A core feature/bug of the human mind (all of us) is that the intellect operates IN SERVICE TO, the emotional agenda.
By “emotional agenda”, I am referring to the following major constructs or patterns:
- identity and sense of self
- worldview and strategies for tangible safety
- habits of emotional regulation
You can think of your emotional-mind as an AUTOPILOT, tuned to repetitively fly back to those home-bases … I call this the deep drive for “homeostasis preservation”
Any experience in the world (including manipulation by a cult leader), that aligns with or bolsters those agenda’s will get ready cooperation from BOTH halves of your brain.
- First, your emotional brain will say: “this is a good thing”
- And then, it will activate your intellect to construct a supporting case for continuing down this path. And like a good soldier, your intellect will follow orders and find all measure of evidence to help you rationalize that this is “right”
This happens to ALL OF US … it’s one of the oldest and most determined/formidable programs installed in the human mind by millions of years of evolution.
If people truly understood how prone they are to this process, and how frequently it occurs (invisibly) in our own lives, every one of us would be asking the question:
- “What features does my brain have in common with the people of Jonestown Guyana (Jim Jones and the People’s Temple)??
And the answer is: A LOT!!
To answer your question, immunity comes from deep and ongoing introspection … you have to discover what dogma your unconscious is guarding, in order to recognize and anticipate and see the forces of motivated-cognition, emotional-reasoning, and rationalization.
You were once a 5 yo child. Rediscovering what mental, emotional, and psychological strategies that child employed, to feel safe in this world, is your best defense against this natural human vulnerability.
Your second best strategy is to KEEP TESTING your models of reality and logic by posting your authentic views on Quora, and courageously facing the criticism, backlash and debate.
People who disable comments, block dissenters, and deny hard questions are the MOST susceptible to being manipulated again and again. By imagining they are protecting themselves from something, they are actually making themselves weaker and more fragile.
Dewey Gaedcke’s answer to What are the benefits of seeking therapy?
Dewey Gaedcke’s answer to How do you teach people accountability and to stop being a victim?
A good book on this subject is: The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World: McGilchrist, Iain: 9780300188370: Amazon.com: Books