Scientology beliefs and practices
Based on case studies at advanced levels, it is predicted that any Scientologist undergoing auditing will eventually come across and recount a common series of past-life events.
Scientologists also believe that people have innate, yet suppressed, power and ability, which can be regained if cleared of unwanted behavioral patterns and discomforts.
[11] Scientology teaches that the thetan usually resides within the human skull but can also leave the body, either remaining in close contact with it or being separated altogether.
[12] According to Scientology, a person's thetan has existed for trillions of years,[5] having lived countless lifetimes,[13] long before entering a physical body it may now inhabit.
[5] Once MEST was created, Scientology teaches, the thetans began experimenting with human form, ultimately losing knowledge of their origins and becoming trapped in physical bodies.
According to Hubbard, "In man's long evolutionary development the Thetan has been trapped by the engrams formed at various stages of embodiment."
[35] In the Scientology book, A History of Man, Hubbard discusses that a human's past experiences make up that person's present identity.
L. Ron Hubbard wrote in his book Science of Survival, "No culture in the history of the world, save the thoroughly depraved and expiring ones, has failed to affirm the existence of a Supreme Being.
"[42]: 113 Instead of defining God, members assert that reaching higher states of enlightenment will enable individuals to make their own conclusions about the Supreme Being.
From 0.0 upward is the emotional tone scale, including such points as apathy, grief, fear, anger, boredom, contentment, cheerfulness, enthusiasm, and serenity of beingness.
[54] These can take the form of overts – harmful acts against another, either intentionally or by omission – which are usually followed by withholds – efforts to conceal the wrongdoing, which further increase the level of tension in the relationship.
[64] Rothstein also writes that there is a possibility that Scientology partly owes its existence to the conflict with the conventional scientific community, which hindered Hubbard's original intention.
[67] Sociologist William Sims Bainbridge cites Scientology's origins in the subcultures of science fiction and "harmony" with scientific cosmology.
[69] B. Hubbard, J. Hatfield, and J. Santucci compare Scientology's view of humanity to the Yogachara school of Buddhism, saying that both have been described as "the most scientific" among new and traditional religions, respectively.
[26]: 294 Scientology established the anti-psychiatry lobby group Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) which operates an exhibit Psychiatry: An Industry of Death.
[77][78][47]: 248 The central practice of Scientology is an activity known as auditing, which seeks to elevate an adherent to a state of Clear, one of freedom from the influences of the reactive mind.
Scientologists believe that clears become more successful in their daily lives and are "healthier, experience less stress, and possess better communication skills than non-Scientologists.
[87] Dianetic auditing is one way by which the Scientologist may progress toward the 'Clear' state, winning gradual freedom from the reactive mind's engrams, and acquiring certainty of their reality as a thetan.
[92] This restores them to their natural condition as thetans and enables them to be "at cause" in their daily lives, responding rationally and creatively to life events rather than reacting to them under the direction of stored engrams.
[93] Accordingly, those who study Scientology materials and receive auditing sessions advance from a status of "Preclear" to "Clear" and "Operating Thetan".
[96] Most auditing requires an E-meter, a device that measures minute changes in electrical resistance through the body when a person holds electrodes (metal "cans"), and a small current is passed through them.
[96] Advocated by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, silent birth describes "the process of childbirth where labor and delivery is done in a calm and loving environment."
The Church of Scientology includes glossaries in most books and even publishes several dictionaries covering Scientology-specific terminology, words, phrases, and abbreviations.
"[106][107]: 13 The current Classification, Gradation, and Awareness Chart is printed with red ink on white paper and hangs as a poster in every Scientology organization.
[115][116] Narconon is offered in the United States, Canada and some European countries; its Purification Program uses a regimen composed of sauna, physical exercise, vitamins and diet management, combined with auditing and study.
[115][116] The Introspection Rundown is a controversial Church of Scientology auditing process that is intended to handle a psychotic episode or complete mental breakdown.
[122] Actions are considered ethical if they promote survival across all eight dynamics, thus benefiting the greatest number of people or things possible while harming the fewest.
[129] A Scientologist who is actively in communication with a suppressive person and, as a result, shows signs of antisocial behavior is referred to as a potential trouble source.
[141] According to religious studies scholar James R. Lewis, Sunday services are for interested non-members, and the holidays and events are for existing members of the church.
[149][47]: 168–169 In the mid-2000s, high-profile defectors Mark Rathbun and Mike Rinder represented and stood for the cause of Independent Scientologists wishing to practice Scientology outside of the Church.
