THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND

 

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?