The running of concepts is a new development in processing which replaces, to a large degree except in psychotic cases, what formerly was called Straight Wire.
Individuals commonly are able to obtain a concept much more easily than they can obtain a specific memory. Furthermore, when they run a concept, it is run out of an incident in which they are fixed, rather than out of the locks, where it does little good.
Concept Running is the term given to this portion of Technique 80, and Concept Running alone is used for the light process running of Technique 80.
The dictionary definition of concept is “an abstract general notion or conception.” One has the concept, for instance, that another is tired, or that people are bored, or that he himself feels sorry for himself. Thought and emotion both are embraced in concepts.
Concepts are run on any and all dynamics.
Motivators, overt acts, DEDs, and DEDEXes (see What to Audit) all are run lightly on the conceptual level.
Heavy processing of effort and attention units is done as before with effort, counter-effort, attention units, and counter units.
The Hubbard Chart of Attitudes is one of the swiftest methods of Concept Running. Across the top of this chart we have concepts of a more or less ideal nature, such as I KNOW, I AM, CAUSE, CHANGE, WIN, etc. At the bottom end of the scale on this chart we have the reverse of these concepts, such as I KNOW NOT, I AM NOT, EFFECT, NO CHANGE, LOSE, etc. (The complete chart may be found in The Handbook for Preclears.)
In the first, the auditor merely requires the preclear to “get the concept of not being.” In the running of changing concepts, the auditor requires the preclear to get first the concept “I know not,” and then “scan” this up to the concept “I know.” In other words, in the process known as changing concepts, one runs bottom scale up to top scale concepts. This can produce some very fast rises in tone and can take an individual out of incidents in which he is fixed.
Additional Concept Running is done on the emotional scale of the Chart of Attitudes, which goes from apathy, cowardice and fear, up to exhilaration. One can run these as single concepts, which is to say, one emotion, or as a changing concept, from a base emotion to a higher emotion. In the latter case, one actually is running a reverse emotional curve.
Concept Running also includes specific thoughts. It does not include phrases and the auditor must be careful not to let the preclear repeat phrases, since these will repeat him into unconscious periods of engrams. Let the preclear simply get the concept contained in a phrase, and feel this concept rather than express it.
One also can combine a thought concept with an emotional concept. He can ask a preclear to get a concept of not liking dogs and, as he gets the concept, to actually feel that he dislikes dogs. Quite commonly the incident occasioning this dislike will come into view.
In the running of concepts, it must not be omitted that a preclear is quite often too low on the tone scale to remember things that are absolutely real to him, times when he was in good communication, etc. Further, the running of concepts actually can blunt his reality if he is permitted to go into incidents which are too heavy with these concepts, a thing an auditor finds difficult to prevent and about which he should not particularly worry beyond this remedy: After every period of Concept Running, the auditor should cause the preclear to remember specific incidents on the time track which seem absolutely real to him, and in which he was in good communication, where he felt affinity, or affinity was felt for him, or good communication was being given to him, and where he was able to give reality to someone.
Conditions and positions and states also may be run as concepts: the condition of being poor, of being happy, the position of something being near, far, high, or low — either socially, professionally, or actually — and the state of something being still, somebody standing, somebody lying down, something being in fast motion. The concepts in these cases can be combined with the concept of the desire to stop somebody from moving, or to start somebody who is not moving into motion.
The key concepts on any case are those to be found on the Chart of Attitudes. One can amplify this chart by putting the words “Try to” or “Trying to” in front of these conditions. Such as, the concept of trying to know, the concept of trying to get somebody else to know, the concept of trying to be, the concept of trying not to be, the concept of trying to get somebody else to be cause, etc.
All Concept Running is productive of considerable result, but, as in any type of processing, it must be remembered the preclear can get only a limited number of concepts as overt acts before he has to get concepts as motivators. He has to get a number of concepts as motivators before he can get them as overt acts. Thus, be sure to run Concept Running along all of the dynamics. For example, here is a routine that can be followed:
A chart of all possible aberrations would demonstrate that concepts can be fitted into an inner play of dynamics, so that the first dynamic feeling tiredness then could be rotated into the remaining dynamics feeling tiredness. Or one could take a group feeling tiredness on the part of individuals.
There is a validation type of Concept Running whereby one merely runs happy or corroborative states and data, top tone scale material. This can be run quite successfully, and often results in keying out low-level engrams.
In running attention units and counter units, one quite occasionally finds it advisable to ask the preclear to get a concept. The preclear is never asked to get a phrase. Because of newer and more efficacious techniques, phrases have not been run for almost a year.
Concept Running will be found quite as effective as Straight Wire, which it replaces.