THE BELIEFS AND TEACHINGS OF SCIENTOLOGY
"Scientology is here to rescue you." - L. Ron Hubbard
"Scientology’s may be the most debilitating set of rituals of any cult in America."
- Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, "Information Disease," SCIENCE DIGEST, January 1982
Scientology is comprised exclusively of the teachings of one man: L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard's theories, assumptions, and techniques for practical applications that make up the rituals of Scientology, are sometimes called the "Spiritual Technology," or simply "the Tech."
Hubbard claimed to have discovered certain "natural laws" of the spiritual universe, which he claimed can be used to predict and control behavior and phenomena in a manner similar to the way in which the natural laws codified in the physical sciences can be used to predict and control phenomena in the physical world.
Scientology assumes that spirituality and thought (called "theta") is an energy existing in its own universe, separate and distinct from the physical universe of Matter, Energy, Space and Time (MEST), and that spirit (theta) is senior to, and indeed created, the physical universe (MEST).
Each individual person (called a "thetan") is considered to be a "thought unit" of the spiritual universe which interacts with the physical universe (MEST), usually by inhabiting a human body. The Scientology term "thetan" is what has commonly been known as the "spirit" and it is defined in Scientology as the source of life; in the individual, it is recognized as the core of personality or essence of oneself, quite distinct and separate from the physical body or the brain.
Scientology proposes that in its "native state" the spirit/thetan is immortal and god-like and possesses the potentiality of knowing everything, but that in present time its true capabilities have been lost and forgotten. As an immortal entity, the spirit/thetan lives on after body death and is born into a new physical body, again and again, lifetime after lifetime, in an endless cycle of birth and death. As a result of traumatic incidents extending back from the present life through a long series of "past lifetimes" hidden from conscious memory, the spirit/thetan has become trapped in the physical body and the physical/MEST universe.
Content of these traumatic incidents may influence a person's current life, causing physical and mental illnesses, irrational thoughts and acting-out behavior, and limiting one's creativity and other abilities. Scientology claims that these traumatic incidents, along with each spirit/thetan's personal history, are recorded in complete detail on the "time track," sometimes called the "whole track," which for each person is many trillions of years in length. Scientology proposes that through a process called "auditing" that uses techniques developed by Hubbard (often assisted by a device called the E-Meter), an individual can be guided to find and "discharge" these hidden traumas, thus escaping the suffering and limitations imposed by the past.
Further, as one progresses through a series of auditing "levels," one can eventually be restored to native state and can attain the status of "operating thetan," wherein one is free of attachments to the body and, even while "exterior" to (outside) the body, one can consciously control matter, energy, space, time, thought, and life. Hubbard's writings and lectures include many tantalizing details of the god-like abilities that may be gained through auditing.
For most individual Scientologists, recovering these god-like abilities (and encouraging and assisting others to do so as well) is the primary goal of participation in Scientology. The "levels" through which a participant progresses make up what is called "The Bridge to Total Freedom." Progress through all the levels of the "Bridge" often takes many years of dedicated study and practice, and the cost in fees for services for the Bridge is currently estimated at approximately $300,000 - $500,000 in US dollars.
According to examples given in Scientology, the content of "whole track" incidents can include (but is not limited to) attempted abortions and other fetal traumas, acts of torture and violence experienced both as victim and as perpetrator, encounters with the Marcab Confederacy and various Invader Forces from spacefaring Galactic civilizations, life on earth as a clam, "implants" of ideas and artificial purposes sometimes administered with a pain-drug-hypnosis combination, and other experiences that almost always include pain and/or confusion and/or unconsciousness.
While many of the traumatic incidents addressed in auditing are unique to the individual, some key incidents are thought to be common to all humans on planet earth. One very important such incident supposedly occurred some 75 million years ago. Scientology warns that until one has completed a series of preparatory steps, exposure to the details of this particular incident can cause severe illness or even death.* Thus, these details are carefully guarded and kept secret until, at the level called "Operating Thetan III" the member is deemed properly prepared and is granted permission to view and "audit" this information.
* Details of this incident have been available for public view on the internet for several years and to date there have been no reported illnesses or deaths attributed to viewing this information. However, many scientologists still refuse to view these materials until they have completed all the preparatory steps. For the brave and curious, full details can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/2x55d
The teachings of the Church of Scientology are introduced in the following church-published books, which are widely available in bookstores or directly from the church. All are either written by L. Ron Hubbard or are "based on his works" and are published by Bridge Publications.
DIANETICS: THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH
SCIENCE OF SURVIVAL
A HISTORY OF MAN
THE SCIENTOLOGY HANDBOOK
The official Church of Scientology website:
Websites for the Freezone, practicing Scientology outside the CoS:
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Note: The Scientology organization is commonly referred to as the Church of Scientology. The reader should be aware that, in reality, global Scientology is a complex international legal structure of multiple corporations, some of which are nonprofit and some of which are not.
The terms "Scientology" and "Dianetics" are trademarks and service marks owned by Religious Technology Center (RTC), Los Angeles, California, USA. For a detailed explanation of Scientology's copyrights, trademarks, and other legal issues involving the names and symbols used by the organizations collectively known as "Scientology" and "Dianetics," see the Trademark Section of the Official Scientology Web Site.