Sunday, November 13, 2011

What is an "Illegal PC"?

Darren asked What is an "Illegal PC"?

It's a term used to refer to someone who, due to psychiatric abuse, is in a state which makes it unwise for them to receive Scientology Auditing. They have been so messed up by damaging psychiatric treatments, such as electro-convulsive treatment (ECT), brain operations or the use of damaging psychiatric drugs, that any attempt to assist them spiritually in a way that has them looking inward is liable to push them over the edge.

It is not a permanent status. There are things a person can do to demonstrate that they have recovered sufficiently that they can safely receive Scientology Auditing, at which point they can.

In the meantime, they participate in all the other services and practices of Scientology.

Definitions:
Illegal = in this usage of the word, it does not refer to the laws of the land, but to the rules of Scientology Churches. "Illegal" in this sense means a violation of Church rules, for example, it is against the rules to audit someone who has not sufficiently recovered from abusive psychiatric treatment, so it is called "illegal".

PC = Pre-Clear = a person who has not yet achieved the State of Clear and is undergoing or planning to undergo Scientology Auditing with the goal of achieving the state.

I hope that answers your question, Darren.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Selfish Spirituality

Jonathan said: I just get the feeling that with the clearing of the reactive mind, that morals would fly out the window as the search for spiritual ends, in the end are selfish, and your told to do it for yourself. I believe that people are good, But when environments make it SO easy to be bad, and even rewarded in cases that clearer lines should be made about how much you do it for yourself.

Thanks for your comments Jonathan.

You say "the search for spiritual ends, in the end, are selfish". If that comes from your own personal observation, then that is sad. Personally, I have found that the search for the spiritual is very far from selfish.

As an example, would you call Mother Teresa selfish? I sure wouldn't.

Let me give you the Scientology view on this:

First: the dynamic principle of existence is SURVIVE! In other words that is the driving force behind everything we do.

Next: the purpose of the mind is to resolve problems relating to survival.

And third: When we talk about survival we don't mean just for oneself, we are talking about survival of self, ones family, the groups one is part of, of mankind, of all living things, of the physical universe, of all things spiritual and of God or Infinity.

The analytical mind in its optimum state tries to bring about the best possible survival in all those areas, not just self.

The reactive mind gets in the way of this. The selfish and destructive things you see in this world are products of the reactive mind.

Once a person has gotten rid of his reactive mind, all that is left is the analytical mind - the optimum mind. So a Clear acts in the best interests of all and a Clear is as active as he can be in that direction. He or she works toward the best possible survival for all the areas I mentioned above.

So, in my experience, people who are improving spiritually become more and more interested in the rest of existence and they become more and more active in helping others - that's why the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are such a huge organization and why you see them whenever disaster strikes. They have improved enough spiritually that they want to, and do, help others.

You say "you're told to do it for yourself". Perhaps there are religions where that is the case, but Scientology is not one of them. Yes, it does require active participation if you want to improve spiritually, and yes, it is necessary sometimes to look inward at your own existence in order to understand yourself, but it is not a solo effort, you need to both give and receive help in order to make it.

I hope your own path towards the spiritual is successful and that you too can help others be unselfish and help their fellow man.

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Scientology Logic and Political Solutions

Although "logic" is a very important subject, the tools and methods you can use to come up with logical conclusions and solutions are not well defined. If you don't believe me then just wade through the Wikipedia article on "Logic" and afterwards try to apply something from it to your everyday life to come up with a decision. Good luck.

This lack of tools for logical reasoning is manifested all over our society, but one of the most obvious places is in the field of government. Sadly this is a field where logic is most needed and where it is apparently least used.

The recently concluded war over the debt ceiling was a horrible example of this and almost every day we see others.

I'm not going to attempt to solve the country's financial problems in this article, but I will attempt to help you understand, a little better, the type of logic being used.

In Scientology we have practical and workable descriptions of Logic and we have many tools that are easy to use when you need to come up with logical solutions.

In observing the back-and-forth up on Capitol Hill and in the White House here is what immediately comes to mind for me: They are working on "Two-valued Logic".

So, what is that?

Back in the middle of last century, when he was trying to figure out what made man tick, L. Ron Hubbard had to first work out what was "logic". One of the first things he did was describe the evolution of logic:
"Ancient Times: One-Valued Logic. Exists as the logic of 2/3 world's population today as 'Fatalism'. No Decision. All action based on "The Will of Fate." No Right - No Wrong.

Dark Ages: Two-Valued Logic. Absolute Right or Wrong. Wrong. Right.

Present: Three-Valued Logic. In general use, 1949. Wrong. Maybe. Right."

Two-Valued Logic is the sort of logic sports fans use: "My team is good. The other team sucks."

Three-Valued Logic is used in computers: The smallest value a computer deals with is 1 (right), 0 (wrong) or no-value (maybe).

If you are willing to cast aside your political biases for a moment and just look at what is, then I think you will see that the main method of logic being used in attempting to solve the country's problems is mostly Two-Valued Logic: If you are a Republican then what your side says is right and what the Democrats say is wrong. If you are a Democrat then what your side says is right and what the Republicans say is wrong.

This is the method of logic that was used in the Dark Ages and so the solutions coming out of Washington are of the quality you'd expect from a pitched battle in the muddy fields of Medieval Europe.

Some in Washington have managed to rise to the level of Three-Valued Logic: "Maybe some of the suggestions from the other side aren't all wrong." But that's about as high as it gets.

The sort of logic they should be using was first described by L. Ron Hubbard in a 1950 lecture and is called "Infinity-Valued Logic". This type of logic has "degrees of right" and "degrees of wrong". "Absolute Right or Wrong Unobtainable."

He described this more fully in a set of rules of logic called "The Logics". In one of these rules he said:
"Gradient scales are necessary to the evaluation of problems and their data.

This is the tool of infinity-valued logic: Absolutes are unobtainable. Terms such as good and bad, alive and dead, right and wrong are used only in conjunction with gradient scales. On the scale of right and wrong, everything above zero or center would be more and more right, approaching an infinite rightness, and everything below center would be more and more wrong, approaching infinite wrongness. ... Any datum has only relative truth. ... Truth is relative to environments, experience and truth."

So "suggestion A" for solving some political crisis is not "right" or "wrong" but is relatively right or wrong. If right is 10 and wrong is 1 then maybe it scores at 6. Maybe "suggestion B" gets a score of 7. If we rate all suggestions and then take the top 10 perhaps a workable solution acceptable to both sides could be derived.

This is how thinking should be done and how solutions should be derived.

One can only hope that at some time in the future our government will catch up with the rest of us and move out of the Dark Ages when it comes to the method of logic it uses.

Monday, July 04, 2011

What is Golden Era Productions?

Golden Era Productions is the international dissemination center for Scientology. They produce training films, videos of international events, public service announcements for various social betterment groups (anti-drug, human rights, etc.) and much, much more. But rather than bore you with a lot of words, see for yourself with this video: Golden Era Productions

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Criminal conduct by Eli Lilly costs them 1.42 Billion

Here is a report on the criminal conduct of Eli Lilly and how much it is costing them. But why aren't we seeing the people who did it prosecuted and thrown in jail? Well, let's hope someone in authority decides soon that it's time to put these criminals behind bars.

Monday, June 06, 2011

Criminon

Criminon is a criminal rehabilitation organization sponsored by the Church of Scientology. It is the most effective criminal rehabilitation program in existence with an 80% success rate - that means 80% of Criminon graduates DON'T end up back in prison.

Here is a short video introduction:

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Format Change

I hope the blog's format change is to your liking. The old format was okay but a little dark and too thin for the average video. To post a video I had to modify the width and height so it fit into the skinny left hand column. With the new format all that is ancient history and the default width for YouTube videos is no problem.

So, come, read, enjoy. And if you have any suggestions for improving the format even more then just add a comment.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Story of Human Rights

They are vital to us all. Without them we are not free, there is no justice, we cannot speak our mind, we can be starved, we can be controlled against our will and worse. Yet many people have no idea what Human Rights are.

So what are Human Rights? Where did the idea come from? What do they have to do with you and your everyday life?

This amazing vidoe tells you all that in just a few minutes. It's like a mini documentary and it's both interesting and entertaining:

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The end of the world is ... not

Well, 6pm on May the 21st, 2011 has come and gone and we are still here. Just in case the end really was on the way my wife and I had a really good lunch and then went shopping in the afternoon. After all, when you only have a few hours left you have to make the most of it.

But all joking aside, it sort of amazes me that so many people actually want the world to end. Is this world so bad that the apocalypse is to be so desired? I know it's not perfect but whatever the bad conditions, we can do something about it and make some improvement. Personally I enjoy my life, my family, my friends, my possessions, mankind, the birds, the animals, even (some of) the insects. To me the world is what we make it, so if you are dissatisfied, do something about it.

Anyway, just some brief thoughts I wanted to get down now that we know the predictions of the end have turned out to be so wro...

Friday, May 06, 2011

Meet a Scientologist Video: My Friend Cindy

There are now over 200 videos in the Meet a Scientologist series. These are short (1 - 2 minutes) videos of everyday Scientologists who tell you a bit about their lives and the difference Scientology has made to them.

There is a new one out featuring a friend of mine: Cindy Gainsforth. Check it out and see what she has to say about Scientology (or in this case Dianetics) and what it has done for her.

It's appropriate that in her video Cindy is talking about Dianetics, because the 61st anniversary of the publication of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is rapidly approaching.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Dianetics: 61st Anniversary

May 9th is the 61st anniversary of the publication of the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.

If you've never read the book then you don't have a sufficient understanding of your greatest asset so that you can use it to its fullest extent. So what is your greatest asset? Your mind.

The human mind is an amazing thing. Just take a look around you right at this minute and notice how much of what you see was created by the human mind. From where I sit at the kitchen table I see the walls, floor and ceiling. I see the fridge, the stove, the table, the lamps, the cupboards, etc., etc. About the only things not created by the human mind are the potted plants, and even they were put there by the human mind.

You use your mind 365/24/7. It is needed for your livelihood, for your fun, for your dreams and even to tie your shoes. So it seems that this mind of yours is pretty important.

So how much do you know about it? Do you know as much about it as you do your car or your computer or even your fridge? The answer is most likely: no. In fact you probably know very little about your mind.

Do you know:
- How your mind works?
- How to use it effectively?
- How to repair and maintain it?

If your answer is "no", "sort of", "maybe", "I guess", anything other than a 100% certain "yes" then you need to read Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, because that is where the answers lie.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

A Quick Tour of the KCET Studios

Here's a quick video tour of the KCET studios in Los Angeles that the Church of Scientology just acquired:

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Scientology Expansion Keeps Expanding

I was just considering how to apologize for hardly blogging at all this year. Saying I'm incredibly busy, while accurate, is of course a lame excuse. It's not like there's nothing to tell you. The expansion of Scientology is becoming exponential and the problem, if you can call it that, is that there's so much news, it's almost overwhelming. So, I'll just say "sorry" and "I'll try to mend my ways."

Anyway, here is a news item that blew my socks off: The Church of Scientology just bought the KCET studios in Hollywood. This is not just a Hollywood landmark but a state-of-the-art broadcasting and production facility just walking distance from the Church's international management HQ. I remember driving past it many times on the way to Church when I lived in LA.

Here is some blurb from the press release:
This new studio is a turnkey setup that provides the Church the means to move into broadcasting for both the religion and its many social betterment and humanitarian programs. It is also ideally set up to establish a central media hub for our network of Churches around the world. Utilizing the studio’s existing satellite uplink, we will be able to provide our Churches and affiliated groups globally with instantaneous access to a wealth of content, all in high definition, ranging from the Church’s six annual international events to new educational and introductory films and even video updates for the public informational displays located in Churches around the world.

There's a lot more, so go read the entire article.

Anyway, I'll be posting more often the rest of this year, so stay tuned.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Happy Birthday L. Ron Hubbard!

L. Ron Hubbard
Today is a day of celebration for Scientologists all over the world because it marks the 100th birthday of the founder of our religion: L. Ron Hubbard.

And it's not just members of the Church of Scientology who are happy about what LRH did for us, millions of others have benefited from his discoveries in the fields of education, business administration, drug rehabilitation, criminal rehabilitation and morals.

So today is truly a day of celebration for millions of people all over the world.

So I just wanted to say: Happy Birthday Ron!!!!

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Church of Scientology Moscow Grand Opening


Yet another new Church of Scientology just opened, this time in Moscow. That makes 20 such churches opened in the last five years.

We have quite a bit of slang in Scientology and one such bit is "org". It's short for "organization" and means a Church. The new org in Moscow is an "Ideal Org", meaning that it was architected and designed from the ground up as an ideal center for Scientology in its area.

There has been a Church of Scientology in Moscow since 1993, but this newly opened building is much bigger than the previous one and is, as I mentioned, an "Ideal Org".

You can read about it here: Church of Scientology Opens New Church
in the Heart of Moscow
, see what Russian dignitaries and members of the government had to say and see a ton of pictures of the ceremony and the new building.

I'll leave you with what a member of the Russian Federation’s Public Chamber had to say at the grand opening: “Scientologists work to see that all have the right to thought, to practice religion and to rejoice. You work to see that all people have the right to assemble, the right to establish and support their own churches and organizations; that they have the freedom to think for themselves and to the expression of their thoughts and ideas. These freedoms are the very manifestation of the individual spirit. So it is important that we rejoice today, for this is a glorious day in the name of freedom for all of Russia.”

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Scientology: Abuses and Injustices.

If you get into trouble in Scientology then what do you do? If you see something going on that you feel is wrong, how do you handle it?

Maybe you get fired from your position in the Church for something you didn't really do. Or maybe it's not that simple. Maybe a lot of things went on, some of which you were responsible for and some of which you weren't, but in the end you were the one who got clobbered. Maybe it's so bad that you actually get expelled from the Church. Or maybe you see someone getting in trouble and you know they are not to blame but you feel like you'll get hit if you open your mouth.

So what do you do?

In our current society it is hard to handle an injustice. More often than not, the "justice" system seems to be run for the benefit of the rich. After all, they are the ones who can afford the expensive attorneys.

The word "recourse" means "a turning or applying to a person or thing for aid or security." In Scientology there are many methods of recourse. The simplest is to write a report of what is going on and send it to the people whose job it is to handle the situation. The least simple could be getting the highest authority in the Church to convene a full investigation into the situation.

Whatever method you use, the truth is that there are many, many ways to handle any abuse or injustice and there are lots of people who have successfully done just that. Even people who have "gone over to the dark side" and have publicly attacked the Church have been able to handle their situations and get back into good standing.

How did they manage it? Well, there is now a website spotlighting the personal stories of people who were in such a situation and what they did to handle it. The accounts are in their own words and show that it can be done.

Check out Truth Be Told and tell me what you think.
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Monday, February 28, 2011

What is Study Technology?

Study Technology is a set of methods you can use to enable you to study any subject successfully. Can you imagine the difference it could make in your life if you could study and actually understand ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO?

I can tell you from personal experience that it works. I've used it to keep ahead in a very technical field that is always changing and advancing (software development) and I've used it to learn other things both for pleasure and for getting things done in life.

Here is a link to a video introducing Study Technology. The link will also take you to a free online course you can take in Study Technology.

So check it out, try it out and tell me how it goes.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

The Scientology Cross


Jay asked: Hello, Can you tell me why there is a cross in your logo? I thought that you accepted all religious beliefs, if so would that not offend others. Jay

Thanks for your question. Although most people think of the cross as a Christian symbol, it actually predates Christianity and was long used as a symbol for representing the freeing of the spirit from the material: the shaft represents the spirit moving up toward freedom and the bar represents the material universe attempting, but failing, to block it.

The Scientology Cross has that meaning plus it adds four extra points in the center so that it has eight points altogether. Those eight point represent the eight parts that Scientologists split life into in order to understand it better - what we call the Eight Dynamics.

For more information on the Scientology Cross and what it represents check out these links:
- What is the Scientology Cross?
- What does the Scientology cross represent?
- Scientology Insignia
- Video explaining the Eight Dynamics
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Friday, February 04, 2011

Record Number of New Ideal Scientology Churches Opened in 2010

2010 was an amazing year for Scientology expansion. You can read an article and watch a whole bunch of videos. Go to this page Scientology Opens Record Number of New Churches Around the World in 2010, and below the video you will see a band of pictures. Click any one of the pics and a video of the grand opening of that Church will play.

There are videos of Brussels, Los Angeles, Mexico City and the list just goes on and on. The number of dignatories, government and academic speakers at these grand openings alone is impressive, but the things they have to say are even more so.

Watch the videos and see for yourself that this expansion is not just for the benefit of Scientologists, but is also for the benefit of the cities, states and countries in which these Churches are situated and that it all adds up to benefit for all of mankind, because that's what we Scientologists are all about - making a better world for everyone.

Have a great 2011, I know the Church of Scientology will!

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Church of Scientology Melbourne Grand Opening

The Church of Scientology Melbourne has a beautiful new building. The renovations were completed and it was opened just a few days on 29th January. Here is a video of the event.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Wow! The new Scientology Dissemination and Distribution Center

I just watched the video about the new Church of Scientology Dissemination and Distribution Center and all I just kept saying "wow!" all the way through.

I guess when you have as much expansion and popularity as Scientology is experiencing right now, you need a center like this one to cope with it all. Amazing.

Here is the link to the article and the video: Church Of Scientology Flips the Switch On 185,000-Square-Foot Dissemination And Distribution Center