Affirmations (L. Ron Hubbard)
It does not list an author, but it is widely believed to have been written by L. Ron Hubbard, a few years before he established Dianetics (1950), which formed the basis for Scientology (1952).
The document consists of a series of statements by and addressed to Hubbard, relating to various physical, sexual, psychological and social issues that he was encountering in his life.
However, they later effectively admitted the document's authorship, describing the work in legal papers as having been "written by" Hubbard and seeking to retain ownership of it.
The Affirmations were intended to be used as a form of self-hypnosis with the intention of resolving Hubbard's psychological problems and instilling a positive mental attitude.
In her book Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion, Janet Reitman calls the Affirmations "the most revealing psychological self-assessment, complete with exhortations to himself, that [Hubbard] had ever made".
[1]: 20 L. Ron Hubbard had become a well-known writer of pulp fiction stories in the 1930s before he joined the United States Navy in 1941, a few months before the US entered World War II.
[2]: 207–8 After the war ended in 1945 he moved in with Jack Parsons, a rocket scientist and occultist who shared a large house in Pasadena, California with various like-minded individuals.
[2]: 209 Hubbard was an enthusiastic participant in the sex magic rituals which Parsons, a member of Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), performed with the aid of his girlfriend and muse, Sara "Betty" Northrup, who was 20–21 years old in 1945.
[1]: 379 The name "Affirmations" was given to the document by Omar V. Garrison, a British writer hired by the Church of Scientology to write an official biography of Hubbard.
[4]: 51 However, as part of the agreement with the Church of Scientology that settled the 1984 case, Armstrong was required to return "all originals and copies of the documents commonly known as the 'Affirmations' written by L. Ron Hubbard".
[6]: 100 According to Reitman, "the affirmations went on for pages, as Hubbard repeatedly avowed his magical power, sexual attractiveness, good health, strong memory, and literary talent.
His naval career was a source of angst (a theme to which he returned in the other sections of the Affirmations); he wrote, accurately enough, that "my service record was none too glorious".
[4]: 51 Sex and relationships are a major theme in Course I. Hubbard writes that he is ashamed of his frequent affairs and his determination to succeed with the "young, beautiful, desirable" Sara, though he admits that he is hindered by impotence: "I want her always.
[4]: 54 For instance: Lawrence Wright suggests in his book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief that in the Affimations "Hubbard is using techniques on himself that he would later develop into Dianetics."
This concept is drawn directly from Aleister Crowley's book Magick in Theory and Practice, which advocates that "adepts" should make it a priority to get in touch with their Guardian.
