http://tinyurl.com/y6bzst2 Everyone knows that science has disproved the "brainwashing" theory, Barry. Way back in 1996 Margaret Singer's 'mind control theories' had already been discredited by most psychologists. She was apparently censored by the American Sociological Association (APA) and when she sued, she failed to prove her case. It's not complicated.
---In [email protected], <turquoiseb@...> wrote : I thought that the writer of the article cited in that post was "onto something" with regard to imprinting and implanting and brainwashing. Almost any college textbook on sociology of religion could list a number of reasons why Singer's brainwashing and mind control theories had been rejected by the scholarly community. That is, that it's not necessarily being presented with the idea you're supposed to believe that causes you to become implanted with it, but how much you are required to ACT on the idea that determines how deeply it "sinks in" and becomes so deeply established that it can persist even for years after you leave the organization that implanted you with the idea. Maybe we should check the conclusions of the published studies on PubMed. Following this train of thought, I would suggest that *TM teachers* are more likely to be implanted with long-lasting, virus-like ideas that they're largely unaware of than regular, non-teaching TMers are. NOT because the TM teachers were more exposed to propaganda and brainwashing (which they were), but because they were asked to ACT on the ideas they were being programmed to believe. According to Anthony, "The use of hypnosis or altered states of consciousness to induce conformity is not supported. Aggressive propaganda combined with isolation, manipulated peer pressure, torture or the threat of torture, and total uncertainty concerning the future produced limited, but temporary, behavioral conformity." They weren't just told to believe that TM was not a religion, they were required to stand up in front of audiences and say that it wasn't. This was an act that caused a much deeper imprinting than just being told something. We should note however, that participation in new religious groups seems to have a generally positive impact on most participants, with a few exceptions such as some of the current FFL informants. It has been interesting learning about why they pursued the enlightenenment and how they now analyze their failure, shifting the blame on others. Apparently they got kicked out for one reason or another and are still disgruntled, even after decades. Go figure. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that having to stand up in front of other people and parrot an idea you've been taught to believe is MUCH more powerful than just hearing that idea in a lecture. The Brainwashing Model Debunked: http://tinyurl.com/y6bzst2 http://tinyurl.com/y6bzst2 Work cited: Anthony, Dick. "Religious Movements and Brainwashing Litigation: Evaluating Key Testimony," in Thomas Robbins and Dick Anthony, eds., "In Gods We Trust", 2nd ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1990.pp 295-344. 1990. From: salyavin808 <[email protected]> ---In [email protected], [email protected]> wrote : Buck the depressed whiner and Willy the repetitive ranter, there's probably psychological profiles of those types of psychosis somewhere. I had a friend, an old TM teacher like me, who met somekind of a clearvoyant, telling him that he had a TM implant in his brain, despite the fact that he had left the movement, and surely had adopted his own opinions on a number of things. He asked me at the time what I thought of it. Now I am not really a believer in the implant idea, you know there could be all kind of implants, from physical, to subtle physical etc. So I told him so. But after leaving TM, some decades ago, I soon realized, that not only stopping formal TM whoulc make me into a non-TMer. I realized that the concepts and ideas, the ideology, if you want the 'brainwashing' has still left traces, expectations, even in the subconscious. I had to make a conscious effort to rid myself of some of the TM concepts, which were like hooks clinging to me. I did this to an extend, so that I could feel happy, and not 'miss' anything of my old TM environment, instead enjoying my new life, and my new spiritual discoveries fully. (That's what about I told my friend) But later the thought, that there may indeed be something of a TM implant, that still was people hooking up, didn't leave me. In fact, could this be one explanation, how people here on FFL, both TB TMers (who will of course deny they are TB), and anti-TMers alike are hooked to the same story? Infact could also anti-cultist be fighting the same implant, that TMers so vehemently defend? This is just a thought, I know, I will probably not get a lot of support for it, but could there be something to it? I think that the world view of the reesh is so all encompassing that once you've been fully exposed, it takes a while and a lot of effort, to de-programme yourself. I still find odd ideas inside that I picked up in the movement so the idea of an implant - while not literal - is a good description of how the mind absorbs new ideas and defers to them, especially as most of those ideas come to you when you are in an intensely relaxed state on a rounding course just after meditating, it's brainwashing 101. And the idea that the state of inner silence is some sort of infinite ground state of reality is a good reinforcer when someone who claims to be talking from that level gives you an opinion to consider. It's all very clever and self-reinforcing and they deliberately let you in gently too so as not to scare off the newbies. Unless it's all true of course and Buck is right that we are all apostates who should be killed in drone strikes....
