As a therapy I felt it might have a world-changing impact.
Completely exasperated, the recruiter retreated into the argument that anyone who did not join the Sea Org was insane. I was flustered, not understanding that I was her last chance to reach her weekly quota of recruits. Moreover I did not know that her pay, her self-esteem and the esteem of her fellow staff members all depended upon increasing her quota each week.
The Sea Org was a bemusing aspect of Scientology. It was difficult to reconcile the military appearance of its members with religion or psychotherapy. However, I was convinced that Scientology was a valid and potent therapy, so I accepted the existence of the Sea Org.
I moved to East Grinstead in September 1975, living with my new girlfriend in a rented room. All three bedrooms of the small house were occupied, as was one of the two downstairs rooms. There were eight of us living there, including a baby. The couple who ran the house rented it from another Scientologist. They were both Sea Org members who were “living out,” away from the house run by the Scientology Church. They worked incredibly long hours (the husband from eight in the morning to midnight Sunday to Friday, and Saturday afternoons). They were American, although the 1968 use of the Aliens Act prohibited non-UK residents from studying or working for Scientology in Great Britain. They bought their clothes from rummage sales, as do most Sea Org members in Britain. They always looked gray and exhausted. Somehow they managed to support their baby, though seeing little of him. In spite of it all, they were usually cheerful.
The husband was supposedly a Clear, and had done three levels beyondClear. He often hinted at his psychic abilities, but excused himself from any demonstration, in case it “overwhelmed” me. He claimed to be able to back the right horse, which is how he spent his only free morning. Nonetheless, he continued to live below the poverty line.
I went to Saint Hill daily and applied myself to my studies. Scientology courses are run in a similar way to correspondence courses. The student is given a “checksheet,” which has the written materials, Hubbard tapes, and practical work listed in strict sequence on it. The student signs off each completed step. I sailed through the Basic Study Manual, and went onto the Hubbard Standard Dianetics Course.2
On the Dianetics Course I learned how to use the “Hubbard Electropsychometer,” or “E-meter,” which shows changes in a person’s electrical resistance through movements of a needle on a dial. The person receiving counseling holds two electrodes (in fact, empty soup cans) and the E-meter is supposed to show changing states of mind, or the “movement of mental mass.” A “fall” or “read” (rightward needle movement) shows that a topic is “charged.” A “floating needle” is “a rhythmic sweep of the dial at a slow, even pace.”3This supposedly happens when there is no emotional “charge,” or after any “charge” has been released. So areas of upset are found with the “fall” of the needle, and their resolution is shown by a “floating needle.”
The E-meter is used in most auditing. Lists of questions are checked for responses. A “floating needle” is one of the indications that an auditing “process” or procedure is complete.
I had been given my “Original Assessment”4at Birmingham. Dianetic auditing is supposed to dig out buried memories, so it seemed reasonable that the first step should be an E-metered questionnaire about my background. This included questions about my relationships with everyone in my family; anyone I knew who was antagonistic to Scientology; my education; and a complete alcohol and drug history (including all medicines), listing every occasion of use. My Auditor asked for precise information about emotional losses, accidents, illnesses, operations, my present physical condition, whether I had any family history of insanity, any compulsions and repressions I felt I was suffering from, whether I had a criminal record, and if so the details, and my involvement with “former practices,” which in my case included Zen meditation.
This “original assessment” is the beginning of the “Preclear folder,” which contains notes taken during auditing sessions. Auditors keep a running record of the Preclear’s more significant comments during each session.
At that time, Dianetic auditing first addressed the psychological effect of drugs. This procedure was called the Dianetic Drug Rundown,5and it followed a very exact pattern, which has changed little to this day. The Auditor reads out the list of drugs given by the Preclear, looking for the most marked E-meter reaction. He then asks for attitudes associated with taking that drug.