How To Use Dianetics

How do you keep money coming to your organisation when it is founded on the works of one guy who is now dead? You repackage it and sell a new version. As I open the DVD case I noticed a second disc, and two booklets.

Background
Some time ago I reviewed Dianetics: The Visual Guidebook to the Mind. That DVD was sold by Scientology churches to accompany Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (DMSMH). However, in 2007, That book, and many others in the group known to Scientologists as “The Basics” were edited and then reissued.

To go with the new version of “Book one”. Golden Era Productions, the media arm of the Church of Scientology produced a new DVD. Where as the previous had a single disc and a card insert with the Auditing ritual. The new DVD set includes a second DVD and two booklets. A “Film Guide” and a “Procedure Guide”

This DVD is paired with the 2007 edition of DMSMH, a version that is purported to be as the author L. Ron Hubbard intended. This has raised criticisms as DMSMH was published in 1950 and Hubbard didn’t die until 1986, allowing 36 years to correct it if he felt there was a problem.

Plot
The film is divided into 16 chapters. These chapters covers an aspect of Dianetics. If you read my review of the Visual Guidebook, then the plot is basically the same, but expanded in explaining the aspects. It starts with reminding the viewer about how people seek to live comfortable lives, yet often do ill rational things. This according to the film that painful experiences are recorded in the hypothetical “Reactive mind” as an “engram”. Engrams are said to cause pain or ill rational behaviour, often it can be chronic if anything was said during the incident. The video goes over the Auditing process that involves going over these painful incidents with another person.

The second disc goes into more detail about Scientological concepts as the tone scale. The different types of engram, including those given before birth. Painful emotion engrams.

Intended Message
This DVD set, like its predecessor is intended to get the viewer up to speed on the principles of Dianetics, how to audit and where to get more information. The info is a web address that directs the user to their nearest Scientology church. The film also directs the view to look up sections of the book.

Final Comments
Like the predecessor, this DVD doesn’t appear to make the more outlandish claims that Dianetics cures the common cold. It doesn’t mention as the book does that many pre-birth engrams are caused by abortion attempts.

While this DVD does go into more detail about the auditing process, but truth is, it’s still outdated even by Scientological standards. The next book, Science of Survival, makes some changes to the auditing process, and that book was published in 1952, this DVD in 2010. The text in the book suggests it may not be that big of a deal, but it’s still puzzling why they wouldn’t update.

Make no mistake, Dianetics is a pseudo-science. It makes these promises about increased health and better living, but it made these claims over half a century ago. If there were any noticeable improvement, it would have been picked up by now. It wouldn’t be this obscure thing most outside of Scientology would never have heard of.