Scientology is based around a thing called The Bridge; this is more properly known as the Scientology® Classification Gradation and Awareness Chart of Levels and Certificates. Below is a representation of it...

The Bridge consists of two sides. On the left is the Training side (showing your ride up the greasy-pole of auditor (read: brainwasher) training), and on the right is your Processing (read: brainwashing).


THE BRIDGE
TO TOTAL FREEDOM

SCIENTOLOGY CLASSIFICATION GRADATION AND AWARENESS CHART OF LEVELS AND CERTIFICATES



   	TRAINING                       PROCESSING
   	~~~~~~~~                       ~~~~~~~~~~
                                       
                                           New OT XV  
                                           
                                           New OT XIV  
    
                                           New OT XIII  
                                           
                                           New OT XII  
                                           Future
                                           
                                           New OT XI  
                                           Operating
                                           
                                           New OT X  
                                           Character
                                           
                                           New OT IX  
                                           Orders of Magnitude
                                           
                                           New OT VIII  
    Class XII (Validated)                  Truth Revealed
    
    CLASS XII                              New OT VII  
    Auditor                                Solo NED for OTs
    
    Class XI (Validated)                   New OT VI  
                                           Hubbard Solo NOTs   Course
    CLASS XI
    Auditor                                New OT V  
                                           NED for OTs (NOTs)
    Class X (Validated)
                                           New OT IV    
    CLASS X                                OT Drug Rundown
    Auditor
                                           OT III  
    Class IX (Validated)                   "The Wall of Fire"
    
    CLASS IX                               OT II  
    Auditor
                                           New OT I  
    Class VIII (Validated)
                                           Eligibility for Issue of
    CLASS VIII AUDITOR                     OT   Levels Check 
    Hubbard Specialist of
    Standard Tech                          New Hubbard Solo Auditor
                                           Course Part Two
    Class VII (Validated)
                                           OT Prepearations
    CLASS VII AUDITOR
    Hubbard Graduate Auditor               New Hubbard Solo Auditor
                                           Course Part One
    Class VI (Validated)                   
                                           Sunshine Rundown
    CLASS VI AUDITOR
    Hubbard Senior Scientologist           CLEAR  
    (Saint Hill Special Briefing Course    
    (SHSBC   - Levels A - P))              Clearing Course
    
    Class VA Graduate (Validated)          Grade VI Release
                                           Whole Track Release          
    CLASS VA GRADUATE AUDITOR
    Hubbard Expanded Dianetics             Grade VA
    Specialist                             Power Plus Release
    
    Class V (Validated)                    Grade V
                                           Power Release
    CLASS V AUDITOR
    Hubbard New Era Dianetics   Auditor    NEW ERA DIANETICS (NED)
    
    Class IV (Validated)                   Grade IV Expanded
                                           Ability Release
    CLASS IV AUDITOR
    Hubbard Advanced Auditor               Grade III Expanded
                                           Freedom Release
    CLASS III AUDITOR
    Hubbard Professional Auditor           Grade II Expanded
                                           Relief Release
    CLASS II AUDITOR  
    Hubbard Certified Auditor              Grade I Expanded
                                           Problems Release
    CLASS I AUDITOR                       
    Hubbard Trained Scientologist          Grade 0 Expanded
                                           Communication Release
    CLASS 0 AUDITOR
    Hubbard Recognised Scientologist       ARC Straightwire
                                           Recall Release
    Hubbard Professional Upper
    Indoc TR Course Graduate               Scientology Drug Rundown
    
    New Hubbard Professional               TRs and Objectives
    TR Course Graduate
                                           Purification Rundown
    Hubbard Graduate of
    Study Tech
    
    Hubbard Method One Co-
    Audit Course Graduate


We know what auditors do (or you will know), so I’ll cover the Processing side.

This starts with the Purification Rundown or Purif ($2,000). According to Scientology buffs this is a nice, cleansing process, intended to remove drugs from the body that have been stored up over your life-time. Ordinarily I’d agree with this, but with the Purif you take mega-overdoses of vitamins and minerals while being subjected to extremely vigorous running exercise and sweating in a sauna for hours every day. In this you’re meant to sweat out all these drugs. However there is no scientfic evidence to back up Scientology’s claims about the effectiveness or benefits of the Purif. And… let me ask you… how happy would you feel taking overdoses of vitamins and minerals without your GP’s approval?

(As JerboaKolinowski kindly pointed out to me: exhaustion is a very common "brainwashing" technique - used in the army and in army "boot camps" for giving "tough love" to problem kids in the states, amongst others. It's often coupled with sleep deprivation and under-feeding. It's thought to make one more receptive to new ideas. )

There are some miscellaneous courses here, like the Hubbard Key to Life TM Course and the Hubbard Life Orientation TM Course, but, really, next are the Grades. These are, as Lance S. Buckley puts it, the… hahaha… "preliminary steps to the true enlightenment and understanding of Body Thetans on the OT Levels." They’re meant to make you go clear eventually, but what happened to good old Dianetics? In order, they are meant to help you do this….

  • Grade 0  communicate, using hypnosis in which you are placed back in incidents to experience  them all over again (just like Dn.)
  • Grade I  you learn the "Ability to recognize the source of problems and make them vanish" [Grade Chart]. What if Scientology is your problem?
  • Grade II  Overts and Witholds  On this grade you basically have to tell all. Everything you’ve  ever done...strangely enough many ex-members have reported that the Scientologists like to get  their hands on anything of an overtly sexual nature. If you then leave, although they’re not meant to,  they might then use this to blackmail you
  • Grade III  Upsets
  • Grade IV  Service facsimiles  On this grade you learn to get rid of "Service facsimiles"  (conditioned behaviour). See Handbook for Preclears (ISBN 87-7336-053-8).
  • New Era Dianetics  here you get Dianetic auditing on the "whole track", that is auditing  on all your past lives (hey! reincarnation's an OK idea). You’re meant to go clear if you get rid  of your reactive bank (the sum of the memories of pain and unconsciousness a person has).
  • If you don’t go clear well, poor you. You’ll have to do Grades V, VI, and VII. In Grade  V, you become aware of yourself as a source of power. After all "this is America! You should be able to buy spiritual freedom!" [Lance]. Grade VI, you clear up verbal locks in your bank (revise M/Us or Mis-Understood Words first).
After all of this you should be Clear, or a completely wonderful person... But the fun's not over yet! It's on to the OT Levels, or Scientology's Advanced Secrets for you...

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