Interesting New Site

My dad sent this link to me and I think I should share it with you: Religious Freedom Watch. This site gives up to the minute information on some of the stuff that's been in the news or on the internet about Scientology. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions. I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Purpose of this Blog

I had someone ask me why I write in this blog and share Scientology with people. I thought I should share the answer with everyone.

I have been a Scientologist my whole life. I have studied a lot of the principles of Scientology, but I am still learning. So, it's nice to have a place to share my favorite quotes and principles.

Also, (and this is really the bigger reason) I have found the principles of Scientology to be extremely workable in life. They have helped me get through some rough times. Scientology is a religion that accepts people of all faiths because it is an applied religious philosophy (meaning it deals in application of its axioms and principles to life). Anyone can use it and, from what I've seen, it doesn't matter what your religion is, you can use Scientology to better your life.

I think there's a lot of crap out on the Internet about my religion and I think it's time somebody gave some true information to people that helps them better their life, not just invalidate things. I know bad news and conflict draw more attention than good, simple solutions to life, but I don't think it should be that way.

So, that may have been a little long winded, but I hope it answers any questions. I'll leave you with a quote from A New Slant on Life:

"The true story of Scientology is simple, concise and direct. It is quickly told:

"1. A philosopher developed a philosophy about life and death.

"2. People find it interesting.

"3. People find it works.

"4. People pass it along to others.

"5. It grows."

-L. Ron Hubbard

Self Determinism

This comes from the book Advanced Procedures and Axioms - Chapter An Analysis of Self Determinism:

"Self-Determinism is that state of being wherein the individual can or cannot be controlled by his environment according to his choice. In that state, the individual has self-confidence in his control of the material universe and the organisms within it along every dynamic. He is confident about any and all abilities or talents he may possess. He is confident in his interpersonal relationships. He reasons, but does not need to react." - L. Ron Hubbard

I am currently reading Advanced Procedures and Axioms and so far am totally loving it. It's all about helping people become self-determined and responsible. That can seem like a daunting task, but the book really lays it out for you. I think reading Dianetics and Science of Survival (the books written previous to Advanced Procedures and Axioms) has helped my understanding tremendously.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about self-determinism. I've had questions about personal integrity in Scientology - questions about whether we are really allowed to think for ourselves basically. I think the above quote says it all. There's a little more I can say, just to clear things up further:

"The goal of the auditor with his preclear is not the release of a "psychosomatic", not the improvement of appearance, not greater efficiency or better interpersonal relations. These are incidental.

"THE GOAL OF THE AUDITOR WITH THE PRECLEAR IS THE REHABILITATION OF THE PRECLEAR'S SELF-DETERMINISM." - L. Ron Hubbard

The above quote is also taken from the book Advanced Procedures and Axioms - Chapter An Analysis of Self Determinism.

So, what do you think Scientology counseling (also called "auditing" or "processing) is trying to do?

PS: I tried to make it super easy for you to clear up any misunderstandings with regard to Scientology words. They are all linked to glossaries in the Scientology website, or to other posts that explain them.

3/14/09: I misquoted "THE GOAL OF THE AUDITOR WITH THE PRECLEAR IS THE REHABILITATION OF THE PRECLEAR'S SELF-DETERMINISM." - L. Ron Hubbard
and have now corrected the quote. Sorry to everyone and thanks to SomethingNice for correcting it!

Sanity

This is an awesome quote:

"Sanity is dependent upon computation into the future." - L. Ron Hubbard

I thought that was pretty fascinating.  I mean, think about it.  Your sanity depends upon your ability to think about and plan the future.  

Have you ever had a back bill or deadlines that seem to rush up to you?  That's not planning the future.  Feels pretty insane, right?

What do you think?

How People Treat Each Other

I read a great quote the other day that I thought you'd all like:

"An individual will start to treat himself like others have treated him! And you can put that down as a law.  He'll treat himself as others have treated him.  And he will also treat others as he treats himself. Works both ways." - L. Ron Hubbard

I can think of many times I've acted how others said or expected I'd act - even if I didn't really want to.  I've then treated others in the same way.  It's pretty interesting how this vicious circle occurs - you treat someone poorly, they treat another poorly, etc.

Have you ever encountered this?

Criminon

I've begun to get involved with a program called Criminon. It's a criminal reform program and a lot of the program is done via extension course. So far I've found helping the Criminon group fascinating. The whole idea is that criminals can actually reform, which I think is pretty unusual (at least, it's a foreign idea to me. I always thought that once you were in the system, you were pretty much screwed.)

The whole idea of the program is to allow the criminal to once again feel self respect, because at that point, they no longer need to be criminal. It's very successful. Criminon has been known to drop the recidivism rate (the rate of people returning to jail) down to between 10%-6%. I think that's pretty cool.

Anyway, I just wanted put a plug in, since I'm involved with it now. If you want to help out, you can go to www.criminon.org, or if you know someone who could be helped by this program, get them on it! It's super cool and I'm having a great time volunteering.

A Holiday Message

There is a great quote that I always like to look at during the holiday season. Here it is:

"The hardest task one can have is to continue to love his fellows despite all reasons he should not.

"And a true sign of sanity and greatness is to so continue.

"For the one who can achieve this, there is abundant hope.

"For those who cannot, there is only sorrow, hatred and despair. And these are not the things of which greatness - or sanity or happiness are made.

"A primary trap is to succumb to invitations to hate."

- Excerpted from the book Scientology - A New Slant on Life by L.Ron Hubbard

As you move through the holidays, you may encounter family who you do not generally see. Perhaps you don't normally speak with them or you don't like them. I know I usually end up seeing "friends" at holiday parties who aren't really friends at all but are people I am not fond of. The idea of loving in spite of reasons you should not is profound and inspiring every holiday season. It helps me get through those awkward moments and usually helps me have a better holiday season, with more peace and love to bask in then if I decided to hate.

Let me know if you've ever experienced a bad holiday - bad blood or whatever - and how you got through it.