by John Carpenter
StarmanJC@aol.com

If there is one area of research that gives scientists more laughs, investigators more headaches, and skeptics more ammunition, it is that of mental communication. None of the forms of mental/thought transference -- telepathy, channeling, reading minds, E.S.P., etc. -- has ever been soundly and scientifically proven as real. Nevertheless, belief in these elusive phenomena persists, and they are even accepted as part of our reality by large numbers of people. As abduction researchers who are attempting to present factual and convincing data to the general public as well as the scientific community, we are confounded in nearly every case with the existence of a telepathic form of communication.

If there is any type of communication between human beings and otherworldly visitors, it seems to be telepathic 95 to 99 percent of the time. That, in itself, is an incredibly high correlational statistic that places the incidence of this form of communication well above chance or fantasy. Indeed, if imagination were the source for such accounts, we would hear about an endless assortment of clicks, grunts, squeals, babbles, robotic, choral, melodic, whispering, sultry, seductive, commanding, intense, or squeaky voices, and even visual gesturing. The tone, frequency, and speed of speech would also be reported in a variety of creative ways.

Although the same high incidence of telepathy is reported within approximately 100 of my cases (that report communication), not one subject has ever used the term telepathy to describe his/her experience during recall. Instead, each subject has used an interesting assortment of experiential descriptions: "I don't hear voices, but I can hear their thoughts," "It's as if their thoughts are in my head," "I don't know how I can do this, but I just know what they are telling me," "I don't hear with my ears. This is weird. They knew what I had just thought and put an answer in my head," "The eyes are penetrating and speak to me," "The mouth never moves to speak, but their thoughts are like a clear voice my mind." Even with any of my notorious leading and suggestive "trick" questions, ie.-- "When the mouth opens, do you hear a high, medium, or low-pitched voice?" -- not one subject has followed the lead of such a seemingly logical question.

A number of participants in these reported encounters tells of receiving telepathic communications between alleged abductions. Although this type of report might begin to look and sound like channeling, these subjects indicate that the messages come unexpectedly -- interrupting work or activities without any warning, solicitation, or apparent purpose. Subjects frequently add that the messages are bothersome, undesired, confusing, or too complex. As one country girl told me, "Why don't they tell someone who cares -- and leave me alone!" Occasionally, abductees report that they do not recognize some of the "transmitted" words. They run to grab a pencil, write it down, and then discover the word later in the dictionary -- much to their own surprise! They also may tell me that if they had not written the message down, they would not likely have remembered it. This would be like making notes from watching a televised program, attempting to capture the essence of an externally-produced signal. Internally-fabricated, imagined, delusional, or creative notions would probably be much more easily recalled since we are the source of that signal.

Could alien beings project a mental signal or message from a distance? There certainly are plenty of cases wh'ch describe the eyes as very powerful, penetrating, and persuasive. Reported telepathic incidents also include the transmission of various images and holographic scenes. A number of abductees describe these "long-distance" messages as visual imagery initially. Just because they are no longer face-to-face in front of a person would not rule out the possibility of a long-distance contact. Numerous cases include nighttime incidents in which the subject is awakened by hearing his name called. He may also hear other sounds, tones, beeps, or noises which get his attention. Those who hear their name called often describe wandering through the house and even outside. Once outside, a beam of blue-white light may pick them up, or they may drive to a remote location where the craft awaits. This would certainly tend to suggest a direct link between the long-distance "call" and the subsequent encounter aboard a craft with those who "placed the call." Because these beings seem so masterful with telepathy, it is easier to accept that a mental connection at such a distance is indeed likely. Because there is a high incidence of psychic ability among life-long abductees, I suspect that this long-term involvement with E.T.-induced telepathy has "exercised" human brains, enhancing telepathic skills, which can then operate beyond E.T. encounters and with human affairs.

Channeling, on the other hand, is viewed as the attempt to elicit, invite, allow, and welcome contact with other beings, spirits, dimensions, etc. Whether or not these human-initiated contacts are authentic, the information generated can be intriguing, enlightening, and even entertaining. When humans desire such information, this then invites the subconscious mind to feed the hungry questions of the conscious mind. In other words, we can innocently fabricate incredibly intelligent and creative information -- in fact, so skillfully that we would never believe that it came from within us. Occasionally one will experience such an imaginative dream and then doubt his own inner ability to have constructed it.

The big question remains: Who is the source for channeled information? Can humans really initiate this kind of contact when they have typically failed to initiate face-to-face contacts -- despite the most sincere and determined efforts? And why would E.T.'s tell us anything? In approximately 90 percent of the cases of mine and other noteworthy researchers the only communication, if any, is essentially: "You'll be fine/Hold still/You won't be harmed/You'll be back home soon" -- much like a nurse would tell a child in a doctor's office. Therefore, would these beings really offer large amounts of detailed information when we ask for it, when they typically rarely do so during face-to-face encounters? Or do we generate it innocently, subconsciously, out of our insatiable need to know? I do not know these answers, and I will not dismiss any possibility. I would like to invite any abductee who feels he/she is in telepathic contact (rather often) to participate by mail in a new research study of mine. Perhaps we can learn something more helpful toward answering these questions.

(If interested, contact Carpenter c/o MUFON or by e-mail at StarmanJC@aol.com.)