I began to notice about 10 years before I finally quit the WT Org, that members who quit did not appear to be unhappy, but quite to the contrary, they looked like they were having a jolly good time without the 5 KH meetings a week and the constant reminders to "do more for Jehovah". They took real family vacations- not forced time at summer conventions.
"Mind" Blowing Article on Watchtower Indoctrination! MUST READ!
by What-A-Coincidence 87 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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flipper
WAC- Great thread ! You know, when I was a witness I would go to the meetings and I swear most of the talks would hypnotize me, and put me to sleep , literally. Sometimes from working so hard, I'd sit there at my seat and pass out in my chair , dropping my Bible and books on the floor . So, it must have been hypnosis ! I do think the witness cult does the mind control thing and uses hypnosis tactics, but do it unknowingly , but nonetheless it still does damage . I think some cults use mind control tactics out of a need for power over others and control . But I think the Watchtower society is not smart enough to intentionally implement hypnosis
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integ
One of the above posts stated that one of the signs of true mind control cult power over it's members is that the members would willingly commit suicide if asked to.
I'm sorry, but there is NO WAY IN HELL that even a small minority of even the hardest-core witnesses would commit suicide for the 'Society". Maybe...MAYBE, a few of the real disturbed ones would follow through with it, but come on now?
I mean in a "Jim Jones Guyana tragedy" kind of suicide
I don't know if that disqualifies the WTS from being a cult or not, but does anybody honestly believe that the WTS would ever ask it's members to kill themselves???
Wait a second, would the blood transfusion thing qualify?
-Integ.
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What-A-Coincidence
Great comments guys. I am just getting involved with hypnotism techniques, but overall Steve Hassan covers mind control techniques in his book "Combating Cult Mind Control" ... his tenet is using NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) to get them back out/or snap them back to the real world ... Matrix pill if you will allow.
This thread has gotten lots of reads. I wonder how many Watchtorites have read it and said damn...could it be true??? could it be true??? could it be true??? pm if you want additional help. Your confidentiality will be assured as I once could not come out because of having fam. in.
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seven006
To me, this looks to be yet another newbie zealous Christian trying to sell his own version of a personal god product. He is using the advertising industry’s technique of “positioning” as well as the age-old fire and brimstone traveling salvation show hype.
He doesn’t write like a professional psychotherapist does, or would, but comes off as a tent preacher.
He makes general statements like he is some kind of expert but it is obvious that he, “like the Watchtower he is attacking” makes statements like, what he is saying, is indeed “absolute fact” when in actuality it is just his “uninformed” opinion. He looks be trying to fight bullshit with bullshit.
He speaks of all JW songs lulling those who sing and listen to them into some kind of subliminal hypnotic trance. He has obviously not heard them sing ”We’re Jehovah’ s Witnesses”. That little ditty is a call to arms marching song and is the opposite kind of song or melody that lulls anybody into anything. It’s a musical shot of adrenalin.
The technique the Watchtower uses is a lot more like the one Ivan Pavlov used in the classical conditioning or “programming” of his dogs. Every time he rang the bell, the dogs salivated. Every time there is some bad news reported on the TV news the rank and file JW starts shaking their head and repeating the word “Armageddon” ! “Armageddon”! over and over again. That’s conditioning and programming, not hypnosis!
This guy is trying to sell something.
It is snake oil salesmen like him that do more harm in exposing the Watchtower Printing Company than good. If he wants to make a name for himself and sell a few books on cult hypnotic techniques in a bullshit religion he should at least try to learn a few things about Scientology. L. Ron Hubbard did study psychology at a university in Washington State and that is well documented as well as the hypnotic “clearing” technique use by the auditors in their cult programming.
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nelly136
i've often wondered if the technique the borg uses could be narrowed down, as a kid as soon as i sat down at a meeting my mind would often leave the building before the speaker got through the first few sentences.
http://www.factnet.org/rancho1.htm
With coercive persuasion you can change people's attitudes without their knowledge and volition. You can create new "attitudes" where they will do things willingly which they formerly may have detested, things which previously only torture, physical pain, or drugs could have coerced them to do.
The advances in the extreme anxiety and emotional stress production technologies found in coercive persuasion supersede old style coercion that focuses on pain, torture, drugs, or threat in that these older systems do not change attitude so that subjects follow orders "willingly." Coercive persuasion changes both attitude AND behavior, not JUST behavior.
A coercive persuasion program can still be quite effective without the presence of ALL seven of these tactic types.
TACTIC 1. The individual is prepared for thought reform through increased suggestibility and/or "softening up," specifically through hypnotic or other suggestibility-increasing techniques such as: A. Extended audio, visual, verbal, or tactile fixation drills; B. Excessive exact repetition of routine activities; C. Decreased sleep; D. Nutritional restriction.
TACTIC 2. Using rewards and punishments, efforts are made to establish considerable control over a person's social environment, time, and sources of social support. Social isolation is promoted. Contact with family and friends is abridged, as is contact with persons who do not share group-approved attitudes. Economic and other dependence on the group is fostered. (In the forerunner to coercive persuasion, brainwashing, this was rather easy to achieve through simple imprisonment.)
TACTIC 3. Disconfirming information and nonsupporting opinions are prohibited in group communication. Rules exist about permissible topics to discuss with outsiders. Communication is highly controlled. An "in-group" language is usually constructed.
TACTIC 4. Frequent and intense attempts are made to cause a person to re-evaluate the most central aspects of his or her experience of self and prior conduct in negative ways. Efforts are designed to destabilize and undermine the subject's basic consciousness, reality awareness, world view, emotional control, and defense mechanisms as well as getting them to reinterpret their life's history, and adopt a new version of causality.
TACTIC 5. Intense and frequent attempts are made to undermine a person's confidence in himself and his judgment, creating a sense of powerlessness.
TACTIC 6. Nonphysical punishments are used such as intense humiliation, loss of privilege, social isolation, social status changes, intense guilt, anxiety, manipulation and other techniques for creating strong aversive emotional arousals, etc.
TACTIC 7. Certain secular psychological threats [force] are used or are present: That failure to adopt the approved attitude, belief, or consequent behavior will lead to severe punishment or dire consequence, (e.g. physical or mental illness, the reappearance of a prior physical illness, drug dependence, economic collapse, social failure, divorce, disintegration, failure to find a mate, etc.).
Another set of criteria has to do with defining other common elements of mind control systems. If most of Robert Jay Lifton's eight point model of thought reform is being used in a cultic organization, it is most likely a dangerous and destructive cult. These eight points follow: -
justhuman
Great comments from everyone...I don't know about the hypnosis part, but for sure there is brain washing technics. I mean it doesn't takes much for the brain washing to work. You just repeat the same words and it works just fine. It doesn't have to be true, since to repeat the same words you skip the part of what you are saying can be proved, or is lie. How many JW's can really proove 1914?How many can really proove the FDS dogma?They don't. They only REPEAT what they are told by the WT.
JW's have the truth, we are the truth, we are fighting against Satan and his world, the Organization is the ONLY way for salvation, Babylon the Great the false religion. Keep repeating this words and thoughts and soon you will end up believing them...simple as that
For instance we all used to hear the same specified words repeatedly at WT's meetings:
Organization, Faithfull and Discreet Slave,1914 Jesus invisible presence, last days, 144,000, Great Crowd, truth, John's Class, Slave Class, paradise, armagedon, New World Order?System, unbelievers, opposers, Satan and his demons.
Just to name a few but they are the basic ones...In the contrary to the Orthodox Church that I attend, and I 'm sure this happens to the other dominations also(not cults)it is a different attitude and approach regarding Christian faith. I was supprised at my first Eucharist that in the Church we do not glorify any organization, or a person. We praise Jesus think of Him, and how we should have a better life by following Him. Very simple, not all this hours that we used to spend in the WT trying to figure out who does John represents, what does a specific Bible passage means, if there is a first fullfilment and a second one, dates without any meaning, bogus prophesies that supposed they fullfilled back in the 20's with Judge Jo, and all this brain confusing subjects that have NO MEANING.
They are accusing the rest of the Christians that they do not have a clear message, but in the contrary the most confusing message is WT's. Because they are based in brain washing and personality control, I'm sure they are very good handling masses, and that is why they are the masters in mind control.
That is why many of us after leaving we find it very hard to adjust and become normal human beings. That is why many of us suffer with deppresion, and even some they comit suicide, due to the brain washing of the WT. and many need deprograming, because we used to live in an abnormal situation
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R.Crusoe
I wholly agree! They catch people on the idea that God wants them to think for themselves and choose His way but then swing the pendulum and say now God has caught you He never wants to let you think for yourself again! And they do this along so many hundreds of lines of reasoning and amongst all your colleagues /family that it is impossible to unravel whilst the inertia of everyone around you keeps the flywheel in heavy, revolving motion. They are so silently destructive. Neuron vampires who make you into one of them even though your soul wants out!
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AuldSoul
The technique the Watchtower uses is a lot more like the one Ivan Pavlov used in the classical conditioning or “programming” of his dogs. Every time he rang the bell, the dogs salivated. Every time there is some bad news reported on the TV news the rank and file JW starts shaking their head and repeating the word “Armageddon” ! “Armageddon”! over and over again. That’s conditioning and programming, not hypnosis!
This guy is trying to sell something.I agree, their techniques are much more similar to Pavlovian techniques of conditioned response to positive and negative stimuli. Seems like he is trying to push his idea well beyond the bounds of his clinical evidence for it.
How are you doing these days?
Respectfully,
AuldSoul