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Summary: Dianetics Celebrates 51 Years of Publication
Review: This is a great book; I've used it many times to help others and help myself. It clarified for me what exactly is happening with the human mind, much more clearly than any psychology text. One would do well to look up any hard to understand words in a dictionary. Realize too, that Dianetics is not Scientology. Dianetics is Dianetics. Read it!
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Summary: A big book with big ideas and big words.
Review: I've attempted reading this book on several occations and have yet to get through it. It seems to be written for a learned audience. It is has some practical stuff, but I had a hard time understanding it all. I saw the video tape on the same subject and it was presented in a lot simpler format that I actually could and did follow. I am depressed much less often after doing some of the therapy with a friend as shown in the video. I guess the book was over my head.
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Summary: The owner's manual for the mind! This technique really works
Review: I have been using Dianetics techniques for more than a decade, and I have found it to be remarkably effective in helping people to overcome many obstacles in life - considering that many obstacles are actually stemming from the mind itself! Psychosomatic illness, irrational fears and phobias, unwanted emotions, inexplicable aches and pains are all explained in this book. The technology for solving the problem of the human mind is now available. Anyone who has a mind needs this owner's manual!
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Summary: Helped me understand people
Review: After I read this book, my eyes were open. It really helped me understand the very strange behavior we see around us from our fellow humans. Warmly recommended.
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Summary: A bestseller for three generations
Review: Dianetics was first published in 1950. It rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists and stayed there for months. It continued to sell well during the 60s and 70s and then shot to the top of the bestseller lists again in the 80s and in the 90s. Why? Because Dianetics offers a simple, straightforward approach to the problems of the mind that any moderately educated person can understand and apply to improve himself and his friends. And even though L. Ron Hubbard went on to refine the techniques contained in this book and to develop the subject of Scientology, the theories contained in Dianetics are still valid and the techniques still work miracles. I recall some of my early Dianetics sessions as an auditor in the 1970s and I was amazed at how people changed before my eyes. Whole areas of their lives that were unable to be faced before Dianetics opened up and were revealed to them. And as the pain went away, the people got brighter and more alive and more able. All this is possible to do with just the material contained in this book. My parents both became practicing Dianeticists (my enthusiasm for it was infectious) and now my children are studying it, too. That's three generations in my family. Warning to younger readers: The book was written in the common language of its day, but our educational standards have degraded since 1950 and younger readers might have a little trouble with the vocabulary at first. Take the time to look up the words. It is well worth the effort. There are gems here. Very valuable gems! Ben
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Summary: WHAT'S THE "NEW IN THIS BOOK???"
Review: This is a heavy and dry book. I have read 2 chapters and just got a headache. I think that people who is 'impRessed' by this pseudophilosophyc book should read other self improvement authors. This book will not reveal something new to the experienced reader and the serious occult/ esoteric/ psychological schollar, but maybe will be useful for people asking for guidance, tuition and with no experience in the field of human mind (if they can read the book).
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Summary: Ever wondered WHY people do the crazy things they do?
Review: This book gives the answer to why people engage in irrational, self-destructive behavior. It is a bit of a read - definitely have a dictionary handy when you read it - but it's well worth the effort. What I like most about this book is that it doesn't leave one feeling sad that there isn't a clear way to handle these imperfections in people, but it actually provides a simple-to-use, and I've found VERY effective, method to handle these problems in others. If you are interested in the mind, and what makes us tick, and if you like to help others, then this is the book for you! I would also recommend the "How to Use Dianetics" video.
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Summary: What a ride!!!
Review: Wow! This book really pulls some of the biological explanations of mental manifestations together. I am amazed at how many bad reviews it got. The information of memory traces on cells being passed down through generations, and the restimulative quality of engrams was really an eye opener. No wonder psychiatrists and psychologists are scared of this book. If it became popular it would put them out of business! I began reading this because I was pregnant and wanted to ensure my child grew up in a mentally healthy environment. I had seen many friends and co-workers using the advice in psychological books and winding up with eternally medicated children. I decided to go against the fray, and I'm glad I did. I had two successful natural births that were quiet, and my kids have been absent of phobias and attention problems that many other children around us have. I get constant complements on their attention, behavior and intelligence. The book has also helped me and my husband overcome many communication difficulties, survive the deaths of family members and other severe losses, and resolve educational problems. I strongly recommend this book to anyone wishing to lead a happy family life.
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Summary: A beautiful manual for your life....
Review: It's almost laughable to see so many reviewers complain about Hubbard's supposed lack of knowledge, surreptitious nature, etc.... while they try to defend their biased opinions by promoting the very essence of that which LRH criticizes AND solidly invalidates in this book, and many others relating to Scientology and Dianetics for that matter... Just one piece of advice... DO YOUR RESEARCH. (I'm sure you'd be infuriated too if we studied psychology based only what is said on the 6 o'clock news or trash magazines) L. Ron Hubbard was no god, no supernatural being... but he was a highly studied individual who tapped into an incredible amount of knowledge relating to ourselves, our minds, and ultimately our lives . But hey, you don't have to take my word for it.... You psychologists, behavioral scientists, psychiatrists, etc... who complain about his supposed ignorance and lack of research... well don't be hypocrites and do your own PROPER research on him and his studies then. (and something better than Star or the National Enquirer please..) THEN you can complain.... but at least you'll be taunting self-evident lies instead of shameful ignorance. Everyone else should accept this book for what it is - a workable study manual for your life. The only frustrating thing psychologists find with LRH's study technology is that it WORKS, and that shows how incredibly hypocritical modern psychological study is, claiming to search for the understanding and handling of the mind, yet revoking any clear method that deviates from its own... no matter how true and effective it may be. READ THIS BOOK.
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Summary: Not a casual read - startling insight into the mind...
Review: I first read this book in 1975. I didn't know the controversy swirling around L. Ron Hubbard at that time and didn't know he was a golden age science ficture writer. It was referred to me by a friend when I told him I hoped there was more to life than I had discovered thus far. It took me 5 days and nights to get through it. This is not a casual read and vocabulary and syntax are not for the faint of heart. However, after reading it I was simply amazed that someone had managed to explain the mind in terms that were not only logical, but insightful toward common everyday insanities of life amongst human beings. As far as those who discredit his work as merely the rantings of a pulp science fiction writer, I would point out that better scientists have written science fiction, but few science fiction writers have written better science.
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