Fear
Written By:
Richard A. Cranston

To begin with, I will ask the question of what is fear. Webster’s Dictionary give’s the definition of fear as this: FEAR - 1) To have a reverential awe of, to be afraid of, expect with alarm, to be apprehensive. 2) An un-pleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. 3) A reason for dread o apprehension.

Fear is a powerful emotion that is primitive and can be traced back to our earliest ancestors. This emotion, if controlled and listened to, can and will alert us of danger. I personally believe that since it kept our ancestors alive, it can keep us alive. If fear was not accepted, appreciated, and or respected, then none of us will be here today. That is just a small portion of the positive side of fear. Like all things in life, when there is positive, there is negative. The negative side is that fear can control us, cloud our judgment, cause us to freeze, and in the end get us severely injured or killed.

Hundreds of years ago, fear was taken from just an emotion, and turned into a very powerful weapon. This weapon was used, even to this day, as a means of control. Many cultures have produced secret societies who have found out just how much of an effective weapon this emotion can be. It has been used for extortion, control, and even to shift political parties to who these societies want to take reign, or over throw a monarchy. Many of these secret societies are not widely heard of, let alone not much is known about. The only things that are known of them are through legend and lore. Which is what they wanted, this is another fear tactic, population control through fear, leads to absolute control. The societies that had a hand in cultivating this tactic are named below; their teachings and methods are still used today in modern day agencies. These societies are:

1- Moshuh-Nanren Chinese Assassins 2- Hashashiyyin Persian/Middle Eastern Assassin 3- Indian Thug gee Indian Assassin 4- Shinobi (Ninja) Japanese Agent

History has a recording, that being the martial arts aspect. This history has led to my personal beliefs that not only the martial arts, but psychological application had originated in the middle east, Persia to be exact. The group that it all began with is the Hashashiyyin, translated to those who eat hashish. They were an order of Nizari Ismailis, from the years 1092 to 1265. They had wars with the Knights Templars, and it is even said that the Knights paid them to full fill assassinations in England. Knowledge of both psychology and martial arts was passed on during trade. The trade was originating with India and Persia. That is how Islam had made its ways to India and to the southern Philippines. After the fall of the hashashiyyin kingdom, trade with India was re-routed to China. This was done by what is known as the silk highways. As china and India traded, religion was introduced on top of a variety of martial art systems. Chinese Moshuh-Nanren had furthered their knowledge, out lasting the Indian thuggee. That’s how Buddhism made its way to China. With the fall of the chines empire, many of the Moshuh-Nanren were being sought out by the new emperor and killed. They fled to Japan, bringing with them their knowledge.

Many of these Chinese warriors were also educated in the art of war, being educated by Sun Tzu’s teachings. These monks and warriors settled in the mountains of Japan and trained the domestic monks of japan in their teachings. These esthetic monks of japan were called Yamabushi. Their knowledge had grown, and when many emperors of japan had begun terrorizing the local villages, many had run to the mountains, as well as many samurai who felt there was no honor in what they were doing. With the knowledge of theses warriors and the esthetic teachings of the Yamabushi, the ninja clans were born. The clans in comparison to the samurai and the empire of japan was small, aside from size, the law was passed that these outcasts were not given honor or permission to carry weapons. So what had to be done was to level the playing field by utilizing, what we call guerilla tactics and espionage. They took time to study human psychology and weather, the Chinese book of I’Ching was also implemented. With these intense studies, the ninja became formable opponent.

In the beginning, the first three secret sects, Hashashyyin, Thuggee, and Moshuh-Nanren did use fear as a weapon. But only one aspect was used. This aspect was murder. True, murder is a powerful statement when you see you loved ones killed. But that is not the only way of inducing fear, as the saying goes, you can get people to do things you by inducing a psychological fear. If you induce that spectrum of fear, you can further induce panic upon a kingdom, or civilization. The ninja had seen past the use of murder, but there are times that they did have to utilize it to make a point. They primarily fed off of our fear and found many ways to induce it. Ways that even in modern times different agencies use to this day. Once the ninja had learned of what fear is and how to manipulate it, everything went downhill from there. The usage of fear had taken on a whole new reality.

The ancient ninja clans used a method that originated from the Chinese Taoist concept of Wu-Sing, also known as the five elements. The ninja cultivated this concept into something of their own. Like a child going into their own, that is what the ninja had done. The ninja called their method Gyu-Goyoku; in English it is called the five feelings. A spawn of Wu-Sing, but grown into something entirely of its own. The five feelings are also preceded by the five desires. This goes hand in hand and is used in conjunction with one another. One cannot be used without the other, if tried you will be lost and or confused. That is why the designed it in such a fashion, so just not anyone can apply it without training. Below is the Gyo-Goyoku in a chart form, followed by the five desires. In chart form, you will gain a better understanding versus how it was originally laid out. Along with Japanese, there will be English translation so it is easier to follow. The way it is set up on here, is first will be Japanese text. Second will be English text. They will be in order, for example, number on in Japanese, is number 1 in English. You will see and understand as you read further along.

Gyu-Goyoku
5 Feelings

Japanese English 1. Kisha 1. Lust 2. Kyosha 2. Fear 3. Dosha 3. Anger 4. Rakusha 4. Greed 5. Aisha 5. Sympathy

5 Desires Japanese English 1. Hokori 1. Pride 2. Tomi 2. Wealth 3. Sokussu 3. Sex 4. Yorokobi 4. Pleasure 5. Chijo no shokuyoku 5. Earthly Appetite

These elements are still applied and used in modern times. The format has changed overtime with the progression of different societies and cultures. The premises are the same, even though warfare has evolved, but the human psyche is the same. Temptations, fear, greed, and so on and so forth will still pollute our soul and spirit, therefore making us corruptible.

There is a quote that is widely spoken but not completely understood in modern times. The reason for this is military leaders think bigger the guns, the better the chances of winning. This is true to an extent. For it is the ability to break the mind that will secure a guaranteed and quick, victory. The quote is made by the greatest military tactician to have ever lived, Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu had stated “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” What does that mean, to fight without fighting? Before I go any further, this quite is based upon strategy and research. It is what the ARMY calls scouting, and governments call spying. From my point of view and not just military experience, but martial art experience, is to attack them psychologically and emotionally. To know your adversary better than he or she knows themselves. What he is talking about is to know their deepest fears and their weaknesses. Not to waste your time on phobias, something totally different. But what makes them afraid, and then to exploit it and use it to your advantage.

Using the Gyo-Goyoku as a reference chart, I will discuss the things that I feel tie in together to exploit their fears and give you a better chance of success. While conducting research, I had many discussions with family and friends who have degrees in the field of psychology. Aside of that I had read many military manuals and reference material and had come to conclusion of what causes fear and what people fear the most. I had come to the conclusion that there are six things that tie hand in hand to pave the way for success. Those things are:

1. Pride 4. Anger 2. Wealth 5. Love 3. Lust 6. Greed

I put one emotion on there that is not part of either the 5 feelings or the 5 desires. That emotion is love. Love is one of the, if not the most powerful emotions that there is. Love has caused the fall of not only empires but countries and civilizations. It can cause a man or woman to kill and be blinded to the point they don’t realize what they did till after it is much too late. Below is he way that I perceive the 6 emotions to exploit fear, along with them is a brief breakdown of why.

1- Pride: People take pride in themselves, accomplishments, and personal possessions.

2- Wealth: In today’s time with the national deficit and job market, people seek financial stability. Not only have to financially support them, but their family made them a prime target.

3- Lust: Lust goes not only goes for sex, but wealth, possessions and popularity. Lusting after what others have And what they cannot have.

4- Greed : Once a target gets a taste or glimpse of the good life, or if wealthy already, a taste of more, they Will crave for more, or to keep it and not lose it.

5- Anger : Take away any of the above mentioned, threaten to, or threaten their accomplishments, this Will anger them and cause them to succumb with fear.

6- Fear : Fear is a powerful force, threaten any of the above mentioned, or anything else that you learn, And you have won the war by breaking them without bloodshed.

When you learn and understand what I call the six fear inducers, you will be able to attack and break any adversary. As the great Miyamoto Musashi had quoted, “Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye”. In a nut shell, he is talking about doing your homework, the leg work. Put in the time to learn of your opponent. Musashi is relating to sword combat, due to the fact he was a legendary Samurai of Japan and had over 100 sword battles and remained un-defeated. But on a psychological level, you will have to spy, conduct espionage, and get information by any means necessary. So when the time comes, you know what will make them break. The exception to this rule is if you have a detainee, then you conduct an interview, the same rules apply, but the strategy will have to change. If that fails, then conduct an intense interrogation, by any means necessary. The threat of bodily harm or extreme violence will break them. But that is a topic for another time.

Now from here on out I will give some examples. The first one is an individual who takes deep pride in themselves and their accomplishments. The target here can be a fortune 500 owner or a political leader or a city or state official. The pick of the crop is wide and the variety of targets limitless. If an individual takes deep pride in themselves, you attack their reputation. I am not referring to an amateur political campaign smear. That is just a waste of time, effort, and resources. I am talking about attacking them on a deeper darker level, a level that will make them afraid to ever show themselves in the public eye again. This method is referred to as discretization. The meaning of that term is to discredit or destroy the victim’s credibility. This method is widely used for political advancement, extortion, and or for revenge. There are more uses for this method, but those are for another time. Since I am using the example of someone whom is rich and powerful, we will start from square one, or step one.

First step is to conduct research, find out their social status, are they well liked or tolerated because of their position or family status or heritage. From there learn of the crowds that they spend time with. Do they throw small intimate parties among rich and powerful friends, or social gatherings with invite to the selected public officials? With this, you can figure out the next step of your plan. Who is the caterer, how many is staffed, what are their positions? Let alone is it even catered, being rich and powerful, most likely it will be. Now start to work your pretext, or becoming someone you are not. A role that you select that will get you amongst the rich and powerful, preferably a student majoring in some political course in college and you are conducting an interview or research. Don’t pick a role like a politician or of someone p there, chances are you will fail miserably. Pick a role that will make sense and is simple. Remember, simple is more effective and a higher chance of success. From there, all you have to do I sit back and watch, walk around and listen to what people say. Since there is alcohol at these events, most of the work is done already. Start asking questions, like a reporter or researcher. This utilizes both open ended, close ended and leading style questions. But don’t just target anyone. Find the one who is there and does not like them or is jealous. Most likely a younger sibling who is jealous by their success or an adversary who wants what they have. Take notice that there is already lust, greed and anger all there for you to manipulate.

At that point here you wait at least an hour when everyone is loose tongued and will forget why you are there, let alone who you are, a student. Take the time and practice and spread a rumor about them. Pick one, not a lot and spread it in an indirect way. Pick a political topic, establish a discussion and say did you know conducting my research I came across this…… And say pick a topic. Rumors such as, an illegitimate child (Gov. Schwarzenegger), A severe gambling problem and that’s why he is throwing this party for financial support, a severe porn problem, so much for religious ethics, a raging drug and alcohol problem, or his wife or children. If all else fails, state they have a secret sexual lifestyle, (New Jersey Gov. McGreevy). Or they are looking at porn sites that are illegal (WH. Rep. Gonzales, Markowitz). Once this gets out, either fact or fiction their reputation will be damaged. You must be convincing and have facts, or at least a resource to back it up if asked. But as I had mentioned, alcohol is flowing, loose tongues are speaking. With this combination, people will take it seriously. The character defamation may not happen immediately, but over time. Even if it means to infiltrate parties they are having, or community of friends to get the job done. Or to go as far as coming up with an anonymous sender and send emails or letters to the press, that I am little Johnny story, and so on and so forth. Chances are it will stick.

These types of rumors will way heavy on them and sooner or later with constant attacks will become painted as the solid truth. This type of stress will most likely lead to drug and alcohol abuse, eventually leading to addiction. This will lead to intense sleep deprivation, putting them into the spot light in the public eye. The constant barrage of reporters and political slander will lead to intense depression. Medical and extensive studies have shown this type of stress, sleep deprivation alone can cause death due to exhaustion. The combination of the above mentioned can lead to hospitalization, or eventually suicide. In the corporate and political world this is known as espionage. You see this more in the corporate world, where there are no rules, not as much in political, because politicians are corrupt as it is. So it will not take much to deal with them. But since the corporate world and political world are tied together, you can still complete your objective. With the fear of their reputation on the line, chances are it may not even go that far. Since it is used primarily for extortion and advancement, the “negotiation” will happen first. Once a rumor is spread, you as the agent can re-spread a rumor stating it was a lie and false accusations. But why change what has taken so long to put into effect? When that rumor has spread, you keep it alive and your position or the client’s position will be secured.

Another way to induce fear is to attack their aspect or way of life. Not what they take pride in, but what they hold dear to their heart. Examples are: their ethics, personal beliefs, religion, family and its structure and their possessions. Possessions being their home, family heirlooms and whatever else you learn the hold dear to their heart. Today, with the fear that the end of the world is near and Jesus is coming, the terrorist attacks, people are now becoming family oriented and religious. This leads to the ability to attack their love, not lust. There is a big difference. So a key thing to remember, the adversary loves only three things. Those things are their family, god, and country. Attack or threaten any of those three things, and you will break them. When I say family, I just don’t mean immediate family; I refer to extended family and organizations that use the term family. Examples are gangs, occults, and terrorist groups.

To attack ones view on their reality is called interpretation and views on reality manipulation. In a nutshell you are attacking any of their personal views and what they consider reality. This being religion, faith, or whatever you discover they cherish for the most. Or the thing they love the most and will do whatever is needed to protect. This is also known as negotiating through fear of loss. For this instance, I will cover religion. In a lot of cases, a person’s faith is what drives them, what defines them. Just look at all these religious gatherings, concerts, TV channels on Sunday, proven. A lot of people, especially religious zealots, believe that without religion or faith, there is nothing to live for. And with that concept in mind, that is your sector of attack. Since there are many different religions out there, as well as many sub-divisions of religions, it is very imperative that you become knowledgeable of that religion before you attack. The main religions that are out there are Catholicism, Mormonism, Judaism, and Christianity. Each have similarities, but you cannot base this tactic off that. If you do, you will look like moron. Therefore you will not be taken seriously. Once you learn and understand their religion, you can find ways to manipulate their faith. This is done by quoting the texts of their bible and prophets. You can exploit their lies by quoting religious scriptures of other faiths so they can second guess their choice of faith. Or prevent them from worshipping their god and performing their personal services. You can also put them into a situation to where you can say where is your god now, why is he not here? Or any other question or demeaning thing you can come up with. Eventually they will crack and second guess their faith. From here they will both give in to keep their faith or just renounce it and help you because they are angry by feeling abandoned.

Other methods are you can degrade their faith and god, burn their bible and propaganda. If all else fails, destroy their main house of worship, either by burning or any violent act. Or spread rumors about the church leader and watch them crumble with sadness and denial. These are some of the strategies that the Nazi regime had conducted in WW2 to gain followers and support. The initiated fear of taking away the people’s faith, they let them keep it if the supported them. People feared them, some accepted them, and others dealt with them and worked with them out of fear. It is dark and takes it to a whole other level, but has proven to be quite effective. This method is used in this country with small organizations, and in other countries where religion is the base of war.

Niccolo Machiavelli quoted a quote that sticks out in my mind out of all of his quotes. The quote is “Was is just when it is necessary; arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms”. You do this by intercepting the attack before it happens. At times, meeting a conflict head on in a bloody battle is not the best way to resolve an issue. If you can stop a war before bloodshed has started, then you have won the war. Or if you feel you have no chance because the opposing force is greater, then you send in an agent to work for the opposing force as a soldier and let them do what is called “sow seeds of dismay” among the soldiers. This is done first by establishing a reputation as a trustworthy, outstanding soldier. Be careful not to cross the line as a fraud by acting too hard and too much. Be calm and blend in. In every military there are groups of people that get along, also known as clicks. Find who you mesh with and target them. From there earn their trust, once that happens a reputation is born and you are in. In the military, you want a good reputation and recognition. Unlike anywhere else, this happens fast in a military organization.

Once that has happened, you look and listen for disgruntled soldiers, rumors, soldiers who do not like the command and look to overthrow or rebel against. From there that is your way in. Be friend them, use them to help spread a rumor or personal insight on how the unit is ran. From there spread a rumor amongst the soldiers. For example, “The command is only worried about looking good and is worried about the next promotion”. Another one is, “The higher ups believe soldiers are expendable”, Theses two rumors are the most powerful in a unit. If worded right and injected at the right time, it will spread like wild fire. In a military unit, people love to talk and hate their command. This will deal a severe blow to comradery and integrity. The soldiers will lose faith and no longer want to fight, who wants to fight for a leader who is only out for their self? Or fight for a leader who has no care for the soldiers who he is supposed to motivate and inspire? As far as I know, none. This is text book example of interception, and or progressive indirect attack. The command will be in fear of loss of reputation and trust, from the soldiers, the country, and their subordinates. This is a situation that will get the relieved, or force them to change their outlook on life. But most likely end in a relieve of command

Or on the last note, you find the group or individual who is angry and wants a way out. You befriend them and start manipulating their judgment. This is done by hanging out, listening to them, and even having some drinks with them. Get them to do your dirty work and sow the seeds of dismay. Once that is done, you come in and say this unit or military is way better. They offer this and that and do this and that. Chances are it will make its way up through the chain. The command and leaders will fear loss of power and reputation and have to focus on regaining trust and order. Therefore taking them out of the battle, and winning the war. That give the opposing side the opportunity to make their advancement and either crush them and eliminate them, or convince the soldiers to cross over and make their army stronger. So many possibilities can come of this. This is an example of manipulation through fear by loss of power and reputation.

In closing, I gave the history and origins of fear and how it was used. From fears evolution on how it was used to how it can be used. Fear is not just causing it on one person to drive a point, but to manipulate them through fear to get them to do your bidding or to cause chaos and mayhem. There is saying that goes back centuries to beginning of the ninja, I will say it now because I feel it still applies to today’s standards. It is “One man can bring down a battalion with few words, imagine what a unit of 5 men can do to a country.” Trained correctly and studied hard, fear used as a weapon can be used to achieve many goals, not only for the needs of others who pay right, but also for your own personal gain. My personal belief is learn the fears of others and exploit them while keeping yours hidden. Learn that and live by that and you will come out on top.

Citation Sheet

1. Tzu, Sun. The Art Of War. Oxford University
Oxford University Press, 1963

2. Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Art Of War. Florence Italy
1521

3. Musashi, Miyamoto. Book Of Five Rings. Japan
1644

4. Adams, Andrew. Ninja, The Invisible Assassins. United States Of America
Ohara Publications, 1970

5. Lung, HaHa. Mind Manipulation. Citadel Press Books
Kensington Publishing Corp, 2002