In Scientology, we have a great deal to do with this subject called understanding. Understanding contains very specific parts. These parts are: AFFINITY, REALITY and COMMUNICATION.

Understanding results from the combination of affinity, reality and communication. For example, one has to have some affinity (liking for) for an object, some communication with it and some idea of its reality (knows something about it) before he can understand it. So his ability to understand any person, thought or object depends upon his affinity, his communication and his reality.

To be able to improve or increase understanding, it is necessary to be fully familiar with and understand what each of these three parts themselves consist of.

AFFINITY

The word affinity is used here to mean love, liking or any other emotional attitude. Under “affinity” we have whether or not we like people, whether or not we can live near people, whether or not we feel emotional toward people. The different emotions such as apathy, anger, boredom, enthusiasm each show different levels of affinity.

The amount of affinity can be measured by how willing someone is to be in the same space as or be like (be similar to) another person. If you say, “I like you,” you are saying, “Well, I’d just as soon be you.” “I like you” would also mean, “I’d just as soon occupy your space.” When two individuals do not like each other, it means they won’t be in each other’s space, they won’t like to take the other person’s point of view. They don’t want to be like the other person. If one wears blue, the other feels he has to wear green. If two men talking to each other are not in affinity with each other, they will tend to argue or just walk away from each other.

REALITY

By reality we mean “the solid objects, the real things of life.” Reality is what is perceived (seen, felt, heard, etc.). Reality is agreement of what is or what exists. Something that is real is something that we agree exists and can perceive. The reverse would be disagreement, whereby two or more persons do not agree on what is true or what is real.

That which is real is real simply because it is agreed-upon and for no other reason.

COMMUNICATION

Communication is the most important of the three parts in bringing about understanding.

A communication is a message or a particle, going through distance in a certain direction between two exact points.

A very simple way of saying what communication means is the shift (or movement) of a particle from one part of space to another part of space. A particle is the thing being communicated. It can be an object, a written message, a spoken word or an idea.

For example, if you took a baseball and threw it to someone to catch, that would be a communication from you to the other person. If you said “hello” to someone, that too would be a communication, exactly following the meaning above.

Communication can also be two-way, with the person who received the first message sending his own message back to the first person. This creates an interchange (giving and receiving or exchanging) of ideas or particles.

Communication is not just speaking to someone. There are many ways to communicate. Two people can sit and look at each other and be in communication. One of the ways to go into communication is by touch. You can pet a cat and the cat all of a sudden starts to purr. You are in communication with the cat. You can reach out and shake a person’s hand and you are in communication with him. In France, Italy and Spain people often throw their arms around each other to greet them. They are in contact with each other and that contact is communication.

While it is important to understand each of these three separate parts, they also have a very specific relationship to each other that when combined add up to greater or lesser understanding of people, objects and life itself. This is the subject of the next lesson.