Dr. Alexandra Stein on Terror, Love & Brainwashing – on A Little Bit Culty podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attachment-theory-dr-alexandra-stein-on-terror-love/id1553334816?i=1000544777876
Attachment Theory: Dr. Alexandra Stein on Terror, Love & Brainwashing Society & Culture
A Little Bit Culty podcast – with co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames
Think you’re immune to culty shit? Dr. Alexandra Stein begs to differ. She’s one of the world’s leading experts on ideological extremism and dangerous social relationships, and she makes a very convincing case that under the right set of circumstances almost anyone can be radically manipulated to engage in otherwise incomprehensible and often dangerous acts. In this episode, she joins us to discuss her experience as a former cult member, and the relationship between neuroscience, attachment, and indoctrination.
More about today’s guest: Alexandra Stein, Ph.D. is a social psychologist, writer and educator specializing in cults, totalitarianism and extremism. She is currently a visiting research fellow at London South Bank University and has previously taught at Birkbeck University of London, Westminster University and the University of Minnesota. Dr. Stein is a trustee of The Family Survival Trust, a UK charity working to raise awareness about cults and support those affected. She is the author of two books: Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems, and Inside Out, a memoir of Entering and Breaking out of a Minneapolis Political Cult. Learn more about her work at her official website and follow her on Twitter @alexandraistein ~ The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. ~ A Little Bit Culty is proud to support the #IGOTOUT project, which empowers survivors of cultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at igotout.org ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com.
Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty ~ CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Additional Music Score by Will Retherford
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In the Moon cult a trinity system was used, certainly in Korea in the 1950s and ’60s. It was an effective way of controlling the members. Each had to keep an eye on the others and keep them in line and report up-line.
The Cain-Abel dynamic was also effective. Your leader was your “Abel figure” and you were Cain, and had to suppress or overcome any murderous or other negative feelings. By uniting (absolute obedience) with your “Abel figure” you could restore “Cain” and your “Cain nature”.
Moon assigned “Cain,” “Abel” and “Archangel” positions to nations; the members of those nations had fulfill goals and tasks given to them by Moon. Only in this way could the world be restored.
And Japan was “Eve” or “Mother” to Korea as “Adam”. Japan had to restore the sins of Eve by sending $billions to Sun Myung Moon and his projects.
All these roles or positions were effective means of entrapment of the members.
On joining some members were asked to “sacrifice their Isaac” – to surrender the thing they loved the most (or hand over their money).
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Sensibly Speaking podcast: Terror, Love and Brainwashing ft. Alexandra Stein
With Chris Shelton
It gets more interesting 24 minutes in
Comments: This is an outstanding piece of work that I will go back to several times. It has provided me with a degree of clarity hitherto unknown. Now, what do I do with it?
Some brilliant information, again, thank you. I found the part about separating from ones emotions and not allowing yourself to process them particularly interesting. Having been brought up in a Scientology family, I still struggle with dealing with (“low tone”) emotions.
My heart started pounding just hearing about the “dissociation” scenarios. Thank you for such a salient explanation.
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How totalism works
https://aeon.co/essays/how-cult-leaders-brainwash-followers-for-total-control
The brainwashing methods of isolation, engulfment and fear can lead anyone to a cult. I should know – I was in one.
by Alexandra Stein
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Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Conditions of Thought Reform (1963)
