Good article about past Xian's brainwashing and the media and
govermetns now today.
http://www.dicksutphen.com/html/battlemind.html
The Battle For Your Mind
Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques
Being Used On The Public Today
By ***** Sutphen
The following is an expanded version of a talk ***** Sutphen delivered
at the World Congress of Professional Hypnotists Convention in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Although the paper carries a 1984 copyright to protect
the contents from unlawful duplication for sale, ***** invites
individuals to make copies and give them to friends or anyone in a
position to communicate this information. Since the paper was released,
it has been distributed to millions and is currently available on
dozens of Websites. As a result of this awareness, ***** has been
contacted by law enforcement officers, the BBC and investigative
reporters. On numerous occasions, the information has helped to bring
public attention to the misuse of conversion tactics.
Some government agencies don't want this information generally known,
for the techniques are used in armed forces basic training. Some
Christian Fundamentalists, cults, and human-potential trainings would
also prefer that the public remain unaware of how they are recruiting
new members.
______________________________________
Summary of Contents:
The Birth of Conversion/Brainwashing in Christian Revivalism in 1735.
The Pavlovian explanation of the three brain phases.
Born-Again preachers: Step-by-step, how they conduct a revival and the
expected physiological results.
The "voice roll" technique used by preachers, lawyers and hypnotists.
New trance-inducing churches.
The six steps to conversion.
The decognition process. Thought-stopping techniques.
The "sell it by zealot" technique.
True believers and mass movements.
Persuasion techniques: "Yes set", "Imbedded Commands", "Shock and
Confusion", and the "Interspersal Techniques."
Subliminals.
Vibrato and ELF waves. Inducing trance with vibrational sound. Even
professional observers will be "possessed" at charismatic gatherings.
The "only hope" technique to attend and not be converted.
Non-detectable Neurophone programming through the skin.
The medium for mass take-over.
_______________________________________
I'm going to talk about conversion, which is a nice word for
brainwashing. Everything I'll share only exposes the surface of the
problem. I don't know how the misuse of these techniques can be stopped
other than through public awareness. It isn't possible to legislate
against what often cannot be detected; and if those who legislate are
using these techniques, there is little hope of affecting laws to
govern usage.
In talking about mind manipulation, I am talking about my own business.
I know it, and I know how effective it can be. I produce hypnosis and
subliminal tapes and, in some of my seminars, I use conversion tactics
to assist participants to become independent and self-sufficient. But,
any time I use these techniques, I point out that I am using them, and
those attending have a choice to participate or not. They're also aware
of the desired result of participation.
So, to begin, I want to share a basic fact about brainwashing: IN THE
ENTIRE HISTORY OF MAN, NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN BRAINWASHED AND REALIZED,
OR BELIEVED, THAT HE HAD BEEN BRAINWASHED. Those who have been
brainwashed will usually passionately defend their manipulators,
claiming they have simply been "shown the light" ... or have been
transformed in miraculous ways.
The Birth of Conversion
Any study of brainwashing has to begin with a study of Christian
revivalism in eighteenth century America. Apparently, Jonathan Edwards
accidentally discovered the techniques during a religious crusade in
1735 in Northampton, Massachusetts. By inducing guilt and acute
apprehension and by increasing the tension, the sinners attending his
revival meetings would break down and completely submit. Technically,
what Edwards was doing was creating conditions that wipe the brain
slate clean so that the mind accepts new programming. He would tell
those attending, "You're a sinner! You're destined for hell!"
As a result, one person committed suicide and another attempted
suicide. The neighbors of the suicidal converts related that they, too,
were affected so deeply that, although they had found "eternal
salvation," they were obsessed with a diabolical temptation to end
their own lives.
Once a preacher, cult leader, manipulator or authority figure creates
the brain phrase to wipe the brain-slate clean, his subjects are open
to new programming. New input, in the form of suggestions, can be
substituted for their previous ideas. Because Edwards didn't turn his
message positive until the end of the revival, many accepted the
negative suggestions and acted, or desired to act, upon them.
Charles J. Finney was another Christian revivalist who used the same
techniques four years later in mass religious conversions in New York.
The techniques are still being used today by Christian revivalists,
cults, human-potential training, some business rallies and the U.S.
armed services.
Let me point out here that I don't think most revivalist preachers
realize or know they are using brainwashing techniques. Edwards simply
stumbled upon a technique that worked, and others copied it and have
continued to copy it for over two hundred years. And the more
sophisticated our knowledge and technology become, the more effective
the conversion. I feel strongly that this is one of the major reasons
for the increasing rise in Christian fundamentalism, especially the
televised variety, while most of the orthodox religions are declining.
The 3 Brain Phases
The Christians may have been the first to successfully formulate
brainwashing, but we have to look to Pavlov, the Russian scientist, for
a technical explanation. In the early 1900s, his work with animals
opened the door to further investigations with humans. After the
revolution in Russia, Lenin was quick to see the potential of applying
Pavlov's research to his own ends.
Three distinct and progressive states of transmarginal inhibition were
identified by Pavlov. The first is the Equivalent phase, in which the
brain gives the same response to both strong and weak stimuli. Second
is the Paradoxical phase, in which the brain responds more actively to
weak stimuli than to strong. Third is the Ultra-Paradoxical phase, in
which conditioned responses and behavior patterns turn from positive to
negative or from negative to positive.
With the progressions through each phase, the degree of conversion
becomes more effective and complete. The ways to achieve conversion are
many and varied, but the usual first step in religious or political
brainwashing is to work on the emotions of an individual or group until
they reach an abnormal level of anger, fear, excitement or nervous
tension.
The progressive result of this mental condition is to impair judgment
and increase suggestibility. The more this condition can be maintained
or intensified, the more it compounds. Once catharsis or the first
brain phase is reached, the complete mental takeover becomes easier.
Existing mental programming can be replaced with new patterns of
thinking and behavior.
Other often-used physiological weapons to modify normal brain functions
are fasting, radical or high sugar diets, physical discomforts,
regulation of breathing, mantra chanting in meditation, the disclosure
of awesome mysteries, special lighting and sound effects, programmed
response to incense, or intoxicating drugs.
The same results can be obtained in contemporary psychiatric treatment
by electric shock treatments and even by purposely lowering a patient's
blood sugar level with insulin injections.
Before I talk about exactly how some of the techniques are applied, I
want to point out that hypnosis and conversion tactics are two
distinctly different things -- and that conversion techniques are far
more powerful. However, the two are often mixed ... with powerful
results.
How Revivalist Preachers Work
If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are probably
several in your city. Go to the church or tent early and sit in the
rear, about three-quarters of the way back. Most likely repetitive
music will be played while the people come in for the service. A
repetitive beat, ideally ranging from 45 to 72 beats per minute (a
rhythm close to the beat of a human heart), is very hypnotic and can
generate an eyes-open altered state of consciousness in a high
percentage of people. And, once you are in an Alpha state, you are at
least 25 times as suggestible as you would be in full Beta
consciousness. The music is probably the same for every service, or
incorporates the same beat, and many of the people will go into an
altered state almost immediately upon entering the sanctuary.
Subconsciously, they recall their state of mind from previous services
and respond according to the post-hypnotic programming.
Watch the people waiting for the service to begin. Many will exhibit
external signs of trance -- body relaxation and slightly dilated eyes.
Often, they begin swaying back and forth with their hands in the air
while sitting in their chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will come
out. He usually speaks with a "voice roll".
Voice Roll Technique
A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when
inducing a trance. It is also used by many lawyers (several of the
most famous are highly trained hypnotists), when they desire to
entrench a point firmly in the minds of the jurors. A voice roll can
sound as if the speaker were talking to the beat of a metronome, or it
may sound as though he were emphasizing every word in a monotonous,
patterned style. The words will usually be delivered at the rate of 35
to 60 beats per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect.
Now the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He induces an
altered state of consciousness and/or begins to generate the excitement
and the expectations of the audience. Next, a group of young women in
"sweet and pure" chiffon dresses might come out to sing a song. Gospel
songs are great for building excitement and involvement. In the middle
of the song, one of the girls might be "smitten by the Spirit" and fall
down or react as if possessed by the Holy Spirit. This effectively
increases the intense atmosphere in the room. At this point, hypnosis
and conversion tactics are being mixed. And the result is the
audience's attention is now totally focused upon the communication
while the environment becomes more exciting or tense.
Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced Alpha mental
level has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection plate.
In the background, a 45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the assistant
preacher might exhort, "Give to God ...Give to God...Give to God ..."
And the audience does give. God may not get the money, but his already
wealthy representative will.
Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He induces fear
and increases the tension by talking about "the devil", "going to hell"
or the forthcoming Armageddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood
that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He was also
obsessed with a "bloody ax of God," which attendees had seen hanging
above the pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that some people
saw it -- the power of suggestion given to a group of people in
hypnosis assures that at least 10 to 25 percent would see whatever he
suggested they see.
In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing" usually
follows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on
stage and relate their stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I
had arthritis and now it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation
that works. After listening to numerous case histories of miraculous
healings, the average guy in the audience with a minor problem is sure
he can be healed. The room is charged with fear, guilt, intense
excitement and expectations.
Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the edge
of the room, or they are told to come down to the front. The preacher
might touch them on the head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This
releases the psychic energy and, for many, catharsis results. Catharsis
is a purging of repressed emotions. Individuals might cry, fall down or
even go into spasms. And if catharsis is effected, they stand a chance
of being healed. In catharsis, the brain-slate is temporarily wiped
clean and the new suggestion is accepted.
For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four
days to a week -- a week is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic
suggestion given to a somnambulistic subject will usually last. Even if
the healing doesn't last, if they come back every week the power of
suggestion may continually override the problem ... or sometimes,
sadly, it can mask a physical problem which could prove to be very
detrimental to the individual in the long run.
I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do.
Maybe the individual was ready to let go of the negativity that caused
the problem in the first place; maybe it was the work of God. Yet I
contend that it can be explained with existing knowledge of brain/mind
function.
The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use
"speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the spectacle
creates intense excitement in the observers.
The use of hypnotic and conversion techniques by religions is
sophisticated, and professionals are assuring that they become ever
more effective. A man in Los Angeles is designing, building and
reworking a lot of churches around the county. He tells ministers what
they need and how to use it. This man's track record indicates that the
congregation and the monetary income will double if the minister
follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his
efforts are in the sound system and lighting.
Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary importance
in inducing an altered state of consciousness -- I've been using them
for years in my own seminars. However, my participants are fully aware
of the process and what they can expect as a result of their
participation.
6 Conversion Techniques
Cults and human-potential training companies are always looking for new
converts. To attain them, many use conversion tactics, which must be
effective within a short space of time -- usually a weekend, but in
some cases as quickly as a single day. The following are the six
primary techniques used to generate the conversion.
Conversion Tactic 1: The meetings or training takes place in an area
where participants are cut off from the outside world: a private home,
a remote or rural setting, or a hotel ballroom where the participants
are allowed only limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings,
the controllers will give a lengthy talk about the importance of
"keeping agreements" in life. The participants are told, "If you don't
keep your agreements, your life will never work." Generally, this is
good advice, but the controllers are subverting a positive human value
for selfish purposes. The participants vow to themselves and their
trainer that they will keep their agreements. Anyone who doesn't
concur will be intimidated into agreement or forced to leave the
training. The next step is to get the participants to agree to complete
the training, thus assuring a high percentage of conversions for the
organization. They will usually have to agree not to take drugs, smoke
and sometimes not to eat ... or they are given such a short meal break
that it creates tension. One of the real reasons for the agreements is
to alter internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and hopefully
causes at least a slight malfunction of the nervous system, which in
turn increases the conversion potential.
Before the gathering is complete, the agreement's manipulation will be
used to ensure that the new converts go out and find new participants.
They are intimidated into agreeing to bring in at least two potential
converts. Since the importance of keeping agreements is so high on
their priority list, the converts will twist the arms of everyone they
know, attempting to talk them into attending the free introductory
session offered at a future date by the training organization. The new
converts are zealots. The inside term for merchandising one of the
largest and most successful human-potential trainings is, "sell it by
zealot!"
At least a million people are graduates and a good percentage have been
left with a mental activation button that assures their future loyalty
and assistance if the guru figure or organization calls. Think about
the potential political implications of hundreds of thousands of
zealots programmed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up sessions
after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly meetings or
inexpensive seminars given on a regular basis which the organization
will attempt to talk you into taking. These regularly scheduled events
are used to maintain control. As the early Christian revivalists found,
long-term control is dependent upon a good follow-up system.
Conversion Tactic 2: A schedule is maintained that causes physical and
mental fatigue. This is primarily accomplished by long hours in which
the participants are given no opportunity for relaxation or reflection.
Conversion Tactic 3: Techniques are used to increase the tension in the
room or environment.
Conversion Tactic 4: Uncertainty. One of the most effective ways of
creating uncertainty is to subject the participants to the fear of
being "put on the spot" or encountered by the trainers who play upon
guilt feelings, or convince the participants to verbally relate their
innermost secrets in front of the others. Activities that emphasize the
removal of masks is another powerful ploy. One of the most successful
human-potential seminars forces the participants to stand on a stage in
front of the entire audience while being verbally attacked by the
trainers. A public poll showed that the most fearful of all situations
is to speak to an audience. It ranked above window washing outside the
85th floor of an office building. So you can imagine the fear and
tension this situation generates within the seminar participants who
have agreed to complete the training. Many faint, but most cope with
the stress by mentally going away. They literally go into an Alpha
state, which automatically opens them to being 25 to 200 times more
suggestible. And another loop of the downward spiral into conversion is
successfully effected.
Conversion Tactic 5: The introduction of jargon -- new terms that have
meaning only to the "insiders" who have participated in the training.
Vicious language is also frequently used to purposely make participants
uncomfortable.
Conversion Tactic 6: There is no humor in the communications until the
participants are converted. Then, merry-making and humor are highly
desirable as symbols of the new joy the participants have supposedly
"found".
I'm not saying that good does not result from participation in such
gatherings. But it is important for people to know what has happened
and to be aware that continual involvement may not be in their best
interest.
Over the years, I've conducted professional seminars to teach people to
be hypnotists, trainers and counselors. I've had many of those who
conduct human-potential training and rallies (from the training
companies who use the tactics I've just described) come to me and say,
"I know what I'm doing works, but I don't know why." After showing them
how and why, many have gotten out of the business or have decided to
approach it differently or in a much more loving and supportive manner.
Many of these trainers have become personal friends, and it scares us
all to have experienced the power of one person with a microphone and a
room full of people. Add a little charisma and you can count on a high
percentage of conversion. The sad truth is that a high percentage of
people seem to want to become true believers and give away their power.
Cult gatherings or human-potential trainings are an ideal environment
to observe firsthand what is technically called the "Stockholm
Syndrome". This is a situation in which those who are intimidated,
controlled or made to suffer, begin to love, admire and even sometimes
sexually desire their controllers or captors.
But let me inject a word of warning here: If you think you can attend
such gatherings and not be affected, you are probably wrong. A perfect
example is the case of a woman who went to Haiti on a Guggenheim
Fellowship to study Haitian Voodoo. In her report, she related how the
music eventually induced uncontrollable bodily movement and an altered
state of consciousness. Although she understood the process and thought
herself above it, when she began to feel herself become vulnerable to
the music, she attempted to fight it and turned away. Anger or
resistance almost always assures conversion. A few moments later she
was possessed by the music and began dancing in a trance around the
Voodoo meeting house. A brain phase had been induced by the music and
excitement, and she awoke feeling reborn. The only hope of attending
such gatherings without being affected is to be the Buddha and allow no
positive or negative emotions to surface. Few people are capable of
such detachment.
I once attended est (Erhard Seminar Training). The training is no
longer offered, although a current incarnation of the seminar is called
The Forum. My goal in attending was to be an observer -- to be Buddha
throughout the process, which took place in a Phoenix hotel ballroom
with 200 people attending. I remained detached until late afternoon of
the final day, when a doctor stood up and accused the est trainer of
using brainwashing tactics. The incensed trainer argued back, using
ridiculous Zen riddles to try to intimidate the doctor.
After 45 minutes of ranting, the trainer began using the other
participants against the protesting doctor, who was speaking the truth.
That did it. I stood up, snapped a karate kick at an est staffer and
took a spare microphone out of his hands (the kick was to distract and
did not inflict pain). Then I verbally went after the trainer. He
responded by yelling for his people to call the police. Both the doctor
and I walked out of the training room as the police arrived. I'm
probably still listed in the est computers as someone who doesn't keep
agreements.
Before leaving the six conversion tactics, I should mention military
boot camp. The Marine Corps talks about breaking men down before
rebuilding them as new men -- as marines. That is exactly what they do,
the same way a cult breaks its people down and rebuilds them as happy
flower sellers on your local street corner. Every one of the six
conversion techniques are used in boot camp. Considering the needs of
the military, I'm not making a judgment as to whether this is good or
bad. As a simple fact, these men are brainwashed. Those who won't
submit must be discharged or spend much of their time in the brig.
Decognition Process
Once the initial conversion is effected, cults, armed services and
similar groups cannot have cynicism among their members. Members must
respond to commands and do as they are told, otherwise, they are
dangerous to the organizational control. This is normally accomplished
as a three-step Decognition Process.
Step One is Alertness Reduction: The controllers cause the nervous
system to malfunction, making it difficult to distinguish between
fantasy and reality. This can be accomplished in several ways. Poor
diet is one; watch out for brownies and Koolaid. The sugar throws the
nervous system off. More subtle is the "spiritual diet" used by many
cults. They eat only vegetables and fruits; without the grounding of
grains, nuts, seeds, dairy products, fish or meat, an individual
becomes mentally spacey. Inadequate sleep is another primary way to
reduce alertness, especially when combined with long hours of work or
intense physical activity. Being bombarded with intense and unique
experiences achieves the same result.
Step Two is Programmed Confusion: You are mentally assaulted while your
alertness is being reduced as in Step One. This is accomplished with a
deluge of new information, lectures, discussion groups, encounters or
one-to-one processing, which usually amounts to the controller
bombarding the individual with questions. During this phase of
decognition, reality and illusion often merge and perverted logic is
likely to be accepted.
Step Three is Thought Stopping: Techniques are used to cause the mind
to go flat -- altered-state-of-consciousness techniques that initially
induce calmness by giving the mind something simple to deal with that
focuses awareness. The continued use brings on a feeling of elation and
eventually hallucination. The result is the reduction of thought and
eventually, if used long enough, the cessation of all thought and
withdrawal from everyone and everything except that which the
controllers direct. The mental takeover is then complete. It is
important to be aware that when members or participants are instructed
to use thought-stopping techniques, they are told that they will
benefit by so doing: they will become better soldiers or attain
enlightenment.
There are three primary techniques used for thought stopping. The first
is Marching: The thump, thump, thump beat literally generates
self-hypnosis and thus greater susceptibility to suggestion. In the
early stages of his rise to power, Adolph Hitler used marching
demonstrations and the excitement as a mass conversion technique for
those attending his rallies, and in the decognition phase for his
soldiers.
The second thought-stopping technique is Meditation. If you spend 90
minutes or more a day in meditation, after a few weeks, there is high
probability that you will not return to full Beta consciousness. You
will remain in a fixed state of Alpha for as long as you continue to
meditate. I'm not saying this is bad. If you do it yourself, it may be
very beneficial. But know that you are causing your mind to go flat.
I've worked with meditators on an EEG machine and the results are
conclusive: the more you meditate, the flatter your mind becomes until,
eventually and especially if used to excess or in combination with
decognition, all thought ceases. Some spiritual groups call this
nirvana -- which is just another manipulation. The mental state is
simply a predictable physiological result. If heaven on earth is
non-thinking and non-involvement, I really question why we are here.
The third thought-stopping technique is Chanting, and often chanting in
meditation. Speaking in tongues could also be included in this
category.
All three thought-stopping techniques produce an altered state of
consciousness. This may be desirable if you are controlling the
process, for you also control the input. I personally use at least one
self-hypnosis programming session every day and I know how beneficial
it is for me. But you need to know if you use these techniques to the
degree of remaining continually in Alpha that, although you'll be very
mellow, you'll also be more suggestible.
True Believers & Mass Movements
Before ending this section, I want to talk about the people who are
most susceptible to conversion and joining mass movements. I am
convinced that at least a third of the population are what Eric Hoffer
calls true believers. They are joiners and followers ... people who
want to give away their power. They look for answers, meaning and
enlightenment outside themselves.
Hoffer's book The True Believer (Harper & Row, 1951) is a classic on
mass movements. He says, "True believers are not intent on bolstering
and advancing a cherished self, but are those craving to be rid of an
unwanted self. They are followers, not because of a desire for
self-advancement, but because it can satisfy their passion for
self-renunciation!" Hoffer also says that true believers "are eternally
incomplete and eternally insecure."
In my years of conducting seminar trainings, I have constantly run into
true believers. All I can do is advise them to seek the True Self
within, where meaningful personal answers will be found. I teach that
the basics of spirituality are self-responsibility (karma) and the
attainment of self-actualization (being compassionate, while also
accepting others without judgment, expectations, blame or attempting to
control.) But most of the true believers just tell me that I'm not
spiritual and go looking for someone who will give them the dogma and
structure they desire.
Never underestimate the potential danger of these people. They can
easily be molded into fanatics who will gladly work and die for their
holy cause. It is a substitute for their lost faith in themselves and
offers a substitute for individual hope. Hitler's Brown Shirts were
true believers. The Moral Majority is made up of true believers. All
cults are composed of true believers. You'll find them in politics,
churches, businesses and social-cause groups. They are the fanatics in
these organizations.
Mass Movements will usually have a charismatic leader. The followers
want to convert others to their way of living or impose a new way of
life -- if necessary, by legislating laws forcing others to their view,
as evidenced by the activities of the Moral Majority. This means
enforcement by guns or punishment, which is the bottom line in law
enforcement.
A common hatred, enemy or devil is essential to the success of a mass
movement. Hitler's devil was the Jews; the Born-Again Christians have
Satan himself, but that isn't enough -- they've added the New Age and
all who oppose their integration of church and politics, as evidenced
in the political reelection campaigns against those who opposite their
views. In revolutions, the devil is usually the ruling power or
aristocracy. Some human-potential movements are far too clever to ask
their graduates to join anything, thus labeling themselves a cult --
but, upon close examination, you'll find that their devil is everyone
who hasn't taken their training.
There are mass movements without devils but they seldom attain major
status. True believers are mentally unbalanced or insecure people, or
those without hope or friends. People don't look for allies when they
love, but they do when they hate or become obsessed with a cause. And
those who desire a new life and a new order feel the old ways must be
eliminated before the new order can be built.
Persuasion Techniques
Persuasion isn't technically brainwashing, but it is a manipulation of
the human mind, without the manipulated party being aware what caused
his opinion shift. I only have time to very basically introduce you to
a few of the many techniques in use today, but the basis of persuasion
is always to access your right brain. The left half of your brain is
analytical and rational. The right half is creative and imaginative.
That is overly simplified but it makes my point. So, the idea is to
distract the left brain and keep it busy. Ideally, the persuader
generates an eyes-open altered state of consciousness, causing you to
shift from Beta awareness into Alpha -- a shift that can be measured on
an EEG machine.
First, let me give you an example of distracting the left brain.
Politicians use these powerful techniques all the time; lawyers use
many variations which, I've been told, they call tightening the noose.
Assume for a moment that you are watching a politician give a speech.
First, he might generate what is called a yes set. These are statements
that will cause most listeners to agree; they might even unknowingly
nod their heads in agreement. Next come the truisms. These are usually
facts that could be debated but, once the politician has his audience
agreeing, the odds are in the politician's favor that the audience
won't stop to think for themselves, thus continuing to agree. Last
comes the suggestion. This is what the politician wants you to do and,
since you've been agreeing all along, you could be persuaded to accept
the suggestion. Now, if you'll listen closely to my political speech,
you'll find that the first three statements are the yes set, the next
three are truisms and the last is the suggestion.
"Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry about high food prices? Are you
tired of astronomical gas prices? Are you sick of out-of-control
inflation? Well, you know the Other Party allowed 18 percent inflation
last year; you know crime has increased 50 percent nationwide in the
last 12 months, and you know your paycheck hardly covers your expenses
any more. Well, the answer to resolving these problems is to elect me,
John Jones, to the U.S. Senate."
You've heard it all before. But you might also watch for what are
called Imbedded Commands. As an example: On key words, the speaker
makes a gesture with his left hand, which research has shown is more
apt to access your right brain. Today's media-oriented politicians and
spellbinders are often carefully trained by a whole new breed of
specialists who are using every trick in the book -- both old and new
-- to manipulate you into accepting their candidate.
The concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are so heavily
protected that I found out the hard way that to even talk about them
publicly or in print results in threatened legal action. Yet
Neuro-Linguistic training is readily available to anyone willing to
devote the time and pay the price. It is some of the most subtle and
powerful manipulation I've ever seen. A good friend who recently
attended a two-week seminar on Neuro-Linguistics found that many of
those she talked to during the breaks were government people.
Another slippery manipulation is called an interspersal technique and
the idea is to say one thing with words but plant a subconscious
impression of something else in the minds of the listeners and viewers.
As an example, assume you are watching a television commentator make
the following statement: "Senator Johnson is assisting local
authorities to clear up the stupid mistakes of the companies
contributing to the nuclear waste problems." It sounds like a statement
of fact, but if the speaker emphasizes the right word and especially if
he makes the proper hand gestures on the key words, you could be left
with the subconscious impression that Senator Johnson is stupid. That
was the subliminal goal of the statement and the speaker cannot be sued
for libel.
Persuasion techniques are also frequently used on a much smaller scale
with just as much effectiveness. The insurance salesman knows his pitch
is likely to be more effective if he can get you to visualize something
in your mind. This is right-brain communication. For instance, he might
pause in his conversation, look slowly around your living room and say,
"Can you just imagine this beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of
course you can! It is one of your unconscious fears and in forcing you
to visualize it, you are more likely to be manipulated into signing his
insurance policy.
The cults, operating in every airport, use what I call shock and
confusion techniques to distract the left brain and communicated
directly with the right brain. While waiting for a plane, I once
watched one operate for over an hour. He had a technique of almost
jumping in front of someone. Initially, his voice was loud then dropped
as he made his pitch to take a book and contribute money to the cause.
Usually, when people are shocked, they immediately withdraw. In this
case they were shocked by the strange appearance, sudden
materialization and loud voice of the devotee. In other words, the
people went into an Alpha state for security because they didn't want
to confront the reality before them. In Alpha, they were highly
suggestible so they responded to the suggestion of taking the book; the
moment they took the book, they felt guilty and responded to the second
suggestion: give money. We are all conditioned that if someone gives us
something, we have to give them something in return. While watching
this hustler, I was close enough to notice that many of the people he
stopped exhibited an outward sign of Alpha -- their eyes dilated.
Subliminal Programming
Subliminals are hidden suggestions, perceived only by your subconscious
mind. They can be audio suggestions, hidden behind music, or visual
suggestions airbrushed or cleverly incorporated into a picture or
design, or words/images flashed on a screen so fast that you don't
consciously see them.
Some subliminal programming tapes offer verbal suggestions recorded at
a low volume. I question the efficacy of this technique -- if
subliminals are not perceptible, they cannot be effective, and
subliminals recorded below the audible threshold are therefore useless.
The oldest audio subliminal technique uses a voice that follows the
volume of the music so subliminals are impossible to detect without a
parametric equalizer. But this technique is patented and, when I wanted
to develop my own line of subliminal audio cassettes, negotiations with
the patent holder proved to be unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained
copies of the patents which I gave to talented Hollywood sound
engineers, asking them to create a new technique. They found a way to
psychoacoustically modify and synthesize the suggestions so that they
are projected in the same chord and frequency as the music, thus giving
them the effect of being part of the music. But we found that in using
this technique, there is no way to reduce various frequencies to detect
the subliminals. In other words, although the suggestions are being
heard by the subconscious mind, they cannot be monitored with even the
most sophisticated equipment.
If we were able to come up with this technique as easily as we did, I
can only imagine how sophisticated the technology has become, with
government or advertising funding. And I shudder to think about the
propaganda and commercial manipulation that we are exposed to on a
daily basis. There is simply no way to know what is behind the music
you hear. It may even be possible to hide a second voice behind the
voice to which you are listening.
The series of books by Bryan Key, Ph.D. on subliminals in advertising
and political campaigns, well documents the misuse in many areas,
especially printed advertising in newspapers, magazines and posters.
The big question about subliminals is: do they work? Based upon the
response from those who have used my tapes, the answer is yes.
Subliminal suggestions behind the music in department stores can be
advising customers not to shoplift. An East Coast department store
chain reported a 37 percent reduction in thefts in the first nine
months of testing.
A 1984 article in the technical newsletter Brain-Mind Bulletin states
that as much as 99 percent of our cognitive activity may
benon-conscious, according to the director of the Laboratory for
Cognitive Psychophysiology at the University of Illinois. The lengthy
report ends with the statement, "these findings support the use of
subliminal approaches such as taped suggestions for weight loss and the
therapeutic use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic programming."
Mass Misuse
I could relate many stories that support subliminal programming, but
I'd rather use my time to make you aware of even more subtle uses of
such programming.
I have personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles auditorium with
over ten thousand people who were gathered to listen to a charismatic
figure. Twenty minutes after entering the auditorium, I became aware
that I was going in and out of an altered state. Those accompanying me
experienced the same thing. Since it is our business, we were aware of
what was happening, but those around us were not. By careful
observation, what appeared to be spontaneous demonstrations were, in
fact, artful manipulations. The only way I could figure how the
eyes-open trance had been induced was to pipe a 6- to
7-cycle-per-second vibration into the room behind the air conditioner
sound. That vibration generates Alpha, which would render the audience
highly susceptible. Ten to 25 percent of the population is capable of a
somnambulistic trance level. For these people, the suggestions of the
speaker could potentially be accepted as commands.
Vibrato
Vibrato is the tremulous effect imparted in some vocal or instrumental
music, and the cycle-per-second range causes people to go into an
altered state of consciousness. At one period of English history,
singers whose voices contained pronounced vibrato were not allowed to
perform publicly because listeners would go into an altered state and
have fantasies, often sexual in nature.
People who attend opera or enjoy listening to singers like Mario Lanza
are familiar with this altered state induced by the performers.
ELFs
Now, let's carry this awareness a little farther. There are also
inaudible ELFs (extra-low frequency waves). These are electromagnetic
in nature. One of the primary uses of ELFs is to communicate with our
submarines. Dr. Andrija Puharich, a highly respected researcher, in an
attempt to warn U.S. officials about Russian use of ELFs, set up an
experiment. Volunteers were wired so their brain waves could be
measured on an EEG. They were then sealed in a metal room that could
not be penetrated by a normal signal.
Puharich then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers. ELFs go right through
the earth and right through metal walls. Those inside couldn't know if
the signal was or was not being sent. And Puharich watched the
reactions on the technical equipment: Thirty percent of those inside
the room were taken over by the ELF signal in six to ten seconds.
When I say taken over, I mean their behavior followed the changes
anticipated at very precise frequencies. Waves below 6 cycles per
second caused the subjects to become emotionally upset, and even
disrupted bodily functions. At 8.2 cycles, they felt high -- as though
they had been in masterful meditation, learned over a period of years.
Eleven to 11.3 cycles induced waves of depressed agitation which could
lead to riotous behavior.
The Neurophone
Dr. Patrick Flanagan is a personal friend. In the early 1960's, as a
teenager, Pat was listed as one of the top scientists in the world by
Life magazine. Among his many inventions was a device he called the
Neurophone -- an electronic instrument that can successfully program
suggestions directly through contact with the skin. When he attempted
to patent the device, the government demanded that he prove it worked.
When he did, the National Security Agency confiscated the neurophone.
It took Pat two years of legal battle to get his invention back.
In using the device, you don't hear or see a thing; it is applied to
the skin, which Pat claims is the source of special senses. The skin
contains more sensors for heat, touch, pain, vibration and electrical
fields than any other part of the human anatomy.
In one of his tests, Pat conducted two identical seminars for a
military audience -- one seminar one night and one the next night,
because the size of the room was not large enough to accommodate all
the attendees at one time. When the first group proved to be very cool
and unwilling to respond, Patrick spent the next day making a special
tape to play at the second seminar. The tape instructed the audience to
be extremely warm and responsive and for their hands to become tingly.
The tape was played through the neurophone, which was connected to a
wire he placed along the ceiling of the room. There were no speakers,
so no sound could be heard, yet the message was successfully
transmitted from that wire directly into the brains of the audience.
They were warm and receptive, their hands tingled and they responded,
according to programming, in other ways that Pat doesn't want publicly
discussed.
The Medium For Takeover
The more we find out about how human beings work, the more we learn to
control human beings. What scares me most is that the medium for
takeover is already in place! The television set in your living room
and bedroom may be doing a lot more than just entertaining you.
Before I continue, let me point out something else about an altered
state of consciousness. When you go into an altered state, you transfer
into right brain, which results in the internal release of brain
opiates: enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, which are chemically almost
identical to opium. In other words, it feels good and you want to
experience more.
Tests by researcher Herbert Krugman showed that while viewers were
watching TV, right-brain activity outnumbered left-brain activity by a
ratio of two to one. Put more simply, the viewers were in an altered
state more often than not. They were getting their Beta-endorphin fix.
To measure attention spans, psychophysiologist Thomas Mulholland of the
Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, attached young viewers to
an EEG machine that was wired to shut the TV set off whenever the
children's brains produced a majority of Alpha waves. Although the
children were told to concentrate, only a few could keep the set on for
more than 30 seconds.
Most viewers are already hypnotized. To deepen the trance is easy. One
simple way is to place a blank, black frame every 32 frames in the film
that is being projected. This creates a 45-beat-per-minute pulsation
perceived only by the subconscious mind -- the ideal pace to generate
deep hypnosis.
The commercials or suggestions presented following this Alpha-inducing
broadcast are much more likely to be accepted by the viewer. The high
percentage of the viewing audience that naturally attains a
somnambulistic-depth could very well accept the suggestions as commands
-- as long as the commands did not ask the viewer to do something
contrary to his morals, religion or self-preservation.
The medium for takeover is here. By the age of 16, children have spent
10,000 to 15,000 hours watching television -- more time than they spend
in school. In the average home, the TV set is on for six hours and 44
minutes per day.
A research project by Jacob Jacoby, a Purdue University psychologist,
found that of 2,700 people tested, 90 percent misunderstood even such
simple viewing fare as commercials or a TV series they watched
regularly. Only minutes after watching a show, the typical viewer
missed 23 to 36 percent of the questions about what they had just seen.
Maybe this is because they were going in and out of trance. When in a
deep trance, you must be instructed to remember -- otherwise you forget
consciously, while your subconscious mind remembers everything.
The Tip of the Iceberg
I have just touched the tip of the iceberg. When you start to combine
subliminal messages behind the music, subliminal visuals projected on
the screen, hypnotically produced visual effects, sustained musical
beats at a trance-inducing pace, you are talking conversion --
brainwashing. Every hour that you spend watching TV you become more
conditioned. In case you thought there was a law against any of these
things, guess again. There isn't. There are a lot of powerful people
out there who probably have plans for you?
Partial Bibliography:
Influence -- The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D.
(Quill 1984)
The Battle for the Mind by William Sargant (Perennial Library 1957)
Snapping by Flo Conway & Jim Siegelman (Delta Books 1978)
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer (Harper & Row 1951)
Mind Wars by Ron McRae (St. Martin's Press 1984)
How To Organize & Manage Your Own Religion Cult by Duke McCoy
(Loompanics Unlimited 1980)
Behavior Modification by Richard Camellion (Paladin Press 1978)
Cults by Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg (Beaufort 1983)
Holy Terror by Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman (Delta Books 1982)
All subliminal books by Bryan Key, Ph.D.
Hitler propaganda films produced before World War II
Newsweek magazine
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