From: fl0p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Frank T Lofaro)
Newsgroups: alt.self-improve
Subject: Fwd: conversion/mind control posting
Date: 24 Sep 91 02:43:02 GMT
Organization: Freshman, MCS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

This is in reply to the post about EST/Forum.
This is a warning that said EST/Forum may indeed be a cult.
The forwarded message that follows describes the various techniques of
such cults.

---------- Forwarded message begins here ----------

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From: "Jim Hawtree, MP9 Building Manager" <RAPH@FNALF.FNAL.GOV>
Subject:      conversion/mind control posting
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To: Multiple recipients of list MIND-L <MIND-L@YORKVM1>

Here's the posting, exactly as I got it over the network.  Of course, I make no
claim for accuracy, etc. of this material...

>From: jburnes@swbatl.sbc.com (Jim Burnes - 235-7444)
>Date: 12 Jun 91 18:44:35 GMT
>Organization: Southwestern Bell
>Lines: 744
>
>
>[irrelevant comments deleted]
>- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, by Dick Sutphen -- 22.2 KB
>Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public Today
>
>
>SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
>
>The Birth of Conversion/Brainwashing in Christian Revivalism in 1735. The
>Pavlovian explanation of the three brain phases. Born-again preachers:
>Step-by-Step, how they conduct a revival and the expected physiological
>results. The "voice roll" technique used by preachers, lawyers and hypnotists.
>New trance-inducing churches. The 6 steps to conversion. The decognition
>process. Thought-stopping techniques. The "sell it by zealot" technique. True
>believers and mass movements. Persuasion techniques: "Yes set," "Imbedded
>Commands," "Shock and Confusion," and the "Interspersal Technique."
>Subliminals. Vibrato and ELF waves. Inducing trance with vibrational sound.
>Even professional observers will be "possessed" at charismatic gatherings. The
>"only hope" technique to attend and not be converted. Non-detectable
>Neurophone programming through the skin. The medium for mass take-over.
>
>    I'm Dick Sutphen and this tape is a studio-recorded, expanded version of a
>talk I delivered at the World Congress of Professional Hypnotists Convention
>in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the tape carries a copyright to protect it from
>unlawful duplication for sale by other companies, in this case, I invite
>individuals to make copies and give them to friends or anyone in a position to
>communicate this information.
>    Although I've been interviewed about the subject on many local and
>regional radio and TV talk shows, large-scale mass communication appears to be
>blocked, since it could result in suspicion or investigation of the very media
>presenting it or the sponsors that support the media. Some government agencies
>do not want this information generally known. Nor do the Born-Again Christian
>movement, cults, and many human-potential trainings.
>    Everything I will relate only exposes the surface of the problem. I don't
>know how the misuse of these techniques can be stopped. I don't think it is
>possible to legislate against that which often cannot be detected; and if
>those who legislate are using these techniques, there is little hope of
>affecting laws to govern usage. I do know that the first step to initiate
>change is to generate interest. In this case, that will probably only result
>from an underground effort.
>    In talking about this subject, I am talking about my own business. I know
>it, and I know how effective it can be. I produce hypnosis and subliminal
>tapes and, in some of my seminars, I use conversion tactics to assist
>participants to become independent and self-sufficient. But, anytime I use
>these techniques, I point out that I am using them, and those attending have a
>choice to participate or not. They also know what the desired result of
>participation will be.
>    So, to begin, I want to state the most basic of all facts about
>brainwashing: IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF MAN, NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN BRAINWASHED
>AND REALIZED, OR BELIEVED, THAT HE HAD BEEN BRAINWASHED. Those who have been
>brainwashed will usually passionately defend their manipulators, claiming they
>have simply been "shown the light"  . . . or have been transformed in
>miraculous ways.
>
>The Birth of Conversion
>
>   CONVERSION is a "nice" word for BRAINWASHING . . . and any study of
>brainwashing has to begin with a study of Christian revivalism in eighteenth
>century America. Apparently, Jonathan Edwards accidentally discovered the
>techniques during a religious crusade in 1735 in Northampton, Massachusetts.
>By inducing guilt and acute apprehension and by increasing the tension, the
>"sinners" attending his revival meetings would break down and completely
>submit. Technically, what Edwards was doing was creating conditions that wipe
>the brain slate clean so that the mind accepts new programming. The problem
>was that the new input was negative. He would tell them, "You're a sinner!
>You're destined for hell!"
>    As a result, one person committed suicide and another attempted suicide.
>And the neighbors of the suicidal converts related that they, too, were
>affected so deeply that, although they had found "eternal salvation," they
>were obsessed with a diabolical temptation to end their own lives.
>    Once a preacher, cult leader, manipulator or authority figure creates the
>brain phase to wipe the brain-slate clean, his subjects are wide open. New
>input, in the form of suggestion, can be substituted for their previous ideas.
>Because Edwards didn't turn his message positive until the end of the revival,
>many accepted the negative suggestions and acted, or desired to act, upon
>them.
>    Charles J. Finney was another Christian revivalist who used the same
>techniques four years later in mass religious conversions in New York. The
>techniques are still being used today by Christian revivalists, cults,
>human-potential trainings, some business rallies, and the United States Armed
>Services . . . to name just a few.
>    Let me point out here that I don't think most revivalist preachers realize
>or know they are using brainwashing techniques. Edwards simply stumbled upon a
>technique that really worked, and others copied it and have continued to copy
>it for over two hundred years. And the more sophisticated our knowledge and
>technology become, the more effective the conversion. I feel strongly that
>this is one of the major reasons for the increasing rise in Christian
>fundamentalism, especially the televised variety, while most of the orthodox
>religions are declining.
>
>The Three Brain Phases
>
>    The Christians may have been the first to successfully formulate
>brainwashing, but we have to look to Pavlov, the Russian scientist, for a
>technical explanation. In the early 1900s, his work with animals opened the
>door to further investigations with humans. After the revolution in Russia,
>Lenin was quick to see the potential of applying Pavlov's research to his own
>ends.
>    Three distinct and progressive states of transmarginal inhibition were
>identified by Pavlov. The first is the EQUIVALENT phase, in which the brain
>gives the same response to both strong and weak stimuli. The second is the
>PARADOXICAL phase, in which the brain responds more actively to weak stimuli
>than to strong. And the third is the ULTRA-PARADOXICAL phase, in which
>conditioned responses and behavior patterns turn from positive to negative or
>from negative to positive.
>    With the progression through each phase, the degree of conversion becomes
>more effective and complete. The way to achieve conversion are many and
>varied, but the usual first step in religious or political brainwashing is to
>work on the emotions of an individual or group until they reach an abnormal
>level of anger, fear, exitement, or nervous tension.
>    The progressive result of this mental condition is to impair judgement and
>increase suggestibility. The more this condition can be maintained or
>intensified, the more it compounds. Once catharsis, or the first brain phase,
>is reached, the complete mental takeover becomes easier. Existing mental
>programming can be replaced with new patterns of thinking and behavior.
>    Other often-used physiological weapons to modify normal brain functions
>are fasting, radical or high sugar diets, physical discomforts, regulation of
>breathing, mantra chanting in meditation, the disclosure of awesome mysteries,
>special lighting and sound effects, 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 person's blood
>sugar level with insulin injections.
>    Before I talk about exactly how some of the techniques are applied, I want
>to point out that hypnosis and conversion tactics are two distinctly different
>things--and that conversion techniques are far more powerful. However, the two
>are often mixed . . . with powerful results.
>
>How Revivalist Preachers Work
>
>    If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are probably
>several in your city. Go to the church or tent early and sit in the rear,
>about three-quarters of the way back. Most likely repetitive music will be
>played while the people come in for the service. A repetitive beat, ideally
>ranging from 45 to 72 beats per minute (a rhythm close to the beat of the
>human heart), is very hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state of
>consciousness in a very high percentage of people. And, once you are in an
>alpha state, you are at least 25 times as suggestible as you would be in full
>beta consciousness. The music is probably the same for every service, or
>incorporates the same beat, and many of the people will go into an altered
>state almost immediately upon entering the sanctuary. Subconsciously, they
>recall their state of mind from previous services and respond according to the
>post-hypnotic programming.
>    Watch the people waiting for the service to begin. Many will exhibit
>external signs of trance--body relaxation and slightly dilated eyes. Often,
>they begin swaying back and forth with their hands in the air while sitting in
>their chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will probably come out. He usually
>speaks with a pretty good "voice roll."
>
>Voice Roll Technique
>
>    A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when
>inducing a trance. It is also used by many lawyers, several of whom are highly
>trained hypnotists, when they desire to entrench a point firmly in the minds
>of the jurors. A voice roll can sound as if the speaker were talking to the
>beat of a metronome or it may sound as though he were emphasizing every word
>in a monotonous, patterned style. The words will usually be delivered at the
>rate of 45 to 60 beats per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect.
>    Now the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He induces an
>altered state of consciousness and/or begins to generate the excitement and
>the expectations of the audience. Next, a group of young women in "sweet and
>pure" chiffon dresses might come out to sing a song. Gospel songs are great
>for building excitement and INVOLVEMENT. In the middle of the song, one of the
>girls might be "smitten by the spirit" and fall down or react as if possessed
>by the Holy Spirit. This very effectively increases the intensity in the room.
>At this point, hypnosis and conversion tactics are being mixed. And the result
>is the audience's attention span is now totally focused upon the communication
>while the environment becomes more exciting or tense.
>    Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced alpha mental state
>has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection plate or basket. In
>the background, a 45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the assistant preacher
>might exhort, "Give to God . . . Give to God . . . Give to God . . ." And the
>audience does give. God may not get the money, but his already wealthy
>representative will.
>    Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He induces fear and
>increases the tension by talking about "the devil," "going to hell," or the
>forthcoming Armegeddon.
>    In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood
>that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He was also
>obsessed with a "bloody axe of God," which everyone had seen hanging above the
>pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that everyone saw it--the power of
>suggestion given to hundreds of people in hypnosis assures that at least 10 to
>25 percent would see whatever he suggested they see.
>    In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing" usually
>follows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on stage and
>relate their stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had arthritis
>and now it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that works. After
>listening to numerous case histories of miraculous healings, the average guy
>in the audience with a minor problem is sure he can be healed. The room is
>charged with fear, guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.
>    Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the edge of
>the room, or they are told to come down to the front. The preacher might touch
>them on the head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This releases the psychic
>energy and, for many, catharsis results. Catharsis is a purging of repressed
>emotions. Individuals might cry, fall down or even go into spasms. And if
>catharsis is effected, they stand a chance of being healed. In catharsis (one
>of the three brain phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarily
>wiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted.
>    For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four days
>to a week, which is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic suggestion given to a
>somnambulistic subject will usually last. Even if the healing doesn't last, if
>they come back every week, the power of suggestion may continually override
>the problem . . . or sometimes, sadly, it can mask a physical problem which
>could prove to be very detrimental to the individual in the long run.
>    I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do. Maybe
>the individual was ready to let go of the negativity that caused the problem
>in the first place; maybe it was the work of God. Yet I contend that it can be
>explained with existing knowledge of brain/mind function.
>    The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use
>"speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the spectacle
>creates intense excitement in the observers.
>    The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and
>professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A man in Los
>Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches around the
>country. He tells ministers what they need and how to use it. This man's track
>record indicates that the congregation and the monetary income will double if
>the minister follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his
>efforts are in the sound system and lighting.
>    Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary importance in
>inducing an altered state of consciousnes--I've been using them for years in
>my own seminars. However, my participants are fully aware of the process and
>what they can expect as a result of their participation.
>
>Six Conversion Techniques
>
>    Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for new
>converts. To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And they often
>need to do it within a short space of time--a weekend, or maybe even a day.
>The following are the six primary techniques used to generate the conversion.
>    The meeting or training takes place in an area where participants are cut
>off from the outside world. This may be any place: a private home, a remote or
>rural setting, or even a hotel ballroom where the participants are allowed
>only limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings, the controllers
>will give a lengthy talk about the importance of "keeping agreements" in life.
>The participants are told that if they don't keep agreements, their life will
>never work. It's a good idea to keep agreements, but the controllers are
>subverting a positive human value for selfish purposes. The participants vow
>to themselves and their trainer that they will keep their agreements. Anyone
>who does not will be intimidated into agreement or forced to leave. The next
>step is to agree to complete training, thus assuring a high percentage of
>conversions for the organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to take
>drugs, smoke, and sometimes not to eat . . . or they are given such short meal
>breaks that it creates tension. The real reason for the agreements is to alter
>internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and hopefully causes at least a
>slight malfunction of the nervous system, which in turn increases the
>conversion potential.
>    Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will be used to ensure
>that the new converts go out and find new participants. They are intimidated
>into agreeing to do so before they leave. Since the importance of keeping
>agreements is so high on their priority list, the converts will twist the arms
>of everyone they know, attempting to talk them into attending a free
>introductory session offered at a future date by the organization. The new
>converts are zealots. In fact, the inside term for merchandising the largest
>and most successful human-potential training is, "sell it by zealot!"
>    At least a million people are graduates and a good percentage have been
>left with a mental activation button that assures their future loyalty and
>assistance if the guru figure or organization calls. Think about the potential
>political implications of hundreds of thousands of zealots 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: techniques used to increase the tension in the room or
>environment.
>    Number four: Uncertainty. I could spend hours relating various techniques
>to increase tension and generate uncertainty. Basically, the participants are
>concerned about being "put on the spot" or encountered by the trainers, guilt
>feelings are played upon, participants are tempted to verbally relate their
>innermost secrets to the other participants or forced to take part in
>activities that emphasize removing their masks. One of the most successful
>human-potential seminars forces the participants to stand on a stage in front
>of the entire audience while being verbally attacked by the trainers. A public
>opinion poll, conducted a few years ago, showed that the number one
>most-fearful situation an individual could encounter is to speak to an
>audience. It ranked above window washing outside the 85th floor of an office
>building. So you can imagine the fear and tension this situation generates
>within the participants. Many faint, but most cope with the stress by mentally
>going away. They literally go into an alpha state, which automatically makes
>them many times as suggestible as they normally are. And another loop of the
>downward spiral into conversion is successfully effected.
>    The fifth clue that conversion tactics are being used is the introduction
>of jargon--new terms that have meaning only to the "insiders" who participate.
>Vicious language is also frequently used, purposely, to make participants
>uncomfortable.
>    The final tip-off is that there is no humor in the communications . . . at
>least until the participants are converted. Then, merry-making and humor are
>highly desirable as symbols of the new joy the participants have supposedly
>"found."
>    I'm not saying that good does not result from participation in such
>gatherings. It can and does. But I contend it is important for people to know
>what has happened and to be aware that continual involvement may not be in
>their best interest.
>    Over the years, I've conducted professional seminars to teach people to be
>hypnotists, trainers, and counselors. I've had many of those who conduct
>trainings and rallies come to me and say, "I'm here because I know that what
>I'm doing works, but I don't know why." After showing them how and why, many
>have gotten out of the business or have decided to approach it differently or
>in a much more loving and supportive manner.
>    Many of these trainers have become personal friends, and it scares us all
>to have experienced the power of one person with a microphone and a room full
>of people. Add a little charisma and you can count on a high percentage of
>conversions. The sad truth is that a high percentage of people want to give
>away their power--they are true "believers"!
>    Cult gatherings or human-potential trainings are an ideal environment to
>observe first-hand what is technically called the "Stockholm Syndrome." This
>is a situation in which those who are intimidated, controlled, or made to
>suffer, begin to love, admire, and even sometimes sexually desire their
>controllers or captors.
>    But let me inject a word of warning here: If you think you can attend such
>gatherings and not be affected, you are probably wrong. A perfect example is
>the case of a woman who went to Haiti on a Guggenheim Fellowship to study
>Haitian Voodoo. In her report, she related how the music eventually induced
>uncontrollable bodily movement and an altered state of consciousness. Although
>she understood the process and thought herself above it, when she began to
>feel herself become vulnerable to the music, she attempted to fight it and
>turned away. Anger or resistance almost always assures conversion. A few
>moments later she was possessed by the music and began dancing in a trance
>around the Voodoo meeting house. A brain phase had been induced by the music
>and excitement, and she awoke feeling reborn. The only hope of attending such
>gatherings without being affected is to be a Buddha and allow no positive or
>negative emotions to surface. Few people are capable of such detachment.
>
>    Before I go on, let's go back to the six tip-offs to conversion. I want to
>mention the United States Government and military boot camp. The Marine Corps
>talks about breaking men down before "rebuilding" them as new men--as marines!
>Well, that is exactly what they do, the same way a cult breaks its people down
>and rebuilds them as happy flower sellers on your local street corner. Every
>one of the six conversion techniques are used in boot camp. Considering the
>needs of the 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.
>    Step Three is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques are used to cause the mind to
>go "flat." These are altered-state-of-consciousness techniques that initially
>induce calmness by giving the mind something simple to deal with and focusing
>awareness. The continued use brings on a feeling of elation and eventually
>hallucination. The result is the reduction of thought and eventually, if used
>long enough, the cessation of all thought and withdrawal from everyone and
>everything except that which the controllers direct. The takeover is then
>complete. It is important to be aware that when members or participants are
>instructed to use "thought-stopping" techniques, they are told that they will
>benefit by so doing: they will become "better soldiers" or "find
>enlightenment."
>    There are three primary techniques used for thought stopping. The first is
>MARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis and
>thus great susceptibility to suggestion.
>    The second thought stopping technique is MEDITATION. If you spend an hour
>to an hour and a half a day in meditation, after a few weeks, there is a great
>probability that you will not return to full beta consciousness. You will
>remain in a fixed state of alpha for as long as you continue to meditate. I'm
>not saying this is bad--if you do it yourself. It may be very beneficial. But
>it is a fact that you are causing your mind to go flat. I've worked with
>meditators on an EEG machine and the results are conclusive: the more you
>meditate, the flatter your mind becomes until, eventually and especially if
>used to excess or in combination with decognition, all thought ceases. Some
>spiritual groups see this as nirvana--which is bullshit. It is simply a
>predictable physiological result. And if heaven on earth is non-thinking and
>non-involvement, I really question why we are here.
>    The third thought-stopping technique is CHANTING, and often chanting in
>meditation. "Speaking in tongues" could also be included in this category.
>    All three-stopping techniques produce an altered state of consciousness.
>This may be very good if YOU are controlling the process, for you also control
>the input. I personally use at least one self-hypnosis programming session
>every day and I know how beneficial it is for me. But you need to know if you
>use these techniques to the degree of remaining continually in alpha that,
>although you'll be very mellow, you'll also be more suggestible.
>
>True Believers & Mass Movements
>
>    Before ending this section on conversion, I want to talk about the people
>who are most susceptible to it and about Mass Movements. I am convinced that
>at least a third of the population is what Eric Hoffer calls "true believers."
>They are joiners and followers . . . people who want to give away their power.
>They look for answers, meaning, and enlightenment outside themselves.
>    Hoffer, who wrote THE TRUE BELIEVER, a classic on mass movements, says,
>"true believers are not intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self,
>but are those craving to be rid of unwanted self. They are followers, not
>because of a desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy their
>passion for self-renunciation!" Hoffer also says that true believers "are
>eternally incomplete and eternally insecure"!
>    I know this from my own experience. In my years of communicating concepts
>and conducting trainings, I have run into them again and again. All I can do
>is attempt to show them that the only thing to seek is the True Self within.
>Their personal answers are to be found there and there alone. I communicate
>that the basics of spirituality are self-responsibility and
self-actualization.
> But most of the true believers just tell me that I'm not spiritual and go
>looking for someone who will give them the dogma and structure they desire.
>    Never underestimate the potential danger of these people. They can easily
>be molded into fanatics who will gladly work and die for their holy cause. It
>is a substitute for their lost faith in themselves and offers them as a
>substitute for individual hope. The Moral Majority is made up of true
>believers. All cults are composed of true believers. You'll find them in
>politics, churches, businesses, and social cause groups. They are the fanatics
>in these organizations.
>    Mass Movements will usually have a charismatic leader. The followers want
>to convert others to their way of living or impose a new way of life--if
>necessary, by legislating laws forcing others to their view, as evidenced by
>the activities of the Moral Majority. This means enforcement by guns or
>punishment, for that is the bottomline in law enforcement.
>    A common hatred, enemy, or devil is essential to the success of a mass
>movement. The Born-Again Christians have Satan himself, but that isn't
>enough--they've added the occult, the New Age thinkers and, lately, all those
>who oppose their integration of church and politics, as evidenced in their
>political reelection campaigns against those who oppose their views. In
>revolutions, the devil is usually the ruling power or aristocracy. Some
>human-potential movements are far too clever to ask their graduates to join
>anything, thus labeling themselves as a cult--but, if you look closely, you'll
>find that their devil is anyone and everyone who hasn't taken their training.
>    There are mass movements without devils but they seldom attain major
>status. The True Believers are mentally unbalanced or insecure people, or
>those without hope or friends. People don't look for allies when they love,
>but they do when they hate or become obsessed with a cause. And those who
>desire a new life and a new order feel the old ways must be eliminated before
>the new order can be built.
>
>Persuasion Techniques
>
>    Persuasion isn't technically brainwashing but it is the manipulation of
>the human mind by another individual, without the manipulated party being
>aware what caused his opinion shift. I only have time to very basically
>introduce you to a few of the thousands of techniques in use today, but the
>basis of persuasion is always to access your RIGHT BRAIN. The left half of
>your brain is analytical and rational. The right side is creative and
>imaginative. That is overly simplified but it makes my point. So, the idea is
>to distract the left brain and keep it busy. Ideally, the persuader generates
>an eyes-open altered state of consciousness, causing you to shift from beta
>awareness into alpha; this can be measured on an EEG machine.
>    First, let  me give you an example of distracting the left brain.
>Politicians use these powerful techniques all the time; lawyers use many
>variations which, I've been told, they call "tightening the noose."
>    Assume for a moment that you are watching a politician give a speech.
>First, he might generate what is called a "YES SET." These are statements that
>will cause listeners to agree; they might even unknowingly nod their heads in
>agreement. Next come the TRUISMS. These are usually facts that could be
>debated but, once the politician has his audience agreeing, the odds are in
>the politician's favor that the audience won't stop to think for themselves,
>thus continuing to agree. Last comes the SUGGESTION. This is what the
>politician wants you to do and, since you have been agreeing all along, you
>could be persuaded to accept the suggestion. Now, if you'll listen closely to
>my political speech, you'll find that the first three are the "yes set," the
>next three are truisms and the last is the suggestion.
>
>    "Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry about high food prices? Are you tired
>of astronomical gas prices? Are you sick of out-of-control inflation? Well,
>you know the Other Party allowed 18 percent inflation last year; you know
>crime has increased 50 percent nationwide in the last 12 months, and you know
>your paycheck hardly covers your expenses any more. Well, the answer to
>resolving these problems is to elect me, John Jones, to the U.S. Senate."
>
>    And I think you've heard all that before. But you might also watch for
>what are called Imbedded Commands. As an example: On key words, the speaker
>would make a gesture with his left hand, which research has shown is more apt
>to access your right brain. Today's media-oriented politicians and
>spellbinders are often carefully trained by a whole new breed of specialist
>who are using every trick in the book--both old and new--to manipulate you
>into accepting their candidate.
>    The concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are so heavily protected
>that I found out the hard way that to even talk about them publicly or in
>print results in threatened legal action. Yet Neuro-Linguistic training is
>readily available to anyone willing to devote the time and pay the price. It
>is some of the most subtle and powerful manipulation I have yet been exposed
>to. A good friend who recently attended a two-week seminar on
Neuro-Linguistics
> found that many of those she talked to during the breaks were government
>people.
>    Another technique that I'm just learning about is unbelievably slippery;
>it is called an INTERSPERSAL TECHNIQUE and the idea is to say one thing with
>words but plant a subconscious impression of something else in the minds of
>the listeners and/or watchers.
>    Let me give you an example: Assume you are watching a television
>commentator make the following statement: SENATOR JOHNSON is assisting local
>authorities to clear up the stupid mistakes of companies contributing to the
>nuclear waste problems." It sounds like a statement of fact, but, if the
>speaker emphasizes the right word, and especially if he makes the proper hand
>gestures on the key words, you could be left with the subconscious impression
>that Senator Johnson is stupid. That was the subliminal goal of the statement
>and the speaker cannot be called to account for anything.
>    Persuasion techniques are also frequently used on a much smaller scale
>with just as much effectiveness. The insurance salesman knows his pitch is
>likely to be much more effective if he can get you to visualize something in
>your mind. This is right-brain communication. For instance, he might pause in
>his conversation, look slowly around your livingroom and say, "Can you just
>imagine this beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of course you can! It is
>one of your unconscious fears and, when he forces you to visualize it, you are
>more likely to be manipulated into signing his insurance policy.
>    The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport, use what I call SHOCK AND
>CONFUSION techniques to distract the left brain and communicate directly with
>the right brain. While waiting for a plane, I once watched one operate for
>over an hour. He had a technique of almost jumping in front of someone.
>Initially, his voice was loud then dropped as he made his pitch to take a book
>and contribute money to the cause. Usually, when people are shocked, they
>immediately withdraw. In this case they were shocked by the strange
>appearance, sudden materialization and loud voice of the Hare Krishna devotee.
>In other words, the people went into an alpha state for security because they
>didn't want to confront the reality before them. In alpha, they were highly
>suggestible so they responded to the suggestion of taking the book; the moment
>they took the book, they felt guilty and responded to the second suggestion:
>give money. We are all conditioned that if someone gives us something, we have
>to give them something in return--in that case, it was money. While watching
>this hustler, I was close enough to notice that many of the people he stopped
>exhibited an outward sign of alpha--their eyes were actually dilated.
>
>Subliminal Programming
>
>    Subliminals are hidden suggestions that only your subconscious perceives.
>They can be audio, hidden behind music, or visual, airbrushed into a picture,
>flashed on a screen so fast that you don't consciously see them, or cleverly
>incorporated into a picture or design.
>    Most audio subliminal 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
>audiocassettes, negotiations with the patent holder proved to be
>unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained copies of the patents which I gave to
>some talented Hollywood sound engineers, asking them to create a new
>technique. They found a way to psycho-acoustically modify and synthesize the
>suggestions so that they are projected in the same chord and frequency as the
>music, thus giving them the effect of being part of the music. But we found
>that in using this technique, there is no way to reduce various frequencies to
>detect the subliminals. In other words, although the suggestions are being
>heard by the subconscious mind, they cannot be monitored with even the most
>sophisticated equipment.
>    If we were able to come up with this technique as easily as we did, I can
>only imagine how sophisticated the technology has become, with unlimited
>government or advertising funding. And I shudder to think about the propaganda
>and commercial manipulation that we are exposed to on a daily basis. There is
>simply no way to know what is behind the music you hear. It may even be
>possible to hide a second voice behind the voice to which you are listening.
>    The series by Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D., on subliminals in advertising and
>political campaigns well documents the misuse in many areas, especially
>printed advertising in newspapers, magazines, and posters.
>    The big question about subliminals is: do they work? And I guarantee you
>they do. Not only from the response of those who have used my tapes, but from
>the results of such programs as the subliminals behind the music in department
>stores. Supposedly, the only message is instructions to not steal: one East
>Coast department store chain reported a 37 percent reduction in thefts in the
>first nine months of testing.
>    A 1984 article in the technical newsletter, "Brain-Mind Bulletin," states
>that as much as 99 percent of our cognitive activity may be "non-conscious,"
>according to the director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Psychophysiology at
>the University of Illinois. The lengthy report ends with the statement, "these
>findings support the use of subliminal approaches such as taped suggestions
>for weight loss and the therapeutic use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic
>Programming."
>
>Mass Misuse
>
>    I could relate many stories that support subliminal programming, but I'd
>rather use my time to make you aware of even more subtle uses of such
>programming.
>    I have personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles auditorium with
>over ten thousand people who were gathered to listen to a current charismatic
>figure. Twenty minutes after entering the auditorium, I became aware that I
>was going in and out of an altered state. Those accompanying me experienced
>the same thing. Since it is our business, we were aware of what was happening,
>but those around us were not. By careful observation, what appeared to be
>spontaneous demonstrations were, in fact, artful manipulations. The only way I
>could figure that the eyes-open trance had been induced was that a 6- to
>7-cycle-per-second vibration was being piped into the room behind the air
>conditioner sound. That particular vibration generates alpha, which would
>render the audience highly susceptible. Ten to 25 percent of the population is
>capable of a somnambulistic level of altered states of consciousness; for
>these people, the suggestions of the speaker, if non-threatening, could
>potentially be accepted as "commands."
>
>Vibrato
>
>    This leads to the mention of VIBRATO. Vibrato is the tremulous effect
>imparted in some vocal or instrumental music, and the cyle-per-second range
>causes people to go into an altered state of consciousness. At one period of
>English history, singers whose voices contained pronounced vibrato were not
>allowed to perform publicly because listeners would go into an altered state
>and have fantasies, often sexual in nature.
>    People who attend opera or enjoy listening to singers like Mario Lanza are
>familiar with this altered state induced by the performers.
>
>ELFs
>
>    Now, let's carry this awareness a little farther. There are also inaudible
>ELFs (extra-low frequency waves). These are electromagnetic in nature. One of
>the primary uses of ELFs is to communicate with our submarines. Dr. Andrija
>Puharich, a highly respected researcher, in an attempt to warn U.S. officials
>about Russian use of ELFs, set up an experiment. Volunteers were wired so
>their brain waves could be measured on an EEG. They were sealed in a metal
>room that could not be penetrated by a normal signal.
>    Puharich then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers. ELFs go right through
>the earth and, of course, right through metal walls. Those inside couldn't
>know if the signal was or was not being sent. And Puharich watched the
>reactions on the technical equipment: 30 percent of those inside the room were
>taken over by the ELF signal in six to ten seconds.
>    When I say "taken over," I mean that their behavior followed the changes
>anticipated at very precise frequencies. Waves below 6 cycles per second
>caused the subjects to become very emotionally upset, and even disrupted
>bodily functions. At 8.2 cycles, they felt very high . . . an elevated
>feeling, as though they had been in masterful meditation, learned over a
>period of years. Eleven to 11.3 cycles induced waves of depressed agitation
>leading to riotous behavior.
>
>The Neurophone
>
>    Dr. Patrick Flanagan is a personal friend of mine. In the early 1960s, as
>a teenager, Pat was listed as one of the top scientists in the world by "Life"
>magazine. Among his many inventions was a device he called the Neurophone--an
>electronic instrument that can successfully programm suggestions directly
>through contact with the skin. When he attempted to patent the device, the
>government demanded that he prove it worked. When he did, the National
>Security Agency confiscated the neurophone. It took Pat two years of legal
>battle to get his invention back.
>    In using the device, you don't hear or see a thing; it is applied to the
>skin, which Pat claims is the source of special senses. The skin contains more
>sensors for heat, touch, pain, vibration, and electrical fields than any other
>part of the human anatomy.
>    In one of his recent tests, Pat conducted two identical seminars for a
>military audience--one seminar one night and one the next night, because the
>size of the room was not large enough to accommodate all of them at one time.
>When the first group proved to be very cool and unwilling to respond, Patrick
>spent the next day making a special tape to play at the second seminar. The
>tape instructed the audience to be extremely warm and responsive and for their
>hands to become "tingly." The tape was played through the neurophone, which
>was connected to a wire he placed along the ceiling of the room. There were no
>speakers, so no sound could be heard, yet the message was successfully
>transmitted from that wire directly into the brains of the audience. They were
>warm and receptive, their hands tingled and they responded, according to
>programming, in other ways that I cannot mention here.
>    The more we find out about how human beings work through today's highly
>advanced technological research, the more we learn to control human beings.
>And what probably scares me the most is that the medium for takeover is
>already in place! The television set in your livingroom and bedroom is doing a
>lot more than just entertaining you.
>    Before I continue, let me point out something else about an altered state
>of consciousness. When you go into an altered state, you transfer into right
>brain, which results in the internal release of the body's own opiates:
>enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically almost identical to opium. In
>other words, it feels good . . . and you want to come back for more.
>    Recent tests by researcher Herbert Krugman showed that, while viewers were
>watching TV, right-brain activity outnumbered left-brain activity by a ratio
>of two to one. Put more simply, the viewers were in 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?
>
>- -----------------------------------+----------------------------------------
>Jim Burnes, UNIX SysAdmin          ! "The Nineties
>SWBell Advanced Technology Labs    !    are gonna make the Sixties
>(314) 235-7444                     !       look like the Fifties..."
>jburnes@swbatl.sbc.com             !   Dennis Hopper in 'Flashback'