Reference: Postulate Mechanics
This glossary is a compilation of definitions that are referenced in Postulate Mechanics on the subject of Scientology. For official definitions, please see Scientology Technical Dictionary.
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Glossary
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ABERRATION
Aberration means departure from sound thinking. It leads to lapse of judgment. Hallucination, delusion, illusion, eccentricity, and abnormality are all aberrations. Aberration in behavior would be any conduct not supported by reason. Mental problems, such as, psychoses, neuroses, compulsions and repressions of all kinds and classifications are aberrations. A physical illness of any kind would be aberration of the body. In Scientology, the source of aberration is considered to be trauma and overwhelm suffered by a person that leaves its impression of the mind. Such traumatic experiences are recorded as facsimiles and they act as the “bugs” in the “computing” function of the mind. They then generate all the aberrations. To resolve these aberrations Scientology employs the process of auditing. An auditing process helps a person become aware of the “basic” of the chain of experiences that is responsible for the aberration.
AUDITING
Auditing is the application of Scientology processes and procedures to someone by a trained auditor. It involves the action of asking a person a question, and getting him to look at that area of life more closely to obtain clarity on it. The prime target are the facsimiles that a person has, but which are not very visible. One follows precise symptoms or sensations through a chain of incidents (facsimiles). At the end of such a chain is the basic incident simply referred to as the “basic.” When the person becomes aware of the “basic” all the charge buried in that chain of incidents disappears. The person has a realization about his life and he obtains greater clarity. The whole idea in Scientology is to help a person handle all his facsimiles so he can live a life without aberrations.
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BASIC
Any facsimile can be traced, ultimately, to some fundamental postulate. In Scientology, it is believed that such facsimiles existing as a chain of “earlier similars” back to some “basic” in the past. When that basic is reached, the facsimile is erased forever. One may get lucky in this regard; but the reality is often much different. The facsimile is usually complex enough to have many different chains of “earlier similars”, one for each sensation. Each “earlier similar” in a chain may then be complex enough in its turn to have many more chains. In short, what may appear to be a linear chain from a distance may actually be a complex network of “earlier similars” extending back to many “basics,” all of whom may have to be taken care of to erase the original facsimile.
BODY THETAN (BT)
In Scientology, the concept of Body thetan is used on OT Levels. It is described as a degraded thetan that attaches itself to a person’s body and interferes with the control and running of his body. It is associated with thoughts that are running by themselves and are out of control. To spot a BT a person must spot the source of such automatic and independent actions going on within him. He does that by questioning whatever appears to be out of place in his mental space. Scientology associates many esoteric ideas with the BTs; but the idea of BT makes sense only in the context of auditing each sensation by following its chain to its basic until it is erased.
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CHAIN
CHAIN means a series of recordings of similar experiences. A chain has engrams, secondaries and locks. Example—Head injury chain in the sequence encountered by an auditor and run by R3R—sporting goods display window seeing it (lock), losing a bat (secondary), hit in the head with a bat (engram). The engram is the earliest date, the secondary a later date, the lock the most recent.
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ENGRAM
An ENGRAM is a mental image picture which is a recording of a time of physical pain and unconsciousness. It must by definition have impact or injury as part of its content.
ERASURE
In Dianetics auditing, the assimilation of traumatic experience is called erasure. It is accomplished by focusing on the time period of the incident and recounting the incident from beginning to end over and over again, picking up all the uncomfortable sensations and perceptions present just as though the incident were happening at that moment. The incident does not always erase fully with the mechanical action of recounting alone because complete erasure requires resolution of anomalies. Therefore, other auditing questions and processes are used to direct the attention to different aspects of the incident and its general context to spot and resolve anomalies. Dianetics lacks a systematic procedure to handle anomalies.
EXTERIORIZATION
Exteriorization is a feeling of being separate from the body, which is commonly known as “out of body experience.” Scientology believes in this phenomena literally as the thetan separating from the body. This is an anomaly because the thetan is not a thing. Thetan is a postulate. But exteriorization is a phenomenon that is considered significant in Scientology because it distances a person from his aberrations. It makes sense when we look at exteriorization as the attention becoming free from its fixation on the body, which the person was not aware of.
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FACSIMILE
Scientology describes a facsimile as that section of thought which has a physical universe impression on it. Such facsimiles are responsible for the aberrations in a person. A facsimile consists of the picture, sound, smell and all other perceptions, effort, emotion, conclusions and speculations along with a time tag. It is unknowingly created and becomes part of the time track as a recording. It is not dependent upon an organism for its continued existence. The facsimiles are hidden from a person until he recalls and reviews them through the process of auditing. Upon a thorough review the facsimile loses its hold on the thinking and behavior of the person. The Scientology theory assumes that the sensations that make up the facsimile, acquire their meaning when they are recorded in the mind, while they remain unknown to theta. This is an anomaly because it is theta (thought) that assigns meanings to the physical sensations received from the MEST universe.
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GRADES PROCESSING
The Scientology Grades focus on the suppositional reality of a person. The suppositional reality is made up of assumptions, justifications, beliefs, fixed ideas, etc. It exists because of the person is identifying himself with the universe. These grades are audited in a certain order. Different technologies are used to audit different grades. Once the suppositional reality is cleared, the facsimiles can be audited to complete erasure.
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HAVINGNESS
Havingness is having such an intimate awareness of the environment (along with the situations in it), such that one can flow with it and control that flow according to the natural laws.
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KEY-IN
KEY IN is the action of recording a lock on a secondary or engram. It is moment when the environment around the awake but fatigued or distressed individual is itself similar to the dormant engram. At that moment the engram becomes active. It is keyed-in and can thereafter be dramatized.
KEY-OUT
KEY OUT is an action of the engram or secondary dropping away without being erased.
KNOW
Ordinarily, to know is to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty. But, more precisely, to know is to have certainty that there are no holes in the information presented, all the data that is available is consistent, and all that is knowable is in harmony. If there is any discontinuity, inconsistency or disharmony then one knows that there are anomalies to be sorted out. Much of human inquiry—science, philosophy, education—aims to deepen, challenge, and expand what we know.
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LIFE STATIC
The Life Static is another postulate in Scientology, which is consistent with the postulate of Static. Life is viewed in Scientology as a quality and an ability with no quantitative factor. But both quality and quantity are knowable; and these are aspects of the knowable universe. A Life Static represents the most basic ability associated with life, which is the ability to postulate and to perceive. It animates the body.
LOCK
A LOCK is a mental image picture of an incident where one was knowingly or unknowingly reminded of a secondary or engram. It does not itself contain a blow or a burn or impact and is not any major cause of misemotion. It does not contain unconsciousness. It may contain a feeling of pain or illness, etc, but is not itself the source of it. Example: One sees a cake, feels sick. This is a lock on an engram of being made sick by eating cake. The picture of seeing a cake and feeling sick is a lock on (is locked to) the incident (unseen at the moment) of getting sick eating cake. When one finds a lock it can be run like any other mental image picture.
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MEMORY
In Scientology, facsimiles reduce to memories when their charge is erased. Memory is considered to be the data stored in the standard memory banks, which is potentially recallable by “I.” Scientology does not differentiate between a facsimile and a memory; but a memory is not a literal recording like the facsimile. Each time a memory is recalled it is reconstructed from elementary data stored in standard banks, by activating the time stamps. Not being a fixed recording, a memory adjusts itself to different points of view.
MEST
In Scientology, MEST represents the physical universe that is created by theta, and which is mechanical in nature. The symbol MEST is created from the first letters of Matter, Energy, Space and Time, which are concepts defined in Physics. The physical universe is thus limited to the same scope that the subject of Physics is limited to. Thought is not viewed as an integral part of the physical universe, instead it is considered to be a part of theta. This lack of integration of thought and MEST is an anomaly that goes against the reality of the oneness of the universe.
MIND
In Scientology, mind is described as the THETA command post of a life organism. The mind is concerned wholly with the estimation of effort to solve the problems of survival. It does its thinking by combining the perceptions of the immediate environment with facsimiles of the past. The mind is inherently analytical like a “computer”, but “bugs” in its circuits introduce reactions. The analytical mind is the one which is alert and aware and the reactive mind simply reacts without analysis. An optimally functioning mind focuses on the assimilation of sensations, perceptions, and knowledge. Reactions will occur only in situations where assimilation is lacking and fixation is present. Therefore, the fixation of the mind on survival may be seen as an anomaly.
MISEMOTION
MISEMOTION is anything that is unpleasant emotion such as antagonism, anger, fear, grief, apathy or a death feeling.
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OBJECTIVE PROCESSING
To audit the mind a person needs free attention that he can control. The purpose of Objective processes is to free enough attention so a person can look at his mind objectively. These processes involve putting attention on objects in the current environment and observing them closely. This includes observation of body and its motions. The person uses all his physical and mental senses to do so. Anyone can be brought more into present time with objective processes.
OT PROCESSING
OT processing handles facsimiles to complete erasure. OT processes do so by auditing every sensation to its basic (see BASIC) and recovering the underlying postulate. This OT processing also has several levels. These levels are audited in a certain order. Each OT level has its own technology.
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PLEASURE MOMENTS
PLEASURE MOMENTS are mental image pictures containing pleasure sensations. They respond to standard Dianetics processing (R3R). One seldom addresses them unless the preclear is fixated on some type of “pleasure” to a point where it has become highly aberrated.
POSTULATE
The purpose of a postulate is to give meaning to a simple or complex sensation. In Scientology, postulate is a self-created truth, which is simply a consideration generated by self. Thus, a typical postulate is, generally, associated with the idea of self. Here self is the sense of “I”, which itself is a postulate. This tells us that the actual source of a postulate is unknowable.
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SCIENTOLOGY
Scientology derives from Latin and Greek roots meaning “knowing” and “study,” and is defined as “the study of knowing how to know.” Its doctrines center on spiritual self-understanding and methods for achieving mental and spiritual freedom.
SECONDARY
A SECONDARY is a mental image picture of a moment of severe and shocking loss or threat of loss which contains misemotion such as anger, fear, grief, apathy or “deathfulness”. It is a mental image recording of a time of severe mental stress. It may contain unconsciousness. When it is restimulated by a similar but lighter experience another mental image picture is recorded which becomes a lock on the secondary and serves to keep the secondary alive. A secondary is called a secondary because it itself depends upon an earlier engram with similar data but real pain, etc.
SOMATIC
SOMATIC means essentially body sensation, illness or pain or discomfort. “Soma” means body. Hence PSYCHO SOMATIC or pains stemming from the mind.
STATIC
In Scientology, Static is a motionless AGENT that generates and controls all motion. Static claims to be unknowable having no mass, no wavelength, no time and actually without position; but then it is identified as a knowable Cause-point that can create and destroy mass and energy, and which can locate itself in space and time. Thus, the Static is both unknowable and knowable. This presents an anomaly of contradiction.
This anomaly is resolved when we see Static to be a postulate underlying the philosophy of Scientology. This postulate is substantial, and its substance may be identified as thought. So, Static is not without substance. Mathematically, static is the motionless reference point from which all motion can be assessed, just like zero is the reference point from which all numbers can be assessed. Static makes sense only when considered relative to kinetic (motion). However, Static is being considered as the absolute source of all motion. This presents another anomaly.
Therefore, Static is neither unknowable nor absolute. Static is a knowable postulate that is a part of the knowable universe. Beyond the knowable universe is the Unknowable. The postulate of Static can be examined for its consistency with other postulates for the knowable universe in Scientology philosophy.
SURVIVAL
Survival is to endure or live through some difficult, adverse or unusual circumstance. If a person is fixated on the survival of himself then that would be an aberration, because the beingness (self) is changing from moment to moment. Beingness is not something fixed. A person survives naturally as he focuses on resolving anomalies of life.
—T—
THETA
In Scientology, theta is used as a symbol for Life Static. It is considered to be the absolute source of life and its motion. The idea of theta being absolute presents an anomaly. Scientifically, all motion of life is inherent to a life organism. At most, theta would represents the assimilated vector of complex motions of the life organism.
THETA-MEST THEORY
In Scientology, theta is considered to be something having no-substance; but which creates the substance called MEST, and infuses it with life. Theta is separate and independent of MEST. Theta is thought. Thought is actually a substance because it is substantial enough to be sensed. This presents an anomaly because thought is not considered to be a substance yet it is sensed all the time. The Theta-MEST theory simply wraps up in scientific garb the religious idea that God has created the world, and God is separate from the world. The postulate that THETA and MEST are inherently separate, and not integrated, presents an anomaly.
THETAN
Scientology uses the term THETAN for a person, with the connotation that the person is a “spiritual being”, who is inherently independent of the physical body. It parallels the idea of “soul” in Abrahamic religions that exists apart from the body. However, the notion of PERSON comes from the role one plays in life. It is the “center” that controls the thoughts and the body. Scientifically, this would be the resultant vector of the inherent motions of an organism. It would not exist without the organism. It would be a part of the scientific model of the mind. The idea in Scientology that the control center of all thoughts and the body can exist by itself independent of the body presents an anomaly.
TIME TRACK
The TIME TRACK is the consecutive record of mental image pictures which accumulates through the preclear’s life or lives. It is very exactly dated.
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