Inside Scientology

by Janet Reitman

  This chapter, which covers the first forty years of L. Ron Hubbard's life, relies heavily on Jon Atack's A Piece of Blue Sky and Russell Miller's Barefaced Messiah, both of which drew extensively on the Armstrong materials. Unless otherwise noted, quotes from Hubbard's childhood journals come largely from Barefaced Messiah. To supplement this biographical research, I did my own interviews with Armstrong about these materials, and interviewed him at length about the authenticity of the affirmations, which Scientology viewed as confidential. I also used documents presented in the 1984 Armstrong case. In addition, and where at all possible, I quote from Hubbard's own writing, some of which the Church of Scientology has made available on its websites www.aboutlronhubbard.org and www.ronhub bard.org prior to the spring of 2010; it is also published in Scientology's series of Ron magazines (Bridge Publications, 1991).

  For background on the life and times of John Whiteside Parsons, I referred primarily to George Pendle's excellent biography, Strange Angel, which offers a detailed portrait of L. Ron Hubbard's relationship with Parsons and the underground world of Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis in Los Angeles, as well as an excellent analysis of the development of aeronautics and the inspiration it took from science fiction. I also drew from Parsons's own writing, notably "The Book of Babalon," or "Liber 49," available online at hermetic.com/wisdom/lib49.html. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations from Parsons regarding Hubbard's behavior are from these sources. I gained invaluable insight into the Western esoteric tradition that gave birth to Crowley's Thelema, and a fascinating explanation of Scientology as a religion with esoteric roots, from Professor J. Gordon Melton of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his archive at the UCSB Special Collection.

  The history and development of science fiction as a literary genre has been documented extensively. For background on the pulp fiction world of New York during the 1930s, I turned to Frank Gruber's The Pulp Jungle, which gives an excellent portrait of both the key players and the overall scene. Jack Williamson's Wonder's Child; Isaac Asimov's In Memory Yet Green and I.Asimov: A Memoir; L. Sprague De Camp's The Science Fiction Handbook; and the unparalleled John Campbell Letters give a more detailed analysis of the science fiction world and its golden age, as well as recollections of L. Ron Hubbard from the late 1930s.

  For historical and sociological perspective on the birth and development of Los Angeles, Mike Davis's City of Quartz and Carey McWilliams's Southern California: An Island of the Land were outstanding resources, as were Kenneth Starr's The Dream Endures: California Enters the 1940s and Harry Carr's Los Angeles: City of Dreams. Complete publication information for all books mentioned here is given in the selected bibliography.

  [>] When I was very young": L. Ron Hubbard, "A First Word on Adventure," from "Letters and Journals, Early Years of Adventure," circa 1943, www.lronhubbard.org.

  [>] "a lovely, vicious lonely thing": Ibid. Ibid.

  [>] "a deeply conservative plodder": Russell Miller, Barefaced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard, p. 97.

  [>] "as if he were a well-traveled man": Ibid., p. 44.

  [>] "which had a faculty for ground-looping": Hubbard, "Tailwind Willies," The Sportsman Pilot, 1931.

  [>] L. Ron "Flash" Hubbard: "Controversial Author–Stunt Flier Landed in Gratis 52 Years Ago," Preble County News, July 21, 1983. Reprint of original article, "Here and There," September 17, 1931.

  [>] "adventurous young men": "The Caribbean Expedition," 1932 advertisement, "The Caribbean Motion Picture Expedition," www.lronhub bard.org/biography/adventures-explorations/caribbean-motion-picture-expedition.htm.

  [>] "worst trip I ever made": Jon Atack, A Piece of Blue Sky, p. 62.

  [>] a crucial bit of wisdom: Hubbard claimed to have met Thompson, a navy surgeon and psychoanalyst, at the age of twelve while sailing with his mother through the Panama Canal en route to Washington, D.C. The story of Hubbard's friendship with Thompson, including his assertion that Thompson took him to the Library of Congress as a boy and explained Freudian theory to him, is part of Scientology lore, first asserted during Hubbard's lecture of October 18, 1958, "The Story of Dianetics and Scientology."

  [>] "If there is anyone in the world": Ibid.

  [>] "a bit too long on the ambrosia": L. Sprague De Camp, "Elron of the City of Brass," Fantastic, August 1975; also "Modern Imaginative Fiction," in The Science Fiction Handbook, p. 93.

  [>] "I seem to have a sort of personal": Letter from Hubbard to Margaret Ann "Polly" Hubbard, 1938. Polly was also known as "Skipper."

  [>] "He had been in the United States Marines": Frank Gruber, The Pulp Jungle, p. 80.

  [>] "one of aviation's most distinguished": The Sportsman Pilot, editorial by H. Latane Lewis, July 1934.

  [>] "Corn flakes could": This letter, addressed to "General Manager, The Kellogg Company," was posted by the Church of Scientology on www.lronhubbard.org, in a section containing some of Hubbard's literary correspondence.

  [>] "I have high hopes of smashing": Letter from Hubbard to Polly Hubbard, 1938.

  [>] "We were all exploring": Jack Williamson, Wonder's Child, p. 131.

  [>] "Given one slim fact": Hubbard, "Search for Research," www.lronhub bard.org.

  [>] "Some thought him a Fascist": De Camp, "Elron of the City of Brass," and The Science Fiction Handbook, p. 94.

  [>] "offer my services in whatever": Letter from Hubbard to the War Department, September 1, 1939.

  [>] with a propensity for having: Notice of Hubbard's posting to U.S. Naval Training School (Military Government), January 17, 1945, www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/warhero/1944/441004B.gif.

  "The Great Era of Adventure": Hubbard, "A First Word on Adventure."

  [>] "conjured into existence": Carey McWilliams, Southern California: An Island in the Sun, p. 134.

  [>] "Do what thou wilt": Aleister Crowley, The Book of the Law, p. 9.

  [>] "He was a fascinating storyteller": Russell Miller's interview with Nieson Himmel, August 14, 1986, www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/miller/interviews/himmel.htm.

  [>] "From some of his experiences": Letter from Parsons to Aleister Crowley, January 1946, cited in John Carter, Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons, p. 106.

  [>] "the most profitable ecclesiastic": H. L. Mencken, The American Mercury, April 1928.

  [>] "good friend": Hubbard, "Conditions of Space/Time/Energy," Philadelphia Doctorate Course cassette tape #18 5212C05.

  [>] "crippled and blinded": Hubbard, "My Philosophy," 1965; also Hubbard, Ron—Letters and Journals, published by the Church of Scientology, 1997.

  [>] No evidence has been found: The Scientology researcher Chris Owens has written extensively on Hubbard's war record, using Hubbard's navy records and other data acquired through the Freedom of Information Act. Most of his findings are contained in the e-book Ron the War Hero: L. Ron Hubbard and the U.S. Navy, 1941–50, www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/warhero/contents.htm.

  [>] "Have served at sea": Telegram from Hubbard to Chief of U.S. Naval Personnel, October 12, 1945, www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/war hero/1945/451012.gif.

  [>] "flood of copy": Letter from Hubbard to agent Lurton Blassingame, December 29, 1945, as cited in Ron: Journals and Letters.

  [>] "capabilities and crafts": Parsons v. Hubbard and Northrup, Dade County, Florida, July 11, 1946, as cited in George Pendle, Strange Angel, p. 267.

  [>] "writing material": Letter from Hubbard to Chief of Naval Personnel, file number 113392, April 1, 1946, as cited in Pendle, Strange Angel, p. 268.

  [>] "near mental and financial collapse": Letter from Parsons to Aleister Crowley, 1947, as cited in Kenneth Grant, The Magical Revival, p. 168.

  "broke, working the poor-wounded": Letter from De Camp to Isaac Asimov, August 27, 1946, as cited in Pendle, Strange Angel, p. 271.

  [>] quietly writing a series: Hubbard's affirmations have been a point of controversy since they were revealed during the 1984 Armstrong case. During his trial, Armstrong read
portions of them into the record, and the Church of Scientology authenticated them. More than fifteen years later, in 2000, Armstrong received an e-mailed copy of the affirmations, which he posted on his website, www.gerryarmstrong.org, vouching for the authenticity of the document. "I don't have any desire to profit monetarily by posting Hubbard's unpublished affirmations," he noted. "My desire is that these writings help everyone, Scientologist and wog [non-Scientologist], to make informed and better choices about L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology." Hubbard's affirmations have been a point of controversy since they were revealed during the 1984 Armstrong case. During his trial, Armstrong read portions of them into the record, and the Church of Scientology authenticated them. More than fifteen years later, in 2000, Armstrong received an e-mailed copy of the affirmations, which he posted on his website, www.gerryarmstrong.org, vouching for the authenticity of the document. "I don't have any desire to profit monetarily by posting Hubbard's unpublished affirmations," he noted. "My desire is that these writings help everyone, Scientologist and wog [non-Scientologist], to make informed and better choices about L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology."

  2. Dianetics

  For the story of the rise and fall of the Dianetics movement, I relied primarily on Helen O'Brien's insider account, Dianetics in Limbo, as well as Dr. Joseph A. Winter's A Doctor's Report on Dianetics and Martin Gardner's Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science, all cited in the bibliography. Of these three, O'Brien's offers the best personal account of Hubbard's movement, Winter's book provides a more critical analysis, and Gardner's book takes the position of a skeptic. Unless otherwise cited, all references to Winter, including quotations, come from A Doctor's Report; all references to Helen O'Brien come from Dianetics in Limbo, as do quotations. The account of the Shrine Auditorium event draws from Gardner's Fads and Fallacies and from Russell Miller's Barefaced Messiah.

  For general historical and biographical information on Hubbard, I relied upon Atak's A Piece of Blue Sky and Miller's Barefaced Messiah, as well as Sara Northrup's account of her marriage as told to the Los Angeles Superior Court during her 1951 divorce proceedings and to the writer and former Scientologist Bent Corydon for his book L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?, written with Brian Ambry.

  For correspondence from Hubbard, I relied on scans of original letters published by the Church of Scientology International at several websites, notably "Ron the Philosopher: The Birth of Dianetics," which is published at www.ronthephilosopher.org. I also received assistance from Gerry Armstrong and Caroline Letkeman, who have published many of Hubbard's letters, speeches, and other communiqués on their website Refund and Reparation (www.carolineletkeman.org).

  This chapter also contains numerous statistics and notes on psychiatry and psychotherapy during the 1950s and its role in American society. Unless noted, these come from The Collected Works of C. G. Jung; Morton Hunt's The Story of Psychology; Lauren Slater's Opening Skinner's Box; Jack El-Hai's The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness; Stephen Whitfield's The Culture of the Cold War; and Hugh Urban's article "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America."

  In addition, I relied on a tremendous number of newspaper and magazine stories from the 1950s, notably those that appeared in Time, Newsweek, and Look magazines, all of which have been cited below or in the bibliography.

  [>] "rape women without": Letter from Hubbard to Forrest Ackerman, January 13, 1949, carolineletkeman.org/sp/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=387&Itemid=116.

  [>] Hubbard offered the APA: Letter from Hubbard to the American Psychological Association, April 13, 1949, www.ronthephilosopher.org/phlspher/page16.htm.

  [>] The society turned him down: Hubbard also wrote to the American Medical Association, the American Gerontological Association, and the American Psychiatric association, with a similar offer to share his research. He later maintained that the AMA responded with a single word—"Why?"—and that the APA wrote him a curt response: "If it amounts to anything I am sure we will hear of it in a couple of years." From "Ron the Philosopher: The Birth of Dianetics," www.ronthephilosopher.org, by the Church of Scientology International.

  [>] "My response to this information": Joseph Winter, A Doctor's Report on Dianetics Theory and Therapy, www.xenu.net/archive/fifties/e510000.htm.

  [>] "Many traumata were so unimportant": C. G. Jung: Collected Works, volume 4: Freud and Psychoanalysis (1961), "Some Crucial Points in Psychoanalysis," from the Jung-Loy Correspondence, paragraph 582.

  [>] "cures and cures without failure": Hubbard, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health [DMSMH], p. 482.

  [>] Hundreds of people: In his original article, "Dianetics," published in the May 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, Hubbard wrote that "to date, over two hundred patients have been treated; of those two hundred, two hundred cures have been obtained."

  [>] about six thousand psychiatrists: Albert Maisel, "Dianetics: Science or Hoax?" Look magazine, December 5, 1950.

  [>] Only six hundred or so: Morton Hunt,The Story of Psychology, p. 660. This number accounts for "medical" analysts, meaning licensed physicians with psychoanalytic training. In addition, Hunt notes there were "about 500 lay analysts in the country and perhaps a thousand in training in some twenty institutes for physician analysts and a dozen for lay analysts."

  [>] "The trail is blazed": Hubbard, DMSMH, p. 1.

  [>] "You are beginning an adventure": Ibid., p. 4.

  [>] "empirical evidence of the sort": Lucy Freeman, "Psychologists Act Against Dianetics," New York Times, September 9, 1950.

  [>] twenty to thirty: Hubbard, DMSMH, p. 198.

  [>] "poor man's psychoanalysis": "Poor Man's Psychoanalysis," Newsweek, October 16, 1950. The article, addressing the medical community's view of Dianetics, also makes the point that while most physicians "maintain their haughty silence, the dianetics vogue flourishes."

  "lunatic revision of Freudian psychology": Williamson, Wonder's Child, p. 183.

  [>] "I considered it gibberish": Isaac Asimov, In Memory Yet Green, p. 587.

  [>] "any engram command": Hubbard, DMSMH, p. 494.

  [>] A five-week course, priced: All information on prices is derived from "Dianetics: Science or Hoax?"Look magazine, December 5, 1950; see also Williamson, Wonder's Child, p. 84. The description of the five-week course at the Elizabeth Foundation is drawn from Look as well as from "After Hours," Harper's, June 1951.

  [>] A one-on-one session: Look magazine, December 5, 1950, notes that Dianetics sessions started at $25 per hour; a typical psychiatrist's fee at the time, the article noted, started at $15 per hour.

  [>] "fifteen minutes of Dianetics": Williamson, Wonder's Child, p. 84.

  [>] "a personality, a national celebrity": Los Angeles Daily News, September 6, 1950, as cited in Russell Miller, Barefaced Messiah, p. 162.

  [>] "full and perfect recall": Ibid., p. 165.

  [>] "I thought he was a great man": Ibid., pp. 182–83.

  [>] "You could practically see the AMA": Helen O'Brien, Dianetics in Limbo, p. 8.

  [>] "People had breakdowns": Miller, Barefaced Messiah, p. 169.

  [>] "Looking back, it is hard": Ibid., p. 10.

  [>] "I became a Dianetic preclear": Ibid., p. 12.

  [>] "It nearly floored my auditor": Ibid., p. 15.

  [>] "The violence of that sight": Ibid., pp. 19–20.

  [>] "I never was the same again": Ibid., p. 20.

  [>] Sara Hubbard would later estimate: Sara Northrup Hubbard v. L. Ron Hubbard, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, April 23, 1951.

  [>] One official of the Elizabeth: O'Brien, Dianetics in Limbo, p. 27.

  [>] By the end of 1950: Atack, A Piece of Blue Sky, p. 118.

  [>] "The tidal wave of popular interest": O'Brien, Dianetics in Limbo, p. vii.

  [>] "The only thing I ever saw": Ibid., p. 33.

  [>] The New Jersey Board: Bulletin of the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation, E
lizabeth, NJ, January 1951; Elizabeth Daily Journal, January 15, 1951, and March 28, 1951.

  [>] the head of the famous Menninger: In the Look article, which compared "dianetic hocus-pocus" to voodoo, Dr. Will Menninger said of Dianetics: "It can potentially do a great deal of harm. It is obvious that the mathematician-writer has oversimplified the human personality, both as to its structure and function. He has made inordinate and very exaggerated claims in his results." In addition, Dr. Jack A. Dunagin, of the Menninger Foundation, made the point that while patients may experience some temporary relief, "the greatest harm to a person would come, not because of the vicious nature of dianetic therapy, but because ... it will lead them away from treatment which they may badly need."

  [>] resigned from the foundation: Another reason Winter resigned was his frustration that no research was being done at the foundation. Ceppos joined him as support. Campbell, however, did seem to cite money as a key concern. According to Russell Miller (Barefaced Messiah, p. 181), "In Campbell's view, Hubbard had become impossible to work with and was responsible for the ruinous finances and complete disorganization throughout the Dianetics movement."

  [>] He also accused Ceppos: Letter to the director of the FBI from the special agent in charge of its Newark field office, March 21, 1951, FBI file #100, www.xenu.net/archive/FBI/table.html.

  [>] in 1951, Hubbard: Letter from Hubbard to the director of the FBI, Washington, D.C., March 3, 1951, FBI file #89. Letter from Hubbard to the director of the FBI, Washington, D.C., March 3, 1951, FBI file #89.

  [>] "Many manics are delightful": Miller, Barefaced Messiah, p. 175. Miller referred to Klowden by the pseudonym "Barbara Kaye."

  [>] "insert a fatal hypo": Ibid., p. 175.

  [>] Sara ... signed a statement: Bent Corydon and Brian Ambry, L. Ron Hubbard: Madman or Messiah?, p. 305. During his research, Corydon wrote Sara a letter, asking her why she'd signed the document. "I thought by doing so he would leave me and Alexis alone," she responded. "It was horrible. I just wanted to be free of him!"