The Battle For Your Mind May 27, 1995
Persuasion and Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The
Public Today
Introduction
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: Brainwashing in Christian
Revivalism in 1735.
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 Pavlovian Explanation
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."
The "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.
The Build-up Process: Inducing Altered States
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.
Assured Continuation: Fleecing the Flock
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.
Bonding by Fear and Suggestion
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.
Testimony: Creating Community Spirit
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.
Miracles
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.
The Grey Area of Legitimacy
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.
A Game in Which the Rules Keep Changing
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.
Isolation Intimidation, Deprivation and Indoctrination
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.
The "Sell It By Zealot" Technique.
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.
Wearing Down Resistance
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.
Increasing Tension
The third tip-off: techniques used to increase the
tension in the room or environment.
Introducing Uncertainty About Identity
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.
Jargon
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.
Lack of Humor: No Release, No Resistance
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."
Not Always a Bad Thing
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"!
Cults: A Captive Course in Stockholm Syndrome
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 Immunity
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.
The US Marines as a Brainwashing Cult
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.
Steps in the 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.
Alertness reduction
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.
Programmed Confusion
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.
Thought Stopping
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."
Thought-Stopping Techniques
Marching
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.
Meditation
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.
Chanting
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 and 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.
"Yes Set"
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."
Embedded Commands
And I think you've heard all that before. But you might
also watch for what are called embedded 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 Power of NLP
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.
Interspersal Technique
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.
Practical Examples
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.
Shock and Confusion
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 of Subliminal Programming
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.
Extra-low Frequency Vibrations (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.
Technological Tools for Mass Manipulation
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.
In Closing...
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...?
© Dick Sutphen
By Dick Sutphen