The UFO Stimulus

[Burnt State]

something like this scenario...

but with technology that is a lot less bulky?

 

[Erno86]

As for nighttime alien starship OP's in earth's atmosphere --- at power --- they cannot be invisibly cloaked, because the propulsion unit depends on some kind plasma photons {generated just outside the starship} so it can feed the propulsion unit with photons. This can prove to be a double edged sword --- not only for offensive/defensive OP's in our atmosphere for the starship itself --- but for earthlings to falsely rationalize that they are only looking at some form of natural phenomena, like ball lightning or streaking meteoroids.

 

[Goggs Mackay]

As for nighttime alien starship OP's in earth's atmosphere --- at power --- they cannot be invisibly cloaked, because the propulsion unit depends on some kind plasma photons {generated just outside the starship} so it can feed the propulsion unit with photons. This can prove to be a double edged sword --- not only for offensive/defensive OP's in our atmosphere for the starship itself --- but for earthlings to falsely rationalize that they are only looking at some form of natural phenomena, like ball lightning or streaking meteoroids.

Hi Erno86 - you write as if you are sure how UFOs are powered in the atmosphere - apologies if I read you wrong - so where do you know this from?

 

[Goggs Mackay]

As for nighttime alien starship OP's in earth's atmosphere --- at power --- they cannot be invisibly cloaked, because the propulsion unit depends on some kind plasma photons {generated just outside the starship} so it can feed the propulsion unit with photons. This can prove to be a double edged sword --- not only for offensive/defensive OP's in our atmosphere for the starship itself --- but for earthlings to falsely rationalize that they are only looking at some form of natural phenomena, like ball lightning or streaking meteoroids.

Hi Erno86 - you write as if you are sure how UFOs are powered in the atmosphere - apologies if I read you wrong - so where do you know this from?

 

[Erno86]

Howdy Goggs --- My summation on how alien starships tick, is mainly from my own nighttime double eyewitness sighting of a foofighter, one night in November of 1976, approximately 40 miles west of Washington D.C.; not to mention other people's foofighter sightings as well.

I saw the possible starship in it's hi-power {ludicrous speed --- 14,000 mph?} bluish-white plasma phase and in it's low-power {slow speed --- 30 mph?} fiery red-orange fusion plasma landing phase.

It's taken me many years to figure it out --- but I feel my theory is on the right track --- as far as propulsion on interstellar starships are concerned; especially on using a micro-mini black hole as the heart of the starship's propulsion unit.

Cheers,

Erno

 

[manxman]

Thanks for clearing that up Erno.

 

[Burnt State]

Here is an article which discusses several research studies about the effects of the electromagnetic field on the brain/mind (physiological and phenomenal effects). (The author also notes the correlation of psi phenomena with EMF and the brain/pineal gland.)

Serena Roney-Dougal

In brief, the pineal gland has been found to synthesise melatonin, various beta-carbolines and certain peptides, and to contain enzymes that produce psychoactive compounds from serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) and its precursor tryptamine (Strassman, 1990). These have wide-ranging effects throughout our brain and body, affecting sexuality, adrenals, pancreas, thyroids, and other emotional and endocrine activities. The pineal works together with the pituitary through the hypothalamus controlling the endocrine system. Basically it governs our circadian rhythm, is implicated in our emotional state, reproductive function, possibly dream sleep and in certain psychoses.

Of most interest here is the pineal gland as the psychic centre. It has been found to produce neuromodulators called beta-carbolines which are MAO inhibitors that prevent the breakdown of serotonin. This results in an accumulation of physiologically active amines within the neuronal synapses which may lead to hallucinations. Further there is the possiblity that another hallucinogen 5-methoxy dimethyltryptamine is synthesised in the pineal from serotonin (Strassman, 1990). The pineal contains the greatest concentration of serotonin in the brain, this being accentuated in those who suffer from psychoses. Because beta-carbolines are MAO inhibitors they may also act by increasing the levels of these endogenous tryptamines (Strassman, 1990). The pineal also contains enzymes that inhibit synthesis of these hallucinogenic compounds, thus suggesting a regulating mechanism within this gland. There is a suggestion that it is the action of the pineal beta-carbolines on serotonin that triggers dreaming (Callaway, 1988) and it is often reported in parapsychology that most spontaneous psi experiences occur during the sleeping and dreaming state of consciousness. Further, there is now a considerable body of research into the action of serotonin and melatonin in relation to psychiatric disorders such as manic-depression (Halaris, 1987) and schizophrenia (Bigelow, 1974, Tanimukai et al., 1970).

Anthropological data suggest that these beta-carbolines, in particular 6MeOTHBC (6-Methoxytetrahydrobetacarboline), are psi-conducive because their chemical structure is very similar to a naturally occuring group of chemicals called harmala alkaloids which occur in an Amazonian vine, Banisteriopsis caapi, used by Amazonian tribes for specifically psychic purposes (Roney - Dougal, 1986 & 1989). This vine is used extensively over a wide area of South America for healing, out-of-body experiences, clairvoyance and precognition. It is only used when psi experiences are desired. My speculation is that when the pineal gland is stimulated to produce these chemicals we are more likely to enter an altered state of consciousness which is psi-conducive.​

So the pineal gland regulates multiple chemicals which are indicated in hallucinogenic and dream states of consciousness. So can the pineal gland be affected by environmental influences such as weak or strong EMFs?

Thus, the pineal gland, and particularly its enzymes NAT and HIOMT which are involved in the production of melatonin and serotonin related hallucinogens, is definitely affected both by magnetic and electric fields, such that decreased EMF results in decreased melatonin production, and a short term intense change in magnetic field strength in either direction inhibits melatonin production. This could possibly underlie Persinger's apparently contradictory results noted above in which he sometimes finds a correlation with days of low EMF and sometimes with sudden increase in EMF. It appears to be the change in EMF that is the important factor affecting HIOMT so that potentially psi-conducive state of consciousness hallucinogens are made in the brain through the pineal enzyme HIOMT.

Since melatonin affects a wide range of endocrinal and neuronal functions within the body, anything which affects the pineal gland will have wide ranging effects.
​

The author concludes that the pineal gland is affected by electric and magnetic fields. I wonder how immediate the physiological and phenomenal effects would be? Would someone enveloped in an anomalous EMF immediately experience altered consciousness/perception? The article continues:

Research into UFO's and ancient stone circles suggests that these also appear to be connected with geomagnetic anomaly (Devereux, 1982). The research mentioned here is very preliminary, but very interesting and definitely warrants further investigation.

Devereux mentions Persinger and Lafreniere's book "Space-Time Transients and Unusual Events" (1977) which analyses a range of UFO and anomalous happenings. Their data sugest that UFO phenomena tend to cluster in areas though there is the confounding effect of population density. These areas were primarily areas of seismic related stresses. During seismic strain, pressure on the rock crystals produces electromagnetic fields through a piezoelectric effect. The fields created by this process then have physical effects such as ball lightning, will-o-the wisps, and other UFO related light effects, and are also connected with psychological and psychic effects such as poltergeist outbreaks (Persinger & Lafreniere, 1977; Persinger & Cameron, 1986).

Devereux (1982) has shown that there is a strong correlation not only between UFO sightings and areas of geomagnetic anomaly, but also sacred sites, in Britain and France at least. Of the 286 stone circles extant in Britain today, 235 of them are found on Pre-Armorican rock outcrops. Pre-Armorican rocks are those that are more than 250 million years old (Pre-Cambrian through to Carboniferous) and cover 36% of the land mass of Britain. The chi-square test of this occurring by chance yields the figure of = 169.35, p < 1 x 10-6. In other words, stone circles are found on specific rock outcrops. These rocks are extensively faulted. These geological faults are all areas of tectonic stress, leading to piezo-electric effects and geomagnetic anomalies.

Measurements of unusual physical effects associated with megalithic stones have been made using gaussmeters, which have shown anomalous magnetic readings near the stones compared to the locality; using geiger counters, which appear to show ionization effects rather than straightforward excess radioactivity; using audiosonic equipment which measured a high pitched sonic outburst from the stones just at the moment of dawn; and infrared photography which showed the same energy burst from the stone at the moment of dawn. Several well-known and well-respected dowsers, for example Bill Lewis, have also measured unusual effects (Devereux, 1982; Robins, 1985 & 1988). This field research is of a preliminary nature and so the findings are only suggestive. It is to be hoped that it will be followed up by further work soon.
Comprehensive maps in Devereux's book (1982) show the relationship between UFOs and earthquake epicentres, between UFOs and geological faulting, between UFOs and areas with less thunderstorms than the average, between stone circles, ley lines and UFOs and between stone circles, ley lines and geological faulting.
​

So there is some research suggesting a correlation between geographic locations with anomalous EMF and unusual phenomena. Unfortunately, the data seems only to consider physical effects such as orbs and ball-lighting, as opposed to the above considerations on what effects these anomalous EMF might have on the brain/mind! Of course, it could be both: there could be real, objective stimuli floating in the environment, which are then perceived and interpreted by humans whose brains are also being effected by the anomalous EMF.

Finally, what I meant above about UFOs warping reality was meant more along the lines of propulsion systems utilizing technology the might warp time, gravity, or magnetic fields. Those, any human encounters with such travelers might likewise effect their perception and/or phenomenal experience. Wherein the stimulus is real and external, but our perception of it is hopelessly warped.

So after about a month's consideration and searching I've settled on much of the above discussion to be an important part of what is taking place. We still return to the stimulus itself. Did you listen to the Duensing episode on Radio Misterioso recently? When you look at the role of the default brain network and pull these many threads together there's this growing feeling like we're that semi-conscious patient on the table and there's this really bright light being flashed in our eyes every now and then, but we can't see where the light comes from. Sometimes it looks like carnival lights or something. There is definitely a collaborative effect between us and the stimulus, that gets processed through a brain, socialized in a certain time and place. Effects on the individual and others may vary.

 

[Burnt State]

Sceptiques vs. les Soucoupes Volantes

Start with the second article on Space Reentries as Stimulus Generators

This is a good collection of coherehent ideas, though not explanatory of all cases it takes care of a number of them with certain features.

 

[Soupie]

Sceptiques vs. les Soucoupes Volantes

Start with the second article on Space Reentries as Stimulus Generators

Very good stuff.

I just finished listening to the Radio Misterioso episode about Project Core.

Dr. Tyler Kokjohn, Jeff Ritzmann and The Clueless One – Project Core | Radio Misterioso

A very interesting and laudable project. A gather that some of the individuals involved are not highly regarded by all, but in this podcast, they all seemed levelheaded.

While they didnt go into any detail regarding the narratives they were able to document, what seemed clear was that the narratives were fantastical and seemingly resistant to catagorization.

It was interesting to hear each of the team members share their cautious approaches to the topic and the narratives.

While I am by no means an expert on perception, cognition, and consciousness, it is frustrating to see how little appreciation many people have for how crucial such things are when considering this topic and witness reports. Tyler tried to touch on this at one point re the dress that people saw in varying colors, but the idea was essentially dismissed.

While its far from understood how we humans are able to consciously perceive the world around use, perhaps the most accepted (at the moment) and counterintuitive idea is that our brains essentially generate the colors, sounds, smells, tastes, etc. we experience and "map" them onto the myriad of physical stimuli surrounding us. This process is not without error.

On this view, while the physical world itself wouldnt be a "virtual" reality, the colors, sounds, smells, etc. that we map onto this physical reality would be a kind of virtual reality. A reality that is a little different for each of us. (Which reminds me; are there documented cases of blind individuals experiencing the paranormal? Many experiences are highly visual, but obviously not only visual.)

As @Burnt State has, I believe, noted, many of these high strange paranormal experiences read like waking dreams.

And when I hear these team members laboring to find any rhyme or reason in these 200+ narratives, I'm wondering if the task wouldn't be unlike trying to catagorize 200+ dreams. Seriously.

Now, I'm not suggesting that paranormal experiences are waking dreams. What I am thinking is that considering we are not sure which and how physical processes contribute to normal waking experience, it will be very difficult at this junctur to understand what is going on physically and psychologically during paranormal experiences. There does seem to be a rising tide of interest in the direct role subjectivity/consciousness has in these experiences.

Whether one, multiple, or any physical stimulus is every identified remains to be seen.

 

[Burnt State]

Isn't the only way to describe our sensory experience of reality as a virtual reality in our head? There's lots of room for error, misinterpretation & confusion especially when faced with a stimulus that is extraordinary and/or when the perceiver is in a muddled state themselves. I'm going to come back to this after I listen to the core episode.

 

[Open-Minded-Earthling]

That episode was good. There were a few mistakes about "changing" DNA on the fly. It's more like switching genes on or off with what is already in-place.

The great thing about that discussion was they all agreed that it is important to debate different ideas, and that our knowledge base is so limited now that there is no-way we can know the answers to these mysteries for the foreseeable future. So, the idea is there must be many viewpoints that have to be worked through to have a chance at understanding some day. The knowledge base and data is missing to even do that now.

 

[Open-Minded-Earthling]

Isn't the only way to describe our sensory experience of reality as a virtual reality in our head?

Since skyward is upward too, I wonder if there are any implications about just the simple rotation of the eyeball upward is having some effect on what we see in that upward direction?

It's certainly more of a smooth "screen space" for movie/dream playback, rather than our lower normal vision level that is a cluttered and crowded object oriented ground vision space.

The creative vision canvas is in the sky...

 

[Soupie]

A very technical paper, but it explores the neuroscience of the "narrative" process.

Active inference, communication and hermeneutics

"Active inference and predictive coding
Recent advances in theoretical neuroscience have produced a paradigm shift in cognitive neuroscience. This shift is away from the brain as a passive filter of sensations – or an elaborate stimulus-response link – towards a view of the brain as an organ that generates hypotheses or fantasies (fantastic: from Greek phantastikos, the ability to create mental images, from phantazesthai), which are tested against sensory evidence ( Gregory 1968). This perspective dates back to the notion of unconscious inference ( Helmholtz 1866/1962) and has been formalised to cover deep or hierarchical Bayesian inference – about the causes of our sensations – and how these inferences induce beliefs, movement and behaviour ( Dayan, Hinton et al. 1995, Lee and Mumford 2003, Friston, Kilner et al. 2006, Clark 2013, Hohwy 2013).

Predictive coding and the Bayesian brain
Modern formulations of the Bayesian brain – such as predictive coding – are now among the most popular explanations for neuronal message passing (Srinivasan, Laughlin et al. 1982, Rao and Ballard 1999,Friston 2008, Clark 2013). Predictive coding is a biologically plausible process theory for which there is a considerable amount of anatomical and physiological evidence. In these schemes, neuronal representations – in higher levels of cortical hierarchies – generate predictions of representations in lower levels (Mumford 1992, Rao and Ballard 1999, Friston 2008). These top-down predictions are compared with representations at the lower level to form a prediction error (usually associated with the activity of superficial pyramidal cells). The resulting mismatch signal is passed back up the hierarchy to update higher representations (associated with the activity of deep pyramidal cells). This recursive exchange of signals suppresses prediction error at each and every level to provide a hierarchical explanation for sensory inputs that enter at the lowest (sensory) level. In computational terms, neuronal activity encodes beliefs or probability distributions over states in the world that cause sensations (e.g., my visual sensations are caused by a face). The simplest encoding corresponds to representing the belief with the expected value or expectation of a (hidden) cause. These causes are referred to as hidden because they have to be inferred from their sensory consequences.

In summary, predictive coding represents a biologically plausible scheme for updating beliefs about states of the world using sensory samples..."​

 

[Soupie]

Here's a few other interesting articles related to the socio-cultural, co-creational nature of paranormal experiences.

Hallucination: A Normal Phenomenon?

The word “hallucination” conjures images of schizophrenics and drug abusers. Hallucinations seem to be the domain of psychosis and psychedelic drugs. But in reality, hallucinations can be common and ordinary, defined as a “sensory perception without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ” (1). The “creepy crawly” feeling one gets on the skin is an example of such a perception, or rather misperception, caused by a misfiring or other minor error in the nervous system. ...

There is a strong stigma against hallucinations, as they are considered severely abnormal and a marker of a major psychiatric disorder. Since our society also has a strong stigma against psychological illnesses, people may hide their hallucinations. However, hallucinations are not really that extraordinary. Mahowald, Woods, and Schenk propose that hallucinations are really just like dreams in a conscious, wakeful state. In a normal awake state, the brain ignores activity generated internally while attending to the external stimulation it perceives. In a hallucination, whether induced by drugs, sleeplessness, or sensory deprivation, the brain processes the internal activity that it normally ignores, creating a hallucinogenic episode. Mahowald, Woods, and Schenk label this “wakeful dreaming” (10).

Our body is covered with sensory organs that transmit information to the thalamus, part of the cerebrum, which is the part of the brain that controls many functions including sensory processing. The thalamus has two modes to control whether information goes to the forebrain (relay) or stops in the thalamus (oscillatory), controlling the input of environmental information into the cortex. ...
​

While humans increasingly rely on rationalism to make sense of the world, there is a pile of evidence that many of our rationalizations/narratives are simply wrong. The causes we link to effects are simply wrong in many cases. However, an often overlooked aspect of these narratives are the strong emotions that accompany them. Emotions are powerful, primitive signals that guide our behavior. So while we may get the causes wrong in our narratives, the emotions that accompany them are very real -- and they often serve to reinforce our narratives. If you hear a noise downstairs at night and think it's a potential intruder, the (real) fear that instantly wells up will only reinforce this thought. I was so scared when someone tried to break into the house last night!

The people who think they are made of glass - BBC News

The "glass delusion" is an extraordinary psychiatric phenomenon in which people believe themselves to be made of glass and thus liable to shatter. It peaked centuries ago but there are still isolated cases today, writes Victoria Shepherd. ...

Prof Edward Shorter, a historian of psychiatry from the University of Toronto, suggests that it is the relative newness of clear glass as a material in 17th Century Europe which holds the key to understanding the disorder. Throughout history, Shorter argues, the inventive unconscious mind has pegged its delusions on to new materials and the technological advances of the age.

In the 19th Century cement delusions appeared at a time when cement emerged as a new building material, just as common delusions of recent decades include the false belief that the CIA or other security services can download thoughts through micro-transmitters, that people could "read your mind".

Glass is not new, but it certainly still has the power to captivate, and could reflect aspects of people's fears and wishes as they negotiate the modern world. ...
​

Why do the craft in UFO experiences seem to evolve over time with the culture? Is the "phenomenon" evolving, or is the creative, unconscious mind of the human simply projecting its attempts at coming to terms with emerging cultural novelty/technology?

The cultural context of visual hallucinations

The above is a link to a PDF which is difficult to copy/paste from, so here's a simply snippet from the abstract:

Visual hallucinations (VH) are a cardinal neuropsychiatric symptom and often have important diagnostic implications. The interpretation of VH is influenced by the patient’s social and cultural milieu, but the impact of socio-cultural factors on the interpretation, presentation and detection of VH has been little studied. When patients exhibit VH and other neuropsychiatric phenomena, appropriate sensitivity to the role of cultural factors is an important determinant of the success of the medical consultation. We discuss this issue using three illustrative cases.​

In other words, like all experiences, including non-hallucinatory experiences, hallucinations are interpreted. The interpretation is influenced by the particular social and cultural situation in which the experiencer find themself.

The UFO stimulus is not evolving but instead human culture.

 

[Soupie]

Hallucinations and delusions more common than thought

"Hallucinations and delusions in the general population are more common than previously thought.

An international study led by The University of Queensland and Harvard Medical School found that hearing voices and seeing things others cannot impacts about five per cent of the general population at some point in their lives.

Queensland Brain Institute researcher Professor John McGrath said the study, involving more than 31,000 people from 19 countries, was the most comprehensive ever completed.

"We used to think that only people with psychosis heard voices or had delusions, but now we know that otherwise healthy, high-functioning people also report these experiences," Professor McGrath said.

"Of those who have these experiences, a third only have them once and another third only have two-to-five episodes across their life. These people seem to function reasonably well.

"So it's incredibly interesting that not only is hearing voices more common than previously thought, but it's not always linked to serious mental illness."

The study was a population-based survey which involved approaching randomly selected members of the community, sitting down with them and conducting a very detailed interview about their mental health.

"These people were representative of the general population, not seeking mental health assistance," Professor McGrath said. ..."
​

Whether this phenomenon is simply an epiphenomenal byproduct or serves some adaptive function (as we speculated earlier), it seems that people seeing and hearing things that others do not, is more common than the mainstream has previously recognized.

I'd be extremely curious to know how many (if any) of these reported experiences were accompanied/triggered by external stimuli. Inwonder if such a question was asked during the "detailed" interview. It would also be interesting to know what were the life circumstances of the individuals at or around the time of the anomalous experience; how the individual interpreted the experience at the time, and how it may have impacted their thinking, feeling, and/or behavior.

Ill see if I can find the source paper.

 

[Burnt State]

Hallucinations and delusions more common than thought

"Hallucinations and delusions in the general population are more common than previously thought.

An international study led by The University of Queensland and Harvard Medical School found that hearing voices and seeing things others cannot impacts about five per cent of the general population at some point in their lives.

Queensland Brain Institute researcher Professor John McGrath said the study, involving more than 31,000 people from 19 countries, was the most comprehensive ever completed.

"We used to think that only people with psychosis heard voices or had delusions, but now we know that otherwise healthy, high-functioning people also report these experiences," Professor McGrath said.

"Of those who have these experiences, a third only have them once and another third only have two-to-five episodes across their life. These people seem to function reasonably well.

"So it's incredibly interesting that not only is hearing voices more common than previously thought, but it's not always linked to serious mental illness."

The study was a population-based survey which involved approaching randomly selected members of the community, sitting down with them and conducting a very detailed interview about their mental health.

"These people were representative of the general population, not seeking mental health assistance," Professor McGrath said. ..."
​

Whether this phenomenon is simply an epiphenomenal byproduct or serves some adaptive function (as we speculated earlier), it seems that people seeing and hearing things that others do not, is more common than the mainstream has previously recognized.

I'd be extremely curious to know how many (if any) of these reported experiences were accompanied/triggered by external stimuli. Inwonder if such a question was asked during the "detailed" interview. It would also be interesting to know what were the life circumstances of the individuals at or around the time of the anomalous experience; how the individual interpreted the experience at the time, and how it may have impacted their thinking, feeling, and/or behavior.

Ill see if I can find the source paper.

Your sentiments in the last paragraph are the pertinent ones for me when it comes to anomalous experiences especially regarding UFO's, ghosts, demons, strange monsters, humanoids etc. What preceded these events/visions or who the witness was is still a burning piece. I'm also interested in the idea of an accelerated experiences such as panic attacks and have not read much in the literature around those experiences that start minimally in the mind and body and then ultimately explode into high drama.

Yesterday around the dining table my wife pipes up in the middle of dinner and says, "Ok I don't want to alarm anyone but my vision is pixelating on my periphery; i'm seeing triangular shapes almost." With family present she experimented covering one eye then another and identified that there was some kind of effect of light entering into her eyes at an angle from the side door producing a strange visual effect that within minutes dissipated. What would the effects have been I wondered, if no one was there to calm her concerns - would this have turned into a more elaborate visual experience if panic and fear entered into the picture?

I've been reading a lot of material around hallucinations and they do seem to be a very regular part of our lives produced be all manner of events from drugs, to monotony, stress and panic, exhaustion etc. providing us with profound altered imagery. These visionary moments are not an objective reality but the people who experience them believe them to be entirely real.

This paper "Anomalous Perceptual Experiences: Believing is Seeing is Believing," was zapped off of a UFO blog but I forget which one. It's quite thorough and covers many different kinds of hallucinations with a nice focus on alien abductions. The primary focus of the research paper is to acknowledge that hallucinations are highly common, but not acknowledged as such in the west, often frowned upon in the west as symptomatic of psychological deficits. The parts that resonate for me have been confirmed in a lot of what I have read about hallucinations which is that our brain is constantly fleshing out sensory aspects of conscious reality for us, supplying us with all manner of sights and sounds to fill in gaps where needed. Reality can be entirely random and like an empty colouring book be filled in with very unpredictable elements.

fkbureau.homestead.com/anomalousexperiences.pdf

 

[Wade]

And so the agenda of the people behind chemtrails phenomenon becomes clear

 

[Soupie]

What would the effects have been I wondered, if no one was there to calm her concerns - would this have turned into a more elaborate visual experience if panic and fear entered into the picture?

Something I've encountered lately is the coupling between valence of thoughts (positive or negative) and the valence of affect (positive or negative).

It seems to be somewhat of a chicken and egg scenario. That is, negative thoughts can lead to negative feelings; but it seems that negative feelings lead to negative thoughts as well.

So for example, someone who is clinically depressed is flooded with negative thoughts as result of the depression, as opposed to the negative thoughts being a cause of the depression.

It fascinates me that negative affect can lead to negative thoughts. For example, when my one year old is (apparently) mad, he sometimes hits, head butts, and bites. Quite the feisty one is he.

I know that when I am mad, I sometimes have a conscious impulse (thought) to hit (which I am usually able to inhibit). Why when we are mad do we not have an impulse to break into song?

Does my one year old have a similar impulse to hit? It seems so. However it may not (yet) manifest as a conscious, conceptual thought; and he is only slowly learning to inhibit these strong, emotion coupled impulses/urges.

Where am I going with this?

When people experience unusual visionary/hallucinatory experiences, they may experience fear; this fear may unleash a stream of mostly negative thoughts about the nature of the experience and what it may be.

Why do we seem to automatically react with fear and negative thoughts to unusual, unknown experiences?

My hypothesis is quite reductive, but an argument could be made that such a response is evolutionarily adaptive.

If you're attacked, get mad and strike back. If you encounter the unknown, get scared, assume it's a predator, and run.

The fact that fear and negative thoughts are associated with these events may have an indirect cause; they may not be directly related to the event itself as some have speculated.

 

[Wade]

As for me whenever there is a series of events that i cannot control and are negative in nature I go into " shut down " mode socially I get into a black mood but what is puzzling to me is I usually embrace it, I've never felt compelled to strike out physically but I throw all of humanity into the same bag and assume the worst about them and figure they will just disappoint me in the long run so why bother interacting with them but just like Opus has his daffodils I have my hikes and i usually snap out of it at the same time if I was just outside walking and i found a $20 bill and I was in a black mood I still wouldn't be appeased, I'd be $20 richer but still in a dark mood but get me outdoors and better yet with a bunch of fluffy clouds about and Boom...like night and day it is.

On a somewhat related note one thing that does trouble me is what I call my drift off dreams. I've posted quite a few times about my dreams and my capacity for remembering them to a fairly decent degree. While this doesn't happen to me whenever I settle down for the night, at a rate of close to 100% if I unintentionally drift off while not ready to actually go to bed I'll have very disturbing dreams that involve tragic consequences/injury to no one in particular, sometimes me sometimes young innocents. They usually involves being struck by something large or falling to their death and it i immediately snaps me out and i am awake. I tried googling this "phenomenon" to see if others reported this and while I was stuck for a set of words to use it found a thread where others reported this.

Bottom Line, why does this occur to me only as I drop off reading or listening to a broadcast or podcast but is absent when I intentionally settle in for the night ?

 

[Wade]

It just occurred to me that I can say with a large amount of certainty that i don't have what I would call bad dreams. I am fairly lucid and in control of them and when things are going south I either bail out or change the narrative BUT as I noted above when i am in a position to possible not control them, I get blindsided, its as if bad karma is not to be denied but why it is focused on sudden physical harm coming to me or someone else I am curious.