Sacred Texts  Index  Previous  Next 

sacred-texts |  Web | Powered by Google


Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com




                               THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND
                                   by Dick Sutphen 
         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 andthis 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 talkingabout 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.


                                                                             513

         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. 

             Oncea 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.


                                                                             514

         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.

             Theprogressive result of thismental condition isto 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 sameresults can beobtained in contemporarypsychiatric treatment
     by  electric shock  treatments and  even by  purposely lowering  a person's
     blood sugar level with insulin injections.

             Before I talk about exactlyhow some of the techniques areapplied, 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


                                                                             515

         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.


                                                                             516

             Now thosewho want tobe healed are frequentlylined up aroundthe 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 soundand the properuse of lightingare ofprimary 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 takesplace in an area whereparticipants 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,


                                                                             517

     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: techniquesused to increasethe tension in theroom
     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.


                                                                             518

             The final tip-off isthat there isno humor in thecommunications . ..
     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 conductedprofessional seminars toteach peopleto
     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 havebecome personal friends, and it scaresus
     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 gatheringsor human-potential trainings arean 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 wordof warning here: If you think youcan 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.


                                                                             519

             Before I go on,let's go backto the six tip-offsto conversion. Iwant
     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.

             StepThree is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques areused 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 threeprimary techniquesused for thoughtstopping. Thefirst
     is MARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis
     and thus great susceptibility to suggestion.


                                                                             520

             Thesecond 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.


                                                                             521

             Mass Movements will usually havea 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.


                                                                             522

             "Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry abouthigh 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.


                                                                             523

             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.

             Theseries 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.


                                                                             524

             The big question about subliminals is: dothey 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 relatemany 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 MarioLanza
     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


                                                                             525

     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. PatrickFlanagan is a personalfriend of mine. Inthe 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 takeover 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.


                                                                             526

             Recent tests byresearcher Herbert Krugman showedthat, 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?


                                                                             527


Next: A Neo-Pagan Filmography (Mike Nichols)