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Shamanism and Alien Abductions : a Comparative Study

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Shamanism and Alien Abductions : a Comparative Study Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 1-1-2000 Shamanism and alien abductions : a comparative study Simon Brian Harvey-Wilson Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Harvey-Wilson, S. B. (2000). Shamanism and alien abductions : a comparative study. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1389 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1389 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. Where the reproduction of such material is done without attribution of authorship, with false attribution of authorship or the authorship is treated in a derogatory manner, this may be a breach of the author’s moral rights contained in Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Courts have the power to impose a wide range of civil and criminal sanctions for infringement of copyright, infringement of moral rights and other offences under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. USE OF THESIS The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis. �BRARY�IWll...rrv' Shamanism and Alien Abductions A Comparative Study. by Simon Brian Harvey-Wilson, B.A. (ANU) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Arts (Religious Studies) Faculty of Community Services, Education and Social Sciences Edith Cowan University Perth, Western Australia December 2000 2 Abstract Some UFO researchers (ufologists) claim that being abducted by aliens can be compared with shamanic initiation experiences in traditional societies in that both types of experience may be similarly transformative, leading to a more spiritual or animistic world-view, a deep concern for the environment and the development of paranormal abilities such as healing. This qualitative study is designed to investigate the validity of such claims. The research aim is to see whether the experiences and subsequent world-view of eleven alien abductees (eight women and three men) from a local abduction support group are similar to those of the typical shaman and, if so, what those similarities are. To do this, material gathered from in-depth interviews with the abductees is compared with the anthropological literature on shamanism, especially shamanic initiation experiences, from all parts of the world. 3 Declaration I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief: 1. incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education; 2. contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; or 3. contain any defamatory material. Signed: �� ·'\��'j�� Date: �o "'�L�\ \ \ 4 Acknowledgments I wish to thank Mary Rodwell and those members of the abduction support group without whose co-operation this research would not have been possible. Thank you also to my supervisor Anne Harris for her patience, support and encouragement. 5 Table of Contents Page Abstract 2 Declaration 3 Acknowledgments 4 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background 7 1.2 Research Question 13 1.3 Organisation of the thesis 15 1.4 Definition of terms 16 Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 18 2.2 Review of ufologyliterature 22 2.3 Review of anthropological literature 50 2.4 Summary of literature review 55 Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Target population 56 3.2 Design 58 3.3 Procedure 60 3.4 Ethical considerations 61 3.5 Analysis of interviews 62 3.6 Validity & Reliability 62 Analysis _of lntery_iews Chapter 4 Initiation & Transformation 67 4.1 Childhood Antecedents 67 4.2 Early Religious Beliefs 72 4.3 Inverted Lives 74 4.4 Dreams & Out-of-Body Experiences 76 4.5 Spirit Animals 79 4.6 Initiation Illness & Refusal 82 4.7 Controlling the Spirits 84 4.8 Transformation 86 4.9 Animism 91 4.10 Visions of Disaster 96 6 Chapter 5 Origins, Genetics & Spiritual Relationships 98 5.1 Genetics 98 5.2 Creation Myths & Ancestors 102 5.3 Spiritual Relationships 103 5.4 Heredity 107 Chapter 6 Spirituality & Otherworld Encounters 111 6.1 Aliens & Spirituality 112 6.2 Spirit Realms & Consciousness 114 6.3 Psychopomp 117 6.4 Good & Bad Spirits 118 6.5 Theophany 120 6.6 The Underworld & Underground Bases 126 Chapter 7 Healing & Other Paranormal Abilities 130 7.1 Early Paranormal Experiences 130 7.2 Healing Abilities 132 7.3 Spirit Helpers 134 7.4 Self-healing 135 7.5 Dismemberment & Skeletonization 137 7.6 Poltergeist Activity 139 Chapter 8 Summary & Discussion 145 8.1 Summary 145 8.2 Discussion & Suggestions for Further Research 149 References 152 Appendices 1 Statement of Disclosure 159 2 Interview Consent Form 160 3 Guide List of Questions 161 7 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The physicist Paul Davies, who won the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in May 1995, writes that: The discovery of life beyond Earth would transform not only our science but also our religions, our belief systems and our entire world view. For in a sense, the search for extraterrestrial life is really a search for ourselves-who we are and what our place is in the grand sweep of the cosmos. (1996, p.66) In his book Are We Alone? Implications of the Discoveryof Extraterrestrial Life (1995), Davies also notes the spiritual component of some UFO beliefs. "What we see in the UFO culture seems to be an expression in the quasi-technological language appropriate to our space age of ancient supernatural beliefs, many of which are an integral part of the folk memory of all cultures" (p.87). Reports of UFOs, alien abductions and paranormal phenomena, whether factual, fictitious or a mix of the two, are becoming increasingly popular in the Western media. Television programs such as The X Files and Roswell, films such as Independence Day and Men In Black, numerous books, and a proliferation of Internet sites, attest to the public's fascination with these subjects. A cover story in LIFE Magazine (Fox, 2000, p.46) discusses the paradoxical situation whereby the relatively new science of astrobiology, sponsored largely by the Unites States space agency NASA, believes that life almost certainly exists elsewhere in the universe but has not yet visited Earth, while on the other hand a January 2000 LIFE Magazine poll of 1,564 over-eighteen-year-olds revealed that 30% of them believed that extraterrestrial beings had already visited Earth (Fox, 2000, p.56). Furthermore, 43% of those polled believed that UFOs were real; 49% of them believed that the US government was withholding information about the existence of UFOs; while 1% claimed to have "had an encounter with beings from another planet," and 6% knew someone who had had such an encounter (p.56). 8 The article also suggests a religious component to the belief in extraterrestrial beings. "Mainstream religion once protected most of us from that dark, frightening sky: God lived there. But the more our probes reach into it-and come up empty -the more we flail about, fashioning our own explanations" (Fox, 2000, p.56). If those poll results were applied to the entire population of the United States, it would suggest that about 2.5 million American citizens (1% of 250 million) believe they have encountered beings from other planets. There would obviously be those who would dispute such figures, and it is not the purpose of this research to debate them. Nevertheless, as a result of the number of people claiming to have been abducted by aliens, UFO abduction support groups have sprung up in many American and Australian cities in the last few years (Rodwell, 1998, p.30). For example, in 1993, the Harvard psychiatrist Dr John E. Mack founded the Program for Extraordinary Experience Research (PEER) under the auspices of the Center for Psychology and Social Change in Cambridge, Massachusetts. PEER's role is to foster "a deeper understanding of experienced encounters with intelligent nonhuman beings, the phenomenon commonly called 'alien abductions'" (Mack, 1994, p.433). In June 1992, Mack co-chaired an Abduction Study Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Papers presented there discussed the nature of evidence for abduction reports; the psychologyof abductees and the ethical considerations involved in studying and assisting them; various hypotheses to explain abductions; and where abduction researchers should look next (Pritchard, Pritchard, Mack, Kasey & Yapp, 1994). A conference paper presented by Alexander (1994) made some astute observations about the difficultyin studying alien abductions. "The needs of participants [abductees] frequently are at odds with those of researchers" (p.343). Abductees generally want help, while researchers want hard data. Numerous possibly competing priorities further confused the issue. If UFOs and abductions are to be taken seriously, then the media might want more sensational stories about aliens; 9 the military might want classified access to propulsion and energydetails; religious leaders might insist on demonising aliens until reassured that their religious beliefs would not undermine current doctrine; exobiologists might want the specifics of extraterrestrial anatomy; and politicians might be worried about financial chaos, social disruption, and a possible loss of authority.
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