"WeirdSpace" / The Oz Factor

[rynner2]

It should be pointed out that strange mental effects caused by electromagnetic fields do not necessarily refute a 'nuts and bolts' (and possibly ET) UFO hypothesis.

If such machines exist, it may be that part of their operating system does involve strong e/m fields, and that the effects of these fields creates the wierdness (or Oz factor) often reported by witnesses, hence possibly distorting their perceptions of what they actually saw.

Alternatively, these fields might be deliberately created by UFO occupants to create confusion in the minds of witnesses, as a means of concealing from mankind the true nature and activities of these machines. ...

Another possibility is that e/m fields somehow retune the mind so that it experiences different levels of reality... But that's getting in pretty deep!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sure I've heard something similar in FT. A guy who met a 10 year old girl by a canal - to cut a long story short, she insisted that he walk with her towards an underpass or something. He went into 'oz factor mode'. Something distracts guy and suddenly filled with inexplicable fear, draws away from girl. Her eyes go all weird and she vanishes. Guy nearly has heart attack with fear.

Disturbing...

 

[garrick92]

Not "weird space": "WeirdSpace".

I was having a chat with a friend of mine who used to live in a house that he claims was haunted (I can't comment on the substance of this claim, but I believe that he sincerely believes it: he's no mug, and his story isn't readily explained away).

We both agreed that seeing a ghost (or experiencing any kind of major 'paranormal' occurrence, save, perhaps, poltergeist activity) is not simply like having a "hologram" appear in a room.

There's a curious 'altered state' quality that takes over at the very beginning of the experience. I have not seen this described before, so I'll try to explain what I mean.

The light (if there is light at the time) takes on a 'dimmed' or 'dark' quality -- but electric lights (for example) continue to function normally (if anyone's suffered from depression, they'll know what I mean -- things seem to lose their natural 'translucency'). Spatial relationships seem to be slightly skewed (almost like the 'dolly in/zoom out' camera trick, where the background seems to push up against the foreground). Hearing becomes acute, with silence becoming a very oppressive sound in its own right.

And this is all before anything actually happens. It's not a fear reaction, because it is something that "occurs" in its own right, and that you suddenly notice. And, if you're in company at the time, everyone else notices it, too.

Now that we've described it to each other, I know exactly what we both mean, and he and I agreed that it is only describable as 'WeirdSpace'.

We always hear about 'drops in temperature', and 'hairs on the back of the neck standing up', but I've never heard an account of this effect -- yet I'm sure we're not the only ones ...

... Have you been to WeirdSpace?

 

[SoundDust]

Jenny Randles mentions this a lot in relation to UFO sightings and calls it the Oz Factor. Often referred to in ufo related phenomena in cases where busy roads become car free before sighting/ abduction.

 

[rynner2]

Oz factor - you beat me to it, Jima!

I'm surprised you hadn't heard of this before, Garrick - altered perceptions form a large part of most paranormal stuff.

Skeptics would say it forms the whole of paranormal experience, but I want to know what alters the perceptions - is it something external? We know magnetic fields can cause these effects - so what, in a haunted house, creates the magnetic fields?

 

[Anonymous]

The magnetic fields are always linked with ley lines in most cases. perhaps the haunted house is situated on these? I still think it is a dimensional thing, whereby the nearest dimension crosses or touches our own, creating what you refer to as the Oz Factor/WeirdSpace. What we see as ghost or unexplained perhaps is as real as you and me in the other dimension and that we appear as a ghost(s) to them?

 

[garrick92]

Oz factor - you beat me to it, Jima!
I'm surprised you hadn't heard of this before, Garrick - altered perceptions form a large part of most paranormal stuff.

No, I never had. Although I've experienced this, I didn't know it was a recognised thing, at all. Perhaps I have heard of it before and simply failed to make the connection. But I'll certainly look out for it now. Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Not "weird space": "WeirdSpace".

(if anyone's suffered from depression, they'll know what I mean -- things seem to lose their natural 'translucency'

Bloody hell! That's amazing! I thought I was the only one! I suffered badly from depression earlier in my life and that's exactly what happened, a slight altering of perception, difficult to describe. I thought the visual elements were to do with all the crying I did! Moreover, I once lived in a house where all the inhabitants were unhappy and no one got on, bad things happened to us all. Not only was there a distinctly morbid atmosphere in that house, there was a kind of dull, greyish "smog", the air seemed thick somehow.

I'm delighted its not just me who's experienced this.

 

[garrick92]

Re: Re: "WeirdSpace."

Bloody hell! That's amazing! I thought I was the only one! I suffered badly from depression earlier in my life and that's exactly what happened, a slight altering of perception, difficult to describe.

Yes, it's a bummer (in the deepest, cosmic, sense of the word), isn't it? I suffered from depression in the mid-nineties, and (although I didn't notice it at the time) this was the thing that most amazed me when I began taking anti-depressants.

I simply hadn't noticed that things looked different. Faces look waxen and dead. Plants look artificial. Even bright strong sunlight has a revolting 'watery' quality, like lemon-juice on raw skin.

When recovery began, the earth began to look like heaven. In a way, I'm glad my depression happened, because everything still looks 'newly-created' and even the ugliest people have a strange beauty and anything that's alive 'shines' from within. Of course, this doesn't qualify the fact that depression is hell on earth.

I can't explain it properly. It's not psychadelic. It's just a beautiful and perpetual experience, even in bad times.

Anyway, I think you know what I mean! Glad to make your acquaintance.

Moreover, I once lived in a house where all the inhabitants were unhappy and no one got on, bad things happened to us all. Not only was there a distinctly morbid atmosphere in that house, there was a kind of dull, greyish "smog", the air seemed thick somehow.

Yes, I know what you mean there, too. I think it's what people refer to as 'the vibes' -- perhaps not everyone sees it. Perhaps they're aware that something's odd, but can't quite put their finger on it.

 

[Anonymous]

Well nice to make your acquaintance too Garrick!

Ditto to all your observations above. This describes my experience very closely.

The "recovery" is great, the nearest I can get to it is like sunshine which warms, but never burns.

Awww, I've got another warm glow reading this. Thanks!

 

[garrick92]

The "recovery" is great, the nearest I can get to it is like sunshine which warms, but never burns.

Yes, it's beautiful, isn't it? Like swimming in warmth, able to perceive yourself as a three-dimensional living object in relation to other objects, rather than the flat drab 'image' of washed-out, exhausted, ungainly, semi-reality that you inhabit when you're suffering depression.

Simple, tiny things make your heart want to burst with joy -- the way sunlight sparkles on water, the texture of pie-crust, the taste of a good cup of tea, the way that people's eyes really do 'light up' ... you almost purr, your hair stands up, you feel faintly like crying for happiness, it washes over you in a strange and spine-tingling freshness.

Perhaps I'm being sappy, or I'm an old romantic, but I would not change it for anything.

Awww, I've got another warm glow reading this. Thanks!

My pleasure, and I'm so glad to have found someone who sees it the same way. I've never talked about it before. Ever.

 

[stu neville]

Depression sounds bloody awful - glad I've never succumbed (touch wood).

As for Oz factor, felt it once in the middle of a stone circle (Stanton Drew, just south of Bristol) - despite being a windy, periodically rainy day, it was utterly calm and even slightly humid inside the circle. And quiet, too. And then, about five minutes after getting back into the car, a mini-tempest broke loose. Eye of the storm? Could be, but there was a distinctly "other" feeling in there. Been back since, but it was on a calm spring day - still felt almost imperceptibly different inside the circle though. It's not an evil atmosphere, or anything, just...different.

There's been one or two UFO sightings thereabouts over the years, too.

 

[Anonymous]

WierdSpace

I'm really experienced with depression; I'm "biochemically pre-disposed", and get it at the drop of a mild stessor that others would hardly notice. Since I live in the U.S. and can't afford insurance, I'm sh*t out of luck as far as meds go. I have developed some stategies, tho'

I must say, tho', my experience is a little different; a full-blown episode is more like static on the radio turned up so high I can't really think and have virtually no memory access. I get really stupid when I'm depressed. It also occaisionally feels as if my blood is-well-too thick or poisoned or something; it actually physically aches.( I know, I know; I 'm coming off sounding crazy. But I AM "sane inside insanity"--Rocky Horror reference)

I don't really think the Oz factor is depression, but I wonder if there's some kind of effect on the nervous system--caused from the outside--that it is closely related to? --Oh, daer, I expressed that pretty badly.

Maybe somebody out there can decipher it. Sorry.

Mothfox, circling the flame

 

[stu neville]

I don't really think the Oz factor is depression, but I wonder if there's some kind of effect on the nervous system--caused from the outside--that it is closely related to? --Oh, daer, I expressed that pretty badly.

No, I think you hit the mark there. Definitely "mystical" places do effect biological systems in some way or another - I guess it depends on how your "system" is configured as to what effect that outward influence has.

My bet is that it's all down to electro-magnetic fields - much stronger at stone circles etc, which is why more people get vibes there, but if your system is more sensitive perhaps it can tangibly pick them up anywhere. Besides, there's loads of EM pollution in any house from TV's, microwaves, you name it. Perhaps those prone to depression are just more sensitive to these wavelengths than others.

There's an interesting theory with regard to the nervous system in relation to autism - the theory goes that the nervous system is a filter, not an antenna. It filters out extraneous stuff (which is why you can have a conversation in a crowded room and "hear" only what your conversational partner is saying) and brings to the attention of the concious mind what is relevant to you as an individual - again using the crowded room analogy this is why if someone on the other side of the room mentions your name you'd hear it. All the other stuff the senses pick up that is not directly relevant gets shunted into the subconcious. With autistics, the theory continues, this filter doesn't function properly, so they are unable to stem the vast flow of information being pumped into their concious minds, forcing a kind of shut-down, a bit like a computer trying to run every program simultaneously in RAM. Autistics tend to get locked into repetitive behaviour - this could be an attempt to hold on to a familiar concept, and from that "anchor" try and relate other stimuli to that frame of reference.

I bring this in as my son, who has moderate autism, is very keen on sacred sites - despite hyperactivity, a visit to the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, say, will calm him for days afterwards. The opposite effect happens if we go somewhere haunted - we visited a pub restaurant in North Wales last year and he wouldn't even go through the door - we ended up eating in the garden. I asked the barman afterwards if the place had any history of weirdness - lo and behold, a couple of ghosts and the odd polt effect. As my son doesn't "get" the concept of ghosts, this indicates to me that the Oz factor is an external stimulus on our own systems that operates in an extra-sensory manner.

 

[gyrtrash]

Re: Re: "WeirdSpace."

Moreover, I once lived in a house where all the inhabitants were unhappy and no one got on, bad things happened to us all. Not only was there a distinctly morbid atmosphere in that house, there was a kind of dull, greyish "smog", the air seemed thick somehow.

I've experienced this several times, it's as if a house is only 'half-perceived', when you walk in you start to feel groggy, colours are less vibrant, almost like your senses are working at 50%. Even your thoughts are 'hindered'...everything is more of an effort....

...And happily the opposite occurs, like snatches of Nirvana! Existence seems 'ultra-perceived', like viewing things for the first time...
...if only I could hold the feeling...!

 

[Anonymous]

Wierdspace,Oz factor, depression, EM

Originally posted by Stu Neville


My bet is that it's all down to electro-magnetic fields - much stronger at stone circles etc, which is why more people get vibes there, but if your system is more sensitive perhaps it can tangibly pick them up anywhere. Besides, there's loads of EM pollution in any house from TV's, microwaves, you name it. Perhaps those prone to depression are just more sensitive to these wavelengths than others.
------------------------------------------------
Stu--
I find your post *really* interesting; I have for years had this kind of idea clunking around in my head (EM effects on depression and other brain-function disorders), and just never really expressed it to anyone. The bit about your son caught my attention--I have also felt the calming effects of sacred sites. But a really interesting clue here (I think) is his reaction to haunted sites. I grew up in a 'haunted' house, and I sometimes think that that has a lot to do with my current problems with depression. Hauntings seem to be a specific freqency that isnt like the run of the mill EM pollution,though.
I know a couple of other people with recurrent/chronic depression, and they also had extensive (negative) paranormal experiences as children. I wonder if possibly people who suffer depression are more sensitive to EM *because* of early childhood overexposure. I think I'd like to do an informal poll on this, but I really don't know how to go about it. Anyone out there have experiences that support or deny my experiences? I'd love to get into this one...
This is really fascinating stuff.

 

[johnnyboy1968]

This is all fascinating stuff, and I'd like to add my own experiences, having gome through a period of pretty bad depression in 1996.

At its lowest point (and we're talking long straggly can't-be-bothered-to-shave beard and only venturing from the flat to go down to the offy in my slippers for a tube of pringles and another bottle of gin) I certainly felt this weird disassociation from reality. One time I was lying on my bed, and I sort of felt that I wasn't really there. The silence, considering I was living near a main road in Walsall, was almost oppressive, and I was convinced I could hear / feel my heartbeat slowing down, to the point where I was willing it to stop. Dealing with family and friends was strange too, as they all seemed unreal and somehow different, maybe because they were pussyfooting around the fact that there was something wrong with me.

Then, one day I felt better, and everything just snapped into focus, like I was aware of things again. It wasn't until that happened that I realised just how weird the feeling I'd had before was.

I really think that there could be someting in the idea if Weirdspace, or the Oz Factor, as I've experienced the same feeling of disassociation a few times, usually when I've visited ancient sites, such as Arbor Low, or when I almost fell asleep at Wayland's Smithy, and got brought "back" with a start when a huge black dog licked my face! (nothing paranormal, he belonged to a couple who were also walking along the Ridgeway!)

The last time it happened was when I visited the remains of the Roman city at Caerwent, catching the train to Caldicott and walking the couple of miles to the site. As soon as I rounded a bend in the road and saw these huge ruined walls and towers surrounding nothing but a tiny village, I was "in another place", so to speak. The feeling was heightened as I wandered around the village, as there didn't seem to be a soul about! I was pretty relieved to find a pub, with people in, as I made the circuit of the walls, as it was all getting a bit "Village of the Damned"!

I wouldn't wish depression on anybody, but sometimes I quite like the feeling of stepping beyond the bounds of what's normal, and going somewhere else...

 

[butterfly27]

WeirdSpace/Depression/EM

This is a fascinating thread. I suffer from bi-polar disorder, which is the new-fangled name for manic-depression. So it could be argued that I'm permanently in an altered state. I found it SO reassuring to find that others have shared the impressions I've had whilst in a depressed state.

More to the point I've experienced the Oz factor myself, so I can identify with that as well. Unlike garrick, however, my experience of it was purely subjective. I had taken a wrong turning on my way to an appointment, and with only five minutes left to get there in time, was hopelessly lost. I carried on walking in what seemed to be the right direction but without recognising anything. I was in the middle of a modern housing estate apparently in the middle of nowhere. Then suddenly I clapped eyes on a KWIKSAVE sign (methinks the Cosmic Joker was at work that day) not two minutes from where I needed to be. I arrived at my destination feeling totally disorientated and with a feeling of panic that stayed with me for the rest of that day. The main road that I'd had to cross would normally have had buses or at the very least heavy traffic on it. It had been deserted. The air had seemed to have a strange shimmer to it and I couldn't remember having heard any sounds at all. I was in depression mode at the time, and had been deep in thought. My conclusion therefore was that I had experienced an altered state of perception, probably due to the biochemical abnormalities in my brain. Normally being in a hurry and being lost equals rush of adrenalin, not WeirdSpace. I don't know if it has any bearing on the experience, but I'm renowned for my "nervous energy" and sometimes get mild shocks from just stroking the cat. Therefore presumably I carry quite a highly-charged EM field. (Or am I just talking rubbish - please tell me if I am.)

It really spooked me that I simply hadn't recognised familiar streets and houses. I couldn't help wondering afterwards if thats what its like when people get Alzheimer's disease. I certainly hope it never happens again. The fact that the road was deserted was obviously pure coincidence.

I find the idea that hauntings etc can trigger off this altered perception very interesting. I had already heard of the UFO connection, having read Jenny Randles.

 

[Anonymous]

I think I've experienced something not dissimilar to that once or twice. Very strange, like what Marty Hopkirk must feel...
I always felt it was like the instant after you stood up too fast, stretched out to last hours...

 

[Beakmoo]

Blimey this is an interesting thread. I grew up in what I believe was a haunted building, and became severely depressed at the age of about 11, and on and off ever since. I'm also very sensitive to "vibes". Perhaps seratonin protects us from all this stuff?
By the way Garrick, what antidepressant did you take for this great sounding recovery? Was it a tricyclic or an SSRI?

 

[Anonymous]

WierdSpace/depression

You know, I'd like to know how many people here have had parnormal experience in childhood, and are having problems with depression as adults?--Or perphaps some of you know others who fit into this pattern?

 

[Anonymous]

WS/Dep

Hey Beakboo,
It's interesting that you would be more sensitive while on medication; I found exactly the opposite to be the case for me--which *might* be why the meds worked for me (there were times pre-medication that much of my depression felt distinctly like it 'wasn't mine' - sometimes felt as if there is a 'cloud' of depression that hangs over the world just waiting for a person who can 'feel' it. Yuck)

 

[Beakmoo]

Re: WS/Dep

Hey Beakboo,
It's interesting that you would be more sensitive while on medication; I found exactly the opposite to be the case for me--

I didn't say that, did I? No, I think I'm much more sensitive when unmedicated. (Mind you I've been on SSRIs for so damn long this time it's hard to remember )
I know what you all mean about that unreal feeling. I often felt I wasn't me, just an actor in a play (a Jacobean Tragedy perhaps?)
Then when I started to get better, I felt that it was an illusion at first, and that I was actually in a giggle-jacket in a hospital somewhere and was imagining getting better. I knew logically that wasn't the case of course but the thought would keep popping into my head.
My favourite saying: "It's the cracked head that lets in the light", I wonder who said it?

 

[Anonymous]

I've had visits from the Black Dog too, but I don't think there was any supernatural cause, just a combination of a catholic childhood, unrealistic expectations and a chronic MDMA/amphetmaine habit during the early to mid 90's (though I've been relatively chemically clean since Euro 96)
Though the audiovisual experiences I had when depressed were very similar to drug highs. No hallunciations, but a distinct quality of light and colour and sound. Its was like somebody turning down the colour and contrast on a tv.
Maybe haunted sites, have some sort of quantum field effect that can effect our neural patterns the same ways drugs or depression can.

 

[Beakmoo]

My feeling is it's the other way round Chatsubo, the fact that we're short on seritonin makes us more sensitive to whatever it is that causes "hauntings" and "vibes". Possibly.
I think I'll start a poll. Any suggestions before I do?

 

[stu neville]

My feeling is it's the other way round Chatsubo, the fact that we're short on seritonin makes us more sensitive to whatever it is that causes "hauntings" and "vibes". Possibly.
I think I'll start a poll. Any suggestions before I do?

yes: don't mention you-know-who.

Seriously, though, could you chuck in something about electro-magnetic pollution, eg microwaves, and esp now cellphones?

Thanks.

Stu

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Re: WS/Dep

Originally posted by beakboo

I didn't say that, did I? No, I think I'm much more sensitive when unmedicated. (Mind you I've been on SSRIs for so damn long this time it's hard to remember )

Whoops, sorry--I really mis-read your post. That happens when I'm trying to read ALL the posts on ALL the threads in under an hour!

You know, when I first went on anti-Ds, I felt that I was somehow being FORCED to be happy...very wierd and science fictiony. Then they switched me onto something else, and the 'happy helment' feeling went away.

The whole experience with meds have given me some uncomfortable thoughts about the nature of personaliy & how easy it is to change *everything* about someone.

I've also been given meds that I found could *kill* me if I quickly discontinued it, but my doc never bothered to tell me that when he started me on it:hmph: It had the stranest side effects; all day I would hear someone in the next room, pounding away on an old fashioned typewriter...when the cylender-thingy got throw back, my head would jerk to the left. This lasted *two months* after I got completely off the drug.:eek!!!!:

 

[rynner2]

Lord, we're a strange load of characters here! The only anti-D's that ever made me feel better also made me fall over!

But they were real happy pills - I was zapping around like a mad thing - I even tried patenting a new sailing rig! Pity about the side effects...


pretending to be normal - rynner

 

[Anonymous]

so I'm not the only one after all!

I can remember when I experienced this phenomena for the first time - I was sitting on the sofa, and it happened quite suddenly. I have suffered with depression too, starting around that time, and probably caused by childhood trauma. I can remember thinking 'I must be going mad' but it's a relief to know, that it's just a normal symptom of depression.

I wonder if this is a known and accepted symptom in the medical world.

 

[Anonymous]

so I'm not the only one after all!

...
I wonder if this is a known and accepted symptom in the medical world.

Hey Dreamer,
From talking to others, these symptoms seem quite widespread (as well as another one: to suddenly decide to stop one's meds because "I don't need it anymore", then crash BIG time, many times landing in the hospital), but the doctors don't seem to think our testimony is enough to even look into the possibility that these symptoms exist. I have been treated like it was 'just me' several times when trying to talk to docs; they just won't listen. It was only when I began talking to other sufferers that patterns began to emerge...

Hope your life at present is depression-free and good.