a comprehensive look at alien abductions
Imagine for a moment that an alien species about 39 light years away is making regular trips to Earth to study thousands and thousands of humans over the decades. Not only that, but knowing that they’re being watched and people are running to hypnotists to recover detailed abduction experiences, they’re still kidnapping us for all kinds of bizarre experiments. But let’s back up for a moment. Can we trust the way abduction accounts are being collected? Do the actual abductions make sense from logistical and scientific standpoints? And what does it take for an alien civilization to plan and execute a massive research program to be conducted trillions of miles away from their home world? We’re going to take a look at all that and more in this extensive post.
One of the first problems with abduction experiences is the fact that all of them were recovered by hypnosis, a very good means to muddle and confuse memories rather than retrieve them. People in a hypnotic state are very suggestible and their imagination is heightened. It’s like daydreaming but much more intense and given some clues, those susceptible to hypnosis can go off into a fantasy world based on whatever they’ve read or seen about a subject that fascinates them. When you hypnotize someone who thinks he or she was taken by aliens for sinister experiments, chances are good that you’ll hear a very typical abduction story. But it won’t be some sort of recovered memory since that’s not how memory works. When you forget something, your brain can’t recover the information and under extreme stress, recall is usually very fuzzy and fragmented since there are gaps in what was actually committed to your long term memory.
And that brings us to the memory block. It’s actually possible to make a person forget something with certain compounds that inhibit the transfer of information from short term memory to long term memory. But once an amnesia-inducing drug is administered, the memory is gone for good. It’s never recorded unless you have a high resistance to these compounds and can manage to retain a few blurry images or muted voices. If aliens able to travel the 234 trillion miles between stars can erase human memories, chances are that we wouldn’t be able to recover them. It’s a pretty scary proposition that people who may have actually been abducted won’t know it and would have no way to recall their genuine experience. Being able to hit a magic rewind button and bring back nonexistent memories is a lot more soothing for ufologists and believers. At least they can learn of the abductions rather than stay in the dark while nefarious alien forces do as they please in the shadows.
Of course at this point, we need to ask why aliens would need to abduct humans. In the accounts, they seem to be able to communicate with us and understand our language. So why not just hack into our computers or send one of their experts to make copies of our detailed medical information? We’ve accumulated a whole lot of very detailed knowledge about our bodies, enough for an alien species to study it and make some in-depth conclusions. Hold on, you might object. Their technology might be much more advanced than ours so when a real human is being scanned by their equipment, they could pick up on something we missed. That’s a valid point, but is raises the question of why their studies are so basic. In the vast majority of accounts, aliens are just scanning the body with the equivalent of a CT or an MRI and inserting invasive probes into cavities. Not to mention their bizarre obsession with our sexual organs…
If we back up even further, we have to ask how the aliens even found us in the first place and why they used a whole lot of energy and resources to get here. The laws of physics require that species which want to travel to another solar system have to go through extraordinary means to get there. There also have to be incentives to make the trip. They had to know where to find us and decide what to do with us. But how? Earth may be just a stone’s throw away on an interstellar scale so hypothetically, the aliens could’ve detected a few of the signals we’ve been beaming out into space. However, that would only tell them the star from where the transmission came. They would have to track down the planet and decide that a signal which probably deteriorated beyond all recognition even to us, is compelling enough to warrant an interstellar expedition. And to abduct Betty and Barney Hill in 1961, even with the ability to travel nearly instantaneously across time and space, they would’ve had to detect our presence in 1922, decades before we were able to create signals powerful enough to make it light years across space. With the sheer amount of stellar real estate to explore in a 100 light year radius, it seems highly improbable that we’d be randomly chosen without a whole lot of effort on the aliens’ part.
Things just aren’t adding up here. We can’t trust the abduction reports. If there are any real abductees walking around, they almost certainly don’t know what hit them and have no plausible means to recall their experience due to the way human memory works. The alien research itself makes little practical and medical sense. And finally, the aliens would’ve needed to be aware of our existence before we could’ve given them a signal of any sort and be willing to commit themselves to an immense study program based on nothing more than a noise or a pixel or two in one of their telescopes. So if the story seems so implausible and full of problems, why are so many people reporting abduction experiences? Well, that’s a question with a lot of potential answers which would be unique for every case.
Many alleged abductees could’ve convinced themselves into believe they were abducted like a hypochondriac can think himself into feeling sick. They then go to a hypnotist who unwittingly encourages their ideas during a session and get pseudoscientific reinforcement for their ideas. Others might be interpreting some traumatic experience they can barely remember in pop culture terms. And others still might be experiencing full fledged night terrors which are also being interpreted as vague recollections of being a guinea pig for enigmatic alien creatures. Until we can confirm that a person was genuinely taken aboard an alien spacecraft, I think it’s safe to assume that the truth about alien abductions has a lot more to do with our pop culture than with some alien research program conducted for puzzling reasons.
Wow, so not true. It started off with “One of the first problems with abduction experiences is the fact that all of them were recovered by hypnosis”, which is absolutely not true. Most abductees have never been under hypnosis. As a matter of fact, abductees are told by hypnotists that if they dwelled in alien or UFO topics after the fact that those experiences will come out during hypnosis since the mind cannot discern if those experiences were reality, television or the Internet. Consequently, most hypnotists will not even put an alien abductee ‘victim’ under hypnosis.
Where you picked up “fact” that ALL of them were recovered by hypnosis” is beyond me and way, way out in left field. There are NO facts, only experiences by the experiencer.
I wish to say more but my body temperature has risen considerably and I’m extremely angry to read what I’ve read above.
Treating such a subject as you did is like downplaying rape. You have no idea.
“Most abductees have never been under hypnosis.”
That may be true, but I’m focusing on the experiences collected and presented to the public. And even though hypnotists may say that there’s going to be a blurring of pop culture and memory, that doesn’t stop a number for them from actually going forward with the hypnosis, then publishing abduction accounts as if they were testimony in a court of law. Without hypnotists like Bud Hopkins, we’d never even know there was such a thing as alien abductions.
“Treating such a subject as you did is like downplaying rape.”
On the contrary. If you take a look, I say that people who may have been kidnapped by real aliens would probably never know what happened and there would be no way to find out what they went through and why. Rather than “downplaying rape,” I’m wondering if the rape actually happened the way it’s being reported in the mass media and asking how we would know if it actually happened.
Wow, gfish, you really struck a nerve with Atrueoriginalll. Personally, I categorize UFO stories with any other phenomena that others claim to experience but can not present hard data that can be reviewed and tested by multiple independent entities. I’m afraid until a ghost, big foot, angel, alien, god, or any other apparition taps some one on the shoulder and gives them conclusive evidence of their existence; all such stories are filed under the santa clause tab. I have no doubt that most of these people have experienced SOMETHING, whether it be a reaction to a physical, biological, or cerebral stimuli; but a good story doesnt cut it when attempting to convince others of your paradigm shifting discovery. Oh, and sorry, collaborating “witnesses” don’t count :) As cold and calculating as always gfish, keep up the good work.
Your comments really aren’t worthy of responding to because you’re not well read on the subject.
You are but a child in regard to that knowledge. You’re only picking up on mainstream media abductions, which are a fraction less than 1% when it comes to abduction experiences. Most abductees do not report said experiences to anyone. The reason is obvious, their experiences are too far out in left field, which is exactly where an alien put them.
Consider the possibility that aliens have a motto that says, “we must make the victim’s experience look as kooky as possible in case they remember. This way they are less apt to report said experience for fear of ridicule, etc.”
It’s not like they wouldn’t already know that humans naturally avoid ridicule and embarrassment like the plague. What better stealth for them to make us all look like a bag of nuts so that we’re all labeled if we open up our mouth and hence appear that something is really wrong with ‘us’. A race so advanced would absolutely use stealth in order to hide their existence.
Furthermore, what better way to abduct than to use something that medical science already has a name for such as sleep paralysis. Did you ever consider that an advanced civilization could have the ability to induce sleep paralysis in order to abduct?
Your article is the creme de’ la creme when it comes to ridicule and embarrassment for abductees. Those that read it like myself are hurt emotionally because there is nothing worse for us then someone stating such things all well knowing that we know what we know. And, ESPECIALLY when they have little to no knowledge on the subject.
You could read everything that Budd Hopkins, John Mack or David Jacobs ever wrote or stated on a radio show and you still wouldn’t have but a measly fraction of less than 1% of all abduction experiences so please don’t tell me that you know what you’re talking about.
Maybe you ought to go back and read your “Can you get a little too skeptical”
I’m assuming you’ve already seen Experiencers
If so, please tell me which one is off their rocker?
So my comments “aren’t worthy of responding,” but you still respond at length…
Look, it seems that you stopped reading after the sentence you found so offensive because you’re arguing with points I readily conceded in the post or never made in the first place. Rather than keep telling me that I’m missing 99% of the story, try to enlighten me and bring me some proof of your position. Here’s your chance to fill in the blanks and educate my readers and myself.
Trust me. I’m well aware what I wrote in my post on the dangers of being a cynic rather than a skeptic. I ask for tests and facts to be the judge. Give me something I can peruse, not just fiery indignation.
Atrueoriginall, I took some time to look over the link you provided. Please forgive me, I don’t mean to sound degrading or patronizing, but from what I’ve read of your personal story, it sounds as though you may have some medical conditions that need to be looked into if you have not already. Pressure and pain in the brain / chest are generally caused by an increase in blood pressure due to hypertension or possibly a blood clot. These symptoms are often benign in nature and cause minor visual (light) sensations and time distortion due to pressure building and seceding in the brain. Due to your age (no disrespect intended), Im sure you test your cholesterol and blood pressure regularly. It might be interesting to keep a portable cuff with you and record your blood pressure during an episode. You may be able to establish a pattern with the reading of your blood pressure during normal activity, during an episode, and directly afterwards. Also, if you have any history of diabetes in your family, a blood sugar reading would be interesting as well.
The human body is a delicate machine, and sometimes we convince our selves that the problem is not within ourselves, but some other force acting upon us. Its apparent that you keep an open mind, and I urge you not to discount the intricate mechanics of the human body.
DISCLAIMER: The content of this post is for informational purposes only. The post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking advice due to opinion provided.
I think Carl Sagan said it best in discussing alien abduction scenarios in “Demon-Haunted World”… it’s a terrifying phenomenon that needs to be discussed and looked at carefully. The victims need to be helped. One the one hand, aliens may be abducting large numbers of people for experiments, which we agree is a terrible thing, but *highly* unlikely for reasons stated in his book and those which you discuss above. Then, the case is that there are large numbers of people who are dealing with a traumatic experience, either a real experience that has been masked by the alien story, or a delusion that is too powerful to resist.
Good job summarizing the problems with the abduction scenario and NOT marginalizing the victims, as a previous commenter seems to claim.
In 1974 Bantam Book published a book by Josef F. Blumrich, former chief of the Systems Layout Branch at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In his book entitled “The Spaceships of Ezekiel”, Blumrich describes an actual encounter with alien life form by Ezekiel nearly 600 B.C. “God coming out of the heavens in flames, etc.”. Blumrich actually got an idea for an omni-wheel from the biblical accounting and was granted a patent by the U. S. Patent Office # 3,789,947 on February 5, 1974. It makes for very interesting reading. As far as I know Ezekiel never experienced hypnosis.
Aliens are psychicly gifted people taking advantage of people.
You ever hear of the Ganzfeld Experiment. It’s also written as Horton Hears A Who, for a man named Honorton who worked on the experiment.
They’re just people who don’t have a conscience about what they do. As long as you’re looking at “beings from outer space” you’re not going to find the answer.
Not all aliens are interested in hurting people.
If you had an “encounter” how would you know it?
I recall a book I read a while back about DMT research, titled “DMT: The Spirit Molecule” by Rick Strassman. DMT, a psychedelic, naturally occurs in small quantities in the human body. The author conducted a series of experiments on the effects of the powerful hallucinogen on humans when sizable amounts are given. OK book, but the most fascinating result was the number of “abduction experiences” reported by subjects. Most were by alien entities, some were other creatures like elves, insects, etc. Are abductions just bad DMT trips?
I have a question for you.
Where does the word “alien” come from ?
well 1st off aliens have contacting us since the dawn of time and have been communicating with us throughout every civilization. they even called themselves gods u gotta look at ancient times. and the only reasonn why aliens are so interested with physical examinations and sexual organs is becaues they could possibly be using for something higher than our understanding or for the use of there own genetics you know like inter-breeding. so you completely offended alot of people and you should not have wrote such an insult about our fellow beings of space. because our solar system once had more life in it including our own moon. so why dont you look up about things found on mars and on the moon. oh and while your at go back to school and go to global class and while your at look in christianity and look at gods angels because your alien friends and foes seem to match up perfectly
Unfortunately, what we have here now is a too-common example of the type of arguments we see in favor of alien visitation, No one seems to be able to impart any kind of real information, much less decent talking points.
gfish did not dismiss the phenomenon or those who have experienced it, whatever it may be. He offered a different perspective on both details and the overall concept of alien visitation/abduction – admittedly, in a way that raises some questions. But that hardly seems vicious or dismissive. Moreover, he demonstrated some real knowledge about how both the human mind and hypnotism work. I would disagree with his statement that all of the abduction accounts are recovered under hypnosis, but it certainly is safe to say that hypnosis is a major factor in this field of study.
Atrueoriginall, however, wants to make it clear that he knows more about this field than gfish, but doesn’t seem inclined to offer much in the way of support for this standpoint. He begins by saying that very few hypnotists bother with hypnosis (really?), but the recommends reading, among others, John Mack, a person who made his entire career out of hypnotizing supposed abductees. Mack has come under fire countless times, from multiple sources, for his procedures and questioning methods, and has made no small amount of effort to compound the social stigma (that Atrueoriginall claims is implanted by aliens) by parading his work, and his patients, shamelessly through the media. I wouldn’t consider this professional by any stretch, and a substantial breach of ethics.
But we also have several distinct statements too, such as, “Most abductees do not report said experiences to anyone.” This begs the question of how someone comes to possess this knowledge, much less in a statistically significant form. Telepathy, perhaps? I, of course, welcome any cites of sources, but until that time I’ll simply consider this as “made up out of thin air.”
Further comments about mainstream media not having a clue would seem to indicate that there is some kind of underground network for the real info regarding abductions. Am I reading this wrong?
There are others, such as how an advanced alien species would certainly have knowledge of inducing sleep paralysis, supplanting false memories to make abductees seem like kooks, and so on. But what’s missing is any evidence of such. Seriously, how would anyone know what aliens are capable of? Speculation is all well and good, and there’s no shortage of the claims of what a sufficiently advanced race would be able to achieve, but this is exactly the same as speculating about whether unicorns exist on other planets. Not having the faintest clue about something does not automatically open the door to what there “must” be, anywhere. Serious investigators are far more concerned with what has been demonstrated or evidenced, and what conclusions, if any, should be drawn from such. Guesswork that aliens have the ability to induce sleep paralysis is absolutely no different, in scope or medical knowledge, than gfish’s idea that they could simply block the transfer from short-term to long-term memory – and in fact, since we already know how to do that, we have a good reason to consider this less advanced than inducing sleep paralysis.
Atrueoriginall was very quick to berate gfish for his attack on abduction experiences and how insulting and hurtful this was, but I can’t see any attack. I can see perhaps being miffed about the questions that are raised, but seriously, I’ve seen far more in the way of attacks from many, many other sources – my own, right now, included. Do not expect any apology from me, because the behavior I see from Atrueoriginall is a far more distinct example of dismissive, insulting behavior than gfish’s. Nor does Atrueoriginall bother to address any of the points gfish made, but instead goes off on a pet rant that doesn’t belong. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident, but I’ve seen it far too often. Often enough, I have to say, that I’m inclined to start being very dismissive of anything having to do with UFOs anymore. Does anyone find that ironic?
Want to be treated seriously? Then be serious about your subject. Throw the chip on your shoulder out, and impart some real info. Aliens have so-and-so technology? Fine. What makes you come to that conclusion? Sleep paralysis isn’t a cause of abduction stories, it’s an indication that an abduction occurred? Fine. Tell me what demonstrated the difference to you. I’ve made a real effort to listen for years now. But I, like many, find listening to self-righteous rants to be boring and pointless.
Are alien abductions real? Almost all of you are interesting in aliens and alien abduction. I think it is only a hoax. I can claim too that I was abducted by aliens and they have erased events during abductions ,That’s why I can’t recall actually what happened there. The worth considerable is that most of abductees are either from mexico or U.S. . I ask if aliens really abducted peoples then why they are abducting people only from these countries, while there are another 200countries in world left. They can land any where on our earth and abduct people except these two countries. Can anyone tell me? Have you ever met abductees? Probably you have no answer.
In response to Bruceleeeowe, you’ll notice that both the original post and some of the responses have raised pertinent questions. And sometimes, that’s the most effective way of communicating.
The alien visitation/abduction issue, along with government conspiracies and even things like child vaccinations and global warming, stir up a lot of emotion in people, and often, people have arrived at their personal conclusions not because of careful consideration of all of the factors, but because it satisfies something within them. Rationality isn’t high on the list of subconscious priorities, and takes a distant backseat to lots of other factors. However, we like to think we’re always rational.
So you get down to the debate: Who’s actually being rational (or more rational) and who isn’t? You’re not going to win that one, and it almost always dissolves into petty argument. Sometimes you simply have to raise a few questions and let it go at that. Some people won’t think about them. Some will, and the seed is planted.
There’s also the standpoint that it is impossible to prove some of these things conclusively either way, and when there’s a lack of hard information, the best argument that can be made is that it’s “inconclusive.” A personal conclusion should not take the place of a scientific one, and while the evidence for something like alien abductions might be scattered and inconsistent, that may be simply because it represents not one consistent phenomenon, but a wide range of them.
Your points about regional (or cultural) reports are another thing that raises questions, as does the change in the reported aliens’ physical appearance, and they have this ugly tendency to follow media trends. Does this mean it’s mostly imagination, or that the grays got the contract for exploring the North American continent while the tall blonde aliens got the contract for Northern Europe? Facts are a demonstrable thing, but conclusions are an opinion.
As for meeting an abductee? Yes. And there is apparently one right here in the comments. You have to recognize that I, not having experienced what they have, cannot reasonably tell them what they experienced. And most times, this experience is something that affects them strongly – in some cases, it’s what makes them special. You don’t simply tear that down (even if you wanted to), and in these areas, the very act of trying is part and parcel of the experience, the lone person standing up against the conspiracy – our movies are rife with the concept. So by arguing against it, you’re only reinforcing it. Making any claim that I’m right and they’re wrong is also arrogant, and ignores the possibility that I might actually be wrong. It happened once before.
So, where does that leave us? Right here, I think ;-)
To be rational and form an honest opinion one must read through the thousands of UFO reports, along with the abduction cases, contact cases and at least familiarize oneself with some of the many declassified gov. documents about the subject.
An opinion without this is near worthless.
Are you a Certified Hypnotherapist? If not you probably aren’t qualified to talk about what hypnosis can and cannot do.