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Operating Thetan
In Scientology, Operating Thetan (OT) is a state of complete spiritual freedom in which one is a "knowing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time". The Church of Scientology offers eight "levels" of OT, each level costing thousands of US dollars. Each OT level is confidential and is not revealed to anyone beforehand. In summary, the objective of these levels is to remove "body thetans" which are "confused, disembodied souls from other planets who have attached themselves to us".
The OT levels are the upper part of "The Bridge to Total Freedom", which is the set of levels within Scientology. After having removed one's own "reactive mind" and thus attaining the state of "Clear", Scientologists may then go on to the OT levels. Scientology doctrine defines OT as the "highest state there is". Operating Thetan is represented by a symbol consisting of the letters OT with the T inside the O and each of the points of the T ending at the O's circumference.
An Operating Thetan (OT) is described within Scientology as a state of godliness, and Scientologists are taught they will have godlike control over "matter, energy, space and time" (known in Scientology jargon as MEST). Hubbard claimed that thetans were once tricked into following religions, which prevented them from using their own power to create and destroy universes. The Church claims that an OT is not dependent on the physical universe, and Scientologists who have attained the highest Operating Thetan level claim that they have control over their lives and can "go exterior" from their bodies.
According to religious scholar J. Gordon Melton, "[The OT levels are] basically a variation of the Gnostic myth about souls falling into matter and the encumbrances that come with that. ... In the OT [levels], you're finding out that you're a thetan, that you've come into bodies before. Part of what you're trying to learn is exteriorization — how to get out of your body. You also learn that you carry a lot of encumbrances from past lives."
While there are fifteen OT levels listed on Scientology's Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart, the Church only offers eight. According to former Scientologist and critic of the Church Mike Rinder, the promise of new levels has been used for decades to motivate church members to donate or repeat courses they have already taken in preparation. Rinder has said he doesn't believe these courses exist.
Since the 1960s when Hubbard invented the OT levels, they have been considered confidential. Those who read such documents do so in locked rooms, transport them in locked briefcases attached to their wrists, and the documents are securely locked up when not in actual use. Members are forbidden to discuss the OT levels with anyone, may not disclose the contents or procedures, and may not make copies or even notes.
One must be "invited" to do the OT levels. OT preps are preparatory steps to ensure that one is ready for them, and this includes security checks (confessionals) to make certain that the person is not a security risk and will keep the confidentiality of the OT materials.
Scientology has been active in litigating to keep their OT levels secret. In the 1980s Wollersheim case, the OT III materials were entered into evidence by Wollersheim to show how they made him psychotic, eventually getting published in the news when an agency got their hands on a copy from the courthouse. In the 1990s Fishman case, the entire OT levels from I to VIII were presented, eventually leading to others obtaining them and later duplicated on the internet. This led to several raids of homes and offices, and lawsuits against several people who had put copies on the internet. Such acts collectively became known as Scientology versus the Internet.
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Operating Thetan
In Scientology, Operating Thetan (OT) is a state of complete spiritual freedom in which one is a "knowing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time". The Church of Scientology offers eight "levels" of OT, each level costing thousands of US dollars. Each OT level is confidential and is not revealed to anyone beforehand. In summary, the objective of these levels is to remove "body thetans" which are "confused, disembodied souls from other planets who have attached themselves to us".
The OT levels are the upper part of "The Bridge to Total Freedom", which is the set of levels within Scientology. After having removed one's own "reactive mind" and thus attaining the state of "Clear", Scientologists may then go on to the OT levels. Scientology doctrine defines OT as the "highest state there is". Operating Thetan is represented by a symbol consisting of the letters OT with the T inside the O and each of the points of the T ending at the O's circumference.
An Operating Thetan (OT) is described within Scientology as a state of godliness, and Scientologists are taught they will have godlike control over "matter, energy, space and time" (known in Scientology jargon as MEST). Hubbard claimed that thetans were once tricked into following religions, which prevented them from using their own power to create and destroy universes. The Church claims that an OT is not dependent on the physical universe, and Scientologists who have attained the highest Operating Thetan level claim that they have control over their lives and can "go exterior" from their bodies.
According to religious scholar J. Gordon Melton, "[The OT levels are] basically a variation of the Gnostic myth about souls falling into matter and the encumbrances that come with that. ... In the OT [levels], you're finding out that you're a thetan, that you've come into bodies before. Part of what you're trying to learn is exteriorization — how to get out of your body. You also learn that you carry a lot of encumbrances from past lives."
While there are fifteen OT levels listed on Scientology's Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart, the Church only offers eight. According to former Scientologist and critic of the Church Mike Rinder, the promise of new levels has been used for decades to motivate church members to donate or repeat courses they have already taken in preparation. Rinder has said he doesn't believe these courses exist.
Since the 1960s when Hubbard invented the OT levels, they have been considered confidential. Those who read such documents do so in locked rooms, transport them in locked briefcases attached to their wrists, and the documents are securely locked up when not in actual use. Members are forbidden to discuss the OT levels with anyone, may not disclose the contents or procedures, and may not make copies or even notes.
One must be "invited" to do the OT levels. OT preps are preparatory steps to ensure that one is ready for them, and this includes security checks (confessionals) to make certain that the person is not a security risk and will keep the confidentiality of the OT materials.
Scientology has been active in litigating to keep their OT levels secret. In the 1980s Wollersheim case, the OT III materials were entered into evidence by Wollersheim to show how they made him psychotic, eventually getting published in the news when an agency got their hands on a copy from the courthouse. In the 1990s Fishman case, the entire OT levels from I to VIII were presented, eventually leading to others obtaining them and later duplicated on the internet. This led to several raids of homes and offices, and lawsuits against several people who had put copies on the internet. Such acts collectively became known as Scientology versus the Internet.