This excerpt is from "The Battle For Your Mind," by Dick Sutphen, a professional hypnotherapist. Fascinating -- and terrifying! I've edited it for space -- the full article is on this site:

www.the7thfire.com

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How Revivalist Preachers Work

If you'd like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are probably several in your city. Go to the church or tent early and sit in the rear, about three-quarters of the way back. Most likely repetitive music will be played while the people come in for the service. A repetitive beat, ideally ranging from 45 to 72 beats per minute (a rhythm close to the beat of the human heart), is very hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state of consciousness in a very high percentage of people. And, once you are in an alpha state, you are at least 25 times as suggestible as you would be in full beta consciousness. The music is probably the same for every service, or incorporates the same beat, and many of the people will go into an altered state almost immediately upon entering the sanctuary. Subconsciously, they recall their state of mind from previous services and respond according to the post-hypnotic programming.

Watch the people waiting for the service to begin. Many will exhibit external signs of trance--body relaxation and slightly dilated eyes. Often, they begin swaying back and forth with their hands in the air while sitting in their chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will probably come out. He usually speaks with a pretty good "voice roll."


The "Voice Roll" Technique

A "voice roll" is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when inducing a trance. It is also used by many lawyers, several of whom are highly trained hypnotists, when they desire to entrench a point firmly in the minds of the jurors. A voice roll can sound as if the speaker were talking to the beat of a metronome or it may sound as though he were emphasizing every word in a monotonous, patterned style. The words will usually be delivered at the rate of 45 to 60 beats per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect.


The Build-up Process: Inducing Altered States

Now the assistant pastor begins the "build-up" process. He induces an altered state of consciousness and/or begins to generate the excitement and the expectations of the audience. And the result is the audience's attention span is now totally focused upon the communication while the environment becomes more exciting or tense.

[ie, The pastor is producing that adrenaline rush in the congregation, making them more likely to remember and absorb what is said...and less likely to critically think about it.]

Assured Continuation: Fleecing the Flock
Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced alpha mental state has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection plate or basket. In the background, a 45-beat-per-minute voice roll from the assistant preacher might exhort, "Give to God...Give to God...Give to God...." And the audience does give. God may not get the money, but his already-wealthy representative will.

Bonding by Fear and Suggestion
Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He induces fear and increases the tension by talking about "the devil," "going to hell," or the forthcoming Armageddon. [More adrenaline]

Testimony: Creating Community Spirit
In most revivalist gatherings, "testifying" or "witnessing" usually follows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on stage and relate their stories. "I was crippled and now I can walk!" "I had arthritis and now it's gone!" It is a psychological manipulation that works. After listening to numerous case histories of miraculous healings, the average guy in the audience with a minor problem is sure he can be healed. The room is charged with fear, guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.

Miracles
Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the edge of the room, or they are told to come down to the front. The preacher might touch them on the head firmly and scream, "Be healed!" This releases the psychic energy and, for many, catharsis results. Catharsis is a purging of repressed emotions. Individuals might cry, fall down or even go into spasms. And if catharsis is effected, they stand a chance of being healed. In catharsis (one of the three brain phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarily wiped clean and the new suggestion is accepted.

For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four days to a week, which is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic suggestion given to a somnambulistic subject will usually last. Even if the healing doesn't last, if they come back every week, the power of suggestion may continually override the problem...or sometimes, sadly, it can mask a physical problem which could prove to be very detrimental to the individual in the long run.

A Game in Which the Rules Keep Changing
The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many use "speaking in tongues" to generate catharsis in some while the spectacle creates intense excitement in the observers.

The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A man in Los Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of churches around the country. He tells ministers what they need and how to use it. This man's track record indicates that the congregation and the monetary income will double if the minister follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his efforts are in the sound system and lighting.

Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary importance in inducing an altered state of consciousness--I've been using them for years in my own seminars. However, my participants are fully aware of the process and what they can expect as a result of their participation.
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So what does the Revivalist pastor do that SGI does? That 45-72 beats per minute music inducing trances is interesting! I looked up "Forever Sensei" on Youtube. Not sure I counted correctly, but "Forever Sensei" is faster than 72 beats per minute." Maybe that induces adrenaline and excitement rather than trance. The newer songs, "I Seek Sensei" and "My Mentor and I" were slower, I believe in the high fifties, as in beats per minute. (Did SGI learn about the music speed/trance induction connection and thenconsciously introduce songs within this range?) And let's not forget chanting, which is a great trance-inducer. Sutphen has more on that, further in the article.

I believe it was Nichijew who posted some of the speeches from SGI's latest "Rock the Era," big meeting? It sounded like that was a lot of repetition (hypnotic) voice roll going on, followed by ratcheting up the excitement -- "Yay oneness of mentor and disciple" -- get the audience entranced and then excited -- and then repeat "oneness of mentor and disciple" again and again.

And then, there's the appeal to fear -- fear of evil priests, and disloyal members, fear that you won't gain enlightenment, fear that if you leave SGI, your life will just go to hell in a handbasket. Fear that you won't get these great benefits everyone else seems to be getting!

Spectacles like the Young Men's Division roller-skating pyramid also build excitement and adrenaline.

And of course, the testimony -- what SGI calls "Giving an experience." You hear so many stories of people who had financial, health, relationship, job, family problems -- chanted a lot, worked for the organization, realized their one-ness with the mentor, Ikeda....you DO feel like you could change anything in your life.

Even smaller, more spontaneous neighborhood meetings have some elements of this -- chanting, for trance induction, appeal to fear, community-building testimony (I overcame my problem and you can too!).

Bigger meetings with out-of-town, higher ranking leaders can really pull out all the stops and work the audience's emotions with dramatic speeches, performances, music. Surely some senior leaders have been trained in the voice roll and the selection of hypnotic music. If churches are using this covert manipulation, why wouldn't SGI?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2009 09:24AM by tsukimoto.

More from Dick Sutphen, "The Battle For Your Mind"

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Steps in the Decognition Process
Once the initial conversion is effected, cults, armed services, and similar groups cannot have cynicism among their members. Members must respond to commands and do as they are told, otherwise they are dangerous to the organizational control. This is normally accomplished as a three-step ~ Decognition Process.

Alertness reduction
Step One is alertness reduction: The controllers cause the nervous system to malfunction, making it difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality. This can be accomplished in several ways. Poor diet is one; Inadequate sleep is another primary way to reduce alertness, especially when combined with long hours of work or intense physical activity. Also, being bombarded with intense and unique experiences achieves the same result.

Programmed Confusion
Step Two is programmed confusion: You are mentally assaulted while your alertness is being reduced as in Step One. This is accomplished with a deluge of new information, lectures, discussion groups, encounters or one-to-one processing, which usually amounts to the controller bombarding the individual with questions. During this phase of decognition, reality and illusion often merge and perverted logic is likely to be accepted.

Thought Stopping
Step Three is thought stopping: Techniques are used to cause the mind to go "flat." These are altered-state-of-consciousness techniques that initially induce calmness by giving the mind something simple to deal with and focusing awareness. The continued use brings on a feeling of elation and eventually hallucination. The result is the reduction of thought and eventually, if used long enough, the cessation of all thought and withdrawal from everyone and everything except that which the controllers direct. The takeover is then complete. It is important to be aware that when members or participants are instructed to use "thought-stopping" techniques, they are told that they will benefit by so doing: they will become "better soldiers" or "find enlightenment."

Thought Stopping Techniques
Marching
There are three primary techniques used for thought stopping. The first is marching: the thump, thump, thump beat literally generates self-hypnosis and thus great susceptibility to suggestion.

Meditation
The second thought stopping technique is meditation. If you spend an hour to an hour and a half a day in meditation, after a few weeks, there is a great probability that you will not return to full beta consciousness. You will remain in a fixed state of alpha for as long as you continue to meditate. I'm not saying this is bad--if you do it yourself. It may be very beneficial. But it is a fact that you are causing your mind to go flat. I've worked with meditators on an EEG machine and the results are conclusive: the more you meditate, the flatter your mind becomes until, eventually and especially if used to excess or in combination with decognition, all thought ceases. Some spiritual groups see this as nirvana--which is bullshit. It is simply a predictable physiological result. And if heaven on earth is non-thinking and non-involvement, I really question why we are here.

Chanting
The third thought-stopping technique is chanting, and often chanting in meditation. "Speaking in tongues" could also be included in this category.

All three-stopping techniques produce an altered state of consciousness. This may be very good if you are controlling the process, for you also control the input. I personally use at least one self-hypnosis programming session every day and I know how beneficial it is for me. But you need to know if you use these techniques to the degree of remaining continually in alpha that, although you'll be very mellow, you'll also be more suggestible.
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SGI training, conventions and big meetings -- people are definitely exhausted, and often are skipping meals, so that their blood sugar is also low -- which again short-circuits your critical thinking. Rothaus speaks of having to sleep in a basement room on a mattress on the floor during his training, Nichijew was up all night guarding a plaque, Sushigirl didn't get to sleep because she had to guard a lion cub! My group and I often went to conventions in other states, and so we spent long hours driving to meetings or riding a bus -- so we too were in that exhausted, running on adrenaline state!

"Alertness reduction" and "Programmed Confusion" -- that can kick in with the constant rounds of meetings and organizational responsibilities that are imposed upon SGI members.

The marching? Well, I didn't think of marching as hypnotic, but why not? During military indoctrination, recruits march constantly. SGI's Young Men's Division has a brass band, and Young Women's Division has kotekitai, the fife and drum corps, and both groups march. And they often do so in uniforms -- just plain white for practices, fancier uniforms for performances. Hypnotic and teaches you that you are part of the group, not an individual. I believe that Ikeda established both groups back in the 1950's.

And the chanting -- leaders will often recommend that you do hours a day, especially if you have some problem that you're trying to change. We chanted at the beginning of meetings -- which made us more inclined to accept what was said at the meeting. And then we chanted at home too. I knew that chanting made me feel more relaxed; I underestimated how suggestible it made me! Now that I'm chanting less, I find I'm also more inclined to question things that other people tell me. One of my co-workers commented on this last week when we were at the same meeting. She said "You asked some great questions about the new proposal -- you were shyer a few years ago, you didn't do that." Well -- WAS I "shyer" in the past --- or maybe TOO tranquilized from chanting?

I felt very angry for about a year after I left SGI (I was not chanting at all for awhile.) Other members have mentioned feeling very angry too after leaving SGI. (Rothaus, you mentioned "detoxing.") I do think that part of it is just recognizing how badly we were treated in SGI...and connecting with the anger that we may have repressed for years. Definitely, that was part of it for me. And if you're chanting less, as I was, that may also be part of it.

I think that being angry at SGI, and how we were manipulated, is healthy. People have had horrible experiences:
--Manipulated into giving their last dollars to SGI and ending up homeless. (and no support from SGI once that happened.)
--Pushed to give money to SGI, as a child.
--Selling valued possessions to give money to SGI.
--Being berated harshly when a family member is dying
--Telling an abused wife that she should just chant and try to be a better wife!
--Verbal abuse and humiliation.
--Being told to chant more rather than seek medication and therapy for mental illness. (by someone with no training in health or psychiatry.)
--Discouraged from going to school and pursuing career/personal goals.
--Forced to work in the hot sun with insufficient food and water, and then humiliated for fainting.

These things are just wrong -- decent people don't do things like that! And no, the leaders who did these things will never apologize for them.

I don't want to be bitter my whole life -- but I also don't want to forget that many SGI leaders are liars, manipulators, exploiters of the vulnerable. I think that the answer is not repressing the anger, but channelling it-- warning others of these users, and being more aware of how people can manipulate me -- and more assertive if someone tries to.

Maybe the anger is a sign of waking up from the SGI trance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2009 10:27AM by tsukimoto.

Quote
sushigrl

I lost the ability to connect to other people on an honest level, as I automatically separated myself from others because I was a special "bodhisattva of the earth" and they weren't; I had something to give them that nothing and nobody else could. What a load of crap!!!!! Yes it's mind control, but it's also control of emotion, perception, action and reaction. It's taken me years to admit that and apologize to myself and my family members for having acted like this, even at my mother's grave. Sheesh! Yes anger is emerging at the bullshit fed to me that chanting in the SGI creates value. People will continue to chant for hours and look for any signs of benefit that they can. Anything to validate what they are doing. Even inventing things so that they will not feel or look like fools. And then one day voila! they get a raise, they find a job, someone lives, someone dies. All because they chant. It's funny that when beginning to chant, we are told that our life is like a muddy swamp, that we can't see the shit but it is there, and that we need to chant to overcome our "obstacles", when really we create our own obstacles by chanting!!! WE cannot always view everything in life as obstacle or benefit. It's too dramatic and time consuming. But heh, without that concept, what would the SGI have?

I can relate to this so much, sushigirl. Practicing with SGI really does create obstacles, not solve them. I feel like I've awakened from a dream! Since I am not with SGI anymore, I feel so much better. I am friendlier to other people, and much more open. Someone (I think it was tsukimoto) said that being in a cult makes you irritable. That is so true. I used to have fun and enjoy SGI activities, but for the past few years I was irritable. I didn't want to go to meetings, especially Cousin Rufus Gongyo. Even before those horrible videos were shown. I didn't want to go to district meetings. I was also irritable to other people in my life. But I had been a member for so long, and I really didn't associate my irritability and reluctance to participate as a desire to leave. I thought maybe I wasn't practicing enough. I tried to suppress critical thinking. Also there was the fear that SGI gave out about what happened to those those who left. My family practiced and I hardly socialized with non-members. So leaving took me a while. Now I just feel so much better. I've been so busy and have re-connected or made new friends. People who are reluctant to leave should not have any fear. Your life will be fine.

By the way tsukimoto, great post as always. In fact I used to hang around with the Hare Krishnas, mostly for the vegetarian meals (I was a poor college student and too cheap to buy groceries) and the same thing struck me as well. Especially when they spontaneously dance singing the mantra.

Sushigirl-- I definitely know what you are going through, especially since I am going through it as well. I still think chanting is a good thing, and I also think tsukimoto, Rothaus, and Nichijew would say the same (correct me if I am wrong). The problem comes down to how chanting is taught.

Believe it or not, SGI gave me some clues to this.

1. If chanting Nam-myoho-renge is the end all be all, that you can activate your Buddha nature and promote world peace, then why is NST so hated? Both SGI and NST chant Nam-myoho-renge (NST doesn't even say "Namu" like the other sects, by the way), but why do they hate each other with a passion? Differing gohonzon aside, the core of both practices are the same.

2. There was this story in the Human Revolution where this older woman had this argument with a YWD leader. The older lady was part of this sect where they worship the *Demon Mother and the YWD girl is telling her that it is wrong and that she should join the SGI. The older woman said, "Why? I still chant nam-myoho-renge-kyo, it's all the same thing isn't it?" They didn't agree, and later on the older lady had a slew of misfortune for about a whole year. When she relented and joined the SGI, everything went happily ever after.

That being said, the way SGI use the chanting is not improving our lives as much as its used more for dependency, in my opinion. You didn't chant enough to improve your relationship, you didn't chant enough to get a better job, you didn't even chant enough to be happy.

In fact, when I didn't get this one job, I also had that same guidance, if you will. It made me wonder, "Sure I chanted 3 days last week, and not even twice a day for for the 3rd day. I even chanted 30 mins each time, but I chanted a lot of daimoku for 30 minutes. It feels like one daimoku is worth $0.01, so 500 is worth $5.00. Something is not right here."

That being said, it's a good idea to re-examine yourself and see what you want. I still chant, but I also read a lot and am starting to practice Zen, which works well for me. What SGI (and every other cult) tells you is there is no option. "It's my way to Heaven, or the Highway to Hell." But there are ways to live your life the way you want and still be happy. In fact, I was one of the few SGI members who hang around with people who don't practice at all, and they are a lot happier than I am. So that says something.


*The funny thing about the Human Revolution is that while Ikeda likes to brag about Soka Gakkai's victories over other "false sects and religions", they don't give the rival sects' proper names. They are only granted nicknames in the books. For example, this one group called "The S. Order" in Human Revolution is actually this other new religion called Seicho no Ie. I have still yet to find the actual name of the sect that worships this Demon Mother.

Hi!
I wrote on this Forum many months ago because a friend was trying to make me join SGI, and I thank you so much for all of your information. I'm so grateful to all of you.
I have another question. My daughter's friend who belongs to SGI (her mom was the one pushing me to join SGI), has joined the Christmas Choir, and we were wondering if SGI celebrates Christmas???? Or is it okay for a SGI member to join a Christmas activities, with Christmas songs about baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph?
We think that this girl who is a SGI member is just trying to fit in with her Christian friends at school. But what would SGI think about it?
Thank you in advance for your information :)

Awaken7 - I sang in choir for 10 years of my life - we sang Christmas songs, Hanukah songs, etc. on some level as an adult I can look back and say I did it to fit in. But most of all, I did it because I like singing. I did it because no other songs were offered as alternatives. I also did other types of holiday performances and productions.

The guidance I was given was that it was OK to be harmonious with friends and family over the holidays. Although way back in the day some people were told to try and shakubuku family and friends over the holidays.

As an adult I feel conflicted about celebrating Christmas or Hanukah. I tell my husband that I do not believe in the religious reasons for celebrating the holidays.

I have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal saviour.

My biggest point - please, please, please understand that you are part of the Christian majority. Please put yourself in someone elses shoes before all else. Would it be fair for you if you were a Christian MINORITY to be told you were going to hell because you didn't believe in the majority?

SGI as I remember it does not have a policy about joining choirs that sing about baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Why is it important to isolate the girl further by shouting to the world that she is not a Christian, that it is bad for her to join the choir as she is not an authentic Christian? Perhaps it is part of someones human nature that one does not even realize - that is to figure out what is right and wrong from a Judeo-Christian perspective?

And no I am not part of SGI anymore. But the sting from being cast out as an outsider still hurts.

Awaken, I would hope that you would encourage the girl to join this fun activity, as it will show her and teach the respect for other faiths, and that singing together, they are really bringing their humanity to the forefront and showing the fact that friendship is valuable and needs to be nurtured. I would hope that the Buddhist mother will allow her to participate and enjoy her performance :) To me, music is a wonderful way to express oneself. I am not Christian, but I do enjoy and occasionally cry at joyous performances in choirs or orchestras. My heart is moved by music regardless of religious affiliation.

Tsuki, that post was wonderful. So much truth about the "training" process and the mind molding things that were done.
The leaders always said our training would be very useful to us in our adult lives..hmmmI haven't had the occasion to guard a lion since...neither have I had to serve water to a hot general director on stage lately either! Having kids now, I don't think the sleepless training even helped me raise my kids or stay up with them at night.

Can we think of anything that the training taught us that is valuable to us today? The only thing I can think of is that having had to do street shakubuku made me a better salesperson for a time..I could stuff my heart down my throat and really say some crazy things to sell! I think that's the only thing the programming did for me. Once in a while a semi nice memory comes back about some leader or other, but that's a rarity and usually it's about a leader I didn't know well, so I could have an imaginary connection.

I wonder if an indoctrinated person could read our posts and let themselves imagine that we are right. Or will we always be wrong in their eyes.Nobody in SGI lives longer than anyone else, they suffer from illness just like everyone, face unemployment and tragic loss such as in 9/11. The veil will someday be lifted and they will see the actual truth. Chanting and praying alone isn't bad, it's the fiery rhetoric that accompanies it which turns it to delusion in a person's life. I hope I can reach a point where chanting is enjoyable and the Gohonzon isn't Buddha as Santa Claus anymore :) What a sleigh ride though..Ikeda might be better dressed in that red and white suit..but he never delivers.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2009 02:47PM by sushigrl.

Its certainlly true that SGI programs and indoctrinates their members to "shakubuku family and friends over the holidays".
Those of us who have been REPEATEDLY shakubuku-ed by the same SGI people, over and over again know all about that.
Even worse can be Shakubuku harrassment in the workplace.

Very interesting about the "street shakubuku".

For the SGI member, they are conditioned and programmed to see it as cooking up some good Karma.
But in fact, the SGI street shakubuku is literally the same type cultic recruiting technique used by Scientology, the Moonies, and anyone other sect and cult you can think of.
The leaders of the cult train young people, often young women, to go out into the world and street and try to lure people into the sect, into a meeting, and then run the recruiting process of the sect on them.

If anyone can describe in detail the SGI "training" for street shakubuku, that would be very helpful.
What would be good to look at is what SGI "trains" the SGI member to do on the street.

Also, more importantly, any former SGI local leaders, how were they trained to train the SGI members in street shakubuku? That would be very enlightening, to carefully analyze the INTERNAL SGI training techniques. That is the real SGI.

anticult, I don't remember any specific "training" for street shakabuku, just modeling after the people I was with. The way it worked for me: we would all show up at the district house. We would chant. Then we would break up into groups of 2 or 3, and go to some location. We has favorite locations. The district leader or someone would not go out, but wait at home for the members to bring back guests. If all went well, then off to the temple we would go so that the guest could get a Gohonzon!