Scientology and Art.

LRH talked a great deal about Art but one wonders if he had an MU (misunderstood word).

Writing is an art form and so it was natural for LRH to view artistic work as an indication of a fully rounded human being. Dianetics was originally largely about unblocking individuals so that their creative energies may run free. I suspect that LRH's interest in the mind sprang from his need to write and his inability to do so while depressed. Indeed, his need to create fantasies was so great that he created a fantasy version of himself and later created a religion that denied objective reality altogether. The frustrations and depression that LRH experienced were probably nothing more than the collision of his dream world with reality. Psychiatrists and psychologists would have tried to remove his illusions. This caused him to flee in terror as soon as he realised this. LRH even sought treatment at one point but realised that he could not live without his protective illusions. Once we realise this all of his later ravings about suppressive psychiatrists make perfect sense. 'Psychs' tried to separate him from the only thing that was allowing him to function- his imagined self. Psychiatry would have robbed him of all his imaginary OT powers and may even have robbed him of the compulsion to write. The one thing that is truly impressive about the early LRH is the sheer volume of tosh that he produced.

Dianetics, and later on Scientology were genuinely concerned with art and artists. Why, then has so little good art been produced under Scientology? Why has Scientology become the graveyard of artists? I argue this is because LRH failed to understand what art actually is.

Dianetics and Scientology were created as a protective envelope for LRH and his illusions about himself. As such, they probably boosted his self confidence and allowed him to express himself more freely. Unfortunately there can only be one LRH and so it has the opposite effect upon other people. Scientology allowed LRH to express his opinion on every subject but it prevents his followers from doing the same.

Imagine you are a Scientology writer...

What can you write about? Factual guides and pulp fiction would be acceptable but anything else would be Verbal Tech. None of your characters could have real depth because this would involve the discussion of human nature.

Imagine you are a Scientology painter...

You can use no muted colours and no ambiguous subjects. These would be seen as low toned. LRH described Clear art as 'gaudy'. The real life examples I have seen include unicorns and space ships firing lasers at one another. These have the emotional depth of a twelve year old and are probably not art at all.

Imagine you are a musician...

Things are a little better. The problem for you is that Scientology is a hierarchy and most rock groups do not work like this. The Jive Aces are technically good but their form of music is constrained by the authoritarian nature of the Sea Org. There is little self expression there.

If you are an actor...

You can be a reasonably good actor in Scientology- but not a great one. Tom Cruse and John Travolta always play themselves to an extent. They cannot use the Method as this would involve leaving the tone scale behind.

So there you have it. Scientology draws artists in and then limits them. No authoritarian society can ever accept the artist because artists are always honest. Ultimately honesty will always destroy any authoritarian setup. Scientology cannot foster art because art is a matter of individual perception. No cult can ever alow true art because it cannot alow the idea that people have the right to see things differently.