Electromagnetism, UFOs, and psychic abilities
Following up on last week's post about John Keel's Wednesday phenomenon, I want to look at electromagnetic weirdness that came up in both John Keel's book Operation Trojan Horse (1970) and Russel Targ's book Limitless Mind (2010).
Also, a disclaimer: Physics was my worst subject in school (well, that and Algebra II), so I'm still struggling to get my head around the difference between magnetism and electromagnetism. I understand the basic dictionary definition of each, but not the difference between the two in a paranormal context. Keel seems to use the two interchangeably, so I've been following his lead. But that doesn't feel quite right to me.
Keel's electromagnetic weirdness
Keel suggests that there's a strong connection between UFOs and both electromagnetic and magnetic forces. He suggests that the UFO phenomenon might be "electromagnetic in nature," which makes it particularly easy for them to interfere with our machines. He also advises that if you want to spot a UFO, go to a location near an magnetic fault.
While many ordinary machines, like TVs, microwaves, and radios, emit electromagnetic fields (or EMF), Keel suggests that the UFOs that seem like machines might be made of electromagnetic energy. Here's one example:
Throughout this book I have tried to explain that UFOs seem to be transmogrifications: seemingly material apparitions that might actually be composed of energies from the high reaches of the electromagnetic spectrum.
And another:
We cannot exclude the possibility that these wondrous “machines” are made of the same stuff as our disappearing houses, and they don’t fly—they levitate. They are merely temporary intrusions into our reality or space-time continuum, momentary manipulations of electromagnetic energy.
Targ's electromagnetic weirdness
Meanwhile, Targ (a physicist famous for his remote viewing work at SRI) suggests that electromagnetic fields hinder psychic performance.
Targ cites work by physicist James Spottiswoode[1] that has shown that EM radiation from the Milky Way galaxy and from solar flares hurt psychic abilities, and he mentions that some psychics prefer to work in "electrically shielded" rooms to avoid EM radiation.
At first, Targ's assertion seemed like it contradicted Keel's. Seeing UFOs and extraterrestrials could be tied to psychic perception—especially if UFOs are part of the same phenomena as ghosts, the fae, and other weirdness.
Keel recounts how one person—RAF Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard—had a theory that most UFO contactees are psychics. He also said that people standing in the auras of psychics could see UFOs because of their proximity to sensitive people:
Sir Victor pointed out that he believed that most UFO sightings were made by people with psychic abilities, and by non-psychics who were standing in the auras of the real percipients and were, therefore, temporarily tuned in. There seems to be some merit to this hypothesis, incredible though it may seem.
So if that's the case, why would UFOs be more present in a time when our psychic perception could be worse?
But, on the flip side, if EMFs screw with our psychic abilities, then maybe that actually makes sense based on the experience of contactees. UFO witnesses have reported so much weirdness—such as missing time, blank spots in their memories, confusion, and doing things that don't quite make sense—that suggest a sort of brain glitch.
So if EMF messes with our psychic abilities, then maybe the presence of high EMF around UFOs actually puts people at a disadvantage, making it easier for our minds to be manipulated by the phenomena?
And who knows—maybe people with heightened psychic perception are more thrown off by high EMF, since it blocks a sense that they've come to depend on. And maybe that makes them more likely to both perceive the UFOs that are causing the interference and and be distressed by them?
I'm still fiddling around with and forming these ideas, but I certainly feel like there's something there.
[1]I pulled up the ebook version of the book on Scribd just so I could give you this citation (which I haven't dove into yet): James Spottiswoode, “Geomagnetic Fluctuations and Free Response Anomalous Cognition: A New Understanding,” Journal of Parapsychology 61, March 1997.