CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY |
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HISTORY Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was born in 1911 According to official Scientology hagiography, as a youth he was a world traveler and developed skills as a navigator, sailor, pilot, surveyor, and explorer. He also began a career as a science fiction writer during his youth The hagiographic account also states that Hubbard served as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II and saw combat in the Pacific. His initial discoveries came toward the end of the war when he healed himself after being seriously injured and hospitalized. 1938 – Hubbard authored a manuscript called "Excalibur" 1950 - Hubbard published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health a popular self-help therapy book. The book quickly became a best-seller as a do-it-yourself alternative through which individuals could improve their own mental health.. 1950 - Hubbard’s ideas received their first public exposure in 1950 when the popular magazine, Astounding Science Fiction, featured an article on Dianetics. 1954 - Hubbard founded the first Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. 1955 - Hubbard moved to Washington, D.C. and established the Founding Church of Scientology. 1959 - Hubbard moved to England where he remained until 1967. 1966 - Hubbard resigned his organizational positions in 1966 to devote himself to further research and writing. He retained the title of “Founder.” By 1980 he had withdrawn completely from public view. 1966 - Hubbard founded The Sea Organization (Sea Org), ocean-going ships that cruised international waters. In 1975 Sea Org moved to a land base in Clearwater, Florida. 1967 – The OT III level teachings, containing the story of Xenu, were released. 1986 - Hubbard “dropped his body” and moved to another planet to pursue higher levels of research that were not possible while he was encumbered by his body. 1986 - David Miscavige (twenty six year-old, second generation Scientologist) became the Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center. Hubbard is understood as an extraordinary man who had discovered principles through which all of humankind could achieve its true, infinite potential. Hubbard’s teachings total 65 million words. He also produced 100 films and 500 novels and short stories. Hubbard’s writings have been placed on disks and secured in a vault hewn from a mountainside so that they will be available to inter-galactic travelers should Earth’s population perish.
Initially, Dianetics was a secular, self-help therapy. However practitioners began reporting memories of experiences from previous lives. Hubbard accepted these reports, leading to the development of Scientology. The emphasis of the mythology shifted from the individual’s current life experience to the “whole track,” accumulated experiences across countless lifetimes. The potential now existed for a narrative that incorporated an original, natural condition, a separation from that condition, and the potential for restoration to the original state. Scientology teaches that each individual is a “thetan” or spirit, which is an immortal, godlike expression of the life force (theta). ● A thetan is the person himself, not his body or his name or the physical universe, his mind or anything else. It is that which is aware of being aware; the identity which IS the individual. One does not have a thetan, something one keeps somewhere apart from oneself; he is a thetan Thetans existed before and are the original source of the material universe. They were celestial entities who created and controlled their own “Home Universes.” The material world is the creation of thetans, it only possesses the reality thetans attribute to it. This means that the material universe actually is an illusion that becomes reality only through the action of thetans. The material world (MEST) is composed of four elements – matter, energy, space, and time. Once thetans had created the MEST universe, they began experimenting with taking on a corporeal human form. In the process, thetans gradually lost knowledge of their higher origins and became trapped in the bodies of humans and in the material universe When the mortal being that a thetan inhabited died, the thetan simply entered another body around the time of its birth. Scientologists refer to this succession of lifetimes as a thetan’s “time track.” Thetans have come to accept the illusion that they are human. They have lost knowledge of their true identity Restoring one’s true identity requires eliminating the cumulative, deleterious effects of the MEST world on the thetan and re-establishing its awareness of itself as a spiritual entity It is the structure of the human mind that accounts for humans becoming trapped in the MEST world The mind contains three components – analytic, reactive, and somatic The analytic mind is a conscious, completely rational mechanism that processes information infallibly. It is also very delicate and its functioning can be disrupted by traumatic events and experiences. The reactive mind operates on a stimulus-response basis and protects the analytic mind from traumatic experiences. In times of great stress, injury, or threat, the analytic mind shuts down and the reactive mind takes over, recording every detail of sensory experience that occurs while the analytic mind is inoperative. The memory records of traumatic events stored in the reactive mind are called “engrams” Engrams from the current or past lifetimes are reactivated whenever there is a reoccurrence of any part of the traumatic experience that originally produced the engram. Behavior then becomes emotional and irrational because responses are mediated by the engrams. Because the MEST world is illusory and exists only by the agreement of thetans, accurate communication of ideas is essential to establishing a common reality Engrams prevent individuals from engaging in appropriate communication within the person and between persons. They inhibit adaptive behavior and lead to behavior that is personally and socially destructive Eliminating engrams restores individuals to their natural state in which they can think and act rationally and be “at cause” in dealing with events and relationships in their everyday lives. Elimination of all reactive minds would elevate the condition of all humanity and eliminate chronic human problems The two most important levels of freedom from MEST are Clear and Operating Thetan. Clears have eliminated all engrams from the Reactive Mind. Operating Thetans are spiritually perfect beings who transcend all MEST limitations and are completely self-determined In addition to the universal problem of loss of understanding of one’s true spiritual essence across one’s time track, there have been “universal incidents,” events that have further undermined thetans’ ability to recognize and actualize their true essence. There have been a number of such incidents through cosmic history. One or the most important events is known as “Incident 2,” which occurred seventy five million years ago. ● The leader (Xenu) of a group of seventy six planets (the Galactic Confederation) responded to massive overpopulation by transporting large numbers of people to Earth (Teegeeack) and detonating hydrogen bombs in volcanoes to kill the people. Much of the attention in advanced Scientology counseling is therefore on auditing body thetans sufficiently that they release from the host individual.
The two rituals that are most central to spiritual progress in Scientology are “training” and “auditing” Training Routines Confronting – “just being there” by simply maintaining nonverbal presence and attentiveness with a partner for an extended period of time Bull-baiting – Participants try to maintain focus in a situation despite concerted efforts by their partner to disrupt concentration Auditing The auditor engages in a command/question-response exchange with the practitioner designed to locate engrams. Engrams are located through use of an E-Meter (Electropsychometer). This instrument is a skin galvanometer that sends a small electrical charge through the body and then registers the electrical flow on its meter. Engrams are thought to possess an actual mass and so offer resistance to the electrical charge. When a stored emotional charge (engram) is identified and is discussed sufficiently (audited), it will no longer produce an emotional response (the charge it contains will be released), and the e-meter needle will register no reaction (it has been cleared) Once the engram is cleared, the past event whose engram was released is refiled in the standard memory bank of the analytical mind The moment of transformation occurs when all engrams have been cleared and the E-Meter needle “floats,” indicating no further sources of resistance
Practice and Training Organizations At the local level there are hundreds of missions and churches around the world where introductory level training is offered. These are organized as franchises. Above the church/mission level organizations offer advanced training Saint Hill Organizations operate as religious colleges and seminaries to train auditors and ministers Advanced Organizations (such as the Flag Ship Service and the Flag Service Organization) offer training in higher levels of Scientology. Sea Organization provides staff for all Scientology organizations above the mission/church. It is the elite organizational unit within Scientology. Approximately 5,000 Sea Org members live communally, work long days, receive only modest compensation, and pledge themselves to eternal commitment to the church. Technology Application Organizations Narconon International offers drug education and rehabilitation services Criminon rehabilitates criminals by teaching the teaching them how to study, to communicate more effectively, to avoid antisocial personalities, and to adopt more appropriate personal values. Applied Scholastics teaches students how to learn and to study effectively The Way to Happiness Foundation distributes Scientology's moral code to the public. The World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE) licenses business training organizations (e.g., Stirling Management) offer training in specific skills such as hiring, logical decision making, plan implementation and organizational streamlining. Social Reform Organizations Citizens Commission on Human Rights targets governmental (Internal Revenue Service, Central Intelligence Agency, and Department of Justice). Non-governmental groups include and non-governmental agencies (certain professional mental health associations, drug and alcohol treatment programs) engaged in abusive practices (Ritalin, Prozac). National Commission on Law Enforcement and Social Justice combats abuses by national and international policing agencies (Interpol)
1949 – Hubbard offered his findings on the mind to both the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, but was rejected by both. 1951 – One of Hubbard’s early Dianetics supporters, Joseph Winter M.D., broke with Hubbard, convinced "that it is dangerous for laymen to try to audit each other" 1954 and after – The Church of Scientology had ongoing conflicts with governments in the U.S. and around the world over the granting of status as a religion/church and tax exempt status. 1963 – The Church of Scientology’s conflict over the use of the E-meter climaxed in a raid by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the Washington, DC church. The agency seized about 100 E-meters. E-meters subsequently carried a disclaimer stipulating that they are religious and not medical devices. 1969 - Eleven senior Scientology leaders were convicted of obstruction of justice, burglary, and theft of government property. Several leaders were sentenced to prison time. 2000 and after – Numerous senior leaders of Scientology defect and go public in their opposition to church leadership and policy. 2008 – Project Chanology is launched by Anonymous, an internet group protesting Scientology’s efforts to remove material (an interview with Tom Cruise) from the internet.
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