DR. ROBERT J. LIFTON'S CRITERIA FOR THOUGHT REFORM
THOUGHT REFORM: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TOTALISM
CHAPTER 22
(Chapel Hill, 1989)
THE FUTURE OF IMMORTALITY
CHAPTER 15 (New York 1987)
Any ideology -- that is, any set of emotionally-charged convictions
about men and his relationship to the natural or supernatural world
-- may be carried by its adherents in a totalistic direction. But
this is most likely to occur with those ideologies which are most
sweeping in their content and most ambitious or messianic in
their claim, whether a religious or political organization. And
where totalism exists, a religion, or a political movement becomes
little more than an exclusive cult.
Here you will find a set of criteria, eight psychological themes against
which any environment may be judged. In combination, they create an
atmosphere which may temporarily energize or exhilarate, but which at the
same time pose the gravest of human threats.
(BRIEF OUTLINE)
1. MILIEU CONTROL
the most basic feature is the control of human communication within
and environment if the control is extremely intense, it becomes
internalized control -- an attempt to manage an individual's inner
communication control over all a person sees, hears, reads, writes
(information control)
creates conflicts in respect to individual autonomy
groups express this in several ways: Group process, isolation from
other people, psychological pressure, geographical distance or
unavailable transportation, sometimes physical pressure
often a sequence of events, such as seminars, lectures, group
encounters, which become increasingly intense and increasingly
isolated, making it extremely difficult-- both physically and
psychologically--for one to leave.
sets up a sense of antagonism with the outside world; it's us
against them
closely connected to the process of individual change (of personality)
2. MYSTICAL MANIPULATION (Planned spontaneity)
extensive personal manipulation
seeks to promote specific patterns of behavior and emotion in such
a way that it appears to have arisen spontaneously from within the
environment, while it actually has been orchestrated
totalist leaders claim to be agents chosen by God, history, or
some supernatural force, to carry out the mystical imperative
the "principles" (God-centered or otherwise) can be put forcibly and
claimed exclusively, so that the cult and its beliefs become the only
true path to salvation (or enlightenment)
the individual then develops the psychology of the pawn, and
participates actively in the manipulation of others
the leader who becomes the center of the mystical manipulation (or
the person in whose name it is done) can be sometimes more real than
an abstract god and therefore attractive to cult members
legitimizes the deception used to recruit new members and/or raise
funds, and the deception used on the "outside world"
3. THE DEMAND FOR PURITY
the world becomes sharply divided into the pure and the impure, the
absolutely good (the group/ideology) and the absolutely evil
(everything outside the group)
one must continually change or conform to the group "norm"
tendencies towards guilt and shame are used as emotional levers for
the group's controlling and manipulative influences
once a person has experienced the totalist polarization of good/evil
(black/white thinking), he has great difficulty in regaining a more
balanced inner sensitivity to the complexities of human morality
the radical separation of pure/impure is both within the environment
(the group) and the individual
ties in with the process of confession -- one must confess when one
is not conforming
4. CONFESSION
cultic confession is carried beyond its ordinary religious, legal
and therapeutic expressions to the point of becoming a cult in itself
sessions in which one confesses to one's sin are accompanied by
patterns of criticism and self-criticism, generally transpiring within
small groups with an active and dynamic thrust toward personal change
is an act of symbolic self-surrender
makes it virtually impossible to attain a reasonable balance between
worth and humility
a young person confessing to various sins of pre-cultic existence can
both believe in those sins and be covering over other ideas and
feelings that s/he is either unaware of or reluctant to discuss
often a person will confess to lesser sins while holding on to other
secrets (often criticisms/questions/doubts about the group/leaders
that may cause them not to advance to a leadership position)
"the more I accuse myself, the more I have a right to judge you"
5. SACRED SCIENCE
the totalist milieu maintains an aura of sacredness around its basic
doctrine or ideology, holding it as an ultimate moral vision for the
ordering of human existence
questioning or criticizing those basic assumptions is prohibited
a reverence is demanded for the ideology/doctrine, the originators of
the ideology/doctrine, the present bearers of the ideology/doctrine
offers considerable security to young people because it greatly
simplifies the world and answers a contemporary need to combine a
sacred set of dogmatic principles with a claim to a science embodying
the truth about human behavior and human psychology
6. LOADING THE LANGUAGE
the language of the totalist environment is characterized by the
thought-terminating cliche (thought-stoppers)
repetitiously centered on all-encompassing jargon
"the language of non-thought"
words are given new meanings -- the outside world does not use the
words or phrases in the same way -- it becomes a "group" word or
phrase
7. DOCTRINE OVER PERSON
every issue in one's life can be reduced to a single set of principles
that have an inner coherence to the point that one can claim the
experience of truth and feel it
the pattern of doctrine over person occurs when there is a conflict
between what one feels oneself experiencing and what the doctrine or
ideology says one should experience
if one questions the beliefs of the group or the leaders of the group,
one is made to feel that there is something inherently wrong with them
to even question -- it is always "turned around" on them and the
questioner/criticizer is questioned rather than the questions answered
directly
the underlying assumption is that doctrine/ideology is ultimately more
valid, true and real than any aspect of actual human character or
human experience and one must subject one's experience to that "truth"
the experience of contradiction can be immediately associated with guilt
one is made to feel that doubts are reflections of one's own evil
when doubt arises, conflicts become intense
8. DISPENSING OF EXISTENCE
since the group has an absolute or totalist vision of truth, those who
are not in the group are bound up in evil, are not enlightened, are not
saved, and do not have the right to exist
"being verses nothingness"
impediments to legitimate being must be pushed away or destroyed
one outside the group may always receive their right of existence by
joining the group
fear manipulation -- if one leaves this group, one leaves God or loses
their transformation, for something bad will happen to them
the group is the "elite", outsiders are "of the world", "evil",
"unenlightened
easily manipulated and insecure narcissistic and self
absorbed youth and employees who are so full of themselves the
outside world would not tolerate them so they seek a life in a
cascade. . they always had a self righteous attitude and would
threaten , manipulate, project, argue both sides of every argument,
try to make themselves look like victims, coerce staff by threatening
their lives . they would try to turn other against the
former students and staff would be branded as traitors or disloyal
for not lying and covering up the abuses. the truth is that most of
these staff are not licensed and have phony mail order degrees and
cannot do anything except live in fear of the allgoods.
and they are threatened with their live if they do not do
whatever allgood screams at them to do. they were so self righteous
and abusive that could not understand anything except "getting their
way". they would lie their asses off to students and parents about
everything and when they were caught the excuse was "they have to
lie". they were just using you and you are so
narcissistic and self absorbed you thought because they made
you "feel better and grow" then therefore they must be right. they con you by appelaing to the narcissism that is present in so many. the whole thing is a
scam and many were easily fell for it because they had an answer and
an excuse for everything. they are sociopaths who have no conscience
and believe their own lies. . the excuse
given was that "their needs come first". they are self righteous and so self absorbed
and narcissitic that they take whatever comes out of their mouth and
attach the word truth to it and force and force their way until they
can get you to think that they are honest. they believe their own lies. they only care about
themselves and what they can use you for. these
cascade believers only care about getting their way and they are like
religious demagogues who cannot understand anything other than their
own needs. they have conned the families so good that they
have gotten the families to think that they were and are their
friends and that cascade is all about making friends and changing
yourself and growing. it is a lie. when you do not do what they
want , you are accused of not being serious about the place. push push push until you ruin someone and
force your bullshit on others that is the way. they always
attacked others and accused them of things and now they are being
exposed as being arrogant frauds and they have become exactly what
they always said they were superior to. cascade is a supremecist
organization made up of non stop liars and shakedown artists who
think their need for a lifestyle is all that matters. when they
cannot bleed the parents and states , they get rid of you. they try
to get kids there out of their foundation but it is a phony attempt
to make it look like they care. it is an act they put on and all you
followers cannot see through their bullshit. they only care about
ramming their own needs down your throat literally and figuratively.
they have been proven to be 100% full of shit. . cannot do anything else except lie , cheat , steal , molest
and ruin lives and of course blame the poor victims be they
staff, parenets, or whoever else discovers that they are only out for
themselves.
michael only cares about himself and not anyone else and it is disturbing that so many have been conned by this fraud. they sit there and say how good he is and overlook the fact that he is a horrible lying sociopath who has an excuse for all his abuse and it is that he only cares about friendship and loyalty this means that if you say what he wants you are okay but if you speak out you are labeled disloyal and this is all like a step by step guide to a destructive cult. the sick thing is that these sheep who yap about him and follow himn disregard the damage he has done and have no idea that allgood does not care about them and this crap he feeds you is just to keep you believing his lies. you all just sit there and follow him. tell us why you follow this sociopath who is just using you and loves to blame his victims. tell us all you all knowing lovers. tell us
4) require the State Department to report any abuse of American children overseas.
michael allgood cannot sell his fraud scam that poses as a school . he is being exposed as a greedy charlatan and is frantically trying to cover up his abuse by sending out e mails to his cult members telling them who they can and cannot talk to. he is also telephoning his overseas cult so the state department cannot rescue the followers he has under his control. some are so deluded that they think that cascade helps people. this is the big lie put out by the naive and the real propoganda is that cascade is good and anyone who does not parrot this like that phony attorney alex femi nazi is "harassing" people. isn't that amazing sending an e mail to people is now labeled harassment. have you ever heard anything so narcissistic ? actually yes i have when allgood was caught lying as usual he tried to make himself look like a victim by accusing his victims of lying. never mind the fact that he said " that is what friends do , they lie and they cover up "
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[ This Message was edited by: wiseup on 2005-12-26 16:25 ]
