Reference: Book I: Postulate Mechanics (Text Book)
A version of OT VIII prescribes reading and word clearing of “Handbook for Preclears” cover to cover. Here are some of my comments after subject clearing this book.
In my view, the ultimate OT VIII objective is to KNOW YOURSELF. The ultimate goal of life is to ATTAIN HARMONY. And the purpose of the human mind is to RESOLVE ANOMALIES. The anomalies are violations of harmony in any sphere.
Comments
Here are my comments by chapters.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
The system of Scientology exists within a wider sphere of knowledge. Scientology introduces many new concepts and definitions. Do not go past any concept or definition that violates harmony within the wider sphere of knowledge. In other words, it is perfectly valid to question Scientology concepts and definitions if they affect harmony of understanding..
ON THE STATE OF MAN
Harmony requires dynamic equilibrium among things. Therefore, everything is changing, and nothing ever remains the same. This dynamic equilibrium applies to the concept of “I” also. There is nothing at the core of the sense of “I” that is permanent or eternal. It is always changing to satisfy the condition of harmony. Human success comes from supporting the harmony in creative ways. It is not domination and control.
AN IDEAL STATE OF BEING
A healthy survival depends on being consistent with the state of harmony. It is not limited to directing and shaping the environment. One must direct and shape the “I” too as required to establish harmony. The tone scale measures the harmony of the “I” or beingness. The purpose of processing is to increase the tone, or degree of harmony, of beingness.
THE GOALS OF MAN
The goal of life is not a mere survival of some fixed beingness, but a dynamic adjustment of beingness to maintain overall harmony. Hubbard’s goal to master the physical universe may not always lead to harmony. Harmony is more important as a goal.
THE HUMAN MIND
Incoming sensations, when assimilated in real time, result in perceptions and later memories of these perceptions. Unassimilated sensations are recorded as facsimiles for later assimilation. A person does not become conscious of his facsimiles until they are assimilated.
THE CONTROL CENTER
The Control Center “I” basically issues thought impulses shaped by the awareness that seeks harmony among perceptions, memories, and experience. Such thought impulses are also influenced by the invisible facsimiles. They are then translated into emotion by the glandular system, and into physical action by the muscular system.
EMOTION
Emotion is the interface between thought and motion, where thought is the Impulse to bring harmony of Oneness and motion fulfills that impulse. Emotion is predisposition for motion. Emotion works at both individual and mass levels. Emotion may be felt as the “atmosphere” around a person or place. Ideal emotion supports the impulse toward harmony.
PROCESSING
Processing are the methods to assimilate sensations, perceptions, concepts and knowledge. Examples would be the clearing up of the meaning of words to bring better understanding; and to resolve anomalies to remove doubts and confusions. Processing improves the tone level or harmony within a person by converting his invisible facsimiles into perception and memory.
THE FIRST ACT
The first act is to know that the goal of life is to attain harmony, and the purpose of the human mind is to resolve anomalies. It is my observation that processing becomes complex and fails when the goal of “harmony” is replaced by the desire “to be cause and to control.”
THE SECOND ACT
ARC is basically looking closely and noticing clearly what is there. On this ability depends the tone level (degree of harmony) of a person. The second act is to know the tone level of those who surround you, and whom you associate with. It is also to know the tone level of those who have had influence on you in the past. It is good to make a list of all such people and their tone levels. You may find yourself going along with some of their attitudes.
THE THIRD ACT
In this act you use the Chart of Attitudes to examine your current emotional tone, see how much of its phrases are borrowed from others. Look at your present‑time anomalies (secrets, guilt complexes, self‑criticisms, insecurities, etc.) as forms of self‑punishment rather than inherent facts.
THE FOURTH & FIFTH ACTS
In this act you separate your own goals and fears from those absorbed from significant others (see those in the Second Act), especially the dead, so that future orientation can be based on self‑chosen aims. You focus on anomalies that are relevant to attaining your goals. You resolve anomalies by looking at them more closely. There is a continuation of genetic blueprint and protoplasm line within you. You could be carrying an old injury of somebody else. All old sensations and perceptions that are out of harmony would have to be assimilated.
THE SIXTH & SEVENTH ACTS
The facsimiles carry thoughts, emotions and efforts that could belong to you and also to others. A SERVICE FACSIMILE is your explanation to yourself and the world as to how and why you failed. Look and assimilate as yourself, and not through some valence. Focus on the “atmosphere” of emotions, and let the thoughts and efforts emerge on their own. Look for sympathy, regret, sudden changes in health, emotional shock, loss, etc., that caused centers to shift.
THE EIGHTH ACT
This act introduces LOCK SCANNING. This is the scanning of chains of minor incidents linked to deeper pain. Use this process to discharge the emotional climates you inherited from other people (see those in the Second Act) and from various subjects. Work through your own recorded attitudes, level by level using the Chart of Attitudes, so that their emotional charge and borrowed atmosphere no longer dominate present‑time responses.
THE NINTH ACT
In this act you run both your own emotion and the emotional atmosphere surrounding past events. You go to an unclear point on the time track, attempt to sense the mis-emotion that may have been present in the atmosphere, and experience each incident that becomes available. You do this for home, school, friends, places, and persons who have wronged you. You focus on emotional curves, which contain sudden transition from one emotional level to another, such as happiness abruptly becoming sadness.
THE TENTH ACT
The tenth act addresses the SERVICE FACSIMILE, which is a fixed strategy that a person employs after failure—often by becoming ill, impaired, or “nobly” distressed. It is presented as a way of explaining failure, evading responsibility, gaining sympathy, or exerting influence over others. You dismantle this structure by addressing emotions and counter-emotions; thoughts and conclusions; and efforts and counter-efforts, in that order.
THE ELEVENTH ACT
The eleventh act looks at psychosomatic illness, which is at once an explanation of failure and a bid for sympathy. Sympathy is closely linked to regret and guilt. Get all moments of illness, sympathy, counter-emotion and counter-thought by dynamic, subject, terminal, and object, and the overt before it and the regret after it.
THE TWELFTH ACT
The twelfth act looks at things in particular that each human being finds aberrative and has in common. One LOCK SCANs several “buttons.”
THE THIRTEENTH ACT
The thirteenth act is based on the premise that an individual natively desires to be cause. He tries not to become a bad effect. This premise conflicts with the inherent drive for harmony. People try to help each other because they want to bring harmony. The basic situation lies with the operation of the mind. Auditing becomes very complex and fails when the goal is assumed to be “cause and control” instead of HARMONY.
THE FOURTEENTH ACT
In this act you rum major failures in your life and the deaths you have known.
THE FIFTEENTH ACT
This is a review and consolidation stage. You return to the beginning of the book, reread the theoretical chapters, and then repeat every earlier act in sequence, on the premise that a second pass will reveal new information and deeper understanding.
Conclusion
It appears that OT VIII is still trying to address facsimiles that should have been handled at earlier levels of Scientology. This points to some fundamental weakness in how Scientology processing is directed. Some of these weaknesses were discovered during the research that led to the subject of POSTULATE MECHANICS.
Scientology processing is directed toward making an individual CAUSE over matter, energy, space, time and thought. These elements not only make up the universe, but also the individual. The direction of Scientology processing, therefore, presents an anomaly. This anomaly is resolved in Postulate Mechanics by starting with the postulate of “substance-awareness-oneness,” which applies to both the universe and to the individual.
It is discovered that individual cases resolve much more rapidly and completely when Scientology processing is directed toward the attainment of overall harmony of matter, energy, space, time and thought.
Matter-energy-thought are three aspects of substance. Space and time are properties of substance. Please see Chapter III and IV of Postulate Mechanics.
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