How do you help somebody wake up? Below are some tips that might help with. Keep in mind if you succeed in shattering a person’s world view there may be repercussions in that. I am not an expert so all I can offer is opinion.

1. Know what you are talking about. Before you try to sell me your Truth you should know your material and more importantly, know how to communicate it to me in a way I can understand. This is your responsibility. If the Truth can be told so as to be understood, it will be believed.

2. Open your mind to the possibility that you might not have the whole story either. If you can’t do this then you are no better than the closed minded masses you are preaching to. An enemy of Truth is thinking you already know it, so remember to practice humility.

3. Motivational Interviewing. This technique is used by therapists to help people change destructive behaviors. We may be able to use some of the steps here. When practicing Motivational Interviewing it is important to do it in a non-confrontational way. This cannot be stressed enough (see humility comment above). What we are trying to do is lead the person to come to the realization themselves. If they can experience their own lightbulb moment, by their own volition, their changed belief will have a much better chance of taking root.

The first thing we do in Motivational Interviewing is identify which Stage of Change a person is in, and then meet them at that stage. There are 6 Stages of Change:

Stage 1: Pre-Contemplation

The person is not open to change. They are closed minded, fearful or entrenched. Immediate denial and anger is common response.

Stage 1 Primary Task: Raise awareness by offering factual information. Point out provable facts they can research on their own. You can point them to the information but they have to do the work themselves. You can’t do the work for them and you must respect their freewill if they choose to ignore.

Stage 2: Contemplation

The person will contemplate your ideas but is skeptical or ambivalent. “So what if 911 was an inside job, it doesn’t affect me”. A lot of people are graduating to this stage.

Stage 2 Primary Task: Resolve their ambivalence. Show them how 911 DOES affect them. Focus on their core values – For instance, if family is a core value then talk about how the Patriot Act affects the safety of their family. Perhaps courage is one of their core values. Frame your argument around this. Add in open ended questions about what it means to have courage. The goal is to get them to talking

Stage 3: Determination

They are starting to see the light and are determined to learn more but don’t know what to do, where to go, or what information is valid.

Stage 3 Primary Task: Help identify valid sources of information. Realize that most people need to be gradually introduced to some of these topics. For me the starting point is 911. It was a watershed event that has enough factual information that can be used as a launch pad to open a person’s mind. Realize that cognitive dissonance can set in and cause a person to relapse back to Stage 2. If this happens you must “meet the person where they are at” which means going back to Stage 2. It is common for people to go back and forth between stages.

Stage 4: Action

The person is taking action toward change but has not stabilized the process. This can be a frightening time for some people as they begin to see the world for the first time. The loss of their world view and the realization of things as they are can be traumatic.

Stage 4 Primary Task: Offer encouragement and help reinforce their new beliefs. Point out new facts or recent events that strengthen the new belief. A new belief is like a small plant that needs to be nurtured. Identify risk situations that could cause the person to relapse. For instance warn them about the amount of disinformation or explain to them how paranoia is common and offer coping mechanisms.

Stage 5: Maintenance

Has achieved change and is working to maintain or strengthen the new belief or behavior. They are waking up.

Stage 5 Primary Task: Maintain supportive contact. Highlight the progress that has been made. Set new goals and introduce new topics that will further expand their awareness. Encourage them to share their knowledge and help others wake up, perhaps using these steps.

Stage 6: Relapse

Experienced a relapse and went back to previous beliefs or behaviors. Fear, paranoia, cognitive dissonance, ambivalence, normal life stressors, SSRI induced indifference, etc.. These are common causes of a relapse.

Stage 6 Primary Task: Re-frame the relapse as a learning opportunity. Talk about how normal it is and share a story about a setback of your own. Meet the person at whatever stage they are now at and begin again. If the person has truly been exposed to Truth they will feel drawn to begin again.