The entities appearing at false apparition sites use established mind control techniques to ensnare their victims, who are programmed to surrender to the entity without asking questions, spread the messages and isolate themselves from the Christian community. Cults use the same established techniques to recruit members, induce them to stay, and to recruit others to take part in harmful activities. These techniques, also referred to as brainwashing and “thought reform,” are employed by Satan through his false prophets at apparition sites as follows:

1. Gain social control over the person. Cults gain control by getting recruits to perform mental exercises that do not allow them time to think for themselves. The entities behind false apparitions operate in a similar manner by emphasizing excessive prayer and reading thousands of messages. The recruit is programmed not to think, but rather to surrender and obey the instructions he is given, regardless of whether he understands all the premises. The most important task is pray, fast, and spread the messages, but prayers are directed toward the entity and its demands, thus denying that person an authentic encounter with God. In some cases believers are told exactly what to eat and what to wear. They are given prayers to say for each moment of the day. Many are urged not to watch television, attend movies, or socialize with friends other than those in their “circle of light.”

2. Reduce the person’s self esteem. Believers begin to see their own lives as less valuable and meaningful, to doubt the truth of what they have learned in the past, and to feel that the leadership of the group is very powerful and knowledgeable. The entities behind the messages claim the authority of God as they denigrate all humanity and threaten terrible chastisements that will destroy nearly every human life on our planet. The follower is urged not to trust the teaching authority of the Catholic Church or the validity of Scripture, but must surrender to an all-powerful entity who claims knowledge of the future and promises salvation in return for strict obedience.

3. Reduce old ways of functioning, choosing, and behaving. Recruits are encouraged to reject older ways of believing and acting. Because the Blessed Mother is portrayed as a Savior who needs our prayers to give her the power to change the world, traditional notions of Mary must be discarded. The individual must surrender, fast, pray, and spread the messages rather than evangelize and worship within the Church community. If that person obeys, the entity will do everything and nothing else is required of him. This is the presented as the only way to salvation.

4. Induce new ways of functioning, choosing, behaving. In cults, rewards are given for new behaviors, while punishments for failure to conform are meted out. The entities behind false apparitions promise that compliance to their demands will result in a millennial kingdom of peace and that disobedience will lead to the worst chastisements imaginable. Those who obey are graced with signs and wonders and guaranteed salvation, both physical and spiritual. Those who do not are threatened with ostracism, punishment, and eternal damnation. The entity giving the messages alternates praise and love with scorn and punishment to keep the members confused and instill self-doubt.

5. A closed system of logic is used to prevent the recruit from questioning the group’s beliefs or behaviors. If the premises are wrong, so are the conclusions. False messages often contain unrevealed secrets, while errors are buried in thousands of messages. The premise is based on an earthly kingdom that not only clashes with what the Church teaches, but also contains irresolvable fallacies. Followers are assured that a glorious reign of peace will follow chastisements so horrible that the earth will be reduced to a charred, desert wasteland. They are guaranteed salvation and promised a role in building an earthly kingdom in the rubble, with no explanations provided. Scripture is manipulated to lend authenticity to the false premises.

6. A special, non-informed state exists in the mind of the prospective recruit. Specific information that is required to decide whether or not to affiliate with a group is deliberately withheld from prospective recruits. Members may belong to the group for an extended period of time before such information is given to them, if at all. Unrevealed secrets, links to condemned sites, hidden messages, and vast quantities of occult information are unavailable to those who need such knowledge to make an informed choice concerning authenticity. The bishops’ negative declarations are often deliberately withheld from followers or declared invalid. Members are ordered to reread thousands of illogical, meaningless messages, assured they are the same as countless others being delivered worldwide. The most controversial are never made public, or are edited by priests.

7. Loaded Language. The language of cults is characterized by clichés that compress complex ideas into highly simplified phrases. The language is often coded with words that mean one thing for Christians, but have a different meaning in the New Age. For example, the New Age concept of light and darkness is employed to make the listener equate them with the religious concept of good versus evil. As stated in a message from Medjugorje: “In your life you have all experienced light and darkness. God grants to every person to recognize good and evil. I am calling you to the light which you should carry to all the people who are in darkness. People who are in darkness daily come into your homes. Dear children, give them the light!”

In the New Age, “light” is knowledge obtained through gnosis, which comes from the spirit world, while “darkness” is applied to those who rely on blind faith in God. This is followed by a statement that compresses a complex problem into two words, that “God grants every person the ability to recognize good and evil.” In reality, the formation of conscience is a lifelong task that requires the Word of God as the light for our path; we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice.

The third statement is “I am calling you to the light which you should carry to all the people who are in darkness,” which induces the follower to equate “light” with “good” and associate carrying the light to those in darkness with evangelization. A follower then draws the conclusion that one must lead others to experience the initiation process of conversion to the messages, rather than evangelize the gospel message of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

8. Glittering generalities are vague, highly abstract words with positive connotations. Because they can be interpreted in completely different ways, politicians and propagandists use them as a form of mind control. A few examples from Medjugorje are the words “peace, plan, salvation, surrender, message, love, God, faith, suffering, Satan, grace, chosen people, spirit, sin, fruits, witness, peace, light, positive, and enlightenment.” Words found at other sites are “portal” and “matrix.” These words have different meanings for the New Age movement than they do for Christians. Followers are inclined to believe these words have Christian connotations. 

9. Other techniques are over-generalizations, exaggerating negatives, jumping to conclusions, appeals to authority, and logical fallacies based on the threat of force. A few examples are: “No, you don’t know how to love and you don’t know how to listen with love to the words I am saying to you.” The statement charges that those who do not obey the messages do not know how to love. Another example is the statement, “Without prayer there is no peace.” The follower is inclined to believe that prayer must be directed toward the entity speaking and that peace refers to spiritual rest in God. The word “peace,” however, can be interpreted as “law and order,” “harmony,” “non-violence,” “solitude,” or “cease-fire.” In the New Age, the word “peace” is a code word for the era of the Antichrist, the rainbow bridge of peace between Lucifer and man.

For more information about mind control techniques please visit Hypnotism — A Dangerous Form of Spiritualism.