Jesse Morrow, Social Reform Director of the Church of Scientology
National Affairs Office in Washington, D.C., introduces those attending
the first annual anti-drug forum of the Truth About Drugs.
Honoring Red Ribbon Week and its message of prevention and education, The Church of ScientologyNational Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. co-hosted the first annual anti-drug forum of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World on October 22.
Held in Chestnut Hall in the new National Affairs Office in Fraser Mansion at Dupont Circle, the forum focused on effective strategies to reduce the demand for illicit drugs. It was chaired by Jesse Morrow, Social Reform Director of the Church of Scientology National Affairs Office.
Red Ribbon week is a national drug prevention and education week, held in the last week of October each year to honor the memory of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was tortured and killed in 1985 by drug traffickers while working undercover in Mexico. October is also National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, as designated in 2011 by President Obama.
The panel featured John Redman, Executive Director of Californians for Drug-Free Youth (CADFY), the group that created the first statewide Red Ribbon Week Campaign in 1985; Peggy Sapp, President of the National Family Partnership (NFP), the organization that initiated the first national Red Ribbon Week and sponsors the campaign; Courtney Bennett, Community Organizer for Wards 5 & 6 of the DC Prevention Center; and Imani Walker, Executive Director of the Rebecca Project for Human Rights.
The consequences of drug abuse affect everyone at all levels of society, whether or not they or their friends or families are directly involved. For example, drug abuse kills more than 37,000 Americans each year, more than the number of annual traffic fatalities. Teen deaths from drugs doubled in the first decade of this century. This year, the National Drug Control Policy Office reported that illicit drug use in America contributed to $193 billion in crime, heath-related costs and lost productivity.
In his presentation, Redman pointed out that much of the public discourse on legalization misrepresents the issue. He debunked myths that promote drugs as harmless, showing they are far more potent now than in the 1960s and 1970s.
Bennet’s presentation concerned synthetic marijuana, far stronger and more dangerous than marijuana. She covered its accessibility, the alarming effects of its use and its increased popularity among D.C. youth.
“Any successful drug prevention endeavor must include factual drug education at its base to empower individuals with the knowledge to decide for themselves,” said Morrow, “Once they have that knowledge, they make the right choice.”
The Church of Scientology National Affairs Office, opened Sept 12, 2012, at Fraser Mansion at Dupont Circle, was established to promote solutions to society’s greatest challenges. The historic building is configured to host a wide range of functions, from human rights symposiums and drug education workshops to panel discussions, press conferences and awards ceremonies.
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Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “The planet has hit a barrier which prevents any widespread social progress—drugs and other biochemical substances. These can put people into a condition which not only prohibits and destroys physical health but which can prevent any stable advancement in mental or spiritual well-being.”
The Church of Scientology sponsors one of the world's largest nongovernmental drug education and prevention campaigns. It has been conclusively proven that when young people are provided with the truth about drugs—factual information on what drugs are and what they do—usage rates drop commensurately.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
Scientologist Barbara Schneider is a model, TV personality, paramedic, Scientology counselor and mother of four who didn’t anticipate how well things would turn out 18 years ago when things went wrong. Born and working as a paramedic in Lugano, Switzerland, in the early 1990s a failed relationship left her desperate to get away.
“I went to a travel agent and told him I needed a change,” she says. “I wanted to be someplace far away and on the sea.”
The next thing she knew, she was flying to Majorca with her 3-year-old son. Once there, she was paying a friend a visit at a hotel when a man directed her ‘right this way for the audition.’ She tried to tell him that was not why she was there, but he insisted, and she ended up being cast as co-host of a TV show.
Despite the change in scenery and an exciting new job, a year and a half later, Schneider was still suffering.
“My twin sister Elena could tell I was unhappy,” says Schneider. “She had been a Scientologist since we were 16 and she was convinced Scientology would help me.”
Agreeing to give it a try, she received some Scientology spiritual counseling and was amazed—the upset vanished.
Schneider relocated to Clearwater, Florida—the spiritual headquarters of the Scientology religion. It was there that she met and married husband Roberto.
A Scientology auditor (religious counselor), she credits the skills she has gained from her training for her success as a mother and in so many other aspects of her life.
“I don’t know how I would raise a family in the world today without what I’ve learned in Scientology,” she says.
She is tremendously proud of how self-reliant and responsible her children are.
“My kids have a very good life but they work hard for it,” she says. “It’s not automatically—‘Oh, you’re 16 so here’s a car.’ They earn what they get by studying hard and doing well in school. Even with my little one who’s only four, she loves contributing to the family. She helps me around the house. We make it a game and she’s proud of what she does.”
Schneider’s commitment to helping others extends beyond the family. A Scientology Volunteer Minister, she traveled to Port-au-Prince in January 2012 with her three sisters and several close friends to help in the wake of the Haiti earthquake.
“We are all mothers and the children there really touched our hearts,” she says. “We took on helping more than 100 children who were living on the streets, orphaned or separated from their parents. We built tents, turned an old school bus into a cafeteria, cooked and served their meals, arranged medical care, and tutored them. Where possible, we helped them find their families. My sisters stayed on for months and made sure the children would be cared for when they left.”
Involved with helping others since she was a child, Schneider finds being a Scientology auditor (counselor) enormously gratifying.
“What I like most is to touch someone’s life with a bit of magic—that’s what I really love to do,” she says, “to inspire them, bring out the best in them, so they can see solutions on their own and go ahead and resolve their problems and be happy.”
To meet more than 200 Scientologists and hear their stories, watch the “Meet a Scientologist” videos at www.Scientology.org.
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The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total more than 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.
A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, with videos now viewed more than 7 million times.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
“For nearly a quarter of a century, I have been engaged in the investigation of the fundamentals of life, the material universe and human behavior. Such an adventure leads one down many highways, through many byroads, into many back alleys of uncertainty, through many strata of life…” - L. Ron Hubbard
Such an adventure is also what ultimately ledL. Ron Hubbard to the founding of Dianetics and Scientology and thus, a route to previously unimagined spiritual heights. Among other landmark events of the journey: In July of 1952, L. Ron Hubbard became the first to scientifically isolate, measure and describe the human spirit, while objectively demonstrating spiritual potentials well in advance of scientific thought. Moreover, those potentials were found to be possessed by every human being and just as universally attainable. Thus developed his description of Scientology as accomplishing the goal of every great religion: Freeing the soul by wisdom.
All told, L. Ron Hubbard’s works on Dianetics and Scientology comprise the largest cohesive statement on the human mind and spirit—more than 5,000 writings and 3,000 recorded lectures. Contained therein are answers to life’s most profound mysteries: the enigma of existence, the riddle of death, the realization of states not even described in earlier literature. Also from these works come Scientology technologies to rear children, repair families, educate, organize and provide relief in times of illness or suffering.
So that all may avail themselves of these technologies, L. Ron Hubbard directed the rise ofScientology Churches all over the world and thus, the birth of a worldwide religion. It is a practical religion. It is applicable to every aspect of human existence and it is religion for the here and now. But at its core and within every Church of Scientology lies this enduring invitation from its Founder: “We are extending to you the precious gift of freedom and immortality—factually, honestly.”
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
At 16, Scientologist Lynda Allender had to make an important choice. The past 36 years have proved she chose well.
When she was 16, Lynda Allender was in love. But she was also in trouble.
The trouble came from drugs. She began with marijuana and “progressed” to cocaine. But when she started experimenting with heroin she was threatened with losing the most important thing in her life. That’s when she had to make a choice.
“I was a high school freshman, my boyfriend was a senior—we were completely in love. He wouldn’t just stand by watching me do myself in,” says Allender. “He made it brutally clear—if I didn’t stop taking drugs it was over between us.”
She decided to quit, and her boyfriend, a Scientologist, helped her through the rough spots with Scientology techniques. Allender was relieved to find how simple it was to overcome the cravings.
When she was 18, the couple moved from their hometown in the Silicon Valley to San Francisco, where they trained in the technology of Scientology religious counseling—called auditing, from Latin audire, “to hear or listen.” They audited one another and Allender eventually dealt with the issues that predisposed her to using drugs in the first place.
The couple married in 1979, and that high school romance not only survived, it is stronger than ever, weathering the many challenges of starting out young, earning a living, and raising two happy, well-adjusted (and drug-free) children.
Allender, 52, is a human resources specialist. She owns her own company that consults small businesses on California labor laws.
But her real passion in life is helping others with Scientology in much the same way her husband helped her.
“It is such a gratifying activity,” she says. “The problems people run into in their lives often seem impossible to resolve. But Scientology auditing and training make it so easy to sort things out and get things going in the right direction.”
The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total more than 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.
A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own YouTube Video Channel. The Official Scientology YouTube Channel has now been viewed by millions of visitors.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
The Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre was founded in Los Angeles in 1970 at the direction of L. Ron Hubbard and with the assistance of the rapidly growing artistic community within the Scientology religion.
Celebrity Centre provides Scientology religious services to artists, politicians, leaders of industry and sports figures while, like all Churches of Scientology worldwide, delivering the same services and remaining open to all. It focuses on providing the creative individual with a distraction-free environment where they may pursue Scientology spiritual counseling and courses. An accomplished artist himself, Mr. Hubbard long held that rekindling the artist spiritually enhances their creativity, restores high ethical standards, and otherwise helps the artist.
Achieving their own spiritual goals, artists routinely channel their inspiration in ways which contribute to the spiritual uplifting of society as a whole, and Celebrity Centre supports and assists the artist who wishes to participate in social betterment activities.
Celebrity Centre International coordinates the activities of a network of Celebrity Centres in world cultural capitals including Las Vegas, New York, Paris, Florence, Vienna and Nashville.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
With the publication of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, on May 9th, 1950, a national movement began. By summer people who had read Dianetics flocked to L. Ron Hubbard’s home in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They wanted to know more. They wanted to become more proficient in Dianetics auditing. And with this demand, four individuals (an attorney, a publisher, a doctor and an engineer) approached Mr. Hubbard to form a Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation (HDRF). With his consent the Foundation was formed in Elizabeth.
Appearing on the New York Times bestseller list for 26 consecutive weeks, Dianetics created a storm of interest across the United States, requiring that four additional foundations be formed across America where students were trained on Dianetics.
With his continuing research into the mind, Mr. Hubbard, by late 1951, found himself studying the human spirit to answer the question of who or what was operating the mind. With this basic and elementary discovery of the human spirit, a new subject was founded: Scientology.
Groups of student from around the world traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, where Mr. Hubbard held classes and lectured on the subject of Scientology. As a result students returning to their areas formed Scientology groups not only in America, but in England, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa.
As the human spirit was truly in the realm of religion, a group of Los Angeles Scientologists formed the first Church of Scientology in February 1954. By the middle of the next decade over a dozen Churches of Scientology existed in some five countries along with scores of Scientology groups in dozens of nations.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
June Scobee Rodgers, Founding Chairman of Challenger Center for Space Science Education, will deliver the keynote address to winners of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the FutureContest, the Contest judges and several hundred attending guests this Saturday night at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Challenger Centers have the purpose to carry on the educational mission to utilize the excitement of space to inspire and motivate our nation's school children to take interest in mathematics, science and technology. Scobee Rodgers will address the evening's attendees on the vital role played by writers and illustrators of science fiction as the dreamers of a new tomorrow which will inspire the next generation of scientists.
It is not only as the founding Chairman of the Challenger Space Centers that she will be addressing the audience. She is also a published author. And, as the 25th anniversary approaches of the Challenger 51-L Teacher in Space mission, commanded by her late husband Astronaut Dick Scobee, she says that she is pleased to launch a new project, ''A series of novels that I developed with Writers of the Future judges Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson, called Star Challengers.'' The highlight of the ceremony will be the announcement of the year's two Grand Prize winners who will each receive $5,000and release of the annual anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future, Volume 26 (Galaxy Press, 2010). Also being released is a special coffee table book edition of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future: The First 25 Years, a photographic retrospective of the 25 years of the contest and containing over 1,000 images. The Writers of the Future writing contest (www.writersofthefuture.com) was initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers to get a much-needed break -- its winners have gone on to sell an impressive 31 million copies of their works combined. Due to the success of the Writing Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was created in 1988. A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
Foyer inside the Church of Scientology on Victoria Street, London.
When the new Church of Scientology of Pasadena opens its doors in the city’s historical core this summer, it will not only enable the Church to expand its service to the community, it will give back some of its cultural history. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the character of what was once a turn-of-the-century bicycle factory has been transformed into a unique blend of old and new, its four-story atrium and original façade still intact. With attention also given to 21st century detail, the restored building will also be LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
The Church of Scientology International has been working for the past six years on a program to acquire new buildings for its regional Churches around the world. Launched in 2004 by Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige, the aim of the program is to establish each Church in premises ideally suited for its many and varied religious services as well as its community outreach activities. So far, 19 such ideal Churches have opened, eight of them in unique historic buildings, with more on the horizon.
The Brussels branch of the Churches of Scientology for the European Communities situation at Boulevard de Waterloo 100-103, is an early-20th-century structure fully renovated to serve the congregation and the community. It was dedicated 23 January 2010.
“These Churches have already been in their cities for many years and their buildings need to be large enough to accommodate all their activities including a chapel, rooms for the study of our theology and introductory courses for new people and individual spiritual counseling rooms,” said Church of Scientology International spokesman, Tommy Davis.
Far from a Sunday-only meeting place, Churches of Scientology hum with activity seven days a week. In addition to common congregational services such as weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies for newborn children and Sunday service, parishioners can study days and evenings as well as receive the religion’s unique form of one-on-one religious counseling, participate in the Scientology Purification Program (a precise and closely supervised religious regimen that addresses barriers to spiritual gain) and take part in community betterment planning and activities, sponsored and initiated by the Church.
In May the Nashville, Tennessee Church of Scientology historic building took top honors in the city’s 35th Annual Preservation Awards for meeting all safety standards while preserving the beauty and grace of the 1898 building, which opened last year. Built just two years after the famous Grand Ole Opry in a similar style, its features include red brick walls, original doors and hardwood floors, 14-foot ceilings and an unusual three-floor atrium crowned with a glass cupola.
Last January, the Church opened the Belgium branch of the Churches of Scientology of Europe, an 88,000 square-foot early 20th century historic structure in the heart of Brussels. In October 2009, the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington, DC completed renovation of its seven-story, 49,000-square-foot historic building by architect Appleton P. Clark, Jr., half a mile from the White House. And another historic Church property fully restored in 2009 is the 1926 Mediterranean Revival-style Fort Harrison building in Clearwater, Florida.
The first floor hallway of the Brussels branch of the Churches of Scientology for Europe with study rooms, offices and the a Documentation Center which holds the written and recorded works of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Other cities with historic buildings now home to Scientology Churches include: San Francisco, California; London, England; Tampa, Florida; and Buffalo, New York. The Church has also acquired historic buildings that are in pre-construction stages in Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; Montreal, Canada; and Manchester, England.
“We take a lot of pride and care in adapting and rehabilitating our historic buildings,” said Davis. “The result is truly unique as these new Churches exemplify our religion and are dynamically practical and aesthetic, and enable us to practice the full range of Scientology services as laid out by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.”
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
News about Scientology Churches can be found at Scientology Today web site.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
I've been listening to Scientology lectures called "Technique 88." These are lectures Ron recorded just before and after writing the book The History of Man. Today I learned why it is that some people tend to hold on tight to anything they conceive wronged them. I'm sure you know some like that--you bump into their chair and it's some awful thing you did to them. And God forbid you actually do something to them-- you'll never live it down. Sound familiar? He tells you what you can do to help them overcome this too, because they ain't having any fun either.
I am so grateful that David Miscavige had the project carried out to make these lectures available. Before July 2007 you just couldn't listen to them-- they had never been published before.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
unique Church of Scientology is the Flag Ship Service Organization — located aboard the Motor Vessel Freewinds, a 440-foot ship based in the Caribbean. The ship was acquired in the mid-1980s shortly before the release of the highest advanced auditing level now available. Needing a safe, aesthetic, distraction-free environment appropriate for ministration of this level of auditing, it was decided to return to the sea, far from the crossroads of the workaday world.
Although originally conceived and established to minister the highest level of auditing, Scientologists at any point on The Bridge may now visit the Freewinds and receive a series of specialized courses in Scientology religious doctrine to further orient one as a spiritual being.
The Freewinds also serves as an international meeting place, holding religious conventions and seminars for Scientology staff and parishioners. Church staff frequently arrange gatherings for Scientology parishioners from a particular location (such as Germany, Mexico or England) to congregate aboard the Freewinds for several days and participate in religious services. An annual Maiden Voyage event is attended by Scientology parishioners from around the world — many of whom completed this advanced auditing level on the original Maiden Voyage in 1988. While there, they participate in specialized training which enables them to assume a greater leadership role in their respective religious communities.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
The Church of Scientology has been a part of the Clearwater community since 1975, and a member of the broader community of religions in the United States since 1954. Although much is reported and said about Scientology — due in no small part to its rapid growth throughout the world — it is still a relatively new religion, leading many to ask: “so just what is Scientology?”
On the following pages we cover fundamentals of the religion which can be found in comprehensive reference works on the subject: What is Scientology? and Theology and Practice of a Contemporary Religion. Both texts, as well as smaller booklets defining the religion and its activities, are available through Churches of Scientology (complimentary for religious leaders, government officials and members of the news media). What is Scientology? can also be found in public bookstores. Books by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, including Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, are also available in Churches of Scientology and public bookstores.
A girl with crippling shyness gains confidence and an ability to easily communicate with others. A man who never thought he could be happy learns how life can indeed be fun and rewarding, and becomes happy.
A married couple embroiled in bitter arguments realize they actually do love each other and don’t need to file for divorce after all.
These are not a series of random happy endings. These are daily occurrences in a Church of Scientology.
Thus the question “what is Scientology?” is answered to a significant degree by the results and successes of those who apply its principles to their lives.
Such results also answer why Scientology is one of the fastest growing religions on the planet today.
The word Scientology itself comes from two Latin words, scio — meaning “knowledge” or “wisdom” — and logos — meaning “the study of”. Literally translated, Scientology means “knowing how to know” or “knowing in the fullest sense of the word.”
In its simplest terms, Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. The emphasis is on application of its scriptures to achieve higher states of awareness, improved conditions in life for self and others, and ultimately spiritual freedom.
The Scientology philosophy is comprised of the research, discoveries and observations of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the religion. The application is achieved by means of exact technology developed by Mr. Hubbard, through which tenets in the religion can be put to use for self and others.
For example, it is one thing to know that one should have loving and constructive relationships with family, and resolve conflicts or disagreements for the good of all concerned. But it is quite another to know and be able to apply precise tools that can bring that about.
Fundamental Truths
Scientology is based on these fundamental truths:
* Man is an immortal spiritual being.
* His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime.
* His capabilities are unlimited.
Scientology auditing
A central practice of the Scientology religion is individual spiritual counseling called auditing (from the Latin word “audire” meaning “to listen”). The counselor, or auditor, is using an electropsychometer (“E-Meter”) — which does not do anything to the person, but helps the auditor to locate areas of spiritual travail in the person’s life and past.
Scientology further holds that man is basically good, and that his salvation depends upon himself and his fellows and his attainment of brotherhood with them. Scientology is concerned with the spiritual rehabilitation of the individual, and all church services have this as their ultimate goal.
Scientology is a non-denominational religion. A person need not “convert” to Scientology in order to be a Scientologist. This is because Scientology addresses the individual’s own spirituality, a quality that is inherent in all people. While Scientology affirms the existence of a Supreme Being, it holds no dogma or faith system on the subject. Rather, following the spiritual path of Scientology leads the individual to come to his own understanding of the nature of, and his relationship to, God.
In commenting on that relationship, founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “No culture in the history of the world, save the thoroughly depraved and expiring ones, has failed to affirm the existence of a Supreme Being. It is an empirical observation that men without a strong and lasting faith in a Supreme Being are less capable, less ethical and less valuable to themselves and society ... A man without an abiding faith is, by observation alone, more of a thing than a man.”
Scientology deals with man as a spiritual being — not his brain or his body, but with his true, spiritual nature. The idea that man is a spiritual being is very old, one that Scientology shares with all great religions.
The aims of Scientology are quite simple, and the ideals expressed are ideals that are held by many other religions. The aims as stated by Mr. Hubbard are: “A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.”
The exact path of how one attains these aims is laid out in the scriptures of Scientology. These scriptures came about after many years of research, which began in the early part of this century.
A Brief History
Mr. Hubbard, born in 1911, began his avid research into the mind and life at a young age. In his travels around the world with his father, an officer in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Hubbard saw civilizations that possessed great wisdom or technology, but also possessed much misery and poverty.
Over several years, he studied more than 21 different cultures to find out what was the one common denominator that made all man kin. After two decades, he discovered what this was. Whether royalty, criminal, or an average businessman, what all men shared was the effort to survive.
Thus Mr. Hubbard’s most fundamental discovery was that survival itself is the dynamic principle of existence. From there, he was able to understand and find a means to resolve a vast many problems that plagued man’s behavior.
Mr. Hubbard’s research first culminated in 1950 in the publication of the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. The book became a national bestseller, and Mr. Hubbard was flooded with letters and other requests asking for more information. He began teaching others in his New Jersey home while continuing his research.
Scientology training
In addition to auditing, a central practice of the Scientology religion is training, the study of Scientology scripture. Parishioners find out for themselves how to better their own and others’ lives.
In 1951, he was led to the inescapable conclusion that man is fundamentally a spiritual being, and he began a new line of research to determine what can be done to help an individual regain his natural abilities. Mr. Hubbard called this study Scientology, and lectured on the results of his research throughout the United States and England.
In 1954, in recognition of the spiritual nature of this philosophy, a number of Scientologists in Los Angeles formed the first Church of Scientology. Since then, the one church in Los Angeles has grown into thousands of churches, missions, study groups and field ministries in nearly 150 countries around the world.
The Practice of Scientology
The application of the Scientology religion breaks down into two parts, spiritual counseling and ministerial training.
In counseling (known as auditing from the Latin root audire, meaning “to listen”), an individual is helped by an auditor (one trained in the Scientology scriptures and their application) to locate areas of travail and upset in their life. Using exact processes, the auditor directs the attention of the individual to these upsets, and through precise questions, the individual comes to answer for himself and understand the roots of his spiritual troubles.
The auditor is greatly assisted by the use of a “Hubbard electrometer” known as an E-meter.
The E-Meter device does not diagnose or cure anything. It measures the mental state and change of state in a parishioner, helping the auditor to locate areas of spiritual distress or travail so that they can be addressed.
Ministerial training (known simply as “training”) is encouraged, as when one knows the ideas and principles behind why auditing works, one can not only himself be helped, but he can help his family and friends to lead happier lives. The training usually starts before a person even enters a Church of Scientology. Books such as Dianetics contain the exact steps and information a would-be auditor can know to bring about an improvement in those around him.
For further training, he would go into a mission or Church of Scientology where he would attend courses to gain knowledge of more scriptures and more means of application.
Scientology training perfects the auditor’s ability to communicate and help the parishioner. Auditors in training become completely familiar with the E-Meter and how to use it in a counseling session.
Both auditing and training are arranged in levels which an individual ascends to achieve further and further degrees of spiritual awareness and freedom. The route or path in Scientology is likened to crossing a bridge from man’s current troubled state to one of total spiritual freedom.
Nothing in Scientology need be taken on faith. Its truths are self-evident, its principles are easily demonstrable and its technology can be seen at work in any Church of Scientology. The Scientology philosophy is available to anyone who wishes to reach for it. And no matter how different Scientologists may be, they hold one vital factor in common: having significantly bettered their lives, they know that Scientology works.
The seminar, held in English and Spanish, followed on the heels of last month’s release of How to Use Dianetics—a state of the art, step-by-step, visual guide to L. Ron Hubbard’s legendary self-help bestseller.
Dianetics, which comes from the Greek words dia, meaning through and nous, soul, means, “what the soul is doing to the body through the mind.” Dianetics enables the individual to get rid of, irrational fears, unwanted sensations and emotions.
How to Use Dianetics consists of 18 short films, which illustrates specific Dianetics principles and techniques. With these new films, people new to the subject can easily learn what to expect from a Dianetics session and how to help another using this technology.
Following the presentation of the first of these films, an excerpt of which is available online at www.dianetics.org or www.scientology.org, those attending the Dianetics seminar were paired up immediately to use what they learned, to help someone else and receive help themselves. Supervised by trained Dianetics specialists, the seminar participants gained first-hand experience with just how easy it is to resolve difficulties that were holding them back from achieving their full potential.
“I had big blank spots in my childhood,” said one attendee, “but now I have regained my ability to actually view the truth and enjoy life.” “I realized why I continued to get injuries in the same place,” said another person. “I no longer have to worry about going to work and getting hurt. What a relief!”
By the end of the two-day seminar those attending had a new perspective on why L. Ron Hubbard told readers of Dianetics, “You are beginning an adventure. Treat it as an adventure. And may you never be the same again.”
The new two-day Dianetics seminar will be offered every weekend at the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation of the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles at 4810 Sunset Boulevard. For more information the Dianetics site or call the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles at 323-953-3200.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
With interest high in Scientology and Dianetics a course called “The Anatomy of the Human Mind” met with great success in Timisoara, Romania.
The publication last fall of 9 Scientology and Dianetics books in Romanian has ignited tremendous interest in the subject of the human mind. Add to that the presence in the country of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers European Goodwill Tour, and demand for Scientology and Dianetics courses was inevitable.
In answer to the many requests for more information, a course was presented called “The Anatomy of the Human Mind Course.” It was held in the city of Timisoara, Romania to a packed house and covered basic concepts of the Scientology religion. The course was based on a series of lectures first delivered by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard in December 1960 and January 1961.
The course contains a precise description of the mind, how the mind works, its components, and its relationship to the individual. It addresses such things as improving memory, how past instances of pain and painful emotion affect one’s life in the present and how to eradicate these ill effects.
Copies of the original lectures by L. Ron Hubbard are available in English and 15 other languages through New Era Publications Incorporated in Europe and Bridge Publications for the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
I was just reading Science of Survival (thank you David Miscaivge for making this the highest priority for every Scientologist--to read these books by L. Ron Hubbard). I found out what makes a person lucky. If I were going to lend someone my good money to go gamble it at Las Vegas, I think I could make a fortune, just selecting people who are hight on the emotional tone scale.
I know that when I'm uptone the Gods shine on me. It was good to find out I'm not alone!
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
Love the introductory video. It is such an excellent graphic presentation of what the reactive mind is and how it affects you.
I've been reading the Basics Books, and I've just started re-reading Dianetics: the Original Thesis and I'm amazed how each time I real this book I get more out of it.
L. Ron Hubbard explains how the analytical mind dreams up justifications when you do something you know, down deep, is irrational. It does this because it feels it has to have an explanation for acting this way. Ever since reading that I've been noticing when I offer up justifications (even just to myself) and realize that there must be some reactive material under that, if I'm still trying to "explain" this to myself. Helps me keep a perspective, and spot when I'm just running on autopilot and should look around and make a saner decision!
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
Jean E. Rosenfeld, historian of religions at the UCLA Center for the Study of Religions, responds to LA Times Guest Editorial on Scientology
Seldom does a new religious movement survive its founder's death, as Scientology has, and take root during subsequent generations, gain followers and become established as a church. But those movements that do succeed are vilified at the beginning, when they have no advocates and no power. President Buchanan sent the U.S. Army to try to take control of the Mormon colony in Utah; Seventh-day Adventists ("Millerites") were ridiculed for falsely predicting the date of the apocalypse twice; Pentecostals were regarded as devil-worshipers and "holy rollers" because of their ritual encounters with the Holy Spirit. Today all are established mainstream religions.>>
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
The Scientology Theology and Practice book is online and has a good overview of Scientology beliefs. But really, the best way to learn about Scientology and what we believe is to read a book or listen to a taped lecture by L. Ron Hubbard. LRH has a way of presenting the information he discovered that makes it really simple to assimilate, and it is quite incredible how timeless these communications are. It is very much as though he were speaking right to you, in my own experience. One book I have read over and over and continued to learn from each time is Science of Survival. I recommend it highly.
A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion
