Dianetics @ MindSay 
scientology
Howdy Howdy all!
Well I have finished my Power Point Presentation on the subject of Dianetics. Let me tell ya, it was quite a journey. I read the book Dianetics: The Mondern Science of Mental Health, so that I could decide whether or not this was a science or a pseudoscience.
My conclusion is that Dianetics has no scientific basis and is rather a Science of Non Sequiturs at best. Don't panic..that doesnt mean that it doesnt cut it as a philosophy or a religion. Just that its claims of scientific validity are absolutely bogus.
First there is a discussion of the reactive mind (you never really find out where this is or what it housed in specific or even vaguely for that matter). Then there is the business of the Clear who no longer lives according to the reactive mind and so is free of the.....uhg! Nevermind. I have no desired to get into this again, what a quagmire!
I have completed the outlines for the last three 10 page research papers I have to complete. Good thing too because I was really starting to get tired! I was able to finish all of the tax returns I had to do before the deadline -woo hoo! And now I have to get ready for the busy summer that I have planned for myself. Let's see there is GRE prep, Grad school scouting, freelance writing, travel....and the beat goes on.
I will be visiting with a friend this evening and I am so stoked because they generally let me talk about myself, and really get the junk out....I don't see them that often but you couldn't tell by the way we are with one another. I don't tell them enough that I really appreciate them listening to me without competing for the worse life award (LOL).
HEY YOU....
I mean I don't really bitch much to the folks I see often because well....there are a lot of reasons, too many to mention. Not that they are not good friends to me...they are. But with YOU I feel really comfortable saying whatever I feel without fear that I will taste my words a second time in contempt....I love you.....you know in the platonic sort of way......unlesssssssss, oh, UM, no? Oh okay then just in the platonic way, I was just kidding about that other stuff 
!
Oh well I have bored you all enough, how about some poetry...here goes.....
Death Be Not Proud
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.--John Donne
Goddess Bless
Back in the mid 90's, I was a buyer for a bookstore in Greenwich Village.
As a buyer, I had to meet with vendors and authors who wanted me to sell their books.
I was feted, given exotic and strange gifts (my favorite were these Romeo y Julieta cigars that were smuggled out of Cuba), given alcohol- all in efforts to get me to sell books. I even once "modeled" for the cover of an erotica book, but that's a story for another day.
The freakiest and most annoying people, without a shadow of a doubt, were the Church of Scientology folks.
They wanted me to order and do a window display of nothing but Dianetics, which would mean I would have to order a couple hundred to a thousand of those orange and black books.
As a special gift for doing that, they dangled the prospect of having John Travolta (Tom Cruise wasn't as big back then) *actually* coming in to do a SIGNING of the books- you know, as if he actually wrote it.
Pushy vendor was in there for at least an hour trying to schmooze me into it.
I ended up ordering about 6.
They collected dust where I put them- the SCIENCE FICTION section, next to Battleship Earth and the rest of L. Ron Hubbard's non-selling science fiction (which, incidently, was ridiculous considering our sci-fi section sold pretty well).
My point you, ask?
Oh, yes.
Tom Cruise is nuts.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051129/dctu052.html?.v=31
Anyway, my actual job at the moment is administrative assistant to one of the top guys. His current assistant is about to go into classes full-time, so I'm taking over for her for a bit. Basically I'm a gopher. He says "I need this file" and I go and get it, etc.
Now the Church has two stories, and a basement for the archives. Yup, three flights of stairs. I haven't walked this much or done this many stairs since high school. I'm exhausted, but feeling pretty good about myself. Nearly everyone there already knows me by name and by face, and I'm struggling to learn all of theirs. Everyone is so friendly, smiling and waving every time they see me. I'm not sure if that's because of them, or because of me. Just being there makes me happier.
These people recognize my potential and are willing to let me reach and exceed it. There are no limits. They honestly believe that any problem can be solved, any barrier overcome, any goal reached. That inherent mindset is so incredibly refreshing that it colors every aspect of every interaction for me. It's indescribable.
They need me. I need them. Together, we help others, and make the world a better place to live in. No matter what else I may do in the future, my life has meaning. Right now, this moment. And with each passing day my ability to help others only increases. The Church is also expanding soon, since it is the only one in the midwest, and as such is responsible for more than 7 states.
Look out KC, here we come! Something CAN be done about it! :)
Personal Integrity
By L. Ron Hubbard
WHAT IS TRUE FOR YOU is what you have observed
yourself
And when you lose that you have lost
everything.
What is personal integrity?
Personal integrity is knowing what you know-
What you know is what you know-
And to have the courage to know and say what you have observed.
That is integrity
And there is no other integrity.
Of course we can talk about honor, truth, all these things,
These esoteric terms.
But I think they'd all be covered very well
If what we really observed was what we observed,
That we took care to observe what we were observing,
That we always observed to observe.
And not necessarily maintaining a skeptical attitude,
A critical attitude, or an open mind.
But certainly maintaining sufficient personal integrity
And sufficient personal belief and confidence in self
And courage that we can observe what we observe
And say what we have observed.
Nothing in Dianetics and Scientology is true for you
Unless you have observed it
And it is true according to your observation.
That is all.
[Signed]L. Ron Hubbard
Now I am not a Scientologist (perhaps I should say "yet") but from what I've seen it's worth your time. No one will force you to do it. Not a true Scientologist, anyway.
I'm glad to discuss the subject, though my understanding of the totality is, as yet, very slim.
