A system for understanding the human mind developed by well-known 20th-century science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986). Hubbard speculated that the true human being (which he termed the The-tan, analogous to the soul of Greek philosophers) inhabits the body. Hubbard taught that the natural ability of the The-tan to express itself positively in the world through the body had been disturbed by the operation of the mind, specifically a part of the mind called the reactive mind. The reactive mind is a stimulus-response mechanism created by the The-tan that records impressions at the unconscious level. It then provides programmed responses to specific repeated stimuli. Along with other data, the reactive mind holds images of pain, injuries, and destructive movements of one’s life. Individuals, acting out of the responses of the reactive mind, are often led to destructive acts that run counter to their own best interests, blocking the potential of their The-tans to operate in the world.
Dianetics seeks to unblock the potential of the The-tan through auditing. This is a method of counseling in which the individual works with various techniques that force a confrontation with the counter-survival information housed by the reactive mind (termed engrams), usually in one-on-one sessions with a counselor (called an auditor). It is reminiscent of Sigmund Freud’s early method of abreactive theory of identifying and bringing to consciousness traumatic experiences around which painful associations had accumulated. In some of these sessions, the auditor is assisted by an E-meter, a device that includes a Wheatstone bridge and can measure the body’s contrasting resistance to a flow of electricity, thereby functioning as a lie detector. Progress through the auditing program leads to the state of “clear,” in which the effect of engrams is largely erased from individual behavior. From that point on, the The-tan can begin to operate more positively in the world.