How Revivalist Preachers Work
If you’d like to see a revivalist preacher at work, there are
probably several in your city. Go to the church or tent early and sit
in the rear, about three-quarters of the way back. Most likely
repetitive music will be played while the people come in for the
service. A repetitive beat, ideally ranging from 45 to 72 beats per
minute (a rhythm close to the beat of the human heart), is very
hypnotic and can generate an eyes-open altered state of consciousness
in a very high percentage of people. And, once you are in an alpha
state, you are at least 25 times as suggestible as you would be in
full beta consciousness. The music is probably the same for every
service, or incorporates the same beat, and many of the people will
go into an altered state almost immediately upon entering the
sanctuary. Subconsciously, they recall their state of mind from
previous services and respond according to the post-hypnotic
programming.
Watch the people waiting for the service to begin. Many will exhibit
external signs of trance-body relaxation and slightly dilated eyes.
Often, they begin swaying back and forth with their hands in the air
while sitting in their chairs. Next, the assistant pastor will
probably come out. He usually speaks with a pretty good “voice roll.”
Voice Roll Technique
A “voice roll” is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotists when
inducing a trance. It is also used by many lawyers, several of whom
are highly trained hypnotists, when they desire to entrench a point
firmly in the minds of the jurors. A voice roll can sound as if the
speaker were talking to the beat of a metronome or it may sound as
though he were emphasizing every word in a monotonous, patterned
style. The words will usually be delivered at the rate of 45 to 60
beats per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect.
Now the assistant pastor begins the “build-up” process. He induces an
altered state of consciousness and/or begins to generate the
excitement and the expectations of the audience. Next, a group of
young women in “sweet and pure” chiffon dresses might come out to
sing a song. Gospel songs are great for building excitement and
INVOLVEMENT. In the middle of the song, one of the girls might
be “smitten by the spirit” and fall down or react as if possessed by
the Holy Spirit. This very effectively increases the intensity in the
room. At this point, hypnosis and conversion tactics are being mixed.
And the result is the audience’s attention span is now totally
focused upon the communication while the environment becomes more
exciting or tense.
Right about this time, when an eyes-open mass-induced alpha mental
state has been achieved, they will usually pass the collection plate
or basket. In the background, a 45-beat-per-minute voice roll from
the assistant preacher might exhort, “Give to God Give to God Give to
God” And the audience does give. God may not get the money, but his
already wealthy representative will.
Next, the fire-and-brimstone preacher will come out. He induces fear
and increases the tension by talking about “the devil,” “going to
hell,” or the forthcoming Armegeddon.
In the last such rally I attended, the preacher talked about the
blood that would soon be running out of every faucet in the land. He
was also obsessed with a “bloody axe of God,” which everyone had seen
hanging above the pulpit the previous week. I have no doubt that
everyone saw it-the power of suggestion given to hundreds of people
in hypnosis assures that at least 10 to 25 percent would see whatever
he suggested they see.
In most revivalist gatherings, “testifying” or “witnessing” usually
follows the fear-based sermon. People from the audience come up on
stage and relate their stories. “I was crippled and now I can
walk!” “I had arthritis and now it’s gone!” It is a psychological
manipulation that works. After listening to numerous case histories
of miraculous healings, the average guy in the audience with a minor
problem is sure he can be healed. The room is charged with fear,
guilt, intense excitement, and expectations.
Now those who want to be healed are frequently lined up around the
edge of the room, or they are told to come down to the front. The
preacher might touch them on the head firmly and scream, “Be healed!”
This releases the psychic energy and, for many, catharsis results.
Catharsis is a purging of repressed emotions. Individuals might cry,
fall down or even go into spasms. And if catharsis is effected, they
stand a chance of being healed. In catharsis (one of the three brain
phases mentioned earlier), the brain-slate is temporarily wiped clean
and the new suggestion is accepted.
For some, the healing may be permanent. For many, it will last four
days to a week, which is, incidentally, how long a hypnotic
suggestion given to a somnambulistic subject will usually last. Even
if the healing doesn’t last, if they come back every week, the power
of suggestion may continually override the problem or sometimes,
sadly, it can mask a physical problem which could prove to be very
detrimental to the individual in the long run.
I’m not saying that legitimate healings do not take place. They do.
Maybe the individual was ready to let go of the negativity that
caused the problem in the first place; maybe it was the work of God.
Yet I contend that it can be explained with existing knowledge of
brain/mind function.
The techniques and staging will vary from church to church. Many
use “speaking in tongues” to generate catharsis in some while the
spectacle creates intense excitement in the observers.
The use of hypnotic techniques by religions is sophisticated, and
professionals are assuring that they become even more effective. A
man in Los Angeles is designing, building, and reworking a lot of
churches around the country. He tells ministers what they need and
how to use it. This man’s track record indicates that the
congregation and the monetary income will double if the minister
follows his instructions. He admits that about 80 percent of his
efforts are in the sound system and lighting.
Powerful sound and the proper use of lighting are of primary
importance in inducing an altered state of consciousnes-I’ve been
using them for years in my own seminars. However, my participants are
fully aware of the process and what they can expect as a result of
their participation.
Six Conversion Techniques
Cults and human-potential organizations are always looking for new
converts. To attain them, they must also create a brain-phase. And
they often need to do it within a short space of time-a weekend, or
maybe even a day. The following are the six primary techniques used
to generate the conversion.
The meeting or training takes place in an area where participants are
cut off from the outside world. This may be any place: a private
home, a remote or rural setting, or even a hotel ballroom where the
participants are allowed only limited bathroom usage. In human-
potential trainings, the controllers will give a lengthy talk about
the importance of “keeping agreements” in life. The participants are
told that if they don’t keep agreements, their life will never work.
It’s a good idea to keep agreements, but the controllers are
subverting a positive human value for selfish purposes. The
participants vow to themselves and their trainer that they will keep
their agreements. Anyone who does not will be intimidated into
agreement or forced to leave. The next step is to agree to complete
training, thus assuring a high percentage of conversions for the
organizations. They will USUALLY have to agree not to take drugs,
smoke, and sometimes not to eat or they are given such short meal
breaks that it creates tension. The real reason for the agreements is
to alter internal chemistry, which generates anxiety and hopefully
causes at least a slight malfunction of the nervous system, which in
turn increases the conversion potential.
Before the gathering is complete, the agreements will be used to
ensure that the new converts go out and find new participants. They
are intimidated into agreeing to do so before they leave. Since the
importance of keeping agreements is so high on their priority list,
the converts will twist the arms of everyone they know, attempting to
talk them into attending a free introductory session offered at a
future date by the organization. The new converts are zealots. In
fact, the inside term for merchandising the largest and most
successful human-potential training is, “sell it by zealot!”
At least a million people are graduates and a good percentage have
been left with a mental activation button that assures their future
loyalty and assistance if the guru figure or organization calls.
Think about the potential political implications of hundreds of
thousands of zealots programmed to campaign for their guru.
Be wary of an organization of this type that offers follow-up
sessions after the seminar. Follow-up sessions might be weekly
meetings or inexpensive seminars given on a regular basis which the
organization will attempt to talk you into taking-or any regularly
scheduled event used to maintain control. As the early Christian
revivalists found, long-term control is dependent upon a good follow-
up system.