From International Viewpoints (IVy) Issue 3 - November 1991 The Nature of Truth By Eric Townsend, England What can we say about the truth of Scientology at this time, which our Editor has referred to as the post-Scientology period? Well we may start with what Ron had to say on the subject of truth. "What is true for you is what you have observed for yourself". (OEC Vol IV) He also quotes Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, who said "If it isn't true for you, it isn't true". (Tape - Story of DN and Scn 1958) In my early days in Scientology I interpreted this to mean "Just take what you can accept and work with that. Later on you will see the wider truth and validity of what is offered here." That was very helpful in those early days but now I realize that was not being said. The statements mean exactly what they say. It may now be possible in this 'post Scientology' period to grant others the right to have different truths. If so, we will have moved beyond the myth that there is only one Truth. This is the myth that has caused so much religious intolerance, persecution and wars. In recent years more tolerance has grown up, both among post- Scientologists and the world in general, but many still deceive themselves with the formula of 'emergent truth'. That is to say: "There is only one Truth, which I have perceived, but you and others have yet to discover it, which you will do if you become more wise/enlightened." Paradox But the above statements don't say that. They say that each individual has his own truth. In addition to quoting Ron Hubbard and Buddha, we can quote W.S. Gilbert who wrote in a song for "The Mikado": And I am right, and you are right, And all is right as right can be! And you are right, and we are right, And all is right as right can be! So how can we resolve this paradox of each of us being right but having different views at the same time? The key proposed by Scientology is the concept of the -viewpoint-. It says early in the Factors "The first action of beingness is to assume a viewpoint. The second action of a beingness is to extend from the viewpoint, points of view, which are dimension points." And what are dimension points? They are any point in space and two or more dimension points create distance. In Factor 11 it says: "And there comes about interchange amongst viewpoints, but the interchange is never otherwise than in terms of exchanging dimension points". (Ref. Scn 0-8) Everyday What does all this philosophical theory mean in everyday terms? You may have observed how other people give widely different interpretations from your own to the same neutral event. If so, then you can see the action of 'beingnesses' creating different points of view. This power of creating different points of view is what makes life interesting. The principle activity of beings seems to be discussing or interchanging points of view. To the extent they can communicate to bring their viewpoints close together, they achieve greater affinity, reality and understanding. So each of us looks around from our viewpoint, makes observations and draws conclusions. Thus we construct our truth, and not just our First Dynamic truth, but also our truth for the second, third, fourth dynamics and the dynamics beyond. Thus we all live in a universe of our own making. It is ironic that this wisdom is contained in Scientology when so many so-called Scientologists have not been able to grant beingness to the truth of others. Maybe even we have found ourselves at some time trying to convince someone else that Scientology is the -only- truth, which that other person should recognise. Maybe we did this for the simple reason that we wanted the reassurance of other people's agreement. Maybe we were not really certain of our own judgement and needed the agreement of another person or a large group to assure us that our opinion was right. Exterior to Scientology So in this post-Scientology period we will be able to get exterior to Scientology and no longer feel obliged to live inside it. From that position we will be able to incorporate it, if we choose to, into our universe. We are not even required to take it all. It is a symptom of being 'effect' of a body of knowledge, in this case Scientology, to hold the view that it is either all right or all wrong. It is a symptom of being at 'cause' to be able to assess importances and exercise the power of choice over what to accept and what to use. Similarly we can perhaps move beyond the unexamined assumption that everything Ron Hubbard said or wrote must be true. As he himself said "What is true for you is what you have observed for yourself". At a practical level, this does not mean you have to repeat all his experiments. It does mean that when he proposes an idea, you should compare it with your experience of life and decide for yourself. What is "a scientologist" In the past the term Scientologist was taken by many people to mean someone who lived entirely within the universe of Scientology. An ex- Scientologist on the other hand was someone who lived entirely outside it! This viewpoint was probably based on personal observation. The Technical Dictionary viewpoint is however that a Scientologist is "someone who betters the condition of himself and the conditions of others by using Scn. technology". Maybe this can now become more observable as individuals feel able to select those parts of the technology they want to use to help themselves and others on their first and subsequent Dynamics. All this is of course only my personal viewpoint on truth and Scientology. It is only valid to the extent to which it accords with your viewpoint on these subjects. We are however very fortunate to have the forum of "International Viewpoints" to enable us to "exchange dimension points from our points of view".