i've established a relationship with only 1 person in the cult recovery at this point, which is a celebration, but also insufficient as the relationship is still shaky. (i can freak out and ditch such things, then have amnesia afterward). this person suggested i listen to a certain podcast, which i have begun listening to some. in the podcast is opportunity for a lot of amnesia-deterring notes, which i have not been taking. one item is of note: an ex-scientologist also reported, as mentioned earlier in these notes, things that could possibly indicate something else coopting hubbard's influence on the members. basically, occasionally some of the things i have experienced seem to indicate message interception more than the person i am talking actually intending to relate what i perceive (in addition to personal delusion). cult members don't seem to have this paranoia: if they receive a message from a leader, they so far seem to assume that the leader themself sent it. [in the podcast this was not necessary true] another thing i heard from the podcast was from an ex-Moonie who actually participated in the attack on the white house in the usa, at the direction of moon. ch 12 this chapter starts with a section titled 'cults and the united states government\ the author goes straight into mkultra, wow. i wonder if they were scared at all when he researched it. they don't write like they were. author describes statement that mkultra was unauthorised, work of rogue workers, as a "claim", and i remember from my experience the tense urge for workers and victims to take blame for any problems there was government anticult activity in the late 1970s. i'm thinking of how the widespread culture of the 60s and early 70s evaporated, and the strong pressure for people to form hierarchical power systems. also how the apparant norm of accusing others of one's very own tactics, would make it easy to publicly "disown" smaller cults. - the author realised the political clout of cults when the usa government, despite releasing multiple studies and recommendations, took no action on cult activities in the late 1970s - the cia had been performing nonconsensual mind control studies on american citizens since the late 1940s. - John Marks read a short sentence in 1975, investigated the CIA's activities, and published The Search for the Manchurian Candidate in 1979. - John Marks efforts inspired Alan W. Scheflin and Edward M. Opton Jr, who performed further research, and published The Mind Manipulators the same year. - the books detailed two decades of CIA mind control research and activities, involving over 80 american subcontractors (MK-ULTRA) - MK-ULTRA's research was very thorough - MK-ULTRA involved nonconsensual research on both civilians and government employees, including things known to cause permanent harm - techniques included LSD and BZ (both drugs having permanent harm, BZ being worse), brain surgery, electroshock, sensory deprivation, isolation, hypnosis, and sexual and verbal abuse some of these things are things TIs and political targets experience too of course i have paranoia, and also experience targeting, i guess i just want to mention here again that a TI was very worried when I was going for cancer surgery, and told me that it was stupid to do and I should not. i did. the surgery to my head lasted 10 hours, which is long and very abnormal. after my surgery, i could not read text for a week, which is also very abnormal. then, genetic sequencing of my tumor revealed that it had been misdiagnosed and no surgery was needed, which is also very abnormal. sorry for the paranoid insertion. all things rational, it was just very scary, which influences one a lot. - the book mentions the canadian psychiatric hospital that there has been some activism around, where Ewan Cameron, president of the World Psychiatric Association, supervised the research - the CIA destroyed most of the MK-ULTRA records, preventing other researchs from integrating and reproducing the work information on how they were destroyed is needed. - ABC has a quality documentary on MK-ULTRA called Mission Mind Control - Senator Frank Church led The Church Committee to investigate the research in 1975. However, it did not go any further than existing published work. - CIA used two strategies to prevent investigation of the work: it leaked stories to guide investigation, and denied any responsibility for the program - It is known that MK-ULTRA was not a rogue element, that higher ups were indeed responsible: - The media available at the time included a recording of a speech from the top of the CIA discussing details of the program. - Thousands of victims means large-scale. - Funding for all such research flowed through the government. something not mentioned here is that a research director was the head of the world psychiatric association. I imagine mind control is very useful for engaging investigations of mind control, regardless of specific points. - one of the barriers in the way of investigating MK-ULTRA was a lack of public information on mind control - coming to this world event with extended experience in mind control, questions were raised in the author: why wasn't the government informing people of the dangers in general? why did discussions shift into religious liberty and free speech? - there has not yet been an official government statement on the existence or dangers of mind control - Germany, France, Belgium, and other European countries have created task forces to investigate mind control cults. The US government has no public initiative the author is aware of [author considers FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, and "any other intelligence-gathering agency"]. - mind control cults pose a clear threat to national security. a high-ranking government official must make a statement. to me it seems highly likely that cults work together to coerce government workers to not make waves. it also seems quite possible the cults heavily overlap the government. the boss story describes there as being a top-cultist named Boss who basically runs governments via heavily influence in collaboration with other dictators and executives. confusing paranoias. [lost some notes here from a finger mistake] - american people have spent millions of tax dollars on harmful mind control research. such money should be spent on investigating the devastating effects and dangers of mind control. - former cult members are an untapped research opportunity the author states there is "no political will" for these things; may not be familiar with activism. if you don't do it yourself, some lobbyist does. - public, maybe partly classified, ethical research can have medical and security benefit. - conducting research into mind control, the government has a responsibility to educate the public that it at least exists at all [i think he means that when you learn about mind control, it is an intense thing, and anybody who learns this holds this responsibility, which makes a lot of sense to me.] - the government's silence indirectly condones unethical undue influence ongoing in the country - mind control must be exposed to full public scrutiny to honor the nation's core principles of freedom and democracy next section is mind control and professional mental health - victims of undue influence can't count on mental health professionals meeting their needs - this is strange because the DSM contains a diagnosis for victims of thought reform - in the DSM 5 it is Other Specified Dissociative Disorder 300.15 (F44.9) page 305, number 2 - it states victims of extreme brainwashing may present with changed or questioning identity - professionals tend to be unaware of this diagnosis, and the specialized approaches that have been developed to handle it - there was an opportunity to change this in 2002 when Zimbardo was president of the APA and chaired a convention panel called Cults of Hatred - people from all over the mind control recovery communities attended - extended words from zimbardo are reproduced in the book. he clearly cites that mind control can cause anybody to do anything. - the APA board members did not "wake up" to mind control, similar to previous efforts given cult lobbying and influence, the author seems to fail to consider forming individual relationships with board members to get a sense of what might be going on and what would be needed to change things - a previous attempt was Dr Margeret Singer in 1983. internal politics appear to be at work. the APA deemed the problem not serious enough. - it is dreadful that neither the institutes of state nor psychotherapy have stepped up to help those adversely affected by mind control - the author is hopeful that this will soon change, via enlightened professionals and mostly growing numbers of active former members forming allies mind control research - despite government disinterest, much public research happens - Robert Jay Lifton: 1961 Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, 1986 The Nazi Doctors, 1999 Destroying the World to Save It - Margaret Singer + Janja Lalich: Cults in Our Midst; and Crazy Therapies - Philip Zimbardo: The Lucifer Effect - Louis Jolyon West and Paul Martin, pseudo-identity disorder paper - Robert Cialdini: Influence, details six laws for alteration - Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson: Age of Propaganda - former cult members from major cults shared stories: Deborah Layton, Nori Muster, Alexandra Stein, Richard E. Kelly - leaders tend to have one or both of two serious disorders: narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and/or antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy / sociopathy) - Steven Kent: Narcissistic Grandiosity and the Life of Sun Myung Moon - Daniel Shaw: Traumatic Narcissism: Relational Systems of Subjugation [recommended by author for reading] - Sam Vaknin: Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisted, also several videos on youtube/samvaknin - Anna Salter: Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders [author says is best book on sex abusers and most cult leaders] this book might be good for understanding Boss! - Flavil Yeakley studied cult members and administered a test that very clearly detected the presence of a new identity Yeakley's test could be good to share with a therapist, although it would make sense to check literature for how to filter out normal psychoses. - Some of the researchers call the phenomenon of a suppressed original identity "cloning". Yeakley's test gave separate MBTI codes for the different personalities. These codes look like they would provide for gross profiling of cult doctrines based on members personalities. the identification of a shifting personality was considered indication of problematic mind control. - much more research needs to be done - well-respected professionals who are experts on mind control: Lifton, Singer, West, Zimbardo, John Clark, Edgar Schein, Michael Langone, Carmen Almendros, Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Bill and Lorna Goldberg, Steve Eichel, others associated with the International Cultic Studies Association - epidemiological studies are needed to investigate public health effects - public health issues include psychotic breakdowns, violent acts, suicides, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and anxiety disorders - FMRI research has many possiblities. A hypnotic state activates the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Distinctive brain signatures have been identified for identity switched in dissociative identity disorder. I think at this point we know that everything somebody experiences or does produces a brain signature. Author may not be aware of this. - cults are actively performing unethical social psychology experiments; exposing the biological effects of this is a way to stop them - incredible good can come from brain signal research - research is needed into beneficial uses of mind control: weight loss, motivation, smoking cessation my experience, and i believe others, leads me to believe that ethical mind control could aid most mental health issues - mind control for reduction of depression. David Burns teaches a little in Feeling Good - simple technique: repeatedly imagine a better future - ethical mind control means the locus of control must be within the self mind controlling yourself is the only good kind of mind control. can initially seem antithetical if one has learned the opposite. - voluntary mind control could significantly reduce crime by giving people more options for handling their situations - people who know how mind control operates have a distinct advantage, both in influencing themselves and others, and in protecting themselves and others from unethical influence - use of mind control, and anything mind-altering, must be guided by morality and wisdom - we need thorough debate and building in of protections - the societal understanding of mind control is just beginning - much more must be done to educate professionals and empower them to help those in need protecting children from cult abuse - there is extended research showing the effect of abuse on the developing brain, and also showing that the brain is resilient and retains plasticity - indoctrinated children may have constant hate and fear, or even be trained how to kill. these are abuse. - countries providing for this abuse should be held accountable. the nuremberg tribunal suggested this constitutes a crime against humanity. - David Cooperson: The Holocaust Lessons on Compassionate Parenting and Child Corporal Punishment . shows clearly how physical harm to a child harms the child's development. stoplegalchlidabuse.com to change the laws - organizations that abuse children, such as jehovah's witnesses, should not be tax-exempt, and countries that provide for this should be held accountable. the jehovah's witnesses have policies in place that protect criminal pedophilia and punishes victims who speak out. victims who flee tend to be enslaved on the streets. - action is missing to protect children from being kidnapped or sold to human traffickers - if you have sex with someone who looks underage, they probably are. call the police and rescue the minor. there could be laws requiring people to report suspected child trafficking. the writing is unclear on whether the author is requesting there to be laws, or stating that there are laws in some areas. such areas could be safer and have more options around trafficking and coercion. - christian science and jehovah's witnesses refuse medical treatment for their children. given these are destructive cults, the laws for religious exemption should not apply here; they must be amended to protect the childrens' health and lives. - twelve tribes and followers of christ do not register their children at birth. this hides the large number of child deaths due to faith healing, from being tracked in normal systems. - Janet Heimlich: Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment ; Child Friendly Faith Project - after divorce or separation, even noncult parents tend to indoctrinate the child against the other parent. this happens more strongly when a parent leaves a cult. children may be taught stories of molestation. - Amy Baker and Paul Fine: Surviving Parental Alienation; Co-Parenting with a Toxic Ex . developed a program for middle school guidance counselors, to prevent abuse after divorce - BITE model has been vital for children indoctrinated against a parent. it helps them understand what happened to them. - homeschooling can work great outside a cult, but homeschooling inside a cult may not protect children. in public school, somebody sees if a child is physically injured, for example. public schools can also observe trauma reactions and other indicators. cults and the law - present usa laws mostly don't recognize that mind control exists, without the threat of physical force - there are laws against undue influence for protecting children and vulnerable adults - courts tend to not agree that undue influence causes radical personality change when the individual is not elderly - this is normal. it took many years to show courts that victims of domestic violence could not freely leave - victims of cult abuse can struggle to find justice in courts - legal theories protecting cult victims, that may exist, have not been applied - judges can see terms like "brainwashing" or "mind control", even when testified by scientific experts, as fanciful or outlandish. it can be hard to bring scientific testimony to a court when the terms are used to describe it. - possible avenues include fraud and intentional emotional distress, although there is not much precedent - human traffickers use the same mind control as cults, and law enforcement and other associated professionals are beginning to recognise these things - several states have Safe Harbor laws, protecting minors forced into prostitution, who receive advocatres - Kathleen Kim: The Coercion of Trafficked Workers . the law must be applied fairly and in support of victims. - cults hide behind religious freedom. this is supposed to apply to beliefs, not harmful behaviors. cult lawyers conflate these things. - Marci Hamilton: God vs the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty - groups with influence over lawmakers can acquire special treatment under the law again the author doesn't mention processes of influencing the laws ourselves and may be unaware of them - a view is that, although we have freedom to worship and behave as we choose, we also need freedom from other people's attempts to make us do things as they want us to. - analysis of recruitment and conversion. does a group have a right to deceive recruitees? does a group have the right to manipulate environment, thoughts, and feels, in order to create a conversion? where should the line be drawn? more ahead - recently, Alan Scheflin, applies the legal concept of undue influence to all human beings. what remains is scientific detection of undue influence. - Social Influence Model, or SIM, detects mind control - 6 elements: 1. influence 2. influencer's motives 3. influencer's methods 4. circumstances of influence 5. influencee's receptivity or vulnerability (regardless of general attribute) 6. consequences for both parties . there is abundant data on each element to base legal arguments around. - currently cults have better legal protections than victims, partly due to legal financing cults have, and the use of the first amendment. sometimes the ACLU has sided with cults. - civil lawsuits by former members have had mixed results - a huge libel suit against the moonies won in europe. the moonies had to completely compensate the ex-members for legal fees. - people who accuse a cult of using "mind control" or "brainwashing" are themselves protected by the first amendment from liability for defamation. legal cases have backed this. please speak out. - some lawyers have offered to assist cult victims in these suits, sometimes pro bono - Paul Grosswald had a recent case protecting examiningthewmscog.com - cult-owned businesses flourish when the economy gets shaky: they have free labor and avoid paying taxes because employees turn their wages over to a tax-exempt organisation. this also hides the massive profit the business makes. - cults have taken over the running of some companies via programs that teach people how to influence and control others - threats of lawsuits by cults chill many people, and also the media - Heather Kaven: Falun Gong in the Media: What Can We Believe? - author has received personal relation that things were not published due to fears of litigation. others have publicly stated they have received this as well. - with an open internet, it has[/had?] been difficult for cults to do information control this may have related to the situations of bandwidth filtering and censorship laws cults & mlm businesses - ftc can sue MLM ocmpanies - any company that claims becoming millionaires by claiming the same to others can be reported to government - Fitzpatrick, Brooks, and Craig accoridng to pyramidschemealert.org, careful research around pyramid scheme legality. the white paper is important and useful. - white paper includes statistical analysis of economic performance - useful for attorneys, regulators, journalists, financial analysts, interested consumers regarding FTC investigation and associated businesses the example MLM corp is herbalife. i'm not sure i've taken herbalife supplements or if i am remembering some similar company. a lot of thoughts on how these cults generally seem to coopt non-"america" cultures and present them in a very urgent and fake way. herbs of course are the original source for the science of pharmaceuticals, and have strong medicinal uses; these uses then support a lot of dying cultures. it is sad that herbs would instead be sold by a destructive cult. the pattern of coopting of weak cultures is displayed many other places. this seems very important. - the white paper does not address the prsence of mind control via BITE control, which is quite present in MLM groups - MLMs have a high price to get involved, which can harm the people involved unless they are in the top 1 percent of earners. like other cults, their lives are destroyed. - MLMs should not be in business - author states it is up to the government to protect public again not mentioning how government behavior stems from citizen behavior in a democracy - be wary of MLM groups; until they are stopped, customers and workers can be endangered cults and religious freedom all this aggressive use of freedom of religious belief, i wonder if more powerful cult leaders are christian and could have frustration remaining from when freedom of religious belief became a law at all. [i believe christianity was the law previously.] - cults major defense when criticism is religious freedom - religious freedom is a well-known and widespread human right. it is very important. - religious freedom provides to beliefs, not behaviors. human sacrifice, for example, is not allowed. - quote "your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man's nose begins" he uses a bullhorn example, 3 AM. i am again worried regarding the MOVE group who used a bullhorn and were likely heavily politically targeted; he described them as a cult early in the book i did learn of this group near the start of my own experience, but later i encountered a long-term dedicated activist who knew a woman who survived the group's targeting, so it seems quite reasonable to me that the group is real. also, they were black and the police bombed and killed them -- while the author here describes the law mostly ignoring cults. - free speech likely to cause serious harm is not given protection by the law. religion is not immune from these limits. - Frederick Clarkson: Eternal Hostility; The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy . explores roots of the portion of the constitution. religious rights have limitations. - James Clarkson says that it is the responsibility of all sects to prevent sects from invading other sects nice to know the idea is old and published. - Thomas Jefferson also wrote that people must be free to enter and leave churches - laws must protet freedom of religion such that individual liberties and social values are not sacrifices, and people retrain their individual freedom to select their religion - it is not your beliefs that are the concern: it is how you are you are recruiting people. - clarkson addresses groups like cults, and describes them as _violating_ religious freedom - navigating a multi-religious society takes knowledge and maturity. we must embrace protecting those we disagree with, to protect our own cause. - George Washington wrote that bigotry and persecution must not be provided for - religious tolerance is important. as a moonie, the author was abused by non-moonies. this results in defensiveness, strengthening the cult's control. - because of freedom of religion, the author and others are able to leave their cult's doctrines. - banning cults entirely would force them underground; they do have the right to exist this concept is sketchy. we have seen similar things with recreational drugs, and criminal activity. some things do get forced underground. other things actually go away. people disagree on whether laws are good or bad. given that people coming out of mind control cults are saying not to ban them and that they are horrible, i, karl, would liken this to a victim of abuse saying not to stop their abuser, because they are scared the abuser will get mad and exert wrath. it's not exactly a solution. it's more a fear. the expression doesn't to me seem in line with the author's other expressions and choices that might back them. - it would be great for governments to support an inoculation program against destructive mind control and cults in which citizens are provided with an understanding to keep them free from undue influence that is of course essential, and it is severely immoral to not provide it. similar to education against harmful drugs. i imagine social network situations are making much stronger push for this now. [more notes lost from a finger spasm, again retyping] what you can do - learn more. documentaries: Going Clear; Truth Be Told; Prophets Prey. wedsites: openmindsfoundation.org; icsahome.com; familiesagainstcultteachings.org; freedomofmind.com . Author's other books: Releasing the Bonds; especially Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs - author's social media: twitter @CultExpert; facebook.com/FOMinc - read UN universal declaration of human minds and share widely. share resources with others. discuss things publicly and in reading/movie groups. write reviews on places like amazon. - protect yourself. research organizations before engaging them. ask questions provided in ch7. ===> do not share personal information to channels viewed by people who do not clearly demonstrate trustworthiness <=== if somebody newly shows "psychic powers" about you, assume they got information about you somehow. - lobby local, state, and federal politicians. set up appointments to express your concerns. ask them to stand up for human rights. - if you suspect somebody may be a victim, don't turn a blind eye. act quickly. express concerns to friends and family. [how to help if friends and family are involved or hopeless? pretty important.] - if you know a former member who is struggling, please go out of your way to help them find a job, re-enter the educational system, etc. do whatever you can to help them re-enter their culture, society, etc. - if you are a former member, help de-stigmatize cult involvement. tell your story. show people there isn't something "wrong" with us. help the public see we were unduly influenced. - if you can help members leave, please do. if helpful, there is also work available behind the scenes, helping people who are setting up websites, social media compaigns, contacting authorities, hiring attorneys and private investigators to find out background information ... => note: i believe the author says here their group is asking for help. if help is offered and refused, that would seem strange, after reading this. <= for government workers: - ask surgeon general, or some other high-ranking and credible fofficial, to state definitively that undue influence exists and that destructive cult mind control is bad for public health - educate law enforcement and intelligence agencies, so they can more effectively combat human trafficking and terrorism - regulate lobbying and impose stiff penalties for subverting the constitution and abrogating human rights - carefully review "religious" organizations applying for tax-exempt status. take action against those that wrongly have it, such as Scientology; citizens want their tax dollars used as the law directs, not as cults request. - set up an agency for reporting or whistleblowing. hire experienced investigators. questionable groups should be asked to reform their policies and pay damages to retain irs exemption. guilty groups should be stripped of the status and made to sell asset to compensate victims. it would be nice to get back money lost from a cult, when one figures out that this happened. noting here that again cults that coopt minority cultures also then entrain people who are excited both those cultures, and drain them of resources and neuter their cultural impact by surrounding them with a cult. for media workers - accept responsibility to support investigating journalism protecting the public good - do not hide the truth to protect a bottom line. maybe a body that funds attorneys to defend threatened journalists would help. - fire workers who worship or accept payment stemming from totalitarian cult leaders, especially very bad ones - publicise online the many cult exposes that are in archives - don't use cult-supporting names such as ISIS which is not a state; the Muslim term for the tiny destructive group is Daesh. ISIS/Daesh would work. the Wahhabi sect Al Qaedi members are is neither representative of Sunnis. - write more stories about these things. hold people up as the courageous heros they are. - idea of a truly independent investigative journalism entity, needed for democracy. it's worrying that a recent report described advertisers working with editorial boards to include product placement. for education workers: - if you are knowledgeable, offer a program, unit, class, or curriculum to teach these things. otherwise, bring in a qualified speaker. - create an atmosphere gthat encourages questioning, discussion, and diverse viewpoints - teach students critical analytic thinking - teach students to look out for others responsibly slightly missing: set up programs to teach everyone to recognise indicators of mind control, and things to do when it looks like it might be present. could work with human trafficking activists. for attorneys: - study and use Scheflin's SIM model - please represent victims without finances - educate judges - present at bar association meetings - contact Freedom of Mind for strategy, research, and witness work for mental health professionals: - attend a class or wkshop on these things. find training or supervision from a qualified expert. - when working with new clients, ask questions to help determine if they have been victims. if you do not have the appropriate training, refer them to professionals who do, or get trained yourself for spiritual leaders: - talk about these things with congregants and networks - bring in speakers on these things - practice, encourage, demonstrate, and speak, about spiritual discernment - act quickly when suspicion rises. speak with family members and friends. speak with a cult expert. - insist schools and seminaries teach how to counsel victims. clergy are often first responders, and many are unprepared. - practice tolerance and organize programs to bring people of differnt faiths together. ecumenism. - engage karen artmstrong's charterforcompassion.org for philanthropists: - please contribute as we don't have the financing of a cult. it could: - fund established people to research and write about these things - establish a think tank where research and resources can be centralised - develop educational programs around the human mind - support heoricimagination.org ; it is a veryt inspiring teaching tool. author wants to find funding to create new modules and make it the best method for mind control inoculation in the world. - develop facilities to help victims to understand and recover - support childfriendlyfaith.org and againstviolentextremism.org -- two non-profits the author works in - trainers are looking for support to train a new generation of how to leave "self-sealing systems" - share this cause with other philathropists - crowdsource! look at interests, share other parts with others coda - this work is author's heart-path - hopefully this book helps people understand how undue influence may be operating around the reader - => sharing the techniques that are in this book may likely increase the sophistication of cult programming. this risk is intentionally taken to fill a gap of motivating readers to able to start working to help themselves and others. - author hopes this book has large positive impact. hope readers join OMF, ICSA, and other counter-cult groups, and subscribe to their newsletters and journals. - if you've been through an experience, get involved and make a stand. help is needed! just sharing your story and knowledge is incredibly powerful. you can save lives by simply sharing your experience. - as cults are understood better, many many things will improve. most former clients of the author have returned to a life and become very productive citizens performing diverse professional work. where-ever you are, take a positive step. - you can make an enormous difference that's the book. to try to comprehend the words better i've been listening to the audiobook at the same time as reading it, which has helped me in a couple other situations. next the audiobook does the appendix, which i already posted, so i'll send the chapter and find that. the appendix is prior to the endnotes in the email for chapter 4. lifton's 8 criteria of mind control - Robert Jay Lifton: The Future of Immortality and Other Essays for a Nuclear Age; Cults: Religious Totalism and Civil Liberties 1. Milieu control 2. Mystical manipulation / planned spontaneity 3. The demand for purity 4. The cult of confession 5. Sacred science 6. Loading of the langugae 7. Doctrine over person 8. Dispensing of existence - Idealogical Totalism: Lifton's name for the Chinese thought reform practice from the Korean War 1. Milieu Control - control of communication within an environment - extremely intense control becomes internalized control, attempting to manage the individual's internal communication - full internal communication control does not happen, but it can go very far - "God's-eye view": believing the group controls reality - autonomy threatens this - in cults, this may mean group process, isolation from other people, psychological pressure, geographical distance or unavailability of transportation, and sometimes physical pressure - often a sequence of events, such as seminars, lectures, group encounters - each event or situation may become increasingly intense and increasingly isolated - ther esult is both physical and psychological difficulty in escape the milieu control like not using private keys! - cults and totalitarianism differ here, as cults need to manage situations outside their island, compared to a totalitarian state where there is not as much "inside" and "outside" - the management of an island of totalism can mean deeper control and systematic environment management - the imposition of control is closely connected to the process of change - a doubling / second self is formed, living side-by-side with the prior self, but somewhat autonomously from it this paragraph, mentioning doubling under milieu control, looks somewhat helpful for understanding this form of dissociation, which i experience - because of the milieu control, when outside the milieu the member's other identity expresses more [because the environment stimulates a different set of habits i'm thinking] - the two selves can exist together confusedly for a considerable time. transition periods can be the most intense, painful, and harmful. does not mention handling the confusedness 2. Mystical Manipulation / Planned Spontaneity - higher-ups plan "spontaneous" environmental events. they appear to arise on their own, but are planned. - presently, the cult pattern is for a particular "chosen" human being to be the savior or source of salvation, which gives a special quality for mystical manipulation as the leader is seen as mediating directly with the deity. this can strongly validate the spontaneous event. - when the spontaneity stems from the leader's word, mind control can reduce when cultists find other things out about the cult or leader - mystical manipulation leads to "psychology of the pawn" in cults - can also legitimise lying to outsiders 3 & 4: Demand for Purity & Cult of Confession - demand for purity calls for strong dichotomy both in the self and environment, between pure and impure or good and evil - continuing process of absolute purification - often institutionalized - stimulates guilt and shame - ties in to confession - in confession, guilt and shame are used to strongly influence members - confession pairs with criticism and self-criticism, often within small groups, focusing on personal change - confessions tend to still involve concealment, even if only because they do not know themselves well - confession can trend to have an attribute of supporting the behavior of confession rather than improvement of behavior. this is stronger in cult-style confessions. 5, 6, & 7: Sacred Science, Loading of Language, & Doctrine Over Person - sacred science is the provision of spirit as scientific, to pull in modern folk - significantly simplifies the world - cult may claim to have solved science - in moonies, the science is backed by a claim stating it, and visiting scholars who speak - loading the language refers to how words or images can become god - language may seem cliche-ridden, but has strong draw and power - may provide a simple way to interpret all experiences - prevents complex thought - doctrine over person refers to the conflict between one's real internal experiences, and what the doctrine says one should feel - the dogma is assumed true, and the real different experience then becomes a source of guilt or condemnation - doubts can be considered reflections of evil sounds like this would make dissociation - this conflict can also cause people to leave cults; membership can be harder than money 8. Dispensing of Existence - usually metaphorical - people who do not believe the doctrine are not real in some way - behaviors become those that provide for existence at all - being in the category of nonexistence can be very very frightening - acceptance provides great satisfaction, elite member - sometimes this is literal, and those who are not accepted are killed, described in totalitarian dictatorships - this totalistic approach to resolving problems is deadly - this is more dangerous as technology advances e.g. nuclear detonation could be used - none of the processes is airtight - it's important to write about these 8 processes, because there is a tendency in the culture to deny that such things exist - describing these also demystifies them imo the descriptions of lifton's 8 things are more confusing than the rest of the book. my notes could use a rewrite. - Lifton: Witness to an Extreme Centure: A Memoir - Lifton gave two videotaped interviews on freedomofmind.com finally, some of the author information - books: Combating Cult Mind Control; Releasing the Bonds; Freedom of Mind - the author has spoken and interviewed widely - invented Strategic Interactive Approach, a non-coercive alternative to deprogramming - has helped thousands of victims, starting in 1976, and educated professionals across society including jric.org - author was recruioted at college, spent 27 months in a cult, rose to be assistant director, and was deprogrammed after an automobile accident - gave massive set of private cult leader speeches documenting plan of world documentation to police and to the 1978 congressional subcommittee into south korean cia activities - founded ExMoon, Inc in 1979, 400 former members, one of the first and largest in world, now defunct - Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Inc founded in 1999, freedomofmind.com . consulting, counseling, publishing; upholding human rights, promoting consumer awareness, exposing abuses - co-developed Ending The Game for sex trafficking mind control help. trains for sex trafficking as well. - member of The Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard, forensic think tank that sounds a little relevent [i have a lot of experiences indicating need and yearning for certain forensic things that seem not understood anywhere, regarding human experience] - non-profit Freedom from Undue Influence is division of Dare Association, researching undue influence under Dr Michael Commons - doctoral student at Fielding Graduate University; seeking to do quantitiative research on BITE model as forensic instrument - devotes major portion of time and energy to actively consulting with individuals and organizations - see freedomofmind.com and freedomfromundueinfluence.org or on facebook for current information i got through the whole book !!!!!! i think i heard maybe a third of it, which is probably about the average honestly huh