BAE 4.6

Magazine Overview

This issue of the Bulletin of Anomalous Experience (BAE), Volume 4, Number 6, dated December 1993, presents a collection of articles and discussions focused on UFO abduction phenomena, psychology, and related anomalous experiences. The issue features an editorial, mail correspondence, networking articles, reviews, and a section on medical literature.

Editorial: Reflections on abduction studies by David Gotlib, M.D.

Dr. Gotlib opens the issue with reflections on abduction studies, proposing that abductions share characteristics with other anomalous experiences, such as visions of the Virgin Mary. He highlights consistent stories, physical signs, reports in children, absence of psychopathology, and association with UFOs as commonalities. Gotlib argues that the current focus in abduction research, which emphasizes proving abductions are literally real events perpetrated by extraterrestrials, often overlooks the broader context of anomalous experiences and hinders interdisciplinary collaboration. He suggests that a revised view of reality accounting for abductions must also account for Marian apparitions and other unusual experiences. He notes a lack of interaction between abduction researchers and those studying other anomalies, including transpersonal psychology. Gotlib also discusses the concept of 'personal validation,' where individuals accept explanations that resonate with them, and how this is heavily relied upon in abduction research due to a paucity of objective data. He contrasts this with conventional therapeutic practice, where personal validation is not a reliable indicator for diagnosis or treatment, citing examples of antidepressant use for depression and anxiety disorders. He raises research questions about the effectiveness of CE-IV experiences in promoting social action and ecological awareness, and whether the likelihood of engaging in social action changes based on various factors like investigation, treatment, frequency of experiences, or hypnosis sessions.

Mail

On training for CE-IV counsellors, personal validation, and other CE-IV issues by Richard Boylan, Ph.D.

This section includes a letter from Richard Boylan responding to David Gotlib's editorial and earlier correspondence. Boylan outlines extensive requirements for training CE-IV counselors, beyond basic familiarity and empathic listening. These include professional psychotherapy training (hypnotherapy is a plus), awareness of the psychological presentation of genuine CE-IV experiencers, understanding the fragmentary nature of recalled details, and the ability to reconstruct whole experiences while avoiding confabulation. He emphasizes the need for awareness of clinical literature, the range of psychological effects, and the ability to distinguish CE-IV effects from residual trauma. Boylan also stresses the importance of distinguishing true reports from hoaxes, delusional disorders, misinterpretations, and other confabulations. He lists variables affecting CE-IV intensity, the skilled use of hypnosis for blocked memories, and the application of brief therapy. He also highlights the need for a professional's unbiased attitude, openness, and tolerance for ambiguity. Additionally, he points out the necessity of awareness regarding government cover-ups, potential harassment, collusion in pseudo-alien abductions, and wariness of 'plants' or 'ringers' sent to disrupt groups. Peer consultation and support are also deemed essential.

Boylan addresses the distinction between genuine CE-IV experiencers and those with delusional disorders, agreeing with Gotlib that personal validation alone is insufficient. He argues that while mental disorder involves an abridgement of consciousness requiring professional judgment, CE-IV represents an altering and expanding of consciousness, making the experiencer best equipped to know their own experience. However, for scientific validation, external indicators are necessary, including ruling out mental disorders and looking for affirming signs like corroborative witnesses, unusual body marks, official UFO reports, the experiencer's wholesome personality, sudden paranormal abilities, and temperature changes.

He respectfully disagrees with the notion that mental health professionals won't accept personal validity as a major criterion for differential diagnosis. Boylan asserts that in many situational adjustment disorders, professionals take the patient's word regarding reactions to events like job loss or surgery. He draws a parallel to cases of rape or molestation where therapists rely on the patient's report, looking for internal clues. He concludes that while defining CE-IV syndrome is difficult, therapists have faced similar challenges with other emerging issues and should tolerate ambiguity.

Reply to Georgia Flamburis's "How Are Experiencers' Needs Being Met?" by Richard Boylan, Ph.D.

Boylan responds to Georgia Flamburis's points regarding the CE-IV phenomenon from an experiencer's perspective. He addresses:

1. Overstepping boundaries: Some experiencers empathize too much and may be taken advantage of. It's important to maintain boundaries and not let the experience absolve them of human shortcomings.
2. Over-interpreting ET messages: While messages can be powerful, it's wise to share them with experienced resources for perspective and avoid adding 'clarifying' elements. Clarification may come with time.
3. Risk of psychological needs being overlooked: Research and support groups should involve specially-trained mental health professionals or have access to them, as some needs cannot be met by empathic group support alone.
4. Suggestibility and confabulation: Hypnosis should be conducted by skilled, ethical professionals who avoid leading questions and maintain neutrality. In ordinary consciousness, support groups can also exert pressure, and individuals should resist confabulating to fill memory gaps.
5. Focus on preventing 'abductions': Boylan finds that experiencers properly debriefed and counseled by unbiased professionals, with adequate support, generally lose their fear. He suggests examining the internal fears related to these contacts rather than trying to 'outsmart' the ETs.
6. Researchers imposing interpretations: Experiencers are the most intimate with their contact experiences. Researchers should be impartial and respectful, not impose conclusions or ideological biases.
7. Terminology ('abductee' vs. 'experiencer'): Boylan prefers 'CE-IV experiencer' as a neutral term that avoids ideological interpretations and encompasses various views on the nature of the encounter.
8. Factions within the UFO community: Awareness of different interpretations is useful for experiencers, and support groups should accommodate a range of views. The danger of cult formation is minimal in informed and unstifled environments.
9. Hoaxes and disinformation: The high strangeness of the phenomenon makes it difficult to apply usual reality tests. Gullibility is a hazard, minimized by cautious data assessment. Disinformation aims to cause confusion and fear, and pseudo-experiencers can sow distrust. Proceeding watchfully with unfamiliar persons is advised.
10. Support group leadership and goals: Leaders should be specially trained mental health professionals or experienced individuals with access to such resources. Group goals should evolve based on the group's stage, from education and emotional support to public outreach and developing spiritual communities.

On "Recovered Memories" by Richard Hall

Richard Hall responds to an article discussing skepticism about 'recovered memories' of abuse. He questions the analogy used, suggesting that if a child's horrifying experience is not validated and they are left to cope alone, repression of memory might be a coping mechanism, with the memory surfacing later. He contrasts this with validated experiences like the Chowchilla kidnapping or Holocaust survival, where intense memories are expected. Hall advises parents not to dismiss children's accounts of alien encounters as dreams but to encourage them to share, offering reassurance and a commitment to deal with it together as a family, consulting with Budd Hopkins for guidance.

From untruth to unreality by Hilary Evans

Hilary Evans explores the progression from conscious untruth to an inability to distinguish reality from unreality. He categorizes untruth into three basic types:

1. Conscious untruth: Due to self-interest, expediency, deliberate hoax, or mischief.
2. Unconscious untruth: Resulting from errors in perception, interpretation, memory (including amnesia or cryptomnesia), or unwittingly reporting an instigated untruth.
3. More or less unconscious untruth: Involves exaggerating, suppressing, or embellishing facts; childhood inability to distinguish fantasy from reality; delusions from internal psychological processes (e.g., false memory syndrome, Munchausen syndrome); delusions from physical causes (sensory deprivation, overload, chemical changes); and delusions from suggestion (religious, spiritual, hypnosis, stress, disorientation, past-life regression, sexual abuse, alien abduction, etc.), often influenced by cultural conditioning or fantasy-prone personalities.

Evans emphasizes that these categories are not distinct and can overlap. He stresses the importance of recognizing deception and self-deception, not to judge the person, but for diagnostic purposes. He uses the example of a friend who claims to have met the Virgin Mary, stating that while the experience itself may be valid and valuable, the claim might be delusory, and this possibility must be considered in evaluation.

When Freud Met Jung by Filip Coppens

Filip Coppens draws a parallel between the early days of psychology (Freud and Jung) and the early days of UFO abduction research. He notes that both Freud (emphasizing sex) and Hopkins (focusing on the sexual aspect of abductions) initially viewed phenomena through a lens of sex. However, both Jung and Strieber suggest that the abduction phenomenon is more than just sexual reproduction, pointing towards a more 'transcendental' or 'archetypal' aspect. Coppens suggests that, similar to how psychology evolved from a focus on sex to broader concepts, UFO abduction understanding may also move beyond purely sexual explanations. He poses questions about the relevance of Freud's ideas today and whether Hopkins' approach is a similar early step in understanding abductionism. He also prompts reflection on whether the brain is viewed as a mere computer or as a vessel for something 'higher than just matter,' influencing how one perceives abductions as hallucinations or manifestations of a non-material reality.

Networking

Personality Types and Transpersonal Experiences: A Possible Correlation by David Ritchey, Ph.D.

David Ritchey explores a potential correlation between specific personality types and the propensity for transpersonal experiences, such as shamanic crises, kundalini awakenings, and close encounters with UFOs. Based on clinical observations, he suspects that introverted intuitives (INs), according to the Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator, may be more prone to these experiences. He is seeking researchers with statistical data to support or refute this hypothesis. Ritchey cites research indicating that UFO experiencers often exhibit high intelligence, a rich inner life, interpersonal vulnerability, and alertness. He also notes findings suggesting preferences for introversion, intuition, feeling, and perceiving among some experiencers, and a link between temporal lobe lability and intuitive, feeling, and perceiving traits. He invites contact from anyone with relevant data or interest in the hypothesis.

Contest and Call for Papers on the UFO Topic

Dr. Alexander Imich announces his fifth annual contest for papers contributing to the understanding of the interaction between the UFO phenomenon and humankind. A $1,000 prize will be awarded for the best original paper, judged on intellectual quality, originality, and scholarship. Submissions can be empirical, theoretical, speculative, or case studies, covering various disciplines. The deadline for submission is June 30, 1994. The announcement also mentions the upcoming softcover release of Kenneth Ring's "The Omega Project."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the psychological and sociological aspects of UFO abduction experiences. There is a strong emphasis on the need for rigorous research methodologies that move beyond subjective validation and personal resonance. The editorial stance appears to advocate for a broader, multidisciplinary approach to understanding anomalous experiences, questioning the narrow focus of some abduction research. The issue also highlights the importance of ethical practice in counseling and research, the complexities of truth and reality, and the evolution of understanding phenomena from purely physical or sexual explanations to more complex, potentially transcendental ones. The publication seems to foster open discussion and critical inquiry within the anomalous experience community.

Title: Bulletin of Anomalous Experience
Issue: Vol. 4, No. 6
Date: December 1993
Publisher: Anomalous Experience
Country: USA
ISSN: 1051-3944

This issue of the Bulletin of Anomalous Experience focuses on the intersection of UFO experiences, memory, and psychological interpretation, alongside explorations of religious phenomena and personality traits.

FMS Update: The Trivialization of Abductions

This section, authored by David Gotlib, M.D., addresses the debate surrounding False Memory Syndrome (FMS) and its relationship to UFO abduction claims. Both sides of the FMS debate, those who believe in FMS and those who argue for the validity of repressed memories, generally agree that UFO abduction experiences should be considered fantasy. However, articles supporting FMS use these experiences as evidence for false memories, while articles opposing FMS criticize their counterparts for trivializing the serious issue of childhood sexual abuse by introducing 'obviously foolish nonsense' of alien abductions.

Examples are provided of how abductions are dismissed in the FMS debate:

• A Toronto Star article by James Alcock, a psychologist, suggested that adults claiming memories of childhood sexual abuse often have similarities to people who claim abduction by UFOs.
• Toronto Star columnist Michelle Landsberg cited Alcock's remarks, stating that lawyers and experts were repeating 'attack language' and 'idiotic 'kidnapped by aliens' examples' furnished by the FMS Foundation.
• Psychiatrist Paul Genova, in 'Psychiatric Times,' cited satanic ritual abuse and UFO abductions as examples of how clients might stretch credulity in therapy, perpetuating a cycle of revelation, doubt, and betrayal.
• A review of Adolf Grunbaum's 'Validation in the Clinical Theory of Psychoanalysis' in the Times Literary Supplement by Owen Flanagan discussed how individuals might incorporate 'alien-abduction scenes' into their identity, even if they were never abducted.

The FMS Newsletter (November 1993) is mentioned as receiving calls from clients concerned about 'space alien abduction and past lives' therapies, noting that while abductions had only been mentioned in passing, this might change.

The FMS Foundation offers subscriptions to their newsletter and publications. The issue also introduces 'retractors,' individuals who disavow recovered memories of abuse, and mentions their publication, 'The Retractor Newsletter,' and organization, NAAFIP.

Legal Update

A follow-up to a previous case reports that a jury rejected allegations of father-daughter sexual abuse but awarded the daughter $420,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress in a civil lawsuit.

Reviews

Video Review: Encountering Mary

Reviewed by John Robert Colombo, this section discusses David Cherniack's video, 'Encountering Mary,' which premiered on CBC-TV. The show deals with apparitions of the Virgin Mary, focusing on reported sightings in Lourdes, Fatima, a farm in Marmora, Ontario (1992), and a jungle near Betania, Venezuela (1976-93). Colombo notes that the show, while not one of Cherniack's best, has some merit. It touches upon the 75th anniversary of the Fatima vision and briefly mentions the 'conspiracy' aspect related to consecrating Russia. The video bypasses speculation on the nature of apparitions, instead following a group of Canadians on a pilgrimage to Betania to meet Maria Esperanza, a woman who experiences Marian apparitions. Despite the lack of a direct apparition on film, Cherniack uses lighting and sound to convey a sense of presence. A brief mention is made of a green object with a vague human form seen amid banana leaves.

The review notes that the show left the impression that the Virgin Mary favors Latinos and Hispanics, and predicts dire consequences if devotion is not institutionalized. It suggests that the BVM message emphasizes spiritual and moral teachings and leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, offering guidance and a sense of redemption to those seeking meaning in the modern world. The reviewer concludes that the show conveys the pilgrims' thirst for miracles and their determination to live in expectation of future ones, even in the absence of present miracles.

"UFO - This Planet's Most Complete Guide to Close Encounters" Software Review

Reviewed by Ralph Allison, M.D., this section critically examines a CD-ROM software titled "UFO - This Planet's Most Complete Guide to Close Encounters." The reviewer details a frustrating installation process, including errors with drive designation and video drivers. After finally getting the program to run, it presents UFO sightings categorized by type (e.g., Photographic Evidence, Abduction Involved, Cattle Mutilation). The program displays a world map of sightings, event descriptions, witness accounts, and photographs. However, the reviewer expresses significant disappointment with the quality of the images, noting coarse grain, poor resolution, and insufficient detail, particularly in newspaper reports of cattle mutilations and motion picture evidence. The reviewer warns potential purchasers to back up their systems thoroughly before installation, citing corruption of CONFIG.SYS and COMMAND.COM files and subsequent system problems. The reviewer humorously suggests that 'Men in Black' might have sabotaged the computer to discourage users.

Another Electronic UFO Reference

This section briefly describes 'The Talmud of Jmmanuel (TJ),' an authorized translation of an Aramaic document purportedly containing the original testament of Jesus, available from Wild Flower Press. It also mentions a catalogue from Wild Flower Press featuring other related books.

From the Medical Literature

Close Encounters: An Examination of UFO Experiences

This is a review of a study by Nicholas P. Spanos, Patricia A. Cross, Kirby Dickson, and Susan C. DuBreuil published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. The study divided UFO reporters into 'non-intense' (seeing lights/shapes) and 'intense' (communicating with aliens/missing time) groups. Objective tests showed no significant differences in psychopathology, intelligence, or fantasy proneness compared to control groups. However, UFO groups believed more strongly in space alien visitation. Intense UFO experiences were more frequently sleep-related. The study found that UFO intensity correlated with Magical Ideation, Perceptual Aberrations, and other psychological measures, but contradicted the hypothesis that UFO reporters are psychologically disturbed or unusually suggestible. The authors suggest that UFO beliefs may provide meaning and security, potentially contributing to lower psychopathology scores. They also note that restricted sensory environments can contribute to confusion between internal images and external events, leading to experiences being interpreted as real.

Persinger's Corner: Positive Associations Among Dichotic Listening Errors, Complex Partial Epileptic-Like Signs, and Paranormal Beliefs

This section reviews a study by Ross J. Skirda and Michael A. Persinger in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. The study found moderate associations between complex partial epileptic-like signs (CPES) and paranormal beliefs, particularly in females. Dichotic listening errors were also correlated with CPES and paranormal beliefs. The findings suggest that dichotic listening errors may reflect a continuum of complex partial epileptic phenomenology and encourage the acquisition of paranormal but not traditional religious beliefs. The discussion highlights that these results do not necessarily indicate pathology but suggest that individuals with more dichotic processing anomalies may be more prone to report stronger paranormal beliefs and CPES, potentially due to a disrupted 'refutation process' that makes them more likely to accept novel statements as true.

Early Childhood Abuse and Limbic System Ratings in Adult Psychiatric Outpatients

This abstract from J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci by Teicher, Glod, Surrey, and Swett Jr. investigates the hypothesis that early abuse affects the limbic system. A study of 253 outpatients found that physical abuse was associated with a 38% increase in LSCL-33 scores, sexual abuse with a 49% increase, and combined abuse with a 113% increase, particularly if the abuse occurred before age 18. The study suggests that psychiatric sequelae of early abuse may involve biological alterations in the developing brain, affecting regions like the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, which can manifest as behavioral disturbances and psychopathology.

The "Sensed Presence" in Unusual Environments

This abstract by Peter Suedfelt and Jane Mocellin from Environment and Behavior reviews literature on the 'sensed presence' phenomenon, where individuals in extreme environments report the presence of another entity. It suggests that this experience, often interpreted as a sign of psychiatric symptomatology, is common and may be an adaptive reaction, possibly explained by theories of bicamerality. Contributory factors include monotony, isolation, cold, physical debilitation, exhaustion, fear, perceived danger, and uncertainty. The authors argue that the sensed presence should be recognized as a normal coping behavior, removing it from the realms of mysticism and psychopathology to facilitate better scientific understanding.

Fantasy-Prone Personality: A Literature Review

This section provides a literature review on the fantasy-prone personality (FPP) hypothesis. It includes abstracts of several studies:

• "Are the Mental Images of Fantasy-Prone Persons Really More 'Real'?" by Council et al. found that high fantasizers were not more likely to perform in a way indicative of 'picture-like' visual images.
• "Child abuse, imagination and hypnotizability" by Rhue et al. found that physically and sexually abused subjects were more fantasy-prone than nonabused controls.
• "Fantasy-proneness: Towards cross-cultural comparisons" by Siuta indicated a moderate correlation between fantasy-proneness and hypnotic susceptibility, suggesting cross-cultural validity.
• "Imagery vividness, verbalizer-visualizer, and fantasy-proneness in young adult eidetikers" by Matsuoka compared eidetic individuals with controls, finding eidetikers were more vivid visualizers and characterized by absorption into imagination and fantasy.
• "Fantasy proneness, hypnotizability, and absorption: A re-examination" by Rhue and Lynn found that FPP and absorption were not discriminable constructs, and FP-ness and absorption were stable across studies.
• "Fantasy proneness: Data and observations on the British use of the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI)" by Fellows and Wright discussed the use of the ICMI in the UK.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the interpretation of anomalous experiences, particularly UFO abductions and religious apparitions, within psychological and sociological frameworks. There is a consistent effort to examine these phenomena through scientific and empirical lenses, questioning traditional explanations and exploring potential psychological underpinnings. The editorial stance appears to favor critical analysis and research-based understanding, as evidenced by the detailed reviews of scientific studies and the cautious approach to anecdotal reports. The issue highlights the complex interplay between belief systems, personal experiences, and psychological states, suggesting that phenomena like UFO sightings and religious visions may be understood as adaptive responses or products of specific cognitive and environmental factors, rather than solely as evidence of external realities or psychopathology.

Title: Bulletin of Anomalous Experience
Issue: Vol. 4, No. 6
Date: December 1993
Publisher: Bulletin of Anomalous Experience
Country: Canada
Language: English

This issue of the Bulletin of Anomalous Experience, dated December 1993, focuses heavily on the concept of "fantasy proneness" and its multifaceted implications, particularly in relation to anomalous experiences, psychology, and trauma. The magazine presents a collection of abstracts and articles that explore the construct of fantasy proneness, its developmental antecedents, and its potential associations with hypnotizability, psychopathology, multiple personality disorder, and alien abduction phenomena.

Key Articles and Research Summaries

Fantasy Proneness and Related Constructs

The issue features several research summaries and articles by authors such as Judith W. Rhue and Steven Jay Lynn, who have extensively researched fantasy proneness. A study administered the ICMI and Cognitive Failures Questionnaire to 179 women and 123 men, finding that women and students scored higher on the ICMI. A positive correlation between the ICMI and CFQ suggested that fantasy-prone individuals might also be accident-prone.

Further research by Lynn and Rhue re-examined the link between fantasy proneness, hypnotizability, and absorption. Their findings indicated that fantasizers differed from non-fantasizers in absorption and hypnotizability, and that fantasy proneness and absorption were not truly discriminable constructs. However, methodological differences across studies led to disparate results regarding hypnotizability.

Another study by Lynn, Rhue, and Green explored the association between multiple personality disorder (MPD) and fantasy proneness. They suggested that a history of childhood fantasy proneness might increase the likelihood of an MPD diagnosis, noting that many MPD individuals reported childhood physical abuse.

Rhue and Lynn also investigated the ability of fantasy-prone individuals to hallucinate. While nearly 90% of fantasizers reported they could hallucinate a styrofoam cup, they did not ascribe realistic properties to the hallucinated image, indicating that their ability to hallucinate "as real as real" was not evidenced in that specific experimental context.

Developmental Antecedents and Psychopathology

Several articles delve into the developmental aspects and potential psychopathology associated with fantasy proneness. A study by Rhue and Lynn, involving 6,000 college students, supported Wilson and Barber's construct of fantasy proneness. Fantasizers differed from non-fantasizers on measures of hypnotizability, imagination, suggestibility, hallucinatory ability, creativity, psychopathology, and childhood experiences. Differences in hypnotizability were more reliable in multisession studies.

Another paper by Rhue and Lynn examined the developmental antecedents of fantasy proneness. They found that fantasy-prone individuals reported greater frequency and severity of physical punishment, used fantasy to block pain, had more thoughts of revenge, experienced greater loneliness, and preferred punishing their own children less severely.

A study by Rhue and Lynn using MMPI and projective measures on high fantasy prone individuals suggested a significant degree of psychopathology in a subset of fantasizers, with three reporting a history of psychiatric hospitalizations. However, a follow-up study found no distinction in contacts with professionals, psychotropic medication use, or number of close friendships compared to non-fantasizers.

Trauma, PTSD, and Related Therapies

The issue also addresses post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related therapeutic approaches. Abstracts highlight eye-movement desensitisation (EMD) as a potentially effective treatment for PTSD, though more rigorous studies are needed. Research on psychoneuroendocrine assessment of PTSD suggests a distinct hormonal profile in PTSD patients.

An article discusses "Levels of trauma: a multidimensional approach to the treatment of PTSD," noting the historical evolution of interest in psychological trauma and various explanatory models. Another piece explores "Control and intrusive memories as possible determinants of chronic stress," linking loss of control and intrusive memories to persistent stress following traumatic events.

Furthermore, an abstract examines "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Precombat Sexual and Physical Abuse in Desert Storm Veterans," finding a significant association between precombat abuse and PTSD symptoms, with gender modifying the impact.

Experiencers' Section and Personal Accounts

The "Experiencers' Section" includes a response from Ann Livingston, who identifies as a CE-IV experiencer and discusses her challenging experiences in Yucatan, Mexico, and her book about self-help. She also addresses Richard Hall's comments on False Memory Syndrome (FMS), arguing that while some therapists may encourage false memories, the issue of distinguishing true from false memories remains. Livingston emphasizes that childhood sexual abuse and alien abduction are not mutually exclusive and that both need to be acknowledged and addressed.

Another piece in this section discusses the debate around the recall of childhood sexual abuse, suggesting that it should not be dismissed as a screen for alien abductions. The author advocates for equal validity for both sexual abuse and alien abduction components of a case.

"The Fifty-Minute Hour" and Other Topics

The "In Closing" section features a review of Robert Lindner's "The Fifty-Minute Hour: A Collection of True Psychoanalytic Tales." The review highlights Lindner's account of his psychoanalysis of Kirk, a research physicist with an elaborate fantasy about parallel existence and time travel. The therapist, Lindner, became deeply involved in Kirk's delusion, blurring the lines between therapist and patient.

An article titled "Of Lizards and Wizards" by David Ritchey explores the author's experiences as a hypnotherapist and his role-playing as "Merlin the magician" at medieval fairs. He recounts an encounter with a young girl who described being visited by a "lizard" while in her mother's womb, leading to reflections on synchronicity and the magic children bring into adult lives.

Another abstract, "Redefining epidemic hysteria: an example from Sweden," discusses François Sirois' paradigm for diagnosing epidemic hysteria and critiques its limitations, using a case study of phantom rockets over Sweden.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the nature of anomalous experiences, particularly the phenomenon of fantasy proneness, and its intersection with psychological states, trauma, and memory. The magazine appears to adopt an open, yet critical, stance, presenting research and personal accounts without necessarily asserting definitive conclusions. The editorial policy, as described by Hilary Evans, is to "comfortably tread the narrow path between the groves of academia and the dust and heat of the marketplace, inquiring and suggesting, not asserting or insisting." This suggests a commitment to exploring diverse perspectives and facilitating discussion within the field of anomalous experiences.