Cultwise

ABOUT CULTWISE

2008-10-11T04:29:00.001-07:00

Cults are a fascinating subject perhaps because no-one seems to agree on what they are, or the main reasons underlying why people get involved, from the viewpoint of those who get drawn in, those who look in from the outside, or those running them.

Certainly it can be hard to leave a cultic situation, partly because people find it hard to accept they may need to re-assess some things in their life. Even if they do realise something has to change, it's hard to achieve that without outside help or information.

Concerned family and friends need the right kind of information and approach for themselves and for the person in the situation. These days the Internet is a useful starting point and books are available.

Try to steer clear of anyone who is dogmatic or tries to lay down the law on one way of perceiving or proceeding. Sometimes people who have been involved in a bad experience think they also know what is right for others - which can feel too much like being in a cult or being abused again.

Keep in contact with the person who has become involved in a cult if you can and be generally supportive, without pressurising them to change before they are ready. It can take a long while.

On this and the following pages are extracts from other websites and you can follow up on links shown with the articles or in the Links section.

If anyone's work is mentioned here and they prefer it not to be, or to have it amended, just get in touch via the Comments.

Inclusion of any ideas does not necessarily mean we are in agreement but that the subject matter and nature of the work may have value.

Some of the articles may not go far enough; some may go too far. They are included for possible usefulness. If any ideas make you feel uncomfortable or uneasy, ignore them and choose what feels better.

The Blog is in its early stages but there may be something of interest to you or you can add your own comments and information. The placement of articles may be altered when information is added.

TemZone

THE STEPFORD WIVES

2008-10-11T04:28:00.000-07:00

The following is part of the Wikipedia entry as at 11 October 2008 under title 'The Stepford Wives'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stepford_Wives

Plot summary

The premise involves the married men of the fictional town of Stepford, Connecticut, and their fawning, submissive, impossibly beautiful wives. The protagonist is Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer newly arrived from New York City with her husband and children, eager to start a new life. As time goes on, she becomes increasingly disturbed by the zombie-like Stepford wives, especially when she sees her once independent-minded friends – fellow new arrivals to Stepford – turn into mindless, docile housewives overnight. Her husband, who seems to be spending more and more time at the local men's club, mocks her fears.

As the story progresses, Joanna becomes convinced that the wives of Stepford are actually look-alike gynoids, manufactured in secret at the men's club. She visits the library and reads up on the pasts of Stepford's husbands and wives, finding out that some of the women were once high achievers, while some of the men were brilliant engineers and scientists, capable of creating such life-like robots.

In popular culture

The label "Stepford wife" is usually applied to a woman who seems to conform blindly to an old-fashioned subservient role in relationship to her husband, compared to other, presumably more independent and vivacious women. It can also be used to criticise any person, male or female, who submits meekly to authority and/or abuse; or even to describe someone who lives in a robotic, conformist manner without giving offense to anyone. The word "Stepford" can also be used as an adjective denoting servility or blind conformity (e.g. "He's a real Stepford employee") or a noun ("My home town is so Stepford") [5]. (See also; Pollyanna).

- - - o O o - - -

Also see:

A Singular Yarn - A Singular Meaning
www.yarntangled.net

Describing the dynamics of a veritable web of ritual abuse, plus a bad therapist or two, the Author gets some flak. Is she a fake or a flake, or plain deluded? If not much of those, what has Kelly gone through? How is it maintained?

This is not a scenario where a suggestible woman goes for therapy and comes out believing she was ritually abused, when it may not be a 100 percent from reliable memory. Memories are unreliable in the best of circumstances. Attempts were made to make Kelly believe that a lot of cultic abuse had happened, then that nothing like it could have done, and now that nothing like it was happening to her still. The explanations and denials whizzed round like a veritable whirligig. Who kept it going round, and why?

The whirligig was a device used as a military punishment
The offender was put in a cage which was spun rapidly, resulting in nausea and vomiting

Read how a young woman with plenty of spirit became a virtual Stepford wife for much of the time. Full story free online Here.

GROUP MINDS & EGREGORS

2008-10-11T04:27:00.002-07:00

TRANCE and TRANSFORMATION

2008-10-11T04:27:00.001-07:00

Below is an extract from website http://trance.edu with implications beyond what some cult writers feel relevant or even possible with regard to general cult phenomena:

What is trance; why it is important. Posted January 20th, 2008 by Dennis Wier in
* Questions, Experiences

What's so important about trance?

Maybe you are not clear on exactly what a trance is. What we mean is meditation, hypnosis, addictions, charisma, electronic and chemical means of inducing trance as well as brainwashing, mind control, cults, magic, music, ritual and dance, and advertising.
You might already have a good idea of what hypnosis is. But you probably don't realize all the ways that it is used on you without either your awareness or permission, a form of trance abuse. Increasing public awareness of trance abuse, and showing how to prevent it, is one of the main jobs of the Trance Research Foundation.
Our vision and commitment

The Trance Research Foundation has an ambitious vision because the problems are huge.

Realizing our vision will require the personal commitment of many people just like you. And it means a lot of work, expended over a long period of time. We know it will also require large financial investments from socially conscious benefactors. But the results will be
- a greater public awareness of how trance works
- a greater public immunity to trance abuse
- a measurable worldwide decrease in drug and alcohol abuse problems
- a more enlightened worldwide drug policy
- a greater number of people who practice meditation for personal development
- an increase in consciousness and planetary wisdom.
- And this will result in greater world peace for future generations.

What is important

Here are some of the areas we see as important:
- Trance - its use and misuse - continues to have important social and psychological effects worldwide.
- Understanding how trance works enables and empowers people to explore themselves and the world they live in.
- The lack of understanding of trance exposes people to trance abuse and can cause psychological pathologies.
- Many such pathologies can be prevented with knowledge.
- Until now there has not been a model which attempts to explain meditation, hypnosis, addiction, magic and charisma with one robust theory. We feel we can provide that now.
- To study important contemporary trances, to understand their structure, their creation, their effects, the mechanisms used to change them or to bring about their dissolution.
- To facilitate advanced psychological study through the open sharing of special known trance mechanisms.
- To provide consultation and practical training to psychologists and therapists.
- To publish in peer reviewed journals the results of research.
- To operate a virtual educational institution to make the results of trance research available as widely as possible.
- To make a strong presence in the media, including audio, video, internet.
- To promote education about trance by means of on-line courses, teacher training, having a presence and relationship in schools, organizing annual international conventions on trance.
- Staying in the news by means of publicity releases, involvment with international personalities.
- Clinical treatment programs for drug/alcohol abuse, prevention programs, individual trance analysis, workshops for medical professionals, workshops and social programs to promote the best practices of trance.

Our interests are in:

- Meditation: religious and nonreligious meditation techniques, their physiological and psychological effects. This includes shamanistic, occult, daydreaming, channeling and other practices which incorporate meditation.
- Hypnosis: advertising, sales, television, video games, virtual reality, and many other hypnotic trance phenomena.
- Addiction: drug, psychic, performance, belief and other repetitive and compulsive behaviors.
- Magic: ritual, devotional and religious magic from witchcraft to contemporary religions.
- Music: many traditional as well as contemporary musical genres including drum and bass, acid trance, goa trance, traditional voodoo, shamanistic, native and electronic forms induce trance.
- Drugs: recreational and traditional drugs create trances through the suppression or modification of cognitive functions.
- Electronics: ultrasound, microwave and electro-biologically based trance inductions have been successfully used in publicly little-known military and neurophysiological applications.
- Charisma: guru-worship, cults, political, religious and entertainment charisma.

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DOC MATRIX - CULTS & GROUPS

2008-10-11T04:26:00.002-07:00

For updates & more information visit Doc Matrix http://trubbles.t35.com

GROUPS & CULTS by Doc Matrix

If you sought some kind of spiritual or pastoral help perhaps that was through a well-known religion.

Or it could from what some people think of as a cult type of group.

People naturally have different needs and experiences - What suits one person may not suit another and may even be harmful.

ONLY YOU can decide what's best for you at a particular time

IF someone approaches you at a time when you are vulnerable

IF they are offering TOO MUCH friendship 'out of the Blue'

IF there is A RUSH about it

DOC says Just Be Careful
Take your Time
Don't Feel Pressurised
Step Back if You Need to!
Important Decisions can WAIT

ONE Person can be almost like a Cult just by themselves!

A GROUP can quite easily set up a Scene for YOU to walk into

Things - and People, are not always what they seem:
There may be a hidden agenda, camouflage or trick to abuse your desire to help or to be accepted

There can be a double standards or double-binds

LOOK at what's really being asked or expected of you -SEE how your concerns are dealt with

BEAR IN MIND THAT -

YOU have a right to know where your Money goes

YOU are entitled to proper Rest, Food & Friends

YOU are entitled to CHANGE your Mind or LEAVE

It can take an Instant to get drawn in but YEARS to get away - CULTS KNOW THAT

Cults Indoctrinate People AND People CAN Protect themselves with some Knowledge

Get some help from Friends or Family

Dissing has become a part of life, whether that means discounting someone, disrespecting, discrediting, disregarding, dismissing; or being rude or unsupportive.

It is a way of Scapegoating. You know the saying 'You are either for us or against us'? Groups often exclude someone - anyone - to suit the majority, as if they feel better to leave someone in the cold. It happens in families too!

It helps to see the dynamic for what it is, see if there's a reason, and if you can do anything about it for the time being.

This is why it is good to have an ally, a 'friend in court' to see some of it from your point of view. You don't need a specialist, just someone to back you up and give emotional support.

Perhaps now you know why groups serve that purpose for the members.

And how cults play on people's need to belong, not feel excluded, and feel a sense of meaning and place. Those are natural needs and they can be exploited, for money - or just for kicks.

CULT INFORMATION

People working in this field may have different opinions and approaches, so take on board what is useful - and leave the rest:

Cult Dynamics article at http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/cultdyn.htm

'Cults & Families' by Doni Whitsett & Stephen A Kent. Download http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~skent/cults.html

Cults & Sects Bibliography booklist http://www.robibrad.demon.co.uk/bibcult.htm

http://www.freedomofmind.com Steven Hassan's website, author 'Combatting Cult Mind Control'; 'Releasing the Bonds'

http://www.rickross.com Signs that a group might be a 'cult' and how to get out of one. Book List on page http://www.rickross.com/reference/books/reading_list.html

International Cultic Studies Association - How cults operate and their effects: http://www.icsahome.com

FECRIS European site, worldwide links: http://www.fecris.org

Cults, Sects & Heresies free course http://eomtc.com/cults/

Social Identity Theory - Insights into groups & cult behaviours

BOOKS & ARTICLES

'Bully in Sight' by Tim Field (workplace bullying)

'Cults, Secret Sects & Radical Religions' by Robert Schroeder

'Gangland Today' by James Morton

'Gangs' by Tony Thompson

'Individuals, Groups & Organizations Beneath the Surface'
by Lionel F. Stapley

'Misunderstanding Cults' by Benjamin Zablocki & Thomas Robbins

'Organisations, Anxieties & Defences' ed. R.D. Hinshelwood
& Marco Cheisa

Out of Character Behaviour website http://toukanalia.blogspot.com

'Pointed Observations' by Kevin R D Shepherd

'Profiling the Criminal Mind' by Robert Girod Sr
(included as it discusses group pressures, cult crimes, etc.)

'Programmed to Kill' by David McGowan

'Recovery from Cults' by Michael D Longone

'Scapegoating, Abuse & One-upmanship' article HERE

'Secret Societies & Psychological Warfare' by Michael A Hoffman II

'Snapping' by Flo Conway & Jim Siegelman

'Sinister Forces Book Three: The Manson Secret' by Peter Levenda

Social Dynamics of Cult Ritual Abuse click HERE

'Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right' by Sara Diamond

'The Complex' by John Duignan

'The Cult Files' by Chris Mikul

'The Dark Gods' by Anthony Roberts & Geoff Gilbertson

'The Dilbert Principle' by Scott Adams

'The Mafia' by Claire Sterling

'The Neurotic Organization' by Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
& Danny Miller

'The Occult Tradition' by David S Katz

'The Secret World of Cults' by Jean Ritchie

'Today's Destructive Cults & Movements' by Rev. Lawrence J Gesy

'Understanding Organizations' by Charles Handy

'Working Across the Gap: The Practice of Social Science in Organisations' by Lisl Klein

People have a need to be A PART of what is going on
around them, other People and so on,
and to keep themselves APART too

And it can lead us into Trouble!

It's important to REALLY THINK for YOURSELF!

SOCIAL ENGINEERING

2008-10-11T04:26:00.001-07:00

The following comes from http://toukanalia/blogspot.com

These definitions of 'social engineering' and 'pretexting' appear at http://memes.org

Social engineering is a collection of techniques used to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery for information gathering or computer system access and in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim.

Social engineering techniques and terms
All social engineering techniques are based on specific attributes of human decision-making known as cognitive biases. These biases, sometimes called "bugs in the human hardware," are exploited in various combinations to create attack techniques.

Pretexting
Pretexting is the act of creating and using an invented scenario (the pretext) to persuade a target to release information or perform an action and is typically done over the telephone. It's more than a simple lie as it most often involves some prior research or set up and the use of pieces of known information (e.g. for impersonation: date of birth, Social Security Number, last bill amount) to establish legitimacy in the mind of the target.

Search 'social engineering' etc. at Google or on Wikipedia
Basically this is any form of impression management or 'information' which is designed with the aim of creating a desired behaviour or outcome from a 'mark' or 'patsy' - which could be you!

Confidence Tricks & Scams
Some other relevant concepts are Con tricks or scams

Social engineering etc. can be as simple as driving an expensive car, portraying an image, acting a role, or it can be elaborate with several co-conspirators setting up a convincing scene or skit. Social Psychology demonstrates how we tend to behave according to how we view or experience a particular setting, almost like acting out a part. It's easy to believe what is presented - how someone looks possibly using disguise, what they say which probably contains elements of truth, something to convince people known as a 'convincer', and they may also have found things out about you to make it easier.

COGNITIVE BIAS

2008-10-11T04:25:00.000-07:00

Before mentioning cognitive biases below, here are a couple of concepts generally used in connection with individuals but which could perhaps be applied to groups also, explaining some anomalies in how they function:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egodystonic
Egodystonic is a psychological term referring to behaviors, (e.g., dreams, impulses, compulsions, desires, etc.), that are in conflict, or dissonant, with the needs and goals of the ego, or, further, in conflict with a person's ideal self-image.
The concept is studied in detail in abnormal psychology, and is the opposite of egosyntonic. Obsessive compulsive disorder is considered to be an ego-dystonic disorder, as the thoughts and compulsions experienced or expressed are often not consistent with the individual's self-perception, causing extreme distress.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egosyntonic
Egosyntonic is a medical term referring to behaviors, values, feelings, which are in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego, or consistent with one's ideal self-image. It is studied in detail in abnormal psychology. Many personality disorders are considered egosyntonic and are therefore nearly impossible to treat. Anorexia Nervosa, a hard-to-treat Type I disorder, is also considered egosyntonic because many of its sufferers deny that they have a problem. It is the opposite of egodystonic. Obsessive compulsive disorder is considered to be an egodystonic disorder, as the thoughts and compulsions experienced or expressed are not consistent with the individual's self-perception.
. . . . .

Cognitive Bias

From Wikipedia as at 12th October 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias

A cognitive bias is a person's tendency to make errors in judgment based on cognitive factors, and is a phenomenon studied in cognitive science and social psychology. Forms of cognitive bias include errors in statistical judgment, social attribution, and memory that are common to all human beings. Such biases drastically skew the reliability of anecdotal and legal evidence. These are thought to be based upon heuristics, or rules of thumb, which people employ out of habit or evolutionary necessity.

Contents
* 1 Overview
* 2 Types of cognitive biases
* 3 Practical Significance
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 Further reading
* 7 External links

Overview

Bias arises from various life, loyalty and local risk and attention concerns that are difficult to separate or codify. Much of the present scientific understanding of biases stems from the work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman and their colleagues,[citation needed] whose experiments demonstrated distinct and replicable ways in which human judgment and decision-making differ from rational choice theory. This led to Tversky and Kahneman developing prospect theory as an alternative.[citation needed] Tversky and Kahneman claim that the biases they identified are at least partially the result of problem-solving using mental short-cuts or "heuristics", for instance using how readily or vividly something comes to mind as an indication of how often or how recently it was encountered (the availability heuristic). Other biases have been demonstrated in separate experiments, such as the confirmation bias demonstrated by Peter C. Wason.

Not all of 'biases' are necessarily errors. David Funder and Joachim Krueger have argued that some so called 'biases' may in fact be 'approximation shortcuts', which aid humans in making predictions when information is in short supply.[citation needed] For example, the false consensus effect may be viewed as a reasonable estimation based on a single known data point, your own opinion, instead of a false belief that other people agree with you.

Types of cognitive biases

Biases can be distinguished on a number of dimensions. For example, there are biases specific to groups (such as the risky shift) as well as biases at the individual level.

Some biases affect decision-making, where the desirability of options has to be considered (e.g. Sunk Cost fallacy). Others such as Illusory correlation affect judgment of how likely something is, or of whether one thing is the cause of another. A distinctive class of biases affect memory,[1] such as consistency bias (remembering one's past attitudes and behaviour as more similar to one's present attitudes).

Some biases reflect a subject's motivation, [2] for example the desire for a positive self-image leading to Egocentric bias[3] and the avoidance of unpleasant cognitive dissonance. Other biases are due to the particular way the brain perceives, forms memories and makes judgments. This distinction is sometimes described as "Hot cognition" versus "Cold Cognition", as motivated cognition can involve a state of arousal.

Among the "cold" biases, some are due to ignoring relevant information (e.g. Neglect of probability), whereas some involve a decision or judgement being affected by irrelevant information (for example the Framing effect where the exact same problem receives different responses depending on how it is described) or giving excessive weight to an unimportant but salient feature of the problem (e.g. Anchoring).

The fact that some biases reflect motivation, and in particular the motivation to have positive attitudes to oneself[3] accounts for the fact that many biases are self-serving or self-directed (e.g. Illusion of asymmetric insight, Self-serving bias, Projection bias). There are also biases in how subjects evaluate in-groups or out-groups; evaluating in-groups as more diverse and "better" in many respects, even when those groups are arbitrarily-defined (Ingroup bias, Outgroup homogeneity bias).

The following is a list of the more commonly studied cognitive biases.
For other noted biases, see list of cognitive biases (link at end of this piece)

* Anchoring on a past reference.
* Framing by using a too narrow approach and description of the situation or issue.
* Hindsight bias, sometimes called the "I-knew-it-all-along" effect, is the inclination to see past events as being predictable.
* Fundamental attribution error is the tendency for people to over-emphasize personality-based explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing the role and power of situational influences on the same behavior.
* Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions; this is related to the concept of cognitive dissonance.
* Self-serving bias is the tendency to claim more responsibility for successes than failures. It may also manifest itself as a tendency for people to evaluate ambiguous information in a way beneficial to their interests.

Note:
A fuller list of cognitive biases including social or attributional biases appears at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

BELIEFS, THOUGHTS and BEHAVIOUR

2008-10-11T04:12:00.001-07:00

The following appears at http://tansal.50megs.com/groupscultsscams.html regarding Social and Group Aspects of Behaviour:

WE ALL get persuaded on occasion, perhaps to buy something that we either do or don't need - the 'right' kind of advertising obviously does pay. At least we know where to get hold of something should the inspiration or need arise. Ever wonder where the inspiration or 'need' comes from? Does it necessarily benefit you, apart from that buzz and the hole in your pocket.

RESEARCH shows how people in groups tend to be rather more willing to take risks. That doesn't mean that everyone takes more risks, or even feels like it. It is simply that there is a way of showing a reasonable statistical difference between one state of affairs (making a decision on one's own), and facing the same decision with a group of others people.

YOU MIGHT be surprised how much that appears in our newspapers is simply a press release or write-up about someone's research, which may or may not be applicable to normal daily life. It could, by a small stretch of the imagination, be designed to influence you to a way of thinking.

DID YOU know that behaviour follows thought? Whose thoughts - what you read, what someone whom you trust tells you, what everyone else in the workplace thinks, what your partner thinks? This may sound like empty rhetoric and that is for you to decide. But would you want constant party political broadcasts, rousing marches, football crowds?

DO YOU want sometimes to flop in front of the tv and let it all happen around you? It lifts you out of your everyday life, the daily struggle to work when you don't feel like it, the chores, getting the car fixed. It's like a holiday, and we all need a breather. You're happy to let the show go on and that might just be when your defences are down (hence all those ads?).

FINE - because you know there's advertising. But what if you're uneasy about something, on the tv/ off the tv, what your mate says, what your boss says? Why do you think there is emphasis today on being assertive, standing up for yourself, getting advice because you don't fit a particular niche? Indeed it could be good for you. It could also be good for the people who are paid to promote ideas via books, seminars, group meetings to foster a feeling of support, and so on.

EVERYONE has to earn a living? Everyone can do their own thing? It's free and it's helpful? Could there be a hidden agenda, getting your mates involved, giving a donation, getting you to buy books, encouraging you to feel a need to seek help or comfort - at financial or human cost? We are all human: you may feel OK with yourself or at least you get by. You can build on that by yourself or with friends you trust.

BE AWARE that some people may not be what they seem. Some may simply want you to believe what they believe, or they say what you might want to hear. Something to watch out for would be a double-standard (which can be deliberate or not) where the stated objective may be perhaps an ideal to follow, but the intent may be raising money or having a form of control over others.

AS A GUIDE, if you are in a relationship or a group and you feel like questioning something or changing your mind but you meet opposition, perhaps it is time to examine things further. There is a natural amount of give-and-take in many situations. We all have our various likes and dislikes, our comfort zones and our discomforts.

DOC MATRIX -BELIEFS & MYTHS PAGE at http://trubbles.t35.com/beliefsandmyths.html

Suppose I think that's a Dinosaur flying by, says Doc, then
I'll probably BEHAVE as if there IS one

Can I persuade YOU there's one?
Can someone convince ME there is?

Set the Scene right and I'm likely to BELIEVE Anything

Maybe I read stories when little, and Dinos were Good
Maybe someone said they were Scarey

It might seem Prudent to Believe something is Good
Or equally Prudent to Believe some things are Bad

We probably Forget where most of it began -
But we ACT as if they are True or Real

I might just Change my Mind about some of it
Someone might talk things over to Change my Mind
So Far So Good - That's Common Sense

WHAT IF one Person or a Group
can make Money out of changing
my Beliefs or changing my Behaviour?
(actually Either can work for Both)

SUPPOSE they studied Group Pressures,
Social situations, HOW to change a Belief

They could be £££'s-in or SIMPLY get some Power

When I say SIMPLY I mean it is quite SIMPLE to do

There will always be Leader Types
And People more likely to Follow a Lead

What I refer to is Something ELSE, call it Psycho-
Social Influence, Factors or What-Have-You?

Set the Scene right and I am likely to BELIEVE Anything

No-One can Blame YOU for getting SET-UP

Watch THE REAL HUSTLE on TV!

We can ALL Learn!

DOC MATRIX BOOKList on BELIEFS & BEHAVIOUR

'An Introduction to Social Anthropology: Other People's Worlds' by Joy Hendry
'A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion' ed. Michael Lambek
'Britain on the Couch' by Oliver James
'Cross-Cultural Psychology' by Berry, Poortinga, Segall, Dasen
'Eccentric & Bizarre Behaviours' by Franzini & Grossberg
'Extraordinary Popular Delusions' by Charles Mackay
'Fugitive Minds' by Antonio Melechi
'Messengers of Deception' by Jacques Vallee
'Phantoms of the Brain' by Blakeslee & Ramachandran
'Pointed Observations' by Kevin R D Shepherd
'Social Psychology' by M A Hogg & G M Vaughan
'Spying in Guru Land' by William Shaw
'The Anthropology of Religion' by Fiona Bowie
'The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat' by Oliver Sacks
'The Psychic Tourist' by William Little
'The Secret World of Cults' by Jean Ritchie
'The Stargate Conspiracy' by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince
'The Supernatural' by Will Storr
'The Wayward Mind' by Guy Claxton
'Worldviews' by Ninian Smart

DOC MATRIX's X-Files BOOKList

'Ancient Energies of the Earth' by David Cowan & Anne Silk
'Archaeology of the Mind: the Social History of the Unconscious'
by George Frankl
'Beyond the Occult' by Colin Wilson
'Borderlands' by Mike Dash
'Daimonic Reality' by Patrick Harpur
'Disneyland of the Gods' by John Keel
'Earth Harmony' by Nigel Pennick
'Environmental Psychology' by Robert Gifford
'ESP Beyond Time & Distance' by T.C. Lethbridge
'Games of the Gods - The Origin of Board Games'' by Nigel Pennick
'Hidden Meanings' by Laird Scranton
'Hungry Ghosts' by Joe Fisher
'Labyrinths: Ancient Myths & Modern Uses' by Sig Lonegren
'Ley Lines' by Danny Sullivan
'Messengers of Deception' by Jacques Vallee
'Missing Pieces' by Robert A Baker & Joe Nickell
'Mysteries of the Hopewell' by William F. Romain
'Natural Symbols' by Mary Douglas
'Needles of Stone' by Tom Graves
'Out of Character Behaviour' http://toukanalia.blogspot.com
'Places of Power' by Paul Devereux
'Revelations' by Jacques Vallee
'Shamanism & The Mystery Lines' by Paul Devereux
'Space, Time & Medicine' by Larry Dossey
'Strange Creatures from Time & Space' by John Keel
'Symbols & Meaning' by Mari Womack
'The Phantom World' by Augustin Calmet (written in 1746)
'The Power of Coincidence' by Frank Joseph
'The Stargate Conspiracy' by Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince
'The System in which we Live' by Arthur Oram
'The Way of the Shaman' by Michael Harner
'True Life Encounters' by John & Anne Spencer
'Unseen Aspects of Behaviour' HERE

DOC MATRIX BOOKList on CON-TRICKS, SCAMS & DECEPTION

BBC TV have been running 'The Real Hustle' in 2009, information at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m8mf
If you can watch videos you can see the Top 30 voted Hustles at
www.bbc.co.uk/realhustle/besthustles/

& see YOUTUBE

BOOKS you may find useful are:

'Conned: Scams, Frauds & Swindles' by James Morton & Hilary Bateson
'The Con Artist Handbook, the Secrets of Hustles & Scams' by Joel Levy
'The Art of Deception' by Kevin D Mitnick & William L Simon
'More Scams from the Great Beyond' by Peter Huston
'The Art of the Steal' by Frank Abagnale
'The Sting - True Stories of the World's greatest Conmen' by Nigel Blundell
'The Tourist Trap - when Holiday turns to Nightmare' by Patrick Blackden

'The Body Language Bible' by Judi James
'The Book of Tells' by Peter Collett
'The Call of the Weird - Travels in American Subcultures' by Louis Theroux
'The Dilbert Principle' by Scott Adams
'A Mind of its Own - How your Brain Distorts & Deceives' by Cordelia Fine
'The Psychology of Self-Deception' by Daniel Goleman

'Buy-ology' by Martin Lindstrom
'Decoding Advertisements - Ideology & Meaning in Advertising' by Judith Williamson
'Emotional Design - Why we love (or hate) everyday things' by Donald A Norman
'Of Cigarettes, High Heels, & Other Interesting Things' by Marcel Danesi
'Predictably Irrational' by Dan Ariely
'Stack & Sway - the new Science of Jury Consulting'
by Neil J Kressel & Dorit F Kressel
'Techniques of Persuasion' by J.A.C. Brown
'We Know What You Want - How they change your Mind' by Martin Howard
'The Want Makers' by Eric Clark

'Body Magic' by John Fisher
'Building Blocks' by Luke Jermay
Cold Reading/Barnum Effect article
'Hiding the Elephant' by Jim Steinmeyer
'Hoffmann's Modern Magic' by Hoffmann
'Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic'
'The Psychic Mafia' by M. Lamar Keene
'Secrets of Stage Mindreading' by Ormond McGill
'Self-Working Mental Magic' by Karl Fulves
'Sleight of Hand' by Edwin Sachs
'Tricks of the Mind' by Derren Brown

WARNING !

'The Sociopath Next Door' by Martha Stout
'Without Conscience - the Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among us' by Robert D Hare
'Erased - Missing Women, Murdered Wives' by Marilee Strong

Remember that some people may genuinely believe in what they are telling you

Logical Fallacies - errors of reasoning or argument -use a Search Engine or www.logicalfallacies.info/
which categorises fallacies of relevance, ambiguity, or presumption

Multiple Intelligences/ Aptitudes

Nidotherapy - changing someone's environment rather than trying to change them

Ponerology - wickedness or evil

Psychohistory website of Lloyd deMause at www.psychohistory.com - the 'science of historical motivations'; the 'emotional origin of social/political behavior of groups & nations'

Social Engineering for strategies from the computer environment and used more generally, to gain information or to manipulate - often via Social Compliance

See Public Relations, 'Spin', Salesmanship, Anthropology, Memes - or start from your own interests

SOCIAL DYNAMICS of CULTS

2008-10-11T04:11:00.001-07:00

Most of us are similar in that once we were children and not so strong as the adults around us, and not having awareness of options for later in our lives. Perhaps this is one reason why children gang together in the playground, or as adults we join things or get drawn into things, either with friends or by seeking out people to be with in a pairing relationship or group. Safety in numbers, no longer small, alone and not being listened to or able to fight back.

Suppose now, if you will, a society or subculture which makes it their business in some way to control their own children, children of others, weaker members, and gain continuity of their beliefs and practices in that way. There's nothing unusual about this when it happens naturally via families and their practices, culture and belief systems, or on a wider scale in a region or whole country. Writers such as George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, B.F. Skinner have written about different ways of controlling society in a wider sense.

Suppose you really do think the end of the world is coming, except certain people only will survive such as you and your descendants or fellow-travellers, and you want to ensure your survival over and above any others. Or suppose that you think you are stuck with this world, and will do your damnedest to maintain your position, economically, socially, or in terms of control. Then one might opt for a system of social and mental control, creating an under-class of vulnerable people who would be expendable or transferable.

The possibilities are endless and I don't have the whole picture. You only have to witness a stage hypnotism act with genuine post-hypnotic suggestion being acted upon by subjects, to see these things are possible, not just with years of conditioning but just a little, acting on the subconscious of those who are susceptible. Increase the length of time and the indoctrination process, and the more of us could become susceptible very easily.
. . . . .

A common theme in fairy tales is for people to be given the chance of a wish, but there may be a price for it. Aesop's Fables have a 'moral of the story' and literary censorship used to require the baddies suffered for their actions. People have always been fascinated by the tale of Faust who gave up his personal autonomy in exchange for rewards and safeguards, the price he paid!

Many of us watch films about the darker side of human nature, reality TV, soaps or self-revelations, without getting involved in committing those acts, perhaps like a release valve. We may both sympathise and distance ourselves, compartmentalising and filing parts away. Dissociation can work for all of us. Some people use it to help their own mental functioning. Some people utilise it in others - in order to get and to maintain control over them.
. . . . .

People in a geographical area may join together for psychological and cultural convenience, believing the cult practices would provide business contacts as well as extra powers. Concepts of group minds, thoughtforms and egregores may come in here, how they can form naturally or by design, and can be manipulated by those with knowledge and intent. Whatever we or 'they' believe about angels, demons, rituals and special powers, it is what 'they' do that has an effect on others. Just because we do not believe something, does not mean it is impossible or it can't be experienced somehow. We take in situational cues, and people who engage in ritual put themselves into a certain setting and frame of mind, an altered or 'alter' state in which anchors or reinforcement play a part.

A disturbing trend is when people group together against someone who stands out through being older or weaker or just on their own. Some people join something to lessen risk as a kind of insurance or guarantee. The group can sink to a low common denominator, doing things 'because they can', i.e. they are strong and likely to reap benefits with no risk. As I wrote this, a newspaper reported on a woman with deformed fingers due to Thalidomide, whose co-workers coerced her into a bowls match - then ridiculed her. This is child playground behaviour at its worst, and children often behave better towards their less fortunate peers, accepting them as they are. A business culture of competition and deception does not foster acceptance and co-operation. Many people are bullied in a work setting beyond what can be described as teasing. See Tim Field's book 'Bully in Sight' or check out website www.bullyoffline.org

People involved in a cult may think they can make themselves immune to responsibility. I believe there is a social structure in place to maintain control.
. . . . .

If most people do not believe something can happen, whether it actually does or not, how would anything get changed? That is what 'they', the people involved in perpetrating cult abuse on those further down their pecking order, hope for. If 'they' put out enough denial or dis-information in an attempt to brush it under the carpet of awareness, to make anyone feel foolish for speaking out, threaten them in covert or overt ways, or simply make it impossible for them to change things, then 'they' will do. It's as old as time itself.

Cult abuse is merely an extreme form of hierarchy or feudal system - not one of physical ownership, but more psychological. One only has to look at the 'frat' system in some US colleges, to see how important belonging to a specific group is, and adhering to their ways above all other, and sometimes secretly and subversively. There are sanctions against transgressors.

It could be that human beings, much as animals do, have a system of psychological survival of the fittest. There are those who will naturally (or unnaturally) take a leadership role, and those who are not suited to that, or are not allowed to by 'the system' - whatever system is prevailing or enforced. It is my belief that cult abuse simply takes what works, to keep people in an 'us and them' situation, either being at the top end and commanding those lower down, or in terms of in-groups and out-groups. Somewhere deep down, each one of us has needs to belong, and also to remain separate in some way from the rest of society, even from the rest of their group.

Perhaps there is a need to create a structured society like 'Brave New World', 'Nineteen-Eighty-Four' or 'Beyond Freedom & Dignity'. The name of the game seems to be compliance by any means that can be fathomed such as conditioning or force, or large components of drugs and hypnosis, so that people's wills and lives are not their own any more. Some kind of a territorial or moral take-over bid.

I found it useful to think in terms of psychological manipulation and control, including societal or cultic influence, voodoo, or whatever other elements seemed to be present. The rewards would be at the top of the tree and punishments at the bottom, with many, many people playing a witting or unwitting part in between, perhaps caught because of a basic need to feed, clothe and house themselves.

We all have ways of trying to maintain some kind of 'status quo' in our lives, some of which we may not be too proud of or even accept. If someone were to offer us sufficient real or imagined benefits in terms of money, security, prestige, power/s, legal immunity or whatever, any one of us may get drawn in via something smaller than the tip of an iceberg. And that can lead to a multitude of issues.
. . . . .

Most people have faculties in their brains to help with co-ordinating memories and thinking things through. Someone cunning can obliterate or obfuscate awareness or memory so that the subject is unable to avoid other dangerous or fraught situations. For readers who think mental obliteration strategies to get people to forget or be unaware would not work, try books written by stage hypnotists of any repute or look at confusional techniques of NLP or 'street hypnosis'.
. . . . .

I am trying:
* To de-mystify the otherwise unbelievable
* To show these things can happen
* That they are basically an extension of other aspects of human behaviour, however inhuman, crass, ridiculous, stupid, unnecessary, and unbelievable, it may all seem

In many cultures there are practices and beliefs that people outside those cultures write off as different or irrelevant for themselves. Recent TV programmes have shown how strongly people can believe in ideologies and get drawn into practices that, in another frame of mind, they might consider stupid or damaging. For some reason/s we humans often have an innate need to believe in something, or to carry out various types of ritual, mundane or otherwise. Or there is a need to deny what is strange, incomprehensible or abhorrent. We all have our different mind-sets, and polarisation or splitting can happen easily.

Alongside books and websites dealing with cult-like behaviour, social psychology, anthropology and religion, I looked at profiling of violent and sadistic behaviours. The writings of Lacan and Melanie Klein could be useful. Perhaps we are looking at splitting, idealisation and denigration/demonisation, intertwined with complex behavioural conditioning. It might be worth looking at psychodynamics of the Mafia or of extremists where people can be family-oriented, caring and religious, as well as acting aggressively and destructively.
. . . . . . . . . .

You are free to consider anything that may be useful - and to discard the rest.
. . . . . . . . . ..

EXTERNAL SOURCES

2008-10-11T04:09:00.000-07:00

The following appears towards the bottom of the front page of www.afafa.org

NIH Physician's Statement About Mind Control
April 11, 2002

The originals of these letters were made available from, and are posted on:
Mind Justice Home Page

CORROBORATING STATEMENT by Dr. Eldon Byrd

In the mid to late eighties, while I was a practicing physician, I was working almost exclusively in the field of psycho-neuro-immuno-endocrinology, especially as concerned the new malady, called Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome. I had become good friends, Health and Wellness Advisor, and personal physician to US Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. I had also become very close friends with his Special Legislative Assistant.

It was in the 1987-88 timeframe that I was introduced to an individual of authority in the US Government who talked about a strange new phenomenon. This individual wanted me to meet a special investigative reporter who had been devoting all his time to investigating this new phenomenon. He thought that with my background in the neural sciences and some of the esoteric things I had been aware of in the realm of the physics of consciousness that I might be of assistance both to victims of this phenomenon and to the investigators of it.

He told me that there was significant evidence that the phenomenon was real and viewed by those involved in trying to understand it as very dangerous. He warned me from the outset that many of the scientists who had been close to understanding the technology behind the phenomenon wound up dying from apparent heart attacks. He said that in the opinion of many who had seriously investigated this phenomenon, that it appeared to be as dangerous a threat to humanity as anything ever in history, because it was not yet traceable to a specific source, and that it was so malevolent, that it had the potential to
lead humanity to its own destruction.

I was also told that it was not uncommon for those investigating the phenomenon to become victims of it themselves, and that he considered that I should know the risks before volunteering to help. Because of my relationship to the Senator and my commitment to assist in matters affecting the health and welfare of the nation, I felt it was my duty to participate to the best of my ability.

I agreed to meet with the investigative reporter. He came to my office and gave me the first briefing on the phenomenon. I wish to preface my account with the fact that through the succeeding three or four years, I became convinced of the reality of the phenomenon, and in fact did come under attack, although in a manner not typical. What he described was as follows.

The majority of those who were victims of this "technology" would report that they had somehow received an implant of a speaker inside their head. Almost incessantly they would hear noise, as in background noise in a busy room with activity of people and machinery. They would also hear voices addressing them specifically. Often they would be harangued incessantly with exhortations to commit vile acts, such as inappropriate sexual behaviors from homosexual assaults to heterosexual rape and pedophilic acts. They would also experience the emotional accompaniment of these exhortations as urges that were hard to control. Often the urges and thoughts and voices caused the victim to experience tremendous fear and rage. Some of the victims experienced the "loss of time," in which they would be conscious, but somehow missed what happened to them for extended periods, ranging from minutes to hours at a time. They could not account for themselves during these periods.

Some of the victims made the association that these "attacks" coincided with watching television or from working at their computers. A number of victims learned that if they lost themselves in a crowd, they could frequently interrupt the "transmissions." This would lead them often to wander into crowded places in order to get some peace.

Inevitably these people would seek medical attention. The majority of these people had no prior history of psychiatric illness. Their experience of the voices had a sudden onset, and they could pinpoint the time or date the first awareness of these events occurred. Although many would be told that they had a psychiatric illness causing them auditory hallucinations, a number of eminent psychiatrists who studied some of these victims felt that the ones truly victimized by this "technology" did not fall into any psychiatric diagnosis, and that they were not experiencing auditory hallucinations. Quite a number of victims were successful well-adjusted people prior to the onset of the symptoms. Characteristically, all of the content of the voices, which was so perverse, had no reference to past character development in these people.

This reporter, who we will call M, told me that quite by chance, when one physician had prescribed a phenothiazine called Haldol without telling the patient what it was, the voices stopped almost immediately. However, when the patient found out the name of the medicine, the voices resumed. They tried this on a number of other patients, and found the same thing happened. It was as if there was something physiologically relevant to the action of the "transmission" that interfered with it, but if the monitoring agent behind the technology found out what the interfering drug was, it somehow could abort the efficacy.

[Undoubtedly a reasonable, though false theory – the deliberate cultivation of false theories.]

One has to say, as a skeptic, that an initial placebo effect was eliminated once the patient discovered that the medicine was used for psychiatric patients with hallucinations or psychosis. Yet, one has to wonder why, when Haldol is very effective in eliminating hallucinosis with or without the patient's knowledge, why there seemed to be this reproducible escape of efficacy, once the name of the medicine was introduced to consciousness of the victim.

Another attribute of the attackers according to M was their ability to learn of the victim's past medical history. One of the manifestations of the attack often was the reproduction of acute symptomatology that clinically resembled perfectly attacks of genuine disease conditions, such as acute abdominal pain associated with appendicitis, or chest pain associated with myocardial ischemia, of abdominal pain associated with pelvic inflammatory disease. When these people would seek medical attention for these symptoms, however, there would be absolutely no evidence clinically that anything truly pathologic was happening. Again, this would contribute to the judgment of the health provider that the victim was a "crock," meaning that it was all some form of psychosomatic neurosis.

M declared that his investigation of this phenomenon had taken him around the world. He had interviewed individuals in Soviet agencies, Israeli intelligence, our own CIA, NSA, and Naval Intelligence organizations. He found that many agencies in other countries had become aware of this and other similar phenomena, and although they acknowledged working on technology that could influence thought and feeling of human beings, made the distinction between their efforts and this phenomenon.

M stated that he was not able to get those assurances from the people he interviewed at NSA. I remember a specific instance in which M had gained possession of a copy of a transmission recorded from a victim's television set that was submitted to NSA for analysis. Prior to its submission, other scientists had verified that a very unusual signal had been received by some very special device they employed to monitor this victim's TV set. I was not told the nature of the signal nor was I told anything about the recording device. What he told me however, was that upon submitting it to the NSA, they were never able to get the recording back, nor were they able to ascertain from the NSA official what their findings revealed about the transmission. M was making the association that the victimization process itself could be propagated from person to person. He stated that he felt that even through telephone lines, one victim talking to another person could result in the person to whom the victim was talking become a victim themselves. He also reported that regarding his investigation, it seemed that as he got closer to answers, that the people he would speak to would irrationally shut him off, even after being initially engaged, interested and even participating in the investigation. He believed that the controlling entity or entities could sense when to interfere and actually cause people to block their own perceptions and awareness. M actually came to believe that the scope of interference could actually lead people to do things that were destructive to themselves, like cause their own automobile accidents.

He believed that Senator Pell had himself become an unaware victim of the manipulation of this force. He made this conclusion because of times at which Pell would be seriously engaged with M, it was as if a switch had been pulled and suddenly Pell would disengage, seeming to forget what the conversation was about or that he had any interest in what M was presenting at all. Yet later Pell would again invite M back for further discussion, only to have the discussion interrupted again in the same way. M was convinced it was not simply a distraction caused by being too busy or preoccupied with other things. M also took note of the fact that some of the others he had met along the way with insight into this phenomenon had simply suddenly forgotten its importance. And when reminded by M, they would deny even ever knowing about it. M felt this was a defensive maneuver by the agent or agents behind the "technology."

My wife and I began to notice peculiar things in our own life immediately after M would place a phone call to me. For reasons unknown to us we would start to argue with each other and have very bad feelings toward one another. It became such a pattern that my wife pointed it out to me. I had never told her anything about M or the content of our discussions.

There was an episode that occurred in 1991 on December 17. Things seemed to be very intense with M. One night after a particularly intense discussion with M on the phone, my wife began to experience symptoms of lower abdominal pain. She became extremely weak and felt horribly sick. She recalled that the symptoms were exactly what she had experienced after sustaining an iatrogenically caused episode of pelvic inflammatory disease, after a tubal insufflation blew a smoldering streptococcal infection in her endometrium into her peritoneal cavity. She had undergone an evaluation for infertility after coming off the BC pill and not getting pregnant after a year of trying. This acute P.I.D. almost killed her and we were told that the residual scarring could mean she would never get pregnant. Not withstanding the scarring we were fortunate to have three sons after a physician tried her on the fertility pill, Clomid. However, the fact that she had scarring in her peritoneal cavity from that infection was thoroughly documented.

That night the symptoms got worse and worse. I took her to the hospital for evaluation by her OB GYN. He agreed that she had signs of peritoneal inflammation on physical exam, but her blood work was normal. He said we should go home and see what happened. If it didn't improve we were to return in the morning and he would do a laparoscopic examination under anesthesia. As I was leaving the hospital after dropping off her miniscule urine sample, while my wife waited in the car, I had a very unusual experience. It was of a personal nature, but suffice to say that after it, my wife felt better after almost losing consciousness.

We decided that because it was already arranged for her to have the laparoscopy the next morning that we should go ahead with it. We did. We were amazed to hear the results. He doctor said she had the pelvis of a 14-year-old girl. There was no scarring, no evidence of current or prior pelvic inflammatory disease. To this day we do not know what happened to what had been thoroughly documented before. All we know is she never again has had the kind of sharp pains she would get at intervals from the "tearing of adhesions," which always was the explanation for those pains.

Shortly thereafter, I lost touch with M. About a year later I tried to reach him to see how he was doing. I was shocked to find that he was no longer working on this project, but was on to something else. When I said why would you abandon the work you were so fanatically committed to for the sake of humanity, his response was as if he had no idea to what I was referring.

Since then, neither my wife nor myself has had any further personal experience with anything resembling what took place during those years of frequent contact with M. I did see a number of patients who were afflicted with the voices and urges. I never was able to help any one of them.

It has been suggested that this horrible technology is something covertly being used by our government. Although I cannot rule it in or out, I sincerely believe that something real is going on that is not a part of normal physiology to affect these people. Not everyone who hears voices is a victim of this, just as not everyone who is a victim of this hears voices. My experience suggests to me that there is something definitely impacting certain people, perhaps at random, from the outside in.

In conclusion, further scientific investigation like the experiment of Dr. Byrd's for CAHRA to record the voices in victim's heads are needed in order to try to understand the mechanisms that are producing them. I also feel that being able to determine the type of signal itself would add valuable clues to the mechanism of transmission. For example, certain psychoactive properties have been attributed to ELF electromagnetic signals and microwaves that are modulated with ELF signals. The presence of such signal means that there is a source that is directing them at victims.

It should become possible to test the victim's home and office environments for sources transmitting the signals such as telephones, televisions, and computers. Of course, the signals may be transmitted directly by other technological means, also. If present, the source would be guilty of illegal interference with the victims' civil rights and of experimenting on them without their permission.

Brain imaging techniques are available, such as MRI and PET scans. The MRI is useful for examining brain structure, whereas the PET scan is designed to examine the metabolic activity in the brain. Unless a victim has been subjected to signals that affect the physical structure of the brain, the MRI is of limited value; however the PET scan could determine the difference between internally generated symptoms and externally generated signals. Another useful technique is the multi-channel EEG beam scan that will indicate alterations in the electrical activity of the brain as a function of stimulus.

PARANOIA or USEFUL TO KNOW

2008-10-11T04:08:00.002-07:00

From http://www.afafa.org/AFAFA_Methods_of_Attack.htm#Thought_Surveillance

Signs and Between-the-Lines

'Signs' cover all kinds of clandestine, ambiguous or deniable semi-communications using everything from suggestive language (like homonyms, metaphors, euphemisms, etc.) to body language to object placements to visual imagery that leave the signer insulated from responsibility for the signing. A sign can be anything from flipping one's cell phone open suggestively to leaving a dead bird at a person's doorstep - ways of accusing, conveying threat, pressuring, enhancing paranoia and obliquely referring to possibly illegally obtained surveillance information about a person (and thereby show that person that he/she is a slave to surveillance and may always be), which tend to make the person look paranoid or delusional in reacting to or interpreting them or which others can pretend are products of paranoia or delusional. They may take the form of so-called ‘mirrors’ within all kinds of broadcast media – the reflecting of embarrassing information in deniable ways that may be exaggerated or mixed with provocative fiction so as to lead a subset of public opinion, accelerated by that person’s taking ownership of or attempting to refute them. Responding to them usually only appears to be self-accusation or spontaneous eruptions from a guilty conscience. One single sign deriving from the surveillance of a person in a place having a reasonable expectation of privacy can permanently transform a life into a kind of prison of the mind in terms of the assumption of being watched. George Orwell apparently had a name for them in his book 1984 - Duckspeak.

"It is one of those interesting words that have two contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it is abuse; applied to someone you agree with, it is praise."

Everyone knows how to do it to some degree (though the culture surrounding so-called mind control has raised it to an art form) and the media has long been involved in filling their works with it in support of MC, often embedding little details about specific targeted individuals (triggers) that only they will tend to recognize. Some people are expert at it and can rattle off spoken signs in realtime. If you’ve been lead/trained to expect them, you’re more likely to interpret words as having suggestive meaning beyond their obvious connotations even when none are intended. The delivery is often so clever that you can’t be sure that you’ve been signed at all. A relative few people playing that game can make you suspicious of everyone – it is after all part of the paranoia game of so-called ‘mind control’.

Signs can take a variety of forms. Consider a harasser who is provided with surveillance information on a target. The target is in the process of being sleep deprived as part of his/her persecution. One clever sign that the attacker might deliver in support of that strategy could be an exaggerated yawn, while passing by that can't be proven as any kind of covert messaging at all.

Here’s a clever but fairly obvious one using the old monkey sign, long associated with targeted persons with its subhuman connotations. Of course, the bar code implies a monkey in a cage.
. . . . .

Entrainment

The redefining of a target's perceptions so as to read material in TV, books and other language and imagery beyond what appears at face value or otherwise self-identify with them. It is much easier to deliver clandestine messagery and information to an entrained person than a non-entrained one. Many artists have been tossing in suggestive idioms, metaphors, double-entendre, etc. associated with aspects of MC for years to enhance that process (often overtly harmless and innocent but with provocative implications) and entrainment can mean simply waking the target up to that body of material via other forms of clandestine suggestion (see below) and training. Over time, a good portion of the dictionary can be redefined in a target's mind as being metaphorical/symbolic such that everything around him/her appears to be a kind of grotesque parody of what it once was. You can entrain targets to self-identify with specific personalities (as Charles McCoy described in being entrained to identify with Michael Jackson) and around numerous established metaphors/symbols:

from the common Mountain, (elaborate) French (occupation) - to borrow from its use in the films ‘Big Fish’ and ‘War of the Worlds’, red/green/blue (A Scanner Darkly's blue flower), fat/obese, credit, stock value, etc.

to snow, candy, farmer, butterfly, Chinese, stone, elevation/elevator, high, floating, stratospheric, artificial, etc.

to target, cat, bear, alien, (Manchurian) candidate, Christ/Chris/Messiah/Jesus (often employed in the context as 'Sun' or ‘son’), monkey, wolf, crab and lobster (shell symbols), pirate, monster, astronaut, dinosaur, king, emperor, president, soldier, mummy, zombie, puppet, etc.

to hot dog, fish (such as Lost's fish biscuits), bird (often referred to as specific species like hawk, eagle, chicken, etc.), bone, steel, toys, lizard, wrestling, head, pie, slide, hamburger, clam, pipe, sailing, cigar/smoking, pole, taco, wood, lunar, moon, seat, back, behind, Greek, fruit, ice cream, hole, roses, butterfly, sandwich, horns/anters, kneeling/on the knees (often embedded in the context of prayer or supplication) - a fellatio trigger, etc. many of which are quite common and too numerous to mention

to cold, ice, popsickle, haunted, heat/hot, soak, dunk, submerge, retirement, fishbowl/aquarium, rain, weather, buried, pressure, famous (a misnomer), static, (winning the) lottery (seen in conjunction with the Charles McCoy mirror on the island called Lost and deriving from Orwell’s inclusion of the lottery in ‘1984’ or older still), dead/deceased

to an endless number of spontaneous ones (like A Scanner Darkly's shape shifter suits) that are unique. There are, of course, more provocative symbols out there, though it is left for you to find them.
. . . . .

Number symbolism is common, much as you will find on license plates mixed with letters – ways of conveying messages in a minimal space in a deniable way. In fact, suggestive license plates are apparently being used sometimes as part of chasing targeted people around on the road.

1 – ‘one’ or ‘won’
2 – ‘to’, ‘two’ or ‘too’
3 – ‘good’ or ‘right’ (reminiscent of the holy trinity)
4 – ‘for’
5 – (not sure – ‘lie’?)
6 – ‘bad’ or ‘evil’
7 – ‘good’
8 – ‘ate’ (i.e. consumed, took, partook of)
9 – A negative deriving from the German word for ‘no’

You’ll see frequent use of 3, 33, 333, 37, 73 in films like ‘Close Encounters’ and ’12 Monkeys’. You’ll find 39, 93, ‘7 flights up’ and lots of other variations upon 3 on the first couple of pages of Orwell’s novel 1984, which help to imply that the Winston character is ‘no good’ and that big brother is good (yep, Orwell was just another media MC artist and not the libertarian champion that he is widely believed to be). Those are often strung together into short sentences like 286 from the film ‘Cast Away’ indicating 'to sink someone', ‘two were sunk’ or ‘two consumed/partook of evil’ set alongside a prominent nearby 77.

Chessboard/gaming symbolism is also fairly common as are the connotations of the individual pieces on the board, often woven into chessboard scenarios that model real world aspects of ‘the game’. ‘Rook’ can have bird connotations, ‘queen’ often has homosexual connotations, ‘bishop’ often implies the overseer, slave-master, preaching or pursuit aspects of MC and so forth.

Click/Stimulus Messaging

Click/stimulus messaging is a means of clandestine semi-communications whereby one or more of several kinds of transient stimuli are used to clandestinely hijack linguistic material (spoken, heard, read or even thought) or other symbolic fodder within a target’s sensory environment or stream of thought so as to deliver a clandestine message that guarantees anonymity for the giver.
. . . . .

Although the presence of audible linguistic media in a target's sensory environment provides plenty of rich fodder for stimulus messaging, an attack that involves no such material at all is possible too. For example, ‘clicking’ when a target's surveillable field of view lands upon objects that can be interpreted as somehow symbolic or self-specific or when a target is simply reading. Because the technology for surveilling thought itself is in the arsenal, clicking upon moments from the target’s internal dialog is another method. Although there is less linguistic/symbolic fodder available when no external material is nearby (unless one’s internal dialog tends to chatter), that configuration is in some ways more disturbing. Even if the target attempts to drown out audible language or isolate him/herself in a featureless room devoid of any linguistic/symbolic fodder at all, there is still no way to avoid an attack that employs 'bee stings' (see below) in conjunction with a surveillance of the internal dialog, except perhaps via the meditative technique of silencing the internal dialog altogether. But that would be a pretty boring and unhealthy way to live, so it's usually best to learn to cope with an attack than try to avoid it. But doing so might afford a little temporary relief. Even then, electromagnetic voice-to-skull can still be used to get the message across. One way or another, they can make it unavoidable.

Imagine the joy of hearing a soft thump from source unknown at the moment that, for example, the black cloaked wraiths lift their swords while preparing to put to death the hobbits in the film, “The Lord of the Rings”. Effectively, it would be a death threat that carries not just the force of words and the ignorance of not knowing who is conveying it, but the force of all the magic (in this case black magic) that the small army involved in the making of a film can bring to bear - music, cinematography and all.
. . . . .

Cough Messaging and Body Language

Say that you and I are co-workers and you want to provide a pretext for expulsion. Since laws and workplace rules generally forbid harassment and creating a hostile environment for co-workers, you have to be clever in your attack. So how do you go about accomplishing your goal?

You begin your offensive by passing by my office door and coughing as you pass. I will think nothing of it. Do it again and I'll think that maybe you have a cold this week or that pure chance has dealt one of those somewhat unlikely but entirely random occurrences. Do it a third and fourth time and you'll have captured my attention. I'll realize that something is up between us. Do it a fifth and sixth time and I'll start to get angry. If I confront you over the matter, you can just smile with a touch of practiced surprise on your face as you say, 'Goodness, are you feeling OK? You seem a little disturbed. Maybe you should rest or see a doctor', which will only make me angrier, since the possibility in random occurrence has long passed and because I'll know that you have the initiative and are working me in a way that can't be easily stopped or proven.
. . . . .

However, after having gained my attention, if you change tactics, then I will have the added burden of showing how sucking air through your teeth or clicking pen to key is a part of your effort. Alternatively, you can begin to 'trigger' me at other locations to make the collection of video evidence far more difficult. Perhaps you will choose to start coughing (or whatever) as I pass by YOUR office door or while passing me in the hall.

Intended (rather than spontaneous) coughing and laughter in coincidence with chosen moments in public venues in which crowds gather (movies, concerts, etc.) is common. It can be used to enhance the paranoia and discomfort of specific targets at moments chosen to be specific to targets by harassers who have embarrassing information on their targets.
. . . . .

'Bee Stings'

Bee stings are a technology for inducing the sensation of pin-prick, crawling insect and other sensations felt upon the skin. They can be inflicted in such a way as to cause pain as punishment/deterrent, to induce an irritating itching sensation or to induce mild, non-painful sensations as a method of extraordinarily clandestine signaling/messaging. When employed as a semi-communications vehicle, a number of schemes can be applied. It can be used as one more form of simple click/stimulus messaging. It can be more sophisticated such as stinging the right knee to convey 'yes' and the left knee to convey 'no'.
. . . . .

Frustration, confusion and the hopelessness in being kept perpetually ignorant are obviously one of the main sources of pain for all targeted individual’s, part of the price of our persecutors’ cover. But such needless cruelty seems to me one of those things about MC most in need of reform, though I doubt that will ever happen, pain being probably the single common denominator of MC in the first place, and confusion and ignorance are helpful tools that help to inhibit organization and resistance and preserve our persecutors’ deniability, which has lasted for over half a century.

(YHST = You, he, she or they. Notice the use of body parts that have a near phonetic match to the words that they wish those body parts to symbolize. That is apparently a natural choice, making the training of the dictionary easier to train in and remember (unfortunately). A given symbol is trained in like this – the phrase ‘take it on the chin’ pops up on the radio or TV. They transmit a sting to the chin at that moment. Repeat a time or two for confirmation and voila, it’s trained in. Only if I were asleep could I avoid that involuntary and unwanted training. Thereafter, they can use that symbol in response to my unspoken thoughts or other contexts much like in any language.
Chin - 'Take it on the chin' or 'Expect a punitive response' or 'punch in the mouth'
Top of the foot - 'Fool'
The underside of the arch of the foot (i.e. arch) - 'YHST is/are'
Middle finger - 'F___ you'
Middle right toe - 'F___ you too'
Knuckle - 'Punch you' (figurative) plus whatever connotation the chosen finger implies
Big toe - 'YHST too/also'
Back of the foot [heel] - 'YHST is/are a heel.'
Shin – ‘Sin’
Calf - 'YHST can or we can'
Right knee - 'Yes'
Thigh - 'Lie'
Elbow – A__hole or 'You're an ___hole'
Ankle – ‘Angry’
Bottom of the foot just behind the toes - 'Soul'
Right index finger - 'Shoot you down' (figurative)
Pinky - 'Penis'
Ring finger - 'That person, place or thing is or has been in one way/sense or another wedded/coupled to or associated with you or is a criminal or evil or you are associated with that or we have associated you with that (in some way that you may eventually discover)'
Thumb - 'Dumb'
Lip - 'Kiss' or ‘whisper’ usually implying that something is being said about me
Wrist - 'Masturbation' or 'YHST is/are a jerk'
Top of the Shoulder - 'YHST should'
Chest - 'That is or would be best'
Buttock - Ass or 'You're an ass'
Base of spine - 'YHST is/are a spy (i.e. anyone who disagrees with or is resisting us or is our enemy or is a criminal)'
Ear lobe - 'Listen' or 'Pay attention' or YHST is/are low (i.e. bad/small)
Forearm - 'Shoot you down' or 'punish' (figurative)
. . . . .

Combinations

There are quite a variety of different tools in the current arsenal from the various ways of interfering with the operation of electronic equipment to public mobbing tactics to neurological manipulation. A deliberate effort has apparently been made to make each target's experience unique both to explore and evaluate the most effective methods, to better exploit the individual weaknesses of specific individuals, and to make the determination of consistencies between their experiences that might ultimately amount to a preponderance of circumstantial evidence of the reality of MC more difficult (i.e. a target being hit with migraine like pain does not appear to have anything in common with one that is being bombarded with computer virus attacks or one that is being harassed in public places or one that is being hit primarily with 'bee stings' or one that is being mirrored in the media or one that reports hearing ghostly noises in the attic).
. . . . .

A target can be placed in other more deadly scenarios too. Like being 'gifted' with an artificially induced sexual response (erection) at an inappropriate moment via technology of remote neurological influence by one party who is hidden from another who surveills only the sexual response, thus misleading the second as to the target's nature and predispositions. Or alternatively, the anonymous giver of the artificial ‘gift’ treating the target as though the reaction were spontaneous and non-induced as part of hard-ball mind gaming including attempting to convince the target of predispositions that he/she does not have, which is diabolical. When your central nervous system can be manipulated directly and surreptitiously, it is not necessarily even possible to tell if a behavior or physiological reaction were spontaneous or externally induced or steered (short of simply knowing yourself well), although I don’t believe that it is possible to fully roboticize people over any but brief periods of time. Hope not.

Although I have no shred of doubt that one or both of those means have been applied against me personally, I do NOT accuse my persecutors of having robotically controlled any of my conscious actions, or voluntary or involuntary behaviors beyond trivial, momentary ways useful for mind gaming, pressuring and paranoia enhancement, and I assume that using such means to obtain outright false and fabricated evidence of guilt or predispositions is not part of their code of conduct (if they have one). I hope it isn’t that diabolical anyway. Trickery, pressure, interrogation, depression enhancement, leveraging ignorance and paranoia and destabilization tactics appear to be more in line with that code. However, some targeted persons are complaining of precisely such clearly diabolical tactics, but I have no way of measuring their honesty or sanity. In any case, I assume sole responsibility for ALL of my conscious behaviors, predispositions and beliefs, though I know those have been influenced by all the years of pressure, cruelty, gaming, prattle, endless suggestion and being beset by an antagonistic and hostile surveillance presence for so long. I’m trying to be as objective and unemotional in describing this as possible.

- In another scenario, extraordinarily ugly and/or terrifying dream imagery can be induced artificially as a means of punishment, psychological destabilization or aversive reinforcement. Reward, positive reinforcement and the creation of (perhaps false and insincere) bonds and beliefs, can be induced with beautiful/attractive dream imagery too. The two extremes may be applied in combination in carrot and stick scenarios.

- In another, one or more provocateurs can attempt to drive you to angry, frustrated outbursts, whose efforts are hidden from other observers who are attempting to judge your psychological stability, innocence and such.

. . . . . . . . . .

ON a SIMILAR THEME

2008-10-11T04:08:00.001-07:00

Here are 3 links to some Internet articles which may add something if
people are interested in following them up. People have different outlooks and
approaches which may or may not tie in with anyone else's. The writer
of these comes from a psychoanalytic background.

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/intrusive-brain-reading-surveilla\
nce-technology-hacking-the-mind-by-carole-smith/

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2007/10/19/on-the-need-for-new-criteria-of-d\
iagnosis-of-psychosis-in-the-light-of-mind-invasive-technology-by-carole-smith/

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7123

PERSONALITY and BEHAVIOUR

2008-10-11T04:07:00.002-07:00

The following extracts are by different writers

Fantasy role-playing

I was going to call this 'The Devil's Web' which is the title of a book written in 1990 by Pat Pulling and Kathy Cawthon about children who get involved in role-playing games or virtual realities. It is a long time since I read it, during which time some people have been critical of it, I believe along the lines of its exaggerating any risk involved.

Since then people are more aware of some of the issues around violent films that children watch, or sadistic games played on computers. There is general and governmental concern about increasing crime and violence among young people, and about spree killings occurring in colleges particularly in the United States.

What does seem to warrant attention, apart from anything else, is that fantasy enactments in violent role-playing games are along the lines that adults are trained in for combat - to desensitise them and reduce any qualms they may have about actually pulling the trigger on a gun with the aim, desire or compulsion to kill people.

I do not know the number of instances in the UK where there could be cause for concern, but recently read that the man responsible for the Hungerford murders had just prior to them been involved in a violent role-playing game and had seemed to be 'still in it'.

There is a concept - dare I term it 'received wisdom' - that people are only likely to be adversely affected by violent films or games if there is something a bit wrong with them already, with the oft repeated phrase about how many people are not affected and go on to 'live normal lives'.

Those affected through no fault of their own, because they cannot overcome the conditioning or grooming process towards violence, or because they or a family member are a victim of such violence, do not go on to 'live normal lives'.

. . . . . . . . . .

Profiling by the company we keep ?

From 'Out-of-Character Behaviour' at http://toukanalia.blogspot.com

Although there does seem validity in personality profiling or evaluation for some people, some actions, some situations, or just sometimes - sociological or environmental factors may overtake the individual approach or need consideration as playing a potentially significant part.

That's a sweeping statement which I'll draw in a little by mentioning a book 'Profiling the Criminal Mind: Behavioral Science & Criminal Investigative Analysis' by Dr Robert J Girod Sr. It is an introductory book outlining main themes and theories about profiling and investigation of crime from the author's experience, also mentioning the work of many others with wide-ranging views, experience and expertise.

Several chapters mention the kind of situation that people are in, such as groups they belong to where the 'group cause' could be a motivating factor in criminal or other activity. Some of the subtitles from the CONTENTS list are:

Gang motivated murder
Criminal competition homicide
Group cause homicide:
Cult murder
Extremist murder
Group excitement murder
Peer/group pressure
Group retaliation
Child/adolescent pornography
Historical child/adolescent sex rings
Multidimensional sex rings
Group cause sexual assault

The Nature of Cults:
Attributes
Attitudes
Characteristics
What are Cults

Another useful book is 'Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool' by Ronald M. Holmes & Stephen T. Holmes. There are many more, some quite expensive and some intended more for academics or for those working in the field.

I am inclined to think that sadistic, violent or extreme behaviours are probably things that most people are capable of, especially when under extreme stress or in extreme circumstances. That includes the company we keep, or are somehow inveigled into keeping.

I suggest almost a continuum of behaviour, the extremity of which is shocking but where other factors can sometimes render the shock factor insufficient to prevent our involvement, willing or unwilling, witting or unwitting. Those extreme behaviours could therefore be like an extension of 'normal people's normal behaviour'.

Then I came across John Sweeney's book 'Purple Homicide: Fear and loathing on Knutsford Heath' where in the Epilogue he outlines some theories of cult behaviour and extremes such as suicide by members of a group or cult:

Page 260: "Ashley Grossman is Professor of Neuro-endocrinology at Bart's Hospital in London. He saw a comparison between those who build and reinforce a system of lies and mass suicide cults. 'All of us from time to time tell lies. If the lie is outside the structure, then we can handle that. But if we construct a house around that lie, with eaves and guttering and drainpipes, then we are in trouble. There is a psychological theory that is called cognitive dissonance, which implies that everything must be reasonably congruent. So there comes a certain stage where you start living in that house because there isn't too much else outside. Then even the most reasonably balanced person will find it quite difficult to distinguish between truth and non-truth. They do literally live that lie and it becomes part of their self-structure. It will be hard then to say that someone is deliberately lying because, by that stage, the lie becomes self-reinforcing. The power of the lie is enhanced if there is a folie a deux, if two people are in on the lie together. At its most extreme, the lie can lead to a mass suicide, like the Heaven's Gate suicides..... Within the structure it was congruent, it made sense, they understood it, everybody said the same thing. It was the rest of the world that was living the lie.' "

In 'More Scams from the Great Beyond: How to make even more money off of creationism, evolution, environmentalism, fringe politics, weird science, the occult and other strange beliefs' Peter Huston comments on various hoaxers. He comes up with some interesting ideas about dynamics such as the rather earnest campaigners there can be in any field really. Maybe a lot of us are basically rebels seeking a cause or something 'meaningful' to work on with other people.

On p.86 under a title of 'Canvassing' he writes:
'Choose one particular issue and declare it your cause of the day... Next get a group of well-meaning, idealistic people together... one way is to run a newspaper classified ad... 'Save the Environment' etc... The key elements are an appeal to idealism, greed, and people with lack of experience. Collect these well-meaning, idealistic people. Keep them in one place together for a period of time. This serves several psychological purposes. First they will enjoy one another's company and form a group of some sort. Second they will reinforce each other's willingness to do the humiliating and morally questionable work that comes later.'

Dr William Sargant wrote on the phenomenon of conversion to religion or way of thought, and suggested it occurred a lot easier if there was high excitation of an area in the brain. In a TV interview some years ago he joked that he would not wish to attend a particular ritual or event as he 'did not want to get converted'.

Does this have relevance for large crowds, rallies, congregations, pop concerts, or even some individual or small-group practices like meditation or ritual? Can we change our own psychological reality? Can reality really get changed, or does how we perceive things change? Can someone else change us against our inclination? How would they benefit? Would we!

Will there always be some split in belief or perception which divides us humans into camps, as if somehow we have to seek differentiation? Maybe this is where the 'hissing & splitting' comes in, mentioned in Speakofthedevil's Blog.

If someone goes in for meditation, or has a feverish illness and senses things differently, do they actually become different? If tragedy knocks harshly on your door, are you necessarily the same person afterwards? I feel we can get changed by things, sometimes so that there is no 'going back' completely.

. . . . . . . . . .

Possession, Dissociation or DID

From 'Unseen Aspects of Behaviour' at http://unseenaspects.blogspot.com

Adam Crabtree’s book 'Multiple Man: Explorations in Possession and Multiple Personality' was published in paperback in 1988 by Grafton Book.

Whether one feels there is any validity to the concept of possession, or of multiple personality (which now gets called DID indicating dissociation) the author makes an interesting point about his experiences taking groups through a technique called Psychodrama where people act out different roles in a scene. He found that, not only did people with little acting ability or inclination often do well at it, but they managed with little information on the personality and role they were asked to play.

He says (p.337)
'There seems to be within people a natural ability to take on a personality other than their own and to act from within that assumed personality. They appear to actually become that personality and to some extent, leave their own personality behind. The English word which most closely expresses this phenomenon is 'personation'. My experience with psychodrama shows me that human beings may be said to have the innate capacity to 'personate', to take on full-blown personalities and act from within them.'

He goes on to describe personality as a tool (p.339) concluding:
'I think there is reason to believe that the whole of man's emotional life is centred around the invention and utilization of those tools that we call 'personalities'.

Psychosynthesis and various broadly similar approaches use working with parts of the personality, or subpersonalities, perhaps giving each one a name and looking at how useful or otherwise they are for our overall functioning.

Another theme which could have relevance is the concept of the 'shadow', or darker side of ourselves which we may be disinclined to acknowledge - but which others can sometimes see perhaps because of their own acknowledged or unacknowledged parts.

I think it's fair to say though that most of us, much of the time, have some idea what happened in our lives this week, last week, this year, last year, going further back with some chain of connection. For people who tend to dissociate to a significant degree as part of their psychological make-up, it doesn't happen that way, and they may literally be unaware of things which happened while they were in quite a different state of mind.

I've known people who are naturally like that anyway, but it can happen too if they have been through bad experiences that they need to keep mostly shut away, or if someone encouraged or forced them to be like that. It can make it hard to plan things properly if they don't remember a bad outcome to something and take steps to avoid it again.

It would be inappropriate of me not to say that I have doubts about some of the therapeutic approaches used with people who have been severely traumatised. No-one can know all the answers for each situation, and care needs to be taken so that a process which is aimed at helping someone does not cause unnecessary problems - for them, for you, for others close to the situation. If we take on board Adam Crabtree's work mentioned above on Psychodrama, and work undertaken on 'confabulation' we need to be careful that expectations or some other factors don't come into play as being factual, which doesn't mean people are deliberate liars either!

. . . . . . . . . .

Other or better models for personality?

I wonder whether there are other factors or explanations not necessarily exclusive to some of the views or theories, but could they complement them somehow if we let them?

In some quarters, Freudian theories have been completely thrown out or drastically questioned. Some detractors claim that nothing from anyone with a psychoanalytic approach has validity. The inference can get drawn by writers - or readers - that what people feel happened to them regarding abuse is simply the mind telling them what to think.

Richard Webster makes some interesting points on his website. I also read around the subject of 'anti-therapy' and so on, and admit to a sneaky feeling that some therapy spiel plays into a need that people feel for something to 'make sense' in their hour of need. I do believe we can work on a societal approach that marginalises less people, a type of society that does not make people think themselves inadequate because of what is put forward that suggests they are.

Looking for something specific about MPD or DID, I came across mention of a book by Ralph Allison and his model for dissociation of different parts of the personality occurring more in some people or circumstances than the rest of the population.

That led to the subject of memes and schemas, which I do not know a great deal about, only what I've read previously and now. One can search around the concepts and the term 'SocioPsychology' would clue the search engine in also. I wish I had the time to look into this more.

It all seems to take in concepts relating to social environment and even genes, along with ideas/memes having a life of their own, with a basic need to survive and propagate themselves independently of their human hosts - us or our brains.

There is a concept of 'selfplexes', a hypothetical grid of the various ways people can behave. Theoretically one could place a person's behaviour or tendencies into an area or areas, a bit like repertory grid theory for plotting attitudes or behaviour.

Although that may seem in direct contrast to some ideas about MPD or DID, and some people might take it that way, it could tie in. Someone mentioned Psychodrama with people showing a natural capacity to draw more things out of a scene or situation than they actually know of.

. . . . . . . . . .

From: http://magentine.angelfire.com

Prompted into looking at someone's work by other people's scepticism, I went along to his talk, discovering it just before it took place. My experience with emailing speakers after a talk is that generally nothing happens. I waited till everyone asked questions, then mentioned my interest.

He hypothesised that in some scenarios, MPD or DID can involve archetypes which lie at the root of concepts or behaviours, which I think he was saying can become 'stuck'. My interpretation in simple terms would be a model that someone emulates, and then getting 'stuck in role'

I do not know if I am interpreting his words correctly or rather putting things in a way I can handle, that I feel there could be some validity to this approach, having considered some other theories as working hypotheses. It does not matter that I did not interpret it the way he meant because it meant something to me at the time.

If we are influenced sometimes or in some ways by myths, fairy tales, or whatever belief or theme attracts us for a while, this could reflect in our behaviour. It could be a one-off event or situation, or it could run through our lives as a recurring pattern.

Some people form groups with a particular ideology and call it Satanism or something else. It may or may not involve Satanism and it may or may not involve cruelty and sadism. My working hypothesis is that 'It', 'Things', 'Anything' may happen totally in a physical sense, being enacted in a reality structure that is there for people to see, photograph, gain evidence from.

Alternatively, could it be that sometimes it is not 100 per cent physical, that some is a scenario played out as a mental or emotional strategy? The aim would be to scare people, keep them under control, and confuse them and other people in the process.

Check out Cilla's Blog http://unseenaspects.blogspot.com which touches on Shamanism, the Unseen, Symbols, Realities, Urban Legend & Ritual Abuse, and Social Dynamics of Ritual Abuse. I do think we need to look at things differently or we won't get anywhere that could be helpful. Not everything will fit every situation, or person, or experience.

Some people - scientists even - think we live in a universe where we affect 'reality', how things actually are, and how they might become. That is out of my field, and you can find plenty of information on it in books and on the Internet.

Regarding archetypes and myths, a lot of work has been done by psychotherapists, anthropologists, and people from other disciplines. Perhaps one of the problems is that we are different, each in our own ways. Someone like Jung can lay his theories out for us, and if they are not meaningful for us, then they are not. But other people may interpret them in some way that strikes a chord.

. . . . . . . . . .

'A Singular Yarn' - a story with a difference about ritual abuse and confusing therapy
- For those who wonder if ritual abuse is ever really real
- For those who wonder if their therapy really is helping
www.yarntangled.net

Go direct to How Some of it is Achieved

. . . . . . . . . .

LINKS

2008-10-11T04:07:00.001-07:00

Useful information to follow up - choose from below:

Cult Information Centre, London: www.cultinformation.org.uk

FECRIS European site with worldwide links: www.fecris.org

www.freedomofmind.com Steven Hassan's website, author of 'Combatting Cult Mind Control: Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults" (1988) and 'Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves' (2000).

ICSA - International Cultic Studies Association: Site with much useful information on how cults operate and their effects: www.icsahome.com

www.rickross.com Primary signs that a group might be a 'cult' and how to get out of one.
Book List on page www.rickross.com/reference/books/reading_list.html

'Cults and Families' by Doni Whitsett & Stephen A Kent: overview of cult-related issues: families in cults, parental roles, impact cult leaders have on families, destruction of family intimacy, child abuse, impact on cognitive, psychological and moral development, health issues. Download from www.arts.ualberta.ca/~skent/cults.html

Cult Dynamics article at www.skeptictank.org/hs/cultdyn.htm

Cults, Sects & Heresies free downloadable course http://eomtc.com/cults/ (donations appreciated)

Cults & Sects Bibliography booklist www.robibrad.demon.co.uk/bibcult.htm

Groups, Cults, Indoctrination, Exiting click HERE

'The Secret World of Cults: Inside the Sects That Take Over Lives' by Jean Ritchie
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-World-Cults-Religion-Exposed/dp/020716990X

Abuse Network Survivor Aid Links - TANSAL: http://tansal.50megs.com

Bullying, Harassment, Domestic Violence, Coercive relationships information HERE

Human Rights, Miscarriages of Justice (UK) HERE

Out of Character Behaviour website at Toukanalia http://toukanalia.blogspot.com

'Scapegoating, Abuse & One-upmanship' article HERE

Social Dynamics of Cult Ritual Abuse click HERE

'Social Engineering, Pretexting, Memes' HERE

Social Identity Theory provides useful insights into groups and cult-like behaviours

'The Stepford Wives' from Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stepford_Wives

Trance, cults and behaviours at http://trance.edu

Unseen Aspects of Behaviour Blog at http://unseenaspects.blogspot.com

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Aangirfan Blog http://aangirfan.blogspot.com

Aangirfan Links to News sources http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2006/11/links.html

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SADISTIC BEHAVIOUR, SCAPEGOATING, ABUSE

2008-10-11T04:06:00.002-07:00

9

2008-10-11T04:06:00.001-07:00

EXERCISE in SOCIAL CONTROL?

2008-10-11T04:05:00.003-07:00

The following is the first part of an article which appears in full at:

http://www.rense.com/general83/dk.htm

Its inclusion here is in no way intended to imply that such is the reality for Denmark or its inhabitants, but we feel the comments are of interest as a sociological hypothesis which could apply in some ways to cults or cultures more generally.

DK Ultra – Constructing The Mind Controlled State
By Philip Jones 10-6-8

"The Mass Mind Control of a population can be defined as the sophisticated exercise of control by utilising the ability to keep people oppressed yet contented". The Tavistock Institute For Human Relations 1954.

The Hive

Visiting Denmark and living in Denmark are two totally different states of mind. To the visitor, it is indeed a green and pleasant land. Small and tidy with an apparently happy and welcoming populace. One overlooks the small things, the little irritants and peculiarities because one is on `vacation`.

It is when one lives permanently there that those same `small things`, `little irritants` and peculiarities start to beg questions. Why is it that the majority of Danes are all so alike? They dress alike, cut their hair alike, walk alike and talk alike. They use the same phrases time and again, eat the same food, enjoy the same leisure pursuits and live almost copycat lives, with little or no variation on the theme. I accept that this is a sweeping generalisation, but believe it to be valid all the same. There are of course exceptions and to those brave individuals, I give my respect and admiration. How or why they `slipped through the net` escapes me. But they are in the minority in every sense of the word, and this indeed adds to their splendour.

Every country and people have their national characteristic's but in Denmark it goes beyond this, because again and I stress here that I am referring to the majority of Danes, the population is phobically conformist and has a profound and deep mistrust of all things and influences of a foreign origin. For those who watched the US TV Series, `Star Trek The Next Generation`, the collectivist and robotic alien force known as the `Borg` bears comparison, albeit one which admittedly is rather extreme. (Quite a coincidence actually `Borg` being a Danish word). Did Gene Roddenberry know more than he was letting on?.

Danes display a `Hive` mentality, clinging to each other ever closer as the outside world closes in, rupturing their manufactured and protected isolation, and they hold tight to their Queen Bee, the Welfare State, with which they have an almost metaphysical attachment.

In this Essay, I will present an hypothesis based on my own research, observations and experiences both actual and circumstantial, and the research of others operating in the same arena which I believe will show that the intentional Mind Programming of the Danish people has been underway since the end of WWII.

The Model Totalitarians

The vindication of two of the twentieth century's great prophets of doom is at this time of global fracture perversely fascinating. We humans love to prove ourselves imperfect and flawed. The two pessimistic visionaries of the future of which I speak are of course George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. Their respective doom laden obituaries of the future have already passed into folklore; These two classic nightmares of what very likely awaits us, are Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley's Brave New World.. Straddling the War years between 1939 and 1945 , these books have already shown that they were written with the apparent gift of prophecy. Both envisaged a world in which the advance of science produced a new type of ruling class with powers hitherto not possible. Both scripted the final subservience of human beings to a revolutionary hybrid of technological manipulators and political managers.

Both works predict a similar end, but it appears that the tenets of a Brave New World model have been applied here in Denmark where Huxley's novel is required reading on many adult education courses. Whereas Nineteen Eighty-Four which describes the logical conclusion of a Marxist Socialist dictatorship, or more correctly in the twenty first century a Communitarian one, has been adopted in those countries where the population is more likely to revolt and rebel against the encroachment of tyranny, such as in the US, France and the UK and some of the former eastern bloc countries now enmeshed in the EU Fascist State..

The New Totalitarians

There was no reason why the `New Totalitarianism` which had been chosen by the conspiratorial manipulators should resemble the old model of coercive government , which is demonstrably inefficient, and in an age of advanced technology unnecessary, particularly in a relatively controlled environment such as Denmark In his book, Huxley describes perfectly the `Architect's` goal. He writes;

" A really efficient totalitarian state would be the one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude".

For anyone not born and bred in this land, and in possession of a reasonable level of awareness, I am fairly sure they will recognise the parallels with Denmark as it is today.

So how was this state of acquiescence to be achieved? Huxley answered this question himself; " Brave New World depends on economic security; without it, the love of servitude is impossible." And in this, we find the foundations of the 'New Danish Model of Totalitarianism'. Denmark solved the problem of permanent security and abolished it in the main, along with the more obvious modes of social inequality, many years ago. She has been helped in this by a century and a half of relative peace and isolation and until very recently neutrality, and by being small and easily governed. Economic security by itself does not necessarily engender a love of servitude. Other conditions are a prerequisite; On the side of the controllers, a thorough understanding of the interaction between economics and power; and on the side of the controlled, an inert submission to authority and reverence for the expert. And in both cases, an aversion to individuality, an instinct for the collective, identification with and the a worship of the State, and a preference for government by bureaucrat. Denmark fulfils the above and them some. Danes do love their work!

Programming The Masses

At this point, it is useful to take a break from Huxley's vision of the future and take a brief look at Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four`. The Danes have demonstrated the power of that form of semantic manipulation Orwell called `Newspeak` i.e. the changing of words to mean something else. For example, whereas in English, to say to someone you believe them to be special or fine is very positive and complimentary. In Danish, both take on negative connotations. `Special` becomes peculiar and `Fine` implies "you think you're better than us" . In this way, human thought can be directed, and undesirable concepts eliminated, because the means of expressing them have been removed.

As researcher Michael Bailey wrote, "In this reality, language is the highway of how we communicate our thoughts. The gradual and intentional erosion of the vocabulary by those who wish to control us, removes the possibility of any undesirable ideas, as without the words to formulate those ideas, we cannot begin to even think them".

In the Danish language, freedom' does not yet, as it does in Orwell's `Ministry of Truth`, imply any form of 'slavery', but it does imply an element of 'submission' to the Collective or Hive, and effectively, a powerful word in the vocabulary of any opposition has therefore been effectively neutralized. Similarly, it is exceedingly difficult to speak in any but favourable terms of the State, because all the words in that field have become positively loaded in the same manner as `special` and `fine` have been negatively so.

So how does a Conspiratorial State Apparatus, programme a whole nation of people into a condition of accepted servitude and conformity? Through State Education, the merged State/Corporate Media, the advocating and promotion of immune system damaging vaccines and drugs such as anti depressants used to clinically adjust non conformist behaviour, along with the purposeful adding of poisons into the food and drink manufacturing process which, `dumb down` and disconnect people from their ability to think for themselves. Add to this the promotion of deviant sexual practices, pornography and erroneous ideologies such as feminism and you have yourselves a cocktail guarantied to bewilder and mesmerise a population into thinking exactly what you want them too and behaving accordingly.

As I have stated above, my contention is that Denmark and the Danes along with the other Nordic countries have been used as a Test Zone for the mass programming of whole populations. A laboratory experiment conducted to test and try out those systems to be introduced on a pan continental scale sometime in the near future. If one wanted to conduct such an experiment, certain conditions would be desirable. Like any worthwhile research site, a level of isolation and insulation is essential. The number of subject specimens needs to be large and varied enough to allow the project validity, but not so large that the possibility of losing control becomes a factor. The subject specimens themselves must have character traits found commonly from within and outside the `target zone`, yet be malleable enough to allow for sudden and unexpected changes to the programme, and as an essential, lacking completely any tendency to rebelliousness and non conformity.

Denmark certainly fulfils the criteria above and can be said to fall within the remit of the described possible scenario. It is located at the northern tip of Europe and has a tradition of relative isolationism. It has a small and compliant population due to many decades of imposed socialist dogma, and a history of bureaucratic government. It has along with Norway and Sweden been historically regarded as being on the very fringe of European Culture and therefore generally of little interest to the `mainstream of European life. But most perfectly, and up until very recently, it has been, and to a large extent still is, highly homogeneous.

Added to this was the presence of an `on site` local cultural phenomenon:

The Jantelov

In Denmark, the `plotters and planners ` realised that the foundations of Mass Mind Control had been in place for at least a century or so, in the form of the unwritten code known as the Jantelov. The Jante Law is the Nordic version of the `tall puppy` syndrome. It was named and described by the Danish author Aksel Sandemose in his novel `A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks` circa 1933, where he writes about the small fictional northern town of `Jante,` which is modelled upon and typical of all small Danish (and probably Norwegian and Swedish) communities at the beginning of the 20th century, where anonymity is impossible. There are ten basic tenets in this `law`, but they are all variations on this one single theme;
"Don't think you're anyone special or that you're better than us".

Those who do not keep to this 'law' and behave in accordance with it, are regarded with suspicion and hostility. Sandemose added an eleventh rule, which he formulated as a question; "Do you think I don't know anything about you"? This is the implied threat of censure, that others in the community will know something about those who dare to transgress, which can be later used against them. The rules are not only applied outwardly; Danes apply them equally and instinctively towards themselves. This means that the rules of this Jante Law create a state of arrested individuality where one does not wish nor dare to be either too high above or too far below others socially and economically.

BELIEFS and PONZI SCHEMES

2008-10-11T04:05:00.001-07:00

Note: Ideas can fit together in different ways, or some parts might fit while others get rejected.

If you are unable to watch videos or YouTube - which is very frustrating! - we can try to put some of them into Acrobat format, or plain text.

POLYVAGAL THEORY of EMOTION

2008-10-11T04:04:00.001-07:00

A text version of the full article below appears at http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~sporges/nyas/nyas.txt or visit the website of Steven Porges with more articles at www.stephenporges.info

Paper to be published in C. S. Carter, B. Kirkpatrick, & I.I. Lederhendler (eds.), The Integrative Neurobiology of Affiliation, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Emotion: An Evolutionary By-Product of the Neural Regulation of the Autonomic Nervous System

Stephen W. Porges
Institute for Child Study
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland 20742-1131

INTRODUCTION

A new theory, the Polyvagal Theory of Emotion, is
presented which links the evolution of the autonomic nervous
system to affective experience, emotional expression, vocal
communication and contingent social behavior. The Polyvagal
Theory is derived from the well-documented phylogenetic shift
in the neural regulation of the autonomic nervous system that
expands the capacity of the organism to control metabolic
output. The Theory emphasizes the phylogenetic dependence of
the structure and function of the vagus, the primary nerve of
the parasympathetic nervous system. Three phylogenetic
stages of neural development are described. The first stage
is characterized by a primitive unmyelinated vegetative vagal
system that fosters digestion and responds to novelty or
threat by reducing cardiac output to protect metabolic
resources. Behaviorally, this first stage is associated with
immobilization behaviors. The second stage is characterized
by a spinal sympathetic nervous system that is capable of
increasing metabolic output and inhibiting the primitive
vagal system's influence on the gut to foster mobilization
behaviors necessary for "fight or flight." The third stage
is unique to mammals and is characterized by a myelinated
vagal system that can rapidly regulate cardiac output to
foster engagement and disengagement with the environment.
The myelinated vagus originates in a brainstem area that
evolved from the primitive gill arches and in mammals
controls facial expression, sucking, swallowing, breathing,
and vocalization. It is hypothesized that the mammalian
vagal system fosters early mother-infant interactions and
serves as the substrate for the development of complex social
behaviors. In addition, the mammalian vagal system has an
inhibitory effect on sympathetic pathways to the heart, and
thus, promotes calm behavior and pro-social behavior.

The Polyvagal Theory of Emotion proposes that the
evolution of the autonomic nervous system provides the
organizing principle to interpret the adaptive significance
of affective processes. The Theory proposes that the
evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system, and
specifically the brainstem regulatory centers of the vagus
and other related cranial nerves, provides substrates for
emotional experiences and affective processes that are
necessary for social behavior in mammals. In this context,
the evolution of the nervous system limits or expands the
ability to express emotions, which in turn may determine
proximity, social contact, and the quality of communication.
The polyvagal construct has been previously introduced1 to
document the neurophysiological and neuroanatomical
distinction between the two vagal branches and to propose
their unique relation with behavioral strategies. This paper
elaborates on the polyvagal construct and proposes that
affective strategies are derivative of the evolutionary
process that produced the polyvagal regulation.

There is a consensus that affect is expressed in facial
muscles and in organs regulated by the autonomic nervous
system. However, with the exception of work by Cannon,2,3
which focused on the sympathetic-adrenal system as the
physiological substrate of emotion, the presumed neural
regulation of affective state has not been investigated.
Even contemporary researchers investigating affective
signatures in the autonomic nervous system4-7 have tacitly
accepted Cannon's assumption that emotions reflect responses
of the sympathetic nervous system.

Unlike the architectural dictum that form (i.e.,
structure) follows function, the function of the nervous
system is derivative of structure. The flexibility or
variability of autonomic nervous system function is totally
dependent upon the structure. By mapping the phylogenetic
development of the structures regulating autonomic function,
it is possible to observe the dependence of autonomic
reactivity on the evolution of the underlying structure of
the nervous system. The phylogenetic approach highlights a
shift in brainstem and cranial nerve morphology and function
from an oxygen-sensitive system (i.e., the primitive gill
arches) to a system that regulates facial muscles, cardiac
output and the vocal apparatus for affective communication.

. . . . . . . . . .

AUTONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF EMOTION

Over the past 100 years we have learned much about the
autonomic nervous system, its evolutionary origins and how it
relates to emotion. Initially, we can distinguish among
three components of the autonomic nervous system (i.e.,
visceral afferents, sympathetic nervous system, and
parasympathetic nervous system) and speculate how each might
be related to affective experiences. First, the visceral
afferents may be assumed to play a major role in determining
"feelings." These mechanisms, which provide us with
knowledge of hunger, also may convey a sense of nausea during
emotional distress. We frequently hear subjective reports of
individuals feeling "sick to their stomach" during periods of
severe emotional strain associated with profound negative
experiences. Similarly, negative states have been associated
with reports of breathlessness or feelings that the heart has
stopped. Second, the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal
activity are associated with mobilization. Activation of the
sympathetic nervous system is usually linked to increased
skeletal movement of the major limbs. Thus, consistent with
Cannon, the sympathetic nervous system provides the metabolic
resources required for fight or flight behaviors. The
sympathetic nervous system enhances mobilization by
increasing cardiac output and decreasing the metabolic
demands of the digestive tract by actively inhibiting gastric
motility. Third, as proposed by Darwin and Bernard, the
parasympathetic nervous system and specifically the vagus are
related to emotional state. Few researchers have
investigated the link between parasympathetic activity and
affective state. However, over the past decade my laboratory
has focused on this issue. We have documented that vagal
tone, a component of parasympathetic control, is related to
affect and affect regulation.9-11 We have presented
theoretical models explaining the importance of vagal
regulation in the development of appropriate social
behavior.12 In general, the parasympathetic nervous system
is associated with fostering growth and restoration.13,14
Moreover, knowledge of the polyvagal system allow an
appreciation of the importance of the brainstem origin of the
specific vagal fibers in the determination of affective and
behavioral response strategies.12,15

Researchers and clinicians have had difficulties in the
organization or categorization of intensive affective states
that appear to have totally different etiologies or
behavioral expressions. For example, intense feelings of
terror might result in a total immobilization or freezing.
In contrast, intense feelings of anger or anxiety might be
associated with massive mobilization activity. This problem
exists, in part, because of a bias toward explanations of
affective states defined in terms of either overt behaviors
such as facial expressions (i.e., following Darwin) or
sympathetic activity (i.e., following Cannon). The emphasis
on sympathetic activity is based upon three historical
factors. First, theories regarding emotions have minimized
or totally neglected the parasympathetic nervous system.
Second, Cannon's focus on the sympathetic efferents and
mobilization responses associated with fight and flight as
the sole domain of autonomic reactivity during emotional
states has not been challenged. Third, the data base of
autonomic correlates of affect, collected to identify
autonomic "signatures" of specific affective states, is
dominated by measures assumed to be related to sympathetic
function.4-7

. . . . . . . . . .

THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM:
ADAPTIVE MOBILIZATION SYSTEM FOR FIGHT OR FLIGHT BEHAVIORS.

The sympathetic nervous system is primarily a system of
mobilization. It prepares the body for emergency by
increasing cardiac output, stimulating sweat glands to
protect and lubricate the skin, and by inhibiting the
metabolically costly gastrointestinal tract. The evolution
of the sympathetic nervous system follows the segmentation of
the spinal cord, with cell bodies of the preganglionic
sympathetic motor neurons located in the lateral horn of the
spinal cord. The sympathetic nervous system has long been
associated with emotion. The label "sympathetic" reflects
the historical identity of this system as a nervous system
"with feelings" and contrasts it with the parasympathetic
nervous system, a label that reflects a nervous system that
"guards against feelings."

THE VENTRAL VAGAL COMPLEX: THE MAMMALIAN SIGNALLING SYSTEM FOR MOTION, EMOTION, AND COMMUNICATION

The primary efferent fibers of the Ventral Vagal Complex
(VVC) originate in the nucleus ambiguus. The primary
afferent fibers of the VVC terminate in the source nuclei of
the facial and trigeminal nerves. The VVC has the primary
control of supradiaphragmatic visceral organs including the
larynx, pharynx, bronchi, esophagus, and heart. Motor
pathways from the VVC to visceromotor organs (e.g., heart and
bronchi) and somatomotor structures (e.g., larynx, pharynx,
esophagus) are myelinated to provide tight control and speed
in responding. In mammals, the visceromotor fibers to the
heart express high levels of tonic control and are capable of
rapid shifts in cardioinhibitory tone to provide dynamic
changes in metabolic output to match environmental
challenges. This rapid regulation characterizes the
qualities of the mammalian vagal brake that enable rapid
engagement and disengagement in the environment without
mobilizing the sympathetics.
A major characteristic of the VVC is the fact that the
neural fibers regulating somatomotor structures are derived
from the branchial or primitive gill arches that evolved to
form cranial nerves V, VII, IX, X, and XI. Somatomotor
fibers originating in these cranial nerves control the
branchiomeric muscles including facial muscles, muscles of
mastication, neck muscles, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, and
middle ear muscles. Visceromotor efferent fibers control
salivary and lacrimal glands, as well as the heart and
bronchi. The primary afferents to the VVC come from facial
and oral afferents traveling through the facial and
trigeminal nerves and the visceral afferents terminating in
the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). The VVC is involved in
the control and coordination of sucking, swallowing, and
vocalizing with breathing.

. . . . . . . . . .

VOODOO OR VAGUS DEATH?: THE TEST OF THE POLYVAGAL THEORY

The Polyvagal Theory of Emotion provides a theoretical
framework to interpret the phenomenon of Voodoo or fright
death described by Cannon32 and Richter.33 Cannon believed
that extreme emotional stress, regardless of the specific
behavioral manifestation, could be explained in terms of
degree of sympathetic-adrenal excitation. In 1942 Cannon
described a phenomenon known as Voodoo death. Voodoo death
was assumed to be directly attributable to emotional stress.
Being wed to a sympatho-adrenal model of emotional experience
(see above), Cannon assumed that Voodoo death would be the
consequence of the state of shock produced by the continuous
outpouring of epinephrine via excitation of the sympathetic
nervous system. According to the Cannon model, the victim
would be expected to breathe very rapidly and have a rapid
pulse. The heart would beat fast and gradually lead to a
state of constant contraction and, ultimately, to death in
systole. Since his speculations were not empirically based
he offered the following challenge to test his model of
Voodoo death:
"If in the future, however, any observer has opportunity
to see an instance of "voodoo death," it is to be hoped
that he will conduct the simpler tests before the
victim's last gasp."

Curt Richter responded to Cannon's challenge with an
animal model. Rats were pre-stressed, placed in a closed
turbulent water tank, and the latency to drowning was
recorded. Most domestic laboratory rats lasted for several
hours, while unexpectedly all of the wild rats died within 15
minutes. In fact, several wild rats dove to the bottom and,
without coming to the surface, died. To test Cannon's
hypothesis, that stress-induced sudden death was sympathetic,
Richter monitored heart rate and determined whether the heart
was in systole or diastole after death. He assumed, based
upon Cannon's speculations, that tachycardia would precede
death and that at death the heart would be in a state of
systole, reflecting the potent effects of sympathetic
excitation on the pacemaker and the myocardium. However,
Richter's data contradicted the Cannon model. Heart rate
slowed prior to death and at death the heart was engorged
with blood reflecting a state of diastole. Richter
interpreted the data as demonstrating that the rats died a
"vagus" death, the result of overstimulation of the
parasympathetic system, rather than of the sympathico-adrenal
system. However, Richter provided no physiological
explanation, except the speculation that the lethal vagal
effect was related to a psychological state of
"hopelessness."

The immediate and reliable death of the wild rats in
Richter's experiment may represent a more global
immobilization strategy. Sudden prolonged immobility or
feigned death is an adaptive response exhibited by many
mammalian species. Hofer34 demonstrated that several rodent
species when threatened exhibited a prolonged immobility that
was accompanied by very low heart rate. For some of the
rodents, heart rate during immobility was less than 50% of
the basal rate. During the prolonged immobility respiration
become so shallow that it was difficult to observe, although
the rate greatly accelerated. Although physiologically
similar, Hofer distinguished between prolonged immobility and
feigned death. The onset of feigned death occurred suddenly
with an apparent motor collapse during active struggling.
Similar to Richter, Hofer interpreted this fear-induced
slowing of heart rate as a vagal phenomenon. In support of
this interpretation, he noted that of the four species that
exhibited prolonged immobility 71% of the subjects had
cardiac arrhythmias of vagal origin; in contrast, in the two
species that did not exhibit immobility behaviors, only 17%
exhibited cardiac arrhythmias of vagal origin.

The Polyvagal Theory of Emotion places Richter's and
Hofer's observations in perspective. Following the
Jacksonian principle of dissolution, the rodents would
exhibit the following sequence of response strategies: 1)
removal of VVC tone, 2) increase in sympathetic tone, and 3)
a surge in DVC tone. It appears that the more docile
domestic rats in Richter's experiment progressed from a
removal of VVC tone, to an increase in sympathetic tone, and
then died via exhaustion. However, the profile of the wild
rats was different. Being totally unaccustomed to
enclosures, handling, and also having their vibrissae cut, a
mobilization strategy driven by increased sympathetic tone
was not functional. Instead, these rats reverted to their
most primitive system to conserve metabolic resources via
DVC. This strategy promoted an immobilization response
characterized by reduced motor activity, apnea, and
bradycardia. Unfortunately, this mode of responding,
although adaptive for reptiles, is lethal for mammals.
Similarly, the onset of feigned death, as described by Hofer,
illustrates the sudden and rapid transition from an
unsuccessful strategy of struggling requiring massive
sympathetic activation to the metabolically conservative
immobilized state mimicking death associated with the DVC.

These data suggest that the vagus contributes to severe
emotion states and may be related to emotional states of
"immobilization" such as extreme terror. The application
of the polyvagal approach enables the dissection of vagal
processes into three strategic programs: 1) when tone of the
VVC is high there is an ability to communicate via facial
expressions, vocalizations, and gestures; 2) when tone of the
VVC is low the sympathetic nervous system is unopposed and
easily expressed to support mobilization such as fight or
flight behaviors; and 3) when tone from DVC is high there is
immobilization and potentially life threatening bradycardia,
apnea, and cardiac arrhythmias.

CONCLUSION

Three important scientific propositions provide the
basis for building this theory. First, Darwin provided the
concept of evolution and the processes that contribute to
phylogenetic variation. Second, John Hughlings Jackson
provided the concept of dissolution as a viable explanation
for diseases of brain function. And, third, Paul MacLean35
provided the concept that the human brain retains structures
associated with phylogenetically more primitive organisms.

The Polyvagal Theory of Emotion focuses on the
evolution of the neural and neurochemical regulation of
structures involved in the expression and experience of
emotion as a theme to organize emotional experience and to
understand the role of emotion in social behavior. Over 100
years ago John Hughlings Jackson, intrigued with Darwin's
model of evolution, elaborated on how evolution in reverse,
termed "dissolution", might be related to disease. According
to Jackson, higher nervous system structures inhibit or
control lower structures or systems and "thus, when the
higher are suddenly rendered functionless, the lower rise in
activity." The Polyvagal Theory of Emotion follows this
Jacksonian principle.

See the full text for REFERENCES

13

2008-10-11T04:03:00.002-07:00

14

2008-10-11T04:03:00.001-07:00

TEM's JOURNAL, Diary Dates Autumn 2010

2008-10-11T04:02:00.000-07:00

MAD PRIDE EVENT

Tuesday 26 October 2010

Info/ media: 07766 124472 or 07542 459321
http://madpride.org.uk



Mad pride presents...

A day of action to oppose welfare benefits cuts for the "mentally ill"

Nationwide one-day medication strike!

In the first of a series of co-ordinated medication strikes, all UK mental
health service users will default on their psychiatric medication for one day, in
protest against the coming savage welfare benefits cuts. Further, all UK service
users will not engage with any mental health services whatsoever on that day, in a
bid to demonstrate our collective power.

Direct action: speakers corner, Hyde park, 1.00 pm.

At 1.00 PM on Tuesday 26th October, UK mental health service users will
publicly assemble to re-enact the opening chapter of Michel Foucault's
seminal book "Discipline and Punish." A life-size effigy of a prominent Conservative/
Liberal Democrat merger politician will, at this demonstration, be publicly
executed by method of hanging, drawing and quartering, after which the
quivering remains of the body will be disposed of appropriately. We expect this to
provide an interesting photo opportunity for the media. Also expect a variety
of other visual and subliminal stunts on the day.

All mental health service users are invited!  Don't take welfare benefits
cuts lying down!

Bankers - hands off our welfare benefits!

The economic downturn caused by the irresponsibility of bankers and big
business has led the new Conservative/ Liberal Democrat merger government to
enact the biggest cuts in public services since the Second World War.
Chancellor of the exchequer and St Paul's old boy George Osborne's recent
"emergency budget" announced savage cuts to welfare benefits for those
labelled disabled. Further cuts will be announced in Osborne's upcoming
"shock and awe" spending review to take place on Wednesday 20th October.
Osborne, Cameron, Clegg and their mates have been busy softening up the
public for more attacks, cutting disability benefits for those they intend to
deem fit to do "a bit" of work - even though the government's policies seem
designed to push up unemployment, to increase the reserve labour force and
thereby cut wages and increase the capitalists' profits.

The government has threatened to remove our DLA by saying that the number of
claimants must be reduced by 360,000 - which will plunge over a third of a
million people, most of whom will have mental health problems, into dire
poverty In particular, they would like the public to think that people with
depression, anxiety disorders and other "mental illnesses" are malingerers
and scroungers - when in fact most of us find it a terrible day to day
struggle just to get by.  ESA and work capability assessments have been
criticised as too tough by CABs, disability charities and disabled peoples'
organisations. The government has said that from October 2010 they will speed
up the reassessment of everyone currently claiming Incapacity Benefit so that
10,000 claimants a week are "processed." Housing Benefits for all tenants
will be reduced, commencing October 2-11 for the two million disabled people
living in private rented accommodation and from 2013 for anyone living in
social housing which is deemed too large for their needs. VAT is about to
increase to twenty per cent. But the government's wealthy friends won't even
be touched - even though they created the current economic crisis in the first place.

THIS WILL PUT LIVES AT RISK.

Already, 6,000 people a year, most of them suffering from depression, are
recorded as having killed themselves in the UK, although the true figure is
definitely far higher.  The stress caused by the threat of welfare benefits
cuts, as well as the impact of the material deprivation

that will result, will undoubtedly lead to a huge increase in suicides
amongst people with mental health problems - an outcome Mad Pride wishes to
help prevent through campaigning and giving each other one-to-one support. We
do not wish to be alarmist. We wish to stress that, if we work together and
help each other individually and in groups, we can survive. At our
demonstration and subsequently, we shall distribute information advising
people how to respond to hostile DWP communications threatening their welfare
benefits entitlements and "inviting" them to "tests," signposting them to
sources of help.

Mad Pride is now an international, loosely-connected network of cells devoted
to promoting the civil liberties, social status and creative talents of
people labelled "mentally ill." It was originally formed by a small group of
people in London, whose heyday was from 1999 to 2003. This small group has
reconvened specifically to organise direct action against benefits cuts, to
take place on Tuesday October 26th.

The bankers and politicians are the real "benefits cheats!"

Benefits thieves - it's not if we catch you, it's when!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Anti-Bullying Week 2010 from 15-19 November

More information at www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

Links for Help & Advice for Young People

www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/help_and_advice/children_and_young_people.aspx

CYBER BULLYING - Young People

ITV Thursday 14th October 2010 at 7.30pm

Bullies Online

With one in three children reportedly being bullied via the internet or their mobile phones, the programme investigates the impact of cyber bullying and asks what can be done. Child protection expert Mark Williams-Thomas investigates the impact of cyber-bullying

Article and Links at

www.itv.com/news/tonight/episodes/tonightbulliesonline

BBC Website with information on Bullying

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/parents/bullying

Rosa Monckton's documentary Tormented Lives
BBC1 Tuesday 19th October 2010
Attacks on people with learning difficulties under seige in their own homes
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vhls2

See www.rosamonckton.com for further details and 'When A Mother's Love is not Enough'

Bully Online
Tim Field's site Bully Online for workplace and other bullying resources is at www.bullyonline.org

The Fifth Annual Tim Field Memorial Lecture

www.bullyonline.org/lecture2010.htm

In Memory of Tim Field, International Authority on Workplace Bullying, and

Courageous Campaigner for a Bully-Free World

Organised by The Annual Tim Field Memorial Lecture Committee – a Joint Committee of OXBOW and DAWN

Saturday, 13^th November 2010 starting at 2.00 p.m.

The Friends’ Meeting House, 43 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LW

Tackling Bullying and Harassment in Royal Mail: Our Journey of Change

to be presented by Kay Clements

Inclusion & Project Manager – Royal Mail Human Resources

Royal Mail has introduced a variety of interventions which have had a positive impact in tackling bullying and harassment in the workplace. However, there are no quick fixes and there is a need to invest further in order to fully tackle the issues raised. This Lecture will show that Royal Mail is not complacent and realises it still has a long way to go to improve the culture of the organisation.

Free and Open to All

(Voluntary donations on the day to help defray expenses welcome)

~~~~~~

VIOLENCE and SAFETY, BULLYING, STALKING

Video 'If You Are Violent - Anger, Stress, Trauma'

~~~~~~

Stigma of Various Kinds - ALL Unkind!

with video

http://louiseayr.blogspot.com/2010/09/to-follow_7597.html

~~~~~~

Missing from Home, Runaways, Homelessness, Help

http://louiseayr.blogspot.com/2010/09/is-justice-just-for-all-of-us.html

Pressures that people feel inside themselves, or that somehow get imposed on them by other individuals or groups, can make them feel something must be wrong with them, that the situation is hopeless, so they might feel they have to leave home.

Go to the link above, or straight to the 'Doc Matrix' website http://trubbles.freehosting.net

Mental Health & Stigma

From www.mentalhealthsupport.co.uk/mentalhealthandstigma.html

Mental illness and The Media

In this day and age it is still surprising how the Media and Television do not accurately portray. A person who is suffering with Mental Ill Health often not showing the recovery of people with mental ill health at all. may be because it is not a juicy big story in the Soaps. When in reality most people who have had or are living with a mental ill health condition are living normal lives in the community and often in this day and age a lot of Mental illness can be controlled with medication Giving the person relief from conditions such as Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Bi Polar that give a person better quality of life. A good Idea for people who are recovering with mental ill health is to join a day centre that specializes in mental health. These places are often open door policy which means you don’t need a referral to use the service also carers can use the service. The day centres are often places that you can meet and make friends with other people who are going through similar things. Often in a relaxed friendly atmosphere where you feel you are part of something positive. Where people understand you and don’t judge you. It’s a shame really the Media and television would not focus on this side of mental ill health recovery and have a positive effect on reducing stigma not creating it mental illness does not define a person or their ability of what they can contribute and achieve in life and the hobbies and interests they have each person is unique.

Useful information on the Site
News & events
Mental health Health & wellbeing
Carers
Young people
Children

Social issues

SEE their comment that

www.mentalhealthsupport.co.uk

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Publications from the SAMARITANS

www.samaritans.org/your_emotional_health/publications.aspx

Some of the publications available online - There are also information packs
Young People's Emotional Health

Coping With Stress

Depression and Suicide

Youth and Self-Harm

Mental Health and Suicide

Youth Matters - A Cry for Help

Bloke's Own

Young Men Speak Out

Other Sources of Help page

www.samaritans.org/your_emotional_health/other_sources_of_help.aspx

Personal Experiences page
www.samaritans.org/your_emotional_health/personal_experiences.aspx

Worried about someone?
What are the signs I should look out for?

www.samaritans.org/your_emotional_health/worried_about_someone.aspx

Samaritans Main page www.samaritans.org

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SUNDAY 17th OCTOBER 12 NOON TRAFALGAR SQ

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Bill Maloney of Pie n Mash Films, Chris Wittwer and Robert Green (Hollie Greig case) will be making a documentary in response to their removal from the Community Champions. They're inviting Gavin Shepherd and Esther Ranszen from Media Trust giving them the chance to explain the reasons for their removal.

What do YOU think about it?

View and comment at www.youtube.com/watch?v=24B2Kg38nt4

SURVIVORS' ANNUAL RALLY AGAINST CHILD ABUSE

For updates on the Annual Rally in central London planned for September 2011 click HERE for AMSOSA - People will hopefully soon be working to ensure that we meet at Trafalgar Square, and if you need further information, or can help in any way, please call AMSOSA on 0845 430 93 71

Link to Videos by Bill Maloney of Pie 'n' Mash Films - institutional child abuse, Ian Tomlinson G20, Robert Green, family courts

Visit popular YouTube Playlist of some Videos from the 2010 Rally at www.youtube.com/user/survivorway#g/c/6396A9427FF8028

More Videos are at TruthandHope2010 on YouTube

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ICSA Special Event on CULTS
International Cultic Studies Association

Helping People Affected by Cults:
What people are doing in the UK and around the world

Key Speaker:

Mike Kropveld, Executive Director Info-Cult/Info-Secte and a director of ICSA. Mr. Kropveld has more than 30 years experience in this field.

Location:

Baden Powell House: Conference Centre

Sunday November 21st 2010: 3:30pm – 7:00pm
Arrival from 3:00 pm
Light Finger Buffet Provided

Additional brief presentations from:

Catalyst: Graham Baldwin
Cult Information Centre: Ian Haworth
DialogCentre UK: Christian Szurko
Family Survival Trust: Julian Chater
Hope Valley Counselling: Gillie Jenkinson
INFORM: Eileen Barker
Safe Passage Foundation: Celeste Jones

Limited Spaces Available

Register by 15th October: Cost £15 ($24 credit card)
Register by 15th November Cost £20 ($32 credit card)
http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_respond/event_conferences_workshops.asp
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Traditional Healers & Mental Health Services
10th November 2010 / London Conference

Full details at: http://www.bmehealth.org/

Many people do not seek help from their GP or via their local mental health services when they become unwell for a number of different reasons. Some people seek advice and support via traditional healers, preferring possibly to enter into a therapeutic dialogue with someone who is from the same culture or who understands their cultural perspective and can facilitate some form of cultural re-integration. The reasons why people seek help from traditional healers vary. Outside the biomedical model the mind / body dichotomy is less evident. The “idiom/s of distress” individuals present with may not be as compartmentalised as they are in the medical model.

Traditional healing is practised in many countries across the world. Healers use a number of interventions to heal people including; recitation of specific prayers, fasting, the wearing of amulets, the chanting of specific music, meditation, the making of sacrifices, conducting exorcism ceremonies and the ingestion of medicines and potions. In the UK some people receiving care from their local mental health services will have also sought out and may well be receiving care simultaneously from a traditional healer. However, the extent to which this manner of help seeking behaviour and the healing interventions they have received are acknowledged or discussed with the service user by mental health professionals working within the biomedical model, varies.

Many people, including mental health professionals are dismissive of traditional healers and their practices, citing a lack of evidence base to prove the effectiveness of healing interventions or their concerns about the amount of money some healers charge. However, there are those who are interested in finding out more about healers and their practices. The extent to which mental health professionals are able to collaborate and / or work jointly with healers remains unclear. We know of very few examples where this is the case in the UK.

This one day conference will seek to demystify the area of traditional healing and will focus on:

• Definitions of a traditional healer

• The training of healers

• Why do people seek help from a healer? What kinds of problems do they present with?

• How do healers make a “diagnosis”?

• What do healers do? Healing and healing practices

• What evidence exists about the effectiveness of healing interventions?

• What are the benefits and risks of mental health professionals and others working collaboratively with traditional healers?

Some of the key questions which will be discussed during the one day event include:

• Should and can psychiatrists and traditional healers work together? What possible problems might arise? What might be the benefits or risks for the service user?

• Should we be extending service models to include traditional healers?

• Do service users find the support they receive from traditional healers helpful?

• What can mental health professionals learn from traditional healers and vice versa?

9.30 - 9.50 Chair, Muslim Healers in London: Dr. Simon Dein, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Medicine at the University College London and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow.

9.50 - 10.40 Meeting Population Needs for Mental Health: Do Traditional Healers Have A Role?

Professor Rachel Jenkins, Professor of Epidemiology and International Mental Health Policy, Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Research and Training.

10.40 - 11.30 The Practice of Spiritual Healing in Greece: A Positive Example of Approaching Health and Well-being from a Spiritual Perspective: Dr. Fevronia Christodoulidi, Counsellor/Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Counselling Trainer in Manchester.

11.45 - 12.30 Co-operation or Collision? Healing Cultures and Collaboration in Mental Health Care in South Africa and Lessons for the UK: Malcolm Alexander, Consultant in Public Involvement and Community Development and Associate Researcher with the UCL Research Department of Mental Health Sciences.

12.30 - 1.00 Morning session Q&A 1.00 - 1.45 Lunch

1.45 - 2.35 Traditional Healing, Therapy and Mental Health: Dr. William West, Director of Professional Doctorate in Counselling, Reader in Counselling Studies, School of Education, University of Manchester.

2.35 - 3.25 Under What Circumstances Do People with Mental Health Problems Consult Traditional Healers? Examples from Italy and Lessons for the UK: Dr. Micol Ascoli, Consultant Psychiatrist, East London NHS Foundation Trust/Tower Hamlets Cultural Consultation Service Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London.

3.00 - 3.50 Traditional Healers and Mental Health Professionals Working Together: Confusion, Collaboration or Creative Synthesis? Jane Gilbert, Independent Consultant Psychologist in Penrith, Cumbria.

4.30 - 4.45 Afternoon session Q&A 4.45 - 5.00 Plenary, Closure & Evaluation sheets

Who Should attend? This conference will be relevant to all professionals in the field of Mental Health and Social Care, including those from Local Authorities and NHS trusts across the UK, Chaplains, Community Faith Leaders & Healers, Equality Leads, Community Development Workers, Service User Representatives, Charities, Third Sector, Educational Establishments, Academics and Policy makers.

Where? The Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA Tel: +44 (0)20 7700 0100 http://www.theresourcecentre.org.uk

Conference Contact Ahmed Qureshi (conference co-ordinator) tel. 07540 356 526 or visit us on www.bmehealth.org

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NEWS & EVENTS, JUSTICE, DEMOCRACY DAY

2008-10-11T04:01:00.002-07:00

UAI United Against Injustice www.unitedagainstinjustice.org.uk
National Federation of Miscarriage of Justice Campaign and Support Organisations
Miscarriage of Justice Day meeting in London: 9 October 2010
Visit their Website for details of the day which was well attended, and information on future Conferences

LONDON AGAINST INJUSTICE (LAI) is a support group for those who are innocent of a criminal conviction and their supporters www.londonagainstinjustice.co.uk

JOINT ENTERPRISE: NOT GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION www.jointenterprise.co/
Campaigning organisation that intends to highlight such cases where joint enterprise is applied and those convicted are stating they are not guilty of the index offence

BBC Panorama link on Joint Enterprise
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8366000/8366280.stm
and video at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p31vd

Also see
www.innocent.org.uk, www.mojuk.org.uk, www.false-allegations.org.uk, and
Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence, PPMI, PO Box 3417, London WC1N 3XX (see event below)

Miscarriages of JusticeUK (MOJUK) News Service
(subscribe at www.mojuk.org.uk)

Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence (PPMI)

Invites you to a Public Meeting

Prisoners claiming innocence: Dealing with wrongful convictions

The hurdles facing prisoners maintaining innocence will be explained and discussed and there will be plenty of time for questions.

Time and Venue

Sunday 7th November 2010

3:00 - 5:30pm

Hall of St Mellitus Church

Tollington Park

London N4 3AG

Tube: Victoria or Piccadilly line to Finsbury Park, 5 minute walk up Fonthill Road to the corner of Tollington Park: Street map here . . . .

Refreshments provided. No advance tickets needed.

Meeting chaired by Dr. Kimmett Edgar, Head of Research, Prison Reform Trust

Speakers:

Dr. Michael Naughton, Bristol University, Founder and Director, Innocence Network

Gabe Tan, head of casework, Innocence Network

Please contact Gabe Tan for further information

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/law/news/2010/173.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UFFC Annual march against custody deaths and abuses

Saturday 30th October 2010
Assemble 12:00 noon in Trafalgar Square for a march to Downing Street

UNITED FAMILIES & FRIENDS CAMPAIGN (UFFC) PROTEST AGAINST CUSTODY DEATHS!

Further info: contact United Families & Friends Campaign http://uffc-campaigncentral.net

Silent Procession along Whitehall followed by Noisy Protest at Downing Street!
ALL WELCOME – PLEASE WEAR BLACK – BRING YOUR GROUP’S BANNER

Justice for those who have died in custody

United Campaign Against Police Violence is supporting the United Families and Friends Campaign march to Downing Street this weekend for justice for those who have died in custody.

UFFC includes members of the families of Roger Sylvester, Leon Patterson, Rocky Bennett, Alton Manning, Christopher Alder, Brian Douglas, Joy Gardner, Aseta Simms, Ricky Bishop, Paul Jemmott, Harry Stanley, Glenn Howard, Mikey Powell, Jason Mcpherson and Sean Rigg - all of whom have died in custody.

Join the event on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=160780920605213&index=1

What we believe

- That failure of State officials to ensure the basic right to life is made worse by the failure of the State to ever prosecute those responsible for custody deaths.

- That the failure to prosecute those responsible for deaths in custody sends the message that the State can act with impunity.

What We Demand

- Deaths in police custody must be investigated by a body that is genuinely independent of the police.

- Prison deaths must be subject to a system of properly funded investigation that is completely independent of the Prison Service.

- Officers involved in custody deaths be suspended until investigations are completed.

- Prosecutions should automatically follow 'unlawful killing' verdicts at inquests.

- Police forces are made accountable to the communities that they serve.

- Immediate Legal Aid and full disclosure of information be made to the relatives of the victims for investigations, inquests and subsequent prosecutions.

- Officers responsible for deaths should face criminal charges, even if retired.

- CCTV to be placed in the back of all police vehicles

Deaths in Custody

INQUEST is a charity that provides a free advice service to bereaved people on contentious deaths and their investigation with a particular focus on deaths in custody. Casework also informs research, parliamentary, campaigning and policy work.

INQUEST operates a casework service for those bereaved after a death in custody – police, prison, psychiatric detention and immigration.

Information on inquests in general, and deaths in custody at www.inquest.org.uk

Download pdf file http://inquest.gn.apc.org/pdf/info_all.pdf

Leaflet - What to do if someone you know dies in prison
http://inquest.gn.apc.org/pdf/what_to_do_if_someone_you_know_dies_in_prison.pdf

Leaflet - What to do if someone you know dies in police custody
http://inquest.gn.apc.org/pdf/what_to_do_if_someone_you_know_dies_in_police_custody.pdf

DEMOCRACY DAY 9/10 OCTOBER 2010, LONDON

Pictures by TemZone

Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square, London

where many groups meet up for rallies and campaigning

ICAE - The International Committee Against Execution
http://notonemoreexecution.org

International Committee Against Stoning
http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress
(takes time to load and needs the extra 'n' as in 'stonning')

Petition to abolish the Death Penalty and stoning in Iran

www.missionfreeiran.org or http://missionfreeiran.org

Press Releases

http://notonemoreexecution.org/icae-press-releases

Pictures by TemZone

to be uploaded

2008-10-11T04:01:00.001-07:00

Rogue Traders, Consumers, Whistleblowing, Hazards

2008-10-11T04:00:00.002-07:00

ROGUE TRADERS
www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/rogue_traders

BBC WATCHDOG CONSUMER ADVICE
www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/consumer_advice

CITIZENS' ADVICE BUREAU
www.citizensadvice.org.uk

TRADING STANDARDS CONSUMER ADVICE
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/consumer-advice.cfm

DAILY MIRROR ONLINE Andrew Penman and Nick Sommerlad
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/archives.html

GUARDIAN ONLINE
www.guardian.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs
www.guardian.co.uk/money/scamsandfraud

CON-TRICKS, SCAMS & DECEPTION
http://trubbles.freehosting.net/hustlesconsdeception.html

BBC 'THE REAL HUSTLE'
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m8mf

CONSUMER DIRECT
www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

CONSUMER FOCUS
www.consumerfocus.org.uk

Whistleblowing and Protecting Yourself

If you are concerned over an issue and whether you should tell someone about it, here are some websites to help put some of it in perspective. Find out all you can without putting yourself, anyone else, or your job in jeopardy. Think of possible longterm repercussions.

Whistleblowing in its strict sense applies to concerns over one's workplace practices, but can be thought of more generally as blowing the whistle on issues of wider concern.

What should you do?

What can you do?

See the above links. More information can be found at the following, or search on Google etc.

Bear in mind that, although some organisations may make it seem a financially attractive deal for you, THEY may be in it for money or prestige. Don't put yourself or anyone else at risk by muddying the waters.

You may simply want to make sure someone else knows about something, but be careful what you say, and to whom.

We cannot guarantee the information shown in this section will suit you or your situation. All information on this Blog is offered in the hope it may help you sort out what is best in your situation. No-one can tell what the consequences of anything may be, so find out what you can before taking any action.

Whistle Blowers Press Agency Limited

https://www.whistleblowers.uk.com/jigsaw.php

Bully Online Advice www.bullyonline.org/related/whistle.htm

PCAW Public Concern at Work

Frequently Asked Questions for Individuals
www.pcaw.co.uk/faq/FAQ_individuals.htm

Useful information from the DirectGov site

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/Whistleblowingintheworkplace/DG_175821

Hazards Magazine

Links
www.hazards.org/links/index.htm

A-Z Resources
www.hazards.org/resources/index.htm

Victimization
www.hazards.org/victimisation

Hustles, Scams, Con-Tricks, Vulnerability

2008-10-11T04:00:00.001-07:00

Vulnerability to confidence tricks

Confidence tricks exploit typical human qualities such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, honesty, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility and naïveté. The common factor is that the mark relies on the good faith of the con artist.

Just as there is no typical profile for swindlers, neither is there one for their victims. Virtually anyone can fall prey to fraudulent crimes. ... Certainly victims of high-yield investment frauds may possess a level of greed which exceeds their caution as well as a willingness to believe what they want to believe. However, not all fraud victims are greedy, risk-taking, self-deceptive individuals looking to make a quick dollar. Nor are all fraud victims naïve, uneducated, or elderly.^[2]

Shills, also known as accomplices, help manipulate the mark into accepting the con man's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past.

from Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/confidence-trick

20

2008-10-11T03:59:00.000-07:00

2008-10-11T03:58:00.000-07:00

The Wisdom of Therapy

2008-10-11T03:24:00.001-07:00

Mediation or Reconciliation?

Full version with updates is at: http://middleground.limewebs.com

Project Middle Ground was started in America by Dr Paul Simpson a therapist who wrote Second Thoughts: Understanding the false memory crisis and how it could affect you.

Perhaps Dr Simpson's approach of working with families involved in the controversy is not directly applicable in the UK, but that does not mean there may not be an approach that suits our culture better. See SOME BOOKS listed below in this posting.

Various academics at UK universities have written papers about bridging what might seem an impossible divide. Sadly people tend to fight a particular corner, but Dr Simpson showed that it is possible to try for a middle ground, with some considerable effect. Type into Google for the UK:

middle ground false memories

Several books shedding light on how some misunderstandings could have arisen have been written in America since 1995. It seems a pity to let all of that, plus what has been achieved in the UK, remain unattended for the most part.

'A Singular Yarn' - a story with a difference about ritual abuse and confusing therapy
- For those who wonder if ritual abuse is ever really real
- For those who wonder if their therapy really is helping
http://middleground.limewebs.com/thread

Middlegroundable channel on YouTube
www.youtube.com/user/middlegroundable

Mediation - More Harm Than Good?

It would be good to think that a responsible mediator, counsellor or impartial observer working with parties involved in a dispute or misunderstanding would be helpful in a reasonable proportion of situations.

As one might expect, experts tend to polarise - even in the field of mediation.

When problems relate to personal feelings and family situations, it is not going to be easy. Through watching Neighbours from Hell or being unfortunate yourself, you'll know that neighbours are not always terribly neighbourly - in fact terrible is an apt description.

Regarding allegations of abuse within the family, scroll down to the section on Counselling or Quackery (William Burgoyne) with reconciliation approaches to try from Mark Pendergrast's book Victims of Memory. A search on Google or Amazon will show a range of publications and views on mediation in general, or on specific aspects or approaches.

Narrative mediation sounds as though it could help here. People may also have to learn to accept a big difference in opinion over what actually happened, and to leave some issues in moratorium or a no-man's-land without resolution for the foreseeable future.

SOME BOOKS

Before Forgiving: Cautionary Views of Forgiveness in Psychotherapy ed. by Sharon Lamb, Jeffrie G. Murphy

Family Therapy in Britain ed. by Eddy Street, Windy Dryden

Forgiveness and the Healing Process: A Central Therapeutic Concern ed. by Cynthia Ransley, Terri Spy

Secrets in the Family by Lily Pincus, Christopher Dare

The Secret Life of Families by Evan Imber-Black

The Trouble with Blame: Victims, Perpetrators and Responsibility by Sharon Lamb

You Can Go Home Again by Monica McGoldrick

I Thought We'd Never Speak Again: The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation by Laura Davis 'maps the reconciliation process through first-person stories of people who have mended relationships in a wide variety of circumstances. In these pages, parents reconcile with children, embittered siblings reconnect, angry friends reunite, and war veterans and crime victims meet with their enemies... Davis explains how people can make peace in relationships without necessarily forgiving past hurts.'

Note: Laura Davis co-authored The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Although it has been helpful to survivors of abuse, it has recently been the subject of controversy. We feel the views and research in I Thought We'd Never Speak Again are worth considering.

YouTube Videos plus others at http://www.youtube.com/user/middlegroundable

Playlist - Mediation, Conflict, Trauma www.youtube.com/user/middlegroundable#grid/user/52C862BEAA7C979F

BOOKS

Several books shedding light on how some misunderstandings could have arisen have been written in America since 1995. It seems a pity to let all of that, plus what has been achieved in the UK, remain unattended for the most part.

Inclusion of any books and weblinks is not meant to imply acceptance of any or all of their content, but to allow for further discussion. If you can't watch videos, most of the relevant information can be found via the Links.

Mostly available from Amazon UK or Amazon USA

Before Forgiving: Cautionary Views of Forgiveness in Psychotherapy ed. by Sharon Lamb, Jeffrie G. Murphy

Family Therapy in Britain ed. by Eddy Street, Windy Dryden

Forgiveness and the Healing Process: A Central Therapeutic Concern ed. by Cynthia Ransley, Terri Spy

Secrets in the Family by Lily Pincus, Christopher Dare

The Secret Life of Families by Evan Imber-Black

The Trouble with Blame: Victims, Perpetrators and Responsibility by Sharon Lamb

You Can Go Home Again by Monica McGoldrick

I Thought We'd Never Speak Again: The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation by Laura Davis 'maps the reconciliation process through first-person stories of people who have mended relationships in a wide variety of circumstances. In these pages, parents reconcile with children, embittered siblings reconnect, angry friends reunite, and war veterans and crime victims meet with their enemies... Davis explains how people can make peace in relationships without necessarily forgiving past hurts.'

Note: Laura Davis co-authored The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Although it has been helpful to survivors of abuse, it has recently been the subject of controversy. We feel the views and research in I Thought We'd Never Speak Again are worth considering.

Abuse in Therapy or Helping Relationships

Click this link to watch a video on Double Standards in general and how the principles involved may be affecting the sort of help that is on offer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7CwxB6qxtU

More videos are on YouTube theCojent channel

HOW ABUSE can be REMEMBERED or RECOVERED

Further References

Any information and links appearing here are included simply in the hope they may be useful to some readers. Not everyone has the same experiences or needs, or is likely to believe in the same things. The purpose of this Site and items mentioned is that people can take what is useful for themselves and their situation, and try to move on from there, with or without engaging in therapy or following a particular approach.

This list appears on the site of Michael C Irving The Child Abuse Survivor Monument (some of these offer alternative or conflicting views on these difficult issues. Follow what makes sense for you or your situation, or maybe that of someone close to you.) http://www.irvingstudios.com/child_abuse_survivor_monument/Remembering.htm

Bayin, Anne. “Falsely Accused: False Memory Syndrome is Wrecking Families and Destroying the Credibility of Genuine Sexual-Abuse Victims.” Homemaker’s Magazine, September 1993, vol. 28 no. 6, p. 44-6, 48+.

Bower, Bruce. Sex abuse: Direct Approach May Aid Recall.” Science News (US), October 19, 1991, vol. 140 no. 16, p. 245.

“Sudden Recall: Adult Memories of Child Abuse Spark a Heated Debate pt.1.” Science News (US), September 18, 1993, vol. 144 no. 12, p. cover, 184-6.

Brown, Laura. Subversive Dialogues. New York, N.Y.: Basic Books, 1994.

Eigenkind, Heidi. “Bearing Witness: A Questioning of the Politics of Memory”. Canadian Woman Studies, Fall 1991, vol. 12 no. 1, p. 21-4.

Fraser, Sylvia. “Abuse Wars: Whose Memory Matters? Betrayal Trauma: The Logic Of Forgetting Childhood Abuse.” Globe and Mail, January 25, 1997 pD14 (English).

Herman, Judith Lewis. Trauma and Recovery. New York, N.Y.: Basic Books, 1992. xi 276

Kandel, Minouche and Eric R. Kandel. “Flights of Memory: Can Memories of Long-Ago Abuses Be Lost? Once Lost, Can They Be Found Again?” Discover, May 1994, vol. 15, no. 5, p. 32, 34-8.

Martin, Sandra. “You Must Remember This: -- War Raging Around Recovered Memories.” Chatelaine (Eng), September 1997, vol. 70 no. 9 p.40-1, 43+ (English).

Moore, Tom. Angels Crying: A True Story of Secrecy and Tragedy. Nimbus Publishing Ltd. 1995.

Penfold, P. Susan. “Repressed Memory Controversy: Is There Middle Ground? Canadian Medical Association Journal, September 15 1996, vol. 155 no. 6, p. 647-53.

Terr, Lenore. Unchained Memories: True Stories of Traumatic Memories, Lost and Found. New York, N.Y.: Basic Books, 1994.

Woodward, Kenneth L. “Was It Real Or Memories? The Collapse of Charges Against A Cardinal Raises Questions About ‘Assisted’ Claims of Sexual Abuse.” Newsweek, March 14, 1994, vol. 123 no. 11, p. 54-5

GETTING HELP for Your Circumstances

There will be controversies too over what are likely to be effective methods of helping people, and what is potentially damaging for some of us. Read up on what you can, make up your own mind, and be prepared to change it - if that seems best for you. YOU are the only person who can decide.

Dorothy Rowe has written a variety of books on subjects to do with human emotions and relationships and getting help. Many are available in book stores, and new or secondhand from www.amazon.co.uk

New Attacks on Psychotherapy article by Phil Mollon at www.philmollon.co.uk/NEWattacksonpsychotherapy.html

Guidelines for Seeking Help and Self-Help are at www.tansal.org.uk/guidelinesforhelp.html

Playlists on 'theCojent' Youtube channel, and also on 'Survivorway' - for Survivors of all kinds

Stop Bad Therapy site www.stopbadtherapy.com

Talking Cure - useful information & links relevant for the UK at www.talkingcure.co.uk (site of Dr Douglas McFadzean & associates)

VEX organisation for support, info and links at http://website.lineone.net/~vex/

WITNESS (formerly POPAN) YouTube channel WITNESS2007

ADVICE to PARENTS and CHILDREN (p.119 Counselling or Quackery?)

William Burgoyne quotes pages 631-637 of Mark Pendergrast's book Victims of Memory (available from Amazon) on some considerations when trying to build trust within families affected by allegations of abuse.

Summaries of chapters from Victims of Memory are online http://markpendergrast.com/victims-of-memory-table-of-contents

Click here for A Summary of Myths and Realities on Memory and Therapy

And www.fmsfonline.org/fmsf96.330.html#mediation
FAMILY RECONCILIATION THROUGH MEDIATION Susan P. Robbins, D.S.W. University of Houston, appearing in FMS Foundation Newsletter Vol 5 No. 4, April 1, 1996

Author Meredith Maran has written a book entitled My Lie due for publication on 22 September 2010, available for pre-order online at Amazon UK and W H Smith, see www.meredithmaran.com/MyLie.htm Psychology Today excerpt, September/October 2O1O: My Lie www.meredithmaran.com/media/psychtoday.pdf

Mediation or Reconciliation?

Full version with updates is at: http://middleground.limewebs.com

Middlegroundable channel on YouTube
www.youtube.com/user/middlegroundable

A Singular Yarn - ritual abuse and confusing therapy

2008-10-11T03:23:00.002-07:00

Three

2008-10-11T03:23:00.001-07:00

Four

2008-10-11T03:22:00.001-07:00

Five

2008-10-11T03:21:00.002-07:00

Six

2008-10-11T03:21:00.001-07:00

Seven

2008-10-11T03:20:00.001-07:00

Eight

2008-10-11T03:19:00.002-07:00

Nine

2008-10-11T03:19:00.001-07:00

Ten

2008-10-11T03:17:00.000-07:00

Cultwise

ABOUT CULTWISE

THE STEPFORD WIVES

GROUP MINDS & EGREGORS

TRANCE and TRANSFORMATION

DOC MATRIX - CULTS & GROUPS

SOCIAL ENGINEERING

COGNITIVE BIAS

BELIEFS, THOUGHTS and BEHAVIOUR

SOCIAL DYNAMICS of CULTS

EXTERNAL SOURCES

PARANOIA or USEFUL TO KNOW

ON a SIMILAR THEME

PERSONALITY and BEHAVIOUR

LINKS

SADISTIC BEHAVIOUR, SCAPEGOATING, ABUSE

9

EXERCISE in SOCIAL CONTROL?

BELIEFS and PONZI SCHEMES

POLYVAGAL THEORY of EMOTION

13

14

TEM's JOURNAL, Diary Dates Autumn 2010

Mental Health & Stigma

From www.mentalhealthsupport.co.uk/mentalhealthandstigma.html

Mental illness and The Media

SEE their comment that

Worried about someone?What are the signs I should look out for?

SURVIVORS' ANNUAL RALLY AGAINST CHILD ABUSE

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Helping People Affected by Cults:What people are doing in the UK and around the world

http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_respond/event_conferences_workshops.asp

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NEWS & EVENTS, JUSTICE, DEMOCRACY DAY

UFFC Annual march against custody deaths and abuses

Saturday 30th October 2010Assemble 12:00 noon in Trafalgar Square for a march to Downing Street

to be uploaded

Rogue Traders, Consumers, Whistleblowing, Hazards

Whistleblowing and Protecting Yourself

If you are concerned over an issue and whether you should tell someone about it, here are some websites to help put some of it in perspective. Find out all you can without putting yourself, anyone else, or your job in jeopardy. Think of possible longterm repercussions.

Whistleblowing in its strict sense applies to concerns over one's workplace practices, but can be thought of more generally as blowing the whistle on issues of wider concern.

What should you do?

What can you do?

See the above links. More information can be found at the following, or search on Google etc.

Bear in mind that, although some organisations may make it seem a financially attractive deal for you, THEY may be in it for money or prestige. Don't put yourself or anyone else at risk by muddying the waters.

You may simply want to make sure someone else knows about something, but be careful what you say, and to whom.

Whistle Blowers Press Agency Limited

https://www.whistleblowers.uk.com/jigsaw.php

Bully Online Advice www.bullyonline.org/related/whistle.htm

PCAW Public Concern at Work

Frequently Asked Questions for Individualswww.pcaw.co.uk/faq/FAQ_individuals.htm

Useful information from the DirectGov site

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/Whistleblowingintheworkplace/DG_175821

Hazards Magazine

Links www.hazards.org/links/index.htm

A-Z Resourceswww.hazards.org/resources/index.htm

Victimizationwww.hazards.org/victimisation

Hustles, Scams, Con-Tricks, Vulnerability

Vulnerability to confidence tricks

from Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/confidence-trick

20

The Wisdom of Therapy

Abuse in Therapy or Helping Relationships

HOW ABUSE can be REMEMBERED or RECOVERED

GETTING HELP for Your Circumstances

ADVICE to PARENTS and CHILDREN (p.119 Counselling or Quackery?)

A Singular Yarn - ritual abuse and confusing therapy

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Worried about someone?
What are the signs I should look out for?

Helping People Affected by Cults:
What people are doing in the UK and around the world

Saturday 30th October 2010
Assemble 12:00 noon in Trafalgar Square for a march to Downing Street

Frequently Asked Questions for Individuals
www.pcaw.co.uk/faq/FAQ_individuals.htm

Links
www.hazards.org/links/index.htm

A-Z Resources
www.hazards.org/resources/index.htm

Victimization
www.hazards.org/victimisation