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,
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."
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 Armageddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood
that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He was
also obsessed with a "bloody axe of God," which everyone
had seen hanging above the pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt
that everyone saw it -- the power of suggestion given to hundreds of
people in hypnosis assures that at least 10 to 25 percent would see
whatever he suggested they see.
In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or
"witnessing" usually follows the fear-based sermon. People
from the audience come up on stage and relate their stories. "I
was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had arthritis and now
it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that works. After
listening to numerous case histories of miraculous healings, the
average guy in the audience with a minor problem is sure he can be
healed. The room is charged with fear, guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.
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 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
[and more recently, groups like the Chrisitan Coalition, etc.] 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 [more recently,
groups like the Christian Coalition, etc.]. 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
living room and say, "Can you just imagine this beautiful home
burning to the ground?" Of course you can! It is one of your
unconscious fears and, when he forces you to visualize it, you are
more likely to be manipulated into signing his insurance policy.
The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport,use what I call SHOCK
AND CONFUSION techniques to distract the left brain and
communicate directly with the right brain. While waiting for a plane,
I once watched one operate for over an hour. He had a technique of
almost jumping in front of someone. Initially, his voice was loud
then dropped as he made his pitch to take a book and contribute money
to the cause. Usually, when people are shocked, they immediately
withdraw. In this case they were shocked by the strange appearance,
sudden materialization and loud voice of the Hare Krishna devotee. In
other words, the people went into an alpha state for security because
they didn't want to confront the reality before them. In alpha, they
were highly suggestible so they responded to the suggestion of taking
the book; the moment they took the book, they felt guilty and
responded to the second suggestion: give money. We are all
conditioned that if someone gives us something, we have to give them
something in return--in that case, it was money. While watching this
hustler, I was close enough to notice that many of the people he
stopped exhibited an outward sign of alpha--their eyes were actually dilated.
Subliminal Programming
Subliminals are hidden suggestions that only your subconscious perceives. They
can be audio, hidden behind music, or visual, airbrushed into a
picture, flashed on a screen so fast that you don't consciously see
them, or cleverly incorporated into a picture or design.
Most audio subliminal reprogramming tapes offer verbal suggestions
recorded at a low volume. I question the efficacy of this technique
-- if subliminals are not perceptible, they cannot be effective, and
subliminals recorded below the audible threshold are therefore
useless. The oldest audio subliminal technique uses a voice that
follows the volume of the music so subliminals are impossible to
detect without a parametric equalizer. But this technique is patented
and, when I wanted to develop my own line of subliminal audio
cassettes, negotiations with the patent holder proved to be
unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained copies of the patents which I
gave to some talented Hollywood sound engineers, asking them to
create a new technique. They found a way to psycho-acoustically
modify and synthesize the suggestions so that they are projected in
the same chord and frequency as the music, thus giving them the
effect of being part of the music. But we found that in using this
technique, there is no way to reduce various frequencies to detect
the subliminals. In other words, although the suggestions are being
heard by the subconscious mind, they cannot be monitored with even
the most sophisticated equipment.
If we were able to come up withthis technique as easily as we did, I
can only imagine how sophisticated the technology has become, with
unlimited government or advertising funding. And I shudder to think
about the propaganda and commercial manipulation that we are exposed
to on a daily basis. There is simply no way to know what is behind
the music you hear. It may even be possible to hide a second voice
behind the voice to which you are listening.
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
cycle-per-second range causes people to go into an altered state of
consciousness. At one period of English history, singers whose voices
contained pronounced vibrato were not allowed to perform publicly
because listeners would go into an altered state and have fantasies,
often sexual in nature.
People who attend operaor enjoy listeningto singers like 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 thedevice, you don't hear or see a thing; it is applied to the
skin, which Pat claims is the source of special senses. The skin
contains more sensors for heat, touch, pain, vibration, and
electrical fields than any other part of the human anatomy.
In one of his recent tests, Pat conducted two identical seminars for a
military audience -- one seminar one night and one the next night,
because the size of the room was not large enough to accommodate all
of them at one time. When the first group proved to be very cool and
unwilling to respond, Patrick spent the next day making a special
tape to play at the second seminar. The tape instructed the audience
to be extremely warm and responsive and for their hands to become
"tingly." The tape was played through the neurophone, which
was connected to a wire he placed along the ceiling of the room.
There were no speakers, so no sound could be heard, yet the message
was successfully transmitted from that wire directly into the brains
of the audience. They were warm and receptive, their hands tingled
and they responded, according to programming, in other ways that I
cannot mention here.
The more we find out about how human beings work through today's highly
advanced technological research, the more we learn to control human
beings. And what probably scares me the most is that the medium for
take over is already in place! The television set in your living room
and bedroom is doing a lot more than just entertaining you.
Before I continue, let me point out something else about an altered state
of consciousness. When you go into an altered state, you transfer
into right brain, which results in the internal release of the body's
own opiates: enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically almost
identical to opium. In other words, it feels good ... and you want to
come back for more.
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?