J: Yes! So you know how to behave. Bottom line. Because you’re dealing with creatures that are non-human intelligence. They’re ten to a hundred times faster in the mind. They’ve got the high technology. They can travel time, they can span the universe with no time passing. They can work with other dimensions and these people or beings are so far removed from what we are, particularly socially. They […] Read More
J: And depending on how significant it is, brings in dimension. Now I’m getting into a detailed aspect. If it’s two-dimensional, it can almost be like a flat thing, like if it was a sketch, but sketched… a snapshot sketch. If it had significance or more importance, then it took on some depth. But these ape-like things, according to them they claim, that they genetically manipulated to make us […] Read More
1. A relationship between sleep anomalies and the abduction experience seems to make sense on theoretical grounds (and in terms of the extent of sleep anomalies in the general population) but is yet to be directly evaluated. 2. The consistency across abduction narratives is obvious, but its statistical deviation from chance (as determined by narrative production for the general population) has not been assessed. In fact, despite the existence […] Read More
Clearly then, a researcher’s or clinician’s intuitive sense about a child’s testimony (let alone the intuitive sense of the child’s parents) says nothing about the validity of that testimony. And the testimony’s detail, coherence, or consistency with adult testimony, is of significance only in regard to the child’s opportunity for misattribution. As difficult as it may be to document such influence, a child’s exposure to books, movies, television, the […] Read More
DISCUSSION Facts acquire significance only when related to theory, and theory remains empty in the absence of supporting fact. For fact and theory to be of any relevance, a relationship between them must be established. This is especially important, and especially difficult, when dealing with a phenomenon such as the abduction experience. As Morrison (1972) has stated: If we are to believe any hypothesis, however plausible or implausible, concerning […] Read More
Physical symptoms are indicative of actual abductions. Abduction experiencers often report marks on the body, or other physical symptoms they suspect may be associated with an actual abduction event. Not uncommonly, these are (at least apparently) mundane conditions such as blemishes, bruises, nosebleeds, and familiar discomforts. In other cases, more serious or unusual skin rashes or other markings are reported. And in still other cases, serious scars of unknown […] Read More
But by what standards should we predict alien agendas? The “anthropomorphic fallacy” (the assumption that we can attribute the behavior of other animals to human motives and feelings) is well known among behavioral psychologists as an error in reasoning. Certainly, the same caution should apply to speculation about alien behaviors. That notwithstanding, there are reasons consistent with human behavior as to why an alien civilization might not want overt […] Read More
THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL (ET) HYPOTHESIS Perhaps the most provocative explanation for abduction experiences is that they are essentially veridical reports of actual abductions by apparently extraterrestrial (ET) entities.9 Because more attention has been directed toward this hypothesis than any other, the perspectives of both advocates and detractors will be examined-tined in detail. (a) Arguments Against the ET Hypothesis Many critics of the ET hypothesis argue that in the absence of […] Read More
Ring (1992) finds Grosso’s ideas highly relevant to his own study of close-encounter experiences. Like Grosso, Ring regards such experiences as evidence for the evolution of consciousness. More specifically, he sees them as “helping to develop our latent capacities for imaginal perception” (p. 240). Ring’s use of the term imaginal should not be confused with imaginary. The distinction between the terms stems from the work of Corbin (1972) who […] Read More
The experimental procedure that evokes experiences most similar to the more extreme UFO encounters is the electrical stimulation associated with neurosurgery. It involves very focal current induction (about 1 cc) within the brain. These similarities suggest that the magnetic fields associated with ALP involve highly localized, fluxline-like distributions of energy. [Persinger, 1990, p. 131] Persinger’s guess about ALP notwithstanding, until the energy characteristics of ALP have actually been determined, […] Read More
(b) Birth Memories Lawson (1984, 1985) argues that the abduction experience is the unconscious’ representation of the birth experience. His theory stems from the psychodynamic speculations of Grof (1976), who noted perinatal imagery in subjects experiencing LSD hallucinations. Lawson sees perinatal imagery in abduction experiencers’ descriptions of aliens (they are fetal in appearance), hallways and columns of light (which are considered symbolic of transport down the birth canal), the […] Read More
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES It has been suggested (Sagan, 1996; Vallee, 1969) that similar themes appearing in both historical folklore (e.g., encounters with fairies, elves, angels) and contemporary abduction accounts indicate a common origin in the human psyche. (For a discussion of the folkloric dimensions of the abduction experience, see Bullard, 1991.) A number of psychodynamic theories8 have been proposed to explain the manifestation of these processes as the abduction experience. […] Read More
(b) Escape-From-Self and Masochistic Fantasies Newman and Baumeister (1994; 1996) hypothesize that the abduction experience is a manifestation of fantasies designed to “escape the self.” They argue that for some people, events that leave the individual feeling “stupid, clumsy, or unlovable,” or just the burdens of having to maintain independence, responsibility, and a positive image, may lead to pressure to avoid meaningful thought. In this regard, they consider masochism6 […] Read More
(1) awakening (or an experience immediately preceding sleep); (2) hearing and/or seeing something [e.g., the Old Hag or some other apparition] come into the room and approach the bed; (3) being pressed on the chest or strangled; (4) inability to move or cry out until either being brought out of the state by someone else or breaking through the feeling of paralysis on one’s own. [Hufford, 1982, pp. 10-11] […] Read More