Making your resolutions stick

We do it every year, but how many of us actually make those New Year's resolutions stick?

A lot of it comes down to the individual really meaning it when they made the resolution and his or her persistence. Do you really want the thing your are resolving to achieve? Are you willing to persist if you hit a few barriers?

Well assuming you do want it and you are willing to persist then the only way you could fail is if you don't have a workable method of achieving your resolution.

Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but that final excuse for failure is gone because a highly workable way exists for you to make your New Year's resolutions come true.

You can read about it online: Targets and Goals

Apply that and your chances of making your resolutions stick will be much improved.

Scientology: How is it a religion?

JR said in a comment ... it doesn't seem like a "religion" to me. It seems more like a philosophy, or a self-help program. So where does the "faith" come into the equation? (the full comment is here)

Hey JR,

You ask a really good question.

Most people in the West were brought up in the Judeo-Christian tradition and so they quite naturally think of religion in Judeo-Christian terms. This tradition revolves around two fundamental concepts — a belief that there is a personal creator God separate and distinct from man, and that man’s highest activity is the worship, supplication and veneration of this god.

So when a religion comes along that isn't like that, people raised with those concepts have a hard time seeing it as a religion.

Luckily for Scientology there are plenty of existing, recognized religions with long histories, that don't follow the Judeo-Christian norm. In the East there are religions that don't have any god and some that have almost no belief structure. Examples would be Zen Buddhism, Hindu Bhakti, Theravada Buddhism and Jainism. The last two have no supreme being yet predate Christianity by five centuries.

So Scientology is more comparable with Eastern religions than Western religions. In fact most Scientologists regard Buddhism as the existing religion most similar to Scientology, and most religious scholars agree with that.

If you want to get the full concept of what I'm talking about above then there is an entire book on the subject online here:

- Scientology: Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion (HTML)
- Scientology: Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion (PDF)

Valkyrie and Germany

A fellow blogger just saw the movie Valkyrie and had something to say about its message and present day Germany: Valkyrie

I very much agree with her that a re-evaluation of discriminatory government policies is needed in Germany.

What the world needs now: Spiritual Values

Here is an awesome news story. Not anything to do with Scientology, but a story that shows the sort of spirit that could make this world a paradise. And I'd like you to notice that the people who did it were religious people. Religion, incorrectly and unfairly, gets a bad rap for "causing wars" and other horrors, but the truth is that truly religious people of whatever faith with spiritual values are what this world needs a lot more of.

So now read this heart-warming story: Cheering for the other side

Scientology: Making the able more able

Jim Gatos asked a good question:

Grahame, I just thought of a question.. Hope you can find a minute..

One of L. Ron Hubbard's quotes is pretty profound. I believe it went like this..

"A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights."

My question has to do with those LESS FORTUNATE than those who are "able".. I'm sure I know what the answer will be only by looking @ the volunteer ministers, but here it is....

What about those NOT ABLE?

How does Scientology handle them?

Thanks Grahame. Happy Holidays...

The quote you quoted is from The Aims of Scientology.

The simple answer to your question is that everyone is able to some degree. For example, I have a friend who has a son who is autistic. She has used various Scientology processes and techniques to help him. The kid could talk a little and now he can talk a little more. He could walk with difficulty and now can walk better.

As long as a person is alive and breathing they are able to some degree and we can help them.

I hope that answers you question, and Happy Holidays to you too!

Scientology and Christmas

Scientology is not a spin off of Christianity so Christmas is not a special day as such in the religion. However, many Scientologists are Christians or were raised in the Christian tradition so they celebrate it.

One of the great things about Scientology is the fact that you can be a Scientologist and a member of any other religion. Scientology is not an "exclusive" religion like the traditional western religions - In the west you are a member of one religion and no others.

Scientology follows the tradition of some eastern religions where you can be a member of as many religions as you like because the key thing in Scientology is wisdom. Scientology deals with things that an individual can "take or leave" because it is practical. You can try it out and see if it works or not. So, for example, you can try out the Study Technology that was developed in Scientology and see for yourself if it works or not. Meanwhile, you can believe in God, or not as the case may be, because Scientology doesn't have any dogma on that subject. It leaves it up to the individual.

So you can be a Scientologist (someone who uses Scientology in their life to improve their life and the lives of others) and you can also be a Christian and worship God in the Christian manner.

It's a new concept for the west, but a good one, because it promotes tolerance and harmony and isn't that what Christmas is all about?

Bigotry and Discrimination

This weekend I saw a great movie. It was released in 1947 and is called Gentleman's Agreement. It stars Gregory Peck as a journalist who decides to write his story about anti-Semitism by pretending to be Jewish for 8 weeks.

He encounters discrimination in obvious, not-so-obvious and downright subtle ways. It's a very entertaining movie that avoids preaching but gets its point across.

The main message I got from the movie is that you can't just silently sit by watching discrimination and saying to yourself "that's not okay." You have to actually do something about it or you become part of the problem.

When you hear "horror stories" about how "bad" a group is (whether religious or ethnic) you have to stand up and tell the person spreading the lies to stop. You have to make it clear that you don't agree and that you will not support their hatred in any way.

Another more subtle form of bigotry is disparaging comments or "jokes" directed against people's race or beliefs. Once again, you must not stand for this sort of covert discrimination.

If we were all a bit less reasonable about the ethnic jokes and the religious stereotypes that are promoted by bigots and the media, then this world would be a better place.

Scientology and Aliens

Crystal just posted an excellent article about Aliens and Scientology. I think she tells the truth about this subject very well.

Have a read and tell me what you think: Aliens!

You can read my take on this subject here: Why Aliens?

Latest Freedom Magazine

The latest edition of Freedom Magazine is now available for online reading: Psychiatric Screening: Destroying Lives for Profit.

The magazine contains great articles, I especially recommend the "A License To Print Money" article by Alexander Cockburn, an eye-opening expose of the ties between Big Pharma and the Media.

Scientology is Wisdom: Secrets of the Universe

People have talked about the "secrets of the universe" for millennia. The implication is that there is some deep and esoteric knowledge about the universe that was somehow known in the past and is now either lost or hidden.

I don't know if that is true or not, but I will say that the basic truths about this universe are presented in Scientology. In their raw form they are a bit tough to understand, but when presented in the correct sequence with additional explanation they are not difficult at all.

So, Let's start with the Scientology Logics, which are described as

The Logics form a gradient scale of association of facts necessary to
understand and resolve any problem. They are used to predict behavior and
clarify the entire field of thought. The Logics are a method of thinking and
could be called “how to think.” The basic common denominators of all education
may be found in the Logics.

When I started this blog way back in 2003, I did a whole set of posts based on the Logics. At that time, Blogger didn't have tags so these articles are now hard to find. So, just for you, I am going back over them and adding tags, fixing some formatting and correcting some old dead links. It will take me a few days so, in the meantime, I'll give you some links to help you find them:

- November 2003 (contains the first half of the articles on the Scientology Logics)
- December 2003 (contains the second half of the articles on the Scientology Logics)
If these two are slow to open then another way to get there is to open up "2003" and then "November" or "December" in my "Blog Archive" section.

Once I have reviewed all the articles, you will be able to see them here: Scientology Logics.

Enjoy.

Scientology recognized as a religion in Argentina

Scientology has just been recognized and officially registered as a religion in Argentina!

You can read the full story here (in Spanish): Argentina reconoce Cienciologia como religión

Scientology is Wisdom: Ethics

One area of philosophy which has been made incredibly complicated over the centuries is the subject of ethics. Just try and look it up and get a basic understanding of it from an average encyclopedia and you'll probably be left with a big question mark hovering over your head.

Ethics in Scientology is described in a way that anyone can understand and use to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them.

Ethics actually consists of rationality toward the highest level of survival for the individual, the future race, the group, Mankind and the other dynamics [areas of life] taken up collectively. Ethics are reason. Man's greatest weapon is his reason.

Ethics consists simply of the actions an individual takes on himself. it is a personal thing. When one is ethical ... it is by his own determinism and is done by himself.

- L. Ron Hubbard from the book "Introduction to Scientology Ethics"

So ethics is basically the subject that covers what actions one should take in order to survive, not just for yourself, but for all areas of existence.

And by "survive", I don't mean bare necessity. Survival at an optimum level must include having enough of the things one needs to survive and having some reserve in case of emergency. If it cost you $400 a week to live and you make $400 a week then you are living on a knife edge and barely surviving. If you need $400 and you make $4,000 then you are going to be surviving very well.

It is not always easy to figure out what actions you should take in order to survive. How do you know if an action is going to help or hinder? For example, in the current economic state many companies are cutting back on their advertising budgets. Is that going to help their survival or hinder it? That question is answered in Scientology Ethics.

In Scientology we have a set of things called the Ethics Conditions and a formula for each Condition to improve it. Example: there is an Ethics Condition called "emergency" which is the condition where things are either staying the same or are just starting to get worse. Let's say you've been making the same wage for five years and have not had a raise in all that time. You are in emergency. Your wage is actually less than it was five years ago because of inflation: things cost more than they used to but you are not making more so you can't buy as much.

So what should you do?

The steps to take to solve your situation are given in the Emergency Formula, which is a part of Scientology Ethics. This same formula also applies to the business that is starting to hit hard times because of the economic crisis. The formula for that condition will tell the business owner whether he should cut back on advertising or not.

Here we have "accumulated knowledge of life" that was "gained through experience" - which is the definition of Wisdom that I am using.

Further data on Scientology Ethics:

• Scientology is Solutions: Improving Conditions in Life
• Applying the Formula for the Danger Condition to The Economic Crisis

Scientology is Wisdom

So what is "Wisdom" anyway?

Many people have the idea that wisdom is some set of obscure sayings that have a deep and profound meaning that only a chosen few can understand. Like the Zen "Sound of the one hand clapping".

That is not what wisdom means in Scientology. There is nothing in Scientology that is meant to be understood by only a "chosen few". The wisdom of Scientology is for everyone and can be understood by everyone. It will sometimes take a bit of work, but it can be understood and (more importantly) it can be used in life to improve conditions.

The definition of wisdom that I'm using is from the Encarta dictionary and is:

accumulated knowledge of life or of a sphere of activity that has been gained through experience

If you look at that carefully you will see that it not only covers "accumulated knowledge" but that the knowledge was "gained through experience".

The wisdom in Scientology is exactly that: Life has been examined and knowledge has been gained by making deductions based on what was observed and then trying them out to see if they work. The deductions that didn't work were thrown out and the ones that did work were kept and expanded upon.

Let's take an example. The book Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science tells you, step-by-step, how L. Ron Hubbard went about figuring out how the mind works and a therapy to handle psychoses, neuroses, psychosomatic ills, repressions, obsessions, fixations, etc., etc. He observed, made deductions, tried them out to see if they worked, kept them if they did, threw them away if they didn't and refined the workable ones until he had completely workable methods for improving the mind. He spend many years doing this. Now, sixty years later, millions of people around the world use these techniques to improve themselves and those around them.

That is an example of "accumulated knowledge" that was "gained through experience".

More on this tomorrow.

Scientology is ...??

As I've been showing in a series of recent posts, Scientology is Solutions. By that I mean it contains solutions to common problems in life. See my recent posts for examples (Scientology is Solutions).

But Scientology is more than just solutions. It is something that underlies solutions, something that enables you to figure out brand new solutions for yourself, solutions to the problems you face in your own life and that no one may have come up with before. So what is that?

It is wisdom.

A simple word with several definitions. The one that apply here is, "accumulated knowledge of life or of a sphere of activity that has been gained through experience".

The wisdom that Scientology contains is knowledge that is fundamental to life. For example: What is the dynamic force that drives life? If you knew that, you could understand why people do what they do and why you do the things you do.

Other practical questions that Scientology answers are: What causes people to act irrationally? What causes psychoses, neuroses, compulsions, repressions and a whole long list of other mental problems that the human race is beset with?

On a more philosophical level Scientology contains answers to such questions as: What happened before the beginning? What is the highest purpose in the universe? What happens to a person after they die? What is your true potential?

In the next few days, I'll be writing articles on "Scientology is Wisdom", and I'll answer some of those questions.

Scientology is Solutions: Handling Drug Abuse

Scientologists are serious about ending drug abuse. Here is an article about action being taken by Scientologists in France: Scientology Churches in France Cycle Against Drugs.

The materials the article talks about can be obtained here: Foundation for a Drug Free World

Drug Companies are at it again

GlaxoSmithKline has been caught exploiting people in third world countries. Their unethical behavior has resulted in the death of twelve babies. Read the article here: Poor Families Pressed Into Vaccine Trials by Drug Companies; 12 Babies Die

Why Scientology? - A personal perspective

Why do people choose to become Scientologists? It's a question with as many answers as there are Scientologists. It's really a decision that only the individual can make for himself or herself.

Here is one young man's answer to that question: Why Scientology?

Human Rights Day

Today is Human Rights Day and this year is also the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

If you don't know the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), then click on the link to read the abridged version or click here for the full version.

It is important that everyone in the world understand what these rights are and demand that every government in the world follows the UDHR and gives these rights to every citizen. It is only in a world where these rights are known and followed that peace is possible.

When abuses exist there will be conflict. When abuses are gone then only the Hitlers and Stalins of this world will be in conflict and they are a tiny minority and can easily be helped to change their ways and follow the UDHR.

Other links:

• Human Rights Home Page


• Watch the Human Rights PSA videos


• Youth for Human Rights

How to make a million

How do you make a million dollars? It seems that in the psychiatric industry it is quite simple. You make a deal with a drug company or two, you promote their drugs, open up new markets such as children, make very, very sure you don't tell anyone of your blatant conflict of interest then bank the dough.

It has been working for years for many psychiatrists but recently they've been found out.

Here is the latest from the NY Times: Expert or Shill

Here are some other articles on the same subject:

• Pharmaceutical Industry Hustlers
• Feeding on children
• The Truth about Psychotropic Drugs
• Who owns the Psychiatric Industry?
• Generation RX

Please encourage your representatives in Congress to increase the investigations and to bring about legislation to stop these abuses.

Scientology is Solutions: Economic Crisis

If you understand something about the current economic crisis then you can do something about it (i.e., survive it). There is data in Scientology that can help.

First is this definition from L. Ron Hubbard:

Money is an idea backed by confidence

That's an interesting definition, because it tells you how come the Federal Reserve has been able to create money out of nothing for so long and yet it still has value. People have confidence in dollar bills so, despite the fact that the Fed has been printing (and I mean that in the electronic as well as the ink sense) money by the truck load, which under normal circumstances would make the money worth less and less until it became worthless, there are still plenty of people in the world who have confidence in the dollar.

That may or may not last. But it is the key to surviving this current crisis.

For more data on money and finances there are these courses you can take:

• The Dynamics of Money Course
• Financial Success Course
• How to Make Work Easier Course

Those will help.

Film Review: GenerationRx

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I will be seeing it soon at which time I'll give you my own review.

In the meantime here is a review from NaturalNews.com: Film Review: GenerationRx Documents Chemical Abuse of Children by Pharmaceutical Industry, Modern Psychiatry

Scientology is Solutions - Achieving Your Goals

We all have goals, but they are not always easy to achieve. Things can get pretty complex at times and our goals can seem so far away that we couldn't catch a glimpse of them, even with the Hubble Space Telescope.

But despite all that, there is a way to plan out and achieve your goals without needing a degree in rocket science. L. Ron Hubbard developed a complete method for planning, figuring out and carrying out the steps necessary to achieve your goals.

An introduction to this method can be found here: Planning for the Future

Scientology is Solutions: Drug Addiction

For someone who has never suffered the physical and mental anguish of drug addiction, it is easy to say "get over it" or think that drug addicts are weak willed, but anyone who has been in the horrible situation of being addicted to drugs and who has attempted to get free of their death grip knows how hard it truly is.

It's easy to get addicted. There are plenty of ill-intentioned people out there who are only too willing to supply the initial hit that will create a paying customer for life. And whether the drug is illegal or given by prescription makes little difference to the addict for the results are the same, the only difference being who the money goes to: a pusher on the street or a pusher in a plush corporate office.

So what can be done about this world-wide epidemic?

First is to educate children, teens and even adults so they understand the truth about drugs: The Foundation for a Drug Free World is an organization sponsored by the International Association of Scientologists. It's website just got a major overhaul: Foundation for a Drug Free World. They provide a ton of educational materials including booklets on each of the common drugs people get addicted to, and a set of award-winning Public Service Announcements which quickly communicate the truth about drugs.

Next is to encourage kids to take responsibility for themselves and others where drugs are concerned. The "Drug Free Marshals" (Drug Free Ambassadors outside North America) campaign encourages kids to sign a "Drug Free" pledge and to be active, helping their friends stay off drugs.

Next is to help those who are addicted to free themselves. L. Ron Hubbard developed secular (non-religious) methods to help people get off drugs. The largest drug rehab network in the world, Narconon, uses these methods to get people off drugs and gives them the tools they need to avoid being caught in the trap of drugs again. Narconon has the highest success rate of any drug rehab program (Narconon Program Results).

Finally there is warning people of the dangers of drugs prescribed by doctors who have not been honestly informed by drug companies of their horrendous side-effects: Making A Killing (Documentary).

Scientologists are involved in all the above programs. We want to see people live better lives by being free of harmful drugs.

Scientology is Solutions: Your Human Rights

Scientologists want a better world. We try to use what we know of Scientology to achieve that. To someone who understands the basics of Scientology, the need for human rights in this world is very obvious.

When a government feels it has a perfect right to pick up a citizen of another country who is not charged with any crime and transport him to third country so he can be tortured, when slavery is still going on in the world and when other human rights abuses are occurring all over the world, then there is no true security for anyone.

Donations from the International Associations of Scientologists have

• funded Public Service Announcement videos that promote the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
• published educational booklets to explain Human Rights to children,
• funded a world tour that this year alone has covered 174.000 miles and travelled to 57 cities in 45 nations,
• helped build an impressive new Human Rights website,
• helped in getting 570 organizations and governments to work with the human rights program as part of a unified front across 85 nations
• and much more.

So, Scientology not only supplies solutions within the scope of a single individual, but also in the broader scope of solutions for mankind.

Scientology is Solutions: Improving Conditions in Life

Life can see pretty confusing at times. You have a thousand things going on that all seem unrelated and each one appears to require its own solution.

But with a basic understanding of the "States of Existence" and the formulas for solving or improving them, that apparent confusion that is life starts to calm down and become something you can handle and improve.

The article I linked to talks about the different states of existence but doesn't go into much detail, so I'll give you an example: Applying the Formula for the Danger Condition to The Economic Crisis.

Just knowing the states of existence (usually called the "Conditions") so you can recognize what condition some part of your life is in, and applying the formulas for improving each condition can improve any situation in your life and the lives of your family and friends.

Further study:

• How to Improve Conditions in Life Course
• Improving Conditions in Life Booklet (also called Ethics and Conditions booklet)
• Introduction to Scientology Ethics Book (contains all the data on the conditions, the formulas and much more)