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Since the deployment of the first atomic weapons, people everywhere have lived with the possibility that everything they hold dear - their lives, their families, their careers and even the human species itself - could be extinguished in a few moments of devastation. Such consequences would be so overwhelming that, for many, the only defense is a hope it will never happen. Yet as the number of countries with atomic and nuclear weapons has risen and an international black market actively trades nuclear materials, action is likely to prove a far stronger deterrent than hope.

To overcome tyranny is to win freedom as a people, a nation or even mankind. Yet to benefit fully from their liberties, each man and woman must also be free - as individuals. In regard to freedom as a nation, here is the remarkable story of how one man, the Athenian statesman Pericles, envisioned a better future for mankind a future free from tyranny. Thus developed a principle at the heart of modern civilization - specifically, that the individual citizen has a right to his own opinions, a right to be heard and a right to know and participate in government.

Every human being seeks to know the truth about himself and to resolve to his own satisfaction the mysteries of life. And therefore, for many thousands of years, countless philosophical and religious teachings have sought to enlighten people with answers. But where their practitioners insisted - indeed, demanded - that their answers must be the answers, they blocked the road to greater freedom for millions of people. For as history tells, to force an individual to accept a truth instead of permitting him to find truth is a road not to freedom, but to slavery of thought and belief.

When still a young man attending university, Ron observed that those working in the humanities had no training in the exact sciences. Believing that the precision of the scientific method might furnish a solution to the problems of life and livingness, he urged faculty members of the psychology department to apply the principles of physics to the field of the mind. It was an entirely novel approach. And when no one took up the challenge - either then or in later years - Ron undertook the task himself. Unlocking a wealth of answers about human beings and their potentials, he did indeed resolve the long-standing riddle of the mind.

Your mind: It is your constant companion. You live with it 24 hours a day, every day of your life. Yet man has known practically nothing about how it works. And from marriages that end in divorce to careers that wind up in frustration, from tensions that interfere with work to conflicts that divide nations, virtually every human crisis can be traced to man’s ignorance of the mind. Imagine, then, the potential benefits of finding the answers....

Here is a story that begins with Ron’s immersion in a deeply spiritual, deeply traditional Asia, where he met and befriended - among other savants - the last of the great magicians whose predecessors served in the court of Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Yet not withstanding the feats that testified to remarkable powers, here was a land where wisdom was deemed sacred - so sacred, in fact, these Oriental holy men declined to use their considerable abilities to solve the real and urgent problems of living.

From the dawn of time, Man has cherished the hope he could achieve a greater freedom. That hope, articulated by the greatest religious leaders across the centuries, has time and again renewed his strength to face the future. But with no practical means to convert hope to reality, the goal of a greater freedom remained, for most if not all, a distant and unattainable dream.Then, with the onset of the twentieth century, came the rapid and unprecedented advance of the physical sciences.

It has been bought and sold in a thousand dramas. It has been preached about from every pulpit - debated, contested, condemned and exalted. And with no means to accurately measure or quantify it, the physical sciences either ignored it or denied its very existence. The human soul. Here, then, is a discovery all the more remarkable for being grounded not merely on faith and belief, but on proofs as irrefutable as any in science. Using the most exact tools of thought to isolate the most in exactly understood aspect of a human being, Ron established that there is, indeed, a soul.

Money is, of course, something with which everyone is familiar. But how many people truly understand the role money plays in the society? Judging from the duress and anxiety associated with this subject, few people are aware of the real purpose and function of money. Here Ron delineates its proper role in assisting the survival of individuals, groups and cultures. What becomes clear is that money owes its unsavory reputation not to its use, but to its abuse.

In a world of unpredictable forces racing headlong toward an uncertain future, how can a single individual control his own fate? How can he safeguard the well-being of his family, the prosperity of his group and the security of his nation? Must he mutely await the next unforeseen blow, which might well signal the end of all dreams and aspirations? Or should he endeavor by whatever means, through whatever plan, to secure the future for those he cherishes and the society in which he lives? Here, then, is Ron's unforgettable answer to such questions.

From his adventurous youth in a rough-and-tumble American West to his far-flung trek across a still-mysterious Asia; from his two-decade search for the essence of life to the triumph of Dianetics and Scientology - such is the story Ron recounts in a lecture so legendary, it has been heard by millions. How could one man discover the source of all human aberration and provide an actual technology by which man could rise to greater heights of honesty, decency, and personal freedom? The answer is here, in Ron’s personal account of his long journey to bring about a new state of being.

No matter the varied experiences or activities of individuals, everyone is seeking to survive and that is the only common denominator to all life. Then, examining life still more closely, he further discovered that survival subdivided into eight separate urges or drives, known as the Eight Dynamics. In brief, one seeks to survive for (1) oneself, (2) the family and the future generation, (3) one's group, (4) Mankind, (5) all life organisms, (6) the physical universe, (7) as or for spirits, and (8) the Supreme Being, or infinity.

An extraordinary drama played out across thousands of years, Man’s long search to penetrate the mystery of "the other fellow" - and thereby to know himself - found its expression not only in philosophy and religion, but even in war and conquest. Yet in spite of, or perhaps because of, the crucial intensity of this quest, its continuing failure down the centuries accumulated ever-deepening problems for Man. Hence, in desperation, he eventually abandoned the search entirely - in 1879, to be precise. And into the vacuum of its failure there stepped a new and deadly theory.

What malignant seed grows in the human mind that not only prevents individuals from "thinking straight," but forces them to act out their irrationalities? Man's failure over many millennia to find the cause of aberration has exacted an incalculable toll in personal unhappiness and ruined lives. But were the answer found, the horizons would be unlimited. Individuals could achieve the lasting success they desire. Families would thrive, united and strong. Groups and organizations would reach new levels of prosperity.

It has no mass or location. It is not energy. Yet it is alive. And it gives life. Such are the characteristics of “a life-giving unit” - the source not only of all thought, but of all that is decent, ethical and noble. Indeed, this is you. The discovery that each individual is, in fact, a source of life radically alters the relationship between Man and the material universe. Based not on faith or belief but on axioms as precise and workable as any in science, it has been conclusively determined that the life-giving unit preceded matter, energy, space and time.

Today weapons exist powerful enough to annihilate whole nations. And violence has become commonplace, often in disregard of human life. Why has there been such a lessening of moral responsibility and, most important, what can be done about it? In providing the answers to these questions, Ron explores the history of Man’s research and investigation in the field of the human spirit. As he details many remarkable phenomena familiar in past ages, yet unknown to most people today, what emerges is that as mechanical technologies became ascendant, nothing parallel emerged to bring religion into the realm of day-to-day application.

What is life? Such was the central question Ron posed when setting out to unravel the riddle of human existence. After examining all aspects and elements of existence, he arrived at an altogether startling discovery - one which suddenly clarified all life’s various phenomena: Life is a game. In this lecture, Ron explains why life is best understood by likening it to a game, whereupon he defines both its prerequisites and conditions, showing that it follows the rules of any game.

The single word "liberty" articulates not only basic rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, but many other vital concepts: opportunity, choice, security, and even happiness. Indeed, it is a word that symbolizes the dreams and goals of every human being. Yet it's very power makes it liable to abusive ends entirely opposed to its true meaning. In consequence, both individual and national freedoms can be eroded in a manner that escapes detection.

Help pervades every part of life. Yet few people realize the degree to which it determines their survival. For the willingness to give and receive help lies at the foundation of all human reactions and behavior. How does one increase a person's confidence, improve his ability to communicate with others and heighten his interest in life? The answers all start with help, and they are contained in a series of techniques so effective they can practically "awaken the dead."

The most popular book ever published on the human mind, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, generated an unprecedented wave of popular demand for personal instruction from the author. This lecture is L. Ron Hubbard’s first recorded spoken word on the breakthrough technology that inspired a movement now spanning every culture, across every continent, in over 50 languages. Here, then, is where the adventure began, an exploration into Terra Incognita - the mind.