Wow! What a stunning piece, presented with such clarity. As you know, it's a LOT to take in, even for people in the field. For the person whose mind is flashing "tilt," (or somewhat more contemporary, giving them the blue screen of death), I've been thinking about how's the best way to help get people in the "understanding as liberation" loop, considering where they are - at 1st grade.
What makes it even more challenging is the need to get people up to speed on concepts that are not only foreign to them to begin with, but frightening. "It's an insurgency? He/they betrayed us!?" It's such a fundamental schema blower that, to entertain it, is to risk dissociation. And the very idea of "cognitive warfare" and the larger territory of psyops is as foreign as the moon's surface.
You've been at this for 5 years, and I'm so heartened to know that there exists someone who's truly a knowledge expert in the behavioral science of mind control and who can teach the elaborate anatomy and physiology of it.
Hi, Jim. I was on Zoom Sunday. That was really an amazing and masterful analysis on the subject of what amounts to mind infiltration/mind capture/control. You explained it really well.
Here are a few things I think are also important: this is just conjecture (not a psychologist or social pysychologist) but it seems is easier to capture the minds of those who have already experienced unaddressed trauma and/or people who have low self-awareness/consciousness. Many adults with childhood trauma have not integrated it. When a cult comes around and replaces the original source of trauma with an artificial, socially acceptable social trauma (pedophilia), people are off the hook as far as taking responsibility for examining their past, personal trauma. They cannot grieve their own personal, past wounds and integrate them because they are now chasing a social trauma that someone else has suggested. Their unresolved trauma makes them more susceptible marks. Adults can suffer trauma in their adults years as well. (For example, Hassan said he has just broken up with a girlfriend when Moonies came into his life.). So, teaching kids how to deal with trauma should be part of public education at an appropriate age - sometime during adolescence - 15/16 (depending on the maturity of the individual).
Also, I read some literature from other countries in the world in my 20s. A book, "The autobiography of a dark child" was an autobiography of a young man from French Guinea. He talked about the manhood ritual that all the village boys had to go through in the process of learning to separate from their mothers and become men. The boys had to suffer through the fear and learn to control their emotions. The elders guided them through this process. (Personal opinion but I think every society should still have some kind of ritual for all boys. Boys need this kind process more than girls. But girls also need time together and to learn about themselves from their mothers, aunts and grandmothers.)
The third thing, as humans, we lived in tribes for far longer periods of time than we have in nuclear families. Humans still need to be part of groups. They also need to be part of a larger group (society) where they can also be free to think for themselves without having to adhere to the beliefs of any particular group. We still need face-to-face contact. Trump provided this with his frequent rallies.
We need to be in healthy tribes though. The military has inappropriately taken over the tribal function for men with their forever wars. Women are pulled in so many directions so they don't have time to be in tribes; yet, they also need to be given time to develop and be in them.
The cult of Trump, like other cults, has been able to take over peoples' minds by offering them what society does not: purpose, membership in a group, belonging to a tribe, a community.
So protecting people from cults means repairing of childhood wounds, teaching ways to deal with adult trauma, teaching meditation/spiritual techniques that help to manage/control the emotions and the monkey mind, providing social pathways/rituals from adolescence to adulthood thereby transmitting the values of the larger society. Then, we need healthy groups available for people to join and connect as they choose throughout their adult lives and into old age. All this is easy, possible and costs very little. It would innoculate people from faling prey to drug dealers, cults, political parties, etc.
Greed, money, power and war can dominate the primate mind of less well-developed individuals like Trump, Zuckerberg, Musk. Their main goal is to get to the top of the pyramid and proclaim themselves King of the Mountain. These lower-level primates wish to use others for their own ends. That's where the intellectual assessment that you mention comes in. Know. Instead of simply trusting someone else and their information, ask what is their motivation? What is their aim? How would they benefit? Is this information true? Would it create a healthy or an unhealthy outcome/s for you and/or others? What are the consequences of accepting this information?
I advise my fellow citizens to keep fresh batteries in their BS detector, and always treat it like a precision instrument. The success of the merchants of malice relies upon us being vulnerable. Jim is giving you a present, use it bucko!
For about a month, I smile at strangers and wish them a good morning, afternoon, evening as appropriate and most of them smile back and return the greeting as we go our separate ways. Yes there are some who ignore the smile and greeting and, if there is enough time available before we pass, I repeat it. Best of all, doing that makes ME feel good.
True. I sometimes exert a little more courtesy than usual, holding a door for someone, for example. They usually thank me, but then I make sure they know it was a pleasure for me to be courteous by saying 'you're very welcome', more emphatic than simply saying 'sure' . I can feel a moment of emotional relaxation on their part. Life is frightening now for everyone. Let's let people know that empathy has not been totally destroyed by the sickness running amok across the land.
Also consciously do the same. Something interesting about this. More people are doing considerate things for me, too! :)
Once a young mother was having some difficulty with her son which she addressed. Then I smiled and said "Hello." She looked at me as if questioning why I wanted to say "Hello." I said I just wanted to say "Hi." She also relaxed and smiled back. It's a very little thing but she felt better. And so did I.
We often forget what a great gift a smile is to someone who is lonely, worried, stressed, elderly. It's a great gift to anyone really and it's free. :)
So true, Nancy. These little things instantly change moods and will eventually raise the collective consciousness, so to speak. At some point, we will realize that we really are in this together. FDR helped us understand this and get through a truly horrific, unspeakable time. He almost failed. But he, and his coalition, succeeded. There really is no choice. Evil has only one destiny: self destruction.
They also do a lot of destruction to others until they, themselves, self-destruct. So many innocent people suffer and lose their lives because of capitulation to stupid men with too much power. History teaches this lesson over and over. That's why we have Congress. That's why corporations have boards and managers have meetings.
When power gets consolidated into the hands of one person, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Mao-Tse-Tung forced the peasants to kill all the sparrows in the agricultural fields, and it caused the Great Chinese Famine, which caused 15-55 million people to die from starvation.
Brilliant essay Jim, you've got to get back on the Thom Hartmann program ASAP. That said, what has frustrated and fascinated me for years,is the Fox channels absolute hold on it's viewers?!! Another head punch for sure. Thanks, Jim, can't wait for round two, and will reStack ASAP 💯👍
Jim, I think this model you’ve presented is great. For those with friends or relatives in MAGA, don’t be discouraged if you’ve tried to talk with them and they get defensive. I think it’s important to remember that people in MAGA may have a lot of defense mechanisms that come up if you try to present them with material critical of Trump or the movement. Most cults teach their members to disregard anything that questions the group or the leader. They have phrases they use that are thought stopping (e.g. calling any material critical of the group “spiritual pornography”) and label the outside person as a threat and evil. Also, cult members are reluctant to even look at the material, out of fear of being shunned. Dr. Hassan teaches techniques to approach people effectively and in a non-threatening way, such as having an ongoing relationship with them and asking Socratic questions, appealing to their values and helping them to reconnect with their true self.
Not different from Scientology. They call themselves a religion but they are a very fancy cult. Also see anything Steven Hassan, PhD has done like “The Cult of tRump”
The Scientology analogy could be useful (if it's apt) to counter those who otherwise dismiss the idea of Trump's cult, especially if there exist metrics or well-regard studies that demonstrate "cult." Not a lot of people are comfortable with the idea of TrumpCult and they need reprogramming, too. For example, I just googled "do americans think scientology is a cult" and immediately got just such a denial via a June 2, 2025 Yahoo!News "article":
This, in fact, is the real satisfaction of the cult narrative: the reinforcement of the fantasy that we who watch are different—better, smarter, and more equipped to hold power and influence—than those who believe. Having spent hours engrossed in the details of being in a cult, we imagine ourselves to have understood a dangerous phenomenon without ever having been subject to that danger. Not only might we glimpse that elusive Secret, we see the invisible wires and sleights of hand and, maybe most importantly, the way it all turns out. We already know that it is doomed. We are the new prophets, gifted with future sight.
My first cult was kindergarten when I was four years old. I wanted to run away. The second one was Christian church (Protestant). When it came for time alone with pastor for confirmation at age 12/13, I didn't like the fact that he really didn't like my questions. He didn't have answers that satisfied. He seemed to resent that I even had questions. He even looked angry/hateful. Sorry not joining anything that can't be questioned. Left the church. I think most people have experienced cults. Scientology is a horrible cult. I had an acquaintance whose WHOLE FAMILY was captive. She was the only one living free from it; and, she couldn't contact any of her family nor could they contact her.
Interesting comparison - and yes - it’s much easier to insulate oneself against trauma when “you” know why it’s being thrown at “you” and gives one an ability to guesstimate how traumatic it will actually be.
Wow! What a stunning piece, presented with such clarity. As you know, it's a LOT to take in, even for people in the field. For the person whose mind is flashing "tilt," (or somewhat more contemporary, giving them the blue screen of death), I've been thinking about how's the best way to help get people in the "understanding as liberation" loop, considering where they are - at 1st grade.
What makes it even more challenging is the need to get people up to speed on concepts that are not only foreign to them to begin with, but frightening. "It's an insurgency? He/they betrayed us!?" It's such a fundamental schema blower that, to entertain it, is to risk dissociation. And the very idea of "cognitive warfare" and the larger territory of psyops is as foreign as the moon's surface.
You've been at this for 5 years, and I'm so heartened to know that there exists someone who's truly a knowledge expert in the behavioral science of mind control and who can teach the elaborate anatomy and physiology of it.
Hi, Jim. I was on Zoom Sunday. That was really an amazing and masterful analysis on the subject of what amounts to mind infiltration/mind capture/control. You explained it really well.
Here are a few things I think are also important: this is just conjecture (not a psychologist or social pysychologist) but it seems is easier to capture the minds of those who have already experienced unaddressed trauma and/or people who have low self-awareness/consciousness. Many adults with childhood trauma have not integrated it. When a cult comes around and replaces the original source of trauma with an artificial, socially acceptable social trauma (pedophilia), people are off the hook as far as taking responsibility for examining their past, personal trauma. They cannot grieve their own personal, past wounds and integrate them because they are now chasing a social trauma that someone else has suggested. Their unresolved trauma makes them more susceptible marks. Adults can suffer trauma in their adults years as well. (For example, Hassan said he has just broken up with a girlfriend when Moonies came into his life.). So, teaching kids how to deal with trauma should be part of public education at an appropriate age - sometime during adolescence - 15/16 (depending on the maturity of the individual).
Also, I read some literature from other countries in the world in my 20s. A book, "The autobiography of a dark child" was an autobiography of a young man from French Guinea. He talked about the manhood ritual that all the village boys had to go through in the process of learning to separate from their mothers and become men. The boys had to suffer through the fear and learn to control their emotions. The elders guided them through this process. (Personal opinion but I think every society should still have some kind of ritual for all boys. Boys need this kind process more than girls. But girls also need time together and to learn about themselves from their mothers, aunts and grandmothers.)
The third thing, as humans, we lived in tribes for far longer periods of time than we have in nuclear families. Humans still need to be part of groups. They also need to be part of a larger group (society) where they can also be free to think for themselves without having to adhere to the beliefs of any particular group. We still need face-to-face contact. Trump provided this with his frequent rallies.
We need to be in healthy tribes though. The military has inappropriately taken over the tribal function for men with their forever wars. Women are pulled in so many directions so they don't have time to be in tribes; yet, they also need to be given time to develop and be in them.
The cult of Trump, like other cults, has been able to take over peoples' minds by offering them what society does not: purpose, membership in a group, belonging to a tribe, a community.
So protecting people from cults means repairing of childhood wounds, teaching ways to deal with adult trauma, teaching meditation/spiritual techniques that help to manage/control the emotions and the monkey mind, providing social pathways/rituals from adolescence to adulthood thereby transmitting the values of the larger society. Then, we need healthy groups available for people to join and connect as they choose throughout their adult lives and into old age. All this is easy, possible and costs very little. It would innoculate people from faling prey to drug dealers, cults, political parties, etc.
Greed, money, power and war can dominate the primate mind of less well-developed individuals like Trump, Zuckerberg, Musk. Their main goal is to get to the top of the pyramid and proclaim themselves King of the Mountain. These lower-level primates wish to use others for their own ends. That's where the intellectual assessment that you mention comes in. Know. Instead of simply trusting someone else and their information, ask what is their motivation? What is their aim? How would they benefit? Is this information true? Would it create a healthy or an unhealthy outcome/s for you and/or others? What are the consequences of accepting this information?
Just some thoughts.
I advise my fellow citizens to keep fresh batteries in their BS detector, and always treat it like a precision instrument. The success of the merchants of malice relies upon us being vulnerable. Jim is giving you a present, use it bucko!
For about a month, I smile at strangers and wish them a good morning, afternoon, evening as appropriate and most of them smile back and return the greeting as we go our separate ways. Yes there are some who ignore the smile and greeting and, if there is enough time available before we pass, I repeat it. Best of all, doing that makes ME feel good.
True. I sometimes exert a little more courtesy than usual, holding a door for someone, for example. They usually thank me, but then I make sure they know it was a pleasure for me to be courteous by saying 'you're very welcome', more emphatic than simply saying 'sure' . I can feel a moment of emotional relaxation on their part. Life is frightening now for everyone. Let's let people know that empathy has not been totally destroyed by the sickness running amok across the land.
Also consciously do the same. Something interesting about this. More people are doing considerate things for me, too! :)
Once a young mother was having some difficulty with her son which she addressed. Then I smiled and said "Hello." She looked at me as if questioning why I wanted to say "Hello." I said I just wanted to say "Hi." She also relaxed and smiled back. It's a very little thing but she felt better. And so did I.
We often forget what a great gift a smile is to someone who is lonely, worried, stressed, elderly. It's a great gift to anyone really and it's free. :)
So true, Nancy. These little things instantly change moods and will eventually raise the collective consciousness, so to speak. At some point, we will realize that we really are in this together. FDR helped us understand this and get through a truly horrific, unspeakable time. He almost failed. But he, and his coalition, succeeded. There really is no choice. Evil has only one destiny: self destruction.
They also do a lot of destruction to others until they, themselves, self-destruct. So many innocent people suffer and lose their lives because of capitulation to stupid men with too much power. History teaches this lesson over and over. That's why we have Congress. That's why corporations have boards and managers have meetings.
When power gets consolidated into the hands of one person, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Mao-Tse-Tung forced the peasants to kill all the sparrows in the agricultural fields, and it caused the Great Chinese Famine, which caused 15-55 million people to die from starvation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_campaign
Brilliant essay Jim, you've got to get back on the Thom Hartmann program ASAP. That said, what has frustrated and fascinated me for years,is the Fox channels absolute hold on it's viewers?!! Another head punch for sure. Thanks, Jim, can't wait for round two, and will reStack ASAP 💯👍
How different is this from Scientology?
Jim, I think this model you’ve presented is great. For those with friends or relatives in MAGA, don’t be discouraged if you’ve tried to talk with them and they get defensive. I think it’s important to remember that people in MAGA may have a lot of defense mechanisms that come up if you try to present them with material critical of Trump or the movement. Most cults teach their members to disregard anything that questions the group or the leader. They have phrases they use that are thought stopping (e.g. calling any material critical of the group “spiritual pornography”) and label the outside person as a threat and evil. Also, cult members are reluctant to even look at the material, out of fear of being shunned. Dr. Hassan teaches techniques to approach people effectively and in a non-threatening way, such as having an ongoing relationship with them and asking Socratic questions, appealing to their values and helping them to reconnect with their true self.
I could use a YouTube tutorial on how to do what you just described.
I checked and Steven Hassan does have some YouTube videos with specific strategies on how to engage Trump supporters in a productive manner.
That’s a great idea and I wonder if there’s already something like that out there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fis_97-xvkE
Breaking The Cult of Trump : Steven Hassan, Author, Cult Expert
posted on YouTube six months ago
Not different from Scientology. They call themselves a religion but they are a very fancy cult. Also see anything Steven Hassan, PhD has done like “The Cult of tRump”
hassan is a friend and mentor. wouldn’t understand anything without his work.
dynamics are ALL the same. just they figured out how to package it online.
The Scientology analogy could be useful (if it's apt) to counter those who otherwise dismiss the idea of Trump's cult, especially if there exist metrics or well-regard studies that demonstrate "cult." Not a lot of people are comfortable with the idea of TrumpCult and they need reprogramming, too. For example, I just googled "do americans think scientology is a cult" and immediately got just such a denial via a June 2, 2025 Yahoo!News "article":
This, in fact, is the real satisfaction of the cult narrative: the reinforcement of the fantasy that we who watch are different—better, smarter, and more equipped to hold power and influence—than those who believe. Having spent hours engrossed in the details of being in a cult, we imagine ourselves to have understood a dangerous phenomenon without ever having been subject to that danger. Not only might we glimpse that elusive Secret, we see the invisible wires and sleights of hand and, maybe most importantly, the way it all turns out. We already know that it is doomed. We are the new prophets, gifted with future sight.
This shit's ^^^ gotta stop.
My first cult was kindergarten when I was four years old. I wanted to run away. The second one was Christian church (Protestant). When it came for time alone with pastor for confirmation at age 12/13, I didn't like the fact that he really didn't like my questions. He didn't have answers that satisfied. He seemed to resent that I even had questions. He even looked angry/hateful. Sorry not joining anything that can't be questioned. Left the church. I think most people have experienced cults. Scientology is a horrible cult. I had an acquaintance whose WHOLE FAMILY was captive. She was the only one living free from it; and, she couldn't contact any of her family nor could they contact her.
I was just talking with someone about left brain/right brain last week. This is so important Jim. Thank you for continuing to be the voice of reason!
Interesting comparison - and yes - it’s much easier to insulate oneself against trauma when “you” know why it’s being thrown at “you” and gives one an ability to guesstimate how traumatic it will actually be.