Hypnosis and Religion - some healing words in a world of fear

Note: This article is based upon a Judeo-Christian perspective. For those readers of different faiths, including those which are non-theistic, please read on. The message is the same regardless of what your spiritual beliefs may be...

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About a month ago promising client of mine suddenly cancelled a session for which he had prepaid well in advance. He indicated that he was unable to get there and gave an ostensibly good reason for not showing up. I accepted the reason and left it at that. Then I learned more...

It turns out that this person, a man with high motivation, definite healing goals and a well-planned path toward achieving them, suddenly locked up in fear. What was the source? Unfortunately, for him it was a fundamentalist Christian relative who was frightened of hypnosis. This family member had unfortunately convinced him that I was doing the Devil's work. Hypnosis is evil and therefore a "true" Christian must avoid such temptations - at least according to this particular person.

These days, unfortunately, we live in a world ruled by fear. Some fear what is in the near future, including the uncertainty of dark economic times. Others fear what they do not understand - be it scientific anomalies or things outside of their own religious box. The latter definitely appeared to be the case here.

I have heard similar arguments about the "evils of hypnosis" before, often from well meaning "guardians" of clients, usually friends or family menbers who want to save them from "the dark side." All too often there is a misconception that hypnosis is about control, that it involves surrendering one's will (and maybe one's soul) to the hypnotist. There is also the belief that hypnosis opens one up to possession by the devil. Then, there is the misconception that hypnosis is somehow based upon occult religion, even leading to dark negative claims regarding the very motivations of the hypnotist.

I have written about these fears, misconceptions and limiting beliefs before (See The Christian view is... thoughts on religion and hypnosis), but for the sake of the reader, I will do so again, here:

1) Hypnosis is about mind control: This is a common myth, held by the fundamentalist Christian community, and by many in the meditation community as well. It states that hypnosis gives the hypnotist control over the client and that it results in the client becoming subject to the hypnotist's will. In fact, the core of hypnosis is just the opposite. It is about the clients assertion of control over their own mind and their ability to allow themselves to go inside to do the work of healing.

For a client to do well in hypnosis, they must have their own will intact. They must be able to concentrate, and to allow themselves to suspend disbelief in their own mental abilities. Hypnosis works best when the client has a strong discernment, the ability to see truth from falsehood. Fostering this ability by allowing them to understand and forgive past wrongs is an important part of hypnotherapy.

2) Hypnosis requires surrender to the hypnotist: This, too is a common myth, a close companion to that described above. However, the contrary is true. During hypnosis, the client ALWAYS has control of their own mind and soul. For hypnosis to work the best, the client has to be able to feel that self-control and let it guide them into their own work.

In fact, all hypnosis is really self hypnosis, with the hypnotist only acting as a guide. The real person doing the work is the client. I just ask the right questions at the right time, and the client's mind then provides the insight that leads to healing.

3) Hypnosis opens one up to demonic or diabolical possession: This idea is closely related to the claim that hypnosis reduces one's own personal discernment. Hypnosis functions best when the client suspends disbelief in his/her own inner capabilities. This also involves relaxation and other techniques to bring a shift in perspective. Unfortunately, suspension of disbelief and the talent for self-guided selective focus is often mistaken for "opening up" to potential negative (a.k.a. demonic) influences. However, each human being has their own God-given gift of discernment - the ability to discern right and wrong, good and evil. This is unaltered during the hypnotic process.

I have indeed had instances during hypnotic work where people encountered influences which were not in their best interests. However, these were invariably present prior to their meeting with me. Indeed, I've noted that such influences have often been carried with them from present or former religious associations. And these influences are frequently the exact issue that must be released and forgiven.

4) Hypnosis is associated with occult religions: This idea probably stems from the resemblance of hypnotic trance work with the practices and the rituals of most religions (including Christianity). in most faiths, consciousness-altering practices help people into a state of spiritual-related thought. These includes hymns and other music with binaural tones and/or a minor key, extensive use of lighting and symbolism, and messages fostering a shift to a spiritual persepctive.

These consciousness-related shifts are neither good nor bad, except in the eyes of the beholder. And especially in this case, when the beholder views any religious practice but their own as inherently evil, any such practice becomes branded with terms such as "occult", "satanic" or worse.

Many fundamentalist Christian writers like to talk about Mesmer, one of the pioneers of hypnosis, having had "occult" leanings. Indeed, hypnotists over the ages have most likely held a variety of spiritual beliefs, as have their contemporaries. While Mesmer and other pioneers may have had spiritual views that varied from orthodox Christianity, their views were most likely little different from those of their 18th Century contemporaries. At that time, this was most likely a mix of rationalism, Christianity and spiritualism.

Rather than bringing any message of spiritual belief to a client, I instead invite the client to use their very discernment to open their metaphorical eyes to the difference between the light and the dark side. I ask people to inquire for themselves, to form their own conclusions regarding that which is good and that which is evil.

Instead, of a dark focus, as part of healing work, I often invite my clients to focus on that which their faith is truly based - the envisioning of God, Jesus, or whichever religious figure they believe in. In truth, I have found that hypnotherapy deepens Christianity, rather than corrupting it. When so strengthened, I find that it fosters a whole-soul following of God, rather than a fear-based, rule-based orthodoxy.

5) Hypnotists are inherently occult-based; thus their motivations are suspect: This is an interesting myth, indeed. How can one truly gauge the motivation of each person? Are hypnotherapists somehow motivated by the dark side? And who but God is qualified to make that judgement?

In fact, the greatest motivation of the hypnotherapist is to bring healing work to those who ask for it. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, hypnosis is a gift that God has given to humanity. It is a natural state of being - occuring at least once each 90 minute ultradian cycle of consciousness. People often describe spontaneous hypnotic phenomena such as daydreaming, highway amnesia and deeply focused concentration (being "in the groove"). As a hypnotherapist, it is my job to help people utilize this gift to bring healing to their own lives.

My own belief is that true healing comes from God. And like any person who tries to do God's work, I am but an instrument. In this case, I have been given the gifts of opportunity to study and employ this amazing aspect of the human mind to help people achieve their healing goals.

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I often wonder, is the reaction I saw that day based upon a concern for a friend or family member's another's well-being? Or is it a fear that the the other person will begin to see for themselves that rules and fear do not work. Is it the fear that someone will begin to think and grow for his or her self and thus form their own personal relationship with their Higher Power? In that sense, rather than hypnosis being about control, perhaps it is the opposition to hypnosis which is based upon that very need for control.

Truly, the job of the healer is to provide the services in their specific tradition to foster wellness, empowerment and health, to act as a tool for release and forgiveness in a world dominated by fear. The mandate is clear while the gap within the community of fear is wide. Perhaps, one place to begin might just be with those very ones who fear the healing traditions.

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8/22/09 Update - More notes on hypnosis and religion:

I recieved a note from another friend of mine, who read this article. It contained a link to the website of a very respected clergyman and hypnotist, the Reverend Paul Durbin. Rev. Durbin is a highly respected member of the National Guild of Hypnotists, a long-standing authority on hypnotism, and of the Christian clergy. He has written an excellent article on this very subject, Hypnosis and Religion.

Paul is the consumate healer, and in my mind, the image of what a clergyman should be - kind, caring and compasionate - while at the same time, knowledgeable and authoritative on Christian beliefs and traditions.

For all interested in the topic of religion and hypnosis, I highly recommend Reverengt Paul Durbin's webpage: Hypnosis and Religion for a well-thought-out treatment of this subject by an expert in the field.

Debugging, Healing and Mystery

(updated 7/26/09)

Last couple of days have been moving at high speed. After spending the weekend in Wisconsin, and driving back having had way too little sleep, it was back to the regular job. And in this case, regular is bit of a misnomer. The first thing that happened was one of the systems engineers showing up in my cubicle. This guy's shiney good-morning face has appeared in my cube with predictable regularity, looking for help on one test script or another. It turned out to be a bug in his script - once again...

Then last night, I did some pretty heart-warming healingwork. While I can't say too much about it for obvious reasons, it turned out that this is a mix of conventional hearling hypnotherapy work and some extraordinary experiences. I've found this is more common than I had earlier imagined.

I often find that times in which the phenomenon (or phenomena) emerges often seem to correspond to other "interesting" moments in life. These might be illness, divorce, family crisis, or myriad other crises in life. In past posts and articles, I have noted that this is one of the many drivers for psychic and/or spiritual awakening. And in the case of several recent clients, I have noted that the correspondence between life challenge and awakening seems to be particularly close. I will probably have more to say on this in the near future. But for now, suffice it to say that close encounter work and the life-healing inherent in hypnotherpy work seem to have far more correspondence than we sometimes imagine.

Some people seem to be more prone to issues than others, and I've seen a tremendous influx of people with challenges in life - both big and little. For some, it's life-altering encounters with the unexplained - one event after another. It's an inescapable influence, a presence dogging their lives.

For yours truly, at the moment, it's having difficulty getting a computer program going. In the grand scheme of things, that's a pretty minor life challenge. There are two ends of the severity spectrum, and at the moment, they seem to meet somewhere in the middle, in the life of a healer, hypnotherapist and computer geek named Craig.

Meanwhile, it is almost time to pack it in, getting ready for another day of life challenges in the realm of software and emotional deugging. Time to see if this same guy shows up in my cubicle again in the morning...

The view from the landing - lectures, orbs and a UFO-free sky.

Well, UFODaze has come and gone. I think everyone and everybody was there - at least everyone from southern Wisconsin, and only from southern Wisconsin. The ones who DIDN'T show up were the aliens. But the rain did (see the incoming storm, right)

I got there on Friday afternoon, and got a chance to look around. Benson's hideaway is a pleasant place. Across the lake is a Boy Scout camp, and Kettle Moraine State Forest. This pic is looking up the valley, to the north. It's pretty much all boonies there, and the result is an incredibly peaceful atmosphere - a sense of communion with nature, and of being away from the hustle and bustle of urbania.

I knew immediately that I was in the right place when I saw the sign at the waterfront, UFO Headquarters (see sign in the picture at left).

After I arrived, I stepped inside and got to talking with some of the people there. I also got a great look at the place and immediately felt right at home. I saw pictures of grays, posters and newsclippings of recent UFO sightings, and other info on UFO abductions. Several people there described sightings and encounters. A couple of people even told me about a sighting that had occurred there a couple of days before - a pretty big honkin' ball of light.

The view from the restaurant looks across the lake, and I was told that much of the action is off to the east, over the state forest. It is a beautiful view and a wonderful place for a UFO sighting.

That evening, I met Sam Maranto and Tim Whiteagle, two of the speakers, together with heir spouses. We; had dinner there and got a chance to talk for a while. I learned a lot about MUFON politics that I was not familiar with - and it reminds me of why I am not involved in the inner workings of national HQ. I guess, just like in the day job, I'm just not political enough... :-)

After dinner, we set up camp for the evening and I soon got to chat with Bill Burt, John Hoppe and spouses. John and Jenny Hoppe founded the UFO Wisconsin website and investigative organization. Bill Burt is the state director of ICAR (International Center for Alien Research). Bill and John are quite enthusiastic about deciding and implementing the next step in abduction research, and we agreed that ICAR is probably a big part of that next step.

These were pretty beefy topics for a quiet evening around the campfire. And God must have been listening - responding with a sudden downpour that sent us scurrying under the tarp. Not sure whether that meant approval or otherwise... :-)

Next morning - which actually started rather slowly, when the water failed in the wash room, thus no showers for awile - it was off to Benson's to set up for the conference.

Setting up was quick. "Craig's rapid-deployment kit" - a wheeled suitcase with the essentials of laptop, charger, projector, outlet strip, extension cords laser pointer and batteries - came in ever-handy. I guess after a few presentations, you tend to get a package together, especially after a few scrambles for rechargers, laser pointers, etc.

Sam was up first at the podium, so the pic at right shows Sam putting the final touches on his talk, getting his powerpoint ready to put onto my laptop, and getting his DVD, with several pretty interesting video clips, out to go into my laptop.

Sam's talk was a great leadoff - stressing the difference between believers and investigators. I think that, for this venue, the topic was EXTREMELY appropriate.

He talked about the different types of UFOs, the nature of various sightings, physical evidence and abduction. Primarily, though, he talked about the difference between belief, acceptance and skepticism. The biggest point was the difference between debunking and skepticism. And I guess, like him, I find that difference important...

Next up was Tim Whiteagle.

Tim gave a largely impromptu talk, primarily centered around remote-viewing.

I had no idea just how much history he had with the RV saga - project Grill Flame, then project Stargate. He knew a lot of the RV'ers in the group, Ingo Swann, Lynn Buchanan, and others. And my understanding is that Tim is quite the remote viewer, himself.

One of the truly fascinating things Tim mentioned in his talk - once you can remote view, the Universe holds no secrets. That's both encouraging, and spooky to think about. And I will leave it at that.

The third speaker was from the Kettle Moraine Paranormal Investigation group. Since his website indicates that he wants to keep his personal info under wraps, I will just give his name as Michael.

His talk was on Sleep Paralysis - which is the classic null hypothesis for alien abduction. He covered the basic medical description of it, then went into some of the more spiritual history of the topic - interference and attack by demons, etc.

I will probably have more to say on this later. For now, suffice it to say that it was a nice lead-in to my talk on alien abduction...

Looking at the picture to the right, you can see that the talks were pretty well attended. The crowd at the back was part of the standing-room-only attendance (many centered around the bar, just beyond the archway).

Our workshop was in what was normally the restaurant area - so most of the food-related service at Benson's that evening was around the bar. It was a noisy, impromput and fun venue - and a unique experience for the presenter.

We took an hour break between the talk by the Kettle Moraine folks and mine - which was great. I was starved, as were many others.
The Dundee Lions Club had a burger and brat stand outside, and when I stepped back outside, I noted that several other vendors had joined them, including several of the speakers.

The pic at right is one of the vendor tables, the tarp to the left of them was set up for the burger and brat stand - and after quite a few hours since breakfast, a plate full of burgers and brats tasted great.

This was not the place for vegetarians...

After the supper break came my talk, A Closer Look at UFO Encounters - during which I didn't take any pictures. More stuff coming up on my presentation, however, once I get the audio and video from Bill. But you can click on this link to get to the powerpoint slides, or go to my website: http://www.craigrlang.com/ and go to the events page.

I think my talk was pretty well received, as I got a number of pretty positive comments back about it. I also sold a fair number of copies of The Cosmic Bridge, and The Other Side of the Sky, The Cosmic Bridge Companion after the talk. So I think I must have made a pretty good impression.

My primary point was to stress that we really know very little about close encounters, and the best use of healing skills such as hypnotherapy is to do just that - healing. I think that both skeptics and new-agers can largely agree on that.

In addition, in any UFO gathering, you can usually guess that about 25% to 50% of those there are experiencers. In this case, the number of people who raised their hands, when I asked my usual lead-in survey question, was about 25% or less. I'm not too surprised by that, as it is my understanding that this area is relatively socially conservative. Still, I was not surprised to note that several people had tears in their eyes as I went through the description of the close encounter experience, and the outward indicators. I can usually see one or two experiencers sitting in the front row, riveted to the screen, and this time was no exception.

Then the talks were done.

It was time to adjourn outside, grab the lawn chairs and stake out a place on the lawn near the waterfront. Hopefully, in an hour or so, dark would set in and "They" would put on a show for us.

Well, I think we got a FEW visitors, as witnessed by the little white globe in the picture at right (look toward the upper right, over the heads of the people on the right side of the pic).

Not sure if it was dust in the air, caught by the flash (the null hypothesis for orbs) or it was a visitor checking out what all the fuss was about. But it always makes for another interesting aspect to the mystery...

You can see another of our "orbian visitors" in the picture at right. All in all, I got several good pictures of our translucent friends.

Which is good, because our UFOlogical friends didn't show.

My record is still untarnished - I have never had an overt, unambiguous, UFO sighting. While I ahve seen a few stars or black dots behaving badly, none of them were up close and personal. And this time was no exception.

So does Benson's Hideaway attract aliens (and/or hoaxers)? Many say yes to the former, and some to the latter - and I got the chance to interview many who have seen some pretty interesting stuff in the sky there. But at UFODaze 2009, we didn't see anything unambiguously UFOlogical. But we did have a great time. And I wonder if, in a way, that is sufficient.

Ramblings before a UFOlogical road trip

Lotsa stuff going on this evening - most of which involves putting stuff in a pile near the back door. Leaving tomorrow noon for UFODaze in Wisconsin, just after work, and I'm looking forward to the shift of gears.

The last couple of days, especially, have been pretty hectic, mostly related to the regular job. I've been pretty heavily involved in one project in particular, the project I'm not really supposed to be working on. The one that I AM supposed to be spending most of my time on, I have really accomplished very little on. The upside down nature of this should worry me, and in years past, it might have. However, in recent times its ability to get under my skin has receded somewhat. Maybe I'm learning a few things from meditation after all...

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to getting together with some folks I haven't seen in a few years. Hopefully, I will see a few of the folks that I met down in Winona a few years ago, at Jerry's get together. One of them was, in a way, an inspiration for one of the characters in The Fifth Key. I won't say which one, but anyone who knows both of us might just figure it out, or maybe not. The correspondence is pretty obscure, but still it's a close match in some ways.

That brings me to the next step in the writing road - trying to get The Fifth Key published. I just saw a brief special on JK Rowling - who is kinda the pinnacle of writing success stories. Its always a pipe dream of mine to somehow have that much luck in getting my stuff out that same door. But then again, it's probably not luck - it's probably skill and perseverence in finding a good agent. Then again, a few prayers might help, too.

I finally got some writing in on Children of the Stars (CotS) - the next book after The Fifth Key (5K). I've mostly been letting it ruminate in my mind for the last few months. However, recently I started to put pen to paper a bit with the follow-on story to 5K. In 5K, the Pleiadeans are the good guys and the reptillians the bad dudes. In CotS, I am asking; are the Pleiadeans really all good and the Reptillians all bad? Or is there more going on under the covers? Some interesting points to ponder as I go spend the weekend in a UFO hotspot, in the company of a quite a few experiencers.

The anticipation of this is building in my mind, as well. I've never actually had anything (at least overtly) in the way of a large, meaningful UFO sighting. While I am extremely supportive of those who have, I wish I would see something - just enough to give me that first hand exposure to the phenomenon. To me, it would give me that inner confirmation that the phenomenon I've dedicated my life to studying is real. While I have no doubt of it's reality overall, as well as it's presence in the livesof many, I still await its entry into my reality as well.

Why do some folks see them all the time, while others like myself seldom if ever do? To me, that's one of the biggest mysteries of the phenomenon. I've heard a lot of ideas on this, and some of them seem to make quite a bit of sense. See my earlier blog postings about DMT, psychic ability and UFO experiences.

Do I just have a closed psychic eye? While I have been told by a number of seers that I am actually somewhat able in PSI abilities, still, in my case the PSI eye to the sky seems to have missed the prize. Since I have my eye to the sky constantly, you'd think I'd see one at some pont. Yet still, I await my first first-hand glimpse of the phenomenon, wondering how my role in all of this fits into the big picture. It's a very big Universe, and a tiny little me - with rather long, convoluted ramblings on the evening before a UFOlogical road trip.

More on DMT and other PSI enhancing influences...

After posting my previous article on Graham Hancock's talk at the 2009 X-Conference, I let the material turn in my mind and eventually thought of some additional fascinating points which Hancock made. So read on and see for yourself some of the insightful comments and their implications for our understanding of UFO encounters...

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One point which Hancock stated was that, while PSI enhancing influences - especially hallucinogenic drugs - may be associated with shamanic visions and extraordinary experiences, they are NOT an explanation for their content. Rather, he argued that they enable the mind to percieve/discern the presence of another aspect of reality. Much like opening up another sense, they allow perception of new information, rather than create a purely artifical fabrication of the mind.

This is very much in keeping with the Penrose/Hameroff model of consciousness, based upon the quantum model of the mind/brain. In this model, anything that enhances quantum behavior of the microtubular structures within the brain would promote PSI activity, opening/expanding the mind to experiences such as shamanic journeys and the ability to perceive otherwise-unnoticed anomalies within our world.

Hancock cited an analogy of a telescope enabling one to see the moons of Jupiter and other details of the heavens not visible to the naked eye. He argued that saying the DMT and corresponding brain activity explains the shamanic experience, rather than it being a perception of a different aspect of our universe, is like saying that the moons of Jupiter are merely a property of the lens arrangement of a telescope, not part of the universe itself.

Furthermore, DMT is just one way in which the mind can become open to altered-state perception. The death (NDE) experience, life trauma, deep meditative/spiritual practices, all can provide a window into other aspects of reality not available to the "waking" beta state of consciousness. The fact that different practices result in different experiences is roughly analogous to using different scientific instruments - or even pointing the telescope in different directions - resulting in a completely different set of observations.

I often ask the chicken-and-egg question of which comes first, psychic awakening or the close encounter experience. In fact, I suspect that each enhances eachother, for better or for worse. Along the same vein, another question is how a "hallucinogenic" explanation of UFO abduction would result in multiple witness sightings, radar detection of UFOs and ground traces (such as those in Evelyn's encounters described in The Cosmic Bridge). The conclusion is that the "DMT" model" does NOT fully explain the close encounter. Rather, I suspect that it simply makes one more sensitive to the presence of anomalies in our environment. Thus, we can better understand the experiencer's ability to see selectively visible (cloaked or stealthy) UFOs, the occurrence of paranormal fallout, and/or other corrolary phenomena. At the same time, in another article on reality anomalies in CE4 Cases, I describe UFO encounter cases in which multiple realities have appeared to co-exist at the same time. The Jungian idea of an overlay of realities seems to directly speak to our observations of the UFO abduction experience having both a psychic or dream-like aspect and a physical aspect. My own belief is that a full understanding of the UFO phenomenon, especially this reality-overlay issue, will bring with it a much deeper understanding of of our universe than we presently have.

So in short, while Hancock was not directly addressing the UFO experience, much of what he said can directly apply to that very experience. Studies of DMT and/or other PSI enhancing influences can directly add to our understanding of the anomalies that challenge our understanding of our universe and of reality, itself.

Note to a concerned correspondent

This is a copy of an e-mail, which I sent to a corresondent - a friend of a client of mine - who was concerned about the effects of hypnosis. I hear similar comments from many religious fundamentalists, displaying a misunderstanding of what hypnosis really is. Many such comments express fear that hypnosis either places the client under control of the hypnotist, or opens them up to "dark side" influences.

This particular correspondent is an avid writer and a proponent of many conservative religious arguments, including the proposition that there is a powerful dark influence attempting to take over control of society. She states that many of the close encounter phenomenon and related anomalies are actually manifestations of this effort at control. She has written several excellent, thought-provoking articles on this topic.

I sent this e-mail in response to her concern that hypnotherapy might open her friend's mind/soul to dark influences. Read on, discern the truth and draw your own conclusions....

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Dear [correspondent name],

You indicated you were not comfortable with hypnosis and that you thought it might open your friend to "dark side" influences. I often hear this from people until they understand that hypnosis is a completely natural state. We each spend a fraction of our time each day in that very state. In fact, all hypnosis is really self-hypnosis and like you, we all enter that state for several minutes in each 90-minute ultradian cycle of consciousness. Any time you daydream, use creative thought, focus/concentrate, or do any other mental activity that takes you into your own mental work, you are in hypnosis. Hypnotherapy merely applies that natural state to facilitate healing.

You are creative and are very focused. Witness the insights you show in your writing. In one sense, that means you have been in spontaneous self-hypnosis many, many times. You probably don't use that term for it, but neurologically it's the same thing.

While in hypnosis, each person has control of their own thoughts, feelings and beliefs at all times. While in the hypnotic state, a person's discernment is just as powerful - or even more so - than in the rational problem-solving beta or "waking" state. People report that they are actually MORE aware of their surroundings, and have CLEARER memories during hypnosis than at other times. That's because the powers of concentration are invoked and strengthened in the hypnotic state, enabling people to discern much more.

In addition, no beliefs will occur that are not already present within one's own personal paradigm. Furthermore, no introduction of negative or darkside material will occur if it is not already present in a person's mind. What hypnotherapy DOES do is help people to strengthen their own mental abilities and discern the truth for themselves. Rather than opening someone to negative beliefs, it helps to "unhypnotize" people, enabling them to discern and understand past beliefs.

I often hear statements about hypnosis such as you have described, and have noted that they tend to be based upon a misunderstanding of what hypnosis really is. Furthermore, discernment and healing enhanced through hypnotherapy may be threatening to those who want to maintain spiritual/mental control over others. So frequently, misconceptions can be propogated by those who are threatened by this powerful healing tool.

Hope this clarifies the process for you a little more. Let me know if you still have questions about this

Thanx,
-Craig

DMT, quantum consciousness and the extraordinary experience

This afternoon was the July monthly Minnesota MUFON meeting, the second-Saturday-of-the-month gathering of UFO aficionados in Minneapolis. At this meeting, we watched the recording of a talk by Graham Hancock, presented at the recent X-Conference, put on by the Paradigm Research Group. My undestanding had been that these folks were primarily focused on disclosure, a topic I am not heavily involved in. However, it turns out that at least some of the talks were on very different topics, such as abduction and parapsychology - and in this case, a possible relationship between the two.

The talk by Graham Hancock was on his book, Supernatural. This book explores the deep history of humanity, specifically in the realm of shamanism. He looks at the evolution of human thought and points out that, although modern humans have been around for roughly 150 thousand years, only in the last 30 thousand years or so have humans had modern symbolism, religious/spiritual thought and art/creativity. Thus, something appeared to have happened at that particular time in our prehistory, to spur us on this new path of cultural evolution.

He points out many of the caves and rock-art drawings dating back to earliest prehistory (60 to 20 thousand years ago) have lately been accepted as depictions of shamanic journeys. The caves were (and are) sacred sites - thought of as portals to another world. And in cave art, the drawings appear to depict exactly that - supernatural beings, portals into another world - and, what I find most interesting from a UFOlogical perspective, UFOs and Grays. The implication here seems to be that there was some sort of contact between humans and grays dating back into humanity's earliest prehistory.

Then Hancock takes a slightly different turn. While some authors (such as Erich Von Daniken) suggest that this implies a physical ET presence in human history, Hancock explores a different avenue; he looks into the nature of shamanic experiences. And what he concludes is fascinating indeed.

Hancock explores the shamanic journey in more detail, noting many of the features of the experience. The most important of these is that the shaman is always in an altered state of consciousness during these experiences. He emphasizes that this is the core of shamanism; it not possible to be a shaman without leaving our normal beta-state awareness and venturing into the world of trance, hallucinogenic, or other mind-altered state. In most cases, in the indigenous world, this is done with some type of hallucinogenic drug. This can be magic mushrooms, Peyote, DMT, LSD, or any of a number of other drugs. This, Hancock stated, was taken in the shamanic world as being the fastest way to achieve this altered state of consciousness.

What Hancock centered on in his talk was DMT, described by Rick Strassman in his book DMT The Spirit Molecule. While also looking at other drugs, he focused on this particular one as being the most commonly used - primarily in South American indigenous societies. He then examined the rather universal experiences of shamans in many parts of the world, again focusing on South American practices. He noted a fascinating thing, that these experiences duplicate nearly exactly, those depicted in prehistoric cave art. Apparently, the shamanic experience is one of the oldest experiences in human history.

Next, since Hancock was presenting this to the International UFO Congress, he needed to tie this in with the UFO experience - which he did handsomely. He proceeded to compare the shamanic experience to that of the UFO abduction experience, as described by Mack, Hopkins, Jacobs, et al. And the result was again, amazing. The comparison went something like this:

• In shamanic journeys, entities appear that closely resemble beings described in UFO abduction cases
• In shamanic experiences, entities often initially appear as animals, while frequently, the initial screen memories of abductees are also of animals - frequently very similar to those described by shamans [CL Note: would need to more closely confirm this]. The beings then shape-shift into their "alien" form
• Both the shaman and the abductee describe then being floated into the sky, usually in a beam of light, a ladder of light or similar.
• Shamans describe being pierced, tortured, implanted with objects, and other things closely resembling the medical ordeals of abductees.
• Nearly simultaneously with descriptions of tortures and ordeals, shamans describe receiving gifts from the spirits - primarily those of healing and other extraordinary powers. [CL note: This is the core of the "medicine man" ethos]. This is very close to the description of gifts, psychic emergence and awakening, and the paranormal fallout that abductees describe.
• Shamans also describe sexual relationships between themselves and entities in the alternate realm, including having offspring in the other world. This is also a cornerstone of the UFO abduction narrative, the creation of hybrid children from sexual unions between abductees and aliens.
• One of the biggest of the effects - also nearly identical between shamanic and UFOlogical narratives - is that of a sense of mission. Both the shaman and the abductee "know" that they are here for a purpose.
• Missing time is the cornerstone of the abduction experience, and is also part of the shamanic lore. In prehistoric times and in modern indigenous cultures, the spirits are the abductors.

Hancock also explored to some degree, the work of Jacques Vallee, in his book Passport to Magonia, where he explores the similarities between folklore and modern UFO abduction accounts.

• In western medieval lore, faeries, elves and similar beings often abducted humans - mostly children. Accounts are somewhat similar to those of alien abduction.
• The changeling was sometimes the result of a human-faery union, or was a faery child left behind in place of the abducted human child, similar in many accounts to the hybrids of UFOlogical lore.
• Like the UFOlogical aliens, faeries are said both to torture human captives, and to bestow gifts upon them - often part of the same experience.

The list could go on, but I think you get the idea. The UFO experience seems to have a vast array of similarities to the shamanic and folkloric experiences. So, are they the same? Let's look at some more characteristics of the UFO experience...

Abductees describe being psychically sensitive at an early age. They describe many other extraordinary experiences besides those related to UFOs. These include the ability to see spirits, communicate telepathically, have psychic visions, and many more. These include (almost incidentally) many UFO sightings throughout their lives. In short, they appear to be sensitive - ether as a byproduct, or as a cause - of their UFO experiences.

Hancock further stated that, while DMT is illegal, we all have a minuscule amount of it in our own endocrine systems. It is produced by the pineal gland - the location of the 6th or Ajna chakra, also known as the psychic or third eye. This appears to be the center of psychic function in the human being, and thus, its relationship to the shamanic journey seems to come full circle. Each of us has a little bit of shaman in them, by nature. Perhaps for some, the DMT quantity is greater than for others. This would be an interesting topic of study.

This is also in keeping with another topic of study, that of Stuart Hameroff, MD, a professor at the University of Arizona Center for Consciousness Studies in Tucson, AZ. Dr. Hameroff is an anesthesiologist, who became interested in the fundamental properties of anesthesia and consciousness - extending this to hallucinogens as well. He found that (simply put) the microtubular structure of the neurons (and all cells) within the brain have both quantum and classical behavior. The more quantum the behavior of the component proteins (tubulins), the more psychic and the more conscious the person becomes. Conversely, the more classical the behavior, the more grounded and less conscious the person is. A balance between the two would seem to be necessary if we are to be conscious, sentient, creative beings and yet be able to function in the real world of moving cars, saber-toothed tigers and dishonest financiers.

Dr. Hameroff found that the primary role of all anesthetics appears to be to move the tubulins toward classical behavior, while the role of hallucinogens appears to move it toward quantum behavior. Thus, the shamanic experience, facilitated by hallucinogens could be thought of as "simply" that of a more quantum enabled tubulins within the shaman's brain allowing for a higher consciousness experience. While this is a gross oversimplification, it seems to capture the fundamental essence of the process.

So, does the awakened human being in our society - the sensitive or perceiver, the abductee, the psychic, simply have a more active pineal gland? Do they have more DMT in their system, resulting in more quantum behavior in their neuronal microstructures? It would be an interesting topic of study, indeed, to learn if there is a correlation between psychic sensitivity and the concentration of DMT in the human endocrine system. Similarly, it would be interesting to see if abductees also show similar concentrations of DMT (at various stages in their lives).

There are many more questions to be asked as a result of what I heard in Graham Hancock's lecture; we have only scratched the surface of this topic. Indeed, like any truly meaningful scientific insight, this one raises far more questions than it answers. It tells me once again, that the relationship between UFO encounters and other forms of extraordinary experience are deeply related. And the reality-bending nature of close encounters once again tells me that there is far more to the UFO/CE4 phenomenon than we even begin to understand. But maybe we have made a beginning. I believe that there is deep meaning in this connection - the link between DMT and other quantum-mind enhancers, human consciousness, and the extraordinary experience.

Crop Circle Parapsychology Experiment

In my status update on Paxo->Twitter, etc., I indicated that I had just begun a new parapsychology experiment. Well, today we put it in motion. Here's the buzz...

At the last Minnesota MUFON meeting, I learned from two friends of mine, Dean and Margaret DeHarpPorte, that they were planning to go on a tour of England, visiting crop circle sites, sacred sites, etc. The leader of the trip, Colin Andrews, apparently suggested that they put out to the Universe, a crop circle design - the intent being to see if that design manifests during the time they are there. From this, we decided to hatch an experiment to see if we could put out a pre-existing design.

The experiment is a blind trial; no one except the sender knows the actual design.
The experiment protocol is as follows:

• On 6/25/09, I created five designs on my computer, using PowerPoint and a liberal dose of shapes and pre-fab designs taken from the PowerPoint library. I printed these five designs and placed them in sealed envelopes.
• At the 7/11/09 Minnesota MUFON meeting, during brunch at Bakers Square before the meeting, I asked another friend of mine, Mike Harris, to draw one of the envelopes from the five. He did so, and I handed that envelope to Dean. I placed a seal (a small happy-face sticker) on the flap of the other four envelopes and gave them to Lorna Hunter (the MN MUFON Assistant State Director and Investigation Coordinator) for safe keeping.
• Dean indicated that he would give the sealed envelope to the trip leader, as he planned to put his own design out instead.
• During the trip, and for an indeterminate time afterwards, it is intended to monitor the possible formation of crop circles and note any new designs.
• At the September Minnesota MUFON meeting, we plan to determine if any possible new crop circle designs appeared, and if so, whether they corresponded to the design which Dean was given.

This is the first of any number of possible experiments to determine whether it is possible to put out to the Universe, the request for a particular design of crop circle. It is, what I consider to be a valiant first attempt.

Several disadvantages exist in the experiment - which is unfortunate, but unavoidable in this relatively quickly organized study:

1. When I announced at the meeting, it was pointed out that the experiment is not a fully blind study, as the sender would be aware of the design. However none of the other participants know of the design so in that sense it is fully blinded.
2. It was also noted that, since Dean would not be sending the design, but someone else whom I don't know may (or may not) be sending the design instead, there is an uncontrolled element to the experiment.
3. Since someone would know of the design, it might be possible for hoaxers to find the design and create a crop circle. However, hopefully, the design will not be sent until the trip has started, so hopefully the actual sender, whoever he/she is, will keep the design close to the vest until the actual sending time.

This is the first of any number (one or more) of crop circle parapsychology experiments. It will be interesting to see how this goes, and whether there is any result to it. While this protocol has some significant weaknesses, I believe it is a great first step in our investigation into the parapsychology of crop circles. Please feel free to wish us luck and send us metaphysical encouragement.

Black magic - dark beliefs and the light of healing

Today, I had a brief conversation on-line with someone on a hypnotherapy list I subscribe to - yes, the same one I talked about earlier. A hypnotist on the list, working somewhere in the Middle East wrote in to ask if anyone had any advice he could use with a client who was having a problem with black magic. He indicated that the person had an overall good disposition, but had had negative experiences with a sorcerer - a person who had put a curse on her.

I wrote back to ask several things:
- How intense is the person's belief in black magic?
- What was her history, especially with regards to the person(s) associated with "magic"?
- What are the emotions associated with the "curse" - what is their history in the client's life?

My suggestion was that the hypnotist could work backwards in regression to the source of the emotional effects. Another would be to work backwards to the source of the beliefs. My bet is that the source of the emotion might be similar to the source of the beliefs, connecting the two in what hypnotists call an initial sensitising event (or ISE for short).

In an earlier blog post, I discussed a relationship between hypnosis, magic and religion. I stated that many religions use similar techniques, related to hypnosis, without the "hypnosis" label. Principal among these are using various techniques such as rituals, symbols and stories to bypass the suspension of disbelief.

In hypnotherapy work, key to suspension of disbelief is the rapport between the client and hypnotist - a climate of safety, comfort and healing. In other cases, such as negative religions practices, this critical bypass is far less positive. In practices such as "black magic," suspension of disbelief includes attribution of powers to the sorcerer. If the sorcerer casts a dark spell - a curse - the victim believes that they are cursed, opening the door to the subconscious and allowing a toxic belief to enter. Suspension of disbelief in a very negative sense. Where issues with toxic beliefs are involved, hypnotherapy can be an ideal way to provide healing. Thus, far from being evil, as my earlier fundamentalist caller maintained, hypnotherapy can indeed be a powerful force for good. This is especially true when dealing with negative beliefs such as "black magic."

Another note: In spite of the relatively skeptical-sounding tone of the above comments, I am very open to possible paranormal explanations of some "magical" actions. In the words of Arthur C. Clarke (Clarkes third law), any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic. Perhaps a corrolary is that a physical process which we don't understand might also be taken as "magical." We know very little yet about parapsychology. Could there be a PSI connection associated with some "black magic" practices?

Then there is the spirit-mind-body connection - the powerful core of healing with hypnotherapy. The mind has the ability to heal or sicken you. It is a powerful wholistic epiphenomenon, and so far, it is very little understood. This, in association with non-local/PSI effects might indeed afford a physical mechanism for such a process. So who am I to say that "magic" is purely belief.

Having said that, in order for something like a curse to work, it seems necessary for both the sorcerer and the victim to believe in it. Thus hypnotherapy, a vital tool in the effort to heal the toxic belief systems behind mind-body illness, can be valuable in reversing the influences of dark religious practices. It can truly bring the light of healing to the darkness of "black magic."