An engram is a term much used in Scientology though the concept predates the founding of Scientology and is actually based in medicine. The term was initially invented by Richard Semon, a German zoologist and biologist. Semon used the term to describe a stored impression or stimulus impression. Under certain circumstances the impression, could be reawakened. This is much in keeping with Freudian ideas of memories stored deep within the mind, which could be brought slowly into consciousness in order to keep them from driving current activities and thought patterns.
L. Ron Hubbard used the term in Scientology, though he initially called the engram a Norn, to refer to a mental picture created of a past moment that involved severe emotional pain. To Hubbard the pain was not readily accessible by the conscious mind, but just as Freud states, it needed to be confronted to help the person along the path of self-knowledge and total consciousness. Even though Hubbard dismissed psychology as pseudoscience, the use of engram shows he leans heavily on the concept. What differs is his means of access to the mental picture.
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L. Ron Hubbard used the term in Scientology, though he initially called the engram a Norn, to refer to a mental picture created of a past moment that involved severe emotional pain. To Hubbard the pain was not readily accessible by the conscious mind, but just as Freud states, it needed to be confronted to help the person along the path of self-knowledge and total consciousness. Even though Hubbard dismissed psychology as pseudoscience, the use of engram shows he leans heavily on the concept. What differs is his means of access to the mental picture.
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