Naming the Diseases

I have been reading with interest news articles financially linking the mental health "experts" who get to name mental "disorders" every year (in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health) with the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the drugs that "cure" these diseases.

I have also been wondering why this story that impacts millions of people is being kept under tight wraps by the major news media. Could it be that the very same drug companies that "pay" for these studies have a strong influence with the major news media because of the billions they pay these media companies to advertise these miraculous "cures?

Just a thought.

For the truth about who's being paid to name the "mental diseases of the year," go to the CCHR (Citizen's Commission on Human Rights) website by clicking here.

Noise About Quiet Birth

It never ceases to amaze me how "the media" can make a mountain out of a molehill. Case in point the recent "Quiet Birth" announced by Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. It must really be a quiet news period if this story can garner so much media attention. What's next? Here are a couple of ideas if the media bigwigs run out of them:

• "Thirteen year old boy forced to wear uncomfortable suit, prayer shawl and head covering while chanting ancient readings in front of his friends and family."
• "People line up to be fed wafers and wine at church service."
• "Factory production closes down while workers all kneel on rugs facing the same direction."

My intention is not to make less of anybody's religious practices, but to show the folly of the news media. How you can take a simple religious belief or practice and blow it up into the story of the day is beyond my comprehension. First of all, I respect everybody's religious beliefs, whether (as in the examples above) Judaism, Catholicism or Islam. As a Scientologist and a Jew, I have experienced religious bigotry firsthand and would never even think of questioning somebody else's religious practices. As a Scientology Volunteer Minister, I am committed to helping all people, no matter their religion or race.

How can you help? First of all, if you are guilty of joking or spreading rumors about others' religions, stop doing so immediately. If you hear others doing the same thing, ask them if they're religious bigots. Most people would say no and would realize the potential damage they're doing by passing on bigoted statements or joke.

And, most of all, respect others' religious beliefs.

Religious Tolerance

I read a story in the Sunday L.A. Times about the Dali Lama meeting with some American Muslim leaders to discuss ways of improving the public's perception of Islam. The article intrigued me in several ways. First, I thought how wonderful it is that a spiritual leader from one religion would offer support such as this to another religion. Secondly, I thought how sad it is that a religion would have to improve the public's perception of it. Because of the actions of a small minority of a religious group, the public needs to have their perceptions improved about the religion as a whole.

It started me thinking about my own perceptions of other religions. I am Jewish by birth and a Scientologist by choice and training. While I do have some familiarity with Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism and Islam due to my studies when I became a Scientology Minister, I consider my knowledge to be relatively limited. How can I understand everything about these religions if I haven't read their scriptures? Even with the limited knowledge, I have always respected others' religious choices and beliefs. Do some to the beliefs and customs seem foreign to me? Of course they do, especially with my limited contact with Buddhists and Muslims and others. But I am respectful of the adherents to these religions because I believe most of them are all seekers of truth and believe in the goodness of their fellow man.

Start a campaign in your own home and your own community. Whenever you hear somebody degrading a religion, call them on it and ask them what they know about that religion. Get them to see how their prejudices are based on ignorance of the religion and its beliefs and, probably, on bigoted statements they might have heard in the media or from some friend or acquaintance.

How about learning about others' religions? It can't hurt.

Good Will Hunting

I like helping people - I can't help it (pun intended). At the end of the day, when I've helped one or many people, I feel much better about myself. Can you recall a time you did a good deed for somebody? Remember how that made you feel? If you're like me, you felt great about it. If you're not the type of person who likes to help people, then maybe you didn't feel so great about it.

I know how I feel about those who have gone beyond what's expected from a citizen of earth to help those in need. The folks who assisted those in need after the recent hurricanes are heroes to me. Many left their homes and families to spend time helping those who needed it. The aftermath of the Tsunami last year left many devastated. It was also a call to action for good-hearted souls to travel thousands of miles from home to help people they never met. What about the heroes who went to Ground Zero to help those in need after 9/11? I'm sure you've heard many stories of bravery and courage. I know quite a few Scientology Volunteer Ministers who went to all the places I just mentioned. They traveled from all points of the earth to go attend to those who needed help. Those who couldn't go arranged fund-raising rallies and worked around the clock to load trucks with food and clothes that many others donated.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers and other heroes are all people of good will. In the chapter titled "Do not Harm a Person of Good Will" in the book The Way to Happiness, L.Ron Hubbard says, "Factually, the society runs on men and women of good will," yet, he continues, "Such people are easy to attack: their very decency prevents them from overprotecting themselves. Yet the survival of most of the individuals in a society depends upon them."

Who would harm these people of good will? Would you?

A Book About a Book

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to a very bright individual about a subject he was very interested in - the human mind. I recommeded to him a book that has helped me immensely in life and answered so many questions I had about the human mind. The book, Dianetics, Modern Science of Mental Health has been a best-seller for over fifty years and has been read and used by millions of people around the world to help them lead happier lives. I went over some of the concepts presented in the book with him and had him give me examples of how this book could help him with his life. He clearly saw that this book could answer some questions he had for quite some time. I typically ask people to pay me for the book (less than $10) because I've found that people will act on things more quickly if they have an investment in it.

I was floored when he told me he was going to wait. This guy had just been jumping out of his chair with excitement at the prospect of finally handling some "issues" he has had for a long time. I asked him why he didn't want to buy it now and he told me, "I want to do some research on the book and see what is written about it first." I couldn't believe me ears. I told him to read the book and formulate his own opinion about it rather than look at opinions of others before he could read it. He couldn't make up his own mind on a subject - he had to have opinions of strangers help him decide.

I have learned in Scientology to think for myself and not depend on others, especially "the media," to help me formulate opinions about things. If I want to learn about a subject, I go right to the source, the horse's mouth, if you will, to learn about that subject. If I want to learn about Judaism, for instance, would I go to the teachings of the Torah and the Talmud or would I go ask a Christian or, even more absurd, a Nazi to tell me what Judaism is all about? If I wanted to get some outside source material, would I go to scholarly source or a person who was asked to leave his Synagogue for causing trouble amongst the members of the congregation? In the case of the Scientology Religion, if an outside source was needed, I might point them in the direction of a scholarly, unbiased treatise on the religion, such as the Center for Studies on New Religions.

As a Scientololgy Volunteer Minister, one of the assists I give people helps them find outpoints in various sources, such as newspaper and magazine articles. Once learned, it can be a great tool for challenging the validity of so much of the written word today. It is certainly a beginning of helping someone learn to think for themselves.