"The Mind Possessed" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

_Battle for the Mind_ presents a model for the physiological processes behind dramatic religious or political conversions and brainwashing based on the experiments of the Russian neuro-physiologist, I. P. Pavlov. Pavlov conducted experiments on dogs and found "equivalent" (in which the brain gives the same response to both strong and weak stimuli), "paradoxical" (in which the brain gives a response to weak stimuli but not to strong stimuli), and "ultra-paradoxical" (in which the brain gives a positive response to weak stimuli and a negative response to strong stimuli) behavior patterns present in the dogs under different conditions. From his experiments, he concluded that all dogs have a "breaking-point". Using these results, William Sargant (who worked with patients suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms during the war) examines the phenomena of religious conversion and persuasion as well as brainwashing. Sargant conjectures that similiarly, all humans have a "breaking-point". The book includes discussion of war victims, religious and political conversions (especially emphasizing the techniques of Wesley in his mass conversions of people to Christianity), possession and rhythmic dance, brainwashing in ancient and modern times, as well as the eliciting of confessions. Much food for thought is presented as the author retells the stories of various individuals who have undergone drastic conversions or who have exhibited various forms of "paradoxical" behavior under the presence of sufficient stressors. The discussion of confession is particularly interesting, in that it reveals that often the interrogator becomes just as deluded as the confessor may be. In a world in which the masses are continuously bombarded by propaganda from all angles and the government, where cults are able to seize possession of individual minds and checking accounts, in which brainwashing takes place in totalitarian states, and in which the average person at any moment may be exposed to severe stressors, it is most important to study the human brain and the physiological processes behind conversions. The book is not reductionistic, the author allows the possibility of an external force or power to be the causal agent of any conversion. William Sargant's study will remain a classic for those of us who worry about the effects of political and religious propaganda and modern day stressors.

Robert Graves scholars claim that Graves "Englished" (that is, rewrote) this book for Sargant, which might help explain how such a complex subject ended up getting explained so clearly. Graves's involvement might also explain how Sargant was able to draw evidence from such an incredible range of history to explain his basic thesis. The result is an excellent book for psychologists and also for historians. What do these things have in common - Methodist sermons, ancient Greek mysteries, Jesuit training, battlefield fatigue in WWI and WWII, Voodoo ceremonies, rock and roll dancing, and the flood that almost killed Pavlov's dogs? They all show that under severe and/or prolonged stress, the mind can change radically, profoundly, and with lasting results. In all cases, Sargant concluded, it's a manifestation of a "normal" psychological process by the brain of accommodation to circumstances, which under severely abnormal circumstances can result in very surprising and strange accommodations indeed. When the mind is in such a "wiped" state, it can be reconstructed in many ways. Brainwashers, Sargant shows, use the state to get people to do things they normally wouldn't consider. A compassionate psychologist, however, can use this state to genuinely help a person recover from the trauma. Or, as in many religious conversions and "mystical" experiences as far back as ancient times, prolonged stress can actually be used therapeutically. Sargant clearly speaks from a great range of professional experience. He's not speculating.

If you've read Graves poetry, much influenced in the early stages by horrific personal experiences on World War I battlefields, this collaboration has something poignant about it. According to Sargant, Graves convinced him to write the book and it's easy to understand Graves's enthusiasm for what Sargant had to say. The result is an important (and also very readable) book.

This is one of very few books that I have read twice, and like several previous reviewers it would be very high on my list of essential reads. The first time I read it was soon after it was published. I was in my late teens, and it was a friend's recommendation. It made little immediate impact on me, but as time when by its resonance gave me insights into life changing incidences that I saw in others and myself (religious conversion, career changes, etc.).

The book is a clear exposition of those mechanisms for growth adaptations (or changes) within all our personalities, how these changes occur naturally, and how they can be artificially induced. He also discusses techniques that can inhibit the natural mechanisms for change.

I read it again 10 years ago to regain some insight into several intelligent and capable friends that, although hating their work, appeared to have had their ability for change inhibited by their use of soft drugs.

This book has a curiously positive unanimity amongst its reviewers, could we have been brainwashed :-)

I am pleased that it is back in print and feel almost honour bound to buy a copy (I borrowed it previously from our local lending library)