Showing results by author "L. Ron Hubbard" in All Categories

An extraordinary drama played out across thousands of years, Man’s long search to penetrate the mystery of “the other fellow” - and thereby to know himself - found its expression not only in philosophy and religion, but even in war and conquest. Yet in spite of, or perhaps because of, the crucial intensity of this quest, its continuing failure down the centuries accumulated ever-deepening problems for Man. Hence, in desperation, he eventually abandoned the search entirely - in 1879, to be precise.

To overcome tyranny is to win freedom as a people, a nation or even Mankind. Yet to benefit fully from theirliberties, each man and woman must also be free - as individuals. In regard to freedom as a nation, here is the remarkable story of how one man, the Athenian statesman Pericles, envisioned a better future for Mankind - a future free from tyranny.

From the dawn of time, Man has cherished the hope he could achieve a greater freedom. That hope, articulated by the greatest religious leaders across the centuries, has time and again renewed his strength to face the future. But with no practical means to convert hope to reality, the goal of a greater freedom remained, for most if not all, a distant and unattainable dream.

No civilized culture has failed to recognize the importance of education. And it is widely acknowledged that in today’s fast-paced society, success depends on the ability to swiftly understand and use information. What lies behind the crisis in education? Are some subjects simply hard to teach? Are some teachers just not good at imparting knowledge?

It is upon the individual that the success of an organization and, indeed, the civilization depends.Those who accomplish more with less effort aremore willing, more capable and, in fact, more efficient. Theysuffer less emotional stress and strain. They are better suitedto make key decisions. And as efficiency increases across whole industries, so the whole of society benefits.

In his lifelong quest to uncover the answers to life and Man, Ron discovered that all life forms, from the lowest to the highest, are motivated by a single command: Survive! Yet questions still remained. What exactly is life and how does it accomplishits purpose of survival? Is life merely live matter? Or does it contain another quality altogether? Thus Ron set out to isolate and identify the very essence of life itself.

What is life? Such was the central question Ron posed when setting out to unravelthe riddle of human existence. After examining all aspects and elements of existence, he arrived at an altogether startling discovery - one which suddenly clarified all life’s various phenomena: Life is a game. In this lecture, Ron explains why life is best understood by likening it to a game, whereupon he defines both its prerequisites and conditions, showing that it follows the rules of any game.

Since the deployment of the first atomic weapons, people everywhere have lived with the possibility that everything they hold dear - their lives, their families, their careers and eventhe human species itself - could be extinguished in a few moments of devastation. Such consequences would be so overwhelming that, formany, the only defense is a hope it will never happen.

Since time immemorial, Man has sought to liberate the soul from the body and so achieve immortality. In this account of the heritage that stands behind Scientology, Ron recounts the extraordinary story of Man’s epic quest for a way to attain that goal. Embracing a tradition from the very dawn of civilization, here is the history of Man’s relentless pursuit of the knowledge which inspired this planet’s great philosophies and religions.

When still a young man attending university, Ronobserved that those working in the humanitieshad no training in the exact sciences. Believing that the precision of the scientific method might furnish asolution to the problems of life and livingness, he urged facultymembers of the psychology department to apply the principlesof physics to the field of the mind.It was an entirely novel approach. And when no one tookup the challenge - either then or in later years - Ron undertook the task himself.

Every human being seeks to know the truth about himself and to resolve to his own satisfaction the mysteries of life. And therefore, for many thousands of years, countless philosophical and religious teachings have sought to enlighten people with answers. But where their practitioners insisted - indeed, demanded - that their answers must be theanswers, they blocked the road to greater freedom for millions of people.

Here is a story that begins with Ron’s immersion in a deeply spiritual, deeply traditional Asia, where he met and befriended - among other savants - the last of the great magicians whose predecessors served in the court of Mongol emperorKublai Khan. Yet not withstanding the feats that testified to remarkable powers, here was a land where wisdom was deemed sacred - so sacred, infact, these Oriental holy men declined to use their considerable abilities to solve the real and urgent problems of living.

Released on May 9, 1950, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health became an overnight publishing sensation. Immediately hitting The New York Times best seller list and remaining there for 26 consecutive weeks, it was unquestionably the most popular book ever published on the human mind - a distinction it holds to this day. So great was the excitement that, virtually overnight, some 750 Dianetics groups sprang up across the United States....

Your mind: it is your constant companion. You live with it 24 hours a day, every day of your life. Yet Man has known practically nothing about how it works. And from marriages that end in divorce to careers that wind up in frustration, from tensions that interfere with work to conflicts that divide nations, virtually every human crisis can be traced to Man’s ignorance of the mind. Imagine, then, the potential benefits of finding the answers....

It has no mass or location. It is not energy. Yet it is alive. And it gives life. Such are the characteristics of “a life-giving unit” - the source not only of all thought, but of all that is decent, ethical and noble. Indeed, this is you. The discovery that each individual is, in fact, asource of life radically alters the relationship between Man and the material universe.

Help pervades every part of life. Yet few people realize the degree to which it determines their survival. For thewillingness to give and receive help lies at the foundationof all human reactions and behavior.How does one increase a person’s confidence, improvehis ability to communicate with others and heighten hisinterest in life? The answers all start with help, and theyare contained in a series of techniques so effective theycan practically “awaken the dead.”

What is life? Such was the central question Ron posed when setting out to unravel the riddle of human existence. Afterexamining all aspects and elements of existence, hearrived at an altogether startling discovery - one whichsuddenly clarified all life’s various phenomena: Life is a game.In this lecture, Ron explains why life is best understoodby likening it to a game, whereupon he defines both itsprerequisites and conditions, showing that it followsthe rules of any game.

What motivates life? What motivates Man? Those were the questions Ron posed when seeking workable answers to the problems of both the individual and society. After examining the whole of life in its variety and complexity, he isolated a common denominator to all living things - the Dynamic Principle of Existence: Survive! Here was a watershed breakthrough in Man’s understanding of Man. For while “everyone knows” that life forms are surviving, survival as their sole motivation was a brand-new discovery.

Everyone performs certain routine tasks automatically. Driving a car would be awkward indeed if one had to think newly of every tiny procedure. But what happens when someone puts a whole field of thought and action “on automatic”? His education, for example? Or his work? Or even his entire life? The answers are here and they open a completely new perspective on the mind.

How could one man discover the source of all human aberration and provide an actual technology by which Man could rise to greater heights of honesty, decency, and personal freedom? The answer is here, in Ron’s personal account of his long journey to bring about a new state of being Man had dreamed of for over 2,500 years, a story that could only be told by the man who lived it.