Scientology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Scientology is a body of teachings and related techniques developed by American author L. Ron Hubbard over some thirty years beginning in 1952 as a self-help philosophy, an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. It claims to offer an exact methodology to help humans achieve awareness of their spiritual existence across many lifetimes and, simultaneously, to become more effective in the physical world. The name 'Scientology' is also used to refer to the controversial Church of Scientology, the largest organization promoting the practice of Scientology, which is itself part of a network of affiliated corporations that claim ownership and sole authority to disseminate Dianetics and Scientology.
A stated goal of Scientology is to 'rehabilitate' the thetan (roughly equivalent to the soul) to regain its native state of 'total freedom.' Church spokesmen and practitioners attest that Hubbard's teachings (called 'Technology' or 'Tech' in Scientology terminology) have saved them from a plethora of problems and enabled them to better realize their highest potential in business and their personal lives. However, outside observers—including journalists, lawmakers, and national governing bodies of several countries—have reached conclusions about Scientology that are sharply at odds with the Church's self-representations. These include allegations that the church is an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses its critics and brutally exploits its members.

The Church indoctrinates its members providing very little initial knowledge of the inner secrets of the organization. In order to reach this knowledge parishioners are required to advance forward in rank through study and payments to the Church.

In May 2001, the Russian Orthodox Church criticized Scientologists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unificationists and Mormons as being dangerous "totalitarian sects".^[40] huh.

Through the Scientology process of "auditing", one can free oneself of "engrams" and "implants" to reach the state of "Clear", and after that, the state of "Operating Thetan". Each state is said to represent recovering the native spiritual abilities of the individual, and to confer dramatic mental and physical benefits.
According to Hubbard, some of the past traumas may have been deliberately inflicted in the form of "implants" used by extraterrestrial dictatorships such as Helatrobus to brainwash and control humans.
Auditing is a one-on-one communication with a trained Scientology counselor or "auditor". The auditor follows an exact procedure toward rehabilitating the human spirit. Most auditing uses an E-meter, a device that measures very small changes in electrical resistance through the human body when a person is holding onto tin cans and a small current is passed through them.^[11]
The auditing process is intended to help the practitioner (referred to as a preclear or PC) to unburden himself or herself of specific traumatic incidents, prior ethical transgressions and bad decisions, which are said to collectively restrict the preclear from achieving his or her goals and lead to the development of a "reactive mind". The auditor asks the preclear to respond to a list of questions which are designed for specific purposes and given to the preclear in a strictly regulated way.

Another basic tenet of Scientology is the three related (and intrinsically spiritual) components that make up successful "livingness": affinity (emotional responses), reality (an agreement on what is real) and communication (the exchange of ideas). Hubbard called this the "ARC Triangle". Scientologists utilize A.R.C. as a central organizing principle in their own lives, primarily based upon the belief that improving one aspect of the triangle increases the level of the other two.