Harlo ppl! Just in case u tot i just died or something, the reason for my slow update is because of me transition between jobs. And i have nothing to share with u guys. But then, i just get here to crap about wat there is in life nowadays.

Guess u guys must have realise how PM Lee Jr is changing changing the way singapore works. Drastic changes i will say. And i have to admit i dont see the reason behind some of the changes.

So he made all government sector work 5 days a week onli. Good welfare if u ask me but he should have change this when i am still enlisted. Hmmm... And other then the welfare side, i see no other benefits for this change. Cant say i got much to complain cause my new private sector job is oso a five days week. But one cant help feeling that Lee Jr do this to boost his popularity, as least, i really feel so.

And the thing about singles above 35 being able to buy flats now? I will say that it is onli logical that the law shouldnt exist in the first place. Cause ppl who are single above the age of 35 tend to be successful freaks, at least this is wat i feel. So if they cant buy flats, which government earn in turn, they use their money elsewhere. Like high class prostitutes that are into BDSM, or Bondage, Domination, Sado machoism, how u wanna speel it.

Yeah yeah, i noe i just feel bad about this. Crapping about "good" changes. I even feel that Lee Snr purposely set up these rules, wait till his son coming of age, then make him lead, and remove these stupid rules to somehow show that he is more open minded and more modern, thus increasing popularity. Hmmm... I think too much le.

Anyway, thats all for now, will blog in the near future. Tomolo new work start le.

Harlo ppl! Just to let u all noe wats happening, i will be quitting my current job and changing to a new job le. Thank god, after i ord, there isnt a period where i need to sit at home and shake leg. My transition of jobs are pretty smooth. But no holidays...

Anyway, recently i love Metal Gear Solid! Was playing MGS 2, sons of liberaty and i completed it thrice. But save file was corrupted... Damn... Went thru all MGS 3, snake eater trailer. God... That damn game is pretty damn good! So much so that i dont think any current games can match up to it. As always, it will raise the bar and open a new frontier in gaming. Kudos Hideo Kojima!

Since i realise alot of ppl complain my blog too lengthy and no pic, i will try to shorten it up and to show u guys more pic. Here goes number one.





Erm sorry, u can find this if u got XP installed at home. Number two.



God, i must have killed dozens of kittens... daily....


And of course, number three.



Who cares?


Thats all i have, will post porn pics next time.

Sianz, frm the comments i get for me previous post(which amounts to zero), i dare say no one really read thru the whole thingy... Nvm, as its really a long one. But the contents are damn good man. Nvm.

So wat have i been up to these days? Recently i got into this hobbie of buying dvds. Hmmm, if u can call it a hobby... But i do noe friends who collects them, so they have like all the movies ever done on dvd, yeah they have already spend a fortune in it. He did so because he had no other life, just going thru those dvd took up all his time. But dvd is significantly higher quality than vcd, and u didnt need to change the disk. Hahahaha, nvm. But zatoichi is a nice film!

So wat am i going to blog this issue? Let me blog on some topics, no cut and paste this time.
Btw, exorcist isnt as scary as it is stated, but scary enuff. And the version u find in singapore is lacking the part where the little girl uses a crucifix to masturbate...(apparently censored) Damn!

Recently, i got my hands on this book, robot visions, by issac asimov. Hahahaha nice author. And no, i didnt read his books due to the movie i, robot. I just happen to lay my hands on it. Actually, its more like a collection of short stories, inside, there is one particular story, Reason!, that particularly caught me eye.(and now i got one more fav author!)

This story is set in the near future on mankind. Then, there are satelites in space, very near to the sun, that collects energy from the sun. Periodically, they will beam high energy lasers back to receptors located on earth, which will power up earth. Due to the high energy, if any of those beams falls short of the receptors, half of earth will become bacon.

So as u expected, things like these are still handled by humans. By then there are already robots. They help ease alot of manual task but each satelites(i got this funny feeling i got the speeling wrong again) still require 2 humans. And because it is located very near to the sun, the condition is very hazardous to humans and they seek to fully automate the satelite.

So come this day that a new robot was created. Because of shipping problems, they shipped the parts to the satelites, and the robot was assembled in the satelite. Where the robot was assembled, it began to question its own existence. Nice! To ease me, lets name this robot EZ-08.

EZ-08 is the first robot which can learn and think on its own. Ez ask those two humans, lets call them sam and timmy, how did he, the robot, exist? Of course both sam and timmy said that both of them created him. But Ez reason that it isnt possible for someone of a lower lifeform to create some higher being as himself, as he is stronger, last longer, smarter, require no food and rest. Both humans got damn piss with this and shove Ez into the engine room.

So both timmy and sam sat down and discuss about Ez. Timmy was damn pissed off by Ez while sam was thinking about a solution for this problem. Then sam came up with this idea of showing Ez that they can create another robot, and everything will be explain.

So happily both went to the engine room to find Ez. But upon opening the engine room, they found Ez standing next to the main computer, holding a "L" shaped piece of metal that is part of the engine, and all the other robots prostrating infront of Ez. Of course the humans flare up and demand all the robots to go back to work.

Interestingly, none went back to work. Whenever they were pushed or kicked, they will say, "The main computer is our lord, and Ez its prophet. We onli listen to the commands of our lords." Just then, Ez approached the two humans and explain the whole thing to them. As Ez wondered on his own creation, he saw the main computer when he was sent to the engine room. And from the workings of the main computer, Ez is very sure that someone of that caliber is the very one that create all robots, thus, he deem himself as the main computer's unworthty servant. As he is a better robot than the rest, he became the lord's prophet.

Both humans are speechless. Talking about stupidity! So sam insisted to show Ez how they can create a robot. Then Ez told them that the engine is resricted to all humans, onli robots are allowed as the humans are unworthy to set their eyes on the lord.

So sam ordered the parts required for the new robot and timmy kept crapping on how stupid is the new robot. So the next day, the new parts came.

They summoned Ez, and created the new robot infront of its very eyes. Of course Ez was stunned. But after a moment, he came to a conculsion that the humans didnt create the robot. They mearly just assembled the parts. The parts are all created by the lord. Sam went on to explain that no, the parts are shipped from earth and showed Ez where earth is thru the help of their telescope. After this, sam brought Ez to the satelite's library and ask him to read all about the history of robots and wat earth is all about.

So after Ez finished read, he told the humans that all the books are meant for the humans, not for the robots. Sam ask Ez how is all this possible? Ez just replied that there are some workings of the lord that are not meant to be known and they will not seek to understand. Ez further explains that all these books and the place called earth are there to hoodwink humans, so that they are easier to control. After these, Ez locked the humans up to prevent them of doing anything silly to the main computer.

The two humans then realise that the time for the energy to be beam to earth is nearing. They must get to the engine room and fix everything up. So they told Ez about this. But Ez refused to allow them into the engine room, and demand them to leave the satelite in 2 days' time. So both humans were fretting in the engine room, sure that earth will face its doom, and they will follow thereafter.

SCHHHK! Energy was beamed back to earth. Then Ez appeared with a handful of paper. Ez said that he had reading from the lord and ask if the humans are interested in it. Timmy took it, read it, and exclaimed that the beam couldnt have been more accurate. Both humans are estactic and ask Ez how he manages to do it. Ez simply say that he is following the instruction of the lord, doing wat the dials of the lord is showing. "So Ez is capable of running this whole thing afterall!", said sam.

So come the day when the humans are due to go back to earth. Ez saw them to their space craft and said how sad he was that he cant convert them to believe in the lord. But he wouldnt question this as this is all part of lord's ultimate plan. Timmy was damn pissed and quarreled with Ez that lord dont exist, it was humans who created him. Sam just said, "Why are u so bothered on wat his belief is? If he can do the task, he can believe in watever he likes." And with that, the humans returned to earth.

Nice story? Got me thinking on alot of issues. Like how to make a robot, how to program their intelligence, and how to gather energy from the sun. Hmmmm.... Interesting story.

I wanted to start on relativity but realise that trying to summarise the story by just using my memory is taxing. And i spared u guys from another long post. Take care.

Harlo! So u guys might have realise that i no longer update my blog on sunday le. Reason being sundays are used to play Metal Gear Solid. And i just killed a boss, namely fat man. So much about wat i am doing now adays. So this issue is to blog on mind control, hypnotisim, and the reason behind City Harvest(thereafter referred to as CH) donating huge amount of money to their church. U noe it just seem so wrong while other religion(eg. taoism) onli donate like 2 or 3 bucks now and then. There u have it, chinese are born misers.
.

Okie i admit, this is one of my longest and most boring post, but i really appreciate it if u guys can spend the time to go through it. It will change ur life perception. It changed mine. Heeheehee


So once again, this issue got all the points from the atheist website located at my sidebar. Before i touch on brain control or hypnotisim, let me just show u this article written by a teacher of the bible converted atheist. It covered alot on wat i tot was neither logical nor right in christianity.


Written by Jerry.


I wrote this shortly after my Dad died in May of 1998.


My Dad died. We buried him this last Tuesday. The preacher at the funeral used Dad's death as a springboard for his deluded agenda of salvation only through Jesus. He said almost nothing about my dear old Dad. (Perhaps he knew of my background as a former minister and was extra full of trying to offset my beliefs) But, this pained me no end, especially, since a long time friend of his from next door was there as Dad's pallbearer. This good neighbor has never been a church goer and never will be. I was embarrassed. Prior to this and only a day or so after Dad's death, I was surprised by the emotions coming up--specifically anti-Jesus and anti-Church stuff. As the whole family gathered at the funeral, I looked around and realized that all my immediate family are very strong Christians...I am the sole heretic. I then began writing in my journal on this subject at that time, but it had long been on my heart and mind to begin this process. Dad's death just speeded up my desire to write. So it was that I began to delve into the reasons why I had become so anti-Jesus and anti-Christian. I guess, having felt emotionally raped by the preacher's foolishness Jesus tirade, I decided to sit down and write up a more formal statement about my anti-Jesus thinking. Here is the gist of it:


Fundamental Christian religion is not very logical. I am supposed to believe in a character who lived 2000 years ago and proclaimed himself to be the Son of God. If I don't--I go to hell. This is it--pure and simple (and stupid). Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of what Jesus said and I love parts of the Bible. It is in my heart and will be there forever. Having two college degrees and many years of teaching as a professor at a Christian College and preaching in various churches on the weekends, I can see from the words of Jesus that he was indeed a special man...but 2000 years is a long time and a lot gets lost in the process. I salute the deep love that Christians over the years have had for this "Christ." So many were even willing to die for him and their beliefs. (I am thinking of the 30,000 Chinese Christians in history that chose death rather than simply step on a piece of paper with the name Jesus inscribed on it.) I agree that some things are worth dying for. But for me Jesus is not one of them. Jesus was a prison that I escaped from and I want to record this and show the process.


But first I want to look the present Jesus of today. He called himself the Son of God...we have a few details...2000 years old stuff. He convinced 12 people and a few hundred others that he was indeed the Savior promised in the Hebrew scriptures. But this is not new. Only a few years back David Korish had a whole compound of people convinced that he was God and over a hundred perished with him at the Waco, Texas compound. This (God) dummy could have saved all those people with just a little compromise...but he had to have a bunch of people die just because he thought he was God. I'm sure David Korish had some good stuff in the words he spoke. He certainly inspired those fanatical folks and reports show him to be quite a sexual stud. He was a real "copulating" God. But, if this deluded poophead could do this in our enlightened time, why should I believe in this historical Jesus and his 2000 year old story?


I am surprised by the positive reaction in my heart to anything anti-Jesus and anti-Church (Christian). I would much have preferred a Jesus who grew old and wise like a Buddha or Mohammed. He was only 33 when he died. I didn't even start thinking for myself until I was almost 40. I followed the Christian herd like all the rest of them until I finally exploded from lack of sex and support from my "once a week is more than enough" wife. I see lots of confident young men running things now...but to really know life you have to have experience. Thirty years is just not enough time. I resent having to believe in a young man who was only thirty three at his death. But believe I must or I am going to hell according to current fundamentalists beliefs. Hell is a place where you will burn forever. Who wouldn't want to avoid such a place? I sure would. But Hell is not a logical or valid concept. Burning in hell for sins committed in a brief lifetime of seventy years or so seems grossly unfair. But, if the powers that be (or rather were) wanted to keep the Christian herd in line, what better way than to threaten them with a nebulous Hell-fire? I recall as a young and naive Christian ministerial student going out on the weekends to talk to people about Christ and to do my best to save them from this burning Hell. I also recall a pretty young speech professor at our Christian University giving our group of ministers a graphic reading of people walking off a cliff and falling into the burning fires of hell. All that stood between them and hell was us Christians who had to reach out and prevent as many as possible from falling into hell fire. Her performance was met with a genuine appreciation and acceptance. But that's one heavy burden for a young man to carry.


We were the only hope for those people. We were sent out weekends to hand out tracts to people on the street telling them how to be saved. I never like doing this. I soon discarded it for less dramatic ways of reaching the UNSAVED. This was the small beginning...I followed my heart. It said I don't like handing out tract and being a "fool for Christ's sake." One of the teaching tools at that time was a saying often repeated about a man who carried a sign saying, "I'm a fool for Christ's sake, whose fool are you?" Now I have enough strength of character, to say "Let him be his own fool." I cannot follow this distorted Jesus. But lets go back to the Hell concept. What would be fair? And all religions teach us (and I believe) that God is eminently fair. But the Jesus followers say that you are going to hell if you don't know Jesus no matter what. If you are a murderer--off you go. This fits even a 16 year old teenager who goes along for the ride with a kid who is drinking; there is a wreck and he is killed...off he goes too. He has not done much of anything wrong. He hasn't been around long enough to do much wrong, but off he goes--straight to Hell. Do not pass Go. Do not collect a harp and mansion. Suppose we had a jury of a mans peers set up to decide every man's punishment according to all the deeds he had done and all the thoughts he had had. Suppose God himself allowed this special jury to exist. How many life sentences would they give to a murderer? So, if the average life span is 70 or so...the maximum for even the most gross life deeds would be not more than 5 x 70 or so I would think. Even the most vile person would scarcely be given more that 70 times 70 lifetimes as the absolute maximum sentence and certainly not to a burning hell for all those years. There is a little Biblical pun here...70 time 70 is the term describing Jesus' ideal of human forgiveness. But a loving God casts them all into Hell fire forever and ever and ever? I think not.


How can Christians assign people to hell so easily? Part of it is religious arrogance (a sort of unconscious hidden pride, I think)..."We know God and you don't type of thing...we have the inside track on God." Furthermore, Christians have this "All are sinners and need salvation" angle well covered with the Original Sin concept. It basically says "In Adam's Fall, we sinned all." So we all start out as sinners and need a savior. Enter Jesus. Oh, by the way, can I be a Christian and not believe in the Original Sin concept? I sure can't handle it now. To me it is the tool the church uses to keep people in bondage.


Now the question becomes--does the man believe in Jesus just because he wants to escape Hell, or because he is "CHA" (covering his ass). But hey, for the simple act of going forward in church and maybe even going through the ritual of getting baptized, one gets an insurance policy against Hell and with a side benefit of a ticket directly into heaven. Not a bad investment for a CHA person. How does God count this obvious "manipulation" of the system? Do surface Christians squeeze through the Pearly Gates just barely?


What does it mean to "believe" in Christ? I have asked this question often. My Christian relatives and many ministers I know always quote Scripture..."Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Thou shalt be saved." This is what the Apostle Paul said to the frightened jailkeeper when an earthquake hit and all the doors flew open. And the man did too...he took Paul and Silas and bound up their wounds and was very grateful. I don't blame him. Any man in his right mind would have believed and behaved the way he did in such circumstances. But how does one believe in, on ,or around this Jesus? Do I have to believe in Original sin to be saved? Do I have to believe in the Trinity to be saved? Do I have to believe in the Apostles' Creed? Do I have to believe in the Virgin Birth? Can I believe that Mary fooled around and the result was Jesus? Can I believe in a special place called Hades like the Catholics do? Can I be a member of the Irish IRA Catholics who believe in terrorism.? Can I be a Communist? Does God take in account a person's environment and parental teachings? Do I have to be baptized ? (The Church of Christ out of Abeline, Texas believes you must be baptized in their Church in order to be saved)? At what IQ level am I exempt from Hell? Do children who die go to hell? (Christians have a special exemption here, but if there is one exemption why can't there be more?) Do I have to believe in Pro-life? Do I have to believe in monogamy? Can I be a Mormon/Christian? a Buddhist/Christian? Can I be a Christian/homosexual? Bi-sexual? Lesbian? Can I be a Christian whore? (I have met some ladies of the evening who were a lot more compassionate than many Christians I know; moreover, didn't Jesus associate with them?) Can I worship my ancestors and believe in Jesus too? Can I believe also in evolution? Can I be a Christian nudist? Can I believe in Free Love? Do I get extra credit if I believe that Jesus was a human being that existed 2000 years ago but not God? How about, if I believe he was god with a small g? What if I believe that he was on the level of a son of god like Buddha must have been. What about all those folks born before Christ came? There was a bunch of them? Will Socrates be in heaven or Hell? The Christian reply to all the folks BC (Before Christ) is that they are under a different "dispensation." They didn't know it yet, but Jesus died for them. So people with God in their hearts and deeds got into heaven with a special pass--under a special dispensation. Now we shift to the AD area.

After Jesus' death all people had to get into heaven through him. He took over the keys to the kingdom. Was there a transition period? Does the belief in Jesus thing fit the first 200 years AD? Or does it take effect when Constantine set up Christianity as the religion of the empire? Prior to Columbus we had a whole half of the world that existed AD and had never heard of Jesus. I have pinned down several old ministers on this and they all say "If they live up to the light that is shown to them, they will be saved." (quoting from the Old Testament) This "Light" is a bit of a slippery and wobbly thing. How do you define light...how much light? Would a spark do? Does belief in the Great Spirit count? Will the American Indians get into heaven?
I simply cannot see how a rational man can believe in a "Jesus or else" type of religious dogma. I think Jesus would be very embarrassed to see what his followers teach today as "Gospel."


But lets return to the Hell thing again. If we take it that all men are sinners...Hey I can buy that partially--we all goof plenty in our lifetime, but I like the term mistakes better than sins. So why are all sinners assigned to a burning Hell automatically if they don't believe in Jesus? Or is Jesus like David Korish who let his followers burn to death with him because he thought he was God? My figures are rough, but some 3/4ths of this present world is non-Christian. Lets say that 1/4 of the world is Christian. Now of that 1/4th, about half don't go to church much and then quite a few of those that do, just do it out of duty. Then we get into all the many churches believing different creeds and doctrines? If all these churches can't agree on doctrine, why should I trust its ministers to show me the way to heaven? Can a man be a total "Jackass" (murderer, etc.) and get into heaven if he believes in Jesus on his deathbed? Why can't we just believe that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world...and include everybody so that there is universal salvation for all races, creeds and colors? I could handle Jesus a lot better if he did it once for all, for those in the past, present and future and it was a finished thing and everybody got a piece of it. Why is salvation so limited (according to the church)? In my years of study for the ministry which included many college Bible courses including 3 years of Greek Bible language, I noticed that after the bachelors level (and by the way it seems to me that most of those dogmatic dummies who preach the "going to Hell message" barely have a bachelors degree) ...that the scholars began to be more broad in their views. The men that really knew the Biblical languages and whose business was to study the Scriptures diligently, became more and more broad. I recall my amazement on reading the statement of one such famous Biblical Scholar who stated words to the effect that there would be a lot more people in heaven than we ever imagined.


Will a Christian who commits suicide go to heaven?


Is it possible that God could have a second Son...? Why only one? Wouldn't the world be better if there were many sons of God. Why should the Creator limit himself to one. Are there other worlds besides ours out there in Space? And If there were, would they get to heaven? Or will they be treated on the dog and cat level of once dead and that is it...no heaven and no hell?


"One cannot question God and God's hidden purposes"... thus sayeth the Church, but this is another Church baloney dogma. This is the same Church that has proved itself to be totally wrong in the past. No wonder they don't like to question God. Why didn't God wait another 2000 years now that we have satellite TV and the Internet and have Jesus come during this age. Why do it the hard way?


I went to counseling to a Christian counselor with my wife not long ago. I have been to many counselors and all this time my very Christian wife has taken the view that something is wrong with "him." Since she distrusts psychiatrists and counselors outside her Church box, I suggested we go to one of her own counselors. The counselor listened and questioned me about my beliefs. Then he proclaimed to my wife that I was now a non-believer and she did not have to live with me unless she wanted to. She had been quite unsupportative for most of our marriage and all in the name of Christianity. This was a big shock to her. We still live together...and rather happily in spite of the fact that our philosophy is so different.


My son thinks I am going to hell. He has followed his mother's path of fundamental Christianity and has become a fundamentalist minister (much to my regret.) Perhaps he will grow out of it as I did. I was just like him at his age. I love him. I honor where he is at. I hope he gets past it.


Is it any wonder that I may be a little hard on this Jesus. Hey, I don't like the one they talk about in the Churches, but I do somewhat like the one in the Bible without all the baloney surrounding him. Do I want him as my savior? No thank you.


A thought I had recently--Does my prayer to God count? Are my daily prayers for my family and other personal needs wasted because only the people who pray to the God who is the father of Jesus Christ have their prayers heard? This is extremeness and arrogance. I asked my son what he thought...and got the expected answer that "God does not hear the prayers of an unbeliever" (such as I.) I asked him, "Then son, should I cease praying sincerely in my own way for God to bless you and your family (as I do every single day)since my prayers are wasted?" (no answer)


Why is God so limited? Does God hear the prayers of children? It's very much like saying "Your money doesn't count because it is in British pounds instead of US dollars." I'm sure God has a conversion table...one that measures the heart attitude.
Well, that's it. Thanks for listening.


Powerful? No? It really makes u think about wat the whole religion thingy is about. Btw, glad that u guys manage to read till here. :)


And now for the article on brain control, and how ppl abuse it. Please do read it, if u want to know how other ppl do these tricks, and u can learn from it.


Read on. Btw, this is longer than the above passage, but more interesting, i reckon.


This was posted by zmbwf@somtel.com on April 22, 1997 on talk.atheism.


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-Agai n 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 brain washing 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, exitement, or nervous tension.


The progressive result of this mental condition is to impair judgement and increase suggestibility. The more this condition can be maintained or intensified, the more it compounds. Once catharsis, or the first brain phase, is reached, the complete mental takeover becomes easier. Existing mental programming can be replaced with new patterns of thinking and behavior.


Other often-used physiological weapons to modify normal brain functions are fasting, radical or high sugar diets, physical discomforts, regulation of breathing, mantra chanting in meditation, the disclosure of awesome mysteries, special lighting and sound effects, programmed response to incense, or intoxicating drugs.
The same results can be obtained in contemporary psychiatric treatment by electric shock treatments and even by purposely lowering a person's blood sugar level with insulin injections.


Before I talk about exactly how some of the techniques are applied, I want to point out that hypnosis and conversion tactics are two distinctly different things--and that conversion techniques are far more powerful. However, the two are often mixed . . . with powerful results.


How Revivalist Preachers Work
If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are pro bably 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 e very 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 co me 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 consciousnes--I've been using them for years in my own seminars. However, my participants are fully aware of the process and what they can expect as a result of their participation.


Six Conversion Techniques
Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for new converts. To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And they often need to do it within a short space of time--a weekend, or maybe even a day. The following are the six primary techniques used to generate the conversion.


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 us ed 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 a ttending 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 per centage 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 ho urs 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 t heir 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 mic rophone 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-actualiza tion. 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. Th is 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


If u make it till here, give urself a pat on the back. Well, thats all thanks. I didnt really add comments as they are reduntant in these cases. They speak for themselves.