The NOTs Scholars Home Page (Scientology)

Main site: Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh). Mirror sites at: (1) XS4ALL (Amsterdam), Also available on AOL via the path keyword:Religions:Inter-Faith:Other Religions:Library.

NOTs (New Era Dianetics for Operating Thetans) are part of the formerly secret "Advanced Technology" of Scientology, the New Age religion founded in the 1950s by pulp science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

News Flash: NOTs Available On the Web!

Day 4 of the Henson trial, in which Keith explains NOTs 34, ``The Sequence for Handling a Physical Condition'', is available at this Canadian web site, despite Scientology's efforts to have this portion of the transcript sealed.
Operation Clambake, maintained by Andreas Heldal-Lund in Norway, contains a wealth of information about Scientology. Andreas says he distributes NOTs by email to those who request it.

Scope and Purpose

This web site was created to promote the scholarly study of the NOTs documents as both religious literature and historical texts. In particular, I am interested in exploring the following issues:

Scientology's view of the structure of the mind as expressed in NOTs and its supporting materials, such as OT III and the Philadelphia Doctorate Course. Are there similarities between the body thetan interactions described in NOTs and the Society of Mind theory proposed by artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky of MIT?
The spiritual phenomena and processes described in NOTs, and their equivalents in other religions. How does belief in body thetans compare with belief in demonic possession? In what ways does auditing out BTs resemble exorcism?
Origins and history of the NOTs issues: who wrote them, who revised them, and what earlier source materials were drawn upon in their preparation? Although supposedly written by Hubbard himself, David Mayo is said to be the real author of some NOTs issues. What was the extent of Mayo's contribution?
The role of NOTs in the contemporary practice of the Scientology religion. How are these documents understood and used by Hubbard's followers today? Is NOTs being promoted as a cure for physical ailments? This is currently being debated in Religious Technology Center v H. Keith Henson.

Call for Contributions

Contributions to this web site are eagerly requested. Information, commentary, and criticism of any aspect of NOTs may be submitted to Dave Touretzky. The appearance of any essay on this site is not an endorsement of the views expressed therein. It reflects only my editorial judgement that the material is relevant to fostering scholarly discussion.

Anonymous contributions are welcome. However, materials that clearly violate US copyright law will not be accepted. Of course, quotations are often allowable under the "fair use" provision of the copyright code. Potential contributors should note that since I am not a lawyer, I cannot advise them on what they should or should not say here.

Given that the NOTs documents have been published on the Internet, both by posting to Usenet (including multiple news servers here in Pennsylvania) and by archiving on web sites at Alta Vista and Deja News, it is my understanding that public discussion of these materials is not a violation of Pennsylvania trade secret law. Readers in other jurisdictions may wish to consult local laws before downloading material from this site.

Church of Scientology Recognizes NOTs Scholars Page

This letter was sent to Dave Touretzky by Roger M. Milgrim, noted intellectual property attorney at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.
GIFs of Mr. Milgrim's letter: page 1, page 2, page 3
My analysis of Mr. Milgrim's letter suggests that CoS has no case, and they know it.
My reply to Mr. Milgrim points out that he did not allege any specific illegalities on the web page, and cites the decision of Judge Brinkema in RTC v. The Washington Post with respect to fair use quotation and trade secret issues.

Prerequisites for Beginning NOTs Scholars

Readers new to the study of Hubbard's thought will find the following starting points essential:

David Carter's essay on the basics of the Scientology belief system.
Summary of OT III by Karin Spaink. Covers Xenu, the volcanos, the origin of body thetans, and the first level of confidential auditing procedures used to remove them.
OT III Scholarship Page: see the Xenu story in Hubbard's own handwriting.
Secrets of the E-Meter explains how an E-meter works and how it is used in auditing.
Perry Scott gives a humorous overview of how NOTs auditing differs from OT III.

The Origin of NOTs

Excerpt from Bare-Faced Messiah by Russell Miller. David Mayo is called in to audit a sick L. Ron Hubbard.
Excerpt from Messiah or Madman by Bent Corydon. Hubbard introduces the concept of "body thetans" in 1978.
Excerpts from A Piece of Blue Sky by Jon Atack. Mayo looks for "misconceptions" in Hubbard's auditing folders. Hubbard later shifts the emphasis to body thetans.
Excerpt from a 1996 letter from David Mayo describing the origin of NOTs.
Page 3 of NOTs 34, masked, as filed with the copyright office. Notice at the bottom of the page, the initials after "LRH" are blacked out. This was done for all 55 NOTs issues. In the Vorlon pack this line reads "LRH:dm:kjm". The "dm" stands for David Mayo.

Provenance and Structure of the Vorlon NOTs Pack

The Vorlon NOTs pack was first posted to alt.religion.scientology on May 6, 1996, through the anonymous remailer service at Hacktic.nl. It was reposted twice more within the week, via other hosts.

Where did the Vorlon NOTs pack come from? An anonymous writer claims that several versions of NOTs were floating around outside of Scientology's control; that what appeared on the Internet as the Vorlon pack was originally the "Larry West" pack; and that for strategic reasons, RTC chose to ignore its circulation.
The theft in Denmark by Robin Scott et al., described by Jon Atack in A Piece of Blue Sky.
Decision in Religious Technology Center et al. v Scott et al. discusses the role of Mayo in developing NOTs, and contains some quotes that appear to authenticate the Vorlon pack. More info in Scientology and the Courts.
Table of contents for the Vorlon NOTs pack.
Notes on the structure of the Vorlon NOTs pack.
NOTs on the Internet. Modemac has put together a concise history of NOTs on the Net.
"Vorlon Jr." debuts at XS4ALL. On August 18, 1996, announces that NOTs will reposted. On August 19, posts ned1, ned2, ned3, ned4, ned5, ned6, ned7, and two versions of the NOTs index. Then confirms the reposting, promising a key later. Posts some bogus keys, including Babylon5 and Morden. But Karin Spaink guesses the true key: Xenu. Finally, cancels his own postings (a futile gesture) when it becomes clear his anonymity is not going to last long.
Zenon Pannousis posted NOTs twice from Sweden. His ongoing battle with the the Church is chronicled at this site in Sweden.

The NOTs Dictionary

A dictionary of acronyms and technical terms found in NOTs. Remember to never go past a misunderstood word!

Demonic Possession in Scientology

Major section: Reverend Dennis L. Erlich answers your questions about demonic possession. Additional questions are welcome. Post them to alt.religion.scientology with "Demonic Possession in Scientology" in the header, and cc them to Dennis at inForm@primenet.com.
A 1924 discussion of exorcism reveals some antecedents of Hubbard's ideas about auditing out body thetans. Jack Parsons notes: exorcists always ask "What is your name?" In Scientology, it's "Who are you?".
Chapter 7 of The Hubbard is Bare, by Jeff Jacobsen, discusses the gnostic roots of Scientology, with particular reference to infestation by "demons": the body thetans audited out on OT III and NOTs. (Readers may wish to skip the first section, on Aleister Crowley.)
Hubbard and the Occult, an essay by Jon Atack.
Catholic beliefs about exorcism compared to Scientology beliefs about auditing out body thetans. By John Mark Ockerbloom.
Possession by animal minds, not body thetans, is the real cause of human aberration according to ex-Scientologist (OT7) Michael Mourer. He agrees with Parsons that the key to eliminating them is to ask them their names.

The Practice of NOTs Auditing

Solo NOTs Certainty Course, statistics on completions as for February 1998.
The environment in which NOTs auditing is delivered, discussed by Joe Harrington.
Margery Wakefield's experience auditing OT III and New OT V (the first released level of NOTs, which actually came out before New OT IV).
Gullibility Revisited, an essay by an anonymous ex-Scientologist, covers some of the basics of Scientology auditing, and the doubts he came to have about the "the tech".
A Hierarchy of Higher Statuses considers the special status of Clears and OTs. This is an excerpt from one section of Scientology: To Be Perfectly Clear, an article by William Sims Bainbridge and Rodney Stark.
``Generic NOTs'' from the FreeZone. The same ``advanced spiritual technology'' used by the Church of Scientology, but this is a freeware version. Also available in Word 6 format.

Medical Claims in NOTs

"Medicine has long acknowledged that in order to scientifically test the efficacy of a new medicine, for instance, it must be compared to the effects of a placebo administered with equal solemnity, ritual and belief. This is because the solemnity and ritual and belief can themselves heal."
-- from Dr. Drown's Homo-Vibra Ray, another quack technology

Medical Claims Within Scientology's Secret Teachings, by Jeff Jacobsen
See also The Henson Case: Keith Henson convicted of copyright infringement for publishing NOTs 34.
The Healing Claims of Scientology, chapter 19 of the Anderson Report (1965, Australia.)
Here is a summary of medical claims in What Is Scientology?
Scientologists must get permission before seeing a doctor.

Summaries / Thumbnail Sketches of NOTs

... if it was defendants' intention to make the technology public, they could do so without infringing plaintiffs' copyright by creating and publishing a noninfringing description of the procedure.
-- United States District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer, in Religious Technology Center et al. v Robin Scott et al., 1987.

Thumbnail sketch of NOTs 1-55, by Peik J Stromsholm (pjs@uwasa.fi).

Commentary on Individual NOTs Documents

When Scientology attacked the Internet, it smacked a hornets' nest. Now it gets to negotiate with each hornet individually.
-- A peeved netizen on alt.religion.scientology

Many of the people on alt.religion.scientology first became interested in Scientology as a result of the Internet war. Several have contributed commentaries below. However, there is another group of people interested in NOTs: the members of the FreeZone, who still practice Scientology but are estranged from the Church. I am especially interested in receiving FreeZone commentaries on the NOTs scripture.

Attention NOTs scholars: multiple commentaries on the same document are welcome. There are many ways to analyze these writings.