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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND
by Dick Sutphen
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 andthis 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 talkingabout 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.
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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.
Oncea 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.
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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.
Theprogressive result of thismental condition isto 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, programmed response to
incense, or intoxicating drugs.
The sameresults can beobtained in contemporarypsychiatric treatment
by electric shock treatments and even by purposely lowering a person's
blood sugar level with insulin injections.
Before I talk about exactlyhow some of the techniques areapplied, 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
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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 hell," or
the forthcoming Armageddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood
that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He was also
obsessed with a "bloody 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.
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Now thosewho want tobe healed are frequentlylined up aroundthe 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 soundand the properuse of lightingare ofprimary 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 takesplace in an area whereparticipants 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,
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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
programmed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up sessions
after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly meetings or
inexpensive seminars given on a regular basis which the organization will
attempt to talk you into taking--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: techniquesused to increasethe tension in theroom
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.
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The final tip-off isthat there isno humor in thecommunications . ..
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 conductedprofessional seminars toteach peopleto
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 havebecome personal friends, and it scaresus
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 gatheringsor human-potential trainings arean 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 wordof warning here: If you think youcan 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.
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Before I go on,let's go backto the six tip-offsto conversion. Iwant
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 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 PROGRAMMED CONFUSION: You are mentally assaulted while your
alertness is being reduced as in Step One. This is accomplished with a
deluge of new information, lectures, discussion groups, encounters or
one-to-one processing, which usually amounts to the controller bombarding
the individual with questions. During this phase of decognition, reality
and illusion often merge and perverted logic is likely to be accepted.
StepThree is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques areused 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 threeprimary techniquesused for thoughtstopping. Thefirst
is MARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis
and thus great susceptibility to suggestion.
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Thesecond 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.
521
Mass Movements will usually havea 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.
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"Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry abouthigh 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
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 living room and say,
"Can you just imagine this beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of course
you can! It is one of your unconscious fears and, when he forces you to
visualize it, you are more likely to be manipulated into signing his
insurance policy.
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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 reprogramming tapes offer verbal suggestions
recorded at a low volume. I question the efficacy of this technique--if
subliminals are not perceptible, they cannot be effective, and subliminals
recorded below the audible threshold are therefore useless. The oldest
audio subliminal technique uses a voice that follows the volume of the
music so subliminals are impossible to detect without a parametric
equalizer. But this technique is patented and, when I wanted to develop my
own line of subliminal audio cassettes, negotiations with the patent holder
proved to be unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained copies of the patents
which I gave to 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 withthis 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.
Theseries 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.
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The big question about subliminals is: dothey 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 relatemany 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 cycle-per-second
range
causes people to go into an altered state of consciousness. At one period
of English history, singers whose voices contained pronounced vibrato were
not allowed to perform publicly because listeners would go into an altered
state and have fantasies, often sexual in nature.
People who attend operaor enjoy listeningto singers like MarioLanza
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
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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. PatrickFlanagan is a personalfriend of mine. Inthe 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 thedevice, 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 living room 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.
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Recent tests byresearcher Herbert Krugman showedthat, while viewers
were watching TV, right-brain activity outnumbered left-brain activity by a
ratio of two to one. Put more simply, the viewers were in an altered state
. . . 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?
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