Response to Aligote

I have another comment that I think will need more than just a comment in response. Aligote asks:

"How did LRH discover the Techs and start using these new words? Why use thetan when you could use spirit? Why use engram when you could use memory?"

That's two very good questions and deserves in-depth answers.

- Regarding the first question - "How did LRH discover the Techs?"

A whole book has been written to tell you about how L. Ron Hubbard discovered the technologies of Dianetics and Scientology. Also, I wrote a very brief account of how L. Ron Hubbard got started in his researches in a previous post. It's also partly covered in this part of the book What is Scientology? For the whole shebang, you're going to have to check out What is Scientology? in it's entirety.

I hope these links help answer your question.

- Regarding the next question: Why did LRH "start using these new words?"

This question is answered in Dianetics. The following quote is the most explanatory:

"In order to establish nomenclature for Dianetics which would not be too complex..., words normally considered as adjectives or verbs have occasionally been pressed into service as nouns. This has been done on the valid principle that existing terminology, meaning so many different things, could no be used in Dianetics without making it necessary to explain away an old meaning to bring forth a new. To remove the step of explaining the old meaning and saying then that one doesn't mean that, thus entangling our communication inextricably, and to obviate the ancient custom of compounding ponderous and thundering syllables from Greek and Roman tongues, this principle and some others have been adopted for nomenclature."

Also, as a note, engram does not mean "memory". It (in short) is a moment of greater or lesser unconsciousness on the part of the analytical mind which permits the reactive mind to record the total content of the moment with all perceptions.

Thetan is defined in a previous post. The main difference between the words "Thetan" and "Spirit" is their use. "Thetan" is used as something one is - like "I am a thetan". Where "Spirit" is used as something one has - "I have a spirit". It's a difference in usage that was established to remove any confusion of the two words.