First published on May 9, 1950, Dianetics has been helping people unlock their full potential ever since.

The past year has been like none other. Stress, loss and uncertainty from the pandemic and its financial and personal repercussions have stretched many beyond the ability to cope. And a “new normal” still seems to be a long way off. But while so much is still unresolved, one thing is sure: The more one understands and is in control of their own state of mind, the better they can make it through challenging times like these. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting a surge in anxiety, depression and pandemic-related substance abuse, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, published 71 years ago today, holds great significance in the here and now.

 

L. Ron Hubbard’s seminal work details his discovery of and technology to resolve the reactive mind—the single source of nightmares, unreasonable fears, upsets, insecurities and psychosomatic illness. Use of the book puts people in control of their own mental health.

Derived from the Greek dia, meaning “through,” and nous, meaning “mind” or “soul,” Dianetics means “what the mind (or soul) is doing to the body.” 

First published on May 9, 1950, more than 50,000 copies of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health sold out immediately, propelling the book onto the New York Times bestseller list, where it remained for 26 consecutive weeks. Some 750 Dianetics groups sprang up across the United States the year the book was published. Using no more than the techniques described in Dianetics, readers teamed up to use the technology on each other with remarkable results.

Publishers Weekly has described Dianetics as “perhaps the best-selling non-Christian book of all time in the West” and awarded it the prestigious Century Award for appearing more than 100 weeks on its bestseller list.

Available in 50 languages in hardback, paperback, and audiobook, the demand for Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health continues to grow, with more than 22 million copies sold in 176 countries.

How to Use Dianetics, a set of 32 films, is available in 17 languages. It provides more than four hours of visual instruction in Dianetics principles and procedures. Both the film and the book can be purchased at Dianetics.org.

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is available in most bookstores. To learn more, attend a Dianetics Seminar, or enroll in a course on the subject, locate the nearest Scientology Church or Mission with the global locater on the Scientology website, or watch “What is Dianetics?” by L. Ron Hubbard on the Scientology Network.

You are beginning an adventure,” wrote L. Ron Hubbard in the opening pages of the book. “Treat it as an adventure. And may you never be the same again.”