Thursday, March 23, 2017

Inspirational Birthday Celebration Features Past, Present and Future Legacy of L. Ron Hubbard

To celebrate his March 13, 1911 birthday, each year Scientologists from sixty countries gather at the religion’s spiritual nexus in Clearwater, Florida in a weekend celebration of their founder’s life. This gathering and speeches is videoed, then re-shown in churches around the world the following weekend.

In Nashville, the Church members came together with guests and friends to see the many accomplishments and cast their eyes toward a limitless future, inspired by the life and works of L. Ron Hubbard.

LRH, as his multitudinous followers know him, was a polymath—a person of wide-ranging knowledge and education. Beginning as the youngest Eagle Scout in American history (awarded just days after his thirteenth birthday), LRH explored the religious landscape of Asia by the time he was fifteen. Mr. Hubbard went on to become the Guinness Book’s most translated author, and also holds their record for most audio books by one author.

His work toward the salvation of mankind continues to inspire millions worldwide. This annual weekend celebration displays by turns, his research into man as a spiritual being, his technical legacy that allows others to identify, explore and realize their innate spiritual abilities—all this L. Ron Hubbard left to a troubled world.

The evening presented not just a sense of L. Ron Hubbard’s influence on the lives of individuals, but also a surge of real-life stories on how he touched others… if only for just a little while, but ultimately changed the outcome of their destiny.

The night’s spotlight continuously shone on the size and scope of Scientology today, spirited by L. Ron Hubbard’s legacy. His legacy was exquisitely personified in the unveiling of the newest Ideal Organization (Org) in Auckland, New Zealand. The Kiwi congregation formed the second Church of Scientology in the world in 1955. Attendees next witnessed the moving grand opening ceremony with local luminaries heralding the moment as a sea of change for their island nation.

The evening was a celebration of a life well lived—a life lived for the benefit of all mankind, and a life lived to help individuals without hesitation. Birthdays are traditionally a time to acknowledge what a person has done and how they influence the lives of others. But as LRH is transcendent, his birthday celebration ultimately captured what his life and work will continue to mean for the future.

In all, it was a celebration in the name of helping people honor their own potential—of making a world that mankind desires, that he deserves.


Thursday, March 16, 2017

Stress? Anxiety? Depression? The Hubbard Dianetics Seminar Has the Answer

The Hubbard Dianetics Foundation offers a weekly seminar to help people resolve problems, discover the source of unreasonable fears and insecurities, and overcome barriers in life.

How can depression be relieved, or prevented altogether? With Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, everyday people are finding a solution without the use of drugs or medication.

Since 2009, people from Nashville and Middle Tennessee have found answers about the mind and have been trained in highly effective techniques to resolve unwanted conditions in their lives. It’s all happened at the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation, a department within the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre Nashville.

Dianetics is defined as “what the soul is doing to the body through the mind,” and the subject explains how the mind contains a hidden influence that will cause individuals to perform the most insane acts. The techniques of Dianetics were developed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early part of the last century and presented to the world in the bestselling self-help book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.

While Dianetics is over sixty years old, this Dianetics seminar is new. It is based on the book and a video series, How to Use Dianetics, consisting of 18 short films which illustrate specific Dianetics principles and techniques. With these films, people new to the subject can easily learn what to expect from a Dianetics session and how to help another using this technology. “The seminar not only helps people become aware of the cause of their problems, but also the ability to handle it,” says the seminar director.

Following the presentation of the first of these films, those attending the seminar immediately put the materials to use, working with other attendees to apply the techniques right there on the spot.  Supervised by trained Dianetics specialists, the seminar participants gain first-hand experience with just how easy it is to resolve the difficulties and pain that life leaves in its wake. Church pastor Rev. Brian Fesler says, “Many people have finished this seminar, and I want everyone to experience the benefits of Dianetics.  It’s not just for members of my church—anyone can have it.”

The two-day Dianetics seminar is offered every weekend at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre Nashville at 1130 8th Avenue South. For more information, visit www.dianetics.org or call the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation at 615-687-4600.


The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee Working for the Future

The Way to Happiness, a book written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s, is comprised of 21 precepts, each one predicated on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others—and that without the survival of others, neither joy nor happiness are attainable. In the three decades since it was authored, more than 115 million copies of the book passed hand to hand, thus inspiring the international movement which is spreading throughout Nashville, TN.

"This book is based on common sense principles and acts as a moral compass,” says Judy Young, Director of The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee, “when people read it, they are able to easily put the concepts in it into practice to live a better life.”

Volunteers for The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee (TWTH-TN) have been working to get the booklet into the hands of every Nashvillian through a series of events. Recently, volunteers have distributed more than two hundred booklets to households near downtown Nashville.

According to thewaytohappiness.org, “This code of conduct can be followed by anyone, of any race, color or creed and works to restore the bonds that unite humankind.”

TWTH-TN is making a true impact across Tennessee and reaching other parts of the world. It is the local chapter of The Way to Happiness Foundation, which is based in Los Angeles and acts as a resource center to assist the public with distribution projects bringing about needed changes in businesses, communities and entire regions, according to thewaytohappiness.org. The Foundation is supported by a growing global network of The Way to Happiness offices that forward the book into circulation across all sectors of society. As a result, people world over—from heads of state, mayors and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, to doctors, lawyers, local business leaders and community heads—are now using The Way to Happiness to reverse the current moral decline.


To learn more about the program, or to order copies of The Way to Happiness booklet, visit twthtn.org. 

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Citizens Commission on Human Rights Working to Help Parents

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Nashville (CCHR Nashville) has been hard at work to spread information to parents on their basic rights so they can help their children.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights Nashville Chapter(CCHR Nashville) is working to educate parents on their basic rights as they relate to their children’s mental health and well-being. To do this, volunteers have been to several recent events and informational fairs, to the State Capitol and working with parental groups to get out information in an even broader sphere.

CCHR has long been an advocate for human rights, especially as relates to patients’ rights in the field of mental health. Per the international CCHR website, cchr.org, “CCHR has long fought to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health, including, but not limited to, full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis, the risks of psychiatric treatments, the right to all available medical alternatives and the right to refuse any treatment considered harmful.”

Rev. Brian Fesler, who serves on the board of CCHR Nashville, said, “CCHR volunteers are getting the word out, but there is so much work to be done. People are getting hurt every day at the hands of psychiatrists.”


CCHR is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious mental health watchdog. Its mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. CCHR receives reports about abuses in the field of mental health and is especially interested in situations where persons experienced abuse or damage due to a false diagnosis or unwanted and harmful psychiatric treatments, such as psychiatric drugs, electroshock (ECT) and electronic or magnetic brain stimulation (TMS). CCHR is often able to assist with filing complaints, and can work with a person’s attorney to further investigate the case. To contact CCHR Nashville for more information, visit cchrnashville.org.  

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Church of Scientology Makes Plans to Celebrate 32nd Anniversary in Nashville

The Nashville Church of Scientology will celebrate its 32nd anniversary with a private event at the end of April. Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church, says, “We’ve been in Nashville for 32 years, and eight in the historic Fall School building. We are celebrating our progress as well as the spirit of Nashville.”

On a global scale, the Church of Scientology has enjoyed greater expansion during the past decade than in the previous 50 years combined. All the while the Church’s ever-growing humanitarian programs in the fields of drug education, human rights, morals education and disaster relief have positively impacted hundreds of millions of lives.

In Nashville, the Church has seen thousands of people entering its doors for the first time over the last eight years. On a humanitarian mission, the Church has participated in numerous human rights awareness events and helped create such events as Human Rights Day and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. march and convocation.  Church members, volunteering in the area of drug education, have delivered more than 230 seminars in Tennessee and have distributed more than 60,000 booklets.

“Scientology is an active religion, where one seeks to know life and help people," says Fesler, "and we have the tools to accomplish that. We don’t ask our members to believe, we want them to act.” To learn more about the Church of Scientology, its programs and courses, visit www.scientology.org. 


Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee Invites Nashville to Green It Up

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee is inviting friends and neighbors to a community cleanup for World Environment Day in June.

In 2016, The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee (TWTH-TN) invited environmental activists and leaders to a roundtable discussion in observance of World Environment Day under the heading “It’s Your City – Green It Up.” This year, TWTH-TN is taking this message to the streets and organizing a cleanup for the day.

The “Green It Up” cleanup will take place on June 3rd at 10am. Volunteers will meet in the community hall of the Church of Scientology for cleanup supplies, then after the cleanup at 12pm, all volunteers will be treated to lunch at the church where they will be able to learn more about different ways they can improve the environment. TWTH-TN is inviting environmental organizations to have a booth during the lunch hour.

The Way to Happiness Association wants this event to bring people together who care about the environment so they can connect and can do bigger things. TWTH was formed around the book The Way To Happiness, written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. The Way to Happiness has twenty-one precepts based on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others. One of these precepts is “Safeguard and Improve the Environment,” which takes to heart the care for the planet.

World Environment Day occurs each year on June 5th and is celebrated by the United Nations. According to unep.org, World Environment Day “…has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also serves as the ‘people’s day’ for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet.”


For more information on “Green It Up,” or if you would like to participate, send an email to twthnashville@gmail.com. 

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Drug-Free Tennessee Working with Others to Combat Abuse

Drug-Free Tennessee is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, and has been hard at work spreading its message during events with other organizations.

Within the last month, there have been over 700 drug-related crimes in the Metro Nashville area alone, according to crimemapping.org. “We need to spread a positive drug-free message and educate as many people as possible and as fast as possible,” says Brian Fesler, regional coordinator for Drug-Free Tennessee.

For this very reason, Drug-Free Tennessee (DFT) has been out in the community at two events just this past week, handing out information and spreading the word. The first, an event put on by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to help encourage congregations and faith-based organizations to encourage recovery from substance abuse; the second, a community gathering at the Midtown Hills Police Precinct to help connect area residents with resources.

DFT is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW), which is based in Los Angeles and has as its mission to educate people about the dangerous effects of drugs so they understand and can make informed choices on the subject.

Fesler says, “There is a need in our communities to educate everyone on drugs, drugs impact all our lives in one way or another. That’s why we work with others so people can get a complete overview.”

For more information on Drug-Free Tennessee, visit drugfreetn.org.