Give it a thumb
Subliminal Programming
Most audio subliminal reprogramming tapes offer verbal suggestions recorded at a low volume. The oldest audio subliminal technique uses a voice that follows the volume of the music so subliminals are impossible to detect without a parametric equalizer. A newer technique is to psycho-acoustically modify and synthesize the suggestions so that they are projected in the same chord and frequency as the music, thus giving them the effect of being part of the music. Although the suggestions are being heard by the subconscious mind, they cannot be monitored with even the most sophisticated equipment.
If I can easily research these techniques, I can only imagine how sophisticated the technology has become with unlimited government or advertising funding and I shudder to think about the propaganda and commercial manipulation that we are exposed to on a daily basis. There is simply no way to know what is behind the music you hear. It may even be possible to hide a second voice behind the voice to which you are listening. I never work, think, nor meditate with background sound from a radio, television or music CD.
The series by Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D., on subliminals in advertising and political campaigns well documents the misuse in many areas, especially printed advertising in newspapers, magazines and posters.
The big question about subliminals is: do they work? I guarantee you they do. Well known are the results of such programs as the subliminals behind the music in department stores. Supposedly, the only message is instructions to not steal: one East Coast department store chain reported a 37 percent reduction in thefts in the first nine months of testing. I have noticed one big box food supermarket, which has the words, "Clean, Fresh and Good" wriitten in neon lights on the ceiling above their store entrance.
A 1984 article in the technical newsletter, "Brain-Mind Bulletin," states as much as 99 percent of our cognitive activity may be "non-conscious," according to the director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Psycho-Physiology at the University of Illinois. The lengthy report ends with the statement, "These findings support the use of subliminal approaches such as taped suggestions for weight loss and the therapeutic use of hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming."