A little while ago, an article in a weekly magazine about a Japanese female entertainer who was brainwashed by a fortune teller attracted the public attention in Japan. I wonder why people can get brainwashed so easily. The word brainwash is always used with a negative meaning. However, I wonder why we hate it so much.
When you only look at the word, it describes the washing of the brain, so it rather sounds like something good as we can clean it. Of course our brain can’t be cleaned like we were washing clothes though. But I wish that we could wash it just like washing our body. Imagine how good we would feel…I really want to do that. Bad memories will be washed away and I will be able to feel better. So, any worry will go away and you can say good bye to your distress. Just looking at the word, “brainwash” it sounds like something good. But I wonder why it is always used with a negative meaning.
It seems that it is because it has something to do with religion. Brainwash=religion=something bad, this equation always stays in our mind. Yes, our mind always thinks in this way. Actually this is a “brainwash”, isn’t it?
By the way, have you heard of “subliminal messages”? These are hidden in a movie or sound with a speed or volume which we can’t perceive and are repeated for the purpose of “giving effect to our subconscious mind”. In short, even though people don’t know it, their mind can get controlled. It’s also a type of “brainwash”, isn’t it?
One day when I was watching a movie, I felt like having a drink from a certain beverage company. This is a typical subliminal effect. In a movie or TV show, a few frames are played in a second. Our eyes can’t perceive each frame individually, but our brain can. Therefore, I got a hidden message and came to feel like having the certain company’s drink.
I think that similar things are happening in our daily life. Our brain is easy to be tricked. If we can get tricked by just watching a TV show and so on, there is no way for us to stay away from it. If a message of “*** is safe” is repeated over and over, we become to trust it. If it’s a major company that we know, it’ll be easier. We just become brainwashed quickly.
I’ve heard that there is another similar thing to subliminal effect which is called “Hammerschlag”. It can make people’s thoughts in their brain go numb by saying the same simple word over and over. I think, when the rhythm is monotonous, our brain gradually become less sensitive. I think that becoming sleepy when we are riding on a train or driving a car along a highway while keeping at the same speed may be similar cases.
As for the beat of a wood block in a Buddhist temple which we hear at funerals, it may have the same effect. It’s actually double effects by both the Buddhist sutra and the beat of the wood block. Well, is that the reason why the religion has something to do with brainwashing…?
But don’t worry. Nature can always help your brain to go back to normal. You know why? Because nature is always a “stimulaus”. It’s not monotonous. It’s great, isn’t it? Well, let’s go out to nature to get out from this society of brainwashing!
