THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, by Dick Sutphen

     THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, by Dick Sutphen -- 22.2 KB

    Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public

    Today

 

    SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

 

    The Birth of Conversion/Brainwashing in Christian Revivalism

    in 1735.  The Pavlovian explanation of the three brain phases.

    Born-again preachers: Step-by-Step, how they conduct a revival

    and the expected physiological results. The "voice roll"

    technique used by preachers, lawyers and hypnotists.  New

    trance-inducing churches. The 6 steps to conversion. The

    decognition process. Thought-stopping techniques. The "sell it

    by zealot" technique. True believers and mass movements.

    Persuasion techniques: "Yes set," "Imbedded Commands," "Shock

    and Confusion," and the "Interspersal Technique." Subliminals.

    Vibrato and ELF waves. Inducing trance with vibrational sound.

    Even professional observers will be "possessed" at charismatic

    gatherings. The "only hope" technique to attend and not be

    converted. Non-detectable Neurophone programming through the

    skin. The medium for mass take-over.

 

        I'm Dick Sutphen and this tape is a studio-recorded,

    expanded version of a talk I delivered at the World Congress

    of Professional Hypnotists Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Although the tape carries a copyright to protect it from

    unlawful duplication for sale by other companies, in this

    case, I invite individuals to make copies and give them to

    friends or anyone in a position to communicate this

    information.

 

         Although I've been interviewed about the subject on many

    local and regional radio and TV talk shows, large-scale mass

    communication appears to be blocked, since it could result in

    suspicion or investigation of the very media presenting it or

    the sponsors that support the media. Some government agencies

    do not want this information generally known. Nor do the

    Born-Again Christian movement, cults, and many human-potential

    trainings.

 

        Everything I will relate only exposes the surface of the

    problem. I don't know how the misuse of these techniques can

    be stopped. I don't think it is possible to legislate against

    that which often cannot be detected; and if those who

    legislate are using these techniques, there is little hope of

    affecting laws to govern usage. I do know that the first step

    to initiate change is to generate interest. In this case, that

    will probably only result from an underground effort.

 

        In talking about this subject, I am talking about my own

    business.  I know it, and I know how effective it can be. I

    produce hypnosis and subliminal tapes and, in some of my

    seminars, I use conversion tactics to assist participants to

    become independent and self-sufficient. But, anytime I use

    these techniques, I point out that I am using them, and those

    attending have a choice to participate or not. They also know

    what the desired result of participation will be.

 

        So, to begin, I want to state the most basic of all facts

    about brainwashing: IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF MAN, NO ONE HAS

    EVER BEEN BRAINWASHED AND REALIZED, OR BELIEVED, THAT HE HAD

    BEEN BRAINWASHED.  Those who have been brainwashed will

    usually passionately defend their manipulators, claiming they

    have simply been "shown the light" . . .  or have been

    transformed in miraculous ways.

 

    The Birth of Conversion

  

       CONVERSION is a "nice" word for BRAINWASHING . . . and any

    study of brainwashing has to begin with a study of Christian

    revivalism in eighteenth century America. Apparently, Jonathan

    Edwards accidentally discovered the techniques during a

    religious crusade in 1735 in Northampton, Massachusetts.  By

    inducing guilt and acute apprehension and by increasing the

    tension, the "sinners" attending his revival meetings would

    break down and completely submit. Technically, what Edwards

    was doing was creating conditions that wipe the brain slate

    clean so that the mind accepts new programming. The problem

    was that the new input was negative. He would tell them,

    "You're a sinner!  You're destined for hell!"

 

        As a result, one person committed suicide and another

    attempted suicide.  And the neighbors of the suicidal converts

    related that they, too, were affected so deeply that, although

    they had found "eternal salvation," they were obsessed with a

    diabolical temptation to end their own lives.

 

        Once a preacher, cult leader, manipulator or authority

    figure creates the brain phase to wipe the brain-slate clean,

    his subjects are wide open. New input, in the form of

    suggestion, can be substituted for their previous ideas.

    Because Edwards didn't turn his message positive until the end

    of the revival, many accepted the negative suggestions and

    acted, or desired to act, upon them.

 

        Charles J. Finney was another Christian revivalist who

    used the same techniques four years later in mass religious

    conversions in New York. The techniques are still being used

    today by Christian revivalists, cults, human-potential

    trainings, some business rallies, and the United States Armed

    Services . . . to name just a few.

 

        Let me point out here that I don't think most revivalist

    preachers realize or know they are using brainwashing

    techniques. Edwards simply stumbled upon a technique that

    really worked, and others copied it and have continued to copy

    it for over two hundred years. And the more sophisticated our

    knowledge and technology become, the more effective the

    conversion. I feel strongly that this is one of the major

    reasons for the increasing rise in Christian fundamentalism,

    especially the televised variety, while most of the orthodox

    religions are declining.

 

    The Three Brain Phases

 

        The Christians may have been the first to successfully

    formulate brainwashing, but we have to look to Pavlov, the

    Russian scientist, for a technical explanation. In the early

    1900s, his work with animals opened the door to further

    investigations with humans. After the revolution in Russia,

    Lenin was quick to see the potential of applying Pavlov's

    research to his own ends.

 

        Three distinct and progressive states of transmarginal

    inhibition were identified by Pavlov. The first is the

    EQUIVALENT phase, in which the brain gives the same response

    to both strong and weak stimuli. The second is the PARADOXICAL

    phase, in which the brain responds more actively to weak

    stimuli than to strong. And the third is the ULTRA-

    PARADOXICAL phase, in which conditioned responses and behavior

    patterns turn from positive to negative or from negative to

    positive.

 

        With the progression through each phase, the degree of

    conversion becomes more effective and complete. The way to

    achieve conversion are many and varied, but the usual first

    step in religious or political brainwashing is to work on the

    emotions of an individual or group until they reach an

    abnormal level of anger, fear, excitement, or nervous tension.

 

        The progressive result of this mental condition is to

    impair judgement and increase suggestibility. The more this

    condition can be maintained or intensified, the more it

    compounds. Once catharsis, or the first brain phase, is

    reached, the complete mental takeover becomes easier. Existing

    mental programming can be replaced with new patterns of

    thinking and behavior.

 

        Other often-used physiological weapons to modify normal

    brain functions are fasting, radical or high sugar diets,

    physical discomforts, regulation of breathing, mantra chanting

    in meditation, the disclosure of awesome mysteries, special

    lighting and sound effects, programed response to incense, or

    intoxicating drugs.

 

        The same results can be obtained in contemporary

    psychiatric treatment by electric shock treatments and even by

    purposely lowering a person's blood sugar level with insulin

    injections.

 

        Before I talk about exactly how some of the techniques are

    applied, I want to point out that hypnosis and conversion

    tactics are two distinctly different things--and that

    conversion techniques are far more powerful. However, the two

    are often mixed . . . with powerful results.

 

    How Revivalist Preachers Work

 

        If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there

    are probably several in your city. Go to the church or tent

    early and sit in the rear, about three-quarters of the way

    back. Most likely repetitive music will be played while the

    people come in for the service. A repetitive beat, ideally

    ranging from 45 to 72 beats per minute (a rhythm close to the

    beat of the human heart), is very hypnotic and can generate an

    eyes-open altered state of consciousness in a very high

    percentage of people. And, once you are in an alpha state, you

    are at least 25 times as suggestible as you would be in full

    beta consciousness. The music is probably the same for every

    service, or incorporates the same beat, and many of the people

    will go into an altered state almost immediately upon entering

    the sanctuary.  Subconsciously, they recall their state of

    mind from previous services and respond according to the

    post-hypnotic programming.

 

        Watch the people waiting for the service to begin. Many

    will exhibit external signs of trance--body relaxation and

    slightly dilated eyes. Often, they begin swaying back and

    forth with their hands in the air while sitting in their

    chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will probably come out. He

    usually speaks with a pretty good "voice roll."

 

    Voice Roll Technique

 

        A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by

    hypnotists when inducing a trance. It is also used by many

    lawyers, several of whom are highly trained hypnotists, when

    they desire to entrench a point firmly in the minds of the

    jurors. A voice roll can sound as if the speaker were talking

    to the beat of a metronome or it may sound as though he were

    emphasizing every word in a monotonous, patterned style. The

    words will usually be delivered at the rate of 45 to 60 beats

    per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect.

  

        Now the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He

    induces an altered state of consciousness and/or begins to

    generate the excitement and the expectations of the audience.

    Next, a group of young women in "sweet and pure" chiffon

    dresses might come out to sing a song. Gospel songs are great

    for building excitement and INVOLVEMENT.  In the middle of the

    song, one of the girls might be "smitten by the spirit" and

    fall down or react as if possessed by the Holy Spirit. This

    very effectively increases the intensity in the room.  At this

    point, hypnosis and conversion tactics are being mixed. And

    the result is the audience's attention span is now totally

    focused upon the communication while the environment becomes

    more exciting or tense.

 

        Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced

    alpha mental state has been achieved, they will usually pass

    the collection plate or basket. In the background, a

    45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the assistant preacher

    might exhort, "Give to God . . . Give to God . . .  Give to

    God . . ." And the audience does give. God may not get the

    money, but his already wealthy representative will.

 

        Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He

    induces fear and increases the tension by talking about "the

    devil," "going to hell," or the forthcoming Armegeddon.

 

        In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked

    about the blood that would soon be running out of every faucet

    in the land. He was also obsessed with a "bloody axe of God,"

    which everyone had seen hanging above the pulpit the previous

    week. I have no doubt that everyone saw it--the power of

    suggestion given to hundreds of people in hypnosis assures

    that at least 10 to 25 percent would see whatever he suggested

    they see.

 

        In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or

    "witnessing" usually follows the fear-based sermon. People

    from the audience come up on stage and relate their stories.

    "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had arthritis and now

    it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that works.

    After listening to numerous case histories of miraculous

    healings, the average guy in the audience with a minor problem

    is sure he can be healed. The room is charged with fear,

    guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.

 

        Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up

    around the edge of the room, or they are told to come down to

    the front. The preacher might touch them on the head firmly

    and scream, "Be healed!"  This releases the psychic energy

    and, for many, catharsis results.  Catharsis is a purging of

    repressed emotions. Individuals might cry, fall down or even

    go into spasms. And if catharsis is effected, they stand a

    chance of being healed. In catharsis (one of the three brain

    phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarily

    wiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted.

 

        For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will

    last four days to a week, which is, incidentally, how long a

    hypnotic suggestion given to a somnambulistic subject will

    usually last. Even if the healing doesn't last, if they come

    back every week, the power of suggestion may continually

    override the problem . . . or sometimes, sadly, it can mask a

    physical problem which could prove to be very detrimental to

    the individual in the long run.

 

        I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place.

    They do.  Maybe the individual was ready to let go of the

    negativity that caused the problem in the first place; maybe

    it was the work of God. Yet I contend that it can be explained

    with existing knowledge of brain/mind function.

 

        The techniques and staging will vary from church to

    church. Many use "speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis

    in some while the spectacle creates intense excitement in the

    observers.

 

        The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is

    sophisticated, and professionals are assuring that they become

    even more effective. A man in Los Angeles is designing,

    building, and reworking a lot of churches around the country.

    He tells ministers what they need and how to use it. This

    man's track record indicates that the congregation and the

    monetary income will double if the minister follows his

    instructions.  He admits that about 80 percent of his efforts

    are in the sound system and lighting.

 

        Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of

    primary importance in inducing an altered state of

    consciousness--I've been using them for years in my own

    seminars. However, my participants are fully aware of the

    process and what they can expect as a result of their

    participation.

 

    Six Conversion Techniques

 

        Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking

    for new converts. To attain them, they must also create a

    brain-phase. And they often need to do it within a short space

    of time--a weekend, or maybe even a day.  The following are

    the six primary techniques used to generate the conversion.

    The meeting or training takes place in an area where

    participants are cut off from the outside world. This may be

    any place: a private home, a remote or rural setting, or even

    a hotel ballroom where the participants are allowed only

    limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings, the

    controllers will give a lengthy talk about the importance of

    "keeping agreements" in life.  The participants are told that

    if they don't keep agreements, their life will never work.

    It's a good idea to keep agreements, but the controllers are

    subverting a positive human value for selfish purposes.  The

    participants vow to themselves and their trainer that they

    will keep their agreements.  Anyone who does not will be

    intimidated into agreement or forced to leave. The next step

    is to agree to complete training, thus assuring a high

    percentage of conversions for the organizations. They will

    USUALLY have to agree not to take drugs, smoke, and sometimes

    not to eat . . .  or they are given such short meal breaks

    that it creates tension. The real reason for the agreements is

    to alter internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and

    hopefully causes at least a slight malfunction of the nervous

    system, which in turn increases the conversion potential.

 

        Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will be

    used to ensure that the new converts go out and find new

    participants. They are intimidated into agreeing to do so

    before they leave. Since the importance of keeping agreements

    is so high on their priority list, the converts will twist the

    arms of everyone they know, attempting to talk them into

    attending a free introductory session offered at a future date

    by the organization. The new converts are zealots. In fact,

    the inside term for merchandising the largest and most

    successful human- potential training is, "sell it by zealot!"

  

        At least a million people are graduates and a good

    percentage have been left with a mental activation button that

    assures their future loyalty and assistance if the guru figure

    or organization calls. Think about the potential political

    implications of hundreds of thousands of zealots programed to

    campaign for their guru.

 

        Be wary of an organization of this type that offers

    follow-up sessions after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might

    be weekly meetings or inexpensive seminars given on a regular

    basis which the organization will attempt to talk you into

    taking--or any regularly scheduled event used to maintain

    control. As the early Christian revivalists found, long-term

    control is dependent upon a good follow-up system.

 

        Alright. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that

    indicates conversion tactics are being used. A schedule is

    maintained that causes physical and mental fatigue. This is

    primarily accomplished by long hours in which the participants

    are given no opportunity for relaxation or reflection.

 

        The third tip-off: techniques used to increase the tension

    in the room or environment.

 

        Number four: Uncertainty. I could spend hours relating

    various techniques to increase tension and generate

    uncertainty. Basically, the participants are concerned about

    being "put on the spot" or encountered by the trainers, guilt

    feelings are played upon, participants are tempted to verbally

    relate their innermost secrets to the other participants or

    forced to take part in activities that emphasize removing

    their masks. One of the most successful human-potential

    seminars forces the participants to stand on a stage in front

    of the entire audience while being verbally attacked by the

    trainers. A public opinion poll, conducted a few years ago,

    showed that the number one most-fearful situation an

    individual could encounter is to speak to an audience. It

    ranked above window washing outside the 85th floor of an

    office building. So you can imagine the fear and tension this

    situation generates within the participants. Many faint, but

    most cope with the stress by mentally going away. They

    literally go into an alpha state, which automatically makes

    them many times as suggestible as they normally are. And

    another loop of the downward spiral into conversion is

    successfully effected.

 

        The fifth clue that conversion tactics are being used is

    the introduction of jargon--new terms that have meaning only

    to the "insiders" who participate.  Vicious language is also

    frequently used, purposely, to make participants

    uncomfortable.

 

        The final tip-off is that there is no humor in the

    communications .  . . at least until the participants are

    converted. Then, merry-making and humor are highly desirable

    as symbols of the new joy the participants have supposedly

    "found."

 

        I'm not saying that good does not result from

    participation in such gatherings. It can and does. But I

    contend it is important for people to know what has happened

    and to be aware that continual involvement may not be in their

    best interest.

 

        Over the years, I've conducted professional seminars to

    teach people to be hypnotists, trainers, and counselors. I've

    had many of those who conduct trainings and rallies come to me

    and say, "I'm here because I know that what I'm doing works,

    but I don't know why." After showing them how and why, many

    have gotten out of the business or have decided to approach it

    differently or in a much more loving and supportive manner.

 

        Many of these trainers have become personal friends, and

    it scares us all to have experienced the power of one person

    with a microphone and a room full of people. Add a little

    charisma and you can count on a high percentage of

    conversions. The sad truth is that a high percentage of people

    want to give away their power--they are true "believers"!

 

        Cult gatherings or human-potential trainings are an ideal

    environment to observe first-hand what is technically called

    the "Stockholm Syndrome." This is a situation in which those

    who are intimidated, controlled, or made to suffer, begin to

    love, admire, and even sometimes sexually desire their

    controllers or captors.

 

        But let me inject a word of warning here: If you think you

    can attend such gatherings and not be affected, you are

    probably wrong. A perfect example is the case of a woman who

    went to Haiti on a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Haitian

    Voodoo. In her report, she related how the music eventually

    induced uncontrollable bodily movement and an altered state of

    consciousness. Although she understood the process and thought

    herself above it, when she began to feel herself become

    vulnerable to the music, she attempted to fight it and turned

    away. Anger or resistance almost always assures conversion.  A

    few moments later she was possessed by the music and began

    dancing in a trance around the Voodoo meeting house. A brain

    phase had been induced by the music and excitement, and she

    awoke feeling reborn. The only hope of attending such

    gatherings without being affected is to be a Buddha and allow

    no positive or negative emotions to surface. Few people are

    capable of such detachment.

 

        Before I go on, let's go back to the six tip-offs to

    conversion. I want to mention the United States Government and

    military boot camp.  The Marine Corps talks about breaking men

    down before "rebuilding" them as new men--as marines!  Well,

    that is exactly what they do, the same way a cult breaks its

    people down and rebuilds them as happy flower sellers on your

    local street corner. Every one of the six conversion

    techniques are used in boot camp. Considering the needs of the

    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 in a three step

    Decognition Process.

 

        Step One is ALERTNESS REDUCTION: The controllers cause the

    nervous system to malfunction, making it difficult to

    distinguish between fantasy and reality. This can be

    accomplished in several ways. POOR DIET is one; watch out for

    Brownies and Koolaid. The sugar throws the nervous system off.

    More subtle is the "SPIRITUAL DIET" used by many cults. They

    eat only vegetables and fruits; without the grounding of

    grains, nuts, seeds, dairy products, fish or meat, an

    individual becomes mentally "spacey." INADEQUATE SLEEP is

    another primary way to reduce alertness, especially when

    combined with long hours of work or intense physical activity.

    Also, being bombarded with intense and unique experiences

    achieves the same result.

 

        Step Two is PROGRAMED CONFUSION: You are mentally

    assaulted while your alertness is being reduced as in Step

    One. This is accomplished with a deluge of new information,

    lectures, discussion groups, encounters or one-to-one

    processing, which usually amounts to the controller bombarding

    the individual with questions. During this phase of

    decognition, reality and illusion often merge and perverted

    logic is likely to be accepted.

 

        Step Three is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques are used to

    cause the mind to go "flat." These are

    altered-state-of-consciousness techniques that initially

    induce calmness by giving the mind something simple to deal

    with and focusing awareness. The continued use brings on a

    feeling of elation and eventually hallucination. The result is

    the reduction of thought and eventually, if used long enough,

    the cessation of all thought and withdrawal from everyone and

    everything except that which the controllers direct. The

    takeover is then complete. It is important to be aware that

    when members or participants are instructed to use

    "thought-stopping" techniques, they are told that they will

    benefit by so doing: they will become "better soldiers" or

    "find enlightenment."

 

        There are three primary techniques used for thought

    stopping. The first is MARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat

    literally generates self-hypnosis and thus great

    susceptibility to suggestion.

 

        The second thought stopping technique is MEDITATION. If

    you spend an hour to an hour and a half a day in meditation,

    after a few weeks, there is a great probability that you will

    not return to full beta consciousness. You will remain in a

    fixed state of alpha for as long as you continue to meditate.

    I'm not saying this is bad--if you do it yourself. It may be

    very beneficial. But it is a fact that you are causing your

    mind to go flat. I've worked with meditators on an EEG machine

    and the results are conclusive: the more you meditate, the

    flatter your mind becomes until, eventually and especially if

    used to excess or in combination with decognition, all thought

    ceases. Some spiritual groups see this as nirvana--which is

    bullshit. It is simply a predictable physiological result. And

    if heaven on earth is non- thinking and non-involvement, I

    really question why we are here.

 

        The third thought-stopping technique is CHANTING, and

    often chanting in meditation. "Speaking in tongues" could also

    be included in this category.

 

        All three-stopping techniques produce an altered state of

    consciousness.  This may be very good if YOU are controlling

    the process, for you also control the input. I personally use

    at least one self-hypnosis programming session every day and I

    know how beneficial it is for me. But you need to know if you

    use these techniques to the degree of remaining continually in

    alpha that, although you'll be very mellow, you'll also be

    more suggestible.

 

    True Believers & Mass Movements

 

        Before ending this section on conversion, I want to talk

    about the people who are most susceptible to it and about Mass

    Movements. I am convinced that at least a third of the

    population is what Eric Hoffer calls "true believers." They

    are joiners and followers . . . people who want to give away

    their power.  They look for answers, meaning, and

    enlightenment outside themselves.

 

        Hoffer, who wrote THE TRUE BELIEVER, a classic on mass

    movements, says, "true believers are not intent on bolstering

    and advancing a cherished self, but are those craving to be

    rid of unwanted self. They are followers, not because of a

    desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy their

    passion for self-renunciation!" Hoffer also says that true

    believers "are eternally incomplete and eternally insecure"!

 

        I know this from my own experience. In my years of

    communicating concepts and conducting trainings, I have run

    into them again and again. All I can do is attempt to show

    them that the only thing to seek is the True Self within.

    Their personal answers are to be found there and there alone.

    I communicate that the basics of spirituality are

    self-responsibility and self-actualization.  But most of the

    true believers just tell me that I'm not spiritual and go

    looking for someone who will give them the dogma and structure

    they desire.  Never underestimate the potential danger of

    these people. They can easily be molded into fanatics who will

    gladly work and die for their holy cause.  It is a substitute

    for their lost faith in themselves and offers them as a

    substitute for individual hope. The Moral Majority is made up

    of true believers. All cults are composed of true believers.

    You'll find them in politics, churches, businesses, and social

    cause groups. They are the fanatics in these organizations.

 

        Mass Movements will usually have a charismatic leader. The

    followers want to convert others to their way of living or

    impose a new way of life--if necessary, by legislating laws

    forcing others to their view, as evidenced by the activities

    of the Moral Majority. This means enforcement by guns or

    punishment, for that is the bottomline in law enforcement.

 

        A common hatred, enemy, or devil is essential to the

    success of a mass movement. The Born-Again Christians have

    Satan himself, but that isn't enough--they've added the

    occult, the New Age thinkers and, lately, all those who oppose

    their integration of church and politics, as evidenced in

    their political reelection campaigns against those who oppose

    their views. In revolutions, the devil is usually the ruling

    power or aristocracy. Some human-potential movements are far

    too clever to ask their graduates to join anything, thus

    labeling themselves as a cult--but, if you look closely,

    you'll find that their devil is anyone and everyone who hasn't

    taken their training.  There are mass movements without devils

    but they seldom attain major status. The True Believers are

    mentally unbalanced or insecure people, or those without hope

    or friends. People don't look for allies when they love, but

    they do when they hate or become obsessed with a cause. And

    those who desire a new life and a new order feel the old ways

    must be eliminated before the new order can be built.

 

    Persuasion Techniques

 

        Persuasion isn't technically brainwashing but it is the

    manipulation of the human mind by another individual, without

    the manipulated party being aware what caused his opinion

    shift. I only have time to very basically introduce you to a

    few of the thousands of techniques in use today, but the basis

    of persuasion is always to access your RIGHT BRAIN. The left

    half of your brain is analytical and rational. The right side

    is creative and imaginative. That is overly simplified but it

    makes my point. So, the idea is to distract the left brain and

    keep it busy. Ideally, the persuader generates an eyes-open

    altered state of consciousness, causing you to shift from beta

    awareness into alpha; this can be measured on an EEG machine.

 

        First, let me give you an example of distracting the left

    brain.  Politicians use these powerful techniques all the

    time; lawyers use many variations which, I've been told, they

    call "tightening the noose."

 

        Assume for a moment that you are watching a politician

    give a speech.  First, he might generate what is called a "YES

    SET." These are statements that will cause listeners to agree;

    they might even unknowingly nod their heads in agreement. Next

    come the TRUISMS. These are usually facts that could be

    debated but, once the politician has his audience agreeing,

    the odds are in the politician's favor that the audience won't

    stop to think for themselves, thus continuing to agree.  Last

    comes the SUGGESTION. This is what the politician wants you to

    do and, since you have been agreeing all along, you could be

    persuaded to accept the suggestion.  Now, if you'll listen

    closely to my political speech, you'll find that the first

    three are the "yes set," the next three are truisms and the

    last is the suggestion.

 

        "Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry about high food

    prices? Are you tired of astronomical gas prices? Are you sick

    of out-of-control inflation? Well, you know the Other Party

    allowed 18 percent inflation last year; you know crime has

    increased 50 percent nationwide in the last 12 months, and you

    know your paycheck hardly covers your expenses any more. Well,

    the answer to resolving these problems is to elect me, John

    Jones, to the U.S. Senate."

 

        And I think you've heard all that before. But you might

    also watch for what are called Imbedded Commands. As an

    example: On key words, the speaker would make a gesture with

    his left hand, which research has shown is more apt to access

    your right brain. Today's media-oriented politicians and

    spellbinders are often carefully trained by a whole new breed

    of specialist who are using every trick in the book--both old

    and new--to manipulate you into accepting their candidate.

 

        The concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are so

    heavily protected that I found out the hard way that to even

    talk about them publicly or in print results in threatened

    legal action. Yet Neuro- Linguistic training is readily

    available to anyone willing to devote the time and pay the

    price. It is some of the most subtle and powerful manipulation

    I have yet been exposed to. A good friend who recently

    attended a two-week seminar on Neuro-Linguistics found that

    many of those she talked to during the breaks were government

    people.

 

        Another technique that I'm just learning about is

    unbelievably slippery; it is called an INTERSPERSAL TECHNIQUE

    and the idea is to say one thing with words but plant a

    subconscious impression of something else in the minds of the

    listeners and/or watchers.

 

        Let me give you an example: Assume you are watching a

    television commentator make the following statement: SENATOR

    JOHNSON is assisting local authorities to clear up the stupid

    mistakes of companies contributing to the nuclear waste

    problems." It sounds like a statement of fact, but, if the

    speaker emphasizes the right word, and especially if he makes

    the proper hand gestures on the key words, you could be left

    with the subconscious impression that Senator Johnson is

    stupid.  That was the subliminal goal of the statement and the

    speaker cannot be called to account for anything.

 

        Persuasion techniques are also frequently used on a much

    smaller scale with just as much effectiveness. The insurance

    salesman knows his pitch is likely to be much more effective

    if he can get you to visualize something in your mind. This is

    right-brain communication.  For instance, he might pause in

    his conversation, look slowly around your livingroom and say,

    "Can you just imagine this beautiful home burning to the

    ground?" Of course you can! It is one of your unconscious

    fears and, when he forces you to visualize it, you are more

    likely to be manipulated into signing his insurance policy.

 

        The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport, use what I

    call SHOCK AND CONFUSION techniques to distract the left brain

    and communicate directly with the right brain. While waiting

    for a plane, I once watched one operate for over an hour. He

    had a technique of almost jumping in front of someone.

    Initially, his voice was loud then dropped as he made his

    pitch to take a book and contribute money to the cause.

    Usually, when people are shocked, they immediately withdraw.

    In this case they were shocked by the strange appearance,

    sudden materialization and loud voice of the Hare Krishna

    devotee.  In other words, the people went into an alpha state

    for security because they didn't want to confront the reality

    before them.  In alpha, they were highly suggestible so they

    responded to the suggestion of taking the book; the moment

    they took the book, they felt guilty and responded to the

    second suggestion: give money. We are all conditioned that if

    someone gives us something, we have to give them something in

    return-- in that case, it was money. While watching this

    hustler, I was close enough to notice that many of the people

    he stopped exhibited an outward sign of alpha--their eyes were

    actually dilated.

 

    Subliminal Programming

 

        Subliminals are hidden suggestions that only your

    subconscious perceives.  They can be audio, hidden behind

    music, or visual, airbrushed into a picture, flashed on a

    screen so fast that you don't consciously see them, or

    cleverly incorporated into a picture or design.

 

        Most audio subliminal reprograming tapes offer verbal

    suggestions recorded at a low volume. I question the efficacy

    of this technique--if subliminals are not perceptible, they

    cannot be effective, and subliminals recorded below the

    audible threshold are therefore useless.  The oldest audio

    subliminal technique uses a voice that follows the volume of

    the music so subliminals are impossible to detect without a

    parametric equalizer. But this technique is patented and, when

    I wanted to develop my own line of subliminal audiocassettes,

    negotiations with the patent holder proved to be

    unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained copies of the patents

    which I gave to some talented Hollywood sound engineers,

    asking them to create a new technique. They found a way to

    psycho-acoustically modify and synthesize the suggestions so

    that they are projected in the same chord and frequency as the

    music, thus giving them the effect of being part of the music.

    But we found that in using this technique, there is no way to

    reduce various frequencies to detect the subliminals. In other

    words, although the suggestions are being heard by the

    subconscious mind, they cannot be monitored with even the most

    sophisticated equipment.

 

        If we were able to come up with this technique as easily

    as we did, I can only imagine how sophisticated the technology

    has become, with unlimited government or advertising funding.

    And I shudder to think about the propaganda and commercial

    manipulation that we are exposed to on a daily basis. There is

    simply no way to know what is behind the music you hear. It

    may even be possible to hide a second voice behind the voice

    to which you are listening.  The series by Wilson Bryan Key,

    Ph.D., on subliminals in advertising and political campaigns

    well documents the misuse in many areas, especially printed

    advertising in newspapers, magazines, and posters.

 

        The big question about subliminals is: do they work? And I

    guarantee you they do. Not only from the response of those who

    have used my tapes, but from the results of such programs as

    the subliminals behind the music in department stores.

    Supposedly, the only message is instructions to not steal: one

    East Coast department store chain reported a 37 percent

    reduction in thefts in the first nine months of testing.

 

        A 1984 article in the technical newsletter, "Brain-Mind

    Bulletin," states that as much as 99 percent of our cognitive

    activity may be "non-conscious," according to the director of

    the Laboratory for Cognitive Psychophysiology at the

    University of Illinois. The lengthy report ends with the

    statement, "these findings support the use of subliminal

    approaches such as taped suggestions for weight loss and the

    therapeutic use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming."

 

    Mass Misuse

 

        I could relate many stories that support subliminal

    programming, but I'd rather use my time to make you aware of

    even more subtle uses of such programming.

 

        I have personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles

    auditorium with over ten thousand people who were gathered to

    listen to a current charismatic figure. Twenty minutes after

    entering the auditorium, I became aware that I was going in

    and out of an altered state. Those accompanying me experienced

    the same thing. Since it is our business, we were aware of

    what was happening, but those around us were not. By careful

    observation, what appeared to be spontaneous demonstrations

    were, in fact, artful manipulations. The only way I could

    figure that the eyes-open trance had been induced was that a

    6- to 7-cycle-per- second vibration was being piped into the

    room behind the air conditioner sound. That particular

    vibration generates alpha, which would render the audience

    highly susceptible. Ten to 25 percent of the population is

    capable of a somnambulistic level of altered states of

    consciousness; for these people, the suggestions of the

    speaker, if non-threatening, could potentially be accepted as

    "commands."

 

    Vibrato

 

        This leads to the mention of VIBRATO. Vibrato is the

    tremulous effect imparted in some vocal or instrumental music,

    and the cyle-per- second range causes people to go into an

    altered state of consciousness. At one period of English

    history, singers whose voices contained pronounced vibrato

    were not allowed to perform publicly because listeners would

    go into an altered state and have fantasies, often sexual in

    nature.

 

        People who attend opera or enjoy listening to singers like

    Mario Lanza are familiar with this altered state induced by

    the performers.

  

    ELFs

 

        Now, let's carry this awareness a little farther. There

    are also inaudible ELFs (extra-low frequency waves). These are

    electromagnetic in nature. One of the primary uses of ELFs is

    to communicate with our submarines. Dr. Andrija Puharich, a

    highly respected researcher, in an attempt to warn U.S.

    officials about Russian use of ELFs, set up an experiment.

    Volunteers were wired so their brain waves could be measured

    on an EEG. They were sealed in a metal room that could not be

    penetrated by a normal signal.

 

        Puharich then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers. ELFs go

    right through the earth and, of course, right through metal

    walls. Those inside couldn't know if the signal was or was not

    being sent. And Puharich watched the reactions on the

    technical equipment: 30 percent of those inside the room were

    taken over by the ELF signal in six to ten seconds.

 

        When I say "taken over," I mean that their behavior

    followed the changes anticipated at very precise frequencies.

    Waves below 6 cycles per second caused the subjects to become

    very emotionally upset, and even disrupted bodily functions.

    At 8.2 cycles, they felt very high...  an elevated feeling, as

    though they had been in masterful meditation, learned over a

    period of years. Eleven to 11.3 cycles induced waves of

    depressed agitation leading to riotous behavior.

 

    The Neurophone

 

        Dr. Patrick Flanagan is a personal friend of mine. In the

    early 1960s, as a teenager, Pat was listed as one of the top

    scientists in the world by "Life" magazine. Among his many

    inventions was a device he called the Neurophone--an

    electronic instrument that can successfully program

    suggestions directly through contact with the skin. When he

    attempted to patent the device, the government demanded that

    he prove it worked.  When he did, the National Security Agency

    confiscated the neurophone. It took Pat two years of legal

    battle to get his invention back.

 

        In using the device, you don't hear or see a thing; it is

    applied to the skin, which Pat claims is the source of special

    senses. The skin contains more sensors for heat, touch, pain,

    vibration, and electrical fields than any other part of the

    human anatomy.

 

        In one of his recent tests, Pat conducted two identical

    seminars for a military audience--one seminar one night and

    one the next night, because the size of the room was not large

    enough to accommodate all of them at one time.  When the first

    group proved to be very cool and unwilling to respond, Patrick

    spent the next day making a special tape to play at the second

    seminar. The tape instructed the audience to be extremely warm

    and responsive and for their hands to become "tingly."  The

    tape was played through the neurophone, which was connected to

    a wire he placed along the ceiling of the room. There were no

    speakers, so no sound could be heard, yet the message was

    successfully transmitted from that wire directly into the

    brains of the audience.  They were warm and receptive, their

    hands tingled and they responded, according to programming, in

    other ways that I cannot mention here.

 

        The more we find out about how human beings work through

    today's highly advanced technological research, the more we

    learn to control human beings.  And what probably scares me

    the most is that the medium for takeover is already in place!

    The television set in your livingroom and bedroom is doing a

    lot more than just entertaining you.

 

        Before I continue, let me point out something else about

    an altered state of consciousness. When you go into an altered

    state, you transfer into right brain, which results in the

    internal release of the body's own opiates: enkephalins and

    Beta-endorphins, chemically almost identical to opium. In

    other words, it feels good . . . and you want to come back for

    more.

 

        Recent tests by researcher Herbert Krugman showed that,

    while viewers were watching TV, right-brain activity

    outnumbered left-brain activity by a ratio of two to one. Put

    more simply, the viewers were in 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 in school! In

    the average home, the TV set is on for six hours and 44

    minutes per day--an increase of nine minutes from last year

    and three times the average rate of increase during the 1970s.

 

        It obviously isn't getting better . . . we are rapidly

    moving into an alpha-level world--very possibly the Orwellian

    world of "1984"-- placid, glassy-eyed, and responding

    obediently to instructions.

 

        A research project by Jacob Jacoby, a Purdue University

    psychologist, found that of 2,700 people tested, 90 percent

    misunderstood even such simple viewing fare as commercials and

    "Barnaby Jones." Only minutes after watching, the typical

    viewer missed 23 to 36 percent of the questions about what he

    or she had seen. Of course they did--they were going in and

    out of trance! If you go into a deep trance, you must be

    instructed to remember--otherwise you automatically forget.

 

        I have just touched the tip of the iceberg. When you start

    to combine subliminal messages behind the music, subliminal

    visuals projected on the screen, hypnotically produced visual

    effects, sustained musical beats at a trance-inducing pace . .

    . you have extremely effective brainwashing. Every hour that

    you spend watching the TV set you become more conditioned.

    And, in case you thought there was a law against any of these

    things, guess again.  There isn't! There are a lot of powerful

    people who obviously prefer things exactly the way they are.

    Maybe they have plans for us?

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