APPENDIX
What to do if the Repair of Importances commands don’t work on you
Dennis writes in the section regarding level one that you will need it run by a separate practitioner. I excluded this from the main text because 95% of people won’t need this, and there are issues involved not only understanding how he puts it, but in the execution of the advice. Here’s the exact passage followed by my advice:
Undoubtedly the foremost experts at this level are the Scientologists, and their ‘CCH’ exercises are excellent in achieving the desired result. So, if you need Level One running, go and see a Scientologist and tell him you want the ‘CCH Processes’ run. He’ll be happy to oblige, and you’ll derive enormous benefit from these simple exercises. Then you can start in solo at Level Two.
The first issue is that Dennis seems to hint that there are other level one exercises, practiced by other therapists. As far as I know, there are not any other therapists who have anything like this that is going to get one through level one of TROM who has failed the Level One test.
The next issue is, the CCH processes are intended as the Scientology curriculum. They were not developed specifically for the purpose of getting someone through TROM level one. Yes, they will get you through TROM level one, I have no doubt about that having had them run on me decades before I even found out about TROM when I was a Scientology practitioner. Dennis just happens to know these CCH processes will work because he was a Scientology practitioner himself at one time.
So, the point I am circling around here which I can now finally make is this—I don’t know what the scene was in the 1970s in Australia or Britain as far as being able to walk up to a Scientologist and say, “Hey, can you run CCH on me?” and whether or not they would just oblige you happily like Dennis says they will. BUT I am certain that nowadays, here in the 21st Century any card-carrying member of the Church of Scientology is not just going to casually do this for you. They are going to ask you why. They are going to ask you how you even found out about them. And if you say, “I want to do TROM and it says here in the book I need CCH,” I can only imagine the look on their face when you ask them.
Any practice that resembles Scientology or has any sort of root in Scientology, like TROM, for example, is heavily frowned upon by the Church. A true, card-carrying member of the Church is not only going to refuse a request to casually run CCH on someone, but they will most likely insist you do it within the context of the Scientology curriculum. You could see an independent Scientologist and get CCH run, but you do risk them not knowing what they are doing, as an Independent is not under the scrutiny of the Church and there is a risk of non-standard delivery.
Your best bet is to go to the Church of Scientology, keep your mouth shut about TROM, and enroll on a course called “Hubbard Qualified Scientologist” which includes you doing CCH with another student, taking turns running them on each other and under supervision.
I do understand that this advice means I may just ‘lose some people to Scientology’ because once one goes there, they may prefer a one-on-one approach to attaining their spiritual freedom as opposed to this do-it-yourself method in this book. But honestly, if this happens, I don’t look at this as a loss. I am not looking for loyalty or money or anything like that. I am only interested in people getting what helps them, and if they choose Scientology over TROM, I am not even going to blink over it. I can’t be instructing you about a path to spiritual freedom on one hand and then not respect your freedom to choose your spiritual practices on the other.
If you can’t pass the test at level one, to be blunt, you need help so badly that I don’t care who helps you as long as you get it from someone who knows what they are doing. And the only people I would ever trust to do this would be either an auditor trained by the Church, or another student doing them with you under supervision in a Scientology courseroom. Consider the weight of what I’m saying. I am telling you they are the only people you can be 100 percent sure of helping you and helping you correctly despite how I feel about the Church.
Now for some definitions:
CCH is a type of objective processing. Objective processes are intended to orient the individual in present time by having him touch things, look at things, and move around his body.
One very well-known lower-level type of objective processing is called “CCH” which stands for control, communication, and havingness. They are a set formula for improving the person's degree of control of his mind and body; his free communication with his environment unaffected by reactive stimuli (things that would restimulate his case) and his tolerance and ability to reach his environment (“Havingness” being that last- the ability to reach his environment).
THE SKIN GALVANOMETER OR “E-METER”
The e-meter, put at its simplest, is an electronic device used by the Church of Scientology in their specialized counseling called “auditing”.
I excluded these passages because 1) even though an e-meter can be used in TROM therapy, it’s not necessary and 2) If someone is not familiar with the e-meter, this is just plain too steep of a learning curve.
TROM was originally written for a primarily Scientologist audience. I have gone to great pains in re-arranging this book, coming up with a comprehensive glossary for it, annotating, explaining, adding to it, etc. to make sure that a Non-Scientologist could understand TROM just from reading this manual. But when it comes to the meter, this is where I draw the line.
The e-meter is not just some device you can order online, read the directions for and start using. It takes study. It takes practice under supervision. It takes some experience, and I am not talking about trial-and-error here, I am talking about using it in a Scientology Academy under supervision to master it.
I don’t want to exclude anything from the TROM manual. That’s why I made this appendix so anyone familiar with TROM and has read the original work can see that I have included all of Dennis’ words that he used save some proofreading that any normal book publisher would do on his work.
If you want to learn how to use the e-meter, enroll in the Academy at the local Church of Scientology. If you want to just study the e-meter so you can understand what Dennis is talking about, you are going to have to read L Ron Hubbard’s works on it. Period.
The following are the excerpts missing from the main work. I have not annotated them as I cannot really give you sufficient explanation about this subject without making this book terribly and unnecessarily long. Those trained on the e-meter may find the following useful. Those not will soon understand why I excluded them from the main work.
-Roger Tandry
Editor
The Skin Galvanometer
If you possess such a device, and know how to use it, then it can assist you to determine when an exercise is no longer producing change. The meter no longer registers significant change. However, the device is by no means essential, for a being is entirely capable of relying upon his own estimation of change.
Even if you do use a skin-galvanometer you will soon outstrip its usefulness, and will find it registering no change even though your senses clearly tell you that change is occurring. Thus, in the final instance, you are thrown back upon your own perception of these things.
However, if you do use a skin-galvanometer to help you early on, then abide by what it tells you. If you know how to use it, the device will not let you down. Early on, the device is more sensitive than your perception; later, your perception is more sensitive than the device.
The device also has an unexpected value in that it gives you something to hold onto with your hands, and thus prevents you from fidgeting and smoking unnecessary cigarettes during your exercise period.
Another passage from the manual where I omitted a reference to the e-meter also known as the ‘skin galvanometer’:
The exercise simply impinges some part of the mind against the body, resulting in over-stimulation of the nervous system. As a result, you may experience weird phenomena in your body’s’ visual field. It can show as blind spots, patches of flickering light etc.
These phenomena are always of short duration, and after half an hour or so will fade out. You don’t do anything about it. Just understand what has happened. If you wish, go off and rest until it dies down, then continue with the exercise that turned it on. You must do this, for it is a change.
If you happen to be connected to a skin galvanometer at the time, you will see the characteristic ‘zig-zag’ motion of the needle that accompanies the phenomena; it would also record strongly on an electro-encephalograph trace. It is not serious, and you are not harming your body, for the body’s’ nervous system is built to withstand enormous overload before it cuts out entirely and unconsciousness occurs. It just isn’t possible to over-stimulate the nervous system this far with the exercises, and the most you will ever manage is a few blind spots or flashing lights in your visual field.
The above passage is from the section introducing the practical exercises and is given here in context.
Another passage referencing the skin galvanometer or ‘e-meter’:
As you complete this Level you will get your first preview of Nirvana. For the first time you will feel free of your past, and no longer feel it pressing around you; the endless ‘chatter’ of the mind will at last be still, and you’ll be able to experience the tranquility of utterly still beingness. Unless you actually recall something, your past will remain in a state of total vanishment. This, again, is as it should be. If you’ve been connected to a skin galvanometer during your exercises, the completion of Level Three will show the instrument now sitting quite motionless at 12,500 ohms for a male, and 5,000 ohms for a female. The needle is quite calm and lifeless. Indeed, from this point onwards the skin galvanometer will never move much again. It has served its purpose, and can now, if you wish, be discarded. Your perception of change is now equal to or superior to that of the instrument.
The above passage is in the level three instructions, talking about verifying completion of level three using the e-meter. It is given in its original context. You do not need an e-meter necessarily to verify you have completed level three. You simply one day realize there is nothing left to timebreak as every time you try and come up with something to timebreak it just flips back into the past. You are utterly bored with the level and now it is pointless to continue on it, and it’s time for level four. If level four overwhelms you, then you weren’t ready, and, from my personal experience, will stimulate your case well enough that you’ll find level three running again. This happened to me the first time I attempted level four—I got overwhelmed at command one (nothing that sent me to the hospital, it was just too much to timebreak all at once, and I got uncomfortable), so I did plenty of RI to stabilize myself and then dropped back to level three for several weeks. Then I went to level four and got it running just fine.
Logical note
Dennis Stephens was an expert logician. I am not. And many people have not even heard of Boolean Algebra (also known as Boolean Logic) much less understand it.
Part of the TROM's effectiveness is that it's logical. Dennis likes to prove this from time to time by writing logical equations such as the following.
As for me, I need no such proof. My studies of other practices including and especially Scientology gives me adequate context to know Dennis’ theories about the mind are sound. So as far as the logic is concerned, I just take his word for it and you can too.
That said, if you are familiar with Boolean logic, then sink your teeth into the following passage. You won’t be disappointed...
This section can be glossed over if desired. The purpose of the section is to demonstrate to those interested that the subject of the goals package rests upon a firm logical foundation.
The subject of logic rests upon two fundamental axioms:
1) The common class of a concept and its absence does not exist. ( x(1-x)=0. This equation is only satisfied when x is either zero or unity. Thus, in the algebra of classes (Boolean algebra) (symbolic logic) the symbols can only have the value of zero or unity.)
2) The universe can be divided into any concept and its absence. ( x + (1-x) =1.)
From these two basic axioms all other logical propositions are derived. One of these propositions states that the types of possible classes that can exist with two concepts, x,y, are four. Their sum equals the universe: unity.
xy + x(1-y) + y(1-x) + (1-x)(1-y) = 1.
(Any high school student can, by extending out the left hand side of the above equation, discover that it does in fact equal unity.)
Any goals package contains two concepts; these plus their absences (negatives) constitute the four legs of the package.
The ‘To know’ package is such a package. If we represent ‘To know’ by x, and ‘To be known’ by y, we can see from the above equation regarding two concepts that the four possible classes are:
xy This is the class To know and To be known. These are complementary postulates, and are a no-game class.
x(1-y) This is the class To know and To not be known. These are conflicting postulates, and are a game class.
y(1-x) This is the class To be known and To not-know. These are conflicting postulates, and are a game class.
(1-x)(1-y) This is the class To not-know and To not be known. These are complement -y postulates, and are a no- game class.
The sum of these four classes is the totality of the universe of the two concepts. To know and To be known. Within these four classes, then, the whole subject of knowing and being known is contained. When we consider each of these four classes from the viewpoint of ‘self’ and ‘others’ we arrive at 2x4=8 classes. When we consider each of these 8 classes from the viewpoint of ‘origin’ and ‘receipt’ we arrive at 2x8=16 classes. These 16 classes are the 16 levels we find when we examine the ‘To know’ goals package. We can equally, of course, cut the universe into any two purposes in the form ‘To -’ and ‘To be -’, and arrive at the same conclusion viz: That the whole universe of the two concepts is within that package.
Thus, we have proven within the rigors of strict logical reasoning that any goals package contains the full universe of its component concepts, and that no part of life is external to the package. In the language of the mathematician the 16 levels of the goals package are necessary and sufficient for our purposes.
The anatomy of a goals package can be very precisely stated:
a) Let the goal be denoted by x.
b) Let the complementary goal of x be denoted by y.
c) Then the opposition goal to x is (1-y), the negative of y.
d) Then the opposition goal to y is (1-x), the negative of x.
The universe of the goals package is given by:
xy + x(1-y) + y(1-x) + (1-x)(1-y) = 1.
Unless any restrictions are added, the universe of the goals package is co-extensive with the real universe.
Logic is the science of reason. I only mention it here because of the fact that as games become progressively more compulsive with a being his behavior becomes progressively more illogical. Also his regard for the subject of logic itself steadily lessens, until he eventually considers the subject to be both useless and incomprehensible. Thus, a person in a highly charged games condition will have a terrible time trying to study logic; he will endlessly burn the midnight oil trying to grasp even its most fundamental axioms, then, failing, will refute the whole subject. Yet such a person, once relieved of the compulsion to play games, will naturally lead his life in a logical manner - quite independently of any cognizance of the subject of logic itself. Then, once again discovering the subject of logic, will find it to be a very simple and obvious subject, and may even wonder why so many other people find it both awesome and incomprehensible. Its entirely a matter of the compulsion to play games. You see, games are not reasonable. They are fun, but they are not reasonable. So as they become more and more compulsive, the subject of reason itself becomes more and more alien to the being. Thus, this is also the entire subject of insanity.
The following is the sort of 'glossary' included in the original manual...
Terms Used.
All terms used in a special sense have been-defined within the text*. However, a few terms have been used with the sense they are given in the subject of Scientology. I have used these terms because they are the most concise and meaningful available for the phenomena they describe. Their Scientology definitions follow:
Motivator. An act received, considered harmful, and a justifier.
Nirvana from the compulsive playing of games, through the voluntary playing of games to an ending of all games by the adoption of complementary postulates and so the achieving of a non-game situation.
Over run Past the point of erasure
Over run symptoms confusion, unwellness, mis-emotion etc.
Overt Act. An act committed, considered harmful, and justified.
Pan Determinism. (PD). Determining the action of self and others (non-self).
(The word pan is derived from the Greek word for all).
Postulate (noun) a postulate is a causative consideration. A consideration is defined as a thought or idea.
PT Present Time - now!
Self-Determinism. (SD). Determining the action of self.
Valence. An identity assumed unwittingly (in games play). (The word valence is derived from the Latin word for power. A being assumes a valence in an effort to obtain its real or imagined power.)
*If you’ve ever read the original manual, you know that this list is incomplete. There are still some terms used that were not explained in the running text and are also missing from this list. I have done my absolute best to try and define all of them in the running text and the glossary, but if I missed anything, write me at either TromGuides@Gmail.com or Roger@BetterTROM.com .
