| Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The
Public Today |
| by and
copyright Dick Sutphen |
|
| This text
is a transcript of 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. |
| 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 talking
about this subject, I am talking about my own business. I know it, and I know
how effective it can be. I produce hypnosis and subliminal tapes and, in some
of my seminars, I use conversion tactics to assist participants to become
independent and self-sufficient. But, anytime I use these techniques, I point
out that I am using them, and those attending have a choice to participate or
not. They also know what the desired result of participation will be. |
| So, to
begin, I want to state the most basic of all facts about brainwashing: In the
entire history of man, no-one has ever been brainwashed and realized, or
believed, that he had been brainwashed.Those who have been brainwashed will
usually passionately defend their manipulators, claiming they have simply been
"shown the light" or have been transformed in miraculous ways. |
| The Birth of Conversion |
| Conversion
is a "nice" word for brainwashing and any study of brainwashing has to begin
with a study of Christian revivalism in eighteenth century America. Apparently,
Jonathan Edwards accidentally discovered the techniques during a religious
crusade in 1735 in Northampton, Massachusetts. By inducing guilt and acute
apprehension and by increasing the tension, the "sinners" attending his revival
meetings would break down and completely submit. Technically, what Edwards was
doing was creating conditions that wipe the brain slate clean so that the mind
accepts new programming. The problem was that the new input was negative. He
would tell them, "You're a sinner! You're destined for hell!" |
| As a
result, one person committed suicide and another attempted suicide. And the
neighbors of the suicidal converts related that they, too, were affected so
deeply that, although they had found "eternal salvation," they were obsessed
with a diabolical temptation to end their own lives. |
| Once a
preacher, cult leader, manipulator or authority figure creates the brain phase
to wipe the brain-slate clean, his subjects are wide open. New input, in the
form of suggestion, can be substituted for their previous ideas. Because
Edwards didn't turn his message positive until the end of the revival, many
accepted the negative suggestions and acted, or desired to act, upon them. |
| Charles J.
Finney was another Christian revivalist who used the same techniques four years
later in mass religious conversions in New York. The techniques are still being
used today by Christian revivalists, cults, human-potential trainings, some
business rallies, and the United States Armed Services to name just a few. |
| Let me
point out here that I don't think most revivalist preachers realize or know
they are using brainwashing techniques. Edwards simply stumbled upon a
technique that really worked, and others copied it and have continued to copy
it for over two hundred years. And the more sophisticated our knowledge and
technology become, the more effective the conversion. I feel strongly that this
is one of the major reasons for the increasing rise in Christian
fundamentalism, especially the televised variety, while most of the orthodox
religions are declining. |
| The Three Brain Phases |
| The
Christians may have been the first to successfully formulate brainwashing, but
we have to look to Pavlov, the Russian scientist, for a technical explanation.
In the early 1900s, his work with animals opened the door to further
investigations with humans. After the revolution in Russia, Lenin was quick to
see the potential of applying Pavlov's research to his own ends. |
| Three
distinct and progressive states of transmarginal inhibition were identified by
Pavlov. The first is the EQUIVALENT phase, in which the brain gives the same
response to both strong and weak stimuli. The second is the PARADOXICAL phase,
in which the brain responds more actively to weak stimuli than to strong. And
the third is the ULTRA-PARADOXICAL phase, in which conditioned responses and
behavior patterns turn from positive to negative or from negative to
positive. |
| With the
progression through each phase, the degree of conversion becomes more effective
and complete. The way to achieve conversion are many and varied, but the usual
first step in religious or political brainwashing is to work on the emotions of
an individual or group until they reach an abnormal level of anger, fear,
exitement, or nervous tension. |
| The
progressive result of this mental condition is to impair judgement and increase
suggestibility. The more this condition can be maintained or intensified, the
more it compounds. Once catharsis, or the first brain phase, is reached, the
complete mental takeover becomes easier. Existing mental programming can be
replaced with new patterns of thinking and behavior. |
| Other
often-used physiological weapons to modify normal brain functions are fasting,
radical or high sugar diets, physical discomforts, regulation of breathing,
mantra chanting in meditation, the disclosure of awesome mysteries, special
lighting and sound effects, programmed response to incense, or intoxicating
drugs. |
| The same
results can be obtained in contemporary psychiatric treatment by electric shock
treatments and even by purposely lowering a person's blood sugar level with
insulin injections. |
| Before I
talk about exactly how some of the techniques are applied, I want to point out
that hypnosis and conversion tactics are two distinctly different things-and
that conversion techniques are far more powerful. However, the two are often
mixed with powerful results. |
| How Revivalist Preachers Work |
| If you'd
like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are probably several in your
city. Go to the church or tent early and sit in the rear, about three-quarters
of the way back. Most likely repetitive music will be played while the people
come in for the service. A repetitive beat, ideally ranging from 45 to 72 beats
per minute (a rhythm close to the beat of the human heart), is very hypnotic
and can generate an eyes-open altered state of consciousness in a very high
percentage of people. And, once you are in an alpha state, you are at least 25
times as suggestible as you would be in full beta consciousness. The music is
probably the same for every service, or incorporates the same beat, and many of
the people will go into an altered state almost immediately upon entering the
sanctuary. Subconsciously, they recall their state of mind from previous
services and respond according to the post-hypnotic programming. |
| Watch the
people waiting for the service to begin. Many will exhibit external signs of
trance-body relaxation and slightly dilated eyes. Often, they begin swaying
back and forth with their hands in the air while sitting in their chairs. Next,
the assistant pastor will probably come out. He usually speaks with a pretty
good "voice roll." |
| Voice Roll Technique |
| A "voice
roll" is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when inducing a trance. It
is also used by many lawyers, several of whom are highly trained hypnotists,
when they desire to entrench a point firmly in the minds of the jurors. A voice
roll can sound as if the speaker were talking to the beat of a metronome or it
may sound as though he were emphasizing every word in a monotonous, patterned
style. The words will usually be delivered at the rate of 45 to 60 beats per
minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect. |
| Now the
assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He induces an altered state of
consciousness and/or begins to generate the excitement and the expectations of
the audience. Next, a group of young women in "sweet and pure" chiffon dresses
might come out to sing a song. Gospel songs are great for building excitement
and INVOLVEMENT. In the middle of the song, one of the girls might be "smitten
by the spirit" and fall down or react as if possessed by the Holy Spirit. This
very effectively increases the intensity in the room. At this point, hypnosis
and conversion tactics are being mixed. And the result is the audience's
attention span is now totally focused upon the communication while the
environment becomes more exciting or tense. |
| Right about
this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced alpha mental state has been achieved,
they will usually pass the collection plate or basket. In the background, a
45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the assistant preacher might exhort, "Give
to God Give to God Give to God" And the audience does give. God may not get the
money, but his already wealthy representative will. |
| Next, the
fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He induces fear and increases the
tension by talking about "the devil," "going to hell," or the forthcoming
Armegeddon. |
| In the last
such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood that would soon be
running out of every faucet in the land. He was also obsessed with a "bloody
axe of God," which everyone had seen hanging above the pulpit the previous
week. I have no doubt that everyone saw it-the power of suggestion given to
hundreds of people in hypnosis assures that at least 10 to 25 percent would see
whatever he suggested they see. |
| In most
revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing" usually follows the
fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on stage and relate their
stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had arthritis and now it's
gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that works. After listening to
numerous case histories of miraculous healings, the average guy in the audience
with a minor problem is sure he can be healed. The room is charged with fear,
guilt, intense excitement, and expectations. |
| Now those
who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the edge of the room, or
they are told to come down to the front. The preacher might touch them on the
head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This releases the psychic energy and, for
many, catharsis results. Catharsis is a purging of repressed emotions.
Individuals might cry, fall down or even go into spasms. And if catharsis is
effected, they stand a chance of being healed. In catharsis (one of the three
brain phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarily wiped clean and
the new suggestion is accepted. |
| For some,
the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four days to a week, which
is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic suggestion given to a somnambulistic
subject will usually last. Even if the healing doesn't last, if they come back
every week, the power of suggestion may continually override the problem or
sometimes, sadly, it can mask a physical problem which could prove to be very
detrimental to the individual in the long run. |
| I'm not
saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do. Maybe the
individual was ready to let go of the negativity that caused the problem in the
first place; maybe it was the work of God. Yet I contend that it can be
explained with existing knowledge of brain/mind function. |
| The
techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use "speaking in
tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the spectacle creates intense
excitement in the observers. |
| The use of
hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and professionals are
assuring that they become even more effective. A man in Los Angeles is
designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches around the country. He
tells ministers what they need and how to use it. This man's track record
indicates that the congregation and the monetary income will double if the
minister follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his
efforts are in the sound system and lighting. |
| Powerful
sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary importance in inducing an
altered state of consciousnes-I've been using them for years in my own
seminars. However, my participants are fully aware of the process and what they
can expect as a result of their participation. |
| Six Conversion Techniques |
| Cults and
human-potential organizations are always looking for new converts. To attain
them, they must also create a brain-phase. And they often need to do it within
a short space of time-a weekend, or maybe even a day. The following are the six
primary techniques used to generate the conversion. |
| The meeting
or training takes place in an area where participants are cut off from the
outside world. This may be any place: a private home, a remote or rural
setting, or even a hotel ballroom where the participants are allowed only
limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings, the controllers will give
a lengthy talk about the importance of "keeping agreements" in life. The
participants are told that if they don't keep agreements, their life will never
work. It's a good idea to keep agreements, but the controllers are subverting a
positive human value for selfish purposes. The participants vow to themselves
and their trainer that they will keep their agreements. Anyone who does not
will be intimidated into agreement or forced to leave. The next step is to
agree to complete training, thus assuring a high percentage of conversions for
the organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to take drugs, smoke,
and sometimes not to eat or they are given such short meal breaks that it
creates tension. The real reason for the agreements is to alter internal
chemistry, which generates anxiety and hopefully causes at least a slight
malfunction of the nervous system, which in turn increases the conversion
potential. |
| Before the
gathering is complete, the agreements will be used to ensure that the new
converts go out and find new participants. They are intimidated into agreeing
to do so before they leave. Since the importance of keeping agreements is so
high on their priority list, the converts will twist the arms of everyone they
know, attempting to talk them into attending a free introductory session
offered at a future date by the organization. The new converts are zealots. In
fact, the inside term for merchandising the largest and most successful
human-potential training is, "sell it by zealot!" |
| At least a
million people are graduates and a good percentage have been left with a mental
activation button that assures their future loyalty and assistance if the guru
figure or organization calls. Think about the potential political implications
of hundreds of thousands of zealots programmed to campaign for their guru. |
| Be wary of
an organization of this type that offers follow-up sessions after the seminar.
Follow-up sessions might be weekly meetings or inexpensive seminars given on a
regular basis which the organization will attempt to talk you into taking-or
any regularly scheduled event used to maintain control. As the early Christian
revivalists found, long-term control is dependent upon a good follow-up
system. |
| Alright.
Now, let's look at the second tip-off that indicates conversion tactics are
being used. A schedule is maintained that causes physical and mental fatigue.
This is primarily accomplished by long hours in which the participants are
given no opportunity for relaxation or reflection. |
| The third
tip-off: techniques used to increase the tension in the room or
environment. |
| The fourth
tip-off: 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
tip-off: that conversion tactics are being used is the introduction of
jargon-new terms that have meaning only to the "insiders" who participate.
Vicious language is also frequently used, purposely, to make participants
uncomfortable. |
| The final
tip-off is that there is no humor in the communications at least until the
participants are converted. Then, merry-making and humor are highly desirable
as symbols of the new joy the participants have supposedly "found." |
| I'm not
saying that good does not result from participation in such gatherings. It can
and does. But I contend it is important for people to know what has happened
and to be aware that continual involvement may not be in their best
interest. |
| Over the
years, I've conducted professional seminars to teach people to be hypnotists,
trainers, and counselors. I've had many of those who conduct trainings and
rallies come to me and say, "I'm here because I know that what I'm doing works,
but I don't know why." After showing them how and why, many have gotten out of
the business or have decided to approach it differently or in a much more
loving and supportive manner. |
| Many of
these trainers have become personal friends, and it scares us all to have
experienced the power of one person with a microphone and a room full of
people. Add a little charisma and you can count on a high percentage of
conversions. The sad truth is that a high percentage of people want to give
away their power-they are true "believers"! |
| Cult
gatherings or human-potential trainings are an ideal environment to observe
first-hand what is technically called the "Stockholm Syndrome." This is a
situation in which those who are intimidated, controlled, or made to suffer,
begin to love, admire, and even sometimes sexually desire their controllers or
captors. |
| But let me
inject a word of warning here: If you think you can attend such gatherings and
not be affected, you are probably wrong. A perfect example is the case of a
woman who went to Haiti on a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Haitian Voodoo. In
her report, she related how the music eventually induced uncontrollable bodily
movement and an altered state of consciousness. Although she understood the
process and thought herself above it, when she began to feel herself become
vulnerable to the music, she attempted to fight it and turned away. Anger or
resistance almost always assures conversion. A few moments later she was
possessed by the music and began dancing in a trance around the Voodoo meeting
house. A brain phase had been induced by the music and excitement, and she
awoke feeling reborn. The only hope of attending such gatherings without being
affected is to be a Buddha and allow no positive or negative emotions to
surface. Few people are capable of such detachment. |
| Before I go
on, let's go back to the six tip-offs to conversion. I want to mention the
United States Government and military boot camp. The Marine Corps talks about
breaking men down before "rebuilding" them as new men-as marines! Well, that is
exactly what they do, the same way a cult breaks its people down and rebuilds
them as happy flower sellers on your local street corner. Every one of the six
conversion techniques are used in boot camp. Considering the needs of the
military, I'm not making a judgement as to whether that is good or bad. IT IS A
FACT that the men are effectively brainwashed. Those who won't submit must be
discharged or spend much of their time in the brig. |
| Decognition Process |
| Once the
initial conversion is effected, cults, armed services, and similar groups
cannot have cynicism among their members. Members must respond to commands and
do as they are told, otherwise they are dangerous to the organizational
control. This is normally accomplished as a three-step Decognition
Process. |
| Step One is
ALERTNESS REDUCTION: The controllers cause the nervous system to malfunction,
making it difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality. This can be
accomplished in several ways. POOR DIET is one; watch out for Brownies and
Koolaid. The sugar throws the nervous system off. More subtle is the "SPIRITUAL
DIET" used by many cults. They eat only vegetables and fruits; without the
grounding of grains, nuts, seeds, dairy products, fish or meat, an individual
becomes mentally "spacey." INADEQUATE SLEEP is another primary way to reduce
alertness, especially when combined with long hours of work or intense physical
activity. Also, being bombarded with intense and unique experiences achieves
the same result. |
| Step Two is
PROGRAMMED CONFUSION: You are mentally assaulted while your alertness is being
reduced as in Step One. This is accomplished with a deluge of new information,
lectures, discussion groups, encounters or one-to-one processing, which usually
amounts to the controller bombarding the individual with questions. During this
phase of decognition, reality and illusion often merge and perverted logic is
likely to be accepted. |
| Step Three
is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques are used to cause the mind to go "flat." These
are altered-state-of-consciousness techniques that initially induce calmness by
giving the mind something simple to deal with and focusing awareness. The
continued use brings on a feeling of elation and eventually hallucination. The
result is the reduction of thought and eventually, if used long enough, the
cessation of all thought and withdrawal from everyone and everything except
that which the controllers direct. The takeover is then complete. It is
important to be aware that when members or participants are instructed to use
"thought-stopping" techniques, they are told that they will benefit by so
doing: they will become "better soldiers" or "find enlightenment." |
| There are
three primary techniques used for thought stopping. The first is MARCHING: the
thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis and thus great
susceptibility to suggestion. |
| The second
thought stopping technique is MEDITATION. If you spend an hour to an hour and a
half a day in meditation, after a few weeks, there is a great probability that
you will not return to full beta consciousness. You will remain in a fixed
state of alpha for as long as you continue to meditate. I'm not saying this is
bad-if you do it yourself. It may be very beneficial. But it is a fact that you
are causing your mind to go flat. I've worked with meditators on an EEG machine
and the results are conclusive: the more you meditate, the flatter your mind
becomes until, eventually and especially if used to excess or in combination
with decognition, all thought ceases. Some spiritual groups see this as
nirvana-which is bullshit. It is simply a predictable physiological result. And
if heaven on earth is non-thinking and non-involvement, I really question why
we are here. |
| The third
thought-stopping technique is CHANTING, and often chanting in meditation.
"Speaking in tongues" could also be included in this category. |
| All
three-stopping techniques produce an altered state of consciousness. This may
be very good if YOU are controlling the process, for you also control the
input. I personally use at least one self-hypnosis programming session every
day and I know how beneficial it is for me. But you need to know if you use
these techniques to the degree of remaining continually in alpha that, although
you'll be very mellow, you'll also be more suggestible. |
| True Believers & Mass Movements |
| Before
ending this section on conversion, I want to talk about the people who are most
susceptible to it and about Mass Movements. I am convinced that at least a
third of the population is what Eric Hoffer calls "true believers." They are
joiners and followers people who want to give away their power. They look for
answers, meaning, and enlightenment outside themselves. |
| Hoffer, who
wrote THE TRUE BELIEVER, a classic on mass movements, says, "true believers are
not intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but are those craving
to be rid of unwanted self. They are followers, not because of a desire for
self-advancement, but because it can satisfy their passion for
self-renunciation!" Hoffer also says that true believers "are eternally
incomplete and eternally insecure"! |
| I know this
from my own experience. In my years of communicating concepts and conducting
trainings, I have run into them again and again. All I can do is attempt to
show them that the only thing to seek is the True Self within. Their personal
answers are to be found there and there alone. I communicate that the basics of
spirituality are self-responsibility and self-actualization. |
| But most of
the true believers just tell me that I'm not spiritual and go looking for
someone who will give them the dogma and structure they desire. |
| Never
underestimate the potential danger of these people. They can easily be molded
into fanatics who will gladly work and die for their holy cause. It is a
substitute for their lost faith in themselves and offers them as a substitute
for individual hope. The Moral Majority is made up of true believers. All cults
are composed of true believers. You'll find them in politics, churches,
businesses, and social cause groups. They are the fanatics in these
organizations. |
| Mass
Movements will usually have a charismatic leader. The followers want to convert
others to their way of living or impose a new way of life-if necessary, by
legislating laws forcing others to their view, as evidenced by the activities
of the Moral Majority. This means enforcement by guns or punishment, for that
is the bottomline in law enforcement. |
| A common
hatred, enemy, or devil is essential to the success of a mass movement. The
Born-Again Christians have Satan himself, but that isn't enough-they've added
the occult, the New Age thinkers and, lately, all those who oppose their
integration of church and politics, as evidenced in their political reelection
campaigns against those who oppose their views. In revolutions, the devil is
usually the ruling power or aristocracy. Some human-potential movements are far
too clever to ask their graduates to join anything, thus labeling themselves as
a cult-but, if you look closely, you'll find that their devil is anyone and
everyone who hasn't taken their training. |
| There are
mass movements without devils but they seldom attain major status. The True
Believers are mentally unbalanced or insecure people, or those without hope or
friends. People don't look for allies when they love, but they do when they
hate or become obsessed with a cause. And those who desire a new life and a new
order feel the old ways must be eliminated before the new order can be
built. |
| Persuasion Techniques |
| Persuasion
isn't technically brainwashing but it is the manipulation of the human mind by
another individual, without the manipulated party being aware what caused his
opinion shift. I only have time to very basically introduce you to a few of the
thousands of techniques in use today, but the basis of persuasion is always to
access your RIGHT BRAIN. The left half of your brain is analytical and
rational. The right side is creative and imaginative. That is overly simplified
but it makes my point. So, the idea is to distract the left brain and keep it
busy. Ideally, the persuader generates an eyes-open altered state of
consciousness, causing you to shift from beta awareness into alpha; this can be
measured on an EEG machine. |
| First, let
me give you an example of distracting the left brain. Politicians use these
powerful techniques all the time; lawyers use many variations which, I've been
told, they call "tightening the noose." |
| Assume for
a moment that you are watching a politician give a speech. First, he might
generate what is called a "YES SET." These are statements that will cause
listeners to agree; they might even unknowingly nod their heads in agreement.
Next come the TRUISMS. These are usually facts that could be debated but, once
the politician has his audience agreeing, the odds are in the politician's
favor that the audience won't stop to think for themselves, thus continuing to
agree. Last comes the SUGGESTION. This is what the politician wants you to do
and, since you have been agreeing all along, you could be persuaded to accept
the suggestion. Now, if you'll listen closely to my political speech, you'll
find that the first three are the "yes set," the next three are truisms and the
last is the suggestion. |
| "Ladies and
gentlemen: are you angry about high food prices? Are you tired of astronomical
gas prices? Are you sick of out-of-control inflation? Well, you know the Other
Party allowed 18 percent inflation last year; you know crime has increased 50
percent nationwide in the last 12 months, and you know your paycheck hardly
covers your expenses any more. Well, the answer to resolving these problems is
to elect me, John Jones, to the U.S. Senate." |
| And I think
you've heard all that before. But you might also watch for what are called
Imbedded Commands. As an example: On key words, the speaker would make a
gesture with his left hand, which research has shown is more apt to access your
right brain. Today's media-oriented politicians and spellbinders are often
carefully trained by a whole new breed of specialist who are using every trick
in the book-both old and new-to manipulate you into accepting their
candidate. |
| The
concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are so heavily protected that I
found out the hard way that to even talk about them publicly or in print
results in threatened legal action. Yet Neuro-Linguistic training is readily
available to anyone willing to devote the time and pay the price. It is some of
the most subtle and powerful manipulation I have yet been exposed to. A good
friend who recently attended a two-week seminar on Neuro-Linguistics found that
many of those she talked to during the breaks were government people. |
| Another
technique that I'm just learning about is unbelievably slippery; it is called
an INTERSPERSAL TECHNIQUE and the idea is to say one thing with words but plant
a subconscious impression of something else in the minds of the listeners
and/or watchers. |
| Let me give
you an example: Assume you are watching a television commentator make the
following statement: SENATOR JOHNSON is assisting local authorities to clear up
the stupid mistakes of companies contributing to the nuclear waste problems."
It sounds like a statement of fact, but, if the speaker emphasizes the right
word, and especially if he makes the proper hand gestures on the key words, you
could be left with the subconscious impression that Senator Johnson is stupid.
That was the subliminal goal of the statement and the speaker cannot be called
to account for anything. |
| Persuasion
techniques are also frequently used on a much smaller scale with just as much
effectiveness. The insurance salesman knows his pitch is likely to be much more
effective if he can get you to visualize something in your mind. This is
right-brain communication. For instance, he might pause in his conversation,
look slowly around your livingroom and say, "Can you just imagine this
beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of course you can! It is one of your
unconscious fears and, when he forces you to visualize it, you are more likely
to be manipulated into signing his insurance policy. |
| The Hare
Krishnas, operating in every airport, use what I call SHOCK AND CONFUSION
techniques to distract the left brain and communicate directly with the right
brain. While waiting for a plane, I once watched one operate for over an hour.
He had a technique of almost jumping in front of someone. Initially, his voice
was loud then dropped as he made his pitch to take a book and contribute money
to the cause. Usually, when people are shocked, they immediately withdraw. In
this case they were shocked by the strange appearance, sudden materialization
and loud voice of the Hare Krishna devotee. In other words, the people went
into an alpha state for security because they didn't want to confront the
reality before them. In alpha, they were highly suggestible so they responded
to the suggestion of taking the book; the moment they took the book, they felt
guilty and responded to the second suggestion: give money. We are all
conditioned that if someone gives us something, we have to give them something
in return-in that case, it was money. While watching this hustler, I was close
enough to notice that many of the people he stopped exhibited an outward sign
of alpha-their eyes were actually dilated. |
| Subliminal Programming |
| Subliminals
are hidden suggestions that only your subconscious perceives. They can be
audio, hidden behind music, or visual, airbrushed into a picture, flashed on a
screen so fast that you don't consciously see them, or cleverly incorporated
into a picture or design. |
| Most audio
subliminal reprogramming tapes offer verbal suggestions recorded at a low
volume. I question the efficacy of this technique-if subliminals are not
perceptible, they cannot be effective, and subliminals recorded below the
audible threshold are therefore useless. The oldest audio subliminal technique
uses a voice that follows the volume of the music so subliminals are impossible
to detect without a parametric equalizer. But this technique is patented and,
when I wanted to develop my own line of subliminal audiocassettes, negotiations
with the patent holder proved to be unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained copies
of the patents which I gave to some talented Hollywood sound engineers, asking
them to create a new technique. They found a way to psycho-acoustically modify
and synthesize the suggestions so that they are projected in the same chord and
frequency as the music, thus giving them the effect of being part of the music.
But we found that in using this technique, there is no way to reduce various
frequencies to detect the subliminals. In other words, although the suggestions
are being heard by the subconscious mind, they cannot be monitored with even
the most sophisticated equipment. |
| If we were
able to come up with this technique as easily as we did, I can only imagine how
sophisticated the technology has become, with unlimited government or
advertising funding. And I shudder to think about the propaganda and commercial
manipulation that we are exposed to on a daily basis. There is simply no way to
know what is behind the music you hear. It may even be possible to hide a
second voice behind the voice to which you are listening. |
| The series
by Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D., on subliminals in advertising and political
campaigns well documents the misuse in many areas, especially printed
advertising in newspapers, magazines, and posters. |
| The big
question about subliminals is: do they work? And I guarantee you they do. Not
only from the response of those who have used my tapes, but from the results of
such programs as the subliminals behind the music in department stores.
Supposedly, the only message is instructions to not steal: one East Coast
department store chain reported a 37 percent reduction in thefts in the first
nine months of testing. |
| A 1984
article in the technical newsletter, "Brain-Mind Bulletin," states that as much
as 99 percent of our cognitive activity may be "non-conscious," according to
the director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Psychophysiology at the University
of Illinois. The lengthy report ends with the statement, "these findings
support the use of subliminal approaches such as taped suggestions for weight
loss and the therapeutic use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic
Programming." |
| Mass Misuse |
| I could
relate many stories that support subliminal programming, but I'd rather use my
time to make you aware of even more subtle uses of such programming. |
| I have
personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles auditorium with over ten
thousand people who were gathered to listen to a current charismatic figure.
Twenty minutes after entering the auditorium, I became aware that I was going
in and out of an altered state. Those accompanying me experienced the same
thing. Since it is our business, we were aware of what was happening, but those
around us were not. By careful observation, what appeared to be spontaneous
demonstrations were, in fact, artful manipulations. The only way I could figure
that the eyes-open trance had been induced was that a 6- to 7-cycle-per-second
vibration was being piped into the room behind the air conditioner sound. That
particular vibration generates alpha, which would render the audience highly
susceptible. Ten to 25 percent of the population is capable of a somnambulistic
level of altered states of consciousness; for these people, the suggestions of
the speaker, if non-threatening, could potentially be accepted as
"commands." |
| Vibrato |
| This leads
to the mention of VIBRATO. Vibrato is the tremulous effect imparted in some
vocal or instrumental music, and the cyle-per-second range causes people to go
into an altered state of consciousness. At one period of English history,
singers whose voices contained pronounced vibrato were not allowed to perform
publicly because listeners would go into an altered state and have fantasies,
often sexual in nature. |
| People who
attend opera or enjoy listening to singers like Mario Lanza are familiar with
this altered state induced by the performers. |
| ELFs |
| Now, let's
carry this awareness a little farther. There are also inaudible ELFs (extra-low
frequency waves). These are electromagnetic in nature. One of the primary uses
of ELFs is to communicate with our submarines. Dr. Andrija Puharich, a highly
respected researcher, in an attempt to warn U.S. officials about Russian use of
ELFs, set up an experiment. Volunteers were wired so their brain waves could be
measured on an EEG. They were sealed in a metal room that could not be
penetrated by a normal signal. |
| Puharich
then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers. ELFs go right through the earth and,
of course, right through metal walls. Those inside couldn't know if the signal
was or was not being sent. And Puharich watched the reactions on the technical
equipment: 30 percent of those inside the room were taken over by the ELF
signal in six to ten seconds. |
| When I say
"taken over," I mean that their behavior followed the changes anticipated at
very precise frequencies. Waves below 6 cycles per second caused the subjects
to become very emotionally upset, and even disrupted bodily functions. At 8.2
cycles, they felt very high an elevated feeling, as though they had been in
masterful meditation, learned over a period of years. Eleven to 11.3 cycles
induced waves of depressed agitation leading to riotous behavior. |
| The Neurophone |
| Dr. Patrick
Flanagan is a personal friend of mine. In the early 1960s, as a teenager, Pat
was listed as one of the top scientists in the world by "Life" magazine. Among
his many inventions was a device he called the Neurophone-an electronic
instrument that can successfully programm suggestions directly through contact
with the skin. When he attempted to patent the device, the government demanded
that he prove it worked. When he did, the National Security Agency confiscated
the neurophone. It took Pat two years of legal battle to get his invention
back. |
| In using
the device, you don't hear or see a thing; it is applied to the skin, which Pat
claims is the source of special senses. The skin contains more sensors for
heat, touch, pain, vibration, and electrical fields than any other part of the
human anatomy. |
| In one of
his recent tests, Pat conducted two identical seminars for a military
audience-one seminar one night and one the next night, because the size of the
room was not large enough to accommodate all of them at one time. When the
first group proved to be very cool and unwilling to respond, Patrick spent the
next day making a special tape to play at the second seminar. The tape
instructed the audience to be extremely warm and responsive and for their hands
to become "tingly." The tape was played through the neurophone, which was
connected to a wire he placed along the ceiling of the room. There were no
speakers, so no sound could be heard, yet the message was successfully
transmitted from that wire directly into the brains of the audience. They were
warm and receptive, their hands tingled and they responded, according to
programming, in other ways that I cannot mention here. |
| The Medium for Mass Takeover |
| The more we
find out about how human beings work through today's highly advanced
technological research, the more we learn to control human beings. And what
probably scares me the most is that the medium for takeover is already in
place! The television set in your livingroom and bedroom is doing a lot more
than just entertaining you. |
| Before I
continue, let me point out something else about an altered state of
consciousness. When you go into an altered state, you transfer into right
brain, which results in the internal release of the body's own opiates:
enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically almost identical to opium. In other
words, it feels good and you want to come back for more. |
| Recent
tests by researcher Herbert Krugman showed that, while viewers were watching
TV, right-brain activity outnumbered left-brain activity by a ratio of two to
one. Put more simply, the viewers were in an altered state in trance more often
than not. They were getting their Beta-endorphin "fix." |
| To measure
attention spans, psychophysiologist Thomas Mulholland of the Veterans Hospital
in Bedford, Massachusetts, attached young viewers to an EEG machine that was
wired to shut the TV set off whenever the children's brains produced a majority
of alpha waves. Although the children were told to concentrate, only a few
could keep the set on for more than 30 seconds! |
| Most
viewers are already hypnotized. To deepen the trance is easy. One simple way is
to place a blank, black frame every 32 frames in the film that is being
projected. This creates a 45-beat-per-minute pulsation perceived only by the
subconscious mind-the ideal pace to generate deep hypnosis. |
| The
commercials or suggestions presented following this alpha-inducing broadcast
are much more likely to be accepted by the viewer. The high percentage of the
viewing audience that has somnambulistic-depth ability could very well accept
the suggestions as commands-as long as those commands did not ask the viewer to
do something contrary to his morals, religion, or self-preservation. |
| The medium
for takeover is here. By the age of 16, children have spent 10,000 to 15,000
hours watching television-that is more time than they spend n school! In the
average home, the TV set is on for six hours and 44 minutes per day-an increase
of nine minutes from last year and three times the average rate of increase
during the 1970s. |
| It
obviously isn't getting better we are rapidly moving into an alpha-level
world-very possibly the Orwellian world of "1984"-placid, glassy-eyed, and
responding obediently to instructions. |
| A research
project by Jacob Jacoby, a Purdue University psychologist, found that of 2,700
people tested, 90 percent misunderstood even such simple viewing fare as
commercials and "Barnaby Jones." Only minutes after watching, the typical
viewer missed 23 to 36 percent of the questions about what he or she had seen.
Of course they did-they were going in and out of trance! If you go into a deep
trance, you must be instructed to remember-otherwise you automatically
forget. |
| I have just
touched the tip of the iceberg. When you start to combine subliminal messages
behind the music, subliminal visuals projected on the screen, hypnotically
produced visual effects, sustained musical beats at a trance-inducing pace you
have extremely effective brainwashing. Every hour that you spend watching the
TV set you become more conditioned. And, in case you thought there was a law
against any of these things, guess again. There isn't! There are a lot of
powerful people who obviously prefer things exactly the way they are.. |
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| You may
distribute and use the unaltered text of this article for any non-profit
project so long as you include "By and copyright Dick Sutphen" as a
reference. |
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