Staying sane 3

More of my thoughts on how to retain a long term interest in UFO research.

3. Read widely

I read a lot of different books and magazines, as well as frequently browse the Internet. My reading covers topics such as astronomy, biology, physics, the paranormal, UFOs, mathematics and biographies to name but a few genres I cover. Like Pauline mentioned in one of her previous posts, I too have a pile of books by my bedside. Some I read once, some I read several times.

I find this constant searching for new material keeps my mind active. When reading, I am always trying to think about how the content of the material might relate to the topic of UFOs.

For example, I once read a book on the topic of the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (click here for details). Hardly the type of thing which you would think would relate to UFOs. However, the author happened to be working in the intelligence area of the Australian Government's Department of Defence (DOD) at the time. A portion of a single page mentioned UFO research being pursued by a member of the DOD. I started up a two year correspondence with the Office for the Minister of Defence, which ultimately lead to the release of a formerly secret intelligence file on UFOs. This file ( click here for Archive details) is now available to anyone in the National Archives of Australia. If I hadn't read that book the file would never have become public knowledge. For the full correspondence between myself and the Minister's Office, click here.)

Crop formations

Dear readers

Adelaide's Spring weather pattern is traditionally a mix of warm days (we had a maximum of 28 degrees Celsius the other day) and cold, wet days (today's forecast maximum is just 15 degrees Celsius.)

So, I am spending one of my non-working days down at my local library. First stop was the latest issue of the English magazine, "Fortean Times"(FT.) Click here to go to the FT website.)

Of interest in this monthly issue, FT265, dated September 2010, is a piece on the 2010 "Crop circle" season in England. Whether you associate crop formations with the UFO phenomenon, or think they are all human-made works of art, they have been appearing now since the 1980's.

The article, illustrated with six photographs of formations, describes some of this "season's" complex glyph (as some call the formations) offerings.

Originally the UK's crop phenomenon started off as simple, singular or multiple plain circles. It then chronologically transformed into more and more complex formations, some of very large size.

The 2010 season featured circles within circles; a circle divided into 12 segments; and a large "keyhole" looking formation. The crops involved included oilseed rape and broad beans.

The interpretations of the meanings/causes of these complex formations are many. In the FT piece, Lucy Pringle, a founder of the Centre for Crop Circles said (of the 12 segmented circle) "...within each segment there are eight partly concentric rings. Each of these segments indicates a binary code based on 0 and 1. If you use an ASC11 table...the pattern transposes itself into a tantilising approximation of Euler's equation." (page 6.)

Comment

I must find out a bit more about the crop circle scene here in Australia; if there is/has been one. This country is one of the world's leading exporters of wheat, so if the crop formation phenomenon is indeed global, then we should have our fair share of formations here.

Staying sane 2

Continuing a series of posts about how I have managed to retain a long term, 40 year, interest in the UFO phenomenon.

2. Tackle diverse research projects.

The range of research projects which I have conducted over the years, has included:

* An in depth examination of the possible application of the fantasy-prone personality (FPP) (Click here for one of my articles.) ; and hypnagogic imagery, to UFO abductions. I had thought that support for the FPP hypothesis had declined, but three out of seven studies conducted, have provided support for the idea.

* I asked the question "Could reports of 'angel hair' falls be simply spiders' web?" The research I conducted and published supports the strong possibility that almost all cases looked at by UFO researchers may be explained in just this way. (For my report click here.)

* I conducted the only comprehensive literature review ever undertaken into the subject of alien implants. This revealed that very little peer review research had been conducted into this topic. (Click here for a catalogue I developed.)

* I worked with academics at two Australian universities studying the personality characteristics of Australian abductees.

*I took a long hard look at the possible application of sleep paralysis to UFO abductions, and concluded that most UFO researchers have underestimated its relevance. (For an article by Susan Blackmore on this topic, click here.)

* After examining hundreds of raw UFO reports, I believe that 95% have mundane explanations; whereas many UFO researchers tell us 95% are UFOs!

All of these research projects developed my knowledge in many areas; made me question various approached undertaken by other people, and ended up with me publishing my results in the global UFO literature, for others to debate and discuss.

Staying sane 1

From time to time people have asked me how I have kept my interest alive across a 40 year time span of research.

I thought about this again recently and came up with a few ideas, which I'd like to share with you.

1. Have some guiding principles.

One of my main guiding principles has been to simply "follow the facts." If a UFO case turned out to have a mundane explanation, then I said so!

I believe that UFO investigators should weed out as many identified cases as possible, leaving only good quality "unknowns" to work with.

I have found this consistency of approach to be invaluable. It can, however, lead to differences of opinion with other UFO researchers who have a non-negotiable belief system.

One example of this occurred after I appeared on an ABC (Australia) television Health program. I suggested on the show that some UFO abductions have their roots in terms of 'sleep paralysis.' A well known Victorian (another Australian state to that where I live) UFO researcher took me to task for daring to suggest an alternative explanation to the Grays.

Another example, based on exhaustive research, was my suggestion that the 1988 Mundrabilla car/UFO encounter had a non-extraterrestrial cause. Some American researchers took a dim view of this, despite the fact they had not conducted any first hand research.

Have they always been here?

Dear readers

It's a Spring 28 degrees Celsius today, ahead of a cooler change coming through tomorrow. There are a number of sayings associated with Spring, one being "In spring every young man's thoughts, turn to love!" My Spring question is "Have they always been here?"

A number of UFO researchers argue that the UFO phenomenon started in 1947 with the Kenneth Arnold sighting in 1947.

Other researchers believe that the phenomenon has a slightly longer history, citing events such as the "foo fighters" of the Second World War.

Still others push it back to the late 19th century "airship" reports in the U.S. (Many today, say that these reports are not part of the true UFO phenomenon, being composed of hoaxes, tall stories and media "beat ups."

Back beyond this, a range of researchers have argued that the UFO phenomenon has always been with us, in one form or another.

Long time readers of this blog will know that I value highly the writings of Jacques Vallee. The other day I was pondering just what his views were on this topic? So, out came my copy of his book "Dimensions: A casebook of alien contact" published back in 1988 by Contemporary Books of Chicago. ISBN 0-8092-4586-8.

I'll quote from Vallee's work.

1. "All the traditions of mankind carefully preserve accounts of contact with other forms of life and intelligence beyond the animal realm..." (page 5.)

2. "In other accounts abductees of both sexes have described having intercourse with the aliens. Many researchers speculate that such accounts prove that intruders from space are experimenting with human genetics, but they fail to point out that these modern stories are consistent with perplexing accounts that come to us from earlier times, from the oldest records we have." (p9.)

3. "We have just established that a close parallel exists between modern claims of UFO contact and age-old traditions that involved alien spiritual entities." (p31.)

4. "I am also tempted to accept as a working hypothesis that in times remote contact occurred between human consciousness and another consciousness, variously described as demonic, angels or simply alien." (p37.)

5. Is the mechanism of UFO apparitions, then, an invariant in all cultures? Are we faced here with another reality that transcends our limited notions of space and time? I see no better hypothesis at this point of our knowledge of UFO phenomenon." (p42.)

6. "...we have a pattern of manifestations, opening the gates to a spiritual level, pointing a way to a different consciousness, and producing irrational, absurd events in their wake." (p42.)

7. "For the time being, let me simply state again that the modern, global belief in flying saucers and their occupants is identical to an earlier belief in the Good People. The entities described as the elves, sylphs and lutins of the Middle Ages." (p81.)

8. Superficially, the most appealing of the theories proposed is the extraterrestrial theory which would regard the UFOs as probes from another planet. Yet it falls short of explaining the phenomena in their historical development. Present day saucers cannot be evaluated without reference to the 1897 airships or to earlier sightings of similar objects. Then too, the theory of simple visitation must be compared with the assumption that the visitors know far more physics than we do...A second major flaw in all the theories proposed so far is found in the description of the entities and their behaviour. As we will see below, any theory can account for some of these reports, but only at the expense of arbitrary rejection of a much larger group." (p136.)

9. To put it bluntly, the UFO phenomenon does not give evidence of being extraterrestrial at all. Instead it appears to be inter-dimensional and to manipulate physical realities outside of our own space-time continuum. " (p136.)

10. "What we have here is a a complete theory of contact between our race and another race, non-human, different in physical nature, but biologically compatible with us. Angels, demons, fairies, creatures from Hell or Magonia; they inspire our strangest dreams, shape our destinies, steal our desires...But who are they?" (p149.)

11. "Is it reasonable to draw a parallel between religious apparitions, the fairy-faith, the reports of dwarf-like beings with supernatural powers, the airship tales in the United States in the last century and the present stories of UFO landings? I would strongly argue that it is - for one simple reason - the mechanisms that have generated the various beliefs are identical." (p158.)

12. "The phenomenon has stable, invariant features, some of which we have tried to identify and label clearly. But we have also had to note carefully the chameleon-like character of the secondary attributes of the sighting; the shapes of the objects, the appearance of the occupants and their reported statements vary as a function of the cultural environment into which they are projected." (p159.0

13. "The real question is, does the "spacecraft" hypothesis explain to our satisfaction the facts of the UFO phenomenon as we know them today? The answer is a definite and resounding no!" (pp256-257.)

Vallee's arguments are:

1. There are too many landings.
"The theory of random visitation does not explain it. Either the UFOs select their witness for psychological or sociological reasons, or they are something entirely different from space vehicles. In either case, their appearance is staged. " (p258.0

2. The super physics of the UFOs.
"It simply vanished on the spot, or it slowly faded away." (p259.)

3. The absurd humanoids.
"...visitors from outer space would not be human in shape..." (p260.)

"...we have a bewildering multitude of 'revelations' of the saucers' point of origin." (p264.)

4. Pitfalls in abduction data.
"The parallel between these modern claims and the medieval legend is closer than ever." (p267.)

Fairy tales are full of stories of stealing human babies; changelings, and abductions of male and females for procreation. Witches have scars, as do abductees.

"In my view, the interaction remembered by the witnesses, if it was a real occurrence, should be treated at the symbolic level. It does not tell us anything about the extraterrestrial origin of the bein gs and the idea that they must perform such experiments to enrich their race is merely another contribution to the absurd character of the entire phenomenon." (p269.0

My comments.

Vallee undertook a great deal of research in original source material written by earlier authorities. I see great parallels with the mythology uncovered. I particularly see the abduction phenomenon reports of scars, stolen foetuses, and sexual intercourse with "alien" entities, as paralleling the earlier accounts from "fairyland." Today alien abduction accounts have all but dried up, compared to the heady days of 1970-2000, perhaps a forty year time span. A brief period of time.

One wonders what form the phenomenon's next appearance will take? Will we perhaps recycle back to the "Good People?"

Readers, what do you think about this concept that they have always been here?

Abduction research

Keith Basterfield here.

I have long advocated for the detailed analysis of accounts given to us by abductees/contactees/experiencers (I will use the term experiencer from here on), in order to gain the maximum amount of details from these intriguing accounts.

I thought it might be useful to share with you, the methodology I have been using.

Initial interview

This is setting the scene. I explain my proposed methodology for a series of interviews. I then ask the experiencer to tell me their story in any way they wish. I record and make notes. Quite often their story will "tumble out" in no particular order. This is fine at this point. I ask any questions as they come to me, but do not like to interfere with the flow of their narrative.

After the initial interview

Once alone, I go through my recordings and notes and try and re-arrange their narrative in chronological order. I find this especially useful if there are numerous events which have occurred over their lifetime. I like to get a feel for the flow of these events. I take a note of any questions which come to mind, to ask at the second interview.

Second interview

I like to divide this into several parts. Firstly, I ask any questions of clarification of the narrative from the first interview. Then I ask their permission to take a family history; a medical history; ask questions about their sleep/dream patterns; and finish by asking about any other paranormal experiences which might have happened over the years.

After the second interview

I review all of the data gathered so far, and look to draw up a chronological history of their life which integrates the dates of UFO events with important dates from their family and medical history. I note again any questions of clarification I need to follow up on.

Third interview

I ask any questions I have thought about since interview two. Then I answer any questions which they may have about what we have spoken of up to that point. If they wish to, I discuss with them my thoughts I have as to any non-UFO interpretation of the information which they have supplied. Finally, I seek their permission to publish a case study from our discussions (I get them to proof a copy of the case study for factual errors) in the UFO literature.

Family history

Date and place of birth?
Where have they lived during their lifetime?
Schooling?
Employment?
Any siblings?
Has anyone else in their family experienced any UFO or paranormal events?
Is their anyone else in the family who might have knowledge of their occurrences?
If so, may I have permission to speak with them?
Any other points of general life history?

Medical/psychological history

Any major illnesses?
Any major accidents?
Any disabilities/long standing medical conditions?
Any hereditary familial conditions?
Any history of migraines -Auras -prodromes. If so, frequency, type etc?
Are they on any medications at the moment. If so, what?
Were they on any medications at the time of any UFO/paranormal experiences?

Sleep

How well do they sleep?
Have they ever suffered from insomnia -if so frequency, symptoms etc?
Have they ever woken paralysed during the night? If so, frequency, get a narrative
Have they ever walked in their sleep? At what age. Get examples.
Have they ever been told they talk in their sleep. If yes, frequency, content of speech
Have they ever experiences anything odd on the boundary between being awake and being asleep? If so, describe
Do they recall their dreams at all/a little/a lot? Any UFO related dreams?
Do they dream in colour, or black and white/mixture?
In their dreams do they have besides a sense of vision, a sense of taste, touch, smell, sound?
When dreaming do they ever become aware that they are dreaming? If so what happens once they become aware?
Have they even taken sleeping pills? If yes get a narrative of use

Altered states of consciousness

Have they ever had an experience where they believed their mind was separated from their body e.g. out of body experience or near death experience? If so, get a narrative
Have they ever had the sensation that they have had a period of 'missing time' for which they cannot account? If so get a narrative.
Have they ever had an occasion where they 'felt' they were not human? If so get a narrative
Do they ever 'see' music or 'hear' colours? If yes, get a narrative.

Analysis

In reviewing the answers to all of the above questions, I am looking at the relevance, if any, of the following areas:
Sleep paralysis
Fantasy proneness
Hypnagogic/hypnopompic imagery
Migraine prodromes and auras
Mental illness.

In my view, a portion of the reported UFO experiencer narratives can be accounted for in the above medical/psychological areas.

My logic in doing so, is that if you can eliminate the above as cause(s) of the experiencers' accounts, then you can refine the data about accounts which cannot be so eliminated. You get left with better information about the "true" or "core" UFO experiencer phenomenon.

I hope this may assist other researchers in this area.

Australian spiral UFO

Hi readers

A rather warm Spring day in Adelaide today with a temperature of 25 degree C.

In early June of this year multiple observations were made of an unusual object in the sky. There was an outburst of media reports on the event, and the topic bounced around the world via the internet.

I have left it until now to take a look at these observations as I wanted to see if anyone did an in depth analysis of the sightings, and reached any definite conclusions.

ABC radio

On 6 June 2010 ABC radio reported that a "UFO was seen moving through the sky just before Saturday's sunrise in New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT."

"Some described it as a 'lollipop-type swirl.' Others say it hovered for a while before gradually moving in an eastern direction until it was out of sight. Those who saw the object say photos do not reflect how large it actually was."

Some witness observations were given:

1. Canberra ACT. James Butcher. "Strange spiral light in the sky. It had a distinct bright centre, much like a bright star, indicating an object shedding light trails, spiralling and flatterning out fomr it>" Duration 2-3 minutes. "Descending quickly out of view." Yellow colour.

2. Wollongong NSW. Eddie Wise. 6am. Yellow/green light with a light spiral around it. Moved around. Went behind a cloud.

Geoffrey Wyatt from the Sydney Observatory-thought it was a satellite, space junk or a rocket. While Doug Moffett of UFO Research NSW said the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket was at 18.45GMT 0445 EST. Flight was 9 minutes 38 seconds so this was full hour before the sightings so it could not be the Falcon 9.

More observations:

3. Sydney NSW. Robyn. Just before 6am. 2 mins. White light in sky like "huge revolving Moon." East.

4. Brisbane Qld. Linda 5.50am. Lollipop swirl came from the West and headed East.

5. Brisbane Qld. Peter lollipop-type swirl. Low and fast. Looked like a row of lights.

6. Pine Mountain Qld. Denise. Shortly before 6am From NW to SE. No noise.

(Source was http://www.abc.net/news/stories/2010/06/05/2919095.htm )

News com

Other observations and comments featured on News com.

Here it was revealed that the event had been seen from Qld, NSW and Victoria. An observation from Werribee South in Victoria was reported by Matt, who aid he had seen an unusual light in the sky, from there at about 5am.

Andrew Jacob, acting curator of the Sydney Observatory said that it was likely to have been the Falcon 9 rocket launch. "He said the timing was right for the Space X rocket to have travelled over the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and the Indian Ocean and be in skies over Australia about 6am.

(Source: http://www.new.com.au/national/ufo-spotted-in-queensland-new-south-wales-and-victoria/story-e6frkvr-1255875840556 )

Another witness report appeared in a blog courtesy of the MUFON UFO group in the USA. At 0550 hrs on 5 June 2010 from Brisbane Qld a person reported seeing an object with a bright light at the centre, but not spinning. It travelled across the sky and disappeared over the horizon after 2 minutes. The witness was facing south at the time and the object travelled from 210 degrees SSW.

(Source: http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2010/06/australian-spiral-ufo-sightings-falcon-9.html )

Definitive answer

An astronomy blog came up with the definitive answer. It advised that the Falcon 9 rocket was launched at 1845 UT which was 0445 hrs Sydney time. The blog also featured a ground track of the rocket's path over the Earth.

"Note how the path goes right over Eastern Australia! The timing is perfect too: about an hour later, the second stage would've been halfway around the world, matching the position and time of the UFO sightings."

"As it happens, the second stage of the Falcon 9 was rotating: this was not supposed to happen and the Space X engineers are looking in to it..."

(Source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/06/05/oh-those-falcon-ufos )

Summary

From reading the above and numerous other sources, you can see that you get:

1. The unusual spread of observation timings. I have noted that wherever you get a large number of sightings the times vary plus or minus 10 minutes or so. This seems to be due to the fact that people's watches and clocks are set at different time.

2. Sometime completely contradictory directions of travel are given. I found sources saying the object was travelling West to East and others that it went East to West.

3. Little actual data can be found about azimuth and elevation of the object from various places. Thus, it is almost impossible to plot a ground path that accords with the multiple observations.

4. A lack of information of the actual area from which observations were made doesn't help either. The sources consulted said it was seen over a) Qld, NSW & Vic b) NSW, Qld, Act and C) NSW, Qld, Vic & SA. The larger an area an object is seen over, the more likely it is that the object is high above the ground, either in earth orbit or descending or ascending into orbit.

However, all the data is consistent with the cause being the Falcon 9 rocket launched from the USA.

What is really needed in these sort of cases is for a UFO researcher to have appealed for multiple observations, then followed each up to obtain accurate elevation and azimuth readings, thus allowing triangulation to be undertaken.