Vinaire's Blog

Reference: Scientology versus KHTK

Mental clarity comes from clarity of observation. Clarity of observation comes from  removal of filters.

The filters are biases, prejudices, fixed ideas, blind faith, etc. 

A filter is what one is observing through, so it is hard to even know the existence of a filter unless following some oddity leads you to it.Therefore, clarity of observation depends upon spotting oddities and resolving them. One’s personal improvement also depends on it.

Oddities or logical inconsistencies are things that do not make sense. Many logical inconsistencies are hard to spot. The only way one can spot them is by pulling strings on lesser logical inconsistencies.

One should never explain away the slightest bit of oddity. Instead, one should always investigate it. 

Here is an example of an oddity. By definition the universe is a superset of all existence. It includes everything. That means there is nothing else observing the universe except for the universe itself. The observer and the observed are part of the same system. Therefore, the idea that the observer and the observed are entirely two different systems is an oddity.

It is the universe observing itself. It is never otherwise.

If the “observer” is shrunk to a small part of the universe, such as, a human body, then it can separate itself from another part of the universe. It can then assume that it is different from what it is observing. But both “observer” and “observed” are part of this universe. The fundamental basis of both is the same.

The “observer” and the “observed” seem to be separate only when we narrow down the viewpoint.

In Scientology, one starts from the viewpoint of a human being. So, it assumes that the observer is separate from what it is observing. The idea of observer is then reduced to a “self” or “thetan”. Scientology then assumes that the “thetan” creates all that it is observing.

With the idea of “thetan”, an introversion comes about  that makes everything appear subjective.

KHTK, like science, is characterized by a universal viewpoint. Scientology is characterized by a human-centric viewpoint.

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Reference: Mindfulness

Mindfulness provides the discipline for looking and contemplation.

In this exercise you do not do anything. You simply let the changes occur on their own accord. Such changes shall settle down after a while if you don’t interfere with them.

It is better to begin with this exercise in a place where you can sit comfortably without being disturbed. You sit with your back upright and with your eyes closed. At a later iteration of this exercise you may sit with your eyes open.

The whole idea of this exercise is to be there comfortably and recognize what is there in your environment. When your eyes are closed your environment shall consist of the sensations in the body and the thoughts in your mind. Later when your eyes are open, you shall also add the environment exterior to you.

As you do this exercise you let the sensations and feelings play themselves out. You simply do not resist, suppress or interfere. As you recognize the disharmonies in the body and the mind, they will start to reduce and become harmonies. Over time you will have many realizations about your inherent nature.

Once you have done this exercise sitting silently for some time, you may discover that this mode of mindfulness continues even while sipping coffee in a café, strolling along a river, or watching the world go by. Do this exercise as often as possible until it becomes a second nature to you, and you are able to see things as they are.

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MINDFULNESS #0: Observe things as they truly are.

In a class of students, have the students settle down in a comfortable meditation posture and close their eyes. Call out the following instructions slowly and clearly. Pause for 15 to 20 seconds after each instruction to let the student settle down with it.

1. Become aware of the body and stay aware of it without interfering with its natural movements, such as, breathing. Do not resist anything.

2. Become aware of the mind and stay aware of it without interfering with its natural processes, such as, thoughts and feelings. Do not suppress anything.

3. Become aware of what your physical and mental senses present to you, such as, visual forms, sounds, smells, taste, touch, thoughts, emotions, and impulses. Do not strain to perceive them.

4. Let the body move in response to the natural impulses from the mind. Do not try to control the body movements. Let them unwind and settle down on their own accord.

5. Let the mind respond naturally to the stimuli present in the environment. Do not try to control the mental responses. Let them unwind and settle down on their own accord.

6. Let physical reactions, such as, twitches in muscles, minor pains and aches, sleepiness, etc., come and go. Don’t resist them. Experience the body thoroughly as a whole. Such reactions shall unwind and settle down on their own accord.

7. Let mental reactions, such as, embarrassment, guilt, anxiety, anger, fear, grief, apathy, and even sleep, come and go. Don’t suppress them. Experience the mind non-judgmentally as a whole. Such reactions shall unwind and settle down on their own accord.

8. If you find yourself mentally doing something else, or getting lost in thoughts, then simply recognize it, and continue. Let the attention roam freely.

9. Let the “pictures” of the current and past events come and go. Let the feelings, emotions and sensations play themselves out. Do not speculate on anything. Simply be aware.

10. Let the realizations present themselves without you making any effort.

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NOTE (08/19/2025): Before any self-help will work, the person must be given hope that he or she can improve, and that there is a better future ahead.

If the individual difficulties of billions of people on this planet are to be cleared, as Scientology aspires to do, then the only formula that would work is self-help. We can only create an environment in which self-help can occur. Ultimately, it is the person who really helps himself.

Nobody can really help another. Only the person can help himself. 

Self-help is solo help. It is something that a person can do by himself or herself. It doesn’t require dependence on some psychoanalyst, auditor, or practitioner. If you want to help a person, then encourage him to use his own mind.

Nobody should monkey with the mind of another person with the idea of “helping” him.

Psychology built itself up on talk therapy. The psychoanalyst listens to a person’s problems and helps him to sort them out. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. With such spotty results talk therapy has not gained much ground.

The “science” of the talk therapy has not been fully worked out.

The good results in talk therapy have never come from the therapist giving advice to the person. The results have always come from the person realizing his problem while talking to the therapist. Therefore, the role of the therapist has been to guide the person to look at his problem more thoroughly.

The therapist listens to the person and guides him where to look.

It was not the therapist who was sorting the person’s problem out. It was the person who was sorting his problems by looking at them more closely. The therapist was there to help the person look at his condition.

It is looking that helps resolve the problem, and not talking.

Talking is there only for someone to listen and guide the person where to look. If there is a technology that guides the person to look for himself then talking becomes unnecessary. The person then becomes his own silent therapist.

The person can be a silent therapist to himself or herself.

Meditation has long been a form of self-help. But it is made ineffective to the degree it moves away from “looking” and get mixed with weird practices, like focusing on a burning candle. The key technology of meditation is looking and seeing things as they are. This is called mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the framework within which meditation works.

The recent advancement has been the training drill “TR0” of Scientology. In TR0, two people sit down and look at each other silently. It is an advancement only because it generates an interest in looking. But it works within the context of mindfulness. TR0 is also rendered ineffective when it moves away from looking and gets involved with mumbo-jumbo like “blink less TR0” and confrontation.

TR0 of Scientology works only within the framework of mindfulness.

If we have to create a self-help environment for billions of people on this planet, then any self-help technology must be made freely available, as was done by Buddha 2,600 years ago. Buddha made his technology of mindfulness freely available and then worked all his life to make sure that all people benefited from it. The social benefit greatly outweighs any personal benefit of making money.

Any self-help technology must be made freely available.

The self-help technology is the technology to create a healthy environment in which proper growth can occur. It is a cooperative effort like the effort in science. Science makes knowledge freely available so others can make advances upon it. It is only the narrow self-interest of some that discourages such advances in technology by calling them “squirreling.” Unfortunately, that is the case with Scientology.

Scientology discourages the advancement of self-help technology with its idea of “squirreling.”

All effective self-help technology is built upon mindfulness. Mindfulness is the technology that was freely provided by Buddha.

To look, contemplate, and come up with answers is the inherent right of any person. It is the application of this right, which improves the conditions in life. This right should never be suppressed, or discouraged through narrow-minded attempts to monopolize knowledge and technology.

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