SUMMARY OF CONTENTS 1
The Birth of Conversion 2
The Three Brain Phases 2
How Revivalist Preachers Work 3
Voice Roll Technique 3
Six Conversion Techniques 4
Decognition Process 6
True Believers & Mass Movements 6
Persuasion Techniques 7
Subliminal Programming 8
Mass Misuse 9
Vibrato 9
ELFs 9
The Neurophone 10
Dick Sutphen
THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND
Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public Today
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
The Birth of Conversion/Brainwashing in Christian
Revivalism in 1735. The Pavlovian explanation of the
three brain phases. Born-again preachers: Step-by-
Step, how they conduct a revival and the expected
physiological results. The "voice roll" technique used
by preachers, lawyers and hypnotists. New trance-
inducing churches. The 6 steps to conversion. The
decognition process. Thought-stopping techniques.
The "sell it by zealot" technique. True believers and
mass movements. Persuasion techniques: "Yes set,"
"Imbedded Commands," "Shock and Confusion," and
the "Interspersal Technique." Subliminals. Vibrato and
ELF waves. Inducing trance with vibrational sound.
Even professional observers will be "possessed" at
charismatic gatherings. The "only hope" technique to
attend and not be converted. Non-detectable
Neurophone programming through the skin. The
medium for mass take-over.
I'm Dick Sutphen and this tape is a studio-recorded,
expanded version of a talk I delivered at the World
Congress of Professional Hypnotists Convention in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Although the tape carries a copyright
to protect it from unlawful duplication for sale by other
companies, in this case, I invite individuals to make
copies and give them to friends or anyone in a position
to communicate this information.
Although I've been interviewed about the subject on
many local and regional radio and TV talk shows,
large-scale mass communication appears to be blocked,
since it could result in suspicion or investigation of the
very media presenting it or the sponsors that support
the media. Some government agencies do not want this
information generally known. Nor do the Born-Again
Christian movement, cults, and many human-potential
trainings.
Everything I will relate only exposes the surface of the
problem. I don't know how the misuse of these
techniques can be stopped. I don't think it is possible to
legislate against that which often cannot be detected;
and if those who legislate are using these techniques,
there is little hope of affecting laws to govern usage. I
do know that the first step to initiate change is to
generate interest. In this case, that will probably only
result from an underground effort.
In talking about this subject, I am talking about my own
business. I know it, and I know how effective it can be.
I produce hypnosis and subliminal tapes and, in some
of my seminars, I use conversion tactics to assist
participants to become independent and self-sufficient.
But, anytime I use these techniques, I point out that I
am using them, and those attending have a choice to
participate or not. They also know what the desired
result of participation will be.
So, to begin, I want to state the most basic of all facts
about brainwashing: In the entire history of man,
no one has ever been brainwashed and
realized, or believed, that he had been
brainwashed. Those who have been brainwashed
will usually passionately defend their manipulators,
claiming they have simply been "shown the light" . . .
or have been transformed in miraculous ways.
THE BIRTH OF CONVERSION
Conversion is a "nice" word for brainwashing . . .
and any study of brainwashing has to begin with a study
of Christian revivalism in eighteenth century America.
Apparently, Jonathan Edwards accidentally discovered
the techniques during a religious crusade in 1735 in
Northampton, Massachusetts. By inducing guilt and
acute apprehension and by increasing the tension, the
"sinners" attending his revival meetings would break
down and completely submit. Technically, what
Edwards was doing was creating conditions that wipe
the brain slate clean so that the mind accepts new
programming. The problem was that the new input was
negative. He would tell them, "You're a sinner! You're
destined for hell!"
As a result, one person committed suicide and another
attempted suicide. And the neighbors of the suicidal
converts related that they, too, were affected so deeply
that, although they had found "eternal salvation," they
were obsessed with a diabolical temptation to end their
own lives.
Once a preacher, cult leader, manipulator or authority
figure creates the brain phase to wipe the brain-slate
clean, his subjects are wide open. New input, in the
form of suggestion, can be substituted for their
previous ideas. Because Edwards didn't turn his
message positive until the end of the revival, many
accepted the negative suggestions and acted, or
desired to act, upon them.
Charles J. Finney was another Christian revivalist who
used the same techniques four years later in mass
religious conversions in New York. The techniques
are still being used today by Christian revivalists, cults,
human-potential trainings, some business rallies, and
the United States Armed Services . . . to name just a
few.
Let me point out here that I don't think most revivalist
preachers realize or know they are using
brainwashing techniques. Edwards simply stumbled
upon a technique that really worked, and others copied
it and have continued to copy it for over two hundred
years. And the more sophisticated our knowledge and
technology become, the more effective the
conversion. I feel strongly that this is one of the major
reasons for the increasing rise in Christian
fundamentalism, especially the televised variety, while
most of the orthodox religions are declining.
THE THREE BRAIN PHASES
The Christians may have been the first to successfully
formulate brainwashing, but we have to look to Pavlov,
the Russian scientist, for a technical explanation. In the
early 1900s, his work with animals opened the door to
further investigations with humans. After the revolution
in Russia, Lenin was quick to see the potential of
applying Pavlov's research to his own ends.
Three distinct and progressive states of transmarginal
inhibition were identified by Pavlov. The first is the
equivalent phase, in which the brain gives the same
response to both strong and weak stimuli. The second
is the paradoxical phase, in which the brain responds
more actively to weak stimuli than to strong. And the
third is the ultraparadoxical phase, in which
conditioned responses and behavior patterns turn from
positive to negative or from negative to positive.
With the progression through each phase, the degree
of conversion becomes more effective and complete.
The way to achieve conversion are many and varied,
but the usual first step in religious or political
brainwashing is to work on the emotions of an
individual or group until they reach an abnormal level
of anger, fear, excitement, or nervous tension.
The progressive result of this mental condition is to
impair judgement and increase suggestibility. The more
this condition can be maintained or intensified, the
more it compounds. Once catharsis, or the first brain
phase, is reached, the complete mental takeover
becomes easier. Existing mental programming can be
replaced with new patterns of thinking and behavior.
Other often-used physiological weapons to modify
normal brain functions are fasting, radical or high sugar
diets, physical discomforts, regulation of breathing,
mantra chanting in meditation, the disclosure of
awesome mysteries, special lighting and sound effects,
programed response to incense, or intoxicating drugs.
The same results can be obtained in contemporary
psychiatric treatment by electric shock treatments and
even by purposely lowering a person's blood sugar
level with insulin injections.
Before I talk about exactly how some of the techniques
are applied, I want to point out that hypnosis and
conversion tactics are two distinctly different things--
and that conversion techniques are far more powerful.
However, the two are often mixed . . . with powerful
results.
HOW REVIVALIST PREACHERS WORK
If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there
are probably several in your city. Go to the church or
tent early and sit in the rear, about three-quarters of the
way back. Most likely repetitive music will be played
while the people come in for the service. A repetitive
beat, ideally ranging from 45 to 72 beats per minute (a
rhythm close to the beat of the human heart), is very
hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state
of consciousness in a very high percentage of people.
And, once you are in an alpha state, you are at least 25
times as suggestible as you would be in full beta
consciousness. The music is probably the same for
every service, or incorporates the same beat, and
many of the people will go into an altered state almost
immediately upon entering the sanctuary.
Subconsciously, they recall their state of mind from
previous services and respond according to the post-
hypnotic programming.
Watch the people waiting for the service to begin.
Many will exhibit external signs of trance--body
relaxation and slightly dilated eyes. Often, they begin
swaying back and forth with their hands in the air while
sitting in their chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will
probably come out. He usually speaks with a pretty
good "voice roll."
VOICE ROLL TECHNIQUE
A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by
hypnotists when inducing a trance. It is also used by
many lawyers, several of whom are highly trained
hypnotists, when they desire to entrench a point firmly
in the minds of the jurors. A voice roll can sound as if
the speaker were talking to the beat of a metronome or
it may sound as though he were emphasizing every
word in a monotonous, patterned style. The words will
usually be delivered at the rate of 45 to 60 beats per
minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect.
Now the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process.
He induces an altered state of consciousness and/or
begins to generate the excitement and the expectations
of the audience. Next, a group of young women in
"sweet and pure" chiffon dresses might come out to
sing a song. Gospel songs are great for building
excitement and involvement. In the middle of the
song, one of the girls might be "smitten by the spirit"
and fall down or react as if possessed by the Holy
Spirit. This very effectively increases the intensity in
the room. At this point, hypnosis and conversion tactics
are being mixed. And the result is the audience's
attention span is now totally focused upon the
communication while the environment becomes more
exciting or tense.
Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced
alpha mental state has been achieved, they will usually
pass the collection plate or basket. In the background,
a 45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the assistant
preacher might exhort, "Give to God . . . Give to God .
. . Give to God . . ." And the audience does give. God
may not get the money, but his already wealthy
representative will.
Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out.
He induces fear and increases the tension by talking
about "the devil," "going to hell," or the forthcoming
Armegeddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked
about the blood that would soon be running out of
every faucet in the land. He was also obsessed with a
"bloody axe of God," which everyone had seen
hanging above the pulpit the previous week. I have no
doubt that everyone saw it--the power of suggestion
given to hundreds of people in hypnosis assures that at
least 10 to 25 percent would see whatever he
suggested they see.
In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or
"witnessing" usually follows the fear-based sermon.
People from the audience come up on stage and relate
their stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I
had arthritis and now it's gone!" It is a psychological
manipulation that works. After listening to numerous
case histories of miraculous healings, the average guy
in the audience with a minor problem is sure he can be
healed. The room is charged with fear, guilt, intense
excitement, and expectations.
Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined
up around the edge of the room, or they are told to
come down to the front. The preacher might touch
them on the head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This
releases the psychic energy and, for many, catharsis
results. Catharsis is a purging of repressed emotions.
Individuals might cry, fall down or even go into spasms.
And if catharsis is effected, they stand a chance of
being healed. In catharsis (one of the three brain
phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarily
wiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted.
For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it
will last four days to a week, which is, incidentally, how
long a hypnotic suggestion given to a somnambulistic
subject will usually last. Even if the healing doesn't last,
if they come back every week, the power of
suggestion may continually override the problem . . . or
sometimes, sadly, it can mask a physical problem which
could prove to be very detrimental to the individual in
the long run.
I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place.
They do. Maybe the individual was ready to let go of
the negativity that caused the problem in the first place;
maybe it was the work of God. Yet I contend that it can
be explained with existing knowledge of brain/mind
function.
The techniques and staging will vary from church to
church. Many use "speaking in tongues" to generate
catharsis in some while the spectacle creates intense
excitement in the observers.
The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is
sophisticated, and professionals are assuring that they
become even more effective. A man in Los Angeles is
designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches
around the country. He tells ministers what they need
and how to use it. This man's track record indicates that
the congregation and the monetary income will double
if the minister follows his instructions. He admits that
about 80 percent of his efforts are in the sound system
and lighting.
Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of
primary importance in inducing an altered state of
consciousness--I've been using them for years in my
own seminars. However, my participants are fully
aware of the process and what they can expect as a
result of their participation.
SIX CONVERSION TECHNIQUES
Cults and human-potential organizations are always
looking for new converts. To attain them, they must
also create a brain-phase. And they often need to do it
within a short space of time--a weekend, or maybe
even a day. The following are the six primary
techniques used to generate the conversion. The
meeting or training takes place in an area where
participants are cut off from the outside world. This may
be any place: a private home, a remote or rural setting,
or even a hotel ballroom where the participants are
allowed only limited bathroom usage. In human-
potential trainings, the controllers will give a lengthy
talk about the importance of "keeping agreements" in
life. The participants are told that if they don't keep
agreements, their life will never work. It's a good idea
to keep agreements, but the controllers are subverting
a positive human value for selfish purposes. The
participants vow to themselves and their trainer that
they will keep their agreements. Anyone who does not
will be intimidated into agreement or forced to leave.
The next step is to agree to complete training, thus
assuring a high percentage of conversions for the
organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not
to take drugs, smoke, and sometimes not to eat . . . or
they are given such short meal breaks that it creates
tension. The real reason for the agreements is to alter
internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and
hopefully causes at least a slight malfunction of the
nervous system, which in turn increases the conversion
potential.
Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will
be used to ensure that the new converts go out and
find new participants. They are intimidated into
agreeing to do so before they leave. Since the
importance of keeping agreements is so high on their
priority list, the converts will twist the arms of everyone
they know, attempting to talk them into attending a free
introductory session offered at a future date by the
organization. The new converts are zealots. In fact, the
inside term for merchandising the largest and most
successful human- potential training is, "sell it by
zealot!"
At least a million people are graduates and a good
percentage have been left with a mental activation
button that assures their future loyalty and assistance if
the guru figure or organization calls. Think about the
potential political implications of hundreds of thousands
of zealots programed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers
follow-up sessions after the seminar. Follow-up sessions
might be weekly meetings or inexpensive seminars
given on a regular basis which the organization will
attempt to talk you into taking--or any regularly
scheduled event used to maintain control. As the early
Christian revivalists found, long-term control is
dependent upon a good follow-up system.
Alright. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that
indicates conversion tactics are being used. A schedule
is maintained that causes physical and mental fatigue.
This is primarily accomplished by long hours in which
the participants are given no opportunity for relaxation
or reflection.
The third tip-off: techniques used to increase the
tension in the room or environment.
Number four: Uncertainty. I could spend hours
relating various techniques to increase tension and
generate uncertainty. Basically, the participants are
concerned about being "put on the spot" or
encountered by the trainers, guilt feelings are played
upon, participants are tempted to verbally relate their
innermost secrets to the other participants or forced to
take part in activities that emphasize removing their
masks. One of the most successful human-potential
seminars forces the participants to stand on a stage in
front of the entire audience while being verbally
attacked by the trainers. A public opinion poll,
conducted a few years ago, showed that the number
one most-fearful situation an individual could
encounter is to speak to an audience. It ranked above
window washing outside the 85th floor of an office
building. So you can imagine the fear and tension this
situation generates within the participants. Many faint,
but most cope with the stress by mentally going away.
They literally go into an alpha state, which automatically
makes them many times as suggestible as they normally
are. And another loop of the downward spiral into
conversion is successfully effected.
The fifth clue that conversion tactics are being used is
the introduction of jargon--new terms that have
meaning only to the "insiders" who participate. Vicious
language is also frequently used, purposely, to make
participants uncomfortable.
The final tip-off is that there is no humor in the
communications . . . at least until the participants are
converted. Then, merry-making and humor are highly
desirable as symbols of the new joy the participants
have supposedly "found."
I'm not saying that good does not result from
participation in such gatherings. It can and does. But I
contend it is important for people to know what has
happened and to be aware that continual involvement
may not be in their best interest.
Over the years, I've conducted professional seminars
to teach people to be hypnotists, trainers, and
counselors. I've had many of those who conduct
trainings and rallies come to me and say, "I'm here
because I know that what I'm doing works, but I don't
know why." After showing them how and why, many
have gotten out of the business or have decided to
approach it differently or in a much more loving and
supportive manner.
Many of these trainers have become personal friends,
and it scares us all to have experienced the power of
one person with a microphone and a room full of
people. Add a little charisma and you can count on a
high percentage of conversions. The sad truth is that a
high percentage of people want to give away their
power--they are true "believers"!
Cult gatherings or human-potential trainings are an
ideal environment to observe first-hand what is
technically called the "Stockholm Syndrome." This is a
situation in which those who are intimidated, controlled,
or made to suffer, begin to love, admire, and even
sometimes sexually desire their controllers or captors.
But let me inject a word of warning here: If you think
you can attend such gatherings and not be affected,
you are probably wrong. A perfect example is the case
of a woman who went to Haiti on a Guggenheim
Fellowship to study Haitian Voodoo. In her report, she
related how the music eventually induced
uncontrollable bodily movement and an altered state of
consciousness. Although she understood the process
and thought herself above it, when she began to feel
herself become vulnerable to the music, she attempted
to fight it and turned away. Anger or resistance almost
always assures conversion. A few moments later she
was possessed by the music and began dancing in a
trance around the Voodoo meeting house. A brain
phase had been induced by the music and excitement,
and she awoke feeling reborn. The only hope of
attending such gatherings without being affected is to
be a Buddha and allow no positive or negative
emotions to surface. Few people are capable of such
detachment.
Before I go on, let's go back to the six tip-offs to
conversion. I want to mention the United States
Government and military boot camp. The Marine
Corps talks about breaking men down before
"rebuilding" them as new men--as marines! Well, that is
exactly what they do, the same way a cult breaks its
people down and rebuilds them as happy flower sellers
on your local street corner. Every one of the six
conversion techniques are used in boot camp.
Considering the needs of the military, I'm not making a
judgement as to whether that is good or bad. IT IS A
FACT that the men are effectively brainwashed. Those
who won't submit must be discharged or spend much of
their time in the brig.
DECOGNITION PROCESS
Once the initial conversion is effected, cults, armed
services, and similar groups cannot have cynicism
among their members. Members must respond to
commands and do as they are told, otherwise they are
dangerous to the organizational control. This is
normally accomplished in a three step Decognition
Process.
Step One is alertness reduction: The controllers
cause the nervous system to malfunction, making it
difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality. This
can be accomplished in several ways. poor diet is
one; watch out for Brownies and Koolaid. The sugar
throws the nervous system off. More subtle is the
"spiritual diet" used by many cults. They eat only
vegetables and fruits; without the grounding of grains,
nuts, seeds, dairy products, fish or meat, an individual
becomes mentally "spacey." inadequate sleep is
another primary way to reduce alertness, especially
when combined with long hours of work or intense
physical activity. Also, being bombarded with intense
and unique experiences achieves the same result.
Step Two is programed confusion: You are
mentally assaulted while your alertness is being
reduced as in Step One. This is accomplished with a
deluge of new information, lectures, discussion groups,
encounters or one-to-one processing, which usually
amounts to the controller bombarding the individual
with questions. During this phase of decognition, reality
and illusion often merge and perverted logic is likely to
be accepted.
Step Three is thought stopping: Techniques are
used to cause the mind to go "flat." These are altered-
state-of-consciousness techniques that initially induce
calmness by giving the mind something simple to deal
with and focusing awareness. The continued use
brings on a feeling of elation and eventually
hallucination. The result is the reduction of thought and
eventually, if used long enough, the cessation of all
thought and withdrawal from everyone and everything
except that which the controllers direct. The takeover
is then complete. It is important to be aware that when
members or participants are instructed to use "thought-
stopping" techniques, they are told that they will benefit
by so doing: they will become "better soldiers" or "find
enlightenment."
There are three primary techniques used for thought
stopping. The first is marching: the thump, thump,
thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis and thus
great susceptibility to suggestion.
The second thought stopping technique is meditation.
If you spend an hour to an hour and a half a day in
meditation, after a few weeks, there is a great
probability that you will not return to full beta
consciousness. You will remain in a fixed state of alpha
for as long as you continue to meditate. I'm not saying
this is bad--if you do it yourself. It may be very
beneficial. But it is a fact that you are causing your mind
to go flat. I've worked with meditators on an EEG
machine and the results are conclusive: the more you
meditate, the flatter your mind becomes until,
eventually and especially if used to excess or in
combination with decognition, all thought ceases. Some
spiritual groups see this as nirvana--which is bullshit. It
is simply a predictable physiological result. And if
heaven on earth is non- thinking and non-involvement,
I really question why we are here.
The third thought-stopping technique is chanting, and
often chanting in meditation. "Speaking in tongues"
could also be included in this category.
All three-stopping techniques produce an altered state
of consciousness. This may be very good if you are
controlling the process, for you also control the input. I
personally use at least one self-hypnosis programming
session every day and I know how beneficial it is for
me. But you need to know if you use these techniques
to the degree of remaining continually in alpha that,
although you'll be very mellow, you'll also be more
suggestible.
TRUE BELIEVERS & MASS MOVEMENTS
Before ending this section on conversion, I want to talk
about the people who are most susceptible to it and
about Mass Movements. I am convinced that at least a
third of the population is what Eric Hoffer calls "true
believers." They are joiners and followers . . . people
who want to give away their power. They look for
answers, meaning, and enlightenment outside
themselves.
Hoffer, who wrote The true believer, a classic on
mass movements, says, "true believers are not intent on
bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but are
those craving to be rid of unwanted self. They are
followers, not because of a desire for self-
advancement, but because it can satisfy their passion
for self-renunciation!" Hoffer also says that true
believers "are eternally incomplete and eternally
insecure"!
I know this from my own experience. In my years of
communicating concepts and conducting trainings, I
have run into them again and again. All I can do is
attempt to show them that the only thing to seek is the
True Self within. Their personal answers are to be
found there and there alone. I communicate that the
basics of spirituality are self-responsibility and self-
actualization. But most of the true believers just tell me
that I'm not spiritual and go looking for someone who
will give them the dogma and structure they desire.
Never underestimate the potential danger of these
people. They can easily be molded into fanatics who
will gladly work and die for their holy cause. It is a
substitute for their lost faith in themselves and offers
them as a substitute for individual hope. The Moral
Majority is made up of true believers. All cults are
composed of true believers. You'll find them in politics,
churches, businesses, and social cause groups. They
are the fanatics in these organizations.
Mass Movements will usually have a charismatic leader.
The followers want to convert others to their way of
living or impose a new way of life--if necessary, by
legislating laws forcing others to their view, as
evidenced by the activities of the Moral Majority. This
means enforcement by guns or punishment, for that is
the bottomline in law enforcement.
A common hatred, enemy, or devil is essential to the
success of a mass movement. The Born-Again
Christians have Satan himself, but that isn't enough--
they've added the occult, the New Age thinkers and,
lately, all those who oppose their integration of church
and politics, as evidenced in their political reelection
campaigns against those who oppose their views. In
revolutions, the devil is usually the ruling power or
aristocracy. Some human-potential movements are far
too clever to ask their graduates to join anything, thus
labeling themselves as a cult--but, if you look closely,
you'll find that their devil is anyone and everyone who
hasn't taken their training. There are mass movements
without devils but they seldom attain major status. The
True Believers are mentally unbalanced or insecure
people, or those without hope or friends. People don't
look for allies when they love, but they do when they
hate or become obsessed with a cause. And those who
desire a new life and a new order feel the old ways
must be eliminated before the new order can be built.
PERSUASION TECHNIQUES
Persuasion isn't technically brainwashing but it is the
manipulation of the human mind by another individual,
without the manipulated party being aware what caused
his opinion shift. I only have time to very basically
introduce you to a few of the thousands of techniques
in use today, but the basis of persuasion is always to
access your RIGHT BRAIN. The left half of your
brain is analytical and rational. The right side is creative
and imaginative. That is overly simplified but it makes
my point. So, the idea is to distract the left brain and
keep it busy. Ideally, the persuader generates an eyes-
open altered state of consciousness, causing you to
shift from beta awareness into alpha; this can be
measured on an EEG machine.
First, let me give you an example of distracting the left
brain. Politicians use these powerful techniques all the
time; lawyers use many variations which, I've been
told, they call "tightening the noose."
Assume for a moment that you are watching a politician
give a speech. First, he might generate what is called a
"yes set." These are statements that will cause
listeners to agree; they might even unknowingly nod
their heads in agreement. Next come the truisms.
These are usually facts that could be debated, but once
the politician has his audience agreeing, the odds are in
the politician's favor that the audience won't stop to
think for themselves, thus continuing to agree. Last
comes the suggestion. This is what the politician wants
you to do and, since you have been agreeing all along,
you could be persuaded to accept the suggestion.
Now, if you'll listen closely to my political speech, you'll
find that the first three are the "yes set," the next three
are truisms and the last is the suggestion.
"Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry about high food
prices? Are you tired of astronomical gas prices? Are
you sick of out-of-control inflation? Well, you know the
Other Party allowed 18 percent inflation last year; you
know crime has increased 50 percent nationwide in the
last 12 months, and you know your paycheck hardly
covers your expenses any more. Well, the answer to
resolving these problems is to elect me, John Jones, to
the U.S. Senate."
And I think you've heard all that before. But you might
also watch for what are called Imbedded Commands.
As an example: On key words, the speaker would
make a gesture with his left hand, which research has
shown is more apt to access your right brain. Today's
media-oriented politicians and spellbinders are often
carefully trained by a whole new breed of specialist
who are using every trick in the book--both old and
new--to manipulate you into accepting their candidate.
The concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are
so heavily protected that I found out the hard way that
to even talk about them publicly or in print results in
threatened legal action. Yet Neuro- Linguistic training
is readily available to anyone willing to devote the time
and pay the price. It is some of the most subtle and
powerful manipulation I have yet been exposed to. A
good friend who recently attended a two-week seminar
on Neuro-Linguistics found that many of those she
talked to during the breaks were government people.
Another technique that I'm just learning about is
unbelievably slippery; it is called an interspersal
technique and the idea is to say one thing with words
but plant a subconscious impression of something else
in the minds of the listeners and/or watchers.
Let me give you an example: Assume you are watching
a television commentator make the following statement:
Senator Johnson is assisting local authorities to clear
up the stupid mistakes of companies contributing to the
nuclear waste problems." It sounds like a statement of
fact, but, if the speaker emphasizes the right word, and
especially if he makes the proper hand gestures on the
key words, you could be left with the subconscious
impression that Senator Johnson is stupid. That was the
subliminal goal of the statement and the speaker cannot
be called to account for anything.
Persuasion techniques are also frequently used on a
much smaller scale with just as much effectiveness. The
insurance salesman knows his pitch is likely to be much
more effective if he can get you to visualize something
in your mind. This is right-brain communication. For
instance, he might pause in his conversation, look
slowly around your livingroom and say, "Can you just
imagine this beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of
course you can! It is one of your unconscious fears
and, when he forces you to visualize it, you are more
likely to be manipulated into signing his insurance
policy.
The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport, use
what I call shock and confusion techniques to
distract the left brain and communicate directly with the
right brain. While waiting for a plane, I once watched
one operate for over an hour. He had a technique of
almost jumping in front of someone. Initially, his voice
was loud then dropped as he made his pitch to take a
book and contribute money to the cause. Usually,
when people are shocked, they immediately withdraw.
In this case they were shocked by the strange
appearance, sudden materialization and loud voice of
the Hare Krishna devotee. In other words, the people
went into an alpha state for security because they didn't
want to confront the reality before them. In alpha, they
were highly suggestible so they responded to the
suggestion of taking the book; the moment they took
the book, they felt guilty and responded to the second
suggestion: give money. We are all conditioned that if
someone gives us something, we have to give them
something in return-- in that case, it was money. While
watching this hustler, I was close enough to notice that
many of the people he stopped exhibited an outward
sign of alpha--their eyes were actually dilated.
SUBLIMINAL PROGRAMMING
Subliminals are hidden suggestions that only your
subconscious perceives. They can be audio, hidden
behind music, or visual, airbrushed into a picture,
flashed on a screen so fast that you don't consciously
see them, or cleverly incorporated into a picture or
design.
Most audio subliminal reprograming tapes offer verbal
suggestions recorded at a low volume. I question the
efficacy of this technique--if subliminals are not
perceptible, they cannot be effective, and subliminals
recorded below the audible threshold are therefore
useless. The oldest audio subliminal technique uses a
voice that follows the volume of the music so
subliminals are impossible to detect without a parametric
equalizer. But this technique is patented and, when I
wanted to develop my own line of subliminal
audiocassettes, negotiations with the patent holder
proved to be unsatisfactory. My attorney obtained
copies of the patents which I gave to some talented
Hollywood sound engineers, asking them to create a
new technique. They found a way to psycho-
acoustically modify and synthesize the suggestions so
that they are projected in the same chord and
frequency as the music, thus giving them the effect of
being part of the music. But we found that in using this
technique, there is no way to reduce various
frequencies to detect the subliminals. In other words,
although the suggestions are being heard by the
subconscious mind, they cannot be monitored with
even the most sophisticated equipment.
If we were able to come up with this technique as easily
as we did, I can only imagine how sophisticated the
technology has become, with unlimited government or
advertising funding. And I shudder to think about the
propaganda and commercial manipulation that we are
exposed to on a daily basis. There is simply no way to
know what is behind the music you hear. It may even
be possible to hide a second voice behind the voice to
which you are listening. The series by Wilson Bryan
Key, Ph.D., on subliminals in advertising and political
campaigns well documents the misuse in many areas,
especially printed advertising in newspapers,
magazines, and posters.
The big question about subliminals is: do they work?
And I guarantee you they do. Not only from the
response of those who have used my tapes, but from
the results of such programs as the subliminals behind
the music in department stores. Supposedly, the only
message is instructions to not steal: one East Coast
department store chain reported a 37 percent reduction
in thefts in the first nine months of testing.
A 1984 article in the technical newsletter, "Brain-Mind
Bulletin," states that as much as 99 percent of our
cognitive activity may be "non-conscious," according to
the director of the Laboratory for Cognitive
Psychophysiology at the University of Illinois. The
lengthy report ends with the statement, "these findings
support the use of subliminal approaches such as taped
suggestions for weight loss and the therapeutic use of
hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming."
MASS MISUSE
I could relate many stories that support subliminal
programming, but I'd rather use my time to make you
aware of even more subtle uses of such programming.
I have personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles
auditorium with over ten thousand people who were
gathered to listen to a current charismatic figure.
Twenty minutes after entering the auditorium, I
became aware that I was going in and out of an altered
state. Those accompanying me experienced the same
thing. Since it is our business, we were aware of what
was happening, but those around us were not. By
careful observation, what appeared to be spontaneous
demonstrations were, in fact, artful manipulations. The
only way I could figure that the eyes-open trance had
been induced was that a 6- to 7-cycle-per- second
vibration was being piped into the room behind the air
conditioner sound. That particular vibration generates
alpha, which would render the audience highly
susceptible. Ten to 25 percent of the population is
capable of a somnambulistic level of altered states of
consciousness; for these people, the suggestions of the
speaker, if non-threatening, could potentially be
accepted as "commands."
VIBRATO
This leads to the mention of VIBRATO. Vibrato is the
tremulous effect imparted in some vocal or instrumental
music, and the cyle-per- second range causes people
to go into an altered state of consciousness. At one
period of English history, singers whose voices
contained pronounced vibrato were not allowed to
perform publicly because listeners would go into an
altered state and have fantasies, often sexual in nature.
People who attend opera or enjoy listening to singers
like Mario Lanza are familiar with this altered state
induced by the performers.
ELFS
Now, let's carry this awareness a little farther. There
are also inaudible ELFs (extra-low frequency waves).
These are electromagnetic in nature. One of the
primary uses of ELFs is to communicate with our
submarines. Dr. Andrija Puharich, a highly respected
researcher, in an attempt to warn U.S. officials about
Russian use of ELFs, set up an experiment. Volunteers
were wired so their brain waves could be measured on
an EEG. They were sealed in a metal room that could
not be penetrated by a normal signal.
Puharich then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers.
ELFs go right through the earth and, of course, right
through metal walls. Those inside couldn't know if the
signal was or was not being sent. And Puharich
watched the reactions on the technical equipment: 30
percent of those inside the room were taken over by
the ELF signal in six to ten seconds.
When I say "taken over," I mean that their behavior
followed the changes anticipated at very precise
frequencies. Waves below 6 cycles per second caused
the subjects to become very emotionally upset, and
even disrupted bodily functions. At 8.2 cycles, they felt
very high... an elevated feeling, as though they had
been in masterful meditation, learned over a period of
years. Eleven to 11.3 cycles induced waves of
depressed agitation leading to riotous behavior.
THE NEUROPHONE
Dr. Patrick Flanagan is a personal friend of mine. In the
early 1960s, as a teenager, Pat was listed as one of the
top scientists in the world by "Life" magazine. Among
his many inventions was a device he called the
Neurophone--an electronic instrument that can
successfully program suggestions directly through
contact with the skin. When he attempted to patent the
device, the government demanded that he prove it
worked. When he did, the National Security Agency
confiscated the neurophone. It took Pat two years of
legal battle to get his invention back.
In using the device, you don't hear or see a thing; it is
applied to the skin, which Pat claims is the source of
special senses. The skin contains more sensors for
heat, touch, pain, vibration, and electrical fields than
any other part of the human anatomy.
In one of his recent tests, Pat conducted two identical
seminars for a military audience--one seminar one night
and one the next night, because the size of the room
was not large enough to accommodate all of them at
one time. When the first group proved to be very cool
and unwilling to respond, Patrick spent the next day
making a special tape to play at the second seminar.
The tape instructed the audience to be extremely warm
and responsive and for their hands to become "tingly."
The tape was played through the neurophone, which
was connected to a wire he placed along the ceiling of
the room. There were no speakers, so no sound could
be heard, yet the message was successfully transmitted
from that wire directly into the brains of the audience.
They were warm and receptive, their hands tingled
and they responded, according to programming, in
other ways that I cannot mention here.
The more we find out about how human beings work
through today's highly advanced technological
research, the more we learn to control human beings.
And what probably scares me the most is that the
medium for takeover is already in place! The television
set in your livingroom and bedroom is doing a lot more
than just entertaining you.
Before I continue, let me point out something else
about an altered state of consciousness. When you go
into an altered state, you transfer into right brain, which
results in the internal release of the body's own opiates:
enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically almost
identical to opium. In other words, it feels good . . . and
you want to come back for more.
Recent tests by researcher Herbert Krugman showed
that, while viewers were watching TV, right-brain
activity outnumbered left-brain activity by a ratio of two
to one. Put more simply, the viewers were in an altered
state . . . in trance more often than not. They were
getting their Beta-endorphin "fix."
To measure attention spans, psychophysiologist
Thomas Mulholland of the Veterans Hospital in
Bedford, Massachusetts, attached young viewers to an
EEG machine that was wired to shut the TV set off
whenever the children's brains produced a majority of
alpha waves. Although the children were told to
concentrate, only a few could keep the set on for more
than 30 seconds!
Most viewers are already hypnotized. To deepen the
trance is easy. One simple way is to place a blank,
black frame every 32 frames in the film that is being
projected. This creates a 45-beat-per-minute pulsation
perceived only by the subconscious mind--the ideal
pace to generate deep hypnosis.
The commercials or suggestions presented following
this alpha- inducing broadcast are much more likely to
be accepted by the viewer. The high percentage of
the viewing audience that has somnambulistic- depth
ability could very well accept the suggestions as
commands--as long as those commands did not ask the
viewer to do something contrary to his morals, religion,
or self-preservation.
The medium for takeover is here. By the age of 16,
children have spent 10,000 to 15,000 hours watching
television--that is more time than they spend in school!
In the average home, the TV set is on for six hours and
44 minutes per day--an increase of nine minutes from
last year and three times the average rate of increase
during the 1970s.
It obviously isn't getting better . . . we are rapidly
moving into an alpha-level world--very possibly the
Orwellian world of "1984"-- placid, glassy-eyed, and
responding obediently to instructions.
A research project by Jacob Jacoby, a Purdue
University psychologist, found that of 2,700 people
tested, 90 percent misunderstood even such simple
viewing fare as commercials and "Barnaby Jones."
Only minutes after watching, the typical viewer missed
23 to 36 percent of the questions about what he or she
had seen. Of course they did--they were going in and
out of trance! If you go into a deep trance, you must be
instructed to remember--otherwise you automatically
forget.
I have just touched the tip of the iceberg. When you
start to combine subliminal messages behind the music,
subliminal visuals projected on the screen, hypnotically
produced visual effects, sustained musical beats at a
trance-inducing pace . . . you have extremely effective
brainwashing. Every hour that you spend watching the
TV set you become more conditioned. And, in case
you thought there was a law against any of these things,
guess again. There isn't! There are a lot of powerful
people who obviously prefer things exactly the way
they are. Maybe they have plans for us?
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