I have added Buddha’s Brain, (Hanson/Mendius – New Harbinger Publications, Inc, 2009) to the recommended reading list. The following is my review.
Buddha’s Brain is authored by neuropsychologist Rick Hanson and neurologist Richard Mendius. Hanson is also a meditation teacher, and Mendius is also cofounder of Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. These fellows give a relatively easy to follow sum up of what developments in science have taught us about the function of the brain. They also, through work with Buddhist contemplative practice masters tested for neurological and hormonal/chemical patterns created by decisions of the being, detail how the brain – and thus the body – is affected by thought.
Buddha’s Brain provides great food for thought and correlation to those trained in Dianetics and Scientology. The authors’ description of science’s 2009 understanding of the human brain is remarkably consistent with L. Ron Hubbard’s 1950 description of the reactive mind in Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. They describe the brain as being hardwired for avoiding danger, taking precedence over behavior/action patterns that seek pleasure or reward. They describe how transcendent states attained through contemplative practice – their main frame of reference being Buddhism – erase reactive neuron channels and create new, more analytical, intelligent and rational ones.
Just as Scientology was somewhat vague in differentiating between the Thetan (spirit) and the mind and nearly mute on the subject of the brain, the authors of Buddha’s Brain are somewhat vague on differentiating between brain and mind, and never label that which is making the decisions that are creating a better functioning mind/brain. To get hung up on such difficulties with constructs describing that which is invisible to the eye and physical measures would be to miss the forest for the trees.
Hard core Scientologists, if they could muster the curiosity or courage to read the book, would likely heavily tune out somewhere in the last 2/3rds of it. That is because the material for the most part prescribes contemplative practice that the authors claim demonstrably reforms the brain/mind. To react in such wise would be a mistake in my view. To read it, for example, might lead to some insights into why running pleasure moments, as in Self Analysis by L. Ron Hubbard, is so therapeutic. Could it be that Scientology processes do far more good than L. Ron Hubbard even knew given the relatively archaic state of science in his day? One thing is for sure, those who are afraid to look will never know.
Moving On Up a Little Higher 
Your recommended readiong list I found inspirational and very theta
I will get this one and read.
Thankyou Marty
Love your last line, Marty. Brings to mind (to brain??) Ron’s lecture, “Scientology and Effective Knowledge,” one that he advised be carefully studied by all students on a special auditor’s communication course at Flag. (1979 TRs pilot; same time as he was making the first TR training film.) He even advised it be packaged up for sale as an individual lecture.
Anyway, in it he goes into quite a discussion of the importance of LOOKING and OBSERVING. “…all I am trying to teach you is LOOK…” and “…the simplicity of communication, the simplicity of observation, alone, will take Man from the bottom to the top.” are pretty close to quotes from the end of the lecture. (Hopefully someone with a copy handy will provide the exact words.)
He also talks a good deal about groups/organizations/authorities who FORBID looking, tell people where they must NEVER look, etc., at the risk of losing their chance for salvation, etc., etc., blah-blah-blah. Not that that has any relevance or relation to what the Dear Leadership preaches and enforces today.
One of the great things about learning from other paths other then our own, is that when they are true paths, paths of truth, they adds to our own understanding of the path we are on.
Truth never is exclusive nor threatening. Truth is the nature of the Static. The Static has no location, yet the Static is immanent in external creation just like the images of dreams in sleep are born from our own immaterial self. Our intelligence is alive and vibrating in the dream images we create.
The Static is doing that process on a Cosmic scale, as the Supreme Being. Of which, we are part, as individualized ‘statics’.
These things are experiences in meditation.
One more thought: It is my opinion that Ron did a disservice to the definition of a Static. He only defined it in the negative, what it’s not and that it is a quality not quantity. He never talked about quality.
Here is what the Vedas say about the Static/Uncreated Absolute/Brahma/Nirvana: ever new existence, ever new awareness, ever new bliss. This is a positive definition that more closely reflects our spiritual goals. We want bliss. We want to be happy. We want to exist and be aware of that existence…………………..forever. The word in sanskrit is Satchitananda. Sat means truth or existence. Chit means awareness or consciousness and ananda means bliss.
The qualities of the Static are beautiful and the fulfilment of every dream come true. Because it is the nature of ourselves. It is our very own quality. It is who we Are. Tat Tvam Asi – Thou Art That!
Since you are bringing up the subject again, I am going to express my opinion on something.
I’ve always had an affinity for the calmness and granting of beingness that was extant in the buddhist communities I associated with before getting into scientology. The church in Vancouver, when I was first there in 1973 reflected those characteristics sufficiently that I found a home there. As time went on and stats became a psychotic game rather than simply a reflection of actual accomplishment, I found the scientology culture to be more and more repugnant. The culture in scientology now is utterly repulsive to me. It was also viewed that way by the vast majority of the last dozen or so people I brought into the org in Tampa.
Just as one can dramatically affect his own physical well being by various assists and, as you said, running pleasure moments; so too can the calmness or hostility of any group affect the physical well being of those involved in that group.
Some people seem to be able to gleefully not-is the rather savage actions of the current scientology culture. They can adore the MEST that is being bought and are happy to envision the MEST that will be bought while remaining oblivious of the carnage enroute to their glorious goal.
But people who are truly looking for help, or higher states of spiritual awareness can see quite rapidly, by the beady eyes glaring at their wallets, that spiritual awareness has left the multi million dollar building.
And yet a group of people using merely the basics of the comm formula and ARC should, one would think, be able to create a decent, benevolent culture. With all of the tools we have and the tech to truly free a being from his unknowing but self-inflicted causes we should be able to do better.
There is no such thing as perfection in a group of Independent beings. But there is harmony when it is desired and practiced. And the health of the individual is often reflected in the health of the group. And the health of the group can often be reflected by the health of the individual.
MARTY
“That is because the material for the most part prescribes contemplative practice that the authors claim demonstrably reforms the brain/mind.”
Well not read the book, but auditing usually is about contemplating
something that reforms.
They have data on brain/mind reform?
They link to spirit?
Sounds interesting!
Reblogged this on brightfametexan and commented:
Truth does not exclude, Truth does not threaten
I think there are many things that bring about calmness. LRH said anything that raises ones tone level is valid therapy. What I ‘had’ liked about Scn was that it took away those things that could get in the way of one just being able to do or be something and Scn brought everyone up to a general state or level. I have not ‘yet’ meditated but it seems similar to TRs. I do prefer doing TRs with another because it is extroverting. Yet any meditation might not be a bad idea. (I watch and listen)
Sounds like a good read, Marty.
I never made it up the Bridge very high (not even to Clear), and my question is, when one gets rid of his own reactive mind and even goes on to the OT levels, does his or her neural-survival-network in the brain (if such exists), get bypassed more easily so that the individual can freely attain pleasure and creativity faster?
Thanks for anything you can share for the curious, like myself.
Marty, you are on a tear here, expanding the scope of scientology and what it implies… you couldn’t be baiting those who would cleave to narrow orthodoxy 😉 This blog has moved quantumly from its humble beginnings. Wouldn’t be surprised if you came out with a new book, The Compleat Scientologist…. a nod to Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation.
Any brain discussion has to include Jill Bolte Taylor’s TED talk/book: A Stroke of Insight about a brain scientist who had a stroke and lived to tell. http://youtu.be/QTrJqmKoveU
The name “Institute for neuroscience and contemplative wisdom.” Is certainly intriguing. Two such very different concepts in one name. Neuroscience, a most brainy discipline, and wisdom, arguably rooted more in the heart more than in the brain.
I appreciate, Marty, when you say : “Hard core Scientologists, if they could muster the curiosity or courage to read the book, would likely heavily tune out somewhere in the last 2/3rds of it. That is because the material for the most part prescribes contemplative practice that the authors claim demonstrably reforms the brain/mind. To react in such wise would be a mistake in my view.”
Western science has been interested in the measurable aspects of eastern wisdom for a long time. I remember, as a teenager in the 60s, reading similar studies, measuring brainwaves of sadhus in India. What I found then missing—but that’s the nature of scientific inquiry—was that the researchers were not able to describe what was in my view the most important element: the inner experience that these people were having. And which often these people were saying was beyond words… was asking myself: “What does ecstasy feel like?” “What do saints and great mystics feel?” I was reading the story of their lives.. whether it is Rumi, Mira Bai, Ramakrishna or many others, they seemed to have a life with a deeply felt experience. Their language was more poetic than scientific. And most of all my question was……whatever they are experiencing- and it was arguably not really an intellectual experience … …how can I experience it too?
That’s why I did not feel the title of Wright’s book “The Prison of Belief” was on target . I’m not a Scientologist, but my sense is that Scientology, unlike some religions, is more than a set of beliefs. I believe-I may be wrong—that twith Scientology, there is an experience to be had.
This kind of books (Buddha’s Brain) is really interesting but in my experience needs to be balanced with more experience/heart-centered reading, since if one relies on them too much, one can get neurologically reductionistic, glamorize science, over-generalize sample group data to all individuals, of overvalue the physical and make the brain the sole source of experience and forget the heart. Interestingly, this book talks about “Nibbana”, the ultimate fruit of practice of Buddhism. According to Buddha, Nibbana transcends all methods. What is Nibbana? That is a such a loaded question
Buddha taught that attaining Nibbana requires a dedicated training of mind AND heart. OK… but still, what training, and what is Nibbana.? Can it even be described in words? So much to discover….
I never considered TRs as being meditation.
But there are some processes which remind me of meditation.
Like holding two anchor-points in the corners in the room behind your head and doing nothing (else).
Buddhism is a beautiful “thing” anyway.
Thanks Marty.
I am glad this book is available in the german language, too.
My introduction to Buddhism was in 1995 by a book from this man.
I like him very much.
I agree, the research into this whole area has been fascinating and the number of innovations is simply amazing. One of the innovations that has been brought to market for laypersons is Neurosky’s Mindwave Headset, which allows you to monitor brainwaves in real time. Doesn’t cost very much either. So these days you can check it out for yourself.
So for any of you adventurers out there, a fascinating study could be made of brainwave responses during auditing:
http://www.neurosky.com/People/WhatWeDo.aspx
Buddha’s Brain provides great food for thought and correlation to those trained in Dianetics and Scientology
After being in the tunnel for 35 years, where what I thought and what I couldn’t think, what I could explore and what I couldn’t, who I could friend and who was absolutely off-limits, enforced and even punished ~~if it was not within the party line ~~ I luxuriate in friending who I damned well please, reading whatever I want, thinking and following wisdom wherever it surfaces…… I like these recommendations Marty. Thanks
Here is a study that confirms that mental exercise can cause growth of a particular section of the brain:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=london-taxi-memory
We’re talking about “form follows function” here, right? LRH spoke of that in DMSMH, in some remarks about function vs.structure, didn’t he?
What a gorgeous, thoughtful comment, Les. I agree completely.
Hmmm. Consideration is senior to mechanics? Sounds like the brain boys are catching on, with a little help from Buddhism. Hopefully they’ll get the 3 parts of man straight pretty soon, with a little help from quantum mechanics. I’ve had good success with this analogy: The being is the user, the mind is the software and the brain is the organic keyboard, modifiable by the user.. Dianetics is the malware program and Scientology is the utilities program. What happens within Microsoft or Apple is entirely another matter, and hackers – internal and external – really suck with respect to maintaining performance of the system.
Time for a full malware scan?
LRH would have loved that book. Good choice Marty.
Thanks for the recommended read, I’ll check it out.
You mentioned reading Malcolm X once, I am reading a book called Malcolm X , A life of reinvention. Not sure if you meant this one or his autobiography. But this describes so many practices in the religion he first became involved in that sound so similar to the corp CofS, I am starting to suspect policy was written based on that religion. Unbelievable.
The guy who wrote the book spent 20 years writing it with full documentation. Just an amazing story. Growing up mostly in New York City, at least through the age of being able to be aware, I lived saw felt the influence he left behind. But I never saw the big picture or though about the evolution. Everyone should read this book. Such a vital piece of history. And, an amazing book to read, just amazing. Mt take on religious culture has definitely shifted as well. What we saw and lived through is not all that extraordinary or unusual.
After leaving the CoS 15 years ago, after some wandering, I found that the Buddhist path is very workable one.
By using meditation techniques, I experienced great changes in my life: improved tone level, less reactivity, improved ethics, more altruism, improved health.
In the recent years, modern techniques (brain imagery, biotechnology, etc.) have demonstrated the astonishing effects meditation techniques have on the brain and body: increase in gray matter density, improvement of the immune system, increase of the length of the telomeres, reduction of heart attacks, etc.
That is both a win on the subjective and objective levels.
Meditation is also more and more used by psychotherapists in treating depression without using antidepressants. That is a very important change that is currently happening in the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy.
Good review,
“the authors of Buddha’s Brain are somewhat vague on differentiating between brain and mind, and never label that which is making the decisions that are creating a better functioning mind/brain.”
Man, people have been arguing that for centuries. The Chinese Room argument was always one of my favourites:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_room
LeDouxs book The Emotional Brain also presented some interesting theories on how exactly the frontal lobes feed back and can slowly erase emotionally-charged memories based in the limbic system. He postulated this was the biochemical basis for all therapy.
Very interesting stuff.
Yes – function monitors structure. Good point.
My understanding of the objective of meditation is to zero out the mind – to reach a state of consciousness where all thoughts and pictures and compulsive machinery just gets turned off so that one experiences the bliss of just pure being. A serenity of beingness, if you will, like what occurs as the end phenomenon of OT-TR O.
Well said.
Does anyone here have any experience with the Monroe Institute? The hemi-sync work involves listening to bi-naural beats which affects both hemispheres of the brain –often leading to out-of-body experiences.
Many years ago I found in a book on Eastern spirituality some meditation techniques for preparing students which had strong similarities with the TR’s used in Scientology. I remember thinking to myself that this is what LRH used to base the TR’s. I had on more than one occasion sought to find that section again but possibly the book is no longer in my possession, because i was unable to locate it in the books I had. But I suspect the blog followers who have studied Buddhism and Hinduism would have come across these meditations designed for students. Would like to hear from any who know what i am referrring to. I very much equate the TR’s (OT/TR0) with meditation.
Might be the same lecture where Ron talks about if the
husband has trouble with the wife (or vise versa) and the
first thing to do is to just “look”. Just sit down and observe
the person and take your time doing that. In other words
just look. Then LRH cracks a joke about that.
This of course translates to anything you want to understand.
The ‘demand for change’ occurs when those in denial acknowledge that the removal of the Supreme Leader from his perch is a primary target for the PROCESS of permitting the applied philosophy of Scientology to seek its own stature among all philosophies.
Brian, per Scientology axiom 1, LRH also stated re the
static that it can “postulate and perceive”. Then later,
axiom 10 (or 11) he wrote about is-ness etc.
Yes Les, so true. Can you imagine just going into an
Ideal org and sit in the lobby and just relax and maybe
even take the next step “observe”. What do you think
would happen?
“Empty your mind of all thoughts….let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings….but contemplate their return.
Each separate being in the Universe returns to the common source…returning to the Source is serenity.
If you don’t realize Source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from you naturally become tolerant…disinterested…amused….kindhearted as a grandmother…dignified as a King.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao….you can deal with whatever life brings you….and when death comes, you are ready”
Lao Tzu
Graduated: Your understanding of meditation and mine differ enormously. In fact, most experienced meditators and teachers will say that you can never “TURN OFF” all thoughts etc …
Rather, they arise and IF you don’t “chase them” with more attention and attachment, they fall away … and when another arises … and you don’t cling to it — it too falls away.
What does happen through meditation is that the thoughts are not like a cascading waterfall – one following the other in mad succession … ones mind become calm.
Mediation is a means by which to become like a buddha — AWAKE (that is what “buddha” means)
🙂
Marty:
Loved your review. Always causes me to stop and really LOOK.
This confirms for me what I have said that I find important about the work you are doing.
Scientology/LRH currently has a scathing reputation “at large” and it’s not improving.
HOWEVER, LRH *was* at the cutting edge of a science of mind over 1/2 a century ago. He was NOT aided by any sort of impartial scientific instruments (like an MRI) which *could have* validated some parts of what he claimed.
Then LRH came under attack by various vested interests and to me, he began to shift gears. Scientology became more rigid and more insular.
In any case, I’ve always felt that Marty’s intention is to help preserve – NOT co-mingle – what is demonstrably workable in LRH’s tech.
And perhaps the time will come that someone(s) will step up to put together scientific proof of those who have been audited (but not ever meditators) by utilizing the newest fMRIs (motion MRIs).
And thus science will have caught up with LRH.
(Which is not to say I don’t believe there are parts of his body of work which should be shredded — like disconnection 🙂
Christine
As you expand, you are becoming more relevant and helpful to all people.
I bet it is excellent book, i meditated with several of the teachers that are endorsed in the book. when i left scientology in 86 i did several 10 day vipassana retreats. supposedly buddhas main technique,and meditated for 6 weeks in india,i was on solo nots when i left and since did the whole bridge.
once you get into meditation you have to drop the goal of wanting something, it was difficult for me coming from scientology and always having a goal. i did learn to let go and just be there,it is a slow process and different then auditing. i found it does open my heart ,but people are people there are big egos in meditation circles and in scientology. i am so glad i did lots of auditing before doing meditation, my lovely wife may is a buddhist from thailand she meditates 2 hours each day, never gossips, she says she knows she isnt coming back, i dont know that after 40 years studying this vast subject of consciousness .she is a saint compared to me.
. there is something very personal and rewarding in meditation which i feel expands your auditing, but shouldnt be done while auditing, i would reccomend this book and sit 15 minutes a day with some exercises the book suggests.it is not squirreling, the main tech is focus on your breath either at your nose or belly, i think you will enjoy this simple practice. Love to hear some fed back,roger
Guess we all are interested in verifying how and why Scientology
(and Dianetics) works and how they can be verified in the physical universe. At least that is how I look at it. I have studied Russian
experiments where they managed to photograph the energy
fields around the human body. Ron did say that when a human
body dies it loses some weight (minuscule).
Another one were the kahunas in Hawaii who could heal people
(even kill) at a distance if needed. They could do all kinds of tricks
even have shark infested waters totally shark free when divers
had to go for food etc. Which verifies many areas of Ron’s research.
Recently I ran into “brain balancing” which is supposed to help
cure many mentally originated maladies. OK that works to a
degree but not by miles what a little auditing does. The only thing
that impressed me (and why I followed some people who
received it) was because the originator in one case diagnosed
accurately from computer readouts of brainwaves something in
a “patient” that she did not know and only the mother would have
known (something that happened during the pregnancy).
My best friend for many years was a stout buddist (meditated
every day) and even though we had many deep conversations
about man and life we always ended up in agreement. The only
thing I noticed is he did not really progress spiritually and
mentally as I have experienced in Scientology.
Always looking and interested but so far Scio is shining the
strongest. However the correlations help in dissemination.
Yes, many will diverge from these viewpoints here, so all
I can say is; IMHO.
The TRs are communication drills LRH developed for auditors so they can handle the communication cycle in auditing.
TR 0 was the gradient of “confronting” the PC in front of you as a basis for the other communication drills.
OT TR 0 was first introduced in 1970s, some good 15 yrs later.
I don’t think LRH derived the TRs from meditation. The intent was rather to enable auditors to perform better auditing.
Thanks SKM. I am at a loss as i do not have the reference at hand I referred to. But it was actually techniques to train students as the context they were used in the book. The meditation corrollary was mine and its pretty obvious that OT/TR0 could serve a dual purpose. But without the source material to point to as a reference it is just a baseless anecdote, so thats the last I will mention it unless I find the source material again.
marty, i just discoved your blog recently and now go there daily. i have been out of scientology for quit awhile, not that i still dont get phone calls. i left being quite confused. there was such a gap between what i thought lrh was saying and my org experiences.in the last year and a half i have been into meditation, but still feeling lrhs influence,still somewhat confused. i am so happy to see all these scientologists who are looking at maditation also and have disconected from corporate scientology. it has given me a certain amount of validation that has been lacking in my life. keep up the wonderful work. gretchen
Discernment, be sharp as a razor. Don’t get the connection with a brain though.
ML/A
Thanks Lars for the reference. Still, in my opinion, such an important state of being requires an easily accessible concept inherent in the actual definition.
At some point a person who stops smoking, stops defining himself by what he is not doing and hopefully defines himself as a healthy person: the goal of not smoking.
Positive definitions have the correct end result postulated into the definition to be inspirationally useful in the field of action.
Try having discernment without one … and still have a body …
🙂
According to the opinion of the head (in 1994) of the Zen Buddhist temple in Vancouver British Columbia: “[Monroe Institute’s] Gateway students can reach meditation states in a week that took [me] 30 years of sitting”
From Wikipedia: The Monroe Institute.
As one of your readers who has a practice that includes Vipassana meditation, I would say that scientologists would learn a lot about scientology by learning more about buddhism.
The Buddha created a path to liberation from living in and as a body.
2500 years later LRH created a similar path that was much easier to follow and included technology that was not available in buddhas time.
In vipassana one first learns how to focus ones attention and observe. Similar to TR 0, the hurdle to overcome is the constant intrusion of thinking, outside distraction and ones own lack of discipline. When one is able to be there completely in present time and completely at cause over where attention is placed, one learns how to scan the entire body, equinanimously observing any and all sensations.
This is done without labeling, judging whether good or bad, or suppressing them or encouraging them. No evaluation or invalidation, simple direct observation of sensation without engaging any significance attached.
This observation of sensation as it is eventually leads to a reprograming of the mind so that the sensation is not attached to any significance.
Of course there are times when a scientologist vipassana meditator has the thought that a NOTs auditor and emeter would be real handy right then….
Vipassana would take many incarnations to become clear, but the direct experience of ones mind, body and existence over a prolonged period would also train a person in ways that the quicker path may not.
And the buddhas 8 fold path is a very simple set of ideas to pattern your life on.
Buddhism and Scientology are both aimed at the same goal, and both have church culture built up around them that buries the original thought of their founders.
Vipassana is taught outside of the buddhist religion, and is taught for free….
http://www.dhamma.org/
Very clever Graduated.
Had a new guy, well read, wrestled with all the great philosophies and tried to conceptualize Scientology. So I told him Scientology is high-tech Buddhism. Ahh. He seemed to get it right there.
Interesting article. I have a queuing system of books to read. This is on it.
Marty if you take the fundamental progress of science vis-a-vis the apparent presence of something other than the brain, it approaches some of LRHs earlier discoveries.
Taking the current dilemma of Scientology in the world, a lot of the problems we see occurring have a lot to do with how Scientology is PRESENTED to the world. There is the tech itself and then there is all the other stuff like pricing, KSW-esque dogma, sales, pressure, ethics actions, and 100’s of other items forming how it is presented as a subject. The subject remains the subject.
In the years to come, it needs to be presented in a modern and meaningful context. It needs to be as its subject suggests, light, insightful, wise, high affinity, deeply axiomatic.
What your article describes forms a pattern of possible ingredients of how it can be presented in future. Noting and observing science’s progress, drawing analogies and tangential relationships between the subject and other schools of thought and observations. This is a style and a new way of presenting the subject to the world which has great merit and aligns with our times.
Maybe, in time to come, the heat of ‘now’ cools off, and in take 2 of the subject’s progress, it happens in harmony with the world around it.
Thanks for the words of wisdom.
Les, what you say is so true.
Once upon a time i had great success bringing people into tampa org. They granted beingness to people in spades and also took my insights into my selectees seriously, not to mention the orginations of the selectees themselves, and worked with us to get them on the correct beginning course, books, lectures, or life repair to help that being. That of course all stopped by the mid to late 90’s.
If all SCN reg’s had been like Gary Ralkin before his car accident, there never would be one upset or flap with the public about SCN sales practices.
One of the saddest days of my life was years later, when one of my selectees who had had unbelievable wins upon entering SCN, who later joined staff, had a psychotic episode over the phone when i told her to stop calling me on my cell phone to reg me to come into latest IAS mega-crush-sale event at the org.
She had been one of the sweetest beings i had ever known, full of love and help for people, but then i found her in the valence of the worst of the SCN ass-kickers.
Dave,
A little tongue in cheek, but it is ‘Deja vu all over again’.
My sense is that for universal success (salvation?) a critical mass of literate human beings will have to ‘wake up’.
Something inside me hints that has occurred.
This has been a LONG process for those with short memories.
Thanks Les. It, these issues, couldn’t be more articulately stated.
nice write up dave,i did the body scan one week,taught by goeanko, 4am to 9pm , my legs were so sore, it is a great experience.
Bryan, if i understand your question correctly, the answer is yes.
One of the common “wins” that people expouse as they move up the levels in Scientology is that they find more pleasure in life, often of the simplest things, and that they feel more able and free to be creative.
Interestingly, LRH in one of his lectures regarding the arts, did say something to the effect that the creative mind did seem to be something apart from both the analytical and reactive minds, so you will often see some incredibly screwed up people with enormous artistic and creative talents. But if you end up dead at 27 because of a drug addiction or a need to speed while intoxicated, this can put a rather premature cap on creativity.
But in any case, peeling away the onion, the encrusted spiritual barnacles of life, will always return more of a persons native talents and abilities to themselves.
Dave, the comparison of vipassina and NOTs was not lost on me either. In my new found freedom to live my life as I wished I did a ten day silent retreat in the Sierra foothills in California. The pleasant surprise was it was offered free of charge…. leaving it at one’s discretion to donate or not afterwards.
In my mind there is no scarcity of paths to take when you realize you are the path.
Marty,
I’m going to read Buddha’s Brain, per your post, and I’d love your take on As A Man Thinketh by James Allen, which I’m enjoying at this time. (unless you already reviewed it in the past?).
I’m currently clearing my words on it, so as to duplicate fully. See….right there I’m blending LRH with James Allen.
Bryan
Marty,
All of this reminds me of “Hymn of Asia” circa my reading in or about 1975. I guess one could say I was young, about 20 years old. Never-the-less, it was life-changing stuff because of my prior life recollections and this life time memories.
I would appreciate any insights via this blog from anyone who found it, the above referenced poem to be as profound as I did.
In short, I embraced Scientology, this lifetime, because it re-embraced Buddha again.
Scientology is high tech Buddhism, IMHO. LRH was brilliant with the refinements.
Tom,
Agreed. Like the idea of 10,000 on NOTs…
I think we’re close. (Though not exclusively with NOTs!)
I had the realization on my first 10 day vipassana course that I had “done this before”..
Although the modern meditation hall has radiant heating in the floor much unlike stone of a monastery.
🙂
Russ W: At least Bhudda HAD a brain, as opposed to some members of the Church of Scientology who seem to have been skipped over in that department eh? 🙂 I honestly LOATHE the Church of Scientology. 🙂
Moonshot,
Awesome reply! Thanks much.
And I do have reality on creatives being incredibly screwed up. I am one. Although, at 45, I’ve mellowed with age. 🙂
I was going to disregard your suggestion about reading this book although I have read most of the books you recommended,but Mike ‘s comment contained the word “Relevant” and that killed my confusion.It’s about time to accept and understand what the scientific community is doing in regards to the brain if only to be able to have a somewhat informed and intelligent conversation , versus the idiotic ” it is just a piece of meat” answer which again places the scientologist in the out of reality bubble.It is very relevant in today’s world and the scientologist would gain from knowing about it.
I remember telling a friend about reading Will Durant “the story of civilization” and his answer was “what for?”
THe consensus seems to be “LRH said it all, why look elsewhere”. I think there is truth in that,but looking from all angles reinforces one’s cerainty.
oops,certainty…
To Marty and friends!
LRH is Great!!!
I think he gave the society a Gift! I think that he gave humanity The Gift that will be learned in due time by everybody.
He gave his vision on Life that is as impressive as any other visionary.
I think that the attention that is give to COS now will eventually bring changes on how it is viewed in public and will be used by many.
I am glad that I discovered your blog.
Thank You,
I.G.
“Some people seem to be able to gleefully not-is the rather savage actions of the current scientology culture.”
They are afraid to bleed.
You said it Karen! Me too! 🙂 Imagine AFTER completing TR’s training not being allowed per executive order to speak to any of the church’s neighbors. 🙂 *I must have forgotten* that such communication is reserved for upper exec’s. Such as one’s that punch their juniors in the face or hurl them down flight of stairs and then say “don’t tell anybody”, or pilfer money from public people’s accounts or sell 15 sets of basics and 12 intensives of security checks to people that have not even done a Purif yet! 🙂 Now that takes brains. I might not be the one doing the talking but I sure would be a good listener. 🙂
mabu, i did 2 programs gateway and guidelines at monroe, it isnt true, a week program is like 30 years of meditation, i mentioned monroe earlier in a post. i liked it, but couldnt recommend it, there is no quick shot to enlightenment.
Hi Bryan, Make sure you use a dictionary from James Allen’s time period. It makes a big difference in understanding what he is talking about, especially with words like mind, reason, soul, etc.
http://1913.mshaffer.com/d/browse/letter,n
I love Roger Weller’s sentence: “In my mind there is no scarcity of paths to take when you realize you are the path.” Beautifully said.
Brian mentions about “Satchitanand”. Which in Hindi means “Truth is the Consciousness of Bliss.“. I lived for a while in an ashram in India. … devotees there would greet each other with “Jai Satchitanand”.
The pursuit of Satchitanand was what their life was dedicated to, they were dedicated to finding and experiencing the “ truth that is consciousness of bliss”
For them, this is what life was about. As a newcomer freshly arrived from the West, my first question then was..… if truth is the consciousness of bliss, where is bliss to be found, and how do I become and remain conscious of it, breath after breath ?
The shared conviction among these people was that such inner experience could not be gained through books, austerity, chanting or study, but that some secret key needed to be given to the person, and that only a very special master could do that. And that the master would show the key only to whom he would deem worthy fo receiving it. And the person had to have the right thirst, the right sincere desire to dedicate their life to Satchitanand. And then the person made a promise to stay with this all their life, to extract bliss from every breath.
Looking back, many these people were very simple. Among them some were well educated, even erudite brahmins, but the majority, at least where I was, may not even have known what the word “science” means. They only knew the language of inner life, and for outer life, the simple things: food, agriculture, etc..
While many had not had any education, their mind was brilliantly sharp, as it was uncluttered by wordly pursuits, and sharply focused on embracing clarity. Some had read the Vedas and Upanishads or some other sacred texts. Others were more on a path of bhakti, whereby for them the secret to life was to be found in the heart. Rather than through thoughts. And yet I’m sure that to a scientific person who would have measured their brain waves, they would have found the perfect correlation between their practice of Satchitanand and the richness of their alpha or whatever brain waves… all that even though these people had no idea what a brain wave was..
Fascinating differences in approach, the Westersn mind trying to understand the world with the brain, the Indians striving to overcome the limitations of the intellect, and longing to merge with bliss within. Underlying that, a shared interest, across East-West cultural differences, in exploring what more there is life, beyond what the senses can show us.
Marty, I have to say that this post is from all the posts that I have read the one that has elicited the most inspired comments from readers, including this one from Moonshot “… peeling away the onion, the encrusted spiritual barnacles of life, will always return more of a persons native talents and abilities to themselves.”
I salute that. What is more meaningful, more interesting, and more of a source of joy than to spend the short time we have on this planet “peeling away the onion”?
I agree with Mike when he writes (to Marty): “As you expand, you are becoming more relevant and helpful to all people.”
Thanks to you all for the best and most inspiring set of comments since I’ve been reading this blog.
Well, I was refering to the objective, and not the doingness (or lack thereof). On the objective I think we agree – awake (i.e. fully in present time).
I’m surprised I did not come across the Chinese Room experiment earlier. It is brilliant!
You might like a little maxim I came up with:
Immortality is inevitable.
Because:
1. If we (Human Beings) are spiritual beings, we are immortal (in one form or another, one place or another)
2. If we are merely matter, energy, space, and time (i.e., we are our brain, and all consciousness is the result of brain activity), then we will eventually be able to instantiate the functions of the brain in software, and therefore, live inside computers. We could take a “snapshot” of our brain, configure the program accordingly, and voila, we are immortal.
Number 2 will never happen. In fact, I feel that it will be AI that proves the existence of the spiritual being, solely because they will never achieve consciousness in a computer.
I’ll have to read it. I used to be put off by brain science, but then I got over it. Like it or not, we are in the position of viewing and experiencing this world through the body, and it is scary how the body distorts the view. For example, we only see a small spectrum of visible light. We hear a small range of available sound (and we interpret air vibrations via the brain as sound, when all they are are air vibrations). We sense time in a certain speed. We sense touch and taste in certain ways.
And, the brain and nervous system can alter these communications in dramatic ways. For example, a stroke can totally remove the ability to read. Isn’t that crazy?
So, knowing how this crazy body of ours works is a good thing. And brain science is useful.
Thanks LDW. This phrase (among others) caught me:
“They can adore the MEST that is being bought and are happy to envision the MEST that will be bought while remaining oblivious of the carnage enroute to their glorious goal.”
How mistaken, how futile, to find happiness in that which is transient. Every building will decay and, with time, eventually vanish, as will Earth and everything on it. It may take a billion years before Earth is gone, but we in our present identities will say good-bye to what we currently have in mere decades.
I am reminded of LRH’s definition of happiness, which I will try to get from memory — something like “happiness is the overcoming of not unknowable obstacles toward a known goal.”
I did not ever imagine that the goal of Scientology was about beautiful buildings. It would have never interested me. I did not originally believe it was about organized, for-profit religion. It would have never interested me. I thought Scientology was about getting solid on all the dynamics, especially the higher ones, and not being fixated on transitory MEST. That was what interested me.
It seems to me that CoS, Inc. has lost sight of those higher dynamics, has devolved into a rather low tone, acquisitive, totalistic organization. How sad for all those “in” who want and need more and fear they have no other means to achieve what they want and need.
This limitation the body imposes, by the way, is one reason why being “exterior with full perception” ain’t what people think it is, and why it is usually very disorienting.
My 2 cents on meditation:
Proper application of LRH tech is like meditation minus the idleness. The problem I found with the meditation techniques (what little I tried) is that a certain idleness would sooner or later set in and I didn’t know what to do with all that sudden clearness I have achieved. Did it feel good? Heck yeah! But I would achieve ‘this’ calm state and then and up self auditing.
This of course lead to some frustration and abandonment of the practice. LRH solved this problem and showed me the way how to use that clearness and direct the attention to solve real life problems of all kinds. Not only that but he showed me how to go towards the state of actually meditating awake during regular life. I find that as I progress up the bridge the meditation-like state takes over the impulse-response driven state more and more. There are obviously other techniques I do not know much about which may be able to guide one so they don’t spin in (self audit) but the ones I tried were way too out gradient for me. That is they would deliver me to a sort of keyed-out / exterior state but then I didn’t see the next step. Was the step there? I’m sure it was, but I sure as heck didn’t see it. LRH put a bunch of little steps in there which came very handy to me as well as many others. This is where his genius came in with the gradation. It’s not like he invented enlightenment itself, but instead figured out where people fell short and helped them. (or at least tried there are those who won’t be helped of course) Not to mention figuring out the rhythm of things and know when to stop and when to continue which are CRUCIAL elements without which one tends to get bent out of shape. Do any of the other practices (that are not LRH inspired) have these super important observations in place? Anyone?
(I don’t know of any)
What’s a Solo session if not meditation with the aid of proper tools like the eMeter and the Tech? And that previous stuff (grades and such) leading up to Solo are the same aiding tools + another enlightened being sitting there to help.
Off topic. Just some interesting information.
Louis Farrakhan has become increasingly unpopular since someone filmed this and leaked it:
He admitted his part in Malcom X’s assasination:
Malcolm was assassinated for exposing the corrupt leader of the Nation of Islam by some of it’s members.
Farrakhan sounds like he and David Miscavige are of the same mind with the justice too.
Surfacing on Blog radio:
“This in depth journalist goes into the intricate details and first hand experience from the inside of the inner workings of the Nation of Islam with excellent insight of the relationship between the Cult Church of Scientology and Nation of Islam under the leadership of Min. Louis Farrakhan. This riveting interview is sure be an eye opener and classic episode.”
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/godkiller/2012/07/16/natural-tahuti-asar-hotepsaaneterand-the-amenrasquad
HAS THE BLACK COMMUNITY “CLEARLY” BEEN SOLD TO SCIENTOLOGY?
PART 2
“Ever since Professor I Self and Ishmael Allah has presented the facts and evidence of the Alliance between the Nation of Islam and the Church of Scientology there has been the steadfast denial by the NOI saying they are only studying Dianetics.”
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/godkiller/2012/09/03/natural-tahuti-asar-hotepsaaneterand-the-amenrasquad
I became a bit obsessed over the last week reading books and watching documentaries on Malcolm X. What I have taken away from the experience is that he protested slavery and escaped various forms of slavery only to enslave himself again to a master to serve, the leader of that religion. Whom he discovered was corrupt, and after he was confronted about it, ordered him to be killed. Either overtly or covertly.
The Sea Org Members are clearly not serving Hubbard. In the self abasement and self denial and fair gaming of one another, and Scientologists, they are serving the master Miscavige.
That said, it concerns me that DM is courting someone complicit in the assassination of Malcom X. Does he imagine those people are going to permit his CMO to slap them around? Those people will not even permit DM to slap them around. But whatever he is up to, it is starting to recoil on him and the Church already.
https://www.facebook.com/events/516468408398512/
Here they are fair gaming auditors, Scientologists, and one another while courting a man who uses the pulpit to key people in. Must be the law of attraction.
This is all very nice. I don’t know you Marty, but I think your job, since you actively contributed to the pain and misery of many people for so many years- and probably have a few skeletons in your closet that make your place in this world behind bars – is to continue to do what’s needed to expose Scn. Inc and all of it’s crimes. Disseminating your wins and cogs while others are still feeling the pain of and struggling with disconnection, ill health and other tragedies brought on by the church is, in my opinion, in very bad taste. Please look up and see the pc you are auditing. I don’t think your job is enlightenment at this point
Interesting, thanks for the review.
Want to also say to you….Perhaps because us Finns are quite modest and shy people, today’s focus is on friendships rather than the Valentinus figure, and because of you being an honorary Finn and my friend…..I feel it’s appropriate to wish you a Happy Friendship Day !!
TO,
If you are interested in further study, I highly recommend The Judas Factor: The Plot to Kill Malcolm X by Karl Evanzz.
Marty
explanatory note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Women_Bleed
Gail, it seems to me that Marty has gone “public” with exposing the abuses. Does his every waking breath have to be solely along those lines, or can he share other subjects on his own blog? Your seem to feel entitled to tell Marty what his job needs to be, and what percentage of his time he must spend on it. If your the one suffering in the present, call up some radio and TV stations and give some interviews. Self-publish a book. Get your focus on the abuses your concerned with. Let others live their own lives. If you dont want to sign Marty’s liability formula because you do not feel he can do anything for the rest of his life but make amends, then I think you need to handle something in your own world. I think Marty has elevated the chance to end the abusive practices like no one before him. And I think attacking him is poor form.
FIRST RULE i dont know where you are on the bridge,i did the old ot levels and the new thru ot 8 the LS. in the last 40 years looking back i never ever met a clear per the dianetics book definition, much less an enlightened being. i remember in the 60s when i first got in to Scientology, on a tape ron stated buddhas state was a grade 2 release in Scientology. that is a stupid statement. for 50 years i have been searching all avenues of awakening,it is my main interest in life, i have lived all over the world, made lots of money, laughed a lot and cried a lot. i still find it odd that people think they will do the bridge and get total freedom, i wasted money and time in scientology, for the most part and had some enlightening moments. until people wake up to there delusions you will miss the boat. im now 65 and know that i dont know, when i was younger i knew it all,at 22 i was ot 7, at 23 i was broke, at 28 i became successful. it has been a wild ride, and im still here doing my thing, each day is a new adventure. I dont know the majority of the people on this blog or where they are on the bridge. i know many of the original ots , most left the church by the early 80s, i dont see them posting on any of the websites . they moved on .
Vicar, we’re all entitled to our own opinions.
Hi Gretchen,
This is Tony Dephillips. Are you the lady that I ran some objectives on years ago at the Seattle Org?
Listening to that first blogradio discussion was the worst
rubbish I think I have ever heard except some of the
totally uninformed Tony Ortega commenters who thinks
they have something deeply informed to say. It is like
listening to some 6 year olds discussing the theory of
relativity. Actually not a good analogy as there are some
bright 6 year old kids.
Anyway, these guys discussing Scio and Dn’s are so clue-
less it isn’t even funny. It’s like they willfully decided to
have an adverse judgement or opinion formed beforehand
without knowledge or examination of the facts. But I guess
some of the Nation of Islam is also based on prejudice.
Gail, you sound like the Demented Midget sentencing the no-good, incompetent, suppressive Int Base execs to years and years of penitence in the Hole. Maybe you should do the sec checker course. There’s plenty of kicks to be had in introverting the hell out of people and making them wrong until they ask for mercy. How does it feel to be so righteous?
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Two Recommendations from my field of research:
The “God” Part of the Brain: A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God
Matthew Alper
Sourcebooks September 2008
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
Julian Jaynes
Mariner Books August 2000
In the field of neuroscience never quite obtaining
the cause of malfunction or dis-ease, they examine,
scan and suggest psychotropics and other procedures.
There main problem is examining the brain as cause,
when they are actually looking at the brain changes
that are the effect point.
The source point is the mind.
The ultimate Source point is the being,
So here we have the reverse flow of the
correct flow.
The correct flow is:
Theta – Mind – Body = Product
Source – Data – Physical Body = Universe of Exchane and Experience
You may recognize his as the primary basis of the Org Board.
Because of the lowering of Source abilities,
the being attempts to organize the chaotic
accumulated mass of the mind and builds a set
of rules, regulations and rituals (Mind/R6 god) that the being
permits to control the being.
There is resistance by the being and this
creates more mass.
Processing dismantles all this.
The brain is a physical body relay system that
basically handles body function and performance
and a central point as a theta communication terminal.
The brain is not Cause, nor is the mind.
The being is Source.
My best to all and thanks Marty for
the suggestion added to your reading list.
Gunner
Indeed well said. The health of many on OTVII or VIII’s I personally knew is bankruptcy, short selling their home of many years, selling other treasures, overwhelming personal debt, financial irregularities, et al. One old friend still on OT VII has been trucking along faithfully every six months to FLAG for over 20 years, countless multiples of thousands of dollars, yes, 20+ years. When is the last time you just hung out with friends in an Org? The old times of once a home simply are no more. Hubbard and Buddha’s brain… rolling over in their graves.
Thanks Maria,
Boy this opens up a bigger picture.
🙂
Hi Gail. In my opinion, showing that Scientologists outside the church are winning, are expanding, are doing well, and are not “losing their eternity”, is one of the best ways to show Scientologists still under the yoke of Mr. David Miscavige that they do not have to put up with him, and can be free. In fact, in my opinion and experience, continual harping against the abuses and crimes of the church just force the faithful and fearful to circle their wagons tighter and tighter. Showing the wins and freedom of the outside open the door out.
Mark Patterson
+1 Vicar
Thanks for the recommendation. I am continually enlightened and expanding in awareness thanks to you and those who come here.
“First Rule” writes: “The problem I found with the meditation techniques (what little I tried) is that a certain idleness would sooner or later set in and I didn’t know what to do with all that sudden clearness I have achieved…….. Do any of the other practices (that are not LRH inspired) have these super important observations in place? Anyone?
My experience, First Rule, is that there are many paths out there, each with their own flavor, demands and rewards. From what I know about Scientology, it is a pretty unique technology and therefore I doubt there is a “better Scientology.” However there are other paths which can help a person carve other facets of the same diamond of life.
My view, right or wrong, is that while to some hard-core Scientologists, Scientology tech may offer everything a person needs to attain spiritual salvation, Scientology may only carve a few sides—well, but a few sides. Again, I may be wrong. But with Scientology, you probably have the best Scientology-like path. I doubt there are better comparable paths.
I know of other paths, like Prem Rawat’s Keys, for example, which are totally different, as they are totally simple (no auditing, no reading, no dialogue, just listening to his videos and being shows a secret technique during an in-person session. You basically learn practically learn how to connect with the energy within, and how to merge in it. In essence, you learn a direct path to this “Satchitanand, i.e truth is consciousness of bliss” that someone was referring to in another comment. This path bypasses brain, science, processes, and dives/merges straight into consciousness in a space that cannot be described with words.
The challenge, when one is dedicated to a single core practice, is to accept that there may be value in other practices. There is this Indian story……. of a frog who lives in a well and he meets a frog who lives in the ocean. The frog who lives in the ocean tries to explain to the well frog that the ocean is bigger than the well, but the well frog cannot understand it since to him he occupies the whole universe. We are all, and me the first, a bit like this in terms of our approach to religion/spirituality.
I see great value in opening up, trying other paths, see what they feel like, not just from reading them, but practicing them in earnest. My view is that, ultimately. spiritual paths cannot be compared anymore than you can compare a chocolate mousse with a pistachio ice-cream. They each give an experience of sweetness, and are each perfect, for a specific occasion and felt need. It depends what suits you and makes you feel fulfilled.
My conviction is that one cant’ go wrong by embracing tolerance, diversity, openness, kindness, inclusion. This does not mean that one should become like a windmill, rudderless, and without a core direction. But for all of us, to leave a life at peace, to feel peace and contentment, approaching everyone and everything with tolerance and compassion is a beautiful way to get ahead. I believe there are a lot of endorphines to be gotten—and a lot of good physical health too—just by harboring respect, tolerance, love.
Thank you for your comments.
We touch it briefly some day ago, but what are your considerations on the “Mental formations” taught in Buddhist teachings?
ML/A
Hi Tony,
Don’t I know you from somewhere? I think we once put on an art seminar in Seattle.
🙂
It really does! If you really want a big surprise, be sure to look up the definition of intellect, thought/think and mind in the 1913 dictionary!
Dear Marty,
Years ago you wrote https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/worse-than-fair-game/ (I haven’t read it prior, and I also reread HCO PL 12 February 1967 The Responsibilites of Leaders.)
It has the correct why, written all over it. What are your stance today?
ML/A
Honorary? I’m 1/4 Finn. Happy Friendship Day Kirsi!
Marty, GREAT family portrait! You guys glow. A fine addition to the blog.
roger, did you know Fred Fairchild? He was a pretty OT guy.
Fascinating how the soul was mentioned so much in the 1913 dictionary, like it’s just a given that we are not our bodies or brains. I believe that view has been somewhat suppressed in more recent times.
Yes, its really remarkable — I was actually shocked when I started to look up the definitions of spirit, soul, heart, mind, idea, intent, intentional…
Especially the first definition of “idea” in the 1913 dictionary: “1. The transcript, image, or picture of a visible object, that is formed by the mind; also, a similar image of any object whatever, whether sensible or spiritual.”
If you look it up in a current dictionary there is no mention at all of an image or picture formed by the mind. It is GONE!
So here we have all these people studying these books from the late 19th and early 20th century reading them with the current definitions and having a completely wrong idea about what is being said! I suspect too that LRH probably uses some of the older definitions, certainly he couldn’t possible use the definitions that come later than the works he wrote.
Thanks, I will! He did hack out of a lot mind trips, wrong items and wrong indications. And he keyed a lot of people out by explaining these things to them. Listening to his speeches as a Scientologist, reading his story, he had keen insights in to the mind, and social intercourse. He was aware of conditions. That is WAY up there on the grade chart. He artfully used a great combination of intelligence and force.
The parallels between Nation of Islam and the C of S are staggering. They even had captains and lieutenants and command channels. People were not supposed to question orders. Heavy into self denials. They were not even allowed to smoke. They used physical punishment and suspensions and excommunication and shunning. There was the “only one” at the top. Staff were given heavy production quotas. Nobody had anything, except “the only one” at the top. And he was permitted to get away with murder and anything else he so desired. They were wholly intolerant of one anothers short comings and wholly tolerant of the “only one” in every way. They both have weapons, soldiers and security guards as part of the culture. I know Malcolm created a lot of enemies and was a target on a lot of people’s lists. It only turned out the Nation Of Islam moved forward as the trigger man. It just amazes me that David Miscavige was able to shift the Sea Org into a religion group that parallels the Nation of Islam. I am beginning to see organized religions that incorporate soldiers and para military culture in a different light. They are in the enforce band.
But the thing is, Malcolm could not see he was serving a new master.
The slave / master thing is colorblind. It is not a black / white thing or even a culture thing. It is a mind set. An agreement. This is an important lesson to understand that will stay with you throughout your eternity is one takes a moment to make this study. To understand a man can spend all of his days working to liberate others while performing as a slave himself and not even noticing it.
The book I started with was Malcolm X, A life of reinvention. Available on audible.com also to those who are working too many hours to sit and open a book. Read some others but that knowledge had been in the first book I read already. Went over to youtube to watch the documentaries and speeches.
I thought I had some disagreements with David Miscavige before this. It is bigger than that now. Much bigger. What that group is dramatizing is much bigger than policy disagreements and “religion”.
Remarkable how fast a language can change.
+1
one of my favorite books is’I AM THAT’ BY NASARGADATTA, A BOOK for serious seekers,
My message to those who are not so happy with what is transpiring on this blog; whether IN or OUT —
“Don’t be mad it’s a brand new kind of free”
Sorry — the youtube link won’t play directly — just click through to youtube 🙂
Yea, its like riding a bike or a horse, the first few weeks you get sore….then after a while your body adjusts..
Waking up at 4am and sitting for 2 hours before breakfast was a trip!
🙂
Not only was the course free, the food and lodging was too!
And they only accept donations from people who have completed a course.
Our little man Fritz, a Schipperke, still thinks Chiquita is drop-dead gorgeous. And this is only from the photo ops.
Marty, you’re one lucky man….
roger weller,
It makes me cringe that you have spent all that money and time on SC and feel like that about SC. I do understand that if you are not allowed to exercise you freedom of thought during these processes, then they become less useful to the degree of suppression. Freedom of though is suppressed so much in the church that it spilled out even to the independent field enough to where even I (who have never been to the church) was doing a little bit of suppressing my own thoughts. I know this to be a serious subject when it comes to the workability of the tech. Another big issue is unacknowledged abilities. Someone who just cleaned me up (proper OT IV prep) for OT IV went through my folders and found and acknowledged to me 3 abilities that I had before SC which were never acknowledged and thus tremendous bypass charge was on them. Mind you these folders have gone through FES (Folder Error Summary) already with the issues uncaught by previous “tech” people. The bypass charge that blew from these was so great that I can’t really describe it. It was enough to give me a constant pressure in the frikin’ head! Despite of that I was making tremendous gains before but now I am up to being able to spot such issues for myself and acknowledge when I have an already existing ability. (Thanks to the guidance of the wonderful being who cleaned me up, or better yet showed me how to clean myself up for OT IV) I’m not saying that any of this applies to you but there are obvious wide spread issues present in and out of the church which can be doctored just by applying the tech properly and guiding the PC/OT instead of telling them what to think. To the degree the guiding person cares about the person in front of them you will be helped. The higher the beingness/havingness of the person who is helping you apply the tech the more they can help. The tech guru who helped me had such high beingness that he could let me have whatever I needed to have. He was perfectly OK with me having abilities prior to SC which can not be said for some other “tech” people I ran across. I do not mean to evaluate for you but it would not surprise me if you could also benefit from connecting up with the proper tech terminal. I truly wish for you to find your way to enlightenment but I am not trained to offer direct guidance yet.
Since you were wondering:
I am on OT IV (just about done). Since I have never been to the church I had a great deal of freedom especially on the OT levels which I understand is suppressed in the church by several factors. I have been doing all of the OT levels with great interest and ever increasing curiosity. On each level I look at what LRH instructs me to do and ask a lot of “whys”. Why am I doing this? What does it make me see? What did he want me to see? Why? What was LRH searching for when he did this? What was on his mind? How does this – which clearly originated from his reality – apply to me? I make the best of it and see what he wanted me to see as well as uncover what he saw. I do my best to track/hack along with him and look at him and his tech merely as a working guidance. This is the only way I know, and man did it give me ENLIGHTENMENT! The more I progress the more stable my knowledge and awareness gets.
This is my 2 cents on doing the tech right: (take or leave it)
At some point on the bridge you have to be ready to part from the literal meaning of things and go with your own interpretation of what LRH says on certain things. Let me elaborate on this very specifically:
Taking things literally while running the processes is two fold. On one hand you have instructions in the tech which are routed in the “psysical” nature of the mind itself which apply to ALL (no exceptions) and therefore these tech instructions MUST be followed to the letter.
Why? Not because you are bowing down to LRH but instead if you really paid attention up to solo and asked enough WHYs to know the underlying principals which govern why auditing works. This is not common in the church from what I know. Asking ‘whys’ related to the tech is a taboo. The things you follow to the letter are those things which describe Metering, Rudes, Reads, Originations and Communication and such. In other words these are the instructions of what to do when this or that happens. These are very important and make up the skeleton of the tech. These instructions cover “HOW” you run things.
On the other hand you have the subject matters. The “What” to run. This is all subjective stuff which is born from LRH’s subjective reality as well as those PC’s subjective reality who’s case the questions were derived from. When someone runs a process it is OK for some or many of these questions not to read. It is perfectly OK and what you do if the item (subject) is not charged for you is: move on to the next question!
The subject you are running is NOT the same as the TECH!
I understand and see how this gets (and has been) suppressed and mixed up in the church. LRH wrote it so it is bible stuff! Well I dare to say hell no! He didn’t intend for the subject matters to be enforced onto the PCs reality.
Yes you clear the words to make sure you understand the command(question). But if it is not real to you then IT IS NOT REAL TO YOU AND THAT’S THAT! You move on. Taking the OT level commands and stories literally is not going to work for everyone. You have to be willing to look past the story that was true for LRH and find how it is true for you. He said several times on the OT levels that you find the way to run it then you run it. (not exact quote, sorry I’m still not keen on quoting) You make it work by finding how it applies to you, and your own reality.
People taking the subjective things literally is how the news gets flooded with the Xenu story and crap like “Scientologists believe we are aliens brought here and dropped off on the planet”.
If one is truly a scientologist then one should not be doing “believing” at all. If you do you are not getting what LRH meant from book one.
I’ve done the OT levels and thus ran the materials. Do I think I am an alien brought here from somewhere else? Hell no!
The bottom line that everyone should do whatever they can to rid themselves of suppression. It is OK to ask why? And if you do it enough about LRH’s tech as well as all things around you then you will have progress.
+ a trillion, IMHO
The object of mediation is to be aware; not ‘zero out’.
It’s the practice of non-clinging action, of full acceptance of all things, a removal of the three poisons (desire, anger, indifference), and the arising of bodhichitta (all encompassing love and compassion for ALL beings.)
Marty, I understand your fascination with the Dharma path. LHR ‘borrowed’ much from in an era which saw eastern traditions come to west and were accepted by our western culture. However, Scientology is NOT Buddhism. Please correct me if I misunderstanding your intent, but your posts over the past 6 months seem to try and hitch a newer religon to a much more well-established one.
In Buddhism, meditation and the state of the mind is only one aspect of a rich spiritual path. Compassion, something LRH taught was unimportant; is highly important, revered and consistently stressed by gurus/teachers. Mediation is one of many tools to achive this. Awareness of not just the mind is not enough, one’s Action is primary to your practice…. And there is so much more.
My point is this. Reading books on Buddhism and talking to scholars about Buddhism is not Buddhism. Buddhism is a practice. Every moment, every day, every year. If you are indeed curious about how alike or different Scientology is from it, then I encourage you to visit a land center or a shrine room in your area. The are many, of many different traditions.
Meditation is very powerful. Something that UWM and HH DL have done much research on. Just be aware, there’s more than just that alone.
I could write much more on this. But we’ll leave it here for now.
Love + Dharma, The Dakini
I found out about it too late or I would have chimed in. We can be very valuable to others who have false information or are just plain curious. If they have false information we can contribute to correcting that.
The “prejudice” towards the white people began with the realization of white people’s enemy conditons, treason conditions towards them. Not all whites. My great grandfather created slave escape routes through West Virginia and risked his life, as well as others in my family who died in the civil war. Over half a million white men were killed in the civil war to free those slaves. Most of them came from immigrant families where their own ancestors were oppressed by the British.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-irish-slave-trade-the-forgotten-white-slaves/31076
The A=A with all whites is just more A=A. I have my own A=A with southern whites. And I’m white. Coming out of New York and inner cities I have met with my own troubles with white southerners who don’t like “city slickers”.
Coming out of New York and on tour in the south with someone that performing city to city there, was complete culture shock for me. Often people could not understand me, or me them, although we both spoke English! Louisiana, forget about it! Alabama was a shock to me.
They had to add subtitles on this show so people could understand what these people are saying:
You yourself know all whites are not alike and neither are all blacks. I had black friends in New York from down south who would not go with me close to Harlem. I had an apartment on 116th street. They would not travel there. They were black and afraid to go to Harlem! I wasn’t even in Harlem, I was on the edge of Harlem proper on the West Side, but these people would not cross 110th street!
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-irish-slave-trade-the-forgotten-white-slaves/31076
The whole woman’s lib thing was a revolt against slavery. For many years a woman was considered private property, could not even inherit wealth. A man had every legal right to beat and rape his wife.
As I said, this is not about race, culture, class, or sex.
Right now people in America are not allowed to own land! The government has seized it all and rents it back to people under the banner of “property taxes”! This in itself commands that anyone who wants to own a home be kept in perpetual economic slavery until the day they die.
The more we can contribute to social dialog about Scientology and what the situation is from our experience, the more we can educate others. I think it is a good idea to engage with other people and share. Perhaps get our own blog radio spots going!
+2
Note to fellow Finns: Please remain calm; even if the shy and modest apparently didn’t make it to the mix we can’t say he didn’t get an EXTRA dose of that SISU.
first rule, thanks for the long reply,tell me about your ot abilitys and how are you doing along your 8 dynamics,i am curious.
also who are you getting auditing from.
good for you doing the retreat, i lived close to the center in barre, mass, i did 4 retreats, and the 1 goeanko body scan, now when i meditate i sit in a chair.
yes, i knew fred, spent time with him in detroit at an ot convention and in l.a. he was a great guy, i heard he is still in the church
Marty & Mosey, you guys look great!
Spot-on, WH. 🙂
Your job doesn’t seem to be enlightenment either. “The past” is something you are mocking up to harm attack and suppress. Even if you did a thorough doubt formula before you started, (which I doubt) , your enemy condition is YOUR lower condition, not Marty’s. I suggest you dig up an ethics book and pull yourself up from wallowing in such lower conditions.
If you, me and bunch of other humanoids didn’t not use the reactive mind as a tool to “get along” this entire Scientology theater would not be necessary. And if you were not mocking up your own case to offer up your ser facs nobody could restimulate it could they?
I also didn’t know “Ill health and tragedy” was bought on by Church’s. It is bought on by people’s urge to harm attack and suppress others, exactly what you are dabbling in here.
As long as you keep mocking up “The Past” to serve you in your purposes to harm, attack and suppress, you will disable yourself everytime you move forward to disable someone else.
I suggest you find someone that will help you get through the Clearing Course Platens.
Great post Marty! Now in my 3rd year of “decompressing” I am finding that many of my earlier ingrained, party line, scientology viewpoints have changed. Spiritually, I feel much more enlightened on the 8th Dynamic than I ever got close to in the church. This occurred reading none other than Napoleon Hill, one of the foremost authors of the New Thought Movement which predates LRH by many years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought
I honestly believe there are many roads to truth. I also believe that what is true for you is what you have lived, believe in and know.
I like the new direction of your blog and this post in particular. When I was on the ministers course years ago and reading, “The Religions of Man” by Houston Smith, I felt tremendous agreement with the Buddhist concepts.
Haven’t posted here in a while so just thought I would chime in. By the way, the last post with Monique was very theta and your new family photo is lovely!
So you can manage “The Past” from a cause point.
Very good points, First Rule. Well said. Who gives a damn about the “reality” of the subjective stuff? Does it move the TA and get charge off the case? Does doing it as instructed (even with belief suspended) achieve the desired end phenomenon of a tremendous release and greater serenity and awareness in present time? Does it enable you to leave that old baggage behind for good? THAT’S ALL THAT FUCKING MATTERS! Hell, even running imaginary crap has therapeutic value due to the A=A structure of the bank. If it restimulates something to be mined out for good, go for it!
If one is looking for some mythology to BELIEVE in, go join a dogmatic orthodox religion.
Thank you for the info and review. I will read it. I placed a reservation for it with my public library. The two copies available are already out.
Buddha’s Brain was published in 2009. I saw that Rick Hanson has another book published later in 2011 titled « Just one thing: developing a Buddha brain one simple practice at a time » Perhaps it is an expansion on the first book.
Different subject but Is there any updates on Class V org stats? Anyone still keeping track of the “auditors made” stat via the mag completion lists for example? I’m sure many are curious about this. Thanks.
Good one! Thanks for the wikipedia link, found out Etta cut this is 1978!
Been there done that sigh 😦
. . . until Thetans start occupying computers:
And Chiquita has awesome TRs!
I am sorry that you were ever in that stifling tunnel, Karen. You deserve to have all of the sunshine freedom that you so purely give out to others!
But I had a chuckle when I first read this post and I have to ask:
You said that, “Buddha’s Brain provides great food for thought….” .
Was that pun intended or did you luck out? 🙂
Geeze Christ David, your P.R, Flaps are on the front of the International Business Times. Sure wish Mary Sue could see what a mess you have made of things with YOUR crimes! She stands like a Saint against the backdrop of the out P.R. against the Church generated on YOUR watch!
http://www.ibtimes.com/latest-scientology-lawsuit-beginning-end-david-miscavige-church-tom-cruise-1040412
What an interesting sounding book! Of course you are SUCH a squirrel for recommending reading books by anyone other than LRH……even though LRH recommended other authors himself.
The COS may not want Scientologists to read books like this to get data, but meanwhile they won’t even accept people for auditing who have had brain damage.
This book sounds interesting to me because obviously there is some connection between beings with human bodies and the body’s brain. Obviously, if someone gets konked on the head they usually have an interruption of their perceptions of the physical universe. So, the brain can effect the being. Looks like these guys have found some actual physical evidence that the being can also effect the brain. And that happens to align perfectly with the theta-mest theory. If Miscavige was really a Scientologist, or if he had a sincere interest in others acquiring wisdom like LRH, HE would be encouraging others to make inquiries such as this so that they could validate (or not) Scientology principles and data. But instead it is left up to you, Marty. And your friends.
Which demonstates yet another scientific principle: Nature abhors a vacuum!
Thanks for posting this, Marty.
It is so sane to be able to simply LOOK.
I seem to remember that Jesus said something to the effect of, “Ye who look, the same shall see.”
Oops, there I go “squirreling”..
Holy smokers! … i thought I had spiritual brains…What a voice!! My breath. My heart. My words…
Poetry LDW.
Interesting stuff. Very parallel to how I see things. There are probably many other ways to enlightenment. Heck even SC is’t the same path to all. Some are asking more why then others, some are more interested than others and some have more understanding on the affected subjects then others also. These differences form each of our paths differently. There is no “one size fits all” bridge. LRH tried to make one but let’s be real. That would be an absolute. One of the biggest A=A=As I’ve blown for myself is the idea that SC is the same for all. It can be so very very different from one person to another. Kindness (and its ‘symbiotes’) indeed underlies it all. Without that one is lost. Anyways, thanks for the nice comment.
Hi Alaska Ronn,
All you said (the hardships) would be worth it if we only got the results.
I used to be able to grade fish but now I don’t think so, I could maybe handle manning the ice shute. And that is only after 38 years. 19 on staff and if the thereafter auditing (80K) was standard ~ all would be OK with me.
This is NOT what Ron ever wanted.
Cece
Sitka Alaska
Thanks for that.
Thanks for this, you made it O.K. for me to admit it. You are a safe space. That is a sacred space. Thank you for standing by us.
It all would not be possible without that care factor.
Hello Dakini — while I agree with everything you said above concerning the dharma (study/practice of buddhism) – I don’t believe Marty has any interest in blending scientology INTO buddhism or vice versa – like one would by adding ingredients into a cake.
Unless you have studied and practiced scientology – I think that what he is perhaps attempting to point out and bring about on this blog – is going to be missed by you.
CAVEAT — of course I have absolutely no hidden data line to or with Marty – I read this blog like everyone else. Just my own feelings/awareness.
As for the research done at UWM (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and His Holiness the Dalai Lama – “Buddha’s Brain” expands on this research.
HOWEVER — as you know HH Dalai Lama has encouraged Western students to perhaps NOT give up the religions they grew up with or adopted to become Western/Tibetans.
Moreover – he goes on to say in his book “Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World” – … “But the reality of the world today is that grounding in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.”
I think that last sentence is what Marty may be encouraging his blog readers to move towards. And first, please don’t forget that because of the extreme abuses in the current scientology organization, many followers to the blog arrived to just — decompress.
Or as we might say — quiet their minds.
Best,
Windhorse
Oracle, yes you have a lot of truth there. Love those gator
hunters. Give you where I coming from – was brought up
in Sweden in the 1%, came to NY and lived in lower east
side. Talked to many different characters at Thompkins
Square Park, even walked around there late at night with
tons of cash in my pocket (just had no idea of any bad
dudes would hang around). No racial tension. Also lived
at the tip of Corney Island in a very upscale secure Jewish
community. Some racism but mainly snobbery. Then LA
for nearly 40 years (in Scio) with very little prejudism (except
all wogs of course, and public if staff or SO and and and) but
of course was very out of the mainstream society.
Now live in the south and yes there is some racism but
not at all what I expected. Some natives can be a bit negative
towards us city slickers but once you get in comm they are
as nice as a purring kitten.
Lastly, I really like to inform anyone who is misinformed.
Oh and also, if your performing tour south happens to
get near Franklin, Teneessee, let’s meet.
I know you have Christine. btw nice chatting with you :–)
Hi Cece, the hardships I mentioned about were/are wholly unnecessary in the first place and the results would have been far greater and swifter had Mr. Nutcracker left LRH’s intentions and the tech alone.
I agree Valkov there is something that just emanates family serenity especially the toothy grins that Marty and the canine share. Just kidding. Bill Dupree
Stats are awful. Here are some stats from the NY ORG Day & Fnd which are supposed to be “Ideal” & St. Hill Size.
Completions:
Academy courses: Student Hat 1, Trs & Objectives 1, Pro Trs 2, PTS/SP 1, Hubbard Sr Sec Checker Course 1.
Processing: Method One 1, Purif 3, Objectives 1, Happiness Rundown 2, Scn Drug Rndwn 1, ARC St Wire expanded 1, Expanded Grade one 1, expanded grade two 4, expanded grade four 3, solo auditor course part one 1.
Plus various Golden Age of Knowledge, Intro service and Life Improvement course graduates. I believe this is over a few months. A former staff member of an org told me they sent these out every three months.
hi lars, i live around asheville, n.c. for many years went to the franklin gem show, drop me note on my facebook and we will get together next summer,i lived in ca 30 years, on 5th st in the lower east side and also live n the south. fl. and n.c.
roger, I don’t know where Fred is now. But I do know he was Declared many years ago, his name is on the list that can be found online.; I don’ t know,maybe he worked his way back into the good graces of Miscavige, but I doubt it. He didn’t seem like that kind of guy, he seemed to have a lot of integrity.
His wife Sue Fairchild is still in or was 2 years ago, at the org in Battle Creek Michigan, but I believe she and Fred split up many years ago, like 15-20 years ago approximately. Last time I saw Fred was in Ann Arbor before the org even moved to Battle Creek. I have wondered if he was even still alive. My perception of him was he was a pretty OT guy.
There were a lot of those kind of people in the Detroit area back then, in the 1960s-1970s. Like Ruth Minshull and quite a few others. Bob Musack was another, and the Klopp family, Ari and his wife and daughters.
🙂 🙂
🙂
That’s RIGHT!! How are you Bryan?? 🙂
i met ruth and the klopps in l.a. in the early 70s, i remember sue, cute blonde, she was freds asst. they weren’t married when i saw them. he was a good mission guy. hope he is out
Though you can meditate on a single thought for the most part meditation is a practise of clearing one’s mind of all the incessant chatter the mind likes to do and just be in the present moment. Be here. That is what I always believed TRs (training routines) were about. Be here in the moment and confront without going the effect. People who work in the EMS (emergency medical services) tend to have good TRs, they have to in order to be effective. Imagine if everyone had that level of being in the present and level of confront. That is what I believe the goal was of doing TRs. It was not about “staring” or “being in a trance”. What is TR0 but meditation and being fully in the moment?
It’s also worth noting that science has already shown that areas of the brain that are not stimulated suffer a shrink in synapses and/or loose synapses connectivity. Like roots of a tree that no longer get nourishment from a particular spot of ground shrink away from it. The reverse is also true. You can rebuild the brain’s connectivity with the right stimulation.
That’s why it’s difficult for chronically depressed people to “snap out of it” as oppose to someone who is generally happy but just happened to have a bad day. That is also why someone who is generally unhappy can be put into a happier healthier environment and show improvement after a period of time.
Thanks for the stats.
My OT abilities: fly like neo, control minds like Prof. Xavier, shoot flames from hand like Iron man 🙂
Jokes aside I am doing very well. My perception of ‘what is’ and what is happening on this planet has opened up very much. I have some ongoing research studies that I now see possible to be solved and am convinced that without auditing I would have been crippled for life by false information, illusion and lies related to these issues. I am beginning to see through illusion at a rate that I have not perceived possible before. As far as the dynamics go my field of view for the bigger picture is expanding very nicely allowing me to care about others more and more. I am not going to write a whole book on this subject but let’s just say I’m staying objective with the dynamics and taking things one step at a time on a nice gradient. The frikin’ thing (SC tech) is working for me big time. My doubt level about tech workability = 0. My doubt level that it can also work for others when applied properly and the subject truly wishes self betterment also = 0. My urges to have others get similar (or better) gains out of SC as compared to mine = infinity.
As for auditors, obviously our host here (Marty) is a great terminal you can turn to. The most recent cleanup I was mentioning earlier was done by Glenn Samuels. Trey Lotz is also highly recommended by me. All of these guys are humble but quietly ‘kick ass’ when it comes down to the tech. I would strongly advise cautiousness towards those heavy on self promotion and steer towards the quite and humble. I’m sure there are many other decent auditors out there also but these are the names I can vouch for personally off the top of my head. What you need, where you are is of course something you have to factor in.
I hope you find what you seek out of this and recover your original thrust which you must have had on the first place. That thrust which took you on the course of investing so much into SC. This shit works when done right so I hope you will do what you have to in order to find and blow any bypass charge you may have connected to SC.
Thanks.
Exactly!
The mind does a lot of imaginary stuff. Just think of the process of dreaming which is not very well understood. I have had a sneaking suspicion for some time even before getting entangled in SC that what really happens during dreaming is that your most recent experiences get sorted from a temporary storage for mental images into the main holder “bin”. During this sorting process one can have the randomest fucking things happen in their mind. The “mind” (whatever that is we will not argue for the moment) does this sorting which affects/changes your existing links (relational connections) and therefore during the sleep process you get random connections and all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff. Do we have any proof that what we are running in SC is all real? Hell no. As a matter of fact I am convinced that a great portion of the stuff is imaginary. But who the Fuck cares? Like you said. If it causes TA action it’s all good, and was necessary to handle.
“If one is looking for some mythology to BELIEVE in, go join a dogmatic orthodox religion.” <<< I like this too.
I told this to people before: "To me SC is the technology of religiously not believing in anything."
Believe = abandon logic. I prefer to try to be like Spock 🙂
im glad your winning and want to help others,i have known trey 40 years, a coulpe years back i did super power with trey and finished with pierre, glen was just in fl. was planning on visiting, we didnt get to see each other.
over the years i always had the best kick ass auditors in and out of the church. never a lot of suppression on my lines, i was always taken care of at flag, but in the mid 80s i saw that was about to change and i seperated from that group.
i just looked on my book shelf,2 books jumped out, that i would recommend.
after the ecstasy,the laundry by jack kornfield, i knew jack and he wrote the intro for buddhas brain.
and for the more advanced i am that by nisargatta it is a spiritual classic.
in jacks book he shares a little story about don jose rios,106 year old shaman visited the u.s. he said.
in my eighty years of training i have suffered much. many times i have gone to the mts. alone.but you have to do this.for it is not I who can teach you the ways of the gods. such things are learned only by yourself, only in solitude.
after auditing i fell this is where meditation is important, and buddhas brain explains that.
Perhaps my concern for you is misplaced and I read too much into your response. The keywords that got me were “wasted money, had enlightened moments”. I don’t want to nose into your business too much because it may get into eval land and I am just some guy on his OT IV. Still I can’t help but to wonder why our opinions are so different of SC. I would say it was worth every penny and I had tons of enlightening moments which will stay with me for the rest of my life. But don’t get me wrong the road wasn’t all smooth. Had my share of self proclaimed tech gurus I had to live through but I don’t regret even those experiences as what I learned is priceless. Of course there are some cloudy claims and false ideas about what SC is supposed to bring. Total freedom is an absolute and we know what that means right? Then again how clear is a clear? These definitions are very subjective. I know this may be too nosy but I’ll do it anyway. Is it possible that gains have been invalidated? Who or what would invalidate gains?
Thank you Lars, I will!
They’ve also been testing what happens in the brain as a result of doing meditation. This article is fascinating, especially the pics of the brain about halfway down the page:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2103095/Once-dismissed-pretentious-brain-scans-prove-Eastern-philosophies-effective-treating-mental-illness.html
I am privileged to have a list of books referenced by LRH in PLs, HCOBs, tapes, lectures, etc. The list was compiled by a Scientologist in Clearwater who owned a bookstore and had a love of anything ever written or uttered by LRH. He spent years compiling the list citing the references and including a quote of what LRH said about the book.
Since the subject of reading other materials has taken up a considerable amount of space on the blog of late and there is even a recommended reading list on the site, I can’t really think of a better reading list than studying the materials LRH read. Some of the books on the site’s recommended reads are on LRH’s list. LRH’s list is much longer though!
I know there have been many thousands of books published since LRH’s death and I am sure many contain valuable and thought provoking viewpoints. At the same time, there is much to be gained from studying what the source of the tech studied. It broadens one’s understanding of how the technology was evolved.
I would like to make this list broadly available to anyone interested and would be happy to see it posted here and in other places on the internet that people frequent. It has been gathering dust in the filing cabinet. I would like to remedy that by having others appreciate the years of loving work that went into compiling this list and also have others enjoy the works recommended by LRH himself. It pays tribute to Virgil Wilhite to make his list known.