Ask Eric Ouellet: Illuminations

[Gene Steinberg]

On Thursday, February 4, at 11 AM Mountain time, we'll be interviewing Eric Ouellet, author of "Illuminations: The UFO Experience as a Parapsychological Event."

In this book, Dr. Ouellet asks the compelling question, "What if UFO experiences are the result of large-scale, unconscious, psychic forces?"

According to the promotional notes for "Illuminations":

"In Illuminations, sociologist Eric Ouellet offers a novel approach to a phenomenon that has thus far resisted all other efforts to explain it, be it as extraterrestrial craft, time travelers, secret government projects, or natural phenomena.

"Combining research in parapsychology, sociology, and UFOlogy, Ouellet provides a thought provoking reassessment of several well-known UFO cases, including the Washington, DC, UFO wave of 1952, the Betty and Barney Hill abduction of 1961, the Rendlesham UFO incident of 1980, and the Belgian UFO wave of 1989-1991. While not claiming to have the final solution to the UFO mystery, he offers much food for thought and a refreshing outlook on a stubbornly elusive phenomenon.

"ERIC OUELLET is professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, and at the Canadian Forces College (Canada’s Joint Staff and War College). He has a Ph.D. in sociology from York University (Toronto, Canada), and he is the liaison officer for Canada with the Parapsychological Association. He has published parapsychological work in the Australian Journal of Psychology, EdgeScience, and the Bulletin Métapsychique. His other research works focus on military sociology and war studies."

 

[Angel of Ioren]

Hi guys,

Here are my questions:

How did you first become interested in making the connection between UFOs and parapsychology?

What brought you to the hypothesis that UFOs are parapsychological in nature vs. just plain old psychological?

What's the most interesting UFO case that you have come across that is also less well known than the ones that are always discussed?

 

[Wade]

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if there were a number of cases that are parapsychological in nature and i find this aspect more compelling than actual visitations.

are there any signs you look for that would compel you to label a certain case parapsychological in nature ?

Are there any ufo cases that it is tempting to consider parapsycological in nature but otherwise had left physical evidence in the way of tracks and unexplained markings or rather bland tasting pancakes or is it that the tracks and pancakes are the para in parapsychological ?

 

[William Strathmann]

Would you comment on the 1999 COMETA report in relation to your views?

 

[Ravensfee]

Thanks for getting Eric as a guest. He's one of the few who are coming up with new and interesting ideas which I feel could help take the UFO field forward. It'll be interesting to see how his views are received by other Paracast listeners.

1) You've mentioned that scientific approaches to measuring psi phenomena can sometimes prevent those phenomena from occurring. What advice would you offer those who are trying to gather hard scientific data on UFOs in the field?

2) To what extent are social conditions a factor in how, or even if, the UFO phenomenon is experienced? Could the trauma of a post WWII generation, the anxiety of the cold war, the social and political upheavals of the 60's and 70's be more responsible for the strange UFO related events of the post-war decades than anything extra-terrestrial?

3) In many poltergeist activities, the focus of the phenomenon, stereotypically a troubled teenage girl, is often found hoaxing an event, alongside what appear to be genuinely paranormal incidents. UFO events often occur amongst those who are prone to hoaxing or disassembling or are otherwise not respectable. To what extent could human generated psi effects be self-negating? Both expressing them in a spectacular fashion and being simultaneously undermined by the people who unconsciously created them?

4) To what extent do shared psi experiences, a multiple witness UFO sighting for example, rely on a common cultural experience? As society becomes, arguably, more atomistic and societies have less shared cultural experiences, and with migration perhaps radically different cultures, should we see less reports of these shared sightings?

5) Your ideas are very different from those of the vast majority of people talking about UFOs today, who on the whole are firmly in the ETH camp. How have your book and theories been received?