The Varieties Of Alien Experience

Account of mysterious light flashings in the spacecraft, sky and encounters with aliens or UFOs can be described as the reflection of higher level of people’s interests in unidentified flying objects and strong belief in something mystery. However, alien encounter has not convinced many psychologists with some believing that there is no scientific explanation for the phenomenon. Beliefs in aliens and UFOs have been increasing steadfastly since the birth of alien studies back in the 1950s and 1960s. As a result, this analysis is a reflection of one of the detailed case studies of the same UFO experiences as recorded in a work of fiction.

Bill Ellis comments on the fictional works (The Hunger and The Wolfen) of Whitley Strieber. He described him as a productive, robust author and whose literature has established a firm foundation in the arena of science. For instance, in 1986, the author says that Strieber published a Communism book, the work in which he describes his first encounter with alien creatures. Notably, this is an event that stirred hostility with many scientists and critics, dismissing the author's experiences as purely fictional. However, Strieber has taken a radical approach arguing that his Communism work is born of a true legendary story (Ellis, 1991). This suggestive view was supported by Ed Conroy, a journalist based in the United States. No evidence has been put forward to show that Strieber's story was a product of neither fabrication nor medical tests that were done later on him. Henceforth, the book can be described as a truthful account of strange experiences, on course of which Whitley Strieber is said to have come into contact with the UFOs (unidentified flying objects) or 'the visitors, as to how he calls them in his book. Culture has done nothing or little to explain the alien encounter. This suggests that numerous apparitions are not based on cultural derivations. In one of her study, Leea Virtanan experimented with one Finnish informant and through her investigation she realized that alien memories do not reflect folk beliefs. She argued that thus instrumental narrowness of research is a limitation to the investigation conducted on UFOs.

Conversely, it is not agreeable true of what Strieber's encounter stands for because many critics cannot see them as what they are but view them through the glimpse of their own cultural beliefs and language understanding. In other words, people are transforming his story into their imaginative fables, and thus lack the correct knowledge of the encounter. One such activity of transformation happens in the opposing review by Disch Thomas. Just like many contemporary writers, Thomas Disch starts by describing Strieber's book as 'what the author experienced in the Communion as nothing but the first contact with the humans but who aliens in the mind of Whitley Strieber are’. The reviewer takes a drastic approach by stating that Strieber was once abducted by the ancient alien civilization and was taken aboard using a flying saucer where (it is alleged) he communicated with strange creatures and was subjected to sexual and surgical indignities. It was later in 1987 that hypnosis revealed to him of what had indeed happened to him. However, the author dismisses Thomas Disch’s claims as pure fables that lack arguable or supportive authenticity. He terms his descriptions as inaccurate and requires evidential points. For instance, it is wrong to claim that Strieber was the first human to be contacted by the aliens – aliens have been approached the planet earth since medieval times. Secondly, despite that, the hypnosis event was essential to clarify some of the encountered events; Strieber had a great remembrance of the details before he sought ufologist’s help (Ellis, 1991).

Also, Bill takes on another journalist – Taves Ernest – whom he describes as skeptical of the Strieber’s encounter with the aliens. Taves, in his book – Skeptical Inquirer review, he details the Strieber’s reconstructions and memories as a historical biography, a literary style of which the author describes as wrong. It is wrong, the author points out, for Tavens to describe Strieber as a mentally ill person who only writes hoax stories. Additionally, the author disagrees with both journalists for terming the work of Strieber as an encounter with aliens. Instead, the author terms the book as a sophisticated version of the dilemma – an unorthodox approach of telling that which cannot be supported by the cultural-imposed language.

The author goes on to details the records of folklore abductions, which are collections of folktales and legends both from Europe and other parts. These folklores details varieties of real accounts that share aliens’ abduction stories. Nevertheless, some of these stories are only fables because they contain little evidence to support them. He notes that alien encounters are disorienting experiences that call for a reorienting process to understand the narrative and thus get the equilibrium truth of any shared story. For instance, this dilemma is put forward in the particular case of Henry James - the theologian. Henry had a supernatural attack the same as Strieber's experience. He believes that Strieber may have sought assistance from the alien investigator, Hopkins, for some reason he described as his helpful affirmation to find a psychological help. It is right to argue that Strieber's encounters with aliens are real because the psychological test conducted on him found no mental disorder.

Still, the author concludes his remarks by stating that empirical numen research needs to be conducted in the field of paranormal experiences. However, he believes that this is a task that calls for unusual sensitivity to phenomena exploration. A person disturbed by alien abduction memory needs a concern but not amusement.

At a glance, the author introduces the concept of alien abduction, which is not a new phenomenon. These stories have been documented and details in many accounts. The abduction phenomenon is a description of experiencing real kidnapping by UFO or nonhuman figures known as aliens. A person abducted by aliens is said to be subjected to psychological and physical experimentation. A notable number of mental health professionals and scientists have explained these phenomenal experiences using technical factors such as sleep paralysis, false memory syndrome, suggestibility, psychopathology, and deception. People who claim to have been kidnapped by aliens are referred to as experiencers or abductees.

However, the alien abduction phenomenon has not received acceptable by mainstream scientists. Despite this, it is undoubtedly true that the majority of people who report the encounters of abduction believe that their experiences are accurate. For instance, according to a report that was published in the Harvard Gazette in 1993, it was shown that of the 50 cases claims of abduction revealed no psychosocial or psychiatric explanation for the aliens visiting. In other words, these people cannot be said to be suffering from any mental disability. Many medical doctors who have spent therapeutic hours with these people found them to be ordinary people living a healthy life – some of them being correctional officers, secretaries, restaurant owners, university professors, college students, and homemakers.

Further, some of the abductees do not appear to be confabulating, deluded, self-dramatizing, lying, or even suffering from mental illness. It has also been confirmed, using both the standardized and examination tests, that alien abduction experiments share the same similarities with the general population. Other medical experts argue that abductees’ mental condition is no worse or better than average people. Besides, psychologists have supported this view, including Rima Laibow and John Wilson.

Therefore, Strieber's case can be termed as an actual account of alien abduction and not a mental condition. Hence, it is wrong for scientists and critics to describe his encounter as a fictional folktale. The author is of the view that people of Strieber's caliber should be carefully examined and not be dismissed. This implies that the belief in the existential condition of aliens is not only founded on weak speculations but upon personal, concrete experiences, the realm of which is a reinforcement of sensory, conscious perception. Hence, aliens should be viewed as purely empirical, spiritual beings and not fictional creation of the mind. Even though the investigator of such encounters is unable to see the aliens so described, he/she must believe the informant and not dismiss them. Nonetheless, this should be construed to mean that aliens actually exist but only let the informant think that we understand their case.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the validity of any report done on the alien encounter must be based on accurate and scientific analysis and not founded on allusion views. We may continue to convince ourselves that aliens are byproducts of hypnogogic hallucination or products of sleep paralysis. Still, their encounters should be perceived as evidential truth of what they saw, and no explanation of what they intended to see. A genuine scientific study should confine itself to focusing on the case investigation of the alien phenomenon of the reported abduction event. Thus, surveying of the psychiatric and psychological literature should be based on the informant's real experience and not the investigator's conventional belief.

Reference

• Ellis, B. (1991). The varieties of alien experience. The Hundredth Monkey: And Other Paradigms of the Paranormal, 70.