CHAPTER V SUBLIMINALS. SUB-LIM-I-NAL. Adj. Psychol. Perceived below the threshold of consciousness as images, sounds, etc., of too low an intensity to produce a clear awareness. In previous chapters we discussed the mechanism of the mind used to classify incoming information or stimuli as "TRUE" or "FALSE" and the subsequent filing of this categorized information by the sub-conscious. The name of this mental mechanism, or at least, the name we are using throughout this book, is the Censor. We have also discussed the incredible potential for change that is available to us if we are able to by-pass this Censor and to insert instructions, orders, suggestions etc., directly into the subconscious mind. Once so implanted (with an externally provided "TRUE" or "FALSE" appendage), such instructions, orders or suggestions will be acted upon by the subconscious in accordance with a program used to achieve a specific objective. In this case, immortality, Now we are going to examine the additional aids that are available to us to help us to accomplish this insertion, thereby bypassing the Censor completely. The first of these is subliminal manipulation. As far as subliminal perception is concerned, it has always been with us. It has generally consisted of "picking up" scattered bits of information from the surrounding noise pattern encountered all too frequently in contemporary society. This information is usually perceived aurally, although it is possible to receive some visual subliminals as well. Picked up on the very periphery of our range of visual and aural acuity, the chances of this information proving to be of any value is practically zero. Should information be delivered subliminally as part of a carefully conceived enhancement program, the value of subliminals immediately changes from zero to a very high figure. What we are going to discuss here is the value of subliminal perception, achieved through the utilization of modern technological instrumentation to enhance the immortality procedure. The key word here is "enhance". Subliminals are used to enhance the procedure, not to replace it! The value of subliminals and their possible applications have been realized for over a century. Unfortunately, while their value was appreciated, the technology necessary to apply them effectively was lagging! It is only within the last thirty or forty years that small, cheap tape-recorders and the tape cassette have become readily available and these are absolutely essential to the modern researcher. Tape recorders are irreplaceably valueable instruments if we are to provide the consistently accurate repetition that is necessary for hypnotic induction and instruction. Prior to their introduction on the market place, the available mechanisms simply wouldn't do the job. Previous societies have been denied such instrumentation, although for the most part this does not particularly matter. Their use requires the support of a high technology society and one much more advanced in all areas of human knowledge! The ancient Egyptian priesthood were certainly aware of and practiced hypnosis (as part of the immortality process) without the intrumentation available to us. Although I frequently speculate which part of the body they felt they were influencing. Egyptian anatomy for example, held that the liver was the seat of the soul and the brain was supposed to be a simple radiator mechanism whose sole purpose was to cool the blood as it ran over it! Ancient Mesopotamia also felt the liver was the seat of the soul. Yet unlike the Egyptians they possessed a rather extensive pharmacopoeia of over five hundred different drugs, some of which were of mineral origin. It was not until the sixth century BC that the Greeks had identified the proper function of the brain (which was quite an advance) however since at the same time they also believed that good health was achieved by a proper "balance" of the four humors which they felt that the body contained. It should be unnecessary to point out that with this sort of anatomical theorization that in older times the process of attaining immortality was strictly through mental gymnastics as opposed to intrusive surgery leading to internal manipulation or alteration. I'm pointing it out again anyway! To re-capitulate, and introduce a few more important points at the same time! When you examine the factors involved, the solution appears to be simplified by the lack of viable alternatives. So, let's have a last look at the factors: 1. A successful procedure was based upon the ability to bypass the censor and implant an instruction or series of instructions into the subconscious mind. 2. The means of accomplishing this require that the initiate undergoing this implantation be first of all placed in a mental condition wherein the conscious mind (including the censor) is temporarily rendered incapacitated. In a pre- technological society the means of achieving this state of affairs would be limited to the use of drugs or the induction of a hypnotic condition. 3. Hypnotic induction required the participation of a second party to impart the instructions to the entranced initiate. The second party in fact assumed the function of the initiates censor or critical faculty. 4. The time required to achieve immortality through hypnosis and external assistance is not known. It does vary with the individual and the quality of the process being used. Research indicates that the entire process might be completed in one year, certainly within five years. By using modern technology to enhance the process this period should be reduced considerably. Again, this depends upon the individual and the process used. 5. The cost involved in the early days must have been astronomical. This was because of the labor intensive procedures being used and the length of time required for a successful transformation. Then, as now, this would tend to place the acquisition of immortality well out of the financial reach of anyone other than the extremely wealthy or influential. Lets zero in on factor one, the need to bypass the censor. In times with less technological ability than our own the "Whisper Technique" was the only method of repetition available. This consisted of the repetitive imparting of instruction or suggestions to the entranced initiate by a second party who whispered these instructions or suggestions into his or her ear. This was the most simple and straightforward method available. The alternative was through the use of drugs and, unless they had something better then in the way of hypnotics than is presently available, this is somewhat unlikely. True, in ancient Greece, the priestess who served the Oracle at Delphi (actually, this was more of a team effort, with a number of women sharing the duties) was usually stoned out of her mind from inhaling burning laurel leaves prior to making a prophecy. Then, as now, it is probably wiser to stay away from drugs and narcotics while you are tinkering with your internal mental machinery. Half the time no one knew what in hell the priestess was talking about! In a nutshell, in olden times the message or instruction was repeated over and over into the ear of the person undergoing the process. Repetition is necessary until evidence is available that the mind is acting upon the instructions it has received. This required at least one trustworthy person as an assistant. In our own times, a cassette is recorded and through the use of a tape recorder and timers or switches, the instrument repeats a pre-recorded message or instruction into the ear of the initiate undergoing the process with absolute fidelity and with the capability of continuing to do so for an indefinite period of time. Providing only that the subject is in a trance condition, the message is inserted directly into the sub-conscious. Bingo! This need for a mechanical or electrical means of repetition was recognized a long time ago. The obviously desirable ability to conduct the process entirely upon ones own was an incentive to find some method capable of eliminating the second person. The introduction of the phonograph was obviously a step in the right direction, but the cost of making a record specifically for the process was very high. To top it off, those old spring operated machines would only give you one playing of the record before they required re-winding! And boy! Where they ever noisy! Having one of these machines going clunk! Right in your ear, would knock most of us right out of the trance state! Somewhere in the 1920's a talking machine called a Psychophone was introduced to the market. The Psychophone had a smoothed down mechanical system, an extra powerful spring and a built in timer. It worked fairly well, even although it used the old fashioned flat disk records, but even with the extra powerful spring it simply couldn't run long enough to be of any real value. Reel to reel tape recorders were a decided improvement. Some of could hold pretty big reels, which gave a greater repetitive playing time and they could utilize mechanical or electric timing systems. The problem with these early tape recorders was that they were awfully expensive. I used one of them back in the sixties. At first, it woke me up every time it switched itself on, even at low volume. I fixed that by using an under pillow speaker. I was able to get used to someone talking right into my ear in the middle of the night, but only after I had run wires and installed the timing mechanism in an adjoining room. Even a timer clicking into operation was sufficient to jolt me into consciousness. (I should explain that these early attempts did not involve hypnosis. I lived in a pretty isolated location and I could neither find or afford a qualified hypnotist. We were trying to utilize the technique of "Sleep Learning", which was in vogue in the sixties. That involved repetitive instructions into a sleepers ear. We hoped we were bypassing the "Barrier" as the censor of critical faculty was called at that time). The alternative system for those with sufficient money was to purchase a good quality record player with the capacity to play five or six records automatically, one after the other. The records were held on a central spindle and dropped down onto the turntable when the preceding record had concluded. By using a single record containing your own material, taping down the auto switch and incorporating a timer into the circuit you could play your material over and over all night at pre-selected intervals. There were still disadvantages. Recording your own material was very expensive. Additionally, the recording studio would think that you were a mental case when they found out the content of your material! There was no privacy involved in having one of these records pressed for your research. There were, oddly enough, several disk records containing hypnotic material available at this time. I have some of them kicking around still, but they are pretty simplistic when compared with the material now available. One of them, which I never dared to try out, was intended to be played unobtrusively at a party. Theoretically, it hypnotized most of those present and then passed the controls over to you! Once you took control, you could make all your friends look like idiots and seduce the most beautiful girl in the room! Theoretically! How to win friends and influence people! I really don't remember if there was any subliminal material available in those years. I don't believe there was, we concentrated upon hypnotism and adaptations of the then popular sleep learning technique. Not very successfully I might add! The biggest problem was that sleep-learners usually encountered a psychological barrier in their early attempts to utilize the system. As a matter of fact, it actually was called the "Barrier" and it tended to prevent assimilation of the huge quantities of scholastic material that we optimistically proposed to pour into our unsuspecting sub- conscious! This barrier could be overcome with continued application but I believe now that the results of sleep learning were so spotty because the material used was so extensive. I imagine that the trouble in part was due to the fact that the material was not delivered subliminally, you simply attempted to train yourself to sleep through the racket everything made. When subliminal techniques became common knowledge, the situation changed dramatically. Using subliminals the material isn't blasted directly into your sleeping brain! It can be played at anytime, day or night, either visually or aurally. The conscious mind hears or sees nothing, while the sub-conscious hears or sees everything and, with repetition, the censor is bypassed, just as is the case with hypnosis! Probably the best known demonstration of the use of subliminals took place nearly forty years ago. The location was a drive-in theater at Fort Lee, New Jersey. The medium was a movie called The Picnic, starring Kim Novak (sigh!) and William Holden. In this instance the movie theater owner superimposed a message over the playing film. Subliminal repetitions were made for periods of 1/3000th. part of a second at intervals of five seconds. Well below the level of conscious perception, but easily picked up by the subconscious. This particular method is called the tachistoscopic method and it works very well. The message? Oh, yes. It was "DRINK COCA COLA" and "EAT POPCORN". The subliminals ran for a couple of weeks until a local newspaper found out and blew the whistle! Coke sales were up 58% and popcorn was up 18%. Tachistoscopic subliminals are probably the more effective of the two most common applications. The other is the use of audio subliminals, usually on tape cassettes. Although Tachistoscopic techniques are difficult and expensive to use on film or ordinary television, I do have a couple of very practical computer programs that will project a message directly onto your computer screen. If you are working on your computer, you simply don't notice the slight accompanying flicker. This is an absolutely first rate method and one which I strongly recommend. This is a very good place to make an extremely important point. It applies to any type of subliminal. The point is, that knowing the contents of a subliminal audio or video tape, or a subliminal computer program, does not affect its efficiency in relation to its acceptance by your sub- conscious mind. Not one iota! The subconscious mind does not hear the masked or embedded message anyway! Even your own tapes, if you decide to make them, are just as valid as a tape you have purchased without being made aware of the contents! If anyone tries to tell you any differently, they are misguided. Anyway, back to business. An examination of the market indicates that there are a number of companies who are prepared to sell you subliminal tapes, both audio and video, in a number of different configurations. Prices vary greatly, and so, apparently, do the systems employed to make the tape. In essence, audio tapes are manufactured by recording a message on tape and then masking the message by overlaying it with white noise, music, nature sounds or what have you. When such a tape is played, all you hear is the overlay, or masking material, although your subconscious easily picks up the masked message. The trick, of course, is not to make or overlay the message too deeply or even your subconscious won't hear it. Perhaps as a marketing feature, some companies offer time compression, others offer multi-track recording and so on. Techniques such as these allow the tapes maker to record the information and play it back dozens, or hundreds or thousands of times in the same length of real time it takes the message to be read once normally. When these time-compressed or multi-track recordings are heard without the masking material, all that comes through is a blur of sound. An electronic fog! Their producers claim that by compressing a greater number of messages into a smaller time slot, the message is received that much faster and that much more often by the purchaser. There is no evidence whatsoever that these techniques improve either reception or retention. I personally don't have much of an opinion on the value of such claims, but it seems logical that if all I can hear on one of these recordings is an electronic blur, the chances are good that that is all my subconscious will hear as well! Like the man says, however, "Yer pays Yer money and Yer takes Yer chances". Maybe these techniques really do work. I would suggest however, that a well-constructed subliminal message, embedded just below the level of conscious perception provides all that the researcher will require. That goes for audio and video material. And that, dear reader, is the end of the chapter!