Originally published on December 6, 2012

During my 30-year journey hacking through the jungles of metaphysical thought, I became fascinated with Scientology. Who was this elusive character named L Ron Hubbard? Why was he rarely quoted in other literary works? He was the founder of one of the largest new churches in the 20th century, and yet you would be lucky to find any reputable reviews, quotes, or articles about him. Was this a cover-up? Did he crack the code to the human mind, thus inciting the “powers that be” to suppress this knowledge from public awareness?

It was a little obvious that something was going on. You just can’t have a religion that is home to Hollywood stars, has grown into a Scientology global phenomenon, and not find the founder logged into the annals of our history books. What is going on here? You see, for years before the internet grew into the size it is now, you were lucky to find any info that was not sculpted by the church. Thanks to the world wide web, people started digging and found many dirty little secrets about this man and his movement.

For one, it was discovered that the official story of L. Ron Hubbard was blown way out of proportion to create a savior-like public image. Persons that knew him throughout his life painted a very different picture. Hubbard was a master storyteller and had a tendency to blow the facts way out of proportion. For more on this read 'Bare-Faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard.'

In light of this well-kept secret, the question of why Hubbard was not hailed as a great spiritual leader in our history books takes on a whole new meaning. Could it be that he did not get recognition in his field of expertise because he never submitted his work to peer review? I would venture to say Scientology set him up more as a cult icon than a legitimate pioneer in the consciousness movement. He should, however, get the booby prize for the most trendy cult of the 20th-century religion.

Having said that, there is some to be gained from a study of his work for no other reason than a case study on human motivation. Anyone who can create a world religion practically overnight by consolidating a system of thought that transforms human beings into efficient spirit machines should be looked at closer. I say this because some people don’t realize how vulnerable they are when deep emotional issues are touched upon by cult leaders. Unless we develop our critical thinking faculties, we will be vulnerable to those using theirs in malevolent ways.

L. Ron the Master Hypnotist

Another interesting little find was that Mr. Hubbard was a master hypnotist. When I was introduced to Scientology, I was just a teen and what struck me most was this “otherworldly” knowing stare in the eyes of its members. For years, I pondered that stare. What is the “it” they have? Why doesn’t the average person have that calm presence about them? Was this proof that this spiritual technology was the answer to our problems? It took me many years, in fact, a few decades, to figure this one out. Remember that back in those days (1983), we did not have access to the data we have now.

One thing I have always looked for is patterns in my research. Across the board, in just about every spiritual tradition, you will find the knowing “stare” in the eyes. In some traditions, a harmless sense of “Being” is common from someone feeling deeply into their connection to life. For others, it turns into a lethal persistent hypnotic trance. Initiated in the context of an irrational belief system, the believer begins to make dangerous decisions with their lives. Here we have a natural phenomenon being transformed into a manipulation tool for the religious agenda.

Read 'My Billion Year Contract: Memoir of a Former Scientologist' by Nancy Many

Before I go on, I want to make clear that, in my experience, there is a big difference between an altered state of awareness and a hypnotic trance. Regarding the former, one is in a hyper-alert organic state, and in the other, one is under a spell. Religion almost always hijacks natural phenomena. In the case of Scientology, their techniques facilitate the connection with a sense of being that most people feel rarely, if at all, their entire lives. This is key because it argues why Scientology has continued on this long attracting new followers.

Most people will not be adept enough in psychology to understand what is actually happening to them when experiencing a Dianetic Auditing session. The procedure of Dianetics therapy (known as auditing) is a two-person activity. One person, "the auditor,” guides the other person, "the preclear,” in looking at their mind to resolve hidden motives and buried traumas. The idea is to get the person to permanently exist in the present time after releasing all identifications with subjective traps throughout time. This leads to increased experiences of peace and resolution as they progress up the Bridge to Total Freedom.

I can say that there are some useful things in the lower levels of Scientology if you can "eat the grapes and spit out the seeds," but I am not recommending it in place of trained psychotherapists. In fact, unless you are in good psychological shape, I would warn against it. You can check out this website for a source outside the official church that offers the technology free of cult attachment.

Read 'Scientology - Circus of the Stars' by TheThinkingAtheist

For those consciousness explorers, I recommend studying the subject to understand what is happening during a session. Otherwise, the temptation to assign special agency to the method could lead one to follow the white rabbit down the hole. Educate yourself, have fun with it if you like but don’t ever suspend your critical-thinking faculties. On the other hand, don’t let your critical mind keep you from exploring new territory, either. Venture into the jungle if you’re curiosity leads but keep your wits loaded and cocked just in case.

I love going into a trance state and disappearing into the cosmic feeling of wonder. However, I have learned over the years to keep my head straight. In the case of Magic Mushrooms or Ayahuasca, a reasonably conscious person doesn’t come back from the trip believing trees are made of a fuzzy material that changes shape when not being looked at. On the contrary, in its proper context, a transcendent experience can be very useful and informative when balanced with science.

The problem lies in a gross cultural deficiency of scientific education. That people in our modern age still believe in a (trigger warning) Jewish zombie who lives in the sky should be mind-blowing to the average person. Unfortunately, due to the magic of emotion and irrational belief, we get the joy of having our noses rubbed in it daily. I cannot honestly say that it does not make life interesting, but changes need to be made when it comes to child abuse, war, and poverty.

Regarding Scientology, it becomes obvious that advanced psychological techniques were used on the uneducated. In The Anderson Report, you can delve deeper into the details of Scientology and hypnotism. Suffice it to say, workable therapeutic processes were used in the context of a structured belief system that inevitably trapped the novice into a subjective nightmare.

What is still unknown to many people is that Hubbard was better at compiling other researchers’ information than he was at originating it. The sad part is that much of what he originated was a science fiction story rather than the research he represented. Take Alfred Korzybski; here is one of many researchers few people have ever heard of. When I first glanced at Korzybski’s book, “Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics,” my jaw dropped.

Having studied Scientology technology for years, I had no idea this knowledge was available pre-Scientology. There are many examples which Hubbard’s work is clearly drawn from. Another eye-opener was Dr. A. Nordenholz’s work published in 1934, “Scientology, Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge”. Hubbard codified data from various sources into a system built on fantasy and delusion. Additionally, the so-called “Bridge to Total Freedom” turned into a financial treadmill with the sole purpose of enforcing a hypnotic trance that served the empire.

Read 'Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology' by Marc Headley

Another thing to consider is the time in which Dianetics and Scientology were born. In 1950, science fiction was ripe in the cultural mind, and the UFO phenomenon was just taking root. New discoveries in the mental health industry were emerging while dark age shock therapies were still in operation. It was the post-World War II era, and radiation was fresh on the public’s mind with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. When you start to put all of this together, a picture emerges that places the philosophy of L. Ron Hubbard in the scene.

There is a more insidious aspect to all of this just in case you thought I was letting ole Ronny boy off the hook. Enter Aleister Crowley, Jack Parsons, and the occult school of The Golden Dawn. Hugh Urban’s study named “The Occult Roots of Scientology?: L. Ron Hubbard, Aleister Crowley, and the Origins of a Controversial New Religion” is not freely available but the following article from Village Voice does a good job in summing it up. Here is an excerpt below.

Urban goes on to explain how in Crowley’s magick, the fundamental concept is Thelema, which represents a person’s inner will, and the ability to do “what thou wilt.” Doing the processes of Crowley’s magick rituals, the point is for a magus to astrally project himself so that he can ultimately become an all-powerful being who is “capable of being, and using, anything which he perceives, for everything that he perceives, is in a certain sense a part of his being. He may thus subjugate the whole Universe of which he is conscious to his individual Will.”

Sound familiar? In Hubbard’s Scientology, which he insists is a science that will allow you to discover your true nature, you learn that you are a thetan. Through his processes, you will ultimately be able to leave your body and become an all-powerful being able to create universes.

Now, we get into more dangerous territory for the unwary spiritual seeker. Initially, it seems quite harmless when one is introduced to Scientology auditing. In fact, because it was originally rooted in scientific research by masters such as Sigmund Freud, it is hard to distinguish between reality and fiction for the newbie.

Traveling back into our memories to uncover hidden trauma is a common practice. However, to inject a story of a time track that splits into both a genetic line and a Thetan (spirit) line is just not grounded in peer-reviewed science. Of course, this time track must have an “Invisible Spiritual Being” who travels over many lifetimes on various planets through parallel universes. Perils await the gullible novice seeking initiation into the mysteries of the ages in the subjective landscape.

Read 'Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion'

The magical ceremony's key to the occult tradition is the manipulation of emotion. Generating emotion through ritual is the catalyst for profound psychological experiences. When it comes to religion, all you need is an emotional response in the context of a cosmic story surrounded by a group of believers, and “wallah,” you have a convert. Just like Christianity, where the emotional experience of forgiveness occurs in the context of ‘the Jesus’ story, Scientology gives you Xenu and the Thetans. Sounds like a rock group. All kidding aside, what is truly vicious about this is that it leads to mind control, brainwashing, broken families, and financial ruin.

One clue in identifying someone under a hypnotic trance is how defensive they get when their mental-emotional investment is challenged. When it comes to Scientology, there is no better example of this behavior. Scientologists pride themselves in being the great dispensers of the secrets of communication. One of the keys they teach is the ability to confront anything. Oh, how ironic this process is demonstrated when their religion is questioned. I have not seen such overt defensiveness, projection, and blatant lies as in an interview by a British BBC reporter John Sweeney.

This is just one example of many, but to say that they contradict the very thing they teach is an understatement. I have first-hand experience in the TRs (training routines), which train a person to remain calm when someone is pushing their psychological hot buttons. But Scientologists become more defensive the further they go up the Bridge — which translated means: The more programmed they become the more irrational they get. In the video below, you will observe the anger and projection by Tom Cruise when asked simple questions about his religion. 

Peter Overton's infamous interview with Tom Cruise | 60 Minutes Australia

But maybe Scientology's most blatant red flag is the idea that we have been reincarnating for billions of years. The expensive ‘Bridge to Total Freedom’ is based on clearing the endless memories of Thetans throughout time. Scientology claims you can have perfect memory and remember events in stunning detail from billions of years ago through auditing. Do you smell a rat here? It’s a money machine scam. There are enough memories in 1 billion years to keep a person on the treadmill forever.

Was L. Ron Hubbard a prolific writer and speaker with the leadership skills of a commander? Yes, but in the end, his underhanded methods of manipulation and lust for power spoke louder than a billion words. The truth has a funny way of sticking around.

— Zzenn