Dianetics: Dia (Greek), nous (Greek), soul.
Prior to 1950, prevailing scientific thought had concluded man's mind to be his brain, i.e., a collection of cells and neurons, and nothing more. Not only was man's IQ considered to be unimprovable, but with the formation of his cerebral cortex, his personality was likewise established. These theories were, however, inaccurate and consequently science has never evolved a workable theory of the mind nor a means to resolve problems of the mind.
L. Ron Hubbard changed all that with Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Its publication in 1950 marks a watershed in the history of man's quest for a true understanding of himself.
Dianetics is a methodolgy which can help alleviate such ailments as unwanted sensations and emotions, irrational fears and psychosomatic illnesses (illnesses caused or aggravated by mental stress). It is most accurately described as what the soul is doing to the body through the mind.
Like Scientology, Dianetics rests on basic principles, easily learned, clearly demonstrated as true, and every bit as valid as today as when first released in 1950.
The concise statement of the goal of life itself was one of the most fundamental breakthroughs of Dianetics. This, the dynamic principle of man's existence, was discovered by L. Ron hubbard and from this many hitherto unanswered questions were resolved.
The goal of life can be considere to be infinite survival. That man seeks to survive has long been known, but that it is his primary motiviation is new. Man, as a life form, can be demonstrated to obey in all his actions and purposes the one command: “SURVIVE!"
This is the common denominator of all life, and from it came the critical resolution of man's ills and abberrations.
Once “Survive!” was isolated as the primary urge which explained all of a life form's activities, it was necssary to study further the action of survival. And from that reserach it was discovered that when one considered pain and pleasure as part of the equation, he had at hand the necessary ingredients with which to understand all of life's actions.
Survival is not only the difference between life and death. There are various levels of survival.
The better one is able to manage his life and increase his level of survival, the more he will have pleasure, abundance and satisfaction.
Pain, disappointment and failure are the result of actions which do not promote survival.
Dianetics states that the purpose of the mind is to solve problems relating to survival.
The mind directs the individual in the effort of survival and bases its operations upon the information that it receives or records. The mind records data using what are called mental image pictures.
Such pictures are actually three-dimensional, containg color, sound and smell, as well as other perceptions. They also include the conclusions or speculations of the individual. Mental image pictures are continuously made by the mind, moment by moment. You can, for instance, examine the picture of what you had for breakfast this morning by recalling breakfast; and similarly recover a picture of an event which occurred last week by recalling it; or even recall something which happened a much longer time ago.
Mental image pictures are actually composed of energy. They have mass, they exist in space, and they follow some very, very definite routines of behavior, the most interesting of which is the fact that they appear when somebody thinks of something. If you think of a certain dog, you get a picture of that dog.
The consecutive record of mental image pictures which accumulates through a person's life is called the time track. The time track is a very accurate record of a person's past. As a rough analogy, the time track could be likened to a motion-picture film – if that film were three-dimensional, had fifty-two perceptions and could fully react upon the observer.
The mind uses these pictures to make decisions that promote survival. The mind's basic motivation, even though a person might fail in an undertaking or make a mistake, is always survival.
That being the case, why don't all of the actions dictated by the mind result in enhanced survival? Why do people sometimes experience irrational fears, doubt their own abilities or entertain negative emotions which seem uncalled for by circumstances?
L. Ron Hubbard discovered that the mind has two very distinct parts. One of these – that part which one consciously uses and is aware of – is called the analytical mind. This is the portion of the mind which thinks, observes data, remembers it and resolves problems. It has standard memory banks which contain mental image pictures, and uses the data in these banks to make decisions that promote survival.
However, two things appear to be – but are not – recorded in the standard banks: painful emotion and physical pain. In moments of intense pain, the action of the analytical mind is suspended and the second part of the mind, the reactive mind, takes over.
When a person is fully conscious, his analytical mind is fully in command. When the individual is “unconscious” in full or in part, the reactive mind cuts in, in full or in part. “Unconsciousness” could be caused by the shock of an accident, anesthetic used for an operation, the pain of an injury or the deliriums of illness.
When a person is “unconscious,” the reactive mind exactly records all the perceptions of that incident, including what happens or is said around the person. It also records all pain and stores this mental image picture in its own banks, unavailable to the individual's conscious recall and not under his direct control. Though it may appear that a person knocked out in an accident is unconscious and unaware of happenings around him, his reactive mind is actually industriously recording everything for future use.
The reactive mind does not store memories as we know them. It stores particular types of mental image pictures called engrams. These engrams are a complete recording, down to the last accurate detail, of every perception present in a moment of partial or full “unconsciousness.”
This is an example of an engram: A woman is knocked down by a blow to the face. She is rendered “unconscious.” She is kicked in the side and told she is a faker, that she is no good, that she is always changing her mind. A chair is overturned in the process. A faucet is running in the kitchen. A car is passing inthe street outside.
The engram contains a running record of all these perceptions.
The problem with the reactive mind is that it “thinks” in identities, one thing identical to another. The equation is A=A=A=A=A. A reactive mind computation about this engram would be: the pain of the kick equals the pain of the blow equals the over-turning chair equals the passing car equals the faucet equals the fact that she is a faker equals the fact that she is no good equals the fact that she changes her mind equals the voice tones of the man who hit her equals the emotion equals a faker equals a faucet running equals the pain of the kick equals organic sensation in the area of the kick equals the overturning chair equals changing one's mind equals... But why continue? Every single perception in this engram equals every other perception in this engram.
In the future, when this woman's present environment contains enough similarities to the elements found in the engram, she will experience a reactivation of the engram. For example, if one evening the faucet were running and she heard the sound of a car passing outside and, at the same time her husband (the man in her engram) was scolding her about something in a similar tone of voice as used in the original engram, she could experience a pain in the side (where she was kicked earlier). And the words spoken in the engram could also become commands in the present: She might feel that she was no good, or get the idea that she was always changing her mind. The reactive mind is telling the woman that she is in dangerous quarters. If she stays, the pain in the areas where she was abused could become a predisposition to illness or a chronic illness in themselves. This phenomenon of “awakening” the old engram is called restimulation.
The reactive mind is not an aid to a person's survival for the excellent reason that though it is sturdy enough to hold up during pain and “unconsciousness,” it is not very intelligent. Its attempts to “prevent a person from getting himself into danger,” by enforcing its engram content, can cause unevaluated, unknowing and unwanted fears, emotions, pains and psychosomatic illneses that one would be much better off without.
Having discovered the existence of the reactive mind and its engrams, L. Ron Hubbard developed very precise techniques to address it. The techniques can effectively “erase” the contents of the reactive mind and eliminate the ability of such recordings to affect the person without his conscious knowledge. Furthermore, it makes these formerly hidden memories available to the individual as memory in the analytical mind. The effectiveness of these techniques, astonishing in many cases, has been documented in a multitude of case histories over nearly a half-century of application.
The goal of Dianetics is a new state for the individual, sought throughout history but never attainable before Dianetics. This state is called “Clear.” A Clear is a person who no longer has his own reactive mind and therefore suffers none of the ill effects that the reactive mind can cause.
The Clear has no engrams which, when restimulated, throw out the correctness of his computations by entering hidden and false data.
Becoming Clear strengthens a person's native individuality and creativity and does not in any way diminish these attributes. A Clear is free with his emotions. He can think for himself. He can experience life unencumbered by inhibitions reactively dictated by past engrams. Artistry, personal force and individual character are all residual in the basic personality of the person, not the reactive mind.
Clears are self-confident, happy and generaly successful – in both careers and inter-personal relationships. It is a highly desirable state for any individual and is attainable by virtually anyone. In fact, thousands upon thousands of people have achieved the state of Clear, a living tribute to the workability of L. Ron Hubbard's discoveries and the technology he developed.
Clear is a state that has never before been attainable in man's history. A Clear possesses attributes, fundamental and inherent but not always available in an uncleared state, which have not been suspected of man and are not included in past discussions of his abilities and behavior.
Happiness is important. The ability to arrange life and the environment so that living can be better enjoyed, the ability to tolerate the foibles of one's fellow humans, the ability to see the true factors in a situation and resolve problems of living with accuracy, the ability to accept and execute responsibility, these things are important. Life is not much worth living if it cannot be enjoyed. The Clear enjoys living to a very full extent. He can stand up to situations which, before he was cleared, would have reduced him to a shambles. The ability to live well and fully and enjoy that living is the gift of Clear.