Supernatural abilities in Scientology doctrine
Encyclopedia
In Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...

 doctrine, supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

 or superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...

 abilities are a recurring subject, appearing throughout Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...

 and Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...

 materials, from the most basic introductory texts to the highest-level Operating Thetan
Operating Thetan
In Scientology, the state of Operating Thetan is a spiritual state above Clear. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, defined it as "knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time ". According to religious scholar J...

 information. Virtually all of these concepts were authored by the church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...

, and have not been subjected to testing outside the Church.

Conquering MEST

MEST is an acronym Hubbard coined which stands for matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...

, energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

, space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...

 and time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....

, the component parts of the physical universe. It is claimed that by completing Scientology courses
Scientology beliefs and practices
Scientology is defined as a set of beliefs written by founder L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology describes itself as the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others, and all of life...

, it is possible to eventually attain "cause over MEST" — the ability to control matter, energy and spacetime in the physical universe, free of the encumbrance of the body.

According to the Church:
In Scientology, a state of complete spiritual freedom is attainable. It has been achieved not on a temporary basis but on a stable plane of full awareness and ability, unqualified by accident or deterioration. And it is not limited to a few.
It is called, in Scientology, “Operating Thetan.” The definition of the state of Operating Thetan is “knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time.”

Dianetics and Clearing

Hubbard first introduced Dianetics to the general public in April 1950, in an article published in the Astounding Science Fiction pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...

,http://www.solitarytrees.net/pubs/skent/creation.htm?FACTNet#txtref02 and followed quickly with the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...

that same summer.

Dianetics postulates that there is a part of our psyche called the Reactive mind
Reactive mind
The reactive mind is a concept in the Dianetics and Scientology systems of L. Ron Hubbard, referring to that portion of the human mind that is unconscious and stimulus-response, which Hubbard blamed for most mental and physical ailments...

, and that most of our mental and physical problems are psychosomatic, thus they can be solved by eliminating this portion of our minds. This mental state of self-mastery is called Clear
Clear (Scientology)
Clear in Dianetics and Scientology is one of two levels a practitioner can achieve on the way to personal salvation. A state of Clear is reached when a person becomes free of the influence of engrams, unwanted emotions or painful traumas not readily available to the conscious mind...

.
In the 1992 Hardcover edition of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...

, Hubbard writes: "A Clear, for instance, has complete recall of everything which ever happened to him, or anything he ever studied. He does mental computations, such as those in chess, for example, which a normal would do in half an hour, in ten or fifteen seconds." (pg. 214).

Exteriorization of energy

Speaking on the subject of "Exteriorization - communication in Theta and MEST", Hubbard said that an individual thetan
Thetan
In Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents "the source of life, or life itself." In Scientology it is believed that it is the Thetan, not the...

 (person) has the ability to generate electricity by putting a "beam" inside a vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...

, or a bell jar
Bell jar
A bell jar is a piece of laboratory equipment used for creating vacuums.http://www.belljar.net/about.htm It can be similar in shape to a bell, and can be manufactured out of a variety of materials . A bell jar is placed on a base which is vented to a hose fitting, which can be connected via a hose...

 that has had the air evacuated:
"The truth of the matter is an individual can
activate a vacuum tube. By the way, he can
activate a vacuum tube because he isn't trying
to go through the terrific insulative quality
of air. I've forgotten what an inch of air
insulates, but it is something fabulous. An
inch of air represents maybe a hundred thousand
volts or something on that order. He would have
to be almost as big as a lightning storm to get
across any space of air. But he can do it in a
vacuum tube, and he could do it in a bell jar from
which the air could be exhausted, while he himself
was outside the bell jar. He simply puts a beam
inside the bell jar connecting two electrodes and
you would get a registry on a meter inside the
bell jar." (3rd ACC Lecture 35)


Spiritual immortality

The Church of Scientology describes achieving the state of Operating Thetan
Operating Thetan
In Scientology, the state of Operating Thetan is a spiritual state above Clear. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, defined it as "knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time ". According to religious scholar J...

 as "complete spiritual freedom from the endless cycle of birth and death" and literally promises immortality:
"Some of the miracles of life have been exposed to full view for the first time ever on the OT levels. Not the least of these miracles is knowing immortality and freedom from the cycle of birth and death."


The "immortality" referred to is not immortality of the body, but of the thetan
Thetan
In Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents "the source of life, or life itself." In Scientology it is believed that it is the Thetan, not the...

, and Scientology does not claim that it causes the thetan's immortality, but makes a Scientologist aware of that immortality and alleviates the distress that might otherwise be felt at the prospect of death:

"The subject of death is never a very serious one to a
Scientologist beyond the fact that he feels kind of sorry for
himself sometimes. ... was thoughtless enough to dispose of his body
and go out of communication. A person sometimes feels
pretty unhappy about it and thinks it's a thoughtless thing
for a friend to do."

Enhanced health and lifespan

On pg.121 of the 1992 Hardcover edition of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...

, Hubbard writes:

"Clears do not get colds."


It is also hinted that achieving the state of Clear prolongs lifespan: "What the lifespan of a Clear is cannot be answered now; ask in a hundred years." (pg.384)

Increasing body weight

Hubbard has claimed on numerous occasions that it is possible for Scientologists to use mind over matter to increase one's body weight, although why someone would specifically want to do this is not explained. In his book Understanding the E-meter
E-meter
An E-meter is an electronic device used during Dianetics and Scientology auditing. The device is a variation of a Wheatstone bridge, which measures electrical resistance and skin conductance. It is formally known as the Hubbard Electrometer, for the Church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard...

,
Hubbard wrote that this assertion can be tested by "mocking up" mental pictures in one's imagination. "This test
has actually been made and an increase of as much
as thirty pounds, actually measured on scales, has
been added to and subtracted from a body by
creating 'mental energy.'" (pg.52)

In December 1954, Hubbard declared before a crowd at a lecture:
"Just mock up something, pull it in,
mock it up and pull it in, mock it up and pull it
in. Mock up heavy planets, mock up dense things
and pull them in. You shoot a person's weight up -
if he's working pretty well, and you do this very
insistently, and you insist on density and mass -
you can put a person on a set of very accurate
Toledo scales, have him do this process for a few
hours, put him back on the scales and find out his
weight has gone up about thirty pounds." (Introduction
to 9TH ACC - Havingness)


In 1957, Hubbard claimed that he was contacted by physicists from a scientific congress in Boston: "They wanted to know if I had any proof I could offer that thought created matter". Hubbard said he gave them all his data about using Scientology's mental "mock-ups" to increase body weight, and reported "I got back a highly enthusiastic wire saying that my data, as sent to them, had been of great assistance." (Ability Congress, 2nd lecture, December 1957)

Touch assists

Scientologists (especially Volunteer Ministers
Volunteer Ministers
The Volunteer Minister program of the Church of Scientology dispatches groups of Scientologists using techniques developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard...

) are taught to administer the "Touch Assist", a procedure designed by Hubbard to help heal illnesses or injuries. The Scientologist touches the person's body in a set manner, avoiding sexual areas, and asks the recipient of the process, who is lying or sitting still, to "Feel my finger". This is continued until the recipient states that he feels better about what was bothering him and looks more cheerful overall. The process is claimed to help restore the spiritual being's (thetan
Thetan
In Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents "the source of life, or life itself." In Scientology it is believed that it is the Thetan, not the...

 in Scientology terminology) ability to communicate with the affected area and thereby to speed healing and reduce mental trauma.

The touch assist is not to be used to treat headaches, however:
"Do not do a Touch Assist on a person who has a headache. Research has shown that headaches are often the result of mental phenomena that a Touch Assist would be the incorrect handling for." (The Scientology Handbook, 1994 edition, pg.218)


It is probably the most well-known of all Scientology Assists
Assist (Scientology)
In Scientology, the Assist is described as a "process which is done to alleviate a present time discomfort".Despite the use of assists to treat pain and injuries, the Scientology Handbook states:...

, which also include the "Nerve Assist" and the "Unconscious Person Assist".

Theta perceptics

Scientology promises the ability to hone one's "theta perceptics" (senses of the thetan rather than the physical "meat body") and promises "Communication with the theta universe" with enhanced 'perceptics' such as:
"hunches, predictions, ESP at greater and lesser distances, communication with the dead, perception of the Supreme Being, etc." (Science of Survival, 50th anniversary edition, 2001, pg. 576.)

Hubbard claims that we all have precisely 57 of these 'perceptics'. The Super Power Rundown
Rundown (Scientology)
In Scientology, a "Rundown" is the term created by L. Ron Hubbard to apply to a series of Scientology and/or Dianetics procedures designed to address a specific area in depth.-Cause Resurgence Rundown:...

 is intended to amplify these latent abilities of the thetan by way of becoming hyper-aware of the physical "meat body". These 'perceptics' are:
Time, Sight; Taste, Color, Depth; Solidity (barriers); Relative sizes (external); Sound; Pitch; Tone; Volume; Rhythm; Smell; Touch (pressure, friction, heat or cold and oiliness); Personal emotion; Endocrine states; Awareness of awareness; Personal size; Organic sensation (including hunger); Heartbeat; Blood circulation; Cellular and bacterial position; Gravitic (self and other weights); Motion of self; Motion (exterior); Body position; Joint position; Internal temperature; External temperature; Balance; Muscular tension; Saline content of self (body); Fields/magnetic; Time track motion; Physical energy (personal weariness, etc.); Self-determinism; Moisture (self); Sound direction; Emotional state of other organs; Personal position on the tone scale
Tone scale
In Scientology, the tone scale or emotional tone scale is a characterization of human behavior. It is based on the idea that some people appear to be more lively and alive than other people. Author L. Ron Hubbard spelled the idea out saying, "just draw a horizontal line on the page...

; Affinity (self and others); Communication (self and others); Reality (self and others); Emotional state of groups; Compass direction; Level of consciousness; Pain; Perception of conclusions (past and present); Perception of computation (past and present); Perception of imagination (past and present); Perception of having perceived (past and present); Awareness of not knowing; Awareness of importance, unimportance; Awareness of others; Awareness of location and placement (masses, spaces and location itself); Perception of appetite; Kinesthesia.


The Church describes the Super Power Rundown as "A super fantastic, but confidential series of rundowns that can be done on anybody whether Dn Clear or not that puts the person into fantastic shape unleashing Super Power of a thetan. This means that puts Scientologists into a new realm of ability enabling them to create a new world." (Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary, 1982 hardcover edition) The exact nature of these "Super Powers" have not yet been enumerated, at least to the public.

Scientology researcher Martin Hunt says that the Super Power Rundown is "expected to make planetary clearing and the expanding of all service organizations to the size of old Saint Hill a reality". This refers to a directive issued by the Church that their primary goal must be to expand the size of all Scientology service organizations to the size that Saint Hill
Saint Hill
Saint Hill may refer to:* Saint Hill Green, a village near East Grinstead, Sussex, England* Saint Hill Manor, head office for the UK branch of the Church of Scientology...

 was in the 1960s - in other words, more than 200 staff members in each organization. http://www.solitarytrees.net/pickets/uplevel.txt

The Super Power Building
Super Power Building
The Super Power Building is an edifice in Clearwater, Florida, the Church of Scientology's largest property in the city. Due to a work stoppage of several years, it was left only partially built, resulting in criticism of the structure as an "eyesore" by ranking city officials...

 is currently under construction in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...

 for the purpose of administering this rundown. However, it has been plagued with construction setbacks since its initial groundbreaking in 1998.

Telepathy and remote viewing

Two Scientologists, Hal Puthoff and Ingo Swann
Ingo Swann
Ingo Swann is an artist and author, best known for his work as a co-creator of the discipline of remote viewing, specifically the Stargate Project...

, researched remote viewing at Stanford Research Institute for the CIA Project Stargate in the 1970s.http://www.sc-i-r-s-ology.pair.com/documents/1974-02-01ciacontract2.htmlhttp://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/essays/atack_ciacos.html Most of the SRI team, including project director Puthoff, and the CIA's star "psychic spies", Price and Swann, were Scientologists, a fact that skeptic Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...

 noted disparagingly. Puthoff and Swann were of the "original" Operating Thetan
Operating Thetan
In Scientology, the state of Operating Thetan is a spiritual state above Clear. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, defined it as "knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time ". According to religious scholar J...

 (OT) VII level (the Church has since 'changed' OT VII from the level these two completed), and credited Scientology with their success in the CIA remote viewing program.

From the book What is Scientology?: "Can OTs read minds? ...to answer the question bluntly - yes, with varying degrees of ability". (First printing, 1978, pg.215)

Psychokinesis

Psychokinesis
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...

, also known as telekinesis, is the power to remotely move physical objects by power of one's mind alone. It has long been the position of Scientology that if a thetan
Thetan
In Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents "the source of life, or life itself." In Scientology it is believed that it is the Thetan, not the...

 were to recover his full "native" powers, he would be "at cause over matter, energy, space, time, form and life."

Time travel

In the personal successes section of the official Church of Scientology magazine Advance! (#130, pgs.22-23), there is an anecdote about an Operating Thetan who claims to have walked directly into the path of an oncoming truck but saved his own life by traveling in time
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...

 to before he left his home. "I made the decision instantly to turn back time," says the anonymous
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...

 Scientologist, who then found himself "standing by the door I'd left not 10 seconds before - completely unscathed." The author reports being "very pleased" with his claimed OT abilities.

Independent creation of perception

In Scientology 8-8008, Hubbard states that Scientology training can make one aware of one's ability to turn illusions into MEST
MEST (Scientology)
MEST is an acronym used in Scientology and coined by author L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard used the first letters of the words matter, energy, space and time, the component parts of the physical universe. The term MEST is frequently used in writings and lectures by Scientology founder L...

 reality, and that even a preclear is "capable of producing illusions sufficiently strong to be observable by others". Hubbard speaks of "rehabilitating" the preclear so that he "begins to recognize that his viewpoint is expanding and that he is becoming all-pervasive", and then goes on to say:

"He is above the level of energy, if one can use the term, on the same wavelength with all other beingness, a condition which does not permit differentiation. As he rehabilitates his abilities in independent creation, he can change this wavelength at will, and can go in or out of agreement with all other points of beingness. The matter of perceiving, then, becomes a matter entirely of self-choice".

Cleared Theta Clear

Beyond even the powerful Operating Thetan levels comes "Cleared Theta Clear," a godlike state which Hubbard describes this way:
"A thetan who is completely rehabilitated and can do everything a thetan should do, such as move MEST
MEST (Scientology)
MEST is an acronym used in Scientology and coined by author L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard used the first letters of the words matter, energy, space and time, the component parts of the physical universe. The term MEST is frequently used in writings and lectures by Scientology founder L...

 and control others from a distance, or create his own universe; a person who is able to create his own universe or, living in the MEST universe is able to create illusions perceivable by others at will, to handle MEST universe objects without mechanical means and to have and feel no need of bodies or even the MEST universe to keep himself and his friends interested in existence."

Lectures by Hubbard

  • 3rd ACC. Lecture 35
  • 9th ACC - Havingness
  • Ability Congress, 2nd lecture, Washington, D.C., December 1957

Books

  • Hubbard, Scientology: A History of Man
    Scientology: A History of Man
    Scientology: A History of Man is a book by L. Ron Hubbard, first published in 1952 under the title What To Audit. According to the author, it provides "a coldblooded and factual account of your last sixty trillion years." It has gone through many editions since its first publication and is a key...

    , 1952 edition, New York: Church of Scientology. ISBN 0-686-30784-4.
  • Hubbard, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
    Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
    Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...

    , 1992 hardcover edition.
  • Hubbard, Understanding the E-meter.
  • Hubbard, Narconon Communication & Perception Course 4a, 2004 edition. (pg. 447-482)

External links

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