engram

engram, in Scientology, a mental image of a past experience that produces a negative emotional effect in an individual’s life.

L. Ron Hubbard (1911–86), the founder of Scientology, believed that the basic principle of human existence is survival. He argued that actions that support survival are good and yield pleasure, while actions that are destructive, which he called “countersurvival actions,” perpetuate negative states. Each individual, he believed, possesses a mind that under normal conditions operates analytically to make survival-oriented judgments. However, when the mind is not fully functioning, a part of it that Hubbard called the reactive mind takes over, storing images of experiences, or engrams, which contain not only strong negative emotional content but also unrelated elements of the experience. A later encounter with these unrelated elements may bring forth negative emotional reactions from the stored engram and lead to countersurvival actions.

To help people bring engrams to their consciousness, to confront them, and thereby to eliminate them, Hubbard developed what he called “auditing,” a one-on-one counseling process in which a counselor, or auditor, facilitates individuals’ handling of their engrams. A key aspect of this process is the use of an instrument called an E-meter. According to Scientology teachings, the E-meter measures the strength of a small electrical current that passes through the body of the person undergoing auditing; the strength of the current indicates changes in emotional states that allow stored engrams to be identified. The goal of auditing was to become “Clear” by ridding the mind of engrams completely.