Good evening, welcome to a special Monday edition of the recently retired #WhiskyWednesday ... a cold, rainy night & a glass of whisky seems the perfect scenario to delve into some interesting topics on “the fringe”...

Tonight we look into what was called “Mind Control” studies.

Most people think “mind control” is a fictional element only found in shows like “Stranger Things” or the “Xfiles” ...but it was, and likely still is, a very serious branch of government study to alter perception of persons or populations.

The most famous of these is Project MKUltra the CIA mind control program, experiments on human subjects that were designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence intended to identify and develop drugs and procedures in order to weaken an individual through mind control.

MK ultra was officially sanctioned in 1953, reduced in scope in 1964..It was officially halted in 1973.

The scope of MKUltra was broad, with research undertaken at more than 80 institutions, including colleges/universities, hospitals, prisons, and pharmaceutical companies.

Now, what’s interesting is that there was another study going on at the same time in 1953...MKUltra was focused on individual mind control, but another government study was conducted on psychological conditioning the minds of an entire population...

A final report on the study was published in 1961 by psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton on the psychology of mind control to persuade people to conform to certain ideological goals.

Called “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism”

Lifton's research for the book began in 1953 with a series of interviews with American servicemen who had been held captive during the Korean War. Lifton interviewed 15 Chinese who had fled their homeland. Tactics caused drastic shifts in one's opinions and personality: brainwash

In the book, Lifton outlines the "8 Criteria for Thought Reform":

1. Milieu Control.

This involves the control of information & communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society.

2. Mystical Manipulation.

The manipulation of experiences that appears spontaneous but is, in fact, planned & orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority, spiritual advancement, or some exceptional talent/insight that sets the leader apart.

3. Demand for Purity.

The world is viewed as black and white and the subjects are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the “group” and strive for perfection.

The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.

SHAME!

“The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute.

Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.”

6. Loading the Language.

The group interprets/
uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking.

the term "thought-terminating cliché"...refers to a cliché that is a commonly used phrase, sometimes used to quell cognitive dissonance.

Application is a means of dismissing dissent or justifying fallacious logic is what makes it thought-terminating.

“I’m smart, that’s why!”