Dianetics at 76: Scientology’s bible, endorsing child abuse since 1950 (and now with a song!)

TONY ORTEGA
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Seventy-six years ago today, L. Ron Hubbard published the book that changed his life and sparked a movement, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.
Two years later, after the brief Dianetics boom had gone bust (along with his second marriage), Hubbard regrouped in Phoenix and, with the name “Dianetics” stuck in bankruptcy, called his new idea “Scientology,” replacing a focus on recovering memories in the womb (a central part of Dianetics) with recovering memories from past lives.
But even as Scientology grew and went in many strange directions, Hubbard’s 1950 bestseller Dianetics has remained, even today, “Book One” for Scientologists, and the bedrock text that the movement rests on.

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Dianetics is a vile book. In it, Hubbard imagines that most of our problems are the result of unfaithful women and uncaring mothers who torture their unborn fetuses or warp their children’s future minds by having rough sex while pregnant. Oh, you didn’t realize that? That’s because Scientology doesn’t want you to know what’s in Dianetics until you buy a copy.
We saved you the trouble by blogging this book from cover to cover in 2013, finding all sorts of ridiculous nonsense in this misogynistic and anti-scientific book.
But even as we went through the book for that experience, we managed to miss a shocking passage that was brought to our attention later by one of our readers. Since then, we’ve been trying to get the word out that this incredible passage exists.
In our 1950 first edition the passage appears in Book Three, Chapter IX, Part Two, under the subheading “Differences” on page 336…
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Dianetics at 76: Scientology’s bible, endorsing child abuse since 1950 (and now with a song!)

Seventy-six years ago today, L.

tonyortega.substack.com

I asked google, "did l ron hubbard believe in past lives before 1950"

L. Ron Hubbard did not publicly teach or officially emphasize a belief in past lives before 1950. While he reportedly claimed to have experienced past-life memories during his earlier life and explorations, his 1950 book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health focused on prenatal memories and traumatic events from the current life.
Wikipedia +2

• Pre-1950 Beliefs: Hubbard likely held personal beliefs in reincarnation, according to some reports citing his travels in Asia where he allegedly encountered these concepts. However, these ideas were not part of his public teachings on Dianetics in 1950.
• The Shift in 1950: In July 1950, shortly after publishing Dianetics, Hubbard began exploring and discussing "past lives" or "former lives" as evidence mounted for him during auditing sessions, shifting the focus towards metaphysical territory.
• Official Introduction: The inclusion of past lives became more prominent in his work starting around 1951, particularly with the 1952 book Scientology: A History of Man, which detailed memories of past lives as clams, sloths, and other beings.
• Dianetics Focus: Initially, Hubbard claimed to be focused solely on the mental, not spiritual, aspects of human behavior, presenting Dianetics as a "science".
  Wikipedia +4

He later claimed to have discovered the existence of past lives as a direct result of his research, not as a pre-existing belief in his formal system.

I decided to do a follow up and asked, "how did l ron hubbard develop his dianetic auditing procedures"

The computer went to a COS site to get some of the information and it sounds like COS promo!

I'm still getting used to these AI search results with lots of adjectives to describe them from amazing and incredible to strange and freaky. Ask any question and a computer gives an answer. Science fiction becoming science fact in a few short years.
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AI Overview

L. Ron Hubbard developed Dianetic auditing procedures in the late 1940s by blending elements of Freudian psychoanalysis, hypnosis, and his own research into human memory, aiming to create a precise "technology" to erase mental distress (engrams). Through experimentation on friends, he designed one-on-one sessions where an "auditor" asks specific questions to guide individuals to confront and eliminate painful past experiences.
Wikipedia +4
Key Aspects of Development

• Origins and Influences: Hubbard studied early psychoanalysis, particularly through exposure to a student of Freud, Commander Joseph C. Thompson, but wanted to create a more functional, accelerated system for fixing the mind.
• Experimental Phase: In the late 1940s, Hubbard experimented with friends in New Jersey, testing methods to access subconscious memories, including prenatal experiences.
• Codifying Procedures: Hubbard formalized these methods in his 1950 book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, creating a structured, repeatable process. He aimed to make it a "science" that anyone could apply, distinguishing it from traditional therapy.
• Role of the Auditor: He developed the role of the "auditor" (meaning one who listens) to help individuals locate and handle areas of distress or "engrams".
• Technical Tools: Hubbard introduced the E-meter, an electronic device intended to measure changes in a person's emotional state, aiding in finding stored engrams during sessions.
• Evolution: As auditing grew, Hubbard moved from early therapeutic models toward more spiritual and metaphysical territory, which became the basis for Scientology.
  Britannica +7

Auditing procedures were designed to be strict,, with no variables, designed to help an individual move from "spiritual blindness" to a higher state of awareness.
Official Church of Scientology