The UFO Phenomenon (Part Two)

By

Trevor Lang Carter

Historically, the main focus of UAP research has been on the physical aspects of the reported
objects. One might consider the psychic aspect of UAP experiences as the bastard child of UAP
research. This area of study has been mostly shunned by those in the UFO community.
Fortunately, there have been a few researchers that did understand the importance of the psychic
nature of UAP. They have gifted us with books and papers that are invaluable to understanding
the experiential data collected in close encounter cases. In this chapter, I will focus primarily on
the psychic impact of UAP encounters.

Before getting into the details of the different types of psychic phenomena associated with UAP
encounters, I think it’s important to give the reader a conceptual framework for understanding
psychic effects in UAP encounters. The evidence for psychic effects mostly comes from
eyewitness testimony. There are cases where the investigator was able to collect physical
evidence that coincides with the witness account of psychic phenomena occurring. We are left
with the credibility of the witness, and more importantly the credibility of the investigator. I am
very selective in choosing the cases I think represent credible accounts. There are certain
researchers that I gravitate to more than others.

For the sake of clarity, let me discuss my purpose for using the word psyche in conjunction with
the paranormal. In Jungian terms, the psyche is the totality of all psychic processes, both
conscious and unconscious. Jung viewed the psyche as a self-regulating system, which is a type
of control system. It is designed to control and manage the evolution of human consciousness.
Jung’s model for the psyche includes a process called individuation, which is the psyche’s search
for wholeness. I think that paranormal phenomena are psychic forces that serve different
functions for the human psyche. Their most important function is to give us feedback. They
establish a link between the unconscious mind and conscious awareness. It provides a way for
the unconscious to communicate with us.

The late J. Allen Hynek, who was the primary consultant to the Air Force on Project Blue Book,
seemed to think that UFOs represented something more than just mechanical objects of
extraterrestrial origin. In a letter to Iris Owen, whose husband founded the Toronto Society for
Psychical Research, he stated:
Your work at the Foundation has certainly shown that the mind can influence physical matter—
Phillip, table-tipping, poltergeist phenomena—all attest to this. I am being driven, somewhat
reluctantly to the feeling that many UFOs are caused by our own psychic energy interacting with
matter somehow.
Personal correspondence with Iris Owen dated Aug. 24, 1977, Henry McKay UFO Archives, http://psican.org/

Others have also gravitated towards Hynek’s conclusion. I use the term conclusion very loosely.
I’m not saying that Hynek or any other researcher firmly concluded that UAP and other
paranormal phenomena are the direct result of the mind interacting with matter. They simply
hypothesized based on their level of knowledge at the time.

Thomas Bearden, a nuclear engineer, also thought that paranormal phenomena are the product of
the human mind. In an unclassified document, he states: By the author’s formula, the
psychokinetic power of a mind level increases exponentially as the number of biosystem stages
involved. At the level of the collective human species unconscious, the psychokinensis is
sufficient to materialize symbolic tulpoids (thought forms), given a sufficient stress stimulus in
large groups.

Bearden introduced a new model of mind and matter, stating that interactions that are consistent
with the experimental basis of physics, offers mechanisms for all types of paranormal
phenomena, UAP not excluded. Basically, Bearden states that materializations are the result of
the mind interacting with matter. He stresses that these materializations occur during times of
great stress, an observation made by other researchers. He shows a correlation between UFO
waves and world events, with emphasis on stressful events like war. Bearden also links some
cattle mutilations to these materializations.

Loyd Auerbach, a parapsychologist, offers some insight into how psychokinetic energy might be
involved in the manifestation of paranormal experiences. Auerbach suggests the “stress
paradigm” factors into poltergeist occurrences. According to him, tension, stress, and frustration
can lead to manifestations, emanating from one person or a group of people. He thinks that on
some level the reaction of the unconscious mind can take on a “psychokinetic channel.”
Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis (RSPK), based on the research of Auerbach and William
Roll, creates poltergeist manifestations. Roll postulates that RSPK is generated by “massive
brain discharges.” Roll’s observations are in line with Persinger’s and Bearden’s theories.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-30759-001, Reference: ESP, Hauntings, and Poltergeists – page 54-56

Albert Budden, another researcher who sees a connection between the unconscious mind and
electromagnetic energy, introduced the Electro-staging Hypothesis. He proposes that the activity
of the unconscious intelligence, in combination with a variety of artificial and natural energies,
produces staged realities. According to Budden, the unconscious intelligence is capable of
producing close encounter experiences, both hallucinatory and physical. It accomplishes these
manifestations through psychokinesis. The purpose for these materializations is to establish and
maintain an external social identity. Once externalized, these materialized thought-forms
sometimes develop an independent existence.

An example of thought-forms seeking independence comes from Spiritualist Alexandra David-

Neel, who observed mystical practices in Tibet. She thinks that tulpas, or psychoid
manifestations, can develop a mind of their own. She also states that once the tulpa becomes
sufficiently endowed with enough energy it tends to free itself from its creator. She claimed that
she was able to create a tulpa of a monk. In the beginning, the monk was very friendly, but as
time went on his countenance became more “malignant.” Her control of it diminished. She
claims others witnessed some of the thought-forms she created.

If the researchers like Budden and Bearden are correct, that the unconscious mind is capable of
creating thought-forms that manifest into the three-dimensional world. Could it be that these
thought-forms are capable of surviving independently from the human mind for extended periods
of time? Perhaps certain locations on Earth provide these tulpas with enough energy to sustain
themselves indefinitely. Maybe their materializations require a conscious observer.

I have given a lot of thought to the physic aspects of paranormal phenomena. I am convinced that
the human unconscious is involved. Many of the actions that occur in paranormal events seem to
have no meaning. There is a high level of absurdity in the behavior of the entities reported in
UAP close encounters. I think of how disconnected we are from our dreams. We cannot
consciously control our dreams. The content of our dreams sometimes appears meaningless and
abstract. The same can be said of many UAP encounters. Our conscious mind has difficulty
interpreting the language of the unconscious. Could there be a merging of the unconscious mind
and the conscious mind during UAP close encounters? Or is there another consciousness
penetrating our world, engaging us? Do we have the ability to manipulate matter and energy with
our minds? Perhaps the answer will come if we solve the UAP mystery.

Michael Talbot, who studied ancient mysticism and quantum mechanics, suggested that the
physical universe is something like a hologram. He believed that UFOs and related phenomena
are evidence of the lack of division between the psychological and physical worlds, a product of
the collective human psyche. Even though they are part of the human psyche, they are also real.
Talbot sees UFOs and other paranormal phenomena as “omnijective” - neither subjective nor
objective. He believed that reality is a multilayered hologram. Jacques Vallee has also referred to
UFOs as possibly being “holograms” with mass.

I see the UFO Phenomenon as possibly a projection of the unconscious mind. In a sense, the
unconscious mind, or some element of it, is a type of control system. Could it also be the
directing force for human evolution? This doesn’t rule out the possibility that a nonhuman
intelligence is involved. It is possible that an external agent uses certain mechanisms to interact
with us. If this is the case, it might have to use imagery and symbols that exist in our
unconscious minds. If a nonhuman intelligence is involved, how would one go about interpreting
the message? We have a difficult enough time interpreting our own dreams.

Continuing in the Jungian framework, we might also invoke the concept of the Shadow
archetype in paranormal manifestations. The Shadow is the dark side of human personality,
where violence and anger hide. If the Shadow continues to be repressed, it becomes more
destructive and dangerous. Repression leads to projection. Paranormal phenomena seem to
contain elements of the Shadow. Poltergeists reportedly exhibit destructive behavior. There are
several documented accounts of UAP exhibiting aggression towards humans.

Carl Raschke, a religious scholar, comments on the destabilizing nature of paranormal

phenomena, specifically UAP: What this may indicate is that UFOs may exist as a mega-
experiment in deconstructing our ideas of what is possible, our place in the universe, our ways of
accepting what is real and even our methods of cataloging sensory input.
https://secretsun.blogspot.com/2021/03/ultraterrestrial-agents-of-cultural.html

UAP encounters could involve subliminal modalities that affect the experiencer on the
unconscious level. After an encounter, the experiencer might undergo a personality change.
Subliminal perception occurs when sensory stimuli are beyond the threshold of a person’s
conscious perception. Some studies indicate that the subliminal presentation of arousing stimuli
can activate certain parts of the brain. Subliminal presentation is achieved by a brief stimulus, no
more than 50 milliseconds. The meta-analyses indicate that subliminal emotional stimuli of
different modalities affect neural activation. I propose that UAP use some type of subliminal
priming that has long-term psychological effects.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811911011529?via%3Dihub

Paranormal experiences, such as UFO encounters, leave physical impressions in our world and in
our minds. They stimulate strong emotions that imprint the experience deep within our psyches.
We wander aimlessly in the dark, encountering phantasms that play with our senses and bedazzle
our minds. Despite how debilitated we may feel, something keeps urging us on. We humans are
curious creatures. We are explorers. To me, exploring the paranormal is an exploration of self.

Author’s website: http://www.trevorlangcarter.com