Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

Rating:
Summary: This book answered a LOT of questions I had
Review: This book is an incredible source of information. Have you ever wondered why some people have irrational fears (such as fear of the dark? or fear of heights, that sort of thing?) Well, this book actually answers those kinds of questions, and it actually gives a method for handling these types of irrational fears.

And not just irrational fears, but unresolved anger, grief, all sorts of problems can be resolved by using Dianetics procedures.

And this book explains how to do it. You don't need anything else! (Although I also found the video "How to Use Dianetics" very helpful in understanding the material.)

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to help people.

Rating:
Summary: A Major Contribution To Unfolding Man's Potential
Review: When I was a boy of 11 years, I found out that my mother and father had, before marrying, each been interested for a time in L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics. That was back in the 1950's. They never said anything bad about their experience with Hubbard's work, but didn't say much else about it either.

Recently, I became aware that Hubbard was the author of "Battlefield Earth", recently (May, 2000) released as a sci-fi thriller film starring John Travolta. The opening of the movie led me to review my beliefs about Scientology.

As far as I knew, Scientology was an outgrowth of Dianetics and represented a cult of the worst kind. I had heard that people who became involved in the cult could never leave, and that huge financial commitments were required by church members. I felt certain that famous actors like John Travolta and Tom Cruise, who have publicly aligned themselves with Scientology, have got to be among the most unfortunate individuals, locked into a pocket-draining whirlpool of mind-controlling victimizers.

But then it hit me that my parents, both of whom stopped being involved with Dianetics, hadn't been threatened or killed off by security guards from the Church. This got me thinking that maybe my opinions on this subject needed review.

Sometime later, I happened to read a work by Preston Nichols and Peter Moon, called "Encounters In The Pleiades: An Inside Look at UFOs". This is far out stuff, and has nothing to do with Scientology. I mention it because, starting on page 154 of the book, Peter Moon talks about his experience with Scientology. He says many interesting things, but what struck me the most was that he'd been involved for over a dozen years, made tremendous personal progress, and then moved on to other things and left the Church. No one tracked him down or threatened him.

So I decided to look into Hubbard's work. I started with "Dianetics: The Modern Science Of Mental Health," and "What Is Scientology?" I also visited a local Scientology church here in Austin, Texas.

I found Dianetics to be utterly fascinating. Hubbard discusses how limitations on our potential as humans are introduced through all phases of our lives, how devastating these limitations can be (restricting our health, our intelligence, our view of ourselves), and offers a simple technology (called "auditing") for undoing these imposed limitations.

In reading Dianetics, I couldn't help noticing that certain limitations that have arisen in my life fit the pattern described by Hubbard exactly. One day about 24 years ago, I started getting headaches during my meditation practice. Since I've gotten many benefits from this practice, I kept going with it over the years, but the headaches have continued. Five years ago, I developed an apparently undiagnosable breathing problem -- I don't have asthma, only mild allergies, and a host of other conditions have been ruled out. One day I just started to have the problem, and I have no explanation for its origin.

What the headaches and breathing problem have in common is that they appeared out of nowhere and have defied all attempts at correction. Hubbard's description of "keying in engrams", which he discusses in detail in the book provides a compelling explanation that I could never have dreamt up myself! I am quite eager to give his auditing methods a try to see what results are possible. One thing I can tell you for sure: the folks at the Austin Church Of Scientology are normal, friendly people who have no air of weird cultishness, and no particular interest in my money.

I think Hubbard's book is a great contribution and would recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Full of errors, mistaken ideas and junk science
Review: It must have been ten years ago that a well-meaning friend gave me a copy of L. Ron Hubbard's "Dianetics" for my birthday. I felt obliged to read it, as my friend kept asking me every day what I thought of it. So I did.

Shortly after finishing the book, I gave it away to another friend, with the admonishment that "no book ought to be burned, but this one is the exception that proves the rule." As it is not in my possession any longer, I cannot refer to it for specific details, but I remember enough about it overall to offer what I believe is a fair appraisal of the "science" of Dianetics.

First of all, Dianetics claims to be a science. This is demonstrably untrue. Hubbard simply borrowed from the works of other authors, regurgitated a hash of their collective ideas, and tossed in a heavy dose of his own opinions to forge a mockery of science. Nowhere in the book does he offer reliable empirical evidence to support even one of his claims.

Second, the book is filled with embarrassingly obvious pitches for his cult and its "schools" of Scientology. These unfortunate commercials make the book more advertising gimmick than a "handbook for the brain."

Third, and most damaging of all, is Hubbard's near-constant use of and reliance upon clearly outdated notions in psychology. Engrams, for one, is the idea that the human brain forms hard-wired memories starting in infancy that last inerrantly into adulthood, and that these literally control every aspect of your later years. This hypothesis is demonstrably false, as any policeman who has ever interviewed a witness to a crime can attest -- human memories are not inerrant, they are malleable and inherently unreliable. Hubbard even perpetuates the easily-demolished myth that "humans only use ten percent of their brains."

Such errors fill Dianetics. It is busy with them, constructing them, organizing them, defending them, and building upon them to create still more errors. It is the worst non-fiction book I have read -- and I've read hundreds in this genre -- and I am glad I did not waste a penny of my own money buying it.

Worse than that, it's still advertised on television and radio as a "science," and to a scientifically illiterate public, this is likely to be believed. Dianetics adds to the ubiquitous morass of junk science, encourages readers to join and donate their money to Scientology, and encourages people to believe what is demonstrably false about their own brains.

Even if someone gives it to you as a present, accept it gracefully, but use its pages to housebreak your new puppy or line the bird cage. Dianetics is suitable for nothing better.

Rating:
Summary: Fit for the Dark Ages
Review: How can one take seriously anything that begins with a statement such as: "In reading this book, be very certain you never go past a word you do not fully understand. The only reason a person gives up a study or becomes confused or unable to learn is because he or she has gone past a word that was not understood," and then offers the word "crepuscule" as an example of bewildering discourse? (The only thing these opening paragraphs serve to illustrate is the level of the book's intended audience....)

Come page 2, one runs into an explanation of why the book uses "basic" language throughout the book, instead of the more conventional jargon of psychology or other well-established disciplines (the use of which would actually allow the author's nonsensical theses to be refuted). Of course, claims Hubbard, the "scholars" among his readers will no doubt appreciate being spared the burden of such technicalities as "summation signs and the Lorentz-FitzGerald-Einstein equations." Actually, I think it would be rather amusing to see those equations used in the context of a treatise on mental health! And by the way, the "basic" language turns out to hinge on phrases such as "Intelligence is inhibited by engrams, which feed false or improperly graded data into the analyzer". (Give me a break.)

Sadly, if the dust-jacket claim is accurate, then more than 117 million people worldwide have bought one of Hubbard's books (17 million for Dianetics alone). And if the reviews in this page are any indication of buyer's tastes in general, then tens of millions of people (people who share the bus, office, and sidewalk with the rest of us) actually believe Dianetics to be more than a bad joke. Forget Stephen King's horror stories: this book's popularity provides a far better reason for looking over one's shoulder in fear.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: First of all, for those readers who just zipped through the book and started using the book's techniques which are way in the back, I applaud you. The first time I tried to read this book, I put it down after 48 pages because I found it very difficult to read, but also immensely intriguing. I was highly skeptical. But, having run out of good sci-fi novels and autobiographies, which are my favorite books, I pulled it off the shelf, dusted it off, and cracked it to page 48 where I had left off. Three or four nights later, I was sold. This was the best book I had ever laid my hands on. Could it really work? If it's so great, why hadn't I heard about it in College? Well, let's not go there. I called the number in the back of the book and went to a public seminar where they were teaching the techniques - I'm not one to just pick things up real easily. It was at the Shrine Auditorium and before too long, I found myself "auditing" (listening quietly and comfortably to a person). The young man I was with spoke of the death of his father, from how he heard of it right on through the funeral. We went over it again and again and I could tell he really didn't want to cry in front of me, so I gently encouraged him to continue. The grief came, then anger at how he had been able to do nothing to save his father, and finally he was bored with the whole thing. I didn't stop there because it says not to. He kept recounting what had happened, giving me new pieces and suddenly this look of peace and tranquility came over his face and he told me that for the first time since his dad had died he could look at it and not feel grief or blame someone. He knew his father was okay and he felt fine. We ended off and I have been learning about Dianetics and "auditing" ever since. This stuff actually does change your life for the better so you should make sure that that is what you want (a better life) before you pick up the book.

Rating:
Summary: PSYCHOLOGY DOESN'T WORK - DIANETICS DOES
Review: I spent years (and lots of $$) in therapy trying to simply feelbetter. I bought this book and tore through it in a matter of days! I tried the techniques explained in the book. In a couple of hours I was over the pain of the sudden death of my best friend. I still miss her, but that huge weight of the pain of losing her is gone. This book is really a text book and was just too advanced for some people which is why they didn't understand it and didn't like it.

Rating:
Summary: A new viewpoint to consider
Review: This book presents a new viewpoint about the workings of the human mind and I think that mental health professionals should consider a closer evaluation of this material for incorporation into their own methods because as it stands now I can do with a good friend for free what I can do with a phychiatrist for eighty dollars an hour and probably get better results with a friend. And this is without Dianetic therapy! Now, I mean no disrespect to the others who have reviewed this book, but I must say to those who say that the book ruined their lives; this book, although interesting, did not perform any miracles for me but neither did it "ruin my life". It is just a book and no book can ruin anybody's life. I don't see how I can ruin my life by going over old memories unless I "restimulate" some old injury in which case that means that L. Ron Hubbard's theories work! This book is worth reading and Hubbard's theories and techniques deserve consideration and evaluation. Read it and judge for yourself. Whatever else this book does for you (or not) it will certainly make you think.

Rating:
Summary: Why so threatened?
Review: I can't believe that there are so many people who feel so threatened by this book. I'm not a scientologist or even a big fan of ugly Hubbard but this book is definitely worth reading and it deserves to be judged on it's own merit and not on the basis of other works by hubbard. I have found the techniques in this book to be very effective and I really believe that regarding this subject (Dianetics and not Scientology) Hubbard had something. Of course, the reader should make up his own mind about this book and others by L. Ron Hubbard.

Rating:
Summary: Now I understand!
Review: This book should be required reading in any social studies class. I now understand the mind in way I never thought possible and this is due to Hubbard's ability to reduce a subject to it's bottom line. It is no wonder that psychiatrists attack the author so much given the threat of lost profits that this book represents for psychiatrists. In particular, the chapter on "Emotion and lifeforce" enlightens the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Too good to be true! It changed my life for the better!
Review: This is an outstanding book! It was the first book ever to truly give me information that I can USE and that WORKS everyday to improve my life! (And the lives of my friend and family).

I understand a lot more about myself and others. Such a relief. And I am disentangled from a lot of confusions and mysteries, too!