Keeping busy

Techniques > Conversion > Keeping busy

Every minute of the day | And into the night | See also

A very simple method that groups use to retain their members is very simply to keep them busy.

Every minute of the day

The people in the group have their days planned out for them, such that they have hardly a moment to themselves during which they may think about leaving of disobeying.

This work is often physically or mentally exhausting. When they are not actively doing things, they may be required to listen to the leader or senior members going on at great length, possibly for hours, about the values of the group, the badness of the world and so on. This not only keeps them busy, it also wears them down and leads to them accepting the word of the group.

Another variant is to require the members to learn long tracts from group texts or learn to perform elaborate rituals. It need not make any particular sense.

And into the night

What many of us call 'night' can also be a period during which people are kept busy. Group members may go to bed late and/or get up early. Groups may also wake people up at various times during the night for assorted rituals, from prayer to 'important revelations' from the leader. There may even be requirements for all-night vigils that effectively jet-lag those who are subjected to them.

Disturbing sleep is a particularly effective method of creating mental and physical exhaustion. Our sleep is characterized by periods of deep and light sleep. This is particularly disorienting if we are disturbed during the periods of deep sleep. This is known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, as our eyes move under our eyelids whilst we are dreaming - a process in which our subconscious appears to sort out our experiences and ready us for the day to come.