Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public Today

by Dick Sutphen

THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND,

by Dick Sutphen --

Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public Today

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

The Birth of Conversion/Brainwashing in Christian Revivalism in 1735.
The Pavlovian explanation of the three brain phases.
Born-again preachers: Step-by-Step, how they conduct a revival and the expected physiological results.
The "voice roll" technique used by preachers, lawyers and hypnotists.
New trance-inducing churches.
The 6 steps to conversion.
The decognition process.
Thought-stopping techniques.
The "sell it by zealot" technique.
True believers and mass movements.
Persuasion techniques: "Yes set," "Imbedded Commands," "Shock and Confusion," and the "Interspersal Technique."
Subliminals.
Vibrato and ELF waves.
Inducing trance with vibrational sound.
Even professional observers will be "possessed" at charismatic gatherings.
The"only hope" technique to attend and not be converted.
Non-detectable Neurophone programming through the skin.
The medium for mass take-over.

I'm Dick Sutphen and this tape is a studio-recorded, expanded version of a talk I delivered at the World Congress of Professional Hypnotists Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although the tape carries a copyright to protect it from unlawful duplication for sale by other companies, in this case, I invite individuals to make copies and give them to friends or anyone in a position to communicate this information.

Although I've been interviewed about the subject on many local and regional radio and TV talk shows, large-scale mass communication appears to beblocked, since it could result in suspicion or investigation of the very mediapresenting 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'tknow how the misuse of these techniques can be stopped. I don't think it ispossible 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 aboutbrainwashing: IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF MAN, NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN BRAIN-WASHED AND REALIZED, OR BELIEVED, THAT HE HAD BEEN BRAIN-WASHED. Those who have been brain-washed will usually passionately defend their manipulators, claiming theyhave simply been "shown the light" . . . or have been transformed inmiraculous ways.

The Birth of Conversion

CONVERSION is a "nice" word for BRAINWASHING . . . and any study of brainwashing has to begin with a study of Christian revivalism in eighteenth century America. Apparently, Jonathan Edwards accidentally discovered the techniques during a religious crusade in 1735 in Northampton, Massachusetts.By inducing guilt and acute apprehension and by increasing the tension, the"sinners" attending his revival meetings would break down and completely submit.

Technically, what Edwards was doing was creating conditions that wipe the brain slate clean so that the mind accepts new programming. The problem was that the new input was negative. He would tell them, "You're a sinner! You're destined for hell!" As a result, one person committed suicide and another attempted suicide. And the neighbors of the suicidal converts related that they, too, were affected so deeply that, although they had found "eternal salvation," they were obsessed with a diabolical temptation to end their own lives.

Once a preacher, cult leader, manipulator or authority figure creates the brain phase to wipe the brain-slate clean, his subjects are wide open. New input, in the form of suggestion, can be substituted for their previous ideas. Because Edwards didn't turn his message positive until the end of the revival, many accepted the negative suggestions and acted, or desired to act, upon them. Charles J. Finney was another Christian revivalist who used the sametechniques four years later in mass religious conversions in New York.

The techniques are still being used today by Christian revivalists, cults, human-potential trainings, some business rallies, and the United States Armed Services . . . to name just a few. Let me point out here that I don't think most revivalist preachers realize or know they are using brainwashing techniques. Edwards simply stumbled upon a technique that really worked, and others copied it and have continued to copy it for over two hundred years. And the more sophisticated our knowledge and technology become, the more effective the conversion.

I feel strongly that this is one of the major reasons for the increasing rise in Christian fundamentalism, especially the televised variety, while most of the orthodox religions are declining.

The Three Brain Phases

The Christians may have been the first to successfully formulatebrainwashing, 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 beplayed while the people come in for the service. A repetitive beat, ideallyranging from 45 to 72 beats per minute (a rhythm close to the beat of thehuman heart), is very hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state ofconsciousness 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 fullbeta consciousness. The music is probably the same for every service, orincorporates the same beat, and many of the people will go into an alteredstate almost immediately upon entering the sanctuary. Subconsciously, theyrecall their state of mind from previous services and respond according to thepost-hypnotic programming.

Watch the people waiting for the service to begin. Many will exhibit external signs of trance--body relaxation and slightly dilated eyes. Often,they begin swaying back and forth with their hands in the air while sitting in their chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will probably come out. He usually speaks with a pretty good "voice roll."

Voice Roll Technique

A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when inducing a trance. It is also used by many lawyers, several of whom are highly trained hypnotists, when they desire to entrench a point firmly in the minds of the jurors. A voice roll can sound as if the speaker were talking to the beat of a metronome or it may sound as though he were emphasizing every word in a monotonous, patterned style. The words will usually be delivered at the rate of 45 to 60 beats per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect. Now the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He induces an altered state of consciousness and/or begins to generate the excitement andthe 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 greatfor 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 possessedby 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 thepulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that everyone saw it--the power ofsuggestion given to hundreds of people in hypnosis assures that at least 10 to25 percent would see whatever he suggested they see.

In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing" usuallyfollows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on stage andrelate their stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had arthritisand now it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that works. Afterlistening to numerous case histories of miraculous healings, the average guyin the audience with a minor problem is sure he can be healed. The room ischarged with fear, guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.

Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the edge ofthe room, or they are told to come down to the front. The preacher might touchthem on the head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This releases the psychicenergy and, for many, catharsis results. Catharsis is a purging of repressedemotions. Individuals might cry, fall down or even go into spasms. And ifcatharsis is effected, they stand a chance of being healed. In catharsis (oneof the three brain phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarilywiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted. For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four daysto a week, which is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic suggestion given to asomnambulistic subject will usually last. Even if the healing doesn't last, ifthey come back every week, the power of suggestion may continually overridethe problem . . . or sometimes, sadly, it can mask a physical problem whichcould prove to be very detrimental to the individual in the long run.

I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do. Maybethe individual was ready to let go of the negativity that caused the problemin the first place; maybe it was the work of God. Yet I contend that it can beexplained 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 spectaclecreates intense excitement in the observers. The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, andprofessionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A man in LosAngeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches around thecountry. He tells ministers what they need and how to use it.

This man's trackrecord indicates that the congregation and the monetary income will double ifthe minister follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of hisefforts are in the sound system and lighting. Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary importance ininducing an altered state of consciousnes--I've been using them for years inmy own seminars. However, my participants are fully aware of the process andwhat they can expect as a result of their participation.Six Conversion Techniques Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for newconverts.

To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And they oftenneed 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 cutoff from the outside world. This may be any place: a private home, a remote orrural setting, or even a hotel ballroom where the participants are allowedonly limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings, the controllerswill 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 willnever work.

It's a good idea to keep agreements, but the controllers aresubverting a positive human value for selfish purposes. The participants vowto themselves and their trainer that they will keep their agreements. Anyonewho does not will be intimidated into agreement or forced to leave. The nextstep is to agree to complete training, thus assuring a high percentage ofconversions for the organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to takedrugs, smoke, and sometimes not to eat . . . or they are given such short mealbreaks that it creates tension.

The real reason for the agreements is to alterinternal chemistry, which generates anxiety and hopefully causes at least aslight malfunction of the nervous system, which in turn increases theconversion potential. Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will be used to ensurethat the new converts go out and find new participants. They are intimidatedinto agreeing to do so before they leave. Since the importance of keepingagreements is so high on their priority list, the converts will twist the armsof everyone they know, attempting to talk them into attending a freeintroductory session offered at a future date by the organization. The newconverts are zealots.

In fact, the inside term for merchandising the largestand most successful human-potential training is, "sell it by zealot!" At least a million people are graduates and a good percentage have beenleft with a mental activation button that assures their future loyalty andassistance if the guru figure or organization calls. Think about the potentialpolitical implications of hundreds of thousands of zealots programmed tocampaign for their guru. Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up sessionsafter the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly meetings or inexpensiveseminars given on a regular basis which the organization will attempt to talkyou into taking--or any regularly scheduled event used to maintain control. Asthe early Christian revivalists found, long-term control is dependent upon agood follow-up system.

Alright. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that indicates conversiontactics are being used. A schedule is maintained that causes physical andmental fatigue. This is primarily accomplished by long hours in which theparticipants are given no opportunity for relaxation or reflection. The third tip-off: techniques used to increase the tension in the room orenvironment. Number four: Uncertainty.

I could spend hours relating various techniquesto increase tension and generate uncertainty. Basically, the participants areconcerned about being "put on the spot" or encountered by the trainers, guiltfeelings are played upon, participants are tempted to verbally relate theirinnermost secrets to the other participants or forced to take part inactivities that emphasize removing their masks. One of the most successfulhuman-potential seminars forces the participants to stand on a stage in frontof the entire audience while being verbally attacked by the trainers.

A publicopinion poll, conducted a few years ago, showed that the number onemost-fearful situation an individual could encounter is to speak to anaudience. It ranked above window washing outside the 85th floor of an officebuilding. So you can imagine the fear and tension this situation generateswithin the participants. Many faint, but most cope with the stress by mentallygoing away. They literally go into an alpha state, which automatically makesthem many times as suggestible as they normally are. And another loop of thedownward spiral into conversion is successfully effected. The fifth clue that conversion tactics are being used is the introductionof jargon--new terms that have meaning only to the "insiders" who participate.Vicious language is also frequently used, purposely, to make participantsuncomfortable. The final tip-off is that there is no humor in the communications . . . atleast until the participants are converted. Then, merry-making and humor arehighly desirable as symbols of the new joy the participants have supposedly"found."

I'm not saying that good does not result from participation in suchgatherings. It can and does. But I contend it is important for people to knowwhat has happened and to be aware that continual involvement may not be intheir best interest. Over the years, I've conducted professional seminars to teach people to behypnotists, trainers, and counselors. I've had many of those who conducttrainings and rallies come to me and say, "I'm here because I know that whatI'm doing works, but I don't know why."

After showing them how and why, manyhave gotten out of the business or have decided to approach it differently orin a much more loving and supportive manner. Many of these trainers have become personal friends, and it scares us allto have experienced the power of one person with a microphone and a room fullof people. Add a little charisma and you can count on a high percentage ofconversions.

The sad truth is that a high percentage of people want to giveaway their power--they are true "believers"! Cult gatherings or human-potential trainings are an ideal environment toobserve first-hand what is technically called the "Stockholm Syndrome." Thisis a situation in which those who are intimidated, controlled, or made tosuffer, begin to love, admire, and even sometimes sexually desire theircontrollers or captors.

But let me inject a word of warning here: If you think you can attend suchgatherings and not be affected, you are probably wrong.

A perfect example is the case of a woman who went to Haiti on a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Haitian Voodoo. In her report, she related how the music eventually induced uncontrollable bodily movement and an altered state of consciousness. Although she understood the process and thought herself above it, when she began to feel herself become vulnerable to the music, she attempted to fight it and turned away. Anger or resistance almost always assures conversion.

A few moments later she was possessed by the music and began dancing in a trance around the Voodoo meeting house. A brain phase had been induced by the music and excitement, and she awoke feeling reborn. The only hope of attending suchgatherings without being affected is to be a Buddha and allow no positive or negative emotions to surface. Few people are capable of such detachment.

Before I go on, let's go back to the six tip-offs to conversion. I want to mention the United States Government and military boot camp. The Marine Corps talks about breaking men down before "rebuilding" them as new men--as marines!

Well, that is exactly what they do, the same way a cult breaks its people downand rebuilds them as happy flower sellers on your local street corner. Everyone of the six conversion techniques are used in boot camp. Considering theneeds of the military, I'm not making a judgement as to whether that is goodor bad. IT IS A FACT that the men are effectively brainwashed. Those who won't submit must be discharged or spend much of their time in the brig.

Decognition Process

Once the initial conversion is effected, cults, armed services, and similar groups cannot have cynicism among their members. Members must respondto commands and do as they are told, otherwise they are dangerous to theorganizational control. This is normally accomplished as a three-step Decognition Process.

Step One is ALERTNESS REDUCTION: The controllers cause the nervous systemto malfunction, making it difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality. This can be accomplished in several ways. POOR DIET is one; watch out for Brownies and Koolaid. The sugar throws the nervous system off. More subtle is the "SPIRITUAL DIET" used by many cults. They eat only vegetables and fruits; without the grounding of grains, nuts, seeds, dairy products, fish or meat, an individual becomes mentally "spacey." INADEQUATE SLEEP is another primary way to reduce alertness, especially when combined with long hours of work or intense physical activity. Also, being bombarded with intense and unique experiences achieves the same result.

Step Two is 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 oftenmerge and perverted logic is likely to be accepted.

Step Three is THOUGHT STOPPING: Techniques are used to cause the mind to go "flat." These are altered-state-of-consciousness techniques that initially induce calmness by giving the mind something simple to deal with and focusing awareness. The continued use brings on a feeling of elation and eventually hallucination. The result is the reduction of thought and eventually, if used long enough, the cessation of all thought and withdrawal from everyone and everything except that which the controllers direct. The takeover is then complete. It is important to be aware that when members or participants are instructed to use "thought-stopping" techniques, they are told that they will benefit by so doing: they will become "better soldiers" or "find enlightenment."

There are three primary techniques used for thought stopping. The first isMARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis andthus great susceptibility to suggestion. The second thought stopping technique is MEDITATION. If you spend an hourto 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'mnot saying this is bad--if you do it yourself. It may be very beneficial. Butit 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 youmeditate, the flatter your mind becomes until, eventually and especially ifused to excess or in combination with decognition, all thought ceases. Some spiritual groups see this as nirvana--which is bullshit. It is simply a predictable physiological result. And if heaven on earth is non-thinking and non-involvement, I really question why we are here.

The third thought-stopping technique is CHANTING, and often chanting in meditation. "Speaking in tongues" could also be included in this category. All three-stopping techniques produce an altered state of consciousness. This may be very good if YOU are controlling the process, for you also control the input. I personally use at least one self-hypnosis programming session every day and I know how beneficial it is for me. But you need to know if you use these techniques to the degree of remaining continually in alpha that, although you'll be very mellow, you'll also be more suggestible.

True Believers & Mass Movements

Before ending this section on conversion, I want to talk about the people who are most susceptible to it and about Mass Movements. I am convinced thatat 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 communicatethat 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 golooking 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 bottom line 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 ofthe human mind by another individual, without the manipulated party beingaware 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 thebasis of persuasion is always to access your RIGHT BRAIN. The left half ofyour brain is analytical and rational. The right side is creative and imaginative. That is overly simplified but it makes my point. So, the idea isto distract the left brain and keep it busy. Ideally, the persuader generates an eyes-open altered state of consciousness, causing you to shift from beta awareness into alpha; this can be measured on an EEG machine.

First, let me give you an example of distracting the left brain. Politicians use these powerful techniques all the time; lawyers use many variations which, I've been told, they call "tightening the noose." Assume for a moment that you are watching a politician give a speech. First, he might generate what is called a "YES SET." These are statements that will cause listeners to agree; they might even unknowingly nod their heads in agreement.

Next come the TRUISMS. These are usually facts that could be debated but, once the politician has his audience agreeing, the odds are in the politician's favor that the audience won't stop to think for themselves, thus continuing to agree. Last comes the SUGGESTION. This is what the politician wants you to do and, since you have been agreeing all along, you could be persuaded to accept the suggestion.

Now, if you'll listen closely to my political speech, you'll find that the first three are the "yes set," thenext three are truisms and the last is the suggestion. "Ladies and gentlemen: are you angry about high food prices? Are you tired of astronomical gas prices? Are you sick of out-of-control inflation? Well,you know the Other Party allowed 18 percent inflation last year; you know crime has increased 50 percent nationwide in the last 12 months, and you know your paycheck hardly covers your expenses any more. Well, the answer to resolving these problems is to elect me, John Jones, to the U.S. Senate."

And I think you've heard all that before. But you might also watch for what are called Imbedded Commands. As an example: On key words, the speaker would make a gesture with his left hand, which research has shown is more apt to access your right brain. Today's media-oriented politicians and spellbinders are often carefully trained by a whole new breed of specialist who are using every trick in the book--both old and new--to manipulate you into accepting their candidate.

The concepts and techniques of Neuro-Linguistics are so heavily protected that I found out the hard way that to even talk about them publicly or inprint results in threatened legal action. Yet Neuro-Linguistic training is readily available to anyone willing to devote the time and pay the price. It is some of the most subtle and powerful manipulation I have yet been exposed to. A good friend who recently attended a two-week seminar on Neuro-Linguistics found that many of those she talked to during the breaks were government people.

Another technique that I'm just learning about is unbelievably slippery;it is called an INTERSPERSAL TECHNIQUE and the idea is to say one thing with words but plant a subconscious impression of something else in the minds of the listeners and/or watchers.

Let me give you an example: Assume you are watching a television commentator make the following statement: SENATOR JOHNSON is assisting local authorities to clear up the stupid mistakes of companies contributing to the nuclear waste problems."

It sounds like a statement of fact, but, if the speaker emphasizes the right word, and especially if he makes the proper hand gestures on the key words, you could be left with the subconscious impression that Senator Johnson is stupid. That was the subliminal goal of the statement and the speaker cannot be called to account for anything.

Persuasion techniques are also frequently used on a much smaller scale with just as much effectiveness. The insurance salesman knows his pitch islikely to be much more effective if he can get you to visualize something inyour mind. This is right-brain communication.

For instance, he might pause inhis conversation, look slowly around your livingroom and say, "Can you justimagine this beautiful home burning to the ground?" Of course you can! It is one of your unconscious fears and, when he forces you to visualize it, you are more likely to be manipulated into signing his insurance policy.

The Hare Krishnas, operating in every airport, use what I call SHOCK AND CONFUSION techniques to distract the left brain and communicate directly withthe 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 highlysuggestible so they responded to the suggestion of taking the book; the momentthey 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 haveto 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 efficieny 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 themusic, thus giving them the effect of being part of the music.

But we foundthat 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.

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 bepossible 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 andpolitical campaigns well documents the misuse in many areas, especiallyprinted 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 EastCoast 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 atthe University of Illinois. The lengthy report ends with the statement, "these findings support the use of subliminal approaches such as taped suggestions for weight loss and the therapeutic use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming."

Mass Misuse

I could relate many stories that support subliminal programming, but I'd rather use my time to make you aware of even more subtle uses of such programming. I have personally experienced sitting in a Los Angeles auditorium with over ten thousand people who were gathered to listen to a current charismatic figure. Twenty minutes after entering the auditorium, I became aware that I was going in and out of an altered state. Those accompanying me experienced the same thing. Since it is our business, we were aware of what was happening,but those around us were not.

By careful observation, what appeared to be spontaneous demonstrations were, in fact, artful manipulations. The only way Icould 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 rangecauses people to go into an altered state of consciousness. At one period ofEnglish history, singers whose voices contained pronounced vibrato were notallowed to perform publicly because listeners would go into an altered stateand have fantasies, often sexual in nature. People who attend opera or enjoy listening to singers like Mario Lanza arefamiliar with this altered state induced by the performers.ELFs Now, let's carry this awareness a little farther. There are also inaudibleELFs (extra-low frequency waves). These are electromagnetic in nature.

One ofthe primary uses of ELFs is to communicate with our submarines. Dr. AndrijaPuharich, a highly respected researcher, in an attempt to warn U.S. officialsabout Russian use of ELFs, set up an experiment. Volunteers were wired sotheir brain waves could be measured on an EEG. They were sealed in a metalroom that could not be penetrated by a normal signal. Puharich then beamed ELF waves at the volunteers. ELFs go right throughthe earth and, of course, right through metal walls. Those inside couldn'tknow if the signal was or was not being sent. And Puharich watched thereactions on the technical equipment: 30 percent of those inside the room weretaken over by the ELF signal in six to ten seconds.

When I say "taken over," I mean that their behavior followed the changesanticipated at very precise frequencies. Waves below 6 cycles per secondcaused the subjects to become very emotionally upset, and even disruptedbodily functions. At 8.2 cycles, they felt very high . . . an elevatedfeeling, as though they had been in masterful meditation, learned over aperiod of years. Eleven to 11.3 cycles induced waves of depressed agitationleading 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--anelectronic 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 amilitary audience--one seminar one night and one the next night, because thesize 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, Patrickspent 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 theirhands to become "tingly." The tape was played through the neurophone, whichwas 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 werewarm and receptive, their hands tingled and they responded, according toprogramming, in other ways that I cannot mention here. The more we find out about how human beings work through today's highly advanced technological research, the more we learn to control human beings. And what probably scares me the most is that the medium for takeover is already in place! The television set in your 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 rightbrain, which results in the internal release of the body's own opiates: enkephalins and Beta-endorphins, chemically almost identical to opium. Inother 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 theVeterans 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 couldvery 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 orshe had seen. Of course they did--they were going in and out of trance! If yougo into a deep trance, you must be instructed to remember--otherwise you automatically forget.

I have just touched the tip of the iceberg. When you start to combinesubliminal messages behind the music, subliminal visuals projected on thescreen, 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.