I had always wondered, what makes people tick? Why is life fun sometimes, and unpleasant or downright depressing at others? Why do people act the way they do? Some trustworthy, some treacherous, some productive and sane, and others crazy. Why do people and countries engage in war, riots, and revolution? Why do some people have good marriages and relationships, and others have a real rough time?

     And what about me – why would I feel angry, sad, or afraid for no apparent reason – why would I react strangely to certain situations or occurrences in life?

     After 12 years of school, and some college these questions had not been answered to my satisfaction. I even took a psychology class in college, as I figured they must know what the mind is and how it works. But I was told that people were animals. I was informed the libido, in Freudian theory, was: general sexuality that provides the energy for all behavior. They talked about experiments done regarding chickens, dogs, and rats and how they applied to people and had thousands of names for various behaviors.

     But not why the behavior or how to fix it.

     One night after class I went up to the professor and asked what is the mind, and when will we learn about it. He told me we don’t know what the mind is – behavior comes from the brain and we’re still studying that. I was disappointed. One night at the beginning of class, the professor announced that they had made a big breakthrough on something they had been working on for years. I was excited. They found out what the mind is and he’s going to tell us! I held my breath as he excitedly spoke: “The US Gov’t. has finally granted us permission to use marijuana to experiment on rats.” My excitement was short lived. I wish I could say that it was just a joke, but it actually happened – that was the last class I attended. I left with the horrible realization that they didn’t know.

     In the glossary of my college textbook, “Principals of General Psychology, 3rd Edition"—there is no definition for “mind” or “life"—there are 21 pages (in small print) of references of other psychology books that also have no definition for the mind or life. There are 5 pages of names of psychologists who don’t know what the mind is or have a working definition of “life.”

     I didn’t give up, I kept looking, and reading, and listening, as I was sure the answers had to be somewhere.

     One night I was sitting in the weather balloon shack, (a space on an aircraft carrier with a big rack of Helium bottles, and a big roll up door, where weather balloons can be launched) aboard the USS Ticonderoga CVS-14, (an anti-submarine warfare-support aircraft carrier), docked in the north island of San Diego, CA. It was a routine night of relaxation, after a day of chipping and painting the decks. The sounds of the TV were occasionally interrupted by the slap, and shuffle of cards from a hot game of spades in the corner of the room. A guy from our division, who took the term “drunken sailor” to heart arrived back at the ship after tipping a few in town, popped his head in the door, slowly took inventory of who was in the room and fixed his eye on me.

     He said with a slight slur to his words, “You’re always talking about the mind and life and the stars and what it’s all about – so here, I got this book for ya – someone was selling it in town and said it had the answers, I bought it for you.”

     A book with a volcano on the cover was deftly tossed in my direction – its title was Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. I thanked him, tossed it aside and continued watching TV.

     One by one the guys in the division turned in until I was the only one left in the room. I picked up the book and read the inside jacket. This is exactly what I had been looking for! At first I thought it was too good to be true. Then I hoped it was really true. There was only one way to find out – read the book.

     For the rest of that night, and the next 3 days, whenever I got a chance, I read that book. It started answering my questions one by one. And as I observed people and life, the data and the information from “Dianetics” applied in the real world. It worked!

     If someone says, “Turn the key, put the shift on ’D’ and push that gas pedal and the car will go"—you can think, “This is too good to be true,” (remember the first time you drove a car?)

     Well, this is true, but the way you really find out is—do it! Try it and observe and see if it works.

     Dianetics is not some mumbo jumbo theory. It was discovered (not invented) by L. Ron. Hubbard. Among his many talents and skills, Ron was an engineer and he put Dianetics through the most grueling, scientific tests you could ever imagine. He observed people and life and discovered exactly what the mind is, what it is composed of (all its parts) and how it works, and how to fix it and make it work better.

     My first win using Dianetics was improving my ability to recall data. The Navy, at the time I was on-board ship, offered tests on a wide range of subjects and problem solving, which if passed would qualify one for 2 years of college credits. I wasn’t going to take the tests, as there seemed to be a layer of fog between me and what I had learned in school. I was worried I would flunk the tests and be a failure.

     Instead of giving up or trying to bone up on the various subjects before the tests, I thought ok, let’s see if this Dianetics stuff really works. If I finish reading Dianetics by the time I take the tests, my increased understanding of the mind and how it works should improve my recall and handle the “fog” problem between me and my past education.

     Sure enough, it worked!! I passed all categories and subjects in the tests and even I was surprised!

     The rest of my hitch in the Navy went pretty smoothly, if you understand your own mind, you can understand others minds and therefore understand other people and what is going on with them. One can get along well with others and in life because he understands.

     Just think of something you really understand, well, is that thing fun to do? Are you competent at it? Does dealing with it make you happy? Well, not understanding something, I have found, has the opposite effect.

     The day I left the Navy, I handed my Dianetics book back to the sailor who had bought it for me and said, “Here, you read this, it really works!” I hope he did.

     I got home, bought two Dianetics books, gave one to a buddy of mine and said, “Here, read this, we’re going to co-audit.” (co-audit is when you get a friend and apply the technologies of Dianetics to each other.) The first thing he said was, “You gotta be careful of that metal health stuff, it can screw you up.” I have also heard people say, “It’s dangerous to know about the mind.”

     Both of these statements are “false data” (false data is data you read or information that someone gives you that is not true.)

     If back in the days of Columbus you read in a book or someone told you that the Earth is flat and if you sailed too far that you would sail off the edge, well, that is false data.

     The only way you will find out if data is true or false is to observe and find out for yourself. All I am giving you here is data you won’t know it’s really true until you observe it for yourself.

     Dianetics is not something you believe in, it’s something that you use in life, it works. Physical health is desirable, why wouldn’t mental health also be desirable? The word “mental” has been degraded by psychiatrists, as their “treatment” consists of shock therapy, brain operations, hypnosis and drugs. And then psychoanalysis; invalidation and evaluation. All these treatments make a person worse, degrade him, make him quieter, and in many cases result in death. Also in the 50’s, people with symptoms of insanity were sometimes referred to as “mentals.” Mental health simply means a healthy mind that operates well, can think or solve problems relating to survival and do it quickly and efficiently. Dianetics is for the able who want to excel in life and become more able.

     “It’s dangerous to know about the mind” is the silliest statement I’ve ever heard! A person uses his mind every waking hour in all aspects of life. Figuring out his goals, in his relationships, on the job, to create music and art, to figure out economics and politics, and what to have for dinner. I’ll tell you one thing I’ve discovered – it’s very dangerous not to know about the mind.

     If you knew nothing about cars, or sewing machines, or cameras or your VCR and had no one to tell you about them, or had no owners manual or service manuals – how well could you operate them or fix them?

     Dianetics is the owners manual for the human mind – if that sounds a little strange it’s just because no one wrote one until May 9, 1950. L. Ron Hubbard observed there was no owners manual for the mind and wrote one.

     I have found there are only two reasons a person would tell me “It’s dangerous to know about the mind": 1) He just has false data and never really looked at it, or 2) He was afraid I would become more able and prosper in life. Most of the people I know fall into category number 1 – but I know a few from category number 2 – maybe you will discover a couple of these people in your environment. These people will say “Well, Dianetics isn’t for everyone.” Well as far as I can see, anyone who has a VCR should read the owner’s manual – and anyone who has a mind should also read the owner’s manual – Dianetics.

     The only other question is “Is Dianetics the only accurate, workable owners manual for the mind?” —well that you will have to find out for yourself.

     My first big win applying the techniques of Dianetics came when I found an incident in my reactive mind (that part of the mind that you are unaware of, contains pain and unconsciousness and has command power over you in the present).

     The only thing that can really stop you is yourself, if you handle your self-imposed barriers, you can do anything. The environment and life can present barriers – but if you are free of your own barriers, you can overcome any barrier presented, or decide any goal you like, and life becomes fun, a happy endeavor, and a game.

     The definition of “Clear” is a being who no longer has his own reactive mind.(Reactive Mind: that part of a person's mind which is not under his volitional control and which exerts force and the power of command over his awareness, purposes, thoughts, body and actions.)

     I have achieved this state with Dianetics. It is very well worth achieving!

     I am happy and healthy and life has excitement to it – it’s fun! I sometimes get mad or sad, or even afraid – but it is an appropriate emotion for the situation, but it doesn’t last long, as I can look at the situation and handle it. When you are Clear, life doesn’t suddenly turn to endless bliss – life is life – but the difference is you don’t just react to it, so the effect is you view it from present time and handle it, at cause.

     My emotions are fluid and I can cause them. You don’t need a reason to be interested or happy or feel joy – you can just create the emotion if you want to. That is fun. If this doesn’t seem possible, think back to when you were a little kid – kids do this all the time. I feel like a big kid with big toys, and life is interesting and exciting!

     I love my wife more now then when we were first married 11 years ago – she’s Clear too – and let me tell you, does that ever help a relationship. We are best buddies. I get along well with people I work with and the customers I service – I understand them, so if they’re having a bad day I can usually cheer them up – and if we’re both having a bad day, we can cheer up together.

     The secret is – you create your life. And the more you’re willing to create it, the more fun you have. Dianetics gives you that willingness by the bucket full.

     Communities, governments, and nations are composed of individuals – people – if you understand people, you can understand these groups of people, and even politicians.

     Many areas of life need improvement; drugs, crime, illiteracy, low moral values, broken families, all threaten our survival. If you have ever wondered what is the real source of these societal ills, Dianetics has the answers in detail – and not only that – it tells you what you can do about it.

     I hope you have enjoyed reading about my successes with Dianetics as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

     I would like to leave you with a quote from Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health: Ron says, “You are beginning an adventure. Treat it as an adventure and may you never be the same again.”