Category Archives: Scientology

SCN 8-8008: Always-Never

July 13, 2019 – 8:24 PM

Reference: The Book of Scientology

Always-Never

Please see the original section at the link above.

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Summary

According to Hubbard:

Objects in the MEST universe give us the illusion of time because they are persisting. This makes us think that, in order to persist ourselves, we need to identify with the MEST universe. But by developing the ability to postulate objects, we can also possess the ability to have an actual forever.

We should, therefore, make the universe agree with ourselves by postulating energy and objects, instead of continually agreeing with the MEST universe. This will assure that we have a great deal of time.

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Comments

Hubbard’s attention is on achieving immortality. He sees identification with the MEST universe to be the barrier, as it gives only an illusion of immortality. His solution is to disagree with the MEST universe, and override it with one’s own postulates.

However, the actual barrier is that we do not understand all the laws of the universe. To discover these laws, we need to resolve the anomalies as we come across them in this universe. 

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By vinaire | Comments (0)

SCN 8-8008: Everyone-Nobody

June 27, 2019 – 11:06 AM

Reference: The Book of Scientology

Everyone-Nobody

Please see the original section at the link above.

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Summary

A person is basically “an awareness without fixation.” There is his own identity that he is controlling. There are other identities around him that he is not controlling, but he is in communication with them.

Hubbard says, “At the top of the scale, while still retaining his own identity, he can be anyone’s identity.” 

When a person is at the top of the tone scale, he is not fixated either on his identity or on the identities of others. There is just one continuous, consistent and harmonious awareness that is totally free. It may identify in passing with different postulates, and that produces different identities. But that identification is not permanent, and the awareness can just as easily unidentify itself. There are no distinct permanent identities, such as, thetans as assumed in Scientology.

Hubbard says, “At the bottom end of the scale, the preclear is making the mistake of considering the “somebodies” around him as MEST.”

The identifications start to become more enduring as the tone scale is descended. This may be seen as increasing fixation. When the person is at the bottom of the tone scale, he is heavily fixated on an identity and believes that identity to be permanent; for example, the identity as a thetan. The awareness is seen as distributed among different identities. Identities has now become very prominent, discrete.and separately controlled. The person believes others around him to be fixated on their identities just like he is. He gets very confused if another identity suddenly changes radically in its characteristics.

Hubbard says, “When an individual is low on the tone-scale, he easily does a life continuum for others.” Hubbard defines life continuum as “somebody fails, departs or dies and the individual then takes on the burden of this person’s habits, goals, fears, and idiosyncrasies.”

Low on the tone-scale, a person is fixated on an identity, which he calls “I”. In this condition he unknowingly assumes the characteristics of another identity that he has become attached to, especially when the other identity has departed. This is also called being in the valence of another. It is basically a fixation. The greater is the fixation, the lesser is the freedom.

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FINAL COMMENTS


Hubbard says that being everybody can be conceived at both ends of the tone-scale. But it basically boils down to assuming certain characteristics—lightly or heavily—that are also manifested elsewhere. The key aberration is fixation and it has numerous manifestations. Hubbard is trying to explain this fixation in terms of theta and MEST.

A person high on the tone scale is aware of the similarities and differences between him and others around him. He can sense that their thoughts, emotions and feelings are very much like his own in their basic characteristics. He finds that he is like everyone as he understands the desires and pains of others.

A person low on the tone scale is mostly unaware, and has little power of choice. He mostly reacts like those his attention is unconsciously fixated on. He is nobody.

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SCN 8-8008: Ownership

June 27, 2019 – 8:17 AM

Reference: The Book of Scientology

Ownership

Please see the original section at the link above.

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Summary

Hubbard says, “The whole question of ownership is subject to grave error, particularly on the part of Homo sapiens… Instead of having things, they themselves are had by things. Their freedom in motion is enormously reduced, although they have tricked themselves into believing that possession will increase that freedom.”

This echoes what Hinduism has been saying since ancient times. Do not get attached to worldly things. If you start getting attached to your possessions, there goes your freedom.

Hubbard says, “Individuality depends upon high-tone level and freedom, whereas identity, as such, would be at a complete level of reduction, a condition analogous to MEST.”

If identity is a source of attachment, how is the fixation on individuality any different! Where does individuality end, and identity begin? What is this thing you are identifying as your individuality, and desperately want it to be permanent? Doesn’t this sound like attachment too? Identity is just a condensed individuality. It is what the person thinks he is. But there is nothing wrong with identity or individuality if the person is not fixated on it, and doesn’t look at it as something permanent.

On the same token there is nothing wrong with the havingness of ownership, or with possessions, as long as there are no fixations. Wherever a child is upset on the subject of ownership, it is because his learning was interrupted. His toys were the methods through which he was learning about his surroundings. When his toys were controlled, his learning was interrupted. If he were allowed to understand why he should take care of his possessions, he would happily do so. He would not get upset on the subject of ownership.

With ownership comes certain responsibility. And if a person understands that responsibility and takes care of his possessions without becoming attached to them, he would enjoy those possessions much more. If he loses those possessions then he would simply go and get other possessions. He would understand this as life. He would not be in a state of anxiety about owning things. 

When there are fixations, the sense of continuity is missing. One would then have trouble on the subject of time because time has to do with continuity.

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Comments

The ultimate ownership is to have the knowledge of the universe, and to be able to use that knowledge skillfully. This havingness comes from resolving anomalies. This is what scientists love to do. It gives them a wonderful sense of freedom. 

There is nothing wrong with owning things. But getting fixated on something you own is an anomaly. Resolving that fixation is to acquire a greater sense of freedom.

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SCN 8-8008: Right-Wrong

June 18, 2019 – 11:03 AM

Reference: The Book of Scientology

Right-Wrong

Please see the original section at the link above.

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Summary

Hubbard says, “Rightness is conceived to be survival. Any action which assists survival along the maximal number of dynamics is considered to be a right action.”

But rightness exists naturally when there are no anomalies (discontinuities, inconsistencies and disharmonies). To establish rightness all one has to do is to identify anomalies and resolve them. The wrong thing to do is to ignore anomalies.

Hubbard says, “Theoretically, how right can one be? Immortal! How wrong can one be? Dead!”

Hubbard talks about the survival of self on all dynamics, instead of the survival of the dynamics themselves. There is a big difference. Hubbard’s viewpoint is based on the survival of some permanent self which is a fixation and an anomaly. 

Hubbard says, “Social politeness, with its violation of the Code of Honor, is quite non-survival.”

I have added the link to the Code of Honor. This code is appropriate only when there is no fixation on self, and one is willing to sacrifice oneself to uphold the principle of oneness.

Hubbard says, “Thus, for the first time with this principle, rules of evidence and other matters in law can be established with some accuracy.”

The principle Hubbard is talking about is survival of self along the maximal number of dynamics. Since the idea of self is different from person to person, Hubbard is proposing something arbitrary, and not really a principle.

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Comments

Every person is being “right” from their narrow viewpoint. A person will instinctively take right action when he is looking from a universally broad viewpoint. Therefore, the true principle of rightness is the principle of oneness.

Rightness may be achieved on a gradient when one focuses on resolving anomalies and does not ignore them.

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SCN 8-8008: Survival

June 11, 2019 – 7:52 PM

Reference: The Book of Scientology

Survival

Please see the original section at the link above.

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Summary

According to Hubbard, “The goal of life in the MEST universe is survival and only survival.” Survival is the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances. But it is quite obvious that nothing in this universe remains the same for ever. Everything is changing. Survival is something passive. The active form of survival is evolution. The very appearance of life in this universe is the result of evolution.

Of course, all life is surviving, but life is evolving too. We see that rapid evolution in Man and his societies. Survival is the basis of evolution; and evolution is the purpose of survival. We need to emphasize evolution along with survival.

Hubbard says, “It [survival] also covers the wide field of ethics.” According to Hubbard ethics is guided by “maximum survival on the maximum number of dynamics.” But this, as a guideline, is too general to be practical. We need to emphasize the principle of oneness (continuity, consistency and harmony), which is a very specific guideline that works as a constraint at all levels. The constraint of oneness keeps ethics in. The MEST universe itself follows the principle of oneness from which all physical laws are derived. These laws keep the ethics of the MEST universe in.

Hubbard says, “The principle of survival was never intended to embrace theta itself.” Survival, and more accurately evolution, requires the ability to postulate. That ability is theta. The source of theta is unknowable. Survival itself is a postulate of theta. Therefore, theta is beyond, the consideration of survival. 

Hubbard says, “Survival is nothing if not dependent upon havingness, action and beingness.” Havingness is the outcome of doingness (action), and doingness follows naturally from beingness. Beingness is the passing identification of awareness with some postulate. Survival has to do with this identification. As this identification deepens so does survival.

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Comments

Survival results from the passing identification of awareness with some postulate. The identification may continue to change. That is the type of survival that contains most freedom. If the identification becomes fixed and starts to deepen, the freedom suffers. The deeper is the identification, the lower is the awareness of a person on the tone scale, and the more constrained is his freedom in his survival.

But the person learns from this experience. As he overcomes the constraints of his fixations, he tastes freedom. Thus come about evolution as he is able to change his identifications while he survives. New postulates and forms come about, and the evolution of the universe takes shape. This occurs under the overall constraint of oneness (continuity, consistency and harmony), which provides the perfect balance of freedom with evolution.

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