Jon’s Blog

Zakir Hussain musical genius – a tribute

Ustad Zakir Hussain passed away on December 15th, 2024, aged 73. He was one of the greatest musicians of the generation; a significant contributor to world music through collaborations with George Harrison, Van Morrison, Earth Wind and Fire and many others including Mahavishnu John McLaughlin in both Shakti and Remember Shakti. Zakir Hussain also…

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woman lying on yellow blanket beside cards

Hubbard and the Occult

Preface This article is the first in a series of articles based upon research into the roots of the Hubbardian philosophy that gave birth to the “Sacred Scriptures” of the Church of Scientology The Office of Special Affairs, the elite Secret Intelligence unit of the Church of Scientology, was well aware that this report…

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wendeltreppen spiral staircase

‘Never believe a hypnotist’ – an investigation of L. Ron Hubbard’s statements about hypnosis and its relationship to his Dianetics.

2014 redraft of the original 1995 paper There have been many assertions that cult groups utilize hypnotic techniques. A good example is Persinger, Carrey & Suess in TM and Cult Mania, where the relatively straightforward techniques of Transcendental Meditation are analysed to show their hypnotic content. However, there has been little analysis of such…

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Possible origins for Dianetics and Scientology

By PictorialEvidence – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons My starting point is the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary definition of plagiarism, viz “the taking and using as one’s own of the thoughts, writings, or inventions of another.” Hubbard’s plagiarism was extensive. He took ideas from earlier authors without proper acknowledgment; repudiated his initial,…

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Cult of Trump by Steve Hassan book cover

Response to Benjamin Zeller’s review: The Cult of Trump? What “Cult Rhetoric” Actually Reveals

Students are frequently disciplined these days for cut-and-pasting paragraphs from the Internet rather than properly responding to their tutors’ questions. A similar habit is found among academics who speak about “brainwashing” and “cults”. Rather than reading and reviewing Steven Hassan’s new book, Professor Zeller has cut-and-pasted ideas that have been floated repeatedly over the…
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