ROCKET MAN

The Crazy Life & Work of

L RON HUBBARD

NOT a Publication of the

Church of Scientology

JEFFREY DAUGHERTY
To Breeze and Jonathan
ROCKET MAN
The Crazy Life & Work of
L RON HUBBARD

by
Jeffrey Daugherty
 Copyright ©2014 by Jeffrey Daugherty
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or
distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
First Edition: June, 2014
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN
If you can not tell from the title of this little work then let
me assure you that it is not being written by a
Scientologist. I am not now, nor have I ever been a
member of this group or any of its affiliates—and thus
this book is not in any way an official work of Dianetics,
Scientology or anything of the like.

I must however confess to a nearly life long fascination

with L Ron Hubbard (LRH from here on). I was born in
Clearwater, Florida in the spring of 1963 and raised in
Seminole, the city immediately to its south. If that name
rings a bell, it is because it was to this very Clearwater
that LRH moved his worldwide headquarters in 1974,
purchasing the Fort Harrison Hotel. I was in my late pre-
teen years and my first experience with the Scientologists
was going down to the Fort Harrison and throwing eggs
at the building—and any unlucky Scientologists who
were still about in their uniforms late on weekend nights.
The fact that we met with little resistance and no
punishment was evidence of the welcome Clearwater
gave LRH and his followers.

LRH of course has come and gone, but his fortress stands
both strong and widely expanded. The Fort Harrison
Hotel withstood our bombardments and now anchors
several city blocks worth of Church development
downtown. Church money, influence, and the fact they
own virtually every inch of real estate now affords them
protection from all but the most intrepid of mischievous
marauders.

In the intervening years I have had the opportunity to

work with and come to know a few people that are
i
Scientologists. Like with most people, I like some of
them, and others not so much. I will say that I have
found them to be for the most part highly motivated and
success oriented—with a surprising percentage of them
smokers and world-class cussers. I think this perspective
gives me a more balanced and objective view than most
who have written about LRH and the religion he
founded.

And so, I dedicate this short, no-holds-barred look at the

longish life and work of LRH to these people, several of
which I call friends. They have certainly helped me put a
different face on their Church, and I do sincerely hope I
never hit one of them with a rotten egg.

ii
 Jesus, just the mention of your name.
Flowers grow, the desert blooms again.
Like fire in winter cold, like pure precious gold.
Jesus, just the mention of your name.

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard.

L. Ron Hubbard.
LRH
In stark contrast to the words of the old hymn quoted
above, the mention of THIS name draws quite a different
reaction.

LRH, just the mention of your name.

Flowers wilt, fertile fields become barren again.
Like ice in winter cold, like a rubber crutch to a man
that's old.
LRH, just the mention of your name.

L Ron Hubbard has become an ecclesiastical boogey-

man, a by-word thrown about by those in places of
religious power as an example of what can happen when
you stray from the party line.

“Don't question us or you'll end up in a cult like L. Ron

Hubbard's!

It's a part SOMEONE has to play, after all, for in

enlightened, open-minded, religiously tolerant America
there has always been and always will be a particular
religious group that it's acceptable (even encouraged) to
1
hate. This long list of infamy includes the circuit riding
preachers of early to mid 1800's, the Millerites of the late
1800's, and just after that, Ellen G. White's Adventists,
nobody's Pentecostals, C. T. Russell's Jehovah's
Witnesses and Joseph Smith's merry band of Mormons
were good enough to provide a veritable cornucopia of
targets all through the 1900's. Today, as we roar into the
twentieth century, things have slowed down a bit, and
with only occasional competition from a David Koresh
type or a crazy comet-riding computer cult, and of course
those evil Muslims, L. Ron Hubbard and his Church of
Scientology stand unopposed as acceptable targets for
righteous religious hatred. They are the ultimate 'THEM'
to our 'US'.

Poor L. Ron Hubbard.

One could almost feel sorry for the guy.

Almost.

However you see L Ron Hubbard; Visionary, Prophet,

Crook, or Kook, I guarantee you I will, in these few short
pages, show you a side of the life and work of the man
that you have neither seen nor heard. And if you've
never heard, or have heard very little of the fellow, get
ready to be entertained. Because whatever L. Ron
Hubbard was, and whatever his true legacy is, the man
never failed to be interesting.

And the most interesting aspect of the longish life and

work of L. Ron Hubbard are its glaring contradictions
and baffling inconsistencies. It is simultaneously a story
2
of a pioneer of self-help and a proponent of mind control;
a gifted teacher and a concealer of knowledge; a fearless
adventurer and a cowering recluse; a man of courage and
a abject coward. A man equal parts demon and saint,
capable of bringing great enlightenment and gross
exploitation.

The man's nickname was 'Brick'.

Now that's what I call appropriate.

Before we get into his life and the lessons from it, allow
me to draw a brief thumbnail sketch.

-Left high school in 11th grade after stuffing a teacher in a

garbage can following an exchange of fire where
Hubbard threw a piece of chalk and the teacher an eraser.
-Traveled extensively across the Far East and studied
many different forms of spirituality.
-Studied engineering, molecular and atomic physics and
was a poor student.
-Commanded 2 U.S. Navy vessels. Fired on Japanese
submarines in the waters of of Oregon and was busted for
using Mexican islands for target practice.
-As a science fiction writer he often filled whole
magazines by himself at a penny a page by writing under
several pseudonyms—at times on command while the
editor waited.
-Was an ardent practitioner of hypnotism and Thelmeic
magick, excelling at both.
-Still holds the Guinness World Record for most
published author, with 1,084 works (Guinness World
Records. Retrieved February 12, 2011) as well as the
record for most translated book (70 languages for The
3
Way to Happiness).

Now tell me that's not interesting.

LRH traveled extensively. Sleeping very little and being

both a voracious reader and brilliant conversationalist, he
passed many hours talking with indigenous religious and
spiritual practitioners and leaders. It was during these
extended conversations that LRH was able to glean vast
amounts of information on various spiritual techniques
and practices. His nearly eidetic memory allowed him to
retain virtually all of what he saw and heard. It is the
author's studied conviction that the practices, procedures
and technologies he would later employ first in
Diantetics and later in Scientology, were the result of his
mixing and matching of what he thought were the most
effective techniques he had seen and learned—and not a
few that were 'borrowed' from Self-Help pioneer
Napoleon Hill, in my opinion. Thus, VERY LITTLE of
what Diantetics and Scientology teach and practice is
truly ORIGINAL. The fact is that many very useful and
highly effective technologies exist within the labyrinth of
Scientology. The problem is being able to gain access to
the good without being strangled spiritually and
financially by the bad.

Spiritual technologies are spiritual technologies. If they

work, they work, and the prudent do well to employ
them. Many people are automatically and reflexively
against anything that “comes from Scientology”. The
fact is that NOTHING truly comes from Scientology—in
regard to spiritual technologies—that LRH didn't see
working very well SOMEWHERE ELSE and choose to
4
IMPORT it.

LRH was many things but stupid was not one of them.
He only imported the best techniques. If one can gain
access to some of these highly workable modalities
without having to mortgage life or limb or any such
thing, then it is highly recommended. I myself openly
confess to having done so.

LRH attended some the the nation's first formal academic

classes in molecular and atomic physics. His working
knowledge of the reality of energy and how it interacts in
the universe helped shape much of his later discovery and
practice. He was by no means a great student but the
man was unquestionably ahead of the proverbial power
curve on the understanding of energy and particles.
Thus, what he has to say does bear at least some guarded
inquiry.

LRH was ahead of his time on the nature and use of

energy and its application. That is one of the main
reasons Dianetics was such a smash success in a
relatively short time after he introduced it. It took off
because it taught people things they had never heard
before, things that in a great deal of cases, WORKED.
The devil in the details is separating the technologies
from the ecclesiastical control structure while remaining
unscathed.

LRH rose to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade in the

United States Navy. I would say they don't make
dummies officers in the Navy, but I spent a few years in
the United States Air Force and my experience there
5
proved that to not always be the case. I have no doubt
there is a similar phenomenon in the Navy. Lieutenant
Hubbard was however given command of not one, but
TWO ships. They might give a dummy one command,
but getting the second had to require at least some skill,
or at the VERY least some demonstrated potential. Point
being that LRH did possess some skills, and he no doubt
parlayed his Navy travels into more research into
spirituality and the techniques thereof. Leadership skills
gained there surely helped him grow his organization into
an international behemoth.

I find one of LRH's war stories fascinating in particular.

While commanding the submarine chaser USS PC-815
off the coastal waters of Oregon in 1942 and '43, he
claimed to have sighted and attacked two JAPANESE
submarines, again, off the coast of OREGON, in
1942/43. Though he has routinely been laughed to scorn
over such assertions, recent discoveries and disclosures
have revealed to many minds that there was MUCH more
going on in the Pacific regards the Japanese in World
War II. It is entirely possible that LRH wasn't so crazy
after all (at least in this case). And it is worth mentioning
that the man fired off 37 depth charges in 55 hours. He
certainly could not be accused of holding back!

I find another one of LRH's war stories HILARIOUS.

One you probably won't hear about in Scientology circles
and one I sincerely doubt he told at dinner parties. The
bored Lt. Hubbard one day decided to use some Mexican
islands for target practice, and for that, he lost his
command for good.

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Ay caramba!

By the way, LRH eventually became 'Commodore' of his

own private fleet. Guess he preferred the sound of
'Commodore' to 'Admiral'.

Hubbard also enjoyed a prolific writing career which

began humbly in the 1930's writing for a penny a page.
His indefatigable work ethic and at least some skill
helped him rise in the Science Fiction writer's community
until he was regularly mentioned in the same breath with
the likes of Asminov and Heinlein. More than one of his
writer friends—or perhaps we should call them
acquaintances—are on record saying that, even in a room
full of writers, LRH was able to regale entire cocktail
parties and hold them spellbound with his stories and
orations. He also wrote several Hollywood screen plays.
By the way, one of the more dubious quotes often
attributed to LRH is the one that goes something along
the line of, “If a man really wanted to make a million
dollars he should start a religion.” From my research I
would have to say that was actually said by Heinlein or
was wholly apocryphal.

One of the more fascinating and controversial periods of

his life saw LRH witness the birth of the rocket age AND
perhaps open the PORTAL that ushered in the American
UFO era.

First the Rocket Man. Well, actually LRH was the friend
of the rocket man, but that was just too long for the title
of this little work. Circumstances (and by that I mean
being rather unceremoniously separated from the Navy
7
with a small disability stipend) led LRH to rent a room at
the home—actually the mansion—of one Jack Parsons.
Now Mr. Parsons was quite the interesting and eclectic
fellow, so naturally he and LRH fell deeply into
bromance almost immediately (figuratively, mind you,
not literally, as far as my research can tell, anyway).
Parsons was a true rocket man, a leading rocket
propulsion research at Cal Tech and one of the original
founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which was of
course the birthplace of NASA, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration. Parsons was NASA before
there was NASA. And he and LRH were best buddies.
Folks, you can't make this stuff up.

Before I get to their other interesting activities in things

Thelemic, magickal and occultic, let's first talk about
what the Rocket Men did in regards to UFO's.

Parsons and LRH were working hand in hand with one

Aliester Crowley (yes, THAT Aliester Crowley) on a
project they called the Babylon Working—which is a
book in itself. Basically they were trying to open a portal
to another dimension in order to let a supernatural being
through. And now you know what rocket scientists do
for fun. They concentrated their experiments in an area
known as—believe it or not—Devil's Gate Dam. Parsons
and Crowley were convinced the area contained a portal
between dimensions. Crowley actually thought it one of
the seven gates to hell. (Hey, it WAS Aliester Crowley).
Parsons was trying to locate and open it while LRH
reportedly asked why they didn't just “Blow a damn hole
in it”. Patience was not one of Ron's virtues it seems.
Maybe the portal looked like a Mexican island to him.
8
What finally ended up happening is that the Rocket Men
DID succeed in opening the portal. Parsons reported that
a great craft zoomed past them and disappeared as the
portal opened.

Eureka!

Well, seems there were a couple of issues. Fall-out if

you will. Though they did not really did a good look at
what zoomed by them and did not have any idea where
the thing went, this all took place in May of 1947. Any
one remember what happened in June/July of 1947? Let
me give you a hint. It was a little thing called the
ROSWELL INCIDENT. Now I am not saying it was the
Rocket Man's ship that crashed a few weeks later in
Roswell with little green men aboard, but I am saying the
coincidence is damn peculiar. And from that time to this
we have seen an explosion of UFO sitings and incidents.

Thank you LRH, Rocket Man.

And the residents of Southern California also wish to

convey their thanks to the Rocket Man for the unbroken
chain of CRAZY PARANORMAL events that have
taken place in and around Devil's Gate Damn since the
days of the Babylon Working. These includes child
disappearances, strange deaths, a steady stream of
suicides, and regular sitings of what people describe as
demonic creatures climbing the rocks, bridge and other
areas of the Dam.

And in other news of what rocket scientists and their

buddies do for fun, as part of the Babylon working the
9
boys were trying to manifest the perfect sex partner by
employing sexual magick. I won't go into the process
here but let's just say it included the use of a magic
'wand' and that it worked. Parson's ideal lover showed up
within a few weeks, only to be stolen away by, you
guessed it, LRH, only months later. Maybe she liked his
wand better. Boys will be boys.

And for the record, Parsons wrote to Crowley telling him

that LRH was, “The most Thelemic person I have ever
met and is completely in accord with our principals.”
Yes, that was written before Ron stole his girlfriend. It
must be said that whatever LRH did, he rarely did it half
way.

In the early 1950's LRH started into the work for which
he is best known. He wrote a book entitled Dianetics and
founded an organization under the same name.
Remarkably, the book was nearly 700 pages and LRH
wrote it in 30 days in a single draft. That my friends is
amazing. As originally formulated it was very much a
type of Self-Help technology in the vein of contemporary
writers of the genre in that day. Men like Napoleon Hill,
Norman Vincent Peale and W. Clement Stone. In fact,
the author has noticed SEVERAL common themes in the
writings of Napoleon Hill and LRH in particular. I
cannot say with certainty how widespread the ideas were
in that day, but seeing as this many years later Hill is still
revered as the Father of the Self-Help movement, and
having read both men extensively and noting that Hill
was LRH's senior by some thirty years (and much the
better writer, in my opinion) I must confess to SERIOUS
suspicions about how much LRH directly appropriated
10
from Mr. Hill. I know that is quite a statement to make.
Did I mention LRH stole his best friend's girl?

Diantetics was a success by any measure. Even notables

such as Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) received
Dianetic auditing; which is a form of guided
meditation/counseling/therapy, from LRH personally.
And noted author and poet Jean Toomer (Cane) as well
as fellow Science Fiction writers Theodore Strugeon
(More Than Human) and A. E. van Vogt (Slan) went so
far as to join LRH and become Dianetic Auditors. These
were the people that actually did the auditing work. They
are more or less a sort of de facto clergy.

It was in the mid to late 1950's that the ideas of LRH

began to morph into the realms of spirituality and
religion. There is an optimistic and pessimistic way to
look at this development. Let's take the optimist's view
first.

LRH had discovered that Dianetics, with all its efficacy,

could only improve the physical human being. His
realization that the human being, the body, was only a
vehicle for the true person, or spirit, called for more
advanced technologies. His development/incorporation
of techniques for realizing this dichotomy and gaining
separation of spirit (which he called the 'Thetan')
necessitated the creation of the Church of Scientology.
The realization of the body/spirit dichotomy and the
teaching that we are spirits running bodies not bodies
with spirits AND the development of some pretty darn
effective technologies (again, almost all of this was
borrowed and synthesized from other disciplines) was
11
revolutionary and way ahead of his time. As a spiritual
practitioner I have to say that there are just aren't too
many better technologies than LRH's “Be three feet
behind the back of your head” for helping people realize
their true energetic nature and gain separation from the
physical body.

Much of the new material was very helpful—despite

LRH's insistence on weird, new terminology for
everything. I suspect he created his new lexicon as a
device to help mask the fact that he imported so much of
the knowledge and techniques from other people and
places.

On the pessimistic side, the formation and rise of the

Church of Scientology started the inevitable march
towards a highly controlled system of belief, doctrine,
and practice which swallowed Dianetics whole and
permanently and completely moved LRH outside the Self
Help genre. The Church of Scientology was absolutely
necessary and greatly helped guard LRH from the very
real threat of losing control of his creation. Diantetics
had been set up as a loose association of interested
participants that were free to develop and market their
own techniques and operate independently.

Scientology changed all that. The Diantetics model was

scrapped, replaced by a ultra-autoritarian top-down
bureaucracy that controlled every aspect of the lives of its
adherents. Paranoia reigned supreme as the newly
minted Scientologists viewed the outside world as their
enemy and every question and less than kind observation
as a frontal assault—which of course led to REAL frontal
12
assaults. This also created a world within a world where
members wrote reports on one another and were subject
to random and regular tests on an 'E-Meter' (a kind of lie
detector device) to ensure loyalty and ascertain if they
had “Ever had less that kind thoughts about LRH”. This
was definitely not a Self-Help any more.

The 1960's and early 70's brought rapid growth in

Scientology and were were the best of times and the
worst of times for LRH. They were unmatched in terms
of worldly health and wealth. He was cavorting about
the globe on luxury yachts staffed by attractive young
girls in Naval-themed hot pants and halter tops catering
to his every whim, preaching his Scientology gospel
while the coffers of his temples were exploding with
more than enough to help LRH think and grow very rich.
Not bad work if you can get it.

It was the best of times.

However, in what we would call spiritual terms, LRH

almost completely removed himself from any direct
auditing or even running the burgeoning Church. He
seemed to be busy only with spending what Scientology
earned. The best of times, the worst of times indeed.

However, there is no doubt that the seeds of his ultimate

demise were sown then, and as the Biblical writer
promised, LRH spent the last of his years reaping a bitter
harvest.

By the end of the swingin' 1970's LRH was a man

without a country trying to keep himself one step ahead
13
of the proverbial long arm of the law of several nations.
Now forced to live aboard his ships full time and move
constantly to avoid apprehension, his health—both
physical and psychological, deteriorated badly, as did
control over his empire. By the early 1980's he was
facing IRS indictment for tax fraud, as well as a coup de
tat of sorts. Seems his absence in day to day Church
activities emboldened a purge of many veteran
Scientologists by a young upstart named David
Miscavige. This putsch made Miscavige de facto leader
of the Church, and left the family of LRH summarily
disgraced. His wife was dismissed completely and his
youngest daughter barely survived—as maid to
Miscavige! Health problems mounted for LRH,
including complications from chain-smoking (told ya),
bursitis, issues with his weight, a large growth on his
forehead, and lingering complications from a stroke and
brief coma. By the late 80's chronic pancreatitis was
added to the list of ailments.

It was the worst of times.

On January 24, 1986, in a luxury Bluebird motor home

on a 160 acre ranch near Creston, California, the longish
life of Lafayette Ronald Hubbard came to an end when
he died from complications of a stroke suffered a week
earlier. His legacy is now being carried forward by the
likes of Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and at
least hundreds of thousands of lesser known souls that
make up the Church of his founding.

Scientology claims to be the fastest growing religion in

the world with adherents numbering as many as 8
14
million. Those numbers are widely disputed, some
would say wildly exaggerated. Some researchers have
claimed that they include every person that has ever
purchased a Church related book as a member. (Egads,
AM I a member??) There is little argument however that
the Church of Scientology remains a powerful and
growing force some 30 years after the death of LRH.

But what is the REAL legacy of LRH? What TRUE

lessons can we take away from one of the more
interesting lives ever lived? I have taken the liberty of
humbling suggesting a few.

“Be CAREFUL what you WISH for.”

Several who knew LRH as a younger man have
mentioned that fame and fortune were among his greatest
desires. Neither is inherently evil, but what we learn
from LRH is that this duo make GOOD SERVANTS but
POOR MASTERS. He ended up getting both in large
measure. And they killed him.

“You REAP what you SOW.”

One must keep their main focus their main focus. The
main thing must remain the main thing. LRH lost his
original focus on Self-Help, and then lost himself in self-
indulgence. In spite of all the good one has done, and
even in the midst of doing more, the law of SOWING
and REAPING will not be mocked. If you hurt people,
or allow people under your authority to either be hurt or
hurt others themselves, you will eventually have to pay
the reaper—and he normally demands payment in kind,
and in full.

15
Be who you are MEANT TO BE, no matter the cost!
One thing LRH was ABSOLUTELY right about was the
need for everyone to discover, embrace, and live
according to their BASIC PURPOSE with 'burn all
bridges' dedication (Incidentally, this is one of THOSE
things both LRH and Napoleon Hill talked a lot about).
You will never be happy and fulfilled if you do not. In
fact you will be MISERABLE and the rest of us will
MISS OUT on what you were MEANT to bring to us.

Recognize that you are a SPIRIT that runs a BODY.

No great spiritual feat is possible until you KNOW this,
and are able to gain this separation any time you choose,
without great effort.

Learn to be at CAUSE, not EFFECT.

Most people slog through existence, as the Bible says,
being “Tossed to and fro like the waves of the sea.” This
is called being at EFFECT. In this state you do not
control your own destiny. You are but a hapless victim
of circumstance. You are one of the sad billions waiting
for their ship to come in. Hope you packed a lunch.

By contrast, people living at CAUSE are the “Captains of

their own destiny” as Napoleon Hill wrote. In this state
you are NOT being driven by the currents and waves.
YOU are propelling your own way, and if need be you
will gladly swim UPSTREAM. Those living at CAUSE
swim out to meet their ships!

WORK hard at what you LOVE and you WILL make

a name for yourself.
The power and intention of a person living according to
16
their BASIC PURPOSE who knows that THERE IS NO
SUCH THING AS SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
simply cannot long be resisted by the forces of nature,
and will soon make its manifest destiny burst full-force
into reality. They simply CANNOT and WILL NOT be
denied.

And so there you have it—or at least my two cents worth.

In the final analysis LRH was likely not as brilliant as the

Scientologists find him, nor as bad as the rest of us do.
History will likely show that he was neither Messiah nor
Monster, but just another poor sap that got sidetracked
along the way. His condemnation may well lie in those
he took with him.

I rather tend to think of him LRH as a kind of Dr.

Frankenstein. Both he and the mythical doctor started
out with at least some purity in motive, only to become
victims of monsters of their own creations. Both
monsters, interesting, were built with borrowed parts. I
guess we have to say that both men become monsters of a
sort themselves, complete with pitchfork wielding (and
egg-flinging) villagers storming their gates.

Whatever we think of Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, the

great tragedy would be to not learn something from a
longish life lived largely and colorfully.

RIP, LRH....if you can.

17
CAUSE EFFECT
Any questions?
JEFFREY DAUGHERTY was for 20 years a
Pentecostal Evangelist licensed by the 3 largest
Pentecostal denominations in the world. He is a graduate
of Berean School of the Bible and Blue Mountain
College, both with honors. Jeffrey now leads
New Cosmic Knowledge and helps people all over the
world reach their full spiritual, mental and physical
potential while continuing his work in Parabilical
Research, Spiritual Technologies and Self
Empowerment. Jeffrey has been featured on many
national shows including
Coast To Coast AM With George Noory.

www.iamnck.com
407.968.2891 (USA Eastern Time)

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