The Fundamentals of Thought

CHAPTER THREE

THE CONDITIONS OF EXISTENCE

There are three conditions (circumstances, qualities) of existence (apparency, reality, livingness).

These three conditions comprise (make up, constitute) life.

They are BE, DO and HAVE.

THE CONDITION OF BEING iS defined as the assumption (choosing) of a category of identity. It could be said to be the role in a game and an example of beingness could be one’s own name. Another example would be one’s profession. Another example would be one’s physical characteristics. Each or all of these things could be called one’s beingness. Beingness is assumed by oneself or given to one’s self, or is attained. For example, in the playing of a game each player has his own beingness.

THE SECOND CONDITION OF EXISTENCE IS DOING. By doing we mean action, function, accomplishment, the attainment of goals, the fulfilling of purpose, or any change of position in space.

THE THIRD CONDITION IS HAVINGNESS. By havingness we mean owning, possessing, being capable of commanding, positioning, taking charge of objects, energies or spaces.

The essential definition of having is to be able to touch or permeate or to direct the disposition of.

The game of life demands that one assume a beingness in order to accomplish a doingness in the direction of havingness.

These three conditions are given in an order of seniority (importance) where life is concerned. The ability to be is more important than the ability to do. The ability to do is more important than the ability to have. In most people all three conditions are sufficiently confused (chaotic, baffling) that they are best understood in reverse order. When one has clarified (brought order into) the idea of possession or havingness, one can then proceed to clarify doingness for general activity, and when this is done one understands beingness or identity.

It is an essential to a successful existence that each of these three conditions be clarified and understood. The ability to assume or to grant (give, allow) beingness is probably the highest of human virtues. It is even more important to be able to permit (allow) other people to have beingness than to be able oneself to assume it.

Beingness = Identity

If you ask an Auditor how these work in processing, he will tell you that there is a specialized form of each of these conditions. The Auditing form of Beingness is Identity. To achieve a betterment of beingness and the granting of beingness, the Auditor remedies with processing the scarcity of identities of the preclear. The preclear is often found in valences (other identities): his father’s or mother’s or marital partner’s or any or all of thousands of possible people. He is unable to achieve or obtain (he thinks) enough identity or an identity of his own. He decries or criticizes the identities of others (fails to grant beingness to them) .

He himself cannot obtain enough identity to feel he has an identity. Identity is so scarce that it’s too valuable. Nobody must have one. To be with such a person is therefore an uncomfortable experience since he does not credit our identity—does not grant us beingness.

The "cure" for this is elementary. Let us say he is obviously in father's valence (identity). He got into father's valence when he found he could get no attention from mother. Observing that father got some of her attention, he took father's identity. However, let us say he didn't like father. The Auditor finds him hating "himself". "Himself" is really father.

A clever Auditor (see section under Processing) would see that while he was in father's valence, it was really mother's attention that was sought.

The Auditor does not inform his preclear of such a finding. He asks the preclear to lie about (lowest form of creativity) identities which would attract mother's attention. Then, when the preclear can do this, the Auditor would have him invent identities which would attract mother's attention.

Suddenly the preclear would be no longer in father's valence. However, he would have been not only in father's but also in mother's valence so the same process would have to be done on father. "Lie about," the Auditor would say, "identities which would attract father's attention," then "invent one," until the preclear had many and would no longer be in mother's valence.

Solving father and mother valences is fundamental, since most people are somewhat "in them" or revolted from them. But people can be "stuck" in all sorts of identities, even bedposts when humans are too valuable to be used.

The rule is that the more aperson is "stuck" in avalence or identity, the fewer he conceives to exist. And the harder he thinks it is to get attention. Thus he can become exhibitionistic (displaying himself too thoroughly, being too much there at all times) or he can become dispersed (hiding himself, being vague, not there most of the time).

People err, in identity, in being too apparent or too little apparent. The remedy of either is the remedy of their scarcity of identity.

Identity and Attention

One "needs" an identity to play the game, as covered later, but mainly to "get attention".

A being looks at things. To balance the flow of his attention, he feels he must also be looked at. Thus he becomes attention-hungry.

Unlike yellow and brown people, the white does not usually believe he can get attention from matter or objects. The yellow and brown believe for the most part (and it is all a matter of consideration) that rocks, trees, walls, etc., can give them attention. The white man seldom believes this and so is likely to become anxious about people. Thus the white saves people, prevents famine, flood, disease and revolution forpeople as the only purveyors of attention are scarce. The white goes further. He often believes he can get attention only from whites and that yellow and brown peoples' attention is worthless. Thus the yellow and brown races are not very progressive, but, by and large, saner. And the white race is progressive but more frantic. The yellow and brown races do not understand white concern for "bad conditions" since what are a few million dead men? There are plenty of identities and there is plenty of attention, they think. The white can't understand them. Nor can they understand the white.

Attention and Identity form a group of two. Attention makes space. Identity closes space.

Attention is a method of knowing. Inattention is a method of not-knowing.

Identity is a method of making known. Lack of identity is a method of making unknown.

Valences

The whole study of valences is a fascinating one. A valence is defined as "a false identity assumed unwittingly". An identity is modified by valences. People who can be nobody may try to be everybody. People who are seeking a way out of scarcity of identity may become fixed in false valences. Nations can become fixed in valences of countries they have conquered in war, etc., etc.

A rule is that a person assumes the identity of that which gets attention. Another rule is that the person assumes the identity of that which makes him fail (for he gave it his attention, didn't he?)

There is a basic personality, a person's own identity. He colors or drowns this with valences as he loses or wins in life. He can be dug up.

Do =Effect

Doing can be defined as the action of creating an effect. An effect in creation is action.

An Auditor, processing a preclear, would always use "effect processes" to increase doingness.

"What effect could you create on father?" would be a typical Auditor question.

If a preclear is fixated by books, a machine, a tool or a person, the Auditor asks him to lie about, then invent effects he could create upon it. At first the preclear may be able to think of none. Then as the process is continued he may become wildly imaginative or even cruel. Further running will bring the preclear into a more comfortable frame of mind. Criminals or maniacs are people who are frantically attempting to create an effect long after they know they cannot. They cannot then create decent effects, only violent effects. Neither can they work (do).

Despair of creating an effect brings about aberration and irrational conduct. It also brings about laziness and carelessness.

Command of attention is necessary to creating an effect. Therefore when one conceives he cannot easily get attention, he seeks to create stronger effects. He creates effects to get attention. He gets attention to create effects.

As in Axiom 10 (given later), the creation of an effect is the highest purpose in this universe. Thus when one cannot create effects, he has no purpose. And thus it works out in Life. It may be all right to be a stern and unrelenting superior or parent, but such create laziness and criminals. If one cannot have an effect created upon one. (and one is known to another), very definitely harmful results will ensue.

As one believes he creates the least effect upon unconscious or dead people, these, as in hospitals or China, become the subject of much aberrated activity. "What effect could you create on an unconscious person (or a dead person)?" asked over and over by an Auditor obtains some astonishing results.

An artist stops his work when he believes he can no longer create an effect.

A person actually dies for lack of being able to create an effect.

BUT security often depends on being able to create no effect.

The whole subject of survival is bound up in no-effect. Obviously those things on which no-effect can be made, survive.

If one is anxious about survival (a foolish thing, for he can't do anything else) he becomes anxious to have about him things which resist all effects. But as his only anxiety is about the survival of a valence or identity, remedy of the scarcity of these can resolve the matter.

Another cycle of action, containing also the classes of effects, is START-CHANGE-and-STOP. This is the definition of control.

Havingness

As there must be a playing field (see Chapter Twelve) for a game to be held, so there must be havingness. One must be able to possess.

There are millions of methods of possession in life. The obvious one becomes overlooked. If one can see a thing he can have it—if he thinks he can.

The degree to which one can live is the degree to which one can own. To own is not to label or cart away. To own is to be able to see or touch or occupy.

One loses to the degree he is forbidden to have. But to play a game one must be able to believe he can't have.

Effect and Have

Effect and Have form a pair like Attention and Identity. An effect should be on or against something. Thus havingness. If one's attention never meets anything he doesn't always like it. Thus he wants objects.

Effect makes distance. Have shortens distance.

Problems

Man or any life form in this universe seems to love problems. A problem is more important than freedom. Problems keep up interest. When a man has a problem very thoroughly and can't solve it, he really has too few problems. He needs more.

The insanity among the idle is a matter of problem scarcity.

A problem is defined as two or more purposes in opposition. Or Intention versus Intention.

Out of the conditions of existence above can come many complex problems.

If a man had all the attention in the world he would be unhappy. If he had all the identities possible, he would still be unhappy. If he could blow up Earth or create any other huge effect he wanted without limit, he would be miserable (or insane). If he could own everything everywhere he would be dulled to apathy. Or so it seems. For these conditions of

existence are all subordinate to the need of problems, by current Scientology reasoning and results.

Thus to have a person lie about problems or invent problems of the same size as the ones he has, or the valences he is in, or to invent data of the same or different size as the one he is fixed upon is to make a well man.

Probably the problem is the antidote to unconsciousness. It is certainly the antidote for boredom. But in making up the problems of life he consults the conditions of existence: Be, Do, Have and their necessary partner in every case, Attention.