Mind Control Techniques That Make Cults Effective At Persuasion

Cu totii cred ca ati auzit despre Martorii lui Iehova, Mormoni,Baptisti,Musulmani,poate chiar ati fost abordati de membrii respectivelor culte...Nu v-ati pus niciodata intrebarea de ce ei sunt asa de eficienti in 'recrutarea' de 'credinciosi'?Va propun sa cititi articolul de mai jos ca aflati raspunsul...!Mind Control Techniques That Make Cults Effective At PersuasionCults are very effective at persuading people to follow their irrational causes. I recently watched a video about the inner workings of Scientology, and have decided to explain how these cults gather and then brainwash their victims.From Wikipedia, “Cult roughly refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream.”Thus all religions are cults. It just depends where you are in the world whether or not you call a religion a cult.Recruitment.Cults will look to recruit people who may be vulnerable. Things that make a person vulnerable are life difficulties such as loss of a loved one, unemployment, or divorce. Changes in a person’s typical friends will also cause vulnerability if the person experiences loneliness and homesickness. The motivation to relieve the feelings of isolation can be intense and often people use less judgment when meeting new acquaintances.Cults target specific areas that have a greater likelihood of having vulnerable people. College freshmen are targeted at university campuses, lonely housewives are targeted in suburban neighborhoods, the grieving are targeted in hospitals and funerals, and the distraught are targeted in courthouses.Cult members of smaller cults will go out of their way to strike up conversations with strangers. They will often ask philosophical, political, or thought provoking questions that have no simple answer. The cult member will use false pretenses to get the recruit to slowly go along with what they are asking. Scientology members often use the guise of a personality test. Hare Krishna members will use a gift. More prominent and longer established cults like Christianty and Islam will first have a cult member develop a friendship, and then use this connection to persuade the recruit to go with them to the “place of worship.” The important thing to understand is that this persuasion is never overt. It is done slowly and methodically until the new recruit is in the controlled environment of the cult.Cult members often believe that it is alright to be misleading and even deceitful to recruit new members because they are “saving their soul,” or providing some service at another level than this material world.Brainwashing and Thought Reform.The Environment - The cult will use it’s secluded environment to reinforce behaviors that the cult encourages and shun behaviors that the cult does not like. This is especially prevalent in the major religions and a certain code of conduct is expected within the “place of worship.” Members will only make the new recruit feel welcome when he or she behaves like all the other members and peer pressure plays a huge part. Love Bombing - New recruits are then treated with extra praise and encouragement as a ritual or ceremony. Some cults will acknowledge the new member to the whole group and give them gifts or hugs to make them feel good (AKA Love Bombing). The cult does this to get a commitment from the new recruit and make them feel indebted to the group. Some cults will even get a written signature or go through a ceremony which makes the new recruit “prove” their commitment. The cult of Christianity does this with a “baptism.” The Buddhism cult does this by making the recruit recite 5 commitments in front of some monks. The feeling of indebtedness makes sure that the recruit will come back again and again for further brainwashing. Cult Laws - After the confirmation the recruit learns about the rules of the cult. These rules are specifically made to bring down the recruits self-esteem, making them seem less pure/holy/divine than members who are higher up in the cult. Sex, drugs, lying, stealing, and thinking unholy thoughts are bad according to almost all cults. It is inevitable that most if not all of these “sins” have been committed by the recruit as they are innate to human behavior. Those that are higher up in the cult are therefore more “pure” because they do not commit these crimes. Only by abstaining from these behaviors is it possible to become more “holy.”Confession - The confession of “sins” is the next step. Recruits must confess all of their “sins” to other members of the cult. This step is important because it shows the other members the vulnerabilities of this new recruit and the things that make them shameful. The cult of Catholicism has special confessional booths were members tell these “sins” to a high up member of the cult. The cult of Islam even has it’s members starve themselves for forgiveness. This step effectively reinforces the “sins” that a new recruit must not commit. Unquestionable Science - The cult will present it’s beliefs as the truth and in a manner that cannot be questioned. These beliefs are presented in the same manner that science would be presented and circular logic is used to patch up any holes in the arguments (e.g. why is this holy? Because god said so, and god knows everything; therefore it must be holy). Unlike science, however, questioning these truths is highly discouraged and met with the shunning and ostracizing from other members. Belief is expected regardless of the claims. Cult Jargon - Every cult comes up with it’s own special jargon, and these “holy” words seem more important. The intent is to exclude people outside the cult from knowing the meaning of these words. Some cults even go to the extreme of using a whole language to serve this effect. The cults of Islam and Judaism both have their own languages, Arabic and Hebrew respectively. The cults of Hinduism and Buddhism use English words like “transcendental,” words that actually have no real meaning, to signify sacred things. Taoism also has a similar “tao,” which translates into path, however the true meaning is “unteachable.” Group Priority - Cults will instill the idea that the cult is far more important than any of the needs of individual members. Each individual is taught to think and behave as a cult member in all situations. Cult members are only allowed to think ideas that already conform to the teachings of the cult and ideas that question the cult are forbidden. The cults of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, (and many many others) reject the ideas of natural selection and evolution despite overwhelming scientific evidence in favor of these ideas. Members are brainwashed to follow their leaders and not think for themselves. Exclusion of Others - Members of a cult are taught that non-believers are damned/”going to hell”/disgusting and cannot be welcomed into the cult unless they are willing to be “saved.” Cult members are taught to feel superior to others, that they have a “special purpose,” and that only they know the “truth.” Even the large cults are still especially notorious for removing cult members from their families and friends, and excluding people not affiliated with the cult. This is often taken to extremes and family members are not allowed to attend weddings and funerals or see new family members such as grandchildren unless they too join the cult. Judaism takes this to an extreme as well by traditionally only allowing those born as a cult member into the cult. Stay tuned for the next post. I will discuss the psychology behind these tactics. Don’t let any cult use these mind control techniques on you.