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 completely. Neither
the editor nor the publisher know the current whereabouts of Dick Sutphen.
Please conduct searches for the author through the usual channels.