Level Zero Training Checksheets: Introduction

1. INTRODUCTION

Ever since the modern grade chart was issued in 1965, the first level of orthodox professional Scientology auditor training has been Level Zero (also referred to as Class Zero) which is aimed at training a student so that he can produce both an ARC Straightwire Release (recall processes) and a Communication Release (grade zero communication processes) in the preclear.

Level zero is also known as the Hubbard Recognized Scientologist or HRS course.

The training materials and checksheets and prerequisites and even the processes to be run have varied immensely over the years.

The checksheets themselves are hard to come by because the students generally hand in the completed and signed off checksheet when they finish the course.

These checksheets were never by Ron, sometimes being simple black on white mimeographed sheets, or Board Policy Letters (BPLs) or HCO Policy Letters (HCOPLs) that were not by Ron and which are not in the tech volumes.

I don't have the original checksheets that I trained on nor do I have the various later ones that I used while supervision or auditing on staff. During that period (1966 to 1971), the checksheets pretty much changed every year. So I'm depending on memory for the early training lineup.

There is an HCOB of 11 DEC 64 called "Cirriculum for Level Zero - HAS" which can be found in old tech volume 5. This is just prior to the release of the grade chart and Class 0 was being called HAS rather than HRS at that time. It does cover the class zero communication processes. It omits metering. And it has much more in the area of basics such as the Dynamics and the Dianetic Axioms etc. than the later HRS class zero checksheets.

I do have BPL 26 Jan 72R as revised and reissued in 11 Oct 74 and which cancels and replaces the original HCOPL of 26 Jan 72. This is the "Scientology Level 0 Standard Academy Checksheet". This was an HCOPL not by Ron which was redone as a BPL when they decided to stop issuing non-LRH policies.

This 1974 BPL is by "Training and Services Aids, revised by Warrant Officer Ron Shafron CS-4 (Commodore Staff 4 = tech division) and reissued as BPL by flag mission 1234, mission in charge CPO Andrea Lewis assisted by Molly Harlow for the Board of Directors of the Churches of Scientology". The initials line is BDCS: HH: BW: RS: AL: MH: mh (the HH and BW would be the training and services aids, but I'm not sure who these were, the rest are Shafron etc. as above and finally an "mh" who would be the typist).

This 1974 checksheet was be the maximum strength expanded grades checksheet. It includes the BTBs (Board technical Bulletins - these are HCOBs not by Ron) which give extensive auditor expertise drills and so forth that were used during this period in the 1970s. Hopefully somebody will post these BTBs since they are not in the tech volumes. These were later dropped as not being by Ron, but the new golden age seems to be introducing a new (or possibly the same) set of expertise drills because such a thing has always been a useful way of making good auditors.

I also have a late era checksheet. This is HCOPL of 22 Sep 78RB revised 21 Nov 87. This is a much shorter shallower checksheet without the extensive drilling etc. of the early 70s checksheet. These came into fashion in 1978 about when Ron was off the lines and pretty much endured with minor variations until the recent golden age checksheets (which I don't have).

The 1987 checksheet is by "L. Ron Hubbard, revision assisted by LRH Technical Research and Compilations" but that is followed by this statement "(the directions, drills and study assignments which make up this course checksheet were written by LRH Technical Research and Compilations staff. The compilation of this checksheet was done according to specific LRH advices on what materials should be on this course, as well as LRH policies and instructions which prescribe the standard format for course checksheets)".

The 1987 checksheet has the following initials line "LRH: CSI: RTRC: dr. bk. fa. rw. gm". The copyright line is 1978, 1982, 1984 by LRH and 1987 by LRH Library. I would say that this means that there are also two other intermediate revisions between the 1978 original and the 1987 revision that I am quoting. There may be subsequent revisions between the 1987 version and the golden age, but I would assume that all variations of this checksheet are similar.

As to earlier checksheets, the 1966 version was very short and was known to only contain essential materials, being taught with maximum supervisor support as to additional references.

There was a huge 1967 checksheet which was supposed to reflect briefing course level expertise on the subject and had about twice as many materials as any subsequent checksheets but which was so long that nobody ever graduated before the checksheet was cancelled. Copies of these were subsequently kept in cramming for use in finding additional references when students had questions or difficulties.

The 1968 (actually late 1967) version was the last pre-standard tech variation. It was similar to the 1974 checksheet without the later expertise drills or the modern materials (expanded grades etc.).

The 1969 checksheet was a standard tech quicky variation, using triple flow grades processes and flying ruds along with various class 8 references which attempted to produce a grade zero release in 15 minutes instead of the 3 to 5 hours that used to be normal for running the basic grade zero processes.

The 1970 checksheet was the beginning of expanded grades, including references on older processes which had previously been considered obsolete and material from the CS series aimed at producing stable gains.

All of these were black on white. The first official checksheet was the 1972 HCOPL which evolved into the 1974 BTB discussed above.

Since the 1974 and 1987 checksheets are only samples of a varying history, and to avoid copyright fights with the org, it seemed best for me to write up an all time composite level 0 materials list that could be freely copied around and put up at websites.

I also compared the E-meter section of the course to an E-Meter Course checksheet. This is HCOPL of 23 JAN 80R revised 5 JAN 81. It is by LRH for the Board of Directors of the CofS of California and has an initials line of "BDCSC:LRH:bk".

----

This writeup is intended for use either as a guide to self study or a reference source for developing checksheets at freezone organizations which wish to parallel the orthodox Cirriculum. It is not itself a checksheet but rather is a survey of what usually goes on such checksheets.

It is also useful as a reference when developing revised training approaches because it identifies various basics that need to be covered. This is my own reason for doing it before working out a co-auditor's handbook.

Many of the materials are in the old tech volumes and are already available on the internet. Most of the books are online as well. Hopefully somebody will post the tape transcripts and the various other missing items such as BTBs and later revised HCOBs.

I have labeled all materials which can be found in the old tech volumes with the designation TV# where the # gives the volume number. I have also checked these against the new (1991) tech volumes and shown the new volume number as NTV#. In most cases the bulletins are the same and when there is a later revision (or a bulletin that only exists in the new set), I have so noted it.

When the old tech volumes 1-12 were posted to the internet recently, 2 additional pseudo volumes numbered 13 and 14 were posted as well. These contain various bulletins issued in the 1980 timeframe subsequent to tech volume 12.

I have taken some liberties in arranging and titling the sections. The two checksheets don't quite align as to headings and sequence and I have adjusted these in a reasonable manner.

I have also introduced quite a bit of history and added my own opinions on things. You can ignore those if you want. Every bulletin and tape that was on either checksheet is listed here and you can just look those up and read them.

Items marked with a "*" were star rated on the checksheet. This meant getting a checkout rather than simply reading the bulletin.

Note that this has not been proofread by anybody else or double checked (and most of it was done late at night in the middle of a heavy work schedule), so there may be a few errors.

	1. INTRODUCTION

	Ever since the modern grade chart was issued in 1965, the first level of orthodox professional Scientology auditor training has been Level Zero (also referred to as Class Zero) which is aimed at training a student so that he can produce both an ARC Straightwire Release (recall processes) and a Communication Release (grade zero communication processes) in the preclear. Level zero is also known as the Hubbard Recognized Scientologist or HRS course. The training materials and checksheets and prerequisites and even the processes to be run have varied immensely over the years. The checksheets themselves are hard to come by because the students generally hand in the completed and signed off checksheet when they finish the course. These checksheets were never by Ron, sometimes being simple black on white mimeographed sheets, or Board Policy Letters (BPLs) or HCO Policy Letters (HCOPLs) that were not by Ron and which are not in the tech volumes. I don't have the original checksheets that I trained on nor do I have the various later ones that I used while supervision or auditing on staff. During that period (1966 to 1971), the checksheets pretty much changed every year. So I'm depending on memory for the early training lineup. There is an HCOB of 11 DEC 64 called "Cirriculum for Level Zero - HAS" which can be found in old tech volume 5. This is just prior to the release of the grade chart and Class 0 was being called HAS rather than HRS at that time. It does cover the class zero communication processes. It omits metering. And it has much more in the area of basics such as the Dynamics and the Dianetic Axioms etc. than the later HRS class zero checksheets. I do have BPL 26 Jan 72R as revised and reissued in 11 Oct 74 and which cancels and replaces the original HCOPL of 26 Jan 72. This is the "Scientology Level 0 Standard Academy Checksheet". This was an HCOPL not by Ron which was redone as a BPL when they decided to stop issuing non-LRH policies. This 1974 BPL is by "Training and Services Aids, revised by Warrant Officer Ron Shafron CS-4 (Commodore Staff 4 = tech division) and reissued as BPL by flag mission 1234, mission in charge CPO Andrea Lewis assisted by Molly Harlow for the Board of Directors of the Churches of Scientology". The initials line is BDCS: HH: BW: RS: AL: MH: mh (the HH and BW would be the training and services aids, but I'm not sure who these were, the rest are Shafron etc. as above and finally an "mh" who would be the typist). This 1974 checksheet was be the maximum strength expanded grades checksheet. It includes the BTBs (Board technical Bulletins - these are HCOBs not by Ron) which give extensive auditor expertise drills and so forth that were used during this period in the 1970s. Hopefully somebody will post these BTBs since they are not in the tech volumes. These were later dropped as not being by Ron, but the new golden age seems to be introducing a new (or possibly the same) set of expertise drills because such a thing has always been a useful way of making good auditors. I also have a late era checksheet. This is HCOPL of 22 Sep 78RB revised 21 Nov 87. This is a much shorter shallower checksheet without the extensive drilling etc. of the early 70s checksheet. These came into fashion in 1978 about when Ron was off the lines and pretty much endured with minor variations until the recent golden age checksheets (which I don't have). The 1987 checksheet is by "L. Ron Hubbard, revision assisted by LRH Technical Research and Compilations" but that is followed by this statement "(the directions, drills and study assignments which make up this course checksheet were written by LRH Technical Research and Compilations staff. The compilation of this checksheet was done according to specific LRH advices on what materials should be on this course, as well as LRH policies and instructions which prescribe the standard format for course checksheets)". The 1987 checksheet has the following initials line "LRH: CSI: RTRC: dr. bk. fa. rw. gm". The copyright line is 1978, 1982, 1984 by LRH and 1987 by LRH Library. I would say that this means that there are also two other intermediate revisions between the 1978 original and the 1987 revision that I am quoting. There may be subsequent revisions between the 1987 version and the golden age, but I would assume that all variations of this checksheet are similar. As to earlier checksheets, the 1966 version was very short and was known to only contain essential materials, being taught with maximum supervisor support as to additional references. There was a huge 1967 checksheet which was supposed to reflect briefing course level expertise on the subject and had about twice as many materials as any subsequent checksheets but which was so long that nobody ever graduated before the checksheet was cancelled. Copies of these were subsequently kept in cramming for use in finding additional references when students had questions or difficulties. The 1968 (actually late 1967) version was the last pre-standard tech variation. It was similar to the 1974 checksheet without the later expertise drills or the modern materials (expanded grades etc.). The 1969 checksheet was a standard tech quicky variation, using triple flow grades processes and flying ruds along with various class 8 references which attempted to produce a grade zero release in 15 minutes instead of the 3 to 5 hours that used to be normal for running the basic grade zero processes. The 1970 checksheet was the beginning of expanded grades, including references on older processes which had previously been considered obsolete and material from the CS series aimed at producing stable gains. All of these were black on white. The first official checksheet was the 1972 HCOPL which evolved into the 1974 BTB discussed above. Since the 1974 and 1987 checksheets are only samples of a varying history, and to avoid copyright fights with the org, it seemed best for me to write up an all time composite level 0 materials list that could be freely copied around and put up at websites. I also compared the E-meter section of the course to an E-Meter Course checksheet. This is HCOPL of 23 JAN 80R revised 5 JAN 81. It is by LRH for the Board of Directors of the CofS of California and has an initials line of "BDCSC:LRH:bk". ---- This writeup is intended for use either as a guide to self study or a reference source for developing checksheets at freezone organizations which wish to parallel the orthodox Cirriculum. It is not itself a checksheet but rather is a survey of what usually goes on such checksheets. It is also useful as a reference when developing revised training approaches because it identifies various basics that need to be covered. This is my own reason for doing it before working out a co-auditor's handbook. Many of the materials are in the old tech volumes and are already available on the internet. Most of the books are online as well. Hopefully somebody will post the tape transcripts and the various other missing items such as BTBs and later revised HCOBs. I have labeled all materials which can be found in the old tech volumes with the designation TV# where the # gives the volume number. I have also checked these against the new (1991) tech volumes and shown the new volume number as NTV#. In most cases the bulletins are the same and when there is a later revision (or a bulletin that only exists in the new set), I have so noted it. When the old tech volumes 1-12 were posted to the internet recently, 2 additional pseudo volumes numbered 13 and 14 were posted as well. These contain various bulletins issued in the 1980 timeframe subsequent to tech volume 12. I have taken some liberties in arranging and titling the sections. The two checksheets don't quite align as to headings and sequence and I have adjusted these in a reasonable manner. I have also introduced quite a bit of history and added my own opinions on things. You can ignore those if you want. Every bulletin and tape that was on either checksheet is listed here and you can just look those up and read them. Items marked with a "*" were star rated on the checksheet. This meant getting a checkout rather than simply reading the bulletin. Note that this has not been proofread by anybody else or double checked (and most of it was done late at night in the middle of a heavy work schedule), so there may be a few errors.