Any of this sound familiar?
http://www.ex-cult.org/General/totalism-group-dynamics"CONTROL OF INFORMATION"
By controlling the information one receives you can control and
restrict the individual's ability to think for himself. You limit
what he is able to think about.
BEHAVIOUR CONTROL - The control of an individual's physical reality.
This can include control of where he lives, what he eats, his
clothing, sleep, job, rituals etc. This is why most cults
have a stringent schedule for members. There is always something to
do in destructive cults. Each cult has its own distinctive set of
behaviours that bind it together. This control is so powerful that the
cult member will actually participate in their own punishment and come
to believe he actually deserves it! No one can command a person's
thoughts but IF YOU CAN CONTROL BEHAVIOUR THEN HEARTS AND MINDS WILL FOLLOW.
THOUGHT CONTROL - The control of an individual's thought processes
The indoctrination of members so thoroughly that they will manipulate their
own thought processes. The ideology is internalised as "the truth". Incoming
information is filtered through the beliefs which also regulates how this
information is thought about.
The cult has it's own language which further regulates how a person
thinks. This puts a great barrier between cult members and outsiders.
Another form of control is "thought stopping" techniques. This can
take many forms: chanting, meditating, singing, humming, tongues (some
even pay money to learn it), concentrated praying, etc. The use of
these techniques short-circuits the persons' ability to test reality.
The person can only think positive thoughts about the group. If there
is a problem the member assumes responsibility and works harder.
EMOTIONAL CONTROL - The control of the individuals emotional life
This manipulates a person's range of feelings. Guilt and fear are
used to keep control. Cult members cannot see the control by guilt and
like other abuse victims are conditioned to blame themselves when things
are wrong, even grateful when a leader points our their transgressions.
Fear is used to manipulate two ways. The first is to create an
outside enemy (we vs them) who is persecuting you. The second is the
fear of punishment by the leaders if you are not "good enough." Being
"good enough" is following the ideology perfectly. The most
powerful emotional control is phobia indoctrination. This can give
the person a panic reaction at the very thought of leaving the
group. It is almost impossible to conceive that there is any life
outside the group. There is no physical gun held to their heads but the
psychological gun is just as if not more powerful.
INFORMATION CONTROL - The control of the individuals information sources
Deny a person the information needed to make a sound judgment and he will be
incapable of doing so. People are trapped in cults because they are denied
both the access to the critical information they need to assess their
situation. The psychological chains on their minds are just as powerful
as if they were locked away physically from society. So strong is this
psychological process they also lack the properly functioning internal
mechanism to process any critical information placed in front of them.
They serve so that we don't have to. They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is, remarkably, their gift to us. And all they ask for in return is that we never send them into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. Will they ever trust us again?
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=18' target='_new'>Michael More
