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Study Materials · Life Conditions

The Conditions Formulas

Every area of life is always in one of these states — and each state has an exact set of steps that raises it. Knowing your condition, and doing the formula in order, is how you move a struggling part of life upward.

A condition is a state of operation. A person can be in a different condition in each area of life at once — steady at work, in trouble at home, just getting started with money. Each condition below has a formula: a sequence of steps. The steps must be done in order — reversing them undoes the gain. They are listed here from the highest condition down to the lowest.

Power ChangePowerAffluenceNormalEmergency DangerNon-ExistenceLiabilityDoubtEnemy TreasonConfusion
▴ highest

Power Change

Taking over a new area, or handing one off — a change at the top.

Formula

When taking over a new post, change nothing until you are thoroughly familiar with your new zone of power.

Power

Sustained abundance — a new, higher normal that holds.

Formula
  1. Don't disconnect.
  2. Write up your own post (record how it all works so it can carry on).

Affluence

A steep, sudden improvement — an abundance.

Formula
  1. Economize.
  2. Pay every bill.
  3. Invest the remainder in service facilities.
  4. Discover what caused the condition of Affluence and strengthen it.

Normal (Operation)

Steady and gradually improving.

Formula
  1. Don't change anything.
  2. Ethics are very mild.
  3. Every time a statistic betters, look it over carefully and find out what bettered it — and then do that, without abandoning what you were doing before.
  4. Every time a statistic worsens slightly, quickly find out why and remedy it.

Emergency

Declining or stalled — an area that is no longer growing.

Formula
  1. Promote (for an individual: produce).
  2. Change your operating basis.
  3. Economize.
  4. Prepare to deliver.
  5. Stiffen discipline.

Danger

A threat serious enough that normal routine won't handle it.

Formula
  1. Bypass — handle the situation and any danger in it personally.
  2. Handle the situation and any danger in it.
  3. Assign the area where it had to be handled a Danger condition.
  4. Assign each individual connected with the Danger condition a Personal Danger condition and see the formula is followed completely; if not, do a full ethics investigation and take the actions indicated.
  5. Reorganize the activity so that the situation does not repeat.
  6. Recommend firm policy that will hereafter detect and/or prevent the condition from recurring.

Non-Existence

New, unknown, or starting over — not yet established in an area.

Formula
  1. Find a communication line.
  2. Make yourself known.
  3. Discover what is needed or wanted.
  4. Do, produce and/or present it.

Every new resident starts here — get on the lines, be known, find out what's needed, and deliver it.

Liability

Has become a liability to the group — doing more harm than good.

Formula
  1. Decide who are one's friends.
  2. Deliver an effective blow to the enemies of the group one has been pretending to be part of, despite personal danger.
  3. Make up the damage one has done by personal contribution far beyond the ordinary demands of a group member.
  4. Apply for re-entry to the group by asking the permission of each member of it to rejoin, and rejoining only by majority permission.

Doubt

Unable to make up one's mind about a person, group, or project.

Formula
  1. Inform oneself honestly of the actual intentions and activities of that group, project or organization, brushing aside all bias and rumor.
  2. Examine the statistics of the individual, group, project or organization.
  3. Decide on the basis of "the greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics" whether or not it should be attacked, harmed or suppressed or helped.
  4. Evaluate oneself or one's own group, project or organization as to intentions and objectives.
  5. Evaluate one's own or one's group, project or organization's statistics.
  6. Join or remain in or befriend the one which progresses toward the greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics, and announce the fact publicly to both sides.
  7. Do everything possible to improve the actions and statistics of the person, group, project or organization one has remained in or joined.
  8. Suffer on up through the conditions in the new group if one has changed sides, or the conditions of the group one has remained in if wavering from it has lowered one's status.

Enemy

Openly opposed — treating oneself or the group as the enemy.

Formula

Find out who you really are.

Treason

Betrayal after trust — a known and deliberate withdrawal of support.

Formula

Find out that you are.

▾ lowest

Confusion

No stable point — everything seems to be moving and nothing makes sense.

Formula
  1. Locational processing on the area in which one is (bring your attention to where you actually are).
  2. Compare where one is to other areas where one was.
  3. Repeat step 1.

In short: Find out where you are.

About this framework. The Conditions and their formulas were developed by L. Ron Hubbard as part of Scientology ethics. The wording of the formulas above is drawn from published Scientology materials and is provided here as a study reference only. Heart's Recovery Residence uses the conditions as a practical, self-honest tool for handling the ups and downs of daily life alongside the Twelve Steps of AA. The residence is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official part of the Church of Scientology or Alcoholics Anonymous.