Scientology comprises a body of knowledge which extends from certain fundamental truths. Prime among these truths:
At the heart of Scientology lie its axioms that precisely define the fundamental laws and truths of life, including who we are, what we are capable of, and most importantly, how we might realize our native spiritual abilities. These axioms form the foundation of a vast body of wisdom that applies to the entirety of all life. From this wisdom has come a great number of fundamental principles people can use to improve their immediate lives, as well as to achieve spiritual immortality. In fact, there is no aspect of life that cannot be improved through the application of Scientology principles.
The primary means by which the basic truths of Scientology are applied to the rehabilitation of the human spirit is called auditing. It is the central practice of Scientology, and it is delivered by an auditor, from the Latin audire, "one who listens."
An auditor does not engage in some vague form of mental exploration, nor does an auditor offer solutions, advice or evaluation. One of the fundamental principles of the Scientology faith is the truism that an individual can improve his conditions only if he is allowed to find his own answers to life's problems. Scientology auditors help individuals to accomplish this goal by guiding them to examine their existence through a carefully structured series of steps that L. Ron Hubbard developed. By following this gradient process, individuals can thereby improve their ability to face what they are and where they are -- peeling away the layers of experience that have weighed so heavily upon them.
Auditing, then, is not something that is done to a person. Its benefits can be achieved only through active participation and good communication.
Unique to the Scientology religion -- and revolutionary in the field of spiritual development -- is the use by auditors of the electropsychometer, or E-Meter. Auditors use the E-Meter to help isolate areas of spiritual travail or upset that exist below a person's current awareness. Once brought to light, such trouble areas can then be examined by the individual without the subjective influences that attend spiritual counseling practices of other religions.
Mr. Hubbard developed the E-Meter based on the knowledge that the mind contains mental image pictures, actual recordings of past experiences. These pictures contain energy and mass. When a person views one of these mental image pictures, or thinks a thought, the E-Meter registers with precision the changes which occur in this mental mass and energy. The E-Meter does not diagnose or cure anything; it simply measures the state or change of state of an individual and serves as a guide as to what should be addressed in an auditing session.
Dianetics announced the discovery of a previously unknown and harmful part of the mind which contains many recordings of past experiences of loss, pain and unconsciousness in the form of mental image pictures. These exist below a person's level of awareness and collectively accumulate to comprise what is called the Reactive Mind -- the source of all unwanted fears, emotions, pains and psychosomatic illnesses. Step-by-step, auditing addresses the Reactive Mind until its previously unknown content is uncovered and its harmful effects over an individual are erased. When such occurs, one has achieved a new state of being that in Scientology is called Clear. One's basic and fundamental personality, his artistry, personal force and individual character, his inherent goodness and decency, are all restored.
While Clear is a new state for man, The Bridge leads him to even greater heights of spiritual freedom. Above Clear are the Operating Thetan (OT) Levels. The thetan is the immortal spiritual being, the individual himself, not his body or mind or anything else. It is not something he has, but what he is, a fact that becomes abundantly clear on these upper levels. The goal of Clear is to remove from one's existence those things which are not part of his inherent spiritual self. The goal of Operating Thetan is to overcome the travails of existence and regain the certainty and abilities of one's native spiritual beingness. At this level one knows that he is separate and apart from such material things as physical form or the physical universe.
Auditing at any level is an incomparable experience, its full description well beyond the scope of this booklet. However, imagine something that has been troubling you all of your life -- some feeling or attitude or experience. Then imagine sitting with an auditor and being asked an exact question -- the right question -- that enables you to suddenly, instantly see the truth of this situation, the real source of it.
This is what auditing is, and the result is revelatory -- tremendous relief, understanding, a sense of freedom, the ability to see everything more clearly, an increased awareness. It is almost magical. And it is essentially because of this spiritual transformation that is experienced by someone somewhere in the world every minute of every day that Scientology has grown as rapidly as it has.
Another fundamental practice of the Scientology religion is training -- the study of Scientology principles. Many courses of training are available in the Scientology religion because a person can, as stated, use the truths found in Scientology to improve conditions in every area of life. However, the most important training courses are those through which one learns to become an auditor. That is because the overriding principle in all courses is that Scientology is an applied religious philosophy, and all training emphasizes application.
The broad path the Scientologist follows thr ough auditing and the study of Scientology materials is known as The Bridge. This embodies an ancient concept -- a long-envisioned route across a chasm between man's present state and vastly higher levels of awareness. The Bridge is comprised of gradient steps so that gains are incremental, predictable and apparent.
There are two sides to this Bridge: on one side, by receiving auditing, one reaches the highest states of awareness as a spiritual being; on the other, one studies the axioms and principles of Scientology and learns to become an auditor, ultimately advancing to the highest levels of auditor skill. The freedom available through Scientology requires passage along both these paths. For while one becomes free through auditing, this must be augmented by knowledge of how to stay free. Knowing the mechanisms by which spiritual freedom can be lost is itself a freedom, and places one outside their influence. All told, then, The Bridge constitutes a route upward from the lowest states of human existence to hitherto unimagined spiritual heights. And in that respect, it represents a spiritual dream that is as old as man himself.
The Scientology religion is based exclusively upon L. Ron Hubbard's research, writings and recorded lectures -- all of which constitute the Scriptures of the religion. These encompass more than 500,000 pages of writings, nearly 3,000 recorded lectures and more than 100 films. He is the only source of the religion, and he has no successor. A fundamental doctrine of the Scientology religion is that spiritual freedom can be attained only if the path outlined in these works is followed without deviation, for it is an intensively researched and workable route.
To comprehend Scientology as a religion, one must look past the parameters one might be familiar with, such as those of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and view the East. For instance, although Scientology affirms the existence of a Supreme Being, its practice does not include worship of such. Rather, the goal of the Scientology religion is to bring one to a level to make his or her own conclusions. Thus, like many Eastern religions, salvation in Scientology is attained through personal spiritual enlightenment. This, then, is the essence of Scientology: The Bridge, the auditing and training that takes place every day of the year in every Church of Scientology in the world. The mission of Scientology is, after all, nothing less than the rehabilitation of the human spirit. And, four decades after the Church's birth, it is because of its ability to unerringly attain this age-old goal that men and women from all walks of life and diverse cultures in nations throughout the world continue to reach for the promise of the Scientology faith in ever-increasing numbers.
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From: The Church of Scientology: 40th Anniversary.
Copyright 1994-2001 CSI. All Rights Reserved. Scientology, E-Meter, Dianetics, OT and The Bridge are trademarks and service marks owned by Religious Technology Center and are used with its permission. Scientologist is a collective membership mark designating members of the affiliated churches and missions of Scientology.