Indeed, it's been an interesting slo Sunday. As is probably evident by some within the catacombs of the Vort Collective, I have occasionally expressed a few opinions on this so-called "abduction" matter. So, off the races I go once again in the hope that the following thought fodder might stimulate some to ponder this mystery in a manner where no-one has gone before.
IMO, there isn't an educated person on this planet who doesn't implicitly believe in the indisputable fact that UFOs exist. The real question is: What *are* UFOs, and a smarmy subject that is, be it "swamp gas", or encounters with nearby neighbors. Regarding the abduction experience, sometimes referred to as the "experiencer" phenomenon, I have begun to draw a few tentative conclusions over the past couple of decades: It is possible that a sub-category of "encounters" may very well turn out to be classic abduction experiences, something akin to "catch and release" programs that we ourselves perform as we study and gather information on endangered life forms on our own planet. However, at present I've come to the tentative suspicion that a significant sampling, if not most of "abductions", are the result of our species attempt to interface with something far more interesting and profound than your typical run-of-the-mill "catch and release" program. Anyone who has studied the phenomenon quickly discovers the interesting fact that the "abduction" experience tends to run in the family. Abduction experiences are inter-generational – grandparents, parents, children... A logical conclusion to draw from this observation is the likelihood that there must exist a genetic component, a predisposition to having the abduction experience. Just how far back in the gene pool have these experiences been manifesting their effects on our species? It seems logical for me to speculate: Possibly since the inception of Homo Sapiens. >From what I can tell there doesn't seem to be anything special about those who claim they are abductees/experiencers. The propensity to experience the abduction scenario seems to be randomly disbursed throughout the entire human population. The result of such randomness would suggest that some experiencers will turn out to be naturally smarter, better educated than others. One's cultural background will definitely influence how one interprets it. Depending on how much support an experiencer receives when they first begin the often difficult and all-too-often psychologically harrowing journey of consciously acknowledging their experiences, the better equipped they are likely to be in handling and ultimately integrating it into the intimate fabric of their lives. Of course, everyone wants to know the $64,000 question: Is the phenomenon really real? Are people *really*, physically being abducted, or is it all just fantasy? All that most of us non-abductees, us mundanes can conclude is the fact that it feels real, terrifying real and acutely physical to those who experience it. I personally think far too much emphasis has been put on attempts to either legitimize or debunk the experience. Just as debunkers attempt to ridicule and marginalize the experience as nothing more than weird clinically diagnosable psychological aberrations possibly pertaining the brain chemistry (or perhaps the result of bad upbringing), some experiencers try just as valiantly to prove with equal ferocity that their experiences are physically happening. I've personally come to the tentative conclusion that attempts to either prove or disprove its legitimacy will fail. The continuing struggle also distracts us from the real work at hand. Continued confrontations, I fear, miss the mark, and badly I might add. All too often what is being overlooked is the fact that a certain portion of our population continues to have the experience. I suspect a portion of our population always has. There is every indication to assume the likelihood that a distinct sampling of our population will continue to encounter and manifest within themselves these experiences. Therefore, attempts to dismiss the experiences as not being "real" will, in the longer run, prove unproductive precisely because the phenomenon will continue to persist no matter what the current paradigms of science and psychology have to say on the subject, ESPECIALLY if these learned institutions attempt to corral it into safe theoretical boundaries, possibly in attempts to marginalize it. I suspect such tactics will ultimately fail, not because the experiencer phenomenon will continue to persist, but because it may also an intimate vital part of what makes us Homo sapiens. From what I can tell there appears to be a super-intelligent component to the phenomenon that I'm beginning to suspect we deeply need as a species in order to both survive and evolve. It may be time that we begin to consciously acknowledge the legitimacy of its presence, in the same way that the experience has always been acknowledged unconsciously such as within our psyches of abductees. Make no mistake about this: Conscious or unconsciously acknowledged its effects are real either way. It quickly becomes apparent to many experiencers that, regardless of whether they are "open" to the experience or not, they are encountering something vastly intelligent and incomprehensible to their own concept of a "self". By the very nature of the incomprehensibility of the experience as they encounter it, it is natural to interpret it as exceedingly threatening, particularly within the framework of our current cultural/religious interpretations of a "self". In the presence of the abduction experience the sense of "self" tends to feel both profoundly insignificant and vulnerable to complete and utter annihilation, particularly if "contact" with the experience is allowed to proceed. It is conceivable to me that these experiences are linked to the more primal portions of our unknown psyche, vast untapped "alienated" portions of ourselves that are nevertheless attempting to establish (reestablish?) communication with the more acceptable/prosaic portions of our psyches. It's equally possible that such encounters are currently the only avenue available to us in terms of "communication" with sentient intelligences, some possibly on the order of millions of years more advanced than our own tentative baby steps. Perhaps an even more interesting conclusion that might be drawn is the possibility that we will ultimately discover that these seemingly divergent conclusions are simply different aspects of the same thing, particularly when we begin delving into the fundamental nature of what the "self" is comprised of. A conclusion that some researchers are beginning to draw from their research, a conclusion that I also find myself in sympathy with, is the possibility that these experiences may turn out to be the driving force behind our most powerful myths, folklore, and religions that have manifested on our planet. Such a conclusion, if it turns out to be accurate, (and I suspect it may very well be close to the mark) should cause most who are educated to ponder the folly of all who continue attempts to dismiss the phenomenon as nothing more than a curious albeit fascinating "aberrations" of the human condition. I'd like to end this essay on both a positive note and a negative warning. First the positive note: the abduction experience may turn out to be an essential component of ourselves, an aspect of ourselves that I hope humanity will eventually feel more comfortable simply accepting as-is, without the need to prove or disprove it as either being "real" or "unreal". In the end the primal components that make up the abduction experience, the abduction paradigm, may be no more or less legitimate than the human condition we experience as art, dance, music, literature, architecture, and other profound human achievements. One thing I've noticed time and time again from many experiencers I've had the privilege of conversing with, particularly those who have been fortunate enough to have been able to surround themselves with proper emotional support, is the fact that they tend to come out at the other end transformed. Those who are better educated and more emotionally adjusted, especially the lucky who received emotional support, are often transformed into better human beings. They become more aware and concerned about the well being of humanity, the profound interconnectivity everyone shares with one another, and of the health of the planet. And now, the warning: If we continue to deny the simple legitimacy of the experience, particularly in the manner that it is commonly experienced; if we continue to view it with prejudice; if we continue to dismiss it as inconsequential, or worse, as nothing more than an annoying, medically treatable psychological aberration, we will only succeed in driving the phenomenon underground within the collective psyche of our species. This will subsequently result in a continued upwelling of psychic insurgencies as the experience continues to strafe the "better sensibilities" attributed to the current cultural predilections of our society. As it is driven underground, the phenomenon will simply continue to plot its own course in the tireless, relentless manner that it has always done with civilizations past, patiently and methodically, until it manages to pull off its own "9/11". A possible consequence of such folly: A new religion. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
