Group approval of required forms of behaviour — newly recruited members of the community speak about their religious experiences in front of the audience beneath approving gazes of the community members.
Bombarding with love — those newly arrived to the meeting are subjected to intensive attention from the part of community members that is accompanied by obtrusive warmth of feelings, demonstrative participation within the life of a newcomer. The purpose of such communication is to create kind of specific micro-climate saturated with emphasized heartiness. In some groups such kind of relationships that contain elements of ostentation are cultivated further.
Of course an individual who leaves such meeting to enter the cruel PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 233
and cold-hearted world feels a need for returning to the community.
Corresponding communication stereotype is formed partially in an unconscious way due to emulation of other community members’
behaviour, while in other part it is done by means of specific psychopractices. It is interesting that sometimes the stereotype formed within the community leads to certain side effects since it is not accepted in other (non-religious) spheres of individual’s communication.
Formation of new role relationships — within the community, like in every developed social-psychological group, they may adopt a certain role model (for instance the model of “fellow-friends”, or the model “the teacher — the disciple” used in the Church of Crist) that is progressively induced to new members at the level of mere emulation (imitation).
Th e available ready-made role stereotypes help to suffi ciently accelerate the process of personal adaptation for they save the time required for unassisted reach for an appropriate role. Profound self-identifi cation with one’staken role results in “circuiting” of adepts’ emotional contacts inside the community.
Group pressure on community members who want to leave is char-acteristicfor Mormons who practice monthly “visiting”, “aiding to” and
“persuading” of a person who decided to leave the community and thus ceased coming to meetings; of the Scientology Church adherents and many others. Such pressure may bear both repressive character — like breaking up emotional contacts between active community members and the person who has left, a kind of emotional silent treatment, and the non-repressive one that is expressed in sincere sympathy shown by community members to the slide, the provisionally lost brother who at the course of time shal come back anyway.
Methods of infusion and suggestion
Th e eff ectiveness of hypnotic infusion is known to be in proportion to two factors: the frequency of mind-setting phrase repeated delivery and the rate of its emotional saturation. Both factors are widely used by mostly al religious systems for induction of required system of beliefs.
Among the hypnosis and self-hypnosis methods we may single out the following ones:
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— choral praying or singing of a song that contains mind-setting phrases. Th e songs performed in course of a meeting are numerous repetitions of suggestion formulas that obviously induce corresponding religious mindsets into one’s unconscious mind. It is also facilitated by rhythmic movements that accompany the singing, modifi cation of melody rhythm and character, polyphonic singing;
— the “three “yes” technique. During the homily the audience is suggested it should express its consent by means of diff erent exclama-tions, for instance, ‘amen’, that due to mutual emotional contamina-tion of the meeting participants become more and more frequent. Th e preacher shal then progressively pass from obvious statements to those of mind-setting purpose.
Methods based upon one’s manipulations
with information
Usage of the language that is loaded with cult meaning, i.e. development of specifi c inner slang of the group, a kind of “neo-language” that is usually based upon diff erent interpretation of common-used words, that thus eliminates intel ectual grounds of independent and critical reasoning.
Filtering of information sourcescomes as screening of the cult adepts from external sources of information that may come in form of a ban on using Internet, watching television programs, and reading literature that goes beyond the cult topics.
Informational overload: a newly-arrived cult member is subjected to intensive informational bombarding with new ideas and concepts that leave his with no time for his own refl ections and information check-up, for its correlation with real situation.
Reframing of generally-adopted religious positions — interpretation of canonic text from the position of the cult doctrine.
Mystic manipulations, i.e. usage of a planned or a staged “spontaneous” situation that the manipulator can assign with “proper” meaning.
For instance the newcomer’s success and troubles are explained by interference of certain forces.
One’s involvement into mythological reality — progressive interpretation of all life occurrences as elements of some charismatic myth.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 235
Methods based upon individual psychopractice
of the cult member
As we have already said in previous sections, psychopractices are available in all known religious systems. Neo-religions are no exception.
Psychopractices used in neo-religious systems have a specifi c feature: they are focused on one’s psyche compliance with inner norms that are approved within the scope of this religion, and in some way it makes them kin to marginal psychopractices that we shal discuss further on.
In addition to abundant store of psychopractices of traditional religions, neo-religious systems are also guided by achievements of psychology of today. Among traditional psychopractices we shall draw: Self-analysis focused on one’s revealing the rate of one’s incompliance with the cult norms and commandments. Such kind of practices is proper to almost every traditional religion, let us remember, for instance, the Christian confession. Th is technique is also used in cults of the day. It is understood that the specifi c set of norms is determined by corresponding cult and it may diff er substantial y in various systems.
Numerous re-reading, learning, making notes and interpretation of basic cult texts. Th is technique that is also wel -known in traditional religions is based upon individual’s conscious entrance into the fi eld of the text so that for every individual’s life occurrence a corresponding quotation shall be found. As an example of this specifi c psychopractice that also contains some elements of mantic system we can bring the practice seen at one of Christian charismatic churches. Should any troubling situation occur, a believer shal open the Bible at random and read the fi rst line that catches his eye; he then shal interpret this line as God’s answer to his question.
Th e practice of vows has been already described earlier.
Among modern psychopractices we should also speak about the practice of immersing somebody into specifi c state of trance by means of using special technical equipment, for instance with help of radiation.
Literature says such practices have been applied by Aum Shinrikyo.
Summing up al above-said, we can make a conclusion that described religious practices are real y meant for making active infl uence upon community members’ psyche. Some of the described methods are far from being characterized as “clear by intuition”. Some of them are 236 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
introduced due to the cult founders’ knowledge of modern psychology methods and basics. However the issue of experimental research studies of the way religion infl uences upon individual’s psyche within the scope of pshychological science is complicated for it raises a number of philosophic, legal and theological questions.
7.2.3. Models of Personal Transformations
in Religious Groups
Upon analysis of cultural and anthropological value of religious systems it is very important to understand the character of intrapsychical modifi cations that they bring.
Today experts conventionally distinguish between the following models of intrapsychical modifi cations resulted from manipulations.
1. Th e model of “personal doubling” was off ered by R.J. Lifton in his work “Th ought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism” [390]. Its core essence is the fol owing: when a newly-recruited person is subjected to manipulative techniques his “self” splits up and in his psyche there forms another meaningful part of his personality that complies with new requirements of the group. Th e new “self” acts like an independent “self” eliminating eventual intrapersonal confl icts that are caused by incompliance of accepted requirements with former mode of individual’s life. It is interesting that the authors of this concept consider this state to be conceptual y diff erent from the split of consciousness that is characteristic of schizophrenia and some other disturbances of mind. In particular, in case of “self” doubling” both personalities know about each other.
Elaboration ofthe model makes one able to explain the phenomenon of religiosity mobility. Having once emerged, the “religious” sub-personality may proceed with growing due to its needs that are proper to “common” personality, in particular those of cognition, and it shall result in believers’ “jumping” from one religious community to another one that is characteristic of the religious world of today.
However we should emphasize here that the theory of personal doubling was developed for describing processes that happen to an individual when he appears in a “totalitarian” sect, and thus the off ered PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 237
model is over-dramatic. Moreover, in the world of today manipulative methods are applied by practical y al religious systems, that is why the verge between “destructive” and “non-destructive” cults is very conventional. Besides, in scope of this model it is diffi cult to explain a number of religious phenomena like:
— quick “initiation” — there are many cases known when individual turned into adherent of this or that religious system within rather short period of time under conditions of restricted communication with system representatives; in this case there is neither time nor chance for generating the “second” personality;
— it is very diffi cult to “de-program” the victims of some religious cults. It is known that they did not manage to eliminate personality disturbances by fol owers of the White Fel owship, while Lifton’s model assumes that the “main” personality remains unaff ected by religious cults;
— in scope of this model it is diffi cult to explain “superfi cial” religiosity though it is this very type of religiosity that prevails among common people.
2. Th e regressive model. Some authors have observed that many initial relationships inside the cult are directed at individual’s returning to states that are close to childish ones [298]. Th is is achieved by means of either creating for an individual the atmosphere of unconditional ap-preciation, for instance bombarding with love, or through performance of paternal functions by a leader of cult organization, his undertaking — at least nominally — of responsibility for lives of the cult followers. One may easily notice that such techniques are close to the method of “therapeutic regression” that is used in psychotherapy and takes individual’s psyche back to the level of development that is characteristic for childhood years. Due to applied methods of dynamic therapy this is fol owed by rearrangement of individual’s personality within the process of his communication and progressive relations with the therapist, for the individual transfers onto him the image of a father. Here the fi nal stage of the therapy — the separation phase — plays a major role since it is to result in patient’s getting used to live without emotional dependence upon father-therapist and thus in his getting prepared to enter his “adult” life.
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Many totalitarian cults use methods of similar kind; however they deliberately omit the fi nal stage of the operation thus making the adept dependent from the leader.
Th e regressive model explains the fi rst and second phenomena among those that Lifton model was not able to explain. However, since it brings al cases to interpersonal relationships, this model cannot interpret the nature of religious experiences; moreover, this model indirectly implies impossibility of inner development for an individual within religious system, and this assumption is rather diffi cult to agree with.
3. Th e frustration model was formulated by W. Reich [202] for the purpose of explaining any kind of religious phenomena as wel as the eff ects of obedience in totalitarian societies and systems. Th e core of this model is the fol owing: the form of behaviour required by the system is generated by means of additional neurotization of the individual due to restricting some basic needs (usual y sexual ones) and providing the individual with approved form of relieving accumulated stresses.
Th e fol owing cycle comes as a typical example of such form of impact: a ban — pangs of consciousness (due to actual or supposed breach of the ban) –a confession that in symbolic form relieves one from pangs of guilt.
4. Th e charismatic model was advanced by the author [254] and is based upon the idea that religious emotions originate from mystic experience and the state of confi dence (W. James’ terminology). Moreover, mystic experience and experience of altered states of consciousness comes as a source of religious emotions not only for the individual who has experienced them but also for his fol owers and people around him, thus creating the charisma required. It is true that mostly all known religions were founded or subjected to major reformations by people who used to enter religious trance and had wide mystic experience. Moreover, the state of confi dence, like al other elements of charisma, possesses some kind of substantiality (similar phenomenon of “substantiality” of ruling authorities was studied by M. Weber [37]).
Th e substantiality of the state of confi dence is expressed in its ability to pass from some people to other people due to phenomenon of
“contagion”. Th is is the way the “apostolic eff ect” is explained: people PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 239
in surrounding of religious community leader — the one who has his personal religious experience — usually have extra charisma and “the state of confi dence” even in case they do not have such experience of their own and did not possess any personal charisma prior to their coming into the community (sometimes they lose it after leaving). Th is also gives explanation to the “spiritual inanition” that many preachers who have experienced few states of trance and had restricted mystic occurrences have by the end of their lives.
Th is theory is wel proved by the fol owing observations. Th e number of people in charismatic community depends only upon the leader and does not depend upon the core of his doctrinal statement. Th ere are cases known when leader was dismissing his old community, was establishing the new one and was even changing his dogma, yet the total size of his community remained approximately the same. Substantiality of religious feeling also brings us to the following conclusion that is confi rmed in practice: the more numerous and organized the community is, the more mediators there are between its founder and common parishioners, the less intensive are religious occurrences that are experienced by the community members, and vice versa. Hence comes the answer to the second question from the chapter initial lines: about correlation between manipulative and natural factors within the process of community formation. Personal factors,fi rst of all the rate of leader’s charisma that comes as an essential provision, are more important at early formation stage. Manipulative techniques become necessary for “basic” levels of religious succession when natural apostolic eff ect slackens.
In this way charismatic model gives a good description of religious emotions’ source and foreshows a number of religious life group phenomena, yet it pays little attention to the mechanisms of intrapersonal modifi cations. In addition to this, none of the models drawn enables to describe phases of individual’s engaging into the cult group activity while this issue comes as a mostly important one for choosing the strategy of exit-consulting (the system of psycho-therapeutic means directed onto helping an individual out of psychological dependence upon religious community). Th is problem is successful y solved by the model of personal rearrangement that the author has advanced in his work [225].
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5. Th e model of personal rearrangement. Many authors think that in totalitarian cults the process of neophyte socialization diff ers from traditional modes of socialization. Nevertheless there are some social y accepted analogues that simulate neophyte’s being in a totalitarian system: recruits’ training in army, one’s being in the war, prisons, concentration camps etc.
Basing upon results of investigations performed in such systems we may create a reference model of individual’s socio-psychological adaptation to such conditions. In this way, in the works [225; 233] we show that the process of involvement into a new cultural environment and one’s social and psychological adaptation within it are linked to rearrangement of a personality. It is aimed at minimization of intrapsychical tension caused by a confl ict between the man and the new environment, for instance, frustration of some individual’s basic need, incompliance of real situation with the one expected, by resistance to requirements of the environment and by other factors.
Th e following processes may be referred to basic intrapersonal modifi cations:
1) modifi cation of hierarchy of the main and secondary motives; 2) modifi cation of mindsets and dynamic stereotypes; 3) emergence of defense mechanisms;
4) generation of transfers;
5) modifi cation of individual world picture.
Upon analysis of performed trials’ results it was shown that this type of psychological adaptation is a process that consists of many stages. Each stage is mainly related to adaptation to one of stress-producing factors and is characterized by usage of specifi c mechanism of psychological adaptation. Th e following factors were progressively emerging as the stress-producing ones: bans and restrictions; non-realized need for free communication; instability in carrying one’s point for the fear of hardships that may appear on one’s way to achieving the goal; inability to overcome restrictions on the way to one’s self-actualization; unsatisfi ed aspiration for setting emotional bonds; the need for overcoming the distance that separates one from people around him.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 241
Each corresponding stage is characterized by certain mechanisms of adaptation: defensive aggression, regression and childish desire to please, hyper-active identifi cation with new social role, search for emotional contact with people around and for a suitable social role within a micro-social group, “leaving the big world” into the realm of intragroup and friendly relationships.
In their essence the mentioned mechanisms of adaptation are kin to corresponding defense mechanisms yet there are considerable dif-ferences between them. Th e function of adaptation mechanisms is not only to bring intrapsychical tension to minimal rate, but also to open up possibilities for further modifi cations of personality. If selected adaptive form of behaviour results in stress relieve, it shall be fi xed in permanent form. Otherwise one shal start looking for another form of adaptation.
Th e drawn stages may certainly vary due to the fact that diff erent cult systems use diff erent sets of stress-producing factors and manipulative techniques; however the basic conclusion of stage-by-stage rearrangement of personality seems to be reasonable.
In this way, despite diff erences between the models, each of them makes it possible to consider its own range of issues of religious life and has its certain affi rmations.
When using the model of personal rearrangement one may make another important conclusion that at fi rst thought seems to be a paradox. In their application of methods meant for manipulation over one’s consciousness religious cults of the day achieve goals that absolutely every religion is striving for — rearrangement of individual’s personality, bringing it to some certain sociotype. Specifi c character of modern religious systems is explained by psychological peculiarities of modern culture, fi rst of all prompt change of sociotypes, cultural diversity and parallel existence of many adaptive sociotypes. All listed peculiarities result in situation when “religious personality” is formed not within the childhood and for the rest of one’s life — as it happens in traditional societies — but in one’s mature years, beingavailable for its further modifi cations in this way coming in compliance with requirements of modern culture.
242 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
7.3. PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS PSYCHOPRACTICES
IN MARGINAL SUB-CULTURES
Th ere is a class of psychopractices that accomplish the tasks that are proper to modern society and are interesting from theaspect of culturology. Th ese are psychopractices that exist within the scope of various subcultures, including those marginal ones. In fact usage of the word “marginal” needs to be explained. Th e defi nition was formulated at the period of “cultural monotony” when one could easily tell between “right”, “traditional” sub-cultures and some other ones that were situated at the periphery of corresponding society. Th e state-of-the-art society has made the dichotomy “traditional” — “marginal” a rather conventional one, that is why we shal relate the term “marginal subculture” to a subculture that is referred to a smal group of people.
Psychopractices used within such kind of subcultures shal be referred to as “marginal psychopractices”.
Th e main feature of marginal subcultures is that they help to form a specifi c sociotype that is suitable for individual’s comfortable existence within this very subculture.
Th e issue of marginal psychopractices has been mostly untouched in modern scientifi c literature due to restricted character of the subject, but it is worth a profound investigation. Among subcultures of the day that contain the tradition of psycho-practicing there are: the psychedelic subculture, the subculture of hippie and punks, criminal subculture of cannabis-takers (the Rasta movement), the majority of neo-religious communities and political groups of neo-radical creed (for instance, the Skinheads) and some others. We should say that the nature and function of psychopractices in such subcultures is the same as those within macro-culture: their existence is necessary for self-reproduction of corresponding cultures.
Psychological experience received in scope of marginal psychopractices is conventionally considered to be chaotic and without any system set. However this is not true. Let us for instance take a look at the subculture of cannabis-takes (or Rasta as they cal themselves). Th e integrity of this subculture is revealed not only in existence of ideology, but also in religious system of beliefs, for instance: cult worshipping of the god Jah, emergence of specifi c mythology linked to cannabis, ritual PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 243
clothing like Rasta four-colored berets and rastas (hair-entwined colored threads), cult music and even specifi c system of commandments.
Th is subculture is characterized by instil ing a specifi c range of psychological features, the main of them being the “relaxed state” — the ability to live for the moment and to rejoice the things that you have.
“Jah protects those relaxed” — this is how aRasta saying goes.
On the basis of actual material set by T.B. Shchepanskaya [352] and author’s own observations we may single out several types of marginal psychopractices that are ritualized in corresponding subcultures.
Psychopractices of “initiation”. Practically all marginal subcultures subject to ritualization the process of attaching new members.
We know wel about corresponding rituals in subcultures of prison or army, about initiations in youngsters’ gangs, let alone corresponding religious rituals. Yet even in Rastafari movement there exist specifi c rituals of fi rst initiation, and though they are not fi xed they are reproduced in a mostly accurate way. One starts to understand the meaning of these rituals if one remembers that according to modern research results the very fact of getting into altered states of consciousness during one’s fi rst take of “light” drugs like cannabis, as well as the directivity of these states, completely depends upon pre-sets received by an individual and upon general emotional background that accompanies the act of taking. Th at is why in corresponding subculture these procedures are highly ritualized.
In this way psychological essence of initiating psychopractices lies in attributing additional emotional value to the fact of being within corresponding subculture and in generation of emotional preset, basic emotional background that the new sociotype shal be formed upon.
Sometimes the procedure of initiation comes as a bonus since it additional y enables one to comprehend the principles of corresponding culture in a more profound way by means of forcing the neophyte to concentrate upon them. For example the one who wants to become a Wicca adherent (one of schools in the witchcraft of today) should spend 81 days copying by hand the ritual book of his teacher. Similar techniques are also used by some political systems.
Th e eff ect of initiating procedure is secured by psychopractices of self-identifi cation.
244 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
Psychopractices of self-identifi cation. As it is seen from their title, these psychopractices are meant for one’s identifi cation with some certain subculture and separation from features that are proper to other subcultures. Here we should note that self-identifi cation does not come as a one-time act but as a permanent process of developing signifi cant features that continues within the whole period of individual’s staying within the subculture. One’s wearing diff erent symbols, specifi c clothes