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This paper presents Section 51 from the book SCIENTOLOGY 8-8008 by L. RON HUBBARD. The contents are from the original publication of this book by The Church of Scientology (1952).

The paragraphs of the original material (in black) are accompanied by brief comments (in color) based on the present understanding.  Feedback on these comments is appreciated.

The heading below is linked to the original materials.

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Standard Operating Procedure 8

The basic technology of this operating procedure is to be found in The Factors, Scientology 8-8008 and at the Professional School.

In using this operating procedure, the auditor should give every heed to the AUDITOR’S CODE. Further, he should audit the preclear in the presence of a third person or another auditor.

This operating procedure is best done by an auditor who has been thoroughly trained in all processes involving the reduction of the past and its incidents; the untrained auditor may encounter manifestations with which only a professional auditor would be familiar.

If a person is familiar with The Discipline of Mindfulness, and has practiced it enough, then he can also do this auditing on himself.

This operating procedure retains the most workable methods of preceding procedures and, in itself, emphasizes POSITIVE GAIN and the present and future rather than negative gain of eradication of the past.

The thetan, exteriorized and rehabilitated, can handle and remedy by direct address of his own energy to the body and the removal of old energy deposits, all body malfunctions or mental aberrations attacked by older processes. The goal of this procedure is not the rehabilitation of the body but of the thetan. Rehabilitation of a body incidentally ensues.

“Exteriorized and rehabilitated thetan” means that the person’s attention is stably free from any fixations on the body. Now he can work directly with the considerations that are influencing his body. This includes the considerations indirectly addressed by older processes. As the person rehabilitates his considerations the rehabilitation of the body follows.

The goal of this procedure is OPERATING THETAN, a higher goal than earlier procedures.

The auditor tests the preclear for each step from Step I on until he finds a step the preclear can do. The auditor then completes this step and then the next higher step until the thetan is exteriorized. With the thetan exteriorized, the auditor now completes all seven steps regardless of the steps performed before exteriorization. He may complete all these steps and all parts of these steps rapidly. But they must be done to obtain a theta clear and they must be done thoroughly to obtain an OPERATING THETAN.

Your priority is to first attain exteriorization. The highest step here is STEP I and the lowest step is STEP VII. Check out the steps starting from STEP I until you find a step that you can do. Complete that step and then do the next higher step. Continue this until your attention is freed up from any fixation on the body. This would be the state of Theta Clear. Then newly complete all the seven steps thoroughly. This would lead to the state of Operating Thetan.

The techniques involved herein were developed by L. Ron Hubbard and after testing by him, were tested by other auditors on a wide variety of cases. It is doubtful if any earlier process of any kind in any age has been as thoroughly validated as this operating procedure. However, it works only when used as stated. Disorganized fragments of this material, given other names and emphasis, may be found to be harmful. Irresponsible and untrained use of this procedure is not authorized. Capricious or quasi-religious exteriorization of the thetan for other purposes than the restoration of his ability and self-determinism should be resisted by any being. The goal of this process is freedom for the individual to the betterment of the many.

This process requires a thorough understanding of Scientology basics as laid out in the earlier chapters of this book. Make sure you thoroughly understand the discipline of mindfulness before you attempt to do it by yourself.

STEP I—Ask preclear to be three feet behind his head. If stable there, have him be in various pleasant places until any feeling of scarcity of viewpoints is resolved; then have him be in several undesirable places, then several pleasant places; then have him be in a slightly dangerous place, then in more and more dangerous places until he can sit in the center of the sun. Be sure to observe gradient scale of ugliness and dangerousness of places. Do not let preclear fail. Then do remaining steps with preclear exteriorized.

The idea of asking yourself to be three feet behind your head is to free your viewpoint from being fixed inside the head. You may simply visualize this position behind the head. You may have never done this before. It is fun when you can do it stably. When you close your eyes you’ll find that your attention is no longer fixed inside your head, and you can easily visualize yourself being at other places.

First visualize being in a pleasant place. Let the mind suggest this place to you without you searching for it. It may be slow at first, but as you relax and let it happen at its own pace, the pace will pick up of being at various pleasant places. The visualizations shall also become more real on a gradient. Next visualize being at several undesirable places the same way until you are satisfied.

Alternately visualize being at pleasant and then at unpleasant places. Gradually increase the dangerousness of the unpleasant places. Do so until you can start overcoming your fears about dangerousness and considerations about ugliness of these places. You may be able to walk on the surface of the moon, or gradually descend into the flames of the sun. Most fears come from uncontrolled visualizations. As you learn to control your visualizations you will be able to overcome the fears springing from imagined harm to the body.

STEP II—Have preclear mock up own body. If he does this easily and clearly, have him mock up own body until he slips out of it. When he is exteriorized and knows it thoroughly (the conditions of all exteriorization) do Step I. If his mock-up was not clear, go to Step III immediately.

You may visualize your own body. See if you can do so easily and clearly. If yes, then keep visualizing your body in different orientations until you realize how your viewpoint has been fixed on viewing everything from the body. At that moment you would be able to visualize the whole body at a distance from your viewpoint with confidence.

STEP III—SPACATION: Have preclear close his eyes and find upper corners of the room. Have him sit there, not thinking, refusing to think of anything, interested only in the corners until he is completely exteriorized without strain. Then do a spacation (constructing own space with eight anchor points and holding it stable without effort) and go to Step I. If preclear was unable to locate corners of the room easily with his eyes closed, go to Step IV.

Here is another way of exteriorizing from “fixed attention on the body”. Close your eyes and find upper corners of the room. Do it very simply without strain. Simply be there with attention only on those upper four corner. Do not let that attention disperse. Sooner or later you will realize about the fixed attention on the body, and the attention will exteriorize from the body. Then simply visualize eight locations around you like the eight corners of a room, and hold attention on them stably without effort.

STEP IV—EXPANDED GITA: (This is an extension of “Give and Take” processing.) Test preclear to see if he can get a mock-up he can see, no matter how vague. Then have him WASTE, ACCEPT UNDER DURESS, DESIRE and finally be able to TAKE OR LEAVE ALONE each of the items listed below. He does this with mock-ups or ideas. He must do the sequence of WASTE, etc., in the order given here for each item. He wastes it by having it at remote distances in places where it will do no good, being used or done or observed by something which cannot appreciate it; when he is able to waste it in vast quantities the auditor then has him accept it in mock-up form until he no longer is antagonistic to having to accept it even when it is unpleasant and great force is applied to make him take it; then, again with mock. ups, he must be able to bring himself to desire it even in its worst form; then, by mock-ups of it in its most desirable form he must come to be able to leave it entirely alone or take it in its worst form without caring. EXPANDED GITA remedies contra-survival abundance and scarcity. It will be found that before one can accept a very scarce (to him) thing, he has to give it away. A person with a milk allergy must be able to give away, in mock-up, enormous quantities of milk, wasting it, before he can accept any himself. The items in this list are compounded from several years of isolating what factors were more important to minds than others; the list lacks very few of the very important items if any; additions to or subtractions from this list should not be attempted. Viewpoint, work and pain should be heavily and often stressed and given priority.

The attempt here is to free fixed attention. The process involve GIve and TAke or “GITA”. Usually it is difficult to visualize when your attention is stuck somewhere. You start the process by visualizing something no matter how vague, then do the following actions with it: WASTE IT, ACCEPT IT UNDER DURESS, DESIRE IT, until you are finally able to TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT ALONE. Use the items listed below to make such visualizations. The visualization can be a picture story, or simply an abstraction of something. The above actions should be done in the given sequence. See the description of these actions above.

If your attention is fixed on something that is scarce, then visualize that thing in abundance and waste it. You may do this with money if you think money is scarce. Or, you may do it with a viewpoint that is hard to obtain.

WASTE, HAVE FORCED UPON, DESIRE, BE ABLE TO GIVE OR TAKE, IN THAT ORDER, EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: (Order of items here is random).

VIEWPOINT, WORK, PAIN, BEAUTY, MOTION, ENGRAMS, UGLINESS, LOGIC, PICTURES, CONFINEMENT, MONEY, PARENTS, BLACKNESS, POLICE, LIGHT, EXPLOSIONS, BODIES, DEGRADATION, MALE BODIES, FEMALE BODIES, BABIES, CHILDREN MALE, CHILDREN FEMALE, STRANGE AND PECULIAR BODIES, DEAD BODIES, AFFINITY (LOVE), AGREEMENT, BEAUTIFUL BODIES, PEOPLE, ATTENTION, ADMIRATION, FORCE, ENERGY, LIGHTNING, UNCONSCIOUSNESS, PROBLEMS, ANTAGONISM, REVERENCE, FEAR, OBJECTS, TIME, EATING HUMAN BODIES, SOUND, GRIEF, BEAUTIFUL SADNESS, HIDDEN INFLUENCES, HIDDEN  COMMUNICATIONS, DOUBTS, FACES, DIMENSION POINTS, ANGER, APATHY, IDEAS, ENTHUSIASM, DISAGREEMENT, HATE, SEX, REWARD, EATING PARENTS, EATEN BY MOTHER, EATEN BY FATHER, EATING MEN, EATEN BY MEN, EATING WOMEN, EATEN BY WOMEN, START, BROKEN COMMUNICATIONS, WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS, STILLNESS, EXHAUSTION, WOMEN STOPPING MOTION, MEN STOPPING MOTION, CHANGING MOTION WOMEN, CHANGING MOTION MEN, CHANGING MOTION BABIES, CHANGING MOTION CHILDREN, STARTING MOTION MEN, STARTING MOTION WOMEN, STARTING MOTION CHILDREN, STARTING MOTION OBJECTS, STARTING MOTION SELF, OMENS, WICKEDNESS, FORGIVENESS, PLAY, GAMES, SOUND, MACHINERY, TOUCH, TRAFFIC, STOLEN GOODS, STOLEN PICTURES, HOMES, BLASPHEMY, CAVES, MEDICINE, GLASS, MIRRORS, PRIDE, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, DIRTY WORDS, SPACE, WILD ANIMALS, PETS, BIRDS, AIR, WATER, FOOD, MILK, GARBAGE, GASES, EXCRETA, ROOMS, BEDS, PUNISHMENT, BOREDOM, CONFUSION, SOLDIERS, EXECUTIONERS, DOCTORS, JUDGES, PSYCHIATRISTS, ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR, DRUGS, MASTURBATION, REWARDS, HEAT, COLD, FORBIDDEN THINGS, GOD, THE DEVIL, SPIRITS, BACTERIA, GLORY, DEPENDENCE, RESPONSIBILITY, WRONGNESS, RIGHTNESS, INSANITY, SANITY, FAITH, CHRIST, DEATH, RANK, POVERTY, MAPS, IRRESPONSIBILITY, GREETINGS, FAREWELLS, CREDIT, LONELINESS, JEWELS, TEETH, GENITALIA, COMPLICATIONS, HELP, PRETENCE, TRUTH, LIES, ASSURANCE, CONTEMPT, PREDICTABILITY, UNPREDICTABILITY, VACUUMS, WHITE CLOUDS, BLACK CLOUDS, UNATTAINABLES, HIDDEN THINGS, WORRY, REVENGE, TEXTBOOKS, KISSES, THE PAST, THE FUTURE, THE PRESENT, ARMS, STOMACHS, BOWELS, MOUTHS, CIGARETTES, SMOKE, URINE, VOMIT, CONVULSIONS, SALIVA, FLOWERS, SEMEN, BLACKBOARDS, FIREWORKS, TOYS, VEHICLES, DOLLS, AUDIENCES, DOORS, WALLS, WEAPONS, BLOOD, AMBITIONS, ILLUSIONS, BETRAYAL, RIDICULE, HOPE, HAPPINESS, MOTHERS, FATHERS, GRANDPARENTS, SUNS, PLANETS, MOONS, SENSATION, LOOKING, INCIDENTS, WAITING, SILENCE, TALKING, KNOWING, NOT KNOWING, DOUBTS, FAC ONE, REMEMBERING, FORGETTING, AUDITING, MINDS, FAME,  POWER, ACCIDENTS, ILLNESSES, APPROVAL, TIREDNESS FACES, ACTING, DRAMA, COSTUMES, SLEEP, HOLDING THINGS APART, HOLDING THINGS TOGETHER, DESTROYING THINGS, SENDING THINGS AWAY, MAKING THINGS GO FAST, MAKING THINGS APPEAR, MAKING THINGS VANISH, CONVICTIONS, STABILITY, CHANGING PEOPLE, SILENT MEN, SILENT WOMEN, SILENT CHILDREN, SYMBOLS OF WEAKNESS, SYMBOLS OF FORCE, DISABILITIES, EDUCATION, LANGUAGES, BESTIALITY, HOMOSEXUALITY, INVISIBLE BODIES, INVISIBLE ACTS, INVISIBLE SCENES, ACCEPTING THINGS BACK, GAMES, RULES, PLAYERS, RESTIMULATION, SEXUAL RESTIMULATION, SPACE REDUCTION, SIZE REDUCTION, ENTERTAINMENT, CHEERFULNESS, FREEDOM FOR OTHERS TO TALK, ACT, FEEL PAIN, BE SAD, THETANS, PERSONALITIES, CRUELTY, ORGANIZATIONS.

You may look at this list of items. Take that item first which grabs your attention the most. Treat that item as follows:
The item is scarce –> visualize it in abundance and waste it
The item is unpleasant –> visualize it repeatedly until you can accept it
The item is undesirable –> visualize it repeatedly until you can desire it
The item is desirable –> visualize it repeatedly until you can leave it alone

Do not use any force. Let free association handle any avoidance, denial, resistance or suppression. You do not have to keep working on an item after the fixation is gone. You do not have to consider an item if there is no fixation on it in the first place. You may add your own items that fixate your attention.

WARNING: SHOULD YOUR PRECLEAR BECOME UNSTABLE OR UPSET DOING THIS PROCESS, TAKE HIM TO STEP VI, THEN RETURN TO THIS LIST.

There is no upset if you use the discipline of mindfulness, and take up only those items that grab your attention. You may go over this list several times. Different items may grab your attention on different runs.

COMMENT: The mind is sufficiently complicated that it can be expected to have computations on almost all the above. Thus, there is no single clearing button and search for it is at the dictate of a circuit, the mechanism of circuits being to search for something hidden. Thus your preclear may begin to compute and philosophize and seek to find the “button” that will release all this. All this releases all the buttons so tell him to relax and go on with the process every time he starts to compute.

The idea is to see what is simply there, beyond any computation. Therefore, just be there with your attention on the item, and let free association accomplish the rest.

NOTE: Running the above will bring to the surface without further attention the “computation on the case” and the service facsimile. Do not audit these. Run Expanded Gita.

“Computations on the case,” such as, service facsimiles, will come up, but do not audit them. Simply visualize the items and take actions as described above.

STEP V—PRESENT TIME DIFFERENTIATION. EXTERIORIZATION BY SCENERY. Have preclear, with his body’s eyes, study and see the difference between similar real objects such as the two legs of a chair, the spaces between the back, two cigarettes, two trees, two girls. He must see and study the objects; it is not enough to remember objects. The definition of a CASE V is “no mock-ups, only blackness.” Have him continue this process until he is alert. Use liberally and often.

A CASE V has difficulty visualizing because his mind dives immediately into computing. On this step do not attempt any visualizations if this condition applies to you. Instead, observe things in your environment for differences among them. You may compare two things at a time, especially two things that are similar in some respects. The purpose here is to improve one’s alertness.

Then exteriorize by having the preclear close his eyes and move actual places on Earth under him, preferably places he has not been. Have him bring these up to him, find two similar things in the scene and observe the difference between them. Move him over oceans and cities until he is certain that he is exteriorized.

Then close your eyes and simply be there. Using yourself as the reference point, move the locations where you are to bring up different places around you. You might come up with places that are entirely new and unfamiliar. This is simply another approach to visualization. Then observe two things in this visualization for differences between them. Visualize different places around the world in this manner until you find that your attention can be free from the body.

Then, preferably while exteriorized, have him do STEP I.

This case has to know before he can be. His viewpoint is in the past. Give him present time viewpoints until he is a STEP I by the methods given for STEP V.

(COMMENT: PRESENT TIME DIFFERENTIATION is a very good general technique and resolves chronic somatics and improves tone.)

This step helps overcome the mind’s compulsion to compute instead to simply observe. Usually the mind is stuck in some past computation, which dominates visualizations. On this step, you essentially observe things in the present environment with eyes open; and then observe things in the visualization with eyes closed. If this frees up your attention from past computations, then do STEP I.

STEP VI—A-R-C STRAIGHT WIRE using next to last list of SELF ANALYSIS IN SCIENTOLOGY which asks preclear to recall something really real to him, etc. Then use the lists in SELF ANALYSIS. This level is the neurotic level. It is identified by the preclear having mock-ups which will not persist or which won’t go away. Use also PRESENT TIME DIFFERENTIATION. Then go to STEP IV. At any drop in tone, return case to STEP VI,

Here one practices visualization by recall. This is to overcome visualizations which will not persist or which won’t go away. Here is the link to Self-Analysis Book to do the exercise as recommended above. Then so STEP V, followed by STEP IV.

STEP VII—PSYCHOTIC CASES. (It is not the purpose of Scientology to handle psychotics, but rather to “make the able more able”. The above is included, however, as valuable data for the handling of psychotics.)

Whether in or out of body, the psychotic looks to be in such desperate straits that people often err in thinking desperate measures are necessary. Use the lightest possible methods. Give case space and freedom where possible. Have psychotic IMITATE (not mock up) various things. Have him do PRESENT TIME DIFFERENTIATION. Get him to tell the difference between things by actual touch. Have him locate, differentiate and touch things that are really real to him (real objects or items). If inaccessible mimic him with own body whatever he does until he comes into communication. Have him locate corners of the room and hold them without thinking. As soon as his communication is up, go to STEP VI but be very sure he changes any mock-up around until he knows it is a mock-up, that it exists and that he himself made it. Do not run engrams. He is psychotic because viewpoints in present time are so scarce that he has gone into the past for viewpoints which at least he knew existed. By PRESENT TIME DIFFERENTIATION, by tactile on objects, return his idea of an abundance of viewpoint in present time. If he has been given electric shock, do not process it or any other brutality. Work him for very brief periods for his attention span is short. Always work psychotics with another person or a companion present.

A psychotic condition may look desperate, but only the lightest methods need be applied. Give space and freedom where possible. Have the person IMITATE rather than visualize. Use STEP V (Present Time Differentiation) as described in this step above. Such a person has gone into the past because viewpoints in present time are very scarce. Restore abundance of viewpoints in present time as explained above. Make sure you understand the instructions given above.

NOTE: ALL STEPS FOR ALL CASES. IF IN DOUBT AS TO CONDITION OF CASE, TEST WITH STEP VI.

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SOP—8 Appendix No. 1

NOTE: An Operating Thetan must also be able to manufacture particles of admiration and force in abundance.

STEP I—The Operating Thetan must be able to manufacture and experience to his complete satisfaction all sensations including pain in mock-up form and all energies such as admiration and force. It will be found that some STEP I cases will not be able to manufacture admiration particles.

On STEP I visualizations (see above) manufacture and experience all sensations including pain, as well as admiration and force. In short, experience whatever comes up.

STEP II—Be very careful not to make a lower step preclear, while still in a body, mock up his own body too long. Any mock-up will appear if it is simply put there often enough and long enough providing the preclear doesn’t spin in the process. The long-term manufacture of mock-ups of one’s own body and of admiration may not produce quite the results expected—communication lines which should remain shut may open with bad results. These lines that are shut appear like hard, black cords to the preclear.

When visualizing your body, it is safe as long as you follow The Discipline of Mindfulness. If there is any problem, study and practice that discipline. The whole idea here is to free up the attention stuck on the body.

There are two types of techniques in general: POSITIVE GAIN and NEGATIVE GAIN as defined in the above text. POSITIVE CAN BE ADMINISTERED IN UNLIMITED AMOUNTS WITHOUT HARM. Negative gain techniques such as the reduction of engrams and locks double-terminalling, black and white, are often limited in the length of time they can be given: after a few hundred hours of early type auditing the case could be found to slump. Thus we have in POSITIVE GAIN the unlimited technique which improves; the analytical mind; in NEGATIVE GAIN we have a limited (in terms of the time it can be audited) technique. In SOP 8 the following steps and processes may be audited without limit: STEP I, STEP III, STEP V. STEP VI, STEP VII.

Make sure you understand the concepts of negative and positive gains. Always follow the discipline of mindfulness. If no further change is occurring on any step, it is time to move to another step.

The following steps are limited and should not be audited many hours without changing to another type (unlimited for a while, after which the following steps could be resumed): STEP II, STEP IV.

THE FOLLOWING STEPS CAN BE USED ON GROUPS: Step III, Step V, part 1 and part 2, Step VI, Step VII.

The following is a list of effective procedures as of April 28th, 1953. If a procedure is labelled (U) it is unlimited and could be audited thousands of hours and only improve a case: if labelled (L) it is limited and must be handled with discretion and alternated with an unlimited technique: if it is labelled (S) it is seldom used: if labelled (A) it is used in assists.

• Engram Running, Book One (L) (A)
• Grief and Other Secondaries (L) (A)
  Lock Scanning (L) (A)
  Emotional Curves (L) (S)
  Service Facsimile Chain as Engrams (L) (S)
  Effort Processing (L) (A)
  ARC Straight Wire, Science of Survival (A)
  Negative Exteriorization (L)
  Ridge Running (L)
• Ded-Dedex (L) (S) (Current lifetime used for fast releases)
  Motivator-Overt (L) (S)
  Matched Terminals in Mock-ups (L) (S)
  Double Terminals in Mock-ups (L) (A)
• Positive Exteriorization (Step I SOP 8) (U)
• Own Body Mock-up (Step II SOP 8) (L)
• Spacation (Step III SOP 8 and General Usage) (U)
• Expanded Gita (Step IV SOP 8) (L)
• Present Time Differentiation (Step V SOP 8) (U)
• Exteriorization by Scenery (Step V SOP 8) (U)
• Self Analysis in Scientology and British S.A. in Dianetics (same volume) (Step W SOP 8) (U)
• Imitation of Things (Step WI SOP 8) (U)
• Creative Processing (as in Scientology 8—8008) (U)

The symbol (*) before a process above means it is recommended.

Make sure you understand all the instructions above. Note: The asterisk (*) appears as a “dot” in the list.

ADDITIONAL NOTE ON EXPANDED GITA: The governing rule here is that the preclear craves exactly what he has and must waste whatever he doesn’t have. It is better, in the opinion of a thetan, to have anything no matter how “bad” rather than have nothing. He craves those things which are scarce but he can’t even have those things which are scarcest. In order to have what he cannot have he first must be able to waste it (in mock-up) in quantity. An abbreviated form of this process would involve, over and over, wasting, accepting under duress, the following items in turn:

TRY FIRST: HEALTHY BODIES, STRONG BODIES, GOOD PERCEPTION, GOOD RECALL, VIEWPOINTS, PAIN, WORK, FREEDOM FOR OTHERS TO HAVE VIEWPOINTS.

The preclear cannot be free himself until he has freed others. This does not work out in the MEST universe but it works out in mock-ups.

CIRCUITS GO INTO ACTION ON MANY OF THESE PROCESSES: DON’T PERMIT YOUR PRECLEAR TO THINK, DON’T BE INTERESTED IN WHAT HE THINKS. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS RULE WILL CAUSE THE PROCESS TO FAIL.

COMPARISON OF MEST OBJECTS TO MOCK-UPS RESOLVES WHY THETANS MAKE FACSIMILES AND DISCLOSES TO THE PRECLEAR THE MECHANISM. THIS IS A GOOD PROCESS AND CAN BE DONE AT STEP IV AS AN ADDITIONAL PART OF IV. HAVE PRECLEAR MAKE A MOCK-UP THE SAME AS A MEST OBJECT AND PUT THE MOCK-UP ALONGSIDE OF THE MEST OBJECT AND THEN COMPARE THEM. THE MOCK-UPS WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE, THEN KEY OUT THE MECHANISM THAT MAKES FACSIMILES.

Make sure you understand all the instructions above. You have much less to worry if you are applying the process to yourself under the discipline of mindfulness.

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FINAL COMMENTS

This is the earliest standardized procedure of Scientology. It focused on eliminating the fixation of attention on the body. It then worked on handling other fixations in the mind. This results in flexibility and expansion of the viewpoint, and rapid progress in one’s case.

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