Dianetics

From Wikinfo

Dianetics was developed by L. Ron Hubbard^[1] from the idea that if a person talks to a friend about problems, the effect of their problems can be reduced. Almost all of Dianetics was originated by Hubbard. One of the elements that make it work are its ways of listening and communicating. Hubbard first published it in the late 1940s. He had traveled extensively and had been a U.S. Naval officer but was best known as a science fiction writer. Astounding Science Fiction magazine had published a number of his short stories and published Dianetics as a series of articles. That series was titled, Terra Incognita: The Mind. _^[2]

Dianetics grew from Hubbard's experiences. He found that on long expeditions a companion could be helped by listening to him talk about his difficulties. Over a period of time Hubbard developed directions for such conversations. He found a combination of careful direction of conversation, and good communication, resulted in people handling their difficulty. He developed conversational sequences to help people examine memory. He found that when a person was able to fully examine a past moment of difficulty, they became less bothered by it. People became more able to deal with present time situations because their attention was a bit more free.

Hubbard codified the ideas he had developed about memory and thought and put them together into a theory. Dianetics specifies workable ways that a person might examine memories, what perceptions exist in memories, what kinds are easily viewed and what kinds are more difficult to examine. On May 9, 1950, his first book on the subject was published, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. DMSMH quickly became a best-seller, and spawned a multitude of "Dianetics clubs" and similar organizations.

Contents 1 Definition of Dianetics 2 Dianetics led to Scientology 3 Article References 4 Dianetics Books 4.1 Dianetics website 4.2 Other third party articles

Definition of Dianetics

The word Dianetics comes from the Greek dia, meaning "through" and nous, meaning "soul", and is defined as "What the soul is doing to the body." _^[3]

Human beings are generally thought of as being bodies which utilize senses. Since humans can learn and change, it is also obvious that humans have unique memories. Dianetics proposes that past memories might have an effect in present time. Its intent is to help a person better understand thoughts. Toward this end, Dianetics developed a working definition of "mind". A mind is mostly made up of memories. Some of an individual's memories are helpful to him, i.e. "don't cross the street on a red light". Any memory is a reproduction of a past moment. Memories contain all the information that a present time moment contains, such as body position, sight, color, sound, smell and other perceptions. Dianetics works with such memory moments and calls them mental image pictures. _^[4]

Some of an individual's memories, however, are less helpful to him, i.e. a past memory of pain associated with an accident. All memories are mental image pictures and contain equal amounts of information, but the second sort of mental image picture additionally contains pain or unconciousness. That sort is called an engram. Handling engrams is a great deal of what Dianetics is about. Two people help each other to understand one person's engram. The first person carefully uses good listening and understanding to direct the conversation while the second person observes and talks about such a mental image picture. In this manner a memory's pain and unconciousness can become fully understood by the person who experienced it.

The claims made by people who do Dianetics include: an increased energy level, improved perceptions, less accidents, reduction in stress and anxiety, higher intelligence, and better relationships with others. _^[5]

Dianetics led to Scientology

Hubbard and the people who used Dianetics methods ran many Dianetic sessions. Many people recalled many memories. By 1952, so many people had recalled memories which were previous to the current lifetime of the individual that Hubbard found his original ideas were insufficient. In Dianetics sessions, people would recall things years before their body was even alive. When the Dianeticist dealt with those recalls by Dianetics methods, the person would examine a painful moment, re-evaluate their memory and feel better. Hubbard therefore formalized the methods of Dianetics to be a portion of a larger, broader method and study which he called Scientology. In a public lecture, Scientology: Milestone One, given on March third 1952, Hubbard stated: Scientology would be the study of knowledge, rather than the small segment of therapy which has been Dianetics.

Article References

1. ^ Youtube.com video of Hubbard
2. ^ Terra Incognita: The Mind
3. ^ Dianetics Faq
4. ^ mental image pictures
5. ^ A youtube video

Dianetics Books

• The Church of Scientology says Mr. Hubbard's first manuscript on his study of the mind, Excalibur, was written in 1938. Though it was never published whole, the Church says most of it has been released in HCOBs, PLs and books. (Hubbard Communication Office Bulletins, Policy Letters and books).
• Mr. Hubbard first published on the subject of the mind with the title, Terra Incognita: The Mind ^[1], in a series of non-fiction articles in Astounding Science Fiction magazine during the 1940s.
• Church documentation says that in early 1948 Mr. Hubbard wrote a thesis titled Abnormal Dianetics which was offered to the medical and psychiatric professions but not utilized by either. However, it was accepted broadly the public at large. Tens of thousands of copies were circulated all over the world, mostly by the public themselves duplicating and even retyping it with carbons. In December, 1951 the thesis was published as a hardbound book titled, Dianetics, the Original Thesis, Bridge Publications, ISBN 088404002X. Then in 1983 by the Church of Scientology it was republished with the title, The Dynamics of Life by Bridge Publications. ISBN 0884043436.
• Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science published Apr 1950 (as an article), published Sept 1955 (as a hardbound book). Today published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 1403105448.
• In May, 1950, Dianetics, the Modern Science of Mental Health. It remains a best seller nearly 50 years after its initial publication, a feat unparalleled in publishing history. Today published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 0884044165.
• Notes on the Lectures of L. Ron Hubbard published 1951. Last published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 088404422X.
• Science of Survival: Simplified, Faster Dianetic Techniques published as a limited edition, June 1951. Title changed to Science of Survival: Prediction of Human Behavior published Aug 1951. Today published by Bridge Publications ISBN 0884044181.
• Self Analysis published Aug 1951. Today published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 0884044491.
• The Dianetics Axioms published Oct 1951, later included in several other books including Advanced Procedure and Axioms. Not published today except as included in other books.
• Child Dianetics, Dianetic Processing for Children published Oct 1951. Mr. Hubbard wrote an introduction Aug 1951, about the time it was being typeset. Today published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 0884044211.
• Advanced Procedure and Axioms published Nov 1951. Today published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 8773366048.
• Handbok for Preclears published Dec 1951. Today published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 0884044203.
• Dianetics 55! Published 1954. Today published by Bridge Publications. ISBN 0884044173.

Dianetics website

• The official web site of Dianetics

Other third party articles

Wikipedia's Dianetics article