Indictrination Quotes

“Thought Control
* Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
* Adopt the group’s “map of reality” as reality
* Instill black and white thinking
* Decide between good versus evil
* Organize people into us versus them (insiders versus outsiders)
* Change a person’s name and identity
* Use loaded language and clichés to constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts, and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzzwords
* Encourage only “good and proper” thoughts
* Use hypnotic techniques to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking, and even to age-regress the member to childhood states
* Manipulate memories to create false ones
* Teach thought stopping techniques that shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts. These techniques include:
* Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
* Chanting
* Meditating
* Praying
* Speaking in tongues
* Singing or humming
* Reject rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism
* Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy
* Label alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful
* Instill new “map of reality”

Emotional Control
* Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings—some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong, or selfish
* Teach emotion stopping techniques to block feelings of hopelessness, anger, or doubt
* Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault
* Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as:
* Identity guilt
* You are not living up to your potential
* Your family is deficient
* Your past is suspect
* Your affiliations are unwise
* Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish
* Social guilt
* Historical guilt
* Instill fear, such as fear of:
* Thinking independently
* The outside world
* Enemies
* Losing one’s salvation
* Leaving
* Orchestrate emotional highs and lows through love bombing and by offering praise one moment, and then declaring a person is a horrible sinner
* Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins
* Phobia indoctrination: inculcate irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority
* No happiness or fulfillment possible outside the group
* Terrible consequences if you leave: hell, demon possession, incurable diseases, accidents, suicide, insanity, 10,000 reincarnations, etc.
* Shun those who leave and inspire fear of being rejected by friends and family
* Never a legitimate reason to leave; those who leave are weak, undisciplined, unspiritual, worldly, brainwashed by family or counselor, or seduced by money, sex, or rock and roll
* Threaten harm to ex-member and family (threats of cutting off friends/family)”
― Steven Hassan

“Members are indoctrinated to believe that the Training Routines will help them be more effective in their lives—earn more money, be better communicators, get better jobs. Later they are told that by performing these routines they will help clear the planet of poverty, crime, disease—indeed, of all of humanity’s problems. At the highest level, members are told that they can control matter, energy, space, and time. The truth is, they are the ones being controlled.”
― Steven Hassan

“You love the Hawaiians as potential Christians, but you despise them as people. I am proud to say that I have come to exactly the opposite conclusion, and it is therefore appropriate that I should be expelled from a mission where love is not.”
― James A. Michener, Hawaii