Scientology is ... what?

Recently someone at work asked me "So what is Scientology?' I gave her my usual "short"answer but at the end I could see that it had not really communicated.

The problem with describing Scientology in a few words is the same problem you'd have describing any large subject that doesn't have anything you can easily compare it with.

It's sort of like answering the question "So what is the Internet?" to someone who has never been online. "It's a network of computers." No. "It's this cool way to stay in touch with friends." No. "It's like an unlimited video player." No. "It's like a big book where you can jump from a page to related pages." No.

It's just too big a subject and there is nothing to compare it to.

Same with Scientology. "It's a religion." True, but most people think of religion as praying or singing hymns - not Scientology. "It's an applied religious philosophy." True, but few people in the western world know what a religious philosophy is and almost no one in the west has any concept of a religions being something you can apply to everyday life to handle your problems.

So it is rather a challenge to describe the subject in a single paragraph, never mind a single sentence. But, I have decided to take up this challenge and see if I can use not a single paragraph, not a single sentence, but a single word.

So for the next few days I'm going to be posting about "Scientology is Solutions".