Picking Up the Gauntlet

by Joe Lewels, Ph.D.


There are so few scholors in the world today who are studying the abduction phenomenon that one
would think they would eagerly embrace one another,like survivors of a ship wreck on a deserted
island.When I entered this exclusive club,I truly believer that it would be that way.Abduction
researchers live a lonely life in an academic and scientific communitythat turns its collective
nose up and scoffs at the mention of the subject.The few researchers,I imagined,must be close
friends,eager to share their knowlege and insights and to seek out new ideas in their efforts
to solve this bizarre and complex mystery.I thought that it would be as obvious to them,as it
was to me,that what is needed is a radical new way of thinking to deal with a phenomenon that
seems to emanate from a strange,new reality and which has eluded science for so long.I believed
that no one mind or way of thinking could possibly be sufficient to truly understand what it is
all about.

I realized that there were different views among the major researchers.There were those deeply
grounded in accepted scientific principles and methodology.(God knows we need them to help us
discover the who,what,where and how of the alien agenda.)But,I also believed that we needed
those whose ideas,theories ant techniques were beyond the current scope of science,to help us
discover the"why" of the mystery.We needed people with innovative ideas and revolutionery
theories to counterbalance those of the traditional researcher.Some of these original thinkers
although unorthodox by current standards,could be the ones to find new avenues of approach or
to stumble upon some breakthrough,as is often the case with scientific inquiry.

Because this has been proved time and time again in history,I believed thet those in the
research community would respect one another's work and gladly learn from each other,while at
the same time forming a sort of united front against criticism from the outside.

But,I guess I was wrong.

David Jacobs has thrown down the gauntlet to most other abduction researchers in the current
book,The Threat,and he has unfairly singled out perhaps the most prestigious member of the
research community,Dr.John Mack,for a special scolding.Rather than embracing his fellow
researchers,he has resorted to name calling.those who do not meet his personal standards of
research or who don't agree with his interpretation of the facts,are"incompatant New Age
Positives,"who"band togather into almost cultlike groups."(These comments are as rediculous
as those routienly made by the likes of proffesional UFO debunker,Phil Klass.)

In Jacobs views these"incompetant" researchers have turned UFO research into a religion that has
seriously strayed from the accepted scientific standards.The result in his view,is that have wrongly
reached the conclusions that alien abductions are not so bad,and in some cases that they can even
be positive.He,on the other hand,due to his"correct"methodology,knows the real truth--that alien
hybrids are secretly plotting to take over the Earth and,due to their superior inetlligence,upsurp
control from their human counterparts.For Jacobs,the abduction mystery has been solved and the
solution is quite negative.(He refrains from calling himself and his approved researchers"The
Negatives",however.)"In my most recient reasearch,"he states,"I have uncovered information that
allows UFO researchers to solve the UFO mystery--at least the questions that will have the
greatest impact upon us."(p.20)

Jacob has seriously deluded himself in thinking that he has solver the alien abduction mystery.It is a
delusion that results from his overly narrow perspective and from the illusion that he has access to
and is accounting for all the data.Jacobs is a"scientific materialist"who is trying to solve a mystery
emanating from the future,with science from the past.He seems to have made no effort to grasp the
concepts of quantum physics and its implications for the non-local nature ofconsciousness.He
cannot accept that there are out-of-body experiences,past life memories or other paranormal
phenomena that have yet to be explained or accounted for by mainstream researchers.These are
simply"New Age"foolishness that do not merit serious thought.Yet it is interesting that he accepts
as a matter of fact that aliens communicate telepathically,that they exercise psychic powers,that
they walk through walls and that they sometimes render themselves "un-see-able."Yet channeling to
Jacobs,is hogwash.He does not recognize that channeling may simply be telepathic communication
from a distance.(I find it hard to understand how one can accept the first but not the second.)

Clearly,the UFO mystery is based on science that is hundreds or thousands or even millions of
years ahead of ours.True,we are beginning to get an idea,through breakthrough in quantum
physics,genetics and other sciences,as to how some of the amazing"miracles"that aliens perform
might be done.But,the evidence comming from abduction research should teach us that there is
much more to learn and what we cal"modern science",based on "scientific methodology,"is sorely
inadequate for penetrating even the outer fringes of this mystery.

What has happened to jacobs is that he has gone as far as is possible with the"model T"science
to which he is limited.Without engaging in strenuous conciousness raising exercises,he will
go no farther.

In my book,The God Hypothesis(Wildflower Press,1997),I argue for the need for a much broader
approach to the UFO research,one that includes the acknowledgement that this is an ancient
phenomenon which very likly was involved in human evolution from the very beginning.what Jacob
sees as an alien invasion may,from another level,be seen mearly as evolution in progress.If the
human race is ultimatly replaced by a more modern,up-to-date model that is more psychic and
connected to the Earth,then so be it.It will be our failer to nurture our planet that has caused our
downfall.But is that so different than what happened to Neanderthal and Cro Magnon?Scientist
cannot account for how Homo Sapiens evolved and yet co-existed whith other human"prototypes"
at the same time.What if we humans ar the result of the last great jump in evolution created by
these beings?What if due to genetic intervention by superior beings,we humans took over the Earth
from those with lesser mental powers?Is this acceptable,while the current situation is not?If this
is in fact the case,then maby"alien"(a particulary pejorative term)is inadequate to describe these
beings.Maybe they are gods or angels or something of the sort.If we rule this out,we eliminate
avenues of research that could yield rich insights not only into who they are,but also into who we
are.This is not a ridiculous conclusion,but one based on hard scientific evidence.No intermediate
species have ever beenn discovered to fully account for the theory of evolution and even the
discoverer of DNA,Dr. Francis Crick,believes that DNA was brought here by extraterrestrials
millions of years ago.(See his book,Life itself,Simon and Schuster,1981.)

Any effort to resolve the UFO mystery which does not explore the origins of the human species,
does not question the current veiws about the nature of consciousness,does not examint the
religious implacation,and which does not attempt to peer into future science through the lens of
quantum physics is doomed to failer.But yet,Jacobs never mentions any of this.He has never
attempted to broaden his horizons and to reach highter levels of understanding.

Yet,at the same time,I admire him.He has performed his role well.His diligent research has revealed
and verified many of the basic elements of the abduction phenomenon.I am willing to embrace him
and give him credit for that and for his courage for stepping food into this difficult arena in the
first place.We need him and others like him.But what we don't need is this lashing out and name
calling directed at those who are struggling in their own way to solve the same baffling mystery.

In his delusion,he has fallen prey to the illusion that he,and only he,has the real answers.He argues
for a standardization of procedures for abduction research."Without standardized methodology,"he
states."a hyponist can use any induction or questioning technique--no matter how experimental,
untried,or dubious--to explore abduction accounts."(p.220) to this,I can only say,"Thank God!"

Jacob believes that if only all researchers used the same exact hypnotic induction he uses and
asked the same questions that he asks,they too would arrive at the same conclusions.To this,I can
only say,"No Kidding!"The fact that all abduction researchers are not clones of himself and
regulated by some abduction research regulation authority is a cause of great frustration for Jacobs.
That fact,together with his conclusion that the Earth is about to be taken over by aliens, has led him into the depths of a deep depression.

In the end,Jacobs sounds like Edgar Allen Poe,writing the last lines of some novel:"I have found the
abduction phenomenon to be real,but also I have become somewhat apocalyptic in view of its
purpose.I have come to the conclusion that human civilization may be in for a rapid,and perhaps
disastrous change,not of our design."(p.255)He continues his lament:"...the intellectual safety net
with which I operated for so many years is now gone.I am as vulnerable as the abductees
themselves...I have come to view the alien abduction phenomenon and its purpose as an asteroid
hurtling toward Earth--discovered too late for intervention....I find little fule for hope
for the future."(p.246)

Jacobs'fellings of fear and futility should be of great concern for members of the research
community and for abductees as well.Researchers,whether they like it or not,must also act in the
best interest ot the "patient"--the abductee.Hypnosis is not just a research tool,but also a
therapeutic one,and part of the role of the researcher is to help the abductee overcome his/her
fears.How can Jacobs or other researchers who are frightened themselves help others?

The best advice I can give Jacobs is said,not facetiously,but from the heart:David,you neet to
step away from your work and you need the help of a good,loving therapist with a positive,or at
laest neutral,attitude--someone with a broad view of reality who can help you move beyont this
point.I submit that Dr.John Mack is such a therapist,and that it is to people like him that those
who are trumatized by their alien experiences should go,not to someone who sees himself and the
whole human race as a victum of some evil conspiracy.

John Mack and many other researchers,including myself,have seen first hand the amazing spiritual
and mental growth that is experienced by those abductees who shed the victim role,put their fears
aside and moved forward.These individules will,no doubt,lead us toward a much higher level of
understanding than anything we can now imagine.But without the positive support of the therapist,
many experiencers will continue to dwell in the depths of depression.As objective researchers,we
should,at the very least,honor(rather than ridicule)those who are able to achieve this remarkable
transformation.At the very most,we should stand as pillars of strength for those who so
desperatly seek our help.

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