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