Types Of Experience During Abductions Excerpt from John Mack's "Abductions" Mack wrote: I will devote more attention in this book to the transformational and spiritual growth aspects of the abduction phenomenon than has been the case in other literature on the subject. There are several reasons for this decision. First, I believe that this feature of &e phenomenon has either been neglected or has been viewed as incompatible with the
traumatic dimension of an abduction as it teas most often been
described. Second, it is my impression that this largely unresearched area is of considerable significance. Finally, and most interesting, I think, is my personal experience as a psychiatrist dealing with abductees: I seem to receive more information of this kind in my work with abductees than, apparently, do other investigators. It is not altogether clear why this is o. Perhaps my caseload is preselected, biased in the direction of individuals who, in seeking the help of a
psychiatrist, deepen their understanding of their experience through exploration of their consciousnes s. Possibly, abductees sense th at I am open to hearing about experiences or information that might be considered too far out" for most investigators, and my own personal evolution may, in fact, have made me more open to the information they are seeking to convey. In any event, I try to be as scrupulous as I can sot to lead clients in any particular direction, so that if information that is relevant to the spiritual or consciousness-expanding aspects of the abduction phenomenon emerges during our sessions, it will do so freely and spontan eously and not as a result of specific inquiries of mine.
I will briefly outline the types of experiences that could be placed in this category. Of overriding importance is the shift that needs to occur in the relationship between the experiencer and the alien beings before consciousness-altering information can be received. Although the relationship with the aliens may have been playful, even intimate, in early childhood, it tends to change to a more disturbing and traumatic one as puberty approaches and the reproductive hybrid "project" begins. As traumatic intr usions take place, the abductees tend to feel themselves to be victims of hostile beings who regard them coldly, or simply as specimens in a project that serves the needs
of the aliens. They may feel betrayed by the alien beings as the
nature of their interaction changes.
But as our work deepens, especially as the power of this extraordinary alien encounter is acknowledged and the abductees come to accept their lack of control of the process, the frightening and adversarial quality of the relationship seems to give way to a more reciprocal one in which more mutual human-alien communication can take place. The abductees may even experience a profound love for the alien beings in some ways more powerful than the love they experience in human relationships and may feel that thi s love is returned. Connection through the eyes seems to play an important part in the evolution of this process. Whereas, for example, the abductees felt bitterly resentful about having their sperm and eggs used by the aliens in the hybridization project, they may come to feel that they are participating in a process that has value for the creation and
evolution of life.
There are those who might argue that such a shift in stance by the abductees in the face of the ongoing helplessness of the abduction situation is in fact a defensive shift, even self-delusion in the service of mitigating pain and distress. It could be considered an attempt by the ego to retain a sense of mastery by giving away voluntarily what will be taken by force, or an attempt to reduce cognitive dissonance by believing that the emotional cost of such a traumatic experience can be balanced by providing something good and positive for the universe. On the other hand, it is possible that working through the shattering experience of the abduction may give abductees access to experiences of transpersonal meaning, universal love, and connectedness that make such compassion possible.
As is true of so many aspects of the abduction phenomenon, it is difficult in the area of transformational or spiritual growth related experiences to separate cause and effect, or even to think in causal terms at all. Does an abductee, for example, receive (and communicate) information about a past life experience because his consciousness is open to the possibility of such matters? Or will the emergence into
consciousness of the memory of a past life, itself facilitated by our work together, bring about an expanded personal horizon and a
broadening of the sense of self in relation to the larger fabric of universal consciousness?
The fact that the relationship between the abductees and the aliens can evolve so dramatically over time makes me question categorizations of the beings into constructive, good, and loving ones and others that are deceptive and hostile, bent on taking over our planetthe idea that the light beings are good or caring, for example; the grays are
business-like and indifferent. This kind of taxonomy smacks
suspiciously of the sorts of polarization that characterizes human group or ethnonational relationships and could have little to do with the way interspecies or interdimensional relationships, if their actuality were to become established, might work beyond the earth. Furthermore, it is common for abductees to experience, for example, both light beings and little grays (Arthur, chapter 15) or reptilian and other sorts of beings (Carlos, chapter 14), during the same abduction. It is possible that we are dealing with relationship processes that are evolutionary in nature an d not comprehensible in the linear terms of our familiar polarities.
Types of experience during abductions that appear to be related to personal growth and transformation are as follows:
1. "Pushing through" occurs, i.e., fully experiencing the terror and rage associated with the helplessness and intrusive instrumentation on the ships. When this takes place acknowledgment and acceptance of the power of the experiences becomes possible and a more reciprocal relationship follows in which personal growth and learning can take place. From the "ego death" follow other levels of transformation:
2. The aliens may be perceived as intermediaries or intermediate entities between the fully embodied state of human beings and the primal source of creation or "God" (in the sense of a cosmic consciousness, rather than a personified being). In this regard abductees sometimes liken the alien beings to angels, or other "light beings" (including the "grays").
3. The abductees may actually experience themselves as returning to their cosmic source or "Home." an inexpressibly beautiful realm beyond, or not in, space/time as we know it. When this occurs during a hypnosis session, powerful, inexpressibly joyous, even orgiastic, feeling occurs. Conversely, abductees may weep with sadness when they experience having to leave their cosmic home, return to Earth and become embodied once again..
4. "Past lives" are experienced during the sessions with strong emotion appropriate to what material is emerging. This is most likely to occur when the investigator picks up on cues in the sessions during which encounters from infancy are being reexperienced. Complaints or simply observations of being here on Earth "again," of being "back" or having "resumed," are voiced (about which I then inquire). The "past lives" that emerge seem to have relevance to the personal development or evolution of the experien ces, as I have seen in the cases of Dave and Joe.
5. Past life experiences provide abductees (and the investigator) with a different perspective about time and the nature of human identity. Cycles of birth and death over long stretches of time can thus be relived, providing a different, less ego derived sense of the continuity of life and the smallness of an individual lifetime from a cosmic perspective. Consciousness is experienced as not coterminous with the body; the notion of a soul with an existence separate from the body becomes relevant.
6. Once the separateness of consciousness from the body is grasped, other kinds of "transpersonal" experiences become possible; identification of consciousness with virtually endless kinds of beings and entities through space/time and beyond often occurs. Paul (chapter 10), among my cases for example, found himself during our sessions identified with dinosaurs or dinosaur-like reptiles from another era and experienced himself present at the site of a UFO crash several
decades ago when alien beings were destroy ed by human fear and
aggression. Another abductee, a young Brazilian man, found that his alien encounters opened him to the identification with the myths and spirit entities of his culture's folklore, from which his Western scientific and intellectual training had cut him off.
7. A distinct but important aspect of this kind of transpersonal experience is an abductee's sense of possessing a double human/alien identity. In their alien selves they may discover themselves doing many of the things that the "other" aliens have done to them and to other human beings, such as studying their minds or even carrying out reproductive procedures. The alien identity seems to be connected in some way with the soul of the human self, and one of the tasks the abductee then confronts is the integration of their human and alien selves, which takes on the character of a reensoulment of their humanity.
8. The reliving of abduction material leads abductees to open to other realities beyond space/time, realms that are variously described as beyond a "veil" or some other barrier which has kept them in a "box" or in a consciousness limited to the physical world. When asked about these experiences abductees have trouble finding the words to describe what has occurred and speak of the "collapse" of space/time, of the
nonrelevance of the notions of space and time, and of being in
multiple times and places at the same moment.
The result of all these experiences for abductees is the discovery of a new and altered sense of their place in the cosmic design, one that is more modest, respectful, and harmonious in relation to the earth and its living systems. Emotions of awe, respect for the mystery of nature, and a heightened sense of the sacredness of the natural world are experienced along with deep sadness about the apparent hopelessness of Earth's environmental crisis. One of John Carpenter's cases described herself as having bec ome a "child of the universe" after she had become conscious of her abduction experiences. The meaning and implications of these shifts of consciousness for possible human futures will be discussed more fully in the case examples and in the concluding chapter.
Posted by Han Datare
by John Mack
page 31