DISTORTION: TO THE ENCOUNTER OF A NEW COGNITIVE REALITY



If the UFO close encounters are the product of an elaborate "psychic architecture" arising from the bowels of the human psyche in collaboration with an unknown external agent, we could argue that everything visualized in a UFO experience, even though it may have a physical reality, is a kind of "induced lucid dream", where everything manifested, occupants of the flying saucers included, does not have a real and independent existence after this phenomenon occurs/finalize.
This means that the conversations with the UFO crew and the actions of these entities are only psychic elaborations arising from the joint interaction between the external agent and the unconscious of the witness. And this clearly indicates that we are not subject to manifestations (beings, gods, angels, demons...) that you want to manipulate us, or inculcate some kind of belief. We are being victims of an ancestral paradigm related to human consciousness, where the cultural filter influences is what is observed. But not from the point of view that psychiatry or psychology wants to indicate to us.
And it is that this phenomenon associated with the human psyche that is manifested/expressed through a chimerical visual scenography where the "inhabitants" of this other reality are actually springs and psychic mechanisms, like the characters of our dreams, that show us the existence of a cognitive universe, which is as real and transcendent, as the "Cartesian" universe that surrounds us.
Probably the current frontiers of our cognitive understanding are delimited by our inquisitorial and mechanistic way of understanding reality. Beyond the concepts widely accepted by our science, there is another dimension that connects us directly with an ancestral universe, where symbolic, atavistic and archetypal language connects us with nature and our primordial being.
It is very likely that shamanic initiations, the folklore of many peoples, religions and myths are based and built upon sporadic contacts with this new reality, where human psychic capacities are revealed in their fullest extent.
The revelations from this new reality are carried by "emissaries" emerging from the human collectivity itself and expressed in the symbolic language of dreams and creativity. The "labels/definitions" of these "entities/emisaries" (extraterrestrials, elves, fairies, angels, etc.) are produced and arise from our own unconscious participation in the elaboration of a "bridge" that introduces us to this new cognitive reality.
And it is precisely in this "bridge" where the "mundis imaginalis" originates that can take us to a knowledge that surpasses our understanding, or we can remain stagnant, ecstatic, elaborating artificial myths created from these "visions". The external agent is an intelligent "spring", a mechanism of a cosmic consciousness (collective unconscious?), a "boatman" who wants to take us to the other side of the shore, where perhaps many secrets of our own existence await.
So the close encounters with UFOs and other anomalous manifestations with different entities and creatures, would be nothing but "noise" caused by our own consciousness, which clouded by numerous sociocultural/religious/philosophical stereotypes create products from our own fear of this new mental stage, making us create a whole rich mythology in fantastic and unknown beings. As if the interferences of our contacts were the last reality expressed by this new universe.
Because our psyche when faced with this paradigm, in this bridge, is able to build (with a high degree of imagery and creativity) a new "parallel reality" that seems real and unquestionable. Without knowing that the true cognitive reality that awaits us on the other side is much more profound, wise and natural than we imagine.






JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

DISTORTION THEORY: FROM THE GLOBAL TO THE INDIVIDUAL

If tomorrow a spaceship landed in the White House gardens before the target of thousands of smartphones, and the existence of extraterrestrial life was officially confirmed, it would be equally complex for us to explain the thousands of ufological incidents piled up by researchers in the last 7 decades. And the fact is that the UFO phenomenon presents several unknowns that are difficult to solve, even though we had on the table the certainty of extraterrestrial reality. Above all, because in their numerous appearances UFOs present aspects apparently irreconcilable with our science. Since they seem to be half physical and half psychic phenomena. As if they were manifesting in a blurred border between the real and the imaginary. And why do we say this? A multitude of reports illustrate the existence of, apparently, hundreds of alien races different in height, physical appearance, clothing, etc., in addition to a fleet of flying saucers of the most diverse and bizarre shapes and sizes. Not to mention an absurd and disconcerting behaviour shown on countless occasions by the elusive UFO crew who seem to be mad or have a great sense of humour. As if this intergalactic gibberish were not enough, ufologists have not been able to compose a global plot that can unite in a single and coherent story at least a dozen of these incidents. Not to mention the cases where extrasensory perceptions, telepathic contacts, strange dreams, paranormal phenomena, poltergeist, etc. are registered that completely blur our initial and simplistic perception of the question. It is as if the UFO phenomenon were restarted in each episode showing infinite and unpredictable variations of the same concept; alien visitation. But what are we dealing with? Are we dealing with extraterrestrial astronauts or, on the contrary, are we dealing with something else?
Dozens of researchers point out that the ufological paradigm has little or nothing to do with the hypothetical presence of aliens on our planet, and that the cases offer us a multitude of clues that indicate that the phenomenon has an extraordinary "psychological" component embedded in its bosom. And going deeper into this premise, the theory of distortion wants to go even further, dissecting the cases and trying to find hidden clues. And after a detailed analysis of hundreds of events, we have concluded that UFO appearances and close encounters are the product of an elaborate "psychic architecture" that arises as a consequence of the connection between an unknown external agent and the mind of witnesses. And as a result of this tuning, a three-dimensional image is "projected", indistinguishable from the reality that surrounds it, which contains all the elements described in a UFO encounter. Although we must be clear that most of this scenography would be constructed from the psychic material that the external agent extracts from the psyche of the observers (memories, hobbies, culture, etc.). Therefore, this would explain, from the outset, why most incidents are intangible and of ephemeral appearance, where the "occupants" and their "machines" leave no traces and can pass through the objects. UFO events are unpredictable beyond the basic skeleton that is recorded in almost all incidents; "something" will be seen in the sky, will land and from this "something" its occupants will descend. But little more can be anticipated, since the content of the experiences will be "aesthetically" different from one narrative to another, as the characters (humanoids, entities, occupants...) and objects (flying saucer, suits, pistols...) of the projection are transformed by the individual participation of each witness. So, as it is a projection "manufactured" at the very moment of the connection with the external agent, nothing that happened during an UFO experience obeys an empirical reality, nor does it have a physical continuity in our universe after the encounter has ended. In other words, the humanoids, the ship and the actions recorded in a ufological episode do not have a real existence, beyond their ephemeral presence during the projection before the witnesses. And, therefore, nothing reported will ever exactly repeat itself in another UFO event. Simply because nothing represented exists outside the "projection" created for the occasion. And in an upcoming UFO encounter, by changing the "source" (the witness) from which the main visual elements that make up the projection emerge, the experience is almost restarted from scratch.
The ufo researchers can only study the "during", since the "before" and "after" to the projection simply do not exist.  And it is because of this "psychic mechanism" that to date we have not been able to establish many solid conjectures about UFOs, since their action is spontaneous, not premeditated, and actually orchestrated, not by the phenomenon itself, but by the creativity of each witness who interacts with the external agent. Everything is "created" and "projected" at the very moment of the conjunction of the human psyche with this unknown detonator, from the aesthetics of the presumed aliens to their behaviour. In each ufological episode we witness the resumption of the concept of "extraterrestrial visitation" under the particular "optics" of each witness who modifies to infinity the internal skeleton that defines this paradigm (extraterrestrial ship and occupant).  And its markedly absurd component, baptized by the brilliant researcher Ignacio Darnaude as a "cosmic theatre", with actions and dialogues lacking in logic, would be the consequence of this shared mental creation in a process similar to the one reproduced during the stages of sleep. And they would have no other meaning beyond being products of an elaborate psychic process. Therefore, close encounters with UFOs are unpredictable phenomena. Therefore, it has been a crass error to analyze and compare the UFO casuistry as a whole, which clearly presents absurd and disconnected episodes, since the true meaning of these experiences can only be interpreted/decoded at an individual level, case by case, taking into account the unconscious influence of the witness in its conformation. Only by understanding that these are global experiences, but subjectivized by the active participation of the psyche of each witness, will we remove all mystery from these encounters.  The presence or non-presence of matter in incidents, which causes traces or quantifiable effects on the environment or people, would be determined by the capacity of each witness to "energize" his or her encounter so that parts of it were apparently real. In this way, understanding that observers participate very actively in those observed, as co-creators of the phenomenon, and that they are not mere spectators, it would be explained that, before the same elements put on stage, in some cases we find traces, footprints, burns, injuries, etc. and in others we do not. And what or who originates this phenomenon?
Regarding the origin of these manifestations, we can say that, over the centuries, under different labels, human beings have had various encounters with creatures, entities and unknown beings (daemons, angels, fairies, demons, monstrous creatures, etc.) that probably obey this same phenomenon, which has been modified over time. And this modification or evolution in its external appearance does not obey to a perfect camouflage of the phenomenon, but it is fruit of the own participation of the human being in its creation. Since it cannot be otherwise, all the apparitions, in their different contexts, are synchronic with the interests, advances and culture of the time. In the same way that the information obtained from these manifestations does not cease to be mere distortions of human concepts and ideas. The external agent serves as a perfect catalyst for our psyche to have sporadic "contacts" with another reality that escapes our ordinary senses. From those unexplored dimensions, which coexist with ours, the external agent would be trying through multiple and different contacts to communicate with human beings (individually) to show us dormant aspects of our consciousness, or perhaps just serve as a covert guide to a vast and unknown cognitive universe. But so far we are only perceiving the "interferences" caused by our uncontrolled immersion in this journey to the depths of the other side





JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

UFO: "cognitive layers" that prevent seeing the forest

Close encounters with UFOs behave like "psychedelic" events provoked by our non-voluntary psychic immersion in an expanded reality, which undergoes modifications/alterations by our mere presence. And it is that the witnesses of the anomalies, when interfering in this "mental field", induced by an external agent, that tries to establish a bridge between both universes, constructs, without pretending it, as effect of its immersion in this new state, a species of "screen" that is placed in the threshold of both dimensions.Containing physical and psychic parts, mixed and developed in a complex plot of "oneiric" character, composed of archetypal, folkloric or cultural ingredients of the witnesses, but developed in a distorted way.
Therefore, even having entered a new state of consciousness, the witness of the anomalies is "suggested" by his own mental baggage/information. His fears, hopes, longings, frustrations, illusions, anxieties, etc. can be seen reflected in this "screen" that in an improvised way stands, before the eyes of the witness, as a mental construction -- as a border between both realities.
These episodes, except for the visual part, are identical to those described by visionaries, mystics and shamans from different cultures. Even some mental illnesses could provoke intense access to this expanded reality. And like the witnesses, the patients, not knowing what is happening, can be induced to madness or to a wide range of psychic disorders (but because of his own confusion).
There are probably two ways of accessing this psychic universe: through direct access, through the practice of mental techniques, the so-called altered states of consciousness, or, on the contrary, through the bridge that establishes, in certain circumstances, an external agent. Although what is truly complex is to discern how we can access this expanded reality, without interfering with it, creating "cognitive layers" that prevent us from seeing the end of the tunnel.




JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

The "Collective Consciousness": An identity for Jose Caravaca’s "external agent"?

For years I [Jose Antonio Caravaca] have defined the cause of the UFO close encounters, and other anomalies faced by humans, as an "external agent", in clear allusion to the fact that the triggering factor of these experiences was exogenous to the witness and of unknown origin.
However, it was clear from my studies a quite important and disconcerting aspect was clear: that the involvement of the human psyche was very much present in these contacts, and that probably the participation of the observers delimited many of the visual aspects contained in the encounters.
Therefore, the witness ceased to be a mere chronicler and became, almost as if by magic, a co-creator and interpreter of these unusual experiences. In this way, a close connection was born between this mysterious "external agent" and the observers' psyche, in a fluid and intimate "communication" that was fed back by human concepts to insert them into the "spatial" and "technological" scenery that was shaped, in the form of projection, before the eyes of the witnesses. Despite this, the identity of this unknown operator was always in the mist of mystery... a control system? an extraterrestrial civilization? beings of other dimensions?
My studies have shown that the intelligence involved in close encounters with UFOs is very basic, and that this "external agent" is probably not intended to communicate or convey any type of philosophical, technological, spiritual, etc. message that is totally unknown to human beings. We always find ourselves in a delicate "frontier" where the supposed knowledge that comes from the hereafter, in any of its meanings (extraterrestrial, celestial, supernatural, etc.), does not cease to be "distortions" of human information exposed and introduced in a supposedly transcendental paraphernalia.
The visual has always prevailed over the intellectual content of these experiences. The scenography has always been superior to the "screenplay" that history tells us. The information provided by unknown entities has never provided any clarification as to its origin or intentions. And all this has made me think that the "external agent" seems to act as Carl Jung's "collective unconscious", above any other approach put forward by UFO researchers over the years. And I am convinced of this, because close encounters with UFOs are closer to the omnibulous dream universe and mystical experiences than anything else.  Since this type of "vision" is unique in nature, linking it to the witness in such an intimate and personal way, it cannot be overlooked.
In addition, the nucleus of UFO literature is replete with incidents that never happen again anywhere else in the world. And this indicates that the answers to this enigma are closer to the observer than we have hitherto sensed. But after years of analysis of the complex ufological casuistry, I have determined that this "external agent" may be an indication of the existence of a psychic "entity" unknown until now, and which I have defined as "collective consciousness".
It is quite possible that the collective unconscious, with all its obvious potential, has suffered a demerger to give rise to a kind of "collective consciousness" which, with its own intelligence and modus operandi, can sometimes communicate with people. Collective consciousness produces uncontrolled "psychedelic algorithms" whose purpose is "subjective" communication with the human psyche. Its logic and staging, like any mental process, may be beyond our present understanding and its purpose may be to expose a new conception of reality, thought, ideas, creativity, etc.
This "collective consciousness" is probably the cause of a wide range of unknown psychic perceptions and alterations (including several catalogued as psychic diseases), some of which may be very far removed from what we generically call the universe of anomalies. This "collective consciousness" is a "switch" that individually connects witnesses to a vast psychic dimension, where knowledge, creativity, and even clairvoyance seem to have no limits, and depending on the potential of each observer, is able to develop different ways of interacting with people and the environment. In this way we complete the circle.
The human psyche has produced the collective unconscious and somehow it has become detached, in a not at all strange psychic process, into a new "entity" that, in certain circumstances, connects with witnesses in a loop that has been persecuting humanity for centuries.






JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

UFOs: An overlapping "reality" within another...

 

 

 

 

Could it be the paranormal phenomena and anomalies of perception recorded in UFOs close encounters  that are the product of interaction with an unknown dimension in which the external agent " immerses " us? Is it possible that anomalous experiences occur in an indeterminate cognitive limbo that superimposes two apparently antagonistic realities, such as physics and psychics? Is it possible that the implication of each witness is the determining factor for this new manifested reality to have a greater or lesser presence in our dimension? Is the absence of evidence and the intangibility of the phenomenon a consequence of the fact that most of this "projection" of which the witness is the protagonist occurs in that other reality that does not persist in our dimension once the experience has concluded? Is it possible that close encounters with UFOs, Marian apparitions, ghosts, are originated by the interaction of an external agent coming from an expanded reality in which we are immersed? Are shamans, witches, mystics and even some mentally ill "travellers" towards that other reality, but with the difference that their experiences only occur within that dimension and cannot physically interact with these perceptions, as happens to the witnesses of the anomalies in the border zone created by the external agent, in an foray into our dimension?
According to the Distortion Theory when the external agent comes into contact/communication with our psyche, a projection (a kind of dimensional opening) is made in front of the eyes of the witness, which is actually originating between two realities (the one we know, and a wider one where we are inserted) in what we could call a "frontier" zone. This expanded reality does not behave nor is it perceived in the same way as ours, since its laws and rules are probably closer to the psychic kingdom than to the physical one, besides, this whole universe can be "altered" with our presence. And it is precisely in that elastic new reality, of omnibulous and confused limits, where our mysterious external agent is found. Therefore, the behavior and development of UFOs close encounters  would be extremely ambiguous and disconcerting, medium physical and half psychic phenomena, half real and unreal, since the "projected image" would contain elements and gears of a broad spectrum of reality (known and hidden).
It is as if we were in the presence, for a few moments, of a "new cognitive reality" that is composed of a "superposition" of both. This would produce an incredible and unpredictable phenomenological mixture in which the main characteristics of both realities would be present.  And in this way, we would obtain UFO incidents with temporal alterations, electromagnetic effects, paranormal phenomena, anomalous perceptions, footprints on the ground, telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, etc., all mixed and exposed in an apparent meaningless scenography.
"Enraptured" and "collapsing" our senses. But where are these phenomena taking place? Really, the landing of a UFO would not be happening, properly said, in the framework of our reality known. We would be situated in an indeterminate limbo. In an unknown frontier that allows us, under a certain mental stage, to have access to a vast amount of information of the universe that is probably sustained and manifested, in part, through human thought. As we are dealing with a kind of "superposition", we would be perceiving, perhaps randomly, fragments of an enlarged reality that would disappear at the end of the encounter. Only that which had been "gestated" on our reality could, in some way, remain and be subsequently quantified.
Therefore, in conclusion, encounters with UFOs are fleeting visions of an expanded reality, to which an external agent connects us, establishing an ephemeral point of contact, an ethereal bridge that allows us to glimpse part of this reality. It is the same psychic universe to which shamans and mystics from different cultures have had direct access for centuries, but for unknown reasons, an external agent can open the "door" for us... in some moments...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

THE DISTORTION THEORY AND TANGIBILITY OF THE UFOLOGICAL PARADIGM

The distortion theory defines that UFOs close encounters are produced by a psychic interaction, between an unknown external agent and the witnesses, that projects a three-dimensional image of a supposed UFO landing with its occupants. Many people and enthusiasts ask if this paradigm could explain the physical traces and traces we find in some ufological events.
If we analyze the casuistry we can easily see that one of the most curious aspects of UFO landings is that regardless of the harshness of the ground to facilitate the landing gear footprints or the marks of the occupants' footprints, in some incidents they are registered and in others they are not, without there appearing to be any kind of logical explanation for it. Therefore, the presence of traces and tracks after the landing of a UFO must be due to more complex causes than the presence of the phenomenon on the ground. Otherwise, in cases with similar terrain and UFO of the same size, we should always find marks. But this does not happen.
But if we were in front of some kind of projection, we could understand a number of strange things associated with UFOs close encounters:
1.- UFOs can move or pass through vegetation or high voltage cables without producing noise, impact or breakage.
 2.- The appearance of debris, burnt areas or areas affected in different ways by the landing of a flying saucer in some cases and not in others, despite the fact that the same conditioning factors are at play.
 3.- That the number of traces found in the field is insufficient or inexplicable for the phenomenon observed. For example, that only an appearance of a few footprints of the occupants appear in the area, or that there are no traces of some of the actions of artifacts, burns, etc.
 4.- The immateriality presented in many cases by humanoids; i.e., able to pass through walls or fences without problems.
5.- The general silence of many experiences.
6.- That UFOs appear or disappear at will in an instant without apparent displacement. In addition, UFOs or their occupants, together or separately, often simply appear in a certain place and then vanish into thin air, neither flying, landing, nor taking off, as such.
The distortion theory indicates that many of the projections created by the "external agent", in conjunction with the psyche of the witnesses, may contain matter and leave a trail behind them. Or simply being "physical" at some moments of the experience. This depends exclusively on the "potential" of each witness that he imprints on the projection of the external agent certain "psychic energy" that makes it possible for the elements represented in the "images" to have corporeality, and to interact with them and even visit with the alien inside the spacecraft.
If we analyze the variations that UFO cases present in all their aspects (visual aspect, physical effects, messages, etc.), we will verify that the only element that really varies always in this equation is the witness. It always changes. It's always different from one event to another. However, the anomalous detonating factor is the same in all the episodes, the external agent, so that it is quite possible that the participation of certain witnesses may, at times, among other things, decree the presence of "electromagnetic interference", "footprints", "catastrophic" messages, etc. And this is a fundamental key to our study, the witness is the drop of colour that changes the tonality of the water. Otherwise the homogeneity of UFO episodes would be greater and there would be an easy-to-follow global framework. Therefore, this approach would demonstrate that behind many effects recorded in the close encounters would be the interaction of the witness himself with the paradigm and not the influence or direct will of the phenomenon itself.
It must be borne in mind that this projection is indistinguishable from reality and for the witness it is synonymous with being something real and tangible. In addition, this image created by the external agent can be observed by more people and behaves as if a spacecraft has actually landed and its occupants have a life of their own.
But if we look closely at the physical evidence we find in the UFO incidents, we will see that they take on a radically different meaning from that expressed by the proponents of the extraterrestrial Hypothesis. The alleged physical traces left on the ground after a UFO landing are still "distortions" of concepts that are perfectly recognizable to the witnesses or the investigators themselves, even before these have occurred: footprints, crushed grass, burns, metallic remains, holes in the ground, "oil" stains, radioactivity, springs, metallic remains. Are alien spacecraft a flying sloppy job? Is this logical? But we can still ask ourselves more uncomfortable questions.... Why haven't we found any other kind of evidence, difficult to classify in our mental or scientific parameters? For example, why has no flying saucer in its take-off phase transformed the surroundings to a bluish hue, including trees, soil and grass? If we are faced with a technology almost unimaginable by our science, when interacting in our atmosphere, perhaps these "ships" could cause all kinds of effects, from "transmuting" stones into diamonds, to rain in a desert place...
But none of this has been given simply for a reason. Because no one has "imagined" it as a "logical" and "probable" thing to be produced after a flying saucer has landed. And since this information does not tacitly exist in the unconscious knowledge of witnesses, the external agent cannot represent it in its ephemeral projection. Since we must not forget that the image that is transmitted tries to simulate a supposed extraterrestrial visitation, but always, as we suppose it, under purely human concepts.
But, on the other hand, witnesses and investigators do see "logical" (and it takes on the appearance of great absurdity and "theatre") for UFOs to leave behind a common oil slick or to drop a spring or a couple of screws. Therefore, as the Theory of Distortion postulates, nothing that is presented before the eyes of possible witnesses is totally unknown to them.
Just as a man of the Middle Ages would never have thought that a means of transport would cause smoke, flames or explosions. So it is "sensible" and "conceivable" from our current viewpoint that an alien spacecraft, even if it is able to cross amazing star distances in fractions of a second or comes from an unknown parallel universe, must have, things like, a "exhaust pipe" or burn the vegetation and cause radioactivity. And so, in this simple and forceful way, the external agent provides the observers and eventual investigators with all the "material" that they themselves expect to find after the landing of an alien spacecraft.







JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

UFOS AS PSYCHIC "DISTURBANCES" OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN: Between shamans and religious mystics

Close encounters with UFOs, that is, the complex scenery witnessed by hundreds of people who claim to have observed the landing of a flying saucer and the disembarkation of its occupants, can actually be the result of a psychic disturbance, the consequence of a sudden and unexpected irruption, in an expanded reality that somehow be "feeds back" from our unconscious.
An "unknown psychic entity" (the external agent) that inhabits this portion of expanded reality, interacting with our psyche, causes our psyche to be able to cross the barriers of ordinary consciousness. In other words, our mind can interact with the environment (our reality), and with that expanded reality, in a totally different way from the way it usually unfolds.
Our psyche enters into an altered state of consciousness that allows it to draw and construct elements in this scenography as if they were alien to its presence. These experiences are very similar to those narrated by mystics, visionaries and shamans who have described their particular immersions in other universes, other realities.
Juan Martín Velasco in his book "The Mystical Phenomenon" (1999) referred to mysticism in the following terms: "The term "mystic" is also used to designate that world, that "nebula", of the esoteric, the occult, the marvelous, the paranormal or parapsychic which is occupied by a whole family of new movements in which the fatigue produced by a purely scientific-technical civilization, unable to respond to needs and aspirations very deeply rooted in human consciousness, emerges culturally.
A new example of the extension of the term to non-religious fields, by virtue of a functional analogy, is the use of the term in the sense of total commitment to the service of something taken for absolute, such as when one speaks of the mystique of action, the humanitarian mystique, the mystique of communism, or even the mystique of adventure or speed. But even in the religious field and in the theological vocabulary "mysticism" is far from being a term endowed with a precise meaning.
At the end of the last century, W. Inge offered twenty-six different definitions that responded to as many understandings".
And although he thought that many of these episodes could have a conventional explanation, he also defended that there were other cases that were more complex: "Faced with these explanations, a reasonable attitude to this type of phenomena requires a whole series of theological as well as epistemological and scientific precautions. As a fundamental principle, once the fact has been rigorously established and described and analyzed with the greatest precision, it does not seem to be very important to establish whether or not it exceeds the natural laws, given that it is very difficult to establish at any given moment whether or not what apparently comes out of the habitual "behavior" of the phenomena really exceeds the functioning of those laws. In fact, the terrain of the relations of soul and body, mind and brain, the psychic and the physical, which is the terrain in which most mystical phenomena are situated, encompasses, beyond the field of what we recognize as normal, a wide area of paranormal phenomena of which science is still far from having given a satisfactory explanation, but which we already know it is not legitimate to simply attribute to supernatural causes.
Seeking the psychological or scientific explanation of such phenomena does not mean absolutely discarding their "supernatural" origin. Although the author did not rule out the existence of "God" behind these manifestations. Or, as we understand it, he left the door open to "other possibilities".
For example, St. Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582) relates an encounter with a mysterious angel: "I saw at my side an angel on my left, in human form. I confess that I am not accustomed to seeing such things, except on very rare occasions. Although it often happens to me to see angels, these are intellectual visions, like the ones I have referred to above. . .
The angel was short in stature and very beautiful; his face was kindled as if he were one of the highest angels who are all fire. He must have been one of those we call cherubim . . . He held in his hand a long golden sword, the tip of which looked like a burning ascue. It seemed to me that at times I was sinking the sword into my heart and piercing my insides, and when I drew out the sword, it seemed to me that my insides were escaping with it, and I felt myself burning in the greatest love of God. The pain was so intense, that it made me groan, but at the same time, the sweetness of that excessive sorrow was so extraordinary, that I would not have wanted to see myself free of it". 
For her part, the Italian Eduviges (Edvige) Carboni (1880-1952) said that on one occasion: "after communion, I found myself in a meadow and, on a throne, I saw Mary Help of Christians covered with a large mantle. On the plain there was a stormy squall of wind and fire. Suddenly St. John Bosco appeared, running in the midst of the storm and calling men and women to be saved, putting himself under the mantle of Mary Help of Christians. Many thousands ran to be saved under Mary's mantle, but thousands refused to enter and laughed, mocking those who entered under the mantle. In his book "The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism" (1952) the Jesuit Herbert Thurston said that: "In the mystical state things really happen that are irreconcilable with natural laws as commonly understood", referring specifically to all the paranormal components that he had registered for his study and that were very difficult to explain. In this sense, Juan Martín Velasco affirmed that: "a greater frequency of paranormal phenomena: levitations, inedia, visions, etc.; recourse to certain representations of God and Jesus Christ: maternity of God, and even of Jesus Christ; proclivity to the evaluation of the corporal: the sufferings of passion, devotion to the Eucharist, centrality of love lived in the most intense way and with strong repercussions in the area of feelings and corporality".
And in the shamanic universe we find again the same patterns.In an article entitled "Mystical journeys of shamanism" (2009), Florian Yubero states that: "Mircea Eliade, Romanian researcher who made the first compilation on shamanism and whose books are obligatory classical texts for study, defines shamanism as the technique of ecstasy or trance, and the shaman as the great specialist who has the ability to make journeys to the region of the spirits and from there can harmonize reality.
Shamanic ecstasy, like that of certain religious traditions, such as Buddhist samadhi, Sufi fana and the Christian beatific state, is a state of transport to mystical worlds to supposedly meet spirits, gods or demons. It includes clairvoyant phenomena such as voices and visions, which provide guidance or information for some healing, for spiritual growth or solidarity in the community". Mircea Eliade, in his book "Shamanism and the archaic techniques of ecstasy" (1951) states that: "The shamanic technique par excellence consists in the passage from one cosmic region to another: from Earth to Heaven, or from Earth to hell.
The shaman knows the mystery of the rupture of levels. This communication between cosmic zones has been made possible thanks to the very structure of the universe. The universe, in fact, is conceived, grosso modo, as constituted by three regions (Heaven, Earth and Underworld), joined together by a central axis (Axis mundi). [...] This axis passes through an opening, through a hole, and through this hole the gods descend to the earth and the dead descend to the subterranean regions; likewise, through it, the soul of the ecstatic shaman can ascend or descend during his travels.
Michael Harner in "The Path of the Shaman" (20017) states that: "Shamans have been called those who see or people who know, in the language of indigenous cultures, because they are involved in a system of knowledge based on first-hand experiences. Shamanism is not a belief system, [...] shamans do not believe in spirits, shamans speak, interact with them. [...] This is very important, because shamanism is not a system of faith".
Amalia Bassedas in "Shamanism: The Legacy of the Ancestors" (2005) describes that: "The displacement of your spirit outside the limits of ordinary reality, in self-control, is the particularity of your practice, your specialty. It is through his travels that the shaman comes into contact with the world of spirits and, from these parallel territories, recovers information that will be transcendental for the prosperity of the community and the maintenance of the well-being of its members. [...] In his travels he enters into an expanded perception and understanding, hand in hand with his teachers, helpers and power animals, who await him to guide him towards the information that he will then bring to ordinary reality, or the Middle World, to be transmitted to those who need it. [...]
The shaman has the ability not only to make the journey, but also to accurately transmit the result of his exploration. [...] the spiritual world, nature and humanity are essentially linked. The shaman's skill is to bring them together. Eliade speaks of mystical light: "This mystical light is obtained by the candidate after long hours of waiting, seated on a bench in his cabin, dedicated to invoking the spirits. When he warns her for the first time "it is as if the house where she is suddenly disappears; he sees far away, through the mountains, exactly as if the Earth were a vast plain, and his eyes reach the confines of it. There is nothing hidden from him. Not only can he reach with his eyes to the remotest, but he can also discover stolen souls, even though they are in custody and hidden, in strange and very distant regions, or even though they have been snatched or led to the highest or lowest of the land of the dead".
He also points out some basic differences between shamanism and religious mysticism: "A comparison immediately comes to our thinking; that of monks, mystics and saints within Christian churches. But there is no need to force the comparison: unlike what happens in Christianity (at least in its recent history), people who declare themselves "shamans" attach considerable importance to the ecstatic experiences of their shamans; these experiences concern them personally and immediately, because it is the shamans who, making use of their trances, heal them, accompany their dead to the "Kingdom of Shadows", and serve as mediators between them and their gods, celestial or infernal, large or small. This restricted mystical minority not only directs the religious life of the community, but also, and in a way, watches over its "soul".
Visionaries and mystics all over the world have reported over the centuries experiences with unknown beings and entities that manifested themselves to certain people. According to this information it is probable that in certain circumstances our psyche can be dragged by an unknown and snatching "tsunami" that enraptured and took our senses, to unknown portions of our consciousness. And only our psyche is capable of filtering this new reality, distancing it from our own knowledge, yearnings, fears, hopes, desires; otherwise, we will only produce interferences that will prevent us from the deep knowledge that these experiences offer us...






JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH UFOS OR "QUANTUM BRIDGES" WITH AN EXPANDED REALITY

The anomalous experiences that we have recorded throughout history with different names are "quantum bridges" between two realities, physical (material) and cognitive (mental). There is a vast universe that defies our elementary laws and that can contain many vital answers about our existence (using a sort of instruction manual?).
An external agent that lives in this expanded reality, emerges from time to time to our encounter, gives us the "hand" and achieves the juxtaposition of both realities, in what stands as a psychic construction of broad ramifications (of anomalous representation: Marian visions, crypto-zoological, ghosts, UFOs, etc.).
This superposition conjugates and mixes reality and imagery, the non-apprehensive and the tangible, the chimerical and the material. Configuring psychic constructions that "randomly" choose components of mythology, folklore, archetypes and human culture. And all because the human psyche "expels" its own unconscious knowledge in these extra-dimensional contacts. Somehow the beliefs and the mental state of the people influence so that this external agent can establish this "bridge" of communication.
Although so far, we have only crossed half of this construction, since our own psyche, with all its voluminous stored information, interferes, as we say, in the perception, interpretation and translation of this reality. Access to this new stage of cognition is highly malleable and the very essence of this universe is so volatile and flexible that it builds "different layers" that are very complex to go through, and that, definitely, prevents us from appreciating the true nature of these experiences. Perhaps we are facing a simple problem of comprehension, of decoding, which makes it impossible for us to access this expanded reality. Our senses provoke an insurmountable interference. It makes it impossible for us to definitively read the manual on the functioning of the universe.
Probably, the passage of time, technology, the society of unstoppable consumption, has distanced us from the vital and essential aspects of the human being, which, after all, would be those that would allow this connection with the universe.
The purpose off all this is as simple as it is primordial. The re-connection of the mind with its vital state. The true understanding of the self and its position in the universo.



JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

DISTORTION THEORY, THE INVISIBLE THREAD: TOWARDS A UNIFIED THEORY BETWEEN ENCOUNTERS WITH ENTITIES AND UNKNOWN BEINGS

We have paid so much attention and enthusiasm to the study of flying saucers that this has prevented us from being fully aware of the clues offered by the paradigm outside the path we had taken. If the analysis of ufological casuistry, i.e. the scrutiny of incidents, has entangled us in a dead-end labyrinth, we should have opted for a parallel path.
Apply what little we have learned from UFOs and compare it with other anomalies. Since UFOs are not the first and only enigma related to the vision of strange entities and unknown beings throughout history. And this circumstance is very suspicious. For before UFOs and their elusive occupants appeared in our lives, large numbers of people claimed to have had encounters with daimons, angels, demons, fairies, big foot, ghosts, the Virgin Mary, etc. outside, apparently from any relation to the extraterrestrial context. And the most surprising thing is that, I repeat, none of these phenomena has left evidences after its passage. This is already the first point in common with our space visitors.
Therefore, in the same way that we have invested decades in the exclusive study of UFOs, we should have invested some of that time in evaluating other possibilities, analyzing the phenomenon beyond its appearances. Before considering that we were faced with a new equation, which to add to the various questions we were accumulating, we should have asked ourselves if there were interesting correlations between all these paradigms. And they exist. Excited by the singularity of the UFO paradigm we have not realized that the entire collection of odd phenomena had many keys. And it is that some of the conclusions obtained on the close encounters with UFO are perfectly able to be extrapolated to other anomalies. For the present study we have made a comparison (which can be broader) between UFOs, Marian apparitions, the Sasquatch entity, ghosts and elemental beings, each and every one of them, paradigms that stand out for being made protagonists by apparent intelligent entities, alien to the human being and that seem to interact physically with the environment. In addition, we will use the term entities to refer globally to all these beings, creatures, humanoids, etc., and the term experiences to include all the narrations of this type of encounter.

BASIC STRUCTURE: All anomalies without exception are composed of an "internal skeleton" that structures the narrative of almost all experiences (examples):

UFO: Witnesses will see "something" in the sky. This "something" will land. And crew/occupants members will descend from a ship.
MARIAN APARITIONS: Witnesses will see a stranger "light". The "light" will be transformed into a "feminine" entity. They will receive a message.
ELEMENTAL BEINGS: Witnesses will see a small entity in the forest or mountain. Witnesses will talk to these beings.
BIG FOOT: Witnesses will see an enormous hairy creature in the forest or mountain. It will disappear quickly or inexplicably.
GHOST: Witnesses will see the appearance of a deceased known or unknown person. Messages, if received, will be ambiguous.

THE UNIQUE CASES: Although there is an "internal skeleton" that validates the
experiences, these will develop in an individual and unpredictable way without sharing, beyond, the main features that the differences of the other anomalies, more details between them. Both in the appearances of the entities observed and in the messages, where all possible sizes and variants in their physiognomy are observed, it is as if the same "object" were drawn/interpreted by different painters with different styles.

EXCLUSIVE DETAILS: All experiences usually have some kind of detail or element, which we will never find represented again in another incident of the same characteristics.

THE PREVALENCE OF THE VISUAL OVER THE INFORMATIVE: Whatever the nature of these apparitions, they give greater importance to the visual component, or what is observed, than to the informative content that is going to be shared. All entities are equally ambiguous and imprecise when it comes to transferring their messages.

THE ALTERATED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS: All scholars of these fields of anomalies
have noted that the protagonists of these experiences seem to enter a state of trance, or altered state of consciousness when they are in the presence of these entities (to a lesser extent, apparently, in the case of the Big Foot entity, although it is relative).

ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE: None of these paradigms have been verified in a reliable way. No proof has been obtained from any of them. In addition, all the information obtained through the different entities has never provided relevant information or information unknown to humankind.

THE PSYCHIC COMPONENT: In one way or another it has been documented that these experiences have an important "spiritual" part, as if these entities were half physical and half psychic. In fact, even one's own experiences seem to develop on a confused border between two opposing universes (the physical or the material and the psychic or spiritual).

THE ABSURD FACTOR: All these experiences have illogical or absurd components. Or in the descriptions of the entities, in the messages, or the actions undertaken by the entities.

THE NON-EXISTENCE OF A GLOBAL STORY: It is not possible to connect the casuistry
of these anomalies (in any of the fields described) in a global history that suggests that we are in contact with the same entities, which appear again and again. The "characters" and the "narrations" show that these experiences are not connected to each other, beyond that "internal skeleton" to which we alluded in the first point. In appearances. All incidents develop as independent stories. No case has offered evidence that the same entity (with the same name and appearance) is the one that has appeared in another place on the planet before two different witnesses. And above all, the information offered by the entities, even without taking into account physical similarities, has no connection to
another event.

All these connections indicate to us that we are probably faced with the same phenomenon that has different ways of "expressing itself" through our own psyche. All the content of the experiences seems to start from human material, which would reveal that the participation of the witnesses, far from being independent of the phenomenon, would be the vital or foundational point of these contacts with that other manifested reality. Because one thing we can conclude is that we are witnessing glimpses of an unknown universe that can interact within our reality with different repercussions. In his book The Mythical Dimension Joseph Campbell said that: "The comparative study of mythologies imposes on us a unitary vision of the cultural history of humanity, since we find that subjects such as the theft of the fire of the gods, the deluge, the kingdom of the dead, the
virgin who gives birth and the resurrection of the hero appear all over the world, each time in new combinations, although their elements, like those of a kaleidoscope, are few and always the same"






JOSE ANTONIO CAR@VACA

THE UNPREDICTABLE RESULTS OF UFOS CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Why don't stories about UFOs connect in a global plot? Why does each UFO episode seem unique and unrepeatable? Why do so many different types of extraterrestrials exist? Why do some encounters with UFOs seem to be hallucinatory? Why are contacts with the crew of flying saucers absurd and nonsensical? Why are paranormal phenomena recorded in ufological experiences?
At this stage of UFO research, it is clear to us that close encounters with UFOs are not produced by usual physical events, that is, witnesses are not observing the landing of an interplanetary spacecraft manned by scientists from a distant galaxy. It is more likely that all this that we have labeled and studied as close encounters with UFOs is, in reality, fleeting visions of an expanded reality, which is sometimes perceptible to some people.
Since the dawn of humanity there has been speculation about the existence of "invisible kingdoms" inhabited by beings or entities intermediate between Gods and demons, who are able to engage in dialogue and contact with certain or chosen people. All the cultures of the earth have abundant oral and written traditions, framed in shamanic, mystical or magical rites, that describe the contacts with these alternative realities and their "inhabitants". But the most curious thing about this question, according to the varied folklore recorded, is that, even though some common structural lines (gods/demons/hidden kingdoms) have been preserved, all these "magical" traditions seem to develop differently, depending on the individual or culture that perceives them.
This would indicate that the perception and contact with this phenomenon has to undergo some kind of "influence" or "decoding" by the psyche of each witness that makes it substantially different from that of another person. And it is the main reason why these paradigms have such a personal and non-transferable patina when confronting each other.
It must be taken into account, as a vital point of our research, that on most occasions, the visions and contacts with these "invisible kingdoms" or their "dwellers" were not carried out in physical form, but that the different "initiates" did so through trances, dreams or visions, that is, in a wide spectrum of altered mental states. More than trips or physical encounters, these experiences were powerful and revealing psychic (spiritual) experiences for their protagonists.
 In the case of close encounters with UFOs, the main and perhaps only important difference for our study, with the "magical" traditions exposed above, is that, in this case, "something" from that "other" reality establishes a "bridge" of contact between both worlds. Opening a fissure through which these "invisible kingdoms" can partially access our reality. We are not facing a shaman, mystic, initiate or religious who wants to voluntarily access a mental stage that allows him to access a contact with their gods or enter their "kingdoms".
In the UFO phenomenon we are facing another scenario. At least it seems that the "vision" is embedded in the middle of our daily reality. Therefore, the casuistry that we have recorded in 70 years, would be the result of a sudden and unexpected irruption, by the witnesses, in this expanded reality that somehow "feeds back" from its unconscious to take shape before its eyes. In the UFO question, and probably in other so-called anomalies, an "external agent" from that unknown universe, for reasons that may have to do with the cerebral/neuronal conformation of witnesses, decides to establish a direct contact between both realities through the psyche of people. Therefore, witnesses are not aware of what is going to happen and are subject to modify the phenomenon in a broader and more disconcerting way than those people who have a pre-conceived interest and purpose in their contacts.
But how does this happen? These experiences originate when the "external agent" (a type of "psychic entity") that inhabits this portion of reality hidden from our ordinary senses, interacts with the psyche of witnesses, and is able to fabricate ephemeral dimensional "layers" on the border between the two universes that contain the elements described by UFO mythology. And this is caused by the interference that the human psyche produces in what is perceived.  And it is that, just as the "psychonauts" interfere in the content of their sacred or magical visions, the witnesses with the information contained in their unconscious contribute, without being aware of it, almost all the "visual/narrative" material that will configure the content of the ufological experience.
Because the psyche of the observers, by momentarily entering this reality, manages to cross the barriers of ordinary consciousness, which allows it, among other things, to construct and add elements in a scenario that stands in a border zone between both universes. And under this "psychic influence" the witnesses can interact with this other expanded reality, in a totally different way to the known one, creating its content in that same moment in an instantaneous way without having anything foreseen. For that reason, the contents are highly creative, malleable and unpredictable. And that is also why anomalous experiences manifest themselves in such a wide range of representation (ghosts, Marian apparitions, UFOs, etc.), since the archetypal, cultural, folkloric, social, etc. content of the human imaginary is so broad and rich in details and nuances that it offers an almost infinite field of "action".
UFOs are a new metaphor, a new form of expression of this expanded reality to show us the existence of a psychic universe with broad repercussions for human consciousness. The flying saucers are reactualizations of ancient myths and folklores, but they preserve the internal message: 1.- There are other realities 2.- There are other forms of life. Only the external appearance of the phenomenon is transformed as human civilization advances, since, otherwise, under other "clothes", the bearer of the message would not be at the height that the individual waits. And since people's participation determines many aspects of their experiences, it is likely that what is visualized fits the prevailing thoughts.
However, at this same time, in another cultural context, the external agent can manifest using more arcane and primitive roles. Everything depends on the witness, as a catalyst of these realities; he will build a mental construction adequate to his interests, which is the carrier of the message. Although, as we have registered, in the majority of occasions the witnesses are not able to integrate totally their anomalous experience in their daily life, and to understand really the sense and the transcendence of the perceived thing.
The technification of society and the increasingly deepening distance from human roots means that these bridges between the two universes are more difficult to establish. The encounters incited by the external agent tend to disappear in function that the individuals, the necessary keys to establish these connections are farther away from certain mental frequencies. After all, we are talking about the evolution of consciousness and the existence of other levels of reality.  Perhaps one day science in an analytical way may explain some of these issues, but what I have no doubt, is that we have chosen the longest and coldest way ...







JOSE ANTONIO CARAV@CA

 

THE INDEFINITIVE ORIGIN OF ANOMALOUS APPARITIONS

Most researchers have not assessed the strange coincidences between different phenomena, which seem to point clearly to a common origin of them. It is very strange that all the entities that have been described throughout history (daemons, fairies, angels, ghost, extraterrestrials, etc.) have adequately received an explanation or determination by researchers, describing their origin and true purpose of their appearances before humans.
Little has been made clear from the researchers of anomalies, about the nature of UFO crew members, ghosts, elves, and other amazing creatures that have appeared in our wake.
Why is there this vagueness of meaning in these manifestations? Why are they all elusive and confusing when it comes to communicating any message? But, in obvious counterpoint, the apparitions are very detailed in form and appearance, and they spare no effort in manifesting themselves broadly and blatantly, with all kinds of accessories, clothes, tools, gadgets.
However, when it comes to communicating, they are tremendously sparing in words, and on many occasions they transmit false or ridiculous information. It is very probable that these manifestations, as a whole, obey a "psycho-dimensional"  phenomenon that originates and is based on the unconscious information provided by the witnesses in conjunction with an external agent.
Thus, it seems that the entities being manifested cannot communicate any interesting or outstanding information, since, ultimately, these apparitions are mostly due to a psychic process in which the observers play a predominant role, yet there seems to be something else at work. And while the psyche of the witnesses acts as an essential catalyst that facilitates access to the encounter with this manifested unknown reality, it is not the only “actor” in the manifestation.
Polymath René Girard posited external and internal models or mediators when he discussed human desires, external mediators existing outside time or space and internal mediators that act within the social or inner human sphere. [From NYRB, 12/20/18, Page 62]
So, similarly, is it possible that in The Distortion Theory, there are two agents, internal and external, mediating what is being “observed” by a witness, one providing external materials new to the witness and one providing material from the (inner) psyche of the witness, material unique to the witness?
Therefore, while we can’t ignore or underestimate the function of the human psyche in the composition of these paradigms, we have to concede that there may be an external manifestation that condemns us to wander eternally through a labyrinth of unknowability.





JOSE ANTONIO CARAVACA
RICH REYNOLDS