Coincidentally or not, off screen the film's lead actor Tom Cruise espouses the creed of the Church of Scientology, where the goal is to become "A Clear". According to Scientology and it's core technique Dianetics, "The goal of Dianetics is a new state for the individual, sought throughout history but never attainable before Dianetics. This state is called Clear. A Clear is a being who no longer has his own reactive mind.

A Clear is an unaberrated person and is rational in that he forms the best possible solutions he can on the data he has and from his viewpoint. The Clear has no engrams which can be restimulated to throw out the correctness of computation by entering hidden and false data."

Now is that very clear? At least Dianetics doesn't take credit for the creation of this state called "Clear" (after all who can create a state of being?) yet until their arrival, this state was "never attainable". It's akin to saying "until you buy my map to San Antonio, you can't get there".

This Church goes on to pronounce that "The full glory of the state of Clear has no comparable description in any writings existing in our culture. The state had been long sought but was impossible to achieve without the researches and breakthroughs of L. Ron Hubbard." It's a wonder anyone found contentment pre-Hubbard.

Do you want clarity? You won't come to it intellectually. No one can give it to you even if they tell you they are the only ones that offer it. To see yourself and others with clarity, you must first be very still.

The mind is as a body of water. If the water is turbulent then the surface reflection will be choppy and distorted. If the water is still, the reflection is clearly witnessed. It is imperative to first still the mind before a state of clarity can arrive. Use whatever contemplative method/prayer/technique is most effective in quieting the mind. If you need a simple technique try the one located here.

There is no timetable to follow here. There is no need to judge your progress. Your ego wants you to master the mediation process quickly. It is not a game to be mastered but rather a process that with the passage of time and discipline, will become effortless and your ability to still your mind will increase.

When you are truly in the moment, fear and worry cannot touch you for they require past and future thought. Anticipating future events and the consequences of your past actions, catapults you from the safety of the present. Once knocked off balance and removed from your center, these images you speak of now absorb your attention. You then come under their hypnotic power. Should this occur, simply realize it is happening and return to the present moment.

This will occur countless times so don't keep a scorecard. Move towards clarity while ever realizing it is process. In every moment there is potential for insight and growth. The map needed is gratefully already inside you. Know that you most certainly can get there from here.

You can always choose to make sure that you have "no engrams which can be restimulated to throw out the correctness of computation by entering hidden and false data" if that brings more clarity instead of confounding.

Then again, when the Psalmist of the Old Testament says "Be still, and know that I am God..." the words are clarity itself.