The Path To Happiness does not include assassinating your friends
While back in Cuenca, we went to the post office so Maya could maybe actually get some postcards off to people before she returns to the states. While there, I thumbed through a little booklet in Spanish (of course) with the postal service logo on the front, and the clerk insisted I take it. I figured it had something to do with sending mail in Ecuador and I didn't need it, but I was polite and I stuck it in my purse. The next day Maya and I had a lot of fun reading what it actually was.
"El camino a la felicidad; Una Guia de sentido Comun para Vivir mejor." "The path to happiness; a Common Sense guide for a better life." Only in the back, in really tiny print, if you look hard, do you see "copyright of L. Ron Hubbard Library, all rights reserved, this is only the individual opinion of L Ronald Hubbard and is not a part of any religious doctrine," etc. etc.
Whew. Nowhere anywhere does it refer to Scientology, nor does it offer a free personality test, but whoa, there's the post office seal on it. In a freakin' Catholic country! Maya and I translated a bunch of it and had fun. I guess it did make us happy after all!
There are 21 chapters, 65 pages, mostly with instructions to be nice to people, take care of yourself, brush your teeth, respect your environment by trying to look your best everyday (I'm not making this up!), don't be promiscuous, don't use drugs or drink too much, take good care of children, etc. Then there was Chapter 8. It's my favorite.
"No Asesines - Don't Assassinate Anyone" It goes into quite a bit of detail about the difference between killing and assassination. "No killing" would mean not being able to kill a snake that's curled up and about to bite a baby, only eating vegetables, and not being able to use self-defense. It really says those things, I'm not making it up! "No assassinating," on the other hand, means you can't do the pre-meditated and illegal kind of killing. Then they state the obvious: "El camino a la felicidad no incluye asesinar a tus amigos, a tu familia ni que tú mismo seas asesinado." "The path to happiness does not include assassinating your friends, your family, or yourself."
The final chapter basically says "Go forth and prosper" and I honestly can't remember if that's a quote from the Bible or from Star Trek. I suppose with L Ron Hubbard it could be either.
"El camino a la felicidad; Una Guia de sentido Comun para Vivir mejor." "The path to happiness; a Common Sense guide for a better life." Only in the back, in really tiny print, if you look hard, do you see "copyright of L. Ron Hubbard Library, all rights reserved, this is only the individual opinion of L Ronald Hubbard and is not a part of any religious doctrine," etc. etc.
Whew. Nowhere anywhere does it refer to Scientology, nor does it offer a free personality test, but whoa, there's the post office seal on it. In a freakin' Catholic country! Maya and I translated a bunch of it and had fun. I guess it did make us happy after all!
There are 21 chapters, 65 pages, mostly with instructions to be nice to people, take care of yourself, brush your teeth, respect your environment by trying to look your best everyday (I'm not making this up!), don't be promiscuous, don't use drugs or drink too much, take good care of children, etc. Then there was Chapter 8. It's my favorite.
"No Asesines - Don't Assassinate Anyone" It goes into quite a bit of detail about the difference between killing and assassination. "No killing" would mean not being able to kill a snake that's curled up and about to bite a baby, only eating vegetables, and not being able to use self-defense. It really says those things, I'm not making it up! "No assassinating," on the other hand, means you can't do the pre-meditated and illegal kind of killing. Then they state the obvious: "El camino a la felicidad no incluye asesinar a tus amigos, a tu familia ni que tú mismo seas asesinado." "The path to happiness does not include assassinating your friends, your family, or yourself."
The final chapter basically says "Go forth and prosper" and I honestly can't remember if that's a quote from the Bible or from Star Trek. I suppose with L Ron Hubbard it could be either.