July/August, 1009 – Not as simple as it seems - One mystery becomes another

©2009 by Craig R. Lang, MS CHt

When is an extraordinary event not an extraordinary event? - And then, when does it become yet another mystery, perhaps even more profound?

One of the most common descriptions of close encounters is the late-night intrusion. In the most typical scenario, the abductee is lying in bed. Suddenly he/she (most often, she) finds herself unable to move. A sudden wave of fear sweeps through her, accompanied by a sense of a strange presence in the room. The entity may touch or grab the experiencer, poking and prodding. Then it will attempt to float her out of the bed and through the wall or closed window, ascending to a waiting UFO. The abduction experience has begun in full. In total, the opening events of this abduction scenario often carry the label "sleep paralysis."

In most cases of hypnotic regression, this bedroom intrusion is found to be the beginning of yet another encounter between the experiencer and her visitors - most of the time, but not always. Occasionally, once into trance, the experiencer describes the onset of sleep paralysis. I can see the confusion and fear in her face as she relives the paralysis, the fear and the appearance of the - whatever...  

I usually respond with "please continue," often adding hypnotic deepening instructions to take the experiencer further into trance and into the experience. Often the experience deepens and the UFO encounter begins. But sometimes - nothing...

Most often, the best way to develop detail during a regression is by repetition, moving through the events repeatedly, developing detail each pass through. We repeated this several times, and once again - nothing. Increasing detail emerged about the sleep paralysis events, the experiencer's dreams, and the surrounding events of the evening. But nothing further appeared to indicate an alien encounter scenario. We repeated the narrative multiple times, looking for detail. We developed the scene as much as possible; then it was not ethical to push any further. And so we left it at that. Was there an alien abduction? We may never know. As far as we can tell, there was only the experience of sleep paralysis. The result at first seemed simple and prosaic. But then again, things are not always as simple as they seem...

In a few cases, even when no event is found, the experiencer may have described physical marks on her body. There may be physical evidence or medical side effects. Early this year, in one such case, an experiencer described major scratches on her body, along with the residual fear and other classic overt signs of possible close encounters in her life. This happened multiple times in the previous two years, scratches on her body having no apparent prosaic cause. What was taking place? Again, we don't know...

In this particular case, while in deep trance, the experiencer described a presence unlike anything in my case files (or to my knowledge, in the literature). She described the feeling of being scratched, feeling some type of instrument rubbing against her skin, her account matching closely with the actual marks. And then, following this initial scenario - nothing. There were no further interactions and no UFO abduction.

What did this person experience? I don't know; to me this case remains a mystery. It takes its place in my case files as an ambiguous cross between the dream realm and the physical realm, an overlay of realities so often seen in encounter cases.

This event doesn't appear UFO-related. But what was it? I suspect this question will remain unanswered. Was it a dream? Was it a physical intrusion? Or was it something else we do not understand? In this case, one mystery has become another. Whatever happened, the truth is not as simple as it seems...

Bio:   Craig R. Lang is a field investigator with Mutual UFO Network, and is a certified clinical hypnotherapist with the National Guild of Hypnotists.  He lives in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and conducts UFO and close encounter research in the Twin Cities metro area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul and in surrounding areas within Minnesota and Wisconsin.  He can be reached by e-mail at craig@craigrlang.com.  The Minnesota MUFON website can be reached at www.mnmufon.org. 

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