I am a new member of the Church of Scientology, despite having seen all of the negative documentaries and knowing about the existence of the Freezone. I have my own reasons for going down the Corporate route, and I'm very happy with my org and my progress so far. If that ever changes, I'll bail. But until then, here I am...
I'm on my first ever course, the Dianetics: TMSMH Book and Lectures course. I was already familiar with Dianetics, having first encountered a tattered old copy of "The Original Thesis" in a charity shop some years ago.
For all the adulation that this book recieves from Scientologists - Corporate and Indy alike - it's actually a bit of a mess. Hubbard's prose is grandiose and rambling. He has a habit of making tangents, or of using three paragraphs where a sentence or two would suffice. There is good stuff here, don't get me wrong. But the real "crunch" of this book is buried under the weight of pages and pages of "fluff".
A far superiour source is the now out-of-print "Dianetics Today", available from Amazon for approximately £25. By far the best introduction to the subject is "Dianetics: The Original Thesis". The former work, while comprehensive, is much better edited. It "flows" in a much more logical fashion, and despite its length is a far more concise work overall. The latter book served as LRH's introduction to Dianetics for the medical community. Entirely absent is the sententious bombast that characterises "Dianetics: TMSMH". It's lean, mean and a delight to read.
In comparison to the two books mentioned above, "Book One" feels like wading through treacle. Indeed, I'm lucky to be reading it as part of a structured and intensive course, because that forces me to pay extremely close attention to every paragraph and pick up valuable data that I would otherwise miss due to clumsy presentation. Studying this work is a nescessary step in my gradient to becoming a competent and certified auditor, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
I am a new member of the Church of Scientology, despite having seen all of the negative documentaries and knowing about the existence of the Freezone. I have my own reasons for going down the Corporate route, and I'm very happy with my org and my progress so far. If that ever changes, I'll bail. But until then, here I am...
I'm on my first ever course, the Dianetics: TMSMH Book and Lectures course. I was already familiar with Dianetics, having first encountered a tattered old copy of "The Original Thesis" in a charity shop some years ago.
For all the adulation that this book recieves from Scientologists - Corporate and Indy alike - it's actually a bit of a mess. Hubbard's prose is grandiose and rambling. He has a habit of making tangents, or of using three paragraphs where a sentence or two would suffice. There is good stuff here, don't get me wrong. But the real "crunch" of this book is buried under the weight of pages and pages of "fluff".
A far superiour source is the now out-of-print "Dianetics Today", available from Amazon for approximately £25. By far the best introduction to the subject is "Dianetics: The Original Thesis". The former work, while comprehensive, is much better edited. It "flows" in a much more logical fashion, and despite its length is a far more concise work overall. The latter book served as LRH's introduction to Dianetics for the medical community. Entirely absent is the sententious bombast that characterises "Dianetics: TMSMH". It's lean, mean and a delight to read.
In comparison to the two books mentioned above, "Book One" feels like wading through treacle. Indeed, I'm lucky to be reading it as part of a structured and intensive course, because that forces me to pay extremely close attention to every paragraph and pick up valuable data that I would otherwise miss due to clumsy presentation. Studying this work is a nescessary step in my gradient to becoming a competent and certified auditor, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Where I stand
I am a...
Church of Scientology member
Pros and Cons (optional)
Pros
> Introduced radical new psychotherapeutic concepts to the mass market, which retain their value and are criminally underappreciated by the medical community to this day.
> A real milestone in the history of Dianetics/Scientology.
> The modern "larger than life" sized paperback is beautifully presented, with everything down to the choice of font seemingly being designed to maximise durability and reading clarity.
> Can be purchased as part of a package containing the "Lectures and Demonstrations" CDs and the "How to Use Dianetics" film - wonderful resources whose value arguably exceeds that of this book.
Cons
> Elephantine prose style and pacing. LRH badly needed a better editing staff.
> Valuable data is obscured by grandstanding and lack of narrative clarity.
> Far too expensive compared to alternative resources (Lectures, other LRH books, a film) that do the same job better.
> Must be studied in a courseroom environment to really pick up the data.
Self Analysis (August 1951): Possibly the best introduction to the subjects of Dianetics and Scientology. Self Analysis contains both a series of essays on the basic discoveries Ron had made up to this point in his research as well as an extensive auditing section that a person can do by themselves right at home. The book contains a special version of the Hubbard Chart of Human Evaluation and a series of tests one can do to discover where you're really at. Then, by applying the processes from the second half of the book, one is guided through a path of self-discovery. At the end, you will re-do the tests to confirm your improvement. How good can you get? These techniques have been in use for more than six decades and Ron referred to them again and again throughout his research, stating that the processes here were capable of curing any neurosis.
This is the starting point for anyone wanting auditing. You will be audited by L. Ron Hubbard himself through the pages of this book.
Find a copy in used bookstores or at Alibris.com, Amazon.com, eBay. Or you can buy a new copy from these Church of Scientology organizations (but once you give them your address they may continue to send you junk mail) Bridge Publications or New Era Publications.
