37 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Auditing (Scientology)"
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chunk: 2/5
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditing_(Scientology)"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T09:17:10.624540+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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=== Preclear ===
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The "preclear" or "PC" is the person who is being audited—the client, formerly called the "patient". At most levels of auditing, there are two people present: the auditor is the one asking questions, and the preclear is the one answering them. In some of the upper levels, a person audits oneself, being both auditor and preclear at the same time. The term was created back when the ultimate goal of auditing was to create a person who had been cleared, ergo the person being audited was pre-Clear. However, even after Hubbard created the upper levels, the term preclear was still used even if the person had surpassed the state of Clear. The term has continued to represent the role in auditing rather than the level the person has attained.
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During an auditing session, the auditor writes down the questions and the preclear's answers, and the papers are stored in the client's PC folder (preclear folder).
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=== E-meter ===
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Most auditing sessions involve a device called the Hubbard Electropsychometer or E-meter. It consists of two handheld electrodes connected to a galvanometer. It measures changes in electrical resistance in the body (galvanic skin response). Scientology teaches that changes in electrical resistance indicate areas of "charge", meaning topics that contain emotional or spiritual distress.
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According to L. Ron Hubbard, the E-Meter helps the auditor identify areas that need addressing by indicating which processes should be run and when a process or rundown is complete. Hubbard clarified how the E-Meter should be used in conjunction with auditing:
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Auditing is aimed at reactivity. You run what reacts on the meter because it reacts and is therefore part of the reactive mind. A read means there is charge present and available to run. Running reading items, flows and questions is the only way to make a pc better. This is our purpose in auditing. —L. Ron Hubbard
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The device is considered a "religious artifact" with no scientific validity and is not considered a medical or scientific instrument.
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== Bridge to Total Freedom ==
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The Bridge to Total Freedom (Bridge), also known as the Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart (grade chart), is Scientology's primary road map to guide a person through the sequential steps to attain Scientology's concept of spiritual freedom. In Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, Hubbard used the analogy of a bridge: "We are here at a bridge between one state of Man and a next. We are above the chasm which divides a lower from a higher plateau and this chasm marks an artificial evolutionary step in the progress of Man. [...] In this handbook we have the basic axioms and a therapy which works. For God's sake, get busy and build a better bridge!" The current Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart is printed with red ink on white paper and hangs as a poster in every Scientology organization. A newcomer to Scientology starts the Bridge at the bottom of the chart and rises through the levels, perhaps reaching the level of Clear, then continuing upward through the OT Levels to higher states of awareness and ability. Ultimately, the Scientologist hopes to become, as the sociologist David G. Bromley puts it, "an immortal, godlike expression of the life force".
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== Procedure ==
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Each Grade on the Bridge has a list of processes that auditors should run. Some auditing actions use commands, for example "Recall a time you knew you understood someone," and some auditing actions use questions such as, "What are you willing for me to talk to others about?" Below are sample commands from processes run in each Grade.
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ARC Straightwire: "Recall a communication."
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Grade 0: "Recall a place from which you have communicated to another."
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Grade I: "Recall a problem you have had with another."
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Grade II: "Recall a secret."
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Grade III: "Can you recall a time of change?"
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Grade IV: "What about a victim you could be responsible for?"
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Each Grade targets at a specific area of potential difficulty a person might have. If the subject matter is not "charged"; in other words, if it is not causing any difficulty, then the E-meter will not show any reaction and the person will not be asked further questions on that subject.
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John H. Wolfe differentiates auditing from interrogation, prayer, meditation, confession or hypnosis, instead likening it to nondirective therapy: "In its general philosophy and approach, auditing is closest to the nondirective therapy of Carl Rogers (1961), who stressed the importance of having the client find the client's own answers, while the counselor refrains from interpretation, but listens with empathic understanding. Auditing differs from Roger's approach by having the auditor direct the preclear's attention using auditing questions, and by breaking up the session into discrete cycles of action." |