The Three Brain Phases
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, excitement, or nervous tension.
The progressive result of this mental condition is to impair
judgment 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.
Part 3 of The Battle for Your Mind
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