heavy push-pull electronic wave in a series of stuttering `baps'." This machine ex- plains the high mortality rate amongst construction work- ers who use pneumatic drills. "The sound is not dissimilar." Uncomfortable Fac One may have been but it was not efficient for brain-washing we natives and was replaced by the Halver incident..."a half-light, half-black gun which shot out a wave. Half of this wave, usually the black, hit the right side of the victim's body, the other half, in the same explosion, usually the light side, hit the left side of the vic- tim. This had the effect of causing him to be two people. ...The Halver was rigged up with religious symbols and it truly lays in religion...it gave him a conflict, one side with the other, one being good, the other being bad. It gave him sexual compulsion, all mixed up with religious compulsion." And so on. The Past Track appears full of simple-minded Baddies giving the even simpler-minded Goodies a going over with various electronic devices. Hubbard has not even bothered to make his ramblings seem believable and one is left with the feeling that most Thetans have been only too willing to have a con man take them for a good long ride. This habit seems to have come forward through the millenia. On the first page of History of Man, 1952, Hubbard says: "This is a cold-blooded and factual account of your last sixty trillion years." By page forty-nine: "The whole track seems to be about seventy trillion years ago." By page fifty, he is talking about the cycles of life through which Thetans have lived and says: "The first big cycle would be at its probable longest seventy-six trillion years." Such 66 carelessness does not increase faith in the accuracy of the rest of the book. An earlier book which is claimed to be even more reveal- ing and terrifying than History of Man was Excalibur. In 1948, according to Hubbard, whilst undergoing an opera- tion for injuries received during World War II in the U.S. Navy he died for eight minutes (perhaps he did the old Double Body trick!). He received a tremendous inspira- tion - all the secrets of the universe. In eight minutes? "He sat at his typewriter for six days and nights and nothing came out - then Excalibur emerged." Dianetics- The Modern Science of Mental Health is a diluted version of one chapter. The description of Excalibur makes fascinating reading: "Mr. Hubbard wrote this book in 1938. When four of the first fifteen people who read it went insane, Mr. Hub- bard withdrew it and placed it in a vault where it has re- mained until now. Copies to selected readers only and then on signature. Released only on sworn statement not to per- mit other readers to read it. Contains data not to be released during Mr. Hubbard's stay on earth. The complete fast formula of clearing. The secret not even DIANETICS dis- closed. Facsimile of original, individually typed for manu- script buyer. Gold bound and locked. Signed by author. Very limited. Per copy...$1,500.00."* Judging by History of Man which contains some start- ling Secrets of the Universe, Excalibur could be intriguing reading, but at $1,500...! On the theoretical side, Hubbard gives some credence to the genetic memory as a possible explanation of Past Lives. With still no greater justification than opinion to back up his conclusions, he postulates a Genetic Entity. "Although the GE has no real personality, it has a re- cording of the entire genetic line - from the original cell through all strata of evolution to its present stage of de- velopment - including a transfer of somatics from past theta beings, for seldom will the GE have the same thetan. A GE, located in the area of the stomach, stays with the body awhile after death - long after the thetan has aban- doned it - and takes residence in another body two or three days before conception." *Martin Gardner: Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. 1957. Dover Publications. 67 The Genetic Entity has a past track which can become confused with the past track of the Thetan who is inhabit- ing the body of the GE. Apparently all bodies ranging from unicellular to complex organisms such as mammals have a Genetic Entity. It is this which learns from experience to produce more appropriate evolutionary forms. Hubbard claims this GE concept to correspond precisely with Dar- winism and Lysenkoism. The latter postulates a near- conscious motivation for evolution - which is what Hubbard is saying - and is regarded as nonsense outside of the Soviet Union where Lysenkoism fits party ideology. The Genetic Entities - and there must be zentrillions of them if every plankton, microbe, ant, rose bush and pine tree has one - are a degraded form of Thetan, so there are lots of Thetans a good bit worse off than us, which is a com- fort. In various places, Hubbard refers to the Genetic Entity as being the Somatic Mind but has not spoken of either in recent years. It is easier to talk and pontificate on purely spiritual and mystical planes since logic and rationality are less easily brought to bear. Until about 1962, there was a great deal of attention placed on Past Lives. Since the advent of more all-embrac- ing techniques for resolving the individual's problems, Past Lives have attracted less attention from Scientologists. Until that time, there was a good deal of rivalry as to who could dig up the most gruesome notable, infamous or ex- traordinary Past Lives. One popular personality, and not only Scientologists try to claim a kinship, was Jesus of Nazareth. At least three Scientologists in London uncov- ered incidents in which they were crucified and arose from the dead to save the so