The Battle for Your Mind

by Dick Sutphen

 

 

Persuasion and Brainwashing Techniques

 

Being Used On The Public Today

 

 

 

Reformatted for WWW display and distribution by Dynamic Living Media

 

 

 

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 n school! In the average home, the TV set is on for six hours and 44

minutes per day--an increase of nine minutes from last year and three times

the average rate of increase during the 1970s.

 

It obviously isn't getting better...we are rapidly moving into an

alpha-level world--very possibly the Orwellian world of "1984"--placid,

glassy-eyed, and responding obediently to instructions.

 

A research project by Jacob Jacoby, a Purdue University psychologist, found

that of 2,700 people tested, 90 percent misunderstood even such simple

viewing fare as commercials and "Barnaby Jones." Only minutes after

watching, the typical viewer missed 23 to 36 percent of the questions about

what he or she had seen. Of course they did--they were going in and out of

trance! If you go into a deep trance, you must be instructed to

remember--otherwise you automatically forget.

 

 

 

 

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...?

 

Modified for WWW distribution May 27/95 by Dynamic Living Media

May be freely copied and reproduced complete with all graphics.

Neither the editor nor the publisher know the current whereabouts of Dick

Sutphen. Please conduct searches for the author through the usual channels.