From International Viewpoints (IVy) Issue 10 - January 1993
UK Independents Get Acquainted
By Terry E. Scott, England
In early October, two conferences were held in the UK. In each case,
the theme was Get Acquainted (or re-acquainted). Some participants
lectured or led discussions.
North
Conference North was held on Saturday the 2nd on the outskirts of
Manchester, in a locale that had been "discovered " by IVy distributor
Anne Donaldson (who helped greatly with conference admin, too).
Conference North comprised 22 people - including four who travelled
from bonnie Scotland!
After everyone had been welcomed, a short tape by IVy's Editor, Antony
Phillips was played. For half an hour afterwards, there was much
discussion about IVy. A letter from George Hay was read - he was one
of the early Dianeticists in the UK and, apparently, the first person
who asked L. Ron Hubbard to come and lecture in England.
After a break for coffee and tea, there was a lecture on Avatar by
Peter Davis, an Avatar Master who was in Scientology as far back as
the fifties. Peter took in a fair bit of territory on the subject and
answered a number of questions. As well, he showed an introductory
video tape, a highly professional production from the U.S.
The whole day included a great deal of communication between those
present, both as a group and on a one-to-one basis. Such was the case
after Peter's lecture. Then came the lunch break, followed by a
demonstration of meters by Nic Ford of Ability Meters International.
He showed an old Mark V alongside an Ability 2 and hooked up a device
that compared needle action. The Ability Meter 2 needle moved to its
position quickly yet with excellent damping, a big plus. As well, Nic
had with him a Mark 3, which has no tone arm - setting is automatic, a
great idea for solo work. Finally, he set up a Toshiba notebook
computer with liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, and suggested how
such a device could become the meter of the future, given development
of software.
John Warwick presented hand-made artifacts in the form of small bells
to auditors, plus one that can be displayed when conferences meet.
Flip charts
"What is Scientology For?" asked Anne's husband, John Donaldson. He
answered his question with the aid of prepared cartoons on flip
charts, using American Football as the demo. We were delighted to find
that one of the Scottish ladies knew the game well. John got into
three aspects of application - auditing, training, livingness.
More communication. By now, some people had to catch trains or buses,
and at 4.30 p.m. the numbers were down to about half. Things became
more informal. By 6.00 p.m., it was time to quit the room, but a
number of us had dinner together in the evening, and that was great,
too.
The consensus seemed to be: Let's have another conference soon.
Two hundred miles south and a week later, Conference South took place
on the Isle of Wight. This time, there were 21 people, packed
comfortably in to Leonard Dunn's lounge. More tea and coffee, more
comm. This time, everyone was asked to say a few words about
themselves, if they wished to. A report on Conference North was given.
In Manchester, the topic of a correspondents' newsletter had been
raised, and this came up again. The idea is not to compete with an
existing newsletter let alone with IVy, but to fill a vacant slot. A
sort of open letter between Independents, the kind of thing one would
write between friends rather than as a formal article.
Ant's tape was run and George's letter was read out. Then it was
coffee time! Catering, by the way, was done throughout the day by
Leonard's daughter, Di, who was still cheerful late in the afternoon
as when she had begun. Many thanks to her.
Reminiscenses
Des Popham talked to us about his experiences with L. Ron Hubbard. He
is an old-timer who ran groups in the Fifties and visited LRH at Saint
Hill Manor soon after Ron bought the place. Des and his wife joined
the Sea Org in 1968 for ten years, and without even trying soon became
part of the Hubbard family's personal staff. Very interesting
reminiscences.
Lunch. Lots of communication, particularly in the gloriously sunny
back garden.
Peter Shepherd spoke about Mental Development and Dianasis. This was
followed by a contribution from Steve Bisbey, who said that
Metapsychology's "unstacking " seems similar.
Nic Ford gave a demo of meters similar to that in Manchester, and
Steve remarked that he has used an Ability 3 and likes it. So has
Peter Shepherd, who described it as "transparent to the mind ".
Nic then showed us the Toshiba, but this time had brought along a 14
inch color screen to produce a simulation.
Steve gave us a very interesting though brief account of
Metapsychology. He said that the subject has dropped inconsistencies
and bull from the old stuff, and of course does not get into any
problems with trade marks - let alone with bad PR that The Other Word
gets with the public! Metapsychology has made some improvements by re-
structuring.
He added that Metapsychology is an association, not a formal
organisation, and there is no technical hierarchy. New ideas, new
procedures, are looked at on merit.
People discussed: "Why are we here?" and " Future conferences". And a
terrific day was wound up nicely - followed an hour or two later, by
those who could make it, by dinner and discussions in a nearby hotel.
Feedback says that everyone who went to a 1992 conference had a great
time. There will be a conference in 1993, and all bona fide
independents will be welcome.