by Gary Bates
The facts are: there are significant numbers of the population experiencing such events; there are often multiple experiencers to some events; the victims of abductions recount striking similarities to their experiences. All seemingly add to the weight of “evidence” that these are real intrusions by extraterrestrials. For instance, and as described by the CAS, how could they all similarly recall such detailed descriptions of the inside of a ship, medical examinations, similar descriptions of alien beings, video screens aboard the ship and so on, unless it all really happened, just as visualized?
The Allagash Four
In August 1976 four male friends fishing in a canoe on the Allagash waterway in northern Maine, USA, saw a craft of colored lights that hovered nearby. After one of the men shone his flashlight at it, the craft initially stopped, but then started to move towards the canoe while emitting a circular hollow light upon the water. The terrified men frantically paddled towards the shore, but the light eventually enveloped them as they reached the shore. Although they have different accounts at this stage about how they got onto the bank, they all recalled that the fire they had lit earlier had completely burnt down to a few coals, meaning that several hours had elapsed. They could not account for that missing time. To them it seemed like only about 15 minutes from when they first saw the object to when they were standing on the bank. As they looked up at the light, it now shone upwards and then the lights moved away at terrific speed.
Over the next few years the men suffered night terrors which included seeing strange creatures, undergoing sleep paralysis and levitation from their beds, and the recollection and sensation of experimentation by strange entities being done upon them. Upon the advice of their doctor they sought help from UFO experts. This led them to MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) and hypnosis sessions to regress the men in an attempt to find out what happened during the period of missing time.
Under hypnosis, all four witnesses relived detailed and traumatic UFO abduction experiences during the period of missing time. All said they were transferred from their canoe into the UFO by the hollow tube-like beam of light. On board, they encountered strange humanoid creatures that exerted some kind of mind control over them so that they could not resist their demands.
All were made to undress and sit on a plastic-like bench in an area illuminated by diffuse white light. After looking at their eyes and in their mouths with a pencil-sized rod with a light on its tip, the aliens placed them in a harness and flexed their arms and legs. Then, one by one they were made to lie on a table where each was examined by a number of strange hand-held and larger machine-like instruments that were lowered over their bodies. During this segment of the examination, the alien entities removed samples of saliva, skin scrapings, blood, feces, urine and sperm from each of the abductees.[1]
Because all four men, while under hypnosis, recounted identical memories of the event, this case has been cited as one of the most compelling abduction accounts in history. Indeed, it was studying these “multiple experiencer” type events and their multiple confirmed stories that actually provided clues to unraveling the seeming weight of evidence for the belief that these were real alien abduction accounts, rather than being the death knell for a spiritual explanation.
As we mentioned earlier, and as in the aforementioned case, hypnosis is/was used to regress or “take people back” under the belief that the subconscious mind recalls everything in one’s past. We previously detailed some of the problems with this method of investigation (and we will discuss these more and in depth later). Hypnosis has been mainly used as a post-event investigative method. But the problems with the use of hypnosis commence earlier in the timeline of the experience. It is my belief that hypnotic methods are actually being used to perpetrate the experience upon the hapless victims in the first place. This seems consistent with the pattern one sees, namely that hypnosis is often required post-experience; and therefore it is necessary to enter the subconscious mind to unlock such seeming experiences, because the majority of experiencers have no conscious recollection of events. Therefore, it seems reasonable to presume that such experiences have only been recorded in the subconscious mind.
It seems amazing to me that such a major clue should be willingly ignored by UFOlogists keen to defend these experiences of aliens as having really, physically taken place. It is explained away on the basis that the aliens invoke a trance-like state to encourage the victim to forget about the experience. But if so, and it is thus agreed that the alleged aliens are able to induce a hypnotic state, why is it not also obvious that much of what supposedly occurred may have been planted in the subconscious mind during that same subliminal state? After all, it can only be recalled and brought to the surface by triggering that same state once again.
An alien abduction movie called The Fourth Kind portrayed with reasonable accuracy how the hypnotic regression method is used.
{See The Fourth Kind (2009)}
The aforementioned movie implied what many who have studied the phenomenon believe, namely that people are being possessed by aliens which have entered bedrooms through the ceilings or walls, and that the abductees left via the same method. However, such actions defy the very laws of physics. In addition, we are shown that the experiencers are supposed to have painful drills and probes inserted into them yet they mostly show no signs of having had such procedures. The richness of the details, but the lack of a naturalistic explanation, has baffled researchers for years. The movie’s producers, and indeed, the majority of the world’s UFO researchers, defer to some unknown advanced technology or force that aliens “must” possess because they are older and smarter on the evolutionary scale. This is because such people have not discerned the spiritual nature of the phenomenon. All this once again demonstrates how one’s view of origins will shape the way one interprets all evidence—everything from fossils in the ground to distant starlight and even the strange occultic-type experiences that people are having in their bedrooms.
False memory syndrome
Of course there is much debate, even in the Christian community, about hypnosis and whether the practice itself is safe for both the physical and spiritual well-being of the patient. It is well known that past events can indeed be unlocked by such practices. But a major problem is that the hypnotist cannot know for sure if actual historical events are being recalled. This is because it is also now well known that one’s mind or imagination can create false memories, and these can also be implanted by the hypnotist, even the one doing the regression, sometimes unintentionally. This is not a blanket statement to say that all hypnotically recalled memories are false, but if professional researchers now recognize that false memories exist and can be brought to the surface, then how can we discern between the two? Children who naturally have fertile imaginations are adept at this, of course, but unresolved trauma in one’s life can also create alternate imagined scenarios that one might eventually believe to be true. Sometimes this is done to protect oneself from the emotional pain of the past. Once such past events are recalled, often there can ensue a kind of self-reinforcement and self-delusion. Most people do this anyway, to some extent, during their normal waking lives. Stories of the past get added to and then repeated often enough until they can become “truth” in a person’s life. False Memory Syndrome is defined as:
[A] condition in which a person’s identity and interpersonal relationships are centered around a memory of traumatic experience which is objectively false but in which the person strongly believes. Note that the syndrome is not characterized by false memories as such. We all have memories that are inaccurate. Rather, the syndrome may be diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained that it orients the individual’s entire personality and lifestyle, in turn disrupting all sorts of other adaptive behavior … False Memory Syndrome is especially destructive because the person assiduously avoids confrontation with any evidence that might challenge the memory. Thus it takes on a life of its own, encapsulated and resistant to correction. The person may become so
focused on memory that he or she may be effectively distracted from coping with the real problems in his or her life.[2] [Emphases in original].
Similarly:
Human memory is created and highly suggestible, and a wide variety of innocuous, embarrassing and frightening memories can be falsely created through the use of different techniques, including guided imagery, hypnosis and suggestion by others. Though not all individuals who are exposed to these techniques will develop memories, experiments suggest a significant number of people will and will actively defend the existence of the events, even if told they were false and deliberately implanted.[3]
The aforementioned definitions indicate how “real” the memory can become in a person’s life. This gives some indication as to why the alien abduction syndrome has reached epidemic proportions. Human nature reinforces the illusion because people do not like to be told, nor do they like to admit, that they have been deceived. As part of the implantation of false memories, the experiencers are often told they have been selected and are special. This can create meaning and purpose in one’s life, particularly in the absence of some other guiding religious belief. Challenging such views can also add to the isolation created by the experience, and in some ways can seem to be challenging the person’s sense of well-being and personal identity. The isolation can make them become dependent on the experience, which is often why there are ongoing experiences (like “Stockholm Syndrome,” where victims of real hostage situations have become emotionally dependent on their captors). This is why it is incredibly difficult to reach people and convey to them the reality that such experiences might well have been deceptive.
The following are some extracts from the website of The False Memory Syndrome Foundation.
What are false memories? Because of the reconstructive nature of memory, some memories may be distorted through influences such as the incorporation of new information. There are also believed-in imaginings that are not based in historical reality; these have been called false memories, pseudo-memories and memory illusions. They can result from the influence of external factors, such as the opinion of an authority figure or information repeated in the culture. An individual with an internal desire to please, to get better or to conform can easily be affected by such influences.
Some of our memories are true, some are a mixture of fact and fantasy, and some are false—whether those memories seem to be continuous or seem to be recalled after a time of being forgotten or not thought about.
Then how can we know if our memories are true? The professional organizations agree: the only way to distinguish between true and false memories is by external corroboration.[Emphases in original].[4]
In addition, many professionals and organizations have commented on False Memory Syndrome:
Memories, however emotionally intense and significant to the individual, do not necessarily reflect factual events.
Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1997[5]
Psychological studies have shown that it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between a real memory and one that is a product of imagination or some other process.
Elizabeth Loftus, “Memory Faults and Fixes,” Issues in Science and Technology, Summer 2002.[6]
For a very tragic example of the reality of people suffering from False Memory Syndrome, one needs to look no further than the devastation caused to families as a result of encouraging these “memories.” There are now literally hundreds of cases where people seeking counseling or help from therapists for issues in their adult lives were told that the problems probably stemmed from sexual abuse in their childhood. Many therapy sessions later, and once the “seed” had been planted, the patients recovered non-existent memories of fathers, mothers, uncles and so on, abusing them—most interestingly, with graphic details of each alleged event. Lawsuits among families’ members abounded. And because of bad therapeutic practices, and the ill-conceived ideas that such issues needed to be brought to the surface to be confronted, families, relationships and lives have been ripped apart. There are many cases studies that can be read on the False Memory Syndrome Foundation website.[7] A lady who was told she was suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) wrote the following:
The doctor decided I needed five to seven years of therapy. He explained to me and my husband, … “So terrible that she’s repressed those memories deep in her mind. … Finally, she will work through those old feelings and get better.” We bought it, and I worked hard to recall repressed memories. Of course, there were no real memories, but the mind is an amazing thing. Let me explain, in lay terms, how repressed memories were created on one occasion. The therapist called-up Beth, a 5-year old alter [other personality], and hypnotized her. He suggested sexual abuse had occurred at the hands of her Daddy. He explained she needed to see a “big movie screen” in her mind and tell him what she saw. Then, he asked leading questions about touching, etc. Beth performed just as the therapist predicted she would. Beth and I were rewarded with much attention and sympathy.
In reality, I didn’t have those memories, but the doctor considered them true and wanted more. For months, I allowed other alters to write anything they could remember. The memories grew worse and worse and I became horrified. I thought it was all true, and I felt worthless and betrayed. I recalled various fragments of movies, books, talk shows, and nightly news, and soon I had plenty of child abuse memories. But, it didn’t stop there. Eventually, I said I had taken part in Satanic Rituals, been buried alive, drank blood, and helped to kill a baby. With every new memory, my therapist was intrigued and building a case to prove he was right about me all along. I was rewarded with his attention to me and was his “best” patient. But, I started to have feelings of death and became suicidal.
I truly exhibited all the MPD symptoms even though I had learned them. Control of my mind, emotions, and will was given to the personalities the therapist had empowered.[8]
In the aforementioned story, if we substituted the patient for an alien abductee and the therapist for hypnotist from a UFO organization (or even a deceiving angel), the story sounds awfully familiar.
The problems with regression
To avoid offense, I want to reassert that this is not meant to diminish the real experiences of people who have suffered trauma or abuse in the past from whatever source. I can empathize with the frustration of not being able to find closure or even share such experiences with others. This is a very difficult area to discern, because as we mentioned earlier, a major problem is that even the hypnotists themselves can, either intentionally or inadvertently, through suggestion create an imaginary scenario or event in a patient’s mind. Once the suggestion is planted, the imagination and the mind can do the rest. Professional hypnotists and even con artists can hypnotize people for entertainment’s sake with relative ease. The usual waving of a fob watch or “look into my eyes” that accompanied many TV performances of the past is actually not necessary, although such methods do work. This is frequently described as stage hypnosis. It is often a form of traditional hypnosis (with the added stage pizzazz) where suggestions are made to the unconscious or subconscious mind (researchers claim that both are actually the same thing). A key to understanding how this works and being able to perform traditional hypnosis is to realize that people were there to be entertained in the first place—in short, they were already open to being hypnotized. Or they may be visiting a physician, a clinical hypnotherapist, or a UFO researcher, and, thus, allow themselves to be helped through hypnosis.
Throughout this book I have pointed out repeatedly that a pre-belief seems to be one of the prerequisites in order to be deceived. This may be as simple as being open to the possibility of extraterrestrial life. So that if you think such beings have actually appeared before you, then you are more likely to be taken in by it. And because polls consistently show that the majority of the population now believes in the possibility of ET life,[9] it would indicate that vast numbers are increasingly more vulnerable to deceptio
n through hypnotic suggestion and false memory implantation by fallen angels masquerading as aliens.
Most people misunderstand hypnosis and wrongly believe that they cannot be hypnotized if they don’t want to be. But there are actually many forms or types of hypnosis. The hypnotic state is really more the result of a self hypnosis that is induced by the hypnotist, who “talks you into it.” One form requires the patient/victim to fall into a relaxed state. In other cases creating disorientation or confusion works to the hypnotizer’s advantage.
Dr. Al Krasner was the founder and director of The American Institute of Hypnotherapy. In his book The Wizard Within he is quoted as saying:
I believe hypnosis to be a process which produces relaxation, distraction of the conscious mind, heightened suggestibility, and increased awareness, allowing access to the subconscious mind through the imagination. It also produces the ability to experience thoughts and images as real.[10]
However, there are other forms of hypnosis such as Neurolinguistic Programming (normally referred to as NLP) and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, which uses stories and metaphors to create indirect suggestions. Dr Milton H. Erickson is quoted as saying: