There is so much disinformation in this thread about what Scientology actually is. I first read Dianetics in 1972 and was fascinated by the notion of a mental stimulus-response mechanism generated by a sub-conscious aspect of mind that occurs whenever pain and/or unconciousness weakens our concious mind generating an "engram" which is a mental image/ memory which can become activated/ empowered to affect our behavior/ reactions whenever similar circumstances occur as those that were connected to the source "incident". As one goes through life more and more "incidents" get "restimulated" and one falls into these reactive responses locking them into "who you are". These emotional responses to incidents of pain and/or lowered conciousness are stored in ones "reactive mind", and can and often do adversely affect our life as they rear their ugly head. What was discovered is that by bringing your full conciousness into these incidents and re-living them mentally that they would and do lose their power over you...you maintain full awareness during any future "restimulation" of the "engram", and thus not fall into the stimulus-response automatic programming behavior(s) which usually are very dangerous/ non-survival responses. These restimulations from our environment, accidents, fights, unconciousness etc., build up an "energetic imprint" in our physiology, in our nervous system which is able to be measured by electronic instrumentation, specifically by a device invented specifically to record and monitor the presence of these "reactive-mind recordings", and this device is known as an "e-meter" which is a key tool used by Dianetic and subsequently Scientology "auditors", one who listens and records what is going on with the one who is looking and describing what is going on in their mind, pictures they see, feelings, words, smells, sensations, and the whole storyline connected with this past incident that was located by the auditor asking a question, seeing the e-meter response to that question, listening to the person that is in the session seeking the causes of problems in their life. The auditor is prohibited from telling their "patient" what they think, they only ask questions to direct the session towards the goal of clarity and resolution of the incident so it loses its power over the person, ie "becomes flattened" has been "cleared" out of the reactive mind "bank". The auditor then asks if there is an earlier similar incident along a potential chain of incidents that empower each other. The e-meter guides the auditor to areas with a lot of electric charge/ a big "read" on the e-meter and then the person in session tells the auditor what they perceive about that incident, which usually comes up in layers, until they are clear as to what the incident was, come to a "cognition" a sudden realization as to how this incident has adversely affected their life, the e-meter displays a big release and the needle just floats(called a floating needle), the person is usually very happy, has more awareness, and usually the auditor tells them that the session is over, since they are too ecstatic to get back into the muck of the reactive mind. An auditing session can last for many hours or for 10 minutes, it goes on as long as it takes to resolve the "issue" that is the largest reading issue that was determined by its response to a list the auditor goes over. The largest "read"/ needle deviation directs the progress of the sessions on a given subject/ level you are working on, whether that is Life Repair, Drug rundowns, Levels 0 through 5, Clearing Course, or OT levels where the auditor becomes yourself, you operate the e-meter, ask the questions, answer the questions, observe what is going on and write it all down in your auditor notes, and end the session. There is a "Case Supervisor" who goes over your notes, e-meter readings etc., and directs/ guides you to avoid pitfalls, missed reads etc., and offers guidance in directing the subject of your next session.

Belief is NOT a legitimate part of being a Scientologist because L. Ron Hubbard said many times that he didn't want any Scientologist to believe a single thing he ever said, that if something was determined by the individual to be true and correct by their observations alone... that is the only way something can be ajudged as true...does it fit in with all of the observations you have experienced and seen with your own senses. It isn't a matter of belief!!!

I'll come back to explain more from my perspective about the real Scientology, not the made up pre-suppositions thrown about all over the internet.