Awareness Chart. An auditor's job is to ask the preclear
to look, and get him to do so.
6.20 What is the E-Meter and how does it work?
E-Meter is a shortened term for 'electropsychometer'. It
is a religious artifact used as a spiritual guide in
auditing. It is for use only by a Scientology minister or
a Scientology minister-in-training to help the preclear
locate and confront areas of spiritual upset.
In itself, the E-Meter does nothing. It is an electronic
instrument that measures mental state and change of state
in individuals and assists the precision and speed of
auditing. The E-Meter is not intended or effective for
the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of any disease.
The book _Understanding the E-Meter_ offers a simple
explanation of how the E-Meter works and what it actually
measures. In order to understand what the E-Meter does,
it is necessary to understand some basic Scientology
concepts.
There are three basic parts of man -- mind, body and
thetan. The thetan is an immortal spiritual being -- the
individual himself. He (the thetan) inhabits a body,
which is a carbon-oxygen machine. He has a mind, which is
a collection of mental image pictures he has created.
These pictures have weight and mass and can impinge on
the person when he is emotionally upset.
This is what makes the E-Meter read -- the impingement of
such pictures against the body.
The E-Meter puts a very small electrical current
(approximately one and a half volts) through the body.
This is about the same amount of current as in the
average battery-powered wristwatch.
When a person thinks a thought, looks at a picture, re-
experiences an incident or when he shifts some part of
the pictures in his mind, he is moving and changing
actual mental mass and energy. These changes in the
person's mind affect the tiny flow of electrical energy
generated by the E-Meter, which causes the needle on its
dial to move.
The E-Meter thus measures changes that are caused by the
spiritual being in his own mind (i.e., the movement of
mental masses around him) and in this capacity, it is a
religious artifact.
The E-Meter is used to help the individual who is being
audited uncover truth. By locating areas of mental or
spiritual trauma, the E-Meter helps both the auditor and
the preclear locate exactly what to address in auditing.
7. THE ORGANIZATIONS OF SCIENTOLOGY
7.1 Scientology is a philosophy. Why does it need to be
organized?
Scientology is an *applied* religious philosophy.
Therefore organization is needed to make the technology
available and teach people to apply it.
7.2 How many people work in a Scientology church?
The number of staff varies from church to church. Small
churches may have 20 and large ones over 500.
7.3 How is Scientology organized?
There is a "mother church" which is the Church of
Scientology International. It is headquartered in Los
Angeles. It is responsible for the ecclesiastical
supervision of the rest of the Scientology churches
around the world, which are organized in a hierarchical
structure not dissimilar to that of the Catholic Church.
(For more information about the structure of the Church,
see Part 5 [of _What is Scientology?_].)
7.4 Where are Scientology churches located?
Scientology churches and missions exist all over the
world. There are a great many churches and far more
missions in various countries.
7.5 What does a Scientology church or mission actually do?
The main activities of Scientology churches and missions
are training Scientology ministers and providing
auditing. The church also conducts Sunday services,
weddings, funerals and christenings and delivers other
chaplain services. The church helps the individual become
more able to help himself and to help others.This is done
by training and auditing.
7.6 What is the Office of Special Affairs?
The Office of Special Affairs (OSA) deals with legal
affairs for the Church. It also publishes the facts about
the social betterment works of Scientology, informing the
government, the media, other religions and other groups
with interests similar to those of the Church. OSA also
oversees the social reform programs of the Church, among
which are those that expose and effectively handle
violations of individual and human rights.
7.7 What is the Flag Service Organization?
The Flag Service Organization (FSO), often referred to as
"Flag," is located in Clearwater, Florida [USA]. It
delivers advanced spiritual training and auditing. It
retains its name from the days when it used to operate
from the flagship 'Apollo', ("Flag" in nautical terms
means "the flagship" or the vessel which gives orders to
others.)
7.8 What is the Flag Ship Service Organization?
The Flag Ship Service Organization is located aboard the
450-foot ship called the 'Freewinds', and is an advanced
religious retreat that delivers the level of auditing
called New OT VIII and specialized training to
Scientologists.
7.9 What is the Sea Organization?
The Sea Organization (commonly referred to as the Sea
Org) is a confraternal organization existing within the
formalized structure of the Church. It is composed of the
most dedicated Scientology staff who have decided to
devote their lives to the delivery and expansion of
Scientology.
The Sea Organization has no separate corporate structure
or identity and its members work for various different
churches of Scientology and are subject, as are all other
employees of that church, to the orders and directions of
the board of directors.
The Sea Org was established in 1967 and once operated
from a number of ships. It was set up to help L. Ron
Hubbard with research of earlier civilizations and to
carry out supervision of Church organizations around the
world to keep Scientology expanding. It is also entrusted
to deliver the advanced services of Scientology.
The Sea Organization retains its name in celebration of
the fact that the Founder's life was majorly connected
with the sea. It exists to help keep Scientology working.
7.10 Is it true that people in the Sea Org sign a billion-year
contract?
Yes, they do. It is a symbolic document which, similar to
vows of dedication in other faiths and orders, serves to
signify an individual's eternal commitment to the goals,
purposes and principles of the Scientology religion. Sea
Org members have dedicated their lives to working toward
these ends and toward a world without war, drugs, crime
and illiteracy.
7.11 Why does Scientology have ministers? Are all
Scientologists ministers?
The Church of Scientology has ministers to deliver
Scientology religious services to church parishioners.
Only those who specifically enroll in and graduate from
the Scientology Minister's Course and its prerequisites,
and fulfill the requirements for ordination are
Scientology ministers. All Scientology auditors are
required to become ordained ministers; however, they are
allowed to audit as ministerial students while fulfilling
their ordination requirements.
7.12 What are field staff members?
Field staff members are individual Scientologists who
disseminate Scientology, provide books to interested
friends, family members and associates and introduce (or
select) people to the Church. They are appointed by their
nearest Scientology organization. Because they have had
gains from Dianetics and Scientology themselves, they
naturally want to share it with others.
7.13 Why is everything copyrighted and trademarked in
Scientology?
Scientology and Dianetics are technologies that work if
applied exactly. If they are altered, the results will
not be uniform.
For this reason, the technology is copyrighted and the
words and symbols which represent the technology are
trademarked. This way, nobody can misrepresent something
as standard Scientology or Dianetics that really isn't.
In fact many persons have tried to rip off and profit
from the technologies of Dianetics and Scientology. The
subjects were developed for spiritual salvation, not for
anyone's personal enrichment. Through ownership of the
trademarks and copyrights, such ill-intentioned actions
are prevented by the Church.
[7.14 Does the IRS recognize Church organizations as non-profit
charitable organizations?]
[Yes, in the Fall of 1993, upon finishing an extensive in-
vestigation of the Church's organizations and their fi-
nances, the IRS ruled that the Church of Scientology and
its organizations were non-profit charitable organizations
and therefore eligible for tax exempt status in the United
States.]
8. CHURCH FUNDING
8.1 Why do Scientologists make donations?
Some churches have a system of tithes, others require
their members to pay for pew rentals, religious
ceremonies and services. In the Church of Scientology,
parishioners make donations for auditing or training they
wish to take. These contributions by Scientologists are
the primary source of financial support for the Church
and fund all the community programs and social betterment
activities of Scientology. Scientologists are not
required to tithe or make other donations.
Ideally, Dianetics and Scientology services would be
free, and all Scientologists wish they were. But those
are not the realities of life. When one considers the
cost of delivering even one hour of auditing, requiring
extensively trained specialists, and the overhead costs
of maintaining church premises, the necessity of
donations becomes clear.
The donation system in Scientology is the most equitable
as those who use the facilities of the Church are the
ones who most directly contribute to its upkeep and
continued existence. Naturally, no donation is expected
from those not receiving auditing or training. And church
doors are always open to those who wish to learn more
about the philosophy of Scientology, be they parishioners
or not. There are tape plays of L. Ron Hubbard's
lectures, introductory lectures, books available, people
