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| 851.1 | | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sat Sep 10 1988 15:10 | 231 |
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THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, by Dick Sutphen -- 22.2 KB
Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public Today
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 6 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 Technique." 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 Dick Sutphen and this tape is a studio-recorded, expanded
version of a talk I delivered at the World Congress of Professional
Hypnotists Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the tape carries a
copyright to protect it from unlawful duplication for sale by other
companies, in this case, I invite individuals to make copies and give
them to friends or anyone in a position to communicate this
information.
Although I've been interviewed about the subject on many local and
regional radio and TV talk shows, large-scale mass communication
appears to be blocked, since it could result in suspicion or
investigation of the very media presenting it or the sponsors that
support the media. Some government agencies do not want this
information generally known. Nor do the Born-Again Christian movement,
cults, and many human-potential trainings.
Everything I will relate only exposes the surface of the problem. I
don't know how the misuse of these techniques can be stopped. I don't
think it is possible to legislate against that which often cannot be
detected; and if those who legislate are using these techniques, there
is little hope of affecting laws to govern usage. I do know that the
first step to initiate change is to generate interest. In this case,
that will probably only result from an underground effort.
In talking about this subject, 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,
anytime I use these techniques, I point out that I am using them, and
those attending have a choice to participate or not. They also know
what the desired result of participation will be.
So, to begin, I want to state the most basic of all facts 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
CONVERSION is a "nice" word for BRAINWASHING . . . and 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. The problem
was that the new input was negative. He would tell them, "You're a
sinner! You're destined for hell!"
As a result, one person committed suicide and another attempted
suicide. And 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 phase to wipe the brain-slate clean, his subjects are
wide open. New input, in the form of suggestion, 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 trainings, some business rallies,
and the United States Armed Services . . . to name just a few.
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 really 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 Three 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. The
second is the PARADOXICAL phase, in which the brain responds more
actively to weak stimuli than to strong. And the 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 progression through each phase, the degree of conversion
becomes more effective and complete. The way 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
judgement 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, programed 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
person'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 the human heart), is very
hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state of consciousness
in a very 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
probably come out. He usually speaks with a pretty good "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 whom 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 45 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
very effectively increases the intensity in the room. At this point,
hypnosis and conversion tactics are being mixed. And the result is the
audience's attention span 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
state has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection plate or
basket. 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
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hell," or the forthcoming Armegeddon.
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 axe of God," which everyone had seen
hanging above the pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that
everyone saw it--the power of suggestion given to hundreds 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 (one of the three brain
phases mentioned earlier), 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, which 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 techniques by religions is sophisticated, and
professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A man
in Los Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches
around the country. 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.
Six Conversion Techniques
Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for new
converts. To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And they
often need to do it within a short space of time--a weekend, or maybe
even a day. The following are the six primary techniques used to
generate the conversion. The meeting or training takes place in an
area where participants are cut off from the outside world. This may be
any place: a private home, a remote or rural setting, or even 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 that if they don't keep agreements, their life
will never work. It's a good idea to keep agreements, 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 does not will be intimidated into
agreement or forced to leave. The next step is to agree to complete
training, thus assuring a high percentage of conversions for the
organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to take drugs,
smoke, and sometimes not to eat . . . or they are given such short
meal breaks that it creates tension. The real reason 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 agreements will be used to
ensure that the new converts go out and find new participants. They are
intimidated into agreeing to do so before they leave. 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 a free introductory session offered at a future
date by the organization. The new converts are zealots. In fact, the
inside term for merchandising the largest and most successful human-
potential training 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 programed 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--or any regularly scheduled event
used to maintain control. As the early Christian revivalists found,
long-term control is dependent upon a good follow-up system.
Alright. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that indicates
conversion tactics are being used. 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.
The third tip-off: techniques used to increase the tension in the
room or environment.
Number four: Uncertainty. I could spend hours relating various
techniques to increase tension and generate uncertainty. Basically, the
participants are concerned about being "put on the spot" or encountered
by the trainers, guilt feelings are played upon, participants are
tempted to verbally relate their innermost secrets to the other
participants or forced to take part in activities that emphasize
removing their masks. 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
opinion poll, conducted a few years ago, showed that the number one
most-fearful situation an individual could encounter 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 participants. Many faint, but most cope with the
stress by mentally going away. They literally go into an alpha state,
which automatically makes them many times as suggestible as they
normally are. And another loop of the downward spiral into conversion
is successfully effected.
The fifth clue that conversion tactics are being used is the
introduction of jargon--new terms that have meaning only to the
"insiders" who participate. Vicious language is also frequently used,
purposely, to make participants uncomfortable.
The final tip-off is that there is no humor in the communications .
. . at least 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. It can and does. But I contend 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 trainings and rallies come to me and say, "I'm here
because I know that 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 conversions. The sad truth is that a high percentage
of people want to give away their power--they are true "believers"!
Cult gatherings or human-potential trainings are an ideal
environment to observe first-hand 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 a
Buddha and allow no positive or negative emotions to surface. Few
people are capable of such detachment.
Before I go on, let's go back to the six tip-offs to conversion. I
want to mention the United States Government and military boot camp.
The Marine Corps talks about breaking men down before "rebuilding" them
as new men--as marines! Well, 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
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military, I'm not making a judgement as to whether that is good
or bad. IT IS A FACT that the men are effectively 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. Also, being bombarded with intense and
unique experiences achieves the same result.
Step Two is PROGRAMED 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." These are altered-state-of-consciousness techniques
that initially induce calmness by giving the mind something simple to
deal with and focusing 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 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 "find 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 great susceptibility to suggestion.
The second thought stopping technique is MEDITATION. If you spend
an hour to an hour and a half a day in meditation, after a few weeks,
there is a great 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 it is a fact 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 see this as nirvana--which is bullshit. It is simply a
predictable physiological result. And 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-stopping techniques produce an altered state of
consciousness. This may be very good 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 on conversion, I want to talk about the
people who are most susceptible to it and about Mass Movements. I am
convinced that at least a third of the population is 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, who wrote THE TRUE BELIEVER, a classic on mass movements,
says, "true believers are not intent on bolstering and advancing a
cherished self, but are those craving to be rid of 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"!
I know this from my own experience. In my years of communicating
concepts and conducting trainings, I have run into them again and
again. All I can do is attempt to show them that the only thing to seek
is the True Self within. Their personal answers are to be found there
and there alone. I communicate that the basics of spirituality are
self-responsibility and self-actualization. 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 them
as a substitute for individual hope. 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, for that is the bottomline in law
enforcement.
A common hatred, enemy, or devil is essential to the success of a
mass movement. The Born-Again Christians have Satan himself, but that
isn't enough--they've added the occult, the New Age thinkers and,
lately, all those who oppose their integration of church and politics,
as evidenced in their political reelection campaigns against those who
oppose 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 as a
cult--but, if you look closely, you'll find that their devil is anyone
and everyone who hasn't taken their training. There are mass movements
without devils but they seldom attain major status. The 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 the
manipulation of the human mind by another individual, 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 thousands of
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 side 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; this 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 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 have 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 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."
And I think you've heard all that before. But you might also watch
for what are called Imbedded Commands. As an example: On key words, the
speaker would make 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 specialist 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 have yet been exposed to. 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 technique that I'm just learning about is unbelievably
slippery; it 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/or watchers.
Let me give you an example: Assume you are watching a television
commentator make the following statement: SENATOR JOHNSON is assisting
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local authorities to clear up the stupid mistakes of 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
called to account for anything.
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 much 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 livingroom 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, when he forces you to visualize it, you are more
likely to be manipulated into signing his insurance policy.
The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport, use what I call
SHOCK AND CONFUSION techniques to distract the left brain and
communicate 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 Hare Krishna 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--
in that case, it was money. 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 were actually dilated.
Subliminal Programming
Subliminals are hidden suggestions that only your subconscious
perceives. They can be audio, hidden behind music, or visual,
airbrushed into a picture, flashed on a screen so fast that you don't
consciously see them, or cleverly incorporated into a picture or
design.
Most audio subliminal reprograming 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 audiocassettes, negotiations with
the patent holder proved to be unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained
copies of the patents which I gave to some talented Hollywood sound
engineers, asking them to create a new technique. They found a way to
psycho-acoustically 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
unlimited 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 by Wilson 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? And I
guarantee you they do. Not only from the response of those who have
used my tapes, but from the results of such programs as the subliminals
behind the music in department stores. Supposedly, the only message is
instructions to not steal: one 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 be
"non-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 current
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 that
the eyes-open trance had been induced was that a 6- to 7-cycle-per-
second vibration was being piped into the room behind the air
conditioner sound. That particular vibration generates alpha, which
would render the audience highly susceptible. Ten to 25 percent of the
population is capable of a somnambulistic level of altered states of
consciousness; for these people, the suggestions of the speaker, if
non-threatening, could potentially be accepted as "commands."
Vibrato
This leads to the mention of VIBRATO. Vibrato is the tremulous
effect imparted in some vocal or instrumental music, and the cyle-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 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, of course, 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: 30 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 that their behavior followed the
changes anticipated at very precise frequencies. Waves below 6 cycles
per second caused the subjects to become very emotionally upset, and
even disrupted bodily functions. At 8.2 cycles, they felt very high...
an elevated feeling, as though they had been in masterful meditation,
learned over a period of years. Eleven to 11.3 cycles induced waves of
depressed agitation leading to riotous behavior.
The Neurophone
Dr. Patrick Flanagan is a personal friend of mine. In the early
1960s, 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 recent 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 of
them 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 I cannot mention here.
The more we find out about how human beings work through today's
highly advanced technological research, the more we learn to control
human beings. And what probably scares me the most is that the medium
for takeover is already in place! The television set in your livingroom
and bedroom is 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 the body's
own opiates: enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically almost
identical to opium. In other words, it feels good . . . and you want to
come back for more.
Recent 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
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| 851.5 | | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sat Sep 10 1988 15:17 | 65 |
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an altered state . . . in trance 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 has somnambulistic-
depth ability could very well accept the suggestions as commands--as
long as those 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--that is more time
than they spend n school! In the average home, the TV set is on for six
hours and 44 minutes per day--an increase of nine minutes from last
year and three times the average rate of increase during the 1970s.
It obviously isn't getting better . . . we are rapidly moving into
an alpha-level world--very possibly the Orwellian world of "1984"--
placid, glassy-eyed, and responding obediently to instructions.
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 and "Barnaby
Jones." Only minutes after watching, the typical viewer missed 23 to 36
percent of the questions about what he or she had seen. Of course they
did--they were going in and out of trance! If you go into a deep
trance, you must be instructed to remember--otherwise you automatically
forget.
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 have
extremely effective brainwashing. Every hour that you spend watching
the TV set you become more conditioned. And, 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 who obviously prefer things exactly the
way they are. Maybe they have plans for us?
|
| 851.6 | I've been there... | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sat Sep 10 1988 16:00 | 20 |
| Wow! What I knew intuitivly has just been confrimed by Dick Stupen.
Let me tell you how affective this brainwashing is. One night in May of
1970 I was brainwashed at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia.
I converted or as Dick says I was brainwashed by a very skillful
evangelist. Not only was I brainwahed but many of my friends and
respected peers were converted also.
After one nights conditioning I willfully went to many other
programming sessions at different churches around Atlanta. It took me
over 8 long years to escape this powerful programming. 8 long years and
thousands of dollars latter I resurfaced. To get my attention Life
smacked me in the face with a dead fish. It hurt like hell but it
broke the programming.
Today I know the effects of brainwashing. Such programming is not
the sole property of the evangelical or fundamentalist churches.
EST, LifeSpring and others employ the same methods. Many of us have
been programmed and many still don't know.
|
| 851.7 | I've seen it in action too. Dangerous stuff! | SSDEVO::ACKLEY | wow | Sun Sep 11 1988 01:05 | 17 |
|
I believe the article overstates some of the dangers of the
techniques cited, however, on the whole I agree that there
are some very real dangers being brought up here.
The books "Snapping" and "Holy Terror" by Conway and Siegelman
cover some of this territory also. I suppose that improved
communications and access to information has increased the dissemination
of these mind altering techniques. We, as a people, must come to
terms with these techniques, since they are starting to alter our
political processes, as the book "Holy Terror" documents.
I think the best defense is education, to make people aware of
their own trance states, and give them the love and self confidence
to be able to reject the attempts to dominate.
Alan.
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| 851.8 | FBI doc, part 1 | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sun Sep 11 1988 19:10 | 213 |
| SEE NOTES AT END FOR INFO ON SOURCES OF THESE DOCUMENTS
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR 25 APR 1956
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEMORANDUM FOR: The Honorable J. Edgar Hoover
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
SUBJECT : Brainwashing
The attached study on brainwashing was prepared by my staff
in response to the increasing acute interest in the subject throughout
the intelligence and security components of the Government. I feel you
will find it well worth your personal attention. It represents the
thinking of leading psychologists, psychiatrists and intelligence
specialists, based in turn on interviews with many individuals who have
had personal experience with Communist brainwashing, and on extensive
research and testing. While individuals specialists hold divergent
views on various aspects of this most complex subject, I believe the
study reflects a synthesis of majority expert opinion. I will, of
course, appreciate any comments on it that you or your staff may have.
(signed)
Allen W. Dulles
Director
ENCLOSURE
OA 53-37
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A REPORT ON COMMUNIST BRAINWASHING
The report that follows is a condensation of a study by training
experts of the important classified and unclassified information
available on this subject.
BACKGROUND
Brainwashing, as a technique, has been used for centuries and is no
mystery to psychologists. In this sense, brainwashing means involuntary
re-education of basic beliefs and values. All people are being
re-educated continually. New information changes one's beliefs.
Everyone has experienced to some degree the conflict that ensues when
new information is not consistent with prior belief. The experience of
the brainwashed individual differs in that the inconsistent
information is forced upon the individual under controlled conditions
after the possibility of critical judgment has been removed by a
variety of methods.
There is no question that an individual can be broken psycholog-
ically by captors with knowledge and willingness to persist in tech-
niques aimed at deliberately destroying the integration of a personal-
ity. Although it is probable that everyone reduced to such a confused,
disoriented state will respond to the introduction of new beliefs, this
cannot be stated dogmatically.
PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN CONTROL AND REACTION TO CONTROL
There are progressive steps in exercising control over an individ-
ual and changing his behaviour and personality integration. The fol-
lowing five steps are typical of behaviour changes in any controlled
individual:
1. Making the individual aware of control is the first stage in
changing his behaviour. A small child is made aware of the physical and
psychological control of his parents and quickly recognizes that an
overwhelming force must be reckoned with. So, a controlled adult comes
to recognize the overwhelming powers of the state and the impersonal,
"incarcerative" machinery in which he is enmeshed. The individual
recognizes that definite limits have been put upon the ways he can
respond.
(Approved for Release) (62-80750-2712X)
(Date: 8 FEB 1984)
OA 53-37
2. Realization of his complete dependence upon the controlling
system is a major factor in the controlling of his behavior.The con-
trolled adult is forced to accept the fact that food, tobacco,praise,
and the only social contact that he will get come from the very in-
terrogator who exercises control over him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. The awareness of control and recognition of dependence result in
causing internal conflict and breakdown of previous patterns of
behaviour. Although this transition can be relatively mild in the case
of a child, it is almost invariably severe for the adult undergoing
brainwashing. Only an individual who holds his values lightly can
change them easily. Since the brainwasher-interrogators aim to have the
individuals undergo profound emotional change, they force their victims
to seek out painfully what is desired by the controlling individual.
During this period the victim is likely to have a mental breakdown
characterized by delusions and hallucinations.
4. Discovery that there is an acceptable solution to his problem is
the first stage of reducing the individual's conflict. It is
characteristically reported by victims of brainwashing that this
discovery led to an overwhelming feeling of relief that the horror of
internal conflict would cease and that perhaps they would not, after
all, be driven insane. It is at this point that they are prepared to
make major changes in their value-system. This is an automatic rather
than voluntary choice. They have lost their ability to be critical.
5. Reintergration of values and identification with the controlling
system is the final stage in changing the behaviour of the controlled
individual. A child who has learned a new, socially desirable
behaviour demonstrates its importance by attempting to apply the new
behaviour to a variety of other situations. Similar states in the
brainwashed adult are
(SECTION DELETED BY CIA)
OA 53-37
pitiful. His new value-system, his manner of
perceiving,organizing,and giving meaning to events, is virtually
independent of his former valuesystem.He is no longer capable of
thinking or speaking in concepts other than those he has adopted. He
tends to identify by expressing thanks to his captors for helping him
see the light.Brainwashing can be achieved without using illegal
means.Anyone willing to use known principles of control and reactions
to control and capable of demonstrating the patience needed in raising
a child can probably achieve successful brainwashing.
COMMUNIST CONTROL TECHNIQUES AND THEIR EFFECTS
A description of usual communist control techniques follows.
1. Interrogation. There are at least two ways in which "interrogation"
is used: a. Elicitation, which is designed to get the individual to
surrender protected information, is a form of interrogation. One major
difference between elicitation and interrogation used to achieve
brainwashing is that the mind of the individual must be kept clear to
permit coherent, undistorted disclosure of protected information. b.
Elicitation for the purpose of brainwashing consists of
questioning,argument,indoctrination,threats,cajolery,praise,hos-
tility, and a variety of other pressures. The aim of this interrogation
is to hasten the breakdown of the individual's value system and to
encourage the substitution of a different value-system. The procurement
of protected information is secondary and is used as a device to
increase pressure upon the individual. The term "interrogation" in this
paper will refer, in general, to this type. The "interrogator" is the
individual who conducts this type of interrogation and who controls the
administration of the other pressures. He is the protagonist against
whom the victim develops his conflict, and upon whom the victim
develops a state of dependency as he seeks some solution to his
conflict.
2. Physical Torture and Threats of Torture. Two types of physical
torture are distinguishable more by their psychological effect in
inducing conflict than by the degree of painfulness:
a. The first type is one in which the victim has a passive role in the
pain inflicted on him (e.g.,beatings). His conflict involves the
decision of whether or not to give in to demands in order to avoid
further pain. Generally, brutality of this type was not found to
achieve the desired results. Threats of torture were found more
effective, as fear of pain causes greater conflict within the
individual than does pain itself.
OA 53-37
b. The second type of torture is represented by requiring the
individual to stand in one spot for several hours or assume some other
pain-inducing position. Such a requirement often engenders in the indi-
vidual a determination to "stick it out." This internal act of
resistance provide a feeling of moral superiority at first. As time
passes and his pain mounts,however, the individual becomes aware that
it is his own original determination to resist that is causing the
continuance of pain. A conflict develops within the individual between
his moral determination and his desire to collapse and discontinue the
pain. It is this extra internal conflict, in addition to the conflict
over whether or not to give in to the demands made of him, that tends
to make this method of torture more effective in the breakdown of the
individual personality.
3. Isolation. Individual differences in reaction to isolation are
probably greater than to any other method. Some individuals appear to
be able to withstand prolonged periods of isolation without deleterious
effects, while a relatively short period of isolation reduces others to
the verge of psychosis. Reaction varies with the conditions of the iso-
lation cell. Some sources have indicated a strong reaction to filth and
vermin, although they had negligible reactions to the isolation. Others
reacted violently to isolation in relatively clean cells. The
predominant cause of breakdown in such situations is a lack of sensory
stimulation (i.e.,grayness of walls,lack of sound,absence of social
contact,etc.). Experimental subjects exposed to this condition have
reported vivid hallicinations and overwhelming fears of losing their
sanity.
4. Control of Communication. This is one of the most effective methods
for creating a sense of helplessness and despair. This measure might
well be considered the cornerstone of the communist system of con-
trol. It consists of strict regulation of the mail,reading materials,
broadcast materials, and social contact available to the individual.
The need to communicate is so great that when the usual channels are
blocked, the individual will resort to any open channel, almost
regardless of the implications of using that particular channel. Many
POWs in Korea, whose only act of "collaboration" was to sign petitions
and "peace appeals," defended their actions on the ground that this was
the only method of letting the outside world know they were still
alive. May stated that their morale and fortitude would have been
increased immeasurably had leaflets of encouragement been dropped to
them. When the only contact with the outside world is via the
interrogator, the prisoner comes to develop extreme dependency on his
interrogator and hence loses another prop to his morale.
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| 851.9 | FBI doc, part 2 | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sun Sep 11 1988 19:12 | 206 |
|
Another wrinkle in communication control is the informer system. The
recruitment of informers in POW camps discouraged communication
OA 53-37
between inmates.POWs who feared that every act or thought of resistance
would be communicated to the camp administrators, lost faith in their
fellow man and were forced to "untrusting individualism." Informers are
also under several stages of brainwashing and elicitation to develop
and maintain control over the victims.
5. Induction of Fatigue. This is a well-known device for breaking will
power and critical powers of judgment. Deprivation of sleep results in
more intense psychological debilitation than does any other method of
engendering fatigue. The communists vary their methods. "Conveyor belt"
interrogation that last 50-60 hours will make almost any individual
compromise, but there is danger that this will kill the victim. It is
safer to conduct interrogations of 8-10 hours at night while forcing
the prisoner to remain awake during the day. Additional interruptions
in the remaining 2-3 hours of allotted sleep quickly reduce the most
resilient individual . Alternate administration of drug stimulants and
depressants hastens the process of fatigue and sharpens the
psychological reactions of excitement and depression.
Fatigue, in addition to reducing the will to resist,also produces
irritation and fear that arise from increased "slips of the tongue."
forgetfulness, and decreased ability to maintain orderly thought
processes.
6. Control of Food,Water and Tobacco. The controlled individual is
made intensely aware of his dependence upon his interrogator for the
quality and quantity of his food and tobacco. The exercise of this con-
trol usually follows a pattern. No food and little or no water is per-
mitted the individual for several days prior to interrogation.When the
prisoner first complains of this to the interrogator, the latter
expresses surprise at such inhumane treatment. He makes a demand of the
prisoner. If the latter complies,he receives a good meal. If he does
not, he gets a diet of unappetizing food containing limited
vitamins,minerals, and calories. This diet is supplemented occasionally
by the interrogator if the prisoner "cooperates." Studies of controlled
starvation indicate that the whole value-system of the subjects
underwent a change. Their irritation increased as their ability to
think clearly decreased. The control of tobacco presented an even
greater source of conflict for heavy smokers. Because tobacco is not
necessary to life, being manipulated by his craving for it can in the
individual a strong sense of guilt.
7. Criticism and Self-Criticism. There are mechanisms of communist
thought control. Self-criticism gains its effectiveness from the fact
that although it is not a crime for a man to be wrong, it is a major
crime to be stubborn and to refuse to learn. Many individuals feel
intensely relieved in being able to share their sense of guilt. Those
individuals however, who have adjusted to handling their guilt
internally have difficulty adapting to criticism and self-criticism.
In brainwashing ,after a sufficient sense of guilt has been created in
the individual, sharing and self-criticism permit relief. The price
paid for this relief, however, is loss of individuality and increased
dependency.
8. Hypnosis and Drugs as Controls. There is no reliable evidence that
the communists are making widespread use of drugs or hypnosis in
brainwashing or elicitation. The exception to this is the use of common
stimulants or depressants in inducing fatigue and "mood swings."
9. Other methods of control, which when used in conjunction with the
basic processes, hasten the deterioration of prisoners' sense of values
and resistance are:
a. Requiring a case history or autobiography of the prisoner provides
a mine of information for the interrogator in establishing and
"documenting" accusations.
b. Friendliness of the interrogator , when least expected, upsets
the prisoner's ability to maintain a critical attitude.
c. Petty demands, such as severely limiting the allotted time for
use of toilet facilities or requiring the POW to kill hundreds of
flies, are harassment methods.
d. Prisoners are often humiliated by refusing them the use of
toilet facilities during interrogator until they soil themselves. often
prisoners were not permitted to bathe for weeks until they felt
contemptible.
e. Conviction as a war criminal appears to be a potent factor in
creating despair in the individual. One official analysis of the pres-
sures exerted by the ChiComs on "confessors" and "non-confessors" to
participation in bacteriological warfare in Korea showed that actual
trial and conviction of "war crimes" was overwhelmingly associated with
breakdown and confession.
f. Attempted elicitation of protected information at various times
during the brainwashing process diverted the individual from aware-
ness of the deterioration of his value-system. The fact that, in most
cases, the ChiComs did not want or need such intelligence was not known
to the prisoner. His attempts to protect such information was made at
the expense of hastening his own breakdown.
THE EXERCISE OF CONTROL: A "SCHEDULE" FOR BRAINWASHING
From the many fragmentary accounts reviewed, the following appears
to be the most likely description of what occurs during brainwashing .
In the period immediately following capture, the captors are faced
with the problem of deciding on best ways of exploitation of the
prisoners. Therefore, early treatment is similar both for those who
are to be exploited through elicitation and those who are to undergo
brainwashing. concurrently with being interrogated and required to
write a detailed personal history, the prisoner undergoes a physical
and psychological "softening-up" which includes: limited unpalatable
food rations,withholding of tobacco,possible work details,severely
inadequate use of toilet facilities, no use of facilities for personal
cleanliness,limitation of sleep such as requiring a subject to sleep
with a bright light in his eyes. Apparently the interrogation and
autobiographical ,material, the reports of the prisoner's behaviour
in confinement, and tentative "personality typing" by the interro-
gators, provide the basis upon which exploitation plans are made.
There is a major difference between preparation for elicitation and
for brainwashing. Prisoners exploited through elicitation must retain
sufficient clarity of thought to be able to give coherent,factual
accounts. In brainwashing , on the other hand, the first thing attacked
is clarity of thought. To develop a strategy of defense, the controlled
individual must determine what plans have been made for his
exploitation. Perhaps the best cues he can get are internal reactions
to the pressures he undergoes.
The most important aspect of the brainwashing process is the
interrogation. The other pressures are designed primarily to help the
interrogator achieve his goals. The following states are created
systematically within the individual . These may vary in order, but all
are necessary to the brainwashing process:
1. A feeling of helplessness in attempting to deal with the impersonal
machinery of control.
2. An initial reaction of "surprise."
3. A feeling of uncertainty about what is required of him.
4. A developing feeling of dependence upon the interrogator .
5. A sense of doubt and loss of objectivity.
6. Feelings of guilt.
7. A questioning attitude toward his own value-system.
8. A feeling of potential "breakdown," i.e.,that he might go crazy.
9. A need to defend his acquired principles.
10. A final sense of "belonging" (identification).
A feeling of helplessness in the face of the impersonal machinery
of control is carefully engendered within the prisoner. The individual
who receives the preliminary treatment described above not only begins
to feel like an "animal" but also feels that nothing can be done about
it. No one pays any personal attention to him. His complaints fall on
deaf ears. His loss of communication, if he has been isolated, creates
a feeling that he has been "forgotten." Everything that happens to him
occurs according to an impersonal; time schedule that has nothing to do
with his needs. The voices and footsteps of the guards are muted. He
notes many contrasts,e.g.,his greasy,unpalatable food may be served on
battered tin dishes by guards immaculately dressed in white. The first
steps in "depersonalization" of the prisoner have begun. He has no idea
what to expect. Ample opportunity is allotted for him to ruminate upon
all the unpleasant or painful things that could happen to him. He
approaches the main interrogator with mixed feelings of relief and
fright.
Surprise is commonly used in the brainwashing process. The prisoner
is rarely prepared for the fact that the interrogators are usually
friendly and considerate at first. They make every effort to
demonstrate that they are reasonable human beings. Often they apologize
for bad treatment received by the prisoner and promise to improve his
lot if he, too, is reasonable. This behaviour is not what he has
steeled himself for. He lets down some of his defenses and tries to
take a reasonable attitude. The first occasion he balks at satisfying
a request of the interrogator , however, he is in for another surprise.
The formerly reasonable interrogator unexpectedly turns into a
furious maniac. The interrogator is likely to slap the prisoner or draw
his pistol and threaten to shoot him. Usually this storm of emotion
ceases as suddenly as it began and the interrogator stalks from the
room. These surprising changes create doubt in the prisoner as to his
very ability to perceive another person's motivations correctly. His
next interrogation probably will be marked by impassivity in the
interrogator 's mien.
A feeling of uncertainty about what is required of him is likewise
carefully engendered within the individual . Pleas of the prisoner to
learn specifically of what he is accused and by whom are side-stepped
by the interrogator. Instead, the prisoner is asked to tell why he
thinks he is held and what he feels he is guilty of. If the prisoner
fails to come up with anything, he is accused in terms of broad
generalities (e.g., espionage, sabotage,acts of treason against the
"people"). This usually provokes the prisoner to make some statement
about his activities. If this take the form of a denial, he is usually
sent to isolation on further decreased food rations to "think over" his
crimes. This process can be repeated again and again. As soon as the
prisoner can think of something that might be considered
self-incriminating, the interrogator appears momentarily satisfied. The
prisoner is asked to write down his statement in his own words and sign
it.
|
| 851.10 | FBI doc, part 3 | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sun Sep 11 1988 19:14 | 207 |
|
Meanwhile a strong sense of dependence upon the interrogator is
developed. It does not take long for the prisoner to realize that the
interrogator is the source of all punishment , all gratification,and
all communication. The interrogator , meanwhile,demonstrates his
unpredictbility. He is perceived by the prisoner as a creature of
whim. At times, the interrogator can be pleased very easily and at
other times no effort on the part of the prisoner will placate him. The
prisoner may begin to channel so much energy into trying to predict the
behaviour of the unpredictable interrogator that he loses track of what
is happening inside himself.
After the prisoner has developed the above psychological and
emotional reactions to a sufficient degree, the brainwashing begins in
earnest. First, the prisoner's remaining critical faculties must be
destroyed. He undergoes long, fatiguing interrogations while looking
at a bright light. He is called back again and again for interrogations
after minimal sleep. He may undergo torture that tends to create
internal conflict. Drugs may be used to accentuate his "mood swings."
He develops depression when the interrogator is being kind and becomes
euphoric when the interrogator is threatening the direst penalties.
Then the cycle is reversed. The prisoner finds himself in a constant
state of anxiety which prevents him from relaxing even when he is
permitted to sleep. Short periods of isolation now bring on visual and
auditory hallucinations. The prisoner feels himself losing his
objectivity. It is in this state that the prisoner must keep up an
endless argument with the interrogator . He may be faced with the
confessions of other individuals who "collaborated" with him in his
crimes. The prisoner seriously begins to doubts his own memory. This
feeling is heightened by his inability to recall little things like the
names of the people he knows very well or the date of his birth. The
interrogator patiently sharpens this feeling of doubt by more
questioning. This tends to create a serious state of uncertainty when
the individual has lost most of his critical faculties.
The prisoner must undergo additional internal conflict when strong
feelings of guilt are aroused within him. As any clinical psychologist
is aware, it is not at all difficult to create such feelings. Military
servicemen are particularly vulnerable. No one can morally justify
killing even in wartime. The usual justification is on the grounds of
necessity or self-defense. The interrogator is careful to circumvent
such justification. He keeps the interrogation directed toward the
prisoner's moral code. Every moral vulnerability is exploited by
incessant questioning along this line until the prisoner begins to
question the very fundamentals of his own value-system. The prisoner
must constantly fight a potential breakdown. He finds that his mind is
"going blank" for longer and longer periods of time. He can not think
constructively. If he is to maintain any semblance of psychological
integrity, he must bring to an end this state of interminable internal
conflict. He signifies a willingness to write a confession.
If this were truly the end, no brainwashing would have occurred.
The individual would simply have given in to intolerable pressure. Ac-
tually, the final stage of the brainwashing process has just begun. No
matter what the prisoner writes in his confession the interrogator is
not satisfied. The interrogator questions every sentence of the confes-
sion. He begins to edit it with the prisoner. The prisoner is forced to
argue against every change. This is the essence of brainwashing. Every
time that he gives in on a point to the interrogator, he must rewrite
his whole confession. Still the interrogator is not satisfied. In a
desperate attempt to maintain some semblance of integrity and to avoid
further brainwashing, the prisoner must begin to argue that what he has
already confessed to is true. He begins to accept as his own the
statements he has written. He uses many of the interrogator's earlier
arguments to buttress his position. By this process,identification with
the interrogator's value-system becomes complete. It is extremely
important to recognize that a qualitative change has taken place within
the prisoner. The brainwashed victim does not consciously change his
value-system; rather the change occurs despite his efforts. He is no
more responsible for this change than is an individual who "snaps" and
becomes psychotic. And like the psychotic, the prisoner is not even
aware of the transition.
DEFENSIVE MEASURES OTHER THAN ON THE POLICY AND PLANNING LEVEL
1. Training of Individuals potentially subject to communist
control.
Training should provide for the trainee a realistic appraisal of
what control pressures the communists are likely to exert and what the
usual human reactions are to such pressures. The trainee must learn the
most effective ways of combatting his own reactions to such pressures
and he must learn reasonable expectations as to what his behaviour
should be. Training has two decidedly positive effects; first, it
provides the trainee with ways of combatting control; second, it
provides the basis for developing an immeasurable boost in morale. Any
positive action that the individual can take, even if it is only
slightly effective, gives him a sense of control over a situation that
is otherwise controlling him.
2. Training must provide the individual with the means of
recognizing realistic goals for himself.
a. Delay in yielding may be the only achievement that can be hoped
for. In any particular operation, the agent needs the support of
knowing specifically how long he must hold out to save an operation,
protect his cohorts, or gain some other goal.
b. The individual should be taught how to achieve the most favor-
able treatment and how to behave and make necessary concessions to
obtain minimum penalties.
c. Individual behavioural responses to the various communist
control pressures differ markedly. Therefore, each trainee should know
his own particular assets and limitations in resisting specific
pressures. He can learn these only under laboratory conditions
simulating the actual pressures he may have to face.
d. Training must provide knowledge of the goals and the restric-
tions placed upon his communist interrogator. The trainee should know
what controls are on his interrogator and to what extent he can
manipulate the interrogator. For example, the interrogator is not
permitted to fail to gain "something" from the controlled individual.
The knowledge that, after the victim has proved that he is a "tough nut
to crack" he can sometimes indicate that he might compromise on some
little point to help the interrogator in return for more favorable
treatment, may be useful indeed. Above all, the potential victim of
communist control can gain a great deal of psychological support from
the knowledge that the communist interrogator is not a completely free
agent who can do whatever he wills with his victim.
e. The trainee must learn what practical cues might aid him in
recognizing the specific goals of his interrogator. The strategy of
defense against elicitation may differ markedly from the strategy to
prevent brainwashing. To prevent elicitation, the individual may hasten
his own state of mental confusion; whereas, to prevent brainwashing,
maintaining clarity of thought processes is imperative.
f. The trainee should obtain knowledge about communist "carrots" as
well as "sticks." The communists keep certain of their promises and al-
ways renege on others. For example, the demonstrable fact that
"informers" receive no better treatment than other prisoners should do
much to prevent this particular evil. On the other hand, certain
meaningless concessions will often get a prisoner a good meal.
g. In particular, it should be emphasized to the trainee that,
although little can be done to control the pressures exerted upon him,
he can learn something about controlling his personal reactions to
specific pressures. The trainee can gain much from learning something
about internal conflict and conflict-producing mechanisms. He should
learn to recognize when someone is trying to arouse guilt feelings and
what behavioural reactions can occur as a response to guilt.
h. Finally, the training must teach some methods that can be
utilized in thwarting particular communist control techniques:
Elicitation. In general, individuals who are the hardest to inter-
rogate for information are those who have experienced previous
interrogations. Practice in being the victim of interrogation is a
sound training device.
Torture. The trainee should learn something about the principles of
pain and shock. There is a maximum to the amount of pain that can
actually be felt. Any amount of pain can be tolerated for a limited
period of time. In addition, the trainee can be fortified by the
knowledge that there are legal limitations upon the amount of torture
that can be inflicted by communist jailors.
Isolation. The psychological effects of isolation can probably be
thwarted best by mental gymnastics and systematic efforts on the part
of the isolate to obtain stimulation for his neural end organs.
Controls on Food and Tobacco. Foods given by the communists will
always be enough to maintain survival. Sometimes the victim gets unex-
pected opportunities to supplement his diet with special
minerals,vitamins and other nutrients (e.g.,"iron" from the rust of
prison bars). In some instances, experience has shown that individuals
could exploit refusal to eat. Such refusal usually resulted in the
transfer of the individual to a hospital where he received vitamin
injections and nutritious food. Evidently attempts of this kind to
commit suicide arouse the greatest concern in communist officials. If
deprivation of tobacco is the control being exerted. the victim can
gain moral satisfaction from "giving up" tobacco. He can't lose since
he is not likely to get any anyway.
Fatigue. The trainee should learn reactions to fatigue and how to
overcome them insofar as possible. For example, mild physical exercise
"clears the head" in a fatigue state.
Writing Personal Accounts and Self-Criticism. Experience has in-
dicated that one of the most effective ways of combatting these
pressures is to enter into the spirit with an overabundance of
enthusiasm. Endless written accounts of inconsequential material have
virtually "smothered" some eager interrogators. In the same spirit,
sober, detailed selfcriticisms of the most minute "sins" has
sometimes brought good results.
Guidance as to the priority of positions he should defend.
Perfectly compatible responsibilities in the normal execution of an
individual's duties may become mutually incompatible in this situation.
Take the example of a senior grade military officer. He has the
knowledge of sensitive strategic intelligence which it is his duty to
protect. He has the responsibility of maintaining the physical
fitness of his men and serving as a model example for their behaviour.
The officer may go to the camp commandant to protest the treatment of
the POWs and the commandant assures him that treatment could be
improved if he will swap something for it. Thus to satisfy one
responsibility he must compromise another. The officer, in short, is in
a constant state of internal conflict. But if the officer is given the
relative priority of his different responsibilities, he is supported by
the knowledge that he won't be held accountable for any other behaviour
if he does his utmost to carry out his highest priority responsibility.
There is considerable evidence that many individuals tried to evaluate
the priority of their responsibilities on their own, but were in
conflict over whether others would subsequently accept their
evaluations. More than one individual was probably brainwashed while he
was trying to protect himself against elicitation.
|
| 851.11 | FBI doc, part 4 | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sun Sep 11 1988 19:16 | 193 |
|
CONCLUSIONS
The application of known psychological principles can lead to an
understanding of brainwashing.
1. There is nothing mysterious about personality changes resulting
from the brainwashing process.
2. Brainwashing is a complex process. Principles of motivation,
perception, learning, and physiological deprivation are needed to
account for the results achieved in brainwashing.
3. Brainwashing is an involuntary re-education of the fundamental
beliefs of the individual. To attack the problem successfully, the
brainwashing process must be differentiated clearly from general
education methods for thought-control or mass indoctrination, and
elicitation.
4. It appears possible for the individual,through training,to
develop limited defensive techniques against brainwashing. Such
defensive measures are likely to be most effective if directed toward
thwarting individual emotional reactions to brainwashing techniques
rather than toward thwarting the techniques themselves.
=====================================================================
(note Declassified)
SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
19 JUN 1964
(Commission No. 1131)
MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. J. Lee Rankin
General Counsel
President's Commission on the
Assassination of President Kennedy
SUBJECT : Soviet Brainwashing Techniques
1. Reference is made to your memorandum of 19 May 1964, requesting
that materials relative to Soviet techniques in mind conditioning and
brainwashing be made available to the Commission.
2. At my request, experts on these subjects within the CIA have
prepared a brief survey of Soviet research in the direction and control
of human behavior, a copy of which is attached. The Commission may
retain this document. Please note that the use of certain sensitive
materials requires that a sensitivity indicator be affixed.
3. In the immediate future, this Agency will make available to you
a collection of overt and classified materials on these subjects,
which the Commission may retain.
4. I hope that these documents will be responsive to the
Commission's needs.
(SIGNED)
(DECLASSIFIED) Richard Helms
(By C.I.A.) Deputy Director for Plans
(letter of ___________)
(---------------------)
Attachment
CD 1131 SECRET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Soviet Research and Development in the Field of
Direction and Control of Human Behavior.
1. There are two major methods of altering or controlling
human behavior, and the Soviets are interested in both. The first is
psychological; the second, pharmacological. The two may be used as
individual methods or for mutual reinforcement. For long-term control
of large numbers of people, the former method is more promising than
the latter. In dealing with individuals, the U.S. experience suggests
the pharmacological approach (assisted by psychological techniques)
would be the only effective method. Neither method would be very
effective for single individuals on a long term basis.
2. Soviet research on the pharmacological agents producing
behavioral effects has consistently lagged about five years behind
Western research. They have been interested in such research, however,
and are now pursuing research on such chemicals as LSD-25,
amphetamines, tranquillizers, hypnotics, and similar materials. There
is no present evidence that the Soviets have any singular, new, potent
drugs to force a course of action on an individual. They are aware,
however, of the tremendous drive produced by drug addiction, and
PERHAPS could couple this with psychological direction to achieve
control of an individual.
3. The psychological aspects of behavior control would include
not only conditioning by repetition and training, but such things as
hypnosis, deprivation, isolation, manipulation of guilt feelings,
subtle or overt threats, social pressure, and so on. Some of the newer
trends in the USSR are as follows:
SECRET CD 1131
PAGE 1
a. The adoption of a multidisciplinary approach integrating
biological,social and physical-mathematical research in attempts better
to understand, and eventually, to control human behavior in a manner
consonant with national plans.
b. The outstanding feature, in addition to the inter-
disciplinary approach, is a new concern for mathematical approaches to
an understanding of behavior. Particularly notable are attempts to use
modern information theory, automata theory, and feedback concepts in
interpreting the mechanisms by which the "second signal system," i.e.,
speech and associated phenomena, affect human behavior. Implied by this
"second signal system," using INFORMATION inputs as causative agents
rather than chemical agents, electrodes or other more exotic techniques
applicable, perhaps, to individuals rather than groups.
c. This new trend, observed in the early Post-Stalin Period,
continues. By 1960 the word "cybernetics" was used by the Soviets to
designate this new trend. This new science is considered by some as the
key to understanding the human brain and the product of its
functioning--psychic activity and personality--to the development of
means for controlling it and to ways for molding the character of the
"New Communist Man". As one Soviet author puts it: Cybernetics can be
used in "molding of a child's character, the inculcation of knowledge
and techniques, the amassing of experience, the establishment of social
behavior patterns...all functions which can be summarized as 'control'
of the growth process of the individual." 1/Students of particular
disciplines in the USSR, such as psychologist and social scientists,
also support the general cybernetic trend. 2/ (Blanked by CIA)
4. In summary, therefore, there is no evidence that the
Soviets have any techniques or agents capable of producing particular
behavioral patterns which are not available in the West. Current
research indicates that the Soviets are attempting to develop a
technology for controlling the development of behavioral patterns among
the citizenry of the USSR in accordance with politically determined
requirements of the system. Furthermore, the same technology can be
applied to more sophisticated approaches to the "coding" of information
for transmittal to population targets in the "battle for the minds of
men." Some of the more esoteric techniques such as ESP or, as the
Soviets call it, "biological radio-communication", and psychogenic
agents such as LSD, are receiving some overt attention with, possibly,
applications in mind for individual behavior control under clandestine
conditions. However, we require more information than is currently
available in order to establish or disprove planned or actual
applications of various methodologies by Soviet scientists to the
control of actions of articular individuals.
References
1. Itelson, Lev, "Pedagogy: An Exact Science?" USSR October 1963,
p. 10.
2. Borzek, Joseph, "Recent Developments in Soviet Psychology,"
Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 15, 1964, p. 493-594.
The first letter and attachment are from DECLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS 1984 microfilms under MKULTRA (84) 002258, published
by Research Publication Woodbridge, CT 06525. Some original
markings were not retyped, but the content is the same.
The second letter and attachment are from the Warren
Commission documents. Notice should be paid to the different
tone Helms gives to his letter, keeping in mind he was found
guilty of lying to Congress. He places greater emphasis on
"Soviet" practices and tries to diminish breakthroughs gained
by Americans. Some thought should be given as to WHY the
Warren Commission sought such documents (remembering that
ALLEN DULLES was a member of that Commission). They were
exploring the Manchurian candidate theory. It was revealed
during the Church Committee hearings of 1975 that Helms had
been in charge of Project AMLASH, a program to assassinate
Castro (Cuba),Trujillo (Dominican Republic), Diem (RVN),
Schneider (Chile) using MAFIA figures John Roselli and Santos
Trafficante to do the job.
Care was used to insure lines appear in same length and order.
Page length will have to be adjusted if you desire to print
this. Look for other specials soon. David John Moses.
|
| 851.12 | Too Much! | ELESYS::JASNIEWSKI | Our common crisis | Mon Sep 12 1988 09:41 | 20 |
|
Without reading any of the 1800 or so lines of entered text,
I'd like to add in the idea that "brainwashing" starts at home for
most people, as children. Parental rules of the household are directly
responsible for the *ease* of brainwashing someone as an adult.
Many come directly from religion. Examples of two such rules:
1. These are the rules of this household. The first rule is
that you dont question the rules. (OK, no need to think for myself...)
2. A highly esteemed child is a bad thing. His\Her will must
be broken, for later "success" in life. Pride is a sin. (OK, I have
no will of my own...)
Now, tell me how difficult it is to brainwash someone who has
been trained (to any degree) that they've no need to think and have
no self generated desires?
Joe Jas
|
| 851.13 | I think this terminal emits 11 cycles/mins. noise. | WRO8A::WARDFR | Going HOME--as an Adventurer | Mon Sep 12 1988 12:16 | 12 |
| I won't argue with most of what I read here; it is fairly
impressive stuff. I wonder, though, are there only two choices?
One is to be brainwashed...the other is to become so frightened
of being brainwashed that the induced paranoia is itself a
brainwashing. Clearly, no, there are more than two choices.
A third would be making growth choices (as opposed to fear choices.)
Yes, that means Thinking AND Feeling. Taking responsibility,
as Dick Sutphen pointed out, is a major decision.
Frederick
|
| 851.14 | Don't worry, be happy_:-) | LDYBUG::PARE | What a long, strange trip its been | Mon Sep 12 1988 14:46 | 4 |
|
And a fourth would be....
Don't worry,... Be happy!
:-)
|
| 851.15 | | GENRAL::DANIEL | still here | Mon Sep 12 1988 20:03 | 4 |
| ...A fifth would be,
If you feel your intuition buzzing you that something's not right, listen to it
(listen to yourself!) and boogie!
|
| 851.16 | � | USACSB::OPERATOR_CB | DO WHAT THOU WILT | Tue Sep 13 1988 08:42 | 21 |
|
Re:15
Well I got a question then.....
Isn't it good to have doubt every now and then that you are
doing the thing thats right for you? I mean if I never had a doubt
in the world about my beliefs then shoudn't I doubt my beliefs?
and the possibility of brainwashing???
Doubt every now and then is good....if..its source is explored.
Doubt shows you are thinking and using your brain. Of course there
is a possibility that the doubt is caused by brainwashing but in
either case self and external exploration will find out the truth.
So...the only way to be sure your on the right track is to doubt
you are on the right track. and fully explore any doubts to their
root. (and hopefully you will find some more doubts along the way!)
does that make sense?
Craig
|
| 851.17 | | GENRAL::DANIEL | still here | Tue Sep 13 1988 18:55 | 10 |
| > Isn't it good to have doubt every now and then that you are
> doing the thing thats right for you?
Sure, but when the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and tell me something
is wrong and it has to do with what the other person is trying to do to my
brain, I have learned to GET OUT. I regret it each and every time I do not.
That is different from the rush I get when someone is making a really valid
point that I have previously rejected.
|
| 851.18 | Bliss and mind conditioning | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Tue Sep 13 1988 21:04 | 32 |
| My point is that we should not be paranoid, but be aware of how
brainwashing and condition occur.
Everyone likes to be a part of something, some group or movement. The
warning is to be aware of what is happening *if* mind conditioning
techinques are being used. As Dick says some evangelist and preachers
are not aware of what they are doing. So you might be in the right
group and experience mind conditioning techniques. You could talk
to the leader and express your concerns. If they don't acknowledge
and change their mode of operation then it would be wise to get
out quickly.
Communications can happen in a non-coercive mode. Learning what
to do when faced with such techinques are part of the game of life,
like learning to swim or ride a bicycle. Both can be dangerous if
not done properly.
I'll post a CIA declassified memo on political brainwashing that deals
with the extremes of brainwashing. It offers some defensive techniques
that can be applied to regular everyday life. The reader can draw their
own conclusions.
On the defensive side the best defences are to be aware, not to be
mentally frozen by the dicotomy of MYSTERY (sin, salvation, immanent
second comming) and FEAR (what if I get it wrong, I'll be judged, I'll
go to hell) and not doing anything that your own bliss doesn't lead you
too. Your bliss may lead you to different places but that quiet, small
urging can be trampled by mind conditioning techniques.
Be aware and never, ever let your mind be frozen while in the middle of
a hard sales pitch, for anything, not for religion, not for politics,
not for Kerby Vaccums...
|
| 851.19 | doubt | PSI::CONNELLY | Desperately seeking snoozin' | Wed Sep 14 1988 01:09 | 5 |
| re: .16
> does that make sense?
Yes.
paul
|
| 851.20 | Do the marines want my five year old? | DNEAST::DUCHARME_GEO | | Thu Sep 15 1988 08:47 | 11 |
|
Sunday morning just after eight o'clock I decided to eat breakfast
with my five year old and watch He Man.During a commercial break a
public service message was shown.It showed knights being knightly with
an accompanying dialog of how they were heroes.Then it shows a person being
knighted with lighting arching to the person from the sword.There is then
a close up of the sword,the camera then pulls back to show a marine
holding it.The narrator then states that these heroes are alive today they
are marines.
George D.
|
| 851.21 | The Marines have landed...why wasn't it on Mars? | WRO8A::WARDFR | Going HOME--as an Adventurer | Thu Sep 15 1988 11:21 | 9 |
| re: .20
As the son of a rabid Marine, I can attest to the brutal
brainwashing and identity destruction many of these individuals
have "allowed". I feel lots of sadness for the amount of manipulation
(brain-washing, etc.) that humanity functions with.
Frederick
|
| 851.22 | Cartoon more like real life? | JACOB::STANLEY | I need a miracle every day... | Thu Sep 15 1988 11:29 | 11 |
| < Note 851.20 by DNEAST::DUCHARME_GEO >
> -< Do the marines want my five year old? >-
Could be. I've noticed that there are quite a few cartoons that have alot
of shooting and things blowing up. We *all* (at least most of us) grew
up watching Daffy Duck, Wyle E. Coyote, and Sylvester Cat get shot, blown
up and pummled, but now there are alot of cartoons that have characters
that resemble humans fighting. I think children use this information to
help them build their view of a very confusing world.
Dave
|
| 851.23 | | GENRAL::DANIEL | still here | Thu Sep 15 1988 11:45 | 6 |
| I've encountered the Media Conflict a number of times, and I have to wonder how
it's going to be resolved.
Brainwashing in the media is known as "effective advertising". Effective
advertising, sells. Money is the desired result. I believe the monetary
system is inherently good. I resent that perversions occur.
|
| 851.24 | Yech!!!! | USAT05::KASPER | You'll see it when you believe it. | Thu Sep 15 1988 12:28 | 9 |
| re: .23
> I resent that perversions occur.
And boy, do they occur!!!!! I've seen lots of examples similar to
selling the marines to kids (few rplys back) - on TV, in magazines,
on the radio, billboards, etc. It makes me sick!
Terry
|
| 851.25 | | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sun Sep 18 1988 00:54 | 4 |
| Reply to .16, Craig,
My O.T.O. friends have a saying that goes along the line of "doubt,
doubt everything, doubt that you doubt everything."
|
| 851.26 | More political religious propaganda? | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Thu Oct 06 1988 08:30 | 12 |
| Here is a quote from Aldous Huxley who was discussimg ways to intensify
suggestibility...
"The effectiveness of political and religious propaganda depends upon
the methods employed, not upon the doctrines taught. These doctrines
may be true or false, wholesome or pernicious--it makes little or no
difference. Under favorable conditions, practically everybody can be
converted to practically anything."
So how programmed are we/you? B^) When was "under God" added to the
Pledge? When did "In God We Trust" become our national monetary motto?
Why?
|
| 851.27 | ... all others pay cash! | FSLENG::JOLLIMORE | For the greatest good... | Thu Oct 06 1988 10:48 | 9 |
| .26 (Mikie?)
> ....... When did "In God We Trust" become our national monetary motto?
When we invented credit?
> Why?
If you can't lend Him money, who then? ;')
Jay
|
| 851.28 | simple language | MARKER::KALLIS | Anger's no replacement for reason | Thu Oct 06 1988 11:18 | 21 |
| Re .26 (Mikie?):
>So how programmed are we/you? B^) When was "under God" added to the
>Pledge? ...
In 1954 by act of Congress.
>When did "In God We Trust" become our national monetary motto?
I believe from the beginning of our currency, though I will bow
to numismatists if I'm slightly in error.
>Why?
For the same reason that in the Declaration of Independence, the
writers say that all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights". Whether or not you believe in a supreme God,
a theistic God, a pantheon of gods, are an agnostic, or are an athiest,
it's an easy shorthand.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
| 851.29 | $miling :-) | EUROPE::LUTZ | The broken clown ... back on stage | Fri Oct 07 1988 10:47 | 26 |
| Ref: 851.28 (Steve)
Interesting, that reminds me of some rumours (?) I've heard months
ago while US/RUSSIA was - once again - meeting in Geneva for another
talk. At that time the organisers of the event tried to bring some
cultural aspects into it and trying to show connections between
the two countries and the host country.
Now, what I heard on the radio (sorry, forget date or any source
of information, having been listening only halfway) was:
1. The currency of the U.S.$ had been invented by a Swiss (French
speaking) and the founder of the NYC stock exchange and main
university had also been Swiss (he/they might just be other
people having left their old continent behind for good, to
settle in America). Anybody has any facts on above? Who in-
vented the dollar, when, where?
2. And I also remember from the same radio program that the main
sheep that survive the hard Russian climate had been a gift
by some Swiss, the sheep coming from the lower Swiss Alps.
That's as much as I remember from the broadcast.
Regards, Esther.
|
| 851.30 | | NEXUS::MORGAN | Experiencing the Age of Xochipilli. | Sat Oct 08 1988 18:14 | 7 |
| Reply to .28, Steve,
I think 'In God we Trust" was addeded in the mid fifties. Originally
there was only "E Pluribus Unium", "From Many, One".
Could this have been a MaCarthy addition? (See, we got church and
state represented together in our money, tisk, tisk.)
|
| 851.31 | God wants our money now, or what? | SCOPE::PAINTER | My dogma got run over by my karma. | Mon Oct 10 1988 12:04 | 7 |
|
The verse "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render
unto God that which is God's." comes to mind.
A bit of a conflict here perhaps?
Cindy
|
| 851.32 | confision here | MARKER::KALLIS | Anger's no replacement for reason | Thu Oct 13 1988 09:18 | 12 |
| Re .30 (Mikie?):
>I think 'In God we Trust" was addeded in the mid fifties. Originally
>there was only "E Pluribus Unium", "From Many, One".
I think you're confusing "In God we trust" on currency with "under
God" in the Pledge to the Flag. The latter, as noted, _was_ added
in ther mid-1950s (1954 to be exact); the coin motto was much earlier
(an old movie joke is the sign in a small shop: "In God we trust
-- all others pay cash.").
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|