26. Western Congress

   With Scientologists in the western United States clamoring for a Congress in their own locales, L. Ron Hubbard convened a “Western Congress” in Phoenix, Arizona. What particularly set this Congress apart was how he imparted the data on his latest breakthroughs, for as reported in the Journal of Scientology, “presentation of technical material was kept to an absolute minimum, L. Ron Hubbard presenting the majority of the important technique and procedure in the form of processes upon the group.” In this way, he provided a model for delegates to group process people in their own communities, with the concentration on Standard Operating Procedure 8-C (SOP 8-C) and Self Analysis lists. Here, too, was Mr. Hubbard’s introduction of the new audio meter (later known as a “beep meter”), the most advanced meter to date, not only featuring a probe that could register pain spots on a human being but providing the means to demonstrate that a being can create an energy current in another being.

   In sum, here was a Congress packed with technical data, expanding the ranks of trained Scientologists who carried these breakthroughs to a broader public and, thereby, generating a healthy crop of new field groups.