Rating: 
Summary: DOES IT WORK?
Review: So does 'Dianetics' really work? I really wish I knew the answer to that. I heard these miracles that were performed by it and had hoped that it did. I was actually hoping that it was something I could do alone. But now it sounds like I would need to go to an auditor. I would maybe do that if I really knew if it worked. Con: If dianetics worked, then wouldn't have Hubbard, or someone like him, gone before people to credit themselves for having found a miracle cure? Pro: But if psychologists just didn't believe him, and he really did perform all those miracles in his book, then wouldn't that be great to be a 'clear'. Up until now I have never heard of Dianetics, and have only heard of L. Ron Hubbard through the TV. But I was looking for self-help and I found him in the library. I started to read 'Dianetics' and had gained hope for that proclaimed miracle. So do I believe dianetis? And do I trust myself to try to 'clear' my wife in hope's that it'll work and she can clear me??? I have yet to find the answer for that, so I guess I'll keep looking
Rating: 
Summary: One of the truely greatest hoaxes ever written
Review: I spent four days reading this book. Throughout the book there is absurdity piled on top of absurdity. If you are looking for a well-written book about "life" and "personal growth and happiness," this is NOT the book for you. Indeed, the author clearly has no grasp on reality. DON'T DO LIKE I DID AND WASTE YOUR TIME READING THIS NONSENSE!
Rating: 
Summary: It works. And that is what the critics can't touch.
Review: When I read Dianetics for the first time, I thought it was a truely amazing book. Then after doing MUCH research into opinions of the book. I saw two different sides. One side was against. This side was composed of people who called the book "nonsense, psuedoscience, hard to understand, etc." The other side was for. This side all said basically the same thing. "I tried it. It worked."Over the hundreds of reviews that I read, never did I see the words - "I tried it and it didn't work." So I decided to use the methods in this book. Guess what? It works. "It works." A phrase the critics will not dare touch.
Rating:
Summary: Dianetics works!
Review: I first read 'Dianetics' in 1970. I doubted it until I tried the simple techniques. I took control of my life. Along the way my aches and pains vanished along with my chronic bronchitis. You don't need more than this book and another person to work with you, and you can change your life. Yes, it is a very dangerous book...if you're afraid that people will get better. Who reads this book? People who think for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: This book has the answers to why we are the way we are.
Review: This book really explains why people act the way they do and why you aren't as successful in some areas of your life as you know you should be. The techniques in this book can be done by anyone and really help you to become more able in life and to fully enjoy life. A great book!
Rating:
Summary: It was so cool!!!!!!
Review: I may be only 19 but this book totaly changed me when I read it for the first time it was a little weird but I read it again and I began to understand it.I recomend this book for anyone and everyone!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: You'll get a 180 degree turn in your thinking about life.
Review: This book gives the serious self-improver a very unique view of what is really going on in the mind, in life; both yours and others. It provided the answers to many mysterious for me. It made sense from the first chapter through to the end. I always wondered about people and what made them tick, why some were the way the were, why I was the way I was. This book "revealed all"! It is THE book to read if you want to improve your abilities. It truly does transcend all other self-help books in my opinion. You can put a band-aid on it or read DIANETICS and solve the problem.
Rating:
Summary: A book to be used, no only read.
Review: I've read a lot of self help books in my life and many of them made sense. But this one actually compels you to use it, I did and, ยก OH BOY !, what a tool this book is. I can understand why some people criticize it . The book carefully teaches you a technique and then puts you to work on it . Some people are simply not used to getting that involved ; but If you are serious about improving yourself , you will be amazed by the results.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but...
Review: The rating above is based mainly on the writing done by Hubbard, not so much specifically on what he wrote. Whether a person takes this seriously or not is up to that person, but as a book to sit down and read, it is below average. I read through this book in about a week, cover to cover, and think that I got a very good idea of what Hubbard was trying to say. However, there are certainly a few problems. First of all, the long chapter (200+ pages) on "Mechanisms and Aspects of Therapy" was the most unorganized jumble of information I have ever read in my entire life. If Hubbard really wrote this book within a matter of a few weeks, it shows clearly here, also pointing out that it was not edited well. It was easy to get through and read quickly, certainly a relief as I'm not sure I could have taken too much more of what he wrote. I think that the best information given in the book falls in the Important Note, actually before the book begins, where Hubbard writes about making sure you understand the meaning to the words you are reading before you go on. It's good advice and it doesn't get any better than that in the rest of the book. Every once in a while Hubbard made a big mistake in Dianetics. For example, while citing the numerous psychosomatic illnesses, he mentions cancer, even though he admits that it might not be psychosomatic but more research is needed. Anyone with any knowledge of what psychosomatic means and how cancer is caused in the biological regard could easily see how Hubbard had no clue about the biological cause for cancer. He also takes a good deal from Freud in a lot of the parts about psychology, before really discussing Dianetics specifically, yet he always fails to credit Freud, or any other psychologist for that matter, for what he took from them. The chapter on Life Force really puzzled me. Hubbard seems to have thought that organisms which lived had a sort of "life force" flowing through them which enabled them to live; it was a force absent from dead organisms. Well, this force is basically energy in the form of sugars or other organic molecules. Animal cells, for instance, are able to live because they can break down glucose to form ATP, something which, when broken down, produces energy for the cell to carry out functions. Hubbard's life force is nothing more than this- dead cells simply have run out of energy they can use. I spoke with a friend of mine (who has a masters degree in psychology) about Scientology and we came to the concensus that Hubbard was really unaware of what was going on. First, religion has, in the history of the world, always been the greatest money-making tool known to man. Hubbard realized this, presenting a good motive for Scientology. Second, stress isn't caused by engrams or any such mess. It comes when you cannot handle what is happening in your life. When you are led to realize that your problems aren't your fault or are taught to not worry about things out of your control stress will surely decrease. This is all Dianetics does. It's no miracle cure, just a way to understand that everything isn't your fault. If you don't have a problem with stress, don't bother with Dianetics- you don't need to waste your time with it. If you're easily led on by someone spouting "miracle cures" accompanied by big diction, don't read this or you'll be helplessly pulled in by this mess. If you can take a joke and seriously decide for yourself the truth of something and are open minded to new ideas, this might be something to interest you. But understand that it's no better than anything else out there; it just give you a scapegoat for your problems.
Rating:
Summary: Are you afraid of something?
Review: I sat down with someone I had never met, and within 1 1/2 hours he no longer feared climbing ladders. I had no idea when we started he was afraid of ladders. Later he told me he climbed a ladder at home without a problem. He was even matter of fact about it, and this had been a problem for him since he was a small child! If you use Dianetics correctly it works. Of that I am certain because I have done it.
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