Thursday, July 12, 2012

Rare Early Scientology Book May Help Katie Holmes v. Tom Cruise

By Stephen J. Gertz


It's "based upon the Nexological teachings contained in 'Lessons For Living' which is a course of instruction in the relationship between things," so you know you can depend upon it.

The book is Mind Over Matter: The Development and Control of Psychokinesis (1955) from Human Engineering Inc., an organization related to Scientology and apparently run by Kenneth Hart, a relation to husband and wife,  Alphia and Agnes Hart, publisher and editor, respectively, of the early-Scientology-related newsletter, The Aberree, published between 1954-1964; Kenneth Hart appears in several issues. Alphia Hart was a former editor of the official Dianetics Journal.

Human Engineering Inc. embraced hypnotism, telepathy, and, as here, psychokinesis, aka telekinesis or Carrie's Disease, more commonly known as mind over matter, the control of the material through the exertion of mental power with sequela mayhem at the high school prom, death, and destruction.

The book's wrapper illustrates the concept: a man reads the newspaper while controlling the universe with his mind. This is something I do on a regular basis. I was, as an example, responsible for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" while sitting comfortably 3000 miles away in my Lazy-Boy lounger reading Popular Mechanics.  I also led the Navy SEAL team that took down Osama Bin Laden while I was reading an issue of Boy's Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, in bed one evening. (I later received the anti-terrorism merit badge, an embroidered portrait of Dick Cheney giving the Okay! sign with a wink).  Discovery of the Higgs boson? Me, while reading about Hugo Boss in GQ. Don't look for these facts in the news; I mentally blocked their publication.

Perhaps if Katie Holmes reads this book she can develop her mental powers to move Tom Cruise to the other side of the world as far away from her as possible. I'm concentrating on that as I write. Later I'll intensely focus on getting Katie interested in an aging rare book guy and discovering the wonderfulness of life within the secretive, cultish antiquarian book world and the cool happenings at the ABAA-Celebrity Center in New York City. Plenty of vintage childrens books there for Suri to read while Katie and I nuzzle oh-so-close in a nook with a glass of white wine and a fine rare book.
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[SCIENTOLOGY]. Mind Over Matter: The Development and Control of Psychokinesis. Fairhope, Alabama / Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire: Human Engineering, Inc. 1955. First edition. Quarto. 24 pp. Mechanically-produced mimeograph sheets with printed rectos only. Tape bound with stiff blue pictorial wrappers.
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Image courtesy of Between The Covers, with our thanks.
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1 comment:

  1. I never come and post a comment, but I wanted to say - I really enjoy reading these. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

 
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