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 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.
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 cycle-per-second range causes people to go into an altered state
of consciousness. At one period of English history, singers whose voices
contained pronounced vibrato were not allowed to perform publicly because
listeners would go into an altered state and have fantasies, often sexual in
nature.
People who attend 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 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.
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 living-room
and bedroom is doing a lot more than just entertaining you.
Before I continue, let me point out
something else about an altered state of consciousness. When you go into an
altered state, you transfer into right brain, which results in the internal
release of the body's own opiates: enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically
almost identical to opium. In other words, it feels good...and you want to come
back for more.
Recent tests by researcher Herbert
Krugman showed that, while viewers were watching TV, right-brain activity
outnumbered left-brain activity by a ratio of two to one. Put more simply, the
viewers were in an altered state...in trance more often than not. They were
getting their Beta-endorphin "fix."
To measure attention spans, psycho-physiologist 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...?
