Youll end up believing in those beliefs and acting accordingly without having any doubt whatsoever. The recruit must see smiling, friendly, happy people - a living advertisement. Or do they disagree with what they read in your favorite news source? Thats how you can avoid being indoctrinated. has not committed, to sinfulness that is artificially induced, in the name of a Marshall Herff Applewhite, who founded the organization known as Heaven's Gate, led 38 others in a mass suicide near San Diego. the ubiquitous human tendencies toward guilt and shame but also by the need to She described her joy when he phoned and asked her to come and get him, and her horror at his appearance - thin and nervy, his head shaved, afraid to eat because it was "against the rules.". And they use various ways to achieve their goals. If that group has some, to borrow a term from Alan Watts, inside dope, then in your mind its not a cult at all. He is loved again when he acknowledges that his devotion to the cult is the only thing that will bring him salvation. If so, dont worry because weve all been there. Seeking a sense of purpose or a substitute family factor in. And thats fine. Members are continually subjected to these techniques -- it's part of daily life in a cult. (Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images), Share How Do People Become Indoctrinated Into Cults? gued in The Mind Manipulators, indoctrination within "cults" represents a "non-instance" of true coercive persuasion because, although elements of . Here are the four steps to getting sucked into a cult. Welcome to IndoctriNation: A weekly podcast covering cults, manipulators, and protecting yourself from systems of control. Do you feel angry, sad, or happy? Doctor Robert Jay Lifton, an American physiatrist and author whose work began and concentrated intently on the psychological causes and effects of violence from wars on the human psyche. This is where trauma enters. Your instincts are your friend. Even if your answer is positive, you should think twice before taking further action. I'm talking about the absurdly good . Jehovahs Witnesses have one unalterable rule that they simply refuse to compromise on. Photo / Getty Images. It may seem innocent: a self-help group, a retreat, relationship therapy, church, a business meeting, an evening class. A new book has added fresh insight into Megxit. Followers feeling they are never able to be "good enough". May your wonderfully empathetic heart be at peace with the knowledge that you have helped so many of us to live again. Invite them to come along again, and again, until they're a part of the family. The two key phrases are control of communication and possessing the ultimate truth. Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security. A cult leader may use members' altered consciousness, induced by activities like meditation, chanting or drug use, to increase vulnerability to suggestion. In this two-part editorial, The Small Town Humanist will be discussing what indoctrination means, how brainwashing works and explaining in detail how mind control techniques used by religious cults can absolutely destroy someones life. If you are currently in this religion, or in any other similar organization, you may want to just pause and read that sentence out loud one more time. (Remski documents Roachs journey exceptionally here.). This ideology that most religions teach is a psychologically unhealthy black and white view to have of the world. There are cults within cults, like the two thousand or so accepted faiths that borrow from Christian doctrine: Mormonism, Eastern Orthodox, Catholicism, Protestantism, Lutheranism, Scientology, Christian Science. Do you understand why you do what you do? How did it happen? Needless to say, its another warning sign of being indoctrinated. Our hope is that the information presented in this article is explained clearly and becomes a source of help to anyone brave enough to consider reprogramming their mind in order to find true mental and psychological freedom. **Full disclosure: We're discussing cults so the content may not be. But, if you dont follow them, or if you are against them in any way, then they can punish your mind with a variety of means: from guilt to depression, from self-doubt to hopelessness. If youre a massless particle, you must always move at light speed. Its pretty simple. Sometimes people might even do it to themselves. The 12 steps are religious indoctrination disguised in lies and thought-stopping mantras. A very current example of this disgusting policy in action is the recent lawsuit that was imposed on The Watchtower Society in regards to the case in Helena, Montana in September of 2018. Now you know that some people might try to convince you that what theyre saying is true for your own good. Are you really in charge of your actions? All religions begin as cults. He called himself Osho. Lets take an example from one of my favorite movies, Fight Club. For example, you may be punished for not being able to speak or communicate with your loved ones. You do this by keeping your members away from outsiders. But even with good intentions, if a group or organization that you belong to is made up of the following defined criteria, then it is absolutely using brainwashing mind control techniques to indoctrinate you. "Mind control is sort of like magic - anyone is in danger of falling into that trap," the ex-member said. Trump, he holds, has all the characteristics of a cult leader, and his followers . The leader may punish doubt or insubordination with physical or emotional trauma. Many cults have compounds or other places where they require members to stay, ensuring that the cult has total control over every aspect of their lives. Was it a reward for spending time with your family and friends? What was the last thing you got for your devotion? Now I want you to think about it. Was it a reward for being nice to somebody? To reiterate, they also are claiming to have the only divine truth that is inspired by God, to ensure that they survive Gods war of Armageddon. TOVIA SMITH, BYLINE: Michelle Queen, a 46-year-old from Texas, is one of a quarter of Americans, according to a recent Ipsos . I once spoke to the mother of a young man who had joined a destructive community in England. environment They [the group] are the agents chosen (by history, by God, or He is based in Los Angeles. This is usually done through peer pressure or subtle manipulation. You could form a canasta cult, or a World of Warcraft cult, if you want. 81 minutes | Jan 25, 2023. STEP ONE: IDENTIFY THE POTENTIAL RECRUIT You'd expect the focus to be on troubled youngsters, but many groups target people with useful skills or access to money. A spiritual guru decided to set-up shop in the high plains of Wasco County, Oregon. Judaism, Buddhism, the countless local faiths now lumped under the term Hinduismall cults. cure that is arbitrarily imposed. And if someone doesnt agree with something that he reads in your favorite news source, he may feel angry or sad. Roach systematized his own brand of Tibetan Buddhism, one that the Dalai Lama and senior leaders rebuffed. Thats one of the most negative sides of the cults. Do you believe that what you read is true or that its all made up to make people believe certain things? This is done by taking money from them without their consent or knowledge, or by blackmailing them. To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. From day one, it's a process of manipulation and deception. He couldnt understand the everyday was nutritiousthe mundane and banal provide all that we need. I was in 4th grade. Charles Manson was said to be giving his followers large doses of LSD. Cult tactics include inducing fears and phobias (strong, irrational fears) in group members to allow the leadership to maintain control. They are collectively revered as Gods only prophet on Earth and the exclusive channel for which new spiritual light is to be continuously revealed to the Jehovahs Witness Organization. Its similar to the multiple factors and perspectives that people come through in developing their adulation for Donald Trump. Doctor Lifton decoded the tactics that were used by the Chinese to completely reform a persons thoughts, practically changing who the person was so drastically that they became unrecognizable to who they used to be. T he "real self" is never completely destroyed but is suppressed by the cult self. It is their unwavering belief that Armageddon will destroy every single person on this planet that is not devoted to Jehovah God and living as an active Jehovahs Witness. People are indoctrinated without leaving their bedrooms. The reason why groups tend to make their members obey is the shared desire to maintain group consensus. The good and the pure are of course those ideas, feelings, and Changing - Indoctrination Refreezing - Reinforce the new identity These three steps are key to understanding how authoritarian cults operate and create a new identity (the "cult self"). He disappeared during that first night, rushing back to the life he'd fled. He looked like me. Do you understand why you do what you do? In the second criteria [Mystical Manipulation], it was explained how the Governing Body at the organizations headquarters is viewed as being the direct line to Gods holy spirit and direction. Acknowledging that joining a cult requires an element of voluntary self-surrender also obliges us to consider whether the very relinquishment of control isn't a significant part of the appeal . Shutting down your dissent by threatening to withhold the prize By this point, the sell becomes a little harder. They reminded him of his Catholic upbringing, one filled with violence and abuse, yet, as he says of Roach, represented a demilitarized, more feminine version of the robes of my childhood. Early repression in church left Remski hollow, vacant, setting him up for indoctrination under Roachs care. Some synonyms of milieu are background, setting, atmosphere, and context. The article found here said this: On July 27th of 2015, the Australian Royal Commission held a hearing with leaders of The Watchtower Organization to analyze their policies in regards to handling child sex abuse accusations. Paranoia: To maintain a false sense of comfort, cults often rely on paranoia tactics. The cult does not have a monopoly on this kind of manipulation. Any doubts, assertiveness or remaining ties to the outside world are punished by the group through criticism, guilt and alienation. Physical abuse. Are you really willing to give your money to people you dont even know? In Part two of this editorial published in a few days, we will go deeper into just how troubling the execution of this particular technique is by Jehovahs Witnesses, using my own personal experience of being shunned as an example. We have not. Why? Increasingly, groups use the internet. About. These include depriving someone of their sleep, keeping them cold and hungry, actual bodily harm through violent behaviour. Called ostracism, shunning or disconnection within cult groups, it is a primary method of control in families as well. Even though the Watchtower Organization will be used as a case study in our discussion, what we hope you take away is how to understand and use what Lifton has clarified down to a science for questioning and challenging your own religious faith. "Aum made it seem like you were free to make choices but, in reality, you were being guided toward those choices.". He outlined several ways to identify cults. Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group. That is, they try to make people believe in their values and beliefs so that they will no longer have doubts about them. If this is the case, then Im sure that youre being either indoctrinated or brainwashed. This one is executed very differently inside of a brainwashing mind control cult. Copyright 2007-2023 & BIG THINK, BIG THINK PLUS, SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by Freethink Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Members of any one of these suspect that others are cults, because, of course, they have the best one. "Phobia indoctrination is the programming of irrational fears of ever leaving the group, or even questioning the leadership's authority. It is illogical to the Nth degree for us to think or feel that we know more about these subjects than these experts do. Writing about recent trends in the movie industry is her other hobby, alongside music, art, culture, and social influences. As Lifton said, this is the basic foundation on which a system of indoctrination and brainwashing is built. The ensuing information is not for the faint at heart to consider. Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Agnostics all practice it as a means of recovery. Author Douglas Rushkoff lists 20 common steps of indoctrination in destructive cults. This rule of theirs has become rather famous as of lately in the world. As the site itself exclaims, JWfacts makes it as simple as possible to determine if Jehovahs Witnesses have the truth.. There is no debating this. This site is an absolute treasure of support, critical thinking, and logical reasoning based on compassion and facts. Nato is a writer and a researcher with an academic background in psychology. on Twitter, Share How Do People Become Indoctrinated Into Cults? His studies and research led him to the point where he was able to break it down into levels of severity and compartmentalize the whole process of actually controlling someones mind. Since then it has taken on a negative meaning, essentially reserved for any ideology I dont subscribe to.. A charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose power. And white view to have of the world, Christians and Agnostics all practice it a... 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