What is Impinge

A Deep Dive into Scientology Jargon

This post is in response to winner of the October 10, 2024 Opinion Poll. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to get your vote in on the upcoming poll.

L. Ron Hubbard was a legend in his own mind. He was a self-proclaimed genius. This would have been laughable, except people believed him. And followed in his footsteps. And did what he asked. And spoke his invented language. He took ordinary English language words and turned them into his own gibberish. Like the word impinge.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines impinge as:

impinge /ĭm-pĭnj′/

intransitive verb

1. To encroach on or limit something, such as a right. 
2. To have an effect or influence. 
3. To collide or strike against something. “Sound waves impinge on the eardrum.”

Hubbard took this word and modified it for his own use, made it something to be feared. Impinge, in its’ standard definition, has a fairly benign feel. In Scientology, impinge takes on a whole new meaning.

From early on in Scientology, a person is trained to impinge. The first real training in Hubbard’s version of impinge comes during the initial TRs the Training Routines. The very same introductory training brand new people take when they walk in the door.

By the time a student reaches TR 8, they are learning to impinge the Scientology way. It is done in such a simple way that the person learning it does not even understand what’s going on. TR 8 has the person learning to yell at an ashtray. This idea is so absurd that the person’s mind fails to relate it to the real world. They don’t see that the training entails ordering this object to do things by the very force of your will.

Tone 40, Intention is no such thing. The person is not trained to force the person to do something because they “intended” them to do it. Hubbard managed to convince many people they could control the universe with their minds. However, the truth is, TR-8 teaches a person how to force themselves on someone. It shows how to make them do their will. It is a breeding ground for those who prey on the weak.

And that leads us to the definition of impinge. It is being a bully. It is a small time bully, a big bully . Or a world class bully. As long as you are a good bully, Scientology will protect you.

Trish Duggan is a good example of a Scientology bully. But how is she impinging? Easy, she’s donating hundreds of millions to David Miscavige. He gets to bully more and more people. What a great impingement!

in Scientology boils down to having a massive effect on an area. Generally, this is a bad effect. If a protest happens, Scientologists will claim that their 10 protesters impinged on “the evil psychs.” In other words, they caused the people they were protesting to cower in fear.

Let’s take impinge a step further. If a person gets in trouble in Scientology, it is the punisher’s job them to ensure the punishment impinges on the one being corrected. In other words, the goal of the person issuing the correction is not to make the person fix the mistake. Only to feel really bad about having done it.

To impinge, in Scientology, is to take total control of a certain area. It is to strong arm the control of the area. It is what Scientology attempts to do to the world at large every day. Why? Because the people still trapped inside have been so broken they let it happen to them. Therefore, the bullies in charge believe we all act that way.

Impinge is just one more way to tell Scientologists they are superior. Another way to entrap them. Another way to make them susceptible to the lies. Another reason for them to believe they still have control. Yet they are so afraid to face the world that they would rather get a law against a handful of peaceful protesters than have their thousands of attendees see them. The bullies really are cowards.