Ok, what exactly does that mean! Religious philosophy in my view is a way of looking at life from a spiritual perspective. All religions have a philosophy - a way of looking at life.

Scientology has as a basic tenet that man is basically good. Under all the barriers and difficulties he is ethical, playful and considers the good of all.

So, OK, there are a lot of barriers! I'll give you that....one only needs to read the local paper. Well, maybe not in Sonoma, which is a bit of heaven. But city, national, world news. This is where the applied comes in. How to uncover the basic person, and give him tools on how to live in harmony with others and the planet.

An example is the Communication Course. Some of us talk too much, some are poor listeners, can't face certain subjects (money? bills? job??) and so forth. There are exercises to practice each of the skills to better communication. Common sense.

What about the "spiritual part"? How can you "apply" common sense to the spirit. Disclaimer here - this is an educated opinion of my own. A Code of Honor that only you can decide is right, and that can't be forced on you is deeply spiritual. Click on link for Real Solutions - see Chapter on Honesty and Intergrity to read the Code of Honor and decide yourself.

People often ask me this question, and because Scientology is an applied religious philosophy it covers almost all areas of human experience. My favorite explanation is that it is a way to observe what you are looking at, and seeing the truth know for yourself what you are observing. Sounds simple....how many times have you asked yourself "why did I trust him?" or say "I didn't see that coming". Yet a friend or family member could see it.

Sorting out what is true for yourself, and getting rid of the barriers to your observation of life gives you the freedom to be yourself, and set your own goals.

Everyone can remember a day they felt bigger and at peace with themself - maybe a day at the beach, or an evening with good friends. It's easy to talk to others, everything is bright and your senses are acute and real. This is you, without the barriers.

My own experiences are that I remembered these days, and wouldn't settle until I could experience this all the time. To me nothing else was more important to me than to know myself as a spiritual being. Of course I loved my family and friends, worked and set goals, but I myself knew I needed to achieve this. At my first lecture in Scientology, which I went to as a college student prepared to make fun of, I recognized ideas I had already been thinking. This data agreed with me! To this day I feel this way - this agrees with what I know to be true.

I support anyone looking and deciding for themself about Scientology and Dianetics. It is only as useful as you find data that is true for you and you can use to reach your own goals in life.

Think for yourself.

Hi,
I was out of town, right after posting the blog! Not great planning, but happy to be back and I'll be updating my blog now.

There is a awesome web site that promotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: www.youthforhumanrights.org.

There are PSAs on this site that communicate these rights in a way I've never seen before.

Eleanor Roosevelt, the principal architect of the Declaration, described the importance of these rights with these words:

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen in any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works...Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

I'm excited about these PSAs - please if you agree with them tell others.

Donna