Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought: The Theory & Practice of Scientology for Beginners

What is Life? What is the Goal of Mankind? How does the mind work? How does the Universe work?These are just some of the questions that many philosophers, scientists and others have tried to figure out, like so many nobles trying to take the Sword from the Stone.Now it is L Ron Hubbard's (LRHs) turn . . .MINOR OBSERVATIONSUnlike DIANETICS, I like how the more "difficult" words and terms have simplified definitions in parentheses right next to them. Much more convenient than having to flip back to the glossary several times a page--although a glossary is also included in case you need some further explanation.LRH comes across as very methodical, at least as far as structure goes. The chapters are really short which make for quick reads and make good use of bullets, lists, bold type and other formatting techniques to emphasis certain points.Also of note, Scientology does not try and explain how the Universe was created but it does hint at Reincarnation.SO FAR SO GOODOne thing that is immediately apparent, is that LRH is fond of analogies. Throughout this book he is especially fond of comparing Life to a Game (board game or video game, doesn't matter). He states that there are 3 primary ingredients to any Game: Freedom, Barriers and Purposes (page 54). Let's see how his theory works out by comparing it to Super Mario Brothers.In Mario Brothers, the player has the FREEDOM to make Mario walk, run, turn left/right, jump, kick, slide-down flagpoles, etc.There are BARRIERS such as Goombas and brick walls.There is a PURPOSE--trying to rescue the princess (who is in another castle, Argh!)So we see that LRH's analogy actually works out pretty well.A few other things I found interesting were his explanations on the Cycle of Action and the Conditions of Existence, however, both of them could have easily been discovered by yourself as they are so obvious.Those were pretty much the only things in this book that I found agreeable.ARE YOU SERIOUS?The first thing that made me raise my eyebrows was his statement on page 65 that he ". . . established along scientific lines (rather than mere belief) that: That thing which is the person, the personality, is separable from the body and the mind at will and without causing bodily death or mental derangement."Science works mostly with physical, tangible evidence (unless they are absolutes, like numbers and math). So how can he claim to have any scientific knowledge of something (the soul/spirit/thetan) that has no physical form at all?LRH gives the spirit another name.Thetan.Why?What's even more puzzling is something I noticed on page 162 . . . "The easiest thing a thetan does is change his mind."I don't know about you, but to me, the spirit has no gender. It is simply "IT". Why then, does LRH refer to it in the masculine? It's as if he is hinting that the Thetan is not only the spirit, but something else.Do we even need Scientology? On page 107 it says that "The goal of Scientology is making the individual capable of living a better life in his own estimation and with his fellows and the playing of a better game."If you think about it, this goal is not very unique. Dr. Phil, your teachers, your parents, et al, are often trying to do the same thing.Finally, we get into the CODES, I won't give comments on these--they speak for themselves:First, there is the Auditor's Code. A few rules that grabbed my attention . . . (all from page 115)"Do not process a preclear after 10 P.M.""Never permit the preclear to end the session on his own independent decision.""Never get angry with a preclear."Second is the Code of a Scientologist on page 116. A few that caught my interest . . ."To deter [discourage/restrain] to the fullest extent of my power anyone misusing or degrading Scientology to harmful ends.""To discourage the abuse of Scientology in the press.""To refuse to impart the personal secrets of my preclears.""To engage in no unseemly [contrary to good taste] disputes with the uninformed on the subject of my profession."That chapter was rounded out with this paragraph on page 117:"Any hope or promise in Scientology is conditional upon its good use by the individual and its use, in particular, within the limits of these two codes."Even with all that, the most interesting information (in my opinion) is on the last page (169):"Today, the primary race of Earth is not between one nation and another. The only race that matters at this moment is the one being run between Scientology and the atomic bomb."To give a quick timeline, DIANETICS was published in 1950, Scientology was created in 1952 and this book was published in 1956. What was happening during that time frame?The Cold War.War! Death! Destruction!Quick, "Duck and Cover"!To wrap this up, this reminds me of a quote by Edmund Burke . . ."No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear."So much for Clearing the mind, eh?

Giving this three stars because it does a decently clear and succinct job of describing facets of Scientology from the perspective of a Scientologist and I always think additional understanding can't hurt. Taking away stars bc it's racist, mysoginistic and not scientifically sound (though it mentions that it is "scientifically proven" a myriad of times.)

I had read his other book Dyonatics or whatever it was entitled over 30 years ago. My new GO TO WEALTH GUY Grant Cardone is a student of Scientology and I figured if Grant went from broke to worth north of $100,000,000 now then I should look again at Hubbard’s principles. Glad I did because even as a Christian I know what he discusses here WORKS!

Just bought this and started reading it. I cannot believe how popular Hubbard is after reading some of this book. Entire sentences are not only repeated but repeated one page later. I'm going to continue to read it then donate it to the library book sale. I know I'll never read it again. This is why you never order from the Scientology bookstore. I would have been furious if I paid their price for this book which is about 20$ -I think

I bought this book to see if there was anything else about life I could learn and Im a bit disappointed. Its more like a psychology book than a science book. I think Ill stick to Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking for the best answers Im looking for. If you want the best psychology book, try "Feeling Good" by David Burns.

I have purchased this book 7 or 8 times. When someone shows a real interest in Scientology (not just the current organizational drama of it) - I give them a copy of this book. Then - I buy another one to replenish my stock. It was the best book on Scientology principles for me in 1969 - and it still is.

Dharma and Tao mean the study of knowledge as well.The basics of how to know and what's most important are put right up front here by a gentleman who seems to bring eastern philosophy to the west in a way I can easily understand.This shined a light on useful data for me to USE in my life.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT as does JOHN TRAVOLTA....from whom I got this referral.

A little redundant (repeats chapters from his other books) but good overall !