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WASH.TXT
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1993-10-27
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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 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.
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."
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
individule in the long run.
I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do.
Maybe the individual was ready to let go of the negativity that caused the
problem in the first place; maybe it was the work of God. Yet I
contend that it can be explained with existing knowledge of brain/mind
function.
The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use
"speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the spectacle
creates intense excitement in the observers.
The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and
professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A
man in Los Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches
around the country. He tells ministers what they need and how to
use it. This man's track record indicates that the congregation and the
monetary income will double if the minister follows his
instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his efforts are in the
sound system and lighting.
Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary
importance in inducing an altered state of consciousnes--I've been using
them for years in my own seminars. However, my participants are fully
aware of the process and what they can expect as a result of their
participation.
Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for new
converts. To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And they
often need to do it within a short space of time--a weekend, or maybe even
a day. The following are the six primary techniques used to generate the
conversion.
The meeting or training takes place in an area where participants are cut
off from the outside world. This may be any place: a private home, a
remote or rural setting, or even a hotel ballroom where the participants
are allowed only limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings,
the controllers will give a lengthy talk about the importance of
"keeping agreements" in life. The participants are told that if they don't
keep agreements, their life will never work. It's a good idea to keep
agreements, but the controllers are subverting a positive human value for
selfish purposes. The participants vow to themselves and their trainer
that they will keep their agreements. Anyone who does not will be
intimidated into agreement or forced to leave. The next step is to
agree to complete training, thus assuring a high percentage of conversions
for the organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to take
drugs, smoke, and sometimes not to eat or they are given such
short meal breaks that it creates tension. The real reason for the
agreements is to alter internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and
hopefully causes at least a slight malfunction of the nervous
system, which in turn increases the conversion potential.
Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will be used to ensure
that the new converts go out and find new participants. They are
intimidated into agreeing to do so before they leave. Since the
importance of keeping agreements is so high on their priority list, the
converts will twist the arms of everyone they know, attempting to talk them
into attending a free introductory session offered at a future date by
the organization. The new converts are zealots. In fact, the inside
term for merchandising the largest and most successful human-
potential training is, "sell it by zealot!"
At least a million people are graduates and a good percentage have been
left with a mental activation button that assures their future loyalty and
assistance if the guru figure or organization calls. Think about the
potential political implications of hundreds of thousands of zealots
programmed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up sessions
after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly meetings or
inexpensive seminars given on a regular basis which the organization
will attempt to talk you into taking--or any regularly scheduled event used
to maintain control. As the early Christian revivalists found, long-
term control is dependent upon a good follow-up system.
Alright. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that indicates
conversion tactics are being used. A schedule is maintained that
causes physical and mental fatigue. This is primarily accomplished
by long hours in which the participants are given no opportunity for
relaxation or reflection.
The third tip-off: techniques used to increase the tension in the
room or environment.
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.