What is Dianetics?

Brief History

  L. Ron Hubbard first published an article in Astounding Science Fiction Magazine summarizing what he called Dianetic Therapy. Stating that with his discoveries he could cure the sick, and increase intelligence. Soon after the article's publication in May 1950 Hubbard started to work on his book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (which is still used by the Church of Scientology to this day for beginners to this cult). Six weeks later the book was published and Hubbard became so successful that he decided to established six Dianetic Foundations in major cities around the United States in order to give this new “therapy” but the success did not last and in the Fall of 1950 financial problems began to develop and by November of 1950, the foundations were more than $200,000 in debt. Disagreements began to emerge, as the Medical and Scientific Communities began viewing Dianetics with concern as complaints were made against local Dianetics practitioners for practicing medicine without a license (This caused Dianetics advocates to disclaim any medicinal benefits in order to avoid regulation, a tactic which they still use to this day). L. Ron Hubbard would claim that the backlash was a response from various groups trying to grab Dianetics for their own uses and  when his creation started to get negative press he took one step further and claimed that it was due to a plot by the American Communist Party (Hubbard would later decide that Psychiatry was the origin of all criticism for both Dianetics and his later creation Scientology). And In January of 1951, the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners began proceedings against the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation in Elizabeth for teaching medicine without a license and as a result the foundation closed its doors, causing the case to be dropped. However, creditors began to demand payment for their debts. A Dianeticist named Don Purcell, offered a brief delay from bankruptcy but the foundation failed again in 1952. Due to the bankruptcy, Hubbard no longer owned the rights to the name “Dianetics” however the framework of Dianetics enabled Hubbard to later create Scientology. 

Basic Idea and Theory

  Dianetics divides the mind into three parts the analytical mind, reactive mind and somatic mind.

An Dianetics ad from April 1950

Hubbard defines the Analytical Mind as the thinking and or computing mind. Whereas the Reactive Mind is The place where Engrams, memories of pain and unconsciousness, are stored the Reactive Mind is also called the Bank. The Somatic Mind is defined as the body memory of past pains and aches which are re-stimulated or turned on during an auditing session which for this instance would be contained in an engram. The ultimate goal of Dianetics is to remove the reactive mind and achieve a state which Scientologist call Clear. The Scientologist believe the reactive mind prevents people from becoming more aware, more ethical, saner and ultimately happier. This state is, according to Scientologist achieved through a type of talk therapy, called auditing.  Where a type of therapist called an auditor ask you questions about traumatic experiences in your past and supposedly allows you to relive the moments so that they no longer affect you. However, this process is monotonous and repetitive. Which despite, current claims from the Church of Scientology is a type of hypnotism. 

Dianetics and Hypnotism

  People who knew L. Ron Hubbard, before he started writing Dianetics knew him as a master hypnotist.  An old time associate of his named Forrest J. Ackerman had this to say about the man:

“And what I particularly remember about his appearances there was an evening of spectacular hypnotism when hypnotized just about every kid in the club. I remember he gave one young man a... what would you call it... In any event, the boy was convinced that cupped in his hand, he held a little tiny Kangaroo that was hopping around and I remember he came over and showed the Kangaroo to me”.

  So Hubbard was good enough hypnotist to convince a person that they had a kangaroo in their hand! Also if you compare the following video and this article from wikihow you can clearly see the similarities.

Notice how in both the article and the video they have the person that is being audited/hypnotized close their eye's this is a common occurrence in both Dianetics, Scientology and of course in  hypnotism. Also they both tell the person that they will remember everything but that's not necessarily true; it works as a "waking suggestion" which can cause the person being audited/hypnotized put more trust in the auditor/ hypnotist. Also, yet another similarity is that they both have the person then imagine a time or place of being happy or sad. In Dianetics, then tend to concentrate on a sad or negative time but happy memories are also used in some cases. 

What is a Clear?

 So, what is Clear? Hubbard defines Clear in Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health as a person who no longer has a Reactive Mind or has achieved the realization (or as Scientologist call it cog or cognition) that they mocked up their reactive mind. In the beginning Hubbard was more outspoken and outlandish with his claims stating that a Clear would be completely free of any psychosomatic illnesses, have a vastly increased intelligence, a near perfect memory, complete control over his or her bodily functions, have perfect eyesight, and would never catch a cold or become ill in any way.

Medical Claims

A Dianetics Ad from 1951

Since the beginning of Dianetics history, L. Ron Hubbard, stated quite clearly that it was the cure for all of mankind's "psychosomatic" ills. Supposedly being able to cure everything from a sore neck to stress and even asthma. As you can see in the following video.

Despite being ridiculous, this is also extremely dangerous because simply put it's technically practicing medicine without a license (an offense which the cult has been accused of for many years) and it is this belief which put many beginning Scientologist in danger of physical health problems. However, this belief, goes far outside the scope of Dianetics, and into the subject of Scientology as a whole but that will be explained later.

Origins

So where did L. Ron Hubbard come up with the idea for Dianetics? Well, Scientologist believe that Hubbard was source, meaning that he came up with everything by himself. They refer to his creation of Dianetics as the "bolt from  blue", however the truth is far more interesting. Dianetic auditing is actually merely an altered form of of Psychiatric therapy called Aberactive Therapy. Also Engrams as defined by Hubbard are remarkably similar to Freuds theory of repressed memories. Simply put, most of Dianetics is simply Freudian theory with a mix of post-WWII-era computer science terminology such as keyed in, and bank.

Scientific test?

Despite many claims from the Church of Scientology that Dianetics is an "exact science", there are no Scientific test to prove this statement. In fact, just the opposite there were two independent test which were both conducted in the 1950's by New York University. In one Harvey Jay Fischer tested Hubbard's therapy against three of it's claims and found that it had no effect on intellectual functioning, mathematical ability, or the degree of personality conflicts. And in the other test,

Jack Fox tested Hubbard's thesis regarding recall of engrams, with the assistance of the Dianetic Research Foundation, and could not prove it. As a result Dianetics was from then on considered a pseudoscience to both the scientific and medical communities.

Introductory Training Routines

Introductory Training Routines

By Eevey and Petete

Scientology’s Training Routines (or TR’s) are a set of drills that every Scientologist is required to take at least once. According to The Church of Scientology the drills “help a person to communicate effectively and to control situations”, however I can say  from both personal experience and  research this is far from the truth. The Training Routines are known to have a strong hypnotic effects, which cause hallucinations as well as out of body experiences which Scientologist praise and call Exteriorization. Scientology’s TR’s 0-4 are first encountered in introductory courses of the sect  as well as in Narconon, Criminon and Wise which are all front groups of the criminal organization known as the Church of Scientology. The following  is OT TR 0.

The TR's are known to cause hallucinations.

NUMBER: OT TR 0

NAME: Operating Thetan Confronting.

COMMANDS: None.

POSITION: Student and coach sit facing each other with eyes closed, a comfortable distance apart – about three feet.

PURPOSE: To train student to be there comfortably. The idea is to get the student able to BE there comfortably in a position three feet in front of another person, to BE there and not do anything else but BE there.

TRAINING STRESS: Student and coach sit facing each other with eyes closed. There is no conversation. This is a silent drill. There is NO twitching, moving, confronting with a body part, “system” or vias used to confront or anything else added to BE there. One will usually see blackness or an area of the room when one’s eyes are closed. BE THERE COMFORTABLE AND CONFRONT. When a student can BE there comfortably and confront and has recorded a win, the drill is passed.

As you can see above these processes are sold as a “confronting drills” however the hypnotic techniques used in this are simply sensory deprivation and stress, which cause altered states of consciousness. In one of the lecture series that L. Ron Hubbard gives called the Philadelphia Doctorate Course, Hubbard admits that closing your eyes puts you into a light hypnotic trance.

Charles Manson was a Scientologist.

NUMBER: TR 0 CONFRONTING

NAME: Confronting Preclear.

COMMANDS: None.

POSITION: Student and coach sit facing each other a comfortable distance apart – about three feet.

PURPOSE: To train student to confront a preclear with auditing only or with nothing. The whole idea is to get the student able to be there comfortably in a position three feet in front of a preclear, to BE there and not to do anything else but BE there.

TRAINING STRESS: Have student and coach sit facing each other, neither making any conversation or effort to be interesting. Have them sit and look at each other and say and do nothing. Student must not speak, blink, fidget, giggle or be embarrassed or anaten. It will be found the students tends to confront WITH a body part rather than just confront, or to use a system of confronting rather than just BE there. The drill is misnamed if confronting means to DO something to the pc. The whole action is to accustom an auditor to BEING THERE three feet in front of a preclear without apologizing or moving or being startled or embarrassed or defending self. Confronting with a body part can cause somatics in that body part being used to confront. The solution is just to confront and BE there. Student passes when he can just BE there and confront and he has reached a win.

OT 0 confronting is basically the same thing as the process before only this time you have your eyes open. Something else to consider is that these processes are supposed to be done for 2 or more hours during which you will hear Scientologese ( the special jargon used in Scientology) which will help to alienate you from the outside world.

NUMBER: TR 0 BULLBAIT

NAME: Confronting Bullbaited

COMMANDS: Coach: “Start”, “That’s it”, “Flunk”.

POSITION: Student and coach sit facing each other a comfortable distance apart – about three feet.

PURPOSE: To train student to confront a preclear with auditing or with nothing. The whole idea is to get the student able to BE there comfortably in a position three feet in front of a preclear without being thrown off, distracted or reacting in any way to what the preclear says or does.

TRAINING STRESS: After the student has passed TR 0 and he can just BE there comfortably, “bullbaiting” can begin. Anything added to BEING THERE is sharply flunked by the coach. Twitches, blinks, sighs, fidgets, anything except just being there is promptly flunked, with the reasons why.

PATTER: Student coughs. Coach: “Flunk! You coughed. Start.” This is the whole of the coach’s patter as a coach.

PATTER AS A CONFRONTED SUBJECT: The coach may say anything or do anything except leave the chair. The student’s “buttons” can be found and tromped on hard. Any words not coached words may receive no response from the student. If the student responds, the coach is instantly a coach (see patter above). Student passes when he can BE there comfortably without being thrown off or distracted or react in any way to anything the coach says or does and has reached a win.

During TR 0 Bullbait anything can be brought up and I  mean anything to try to disturb the student and to get them to react.

NUMBER: TR 2

NAME: Acknowledgments.

PURPOSE: To teach the student that an acknowledgment is a method of controlling preclear communication and that an acknowledgement is a full stop. The student must understand and appropriately acknowledge the comm. and in such a way that it does not continue the comm.

COMMANDS: The coach reads lines from “Alice in Wonderland,”, omitting the “He saids,” and student thoroughly acknowledges them. The student says “Good,” “Fine,” “Okay,” “I heard that,” anything so long as it is appropriate to the pc’s com. – in such a way as actually to convince the person who is sitting there as the preclear that he has heard it. The coach repeats any line that he feels was not truly acknowledged.

POSITION: Student and coach are seated facing each other a comfortable distance apart.

TRAINING STRESS: Teach student to acknowledge exactly what was said so the preclear knows it was heard. Ask student from time to time what was said. Curb over and under acknowledgment. Let student do anything at first to get acknowledgement. Let student do anything at first to get acknowledgement across, then even him out. Teach him that an acknowledgement is a stop, not beginning of a new cycle of communication or an encouragement to the preclear to go on, and that an acknowledgement must be appropriate for the pc’s com. The student must be broken of the habit of robotically using “Good,” “Thank you” as the only acknowledgements.

To teach further that one can fail to get an acknowledgment across or can fail to stop a pc with an acknowledgement or can take a pc’s hand off with an acknowledgement.

PATTER: The coach says “Start,” reads a line and says “Flunk” every time the coach feels there has been an improper acknowledgement. The coach repeats the same line each time the coach says “Flunk.” “That it” may be used to terminate for discussion or terminate the drill. “Start” must be used to begin a new coaching after a “That’s it.”

NUMBER: TR 3

NAME: Duplicative Question.

PURPOSE: To teach a student to duplicate without variation an auditing question, each time newly, in its own unit of time, not as a blur with other questions, and to acknowledge it. To teach that one never asks a second question until he has received an answer to the one asked.

COMMANDS: “Do fish swim?” or “Do birds fly?”

POSITION: Student and coach seated a comfortable distance apart.

TRAINING STRESS: One question and student acknowledgment of its answer in one unit of time which is then finished. To keep student from straying into variations of command. Even though the same question is asked, it is asked as though it had never occurred to anyone before.

The student must learn to give a command and receive an answer and to acknowledge it in one unit of time.

The student is flunked if he or she fails to get an answer to the question asked, if he or she fails to repeat the exact questions or if he or she is led off onto some excursion by the coach.

PATTER: The coach uses “Start” and “That’s it” as in earlier TRs. The coach is not bound after starting to answer the students question by may comm. lag or give a commenting-type answer to throw the student off. Often the coach should answer. Somewhat less often the coach attempts to pull the student off onto some excursion or to upset the student.

Example:

Student: “Do fish swim?”

Coach: “Yes.”

Student: “Good.”

Student: “Do fish swim?”

Coach: “Aren’t you hungry?”

Student: “Yes.”

Coach: “Flunk.”

When the question is not answered, the student must say, gently, “I’ll repeat the auditing question” and do so until he gets an answer. Anything except commands, acknowledgment and, as needed, the repeat statement is flunked. Unnecessary use of the repeat statement is flunked. A poor command is flunked. A poor acknowledgement is flunked. The student going off the question onto an excursion is flunked (as in example). Student misemotion or confusion is flunked. Any words from the coach except an answer to the question, “Start,” “Flunk,” “Good” or “That’s it” should have no influence on the student except to get him to give a repeat statement and the command again. By repeat statement is meant “I’ll repeat the auditing command again.” “Start,”, “Flunk,” “Good” and “That’s it” may not be used to fluster or trap the student. Any other statement under the sun may be. The coach may try to leave his chair in this TR. If he succeeds, it is a flunk. The coach should not use introverted statements, such as “I just had a cognition.” “Coach divertive” statements should all concern the student and should be designed to throw the student off and cause the student to lose session control or track of what the student is doing. The student’s job is to keep a session going in spite of everything, using only command, the repeat statement or the acknowledgment. The student may use his or hands to prevent a “blow” (leaving) of the coach. If the student does anything else other than the above, it is a flunk and the coach must say so.

In TR 2 and 3 the repetition of nonsense is yet another way in which these Training Routines create a trance like state and definitely makes you easier for Scientology to grab.

NUMBER: TR 4

NAME: Preclear Originations.

PURPOSE: To teach a student not to be tongue-tied or startled or thrown off session by origination's of preclear and to maintain ARC with preclear throughout an origination.

COMMANDS: The student runs “Do fish swim?” or “Do birds fly?” on coach. Coach answers but now and then makes startling comments from a prepared list on page 156. Student must handle originations to satisfaction of coach.

POSITION: Student and coach sit facing each other a comfortable distance apart.

TRAINING STRESS: The student is taught to hear origination and do three things: (1) understand it; (2) acknowledge it; and (3) Return preclear to session. If the coach feels abruptness or too much time consumed or lack of comprehension, he corrects the student into better handling.

PATTER: All originations concern the coach, his ideas, reactions or difficulties, none concern the auditor. Otherwise the patter is the same as in earlier TRs. The student’s patter is governed by (1) clarifying and understanding the origin, (2) acknowledging the origin, (3) giving the repeat statement “I’ll repeat the auditing command” and then giving it. Anything else is a flunk. The auditor must be taught to prevent preclear upsets and differentiate between a vital problem that concerns the pc and a mere effort to blow session (TR 3). Flunks are given if the student does more than (1) understand, (2) acknowledge, (3) return pc to session. Coach may throw in remarks personal to student as on TR 3. Student’s failure to differentiate between these (by trying to handle them) and coach’s remarks about self as ”pc” is a flunk. Student’s failure to persist is always a flunk in any TR but here more so. Coach should not always read from list to originate and not always look at student when about to comment. By originate is meant a statement or remark referring to the state of the coach or a fancied case. By comment is meant a statement or remark aimed only at student or room. Originations are handled, comments are disregarded by student.

And this is TR 4 where you are simply conditioned to be controlled. TR 4 is only an exercise in overriding someone’s better judgement. The true purpose of these drills is to teach you how to be hypnotized and how to hypnotize others for the benefit of Scientology.