Hubbard advocated that man was neither a mind nor a body. The main concept of man's existence is the soul, a spiritual being. Hubbard called the soul " thetan", derived from the Greek letter meaning "thought." Individuals do not have thetans; they are considered thetans. Without thetan, there would be no mind or body. Hubbard believed that thetan was the backbone of creation and life.

Scientologists believe that the levels of Scientology beyond "clear" allow an individual to progress up the "bridge of total freedom"; freedom from physical constraints of their material bodies and the material universe, which Scientologists call MEST (Matter, Energy, Space, and Time). Scientologists who progress up the OT (Operating Thetan) Bridge may "know...immortality and freedom from the cycle of birth and death," according to " The State of Operating Thetan," a Church document. Thus, the individual's goal in Scientology is to come into full awareness of his existence as a being who transcends MEST. Scientology, in sum, is a religious movement that professes to guide the journey of the individual towards a state of transcendent near-perfection.

The symbol for Dianetics is shaped like the Greek letter delta, with yellow stripes symbolizing life and four green panels, representing four subdivisions of the urge for man's survival. The Eight Dynamics of Scientology continue Hubbard's examination into the importance of survival. The Eight Dynamics (in order) are Self, Creativity, Group Survival, Species, Life Forms, Physical Universe, Spiritual Dynamic, and Infinity. Each of these pertains to the role of survival of each of these components. The Eight Dynamics transcend throughout all of nature, including animals and vegetation, and beyond.

Every individual has an urge and determination to survive. Pursuit of survival is the common denominator of all life.

The first dynamic, self, is the effort to survive as an individual, to be an individual and to fully express one’s individuality.

The second dynamic is the urge toward existence as a future generation. It has two components: sex and the family unit, including the raising of children.

The third dynamic is the urge to survive as a member of a group. A company, a political party, a church or a social organization are all examples of the third dynamic.

The fourth dynamic is the urge for survival of man as a species. All of the races of man together constitute the fourth dynamic.

The fifth dynamic is the urge to survive for all life forms -- animal or vegetable and anything directly and intimately motivated by life.

The sixth dynamic is the urge for survival of the physical universe and reflects the drive of the individual to enhance the survival of all matter, energy, space and time --the component parts of the physical universe.

The seventh dynamic is the urge toward existence as a spiritual being.

The eighth dynamic is the urge toward existence as infinity. This is also identified as the Supreme Being. Thus, this dynamic can be called the infinity, or God, dynamic.

As noted earlier, the dynamics can be conceived as a series of concentric circles in which the first dynamic would be the center and each new dynamic would be successively a circle outside the preceding circle. The individual, then, expands from the first into the other dynamics as his responsibility increases. For example, a baby at birth is not perceptive beyond the first dynamic, but as he grows and his interests expand he can be seen to embrace other dynamics, beginning with his family (second dynamic) with an awareness and appreciation of mother and father, to his school (third dynamic) and associating with other children, etc.

An individual’s ability is increased by improving his survival across the dynamics. As he becomes more capable and more aware, he becomes more able to control and influence all of his dynamics.

The goal of Scientology is to help an individual survive to the greatest level across all of his dynamics from the first and ultimately to the eighth.