CE4 Corner Draft - Spirit, Hardware and Mystery - the many realities of the visitor phenomenon

A week ago (as of the writing of this article) I had the truly unique experience of attending the first MUFON field investigator boot camp. It was one of those unforgettable experiences - the first of its kind, probably anywhere in the world. And for me, it was very different from the world I normally move in. It was a week of learning how to do forensic evidence gathering of past UFO encounters. It was a week of no-nonsense, nuts-and-bolts field work straight out of the set of CSI.

Working with close encounter experiencers, especially in the Twin Cities, which tends to be more of a new-age/metaphysical orientation, I mostly hear about the spiritual aspects of the close encounter phenomenon. I see the way it melds into the spectrum of the clients' spiritual, paranormal and metaphysical experiences. And as a result, I mostly see a spiritual/metaphysical side of the phenomenon.

In contrast, my week in the Arizona desert at MUFON FI boot camp was focused on hard-boiled, evidence-based, forensic investigation. It began with a discussion of various tools and procedures to be used in the field. Then we covered different possible scenarios of UFO physical evidence - a historical UFO crash, a UFO landing, a UFO-car interaction leaving magnetic traces on the car, and a present-day crashed UFO. In each case, we learned procedures and techniques for carefully gathering evidence, taking careful readings and measurements, documenting the scenario, etc.

Most of the people attending this workshop were seasoned field investigators. Many of them were had backgrounds in law-enforcement, engineering and the military, including several who were retired special forces. Many had been involved in some way with the hidden side of the government-UFO scenario and knew more about past UFO events than they were able to say. Yet at the same time, all were intent on understanding the phenomenon in depth. Many of the attendees had had their own sightings or experiences and I'm sure a few were life-long abductees. In short, this was a hard-boiled no-nonsense group of investigators, pragmatic, analytical - deeply curious and dedicated.

A few weeks before, I had attended the Paradigm symposium in Minneapolis - another group of researchers with a different bent, to seek out the hidden history of humanity. One of the featured speakers there was Graham Hancock, who spoke extensively on the influence of shamanism in human history. In his book, Supernatural, Hancock offers a very different approach to anomaly and close encounter experiences from the nuts-and-bolts understanding I sensed at FI boot camp.

In Supernatural, and in his talk at the Paradigm Conference, Hancock offered the idea that close encounters may be at least in part, a type of shamanic journey. He described events of the shamanic experience - star beings, trials and tortures, sexual encounters, and other elements that have a similar ring to those described by abductees. This suggests that the experiences have something in common, yet at the same time, it does not even begin to explain the physical aspects of the phenomenon.

A significant portion of the UFO abduction cases in the MUFON data base, including many in our own case files, have both physical evidence and shamanic or metaphysical aspects to them. The implications of this are profound. It suggests that there is an overlay of realities between this world and the world(s) beyond our everyday reality. And in many cases, these overlapping worlds can interact with each other, leaving marks on our physical world.

Does this mean the UFO/Close-encounter phenomenon is primarily metaphysical in nature? I don't believe we can conclude that. However resemblance between shamanism and UFO abduction suggests that the visitor interaction with us is far beyond our every day experience. The UFO phenomenon is physical, leaving traces in the dirt and marks on the experiencer. Our visitors might just be biological beings in nuts-and-bolts craft, visiting from nearby stars. Yet the UFO encounter is often also spiritual, a shamanic, metaphysical experience that often resembles dreams more than alien space ships.

This suggests that the nature of the phenomenon and who/whatever is behind it is still far beyond our understanding. It is far from being either a simple nuts and bolts visitation, or purely a dream-like metaphysical experience. Rather, it is at once a phenomenon of many worlds, of spirit, hardware and mystery.

"Something wrong with the world" - Dealing with runway anxiety

How many readers of this blog have had the feeling of runaway anxiety at some time or another. It feels as if "something is wrong with the world," but you just can't put your finger on it? You couldn't point to a particular thing and say, "that's the problem." But deep within your mind, alarm bells are going off. It feels like the sword of Damocles is hanging over you by a thread, ready to fall at any instant.

Last night, I saw a great discussion of this on the Channel 4 (WCCO TV) news. They described what it feels like, and what it's like to live with feelings of anxiety. They gave some good ways to deal with that oppressing feeling of alarm and fear that never seems to go away.

In this case, they portrayed the wife of a major sports figure. She described how she had had a sudden increase in stress, fear and panic in the last few years. For her, it began shortly after their children were born and got progressively worse. In the broadcast, she described how at one point, she couldn't be alone and needed a relative to stay with her to help keep the fear at bay. In her blog, she describes what it feels like. In part two of her article, she discusses how to come to terms with the ever-present anxiety.

What is going on? What is at the core of anxiety and how can a person come to terms with it? Runaway fear seems to be a reaction to a sudden increase in life stress. Frequently, it seems to occur when something in life changes, responsibilities increase or some other factor generates long-term stress in life. The result is that the alarm bells are triggered frequently - so frequently that the mind gets used to feeling alarmed, as if this were the normal state of life.

The mind under potential stress could be likened to a battleship at sea. Under normal circumstances, with no enemy in sight, there is no reason to be immediately alarmed. Normal common-sense precautions and a regular watch should suffice to keep the ship safe. When the radar detects the enemy, suddenly the alarm sounds "ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS." Cannons and missiles are readied to fight the enemy until the threat passes. Damage control is prepared in case the ship takes a hit. Then, once the threat passes, routine life is able to resume.

But often the mind can become overly sensitive. In the battleship analogy, perhaps the sea seems to be  full of enemy ships and planes. Perhaps the radar is overly sensitive or misidentifies non-hostile craft as enemies. There are many possible ways for the alarm to sound prematurely, but the result is similar. The crew goes to battle stations frequently - too frequently.

In the same way, if a person's mind becomes overly sensitive to potential threats the same feeling battle-readiness can result. As if threats were everywhere, a person can feel fearful, ready for fight-or-flight far more frequently than their world requires. The fear is not real, the danger is not real, but the response is very real.

How can one deal with this oppressive, overhanging cloud of fear? How can one improve their quality of life, realistically dealing with life in a safe, loving, secure way. How can we get rid of that sword of Damocles and live normal lives free of the runaway fear?

The WCCO broadcast did a good job of treating the topic compassionately, usefully and informatively. They looked at ways to keep the fear at bay. In this case, she dealt with it by regular exercise such as running, by using medications, and by going to therapy. All of these work together, and all can be very effective. If you have a condition like this, please know you are not alone, and that it is OK to get help.

Several clients I have worked with have had issues similar to the one described on the WCCO broadcast. In each case, I found that the cause was relatively easy to find using hypnotherapy, and we were able to achieve excellent results. Today, these same people are able to live normal lives largely clear of the excessive fear they felt every day.

I will use the example of a typical fear-management client, whom I will refer to as "Jim". Jim was referred to me by his counselor for help using hypnotherapy. He had the same issue as described in the WCCO broadcast, ever-present fear that something was wrong - non-specific but with him constantly. Using hypnosis, we were able to take Jim into a relaxed state, bring up feelings of safety and then give him post-hypnotic suggestions that he could feel this safety at other times of normal life.

In addition, through hypnotherapy, we were able to find the thought patterns based upon memories from his early childhood that contributed to his fears. At that early time in life, something scary had apparently happened. Now, events in his recent life had reawakened this part of his mind, bringing these fears back into play. Although they were based on old-childhood events, the emotions from his subconscious were now incorrectly focused on the present day resulting in excessive fear and anxiety.

In hypnosis, we were able to return to the source of the childhood fears within his subconscious mind - as if a little child lived at the core of his consciousness. We were then able to bring adult awareness and present life feelings of safety and security back to that childhood element, reminding it of how it was - and is today - safe and loved.

The result was life-changing. Jim now lives a normal life, free of the disproportionate fear he felt before. Now he can go about his day with the quality of life each person deserves. Like a heavy weight off his shoulders, he is now free of the burden of fear.

My heart goes out to the woman featured in the WCCO documentary. And if there is any way for a person with her condition to find help through hypnosis, I would encourage him/her to check it out. In conjunction with her other physical and mental health providers, hypnotherapy can provide an excellent  way to find and resolve the core issue - feeling like there is "something wrong with the world."

#hypnosis, #hypnotherapy, #anxiety

More fun with fundamentalism - Beliefs, Biblical literalism and business referrals

A few days ago, I had one of those non-favorite experiences as a hypnotist, an unexpected encounter with a frightened Christian fundamentalist. In this case, the incident came as a surprise to me during a meeting as part of a networking organization I belong to. As we met to discuss referrals, business details, etc., I expected my friend would be there to discuss the possibilities for delivering mutual value to clients, etc. My friend had always showed every sign of being fair, open and even adventurous in his views, willing to go the extra mile to bring the right services to his clients.

Then, early on in the meeting, he said something to me that knocked my socks off. He told me that he was going to "lay it on the line" about hypnosis - and presumably other forms of complimentary or alternative healing as well. He indicated he felt frightened by it. Without saying it in so many words, he appeared to consider me a purveyor of evil. While he said he thought I meant well and was passionate and dedicated to my healing work, it was clear to me that he considered me to somehow be misguided, deceived, etc. With a kick-off like that, I knew I had my work cut out for me if we were going to salvage any kind of business relationship.

I don't have any issues with anyone's political or religious beliefs, myself. I work on a daily basis with people of all faiths, political views, lifestyles, perspectives, etc. I respect each person's right to personal and spiritual growth. As long as one's beliefs - and the actions that arise from them - do not somehow impinge on another person's success or well being, I believe people are fully entitled to believe what they will. I don't think my friend thought the same way.

As the meeting went on, he grilled me about how I had gotten interested in hypnosis, digging in to the fact that I had been an anomaly researcher, speaker, etc. Having an idea of where he was going with that line of discussion, I told him that like him, I was a Christian. I believe in Jesus and follow Him as my own personal healer, teacher and redeemer. In turn, my friend told me that he believed the Bible was the sole authority, the literal verbatim word of God. While I believe the Holy Cannon is to be taken seriously, I believe it was written through history, perhaps under divine influence, but written over the space of several thousand years by human beings. It is a book about God, inspired by God, chronicling words and actions of God. It is a book of stories and lessons, wisdom and spiritual teaching that defines Christianity. But to me, it is NOT to be taken literally.

In contrast, my friend told me that Christianity - particularly literal, Biblical Christianity - was the only way. Any other way was anathema. And any beliefs that differed from that were (by extension) sinful, evil, heretical or whatever you wish [my interpretation]. At no time did he use an 'I believe' phrase in there. His was a statement of 'fact' (to me it says he has a lot of faith).

We talked some more, still amicably if a bit strained, and finished our discussion. At one point, he tried to sell me his product - NOT the purpose of a networking meeting. I told him I was not in the market for it but I knew others who might be. As we wrapped up our meeting, I asked him for referrals - which IS the purpose of a networking meeting. At that time, even though I had explained what hypnosis is and is not (and he appeared to understand) he turned around and told me he was not comfortable with hypnosis - so I would doubt if he would be likely to refer someone to a hypnotist.

To repeat my argument to him, hypnosis is NOT spiritual, although spirituality can be part of hypnosis, just like it can be part of any other activity in life. Hypnosis does NOT involve ceding of control - the client retains full conscious awareness and personal will/discernment at all times. Hypnosis is not magic - it is an ordinary property of the mind which you enter once every 90 minutes or so, and you experience spontaneously several times a day. We call it daydreaming, being in the groove, reading a novel, watching a movie, etc. 

In short, hypnosis is nothing more than a state of focused attention. That's all. Period. 
Unfortunately, I found that my friend was refractory to rational arguments. In spite of my explanations and assurances, he clung to the fear he held for what I do.

In doing a little research on the mechanics of belief rigidity, etc., I learned some very interesting things. 

1. Believing something in spite of rational evidence to the contrary is a sign of prior programming known as dogmatism.
2. According to the Law of Consistency [Hogan, The Psychology of Persuasion, pp 53], even in the face of compelling evidence to the contrary, one will maintain a point of view once they have  publicly stated belief in that point of view. 
3. Similarly, according to the Law of Conformity [Hogan pp 57], one will seek to maintain a view acceptable to their peer group.  
4. Fear based thinking is another response to ideas that seem to fly in the face of the conformity of belief. It is the view that "my belief is the right way. If you disagree with me, you are wrong and must be a threat." In a world of "us and them" you must be one of "them". The obvious result is fear of all those "others out there."

In retrospect, I saw all of these in the reactions of my friend. The fear was notably etched in his face. The rigidity of thought and conformity of belief were solidly entrenched in his voice. 

While I still consider my friend to be a friend, I now know the bounds of that relationship. Unless a potential client is a Christian fundamentalist, I doubt the potential customer would be a good referral for my friend. On the other hand, if the person IS a Christian fundamentalist (and I do work with quite a few), my friend might be a person for them to work with. Would my friend refer someone to me? Only he knows that. And in that, he will have to trust his own conscience and divine guidance.

While I felt disappointment at my friend's words, attitudes, beliefs and reactions, I have to realize he is on his own life path. He will have to make his own discoveries. All things happen for a reason and that reason is God's alone to know. But in the meantime, life goes on in the world of belief, religion and business referrals.

"Nobody Believes Me" – Thoughts on sharing the extraordinary...

"Nobody Believes Me" – Thoughts on sharing the extraordinary...

©2014 by Craig R. Lang, MS CHt

This is a draft of a new article on my website and newsletter. Open to comments. What do you think?

=============================================

 

The phone rings. It's mid-evening. I answer and introduce myself, “Explore with Hypnosis. This is Craig Lang, How can I help you?”

On the other end of the line, I hear a voice, hesitant at first. “Hi, I got your name from the Internet. Do you work with alien abduction?"

I explain that I am a hypnotherapist and that I do research into the unexplained, events such as close encounters. The response is often something like, "You're going to think I'm crazy but...." When I hear this, I know this is going to be a long, powerful phone call, and I’m going to be busy for at least the next hour.

Assuming the call isn't a hoax or telephone prank (I seldom if ever answer a "blocked" caller ID, especially late at night), I find that the person almost always has an account of one or more unusual events. These may have occurred long ago, or they may have been quite recent. But almost universally, knowledge and memories of the extraordinary weigh heavily upon the experiencer's mind - enough to prompt them to call a stranger with a story that for most people is beyond belief.

One of the things I hear toward the end of the call is, "at last, someone believes me..."

This is followed by, "When I tell them that I am an alien abductee, they all think I'm crazy..."

And finally, the biggest question for the experiencer is, "who can I tell?"  "Who is going to believe me?"

The experiencer carries a heavy weight on their psyche. They are “entrusted” with knowledge that there is far more to our reality than most of us know. They have undergone experience(s) that are literally reality-shattering. They are powerful, life-altering, too central to the person's life not to share with someone else. Yet few if any can handle this awareness of the extraordinary. So, how can he/she find someone to share that critical event with? Who can help carry this burden of the unexplained?

The first question is, “how can I know who to trust?”

The second question is, “If the person is trustworthy and well intentioned, how much can I tell them? How much of my story can the person handle?”

These are the two critical questions to answer before sharing your experience. In this article, we take them on, one at a time.

Who can I trust?

There is little beyond practical experience to help you determine who you can trust with the details of your experiences. How well do you know a given person? Are they close to you? What is your relationship to them?

If they are a professional, what is their reputation? These are matters for personal discernment. Health care professionals are generally bound by an oath of confidence. Any medical, psychology or complimentary health practitioner should as a matter of course, keep whatever you tell them as confidential. Yet with a professional as with anyone else, you need to ask how much of the extraordinary the person can handle. If your own judgment is to limit what you say, then respect that inner warning voice.

Friends and family are the biggest wild-card. How long have you known any given person? What is your relationship with the person? Are they friends? Family? Do you trust them? If so, is the person open to new ideas? If they learn you have had extraordinary experiences, will they hold that in confidence? Do they have any interests besides/beyond being an ear for you? Only your knowledge of the other person and your relationship with them can answer that. Ultimately, it's a matter of personal discernment

How much can I tell?

The second question is the biggest. How can you tell someone about your experiences and the extraordinary events in your life without overwhelming them? While it may seem hopeless, and you may feel totally isolated, there is usually some degree of sharing you can do (assuming the person is trustworthy, as described above).

Perhaps, you could drop a little hint. Mention something about Extraterrestrial life, perhaps a recent episode of Ancient Aliens, or something you read recently about a new planet found around a distant star. Whatever it is, keep it relatively mainstream and conservative.

Gauge their response. If the person seems interested in the topic, then perhaps mention something a little bit more. Are they open to the topic of UFOs, extraordinary encounters, etc.? If they are, then perhaps you could mention that you saw something unusual. This again, is a matter of personal discretion. For any given person, proceed carefully, but determine where the outer edge of their “reality box” is.

The key is to gradually meter out a little bit more, making sure that the person's own personal reality isn’t too stressed by what you are saying. Until you are sure of the other person's comfort level, keep your narrative limited. Stay as conservative as necessary to maintain the relationship and the other person’s well-being. Only once you are sure of the other person's comfort level, will it be time to tell the full story.

This caution applies to professionals you work with as well. You don't need to tell your auto mechanic about the bunion on your toe. Do you need to tell your doctor about your UFO sighting? I often hear from people that think they might have some kind of "Implant" in their body - usually the hand, foot or nose, but it could be anywhere. The person may be reticent to go to their doctor. "What would I tell them, that I have an alien implant?"

If the thing in your foot was a piece of glass or wood, would the doctor care where it came from? Probably not. The key is to remove the object, heal any damage or infection, and prevent further injury. For medical purposes, it probably doesn’t matter where the object came from, regardless of whether it is a piece of glass or an object of unknown origin.

So what do you tell the doctor? Perhaps you could simply say that you have something, some object, lodged in your foot (or wherever the object is located). You don't need to mention anything about potential extraordinary origins.

If it turns out that the doctor is open to more extraordinary topics (such as close encounters or alien implants) you might tell him/her more. This you can gauge as you would with any other potential confidant. First find their comfort threshold. Tell a little bit at a time, carefully observing their reaction and telling as much as needed at that moment.

In short, the question is not one of black vs white - tell vs no-tell. Reality is usually a continuum of shades of gray. Regardless of how heavily the story weighs on your mind, the story is yours to control. You can choose how much to tell. Getting help is important, but it is also vital to be aware of who is trustworthy, and how much they are able to handle the accounts of your experiences.

Yes, you can tell someone about your experiences, at least a little bit. And yes, people will believe you, at least up to a certain limit. It’s up to you to determine where that limit is, how far the other person’s reality boundary extends before you decide to share the extraordinary.

Akashic Records and Past Lives - Speculations in an e-mail dialog

In the last few days, I have been putting together a couple of workshops I am teaching on past lives and on the Akashic records. This will be at the Minneapolis Theosophical Society in August. 

• August 11th, at 7PM to 9PM, I will be talking about the Akashic Records in Physics and Meditation.
• August 25th, at 7PM to 9PM, I will be leading a workshop on past life regression

These will be at the MInneapolis Theosophical Society, 
which meets at Spirit United Church, 3204 Como Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414


Synchronistically, I received several e-mails today asking about the same topic.  So below, I am including a paraphrase of several of them, combined into one, along with my reply to "Bob".
 

To: craig@craigrlang.com
Subject: past lives and the Akashic Records

Dear Craig;

I recently visited your website and saw your articles on the Akashic Records, past life regression and related topics. What is the difference between past lives and the Akashic records? Are our past life memories stored in the Akashic records? How can we access the Akashic records to learn about our past lives? Are the Akashic records stored within our subconscious mind? Superconscious mind? etc...



Sincerely,
"Bob"

HI Bob,

Thanks for your note.

You have asked a powerful set of questions.
I am certainly not a great expert on Vedic traditions that go back thousands of years. Yet at the same time, there are a lot of things about these topics that have always intrigued me, so I've dug into them quite a bit. I hope this can help bring some insight to the topic. I will do my best... :-)

Among those who believe in the idea, there are a lot of theories as to what past lives are. Some think past life memories are a literal record of a soul’s experiences in each lifetime. Others suggest that different incarnations have non-local access to consciousness at other times/places, but perhaps not as a literal re-incarnation of a specific soul. For the moment, let's assume that past lives are experiences of an individual soul, manifesting in separate incarnations. As such, each soul may have access to its own experiences in other lifetimes. In the Vedic traditions, at least in part, this memory is perhaps contained within the Akashic records.

There are a lot of potential explanations as to what the Akashic records actually are. My own belief is that they are simply one way to view the trace that each event leaves on the non-local fabric of space-time. From the concept of quantum non-locality, we can reason that every point in space-time is non-locally connected with every other point through quantum entanglement due to past and future interactions. This interaction perhaps extends all the way back through the Big Bang. We can think of this implicit interconnection as a universal record/memory. In the Vedic traditions, this would correspond to the Akashic Records. [I recommend Michael Talbot’s book, The Holographic Universe, for a good treatment on the universal non-local holographic field.]

Another way of looking at it is that Akasha is the fifth element, the other four being Earth (solid), Water (liquid), Air (gas), and Fire (energy). Akasha is the potentiality from which the other elements arise. We can think of this as the fabric of space-time, or the zero-point field. Every event in space-time is formed from a condensation of the zero-point field - or manifestation of the Akasha, depending upon what terminology you want to use. Conversely, like the wake of a boat, every event in space-time leaves its wave(s) of history in the Akashic field. [I highly recommend the book entitled Science and the Akashic Field, by Ervin Laszlo for a great treatment of this topic.]

From the perspective of parapsychology, a way to access the Akashic field would be through the  superconscious, opening up our psychic selves to the non-local field of space-time. One could perhaps do this using hypnosis or meditation. In the Akashic Hall metaphor, we can think of this as accessing a library of information. Edgar Cayce developed this idea/metaphor to a high degree and spoke extensively of the Akashic Records. He used these to help his clients explore their past (and future?) lives.

The question often arises as to what the subconscious, the superconscious, the personal and/or the collective unconscious, actually are. That is definitely an open question. These are probably arbitrary labels that allow us to view an infinite phenomenon with our own limited rational minds. I look on the subconscious as if it were the part of a stage that is not in the spotlight. While the conscious mind could be thought of as that which is in the light, the sub/super conscious is that part that is off stage. 

We could think of the subconscious as that part that is local to a person’s mind/brain, while the superconscious would be that part that transcends it. In my own view, the superconscious is one way to think of that infinite extension of the human psyche, the mind/soul of each person. Perhaps in some way, the individual superconscious and the collective superconscious become one. Some people suggest that the individual is like a manifestation of the universal aggregate consciousness.

Many of the sages of our world have written about accessing the Akashic records. They can be used to explore past lives, study metaphysical truths, etc. Many teachers also tell us that there are limits to the use of the Akashic library. For example, you probably couldn’t use it to go find next week’s lottery numbers. You also would be bound in your personal searches to remain within ethical limits - for example, you are able to read only your own records, not someone else’s.

Note that this is only speculation and metaphor, there may be an infinity of other ways to explore the superconscious, the Akashic records, etc. Also, what is actually happening is not provable. It is speculative and metaphysical. Your own beliefs may be considerably different from this, so please accept my rambling simply as the speculation that it is.

Still, I hope you find this helpful.

Let me know if you have more comments, questions, etc…

Thanks again for writing,

 -Craig

Explore with Hypnosis

Growth, Exploration and Healing for Mind, Body, Spirit and Beyond

   Craig R. Lang, Certified Hypnotherapist,

      Researcher, Writer, Speaker

 763-257-7334   e-mail: craig@craigrlang.com

   www.exploreWithHypnosis.com

   www.hypnosis-storefront.com

   www.thecosmicbridge.com

Notes from 2014 MUFON Conference - the business of MUFON

This is the first blog entry - a look at the inner workings of the group as I saw it over the last few days.

Friday, at State Directors Meeting - general turn-the-crank business meeting where the business of MUFON gets done. First thing in the morning, the State Direcro's meeting began with has had nitial panel meeting with MUFON board. Focus is about the upcoming plans for MUFON operation. Some interesting things in the works.

An update: the show Hangar 1 is a big hit. Hangar 1 is starting its second season. Been responsible for growth in MUFON so far, as well as a lot of new interest in UFOs in general public. Show 

Shows MUFON investigations and shows both the mystery of UFOs and those cases where UFO sightings turn out to have ordinary explanations (IFOs). 

Beginning to focus on lesser known cases. 

Not sure if/when they will begin to look at abduction cases. Currently lookng at historical cases, and then at some lesser known but classic CE1 and CE2 events from MUFON case files.

Tony Cataldo is the latest addition to the board. A hollywood producer, brings lots of media experience, plus large corporate boardroom experience as well. In short, this guy knows how to grow companies and auidiences. Stated goal, he wants to grow MUFON from current 3500 members to about 50,000 members in the next year or so. And based upon what I've seen so far, I think he just might do it.

MUFON.com is a work in progress - which is good. Especially on the web, nothing is ever done. But the biggest plan is to leverage social media much more extensively. Plans are to expand the demographics form the middle-aged to senior population present to more young adult population. Againl, based upon what I've seen, I think they will do it.

Several high-level contacts between MUFON and various research organizations - such as GEPAN, the French UFO investigative agency, taking shape. In short, sInce the French government can't form a relationship with the US Govt, GEPAN, andseveral other  governmental and quasi-governmental agencies are forming a relationship with MUFON - we are doing the government's job.

Sunday, I went to a planning and focus meeting on future upgrades to the MUFON.com website, and IT strategy for MUFON. We looked at where we need to go to attract a wider range of ages to MUFON.  what can we offer that will provide value to peope of allages. Lots of good stuff in the works, beginning with a whole new website that is fully responsive, coordination between reporting, membership, MUFON store. etc. Look for some impressive things to happen in the next few months.

Also, it looks like several other research initiaves are just beginning to take shape. One is a UFO monitoring system UFOTOG2. It is modeled after the UFOTOG project, created a few years ago, which provided automated monitoring of the sky for UFOs. UFOTOG was a beginning, although it was huge and expensive - mounted as part of a Hummer that was driven to key hotspot areas and left in observer mode for days toweeks on end. The biggest thingwas that there was only one of it, so it was not able to get triangulation of any objects it detected.

UFOTOG2 plans to focus on making small, inexpensive versions of a similar monitoring set. It would have no moving parts, and would contain a multispectral camera, EM monitor, radiation monitor, etc. These would be deployedin threes in areas of high UFO activity, to try and automatically capture UFO activity on film, and with physics data that might be able to help us undestand the reality of the phenomenon(a) better. Look for this to take shape in the next year or two...

Other endeavors include objective research on abduction and contact. This includes further building our network of MUFON therapists and abduction researchers. One key will be to better connect the experiencer with the help he/she needs. Lookfor more on this as well in the near future.

So, all in all, the picture that came out of the State Directors meeting and various working groups, appears to be very positive indeed. It was a forward looking and enthusiastic gathering and told me that the MUFON organization appears to have found its footing. 

Prophecies and Hypotheses - What should we expect from contact cases?June/July, 2014 CE4 Corner Article Draft

This is a draft of my article for The CE4 Corner - July/August, 2014

Prophecies and Hypotheses - What should we expect from contact cases?

(c)2014 by Craig R. Lang, MS CHt

www.explorewithhypnosis.com

Comments are always welcome

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In recent weeks, I have been the recipient of a storm of e-mails regarding the Billy Meier case. The mega-dialog began with a note from an advocate and representative of Billy Meier in the English-speaking world. In his note to a large e-mail list regarding the Billy Meier case, he stated that he believes the Meier case to be the only legitimate case of ET contact, and was critical of other UFO investigative organizations for ignoring it.

Needless to say, a significant, rather acrimonious dialog ensued, escalating until finally put to rest with a peace call from the MUFON executive director. Following the peace agreements, as it were, I received an e-mail asking some interesting questions. Since in my book, The Cosmic Bridge, I state that any valid hypothesis needs to provide verifiable predictions and tests, what did I think would constitute tests of the Billy Meier case? To me, this raises a greater question - what would constitute validation tests of any contact case?

How can we validate a "Secret" experience, which only the experiencer has undergone? At its very core the contact experience seems designed to confound the scientific method? Yet to satisfy the criteria of science, we need to apply exactly that method to the alleged events of the contact.

Generally speaking, the MUFON field investigation process is designed to do exactly this. Field investigation of sightings and close encounters has evolved quite a bit in the nearly twenty years I have been involved with MUFON. From a relatively informal process, it has evolved a rather high degree of rigor. While there is probably a ways to go, the intent is to maintain a very high degree of integrity in the collection of data and interactions with the witnesses/experiencers of the phenomena.

Validation Criteria

There are several areas of validation that, alone or in combination, make a sighting or encounter case credible (or otherwise). These include (but are not limited to) some of the following criteria

1 - Consistent narratives from each witness

The narrative must pass tests of forensic interviewing. These are quite well documented in the MUFON field investigator manual, so I won't go into great detail on them here.

2 - Corroboration from other witnesses

The best sightings involve multiple independent witnesses. In these cases, the witness accounts must agree to a high degree of detail when elicited under clean forensic interviewing techniques (a'la the MUFON FI Manual).

3 - Physical evidence

Any ground traces, physical objects, or other evidence must be carefully acquired, and associated with a solid investigation. The chain of acquisition and custody needs to be clearly documented and verified, from its origin to/through the collection and analysis process. Anything short of that casts significant doubt on the validity of the case.

4 - Photographic evidence

Photographs need to be thoroughly documented and combined with investigation results as described above. They need to be subject to the same evidence documentation and custody criteria as physical evidence. It needs to be clearly established that the photographs are/could-not-be hoaxed, requiring investigation and analysis of the camera, metadata (for digital photographs) and related information. For a photograph to be taken as legitimate evidence for an anomalous event, these criteria must all be met.

5 - In cases of contact (or abduction), where information is obtained from the  entities with which/whom the experiencer has allegedly interacted, that information needs to be clearly captured during the witness interview, and/or recorded as quickly as possible. And here is where contact research gets particularly interesting.

Testing Contactee Claims

In many cases of UFO abduction, I have heard claims made supposedly by the visitors themselves. These include their location of origin (e.g. another star system, dimension, time, etc.), the nature of their mission, their purpose for being here, etc. When distinct information has been provided, it is often possible to compare that information with the best information we have to date. This suggests several hypothesis tests for the narrative.

ü  The "Origin Test"

in many cases, a location of origin for the beings is claimed. Is it possible to verify whether or not that location exists? Are there, or could there be, planets surrounding that star? We are just beginning to be able to detect planets around other stars. Thus, as our capabilities advance, we should be able to verify ever more clearly whether or not a life-supporting world might be present at that location.

Some potentially testable origin claims have been offered to date.

·         In the Hill abduction case, Marjorie Fish's analysis of the Hill star map has suggested Zeta Reticulii as a possible location of origin.

·         In the Billy Meier case, the claim is that his visitors came from a star somewhat beyond the Pleiades star cluster.

I suspect several other cases exist, which also provide similar claims.

When the claim is that "They" originate from another time or dimension, it becomes difficult to impossible to prove. Thus the "origin test" has minimal use in the more metaphysical or other-than-physical origin claims. Yet in my view, we need to document these claims thoroughly, so that as our technology advances sufficiently we might be able to test/verify them in the future.

ü  The "Prediction Test"

Many experiencers describe being shown specific prophecies of events on Earth, to happen in the near future. When such predictions occur, are they objective forecasts of events to occur, are they metaphorically true, are they some type of warning parables, or do they have another explanation? If they are predictions, then we need to carefully record the events, locations and dates, to verify as the time comes to pass, whether or not the events occurred as predicted.

If they don't then is it clear why? Were they conditional on other actions - human or otherwise - occurring before the predicted moment? In the Judeo-Christian tradition, prophecy is generally not a specific forecast of events, but rather a warning to society - "Change your ways or else "x" will happen" (and usually "x" is rather unpleasant).

ü  The "Technology Test"

Many experiencers also describe observing extraordinary technoogy, or being given specific information about science, engineering, mathematics, etc. In such cases, is it possible to verify the information? Again, it may not be possible to fully verify with present knowledge, yet it should be thoroughly documented so that in the future, if/when the capability develops, this knowledge can be verified.

In addition, the investigators need to establish whether the experiencer had been exposed to the advanced knowledge prior to the event? While someone with an eighth-grade education may not have formal training in quantum physics, perhaps they have a deeper understanding or exposure to it than even the experiencer, his/herself knew.

Subjective Considerations

Many other logical tests could be probably applied to a specific experiencer narrative. But in the end, the account is often largely subjective. It is the story of what the person has experienced. And assuming that the experiencer is telling the truth as he/she believes it, then for them it is true - regardless of whether or not it is objectively verifiable. In such cases, the account probably needs to be taken at face value, added to the massive body of data already present and left at that. Even then, it is valuable as statistical or correlative material for future researchers.

Applying the Tests

So how can we apply these tests to the case of Billy Meier, or any other contact claims? Fortunately, Meier case and similar Pleiadean/Plejaren contact cases, as well, offer some testable claims.

1) The Meier case is the only legitimate case of contact

This claim is potentially easy to test. If any other cases cases of contact or abduction turn out to be true, then at least part of the case is falsified. Since I work with experiences on a regular basis, I see some cases that are rather clearly supported by evidence. This alone would suggest to me that the "exclusivity claim" is false, casting doubt on the whole Meier scenario.

2) The visitors come from a world just beyond the Pleiades star cluster.

If this is true there should be a star system at that location which would include at least one habitable world. As long as the claims state that this world is a physical place, then at least in this aspect, the Meier case provides a scientifically testable prediction. Otherwise, it ceases to be within the realm of science and becomes metaphysical - essentially a form of religion.

3) Specific predictions in contact prophecies

Assuming the prophecies are thoroughly documented, and include events to occur in the relatively near future, it should be possible to track these and verify whether they actually come topass. While I am not very familiar with the Meier prophecies, presumably others are, and could provide validation tracking of any predictions.

These are just a few potential ways to validate/falsify contact scenarios. They provide a few ways to determine whether we are being visited, by whom, for what reason, and from what origin. It is a quick look into a realm of contact, a study of prophecies and hypotheses.