ch4 - author says biofeedback is one of many systems used to encourage autonomy rather than undermining it - the people who changed their personalities to run and support concentration camps were exposed to three psychological things: _behavior modification_ (consistent social relations that alter people's behavior without their awareness), , _group conformity_ (how individuals respond to patterns in groups), and _obedience to authority_ (behavior changes when one is directed by an authority or trusted figure) - to me it seems giving people a ridiculous thing to believe, then showing it is false but asking their belief to stay, is a way of testing their dedication and manipulability - when i described my experiences of being manipulated last decade, i would always get negative social feedback and no reply. whether natural or influenced, this is patent behavior modification. - i have definitely experienced mind control, and it is very hard for me to think about. i should call these people and ask them for advice. - "if you control the information someone receives, you restrict his ability to think for himself" - mind control theory stems from a theory called "cognitive dissonance theory". - four components of mind control: control of Behavior, control of Information, control of Thoughts, control of Emotions - cognitive dissonance happens when people experience contradictions. people shift their actual behavior, thoughts, and emotions, so as to reduce the dissonance when it is too extreme. my personal experience is that this relates to limits of emotional memory. i guess it is then somewhat sensical that i experience severe memory issues. i have fear here and something missing. - cognitive dissonance theory says people need to maintain order and meaning in their life, and to think they are acting according to their values and self-image; so these things shift to sustain this. i would describe this as dissociative trauma. it is painful to be somebody other than yourself. - this is really intense - a key takeaway from BITE is that only _one_ element of behavior, information, thoughts, or emotions needs to be controlled, to influence the other 3 and establish mind control - behavior control is generally asserted by limiting people's access, occupying their time, and/or establishing norms, notably of reduced decision making. people are generally in controlled groups and may experience reward/punishment via hierarchy, which they may believe they enjoy. ritual behaviors bind things together. - "social proof" is similar to but different from my internal "proof" label that my parts used to work with thoughts [... whether ,,, based on real experiences] - mentions the requirement of positive affect - information control: "deception is the biggest tool"; "essential". later, behavior control gives a ton of information control. spying hierarchically as a norm is performed. [hierarchical spying]. cult-specific information sources are produced. people are kept separate from others with disparate information, especially outside the group. [phone call screening]. local news about relevant cult activities are kept filtered. more "inner" differing information is revealed as superiors deem people ready. - members often believe they are experts on their group, but generally are the least in the know - daydreaming about finding therapy. maybe i could ask them to give a free training to sascha, and also hunt down a female therapist etc to resist information control across gender lines - the experience of believing controversial information and thinking both are "true" without issue is one i share; this is where cultists land when they learn "inner" information. for me the "truth" lets me speak to others honestly. amnesia now harming my further perceptions, sad. what i wrote might have been wrong. my experience was different from the one in the book. - ::: this section describes BITE from a place of physical cults. i did not enter a physical cult that i am aware of. i had these things through the less physical channels, such as "gang-stalking"/exposure to other influenced people, heavy behavior modification online, behavior of authority figures, communication channels, and technology, and [experiential cognitive dissonance], ... - thought control is engaged via indoctrination and an all-answering doctrine, cult-specific loaded languages of explanation and discourse, and thought-stopping techniques - rather than a cult-specific truth, although i saw some of this, i think it seemed i was mostly exposed to a denial of there being truth at all, which increases the dissonance. it definitely seemed like there were multiple systems going on simultaneously. - totalistic cult language "condenses complex situations, labels them, and reduces them to cult cliches" sound familiar? author says the label governs how members think. i've seen this for influence on non-members of course and my analysis has been around how the establishment and implicit use of assumptions engages our conversational and cognitive habits. when somebody assumes rather than debate, there is more dissonance -- more emotional memory required to engage without shifting -- in the responder. - thinking some on the authors description of 'cain abel' problems and whether a term is used to stop thinking around a situation, or to express an opinion, one's actual thoughts, around it. thinking that because the cain-abel label applied to all hierarchically vertical disputes, it became thought-stopping; but i guess it seems more the lack of clarity in the meaning of the words makes it this way, too, when a more clear label could be used to simply state the speaker's opinion that the person on the lower hierarchy must obey the person on the higher. remembering that words are how they are used. i think i'm wanting here to defend phrases used in communities with shared beliefs, when those aren't harmful. hard to think about. maybe a reasonable question is: does the phrase open the dialog towards more respectful and deeper considering, or does it close the dialog and push a specific action? this is probably easier for others to think about than for me. - loaded, cliche-filled languages also put up an information wall between the indoctrinated and the public, and possibly provide a confusion-driven path to guide newcomers through - loaded language helps them learn how _not_ to think or understand ... 'They learn that "understanding" means accepting and believing". remembering my consternation at the concept of understanding being bad. my subconsciousness physically hurt me, contracting my face to the point of intense pain against my will, to discourage any concepts of understanding, in that way i spent a year or more navigating. - learning of habits to retain the new thoughts and push out old or outside thoughts - describes layers of thought boundaries; denial, rationalization, justification, and wishful thinking - calling things out as fake news and conspiracies to keep members within information bounds. techniques like this result in criticism of the group strengthening dedication of members. - distracting behaviors/rituals learned to quickly engage to manage thought bounds. this can confuse me, as i have a habit of distraction i engage to manage my amnesia issues and such, but i also have the automatic self-distracting behavior triggers he describes, sometimes aware i am distracting myself, sometimes not. - "After leaving a cult that employs extensive thought-stopping techniques, a person normally goes through a difficult withdrawal process before they can overcome the addiction." - thought-stopping is very effective, and can effectively produce feeling control and slavery - these things definitely do not describe all my experiences. noticing how i respond to digital imagery flickers / unexpected UI inconsistencies very intensely. - emotional control: "guilt and fear figure mightily. however, most members cannot see". "they are both essential tools". i had huge projected guilt and fear, intensely obsessive. fear is used to prevent unwanted behaviors. author describes cult defining feelings based on behaviors etc desired to respond to them. i think i was exposed to this but was cut off when i rejected it. says happiness is the behaviors the cult desires, i think. strong value around loyalty and devotion, negative emotions only toward outsiders. criticize only the self. - first exposure to this section gives a lot of memories of exposure to facebook and community influence patterns before things went [to hell]. - cult definition of sexuality somewhat in this section [it seemed to me love was redefined as sex and marriage, removing caringness. very harsh. very strange to think of somebody as married to] [thinking of intense dissonance of behaviors being cast in terms of cult-like belief systems during possible behavior modification. quite similar to assumption dissonance.] - dependency and helplessness from randomness of reward and punishment [recall learning of pavlovian response being stronger when reward is random, while experiencing this, possibly roughlyish] - snippet from a daydream: "i don't think that any group you trust is a cult. i think we've both been exposed to mind control similar to that used in cults, by the people we _don't_ trust, not the people we do." [of course reality is important if it differs !] - entrapment: "anything you say can _and will_ be used against you. This device can even extend to blackmail, if you leave the cult." associated with fear of speaking out - strong fears around leaving built via both overt and covert horror stories. e.g. insanity. cults say members are free to leave, but prevent members from doing this via behavior, thought, information, and emotion control. - note: my experiences are not what a deprogrammer would expect. i need therapy for mind control, and my experiences are not what a deprogrammer would expect. - strongest minded individuals tend to get most involved and enthusiastic. similar to my experience regarding mind controlling challenges. [inhibition may relate to lack of clarity] - no one cult does _all_ the BITE approaches; meanwhile there are more that are not listed. - some phobia indoctrinations are extremely subtle - this looks like a mistake to me: "What matters most is the overall impact on the individual. Are they truly in control of their life choices? The only way to tell is to give them the opportunity to reflect, to gain free access to all information and to know that they are free to leave the group if they choose." This doesn't seem to address the BITE influences causing mind control, which seem specifically there to prevent those 3 thing. Maybe explained later. - the next section is getting too triggery for me. unfreezing/changing/refreezing is how my memories and behaviors change. i very strongly dislike this, and have found no way to talk about and manage it. this is a weekend and the people are not open. holy frack. - i strongly dislike this model. i think we very much need to prevent it. that is my opinion. - i am sad i dropped this. they said i could have a free session if i read the book and took the course. i am presently planning to find a referral to somebody with more availability. I ALSO KNOW AN EXISTING HYPNOTHERAPIST. after reading this much I should be able to work with him, or any hypnotherapist, much better.