Secrets of ScientologyTHE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, by Dick Sutphen
Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques Being Used On The Public TodaySUMMARY 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 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
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 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.
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."
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 and the expectations of the audience. Next, a group of young women in "sweet and pure" chiffon dresses might come out to sing a song. Gospel songs are great for building excitement and INVOLVEMENT. In the middle of the song, one of the girls might be "smitten by the spirit" and fall down or react as if possessed by the Holy Spirit. This very effectively increases the intensity in the room. At this point, hypnosis and conversion tactics are being mixed. And the result is the audience's attention span is now totally focused upon the communication while the environment becomes more exciting or tense.
Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced alpha mental state has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection plate or basket. In the background, a 45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the assistant preacher might exhort, "Give to God . . . Give to God . . . Give to God . . ." And the audience does give. God may not get the money, but his already wealthy representative will.
Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He induces fear and increases the tension by talking about "the devil," "going to hell," or the forthcoming Armageddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the blood that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He was also obsessed with a "bloody axe of God," which everyone had seen hanging above the pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that everyone saw it--the power of suggestion given to hundreds of people in hypnosis assures that at least 10 to 25 percent would see whatever he suggested they see.
In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing" usually follows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on stage and relate their stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had arthritis and now it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that works. After listening to numerous case histories of miraculous healings, the average guy in the audience with a minor problem is sure he can be healed. The room is charged with fear, guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.
Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the edge of the room, or they are told to come down to the front. The preacher might touch them on the head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This releases the psychic energy and, for many, catharsis results. Catharsis is a purging of repressed emotions. Individuals might cry, fall down or even go into spasms. And if catharsis is effected, they stand a chance of being healed. In catharsis (one of the three brain phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarily wiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted.
For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four days to a week, which is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic suggestion given to a somnambulistic subject will usually last. Even if the healing doesn't last, if they come back every week, the power of suggestion may continually override the problem . . . or sometimes, sadly, it can mask a physical problem which could prove to be very detrimental to the individual in the long run.
I'm not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do. Maybe the individual was ready to let go of the negativity that caused the problem in the first place; maybe it was the work of God. Yet I contend that it can be explained with existing knowledge of brain/mind function.
The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use "speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the spectacle creates intense excitement in the observers.
The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A man in Los Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches around the country. He tells ministers what they need and how to use it. This man's track record indicates that the congregation and the monetary income will double if the minister follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his efforts are in the sound system and lighting.
Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary importance in inducing an altered state of consciousness--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.The meeting or training takes place in an area where participants are cut off from the outside world. This may be any place: a private home, a remote or rural setting, or even a hotel ballroom where the participants are allowed only limited bathroom usage. In human-potential trainings, the controllers will give a lengthy talk about the importance of "keeping agreements" in life. The participants are told that if they don't keep agreements, their life will never work. It's a good idea to keep agreements, but the controllers are subverting a positive human value for selfish purposes. The participants vow to themselves and their trainer that they will keep their agreements. Anyone who does not will be intimidated into agreement or forced to leave. The next step is to agree to complete training, thus assuring a high percentage of conversions for the organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to take drugs, smoke, and sometimes not to eat . . . or they are given such short meal breaks that it creates tension. The real reason for the agreements is to alter internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and hopefully causes at least a slight malfunction of the nervous system, which in turn increases the conversion potential.
Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will be used to ensure that the new converts go out and find new participants. They are intimidated into agreeing to do so before they leave. Since the importance of keeping agreements is so high on their priority list, the converts will twist the arms of everyone they know, attempting to talk them into attending a free introductory session offered at a future date by the organization. The new converts are zealots. In fact, the inside term for merchandising the largest and most successful human-potential training is, "sell it by zealot!"
At least a million people are graduates and a good percentage have been left with a mental activation button that assures their future loyalty and assistance if the guru figure or organization calls. Think about the potential political implications of hundreds of thousands of zealots programmed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up sessions after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly meetings or inexpensive seminars given on a regular basis which the organization will attempt to talk you into taking--or any regularly scheduled event used to maintain control. As the early Christian revivalists found, long-term control is dependent upon a good follow-up system.
Alright. Now, let's look at the second tip-off that indicates conversion tactics are being used. A schedule is maintained that causes physical and mental fatigue. This is primarily accomplished by long hours in which the participants are given no opportunity for relaxation or reflection.
The third tip-off: techniques used to increase the tension in the room or environment.
Number four: Uncertainty. I could spend hours relating various techniques to increase tension and generate uncertainty. Basically, the participants are concerned about being "put on the spot" or encountered by the trainers, guilt feelings are played upon, participants are tempted to verbally relate their innermost secrets to the other participants or forced to take part in activities that emphasize removing their masks. One of the most successful human-potential seminars forces the participants to stand on a stage in front of the entire audience while being verbally attacked by the trainers. A public opinion poll, conducted a few years ago, showed that the number one most-fearful situation an individual could encounter is to speak to an audience. It ranked above window washing outside the 85th floor of an office building. So you can imagine the fear and tension this situation generates within the participants. Many faint, but most cope with the stress by mentally going away. They literally go into an alpha state, which automatically makes them many times as suggestible as they normally are. And another loop of the downward spiral into conversion is successfully effected.
The fifth clue that conversion tactics are being used is the introduction of jargon--new terms that have meaning only to the "insiders" who participate. Vicious language is also frequently used, purposely, to make participants uncomfortable.
The final tip-off is that there is no humor in the communications . . . at least until the participants are converted. Then, merry-making and humor are highly desirable as symbols of the new joy the participants have supposedly "found."
I'm not saying that good does not result from participation in such gatherings. It can and does. But I contend it is important for people to know what has happened and to be aware that continual involvement may not be in their best interest.
Over the years, I've conducted professional seminars to teach people to be hypnotists, trainers, and counselors. I've had many of those who conduct trainings and rallies come to me and say, "I'm here because I know that what I'm doing works, but I don't know why." After showing them how and why, many have gotten out of the business or have decided to approach it differently or in a much more loving and supportive manner.
Many of these trainers have become personal friends, and it scares us all to have experienced the power of one person with a microphone and a room full of people. Add a little charisma and you can count on a high percentage of conversions. The sad truth is that a high percentage of people want to give away their power--they are true "believers"!
Cult gatherings or human-potential trainings are an ideal environment to observe first-hand what is technically called the "Stockholm Syndrome." This is a situation in which those who are intimidated, controlled, or made to suffer, begin to love, admire, and even sometimes sexually desire their controllers or captors.
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 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.
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 judgment 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.
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.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.
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.
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 is MARCHING: the thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis and thus great susceptibility to suggestion.
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.
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 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 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 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.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."
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 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.
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 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 living room 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.
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
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 cycle-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.
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 program 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.
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 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.
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 you?
August 9, 2009
Secrets of Scientology THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND by Dick Sutphen
Scientology Training Routines
Scientology Training Routines
The Scientology Training Routines, or TRs, are done on what Scientologists call "the gradient". The claim is that information should not be presented until the student is ready to understand the information. In this way, knowledge is presented in bite-sized pieces that won't cause the student (or "Mark" as The Rev. Dennis Erlich is prone to say) to "blow", or leave the training session.
In reality, the "gradient" is designed to place increasing levels of thought conditioning into the student. At the earliest level, OT TR0, nothing is asked of the student and the gradient position is zero. New concepts, controls, and conditioning are applied in increasing levels as the student gains higher levels within the Scientology system. The end-effect of these exercises (or processes, as Scientology refers to them) is to neutralize the student's critical faculties and render them prone to suggestion as they engage in further training or auditing.
The TRs are a series of mind-numbing exercises. Dick Sutphen in THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, a speech given at World Congress of Professional Hypnotists Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, discusses various mind control techniques. This paper links my personal experience with the Scientology TRs to the Sutphen document.
Hubbard said, "THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN CONTROL PEOPLE IS TO LIE TO THEM..., because the second you start telling anybody close to the truth, you start releasing him and he gets tougher and tougher to control." - Technique 88 . The fundamental lie of these TRs is that they are a "Communication Course", which is how they were presented to me when I first entered Scientology in the early 1980s. The TRs first appeared in HCOB June 11, 1957 as "processes", a Scientology term for thought conditioning (for example, Auditing is a process).
The second lie is that these TRs improve your ability to communicate. In fact, they are an introduction to Scientology dogma, which comes part and parcel with the "theory" behind the routines. The result is a continuous Scientology info-mercial. Rather than communicating with the real world, the terms are defined relative to Scientology, which only helps you communicate with other Scientologists. In other words, the TRs are indoctrination.
OT TR0 Operating Thetan Confronting
[ Sit with eyes closed for hours, not moving or twitching, "confronting" coach. ]
As I took these TRs at the local Scientology Mission, I quickly learned that the students on course actually taught each other. It's a great way for the Co$ to collect the $250 registration fee and reduce their staff overhead. After introducing myself to another slightly confused man in his mid 30s, we sat in front of each other, eyes closed, for the required time. I could hear him breathing, creaking in his foldup chair, and the sound of the other students sequestered in their exercises.
This was my first encounter with sensory deprivation, hypnosis, and mind control. The hypnotic techniques used in OT TR0 are sensory deprivation and stress, which produces an altered state of conciousness. In the Philadelphia Doctorate Course tapes, Hubbard says that closing your eyes puts you into a light hypnotic trance. So here, L Ron lies about training you to "confront". In fact, he is putting you into a trance - a trance that is built upon with "the gradient", and which becomes the basis for auditing.
The sensory deprivation is audio as well as visual. While I cannot recall the audio, the TR was done in a large course room where other students are doing TRs. I heard all of the scieno-babble, which causes confusion and lowers your mind's defenses. Of course, the visual was completely cut off, creating some apprehension. I was sitting with my knees almost touching his. Violating someone's personal space, as well as being violated yourself creates more stress and apprehension.
TR 0: Confronting
[ Sit with eyes open for hours, not moving or twitching, "confronting" coach.
For the two TR 0 drills, some hours without any reaction is a pass, 2 hrs recommended. ]
FLUNK! Body Movement. Start.
FLUNK! Talking. Start.
FLUNK! Eye movement. Start.
FLUNK! Non-confront. Start.
FLUNK! Not in Present Time. Start.
These were the words of my staff coach as I began this strange exercise of "confronting" a person. FLUNK! is given at Tone 40 and causes shock and confusion. The robotic "Start" command is given to begin the exercise. The last command for each of these drills is "That's it!", words which grew sweeter as training progressed. The student is not really told the rules for this game, but rather simply gets shouted at whenever a mistake is made. This sort of stimulus-response, I learned, is the hallmark of Hubbard's view of human beings (or "raw meat", as new recruits are called) - mere machines with "Start" and "Stop" buttons.
TR0 is billed as an auditor's tool for "confronting" the preclear (pc, raw meat, uninitiated mark, etc.), but it's more than that. It is a mind-control technique that opens up the mind for programming. TR 0 induces an eyes-open alpha state, building on OT-TR0. I vividly remember one of the instructions I received while learning TR0: "don't evaluate, just accept the data." Yeah, right. In other words, suspend disbelief and get programmed.
The long hours of staring at a fixed object caused hallucinations in me. I didn't realize at the time that this was a sign of hypnosis. The sensory deprivation is incredible. You're working hard on not FLUNK!ing, and having to start over. The Scientology staff coach does a good job of FLUNK!ing you for no apparent reason (at least in your own normally socialized mind), creating all sorts of uncertainty and confusion.
Perhaps it was true - thinking about what I felt and saw was causing the trouble. My "cognition" (spoon-fed to me by the Staff) was that I should stop thinking about this situation, even though it was contrary to all my social conditioning. So, I stopped evaluating. I suspended disbelief. I turned off my mind. Of course, this played right into my hypnotists' hands.
Reports of the "thousand mile stare" common to Scientologists are a direct result of this training routine. However, the Scientologist isn't staring at you, he's staring through you. Rather than intimidating you by "confront", the Scientologist is paradoxically in a non-confront. He is aware of your presence, but he's in alpha state and has his mind turned off. Trying to talk to someone like this is like trying to teach a pig to sing - it's frustrating for you and it annoys the pig.
TR0 forms the basis for nearly everything a Scientologist does, be it reading a book, talking to someone, or solving a problem. So, you're trained to go into a trance by the friendly folks at the Org from Day 1, conditioned to accept suggestion while in alpha state as a normal way to learn, and trained to suspend disbelief by Pavlovian command. The general public are hereby advised to steer clear of this exercise.
TR 0: Bullbait
[ Sit with eyes open for hours, not moving laughing or twitching, "confronting" coach while s/he tries in every way to make you react. ]
Bullbait (TR0 with counter intention from the Pre-Clear) is the next step on the gradient. Here, the suggestive mind (in TR0) accepts contrary data and is not allowed to protest or even acknowledge what is happening. At this point on the Gradient, turning off your mind is mandatory. You will not progress past TR0 Bullbait by thinking about what your tormentor is saying or doing. You must sit passively, wondering what new attack will be used to make you FLUNK!.
I remember this exercising as being both degrading and crude. The job of the "coach" is to find your "buttons" - those phrases and movements which will cause you to react. The pattern suggested by the Staff coach centered on sexual perversion for the men and body part criticism for the women. Some of the gender-neutral abuse centered on Suppressive Person mockups, attempting to dredge up memories of past wrongs to gain a reaction. In fairness, it was not all abusive - sometimes a good joke ("mental pictures") could produce a FLUNK!.
Integral with this exercise is a Dianetics info-mercial about your "Case" and "Reactive Mind". It was your Reactive Mind that was the problem, the reason you had all these "buttons". Hubbard, under the guise of helping you communicate better, slips in a demonstration that you are seriously screwed up, and need auditing. Auditing is the real money-maker for Scientology.
To save staff expense (Hubbard: Make Money, Make More Money, Get Others to Make Money), you eventually become a coach in this exercise. Since I couldn't remember any good jokes, I eventually became abusive to produce a FLUNK!. To this day, I am ashamed of the things I said to one young woman.
Hubbard's objective for TR0-Bullbait is not about being able to confront through your "Case". It is about unquestioning acceptance of information. "Turn on your TR0-Bullbait, get your case under control, and let's talk about how Scientology is going to help you", is what Scientology is saying. "Don't think too hard about how strange this all sounds, because it's just your case talking. If you have any problems confronting Scientology, it's because of your case and proves your need for Scientology technology." It's classic circular reasoning.
Again, the general public is advised to steer clear of this exercise.
TR 1: Dear Alice
[ Student reads dialogue from Alice in Wonderland at coach until they get the comm <gag> across without embarrassment. ]
I thought Bullbait was weird. I had no idea what was in store for me. In this routine, context-free snippets from Alice, printed on a sheet of paper, are read by the student to the coach. Hubbard's sense of humor shows through on this one. It's even worse if the coach gets the giggles. The humor is a relief after the stress of TR0 conditioning. However, humor won't advance you on The Bridge. Some of Lewis Carroll's stuff is either terribly imaginative or drug-induced, depending on your opinion of him. (Some think the caterpillar is Carroll's self-portrait, but I digress.)
To pass this exercise without getting a permanent case of the giggles requires you to become virtually humorless. The concept of mental image pictures was introduced in TR0. Here, canned script from a master storyteller conjurs up some fantastic and nonsensical images, which the student must refuse to process or fail the exercise. The result is robotic repetition of nonsense phrases, which some have come to recognize as a hallmark of what passes for conversation in Scientology.
Rather than conditioning you for the real world where nonsense is met with questions for clarification, Ron is conditioning the mark to confront "Scieno-speak." Ron's writing style and propensity to make up words because he couldn't think of the real ones could give a newcomer the giggles if it were not for this exercise. Some of Ron's prose, especially the Operating Thetan levels, is highly imaginative just like Carroll's.
TR 2: Acknowledgments
[ Coach reads dialogue at the student and he must acknowledge (stop) what the coach said using one of the following "acks": okay, good, thank you, alright, or fine. ]
This is the twin sister of TR 1. In this installment of Hubbard's "Make Money Fast" series, the TR2 student acts as coach to someone being processed on TR1. The student makes positive acknowledgements "in a new unit of time" , that is, as if the statement and acknowledgement were being done for the first time. The Staff coach simply watches the acknowledgements of the students to see if they are believable.
While this training has the ostensibly positive benefit of teaching the student to complete "communication cycles", the repetitive nature of the acknowledgements can be hypnotic. The TR 0 alpha state can kick in, inducing acknowledgement to statements you didn't understand. The point of this training is to get the student to agree to any statement (hypnotic suggestion) while in alpha state. This training may help you survive the day with your precocious three-year-old's fantasies, but it can be counterproductive when listening to a used car salesman.
Acknowledging nonsense is not required in the real world. Ron's real purpose in this TR is to get the mark used to the idea of accepting off-the-wall statements as fact. As the mark proceeds up The Bridge, increasingly dissonant ideas are introduced, culminating in Hubbard's full-blown cosmology in the Operating Thetan levels.
TR 2 1/2: Half-Acks
[ The coach reads a line from Alice in Wonderland and the student must respond with a half-acknowledgment, such as ``Mmmm hmmm'' or ``Uh huh''. ]
This is supposed to be a technique for getting the pc to continue talking, by giving him the feeling that he is being heard. In contrast, Hubbard emphasized that a full acknowledgment ends communication on a topic. If done powerfully enough (really good TR 2), it ends communication altogether: Hubbard says in HCOB 16 August 1971R II (Training Drills Remodernized) that an auditor ``can take a pc's head off with an acknowledgment.'' Comments like this, which are spread throughout Hubbard's writings, reinforce the idea that auditing subjects are machines to be manipulated rather than autonomous persons with rights of their own. In Professional Auditor's Bulletin 149 he says "If you acknowledge a preclear well, you will have the preclear under much better control."
The bit about taking a pc's head off, though not meant to be taken literally, adds to the mystique of Scientology training by claiming supernatural effects if the techniques are practiced expertly. The inevitable failure to obtain such a high degree of control over people serves only as evidence that the student requires further training.
TR 3: Duplicative Question
[ Student asks coach repetitively, "Do birds fly?" or "Do fish swim?" Coach tries not to answer. Student repeats the question using this repeater phrase, verbatim: "I will repeat the auditing question." Continued until the student knows he will be asked questions until he answers them. Coach tries to physically leave the "session" and the student must restrain the coach and place him or her back in the chair, and repeat the same question until answered. Drill is passed when student can always get his questions answered. ]
I will repeat the auditing question. What a strange phrase to have in a "Communications Course". Auditing is Scientology's main money-making activity. It is highly sought-after "counselling" which is integral with making it up The Bridge. Auditing up to this point has been hyped as the Road to Nirvana, and now the student is introduced to a prepatory drill for auditing or being audited, namely that the question must be answered to the satisfaction of auditor, not the preclear. Contrary to many Scientologists' opinion, the preclear is not in control of the auditing session. While a treatment of the auditing process is beyond the scope of this discussion, questions in session are asked until an acceptable response is given. "Cognitions" are spoon-fed to the preclear. Their purpose reinforces Scientology dogma and typically point to the need for more auditing.
It must be mentioned again that the student eventually becomes a coach in these TRs. In this way, the student learns that they must answer the question, that they will be repeatedly asked until the correct answer is given, and that they will be forcibly restrained if they attempt to leave the session.
TR 4: Preclear Originations
[ Same as TR 3 but coach mixes the comments with important "case" information like, "My foot suddenly started hurting." and "I'm getting upset, let's stop." Student has to get the coach to continue using stuff like "Oh that's pretty normal, lets just continue and see what happens. I'll repeat the auditing question. *Do* birds fly?" ]
This next stop on the Road to Total Freedom (or is it the "Slippery Slope to Total Slavery"?) adds another auditing concept - case information. A "case" is the emotional baggage that comes along with the preclear to an auditing session. Scientology teaches that our Reactive Mind, which can be thought of as the Devil, must be pushed aside in order to achieve Clear (salvation).
As the coach (remember, the student becomes the coach), the student learns that they may feel strange things during an auditing session, thereby increasing its allure. Rather than being viewed as warning signs that they are being controlled in session, the preclear is conditioned that if these strange feelings are "handled", big case gains can occur. The point of the auditor's complete control of the session is reinforced. Any diversions by the Preclear will be summarily "handled", but the question will be answered to the satisfaction of the auditor.
TR 4 is nothing more than an exercise in overriding someone's better judgement. The normal apprehensive feelings about being asked certain questions should be swept aside because they are part of your Reactive Mind. If you want to go up The Bridge, you need to handle those distracting feelings of apprehension.
Upper Indoctrination TRs.
TR 5: Hand Mimicry [obsolete since ~1965]
[ Auditor and student are seated closely enough for auditor's knees to be locked outside the hypnotic subject's. The auditing command is: "PUT YOUR HANDS AGAINST MINE, FOLLOW THEM AND CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR MOTION." ]
TR5 was first used as a CCH process. (CCH = Control, Communication and Havingness. Another of Hubbard's famous triangles.) At that time (I believe it was early 1957 they first issued forth from the Hubbard Communications Office) the TRs were used as Processes. It was called "Hand Mimicry". If you had Objective Processing you remember: "PUT YOUR HANDS AGAINST MINE, FOLLOW THEM AND CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR MOTION."
Auditor and victim seated closely enough for auditor's knees to be locked outside the hypnotic subject's.
Later that year, Hubbard changed TR5 to an obscure process that is rarely used any more. Only if the subject will not cooperate with the processing. "SEAT THAT BODY IN THAT CHAIR!".
It was common for Hubbard to point out the obvious. In order to process a person you must get them to sit still for it, he'd write over and over.
In 1958 he got reissued TR5 with a bit of fine tuning: "YOU MAKE THAT BODY SIT IN THAT CHAIR!" was the new command.
True fact!
TR 6: 8-C (Body Control)
Part One:
[ Student walks coach around like a robot, in constant physical contact. The student physically makes the coach's body start, change direction and stop with the student forcibly controlling the coach's body into doing those things. ]
As coach, you are instructed to offer some resistance, just to be sure the student is controlling you properly. This exercise is the first gradient step toward giving control of your body to someone else. In Part Two, you are shouted at until you comply with the instructions given.
This is another strange exercise for a "Communications Course". The bait given to the mark is that all processes have these three steps: Start, Change, Stop. Ultimately, this exercise is about Control and Being Controlled. Note that the student eventually becomes a coach. One suggestion I received was to coach with eyes closed, ostensibly to fine-tune the student's control. This effectively removes all control from the coach.
Hubbard knew that the mark's internal controls ("Case", "Reactive Mind") may cause him to "blow" the auditing session. This training is meant to intimidate the mark into bodily compliance, an extension to "Seat that body in that chair!". Physical force, if necessary, will be used to keep you on course and in session.
Part Two:
[ Student controls coach by and while giving the commands:
"LOOK AT THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"WALK OVER TO THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"TOUCH THAT WALL" "THANK YOU!"
"TURN AROUND!" "THANK YOU!"
No physical contact. ]
In this installment of the Gradient, you are introduced to verbal command. After sufficient repetition, the commands on the coach become almost robotic. Keeping good TR0 and being in Present Time (i.e. not thinking about past or future) keeps you somewhat tranced and response becomes almost automatic.
If physical force is used in an auditing session, the mark could realize he is actually being controlled against his will, and blow the session and Scientology as well. Therefore, it is necessary to condition the mark to respond to firm (but not overbearing) verbal command like a good little robot.
TR 7: High School Indoc.
"LOOK AT THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"WALK OVER TO THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"TOUCH THAT WALL" "THANK YOU!"
"TURN AROUND!" "THANK YOU!"
[ These exact commands and acknowledgements are given to the coach with Tone 40 Intention (intention without reservation or limit). The coach's body is then forced, by being physically restrained and dragged if necessary, to comply with the command. Coach does not do more than physically thwart the student from forcing him to comply. But not too hard. ]
This training routine gets the student accustomed to the idea of controlling and restraining others, and thereby accustomed to being controlled . In real-world terms, Tone 40 involves talking in a forceful enough voice so that the target knows you mean business. It works well on three year olds, though in most adult interactions where common goals motivate cooperation or compliance, Tone 40 invokes resentment. This Training Routine is not about communication in the real world. It is about the way communication works in Scientology.
Here, Hubbard's message is clear: non-compliance with Scientology's commands, especially during auditing, will be met with escalating levels of force - non-verbal, verbal, shouting, and physical. When you sign up for services, you give away your right to resist, since it's just your "case" talking. Your case is something to be "handled", and it can be handled up to the point of physical intervention.
TR 8: Tone 40 On Objects
[ Trying to make the ashtray STAND UP. Student gives Tone 40 command "STAND UP!". Tone 40 acknowledges with "THANK YOU!". "SIT DOWN!". "THANK YOU!."
Repeat until cognition (about an hour). ]
By this point, I was so deluded by the concept of Tone 40 that the fact that I was LIFTING IT WITH MY HANDS was irrelevant. I gave the command, the ashtray stood up. After doing this for half an hour, I felt like God, lifting the ashtray by sheer intention. My Thetan's (Scieno-babble for "spirit") Intention was using my arms and hands, though that was only for convenience, since with sufficient intent they were not necessary. I was allowed to stop when I cog'ed (Scieno-babble for "cognition") on this. TR8 is heavy-duty Scientology processing, or thought conditioning.
In retrospect, TR0-bullbait is a mandatory prerequisite for TR8. Without it, uncontrolled Tone-40 laughter would be the result. Having experienced the delusion makes it easier to understand what happens at the higher levels. Repetitive exercise numbs the mind to the point that even simple actions become nearly supernatural.
OK, Hubbard, explain to me how shouting at an ashtray helps me communicate with the real world.
TR 9: Tone 40 with Bullbait
[ TR7 with verbal bullbait by coach. Student uses physical enforcement to assure compliance. The auditor is trained for situations in which a PC wants to blow the auditing session. ]
At this point, the student is nearly done with the course and is being body-routed to the Registrar for the next service. High emphasis is placed on auditing, which is a major revenue producer. The mystique of auditing, as well as the preconditioning given in these training routines, makes the lure hard to resist.
This last TR has nothing to do with communication and everything to do with Auditor Training. Here, the student (Auditor) issues Tone 40 commands to the coach (preclear) while the coach offers verbal as well as physical counter-intent. (As an amusing aside, this TR can be quite rough when two hormone-driven young males play the game. This TR was done in a large room devoid of sharp corners on a carpet with a thick pad.) The student (as coach) learns that counter-intent during session will be thwarted. You are not allowed to leave a session without severe consequences. The Dennis writes: "The Auditor must NEVER allow the mark to control the session. NOT EVER! It violates the Auditors' Code. True story."
Of course, if the thought conditioning is complete, it never occurs to the preclear that they can simply leave the session, or even Scientology. Hubbard's lie is just that: Scientology gives you more abilities, and leaving Scientology means being permanently shackled to your Case.
Postlude
While not part of the Training Routines, it bears mentioning that after you complete a Scientology course, you are required to write up your "Big Win". The mark stands up in front of his group and recites what he learned, why it's useful, and how it can be applied. For most normal people, speaking to a group of near-strangers produces anxiety. Being forced to manufacture a list of "Wins" creates cognitive dissonance. By saying it in public, you are forced to carry through regardless of what you may have thought before.
After this stressful experience, the mark is "love bombed" by the group. Everyone robotically affirms your win as a sign of acceptance into the group. You breathe a sigh of relief. These are indeed your friends.
The trap is sprung, the door closes. You are a Scientologist. Congratulations on your BIG WIN.
The Scientology Training Routines, or TRs, are done on what Scientologists call "the gradient". The claim is that information should not be presented until the student is ready to understand the information. In this way, knowledge is presented in bite-sized pieces that won't cause the student (or "Mark" as The Rev. Dennis Erlich is prone to say) to "blow", or leave the training session.
In reality, the "gradient" is designed to place increasing levels of thought conditioning into the student. At the earliest level, OT TR0, nothing is asked of the student and the gradient position is zero. New concepts, controls, and conditioning are applied in increasing levels as the student gains higher levels within the Scientology system. The end-effect of these exercises (or processes, as Scientology refers to them) is to neutralize the student's critical faculties and render them prone to suggestion as they engage in further training or auditing.
The TRs are a series of mind-numbing exercises. Dick Sutphen in THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND, a speech given at World Congress of Professional Hypnotists Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, discusses various mind control techniques. This paper links my personal experience with the Scientology TRs to the Sutphen document.
Hubbard said, "THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN CONTROL PEOPLE IS TO LIE TO THEM..., because the second you start telling anybody close to the truth, you start releasing him and he gets tougher and tougher to control." - Technique 88 . The fundamental lie of these TRs is that they are a "Communication Course", which is how they were presented to me when I first entered Scientology in the early 1980s. The TRs first appeared in HCOB June 11, 1957 as "processes", a Scientology term for thought conditioning (for example, Auditing is a process).
The second lie is that these TRs improve your ability to communicate. In fact, they are an introduction to Scientology dogma, which comes part and parcel with the "theory" behind the routines. The result is a continuous Scientology info-mercial. Rather than communicating with the real world, the terms are defined relative to Scientology, which only helps you communicate with other Scientologists. In other words, the TRs are indoctrination.
OT TR0 Operating Thetan Confronting
[ Sit with eyes closed for hours, not moving or twitching, "confronting" coach. ]
As I took these TRs at the local Scientology Mission, I quickly learned that the students on course actually taught each other. It's a great way for the Co$ to collect the $250 registration fee and reduce their staff overhead. After introducing myself to another slightly confused man in his mid 30s, we sat in front of each other, eyes closed, for the required time. I could hear him breathing, creaking in his foldup chair, and the sound of the other students sequestered in their exercises.
This was my first encounter with sensory deprivation, hypnosis, and mind control. The hypnotic techniques used in OT TR0 are sensory deprivation and stress, which produces an altered state of conciousness. In the Philadelphia Doctorate Course tapes, Hubbard says that closing your eyes puts you into a light hypnotic trance. So here, L Ron lies about training you to "confront". In fact, he is putting you into a trance - a trance that is built upon with "the gradient", and which becomes the basis for auditing.
The sensory deprivation is audio as well as visual. While I cannot recall the audio, the TR was done in a large course room where other students are doing TRs. I heard all of the scieno-babble, which causes confusion and lowers your mind's defenses. Of course, the visual was completely cut off, creating some apprehension. I was sitting with my knees almost touching his. Violating someone's personal space, as well as being violated yourself creates more stress and apprehension.
TR 0: Confronting
[ Sit with eyes open for hours, not moving or twitching, "confronting" coach.
For the two TR 0 drills, some hours without any reaction is a pass, 2 hrs recommended. ]
FLUNK! Body Movement. Start.
FLUNK! Talking. Start.
FLUNK! Eye movement. Start.
FLUNK! Non-confront. Start.
FLUNK! Not in Present Time. Start.
These were the words of my staff coach as I began this strange exercise of "confronting" a person. FLUNK! is given at Tone 40 and causes shock and confusion. The robotic "Start" command is given to begin the exercise. The last command for each of these drills is "That's it!", words which grew sweeter as training progressed. The student is not really told the rules for this game, but rather simply gets shouted at whenever a mistake is made. This sort of stimulus-response, I learned, is the hallmark of Hubbard's view of human beings (or "raw meat", as new recruits are called) - mere machines with "Start" and "Stop" buttons.
TR0 is billed as an auditor's tool for "confronting" the preclear (pc, raw meat, uninitiated mark, etc.), but it's more than that. It is a mind-control technique that opens up the mind for programming. TR 0 induces an eyes-open alpha state, building on OT-TR0. I vividly remember one of the instructions I received while learning TR0: "don't evaluate, just accept the data." Yeah, right. In other words, suspend disbelief and get programmed.
The long hours of staring at a fixed object caused hallucinations in me. I didn't realize at the time that this was a sign of hypnosis. The sensory deprivation is incredible. You're working hard on not FLUNK!ing, and having to start over. The Scientology staff coach does a good job of FLUNK!ing you for no apparent reason (at least in your own normally socialized mind), creating all sorts of uncertainty and confusion.
Perhaps it was true - thinking about what I felt and saw was causing the trouble. My "cognition" (spoon-fed to me by the Staff) was that I should stop thinking about this situation, even though it was contrary to all my social conditioning. So, I stopped evaluating. I suspended disbelief. I turned off my mind. Of course, this played right into my hypnotists' hands.
Reports of the "thousand mile stare" common to Scientologists are a direct result of this training routine. However, the Scientologist isn't staring at you, he's staring through you. Rather than intimidating you by "confront", the Scientologist is paradoxically in a non-confront. He is aware of your presence, but he's in alpha state and has his mind turned off. Trying to talk to someone like this is like trying to teach a pig to sing - it's frustrating for you and it annoys the pig.
TR0 forms the basis for nearly everything a Scientologist does, be it reading a book, talking to someone, or solving a problem. So, you're trained to go into a trance by the friendly folks at the Org from Day 1, conditioned to accept suggestion while in alpha state as a normal way to learn, and trained to suspend disbelief by Pavlovian command. The general public are hereby advised to steer clear of this exercise.
TR 0: Bullbait
[ Sit with eyes open for hours, not moving laughing or twitching, "confronting" coach while s/he tries in every way to make you react. ]
Bullbait (TR0 with counter intention from the Pre-Clear) is the next step on the gradient. Here, the suggestive mind (in TR0) accepts contrary data and is not allowed to protest or even acknowledge what is happening. At this point on the Gradient, turning off your mind is mandatory. You will not progress past TR0 Bullbait by thinking about what your tormentor is saying or doing. You must sit passively, wondering what new attack will be used to make you FLUNK!.
I remember this exercising as being both degrading and crude. The job of the "coach" is to find your "buttons" - those phrases and movements which will cause you to react. The pattern suggested by the Staff coach centered on sexual perversion for the men and body part criticism for the women. Some of the gender-neutral abuse centered on Suppressive Person mockups, attempting to dredge up memories of past wrongs to gain a reaction. In fairness, it was not all abusive - sometimes a good joke ("mental pictures") could produce a FLUNK!.
Integral with this exercise is a Dianetics info-mercial about your "Case" and "Reactive Mind". It was your Reactive Mind that was the problem, the reason you had all these "buttons". Hubbard, under the guise of helping you communicate better, slips in a demonstration that you are seriously screwed up, and need auditing. Auditing is the real money-maker for Scientology.
To save staff expense (Hubbard: Make Money, Make More Money, Get Others to Make Money), you eventually become a coach in this exercise. Since I couldn't remember any good jokes, I eventually became abusive to produce a FLUNK!. To this day, I am ashamed of the things I said to one young woman.
Hubbard's objective for TR0-Bullbait is not about being able to confront through your "Case". It is about unquestioning acceptance of information. "Turn on your TR0-Bullbait, get your case under control, and let's talk about how Scientology is going to help you", is what Scientology is saying. "Don't think too hard about how strange this all sounds, because it's just your case talking. If you have any problems confronting Scientology, it's because of your case and proves your need for Scientology technology." It's classic circular reasoning.
Again, the general public is advised to steer clear of this exercise.
TR 1: Dear Alice
[ Student reads dialogue from Alice in Wonderland at coach until they get the comm <gag> across without embarrassment. ]
I thought Bullbait was weird. I had no idea what was in store for me. In this routine, context-free snippets from Alice, printed on a sheet of paper, are read by the student to the coach. Hubbard's sense of humor shows through on this one. It's even worse if the coach gets the giggles. The humor is a relief after the stress of TR0 conditioning. However, humor won't advance you on The Bridge. Some of Lewis Carroll's stuff is either terribly imaginative or drug-induced, depending on your opinion of him. (Some think the caterpillar is Carroll's self-portrait, but I digress.)
To pass this exercise without getting a permanent case of the giggles requires you to become virtually humorless. The concept of mental image pictures was introduced in TR0. Here, canned script from a master storyteller conjurs up some fantastic and nonsensical images, which the student must refuse to process or fail the exercise. The result is robotic repetition of nonsense phrases, which some have come to recognize as a hallmark of what passes for conversation in Scientology.
Rather than conditioning you for the real world where nonsense is met with questions for clarification, Ron is conditioning the mark to confront "Scieno-speak." Ron's writing style and propensity to make up words because he couldn't think of the real ones could give a newcomer the giggles if it were not for this exercise. Some of Ron's prose, especially the Operating Thetan levels, is highly imaginative just like Carroll's.
TR 2: Acknowledgments
[ Coach reads dialogue at the student and he must acknowledge (stop) what the coach said using one of the following "acks": okay, good, thank you, alright, or fine. ]
This is the twin sister of TR 1. In this installment of Hubbard's "Make Money Fast" series, the TR2 student acts as coach to someone being processed on TR1. The student makes positive acknowledgements "in a new unit of time" , that is, as if the statement and acknowledgement were being done for the first time. The Staff coach simply watches the acknowledgements of the students to see if they are believable.
While this training has the ostensibly positive benefit of teaching the student to complete "communication cycles", the repetitive nature of the acknowledgements can be hypnotic. The TR 0 alpha state can kick in, inducing acknowledgement to statements you didn't understand. The point of this training is to get the student to agree to any statement (hypnotic suggestion) while in alpha state. This training may help you survive the day with your precocious three-year-old's fantasies, but it can be counterproductive when listening to a used car salesman.
Acknowledging nonsense is not required in the real world. Ron's real purpose in this TR is to get the mark used to the idea of accepting off-the-wall statements as fact. As the mark proceeds up The Bridge, increasingly dissonant ideas are introduced, culminating in Hubbard's full-blown cosmology in the Operating Thetan levels.
TR 2 1/2: Half-Acks
[ The coach reads a line from Alice in Wonderland and the student must respond with a half-acknowledgment, such as ``Mmmm hmmm'' or ``Uh huh''. ]
This is supposed to be a technique for getting the pc to continue talking, by giving him the feeling that he is being heard. In contrast, Hubbard emphasized that a full acknowledgment ends communication on a topic. If done powerfully enough (really good TR 2), it ends communication altogether: Hubbard says in HCOB 16 August 1971R II (Training Drills Remodernized) that an auditor ``can take a pc's head off with an acknowledgment.'' Comments like this, which are spread throughout Hubbard's writings, reinforce the idea that auditing subjects are machines to be manipulated rather than autonomous persons with rights of their own. In Professional Auditor's Bulletin 149 he says "If you acknowledge a preclear well, you will have the preclear under much better control."
The bit about taking a pc's head off, though not meant to be taken literally, adds to the mystique of Scientology training by claiming supernatural effects if the techniques are practiced expertly. The inevitable failure to obtain such a high degree of control over people serves only as evidence that the student requires further training.
TR 3: Duplicative Question
[ Student asks coach repetitively, "Do birds fly?" or "Do fish swim?" Coach tries not to answer. Student repeats the question using this repeater phrase, verbatim: "I will repeat the auditing question." Continued until the student knows he will be asked questions until he answers them. Coach tries to physically leave the "session" and the student must restrain the coach and place him or her back in the chair, and repeat the same question until answered. Drill is passed when student can always get his questions answered. ]
I will repeat the auditing question. What a strange phrase to have in a "Communications Course". Auditing is Scientology's main money-making activity. It is highly sought-after "counselling" which is integral with making it up The Bridge. Auditing up to this point has been hyped as the Road to Nirvana, and now the student is introduced to a prepatory drill for auditing or being audited, namely that the question must be answered to the satisfaction of auditor, not the preclear. Contrary to many Scientologists' opinion, the preclear is not in control of the auditing session. While a treatment of the auditing process is beyond the scope of this discussion, questions in session are asked until an acceptable response is given. "Cognitions" are spoon-fed to the preclear. Their purpose reinforces Scientology dogma and typically point to the need for more auditing.
It must be mentioned again that the student eventually becomes a coach in these TRs. In this way, the student learns that they must answer the question, that they will be repeatedly asked until the correct answer is given, and that they will be forcibly restrained if they attempt to leave the session.
TR 4: Preclear Originations
[ Same as TR 3 but coach mixes the comments with important "case" information like, "My foot suddenly started hurting." and "I'm getting upset, let's stop." Student has to get the coach to continue using stuff like "Oh that's pretty normal, lets just continue and see what happens. I'll repeat the auditing question. *Do* birds fly?" ]
This next stop on the Road to Total Freedom (or is it the "Slippery Slope to Total Slavery"?) adds another auditing concept - case information. A "case" is the emotional baggage that comes along with the preclear to an auditing session. Scientology teaches that our Reactive Mind, which can be thought of as the Devil, must be pushed aside in order to achieve Clear (salvation).
As the coach (remember, the student becomes the coach), the student learns that they may feel strange things during an auditing session, thereby increasing its allure. Rather than being viewed as warning signs that they are being controlled in session, the preclear is conditioned that if these strange feelings are "handled", big case gains can occur. The point of the auditor's complete control of the session is reinforced. Any diversions by the Preclear will be summarily "handled", but the question will be answered to the satisfaction of the auditor.
TR 4 is nothing more than an exercise in overriding someone's better judgement. The normal apprehensive feelings about being asked certain questions should be swept aside because they are part of your Reactive Mind. If you want to go up The Bridge, you need to handle those distracting feelings of apprehension.
Upper Indoctrination TRs.
TR 5: Hand Mimicry [obsolete since ~1965]
[ Auditor and student are seated closely enough for auditor's knees to be locked outside the hypnotic subject's. The auditing command is: "PUT YOUR HANDS AGAINST MINE, FOLLOW THEM AND CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR MOTION." ]
TR5 was first used as a CCH process. (CCH = Control, Communication and Havingness. Another of Hubbard's famous triangles.) At that time (I believe it was early 1957 they first issued forth from the Hubbard Communications Office) the TRs were used as Processes. It was called "Hand Mimicry". If you had Objective Processing you remember: "PUT YOUR HANDS AGAINST MINE, FOLLOW THEM AND CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR MOTION."
Auditor and victim seated closely enough for auditor's knees to be locked outside the hypnotic subject's.
Later that year, Hubbard changed TR5 to an obscure process that is rarely used any more. Only if the subject will not cooperate with the processing. "SEAT THAT BODY IN THAT CHAIR!".
It was common for Hubbard to point out the obvious. In order to process a person you must get them to sit still for it, he'd write over and over.
In 1958 he got reissued TR5 with a bit of fine tuning: "YOU MAKE THAT BODY SIT IN THAT CHAIR!" was the new command.
True fact!
TR 6: 8-C (Body Control)
Part One:
[ Student walks coach around like a robot, in constant physical contact. The student physically makes the coach's body start, change direction and stop with the student forcibly controlling the coach's body into doing those things. ]
As coach, you are instructed to offer some resistance, just to be sure the student is controlling you properly. This exercise is the first gradient step toward giving control of your body to someone else. In Part Two, you are shouted at until you comply with the instructions given.
This is another strange exercise for a "Communications Course". The bait given to the mark is that all processes have these three steps: Start, Change, Stop. Ultimately, this exercise is about Control and Being Controlled. Note that the student eventually becomes a coach. One suggestion I received was to coach with eyes closed, ostensibly to fine-tune the student's control. This effectively removes all control from the coach.
Hubbard knew that the mark's internal controls ("Case", "Reactive Mind") may cause him to "blow" the auditing session. This training is meant to intimidate the mark into bodily compliance, an extension to "Seat that body in that chair!". Physical force, if necessary, will be used to keep you on course and in session.
Part Two:
[ Student controls coach by and while giving the commands:
"LOOK AT THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"WALK OVER TO THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"TOUCH THAT WALL" "THANK YOU!"
"TURN AROUND!" "THANK YOU!"
No physical contact. ]
In this installment of the Gradient, you are introduced to verbal command. After sufficient repetition, the commands on the coach become almost robotic. Keeping good TR0 and being in Present Time (i.e. not thinking about past or future) keeps you somewhat tranced and response becomes almost automatic.
If physical force is used in an auditing session, the mark could realize he is actually being controlled against his will, and blow the session and Scientology as well. Therefore, it is necessary to condition the mark to respond to firm (but not overbearing) verbal command like a good little robot.
TR 7: High School Indoc.
"LOOK AT THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"WALK OVER TO THAT WALL!" "THANK YOU!"
"TOUCH THAT WALL" "THANK YOU!"
"TURN AROUND!" "THANK YOU!"
[ These exact commands and acknowledgements are given to the coach with Tone 40 Intention (intention without reservation or limit). The coach's body is then forced, by being physically restrained and dragged if necessary, to comply with the command. Coach does not do more than physically thwart the student from forcing him to comply. But not too hard. ]
This training routine gets the student accustomed to the idea of controlling and restraining others, and thereby accustomed to being controlled . In real-world terms, Tone 40 involves talking in a forceful enough voice so that the target knows you mean business. It works well on three year olds, though in most adult interactions where common goals motivate cooperation or compliance, Tone 40 invokes resentment. This Training Routine is not about communication in the real world. It is about the way communication works in Scientology.
Here, Hubbard's message is clear: non-compliance with Scientology's commands, especially during auditing, will be met with escalating levels of force - non-verbal, verbal, shouting, and physical. When you sign up for services, you give away your right to resist, since it's just your "case" talking. Your case is something to be "handled", and it can be handled up to the point of physical intervention.
TR 8: Tone 40 On Objects
[ Trying to make the ashtray STAND UP. Student gives Tone 40 command "STAND UP!". Tone 40 acknowledges with "THANK YOU!". "SIT DOWN!". "THANK YOU!."
Repeat until cognition (about an hour). ]
By this point, I was so deluded by the concept of Tone 40 that the fact that I was LIFTING IT WITH MY HANDS was irrelevant. I gave the command, the ashtray stood up. After doing this for half an hour, I felt like God, lifting the ashtray by sheer intention. My Thetan's (Scieno-babble for "spirit") Intention was using my arms and hands, though that was only for convenience, since with sufficient intent they were not necessary. I was allowed to stop when I cog'ed (Scieno-babble for "cognition") on this. TR8 is heavy-duty Scientology processing, or thought conditioning.
In retrospect, TR0-bullbait is a mandatory prerequisite for TR8. Without it, uncontrolled Tone-40 laughter would be the result. Having experienced the delusion makes it easier to understand what happens at the higher levels. Repetitive exercise numbs the mind to the point that even simple actions become nearly supernatural.
OK, Hubbard, explain to me how shouting at an ashtray helps me communicate with the real world.
TR 9: Tone 40 with Bullbait
[ TR7 with verbal bullbait by coach. Student uses physical enforcement to assure compliance. The auditor is trained for situations in which a PC wants to blow the auditing session. ]
At this point, the student is nearly done with the course and is being body-routed to the Registrar for the next service. High emphasis is placed on auditing, which is a major revenue producer. The mystique of auditing, as well as the preconditioning given in these training routines, makes the lure hard to resist.
This last TR has nothing to do with communication and everything to do with Auditor Training. Here, the student (Auditor) issues Tone 40 commands to the coach (preclear) while the coach offers verbal as well as physical counter-intent. (As an amusing aside, this TR can be quite rough when two hormone-driven young males play the game. This TR was done in a large room devoid of sharp corners on a carpet with a thick pad.) The student (as coach) learns that counter-intent during session will be thwarted. You are not allowed to leave a session without severe consequences. The Dennis writes: "The Auditor must NEVER allow the mark to control the session. NOT EVER! It violates the Auditors' Code. True story."
Of course, if the thought conditioning is complete, it never occurs to the preclear that they can simply leave the session, or even Scientology. Hubbard's lie is just that: Scientology gives you more abilities, and leaving Scientology means being permanently shackled to your Case.
Postlude
While not part of the Training Routines, it bears mentioning that after you complete a Scientology course, you are required to write up your "Big Win". The mark stands up in front of his group and recites what he learned, why it's useful, and how it can be applied. For most normal people, speaking to a group of near-strangers produces anxiety. Being forced to manufacture a list of "Wins" creates cognitive dissonance. By saying it in public, you are forced to carry through regardless of what you may have thought before.
After this stressful experience, the mark is "love bombed" by the group. Everyone robotically affirms your win as a sign of acceptance into the group. You breathe a sigh of relief. These are indeed your friends.
The trap is sprung, the door closes. You are a Scientologist. Congratulations on your BIG WIN.
Inside Scientology/Dianetics - Appendix N: First Abridged Unapproved Dictionary of Scientologese
Inside Scientology/Dianetics - Appendix N: First Abridged Unapproved Dictionary of ScientologeseFirst Abridged Unapproved Dictionary of Scientologese
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W
- - A -
- ACK:
- n. Acknowledgment; thank you. v. To acknowledge; to thank.
- AFFLUENCE:
- One of the higher Conditions of Ethics.
- ANALYTICAL MIND:
- The thinking, computing mind; term used chiefly in Dianetics.
- AO:
- Advanced Org(anization).
- AOLA:
- Advanced Org Los Angeles.
- AOUK:
- Advanced Org United Kingdom.
- ARC (A=Affinity; R=Reality; C=Communication):
- Understanding and/or affection.
- ARC BREAK:
- An upset with someone or something.
- ARC STRAIGHTWIRE PROCESS:
- A memory drill.
- ASSESSMENT:
- The reading of a list to locate the most highly-charged item on that list.
- ASSESSMENT, ARC BREAK:
- An assessment to locate the cause of upset.
- ASSIST, SOLO AUDITOR'S:
- A process the auditor runs on him/herself to prepare for self-auditing.
- ATTESTATION:
- An oral or written statement that one has completed a course or stage or understands a set of instructions.
- AUDITING:
- The administering of a Scientology process by a Scientology practitioner.
- AUDITING COMM CYCLE:
- Asking a question, getting an answer and acknowledging the answer.
- AUDITING COMMAND:
- An auditing question or instruction.
- AUDITING QUESTION:
- An auditing command.
- AUDITOR:
- A person trained to administer Scientology processes; "one who listens."
- AUDITOR'S CODE:
- Nineteen do's and don'ts for the auditor to observe when auditing.
- AUDITOR'S REPORT:
- A record made by the auditor during the session of the beginning and end of the session, and the major events of the running of the process during the session.
- - B -
- BANK, THE:
- The reactive mind, or stimulus-response mechanism.
- BASIC:
- The earliest and most malignant engram (traumatic event) on a chain.
- BASIC EWs (END-WORDS):
- A series of words found in the reactive mind.
- BLOW:
- 1. To disperse charge, tension, trauma; 2. To run away from auditing, Scientology, an org.
- BLOWDOWN:
- A rapid and significant discharge of tension, as indicated by an E-meter.
- BODY THETAN:
- An alien soul affixed to a person's body.
- BULL-BAITING:
- A drill that teaches an auditing-in-training to confront a preclear.
- BUTTONS:
- Words, subjects or gestures highly-charged to an individual, upsetting him or making him laugh.
- BY-PASSED CHARGE:
- Charge, or tension, missed in previous auditing.
- - C -
- CALLING:
- Reading out loud an item from the Upper Level materials.
- CASE:
- 1. One's state of being vis-a-vis Scientology. 2. Inner trouble, from mild quirks to violent mental or physical disturbance.
- CASE, TALK:
- To discuss one's own processing, or mental or physical symptoms, out of an auditing session.
- CASE BOOK OF REMEDIES:
- A handbook that lists every type of preclear disturbance, diagnoses it, and gives a counteracting technique.
- CASE REVIEW:
- A comprehensive examination and checking out of all the processing a preclear has had to date.
- CAVED-IN:
- Sick; overwhelmed; cracked-up.
- CERTAINTY:
- 1. Confidence in one's understanding of Scientology data, or of the running of a process. 2. Faith in L. Ron Hubbard.
- CERTS AND AWARDS:
- The office at an org that gives out certificates for completions of Grades, Levels, courses and review sessions.
- CHARGE:
- Harmful energy of the reactive mind.
- CLASS VI AUDITOR:
- One who has completed the Special Briefing Course and is qualified to audit preclears to Grade IV Release.
- CLASS VII AUDITOR:
- A Class VI who has done internship at Saint Hill, Sussex, England.
- CLASS VIII AUDITOR:
- At the time of this book, an elite Upper Level auditor. (Now superseded by Classes IX, X, XI and XII.)
- CLEAN:
- v. Destimulate; discharge tension. adj. Non-reading, flat. n. A question or area with no charge.
- CLEAN NEEDLE (or CLEAN QUESTION):
- No reads, or a floating needle.
- CLEAR:
- n. A Clear; a person who no longer has a reactive mind. v. To erase the reactive mind. adj. The state of being clear.
- CLEAR SPEECH:
- A testimonial.
- CLEARING THE COMMANDS:
- Looking up words in the English and Scientology dictionaries before processing to make sure that the preclear understands the auditing commands to follow.
- COGNITION:
- n. An insight.
- COMM:
- Communication; the "C" in "ARC."
- CONDITIONS (OF ETHICS) (FORMULAS):
- See ETHICS.
- CONDITIONS BOARD:
- Shows the Ethical Condition of the students, staff, Sea Org members at an org or Scientology dwelling.
- CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS:
- Auditing or study material from Grade V on up.
- CONFUSION GPMs (GOALS-PROBLEMS-MASS):
- A series of phrases in the reactive mind.
- CONSIDERATIONS:
- 1. Thoughts, ideas, notions, opinions. 2. Criticisms of Hubbard/Scientology.
- - D -
- DATA:
- 1. Facts, reality, truth. 2. Scientology information; that which emanated from Hubbard's mouth or pen.
- DEGRADED BEING:
- The lowest Condition of Ethics.
- DEV-T:
- (developed unnecessary traffic):
- Deviation from correct procedure for lines, hats, policies.
- DIANETICS:
- The locating and erasing of unconscious trauma.
- DIRTY NEEDLE:
- Erratic, traces jagged patterns.
- DISCONNECT:
- To cut off all communication with one who has been found to be suppressive.
- DISCONNECT LETTER:
- A written statement that one is disconnecting from person, family or group.
- DISSEM (DISSEMINATION):
- Proselytization of Scientology.
- DOUBT:
- One of the lower Conditions of Ethics.
- DRAMATIZATION:
- Aberrated behavior stemming from the reactive mind.
- DUPLICATION:
- Correct carrying out of Hubbard's instructions.
- - E -
- E-METER:
- A portable electrical device that gauges one's mental state and its moment-to-moment changes. The E-meter is based on a Wheatstone bridge, which measures differential resistance in an electric current, and has dials, knobs, and needles, and two empty tin cans, clamped to wires connected to the box, which are gripped by the preclear during an auditing session.
- END-PHENOMENON:
- Termination, or release point, of a Scientology process; floating needle.
- END-WORDS (EWs):
- Highly-charged words that describe a preclear's dramatizations.
- ENEMY:
- One of the lower conditions of Ethics.
- ENGRAM:
- A mental image picture, memory or recording or an incident containing pain and unconsciousness.
- ERASURE:
- Elimination of the charge, or harmful effect, of an incident or an item.
- ETHICS:
- 1. A system for classifying one's moral or spiritual state at any given moment. 2. A system of rewards and punishments.
- ETHICS CHIT:
- A written reprimand.
- ETHICS, CODE OF:
- See ETHICS.
- ETHICS CONDITIONS (in ascending order):
- Degraded Being; Treason; Enemy; Doubt; Liability; Non-existence; Danger; Emergency; Normal Operation; Affluence; Power.
- ETHICS CONDITION FORMULA:
- A series of steps followed to arrive at the next higher Condition than one is in at the moment.
- EVALUATION:
- Judgment, appraisal, opinion.
- EW:
- End-word.
- EXAMINER:
- Determines the course of action to be taken on one's case; found in Qual Office.
- EXTERIORIZATION:
- The state of being out of one's body.
- - F -
- FAST-FLOW:
- Attestation, or honor system.
- FLAT:
- Charge removed; unrestimulative.
- FLOATING NEEDLE:
- Release point, as indicated by the E-meter.
- FRANCHISE:
- A private auditing business run by professional auditors.
- - G -
- GOALS-PROBLEMS-MASS (GPMs):
- Word phrases that make up the core of the bank (reactive mind).
- GREEN-FORM:
- A list of questions that customarily begins a review session.
- - H -
- HANDLE:
- To do something in a Scientology way.
- HAT:
- Job; post; duty; chore.
- HAT BOOK:
- Detailed written description of a hat.
- HIDDEN STANDARDS:
- Considerations, or preconceptions, about what Scientology processing should accomplish.
- - I -
- IMPLANTS:
- Words or incidents imprinted on a person's Time Track eons ago by malicious beings bent on overwhelming, suppressing and controlling him.
- INCIDENT:
- An engram or secondary.
- INTENTION:
- Determination; decision; postulate.
- INVALIDATION:
- Criticism, denial, rejection, suppression, lowering, putting down.
- ITEM:
- 1. An entry on a list made up by the preclear in response to an auditing question. 2. An entry provided by Hubbard in the confidential materials.
- - J -
- JOBURG:
- A lengthy and particularly intimidating security check with the E-meter.
- - K -
- KEY IN:
- n. A moment of restimulation v. To bring restimulation
- - L -
- LIABILITY:
- One of the lower Conditions of Ethics.
- LIGHT, THE:
- One of the items in the Clearing Course materials.
- LINES:
- Strictly defined procedures for operations at an org.
- LISTING AND NULLING:
- An auditing technique used to locate the most highly-charged item on a list concerning a specific subject or question.
- - M -
- MASS:
- The actual mass of thought.
- MEST:
- Matter/Energy/Space/Time; the physical universe.
- MISSED WITHHOLD:
- A wrongdoing that was nearly found out.
- - N -
- NATTER:
- 1. Picayune chatter emanating from the reactive mind. 2. Criticisms of auditing, the auditor, the E-meter, Hubbard, Scientology.
- NON-EXISTENCE:
- One of the lower Conditions of Ethics.
- NORMAL OPERATION:
- One of the Conditions of Ethics.
- NULLING:
- See LISTING AND,
- - O -
- OBJECTS, THE:
- A section of the Clearing Course materials.
- ORG:
- Scientology organization headquarters in a given locale.
- ORGANIZATION, THE:
- General term for the executive element of the Scientology movement, with its various branches and powers.
- ORG BOARD:
- A chart giving the chain of command at an org.
- OT (OPERATING THETAN):
- A person who has been spiritually restored through Scientology processing, and possesses superhuman abilities.
- OT LEVELS:
- Upper Levels; the stages about clear.
- OVERRUN:
- n. The running of a process past the release point; "cleaning a clean." v. To run a process past the release point; to clean a clean.
- OVERT:
- n. Wrongdoing in present life or a past life.
- - P -
- PACKED METER:
- Totally unresponsive needle.
- PC:
- Preclear.
- POSTULATE:
- n. 1. An intention. 2. An intention in accord with Hubbard's wishes. v. To arrive at or hold an intention.
- POWER:
- 1. The Grade V Power Process. 2. The highest Condition of Ethics.
- PRECLEAR:
- 1. A person who is not clear. 2. A person self-auditing or being audited.
- PROCESS:
- n. A set auditing command, or series of commands, that culminates in a specific release. v. To audit.
- PROCESS QUESTION:
- An auditing command on a given process.
- PROCESSING:
- Auditing.
- PTS:
- Potential Trouble Source.
- PTS-3:
- A severely disturbed PTS.
- - Q -
- Q-AND-A (QUESTION AND ANSWER):
- v. To deviate from the auditing comm cycle. Colloquial: chatter; argue; talk like a wog. n. "He left home because he couldn't stand all that Q-and-A."
- QUAL (QUALIFICATIONS):
- Review department; a preclear goes there when having trouble self-auditing or being audited.
- - R -
- RAW MEAT:
- A person who has never been audited.
- REACTIVE MIND:
- A stimulus-response mechanism that robs the individual of his/her volition, awareness, rationality and health; the bank.
- READ:
- n. E-meter needle action on a question or item. v. To read.
- REALITY:
- 1. The "R" in "ARC." 2. A person's subjective reality. 3. Scientology data; that originating with Hubbard.
- REHAB (REHABILITATION):
- A checking out, or revalidation, of a preclear's releases, using an E-meter.
- RELEASE:
- n. 1. A degree of freedom from the reactive mind; the culmination of a Scientology process. 2. A person who has completed a Scientology process.
- RESTIMULATION:
- A stirring-up of the reactive mind.
- REVIEW:
- An extra help auditing session, from a booster to emergency treatment.
- R-FACTOR (REALITY FACTOR):
- Scientology data; fact; reality; truth.
- ROCK SLAM:
- A violent needle movement on the E-meter.
- ROTATION OF HATS:
- Systematic shifting of posts at an org or Scientology dwelling.
- RUDIMENTS (RUDS), THE:
- A brief series of questions to get, or keep, a preclear auditable.
- RUN:
- n. One repetition of the Clearing Course materials during self-auditing. v. To do a process (example: to run an engram) or an assessment.
- - S -
- SEARCH AND DISCOVERY:
- A process designed to locate a suppressive person, group or object.
- SBC:
- Special Briefing Course.
- SCIENTOLOGIST'S CODE:
- Eleven rules governing conduct away from the auditing table.
- SCIENTOLOGY:
- 1. A money and power game created and formerly conducted by L. Ron Hubbard. 2. The study of knowledge in the fullest sense of the word.
- SEA ORG:
- One of the nuclei of Hubbard's die-hard followers; the enforcing branch of Scientology.
- SEC CHECK (SECURITY CHECK):
- A set of questions, monitored by the E-meter, designed to: 1. Detect those who have evil intent, ulterior motive. 2. Relieve the typical uneasiness of one entering an AO, or exposed to confidential materials for the first time. 3. (in some people's opinion) gather information for the Scientology organization to use against the person sec checked if such need is deemed to occur.
- SECONDARY:
- A mental image picture of an incident involving loss.
- SELF-AUDITING:
- Like auditing, except that auditor and preclear are one and the same person.
- SERVICE FACSIMILE (SERVICE FAC):
- A computation that makes an individual right and other wrong. Example: "They'll never let me succeed so I won't even try."
- SEVENS, THE:
- A section of the Clearing Course materials.
- SOLO AUDIT:
- The End-Words process.
- SOLO COURSE:
- Grade VI.
- SOURCE:
- L. Ron Hubbard
- SPECIAL BRIEFING COURSE (SBC):
- Qualifies a person to audit preclears through Grade IV Release.
- SPOTTING THE THETAN:
- Visualizing oneself, during the Clearing Course, at the earliest moment in time.
- STATS:
- Statistics.
- SUCCESS SPEECH:
- Verbal testimonial
- SUCCESS STORY:
- Written testimonial
- SUMMARY REPORT:
- A brief account of an auditing session, written up by the auditor or self-auditor just after end-of-session.
- SUPPRESSIVE:
- n. 1. an evil person. 2. a person who is against Scientology or L. Ron Hubbard. adj. 1. evil. 2. against Scientology or L. Ron Hubbard.
- - T -
- TA:
- 1. The tone-arm, a knob that centers the needle on the large dial of the E-meter. 2. The tone-arm numbers, lowering of which signifies charge blown from the bank.
- TECH:
- Hubbard's technology; the methods of auditing, processing and training.
- TECH, IN-:
- Correct application; duplication of Hubbard's instructions.
- TECH, OUT-:
- Mistakes, misduplication.
- THETAN (from the Greek letter theta):
- The immortal soul.
- TIME TRACK:
- A recording of every moment lived by an individual during present and past lifetimes.
- TONE-ARM (TA):
- Knob used to center the needle on the meter.
- TONE-40 VOICE:
- Voice of powerful command.
- TONE LEVEL:
- Gradient on the TONE SCALE.
- TONE SCALE:
- Graded list of emotional states, from negative to positive.
- TRAP, THE:
- 1. The totality of what keeps an individual in spiritual degradation, unaware of himself as a thetan. Implications of karma, illusion, samsara (Oriental), and The Fall (Occidental). 2. Resistance to Scientology; rejection of Hubbard; the voice from the bank.
- TREASON:
- One of the lower Conditions of Ethics.
- TRs:
- 1. A set of training drills that teaches students how to audit. 2. One's presence; ability to confront another person, or hold an eye-lock.
- - U -
- UNFLAT:
- Has charge remaining.
- UNRESTIMULATIVE:
- Won't bother you.
- - V -
- VALENCE:
- Role; unwitting imitation of another's characteristics from this or past lifetimes.
- VALIDATION:
- Approval, encouragement, acknowledgment, recognition of a person as worthwhile, beautiful, a thetan, a Scientologist.
- - W -
- WHOLE TRACK:
- The Time Track, especially past lives.
- WITHHOLD:
- n. 1. Something a person is unwilling to reveal. 2. Concealment of an overt.
- WITHHOLD, PULL:
- Find out, clean up, get off, blow a withhold.
- WOG:
- A non-Scientologist; a square; a tolerable fool, a contemptible idiot; a Neanderthal.
- WOG WORLD, THE:
- The world outside of Scientology.
- WORKSHEETS:
- Blow-by-blow account of what is happening in an auditing session.
Church of Scientology Missions offer basic Dianetics and Scientology services
Glossary
Use this glossary to look up and define any SCIENTOLOGY words or terms you come across in these pages that you do not fully understand.
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