Whispers From (Inner) Space?

[DrDil]

Contactees: Whispers From (Inner) Space?

I wrote a a Blog post back on the 17th October (2008) three days after the fabled representatives of the 'Federation Of Light' failed to materialise) and while I didn't connect it to Blossom Goodchild (BG) or to the UFO phenomenon in any way, shape or form I still think it's fairly obvious that it was at the forefront of my mind at the time of writing.


If anything I was merely trying to weigh-up one of the more ‘unspoken' options (informed opinions and all that) and tried to accomplish this by considering an oft misunderstood aspect of the human condition. It may seem a bit strange when talking of BG to speak of diverse aspects and then not to include her predictions as an example of this diversity, but strangely once you've read some (any?) of the many accounts/predictions from people who believe themselves to be contactees then the BG one was pretty much standard fare and was indistinguishable from the majority of its predecessors. I should stress at this point that this post ISN'T directed at anyone in particular and certainly not at BG but rather it's directed at the broader contactee 'experience' as well as other experiences which involve conversing with or hearing disembodied voice/s.

Also EVERY single person (EVER!!) who has put themselves out there and hazarded a prediction at the date of any future global –extraterrestrial- contact (and which has come and gone) has been hung out to dry by their alleged sources. Actually nearly every (if not every?) prediction ever made regarding cataclysmic or epoch-type event/s has been found wanting (obviously or we'd ALL already know of them) or at best have been open to massively differing interpretations.

But specifically regarding contactees I personally think the real question demanding an answer is whether the people making these predictions are merely hapless victims of the ‘cosmic-trickster' that the elusive UFO phenomenon masquerades as, or whether the perceived contacts and their celestial messages are the combination of many influences, a sum total of parts which is ultimately and exclusively a direct product of the human condition. (Hoaxers notwithstanding as surely, SURELY, all those who believe they have been privy to such messages can't ALL be deliberately deceiving, can they?)

Anyway, I just thought I'd (re)frame and present it in the context I originally intended.

And after the recent discussion on the 1977 hijacked broadcast I'd thought I'd share it as some may find it of interest.....

(Continues below)

[DrDil]

Auditory Hallucinations, Psychosis & Subjective Reality

Psychosis literally means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality".

People suffering from psychosis are said to be psychotic.

People experiencing psychosis may report hallucinations or delusional beliefs.

“One important and puzzling feature of psychosis is usually an accompanying lack of insight into the unusual, strange, or bizarre nature of the person's experience or behaviour. ”

(Carpenter, William, Strauss & Bartko - 1973)

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are essentially defined as sensory perception in the absence of external stimuli, i.e. perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli AND which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space.
These definitions distinguish hallucinations from the related phenomena of:

Dreaming, which does not involve consciousness;

Illusion, which involves distorted or misinterpreted real perception;

Imagery, which does not mimic real perception and is under voluntary control;

Hallucinations also differ from "delusional perceptions" in which a correctly sensed and interpreted genuine perception is given some additional and usually bizarre significance. (Hallucinations may occur in any of the five senses and take on almost any form).

Auditory hallucinations

Hallucinated voices may talk about, or to the person, and may involve several speakers with distinct personas.

Auditory hallucinations tend to be particularly distressing when they are derogatory, commanding or preoccupying.

Auditory hallucinations, and in particular the hearing of a voice as well as being a common and often prominent feature of psychosis are additionally thought of as particularly characteristic of people suffering from schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a group of psychotic disorders characterized by disturbances in perception, affect, behaviour and communication lasting longer than 6 months. Symptoms are often described in terms of positive and negative with positive symptoms including delusions, auditory hallucinations, and thought disorder. These are typically regarded as manifestations of psychosis and for obvious reasons it is difficult for a person to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences and even in the case of an acute psychosis people may be completely unaware that their vivid hallucinations and delusions are in any way "unrealistic".

“If you talk to God, you are praying.

If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia…..”
(Psychiatrist & Professor of Psychiatry, Thomas S. Szasz)

Normal subjects also report auditory hallucinations to a surprising extent and many studies have shown that hallucinatory experiences take place worldwide. One study from as early as 1894 in a report on the census of hallucinations (Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research) reported that approximately 10% of the population experienced hallucinations.
Bentall and Slade conducted a study in 1985 (Reliability of a scale measuring disposition towards hallucination: a brief report ) and reported that as many as 15.4% of a population of 150 male students were prepared to endorse the statement ‘In the past I have had the experience of hearing a person's voice and then found that no one was there'.

Green and McCreery (Apparitions) found that 14% of their 1800 self-selected subjects reported a purely auditory hallucination, and of these nearly half involved the hearing of articulate or inarticulate human speech sounds.

Posey and Losch in their 1983 paper, “Imagination, Cognition and Personality” (Auditory hallucinations of hearing voices in 375 normal subjects) estimated that 10% of their population of 375 American college students had had this type of experience and temed it as: “Hearing a comforting or advising voice that is not perceived as being one's own thoughts.”

A four year survey of over 13,000 people (Prevalence of hallucinations and their pathological associations in the general population. Psychiatry Research) between 1996-1999 reported a much higher figure, the results which were published in 2000 and revealed that a staggering 39% of people reporting hallucinatory experiences, 27% of which were daytime hallucinations, mostly outside the context of illness or drug use.

Although many people not suffering from a detectable, noticeable or diagnosable mental illness can hear voices as well and there are several support/advocacy organizations and charities geared towards people who hallucinate voices, but do not otherwise show signs of mental illness or impairment. As shown above, research has shown that the majority of people who hear voices are not in need of psychiatric help. There are various explanations for the experience of hearing voices which have been shown to empower voice hearers, enabling them to live with the experience in a positive way and, “The Hearing Voices Movement” was created to support voice hearers, regardless of whether they are considered to have a mental illness or not.

INTERVOICE Online: (International hearing voices movement) Hearing Voices Network

The following was originally posted by Andrea Thompson at Livescience.com 15 September 2006.

Hearing Voices: Some People Like It

For some people, hearing voices in their heads is a positive experience, not a sign of mental illness or cause for distress. Researchers at the University of Manchester are aiming to find out why. Traditionally these auditory hallucinations, as psychologists call them, are associated with mental illness. They can be a symptom of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and sometimes depression.

But studies by Dutch researchers that began in the 1990s found that some healthy people also regularly hear voices. The scientists ran a program on Dutch television asking for volunteers who heard voices, and they got a surprising response. Many of the people who contacted them did not find the voices disruptive and had never felt the need to consult mental health services. Some even said they found the experience to be positive or inspirational.

The resulting studies found that more people might hear voices than psychologists had thought, perhaps around 4 percent of the population. Aylish Campbell, a psychologist at the University of Manchester , is hoping to expand on the Dutch study by investigating why peoples' reactions to hearing voices vary so widely. Campbell has just begun looking for study participants in Britain . Campbell and her colleagues suspect the variation could be caused by different life experiences. Childhood traumas, beliefs that other people are untrustworthy or dangerous, and feelings of vulnerability might react with fear to cause people to hear voices.

The experience might be enjoyed by people who have positive outlooks, Campbell thinks anyone can hear voices, particularly when stressed. For example, those who are grieving over the recent loss of a loved one might hear that person's voice.

"We're looking for people who hear voices who have a range of experiences…..It might just be a normal human experience…..People are susceptible to different degrees…..If we can understand a bit more about the factors, we might be able to use that knowledge to help people who do find it distressing," said Campbell.

Campbell hopes that learning what triggers different reactions could help develop new psychological therapies to help people—at least those who don't like the phenomenon—to cope with the voices.

Source: LiveScience – Andrea Thompson (15 September 2006)

Auditory Hallucinations:

A comparison between patients and nonpatients.

Honig A, Romme MA, Ensink BJ, Escher SD, Pennings MH, deVries MW. (Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Academic Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands).

The form and the content of chronic auditory hallucinations were compared in three cohorts, namely patients with schizophrenia, patients with a dissociative disorder, and nonpatient voice-hearers. The form of the hallucinatory experiences was not significantly different between the three groups. The subjects in the nonpatient group, unlike those in the patient groups, perceived their voices as predominantly positive: they were not alarmed or upset by their voices and felt in control of the experience. In most patients, the onset of auditory hallucinations was preceded by either a traumatic event or an event that activated the memory of earlier trauma. The significance of this study is that it presents evidence that the form of the hallucinations experienced by both patient and nonpatient groups is similar, irrespective of diagnosis. Differences between groups were predominantly related to the content, emotional quality, and locus of control of the voices. In this study the disability incurred by hearing voices is associated with (the reactivation of) previous trauma and abuse.

Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information.

(It's a little convoluted in this format, so the original post is here).

Cheers!!

[Martin]

I've always thought Ufology attracts lots of clever interesting individuals. However we also seem to get our fair share of wackos. I agree with alot you say in this article. I knew all along the Starchild event was a great big hoax and found it hard to understand why anyone would believe it for a second.

I'm offline until Monday as I'm sure many of the regulars will tell you I'm often away at the weekend. I'll read the full link early next week. Thanks for posting it Dr. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

[Carol Nistri]

good article Dr.Dil,I want to ask you something if I may,the idea of aliens and alien abdcution have been around for a long long time now.Have you ever considered that what were dealing with is demonic in nature? All of these sightings,ufos are like mercury on glass,always darting just out of reach.Nothing nothing nothing is harder to prove then the ufo enigma,it souldnt be but it is,it seems certain individuals are selected yet none of these individuales can by themselves do anything about what theve been exposed to,no person of scientific background or even a public figure has ever stepped forward to claim theve experienced abduction or contact,its always some obscure individuale thats left scarred for life.Every once in awhile my mind just has to consider that what were dealing with here isnt aliens from outer space at all,but the realm of the demonic.Whats your thoughts on this?

[Carol Nistri]

Originally Posted by Martin

I've always thought Ufology attracts lots of clever interesting individuals. However we also seem to get our fair share of wackos. I agree with alot you say in this article. I knew all along the Starchild event was a great big hoax and found it hard to understand why anyone would believe it for a second.

I'm offline until Monday as I'm sure many of the regulars will tell you I'm often away at the weekend. I'll read the full link early next week. Thanks for posting it Dr. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Martin said in part,"I knew all along the Starchild event was a great big hoax and found it hard to understand why anyone would believe it for a second."

Yahoo! Good for you Martin!


(bye now Martin,dont you worry about a thing,were gonna take good care of your board while your gone,(crosses fingers behind back...)

[Miss Deetective]

DrDil....I have not been around very much for the past week or so and I am fighting a bad cold right now so maybe this has been asked and answered....but....what are your credentials??? You seem to be rather ummmm authoratative about ufology. What is your background and how involved are you in ufology???

[dr wu23]

Originally Posted by Miss Deetective

DrDil....I have not been around very much for the past week or so and I am fighting a bad cold right now so maybe this has been asked and answered....but....what are your credentials??? You seem to be rather ummmm authoratative about ufology. What is your background and how involved are you in ufology???

Uh...you never ask me those questions.



Credentials..? For ufology..? For talking on a forum..?

[DrDil]

Originally Posted by Miss Deetective

DrDil....I have not been around very much for the past week or so and I am fighting a bad cold right now so maybe this has been asked and answered....but....what are your credentials??? You seem to be rather ummmm authoratative about ufology. What is your background and how involved are you in ufology???

Hi MissDeetective,

None whatsoever, as I said to Steve Firmani I don’t consider myself a Ufologist.

Cheers.

[Miss Deetective]

Originally Posted by dr wu23

Uh...you never ask me those questions.



Credentials..? For ufology..? For talking on a forum..?

I have known you long enough to know your ummm "credentials"...they are from the university of Vallee!!!
We get people from MUFON here and they are shot down as "biased", we get firsthand accounts from experiencers and they are labeled as "hoaxers"....nothing satisfies skeptics!!!
Then we keep read how there are no "real" scientists who are studying all this....but as soon as one DOES get involved, they are labeled as "biased" too!!!
Just can't please a skeptic it seems!!!

[dr wu23]

Originally Posted by Miss Deetective

I have known you long enough to know your ummm "credentials"...they are from the university of Vallee!!!
We get people from MUFON here and they are shot down as "biased", we get firsthand accounts from experiencers and they are labeled as "hoaxers"....nothing satisfies skeptics!!!
Then we keep read how there are no "real" scientists who are studying all this....but as soon as one DOES get involved, they are labeled as "biased" too!!!
Just can't please a skeptic it seems!!!

I'm not a ufologist either but I am very well read on the topic.
And I ,for one, did not shoot down the MUFON man, merely wanted some answers to some hard questions that he did not want to answer.
What first hand experiencers are you referring to?
And yes we need to get real scientists involved. Anyone who doesn't think this is not part of the solution but part of the problem.