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specifically stated, based on definitely stated basic postulates, a
specifically described result can be obtained in every case. (11)
Hubbard applied the first step of the scientific method: he stated
his hypothesis. Unfortunately, he ignored the remaining steps of the
scientific process. It was his promise of scientific testing that drew
some of the early professionals into Hubbard's early circle.
Hubbard's failure to produce even a single empirical test for
Dianetics was also the reason why many of these same professionals
left Hubbard almost as quickly as they had come.
Jacobsen states, "Anyone can make as many outlandish claims as he
wants, but the research must be accessible and reproducible to support
those claims if he brandishes scientific validity." (12)
Dianetics, and Scientology for that matter, have yet to be subjected
to empirical validation by the scientific method. And until they are,
these "mental sciences" remain just another brand of snake oil.
As the practice of Dianetics evolved during the early 1950s, Hubbard
began to introduce the concept of past lives into auditing with
increasing frequency, another clue to his relationship with his mentor,
Aleister Crowley, in whose occult circle the pursuit of past life
memories was a frequent diversion.
The addition of the occult belief system in reincarnation surfaced
publicly in Scientology in 1958, in another strange Hubbard book,
Have You Lived Before This Life? In the Introduction to this
book, Hubbard writes:
In the past the term reincarnation has mystified man. The definition
has been corrupted. The word has been taken to mean to be born again in
different life forms, whereas its actual definition is to be born again
into the flesh or into another body. In order that there can be rebirth,
something must enter in. This is the being, the person himself. It is
YOU.
The existence of past lives is proven in Scientology.
The concept of reincarnation and Man's belief in the past and future
continuum is as old as Man himself. It can be traced to the beginnings
of thirty-one primitive cultures and has dominated almost every religion
through history as a pivotal belief.
The Egyptians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jainists, Sikhists, Brahmans, Neo
Platonists, Christians, Romans, Jews and Gnostics all believed in
reincarnation and the rebirth cycle.
It was a fundamental belief in the Roman Catholic Church until 553
AD when a company of four monks held the Synod of Constantinople,
(without the Pope present) and decided the belief could not exist. They
condemned the teachings of reincarnation
as heresy and it was at this time that references to it were expunged
from the Bible.
Without reference to the subject as the written word, the belief
fell to the mystics and spiritualists of the middle ages. These too,
were defeated, but the belief persisted and again was rediscovered in
the 19th century in the beginnings of psychology.
Freud and Jung acknowledged Man's belief in his own immortality and
reincarnation. Their mistake was only in assigning this basic truth to
imagination or fantasy.
Today in Scientology, the stigma of the subject has been erased and
verification of the existence of past lives is fact.
To some these facts may come as a surprise. To others it may be as
casual as looking at an old photo album. But to everyone it will be a
unique and enlightening adventure into the past, all in the course of
discovering a brighter future. (13)
The "remembering" of past lives in Dianetics has become tradition.
In Dianetic auditing the student is coaxed to remember earlier and
earlier experiences. He will know from other students that memory of
past lives is expected. The expectation is enforced by a process called
"Review auditing," in which the student reluctant or unable to "remember
his past lives" is given special "remedies" to handle this obstacle. The
fact that the Review auditing is even more expensive than regular
auditing -- at several hundred dollars an hour -- provides incentive for
the student to overcome his inability to "remember" as quickly as
possible.
In Dianetic auditing, procedure is followed strictly by the book. A
set of rote commands is used in this auditing, and they must be
delivered exactly as written. The "items" to be "run" are various
physical or psychosomatic problems that are located in an assessment
done on the E-meter before the Dianetic auditing is begun. Examples of
"somatics" that can be run in Dianetics are: a sharp pain in the
forehead, pain in the stomach, a burning sensation in the eyes, feeling
hot, an itching sensation on the skin, or a feeling of fear, sadness,
anger, etc.
The commands used in Dianetics go something like this:
"Locate an incident containing 'a sharp pain in the forehead'."
"When was it?"
"What is the duration of the incident?"
"Move to the beginning of the incident and tell me when you are
there."
"What do you see?"
"Scan through to the end of the incident."
"Tell me what happened."