What do most salesmen, politicians, bankers, speculators, economists, newsmen, casino managers, fairground workers, conmen, magicians, hypnotists, trendsetters, admen, scam artists, public relations officers, lawyers, police interrogators, military commanders, spies, charismatic religious leaders, fund-raisers, and fashion designers all have in common? They know something about how the mind is conditioned to work that you don’t know, and they take full advantage of it. As the famous comedian and magician Teller puts it, “A good conjuror exploits the human compulsion to find patterns, and to impose them when they aren’t really there.”

If we, the unsuspecting victims, are never aware of this subtle yet extremely powerful psychological manipulation, the game is not fair, and we virtually always fall for whatever scheme is being promoted—whether it is starting a new war on the enemy-du-jour, or buying into an unaffordable mortgage. It would be like organizing a survival contest, and throwing the contestants, naked, in a cage full of famished lions – they would have zero chance of survival, barring a Daniel-like miracle. If on the other end we educate ourselves about the way these people use increasingly persuasive tools to manipulate our own internal imagery in order to sell their message, product or service, the playing field is leveled, and we can dance our way through the twists and turns of the selling game, freely and joyfully.

According to the teachings of Yoga and Vedanta, this creation is all a game of maya, or cosmic delusion. To free ourselves from its clutch, knowledge is essential. And what better way to begin than to understand precisely how our mind is conditioned to believe, perceive, and react in very predictable ways.

In this section we will explore some of the most commonly used mind-ypnotizing techniques used by skilled compliance professionals. Study them, learn to recognize when they are being used on you, and exercise self-defense to free your mind!