When I decided to reveal the essential structure of AMORC’s First Temple Degree Initiation, I had already decided that ritual was an essential ingredient in most religious mind control cults.

            I also knew that AMORC, unlike most religious cults, especially cultivated the performance of rituals alone in one’s inner sanctum- with exercises and rituals prescribed by their weekly monographs, which all members are supposed to follow religiously.  I called the effect of this type of mind control at a distance, instead of in a group, “remote indoctrination.” To this end, I wrote a somewhat tongue and cheek piece in The Prisoner of San Jose which I called, Pierre S. Freeman’s Declaration of Remote Indoctrination (link to separate page in website with entire Declaration) which was a kind of “how-to” description for developing a religious cult. Here the Article 5:

ARTICLE 5
CONSTRUCT REVERED RITUALS

Create practices for the member like chanting, movements, and concentration on candles that can create a hypnogogic state. Use such devices for ostensibly different purposes but in a context of being provided by a higher, superior or even infallible authority. This will further augment transference as well as suggestibility. These practices, particularly ones like special ritualistic movements or gestures, oft repeated songs or mantras- will enforce more bonding with the cult.  

            To me, although I was, at times, quite active in the Lodges, the rituals were a kind of mind control gravy, an extra jolt of hypnogogic power created to enhance the more than effective cult member programming effected by their monographs. As Steven Hassan says in his BITE model of Mind Control, one strong danger sign of a group exercising control regarding rituals is “Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet.” As stated above, there is much more to rituals than simply spending time with them, however.
            In my next blog, I will describe a bit more of Hassan’s BITE model and how every aspect of it applies to rituals, which will give my visitors a better idea of why I wrote AMORC’s First Temple Degree Initiation (specially illustrated in color for the pleasure of my happily expanding anti-cult fan base)- to show how a ritual serves to support the goals of a mind control organization.