Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard, published in 1950, that details his theories of the human mind. Hubbard, who later founded the Church of Scientology, believed that the basic principle of human existence is survival. He proposed that negative emotional states and destructive actions stem from "engrams"—mental images of past experiences stored in the reactive mind.123

Hubbard developed a counseling process called "auditing" to help individuals confront and eliminate these engrams, aiming to achieve a state of being "Clear". The E-meter, an instrument used in auditing, is said to measure electrical currents in the body to help identify stored engrams. Hubbard later expanded these ideas into Scientology, which he approached as a religion focused on the spiritual self, or "thetan".32