HARVEST. The hidden neuroscience of control. Vol. 1

Therefore, it makes sense to consider each of them separately. But we’re not so much interested in classical biology as in the principle itself: how knowledge of how neurotransmitters work can be used to control human behavior. Let’s start with the first substance, which in the literature is called the "happiness hormone," which is somewhat inaccurate. Dopamine is not directly associated with happiness. It is more accurately described as an anticipation molecule. It’s released when you anticipate a reward. Your attention lingers in this gap between expecting and receiving something specific, stretched like rubber between "want" and "have" — and this is where the entire management industry, from social media to advertising agencies, exploits. Robert Sapolsky once argued that dopamine is released exclusively during anticipation, and its level drops by the time the reward is received. The brain experiences excitement from the very desire. If the outcome is predictable, its response weakens. The brain becomes bored when it knows what will happen next. The maximum release occurs under conditions of uncertainty. For example, when you pick up something.

When you check your phone and notice a notification from a loved one, your brain experiences a surge of dopamine. A similar mechanism is triggered when you scroll through your social media feed, not yet knowing what the algorithm will show you next. The unpredictability of the potential reward arises, causing your brain to engage in a waiting game. Similarly, when you wait for a reply to a message from someone important to you. Until there’s a response, your brain remains in a state of anticipation, accompanied by further surges of dopamine. Each time it anticipates a potential reward, another dose of this neurotransmitter is released, and you experience a brief, yet tangible pleasure from the anticipation itself. Now think of a slot machine. You pull the lever and don’t know whether you’ll pull out the coveted prize. The very uncertainty and unpredictability of the outcome are what trigger the maximum dopamine response. In neuroscience, this mechanism is called "variable reinforcement," and it forms one of the most powerful addictions, often stronger than addiction to some drugs. With drugs, everything is quite predictable: the substance hits dopamine receptors and produces the expected effect. But when the reward is unpredictable, as with an endless social media feed, a neurochemical cycle of anticipation and reward is formed, which is extremely difficult for the brain to break without conscious effort. Now try applying this knowledge and looking at the world around you. Almost every social network, news portal, or streaming service is built on exploiting the dopamine system. Sean Parker, one of the founders of Facebook, put it bluntly in an interview.

Frankly: "We’ve been deliberately exploiting the vulnerability of human psychology. How can we maximize your time and attention? We need to give you a little dopamine — a like, a comment, a photo". Gradually, your brain becomes hooked on this digital drug. It’s completely free and available 24/7. Its dealers are the largest tech corporations on the planet, whose market capitalization exceeds the GDP of many countries.

If dopamine is the carrot, then cortisol is the stick in this concept. We know it as the stress hormone, released by the adrenal glands in situations the brain identifies as threatening. This system once served to preserve life… Imagine a person facing a predator, and cortisol is automatically released into the bloodstream. The body instantly mobilizes, muscles tense, attention sharpens, and the person runs. Today, there are no predators around us, and no one is chasing us, but the program itself continues to function flawlessly. Only now, cortisol is released in response to news headlines, political scandals, economic crises, comments from strangers online, and dozens of other stimuli, none of which pose an immediate physical threat to you. But the amygdala, an ancient brain structure responsible for recognizing danger, interprets such signals as a potential threat to survival. This is where a serious problem arises. Chronically elevated cortisol levels suppress the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for critical thinking, planning, and decision-making. If a person is constantly in a state of permanent stress, and this debilitates the ability to think clearly. Their behavior becomes reflexive, and their entire life is structured according to the primitive formula: stimulus-response. Besides that, chronically elevated cortisol levels weaken the immune system. As a result, the body becomes more vulnerable to various diseases and viruses. That’s not the only cost. Prolonged stress has a destructive effect on the hippocampus, the brain structure responsible for memory and learning, and, as a result, neuroplasticity. A person living in a state of prolonged stress begins to degenerate over time. Now a question: If you had to rule billions of people, and you wanted them to remain obedient, not ask unnecessary questions, and, most importantly, to maintain the principle of divide and conquer, what would you do? You’d likely create a constant, low-level stress response 24/7 through an endless stream of negative news, political scandals, economic instability, information overload, and a litany of perceived and real threats. Current reality fits this pattern perfectly. While it’s certainly possible to chalk it all up to conspiracy theories, alas, a more prosaic mechanism is at work here: neurobiology combined with media strategies.

There’s another neurotransmitter that matters just as much, in my opinion, to the control system: oxytocin. It’s called the "love hormone" or the "bondage hormone". It’s released during physical contact, when a mother feeds her child, during orgasm, and when a person feels a sense of belonging to a specific group. Oxytocin is like glue that cements social bonds. At the same time, it is one of the most powerful tools of manipulation, as it provides a sense of "us" and "us". When a person feels a sense of belonging to a certain group, be it a political party, a religious community, a fan club, or an ethnic group, their brain activates the production of oxytocin. The experience of "us" is so pleasant and rewarding that a person is willing to go to great lengths to maintain it. The danger lies in the fact that at this moment, it is difficult to see the obvious. Critical thinking is suppressed, and the individual begins to hate "outsiders," especially since this hostility toward "them" strengthens the sense of "us". An effect similar to anosognosia immediately kicks in: the person loses the ability to analyze their own distortions, and any attempt to point them out from the outside is perceived as hostile interference. Dividing people by nationality, religion, race, political camp, and gender effectively exploits the oxytocin system, making the division biochemically attractive. A new dose of oxytocin is released every time you identify with "us" and contrast yourself with "them". It’s like a drug. This is why it’s so difficult to overcome prejudices, leave a cult, or get out of a toxic relationship. It’s not a lack of willpower or intelligence. At a deep level, the brain doesn’t want to lose its source of oxytocin reinforcement.

Now let’s put the whole puzzle together. Dopamine works like a leash. It keeps you glued to your phone screen, TV, and endless stream of content. Cortisol limits your ability to think freely. Oxytocin, in turn, strengthens attachment to the group. This elegant "molecular" algorithm operates automatically, without conscious participation. You don’t even need to agree with the system, much less obey it. Simply being in the information field it creates is enough, and your brain will take over the rest of the work. This is the genius of the algorithm. There’s no need for camps. You don’t even need to lie, although that, of course, is enough. It’s enough to simulate an environment that systematically exploits the basic neurochemical levers shaped by millions of years of evolution. And then a person, with an ever-present smile on their face, voluntarily transforms into a controlled unit, fiercely defending the illusion of their own freedom. Does a lamb realize it’s being led to the slaughter before it happens? No. Its cognitive system is programmed to trust the shepherd. In its worldview, he is the only guarantor of satiety and a source of security. He feeds, protects from wolves, and shows the way. A sheep can’t even entertain the idea that the shepherd is the main threat, because its brain is simply not designed for it. But your brain is designed for it, provided you know where to look.

In 1963, psychologist Stanley Milgram of Yale University conducted a legendary experiment that shocked the scientific world. He was motivated by the desire to prove how easy it is to turn ordinary people — teachers, engineers, postmen — into obedient instruments of violence when an authority figure stands nearby. To do this, he placed participants in a situation where a figure in a white coat commanded them to administer electric shocks to another person. The voltage increased with each incorrect answer, from a harmless 15 volts to a deadly 450. A fake actor played the "victim"; they screamed, begged for it to stop, and eventually fell silent, feigning unconsciousness or even death. The researcher was preoccupied with one single question: how many people would complete the experiment? Milgram expected a maximum of one to two percent. Scientists, psychiatrists, and students were confident that most would drop out long before reaching a critical level. As a result, 65 % of the participants reached their maximum, while two-thirds of ordinary, normal, "good" people delivered a potentially fatal blow to another person simply because a man in a white coat ordered it. This test has been repeated dozens of times in different countries, and the results have always been roughly the same. Submission to authority is difficult to reduce to a cultural trait — it’s a neurobiological program hardwired into the unconscious. Overcoming it is only possible through conscious, informed, and energy-consuming effort — an action that most people are simply incapable of. The reason is that the prefrontal cortex is the only brain structure capable of such effort, and chronically elevated cortisol levels, as we’ve discovered, lead to its suppression. Do you see how elegantly this system works? Stress deprives you of the ability to think clearly, which is why it’s so difficult to recognize that you’re stressed. You’re too exhausted to recognize the cause of your exhaustion. Without this awareness, you’re unable to address the source. As a result, the cycle closes and you become an eternal runner within a self-sustaining system.

That decade, Solomon Asch conducted an equally revealing experiment, vividly demonstrating how easily groups destroy individuality. A group of people were shown three lines of varying lengths and asked to identify which one matched the reference line. The task was essentially trivial, as the difference was obvious to the naked eye. All participants except one were fake and intentionally gave the wrong answer. The main question was: what would the real participant do? Tell the truth or follow the group’s lead? In the end, 75 % of the participants at least once agreed with the obviously false majority opinion, and three-quarters of the people called the long line short because others said so. The oxytocin mechanism was at work, and the desire for "us" proved stronger than what they had observed firsthand. If a person denies sensory experience, the very length of a line they see with their own eyes, just to maintain their group affiliation and avoid being an outcast, then what lengths will they go to when it comes to less obvious matters? How easy is it to manipulate consciousness in matters of politics, religion, or "science and…"? Where it is determined what can and cannot be said, what is considered normal and what is insane? They will do anything. That’s how software works. Thousands of generations of ancestors survived thanks to their group affiliation, reinforcing the ancient program "be consistent, otherwise you will perish". This archaic programming controls us to this day, despite the fact that the conditions themselves have long since changed.

In 1971, Philip Zimbardo conducted the famous Stanford Prison Experiment. The subjects were 24 mentally healthy, well-adjusted students. They were randomly divided into "prisoners" and "guards" in a simulated prison set up in the university basement. The experiment was designed to last two weeks, but it had to be stopped after only six days. During this time, the "guards" became sophisticated sadists, humiliating the prisoners, depriving them of sleep, and forcing them to follow senseless orders. The "prisoners" quickly broke down, accepted the role of victims, and some began to denounce each other. Six days proved more than enough time for the civilized person to "disappear," giving way to a slave and a tyrant. And crucially, no one systematically brainwashed them or administered any chemicals. It was enough to create the environment, and the brain did the rest of the "dirty" work. Remember that word — "environment". This is the foundation on which absolutely everything rests. The information environment, biochemical, social, or, if you prefer, frequency. You live within it, and every element of it is designed so that your brain operates bypassing consciousness and serves the interests of those who created this environment.

Milgram, Asch, and Zimbardo laid bare the mechanics of our behavioral responses. Yet, there’s still no clear answer to the question of why all this is possible at a deep level, where vulnerability itself comes from. And yet, to find it, we must descend into the "holy of holies" of biology — genetics. Our DNA contains 64 codons. Each represents a trio of nucleotides encoding a specific amino acid. But if we go beyond dry academicism, trust our research intuition, and take a broader look at these 64 units of information, we’ll see something hidden beneath the iceberg. A constant permeating space and time unfolds before us. The number 64 manifests itself in a wide variety of systems: the number of hexagrams in the I Ching, the number of squares on a chessboard, and the number of arcana in a full Tarot deck. This includes the list of 64 arts in the Vedic tradition, which an educated woman was expected to master. To this can be added the 64 forms of Shiva-Bhairava in Tantric cosmology and the 64 cells in the Rho matrix, which the priests of Ancient Egypt used to describe the structure of creation. This universal numerical matrix is repeated in various cultural and symbolic systems from China to Egypt, directly indicating the existence of a single fundamental principle.

According to a number of alternative theories, of the 64 codons in the average person, only eighteen to twenty are active, barely a third of the entire genetic repertoire. Accordingly, we operate at a limited fraction of our genetic potential. Meanwhile, the remaining codons, ascribed so-called "superpowers," which was the norm for our ancestors, are in a state of "suspended animation". For them, this manifested itself in advanced field functions — directly reading information from the energy-information fields of Midgard-Earth, the very same "Salt of Knowledge" library. They also had access to regeneration and expanded perception. And what, by the standards of the Universe, was active relatively recently, is today blocked. Before you ask, by whom blocked? Surely, the image of "evolution" will come to mind. But judge for yourself: if evolution truly eliminated everything unnecessary, such sequences would not have been preserved in the genome. But they are there. So, the cause isn’t the disappearance, but rather the inactive potential. This logic is reminiscent of a program installed on a computer, only it’s locked with a password the user doesn’t have.

Pyotr Petrovich Gariaev, the founder of wave genetics, has empirically confirmed over the years that DNA responds to frequency influences. This isn’t just about chemistry. It responds to frequency, sound, and electromagnetic fields. DNA is an antenna that operates within a range of frequencies. And if this is true, who and what receives the signal on it, and who jams it? I understand how outlandish all this sounds to someone with a classical academic education. "Blocked codons". "DNA is an antenna". "Frequency control". To the general public, these phrases are empty words. They’ll immediately call you a pseudoscientist and drop the subject. I know this, and I’m prepared for it. But then answer me a counter-question: if science objectively described reality, why did the Nobel laureates of the 20th century — those who stood at the very origins of quantum mechanics — come to conclusions that completely contradict what is currently taught in schools? Niels Bohr said, "Everything we call real consists of things that are not real". Werner Heisenberg: "The first sip from the glass of natural science makes an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God awaits". Max Planck: "Matter as such does not exist. Everything comes into being and exists thanks to a force that sets the particles of an atom into vibration". These people were not mystics; they were physicists. And they came to the same conclusion that those we call the "ancients" came to thousands of years ago. Reality is an information field. Matter is frozen energy, or, if you prefer, light, vibrating at a specific frequency. When you understand this with every cell of your body, your entire picture of the world is turned upside down. Managing billions of people has long gone beyond armies, police, or money — today, everything is decided by the frequency range of consciousness. Whoever controls the frequency of fear controls behavior. And fear is the system’s primary tool.

Let’s return to the brain, because it is in this roughly one-and-a-half-kilogram "processor" that the main battle of modern times is unfolding. The real battle doesn’t take place on battlefields, parliaments, or stock exchanges. It begins in your head. The brain is roughly divided into three evolutionary components. The first is the reptilian brain, the most ancient and responsible for basic survival functions: breathing, heartbeat, and the "fight, flight, or freeze" response. It operates automatically and is almost completely unresponsive to consciousness. It is virtually deaf to the voice of reason. The second is the limbic system, the "mammalian brain". This is where emotions, memory, attachment, and social behavior reside. This area also plays host to dopamine, cortisol, and oxytocin pathways, including the mechanisms of herd behavior. The third is the neocortex, and its crowning glory is the prefrontal cortex. This is what makes us human: abstract thinking, planning, moral judgment, and the ability to ask "why?" without settling for ready-made answers. But the key point is that there is a strict hierarchy between these three levels, and it doesn’t favor intelligence. The neocortex is the youngest, the last to appear evolutionarily, and it requires the greatest amount of energy; it’s the most expensive "department". When these resources are limited, and under chronic stress they are always in short supply, the brain shuts it down. From a survival perspective, the neocortex is a true luxury. The reptilian brain and limbic system are prioritized because they provide security and social belonging. But what about the ability to think critically? This function is simply not designed for survival. It’s needed for development, and that’s the last thing the system needs. That’s why every element of the current information environment hits the two lower levels of the psyche. News attacks the reptilian brain, broadcasting threats, dangers, and disasters. Social media exploits the limbic system, manipulating emotions, the desire for approval, and connection. And the neocortex? It’s simply fed entertainment. Instead of development, a far more utilitarian goal is being achieved: to occupy a person with anything, just to prevent them from reaching their primary purpose — conscious thinking. A person with a suppressed prefrontal cortex doesn’t ask questions. They respond to stimuli like Pavlov’s dog to the sound of a bell: the ringing triggers profuse salivation. News headlines generate fear, a like offers a substitute for happiness and pleasure, and a scandal invariably ignites indignation and anger. The algorithm runs automatically, bypassing consciousness. This is how a herd is formed. This neurobiological reality transforms humanity into something other than just a society. It is a collection of organisms whose nervous systems are synchronized by a shared information environment and driven by the same neurochemical triggers. In this concept, a sheep is not at all more stupid than a human, its only advantage is honesty; at least it does not pretend to be free.

It’s not even the fact that people are so easy to control that worries me; I’ve long since come to terms with that. What torments me is something else: why do they defend their lack of freedom with such rage? Why does a person shown the mechanics of their subjugation attack in response? Why does information that promises liberation evoke aggression instead of curiosity? The root of the problem is "cognitive dissonance". When information contradicts a familiar worldview, the brain interprets it as a physical threat. The amygdala activates, followed by a surge of cortisol, after which the body goes into either fight-or-flight mode. A person literally begins to fight information as if it were a predator. This is why scientists whose discoveries conflict with the dominant paradigm are often persecuted and effectively eliminated. Why are people who talk about the mechanisms of the system so easily labeled "conspiracy theorists" and "crazy?" Even a best friend might view you as an enemy if you attempt to encroach on their comfortable illusion. Their brain is protective of its worldview, and they’re willing to sacrifice friendship to preserve it. It’s not that they’re bad; that’s just how their nervous system is programmed…

And now for the most difficult question of the chapter. If the brain is so rigidly programmed for submission, herd behavior, and the protection of illusions, where do those who are actually capable of seeing the truth come from? Where do you come from? Over ten years of working with people in transformational programs and personal mentoring, I have identified a pattern. People who begin to "see" have overwhelmingly experienced a powerful existential shock: clinical death, loss of loved ones, serious illness, or the complete collapse of their "former" life. It feels as if something must crumble for a ray of light to emerge. My life is no exception. I spent 12 hours in a coma, not to mention the numerous moments when I found myself on the very brink of life and death. And each time, another illusion was destroyed, revealing what had previously remained inaccessible. It’s like a blow to the shell. You’ll only reach the core when you break it; you have no other option. From a neurobiological perspective, everything is explainable. Extreme stress (not chronic), specifically acute stress, brings the system to peak performance and "breaks through" neural barriers — normally dormant brain areas are activated, and new neural connections are formed that didn’t exist before. It’s like a security system malfunction, as if it were temporarily disabled, and a flood of information, which normally passes through a filter system, pours through the breach. But this is a path through pain. It’s unpredictable and dangerous; some break down on it, others lose their inner support and descend into madness. That’s why I’m writing this book, to show another path — through knowledge and understanding of the mechanism. Through conscious, consistent "reprogramming" of the nervous system with information. It’s impossible to manipulate someone who understands the mechanism itself. Just as a magician is powerless to deceive someone who knows the secret of his trick. Knowledge is the only asset that can’t be blocked, confiscated, or frozen in a bank account. It’s within you. And when it becomes part of your being, no system can lead you astray with falsehood and lies. However, knowledge alone doesn’t solve anything. It can lie in your head for years, like an unopened book on a shelf. Knowledge becomes power when, and only when, it meets what we spend day after day, our entire life allotted to us on Midgard-Earth — our attention. What we look at inevitably changes us. Attention is what shapes your entire life. We’ve forgotten how to see its value because it’s given to us as a gift from birth, and it seems infinitely abundant. As if it could be given away to anyone, left and right. But that’s not true. Attention is a currency, just like any other, and its supply is finite. Every morning, you’re given a loan that will be exhausted by evening, no matter what. How you invest this resource determines your next day. What you spend your attention on for years becomes your destiny. It’s this currency that’s at war in our world. A second of your waking life is worth more than oil, gas, and gold. How to survive this war and reclaim your self-control — in the next chapter.