he physical universe would be the universe of matter, energy, space and time. It would be the universe of the planets, their rocks, rivers and oceans, the universe of stars and galaxies, the universe of burning suns and time. In this universe we would not include theta as an integral portion, although theta obviously impinges upon it as life. From the first letters of the words Matter, Energy, Space and Time, we can composite a new word: MEST.
In Dianetics we are dealing, then, with theta and MEST. Theta is thought, life force, élan vital, the spirit, the soul or any other of the numerous definitions it has had for some thousands of years.
As soon as we separate these two entities, a host of problems heretofore quite complex resolve into simplicity. Theta, we could say, comes from the universe of theta, which is different from the MEST universe. Theta has its own matter: ideas. It has its own energy and the characteristics of that energy. It has its own space of operation as distinct from MEST space. And it has its own time.
There is an enormous amount of evidence to support theta as a postulate. Thought is instantaneous in the MEST universe so far as can be discovered. The flow of energy along nerves in an organism does not travel at light speed. Time and past of the MEST universe do not exist for theta.
Considering theta, one finds that it alone of observable energies, motivates and activates MEST matter and energy through space and time. Further, it computes, reasons, learns and retains what it learns. Men building a computer with electronics, which would do only a part of what the human mind can do, would have to use enough electrical power to light New York City, enough cooling system to absorb Niagara Falls and enough vacuum tubes (if they cost a cent apiece) to run up a bill of a million dollars. And the apparatus so rigged, under the existing life term of tubes, would run a split second before stopping for tube replacement. The human mind does more than such a clumsy machine, does it better, lasts a lifetime and, to cap it, is portable.
Now all a student of Dianetics needs to know and understand about all this is:
That theta plus MEST equals life.
That theta and MEST have a natural affinity for each other and combine, linking the two universes, so to speak.
That theta and MEST, coming together too hard, get into a turmoil which we call pain.
That the turbulence of theta and MEST, under the duress of too much impact, gives us a Tone Scale.
The person undertaking to process another individual Dianetically is seeking only to raise the tone of that individual in other words, to increase his survival potential. In order to do this, the processor simply regains for the other the theta involved in the reactive mind as entheta. Theta is restored to the analytical mind, the reactive mind is left without its destructive store of turbulence and the individual being processed becomes a Dianetic Release or Clear.


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