Conensual rape of the mind

I have always been intrigued by the theory of subliminal messaging. Subliminal messaging works by etching messages in to the background of frames displayed by visual media or into the background of a computer display screen. These can not be picked up by the eye for they are displayed for short durations on the screen and are almost imperceptible. Subliminal messaging targets your subconscious mind. It is believed that the subconscious is very receptive of all the messages aimed at it. The technique was successfully used by an advertising professional by the name of James Vicary In the 1950’s. He inserted subliminal messages promoting Coco Cola and other such products into movies that were being shown at that time. The counter sales at the theaters went up noticeably. This was reported world wide by media. This started a movement of using subliminal messages for every purpose including personal improvement.

There are sites offering such software for trial and for sale on the net. The trial versions can be downloaded and tested for free. I downloaded one such product and installed it in my computer. It had just one pre recorded message in it and once you start the program it would begin to run in the background. The settings allow you to choose the size of the font and visibility level of the messages. The free message was very positive and highly motivational. But unfortunately it soon began to give me head aches. At first I thought the head ache originated from other causes. The attack was mild too. It felt like a slight pain in the region of the sinus. I ignored it and continued using the software for some more days. The head ache persisted. I soon began to subconsciously perceive (Ironic is it not!) an absence of head ache whenever I forgot to run the program or very soon after turning it off. So it does really influence the mind subconsciously! Well I had to stop running it after that.

But joking apart, it is evident that the message or (at least in my case) the effort to introduce thoughts into the subconscious is being monitored by the mind in some manner. Perhaps my mind was using an inbuilt firewall to protect itself from external influences! Whatever may be the case my experiment with the subliminal messages was not very encouraging. As I have found the software disturbing I would caution every one to be wary in using them. We never know what really are in those scripts other than the displayed messages.
I remember having terrible head aches while watching certain movies and certain TV programs. These may be a result of subliminal messaging. On the whole I would grade this technology as dangerous and harmful. Even in cases where you know what your subconscious is being fed, raping the mind like this might not be a good idea.