The Association Filter
The data received must be classified, sorted, or otherwise organized for it to have meaning. This process is called the Association Filter. Unlike the other filters, the Association Filter heavily interacts with the subconscious and the right brain. The right brain differs from the left in that it is concept orientated while the left brain is detail orientated. A way of expressing this is the old saying “He can’t see the forest for the trees”. In this example, the trees are the details which the left brain will focus on; however, it is the right brain that connects the details and comprehends the concept of a forest.
Left brain and right brain thinking also differs. Left brain thinking is very linear, while the right brain thinking is concept orientated and makes relevant connections between seemingly disconnected pieces of information. One description that I favor is to describe the right brain as being strategic and the left brain as tactical. What this means is that the right brain provides the direction and the comprehension while the left brain provides the execution plan. This is a perfect pairing of capabilities that evolution has brought to bear in the human mind. Indeed history has shown that very few problems cannot be overcome when the two halves of the brain work together in their natural manner.
It is important to understand the difference in the way the two halves of the brain function because the Association Filter serves and supports the right brain. In a free thinking human, data will be sorted based upon possible relevance to items within the held world view as well as connections to other apparently disconnected data. Any one piece of data can have numerous possible connections in the mind of a free thinker, each holding a unique possibility with a unique line of reasoning. People functioning this way will have the liberty to connect and disconnect the relevance of data in a fashion controlled only by the limits of the individual imagination. This would be a real problem for someone seeking to control and direct others because it would be almost impossible to get away with a deception or manipulation for any significant amount of time. It is not enough to control the data when people have the capability to create alternative connections and therefore alternative lines of reasoning or explanations to the meaning of any given data. Control can only be maintained when the lines of reasoning and the meaning of the data to individuals can be controlled with predictable results. Right brain functionality makes this outcome all but impossible, and therefore long term control impossible unless the functionality can somehow be disabled. Unfortunately, a procedure has been developed such that the right brain can be all but removed as the strategic center of our lives.
Modern education is focused on this procedure quite intensively. Using a system of social reward and punishment, repetitive training, and a general discrediting of Right Brain Activities, students are taught to “reason” in an exclusively linear manner. Logical and deductive reasoning is what they call it. Children are taught to limit their imagination on the possible meaning of any data to certain permitted lines of thought. Right brain connections that disagree with the conclusions provided by “experts” are harshly criticized and the student is both socially and in some cases even quite literally punished for making them. Children are taught from a very young age that thinking that deviates from the opinion of experts reveals “flaws” within themselves, rather than in the opinion of these “experts”. Over time the child’s need to adapt to fit in and avoid the emotional trauma of being an outcast, they learn not to form judgements of their own, but instead adopt those provided.
Education is exclusively focused on left brain training, as well as demonstrating that right brain activities are useless and somehow inherently flawed as described in the preceding paragraph. Intuitive reasoning holds no place in the modern education system and is disregarded or punished as foolishness. So drowning a person in linear reasoning, repetition, and using a social reward and punishment system will turn out students that it is literally impossible to make the intuitive leap that there is greater meaning or alternative interpretation to the data they are permitted to have.
While students are educated to turn away from using right brain activities, those activities are never the less still present and will still effect the direction of the line of reasoning the linear left brain. Because this under developed and discredited function exists, it can be easily targeted for manipulation. People are conditioned to accepting direction, both consciously and unconsciously as long as the direction comes from a “permitted” or “Authorized” source. This manipulation is nearly exclusively targeting the unconscious mind. One very common way this is done is through word and image association. Take the following meme that I pulled from a Facebook post:
Not all Black People are Violent
It isn’t true that all White People are Racist
Most Cops are the Good Guys
Many would read this and think this is a positive message, however it is not. Each line of the meme has two components, a concept and a concept description. This works to the subconscious mind in much the same way of verbs and nouns. The reality is that this is a carefully crafted message to the right brain. Note the carefully placed word associations
Not all (Black People are Violent)
It isn’t true that all (White People are Racist)
Most (Cops are the Good Guys)
Indeed the statements in the brackets match those as displayed on mainstream media sources and despite what appears on the surface as an opposing way of thinking, this meme actually reinforces the opposite message. Try reading each line again one at a time. As each line is read what actual image appears in your mind?
Not all Black People are Violent – Does this create an image of friendly, peace loving black people gathered together? Or does is create and image of black people committing acts of violence?
It isn’t true that all White People are Racist – Does the image that comes to mind is one of white people who embrace diversity or is it an image of rich white people conspiring against people of color?
Most Cops are the Good Guys – Is your image for this one of police beating handcuffed citizens who made them angry or of honest clean cut officers who protect and serve?
The process to achieve and maintain this point of view is actually pretty simple. The first step to introduce a concept. This is most effective if introduced during education, but it can be part of a movie plot or even a TV advertisement. It is NOT necessary that an individual agrees or even believes in the concept entered if the concept is introduced as part of a larger message. In this example we have three conscious messages targeting two large segments of the public, Black and White Americans. Because the larger conscious message holds data agreeable to each reader, the message is permitted to pass the ARC filter. If you are a Black American, you find the first line acceptable because the individual reading it is not likely a violent person and most other Black Americans they know are not violent. The same goes for a White American, since most readers are not racist nor do they really know any white people who are. Once accepted into the process, the data is broken down into concepts and associated or grouped based upon relevance. Each line of the message contains a concept and a concept description.
Not all – Concept description
Black People are Violent – Concept
It isn’t true that all – Concept description
White People are Racist – Concept
Most – Concept description
Cops are the Good Guys – Concept
Despite the concept description, the concepts have been introduced into the target population’s world view. Mental images that hold emotional connections have been created for each line of the meme. Once again, with control of the context and content of the media messages it will be simple to provide data that will be automatically grouped with each of these concepts. Additionally, images of situations stimulate the concepts as well. Imagine a movie clip showing a white old woman being afraid in the subway at night because three roughly dressed young men got on the train. Before being introduced to these concepts the audience would interpret the reason for the women’s fear was because of the way the men were dressed. After the introduction of the concepts, racial factors that didn’t exist before will now be present. Black American viewers would now interpret the old woman’s fear as being motivated by racism (White People are Racist), while White American viewers would interpret her fear of the men to be motivated due to the alleged violent nature of black people (Black People are Violent). In effect with the planting of these concepts, you have created tension and distrust across racial lines that didn’t exist before. Additionally you have also created doubt or even strong disbelief of data demonstrating misconduct of police. Keep in mind this was one of those Facebook posts that ends up being shared again and again without anyone even wondering about the source. Now that the impact is understood, an interesting question should be; who wishes to spread disharmony across racial lines, but also wants everyone to trust the police? More in line with the discussion, as the reader do you hold one or more of the views in the meme? If so, do you have any real idea where that belief or attitude came from?
The same concept is done using images, however, to a much greater effect since humans are powerfully visual. Huge amounts of data can be transmitted through visual images through both stills (Pictures) and movies. Just like with the text based message, the images are designed so the audience can relate to the seemingly innocent main message, while introducing new concepts or reinforcing previously introduced topics. These messages in many cases can actually be identified quite easily. When you watch a TV “program” or a movie, look for concepts or messages that do not contribute to the story plot. These are usually situations that provide no added value to the story line, and if anything seem oddly out of place. These can be political messages passed off as conversation between characters on the show that don’t have relevance to the story line. Other more common, yet less easily spotted is characters engaged in activities irrelevant to the store line. One recent example I saw was a TV series where the story line was about teenage kids who are actually of alien origin struggling between using their powers and having to hide who they are in order to survive. One of the primary “sub-messages” was the hyper-sexualization of the teenagers especially the young girls. How can one tell? Easy enough. During the show the young girls are frequently exposing themselves in just their in undergarments. The key aspect that shows this as a “sub-message” is the unnatural excuses and situations which depart from what would be found in real life in AND that it also provides no added value to the plot. Deeply programmed individuals may find it difficult at first to accomplish this but through time and practice these “sub-messages” will become apparent should one try and identify them.
To obtain and maintain mindfree one will not only need to protect themselves from this form of messaging by identifying it as they see it, but they will also need to identify the shaped and targeted messages already delivered to their world view. This is difficult for an individual to do because truth is always measured against their held world view. What if the world view held by the individual was already built on misinformation? What if most, if not all, the concepts a person believes and holds dear are built upon deception and miseducation? Then the only data they would accept as true would be more misinformation. Quite a catch 22 isn’t it? For an individual to become mindfree they must first accept that their interpretation of reality or world view is a lie.
