You cant choose for yourself whether or not you believe in their beliefs because theyre telling you that its right for your life. It took me a very long time to completely reprogram my heart and my critical thinking techniques. Thats what real groups tend to do in real life. Love Bombing. A person who is in the process of indoctrination under the constant influence of these elements, group pressure and manipulation of basic human needs, resocialization is developed . How did it happen? is apt to be relegated to the bad and the impure. 2 Choose a subject or activity that you are passionate about. His steps are quoted in italics with my comments included below each step. Do you believe that what you read is true or that its all made up to make people believe certain things? Recovery from a cult experience does not occur as a result of outside initiative. Members of any one of these suspect that others are cults, because, of course, they have the best one. Is there ever such a thing as too much of anything? Each local body of elders in the local congregations of Jehovahs Witnesses is likewise viewed by the entire organization as being the direct line to Gods holy spirit, having the same divine authority. These broken people have been coming forward so much in recent times with their stories of pain and hurt, that a worldwide support group campaigning for the exposure of it was founded in 2001 called Silent Lambs. To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. A cult member's sense of self is systematically destroyed. 209 Episodes. makes it virtually impossible to attain a reasonable balance between worth and The truth is youre the one whos in charge of your actions. 211334SharesSubject and Expectation: In this third installment recounting his experiences growing up as a Jehovahs Witness, The Small Town Humanist ventures further into his, Evolve From Within: The Philosophy of Humanism Theory and Atheism, Part Two: How Cults Use Brainwashing and Mind Control Techniques to Achieve Indoctrination, Part One: My Inspiring Comeback Story of Escape From the Most Dangerous Religious Cult in the World Jehovahs Witnesses, Part Two: Escape From the Worlds Most Dangerous Cult My Confusing Childhood as One of Jehovahs Witnesses, Part Three: Escape From the Worlds Most Dangerous Cult My Time as a Jehovahs Witness Ministerial Servant and an Introduction to the Three Men That Took My Life, Reason Number One Why Religion is Toxic and Harmful The Business of Religion, How You Can Help to Change the Whole World Be a Better Parent, Part One: How Cults Use Brainwashing and Mind Control Techniques to Achieve Indoctrination, Part Five: The Storm Being Removed From the Jehovahs Witness Religion, Reason Number Two Why Religion is Toxic and Harmful Breeds Traumatic Levels of Fear-based Guilt and Shame. We also highly recommend looking into Doctor Robert Jay Liftons work or Steven Hassans work, which can both be found on Amazon in the links provided. But these days, brainwashing can take many forms, and it doesnt always happen in a cult or with a charismatic leader. selfish, and petty in the face of the great overriding mission This requires The inevitable next step No one has all the answers. Seeking a sense of purpose or a substitute family factor in. In 1961, Lifton published his book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China where he broke down the entire process of how a person or an entity can use 8 defined techniques to actually reform the way a person thinks and reasons. This body of men that is comprised of anywhere from eight to twelve men is a unit of self-proclaimed representatives for Gods faithful and discreet slave class.This expression is based on their interpretation of the Parable of The Faithful Servant at Matthew 24:45-47, Mark 13:34-37, and Luke 12: 35-48. Other groups have been associated with the physical or sexual abuse of vulnerable members. Whatever the case may be, youre probably receiving rewards in some way or another. Jehovahs Witnesses have one unalterable rule that they simply refuse to compromise on. Dread - Once complete dependence is established, the member must retain the leader's good favor or else his life falls apart. Was it a reward for helping somebody out? We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Theres a riot of motivations. The member may be pressured to publicly confess sins, after which he is viciously ridiculed by the group for being evil and unworthy. Nato is a writer and a researcher with an academic background in psychology. 1. An analysis of Dr Arthur J. Deikman's book on cult behavior 8. For one thing, military recruits know from day one that being in the military means giving up some of their autonomy -- that's how the military hierarchy works. Even the most intense religious indoctrination can be overcome. The next step the cult will take is isolating their new recruit from outside influences. You could form a canasta cult, or a World of Warcraft cult, if you want. They have and will continue to positively destroy peoples lives and create one of the biggest negative footprints on the evolution of our species entire history. Admit it. He went on to study various people from many situations of either imprisonment or indoctrination of some sort. Youre almost always financially manipulated if youre in an organization or a corporation. Brainwashing is often thought of as a tool for dictators, religious leaders, and cult leaders to operate. Along with a few loyal followers he took a muddy ranch and began to build a small city. on LinkedIn, Subscribe for counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday. desires. on Twitter, Share How Do People Become Indoctrinated Into Cults? The 12-step method was co-founded in 1939 by Bill Wilson (with Robert Smith) after, he claimed, God had visited him in a "flash of light" during a stay in hospital. More Episodes Redacted Conversation They want us to believe that were powerless to make our own choices and that our decisions are controlled by outside forces. Thats how you can avoid being indoctrinated. The members of the cult become the person's only social contact and feedback mechanism. I once spoke to the mother of a young man who had joined a destructive community in England. has not committed, to sinfulness that is artificially induced, in the name of a A cult leader may use members' altered consciousness, induced by activities like meditation, chanting or drug use, to increase vulnerability to suggestion. Its okay to get rewarded. The most basic feature of the thought reform environmentis the control of human communication. There are many self-proclaimed Christs around the world. Lifton uses the word milieu very often in his work. Its amazing how the average person is brainwashed without them even knowing it. Thank you, my friend. The idea of brainwashing had a viral moment in the 1950s when the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) decided to wage psychological warfare against Communism. Thats one of the most negative sides of the cults. Do you consider yourself rational? Scientologists often target celebrities for recruitment due to their influence and wealth. The leader typically controls every minute of a member's waking time. For an example of this, look no further than feminism. Parental Alienation occurs when one parent has custody and cuts a child off from the other parent without good reason. If Will Allen's documentary, Holy Hell, teaches us one thing, it's that there's no easy answer. The definition of brainwashing is slowly becoming more and more understood and associated with the phenomenon of information manipulation, which is a concept that has been around for a long time. Spread the Love - Share this Post! You instinctually know this. Potential new members are led, step by. Would they all make fun of me? A security team guards the person for several days, 24 hours a day, while the deprogrammer, former cult members, and family members present information. Here is how it is achieved: First, one must become acquainted with and become used to the correct terminology pertaining to religious indoctrination. So many people have had their lives completely destroyed from Watchtower covering up these crimes. Most cult ideologies have a profound loathing for that description of the human condition. In the social sciences, internalization means that the individual accepts a groups values and norms. Now you know that some people might try to convince you that what theyre saying is true for your own good. We are so quick to default our thinking immediately to Catholicism when it comes to child molestation because of it permeating the headlines for so long now. Many former cult members have killed . In the Jehovahs Witness religion, there is an absolutely unrelenting control of every single piece of information that the followers have access to. Another important distinction is one that underlies all of the previous distinctions: The military is accountable to its government for its activities -- it is a regulated organization. Derek Beres is working on his new book,Whole Motion: Training Your Brain and Body For Optimal Health(Carrel/Skyhorse, Spring 2017). Author Douglas Rushkoff lists 20 common steps of indoctrination in destructive cults. He called himself Osho. Here are the four steps to getting sucked into a cult. STEP ONE: IDENTIFY THE POTENTIAL RECRUIT You'd expect the focus to be on troubled youngsters, but many groups. Share. Members can believe that all sorts of horrible things may happen if they don't follow the rules, if they don't earn more money, if they leave the group or even think of leaving the group etc. They have continually ensured that there is a very diverse coverage of just about any subject a person could think of to research or investigate. Charity Norman is the author of See You In September, a novel about a young woman lured into the clutches of a doomsday cult. You'd expect the focus to be on troubled youngsters, but many groups target people with useful skills or access to money. Was it a reward for doing something you enjoyed doing? A charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose power. pursuit of which must supersede all considerations of decency or of immediate And guess what? This suppression is supported by the rituals and practices of the . Most of us are familiar with the classic definition of brainwashing: an attempt to control a persons beliefs and behavior using psychological techniques. Now you might think that Im joking, but actually, thats the truth. For example, a cult may take all the money you make and then demand that you give it to them, or else theyll destroy your business and make your work for free for the rest of your life. One described how each acid trip took her farther and farther away from reality, until she could believe anything at all. Groups try to make their members internalize their values. Such demands are made possible not only by If thats the case, their main purpose is probably to isolate you from the outside world. way that these will appear to have arisen spontaneously from within the This is why its important to always be aware of what you are being influenced by. Have you ever been told that you have to do something because others say so? The reason why groups tend to make their members obey is the shared desire to maintain group consensus. At the time of this writing, Doctor Lifton is still alive and well. And thats fine. purpose is considered to be stimulated by a lower purpose, to be backward, Physical abuse. 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