From International Viewpoints (IVy) Issue 10 - January 1993
Review of "Scientology - A Handbook For Use" by L.Kin
Reviewed by Judith Methven, England
I am writing this review from the point of view of person who is
relatively new to the ideas and techniques of Scientology. To be
honest, I found most of this book difficult to get through - it was
not easy to read and understand.
Procedures
It appears to me, the reason for this is that too much detailed
information has been put into too small a volume. To go from an
unitiated member of the general public to knowing the procedures,
ethics and role of an auditor is a big step and I found, therefore,
the required gradient of understanding too steep in the volume. There
were rather too many abbreviations and references to allow easy
progress through the book and one would need to have access to many
volumes mentioned to make Volume 2 more readily understandable. The
general public may also have trouble understanding and remembering all
technical words used in such a short space.
I also felt that easier processes needed more emphasis for trainee
auditors. Processes in Self Analysis or suggested first processes in
"Excalibur Revisited" are most likely to give trainee auditors the
necessary confidence in their ability to handle a session because they
are so very easy.
Simplicity desired
The detail in the book could have been sacrificed for the sake of
simplicity - this would have entailed changing the aim of the book.
Rather than trying to train an auditor (quite an undertaking!), it
could have unwrapped the mystery surrounding auditing, explained
clearly what happens in a session and given clear and simple examples
of the techniques used so that they do not seem threatening, thus
helping people to easily understand auditing and its end phenomena.
Independent scientology
The book does not emphasise enough that there is now a free movement
of people (completely separate from The Church of Scientology) who are
entirely familiar with the auditing and the training of auditors. (A
mention of relevant magazines, ie. "IVy" and "The Free Spirit" would
have helped here so that people can make contact.)
Tuition desirable
I tend to agree with the author's comment in the introduction "you
need an experienced auditor to train you". I found, therefore, that
this book was too condensed for me - a good overall view only if you
know a fair bit about scientology or have access to all the volumes
mentioned, but rather overwhelming for the general public.
To my mind, there is no substitute for experience and training in
auditing, which requires a developed sense of responsibility,
confidence, and knowledge - difficult to obtain without guidance from
another experienced being!