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RainyOcean said:So while I can't vote "yes" as I'm not so sure there's not a more normal explanation, I can't vote "no" either.
That seems to be the only solidly Fortean approach to the matter.
RainyOcean said:So while I can't vote "yes" as I'm not so sure there's not a more normal explanation, I can't vote "no" either.
Jerry_B said:Or is it, if one also believes that 'aliens exist and that they are visiting Earth'?
But even as courageous as Dr. Mack was in asserting that abductees were not suffering from mental disorders and that they were not hoaxers or in any way delusional, he could not come forward and tell all he knew about the reality behind the UFO mystery. In the months before his untimely and tragic death (he was run down by a drunk driver in London in September 2004) he asked me to join him and California hypnotherapist Barbara Lamb in a project to make public the information we had each collected independently, but which he had not previously discussed in his two books on the abduction phenomenon.
This project was to deal with the three forbidden “Rs” of ufology. Mack’s concept was to write a joint paper for publication, perhaps even a book, dealing with a variety of topics, including the many cases in which individuals report contact with non-human entities with distinctly reptilian features. Such reports have been known to researchers since at least the early 1990s, but few have been anxious to write about them or to speak on the subject publicly.
Religion and UFOs
Additionally, Dr. Mack wanted to discuss the problematic issue of the ancient history of a sentient serpent race that is found in ancient texts, such as the Vedic literature from India and the Sumerian texts from Mesopotamia, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible. I say problematic, because ufologists, in general, struggle to maintain the notion that the UFO mystery began only 50 or so years ago. By maintaining this arbitrary timeline, they are able to profess that the phenomenon is either a scientific study by aliens from nearby star systems, or the early stages of an alien invasion. Those are the only conclusions one can reasonably come to if UFOs are something relatively new. But what kind of study or invasion takes thousands of years? What if these so-called “aliens” have always been here, and ancient writings portray encounters with them? What if the gods of old are the aliens of today?
If this is so, the study of ufology cannot avoid delving into both ancient religions and contemporary ones. This is a terrible dilemma for those wishing to make the study of UFOs an acceptable mainstream science. Debunkers already love to claim that those interested in UFOs are cultists, or that ufology is itself a religion and, therefore, not a science. Now an eminent scientist and UFO researcher was about to state publicly that reptilian beings exist and that they may have been here for thousands of years! That would certainly have rocked the ufology boat and made waves in the scientific community.
I think I see what you mean. What I'd think is that the torture would be symbolic of the gruelling soul searching one'd have to go through in order to achieve a state of wisdom, or even of spiritual receptivity. This wouldn't have to be purely metaphorical, it might be experienced as well. But yer typical abductee might not be going through that same process.Dingo667 said:Shamans endure the tortures because they know that it will lead to wisdom. Abductees who don't have the spiritual link or interest will be mortified rather than anything else. Not knowing the why nor the where.
Jerry_B said:Ah, but I'd argue that shamanic journeys aren't the same as shamanic rituals which prepare for that journey. The odd dissociative aspects of shamanic journeys and abduction experiences may have some similarities, but how either percipient gets to that point is very much different.
robbo616 said::? What if(this is a purely rhetorical question) It was made known by medical authorities that a condition exists- SP. That it was fairly common. That one would almost certainly seem to experience an alien abduction-and that this condition is as common as a cold-Would it still be reported or remarked upon?
Dissociation : Vol. 7, No. 1, p. 044-050 : Dissociation in alleged extraterrestrial abductees
Dissociation in alleged extraterrestrial abductees
Powers, Susan Marie
Mar-1994
Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Dissociation
Abstract: Dissociative symptoms were assessed in twenty persons who claim extraterrestrial abduction. This paper presents the results of two inventories: the MMPI subscale for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the Perceptual Alteration Scale. To obtain comparative data, two other groups of twenty subjects each were given the inventories: sightees, people who report witnessing unidentified flying objects but do not recall extraterrestrial contact, and individuals who recall childhood sexual abuse. The sightee group served as a control whereas the sexually abused group was included to explore any similarities between alleged abductees and sexually abused persons. PTSD symptoms were manifested by 45 % of the abductees, 0 % of the sightees, and 70% of the sexually abused subjects. Dissociation symptoms were demonstrated by 70% of the abductees, 10% of the sightees, and 100 % of the sexually abused subjects. These results suggest that distressed individuals alleging extraterrestrial abduction may benefit from therapies designed to address dissociation and PTSD.
Dissociation : Vol. 7, No. 1, p. 051-062 : Chronic claims of alien abduction and some other traumas as self-victimization syndromes
Chronic claims of alien abduction and some other traumas as self-victimization syndromes
Schnabel, Jim
Mar-1994
Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Dissociation
Abstract: This paper discusses the case of an alleged alien abduction victim who claimed a wide range of dissociation-related and traumatic experiences, with a heavy thematic emphasis upon sexual abuse, extending back to a traumatic non-abuse incident in childhood, for which she apparently was never amnesic. Certain aspects of her history seem consistent with dissociative disorders, organic mental disorders, and Miinchausen's syndrome. This case and the alien abduction syndrome as well as some oral narratives associated with multiple personality disorder and "Satanic ritual abuse," do not derive exclusively from severe exogenous trauma and may be viewed more usefully as manifestations of manipulative self-victimization syndromes.
stuneville said:Concludes that something's happening, definitely, but he seriously doubts ETs have anything to do with it. An opinion with which I personally agree whole-heartedly.
Simon Parkes
U.K. City Councillor, like former Canadian defence minister Paul Hellyer, thinks aliens are real and regularly visit Earth. (YouTube/Getty)
Simon Parkes, a city councillor from the U.K., has joined former Canadian defence minister Paul Hellyer in claiming aliens exist and visit Earth.
But Parkes, who sits on the Whitby town council, makes Hellyer seem positively believable.
Parkes, who is set to star in a new documentary on alien abductions, told the Northern Echo that he has fathered a child with an alien. In fact, Parkes says he has sex with an extraterrestrial he calls the "Cat Queen" four times a year. In case you're wondering, the kid's name is Zarka.
Unsurprisingly, Parkes says the relationship has put some strain on his marriage with his human wife.
Parkes' belief in aliens is well-documented. In the past he has told stories of abduction and claimed that his real mother is a 9-foot-tall alien with eight fingers. He says he was first contacted by extraterrestrials while he was still in the womb.
Parkes appears in a number of videos on the YouTube channel Underground Video (UK) Research and Archive Pirate Radio, where he and others describe their very-alleged experiences with aliens. In one clip, Parkes is hypnotized in an attempt to access repressed abduction memories. The video is part of a series of interviews done with the Anomalous Mind Management, Abductee, Contactee Helpline Project, a British group devoted to work with those who have (very purportedly) been kidnapped by aliens.
The attention for Parkes comes on the heels of former Canadian defence minister Paul Hellyer's testimony before six former congressmen at the Citizen Hearing On Disclosure in Washington D.C., in which he asserted that at least four species of aliens have been visiting Earth for thousands of years and that extraterrestrials are at this very moment working in concert with the U.S. government.
http://cryptozoologynews.com/hungarian-snaps-photograph-of-alien-thinks-he-is-abducted/Budapest Resident Snaps Photograph of ‘Alien’, Believes he Was Abducted
The man submitting the report, who did not provide a name, says he was walking through the woods in the early afternoon of March 25 when he spotted the oddity standing in the middle of a trail.
“A bright sphere floated in front of him,” he reported to MUFON. ” I took out my mobile phone, and I did a photograph.”
The image shows a metallic spider-like object with four legs that appears to be holding a round, bright orange object.
The man says he can’t remember what happened after taking the photograph.
“I only know that the creature disappeared,” he said, wondering whether it was an “alien”.