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Category: Ask the panel

One of the new features in JAR Magazine is our 'Ask the panel' section. In it, we put one question to a handful of people with experience in the field, and ask for their feedback.

On 6 November 2015, the British Daily Mail news paper ran an article that suggested that alien abductions were 'probably' just the result of sleep paralysis. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3305792/Think-ve-abducted-aliens-probably-just-sleep-paralysis-Psychologist-attempts-logically-explain-encounters-fourth-kind.html). The author refers to an article that appeared shortly before in The Psychologist, which was written by Christopher C French, of Goldsmiths, the University of London. (https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-28/october-2015/close-encounters-psychological-kind). 

The theory that alien abductions are just sleep paralysis is an argument debunkers often come up with. It is, of course, an invalid argument, and fails to address, e.g., all the cases with multiple abductees, with witnesses, or where abductions do not happen in the bedroom. We thought it would be interesting to put the topic to our panel. For this occasion, our panel consisted of John Carpenter, Gwen Farrell, Nadine Lalich, Thomas Minderle, and Andrew Hennessey.

 

John Carpenter

Can Sleep Paralysis Explain Abductions?

It must first be understood that sleep paralysis is a real physiological condition that can occur in anybody.  During dreaming or REM sleep the central nervous system paralyzes the body except for the eyes.  In the reticular formation in the brain stem an inhibition is produced which affects all muscle tone except for the eyes.  This inhibition can still be in effect when our eyes open.  In other words, the mind awakens before the body does.  The mind gets confused by the unexpected sensation of paralysis.  It is true that many abductions begin in the bedroom with the participant reporting a sense of paralysis or immobilization.

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Category: Viewpoints

Civil Rights is a term that has been applied to efforts of fairness and inclusion for groups who have been marginalized due to ethnicity, gender, religious belief, socio-economic status, age, disability, sexual-orientation, as well as other noteworthy classifications. Is it not time to advocate for the better treatment of experiencers?

For the last decade, I have been an active member of a committee for diversity and inclusion at the college where I’m employed. I have seen good efforts toward educating the community on how to develop a better culture of understanding and respect alongside those whom are different from ourselves and I think there are some tools from these efforts that can be applied to encouraging better treatment of the experiencer community.

I define an experiencer as anyone who has encountered a paranormal intelligence, be it extraterrestrial, cryptid, or spirit.

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Category: Interviews

Editor's Note: this is part 2 of a 2-part interview Paola Harris conducted with Enrique Villanueva on 16 August 2015.
The interview was conducted in English with Enrique who is Spanish speaking.

It has been edited for clarity / readability.

You can read part 1 here: Paola Harris interviews Enrique Villanueva (part 1)

 

Enrique Villanueva
Enrique Villanueva

 

PH: We were talking earlier about contact, and I was saying that we are not really prepared for contact because these people are so above us; they are so evolved, to the point that I don’t know what kind of conversation or connection we could have with these people. But you can have a heart connection, and I added that you must be a good person to have a heart connection.

EV: Well, you can just be a person. I don’t think they notice a person who is good or bad, I don’t think they judge us that way. They only see who is reaching out now, who is close to you. I don’t believe in good people or bad people any more. I think we all have the potential of just opening our hearts. I have seen people who have been in high positions for a very long time, to become so humble in front of these beings. So I think we all have the potential to raise our consciousness.

PH: When you say raise the vibration, does that mean that people have to be, at that particular moment, on a certain vibratory level for them to communicate? And does that mean always using meditation to get to that level?

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Category: Interviews

Editor's Note: this is part 1 of a 2-part interview Paola Harris conducted with Enrique Villanueva on 16 August 2015.
The interview was conducted in English with Enrique who is Spanish speaking.
It has been edited for clarity / readability.

 

Paola Harris with Enrique Villanueva
Paola Harris with Enrique Villanueva

 

PH: We are in the San Fernando Valley, and we are going to be interviewing Enrique Villanueva. This is part of a series where people who have had encounters, especially in Latin America, have volunteered to give me some information and to tell exactly how they lived through this very unique experience.

First of all, Enrique, you were born in Peru. Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

EV: Sure. I was born in Lima, the capital of Peru. I had my first sighting when I was seven years old, playing with friends outside my house. We saw this light coming up, and then there was a very bright flash - I was very impressed. Days later, another shape, I was closer to my home; I saw all of the adults running toward the avenue. We were the kids at the time, so we ran after them, trying to see what it was. Then we noticed this thing that looked like two plates touching. And this thing moved so fast, and then so gentle. And I remember the adults mentioning that it was an alien invasion or something like that. And we were kids and we were saying, “What is that, what is an alien?” A UFO in Spanish is Ovni, Objeto Volador No Identificado, unidentified flying object. So I think that was the first time I heard of aliens. My father was always interested in paranormal phenomena.

PH: So it was your father, in your family, who was interested. What did he do for a living?

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Category: Interviews

[In association with The OutPost Forum]

David M. Jacobs, Ph.D.
David M. Jacobs, Ph.D.

 

David M. Jacobs Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of History at Temple University (Retired), specializing in 20th century American history and culture. He was granted his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1973, in the field of intellectual history. He also teaches a regular curriculum university course on UFOs: "UFOs and American Society", a course that has been running for over 25 year.
Dr Jacobs began researching UFOs in the mid-1960s, his first book 'The UFO Controversy in America' (1975), was essentially a revised version of his doctoral dissertation and is widely regarded as essential reading. In 1982 he met the late UFO abduction researcher and pioneer Budd Hopkins and following several years of tutelage carried out his first hypnotic regression in 1986. His second book; 'Secret Life: First hand accounts of UFO abductions' (1992) included testimony from 60 individuals and over 300 abduction events. This was followed by 'The Threat: Revealing the Secret Alien Agenda' in 1998.
In September of this year Dr Jacobs published a new book 'Walking Among Us: The Alien Plan to Control Humanity'. He has kindly agreed to answer a series of questions about his work, the results of which are presented below:

Q - First of all thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I wonder if you could start by telling us roughly how many people you have worked with over the years, is there a specific type of person who contacts you, or do you see more of a reflection of society in general?