The Bridge to Total Freedom

The Bridge to Total Freedom, also known as the bridge, is Scientology's primary action plan and road map to guide a person through the sequential steps to attain Scientology's concept of spiritual freedom. The chart which displays the bridge is called the Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart. Displayed in every Scientology organization as an enormous poster using red ink, the comprehensive chart contains almost every service available within Scientology. Each step on the bridge has a price associated with it, and each level is a prerequisite for the next level above it.

History

In 1950, L. Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. In it, he used the analogy of bridge engineering: "We are here at a bridge between one state of Man and a next. We are above the chasm which divides a lower from a higher plateau and this chasm marks an artificial evolutionary step in the progress of Man. [...] In this handbook we have the basic axioms and a therapy which works. For God's sake, get busy and build a better bridge!"

In 1965, Hubbard codified his "Bridge" as a more systematic approach to moving Scientologists to the state of Clear. Hubbard added a series of steps he called "releases" which handled memory, communication, problems, "overts and withholds" (sins, crimes and secrets), upsets, and justifications for failure. The steps were numbered Grade 0 through Grade IV, and each step had a specific ability gained.

Description

The Bridge to Total Freedom is represented by a large wall chart, printed with red ink on white paper. There are two main columns: "Training" on the left and "Processing" on the right.

A newcomer to Scientology starts the bridge at the bottom of the chart and rises through the levels, perhaps reaching the level of Clear, then continuing upward through the OT Levels to higher states of awareness and ability.

The section near the bottom of the chart covers the various routes onto the bridge which can include a communication course, a life improvement course, introductory auditing, and other basic services. The far left margin lists extra training courses that are available but which are not required for going up the bridge. Likewise, the far right margin lists extra auditing processes that a Scientologist can do that are not part of the steps up the bridge.

The terms "The Bridge to Total Freedom" and "Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart" are somewhat synonymous, with the chart name being used more to specifically refer to the diagram, and "the bridge" being used more to express the concepts of the steps represented on the diagram. For example, when someone asks "Where are you on the bridge?" they are asking which step have you completed or are in the middle of. The word Classification refers to the large left column, "Training". Once a student has completed one of these training levels, they become a classed auditor. For example, completing the Class II course, a student becomes a Class II auditor. The word Gradation refers to the large right column, "Processing". In the 1965 version of the bridge, a much less comprehensive chart than is used today, the beginning Scientologist would move up through the "grades" to Clear. The word Awareness refers to the center area between the two large columns where there are 52 levels of awareness from Unexistence at the very bottom up to the state of Clear.

The training and processing sides go hand-in-hand for each level of the chart. For example, a student completing the Class III course (left column) is qualified to audit someone on Grade III (right column), and two students can train on a level (left column) and then co-audit each other on that same level (right column). Likewise, a Scientologist wanting to participate in Grade III (right column) will need an auditor who has trained at least to Class III (left column).

Though many Scientologists only ascend the processing side of the bridge, Hubbard maintained that a person needed to receive auditing and give counseling to another, and that 50% of the gains in Scientology were achieved through training as an auditor.

A major point on the bridge is the state of Clear. It is the last non-confidential step on the bridge, and Hugh Urban points out that people take different amounts of time to progress up the bridge depending on their personal circumstances and finances.

OT levels

The OT levels are confidential and one must be "invited" to do them. Some of the auditing levels are self-audited, and some require another auditor. The training levels for those who will audit others on the OT levels are also confidential and only available to those in the Sea Org. The OT levels are only available at certain organizations.

Although the chart lists 15 OT levels above the state of Clear, only seven were released during Hubbard's lifetime. OT VIII was released to the public in 1988, two years after Hubbard's 1986 death — to be performed only on Scientology's ship Freewinds. According to interviews performed by Rinder, Scientologists have described OT VIII as "less than overwhelming".

Since 1986, Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige has dangled the hope of OT levels beyond VIII being released in the future, pending certain conditions, which have shifted over time. However, it has been widely reported that Hubbard never wrote OT IX and above; therefore, these levels do not actually exist.

Costs

Each step on the bridge costs money, and each step is a prerequisite for the one that follows. Costs at the lowest (beginning) end of the bridge can be quite inexpensive, with the costs rising the higher you go on the bridge. The cost of going up the bridge has risen drastically over the years. In the late 1960s, shortly after the first OT levels were released, prices ranged from $75 to $875 per OT level. In the 1970s, the price for a complete OT package was around $3,000. By the 1990s, prices had risen to several thousand and even tens of thousands per level, with a conservative estimate of $300,000–$400,000 to complete up to OT VIII (in 1991 dollars).

Costs inflate further when the Church of Scientology orders Scientologists to re-do one or several steps they have already done, inserts a new step or requirement on the bridge, or management releases a new version of an old step, such as was done with the New Era Dianetics reissued in 1978, and OT VIII which was changed almost immediately after its release in 1988. Such practices are fairly common.

Those who cannot afford to pay the high costs are encouraged to join staff where they are promised their training and auditing would be free, called "enhancement". The risk is that staff must sign a contract for the full amount of the services, and if they break their contract and leave staff, they are presented with a for the full price of all auditing and training services they received while on staff.

In 1971, Paulette Cooper wrote that the Church of Scientology used to extend credit at 6%, plus a 25% surcharge which would be returned if the loan was paid off on time. In 1986, Stewart Lamont wrote that in the early to mid-1980s a Scientologist in England would loan money at 25%-30% to other Scientologists; he only loaned for bridge levels over £5,000 and that "every loan agreement is checked and approved by the Church of Scientology officially".

Members are told that refunds are possible if they are not satisfied, however refunds are difficult to obtain, come with conditions and, once paid, bar the members for any further services because demanding returns of money is considered a high crime, a suppressive act, and leads to being declared a suppressive person.

Mike Rinder wrote in his book that promises of ultimate spiritual enlightenment and happiness are the "carrots" that keep people on the bridge.

The Bridge to Total Freedom

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