By Steve Hammons
Researchers, journalists and others seem to be re-evaluating reports about unconventional U.S. defense and intelligence activities regarding contact and interaction with extraterrestrial life.
The “situation awareness” about possible visitation to Earth by extraterrestrials, as well as other emerging scientific understanding about many phenomena, appears to be steadily improving.
The nature of time and space, advanced research in human consciousness and the nature of apparent mysterious intelligences in the Universe or “multi-verse” are just a few of the key areas in leading-edge and forward-leaning investigations.
There are specific areas of interest and study as well as broad themes and indications that probably are worth paying significant attention to.
There are misconceptions as well as misinformation about some anomalous and mysterious phenomena. And, there are many areas of importance that we just don’t fully understand, according to some researchers.
RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION
To address, respond to and enhance increasing interest in various kinds of edge-science developments, new education, communication and information platforms are coming forward.
For example, Open Minds Production in Tempe, Arizona, provides online news, radio, TV and related resources about certain unconventional areas of study. Their Open Minds magazine also explores extraterrestrial contacts, UFO research and other fascinating topics.
Interestingly, Tempe is also home to Arizona State University’s Beyond Center for Fundamental Research, led by Dr. Paul Davies, author of the book The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The Beyond Center, staffed by ASU professors from diverse fields, is investigating and discussing a wide and deep range of emerging scientific knowledge.
The new magazine EdgeScience, associated with the Society for Scientific Exploration, recently published its third edition. This publication also looks at forward-leaning views and research in a variety of scientific fields.
And, information continues to surface about the U.S. defense and intelligence communities’ research into human consciousness, extrasensory perception and remote viewing.
Usually referred to by the final code name known to the public, Project STAR GATE, these research and operational intelligence activities provided tremendous new understanding about the potential of human perception and awareness.
Through these and other efforts, there appears to be increasing awareness that there is much to be learned and understood about unknowns and mysteries in Nature around us and within us.
SECRET GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
The recent attention paid to an account of the alleged U.S. investigation, apprehension, interrogation and “deportation” of a human-looking extraterrestrial reflects changing perspectives on such possible situations.
Referred to as “Operation TANGO-SIERRA” in recent online accounts, in 1980 U.S. defense and intelligence agents reportedly intervened in the ongoing contact between the extraterrestrial and a federal employee that had begun in 1977.
The initial source for this report is allegedly one of a handful of current and former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officials who for the last several years have been releasing information about U.S. government activities involving extraterrestrial contact.
The DIA source put a researcher and educator, Victor Martinez, in touch with another source from an unnamed government agency. Martinez then passed the report on via e-mail to a large list of researchers, current and former government officials, and others.
These same current or former DIA officials had reportedly followed similar procedures leading up to the release of information in late 2005 about an exchange program between the U.S. and a friendly extraterrestrial race of beings.
The program, which reportedly began in the early 1960s, sent 12 carefully selected and trained U.S. military personnel to the home planet of these extraterrestrials for a planned ten-year stay.
The effort, referred to in the releases as “Project SERPO,” may have been the basis for part of Steven Spielberg’s 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Are reports about Operation TANGO-SIERRA and Project SERPO entirely true? Are they partially accurate mixed with inaccurate information? This is obviously difficult to determine. It is possible that there are truths “between the lines,” though the details might be altered or even untrue.
The broad concepts about UFOs, extraterrestrial visitation and U.S. government engagement in the situation may, though, be truthful. What general messages can be taken from these two accounts?
It seems that some of the main themes are: ETs and possibly other anomalous intelligences are here on Earth, certain U.S. government elements have been actively involved for quite a while and the situation is complex, sensitive and challenging.
In addition, the wider public may have a “need to know” through a gradual, safe and steady process of information, communication, education and acclimation.
For more information, visit Open Minds Production at OpenMinds.tv, the Arizona State University Beyond Center and the first three editions of EdgeScience magazine on the Web site of the Society for Scientific Exploration.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Awareness grows about extraterrestrials, consciousness, emerging mysteries
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Human-looking ETs secretly in US?
By Steve Hammons
According to accounts released Saturday, April 24, 2010, by the coordinator of an e-mail news and information service, officials of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) and other U.S. government agencies have been involved in security activities regarding human-appearing extraterrestrial beings in the U.S.
Victor Martinez, the e-mail information coordinator, is a former federal employee with an interest in space, defense and current affairs. Recipients of his e-mail news items include a wide variety of people interested in emerging and leading-edge scientific and other developments.
In his April 24 information release, Martinez quoted one of his alleged established contacts, one of a handful of current or former officials of the DIA, regarding any new or updated information on extraterrestrial encounters that would be of interest to the public.
The DIA contact reportedly provided information about the monitoring and intervention by U.S. officials regarding a particular extraterrestrial being posing as a human within the U.S., Martinez wrote in his e-mail report.
The contact also noted the more general issue of extraterrestrials visiting Earth who may blend in with the human population, for various reasons.
According to Martinez, his contact stated, “In reference to your repeated requests to present some new information never before disclosed to the public … I went outside of our agency to close intelligence contacts of mine and secured the following … I just received information on a highly sensitive operation code-named ‘Operation TANGO-SIERRA’ that occurred in early 1980. It involved U.S. intelligence capturing an alien being living among us.”
FEDERAL EMPLOYEE ABDUCTED
The contact also allegedly told Martinez, “Here is the story. Personally, I've never heard of this particular operation before in all of my years in intelligence circles and employment. This information extracted about the alien is still highly classified and extremely difficult to obtain.”
“From what I've learned, except for former presidents Carter, Reagan and Bush I, most presidents since then have not been briefed on this specific operation.”
Martinez went on to report that an apparently new source, established via his long-time contacts, provided additional details on this alleged operation.
The new source reportedly wrote, “I am an intelligence colleague of the man whom you have come know as ‘Anonymous’ who has asked me to brief you on a very special USG operation.”
“I was directly involved with ‘Operation TANGO-SIERRA.’ It involved the finding, tracking and eventual capture of an extraterrestrial entity.”
“The original operation began in early 1980 when an Earth female was identified by U.S. intelligence as being a so-called ‘alien abductee.’ She had been abducted by a male non-human in 1977 which was her first abduction,” the source allegedly told Martinez.
“This woman was single, 23-years-old and a trusted, well-respected U.S. government employee.”
“The male non-human showed the Earth woman abductee projections of alien life on another planet. The projection was from a small, triangle device. The woman viewed this projection which she described as images displayed in a 3-dimensional ‘holographic’ view.”
The information source also claimed, “The male non-human never harmed the Earth woman abductee. During the three years of her ongoing abduction, the Earth woman was taken by the male non-human through a ‘veil of light’ to another place. The Earth woman described this place as being ‘a light bubble.’ She would sit inside the bubble and view these holographic projections with the male non-human.”
“On one occasion, the male non-human introduced the Earth woman to another male, whom the Earth woman described in debriefing details as not being human, i.e., not being an Earth male abductee. The Earth woman called this other being a 'creature.’”
“This creature performed a medical examination on the Earth woman. The woman did not fully consent to the alien's examination as she was temporarily paralyzed. After the examination, the woman was taken back to her residence.”
COUNTERMEASURE OPERATION BEGINS
According to Martinez’ source or sources, this federal employee’s experience triggered an investigation. The source reportedly stated, “When the Earth woman brought up her abduction by a male alien to the attention of a co-worker, the co-worker contacted an office security official, who then contacted U.S. intelligence officials.”
“U.S. intelligence spent hours and hours vetting the woman's story, conducting thorough background investigations, performing surveillance, and administering several polygraph examinations.”
“The Earth woman's story was eventually deemed to be factually true and correct. U.S. intelligence then mounted a very special, highly classified operation to capture this alien being, who lived near Landover, Maryland.”
The source(s) also claimed, “In early 1980, the 7602 Air Intelligence Wing, Section III, began a detailed, intense investigation involving the presence of extraterrestrial creatures having infiltrated the highest levels of the United States government.”
“This information originated from several abductees, who underwent extensive screening to determine their credibility.”
“With the assistance of the 4th District, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, a highly classified operation was launched, code named: ‘Operation TANGO-SIERRA’ to find, detain and debrief that ‘human’ and determine whether or not he was an actual extraterrestrial creature/non-human and an imminent or potential threat to our national security.”
“The entire operation lasted five months and involved approximately 60 intelligence officers. Every intelligence gathering capability was utilized at the time: Ground, aerial surveillance, telephone wiretaps, photographic evidence and other undisclosed clandestine operations were all conducted and some simultaneously in concert with one another.”
The source also stated, "The non-human entity was quickly identified, carefully watched, photographed and eventually captured near a shopping mall (southeast of Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland) after it walked up an embankment. It was quickly determined that this male alien had no special powers nor abilities.”
“The male non-human voluntarily complied with the U.S. intelligence AFOSI special agents and went quietly and without incident. The male non-human was then remanded to custody and placed in captivity at Ft. Belvoir Army Post, Virginia.”
NON-HUMAN INTERROGATED
Martinez’ source(s) also allegedly reported, “The male non-human was interrogated by teams of AFOSI special agents over several weeks and in total was questioned and intensely interrogated for many months by other agencies.”
“It was during this time that the male non-human disclosed its race, its resident planet and the reason it came to Earth. The male alien basically cooperated and provided details of its life on his alien home world.”
“The non-human entity was released on the direct orders of then President Carter in late 1980, and subsequently left Earth and returned to its home planet.”
“The male non-human originated from the star system Delta Pavonis, 20 light-years from Earth where it was the 4th planet from their sun. It is roughly the same size as our Earth.”
“We called the captured alien Septeloids. That was the identifying alien species name given to them by the astrobiologists on our team. I have no idea how they picked that name as well as some of the other odd-sounding alien species names ending with the suffix of ‘loid.’”
“The travel time to Earth was 18 Earth months using a very complex propulsion system and time-space displacement travel mode. Back then in 1980, we could not understand the alien propulsion system and we never saw his spacecraft.”
“When President Carter let the male non-human leave, he just vanished. I was never in the intelligence loop as to how he left or how he departed Earth,” Martinez’ source reportedly stated.
“These aliens from Delta Pavonis have been visiting Earth for 100 Earth years. Apparently, they could assume the human shape and form and easily live among us.”
“I'm not sure how they learned English so well nor other languages. You've got to remember that this was extreme compartmentalization. I knew just what I was suppose to know. There is much more to the alien debriefing that I do not know.”
“From what I've learned over the years, this race of alien beings originally came to Earth as explorers about a century ago.”
“With respect to the male non-human’s employment, he worked as a records keeper for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce in Washington D.C. He was able to manufacture his own identification documents by assuming the name/ID of a deceased Earth human.”
“He was in a career that did not require a high-level security clearance thereby enabling him to escape the much greater scrutiny given to ‘Secret’ clearance level background checks and above.”
ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIVE OUTCOMES
Martinez quotes his source as stating, “Although they possessed the human shape, form and basic anatomy, they were not human beings like you and me. Their actual, normal, ‘real’ appearance was that of a hideous-looking creature that would most certainly scare, frighten and terrify a normal Earth human.”
“Above all, they did not have any extra powers nor abilities. They had no weapons and never tried to harm Earth humans. Their sole intent and stated mission was that they just wanted to study Earth humans and obtain the basic structure of the human body, anatomy and social interplay.”
“I don't know how many others of this specific type of aliens were among us as I was not authorized that specific highly classified information,” the source reportedly told Martinez.
“However, I am positive that there were more similar-type operations than just this one. ‘Operation TANGO-SIERRA’ was just one operation that lasted nine months from start to finish in the D.C. area.”
“U.S. intelligence had more such operations around the U.S., with one in the southwest and another in the northwest, but I don't know for sure on the location details.”
In apparent response to a question Martinez posed, the source reportedly responded, “As for other visiting alien races, we knew of nine of them.”
“The Ebens were the nicest while the Trantaloids were the ugliest, meanest sons-a-bitches and most dangerous.”
“I only know that the very inner circle of our government knows. That is about all I can tell you. I never spoke with the male non-human in ‘Operation TANGO-SIERRA,’ but I was actively involved in this operation. Most of the older fellows who knew all of this are dead now. Former CIA Director Richard M. Helms was our boss for this operation. He died some years ago.
Martinez noted in his report that Navy Adm. Stansfield Turner was CIA director at the time.
“The CIA/DIA/NSA were all involved as well as one or two FBI special agents, but they were never fully briefed.”
“The lead agency was the 7602nd that operated out of Ft. Belvoir. Those guys were the best of the best. I was the lead case officer for the surveillance part of the operation. I was very good at that. I was trained by the best and worked inside the old Soviet Union for many, many years.”
“I could follow the devil around and he would never know it. Most of the UFO operations – clandestine, that is – were performed by the 7602nd.”
“In fact, the CIA came to them for their specialized training. The 7602nd Air Intelligence Wing remained secret for many years. Although it was a U.S. Air Force unit, the unit contained all branches of the armed forces except the Marines ... we never could train those guys!”
Martinez’ alleged new contact also reportedly advised him, “Your Anonymous source is probably someone I know since we have a very close-knit intel group who meets about once a month where we discuss items of mutual interest. We all live in the [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. We have many intel contacts in Texas, especially Austin.”
“We used to have a much larger group, but over the years, time has taken its share of our beloved, cherished friends ... ”
“I hope all of this works out for you. Good luck, Mr. Martinez.”
FURTHER RELATED BACKGROUND
One of Martinez' sources also commented on other longstanding reports within the leading-edge community researching allegations of extraterrestrial visitation to Earth.
"The ‘Yellow Book’ is quite an extraordinary piece of alien technology. It was given to us by the Ebens. It tells the entire history of their race, planet and most of the history of the universe as well as our own. As far as I know, no one has ever viewed the ‘Yellow Book’ to its very end. As you stated in one of your releases, it would take an entire lifetime to read it and yet another to understand it.”
Martinez indicates he posed a question to the source about the alleged operation that has been referred to as "Project SERPO,” a mission reportedly begun in the early 1960s that sent a 12-person team of specially-trained U.S. military personnel on a planned ten-year exchange program to the Ebens’ home planet.
“I was briefed into this very special project many years ago, but only as a trainer. I was not sure of the exact nature of this project until I read all about it on the Serpo.org Web site.”
“Like all other operations and special projects, SERPO was highly compartmentalized. I have now read the entire SERPO story, which I never knew was even posted on the Internet until I was placed in contact with you. I learned much from it and it looks like you pretty much have the entire story.”
“I congratulate and commend you for getting this very important piece of America's ‘hidden’ history out. I really enjoyed reading this information. I just shared it with many of my old intel friends – and they knew about it! It's truly an amazing story … ”
“I guess there still is a controversy on whether two women went or not. At least one went for sure. I knew six of them while in training as their instructor. Two were nurses, one was a linguist and I'm not sure about the others with the passage of time.”
Martinez claims his source also explained, “There was a ‘Group-6’ that was involved in the Roswell Incident cover up. ‘Group-6’ controlled the administrative side of all UFO investigations at the time. It was centered in New Mexico.”
“It primarily involved the 1121 Special Activities Squadron of the USAF. It also thoroughly investigated the famous Lonnie Zamora contact incident of Friday, April 24, 1964, in Socorro, NM; I remember it well because I was stationed in NM then.”
“There was in fact an MJ-12 group which stood for ‘Majority Group-12.’ It was comprised of 12 USG officials who controlled, managed and directed every aspect of the UFO phenomenon. Most of the officials were governmental types, but some were not. That ‘MJ-12’ name was changed some years ago which I understand you know.”
The source also reportedly stated to Martinez that the home world of the alleged hostile alien species, the Trantaloids, “is the third planet out from the star Epsilon Eridani in the constellation Eridanus at 10.5 light-years away. Although somewhat cooler and fainter than our sun, it is very similar.”
Martinez’ source also advised him that “ … since this information originated outside of our agency, this is all I can provide you with at the moment.”
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Can troops find hidden bombs with sixth sense?
By Steve Hammons
Recent research has determined that some U.S. military personnel are better than others in the ability to detect hidden improvised explosive devices (IEDs). But why?
According to a U.S. Army research project, troops raised in rural and forested areas seemed to be better at it. Troops who grew up in tough urban areas also seem to excel in this kind of perception.
The common denominator is “situational awareness (SA)” that is key to hunting and being aware in the natural environment as well as in dangerous neighborhoods where people can become a victim of violence or other crime.
But what other important factors might be in play? And how might the understanding of human perception and consciousness benefit all of us?
In the first issue of the fascinating new magazine EdgeScience (October 2009 edition), editor Patrick Huyghe’s article “Straight from the Gut” explored the two-year Army study on perception led by researcher and psychologist Steven Burnett. Huyghe also took a look at some of the media coverage on the study.
In addition, he notes the work of other well-known researchers on human consciousness who propose that other interesting elements may affect troops’ abilities to perceive IEDs.
These theories, backed up by significant research, note that hunches, intuition and gut feelings might be linked to the acquisition of information through human consciousness in ways we do not fully understand.
The conscious perception that something is going on that we need to be aware of might be related to factors other than clues in the physical environment that troops and all of us process consciously and unconsciously.
In some cases, another kind of perception may kick in. These may be split-second premonitions or what has been called “presentiment.” Troops and all humans (and maybe many animals) can use perceptual abilities and resources that have sometimes been called “anomalous cognition” of various types.
The recognition of danger, linked directly to personal and group survival, is a fundamental priority of human consciousness. As part of this perceptual priority, do we have a “sixth sense” that supplements and assists our other five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste?
MEDIA COVERAGE
In Huyghe’s EdgeScience magazine piece, he examined the New York Times article on the Army study by Benedict Carey who Huyghe described as "an experienced science writer hired by the Times in 2004 to cover human behavior and psychology.” The headline of Carey’s July 27, 2009, article was “In Battle, Hunches Prove to be Valuable.”
In Carey’s article, he notes, “The United States military has spent billions on hardware, like signal jamming technology, to detect and destroy” IEDs. He also explains that IEDs “have proved to be the greatest threat in Iraq and now in Afghanistan.”
“Still, high-tech gear, while helping to reduce casualties, remains a mere supplement to the most sensitive detection system of all – the human brain. Troops on the ground, using only their senses and experience, are responsible for foiling many IED attacks,” Carey wrote.
Carey also pointed out, “Everyone has hunches – about friends’ motives, about the stock market, about when to fold a hand of poker and when to hold it. But United States troops are now at the center of a large effort to understand how it is that in a life-or-death situation, some people’s brains can sense danger and act on it well before others do.”
Another article, this one in the Los Angeles Times, also examined the Army study. “Some troops have a sixth sense for bombs” was written by Tony Perry and published Oct. 28, 2009.
Reporting from the U.S. Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms, Calif., Perry wrote, “Military researchers have found that two groups of personnel are particularly good at spotting anomalies: those with hunting backgrounds, who traipsed through the woods as youths looking to bag a deer or turkey; and those who grew up in tough urban neighborhoods, where it is often important to know what gang controls which block.”
Perry added, “Of the bombs spotted before they could kill or maim, an estimated 90% were detected by someone, for instance, sensing something amiss along a dusty roadside in the southern Afghan province of Helmand or a crowded street in the western Iraqi city of Fallouja.”
Both articles by Carey and Perry examined the Army research project in some depth, interviewed researchers and troops, and explored theories of training to perceive threats and possible psychological aspects of this perception.
But, did either article (or the Army researchers) “take the next step” as EdgeScience magazine editor Huyghe called it?
Huyghe pointed out in his article that extensive studies “show that the brain actually anticipates emotionally charged situations, not only before the person is aware of them, but before any hint of them is available in any way, shape, or form.”
In other words, there are significant experimental and experiential indications that we have the capability to perceive things before they happen in linear time.
This view is consistent with research from the U.S. joint military and intelligence project of the 1970s, ‘80s and early ‘90s generally referred to as Project STAR GATE. This project documented and used aspects of human perception and human consciousness that did “take the next step.”
A subsequent 2001 research paper by a Navy SEAL officer, prepared as part of his studies at the Marine Corps War College, proposed that implications from Project STAR GATE seem to demonstrate the advantages of learning more about human perceptual abilities.
In addition, he suggested that incorporating this kind of emerging understanding can be a key part of what he called “transcendent warfare.”
Project STAR GATE research and operational activities involved what some might call extrasensory perception (ESP). The project involved strict protocols trying to make use of this kind of perception. These formal procedures and methods were key parts of what was eventually called “remote viewing.”
Science journalists could focus more on these developments. In fact, journalists covering many kinds of beats may find important elements related to their work.
SITUATION AWARENESS
Interestingly, in the second edition of EdgeScience magazine (January-March 2010), a letter to the editor was published that provided more useful information on these subjects.
EdgeScience reader John MacLean explained that as a college instructor in Utah, he teaches a class in the “Technology Management Program” called “Reliability Engineering and Safety.” MacLean noted, “One of the chapters in this course is situational awareness.”
MacLean provided a short definition of situation awareness (SA): knowing what is going on around you.
In addition to MacLean’s succinct definition, SA has also been described as the perception of environmental factors within time and space, understanding the meaning of the factors and anticipating possible outcomes in the near future.
SA has become an important area in military activities, aviation safety, emergency services, critical engineering operations and similar fields.
“In this class we discuss how to have situational awareness and how to recognize when you have lost it. There are 11 clues that can be observed in one’s operating vocations that tell you that you are losing your situational awareness,” Maclean explained.
He points out in his letter to the editor that the 11 clues to the loss of situational awareness are primarily involved with conventional awareness of instrumentation, communication, adherence to standard procedures and similar aspects.
However, he notes that one of the clues involves “confusion, apprehensive feeling or gut feeling that something is wrong."
MacLean wrote, “Many dismiss various explanations as the subconscious observing a bad developing situation or seeing several of the clues by the subconscious. Personally, although some of these other explanations may be valid, I am wondering if precognition may be operable in these situations that are generally life threatening.”
MacLean goes on to explain how this “gut feeling” clue appears to have been demonstrated. He wrote, “An incident several years ago occurred with a Flying Tigers Airlines 747 on approach to Kuala Lumpur in Indonesia in the middle of a very dark night. From the direction they were on approach, the Instrument Landing System was out of service and they would have had to go another hundred miles to come in from the other direction where it was in service.”
“While several of the clues to losing awareness were eventually present, the first officer tried to get the captain to do the fly around, saying on three occasions, ‘Captain, I really don’t feel good about this, let’s go around and use the instrument system.’ These protestations occurred before any of the other clues were observable,” MacLean said.
“Because of the ultimate presence of several of the clues, unrecognized, they flew into a mountain. The other four clues were observable only just prior to the crash. From the data I observed in this incident, it appears the first officer’s comments were begun at least 15-20 minutes prior to the other four clues being observable.”
MacLean concludes his letter with a thank you to EdgeScience editor Huyghe. “The info you supplied in your article ('Straight From the Gut,' EdgeScience No.1) will be valuable in my class when we discuss situational awareness. I can’t put my finger on it precisely, but I have a feeling the ideas on precognition may be interacting somehow in the other 10 clues. Something to continue to ponder. Great article.”
NEUROBIOLOGY AND QUANTUM PHYSICS
From SA training to premonitions, ESP and remote viewing, we see a growing body of research and knowledge about human perception and human consciousness.
New studies in neurobiology are looking more closely at how the human mind and body might be processing information from our environment that we have no conscious knowledge of. And when we say “our environment,” we can no longer limit the meaning of this term to the immediate environment that we can see, hear, touch, smell or taste.
Our perception can apparently reach out beyond these five senses. The hypothesized sixth sense may work both independently of, and in cooperation with our other five senses. And, we may have other sensory abilities we do not understand. These might have neurological, chemical and biological aspects.
We may even have some kind of perceptual abilities like the radar and sonar that some other mammals seem to use.
Emerging understanding from quantum physics implies that consciousness itself can be in more than one place at a time. Beyond the physical level of reality there may be more exotic energies and forces that work in mysterious ways.
Consciousness may not be bound by limitations of only the five senses and other possible neurobiological perceptions, nor bound by time and space.
The recent Army study into troops’ ability to perceive IEDs seems to be another valuable step in the analysis of human perception, especially in the maintenance of safety and survival. However, as EdgeScience editor Huyghe noted, maybe we must be willing to go beyond some of the more conventional and limited perspectives.
The safety and survival of our troops, and all of us, are of the utmost importance. In addition, the larger field of human development may be an issue. Should current training and education in diverse and widespread settings include more robust examination of the emerging understanding about human perception?
Let’s catch up to the leading edge of the research and knowledge in these areas and provide training for our troops, students, professionals and people in all walks of life. Let’s cover these developments in science journalism and in the broader media.
Our safety, survival and success may depend on it.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Science journalism faces media changes, emerging discoveries
By Steve Hammons
(A version of this article appears in the April-June 2010 edition of EdgeScience magazine on the website of the Society for Scientific Exploration.)
“Weird science” and “weird science journalism” may reconfigure how science is explored, communicated and understood.
The field of journalism is going through significant changes as print and broadcast media are transformed by electronic media of various kinds.
Science journalism is no exception. It now includes a wider range of potential communication platforms that provide opportunities to include expanded content and focus. The professionalism and credibility of some paraprofessional and citizen journalists is sometimes questioned, with good reason.
Sometimes, this growth of paraprofessional and citizen journalism is perceived as, and generally acknowledged to be, a trend that has some negative aspects. However, parts of these changes are related to more vigorous coverage of topics that science journalists may have been covering inadequately.
Often sticking with safe and conventional science topics, some traditional science journalists might have missed very interesting emerging developments in a range of scientific areas.
EMERGING VIEWS
Certain topics deemed unconventional, anomalous, metaphysical, fringe or even paranormal may, in fact, be very legitimate subjects that science journalists can cover. In the area of emerging discoveries, the public may be ahead of some science journalists in recognizing coming trends.
Where to begin? Interesting discoveries have been made in the fields of human psychology and consciousness, quantum physics and unidentified phenomena in the skies, to name a few.
Granted, some of the normal scientific inquiry and scientific journalism coverage over past decades may have been stifled by national security restrictions on these topics. However, the times are a changing and topics that previously were kept under tight security may now be more appropriate for public education and acclimation.
For example, the U.S. defense and intelligence communities’ research and operational activities often referred to as Project STAR GATE were top secret for over two decades.
However, since the mid-1990s, information on the rigorous scientific protocols involved has been declassified and released. These activities made highly significant discoveries about the nature and capabilities of human consciousness.
What has been called “anomalous cognition” might actually be just alternative cognition, complementary cognition or integrative cognition.
This research also led to the innovative concept of “transcendent warfare,” a term coined by a Navy SEAL officer.
Related to these consciousness studies, quantum physics research has uncovered further anomalous indications that seem to point toward revised views of the nature of the Universe. Some researchers now refer to the Universe as a multiverse where various dimensions interact and intersect.
And then there is the topic of what we generally refer to as unidentified flying objects (UFOs). This terminology could now be somewhat obsolete – at least in the cases of some UFOs. According to many respectable and reliable researchers, some UFOs that appear to be solid craft might be identified.
Some may be U.S. advanced aircraft or spacecraft. Some may be spacecraft of a more exotic origin. Some may not be solid objects and could be various kinds of phenomena we do not fully understand, but should try to.
OPEN MINDS
When considering these and other unconventional scientific topics, it might be useful for science journalists to abandon the term paranormal and think about aspects of them that may be normal and natural, and therefore worthy of normal journalistic inquiry.
Again, science journalism can possibly be excused over past decades of inattention to certain unconventional topics because of security measures that discouraged legitimate coverage of them.
This excuse may no longer be valid.
If science journalists want to attract readers, viewers and audiences who are interested in relevant and meaningful topics, the integration of conventional and more unconventional journalistic coverage is probably appropriate.
In this sense, integrative journalism may be similar to the concept of integrative medicine or integrative cognition – taking the best of both conventional and emerging science to create more useful perspectives and understanding.
Avoiding responsible and thorough coverage of important scientific subjects, including the unconventional, may diminish the perceived relevance of science journalism for millions of Americans and people worldwide.
More important than the fate of establishment science journalists, the human race may be affected by the lack of open-minded inquiry about vitally important emerging phenomena and developments.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
‘Avatar’ also story of deep DNA within many Americans
By Steve Hammons
Sunday, February 7, 2010
ESP in sports: Watch ‘sixth sense’ in Super Bowl
By Steve Hammons
This year’s Super Bowl might show us examples of ESP in sports.
It is well known that constant practice in sports and “situational awareness” can combine to allow an athlete to perform “on instinct.”
Intense focus in the here and now in the middle of multiple rapidly-occurring events in a sport contest can combine to create an environment where athletes can experience “anomalous cognition,” meaning unusual or unconventional perception and awareness.
Many people have read about ESP in fields like intelligence (U.S. Project STAR GATE), police work and martial arts, but the frequency of anomalous cognition in sports may not be as widely recognized.
What do we mean by the word instinct? Some researchers believe that instincts are also related to a “sixth sense” that can transcend our normal view of perception. That is, we can perceive in ways in addition to, complementary to, though slightly different than, our five senses of sight, touch, hearing taste and smell.
Some researchers suspect that ESP and anomalous cognition are not unusual at all. Rather, this is a natural part of human consciousness. It is not paranormal – it is normal. We might even call it “complementary cognition” or “integrative cognition.”
TWO RECON PIONEERS
When the book "Golf in the Kingdom" by Michael Murphy was published in 1972, many people interested in sports had not fully considered the impact of unconventional consciousness in athletics. His 1992 book "The Future of the Body" also addresses related subjects.
Murphy was co-founder of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where many elements of the human potential movement and expanded human consciousness were explored. In his younger days, Murphy had served in the U.S. Army as a psychology specialist.
The interests and perspectives of Murphy and many of his colleagues involved in the human potential movement were recently explored in the movie "The Men Who Stare at Goats."
A close associate of Murphy, president emeritus of the Esalen Institute George Leonard, also wrote the 1975 best-selling book related to ESP or expanded consciousness titled "The Ultimate Athlete."
A fifth-degree black belt in Akido himself, Leonard also explored these topics in the book "The Way of Aikido: Life Lessons from an American Sensei" (1999).
Leonard was a former Army Air Corps attack (fighter-bomber) pilot during WWII, serving in the southwest Pacific theater. He served as an analytical intelligence officer during the Korean War.
Leonard passed on recently, on Jan. 6, 2010.
STAR GATE AND SPORTS
Perhaps some of the most useful research on the topic of unconventional awareness and perception comes from the U.S. government joint effort known as Project STAR GATE, conducted during the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
This activity explored the ability of individuals to perceive things, places, information and situations from a remote location. They were able to gather important intelligence using only their consciousness.
In fact, a Navy SEAL officer wrote in a researcher paper for the Marine Corps War College that Project STAR GATE reflected a concept he called “transcendent warfare” – using advanced and emerging understanding in new ways.
Project STAR GATE activities also noted a key element that dovetails with sports and athletics: It seemed that the ESP impressions came to “remote viewers” through their bodies in a somewhat unconscious or subconscious way.
The people involved in the specific technique and protocol named “remote viewing” in Project STAR GATE found that letting impressions bubble up from their subconscious, and not using the conscious mind to try to interpret the information, led to more successful results.
They typically relaxed their minds and used various techniques to attempt to acquire information, then let their body express these perceptions by making sketches and notes in a spontaneous way.
Here we see the connection with sports and other activities. When the task at hand is partially a physical one, and we are using our body as much as, or more so than our conscious thinking mind, we may be more prone to accessing our sixth sense.
In this year’s Super Bowl, we might see examples of this if we look closely. And, if we open our minds to these possibilities, we might see expanded perception in our own lives.
These aspects of human development and education are relevant to not only sports and athletics, but a broad range of human activities in many fields.
And what is fun and interesting about the situation is the fact that we can look inside ourselves and explore these fascinating and transcendent elements of human consciousness, tapping into our own sixth sense.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
'Goats’ movie helps us stare at human mind
By Steve Hammons
The new fact-based fiction movie "The Men Who Stare at Goats" deals with more than meets the eye. Or at least, we see some subjects touched on in quick and sometimes subtle ways that might trigger more thought.
In other scenes, certain topics are dealt with at length or even hit viewers between the eyes with a cinematic sledgehammer.
Incredibly funny parts of the movie are juxtaposed with the troubling, tragic and frightening.
Besides looking at the concepts of the First Earth Battalion and its real-life outside-the-box leader Army Lt. Col. Jim Channon (played by Jeff Bridges), we also get a glimpse at the Vietnam War years and post-Vietnam U.S. Army. These were dark and difficult times in the military and in America.
Yet, the 1960s and ´70s also brought forth the "human potential movement" which included a variety of touchy-feely human encounter activities, experimentation with mind-altering substances, a renewed interest in planet Earth and the natural environment, as well as the value of peace and human love.
From the troubled years after the Vietnam War to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, moviegoers are asked to consider some basic questions about human beings, the U.S. government and military, and even the forces of good versus "the dark side."
THE HUMAN MIND
The movie, and the book upon which it is based, bring together various subjects in ways that give us the opportunity to reflect further about the larger, deeper and more complex aspects of the real-life material.
For example, the research and operational activities of Project STAR GATE, probably the most widely-known U.S. remote viewing program, was not part of Channon's First Earth Battalion.
However, as indicated by the scene when George Clooney identifies the contents of a small closed box as "a man sitting in a chair," remote viewing did turn out to be a real and valid human skill. Generally speaking, it is a sub-type of ESP, but conducted according to specific and scientific research and operational protocols.
Remote viewing-type skills are related to what we call intuition, gut feelings, instincts and the sixth sense. We probably all have these abilities and can practice and develop them further.
Some of the Project STAR GATE personnel reportedly had quite excellent results at times.
On a separate topic, in the movie an entire Army outpost in Iraq is slipped a mind-altering substance, LSD, via the food and water. In fact, during Army and CIA research of LSD a couple of decades ago, unwitting troops, intelligence officers and civilians were reportedly given this substance to test its effects.
The dangers of this and other mind-altering substances are clearly demonstrated in one troubling and shocking scene. This danger is real and was an unfortunate result for many people in the '60s, '70s and beyond. In fact, certain mind-altering drugs continue to cause severe health, social and legal problems today.
The often valuable research into human consciousness, from the '60s to the present, has been marred in many cases by excess, ignorance, misuse and dangerous behavior. Defining, understanding and separating worthwhile and constructive approaches from stupid and destructive behavior continue to be a challenge now.
VICTORY WITHIN REACH
In the movie, we also get glimpses of the positive potential of human beings, our military and our society.
When the Jeff Bridges character has a near-death experience in Vietnam after being shot, we might wonder about the many reports of similar encounters that have been thoroughly researched and documented. And we might wonder what conclusions can be drawn from them.
The reverence for the Earth through various rituals by some of the characters can also be interpreted as a valid perspective that connects humans with Nature – and helps keep our feet on the ground as well as offering benefits to mental and spiritual health.
Mention in the movie of U.S. military humanitarian operations, peace operations, conflict resolution and similar activities might seem whimsical. However, these activities are now considered important parts of American foreign policy and important missions of the U.S. armed forces.
How fitting that the movie portrays some recent activities in Iraq and Afghanistan as being part of "the dark side."
"The Men Who Stare at Goats" is a funny, thought-provoking and very entertaining movie. It moves along quickly, but not like the rapid-fire pacing of a thriller. It is more like a gentle roller-coaster of humor and tragedy, action and more contemplative moments, with representations of good and evil, light and darkness.
Perhaps most importantly, the movie gives us insight into human nature at its best and worst. The lessons that can be learned from the film, and the stories upon which it is apparently loosely based, are probably more valuable than we might think.
Human consciousness is now changing and evolving in ways that might result in developments so positive that the goals of people like Col. Channon may finally be within reach.
