BAE 4.1

Magazine Overview

Title: Bulletin of Anomalous Experience
Issue: Volume 4, No. 1
Date: February 1993
Publisher: Anomalous Experience

This issue of the Bulletin of Anomalous Experience delves into various facets of UFO encounters and anomalous phenomena, featuring a prominent response to Richard J. Boylan's theories, an analysis of alien abduction logistics, and discussions on psychic evolution.

Response to Richard J. Boylan Ph.D. by Ann Druffel

Ann Druffel addresses Richard J. Boylan's objections to her article "Can Unwanted 'UFO Contact' Be Resisted." She clarifies that her focus is on "unwanted" contact and the techniques for resistance, an aspect she feels has been ignored. Druffel refutes Boylan's "assumptions" that all ET contact is bad, intrusive, and deceptive, stating that her original piece used qualified statements. She posits that "abducting entities" might be intradimensional rather than extraterrestrial, arguing that resistance techniques would work against such beings but not against technologically superior extraterrestrials. Druffel emphasizes that witnesses do not have to endure abduction trauma and are entitled to resist. She also clarifies that she does not lump all "ET contact/abducting intruders" into one category, distinguishing between harassing types and gentler ones. The "UFO Phenomenon" is described as a mixed bag of intelligences with varying motives and effects. Druffel asserts that witnesses' feelings about their experiences are valid, whether benign or not. She critiques Boylan's "allegory" about a scientist studying a Stone Age culture as flawed, arguing it does not accurately represent how such studies are conducted. Regarding Boylan's Assumption #2, Druffel questions his equating simple resistance with a "full-scale attack" and notes that her resistance cases were not necessarily the result of "competent clinical counseling." She highlights her background as a social case work therapist, which she finds suited for investigating abductions. Druffel defends her approach, stating that discussing resistance techniques does not harm witnesses. She argues that while some experiencers find contact interesting, those who resent intrusions have a right to resist, regardless of their stability. Boylan's claim that much is known about CE-IV motives, such as concerns about ecology and pollution, is acknowledged, but Druffel suggests these might be a screen for a hidden agenda. She corrects Boylan's misrepresentation of her statement about entities being "persistently deceptive," clarifying she wrote they "have shown themselves to be deceptive in many ways." Druffel also distinguishes between abducting entities and "demons/devils/dark spirits," considering them different orders of creation. She agrees that many experiencers look forward to future contacts, but this should not be foisted upon everyone. Druffel advocates for resistance as a first step toward communication, breaking through mind-altering procedures and deceptive practices. She stresses that witnesses have a right to resist if they feel violated, and that successful resisters often possess sturdy mindsets, confidence, and are fearless.

Response to Dennis Stacy by Leo Sprinkle

Leo Sprinkle comments on Hilary Evans' letter regarding Dennis Stacy's hypothesis that UFO abduction memories stem from abortion experiences. Sprinkle welcomes this and other hypotheses, but his pleasure stems from the prospect of eventually favoring the main hypothesis: that UFO abductions/encounters are real physical events occurring on Earth. He believes these phenomena are both physical and psychical, representing a merger of technology and ethics, with human suffering and joy as means to an end. He hopes for overt communication with guiding entities in the future.

Alien Abduction Workload by R.J. Durant

R.J. Durant, a veteran pilot and former editor of the journal Pursuit, analyzes alien abductions from an industrial workload perspective. He assumes abductions are real physical events carried out by a large workforce. Durant notes that aliens themselves have commented on industrial constraints, citing an exchange with Betty Hill about limited equipment. He outlines Bullard's eight episodes of abduction (Capture, Examination, Conference, Tour, Otherworldly Journey, Theophany, Return, Aftermath) from the alien supervisor's viewpoint. Durant estimates the lifetime prevalence of abductions in the U.S. to be between 100,000 and 200,000, based on epidemiological grounds. He discusses various poll data (Omni Magazine, Roper poll) indicating a significant number of abductees. Durant introduces the concept of a "useful lifetime" for an abductee, assigning it 50 years (ages 5-55), and assumes abductions are evenly distributed. He notes that a typical abduction lasts about two hours, citing Hopkins and Jacobs. Durant then calculates the number of aliens required, estimating six aliens per abduction team. With 50 million abductions over 50 years in the U.S., he calculates 2,740 abductions per day, requiring 288 teams or 1,370 aliens. He acknowledges that abductions are not evenly distributed (predominantly at night) and that continuous labor is assumed, factors that would increase the required number of aliens. He also considers the possibility of aliens being robots. Durant concludes that approximately 500 crews, totaling 3,000 aliens, might be needed for the U.S. alone. If the phenomenon is worldwide, this number would need to be multiplied by 22. He addresses Dennis Stacy's skepticism about the logistics of millions of abductions, suggesting that the numbers do compute if the logistics are properly analyzed, and millions of flying saucers are not necessarily required.

Conference Notice: First International Conference on Transcultural Psychiatry

This section announces a conference in Montreal, June 21-23, 1993, focusing on "Healing: Beyond Suffering or Death: A Transcultural Integrative Approach to Life." The conference aims to compare traditional Western concepts with transpersonal psychology and Tibetan Buddhism, exploring topics such as resolution of personal and family conflict, transgenerational links to disease, psychoaffective investment, trauma, use of rituals, near-death experiences, and the placebo effect. Notable speakers include Herbert Benson, Stan Grof, and Sogyal Rimpoche. Registration fees are detailed.

Publications of Interest

This section highlights two publications:

• Exceptional Human Experience (EHE): A journal that serves as a forum for ideas and methods aimed at understanding exceptional human experiences (EHEs), which go beyond the immediate sensory environment. EHEs encompass a wide range of phenomena including UFO encounters, clairvoyance, telepathy, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, and more. EHE is published twice a year, averages 150 pages, and offers extensive indexes. It is presented as an excellent source for parapsychology publications.
• Book Excerpts:
• The Little Blue Book of UFOs: The Extra-Terrestrial in Canada by John Robert Colombo: This small book compiles UFO-related comments from various Canadian individuals, highlighting a strong connection to UFO sightings in Canada.
• Healing Shattered Reality: Understanding Contactee Trauma by Alice Bryant and Linda Seebach: A self-help book for contactees and abductees, recommended by readers. The reviewer notes that while it provides useful material on understanding and healing trauma, it also reflects the authors' specific belief systems, including references to the Ashtar Command.

Frontiers of the Soul: Exploring Psychic Evolution by Michael Grosso

This review praises Michael Grosso's book for exploring how the concept of God might be based on paranormal experiences and how the Christian religion was built around them. It argues for a hyperphysical reality underlying transcendent belief systems and examines the role of transcendent psi as an evolutionary force. The book is described as readable, balancing theoretical discussions with studies of Padre Pio, Sai Baba, and other phenomena. The review highlights the idea that spiritual visions can be seen as projected images of humanity's evolutionary future, with gods and goddesses representing super-evolved humanity. It also discusses the "energy factor" of these experiences, which can transmit life-enhancing energy and produce physical effects, acting as an "evolutionary accelerator." The concept of grappling with the "Shadow" is explored, suggesting that confronting negative or terrifying aspects, whether extraterrestrial or psychoterrestrial, can awaken inner resources and enlarge self-understanding. The book also examines how alien encounters can dissolve ordinary senses of reality, acting as "metaphysical numbing" agents that lead to new truths and philosophical wonder, thus contributing to psychic evolution.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the nature and interpretation of UFO abductions, the validity of witness testimony, and the potential for these experiences to impact human consciousness and evolution. The editorial stance appears to favor a broad, open-minded approach to anomalous experiences, encouraging rigorous investigation while acknowledging the subjective and potentially transformative aspects of these phenomena. There is a clear emphasis on the importance of understanding "unwanted" contact and the rights of individuals to resist intrusive experiences. The publication also promotes interdisciplinary approaches, drawing from psychology, sociology, and philosophy to understand these complex events. The inclusion of various book excerpts and reviews suggests a commitment to exploring diverse perspectives within the field of anomalous experience.

Title: Bulletin of Anomalous Experience
Issue: Vol. 4, No. 1
Date: February 1993
Publisher: David Gotlib, M.D.
Focus: Networking newsletter for mental health professionals and interested scientists concerning the UFO abduction phenomenon and related issues.

Contactee Experiences and Integration

The issue begins by addressing individuals who have had profound experiences, suggesting that many are 'contactees' whose lives have been irrevocably altered. It emphasizes that the realization of this truth can be a journey of unimagined proportions, often undertaken alone. The publication categorizes contactees into five groups based on their integration of experiences:

1. Long-term, enlightened contactees: These individuals have integrated their experiences, leading to productive and happy lives. Ida Kannenberg, author of 'UFOs And The Psychic Factor,' is presented as an example and a role model.
2. Long-term, traumatized contactees: These individuals struggle to integrate past experiences, potentially developing Post Contact Syndrome, which may lead to maladaptive lifestyles, including substance abuse.
3. Long-term, newly enlightened contactees: These individuals have had lifelong contact but have only recently begun to reconstruct their pasts and understand their subconscious memories. Whitley Strieber's works 'Communion' and 'Transformation' are cited as examples of this struggle.
4. Contactees unaware: This is the largest group, comprising individuals who have had lifelong contact but do not remember it. They may develop philosophies similar to aware contactees without making the connection to UFO phenomena. Some may recall intense religious experiences or subtle contact events that are not consciously recognized.
5. Abductees: This group refers to individuals contacted by 'renegade splinter groups' without permission. The publication distinguishes these from 'newly aware contactees' who may have had physical contact but not necessarily an abduction. It stresses that these abductees are not without hope and can regain control of their lives, viewing these experiences as a difference rather than inherently evil.

The article poses fundamental questions about the nature of contact, its occurrence, and its meaning, noting the astronomical number of people involved and the urgency of addressing the phenomenon.

The Nature of Contact and Reality

The 'Dimension Travelers' are described as 'masters of mind control,' employing 'psychemnetic' methods (psychological, chemical, and electromagnetic) to impose barriers. Contactees are cautioned to navigate a fine line as their understanding of reality shifts, incorporating the absurd, bizarre, and impossible. The mind's credibility level expands to encompass new concepts, requiring contactees to determine how far they can venture into this new reality while maintaining their footing in a world that lacks its concepts.

Hypnotic Regression and its Applications

Instances where hypnotic regression has alleviated stress and physical illness, such as severe headaches, are discussed. The primary accomplishment of hypnotic regression is bringing subconscious memories to light for examination, integration, and constructive dealing. It is presented as a tool that can fill in missing parts and create balance.

However, special considerations are given to individuals in occupations that prevent them from openly discussing their experiences, such as military personnel or those bound by client confidentiality. These individuals must protect themselves but can still educate themselves, meditate, and change their cognitive perceptions. Writing, whether fiction, fantasy, or private journaling, is suggested as a method to bring ideas to the concrete for analysis. Professional counseling and peer support groups are also recommended.

Recent Abstracts of Interest

This section summarizes several research papers:

• Dissociation in ambidextrous students: A study found a statistical association between greater dissociation and ambidexterity in undergraduates.
• Psychopathology, hypnotizability, and dissociation: This study aimed to replicate and extend findings on hypnotizability in different clinical groups. It compared patients with dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders with a normal college student group. Dissociative disorder patients showed significantly higher hypnotizability scores.
• Efficacy of treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): An empirical review of randomized clinical trials indicated that drug studies showed modest effects on PTSD, while behavioral techniques involving direct therapeutic exposure, cognitive therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and hypnosis showed stronger promise. Further research is needed to confirm their effectiveness.
• Psychosis-induced stress disorder: This abstract suggests that psychosis, particularly schizophrenia, can be mistaken for PTSD, and that psychosis-induced PTSD should be considered in individuals with psychotic illness for more effective treatment.
• Inadvertent hypnosis during interrogation: false confession due to dissociative state; mis-identified multiple personality and the Satanic cult hypothesis: This case study describes a suspect who developed pseudo-memories of criminal acts under hypnosis and suggestion during interrogation, leading to a conclusion that the Satanic cult activity described did not exist and the confessions were coerced.
• Reports of real and false memories: the relevance of hypnosis, hypnotizability, and context of memory test: Research indicated that hypnotizability, but not hypnosis itself, was associated with false memory reports. The context of testing also influenced the number of false memories reported.
• Evaluating hypnotic memory enhancement (hypermnesia and reminiscence) using multitrial forced recall: Experiments suggested that hypnosis did not enhance memory retrieval per se but increased willingness to report recollections. It also increased incorrect recall among hypnotizable individuals, providing no evidence for alleged hypermnesic properties of hypnosis.
• Left ear (right temporal lobe) suppressions during dichotic listening, ego-alien intrusion experiences and spiritualistic beliefs in normal women: This study hypothesized that beliefs in spiritualism, sensed presences, and mental diplopia might share a common source related to right temporal-lobe function. It found that left-ear suppressions correlated with spiritualistic beliefs and ego-alien intrusions.
• Right hemisphericity, low self-esteem, and unusual experiences: a response to Vingiano: This abstract discusses the relationship between right hemisphericity, low self-esteem, mystical experiences, and religiosity, suggesting that transient above-normal left-hemispheric activity enhances positive affect and self-esteem, while concurrent right-hemispheric intrusions are experienced as mystical experiences.

Editorial and Subscription Information

The 'About' section clarifies that the Bulletin of Anomalous Experience is a networking newsletter focused on the UFO abduction phenomenon for mental health professionals and scientists. It aims to bridge academic inquiry with practical marketplace concerns. Subscriptions for 1993 are $25 per year, with back issues also available. Contributions are welcome and remain the property of the authors, with permission assumed for publication unless otherwise specified. The publication is available on the WELL conferencing system.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the psychological and experiential aspects of anomalous phenomena, particularly UFO contact and abduction. There is a strong emphasis on the integration of these experiences into one's life, the challenges posed by trauma and memory distortion, and the potential for psychological and neurological factors to influence these perceptions. The editorial stance appears to be one of open inquiry, providing a platform for discussion among professionals and interested individuals, while also critically examining research and phenomena related to anomalous experiences. The publication encourages a balanced approach, acknowledging the subjective reality of contactees while grounding discussions in psychological and scientific inquiry.