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  • Combating Cult Mind Control

  • The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults
  • Written by: Steven Hassan
  • Narrated by: Daniel Greenberg
  • Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (35 ratings)

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Combating Cult Mind Control

Written by: Steven Hassan
Narrated by: Daniel Greenberg
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Publisher's Summary

On November 18, 1978, more than 900 people, including a US congressman, Leo Ryan, died because of cult leader Jim Jones at Jonestown, Guyana. More than 300 were children forced to drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid by their parents who believed they were doing God’s will. 

The techniques of undue influence have evolved dramatically and continue to do so. Today, a vast array of methods exist to deceive, manipulate, and indoctrinate people into closed systems of obedience and dependency. If you are listening to this updated audiobook for the first time, please know you have found a safe, respectful, compassionate place. 

This audiobook can help you protect or regain your sanity, freedom, and health. It can also help you protect others from the use of mind-control techniques. In this 30th anniversary volume, you will find: 

  • New stories of people who fell under the sway of cults and other forms of undue influence but who were able to break free. 
  • New information on the many sophisticated ways that social media is now used for mind control. 
  • Updates on the many types of organizations that use mind control. 
  • Information on the neuroscience behind mind control. 
  • A look at what legislators, courts, mental-health professionals, and ordinary citizens can do to resist mind control and make our world a safer place. 

Sadly, the essential information in this audiobook is still not widely known or understood. People around the world remain largely unprepared for the new realities of mind control. But you are far from helpless. There is a great deal you can do to stay safe, sane, and whole - and to help the people you care about to do the same. And if someone you love is already part of a mind-control group, there is much you can do to help them break free and rebuild their life. This audiobook will give you the tools you need. 

As you listen to this audiobook, you will learn to develop, use, and trust your critical thinking skills; your intuition; your bodily and emotional awareness; your ability to ask the right questions; and your skill at doing quick, useful research. You'll also learn to create a healthy balance of openness and skepticism. As you will see, the entire process begins and ends with discernment. 

©1988 Steven Hassan (P)2018 Steven Hassan

What listeners say about Combating Cult Mind Control

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Raised as a Jehovah's Witness - Very Informative

This book opened my eyes to the tactics of high control and the impact of undue influence. I feel that I can identify these tactics better now and this has empowered me. I am more aware of the prevalence of cults in society and when people are most vulnerable and I am grateful for that. As a former Jehovah's Witnesses elder, I got an opportunity to see the policy letters and read the elder's handbook and I always felt that it was very legalistic in nature. I now understand that many of these policies are designed to control people and regardless of how well-meaning some are, we can't escape the fact that the Bible's commentary on human nature is accurate. "Man will dominate man to his injury."

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So good!

This book is extremely informative. Super easy to listen to. I liked the audio book so much that I bought the paper copy. I have a few friends in MLM groups that might benefit from this book, so if/ when the time is right I’ll pass it along. I highly recommend this book!

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A Must Read

For anyone that is in a religious organization or association with a organization I recommend reading this book. This book helped me see the undue influence that I experienced as a child and into my late 20's from the religious organization that I was a part of. I think that this book should be a mandatory read for anyone who has family or friends or an association with any organization that is religious or otherwise influencial to any degree in their lives because they might not even realize that they are being harmed by the teachings or actions of the group. This is a must read.

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  • Bryan Zingen
  • 2018-10-27

Getting to know you.

This is a must read for anyone. It could help people better understand themselves, their family, their beliefs, and their social networks. this book as advertised, breaks down processes in which external forces impact individuals in clear concise terms that are easily understood. It has a gentile overtone making it possible for anyone of any background to feel comfortable with its message. the only stupid question is the question that is never asked, or reflected upon.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2020-04-06

A great book filled of testimonials and advice

It's a bit long and there are moments in several chapters which are mildly repetitive. It doesn't go into explicit details of any one cult, and delves deepest into the Moonies as this was the one Steven Hassan escaped, but it is well worth the read.

It provides a clear and academic framework to determine whether or not a group is a "destructive cult," the effects of participating in them, advice for how to escape the cult for members and their families, and testimonials of past members and attempts to rescue the victims of these groups.

There is no mysticism in Steven's words and while it focuses extensively on "mind control," it is not in a magical way at all and is grounded in legitimate psychology.

It is definitely essential reading for those interested in this subject, my harshest criticism is that it can be a bit dry at times.

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  • Shandra McClanahan
  • 2019-07-29

a must read for excommunicates everywhere

as a former Jehovah's witness this book is hugely instrumental in understanding what happened to you and how to rebuild

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2019-01-16

Very Insightful

It helped solidify my knowledge that my JW ex-husband has two different identities. I will use this book to keep my children educated.

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  • RGO
  • 2019-02-05

A must read to understand the current tactics, devices and intention behind Mind Control

I stubbles on to this from another book that referenced it.

I had no idea the amount power, wealth, persuasiveness, tactics, deceiving, etc. that combined to shield many, even considered mainline groups & business, that are actually harmful, secretive and are actively the ability to reduce some basic human rights of individuals.

Some of these human rights lean towards the more marginalized groups in society, ie: LGBTQIA.

They create powerful ideologies endorsing and promoting ideas, ie: losing our “Religious freedom” coalitions, organizations and subgroups that seem to be doing good.

But are NOT. They are actually fighting to get laws passed that would protect them from being liable if Mind Control. And hoping to FORCE THEIR PRACTICES on all society.

He gives a great example of the “Religious Freedom” campaign. It’s NOT able the right to choose a religion (or no religion) without interference by the government. (That is what the first amendment does now).

There are restrictions to all freedoms (ie, he offers great examples, “religious snake handling” is against the law because it kills. You have the right to believe but not a practice that will endanger. We have the right of freedom of speech but there’s also the clear and present danger act that retails what kind of speech where and when, using a bull horn at 3 o’clock in the morning is against the law regardless if it’s your personal belief. It infringes on others. At that time, obviously.

He provides models, questions and resources To help one become more successful in combating destructive mine control groups.

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  • ty
  • 2021-10-23

it was alright

it's interesting to me that he would reject cults outright but then support social justice which is basically just another cult...

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  • Brian
  • 2021-05-19

Thought ls from a Behavior Analyst

Reader/listener be warned! You are entering a book that will equip you with skills that will change your world view and help you detect maniplation attempts by dangerous systems.
This book does an excellent job of defining what constitutes a cult and providing information to ensure you are safe from their maniplations. Those organizations, many quite powerful because of their maniplations, will do their best to stop this information. Because of this, I cannot recommend this book enough. My day job is as a licensed behavior analyst. While the area I work in is not directly related to this topic, the reality is that too often the lack of awareness of these issues increases the chances of people coming to harm. Even in my field, where there is licensing and ethics codes, it is essential for customers and clients to be educated in the event that some of these manipulative tactics are applied to them. But the reality is that while that issue is fairly low, that political, economic, and religious cults are increasingly dangerous and prevalent. This book gives you information that can help you. I wish the language was a bit more precise, but that's more for me since in behavior analysis that is a big part of my field. Either way, this book is more precious than platinum!

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2019-08-05

Amazing

Wow! What a great book! I definitely wasn’t aware of how much people are really influenced in the world every day. Whether they know it or not. Whether it’s “good influence” be “bad influence”. This was such a great book with s lot of insight on how to protect yourself & you loved ones from destructive cults. I myself was in a high controlled/destructive group and can honestly say that this opened my eyes to what happens in the subconscious mind & understand how someone who can be considered a “smart person” could easily be roped into these dangerous groups. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! And please, don’t let it end here. Please continue to raise awareness with friends, family & anywhere else that you can. I’ve learned not to be ashamed of being involved in these types of groups. Please don’t allow anyone else to have their lives taken from them.

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  • E
  • 2019-07-27

Important book, misguided policy proposals

Mr. Hassan is indeed an expert in his field and no doubt has helped a great many people. I will only comment on his failure to understand the nation state as a cult by the very same definitions that he gives for all other cults. Nobody anywhere has signed the so-called social contract, and everything the state does comes about by undue influence: violence or threats of violence. Therefore, sadly, Mr. Hassan’s policy proposals are misguided as a result. Further, Mr. Hassan rightly recognizes a great many cases in which the US government failed to act to stop one group or another from infringing on the rights of others (cases of harassment by members of Scientology for ex.) or when the government outright violated the rights of others itself (MK Ultra, for example). Yet for some reason he thinks that exactly the same rights-violating government should be sought out as a supposed trustworthy actor to save us all from relatively much less dangerous cults.

Having said all of this, I still enjoyed the book a great deal. It is an important work for understanding the cult mindset and human influence. I am very glad to have finally read (or listened to) it — perhaps almost as glad to have read Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, and that is to say a lot.

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  • Utilisateur anonyme
  • 2021-03-15

For anyone wanting to understand manipulation

Absolutely useful. I'm an ExMormon and so much of what's inside applies to the LDS church I was raised in. It's eerie how similar manipulative organizations behave. We never see it until we leave.

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