In Dianetics, the Uterus is a Frightening Place — ALSO: Nation of Islam Boosting Involvement?

[Credit: Jennifer Mokren, for the Exquisite Uterus Project]

[BELOW: The Nation of Islam’s fascination with Dianetics is well known — but are NOI members now starting to take Scientology jobs?]

Vance, we’re finally about to get to Dianetic therapy, but before we do, L. Ron Hubbard must once again revisit the subject of pregnancy and childbirth.

Sigh.

In the chapter, “Preventive Dianetics,” Hubbard makes the point that since engrams — memories picked up during unconsciousness — can be so harmful to a fetus, it’s important to prevent them happening by keeping quiet around women who are pregnant or giving birth.

And to hammer home that point, Hubbard once again must tell us what a danger women are to the unborn…

Attempted abortion is very common. And remarkably lacking in success. The mother, every time she injures the child in such a fiendish fashion, is actually penalizing herself. Morning sickness is entirely engramic, so far as can be discovered, since clears have not so far experienced it during their own pregnancies. And the act of vomiting because of pregnancy is via contagion of aberration. Actual illness generally results only when mother has been interfering with the child either by douches or knitting needles or some such thing.

Hubbard also seems hung up on the idea of the newly-conceived blastocyst taking a beating…

An astonishing number of pregnancies must take place which are never realized. The violence of coitus, the use of douches and jellies (used because the woman is still contracepting and does not know she is already pregnant), straining bowel movements, falls and accidents must account for a large number of miscarriages which come about sometime around the first period after conception. For the zygote and the embryo forms of the child have a rather frail grip on existence and are very severely injured by things the mother would consider nothing.

Vance, in your time in the church, did you ever get a sense of why Hubbard was so focused on this stuff?

VANCE: Like many things in Dianetics and Scientology, not much wondering was allowed. The attitude is that answers to your questions are in Hubbard’s writings. There shall be no discussion. Just read what the guy wrote. Implicitly, if Hubbard did not answer your question, then your question is dumb and not worth answering. Either way, the man claimed that his writings were based on his research. So, his focus on abortions and pregnancies must have been based on auditing preclears and finding that large numbers of them had been accosted with knitting needles and douches while in utero. What mystifies me now is how I ever read that book without falling out of my chair in laughter. Dianetics belongs in the humor section of the bookstore.

Incidentally, you’d think that, with a chapter like this, most Scientologists would be almost panicky around pregnant women, very concerned that their poor fetus could be given a sanity-destroying engram by the slightest jarring. Yet, that is not how it was in my experience. Scientologists behaved like normal people around pregnant women (that is, to the extent that a Scientologist could ever be accused of acting normal). But on the other hand, in my experience, most Scientologists had never read Dianetics!

THE BUNKER: Later, Hubbard really goes for broke, claiming that apparently all women make a surprisingly large number of attempts at abortion…

“Twenty or thirty abortion attempts are not uncommon in the aberree and in every attempt the child could have been pierced through the body or brain,” he writes.

And once again, we are told that this is not merely a notion, but something he’s established as settled fact (how, he doesn’t really tell us)…

These engrams have been confirmed by taking the data from the child, from the mother and the father, and all data checked. So we are dealing here with scientific facts which, no matter how startling, are nevertheless true.

Well, we could point out the sad irony that after Hubbard portrayed all women this way, years later his Sea Org would end up forcing women to have abortions.

VANCE: It is definitely perplexing that people in the innermost circles of Scientology were getting abortions when Hubbard spoke so stridently against them in Dianetics. The explanation is complicated. But consider this. By the time those people got to their lofty positions, they would have have long since begun applying Scientology “ethics” technology, which calls for the “greatest good for the greatest number,” and which came along after Dianetics. A baby would, apparently, get in the way of the Sea Org’s 100-hour workweek and therefore not be “the greatest good.” End of analysis. No doubt, Scientology “ethics” technology would do well on planet Vulcan.

THE BUNKER: At least we’re finally through this part of the book and we’re moving on to actual therapy next week. We’re tingling with excitement.

Next week — The Secret to Scientology’s “Wins” Revealed?

 
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MIKE RINDER: MISCAVIGE AND FARRAKHAN TYING THE KNOT?

Last night, Mike Rinder posted a fascinating e-mail to his blog. In it, a woman calling herself “Sister Adrienne Michelle Muhammad” promotes the virtues of Chicago’s Hubbard Dianetics Foundation — a facility that delivers introductory courses for the Church of Scientology. She also refers to Hubbard Dianetics Seminar Assistant “Brother Maurice 11X Holman,” and Rinder points out that these are clearly Nation of Islam monikers.

For several years, we’ve watched Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan promote L. Ron Hubbard and Dianetics to his followers, but we’ve noted that the relationship between these two groups has appeared to be held at arm’s length. Now, Rinder says, this e-mail indicates that the connections have passed an important milestone — Nation of Islam members now appear to be holding jobs in the church, and are marketing Scientology to Scientologists. Has Farrakhan reached some new understanding with Scientology leader David Miscavige?

“This is the introductory line for the org — the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation — the first place where people are brought into Dianetics,” Rinder tells us. “The people trained on Dianetics from the Nation of Islam are no longer just practicing it among themselves, they are now officially on the front lines of the Church of Scientology, bringing in new people. And they are very publicly calling themselves ‘brother’ and ‘sister,’ which is not Scientology staff terminology.”

We asked him which group — Scientology or the Nation of Islam — is benefiting most from this new interaction.

“Seems to be a marriage made in heaven (or hell?). Until one or the other tries to exert their will — and it probably won’t end well,” he says.

 
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IN DENVER, SCIENTOLOGY IS ON THE MOVE

We’re thankful for our tipster who sent in this photo of a Denver bus this week…

You have to hand it to the church, it never gives up, even when its public image has never been crappier. But what we found really interesting about this ad was how prominently it identified itself as “paid for by the Church of Scientology.” In other words, without that message, the viewer may see the words “What is Scientology” and assume it might have been put there by some jerk with a website or something.

 
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SMERSH Madness: Sowing the Seeds of World Domination!

As we announced on March 1, we’re joining bracket fever with a tournament like no other. It’s up to you to decide who should be named the new SMERSH, the traditional nemesis of Scientology. Cast your vote for who’s doing more to propel the church down its long slide into oblivion!

Our fourth regional final, to determine the champion of the Freewinds bracket!

Operation Clambake, or Xenu.net, was started by a Norwegian engineer, Andreas Heldal-Lund, in 1996. It quickly became a major nemesis for the church as it hosted vast amounts of damaging information that Scientology wants kept quiet. It’s still a great resource today for researchers. (Previously: OCMB defeated Lisa Marie Presley in the first round and Jon Atack in the Sweet Sixteen.)

Mark Bunker was the man who brought video about Scientology to the Internet. Before the arrival of Anonymous in 2008, you can bet that just about any online video about the church was either created or uploaded by Bunker. He then became even more well known as Wise Beard Man, the person who counseled Anonymous that peaceful demonstration was the way to get word out about Scientology. And today, he’s working on a documentary that is going to feature amazing interviews, judging by the glimpses we’ve seen. (Previously: Bunker defeated Lawrence Wright in the first round and Mary Rieser in the Sweet Sixteen.)

 
Go to our March 1 post for the latest tournament results.

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 28, 2013 at 07:00