Hello my friends. Just wanted to share with you some of these main points in the Chapter called " Unlocking Cult Mind Control" in Steve Hassan's book " Combatting Cult Mind Control" as I'm getting to the part in the book of putting into action how to help people , witnesses or any other mind controlled member of a cult to get out and escape to gain their freedom of thought back again. So thought you might like it !
Here it goes :
1. BUILD RAPPORT AND TRUST - One thing is to first mirror the body language of the person ( cult member) with who you are speaking. Use a non-threatening tone of voice and line of questioning and try to avoid judgmental statements.
2. USE GOAL - ORIENTED COMMUNICATIONS - In the business world goal-oriented communication represents the best way to influence people in a deliberate way. People have to think through their goals and objectives and best how to accomplish them. Try to find out just WHO it is you are trying to influence. Understanding a person " from the inside out ", is an invaluable asset . Research the character of this person in the cult thoroughly and go to as many sources as possible to find out how the person " ticks ".
3. DEVELOP MODELS OF IDENTITY- Find out who the person was before he joined a cult. How he thought about himself , the world, his relationships, his strengths, and his weaknesses. Also, find out what a typical cult member of that group was like. How the cult members view reality. Thirdly- See how this person behaves actually in the cult. By contrasting it with the model of a " cult " member and comparing it with the real person, you can get a good idea when the person is being very " cultish" .
4.GET THE PERSON IN TOUCH WITH HIS PRE-CULT IDENTITIY- Try to re-anchor a person's personal reference point on reality to a time when there was no cult identity and consequently no mind control. Help the person review what he was thinking and feeling at each stage of the recruitment process. Ask the person what positive things or hobbies they have enjoyed doing before the cult experience. What happy times did they have, recreation, things they enjoyed doing with no cult involvement ? If there are no strong positive experiences to use for this purpose, then some have to be made up or cultivated. Imagination can be used to create some positive experiences. For example one might ask questions as, " If you had had a warm loving family, what would it feel like " ? But try to remind people of what they enjoyed doing - pre-cult experience.
5. GET THE CULT MEMBER TO LOOK AT REALITY FROM MANY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES- It is important to introduce different perspectives to this person. Each time a cult member takes a different perspective, the cult is weakened somewhat. Ask a person to remember who he was before the group- it can also be quite valuable to ask him to imagine the future. What will he be like in a year, 2 years, 5 years,or even 10 years ? What does he realistically see himself doing then ?
Each time the member is able to step out of his shoes and into the shoes of another - whether a member of a different group, or even his parents or the leader of the cult- he is weakening his pstchological rigidity. Indeed , encouraging a cult member psychologically to take another perspective enables him to test his reality.
6. SIDE-STEP THE THOUGHT-STOPPING PROCESS BY GIVING INFORMATION IN AN INDIRECT WAY - Every person in a cult has been programmed to stop all " negative " thoughts about the leaders, the doctrine, or the organization, and has also been indoctrinated to believe that this group is superior to all other groups, and different from all other groups . This thought -stopping process is triggered whenever there is a " frontal " attack , or , in other words, whenever the person perceives that someone is attacking the validity of the group.
However, a cult member DOES NOT use thought -stopping when there is NO perception of danger.Since a cult member believes that he is not in a cult, but that there are other groups which are cults, it is relatively easy to have long, detailed conversations with the cult member withour his ever feeling that you are attacking his leaders or his group. For instance: If he is amember of Jehovah's Witnesses , he will not be threatened if you tell him about the Church of Scientology, or Mormons, or some other cult. Find similar things those cults believe in , in a controlling way , and by talking to the cult member about those churches, this indirect method of conveying information bypasses the thought- stopping mechanism in the witnesses brain. It allows their mind to be open that " cult mind control" is negative when you are describing other religions that do it, and in time their subconcsious mind makes a connection.
7. VISUALIZE A HAPPY FUTURE OUTSIDE THE CULT TO UNDO PHOBIA INDOCTRINATION- Unlock the fear they have of leaving a cult by asking them to visualize a picture of the future that they would enjoy. Questions such as, " If you had never met this group, and you were doing exactly what you wanted to be doing, what would that be ? " " Really, just imagine, if you were doing exactly what you wanted to be doing, so that you were totally happy, spiritually and personally fulfilled, and you never knew the group existed, what would you be doing ?"
Once a positive reference point is established, the cult-generated picture of a dark, disater filled life outside the group begins to be altered. When a positive picture is in place, a bridge to other possibilities opens. People outside the group can be seen as warm and loving.
8. OFFER THE CULT MEMBER CONCRETE DEFINITIONS OF MIND CONTROL AND CHARACTERISTICS OF A DESTRUCTIVE CULT- At this point you can perhaps start conveying your own experiences and specific information of what we personally went through in the witnesses, or whatever cult we were in. Explain how the beliefs were based in fantasy , also that because of some of their beliefs we were required to compromise our integrity to God by choices based on protecting the " power " of the Watchtower cult, not on what was morally right or correct. By us being given clear definitions of mind control, we were able to clearly see how we have been victimized and how we learned to victimize others, by bringing them into the cult. We had personally come to terms with our own values , beliefs, and ideals, thus enabling us to walk away from the "witness " cult.
So- there you have the main, important thoughts in a nutshell, as concise as I could make it , to use steps to get our witness relatives, or friends out of the cult. These are some of the methods I am going to try and implement in the next couple of months on my witness daughters. Gonna give it my all friends ! So, like always, I would appreciate any insights you have on this information , or questions, or advice you have as well. I look forward to your thoughts - all my friends here on JWD ! Peace out to you all, Mr. Flipper
Methods for Unlocking Cult Mind Control in Witnesses- By Steve Hassan
by flipper 20 Replies latest jw friends
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flipper
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JK666
Mr. F,
Isn't it amazing how many of these are the same tactics that got people into the religion, only inverted? The big one to overcome is the carrot of living forever on a paradise Earth. That is the typical "happy future" most JW's live for.
JK
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flipper
JK- I agree- it is rather ironic isn't it ? They used to tell us when we were witnesses to try to preach to them, without them knowing they were being preached to- so to speak ! But you are right, the biggie is getting them to let go of the fantasy paradise illusion ! I'm still workin' on that one ! Should be interesting ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper
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Abandoned
Thanks for the summary, Mr. Flipper, I hope I get a chance to help someone escape some day.
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flipper
ABANDONED- I hope you get to help someone out as well. I too hope to get my daughters out- all with patience and time ! Peace out bud, Mr. Flipper
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flipper
Hello all ! I figured I would bump this thread up for those who did not see it- as it explains from Steve Hassan's book ," Combatting Cult Mind Control" the methods you can use to get cult members out of a cult. Including Jehovah's Witnesses . I certainly invite your comments ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper
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darkuncle29
Hi guys, that is an interesting book to go through.
The last two trips I made to Wisconsin to visit relatives, I spoke with them about this book. I still don't think they 'got it'.
History: Back in the early 80's, when my mom first started studying with the JW's, her family and the Lutheran minister came down for an intervention. This backfired in a HUGE way, as they got emotional, argumentative, and verbally abusive. They pushed my mom off the precipise, where the JWs caught her and gave her all kinds of positive reinforcement.
So, my mom and her family had issues before all this, and because they just bulldozed there way in they made the situation worse. I was 7 at the time. I do remember this.
Now, 20+ years later I sorta forgive them, as they meant well, but as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. They were not equiped emotionally or mentally to do an intervention on anybody. My family is now out of the JWs, but there is still alot fo old damage because of the way the extended family tried to force the issues.
So what I'm saying--so there's NO misunderstanding-- is that I think the ideas of Steven Hassan and how to help people in cults are very good, they should be cautiously approached by non professionals. Would you give a katana to an amateur to defend themselves? I would hope not, as a weapon of finesse if not used by someone trained to weild it can cause alot of damage to inocent bystanders.
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flipper
DARK UNCLE 29- What you say is true ; a person has to be careful about the manner they use in helping a person get out of a cult like the witnesses. In the book, Hassan says not to force the issue, but take your time doing it. Also, the respectful, polite, caring tone of voice and the way you come across in helping a person out of a cult is more important than actually what you say ! So, I agree gotta be careful, but I have talked with a member of this board who got his mom out after 20 years in the witnesses, so it can and does work, with time and patience ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper
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worldtraveller
Hello Mr. F. As you know, I have a JW associate that someday I would like to call a friend once again, however this week he put me in a compromising position. He asked me to lie to a bank to get a loan. I was asked to embellish how long I had known him, but I could not. Because of this he was unable to get his loan. What I don't understand is why is it ok to ask someone else to lie, but not actually lie yourself.?
I will tell him today I am dissapointed in his request and will tell him my faith does not allow me to do his dirty work, but... .
Does anyone here have any idea how to pursue this, to try to open his mind up a bit?
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botheyesopen
worldtraveller (and flipper)- i've found, in harmony with the advice by mr hassan and others, that it is often more powerful to use the "burden of proof" approach in a soft way, similar to a post i read recently on this forum which said, "i'm really confused about something; can you help me to understand it?" (which is to be found in the old family book btw where it teaches husbands how to talk to their wives...) ---- this approach will ultimately place the other person in the position of having to make the case for their position. in the case of your (hopefully future) friend, you'd be asking him to help you to understand not so much why he did something unethical toward you, but why his belief system is so flexible on the subject of honesty. "how is it wrong for you to lie but ok for you to ask me to lie? isn't the problem with lying the fact that it uses falsehood to circumvent righteousness for the benefit of the liar? how is this different?" ---- similar approaches can work for flipper's daughters, and he's probably done it already: "girls- i'd love to believe what you believe because it would make us closer, and i see the closeness that comes from agreeing on these things... but i have trouble getting past a couple of questions, and no one has been able to answer them for me.." --- true story: eleven years ago, my cousin and his wife, both doctors, were having a nice conversation with me about the blood issue. i am experienced with the issue and have never had a problem talking shop with doctors about it. and indeed, he and his wife could not argue the medical side of things with me. but then he said something that hit me: "i hear what you're saying, but i just can't get my mind to accept the idea that god would want me to let my son die in that situation." what he said laid a time bomb: i could see making the leap of faith for myself, but not for someone else (like a child who may some day disagree with my faith). ten years later i was free. "cast your bread upon the waters (carefully though, like flipper is saying), for in the course of many days you will find it again.." (eccl 11:1) i hope this helps.