The publication of Dianetics ushered in a new era of hope for mankind, and with it a new phase of L. Ron Hubbard’s life. Although from this point forward, his life would prove just as adventurous as the previous 39 years, it is not the details that are most important, but the accomplishments which form the subject matter of this book.
The first indication that he was to be a public figure came immediately after the release of Dianetics. Although Ron had originally planned yet another expedition following the completion of Dianetics, so great was the popular response to his work that he had to change those plans. Thus, instead of exploring islands off Greece, he soon found himself lecturing on Dianetics to packed halls across the nation. It was also at this time that the first Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation was formed in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and people began arriving in droves to study the new techniques and find out more about Dianetics.
By late fall of 1950, there were 750 groups across the country applying Dianetics techniques, while newspaper headlines proclaimed, ”Dianetics Taking US by Storm,” and ”Fastest Growing Movement in America.”
Ron’s research continued, and in March 1951 he completed his next book, Science of Survival. In this 500-page work, he further explored the nature of thought and life, offering readers an understanding of, and a new means to predict human behavior. The book is oriented around a chart, the Hubbard Chart of Human Evaluation, which explains the various emotional tones of individuals, exactly delineated, and with the precise procedures to bring anyone to the highest level and thus ultimate survival.
In 1951 he wrote a total of six books, continuing to research and perfect the technologies of Dianetics with which he had resolved the problems of the human mind. But this still left many unanswered questions, questions which man had been pondering since the beginning of recorded history. ”The further one investigated,” he wrote, ”the more one came to understand that here, in this creature Homo sapiens,were entirely too many unknowns.”
And so, within a year and a half of the release of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, L. Ron Hubbard had embarked upon another journey of discovery-entering the realm of the human spirit. This track of research, begun so many years earlier as a young man traveling the globe in search of answers to life itself, was to span the next three decades. And as breakthrough after breakthrough was codified, the philosophy of Scientology was born, giving man, for the first time, a route to higher levels of awareness, understanding and ability that anyone could travel.
Given the inherently religious nature of Mr. Hubbard’s work through these years, it was only natural that those surrounding him would come to see themselves, not only as students of a new philosophy but also as students of a new religion. And so, in 1954, Scientologists in Los Angeles established the first Church of Scientology. L. Ron Hubbard founded the subject–early Scientologists began the Church.
As more and more people discovered Ron’s breakthroughs, Scientology churches sprang up rapidly around the world. Meanwhile, through his writings and lectures, he continued to make his discoveries available to all those seeking answers.
In 1959, Mr. Hubbard and his family moved to England, where he purchased the Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, Sussex. This was to be his home for the next seven years, and the worldwide headquarters of the Church of Scientology.
There, in addition to his constant writing and lecturing, he began intensively training Scientologists from around the world so that they, in turn, might return to their homelands and teach others. The mid-1960s saw him develop a step by step route for anyone to reach states of higher awareness. He also codified administrative principles for the operation of Scientology organizations–work which brought about the expansion of Scientology into a global network.
In September 1, 1966, with Scientology established as a worldwide religion, Mr. Hubbard resigned his position as Executive Director of the Church and stepped down from the boards of all Church corporations in order to fully devote himself to researches into the highest levels of spiritual awareness and ability. On the threshold of breakthroughs that had never before been envisaged, he returned to the sea, in part to continue his work in an undistracted environment.
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