THE DIANETICS OF GRIEF
By L. Ron Hubbard
THROUGHOUT THE AGES grief has been one of the heaviest and most painful burdens to be carried by Mankind. It is to these countless sufferers, present and future, that Dianetics brings hope. For Dianetics eases the load not by sealing off a painful past, but by opening it to the light, by discharging pent-up feelings so that all is free and healthy again.
When Shakespeare said, “No longer mourn for me when I am dead, than you shall hear the surly sullen bell give warning to the world that I am fled,” he was recognizing the unnaturalness of excessive grief.
A maiming accident, a business failure, the death of a loved one – all are real experiences, all are real losses, and each of them does carry with it a reduction in the survival potential, a small piece of death. That is why people can become so overwhelmed by grief that they decline and even die.
But since life must go on regardless of losses or catastrophes, it is much better for it to do so happily. How much better to be able to look back with pleasure and be able to say, “It sure was swell while it lasted!” The individual does more for himself and his environment when he achieves a calm retrospect, without aching heart or tear-dimmed eye.
In the science of Dianetics we find the key for unlocking and draining the reservoirs of destructive emotion. And the techniques of Dianetics are simple – as simple as going back to last night’s supper. They form a method of tapping tears at their source so that dreaded memories will no longer be painful. It is a clean, simple scientific method of accomplishing an end which has been the aim of grief rituals of many religions and many peoples – the reaching of peace, harmony and a reorientation toward the future without denying or negating the past.
It is wonderful to see what influence the discharge of pent-up grief has on a personality, to see an individual become radiantly and vibrantly alive, to see him turn toward normal living and good, healthy relationships. It is almost like a miracle to see his physical tone rise as the debilitating effects of grief are repaired and his emotional tone lift as he finds new hope in life.
The technique of Dianetic processing is a simple one. It consists of closing the eyes to assist in withdrawing the attention from present surroundings and returning the attention to past incidents of grief or fear or pain. These incidents are then recounted in detail with the aid of a Dianetic auditor who supervises the process, bringing to it technique and perspective. By repeated recounting of such a past experience, the tension is discharged from it and it is reduced to calm, matter-of-fact reality.
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