[ot] cult influence and power, 1988-2018

[Undiscussed Groomed for Male Slavery, One Victim of Many]

Chapter 3–The Threat: Mind Control Today

				Imagine, if you will, the following scenes.

				Saffron-robed men on street corners, dancing and chanting with
cymbals and drums. Bedraggled young people running from car to car,
selling flowers in the pouring rain. Glassy-eyed men and women
confronting people behind folding tables near busy intersections,
asking for money to quarantine AIDS victims and build particle-beam
weapons. Over nine hundred people—men, women, and children—lying dead,
face down in the mud.

				Mention cults to someone and these might be some of the images
you’ll evoke. Yet these images do not accurately represent cults, mind
control, and undue influence as they exist today. They represent only
a small fraction of these phenomena.

				Imagine, then, a different set of images.

				Business executives in three-piece suits sitting in hotel
ballrooms for company-sponsored “awareness” training, not permitted to
stand up or leave, even to go to the bathroom. Housewives attending
“psych-up rallies” so they can recruit friends and neighbors into a
multi-level marketing organization. Hundreds of students gathering at
an accredited university, being told they can levitate and fly through
the air if only they meditate hard enough. High-school students
practicing satanic rituals involving blood and urine, being directed
by an older leader who claims he will help them develop their personal
power. “Troubled” teens being sent off to boot camps by their deceived
parents, unregulated by the government, some run by religious groups
who seek to convert them.[47]

				Hundreds of women and men of every description paying huge sums to
learn cosmic truths from some channeled spirit. Tens of thousands of
women dressed in long dresses, living in harem-type households run by
men with long beards. Young girls and women (and men and boys, too)
being sold for sex, making their traffickers rich. Young Muslims being
trained to kill, rape and even blow themselves up in the name of
Allah.

				_These_ are some of the forms that mind control takes today.

				The Pervasiveness Of Cults

				Do you know anyone who has undergone or witnessed a radical
personality change because of such a group? The odds are that you do.
Someone you know—someone in your family, at work, or in your circle of
friends—has likely been directly and profoundly affected by undue
influence.

				In the past decades, the destructive cult phenomenon has
mushroomed into a problem of tremendous social and political
importance. It is estimated that there are now over three thousand
destructive cults in the United States, directly affecting more than
three million people.[48] These organizations come in many different
types and sizes. Some have hundreds of millions of dollars; others are
relatively poor. Some, however, are clearly more dangerous than
others. The largest and most destructive are not content to simply
exercise their control over the lives of their members. They have an
agenda to gain political power and use it to reshape American
society—or even the world.

				Considering how well these cults have been largely able to shield
themselves from public scrutiny, it might seem alarmist to regard them
as a threat to individual liberty and society as a whole. Yet, some
are influencing the political landscape through extensive lobbying
efforts and electioneering for candidates.[49] Some are attempting to
influence United States foreign policy by lobbying covertly for
foreign powers.[50] The Moonies, for example, were a major supplier of
money and guns to the Contra forces in Nicaragua.[51] They also
invested between $70 and $100 million in Uruguay,[52] in a failed
attempt to turn that country into the cult’s first theocratic state—a
springboard from which to pursue its declared goal: “to conquer and
subjugate the world.”[53]

				In the United States, cults exert tremendous economic clout by
buying up huge blocks of real estate and taking over hundreds of
businesses. Some enter corporations under the pretense of offering
executive leadership training, while harboring a covert agenda of
taking over the company. Some seek to influence the judicial system by
spending millions of dollars annually on top attorneys to bend the law
to their will.

				Since all destructive cults believe that their ends justify any
means, no matter how harmful, they typically believe themselves to be
above the law. As long as they believe that what they are doing is
right and just, many of them feel justified to lie, steal, cheat, or
to use any and all forms of undue influence to accomplish their ends.
They routinely violate, in the most profound and fundamental way, the
civil and religious liberties of the people they recruit. They turn
unsuspecting people into slaves.

				When I call a cult “destructive,” I do so because it meets the
specific criteria described in detail in the next chapter of this
book. Briefly, a destructive cult is a group that violates its
members’ rights and damages them through the abusive techniques of
unethical mind control. It distinguishes itself from a normal, healthy
social or religious group by subjecting its members to systematic
control of behavior, information, thoughts and emotions (BITE) to keep
them dependent and obedient.

				When domestic abuse survivors hear this definition, they often
describe their relationship with their abuser as a cult with one
follower and one leader. A pimp with four women (or men) under his
control forms a cult of five. A sweatshop of foreign workers who have
been economically lured there, and who now cannot leave, is a labor
trafficking cult. A multi-level marketing business that makes its
money not from selling products to buyers, but by misleading and
recruiting ever more sales associates, is a marketing cult. A
corporation that demands obedience and unpaid overtime from its
workers, and forces them into “motivational training” sessions that
are in fact mind control, is a business cult. Methods of operation are
what makes a cult destructive.

				If I had not personally suffered from mind control for two and a
half years, I would probably be a staunch defender of the rights of
such groups to practice freely, unhindered by public scrutiny. I am
extremely concerned about protecting personal liberty and defending
the Constitution’s guarantees of religious freedom. I fully support
people’s rights to believe as they choose, no matter how unorthodox
their beliefs. If people want to believe that Sun Myung Moon—or
Charles Manson, or their dog—is the Messiah, that is their right.
However—and this is a crucial point—people need to be protected from
processes that _make_ them believe Manson or Moon is the Messiah.

				This chapter looks at the different areas of society in which
cults arise, and the different techniques used to recruit members. How
a group recruits and what happens during membership determine whether
or not it respects people’s rights to choose _for themselves_ what
they do and believe. If deception, hypnosis, or other mind control
techniques are used to recruit and control followers, then people’s
rights are being infringed upon.

				Cults 101

				Cults are not new. Throughout history, groups of enthusiasts have
sprung up around charismatic leaders of every possible description.
But in recent decades, something has been added: the systematic use of
modern psychological techniques to reduce a person’s will and gain
control over their thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

				While most people usually think of cults as religious—the first
definition of _cult_ in _Webster’s Third New International Dictionary_
is “religious practice: worship”—they are often completely secular.
_Webster’s_ also defines _cult_ as “a usually small or narrow circle
of persons united by devotion or allegiance to some artistic or
intellectual program, tendency, or figure (as one of limited popular
appeal).” That second definition comes closer to the meaning of a
modern cult, but still falls a bit short. Modern cults have _virtually
unlimited_ popular appeal. For the sake of brevity, from here on I
will refer to any group in which mind control is used in destructive
ways as simply a cult.

				In times past, cult or sect leaders could be very compelling,
often abusively so. Charges of mind control against them have a long
history. But, until recently, leaders gained their dominance over
followers in a relatively hit-or-miss way, learning as they went
along. Cult leadership was an art successfully practiced by relatively
few. In some cases, groups that were considered cults in their
earliest days are now considered to be mainline religions. Of course,
even mainline religious organizations can have destructive aspects,
use undue influence, or become destructive cults. Cults can arise
within major religions, too.

				Over the past half century, undue influence has become more of a
science. Since World War II, intelligence agencies around the world
have been aggressively engaged in mind control research and
development. The CIA admits to having performed drug, electroshock,
and hypnosis experiments since the early 1950s under the code name
MK-ULTRA.[54] Research has expanded into other areas since then.

				Two generations ago, the human potential movement in psychology
began to experiment with techniques to direct individual and group
dynamics. These techniques were developed with the best of motives: to
force people out of debilitating mental ruts and show them how truly
different they could become. During the late 1960s, a form of group
therapy known as _sensitivity training_ became popular. In such a
group, people were encouraged to speak about their most intimate
personal matters in front of other members. One technique widely
popular at that time was the “hot seat” which was first used by the
drug rehab cult, Synanon. A member of the group sat in the center of
the circle, while other members confronted them with what they
considered to be the person’s shortcomings or problems. Needless to
say, without the supervision of an experienced therapist (and
sometimes even with it), such a technique opens up considerable
possibilities for abuse. Today the “hot seat” is used by some
destructive cults to demean and control their members.

				Another development that began to affect the general population
was the popularization of hypnosis. People were introduced to certain
techniques for inducing hypnotic trance—but often without adequate
consideration of the ethical aspects of working with the subconscious
mind. Originally these group process methods were used only on willing
participants, and many people reported positive experiences. Soon,
though, some of these techniques percolated out into the general
culture, where they became available for anyone to abuse. Unscrupulous
persons began using them to make money and gain power by manipulating
a coterie of followers. (My earlier discussion of Neuro-Linguistic
Programming provides one common example.) Unfortunately
“Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy to download such
information and training and to use it to manipulate and program
others into new beliefs, behaviors and even identities.

				Because of increased media coverage, people in the United States
began to become aware of the new cults in the middle to late 1970s. No
one of my generation can forget the spectacle of Patty Hearst, the
daughter of one of the country’s most powerful newspaper publishers,
William Randolph HearstIII, who transformed into Tania, a member of
the Symbionese Liberation Army, a left-wing terrorist cult.[55]

				As public awareness of the destructive potential of cult
membership began to grow, we saw the birth of deprogramming.
Professional deprogrammers, like Ted Patrick, hired by a cult member’s
family, would forcibly abduct the person and, often in a secluded
motel room, try to reverse the cult’s brainwashing.[56] Thousands of
cult members, like myself, were indeed de-brainwashed successfully,
and later gave dramatic public testimony of how cult mind control
worked. But many deprogrammings failed, and members and cults
sometimes brought lawsuits against families and deprogrammers. Worst
of all, deprogramming could be harmful to the cult member.

				Many families with members in destructive cults found abduction
and forceful detention repugnant. They also found the financial burden
great and the threat of lawsuits intimidating. If they didn’t want to
try a forcible deprogramming, they had no choice but to be patient and
hope that something would happen. As a result their family members or
friends remained in cults throughout the 1970s. Then something
happened to change the way the whole nation perceived destructive
cults: the massacre at Jonestown.

				Above Jones’s throne was affixed a sign which read, “Those who do
not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” While no one can
explain why Jones chose this saying from George Santayana as his
motto, the truth in the message, ironically, is relevant to us today
as we examine the history of cults and think about the implications.

				The Four Main Types Of Cults

				News of the Jonestown massacre shocked the world. In the 1970s,
there was little general understanding of unethical mind control or of
how widespread its use had already become in society at large. In the
decades following that massacre, cult groups have continued to grow,
unabated. New cults appear and older ones grow more sophisticated.
Currently, there are groups using mind control in many different areas
of society. These organizations include religious cults, political
cults, psychotherapy/educational cults, and commercial cults.

				*Religious cults* are the best known and most numerous. These
groups focus on religious dogma. Some use the Bible or Koran; some are
based on an Eastern religion; others draw on occult lore; and some are
purely the inventions of their leaders. Although most claim to involve
the spiritual realm, or to follow a strict code of religious
principles, it is more common than not for these cult leaders to enjoy
a luxurious lifestyle, with the groups owning millions of dollars of
real estate, and/or running extensive business enterprises. Think of
ISIS, Boko Haram, the Unification Church, Scientology,[57] Church
Universal and Triumphant,[58] The Way International,[59] or the
organization of Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, rebranded Osho by his
followers after his death in 1990).[60] Scientology is unusual, as it
began as a psychotherapy cult and also functions as a commercial cult.
It functions under the cloak of religion.

				*Political cults* often make the news, usually with the word
“fringe” or “extremist” attached. Rarely do people hear about the
deceptive recruitment and mind control practices that distinguish
these organizations from run-of-the-mill fanatical groups. These
groups are organized around a particular political dogma. One such
group’s leader, Lyndon LaRouche, has run for president in the past
eight elections, and claims to advise top government and business
leaders.[61] Another group, known simply as Move, was bombed by police
in Philadelphia after holing up with an arsenal of weapons.[62] Yet
another, Aryan Nation, believes in white supremacy, for many years ran
survivalist training camps, and has plans to take over the United
States or die trying.[63] The now-defunct Democratic Workers’ Party of
California was for years an extreme left-wing cult.[64]

				*Psychotherapy/educational cults* hold expensive workshops and
seminars that provide participants with “insight” and “enlightenment,”
usually in a hotel conference room. These cults use many basic mind
control techniques to provide participants with a peak
experience—which is to say hypnotic euphoria, although I don’t think
that Maslow would describe such events as ‘peak experiences’. That
experience is all that happens to most customers, but others are
manipulated to sign up for the more expensive advanced courses.
Graduates of the advanced courses may then become enmeshed in the
group. Once committed to the group, members are told to bring in
friends, relatives, and co-workers, or else cut off relations with
them. Recruiters are typically not allowed to disclose much about the
program.

				Many of these groups have caused nervous breakdowns, broken
marriages, and business failures, as well as suicides and accidental
deaths by reckless accidents. The people who run these groups
sometimes have questionable personal backgrounds, and, often, few or
no credentials.

				*Commercial cults* believe in the dogma of greed. They deceive and
manipulate people to work for little or no pay in the hope of getting
rich. Many such pyramid-scheme or multi-level marketing organizations
promise big money, but in fact fleece their victims. They also destroy
their victims’ self-esteem so they will not complain. Success depends
not on selling products or services, but on recruiting new people, who
in turn recruit others.

				Some commercial cults browbeat people into hawking magazine
subscriptions or other items door to door. These cults take out ads in
local newspapers, promising exciting travel and lucrative careers.
Cult recruiters set up interviews inside their hotel rooms, preying on
high school and college students. When people are accepted into the
program, they usually have to pay money to be trained, and then are
sent far away in vans to sell merchandise. Salespeople are manipulated
through fear and guilt, and are sometimes physically and sexually
abused. These people sometimes become slaves to the company and turn
over their money in order to pay for living expenses.

				Pimps and human traffickers run their own versions of commercial
cults. Since 2013, I have been working with survivors of trafficking,
helping them to understand how they were controlled and indoctrinated
into slavery.

				Recruitment: How It’s Done

				As we will see, there are many different ways people can be
ensnared into a relationship or group that uses mind control. Many
cults deliberately seek out people who are intelligent, talented, and
successful. As a result, its members are often powerfully persuasive
and seductive to newcomers. Indeed, the sheer number of sincere,
committed members whom a newcomer meets is probably far more
convincing than any doctrine or structure. The large cults know how to
train their “salespeople” well. They indoctrinate members to show only
the best sides of the organization. Members are taught to suppress any
negative feelings they have about the group, and to always show a
continually smiling, happy face. Recruiters are taught to size up each
newcomer, and package and sell the cult in whatever way is most likely
to succeed.

				In the Moonies, I was taught to use a four-part personality model
to help recruit new members. People were categorized as _thinkers_,
_feelers_, _doers_, or _believers_. Thinkers are people who approach
life with their minds, as intellectuals. Feelers lead with their
emotions. Doers are action-oriented and very physical. Believers are
spiritually oriented.

				If a person was categorized as a thinker, we would use an
intellectual approach. We would show him pictures of Nobel Laureates
at a Moonie-sponsored science conference, or philosophers discussing a
variety of interesting topics. A deliberate misimpression was given
that these giants of the scientific and academic communities were
supporters of the movement. In fact, to my knowledge, not one of them
actually supported the Moon cause. They were interested in meeting
with professional colleagues and friends. Of course, their
expense-paid trips and the thousands of dollars paid to them as
honorariums were added incentives. Many academics and some celebrated
politicians took advantage of these paid holidays with no concern for
the allure that their names were adding to an invidious cause.

				Feelers would always respond well to a loving, caring approach.
With these people, my group would accentuate our emotional well-being,
as well as the extended family aspect of the group. We would always
talk about love with such people, and how there wasn’t enough of the
_real_ kind of love in the world. Feelers automatically long to be
accepted and loved, so we would go out of our way to provide the
person with a warm and enticing feeling of unconditional approval.

				Doers are action-oriented. They like challenges and strive to
accomplish as much as they can. If they saw poverty and suffering in
the world and longed to make it end, we would tell them how much we
were doing along these lines. Perhaps they were concerned about war,
or Communism. We would always make it sound as though we were the only
organization with a workable plan of action (even if it was
objectively untrue, we believed it was true). We would tell doers
about the hundreds of programs we sponsored to heal a broken world.

				We saw believers as people searching for God, or looking for
spiritual meaning in their lives. They typically would tell us about
their spiritual experiences—dreams, visions and revelations. For the
most part, these people were “wide open,” and often recruited
themselves. It was always amazing to me to realize how many people
told us they had just been praying to God to reveal to them what He
wanted them to do with their lives. Many believed they were
spiritually led to meet one of our members. With them it was simply a
matter of sharing our testimonies and we would convince them they had
been led to us by God.

				Contrary to public perception, most of the people we recruited did
not fall into the believer category. Most were either feelers or
doers. Many of the so-called thinkers eventually became leaders within
the organization.

				With this one simple personality model to guide recruiters, and
hundreds of front groups to operate behind, the Moon organization cast
a broad recruitment net that drew in diverse range of people.[65]
Indeed, members regard themselves as “fishers of men,” a term taken
from Jesus’ metaphor for describing his disciples in the New
Testament. Unfortunately, four decades later, the methods of mind
control used by many cults are far more nuanced and sophisticated—and
potentially far more damaging.

				The recruiter’s work is made considerably easier because most
people have no idea how deep the pockets of major cults can be. Many
of the larger ones have grown hugely wealthy through public
fundraising techniques, as well as by tapping their own members’ bank
accounts and property. They reinvest a huge part of their capital into
recruiting more members.[66]

				Today, it is also quite common for some cult groups to spend huge
sums of money on public relations firms and marketing specialists.
They pay top dollar to experts to help present a positive image and
design recruitment campaigns.[67]

				The average person doesn’t understand mind control; doesn’t know
how cults operate, doesn’t know what questions to ask and what
behaviors to watch out for, and doesn’t believe they could ever be
sucked in. That’s why so many ordinary people are prime candidates for
cult recruiters.

				Why Do Cults Have So Much Success?

				Why is there so much complacency about the threat of mind control cults?

				First, accepting that mind control can be effectively used on
almost anybody challenges the age-old notion that human beings are
rational, and responsible for (and in control of) all their actions.
Such a worldview does not allow for any concept of mind control.

				Second, we all have _a belief in our own invulnerability_. It is
too scary to think that someone could take control of our minds. We
all want to have a belief in our own ability to completely control our
lives.

				Third, the processes of influence start from the moment we are
born, so it’s easy to take the position that everything is mind
control. _Why worry about it?_ We tell ourselves, “It’s a normal part
of life.” But, just as sex is a normal part of life but seduction by a
womanizer or femme fatale, or rape is not, influence is a natural part
of life, but _undue_ influence is not.

				Let’s dig into each of these preconceptions.

				First there is the idea that a human being is inherently rational.
If people operate from such a viewpoint, they believe that cult
members have rationally chosen to live a deviant lifestyle. If the
person is an adult, goes the argument, then they have a right to live
any way they choose. That argument might be true if no deceptive,
social influence techniques were used to unduly influence a person’s
choice. But, of course, these techniques are used.

				Furthermore, we human beings aren’t totally rational creatures.
Complete rationality denies our emotional and physical nature. We
can’t function without our emotions. We all need love, friendship,
attention, and approval. Most of us agree on the wonderfulness of
falling in love. Most of us also understand that the condition of our
bodies has a tremendous impact on the way we function psychologically.
Have you ever gone for a few days with little or no sleep? If so, you
probably weren’t functioning rationally and likely weren’t in total
control of your every action. Have you ever gone without food for
days? The mind begins to hallucinate when the body doesn’t have enough
sleep or food. In such circumstances, our physiology undermines our
rationality.

				Then there is the belief in our own invulnerability. We all need
to feel that we are in control of our lives. We don’t like feeling
that events are out of control, so we put reality into an order that
makes sense to us. When we hear that something bad has happened to
someone (perhaps being mugged or raped), we usually try to find a
reason to explain why that person was a victim. Was he or she walking
at the wrong time in a bad neighborhood? People try to ascribe a
direct cause-and-effect relationship to what happened: if something
bad happened to her, then she must have done something wrong. This
kind of behavior is called _blaming the victim_.

				Although there is value in trying to assess possibly careless
behavior (indeed, we must learn from life’s tragedies), the reality is
that the person just might have been in the wrong place at the wrong
time. Blaming the victim plays an important psychological role in
allowing us to distance ourselves from the person who was hurt. In
this way, we say to ourselves, “Such a thing couldn’t happen to me
because I am different. I know better.” Often people look at a cult
victim and say mistakenly, “What a weak-minded person; he must have
been looking for a way to escape responsibility and have someone
control his life.” In that way people deny the reality that the same
thing could happen to them.

				People believe that “it can never happen to them” because they
want to believe they are stronger and better than the many millions
who have fallen victim to mind control. Our need to believe that we
are invulnerable, though, is actually a weakness that is easily played
upon by cult recruiters. For example, a recruiter could say, “Now,
Bill, you strike me as a very intelligent, worldly type of person. You
would never allow anyone to force you to do something you wouldn’t
want to do. You like to make up your mind for yourself. So you won’t
let the biased media scare you with bizarre claims of mind control.
You’re too smart for that. So what time do you want to come over for
that lecture?”

				As for the philosophical position that everything is a form of
mind control, it is certainly true that we are constantly being
influenced by all kinds of people, ideas, and forces. Yet there is
actually a continuum of influence. At one end are benign or even
helpful influences, such as a friend suggesting that the two of you
see a particular movie. At the other end are deeply destructive
influences, such as indoctrinating people to kill themselves or harm
others. Most of the groups I’m concerned with fall near the
destructive end of the continuum.
				
				The Influence Continuum

https://dweb.link/ipfs/bafybeifgpitrntfc2y3xpjwhwivyh66wpkus3cnyckppqo4hr65fhiptdm
https://freedomofmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Influence-Continuum-2022-colors.pdf
https://freedomofmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Influence-Continuum-2022-colors-final-768x665.jpg
[the chart in the book has minor informational differences with the
web chart, and is described below]

Imagine a horizontal line with arrows at each end pointing outward. On
the left is ethical, healthy influence. On the right, unethical,
unhealthy, destructive influence, or: mind control.

Constructive, healthy qualities for individuals include respect that
each person has a unique, authentic self; unconditional love;
conscience; creativity and humor; and free will / critical thinking.
Destructive, unhealthy qualities for individuals include false (cult)
identity; conditional “love”; doctrine; solemnity, feat and guilt; and
dependency / obedience.

Constructive, healthy qualities of leaders include psychologically
healthy; knows own limits; empowers individuals; trustworthy; and
accountable. Destructive, unhealthy qualities of leaders include
narcissistic / psychopathic ; elitist / grandiose; power hungry;
secretive / deceptive; and claims absolute authority.

Constructive, healthy qualities for organizations and relationships
include checks and balances; informed consent; individuality /
diversity; means create ends; encourages growth; and free to leave.
Destructive, unhealthy qualities of organizations include
authoritarian structure; deceptive / manipulative; clones people; ends
justify means; preserves own power; and no legitimate reasons to
leave.

				
				An organization that provides helpful or constructive influence
has these essential traits:

				It routinely seeks the informed consent of its members.

				Checks and balances are built into its systems of governance, so
that no one person or sub-group can seize control.

				It is transparent about its mission, its finances, its governance,
and its decision-making processes.

				It encourages the growth, health and sanity of its members.

				Leaders of these organizations are honest, trustworthy,
accountable and transparent about what they do and decide, and why.
Their approach to leadership respects all group members’
individuality, choice, and free will. They provide members and others
with free and open access to information about the group. Ideally,
they are also sincerely loving, compassionate, wise (or at least
reasonably intelligent) human beings.
				
				If we look at a typical organization on the opposite end of the
continuum, we find that it exhibits these traits:

				No informed consent. Information is manipulated and controlled.

				It has a top-down structure, with a single leader at the top and a
small inner circle immediately below.

				It is authoritarian: orders are issued from the top, sometimes
without explanation or rationale, and those below must follow them
without question.

				It has no guiding ethical principles; all goals justify the use of
any means.

				It focuses on controlling, preserving, and acquiring power and
information, but shares little of these with rank and file members—and
none with outsiders.

				People at the top of these organizations do not lead through
wisdom, consensus, compassion, or even brainpower. They lead by making
their followers frightened and dependent. They demand obedience and
subservience. They often require their followers to dress, act, and
think exactly alike.

				As we will see in Chapter 4, one highly effective way to determine
where an organization falls on this continuum is to apply the BITE
model. As I mentioned, this model looks at four aspects of potential
control: behavior control, information control, thought control, and
emotion control.

				These four components are inherently neither good nor evil. If
mind control techniques are used to empower an individual to have
integrity and more choice, and the authority for his life remains
within himself, the effects can be very beneficial. However, if mind
control is used to change a person’s belief system _without informed
consent_ and make him _dependent on outside authority figures_, the
effects can be devastating.

				The more a group seeks to control any or all of these aspects of
its members lives, the closer to the extreme end of the influence
continuum it falls—and the more likely it is to be a cult.
					
						Authoritarian, Destructive Cult Structure

https://dweb.link/ipfs/bafybeibav5boyclsrbhhqnqd35ct5v7ay5cyegwsjgg5nf7cq5mhctvb64
https://freedomofmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Destructive-cult-structure.png
[the chart in the book has minor formatting differences with the web
chart, and is described below]

Imagine a pyramid-like structure with different tiers going from the
bottom up to the apex. From the base of the pyramid, imagine
concentric circles emanating outward. People at the top of the pyramid
are the leaders of the group, or the top leader; then sub-leaders, and
leaders of different entities within the organization.

				
				Another important model to help discern the core characteristics
of a group is this diagram of a destructive cult. When I evaluate a
group and its use of the BITE model, it is important to use
information that is descriptive of the pyramid and not the circle
outside the pyramid—I refer to these people as “fringe members.” A
person who is affiliated very loosely in a behavioral sense may still
be indoctrinated into the belief system through sleep deprivation,
trance states, intensive workshops, time on discussion boards, YouTube
video indoctrination, not to mention telephone calls, texts, webinars
and more. They are influenced and involved with the destructive cult,
but not to the extent of someone who works on staff 80 hours a week
and has no vacation time. That individual may be evaluated as less
extremely mind controlled than the staffer, but is still in a
destructive experience.

				Sometimes I am asked to consult with a person who is just
beginning to get involved with the group and has yet to experience the
extremes of the BITE model. By showing them the “bigger picture” and
helping them to see the “whole elephant” and not just the tail, it
empowers them to reality-test. Stepping back to visualize the entire
entity is important.

				People are being incorrectly described as “self-radicalized” into
becoming terrorists. These folks can be better understood as being on
the fringes of a destructive cult—but in the “sphere of influence” of
mind control. They are absolutely being recruited—by people in person
and online. Cult recruiters are expert at targeting vulnerabilities
and activating motivation. Political and religious cults that use
terrorist tactics are aggressively recruiting and some people are
being sucked into their vortex.


				Before we move on to a more comprehensive description of mind
control, there are a few more major points I wish to cover.

				Phobias: The Force That Robs Cult Members’ Freedom[68]

				We all know someone who has had a phobia. Yourself, perhaps? The
most common phobias include fears of flying in airplanes, public
speaking, taking elevators, driving in tunnels or over bridges, and
children commonly develop phobias about certain animals like snakes,
spiders, and even dogs.

				Basically, phobias are an intense fear reaction to someone or
something. A phobic reaction can range from very mild to very severe.
An intense phobic reaction can cause physical responses like racing
heartbeat, dry mouth, sweating, and muscle tension. Phobias can
immobilize people and keep them from doing the things they truly want
to do. Indeed, phobias can rob people of free choice.

				Often people develop phobias as a result of a traumatic life
experience. For example, a friend dies in a plane crash. An elevator
someone is traveling in gets stuck for hours without light. Someone is
bitten by a snake. We learn to associate extremely negative feelings
with the object. After such an experience, our fears can then take on
a life of their own and, in minutes or over several years, can become
full-blown phobias.

				The structure of a phobia involves several internal components
that interact to cause a vicious cycle. These components include
worrisome thoughts, negative internal images, and feelings of dread
and being out of control. Just thinking about the object can sometimes
trigger the cycle into action. The person may say to himself, “Oh, I
hope the teacher doesn’t call on me to give my report.” That thought
is enough to cause them to start feeling tense and anxious. They
see—usually unconsciously—a picture of themselves going to the front
of the class and freezing up. In this vivid “motion picture,” they see
themselves sweating and fidgeting, and their minds turning blank.
Everyone is laughing and the teacher starts yelling at them. This
imagined ridicule causes them to feel even more upset and fearful that
they will be called upon. Such a person could be well on their way
toward having a fully developed phobia.

				People who were sexually abused as children often have crippling
phobias about themselves programmed into them by their perpetrators.
Many children have no conscious memories of the phobia installation.
However they suffer deep trauma issues about identity and sexuality.
They are unable to visualize themselves being healthy and valued as a
unique human being. Not surprisingly, a large number of sex
trafficking victims were sexually abused as children, making them
especially vulnerable to recruitment and continued abuse. This
childhood mind control abuse set them up for being abused again and
again.

				What do phobias have to do with cult groups and mind control? In
some cults, _members are systematically made to be phobic about ever
leaving the group_. Today’s cults know how to effectively implant
vivid negative images deep within members’ unconscious minds, making
it impossible for them to even conceive of ever being happy and
successful outside of the group. When the unconscious is programmed to
accept such negative associations, it behaves as though they were
true. The unconscious mind of the typical cult member contains a
substantial image-bank of all of the bad things that will occur if
they, or anyone, were to ever betray the group. Members are
programmed, either overtly or subtly, to believe that if they ever
leave, they will die of some horrible disease, be hit by a car, be
killed in a plane crash, or perhaps cause the death of loved ones.
Some cults program members to believe that if they leave the group,
planetary nuclear holocaust will be the result. Yet cult-induced
phobias are so cleverly created and implanted that people often don’t
even know they exist.

				Of course, these thoughts are irrational and often nonsensical.
However, keep in mind that _most_ phobias are irrational. Most planes
don’t crash, most elevators don’t get stuck, and most dogs aren’t
rabid.

				Imagine what it would be like if you believed that mysterious
people were determined to poison you. If this belief were implanted
deep in your unconscious, do you think you would ever be able to go to
a restaurant and enjoy your meal? How long would it be before you only
ate food that you bought and prepared yourself? If, by chance, someone
you were eating with in a restaurant suddenly became ill, how long
would it be before you stopped eating out altogether?

				Such a belief—whether conscious or unconscious—would substantially
limit your choices. If the belief were not conscious, you might try to
rationalize your behavior by telling your friends that you don’t like
eating out because you are on a diet, or because many restaurants are
unsanitary. Either way, your choices no longer include simply going to
a restaurant and enjoying a good meal.

				In the same way, cult phobias take away people’s choices. Members
truly believe they will be destroyed if they leave the safety of the
group. They think there is no way outside the group for them to
grow—spiritually, intellectually, or emotionally.

				However, once they become conscious of their desire to leave, it
is usually only a matter of time before the authentic self develops a
stronger and stronger voice. Why? Because mind control groups
constantly change their doctrines and policies. Members are constantly
exiting, and leaders need to keep lying and change policies to try to
maintain control.

				NOTE: Working with extremist cult members and victims of human
trafficking, it is essential to professionally evaluate threats of
harm. They might not be all phobias. Unfortunately, for these cult
survivors, threats of harm to themselves or loved ones are often real.
Special steps must be taken to make sure they are safe.

				The Unconscious Mind: The Key To Creativity—And Vulnerability

				What makes us all so vulnerable to these influence processes? The
answer lies in the nature of the mind itself.

				The human mind has been described as an extraordinarily
sophisticated biocomputer that is oriented for learning patterns for
survival—and much more. It is remarkable in its ability to creatively
respond to a person’s needs, as well as to their environment. Our mind
filters out floods of information every second, so that we can cope
with those things that we consider important.

				Our minds are huge reservoirs of information, stored as images,
sounds, feelings, tastes and smells. All this information is
systematically connected in meaningful ways.

				Our sense of self develops over years of life experience. As we
grow and change, our beliefs about ourselves and the world change,
too. Our beliefs serve as the major means of processing
information—and of determining our behavior.

				We have a certain degree of conscious control, but most matters
are controlled unconsciously. The conscious mind has a narrow range of
attention. The unconscious does all the rest, including regulating all
body functions. Imagine having to tell your heart to beat 72 times
every minute. You would never have time for anything else. The
unconscious mind is the primary manager of information.

				It is our creative unconscious that allows us to make mental
pictures and to experience them as “real.” Try this experiment. Take a
moment and allow your mind to transport you to a beautiful tropical
paradise. Feel the warmth of the sun, a cool breeze, and the smell of
the ocean. Even if you have never been to such a place, it is still
possible to perform this experiment. Did you go somewhere else for
that moment? Our imagination can be channeled in other ways too. For
example, professional basketball players visualize the ball leaving
their fingers and going through the net before they shoot. These
capacities to fantasize and visualize exist within everyone and are an
essential component of being human. We all have dreamed about happier
times in our lives—perhaps meeting the “perfect” person, perhaps
winning the lottery. But hypnosis can also be used to create in our
unconscious minds a fantasy world that can be used to enslave us.

				As we grow, the mind does not erase previous memories: it layers
new experiences over them in a very systematic way. It is amazing how
easily we can shift back into past memories. For example, try to
remember playing with your favorite toy when you were a child, or
eating your favorite food. Our memories of childhood form a vast
storehouse that can be tapped and exploited by hypnotic techniques. It
is not accidental that many destructive cults tell their members to
“become like little children,” mimicking Christianity: “You must be as
one of these to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Adults can easily be
age-regressed to a time when they had little or no critical faculties.
As children, we were helpless and dependent on our parents as the
ultimate authority figures.

				The mind, despite all of its strength and ability, has weaknesses
too. It is dependent on a stream of coherent information to function
properly. Put a person in a sensory deprivation chamber, and within
minutes he will start to hallucinate and become incredibly
suggestible. Likewise, put a person into a situation where his senses
are overloaded with non-coherent information, and the mind will go
“numb” as a protective mechanism. It gets confused and overwhelmed,
and critical faculties no longer work properly. It is in this weakened
state that people become very open to suggestion.

				The mind needs frames of reference in order to structure reality.
Change the frame of reference, and the information coming in will be
interpreted in a different way. Take, for example, the Jewish rite of
circumcision. If you take away the cultural meaning, it looks like an
assault on a defenseless infant. Our belief system allows us to
interpret information, make decisions, and act according to our
beliefs. When people are subjected to a mind control process, most do
not have any frame of reference for the experience, and consequently
they often accept the frame of reference given to them by the group.

				When we make decisions, we usually base them on information we
believe to be true. We don’t have the time to verify every piece of
information that comes at us. When we shop, we tend to believe it when
we are told that a particular item is cheaper here than at any other
store. After all, why would the salesperson lie, particularly if you
can come back and complain? If we distrusted everything, we would be
paranoid. If, at the other extreme, we were to trust everything and
everybody, we would be naive and taken advantage of for the rest of
our lives. Therefore, we strive to live our lives in a balance between
skepticism and trust. A person with an open mind seeks to live within
that healthy balance. Mind control techniques seek to upset that
balance.

				Con artists are professional liars. Their greatest assets are
their looks and their ability to ‘charm’. Many victims of con artists
remark that they trusted the person because they “didn’t look like a
criminal.” The successful ones—Bernie Madoff, for example—never do.
They convey a humanness that bypasses a person’s defenses. They are
usually great talkers but do not appear to be too slick. Slickness
would give them away. Con artists size up their victim, make the con,
get the money, and leave.

				Cult recruiters use many of the same skills, but they don’t leave.
They want you to join them. Almost all of them were victims themselves
at one point. They believe that what they are doing is truly
beneficial for you. However, they want something more valuable than
your money. They want your mind! Of course, they’ll take your money
too, along the way. But they don’t run away like common criminals.
They want you to move in with them. Not only that, they want you to go
out and do the same to others.

				Like it or not, everyone is vulnerable to mind control. Everyone
wants to be happy. Everyone needs affection and attention. Everyone is
looking for something better in life: more wisdom, more knowledge,
more money, more status, more meaning, better relationships, or better
health. These basic human qualities and needs are exactly what cult
recruiters prey upon.

				It is important to remember that, for the most part, people don’t
join cults. _Cults recruit people_.

				Basic Recruitment Approaches

				How can one become more aware of cult recruitment? The best way is
to be able to instantly recognize the ways in which cults make their
appeals for membership. People being recruited by cults are approached
in four basic ways: 1) by a friend or relative who is already a
member; 2) by a stranger (often a member of the opposite sex) who
befriends them;3) through a cult-sponsored event, such as a lecture,
symposium, or movie; or 4) through social media such as Facebook,
YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, websites, blogs, and so forth. Even
Wikipedia is now being actively manipulated by wealthy cult groups.
Google, Bing and other search engines are routinely manipulated by
some of the wealthier cults, which have small online armies that bury
critical information or mount disinformation campaigns against
critics.

				Usually an individual does not suspect he or she is being
recruited. The friend or relative wants to share some incredible
insights and experiences. Or they say they “just need your opinion,”
in order to trick you into an indoctrination session. If the recruiter
is a stranger, more often than not you think you’ve made a good
friend. Surveys of present and former cult members indicate that the
majority of people recruited into destructive cults were approached
_at a vulnerable time of stress in their lives_.[69] The stress is
often due to some kind of major transition: moving to a new town,
starting a new job, breaking off a relationship, experiencing
financial instability, or losing a loved one. People in such
situations tend to have defense mechanisms that are overloaded or
weakened. If they don’t know how to spot and avoid destructive cults,
they are easy prey.

				It is important to recognize that recruitment doesn’t just happen.
It is a process imposed on people by other people. High-powered
business executives pressured by competition and driven by a need to
succeed are recruited by _colleagues_, who tell them about the
incredible benefits to be obtained from taking the “course.” College
students pressured by academic work and a need for acceptance make
friends with a _professional cult recruiter_, or go to a group’s
presentation on some current social issue. A housewife driven by the
need to do something with her life follows the example of a _friend_
and buys into a pyramid-style household supplies company. A high
school student is dared by _peers_ into dabbling in satanic rituals.

				Other people are initially brought into contact with a cult
through an impersonal medium. Some people begin by buying a cult book
advertised on TV as a bestseller. Others receive in the mail an
invitation to a seemingly harmless Bible-study session. Some people
answer a want ad. Some are recruited when they take a job with a
cult-owned business.

				Whatever the approach, personal contact is eventually made. The
recruiter starts to learn all about the potential recruit—their hopes,
dreams, fears, relationships, job and interests. The more information
the recruiter can elicit, the greater their opportunity to manipulate
the person. The recruiter then strategically plans how to bring the
person into the group, step by step. The plan might include effusive
praise and flattery; introducing the person to another member with
similar interests and background; deliberate deception about the
group; or evasive maneuvering to avoid answering questions.

				Virtually anyone can be seduced into a mind control relationship
or recruited into a cult, especially if they don’t understand what to
watch out for. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the typical cult member
was college-aged, but by the late 1980s it had become commonplace for
people of all ages to fall victim. Elderly people are quite likely to
be recruited.[70] The elderly tend to be solicited for heavy financial
contributions or public-relations endorsements. Many middle-aged
people are recruited for their professional expertise, to help set up
or run cult-owned businesses. Still, young people, for the most part,
represent the core workers. They can sleep less, eat less and work
harder.

				Although the white middle class is still the main target of
recruitment, several groups are now actively seeking out blacks,
Hispanics, and Asians. As they gather individuals from these
communities, they use them to design programs that will bring in
others. The big cults have already developed indoctrination programs
in Spanish, for example. Another target population is made up of
Europeans visiting, going to school or working in the United States.
After a few years of training and indoctrination (usually with expired
visas), they are sent home to recruit in their own countries. Cults
also reach into foreign countries to provide workers. For decades,
Scientology has recruited in Africa, eastern Europe and Asia to
provide staff for its U.S., UK and Australian organizations. Recruits
are offered a ‘scholarship’ which in reality is a 90-hour work week.

				Interestingly, cults generally avoid recruiting people who will
burden them, such as those with physical disabilities or severe
emotional problems. They want people who will stand up to the grueling
demands of cult life. If someone is recruited who uses illegal drugs,
they are usually told to either stop using them or leave. To my
knowledge, there are few people with disabilities recruited in cults,
because it takes time, money, and effort to assist them. People born
into cults who develop disabilities are often distanced and sent to
government welfare programs.

				Cult Life: Illusion And Abuse

				Once a person joins a destructive cult, for the first few weeks or
months they typically enjoy a “honeymoon phase.” They are treated as
though they were royalty. They are made to feel very special as they
embark on a new life with the group. The new convert has yet to
experience what life in the group is really going to be like.

				Even though most cult members say publicly that they are happier
than they’ve ever been in their lives, the reality is sadly different.
Life in a destructive cult is, for the most part, a life of sacrifice,
pain and fear. People involved full-time in a destructive cult know
what it is like to live under totalitarianism, but can’t objectively
see what is happening to them. They live in a fantasy world created by
the group.

				Some destructive groups essentially make addicts out of their
members. With alcoholism and substance abuse treatment so much in the
national spotlight today, it is important that mental health
professionals pay attention to this former cult member population.
People indoctrinated to perform excessive (hours-long) meditation or
chanting techniques every day can become psychologically and
physiologically addicted to the mind control technique. Such
mind-stilling generates strong releases of brain chemicals which cause
not only a dissociated mental state but also a “high” similar to that
created by drugs and other addictions. Some former members who have
used these techniques for several years report a wide variety of
deleterious side effects, including severe headaches, involuntary
muscle spasms and diminution of cognitive faculties like memory,
concentration, and decision-making ability. Of course, some pimps get
their victims hooked on heroin or meth or other drugs to control their
minds, make them dependent so there are serious health effects and
long rehabilitation is needed.

				Cult members tend to spend all their time either recruiting more
people, fundraising, or working on public relations projects. When
people are fully hooked, they donate large amounts of their own money
and assets to the group—sometimes everything they own. In exchange,
they are promised care and meaning for the rest of their lives. This
transaction leaves the person dependent on the group for everything:
food, clothing, shelter and health care.

				In many groups, however, this care is less than adequate. Medical
neglect is rampant. People are made to feel that any medical problem
is the result of some personal or spiritual weakness. All they need to
do is repent and work harder, and the problem will go away.

				Few cults carry health insurance for their devotees, so when a
person becomes critically ill, they are often sent as an indigent to a
hospital or free clinic. People who worked devotedly for years,
sometimes making hundreds of thousands of dollars for the group, are
told that the group can’t afford to pay their medical bills. Often
they are asked to leave the group until they have healed. A person who
requires expensive treatment will often be asked to go back to their
family, so that the family will pay the bills. If the person doesn’t
have a family who will help, they may be driven to a hospital and
abandoned.

				Some cults, like the Followers of Christ,[71] advocate faith
healing as the sole treatment for medical problems. The outcome can be
great suffering, or even death. People are told that their illness has
a spiritual cause, and are made to feel guilty for not totally
devoting themselves to the group. Some cults tell members that going
to a doctor would show their faithlessness. A few will even threaten
to excommunicate members if they seek medical attention.

				A related problem is child abuse. Many children have died or been
scarred for life because of their parents’ involvement in destructive
cults.[72] Many people have forgotten that nearly 300 children were
murdered during the Jonestown massacre. Those children had no choice
but to drink the poisoned Kool-Aid. The public also doesn’t know that
many of these children were the wards of the state of California and
had been adopted by Peoples Temple members to provide more income as
well as serve as cheap labor.

				Some groups advocate beating and even torturing children to
enforce discipline. At Jonestown, at night, some children were put
into dark pits that they were told were filled with snakes. Members
would dangle ropes from above to scare them. Although Jonestown was an
extreme example, several groups do use rods and sticks to beat
children, at times for hours and sometimes all over their bodies. Some
groups subject children to sexual abuse as a matter of doctrine.
Because children are often kept out of school and away from other
contact with society, the abuse goes unreported.

				Children are often raised communally and allowed only infrequent
visits with their parents. The children are taught to place their
allegiance with the cult leader or the group as a whole, not with
their parents. Playtime is limited or denied altogether. Children
typically receive an inferior education, if any. Like their parents,
they are taught that the world is a hostile, evil place, and they are
forced to depend on cult doctrine to understand reality. Although they
may be regarded as the future of the group, they are also usually seen
as a hindrance to the immediate demands of the cult’s “work.”

				Terrorist cults are known to abduct children and turn them into
killers and rapists. I wish to make special mention of Harvey L.
Schwartz’s book about trauma inflicted on children recruited to become
soldiers, _The Alchemy of Wolves and Sheep: A Relational Approach to
Internalized Perpetration in Complex Trauma Survivors_.[73]

				The casualties of mind control thus include millions of cult
members, their children, and society as well. Our nation is being
robbed of our greatest resource: bright, idealistic, ambitious people
who are capable of making an enormous contribution to humankind. Many
of the former cult members I know have become doctors, teachers,
counselors, inventors and artists. Imagine what so many cult members
could accomplish if they were all set free to develop their unique
talents and abilities. What if they channeled their energies into
problem solving, rather than trying to undermine the world’s freedoms
with some warped totalitarian vision?

				In the meanwhile, destructive cult groups continue to grow more
numerous and powerful, operating with virtual free license to enslave
people. It is ironic that in the United States, a country that
cherishes freedom and liberty, citizens are better protected from
sales pressure at a used-car lot than they are from organizations
whose intent is to hijack their minds and hearts. Until the law sets
restrictions on such practices and recognizes the existence of modern
mind control techniques, people are mostly left to protect themselves.

				Perhaps the single most important thing to realize in dealing with
destructive cults is that _we are all vulnerable_. The most we can do
to protect ourselves is inform ourselves thoroughly about the ways in
which destructive cults operate, and be “good consumers” when
approaching any group we might be interested in joining. Friends or
relatives of people seeking some kind of major group involvement or
passing through times of unusual stress should remain alert to sudden
personality changes in those people. If you do suspect that someone
you know is coming under the influence of a mind control person or
organization, act quickly to seek competent help. Most medical
problems respond better to early detection and treatment, and the same
principle holds true here.

				Be a good consumer about any group that interests you, before you
make any commitments. First and foremost, do careful research. One
place to start is with my own free site, freedomofmind.com. Other
helpful sites include icsahome.com, openmindsfoundation.org, and
apologeticsindex.org. However, please don’t assume that if a group
isn’t mentioned on any of these sites as potentially worrisome, it’s
automatically okay. Dig deeper. In Google or some other search engine,
type the name of the organization (with the entire name inside
quotation marks) and the word _cult_, also try the name of the group
(again, inside quotation marks) and the word _scam_ or _scandal_. Try
variations with the name of the leader of the group, and words like
_criminal_, _abuser_ or _sex_. Look at more than the first page or two
of results. Cults have learned how to bury negative articles and blogs
by manipulating search engines.

				In the 21st century, when it comes to _any_ group, it’s important
to do at least as much background research as you would before buying
a TV, computer or car.


Endnotes for Chapter 3

47.  Kidnappedforchrist.com is the web site of a powerful documentary
made about such a boot camp in the Dominican Republic.
48.  Glenn Collins, “The Psychology of the Cult Experience,” The New
York Times (March 15, 1982).
49.  Fraser Report, 326, 351-53, 368. “The Outline of Rev. Moon’s Hand
in Central America: The Unification Church, the World Anti-Communist
League, CAUSA and John Singlaub,” (Ford Greene, 1987), 13-17.“Moonie
Interests Said to Choose Montevideo as Centre,” Latin America Regional
Reports (Oct 14, 1983).Tim Cain, “Moonie Recruiting Groups Have Ties
to Contras in Central America,” Sandpaper (Oct 16, 1987).Jean Francois
Boyer and Alejandro Alem, “Moon in Latin America: Building Bases of a
World Organization,” Manchester Guardian Weekly (March 3, 1985).
50.  Fraser Report, 345.“The Way International,” Anti-Defamation
League Report (Spring 1982).“Government Probe of The Way Disclosed
Political Activism, ‘Pattern’ of Harassment of Witnesses,” CAN News
(July-July 1987), from “Religious Group’s Political Activities Subject
of Probe,” Bangor Daily News (Nov 21, 1986).
				51.  Louis Trager, “Evidence Points Toward North Tie to Rev.
Moon,” San Francisco Examiner (July 20, 1987).
				52.  “Moonie Interests on the Rise: The Empire Consolidates” Latin
America Regional Reports (April 1984).
				53.  “Significance of the Training Session,” Master Speaks (May 17, 1973).
				54.  John Marks, The Search for the Manchurian Candidate (New
York: Times Books, 1979), 72, 133, 182-192.
				55.  Patricia C. Hearst with Alvin Moscow, Patty Hearst: Her Own
Story (New York: Avon Books, 1982).
				56.  Ted Patrick with Tom Dulack, Let Our Children Go (New York:
E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1976).
				57.  Allan Maraynes, producer, “Scientology,” 60 Minutes (Volume
XII, Number 51), aired Aug 31, 1980.Eugene H. Methvin, “Scientology:
Anatomy of a Frightening Cult,” Reader’s Digest (May 1980), and
“Scientology: The Sickness Spreads,” Reader’s Digest (Sept 1981).Bent
Corydon and L. Ron Hubbard, Jr., L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or
Madman?(Secaucus, New Jersey: Lyle Stuart, 1987).Russell Miller, Bare
Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard (Great Britain:
Penguin Books Ltd., 1987).
				58.  Patricia Ward Biedernan, “$1.5 Million Award to Former C.U.T.
Member,” Los Angeles Times (April 3, 1986).Karen Kenney, “Church
Universal and Triumphant: Of Church business, Public and Private,” The
Valley News (Feb 1, 1980).“Fear of Church Grips Montana Town,” Daily
News (Feb 4, 1982).Mark Reiter, “One Man’s Story: Why Would a Man in
His 50s Join a Cult? Listen to Gregory Mull’s Tale,” 50 Plus (Oct
1981).Kerry Webster, “Her Will Be Done: Elizabeth Claire Prophet and
the Church Universal and Triumphant,” Herald Examiner (Jan 27, 1985)
(six-part series).Jim Robbins, “A Question of Good Neighbors,” Boston
Globe Magazine (Aug 9, 1987).
				59.  Wendy B. Ford, “Way Seduction ‘Invisible,’” The Journal
Herald (Jan 13, 1981).Jan Pogue, “The Mysterious Ways of the Way:
Victor Paul Wierwille has quietly built a huge religious following. He
believes that if people would just listen to what God told him 40
years ago, he could ‘remake the world.’ Some who know him well are
afraid he’s right.” Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer (Aug 1,
1981).Anne Cocroft Cole, “Janney Lost Career Dreams as Follower of
‘The Way,’” Loudoun Times-Mirror (Dec 10, 1981), and “Janney’s Life in
the Way: Sacrifice and Obedience,” (Dec 17, 1981), and “Now Out of
‘The Way’ Janney Warns Others,’’ (Dec 24, 1981).
				60.  Win McCormack, “Bhagwan’s Bottom Line: Rajneesh’s Far-flung
Empire is More Material than Spiritual,” Oregon Magazine Collector’s
Edition/The Rajneesh Files (1981-86), 91.
				61.  “The LaRouche Network–A Political Cult,” ADL/Civil Rights
Report (Spring 1982, Vol. 27, No. 2).Howard Blum and Paul Montgomery,
“U.S. Labor Party: Cult Surrounded by Controversy,” The New York Times
(Oct 7, 1979), and “One Man Leads U.S. Labor Party on its Erratic
Path,” (Oct 8, 1979).John Mintz, “Lyndon LaRouche: From Marxist Left
to Well-Connected Right,” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition
(Feb 25, 1985).
				62.  “MOVE Leader Wanted ‘Absolute Control,’ The Boston Globe (May
15, 1985 and May 16, 1985).“New Life for ‘Move’ Child in Wake of
Philadelphia Disaster,” The Cult Observer (Jan/Feb 1986), from the
Wall Street Journal (Nov 1, 1985).
				63.  Chip Berlet, “White, Right, and Looking for a Fight: Has
Chicago Been Targeted by a New Alliance of White Supremacists?” Reader
(June 27, 1986, Vol. 15, No. 39). “Idaho Bombings Part of Race War
Planned by Neo-Nazi Splinter Group,” CAN News (Oct 1986), from Couer
d’Alene Press, Idaho.Press Oct 8, 1986, and the Spokane
Spokesman-Review Oct 9, 1986. “Racist Groups Meet,” The New York Times
(July 14, 1986).“Two Neo-Nazis Convicted in Slaying,” The Cult
Observer (Jan/Feb 1988) from “Two Convicted in Radio Host’s Death,”
The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel (Nov 18, 1987).
				64.  Peter Siegel, Nancy Strohl, Laura Ingram, David Roche, and
Jean Taylor, “Leninism as Cult: The Democratic Workers Party,”
Socialist Review. 58-85.
				65.  Marcia R. Rudin, “The Cult Phenomenon: Fad or Fact?” New York
University Review of Law and Social Change (Vol. IX, No. 1), 18-19.
				66.  Scientology, Transcendental Meditation and the Moonies all
have fortunes in excess of a billion dollars.
				67.  For instance, Hill and Knowlton were employed by Scientology
to improve its image. The cult later employed Jack Trout of Reiss and
Trout.
				68.  For more information on treatment of phobias, contact the
Anxiety Disorders Association of America, 600 Executive Blvd., Suite
200, Rockville, MD 20852-3801, (301) 231-9350.
				69.  James and Marcia Rudin, Prison or Paradise (Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, 1980), 103.Lorraine Ahearn, “Mind Control Called the
Way of The Way,” The Capital (Annapolis, April 2, 1986), 12.
				70.  Diane Salvatore, “The New Victims of Cults,” Ladies Home
Journal (Aug 1987)Andree Brooks, “Cults and the Aged: A New Family
Issue,” The New York Times (April 26, 1986).
				71.  Webpage of the largest Christian Apologetic Site on Followers
of Christ.http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2459-followers-of-christ-church
				
				
				72.  “Public Hearing on the Treatment of Children by Cults,” The
Assembly of the State of New York (Aug 9-10, 1979).Shirley Landa,
“Hidden Terror: Child Abuse in ‘Religious Sects and Cults,’” Justice
for Children (Fall 1985, Vol. I,  No. 5).
				73.  Routledge 2013.