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In Dianetics and Scientology, an engram is defined as an unconscious, painful memory. It is stored in the stimulus-response unconsciousness (the reactive mind) rather than as a normal memory.

The term engram was coined by Richard Semon and had previously been used prior to the inception of Dianetics; Semon defined it as a "stimulus impression" which could be reactivated by the recurrence of "the energetic conditions which ruled at the generation of the engram."^[1] It continues to be used in other contexts unrelated to Hubbard's theories. According to Joseph Winter, M.D., Hubbard had taken the term "engram" from the 1936 edition of Dorland's Medical Dictionary for use to describe his own unique concepts (Winter, 1951). In Hubbard's earliest public writings on Dianetics, (an article published in the Astounding Science Fiction pulp magazine) [1] he referred to engrams by the term "Norns". [2]

Dianetics defines an engram as "a mental image picture which is a recording of a time of physical pain and unconsciousness. It must by definition have impact or injury as part of its content."^[2] Engrams are said to contain all of the perception and experience of any memory but are not easily available to an individual because they are overlaid with some kind of pain. A goal of Dianetics is to assist a person in confronting such memories and thus to bring the memory into full consciousness.

Hubbard conceived of the engram as a form of "memory trace", an idea which had long existed in medicine. He initially proposed using the terms norn, impediment or comanome but eventually settled on "engram", based on the definition in Dorland's Medical Dictionary (1936): "a lasting mark or trace .... In psychology it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture." (Winter, 1951)

1. ^ Corydon, Bent; L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. (1987). L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?. Secaucus, New Jersey: Lyle Stuart. ISBN 0-8184-0444-2.  Convenience link at http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/mom/Messiah_or_Madman.txt .
2. ^ Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary pg. 141 pub. Bridge Publications, USA ISBN 0-88404-037-2

• Hubbard, L. R. (1958). Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (Rev. ed.) London: The Hubbard Association of Scientologists Limited.
• Winter, J.A. A Doctor's Report on Dianetics, Hermitage House, 1951

Scientology Portal

• ScientologyToday.org: What is an engram?
• Essentialdianetics.org