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1.3 How did Scientology start?




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This article is from the Scientology Catechism, by scninfo@pcnet.com (Scientology Information Server) with numerous contributions by others.

1.3 How did Scientology start?

L. Ron Hubbard began his studies of the mind in 1923. In
1947 he wrote a manuscript detailing some of his
discoveries. It was not published at that time, but
circulated among friends, who copied it and passed it on
to others. (This manuscript was formally published in
1951 as _Dianetics: The Original Thesis_ and later
republished as _The Dynamics of Life_.)

As copies of the manuscript circulated, Mr. Hubbard began
to receive an increasing flow of letters requesting
further information and more applications of his new
subject. He soon found himself spending all his time
answering letters and decided to write a comprehensive
text on the subject.

His first published article on the subject, "Terra Incog-
nita: The Mind," appeared in the Winter/Spring 1950 issue
of "The Explorers Club Journal", followed by the book
_Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health_, which
was published May 1950. It became a nationwide best-seller
almost overnight. By late summer, people across the country
were not only reading the book, but were also organizing
their own groups for the purpose of applying Dianetics
techniques. The book has remained a best-seller ever since,
again becoming number one on the "New York Times" best-
seller list, almost four decades after its initial publi-
cation. It continues to appear on best-seller lists around
the world.

During the course of thousands of hours of Dianetics
counseling on thousands of individuals all over the
country, incontrovertible evidence was amassed about the
fundamentally spiritual nature of man. L. Ron Hubbard
himself had discovered early in his research that man was
a spiritual being, inhabiting a body and using a mind.
These discoveries led him to realize that he had entered
the realm of religion.

In 1954, the first Church of Scientology was formed in
Los Angeles by a group of Scientologists. Within a few
years churches had been formed across the country and
around the world.

In the years that followed, L. Ron Hubbard completed his
research into the spiritual nature of man. Today, all of
his writings on the subject are available to anyone who
wishes to study Scientology. Although Mr. Hubbard
departed his body in 1986, he is still with us in spirit
and the legacy of his work continues to help people
around the world.

 

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