Confessional Procedure

Ron Hubbard developed a lot of technology and data about what is called Confessionals. Throughout his writings it is mainly called Security Checking. At one time it was called Integrity Processing. It was finally summarized under the heading of Confessionals. In CT we adopt the name Confessional as the main name. There is no technical differences under the different names. The different names were simply attempts to make a subject, that can be hard to confront or accept, more acceptable.

What is audited
Confessionals deal with Overts and Withholds, a subject matter that is also audited on Grade 2. But auditing a Confessional takes a much higher level of auditor skill. There are many different Confessional Forms. Each contain a long list of questions regarding possible Overts, crimes or bad deeds the pc may have committed in an area. These lists can be published lists, pertaining to a certain job, function or hat - even as a parent or married person; or they can be tailor made by the C/S to fit the exact environment and situation the pc is in or was in.

Whether published or tailor made, any Confessional list is designed on the basis of the moral code and activity it addresses. You are straightening up and cleaning up the pc's moral code. You do that by having the preclear confess to any and all breaches he or she may have committed. Thus the pc is made to 'come clean'. A moral code is a number of "Now I am supposed to's". It's "The do's and don't of life". Since a specific activity or hat has its own "Do's and don'ts" the questions are fitted to find the breaches the pc may have committed in the specific area and get them out in the open, confronted and owned up to. A Confessional is always designed on the basis of a specific code of "Do's and don'ts".

Expected gains
Overts and Withholds lead to a lowered ability to reach and to do or act in an area. It leads to irresponsibility and 'blows' (sudden departures). It also leads to individuation. Individuation means basically separation, withdrawal or isolation. It can be separation from knowingness, which is a degree of stupidity. It can be a feeling of being separate from one's group and a feeling of that one does not really belong (this would come before a 'blow'). Overts and Withholds are the basis for problems, ARC breaks and Missed Withholds - in short: out rudiments.

Thus a well done Confessional enables the pc again to feel part of his group, get his rudiments in on life and on his associates and become a more effective person. It will clear up a certain amount of stupidity and inability to think clearly in an area.

That is a whole lot of gains stemming for an activity that on the surface can remind you of a tough police interrogation. But since it is guided by the rules of auditing and the Auditors Code, the auditor is pledged to silence and confidentiality and he aims his activities to serve the ultimate interests of the pc.

Training
To be a good Confessional auditor you need to be a Level 2 auditor or above. Confessional procedure is not repetitive auditing, but is done Guiding Style, secondary style. You do have prepared questions you want an answer to, but you do need to have an excellent understanding of what is going on in order to determine what to ask for next and stay in control. Thus, despite good guidelines for what to do, there is no rote or canned procedure you can simply follow. There are no repetitive processes. You have to stay on top of things by understanding what is going on.

Your metering has to be brought up to a new level of accuracy. You have to understand Q and A on a practical level - so you don't do it. This is done by study and by doing the Anti-Q and A Drill. You need to have good auditor's presence and good control over the session and the pc to be successful.

Every read from a question on the Confessional list used is taken to an F/N, and the original question has to F/N on rechecking before you go on. This is part of not Q and Aing. All this needs to be learned in theory and thoroughly drilled before you take a pc in session for a Confessional.

Procedure

Here are the steps you follow:

1. Arrange the room so the auditor is seated closer to the door than the pc. He has to be able to gently put the pc back in his chair if he tries to blow the session. Make sure you have all materials needed per checklist of setting up the session.

2. Check that the pc is sessionable (well fed and rested), and that any factors that can cause false TA are taken care of.
(per False TA data).

3. Start the Confessional by saying "This is the Session!" You follow Model Session and fly the ruds per C/S instructions, Flying Rudiments and Auditors Rights.

4. Put in any needed R-Factor. The pc needs to understand what is going to happen. You may have to briefly explain the Meter and the procedure if the pc is new to Confessionals. Also, show the pc The Auditors Code #22 "Never use the secrets of a preclear divulged in session for punishment or personal gain", and explain the confidentiality of the action.

5. Clear the procedure and the use of the buttons "Suppress",  "Invalidate" and "False", "Protested", etc. On a new pc you can run him through the procedure by using a dummy question like, "Have you ever eaten an apple?"

6 A. Take up the first question from your Form or tailor made list. You clear the words backwards. Then you clear the full command. You look for instant read while clearing the command, as this read is valid. (See Clearing Commands and Valid read data).

Ensure the pc fully understands the question and what it covers.

6 B. You 'Groove in the question' by having pc give examples of possible answers to the question. Likely persons involved, the time period in pc's life it could have happened in, etc. This is done to make it more real to pc and more likely to read, if charged.

7. Give the pc the first question with good TR-1. Keep an eye on the Meter to catch any instant read (SF, F., LFBD).

A tick is always noted as it in some cases becomes a wide read. But you don't assume you have a read because of a Tick. You put in Suppress and it will either read or the tick will vanish. In a Confessional even the smallest change of needle characteristic, if it is instant, is checked into before going on.

But neither a Rise nor a Change of Characteristic are valid reads.

8. Take up each reading question. Let's say "Have you ever eaten an apple?" reads. After seeing the read you look at the pc expectantly and repeat the question to him: "Have you ever eaten an apple?". For each Overt or Withhold uncovered you get:

A) WHAT the Overt was. It should be gotten in a way where pc was at cause. You are looking for a 'done' - a pc action. This may take a little bit of work. Don't put blame on the pc; but let him state it in a way where he begins to take responsibility for it and can express it as something he has done.

B) WHEN. When he has stated what the O/W was you get when it took place. Pc can state this in different ways that all would be acceptable. By date, by location ("while working for X company") or relative time ("Two years into college". "Three years ago"). As long as it nails it down, the auditor should accept it.

C) WHERE. You get the location where the O/W took place.

D) ALL. You have to ensure you got all of the Overt. This is not a canned question. You can ask additional questions. If the Overt was 'eating an apple', you could ask, "How did you eat the apple?". "How did it taste to you?", etc. You may have to use Meter steering to get additional data. If you get an instant read on any additional question, make sure to get it.

E) JUSTIFICATIONS. Now you get the pc's justifications. This was an attempt of the pc to lessen the responsibility for or the severity of the Overt. Pulling off the justifications thus raises the pc's responsibility level. 
Use: "Have you justified that Overt?" or "Why wasn't that an Overt?"
You have to ask this repeatedly until you have gotten them all. Often the pc will rapidly give numerous Justifications when first asked. Let it run out and then acknowledge. This usually gives pc great relief. But make sure you get them all.
When pc have done that he should look relaxed about it and you go on to the next step.

F) WHO MISSED. When you have gotten all of the Overt and the justifications your next step is to find out "Who missed it?" or "Who nearly found out about it?". You ask one of the above two questions and get an answer. Then you ask as a follow up. "What did he/she do that made you wonder if he/she knew?" or some similar question. You want the pc to state the other person's action that restimulated (missed it) in him. Sometimes you can get an F/N on 'Who missed it'. You would indicate that F/N, but you would still ask the next question, 'what did he/she do'. This would usually cause the F/N to widen and blow the Withhold completely.

G) If no F/N on the incident you take the O/W Earlier similar with a specific question like, "Is there an earlier similar time, you ate an apple?", if 'ate an apple' was in the original question. You treat an E/S incident per Step (8) until the Chain F/N VGI's.

H) Then you recheck the original question. It could bring up additional incidents and Chains that are in turn taken to F/N VGI's. When the original question 'Have you ever eaten an apple' F/N's without any new incidents coming up, you can go onto the next question of your Confessional. Buttons like Suppressed, Invalidated, Not-is-ed and False can be used to get the F/N. The original question that read has to be F/N'ed on calling it before you leave it.

9. You need to get specifics to your questions. By the pc stating exact time, place form and event he will As-is the Overt. You don't want him to overstate or understate his involvement or responsibility. You want him to state the As-is-ness and thus blow the Overt. (see Axioms 18, 19, 20 and 38). One thing is however important. You want pc's action, his doingness, his dones. If pc answers with what he thought, intended or almost did. etc., you haven't gotten your question answered. You have to find out what the pc actually did in the physical universe.

10. If the pc gives you three or four Overts at once in reply to a reading question, you note them all down and ensure you take each separate reading Overt or Withhold to an F/N, or E/S to F/N.

11. Some people need to be asked the exact question. If your question is even faintly off they F/N. Low responsibility of the pc does this. If you suspect anything like this, you can explore it by additional questions (see Varying the Question). You would check for Missed Withholds with a number of questions if pc shows signs of 'getting off the hook', his indicators are questionable or GI's of very short duration. You can ask around in different ways if you suspect anything missed in the situation. Any such additional reading question has to be taken through Step 8 above and be F/Ned.
(You may even add additional Confessional questions to cover that area in depth in your C/S suggest for the next session).

12. If the pc gives somebody else's Overt, ('Peter ate an apple') you ask if he ever did something like that. You want what the person himself has done.

12A. If the pc gives an 'Overt' which is just a critical thought you will have to look at the Missed Withhold aspect. You may also simply be on the hot trail of a 'done'. Example: Auditor: "Have you ever eaten an apple?" SF. PC: "There were apples at my aunt's place. Her apples looked awful. I thought aunt Maggie's apples are inedible." Aud: "Did you eat any of them?" PC: "No, I took one and threw it away - into the lake." You have a Done and pull the Overt E/S to EP (you may have to adopt your Earlier Similar Question to fit), even though the answer is a little off the question. To do otherwise is leaving pc with a M/W/H. When pulled, you recheck the original question. It now F/N's.
If you don't get an 'apple Overt' or any 'done' you would check: "Did aunt Maggie miss a Withhold on you?" and pull the M/W/H and then recheck the original question to F/N it.

13. You do not take up unreading questions.

a) If a question does not read and does not F/N you check the buttons Suppress and Invalidate:

"On the question________ has anything been suppressed?"
"On the question________ has anything been invalidated?"

But don't require it to be answered and don't look up at the pc expectantly either. If it's not reading, tell him so and go on (like, "That is clean").

b) If Suppress or Invalidate reads, it means the read has transferred exactly from the original question to the button. You put in the button (take what the pc says and acknowledge), then you take up the question. Fully clean the question, as in Step 8 above. Then go on to the next question.

c) In case the question reads but the pc is puzzled, finds it hard to answer it or is groping, baffled or doesn't have any answer, then check False. Ask: "Was that a false read?", or "Was the question protested?" in which case it will read and on indication that it was a false/protest read should F/N. If no F/N, take it E/S False/Protest to F/N.

14. Follow up on Dirty Needles. A R/S (Rock Slam) means a hidden evil intention; and the area will usually contain numerous Overts. You pay attention to a D/N as it will either clean or turn into an R/S. It is your hottest lead to follow to find and turn on an R/S. Thus it should not to be overlooked. The area that is producing a dirty needle when questioned for full data will either clean or turn into a R/S. The area that gave the dirty needle is considered clean when you can go over it and it no longer produces a dirty needle. If a dirty needle persists it means there is more to the Withhold itself or something the pc isn't expressing about the Withhold or how he feels about the Withhold. But, when followed up on, with auditor's TRs in, this dirty needle will turn into an R/S or it will fully clean.

The auditor MUST clearly know the difference between an R/S and a dirty needle. The difference is in the character of the read, rather than the size.

As mentioned, Confessional is not a rote or canned procedure. Your job is to get the data and help the pc. Sometimes pc's will send you on a detour out of embarrassment or you may encounter pc attempts to mislead you. This is simply a sure indicator of the pc is withholding something and that the Withhold is in restimulation. One has to ignore the volunteer misdirections of the pc and simply get the Overt, go Earlier Similar or get the Withhold to F/N. You must be familiar with and use all your tools of the trade as given in these materials.

15. Take the original question to an F/N. Not some other question or some diversion. This all comes under the heading of Q and A data and completing cycles of action by getting one auditing question answered before you ask a second question.

As mentioned under (8), in going earlier similar, always repeat the Confessional question as part of the earlier similar command to keep the person on that question.
Simply asking "Is there an earlier similar O/W?" is not specific enough as it opens the door for the pc to detour.

16. On each question make sure you get all the Overts on the question. People have their favorite Overts. An 'apple eater' would have 'eaten an apple' many times. When you have taken a specific Chain of Overts earlier similar to F/N, then re-check the original question for any additional read. When the question F/Ns on being asked it's clean, not before.

If it reads you have another Overt or Overt Chain to clear to F/N on that question. Use False and Protest buttons as needed.

Example: "Have you committed any Overts against apples?" Meter reads. Auditor gets an Overt, takes it E/S to F/N. Auditor then re-checks Question. Meter reads. Pc finds another Overt against apples. Auditor takes it E/S to F/N.

You clean it, getting all, until the original question F/Ns.

17. If the person gets critical, realize you have missed a Withhold and pull the M/W/H. It is no light thing to leave Missed Withholds behind as it messes up pc's and is a major stumbling block in doing Confessionals. So be alert for any of the 15 manifestations of Missed Withhold and handle fully should any of these turn up.

It is common practice, when doing a Confessional of any length, to periodically check the question, "In this session has a Withhold been missed?" or "Have I missed a Withhold on you?" and variations thereof.

18. Trouble Buttons. At the first sign of any trouble in doing a Confessional, check for these 3 things and in that order:

(1) Missed Withholds, (2) false reads and (3) ARC breaks. You handle fully whatever turns up. In the majority of cases the above steps will handle any difficulties - especially when caught right away.

If this doesn't handle, there is a Confessional Repair list, called LCRE, you should use. Use of the above buttons first, however, before resorting to the repair list. It is smoother, quicker and you avoid getting into an "over-repair" situation.

19. If the pc repeatedly dives whole track immediately on Confessional questions, use the preface "In this lifetime . . .", with good R-Factor. This should not be used to prevent him from going whole track on the earlier similar command to F/N the question. However, some pc's go whole track as they can suffer no punishment or consequences from misdeeds done in another time and place.

20. The auditor should always mark clearly any Rock Slams encountered. (See auditor's admin data).

As the R/S is probably the single most important and dangerous read on the Meter, it is important that they are carefully noted when doing a Confessional as a further handling should be done at a later date.

Valid R/Ses are not always instant reads. An R/S can read prior or latently. An R/S takes precedence over any other read.

21. If you have a problem with a pc fiddling with the cans (and causing false reads) you can make him put his hands on the table and keep them in plain sight.

22. If a reading question does not go to F/N and bogs or the TA goes high, take up an LCRE (Confessional Repair List), assess and handle per list instructions.

23. End off any Confessional session and the entire Confessional action itself, when complete, with the End Rudiments for Confessionals. They are designed to pick up anything which might have been missed:

In this session/Confessional have you told any (1) Half Truth, (2) Untruth, (3) has a Withhold been missed, (4) Told All, etc. Each question is asked separately on the Meter and handled as any other reading question per (8) above. 

24. When the Confessional is fully completed the folder is sent to the C/S for inspection. With his OK the next auditor action is, to inform the person he is forgiven for the Overts and Withholds he has just confessed, using the following statement:
"By the power invested in me, any Overts and Withholds you have fully and truthfully told me are forgiven by me and God".

The usual response of the pc is instant relief and VGIs. If any adverse reaction to this Proclamation of Forgiveness, check the buttons, including Missed Withhold or go to the Confessional Repair list at once as it means something was missed.

25. Examiner. All Confessionals should be followed immediately by a standard pc examination. The folder is then routed to the C/S.

The C/S looks first of all for any F/N gotten on something else than the direct question or subject. Then he looks for anything else that needs attention or instruction.

If a pc gets into difficulties after a Confessional session a Confessional Repair List is given. However, a Folder Error Summary may be needed to find questions that F/Ned on something else than the subject at hand. Standard C/S rules apply to Confessionals.

 

Auditors Attitude and TRs
A lot of things can come into play in a Confessional since it on the surface is an interrogation. It is done strictly under the rules of auditing and for the pc, however. To do it as a military or police interrogation is harmful and violates numerous points of Auditors Code, including #15 "Do not to mix the processes of CT with other practices except when the preclear is physically ill and only medical means will serve."

It is important that the auditor develops a relaxed and professional attitude doing this activity. If he can't get the pc in-session with good TRs etc., he won't be able to get the Withholds.

A wrong or challenging auditor attitude can throw the whole activity off. If TRs are rough or choppy the pc feels he's being accused.

A poor TR-2 or comm lag in giving TR-2, something the C/S can't see in the report, can also mess up a pc in Confessionals. It can invalidate his answers and make him feel he hasn't gotten the Withhold off.

So TRs must be polished and the auditor should take the role of confessor when handling the pc's answers and make it safe for the pc to get off his Overts and Withholds. Similarly, an auditor who is certain of his tech and does not miss Withholds will build up the pc's confidence in him.

You need to be well trained and drilled in the Confessional Procedure and all the tools, since an auditor's inability to handle this would cause upset, critical and hostile pc's, etc.

But keep in mind, knowing and applying Confessional tech correctly, you are helping the individual to face up to his responsibilities in his group and society and putting him back into communication with his fellow man, his family, and the world at large.

Good hunting!

Joburg Confess. Form

LCRE Confess Repair List