We have the new 75th anniversary 'Dianetics' — and it contains surprises!
In May, Scientology leader David Miscavige held a special event in Clearwater, Florida in order to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health — the 1950 book by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard that marked the beginning of what would become the Scientology movement — and Miscavige announced that a new 75th anniversary edition of Hubbard’s famous tome would be released.
“Book One,” Scientologists call it, marking it out as the essential text that started everything, and it was followed by many more books, lectures, and thousands of written policies and edicts by Hubbard as he led the Church of Scientology until his death in 1986. (If you’re curious about what’s in Dianetics but not ready to slog through the book yourself, we blogged it for you.)
Since Hubbard’s death Miscavige has assumed control, but Scientologists still insist that they are following Hubbard’s writings to the letter, and that his policies cannot be changed. Miscavige has come out with new editions of Dianetics in the past, however. The last one was issued in 2007 along with other reprints of Hubbard books (“The Basics”) which Miscavige claimed had been corrected according to Hubbard’s original manuscripts.
All of this is to say that Miscavige, knowing how the membership feels about the sacrosanct nature of Hubbard’s “scripture,” takes a risk any time he changes a word in any existing Scientology text.
And this is Dianetics, the granddaddy of them all, and the most important. So we were especially interested to see what the new 75th anniversary edition would contain when Miscavige announced it at the event in May.
Former Scientology London staffer Alex Barnes-Ross let us know he had a copy on order, and yesterday it arrived.
And wow, it has some interesting changes, as well as some things that surprise us because they did not change.
One of the vilest things in Hubbard’s original book and every edition after, for example, is his assertion that there’s something wrong with a seven-year-old girl who recoils from the passionate kiss of an adult man. For years we’ve been writing about this horrific endorsement of child molestation in Dianetics, and Miscavige did not take this opportunity to remove it.
He also left in Hubbard’s well-known description of homosexuality as a perversion and an illness, which has underscored the homophobia of this organization. Again, Miscavige had an opportunity to alter a deeply controversial statement in the book and did not do so.
However, Miscavige did add some new material that is also surprising. Namely, several reader endorsements of the book, including glowing recommendations from some of Scientology’s celebrities.
And no, we’re not talking about blurbs on a dust-jacket. These are new quotes added to the book itself from various Scientology figures that are now a part of the Church of Scientology’s bible.
Imagine being a Scientologist and having your quote included in Hubbard’s Dianetics. Finally, they’ve found a way to bestow a kind of immortality, if you think of it.
And it has some interesting consequences. For example, as part of an endorsement by David Campbell (who happens to be the father of former Scientologist celebrity Beck Hansen), one name that now exists in the pages of Scientology’s most holy text is none other than Taylor Swift.
Call it Taylor’s Version.
“It’s shiny, it’s glossy, and I can’t help but think it’s yet another Miscavige foot-bullet,” says Alex. “Of course, Scientology scripture forbids changing anything Hubbard wrote — which is the likely explanation that will be given for keeping these grossly offensive and inappropriate quotes in the book. But there are countless examples of Miscavige changing Hubbard’s writings over the years.
“The real reason these parts weren’t removed? Because regardless of what Scientology’s Office of Special Affairs says in its press releases, this is what Scientologists believe: Gay people are perverts who are sick and need rehabilitation, and the only reason a child would find it wrong for an adult to kiss them is because of a past trauma. This would have been the perfect cover for Miscavige to quietly remove these quotes from Dianetics to avoid any future potential backlash.
“But what’s going to prove even more challenging is when any of the ‘celebrities’ whose quotes feature in the front of the book leave Scientology. This isn't just a Scientology TV clip they can quietly remove from their website when someone quits and decides to speak out. This is a special edition copy of the most sacred book in Scientology, now on sale with printed quotes from people who may one day change their minds.
“And it’s not a case of if, but when that happens. And it will be a major flap for OSA,” he adds.
We figured you’d want to see all of the endorsements in full, so here they are. We’re very interested in your observations about them.
And again, these are now permanent features in Scientology’s most holy text, which is now the official edition and for sale at all of its locations…
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
“Since being introduced to Dianetics in 1975, I can honestly say I have found the route to happiness. All the sadness, trials and tribulations of life I can solve and I know how to help others solve theirs. Studying the book gives you an understanding of the mind, which then leads to helping you reach your goals and the ability to help others.” — JOHN TRAVOLTA, Academy Award-nominated Actor and Cultural Icon
“I love what I do for a living and Dianetics has allowed me to enjoy it even more! Knowing yourself, having trust in yourself and owning your decisions is everything. Dianetics made this possible for me.” — ERIKA CHRISTENSEN, Award-winning Actress (Traffic, Parenthood, Will Trent)
“After using Dianetics I had so much more of a deep understanding of the mind and consequently I felt so much more like myself for the first time. I can’t imagine any artists not wanting to truly be themselves.” — STANLEY CLARKE, Four-time Grammy Award-winning Bassist and Composer
“Your health is your wealth! And your mental health and spiritual health of self is the ultimate wealth! And Dianetics gave me tools I can use to strengthen my mind and clear it! And find peace at the same time!” — DOUG E. FRESH, Hip Hop Legend and Humanitarian
“Dianetics is the only thing that truly handled the mental barriers holding me back, irrational fears, unwanted emotions and self-doubt. It helped me understand and resolve them all.” — JASON DOHRING, Actor (Veronica Mars)
“As a jazz musician, I fell victim to many of the false solutions that musicians run into. Nothing positive came out of that. But with Dianetics, I was able to get to the root cause of the problems I was experiencing. Dianetics made a very dramatic difference in my life.” — MARK ISHAM, Academy Award-nominated Composer and Grammy Award-winning Musician
“Free from the dark days of the past, free from the uncertainties of the present and free from anxiety about the future. That was my new outlook on life after reading Dianetics. Then as I continued to use what I learned from Dianetics, my life steadily improved to a bright, secure and worry-free, highly productive and happy life.” — DAVID CAMPBELL, Legendary Composer/Arranger behind over 450 Gold and Platinum Albums, including the works of Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift
“After sustaining a knee injury playing football, the mental battle was the hardest part. Dianetics fixed all of that. It helped me get past the doubt and trust my body again.” — NICK FERGUSON, 10-year NFL Safety and Radio Personality
“Dianetics gave me the tools to strip off the negative, remove the barriers holding me back and unlock my full potential to become the wife, mother, friend and businesswoman I always wanted to be.” — ELENA CARDONE, Entrepreneur, CEO and Bestselling Author (Build an Empire)
“Dianetics helped me let go of the doubts that were holding me back. I feel clearer, more confident and more in control of my life. And that’s been huge for my career and the growth of my business.” — OMAYMA RAMZY, Award-winning Entertainment Industry Makeup Artist
“Dianetics works — and it works for real. In a very technical, predictable way, it frees us from mental barriers.” — ROBERT HOGG, Senior Space Robotics Engineer and Mars Mission Manager
“Dianetics helped me understand myself. I realized why I kept repeating the same mistakes and now I have total certainty there won’t be any more repeats.” — ALVIN JOHNSON, CEO of Hope Housing Foundation and Affordable Housing Pioneer
“Dianetics is the owner’s manual for the mind. It deepened my understanding of others and profoundly boosted my success in life.” — CHRIS COLBY, Award-winning Architect, Entrepreneur, Forbes 40 under 40
“I started reading Dianetics out of curiosity about how the human mind works. What I didn’t expect was how much it would help me understand myself. I’ve worked through emotional baggage and strengthened my relationships, both personal and professional.” — RON DUBOIS, (Ret.) US Army Helicopter Pilot
“Dianetics is an incredible book that will change how you relate to others. It’s a game changer.” — JOY GENDUSA, Entrepreneur, Author, Founder of Industry-leading Direct Mail Firm
“Trauma doesn't just heal with time — it leaves a lasting effect. Dianetics offers a way to understand these effects and achieve better mental, emotional, and physical well-being.” — ROHIT ADI, M.D., Emergency Physician and Former Director of Emergency Health Sciences Paramedic Program
“With Dianetics, I found my personal strengths and confidence in my own ideas. I would carve a path forward for myself. I cannot imagine how life would be without Dianetics.” — DR. ANNE DUNEV, Naturopathic Practitioner and Clinical Nutritionist
“Dianetics opened a new world for me. It was something I always sensed existed, deep down, and when I finally came across it, it hit me — it was the truth. It revealed reality on how I am, and everyone else is, as a human being and why they do what they do.” — DR. ALEVTINA MALAKOVA, Dentist, Mother, Educator, Inventor
Will John Travolta’s endorsement leading off the tributes in this book which is so important to Scientology make the tabloids think twice about their semi-annual stories claiming that he’s on his way out?
Probably not, but that’s because such reports ignore evidence like this that Travolta is still firmly in the fold, just like they ignore our reporting about Travolta and Tom Cruise showing up for recent Scientology events.
JT and Dianetics are now one. His apotheosis is complete.
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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
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Nothing from Tom Cruise? But he was sort of fast-tracked up the Bridge, maybe he skipped it.
All of these testimonials make no sense at all. Almost nobody does the original Book One auditing. Maybe if you were in a Dianetics Book One interest group somewhere far from the big centers in LA or Clearwater etc. you might have done it briefly before moving on to the hard stuff. None of these well-known celebrities did that.
Seems like they assume that Book One is the basic text for all the rest, but of course that is another lie. The stupidly hypnotic abreactive therapy of Book One appears nowhere else in the weirdly complex form of the original book. Nobody is asking the File Clerk to do anything or having someone close their eyes. No snap answers. No prenatals. No cancellers. No repeater technique.
Hubbard left the original Dianetics in the dust within a few months after losing the rights. The publisher cancelled it. Where does it fit into the big picture of Scientology? Not at all, really, except it does manage to drill in the false promise that Hubbard knew all and could really "Do something about it". That's the message in the testimonials too, hope for change. No more spare change but they still have the false hope.
Missing from Hubbard/Dianetics/Scientology's endorsement ranks, are any smart leading edge thinkers of history.
The endorsements are from superficial celebrity types.
I'd be more interested in the endorsements of the smarter types, like judges, prosecutors, highly thought of lawyers, and legislators, or politicians even who are well thought of. Better would be academics and philosophers who defend Hubbard's stuff in detail.
The smarter people's endorsements of Scientology/Dianetics was always and will always be lacking. It's just not out there to be found.
Where's the lawyers and judges who are Dianeticists and Scientologists.
Absolutely ZERO philosophers are Dianeticists and Scientologists.
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Two Hubbard procedures, 1) "The PTS Rundown" and 2) Lower Condition Formula for the "Doubt" "condition" are the two times during my wasted 27 years in Hubbard's quackery world where I felt free to choose the saner smarter "real world" thinkers over Hubbard's quackery thinking. I was on the RPF at "Happy Valley" ranch, when I got the PTS Rundown, and I enjoyed choosing the outside world's thinkers, over Scientology, and that was a pivotal moment leading to me finally getting out of the Hubbard cult bureaucracy ranks, I'd been a paperpusher bureaucrat ranks staffer all my wasted decades in Sea Org.
Hubbard just isn't for smart persons.
Hubbard should have stuck with his middling pulp fiction story telling authorship and not even entered the "serious" subjects of human life.
Scientology and Dianetics, simply, are quack.
Endorsement won't be coming from the world's smart thinkers.