Women, Octopi, A Rainy Town

 Books I'm reading, all at once. Not literally all at once, but these four books are on my pile here and I take turns reading bits of all of them all the day long.

First off, Emma Woods. Yes, Emma! She has written a book about her life long experiences: Glimpses of Magonia. Each chapter has a poetic word gift from Alfred Lehmberg. I've just started reading the book, so can't give a review. Not that none is necessary, since, when it comes to a person's experiences, who am I to say?

Another book by an experiencer of the other world realm: Cosmic Witch; Magic, Witchcraft, and the Supernatural, by Susan Demeter. Just started reading it. Again, another woman who has experienced the "other" since childhood. 

 

On a different not, or maybe not so much, given the alien like qualities -- almost magical -- of octopi and celphapods: Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and The Deep Origins of Consciousness, by Peter Godfrey-Smith. Just a bit into it but I love this book. It's science, sure, but written so that the layperson can easily understand the concepts here. It is a philosophy book, not a strict hard science book. And as someone who love octopi, this book is definitely a joy. 

Lastly, there's a vintage paperback I found while going through my "room of doom" (now renamed "Room of Opportunity" thanks to Karyn Dolan's suggestion) of books. 1955; A Town is Drowning, by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth. Both were science fiction writers, the two were collaborators on this non-sci-fi novel about a town suddenly deluged -- literally -- and relationships among the townsfolk. So far it has a slight if Koontz Met King vibe. (I like Koontz -- love his Frankenstein series! -- but much prefer King. Mainly, on a personal values/political values sensibility.)  Not too far into it but I am enjoying the writing. Love the pulp cover art.

Emma Woods: Childhood Memory

On my Orange Orb WordPress blog, a new item from Emma Woods, with a bit of my own thrown in.

By the way, I am deciding how I want to do this: go over to WordPress entirely, keep both, or... ?

Emma Woods: Upcoming Book, YouTube

Emma Woods has a clip describing her paranormal life on YouTube. There's a link on her video to another video regarding her sleep-walking, or more correctly, sleep note-taking which is interesting.

From her blurb:

I am one of many people who have had anomalous experiences throughout their lives that cannot be explained in conventional terms. My own experiences fit patterns that, in our culture, are often explained as “paranormal”, “UFO” or “alien abduction” experiences. I have an agnostic view of these cultural explanations; I am neither a “believer” nor a “skeptic”. However, I think that the underlying experiences giving rise to these explanations are both real and anomalous, whatever their origin. Although most of my experiences occur when I am alone, there have been other people present for some of them. Several of them kindly allowed me to post audio of their witness testimony in this video. Look out for my upcoming book on my anomalous experiences! [Emma Woods]

I'm looking forward to reading her book.

Update: 5 Years Later, And Still

Update: Yet again… today (May 25th) GS has posted yet another comment . . .

The typical and unfortunate madness within UFOlogy continues In this case, it's Gene Steinberg (Paracast) who just today posted a comment -- his second-- on my five year old post concerning Emma Woods. Oh, and he cites Sean Meers as a reasonable and valid source.

The UFO Trail: Security of Budd Hopkins Archive Called into Question, David Jacobs Shares Responsibility

Jack Brewer on his UFO Trail writes on ethics, trust, Hopkins, Jacobs, abductees, witnesses, and so much more. All in one post. Important and sadly, on-going. It seems to me -- has seemed so since Emma Woods exposed David Jacobs for the sloppy and unhinged individual he's become -- that all this, this, unethical bullshit, isn't brought out enough.

The UFO Trail: Security of Budd Hopkins Archive Called into Question, David Jacobs Shares Responsibility: This blog has previously explored issues central to the ethics of UFO research. They include how abduction researchers have dealt with in the past and continue to deal with witness confidentiality. The story of the leaking of Larry Warren's audio-taped session(s) to Charles Halt continues this exploration. Let's begin with a summary of some of the players and what was stated on recent podcasts. (Jack Brewer, The UFO Trail)

Besides all that, is this interesting bit about Bigelow, a nefarious player in UFO Land, one that I've never trusted. How he is lauded by some, including George Knapp, who I do respect, is beyond me.

… a series of events during the 1990's in which John Carpenter, a Missouri social worker, hypnotist and MUFON director of abduction research at the time, provided data from case files of some 140 possible abductees to controversial ufology philanthropist Robert Bigelow. The 140 subjects were neither asked nor informed about the transactions that included a reported $14,000 in cash payments made to Carpenter. (Brewer, UFO Trail.)

I don't know the whole story and all the ins and outs -- who does? Who really knows? I'm not taking sides, (not much, David Jacobs doesn't count) for example, Peter Robbins part in what Brewer writes about. Always so damn difficult when you respect someone in this realm, and hear other things that conflict with your own values …



And we're not talking about theories here, ideas and philosophies on what UFOs are, if Reptilians really exist, if abductions are literal events or if there is a UFO-Bigfoot connection. Those things matter of course, very much so, but those don't carry the same onus of responsibility. Theories are speculation, ideas pulled from personal experience and or study. Treating witnesses as only grist for researchers is reprehensible.



Witnesses come first. They (we) are to be respected. Everyone cries out for "credibility" but what about the credibility of the researcher?

Emma Woods: Paranormal Traces

Emma Woods has a YouTube channel: Paranormal Traces. And do not think Ms. Woods has gone away -- she has not. Much to come on not only her own experiences with the discredited David Jacobs, but … well, more to come.

The UFO Trail: Central Issues of the Emma Woods Case

An article post from Jack Brewer at The UFO Trial blog: The UFO Trail: Central Issues of the Emma Woods Case Here's just a bit from Jack's post:

As if Woods' thorough documentation of facts and the predominantly tolerant and open-minded nature of the UFO community are not reasons enough to allow Woods to speak her peace, there are three primary points I find wrong with the statements of those seeking to silence Woods:

1) None of those who try to saddle Woods with psychiatric disorders are actually qualified to diagnose or identify such conditions.

2) None of those who accuse Woods of unacceptable behavior provide documentation of specific circumstances.

3) My personal experience interacting with Woods gives me no reason whatsoever to suspect her to be anything other than reasonable.

My experiences with Emma have been the same: always civil, kind, "reasonable" as Brewer states, and clear.

A Bit of Rethinking: Aliester Crowley and LAM

I've been re-thinking my opinions on "the grays," alien abductions and hypnosis and the larger question of ET and UFOs. I still think some UFOs and aliens are literal beings from other planets. It's straightforward: they have technology, they live on the Moon, or Mars, or whatever. They manipulate us and have been doing so for eons. Yep, I'm all about Ancient Astronauts. However, much is going on that suggests other, and more... not just the much flung about phrase "inter-dimensional" but entities encountered on the astral level, the line blurring between religious doctrine and beliefs and non-human entities, myths, mysticism and our own participation that remain mostly secretive even to ourselves.

In part, reading Nick Redfern's exciting and ---  as usual with Redfern, controversial and daring perspectives on subjects -- book Final Events and the Secret Government Group on Demonic UFOs and the Afterlife has caused me to take another look at Aliester Crowley's  "LAM."  In this 1996  article by  Ian Blake for Excluded Middle, (Aliester Crowley and LAM) Blake writes, about hypnosis and memory in the context of abduction/alien events:

Before we allow ourselves to be convinced however, it is worth taking into account John Rimmer's observation that the witness in this case, "one of a number investigated by Budd Hopkins, had no conscious memory of an abduction before the investigation." The phrase I have underlined is important, not least because the Lam procedure also involves a form of hypnosis, albeit self-administered and -regulated. Rimmer adds that "the UFO abduction as a distinct phenomenon exists as a result of the process of hypnotic regression." And again: "...to a very great extent the evidence for alien abductions stands or falls on the reliability of memories recalled through regression, and the techniques of hypnosis themselves."

Very interesting. (Of course, Rimmer, et al are skeptics in the end.)

Of our participation, even while we often forget or are unaware of that participation in these events, Blake writes:

In real terms most accounts gained under hypnosis are so vague and imprecise as to be virtually worthless. The sensible reaction to them must inevitably be that they contain a certain amount of "confabulated" material, expressing the repressed desires of the unconscious mind. Hilary Evans seems to be referring to something of this sort in Visions * Apparitions * Alien Visitors when he asks, "Are we to suppose that, subconsciously, all the witnesses...were unconsciously seeking their encounter? And in that case do we have to suppose that every UFO percipient is also responding to some subconscious motivation?" I suspect so -- at least as a broad percept. I suspect furthermore, just as the vampires of eighteenth century Hungary were unable to cross a threshold uninvited, so the UFO entities of contemporary folklore are bound by a similar constraint. Having given the matter careful consideration, I am forced reluctantly to conclude that they too are unable to cross the threshold of human experience without first being "invited" in some way.

That last sentence: "Having given the matter careful consideration, I am forced reluctantly to conclude that they too are unable to cross the threshold of human experience without first being "invited" in some way" is very intriguing.

Interesting points about the use of hypnosis to retrieve memories of alien encounters. Revisiting the issue of hypnosis in UFO research is a positive that's come from Emma Woods story of her sessions with David Jacobs and Carol Rainey's experiences with Budd Hopkins.

 Richelle Hawks discusses LAM and the image of the gray in her excellent  UFO Digest article Yabba Dabble Doo; How Aleister Crowley Introduced the Iconic Gray Alien.
Hawks notes that Whitley Strieber, who is often credited with bringing this now popular culture alien iconic image to our awareness, doesn't think the grays are literal space-men:

Many might be surprised to learn that Strieber himself doesn't (or didn't) necessarily adhere to the nuts and bolts theory, or even that the entities are necessarily aliens. In a Barnes and Noble Author's chat transcript, dated April 12, 1997, he makes these following curious statements: "Is there such a thing as 'grays?' I don't know." " I don't know what the 'visitors' are." And, "I assume aliens are the answer when we don't know what's going on."

Ideas about how UFOs/aliens intersect with esoteric systems and religious presentations of "demons" aren't specific to Crowley or new to UFO research.  Remaining open to this arena and how it might apply to UFOs/aliens; revisiting these concepts often reveals a new path or two for us to follow in our journey.

Related posts: 
Regan Lee for Speculative Realms: Female Abductee Madonna Complex: A Gender-Identified Blame Game

Gary Haden on Eschewing Emma Woods

Another excellent article by Gary Haden at Speculative Realms:The Nausea of an Emma Woods Idiot: Paranormal Celebrity Munchausen by Proxy, the Revolt of the Damned Alive and Making People Sick for Kicks concerning Emma Woods, this time on the responses, or rather, non-responses of the "shrug-so-tiring/boring" variety from researchers. (some who I respect very, very much; but on this one issue, I cannot understand why they think they way they do on this topic.)

Now, this is a hard one because Haden's words are harsh, and as I say, I respect some of the individuals he names. I'm the messenger, not the message. However, again, when it comes to the intentional "mind fucking" as Haden calls it, of witnesses by UFO researchers and disinfo agents, there doesn't seem to be any question as to the acceptance of such devious, manipulative behavior that, well, fucks with people's lives and minds! Yet, somehow, there has been a continued silence and/or acceptance of these doings.

Paul Benneiwitz. John Ford. Emma Woods, for starters. How many more?

It was hard for me to read some of Haden's words concerning Redfern, for example. But Haden is entitled to his opinions. Again, I am the messenger, not the message. Among the many very important paradigm shifting (UFO-wise) elements within Emma's story is the relationship between researcher and witness. What people are still not getting is that Jacobs, no matter what one thinks of his research overall and his theories on aliens, ET, abductions, hybrids, got away with absolutely egregious behavior. Behavior that is no doubt illegal, or would be in other circumstances.

I don't agree with everything Haden writes in this article, though they are minor, nit picky points. Anyway. Read the article. As usual with Haden, it's a great piece, and he is one of the few voices out there continuing to bring the Woods/Jacobs story to our attention.

Here and There . . .

Bird and other mysterious deaths continue to occur. Including one in Hollywood, California. Or did it? I comment on Animal Forteana.

Gary Haden continues his analysis and expose of David Jacobs; I respond to one of Haden's excellent articles (cross posted on Women of Esoterica) at UFO Mystic: Gary Haden at Speculative Realms: The Girl Who Saved Her Own Life. (A sub-title: Or, Why Aren’t We Screaming Mad About This?!)

When UFOs enter the mind during dreams and altered/trance like states, are these nudgings towards a remembering of actual events, or something else? I wonder at UFO Digest:Dreams and Meditations Bring Buried Memories of Encounters? (Speaking of dreams, I had a dream last night that a voice said to me I should pursue my dream journal Entering the Orb. Hmm...)

Blogsquachter is back, kind of. Link at Frame 352.

It's Not All Just About Me
Alfred Lehmberg comments on Dr. Mortellaro here  and on UFO Magazine's blog. 

Speaking of, very cool Paratopia has a magazine! Which includes Carol Rainey's article on Dr. Mortellaro, Emma Woods, Linda Cortile, and so much more... MUCH more, sure to shake up UFOlogy's regime just as Emma Woods has. Please read this article, everyone.

Lesley Gunter is busy as one of the coordinators of the Wake Up Now! conference in New Mexico in the spring. Wish I could attend!