The Boundaries Between Quadrants

The Boundaries Between Quadrants: An Integral Study of Anomalous Geometric NHI-associated Body Marks

Daniel Rekshan
Integral Noetic Science, California Institute for Human Science
INS 701: Foundations of Integral Studies
Dr. Nick Hedlund
December 10, 2023

The Boundaries Between Quadrants

This paper applies integral theory to the study of anomalous geometric body marks as physical evidence for ET/NHI (extra-terrestrial and/or non-human intelligence) contact experiences. During the Memory Wars controversy of the 1990s (Patihis et al., 2014), alien abduction researchers presented documentation of anomalous body marks discovered in association with intuitions, dreams, or memories of alien abduction as physical evidence for the physical reality of alien abduction and the validity of regression hypnosis as a means to recover memories of these encounters (Clancy, 2005). However, Vallee (1988) observed similarities of the alien abduction marks with body marks associated with fairy lore and witchcraft such as the witch’s mark. The witch’s mark was also used as a physical evidence for physical encounters with supernatural beings, which would be used to condemn witches for the act of witchcraft (Darr, 2009). While the practice of witch-hunting eventually ended, many lives were impacted by the use of body marks as physical evidence. Alien abduction researchers who use body marks as physical evidence may be like medieval witch-hunters by placing their subjects’ lives in jeopardy by either offering the prognosis of a lifetime of unwanted abduction experiences or else by bringing their stories to the public. 

Despite the fact that the mainstream notion of physical alien abductions relies upon the evidence of witness testimony and these body marks, the subject has not been a serious topic of research. The field of alien abduction research was prominent in the 1990s through the efforts of Mack, Jacobs, and Hopkins. Abduction research dramatically shifted in the early 2000s due to several events: the death of Mack, scandals surrounding the research integrity of Jacobs and Hopkins (Rainey, 2011), and solid research against hypnosis as a means of memory recovery (see Otgaar et al., 2022). 

Several prominent surveys about abduction asked questions about body marks (Hernandez et al., 2018). Around half of experiencers of ET/NHI contact reported that they have discovered body marks in association with their experiences or have no conventional explanation for them. In my research, I have found that only Hopkins published documentation of body marks in his books and lectures, amounting to only several dozen photographs. 

Body mark research is important given the reported prevalence of body marks and their significant role as physical evidence for ET/NHI contact. It may help address the question of the physical reality of alien abduction. If body mark research can prove that a body mark is caused by an ET/NHI, then body mark research may help us learn about or even communicate with the ET/NHI responsible for the mark. However, the field of body mark research has been haphazard and has jumped to supernatural conclusions, much like the witch-hunters of old. What might serious and focused research into ET/NHI associated body marks be like? What theoretical and methodological framework would be most appropriate?

I say that a research framework based upon integral theory is the most appropriate, primarily because I have personally chosen an academic path based in integral education. I will summarize the relevant aspects of integral theory, specifically the AQAL model (all quadrants, all levels (Wilber, 2000). In addition, I will consider relevant integral perspectives such as Esbjörn-Hargens’s mutual enactment hypothesis of ET/NHI contact (2020). Finally, I will apply these integral perspectives to the research topic of anomalous body marks associated with ET/NHI contact.

Integral Theory

The word integral is used in many overlapping contexts such as the integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo, which was applied to education through the efforts of Chowdury through the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). Aurobindo pointed out that there are two movements of evolution, upward toward spirit and downward toward matter, which may explain how and why interactions with nonphysical NHIs may leave physical marks. Wilber is a prominent philosopher who used the term through much of his work and integral theory is often synonymous with his four quadrant model or AQAL, which represents inner, outer, individual, and collective domains. His AQAL model may serve as a framework to study anomalous NHI-associated body marks because it expands inquiry from the purely physical to subjective and transpersonal mechanisms.

 I am writing this paper as part of my education in the Integral Noetic Sciences (INS) program at the California Institute for Human Sciences, which was founded by Motoyama, a pioneer of the integral worldview. Motoyama (2009) explored how spiritual beings and energies manifest in the physical world through hypothesized conversion events between ki or psi energy associated with spiritual dimensions and physical energy, which may serve as an possible analogy for the manifestation for physical body marks during exotic dream states. The INS department is directed by Esbjörn-Hargens, who was educated at CIIS and engaged in application of Wilber’s integral theory through academic work. Esbjörn-Hargens (2020) pioneered an integral theory approach to study the ontological status of non-human intelligence called Exo Studies, which is directly applicable to the topic of anomalous body marks. 

AQAL Model

Wilber’s contribution to integral theory is vast, complex, and occurred in phases. The AQAL model is one of the most influential aspects of integral theory, which Bogzaran and Deslauriers (2012) identify as one of three foundational strands of integral thought. The AQAL model is considered to be a map of the universe that is derived from Wilber’s cross-cultural study of human development (2007). He offered the map as a solution to the problems of modernity and postmodernity, which unduly attributed epistemological power to only one side or quadrant of the map (2000). Wilber hoped that modernity’s unhealthy focus on only objective and physical events may be solved by acknowledging subjective and nonphysical events.

The AQAL map is composed of elements: quadrants, levels, lines, states, and types. Quadrants are associated with first, second, and third person perspectives, inner and outer experience, and individual and group distinctions. They are arranged in a grid similar to the Cartesian plane. The top quadrants represent individuals, while the bottom represents groups. The left quadrants represent interiors, while the right represents exteriors. The top left is associated with the “I” pronoun, first person, inner experience, and individual perspectives that are equated with the Beautiful as the Platonic ideal of the quadrant. The bottom left is associated with the “we” pronoun, the second and third person, inner experience, and group perspectives that are equated with the Good as Platonic ideal. The whole right side is associated with the third person, outer experience, and the True as Platonic ideal. The distinction between the top right and bottom right is the distinction between individual and collective, with the top right associated with the “it” pronoun and the bottom right with the “its” pronoun.

Types, states, levels, and lines describe more and less permanent characteristics of the development of individuals or groups. Types are more permanent characteristics and may include gender identity, Enneagram categories, personalities, archetypes, and so on. States are less permanent characteristics of consciousness and may include waking, sleeping, dreaming, meditation, altered states, and so on. Levels are permanent stages of development and are often characterized by colors with different correspondences along the various lines, for example magenta is pre-rational, pre-egoic, and associated with magic. Teal is associated with holistic thinking, bridging rational and trans-rational attitudes, and is associated with the holistic self. Development occurs along various lines such as cognitive, interpersonal, emotional, and so on. For example, a person may be highly developed as a thinker, but lack emotional skills.

Application of AQAL to Research

The five elements come together to form the AQAL model. Wilber cautioned that the model is simply a map and not the actual territory to be studied. Its application is guided by several concepts: shadows, integral-aperspectival, pre/post fallacy, multiple bodies, and integral life practice. The AQAL model helps orient research within a multidimensional field of knowledge by placing the researcher within the map, similar to how smartphone maps place a dot with a field of vision indication on the map to represent the user. The following application is derived from concepts presented in Wilber’s Integral Vision (2007) and Integral Psychology (2000),

The concept of the shadow describes how people are unconscious of major developmental drives and patterns of behavior. For example, the shadow of modern industry and science may deny that the Earth and its animals have consciousness because they are unable to integrate the harm caused by unchecked materialism. Wilber recommends the process of 3-2-1 shadow work to face and integrate contents of the shadow. He described the shadow of modernity and postmodernity as the pathology of quadrant absolutism, in which some quadrants are valued to the detriment of others.

Integral-aperspectival is an essential concept to integral theory. The concept describes a worldview that brings together multiple perspectives while giving each perspective equal privilege. Integral-aperspectival is the antidote to quadrant absolutism pathology because it acknowledges all quadrants and levels of development. For example, mixed-methods research may be considered integral-aperspectival when it considers both qualitative and quantitative knowledge to be valid means of inquiry, as opposed to scientific positivism’s exclusive focus on objective quantitative studies. 

The pre/post fallacy addresses the modern pathology of quadrant absolutism, which is associated with the undue privilege of the objective “it” quadrant. The fallacy observes that there is a spectrum of development from pre-rational to trans-rational levels. The trans-rational levels have observed spiritual or transpersonal aspects that have been ignored by modern science. To modern scientifically oriented minds who operate at a rational level, both pre-rational and trans-rational states look identical as non-rational states. Consequently, modern psychology tended to equate higher states of spiritual development with lower types of pathology. However, once we become aware that there is a distinction, we may appropriately study pre- and trans-rational stages. Awareness of this fallacy may help modern researchers give privilege to subjective experiences because it explains why modern researchers have failed to find the rational basis of spirituality or transpersonal experience.

The concept of multiple bodies is the awareness that there is an embodied component of every state of consciousness. Wilber used the terms gross, subtle, and causal to describe the various bodies. Gross is associated with the physical body, which is the primary actor in waking states. Subtle is associated with the energy body, typically described in Eastern terms like chi or chakras, which is the primary actor in dream states. Causal is associated with the ground of being, which may be seen as the primary domain of deep dreamless states. The concept of multiple bodies may be combined with multiple levels and lines of development in the Wilber-Combs Matrix, which illustrates the complexity of analyzing any phenomena.

Integral life practice is the first-person experience of the integral approach. It is how one becomes oriented within the AQAL map. The practice involves an awareness of the various areas of growth and development through the psychograph, which represents the various lines and levels of development. The practice works with multiple bodies and quadrants through intentional exercises. It is important for researchers to engage in integral life practice as a means of becoming aware of their own biases and experiences.

Integral study of anomalous NHI-associated body marks

Now that we are equipped with the AQAL map, we may consider its application in research of anomalous geometric body marks associated with NHIs as physical evidence. I will define the research topic in terms of the quadrants and lines of development. Then I will consider relevant examples from within the CIHS research community. Finally, I will offer a guide for integral research into NHI-associated body marks.

I must first offer a hypothesis regarding these marks before the definition of the phenomenon. The body marks are associated with intuitions, dreams, or visions of NHIs, but typically not with physical memory. For example, both the devil’s mark and abduction marks typically have no conventional explanation, but have been used as physical evidence for NHI encounters (see Darr, 2009 and Hopkins, 1987). However, there are documented psychosomatic skin phenomena like stigmata, marks associated with past-lives, and hypnotic, shamanic, or religious miraculous healings of skin disease (Shenefelt and Shenefelt, 2014).

In discussing the phenomenon with Esbjörn-Hargens, he recommended that I use the precedent of skin marks discovered in association with vivid dreams and retold the story that a prominent dream researcher had a vivid dream of a bike crash and woke up with road rash. This hypothesis allows for a psychosomatic mechanism of skin marking that may be affected by ontologically distinct NHIs typically associated with archetypes, shamanic states of consciousness, or other nonphysical yet real levels, while avoiding the challenge of supporting extraordinary physical hypotheses like alien abduction.

Provisional criteria for research topic

My inquiry explores a real, objective, and documented phenomenon of anomalous geometry associated with ET/NHI intuitions, dreams, or experiences that are used as physical evidence. Many abduction researchers observe that their subjects report anomalous geometric body marks (see Hopkins, Jacobs, Mack, and Hernadez). Typically, experiencers discover an unexplained mark upon their body. The geometric quality of these marks suggest that they are unnatural, which inspires the experiencer to post online or contact researchers. These marks sometimes accompany unusual dreams, entity encounters, and UAP sightings. While I am focusing on ET/NHI-associated body marks, similar marks have been used as evidence for witchcraft and reincarnation. 

There are several criteria for inclusion into this inquiry. First, the experiencer must have publicly or semi-publicly sought insight regarding their mark or have explicitly shared their photos and stories for research purposes. If someone has made a social post or research inquiry regarding their mark, then they believe it is significant, meaningful, and unexplained by conventional means. Many of these marks are directly associated with intuitions of NHI contact such as alien abduction, ET visitation, or other spiritual events. Many experiencers deny conventional explanations for their marks because of either their geometric quality or their mysterious appearance. 

In line with the notions of integral-aperspectival, which does not duly value any one perspective over another, I must include body marks that have a known material cause that are unknown to the experiencer. For example, Hopkins (2004) presented an unexplained image of a bruise apparently caused by an uncommon suction cover for a hot-tub, which has been frequently associated with alien abduction and discovered across the globe. Even though there is a conventional explanation, the experiencer still held intuitions of NHI contact, discovered an unexplained geometric mark, and sought insight through contacting researchers. 

There are two reasons why anomalous body marks that are eventually explained may be meaningful. First, geometry itself, regardless of material form, is meaningful and a transpersonal experience. The process of apprehending geometry is embodied, imaginative, and transformative. Practice with geometry often leads to transpersonal experiences of NHIs such as in the Platonic doctrine of recollection, Jungian active imagination, or Tibeten mandala practice (Harms, 2011). Second, the mysterious appearance of geometry may be a synchronistic event caused in part by the intervention of NHIs. Esbjörn-Hargens described his telepathic experience with a mantid-form NHI that inspired a journey of geometric inquiry through synchronicity (Davis, 2020). Interestingly, mantids have been independently described within alien abduction and DMT literature, which also involves geometric intuition (Luke, 2011).

The specific criteria for inclusion of a body mark in my research focus include:

• Body mark experience is documented in writing and photographs
• Experiencer believes the mark is unexplainable by conventional means
• Experiencer discerns meaningful geometry in the mark
• Experiencer associates mark with ET/NHI contact
• Experiencer has explicitly invited insight, feedback, or research into the mark

Quadrant analysis of body marks

Integral theory helps us see why conventionally explained marks may still be associated with NHI intuitions. Material causes only explain the mark from one quadrant, which is the “it” quadrant associated with objective science. AQAL helps us see that there are other quadrants and dimensions of meaning. The inner experience of apprehension of geometry or the lived experience of NHI dreams and intuitions may be placed in the “I” quadrant, engaging intuitive means of knowledge. The use of body marks as physical evidence for the controversial subject of alien abduction may be placed in the “its” quadrants because it relates to human institutions and historical facts, engaging forensic means of knowledge. The aesthetic dimension of the mark may be placed in the “we” quadrant, engaging interpretive means of knowledge. The documentation of the physical mark and its medical analysis may be placed in the “it” quadrant, engaging objective means of knowledge. Figure 1 presents research questions in each quadrant.

Anomalous NHI-associated body marks may be particularly suited for integral studies because they span multiple quadrants by their nature. Shenefelt and Shenefelt (2014) observed that skin serves as a boundary between the inner and outer worlds, bridging the left and right quadrants. They also observed that skin marking is a traditional shamanic ritual and has cultural significance, bridging the top and bottom quadrants. Finally, they observed that shamans traditionally mark designs upon the skin and heal skin disorders in collaboration with NHI, typically understood as spirits, bridging the physical and subtle bodies.

Body marks as physical evidence for non-physical events

In addition to already noted examples of psycho-spiritual skin transformations, Motoyama’s (2009) work may demonstrate how physical events may be used for evidence of nonphysical interactions. Motoyama sought to elucidate the connection between physical and spiritual domains and may help model how the markings occur. Motoyama suggested spiritual events may have three levels. The first level is the domain of the individual physical body. The second level is a subtle realm of energy inhabited by individual or smaller collectives of spirits. The third level is composed of vast collectives of the smaller units. Spiritual events involve the movement of energy from one plane to another. According to Motoyama, when higher energy steps down into the physical world as ki or life-force energy, it may be measured in the body through the various energy centers or chakras.

Body marks such as stigmata, biblical leprosy, and other skin disorders have documented psycho-spiritual causes, which explains the capacity of prayer, hypnosis, and placebo to heal or cause skin disorders and body marks (Shenefelt and Shenefelt, 2014). Interestingly, many abduction narratives involve interactions with small groups of entities on presumably UAP craft, similar to Motoyama’s second level, and involve telepathic communication with vast NHI collectives, similar to the third level. While it is outside the scope of my inquiry, it may be hypothesized that Motoyama’s body marks are an energy conversion event and therefore may be experimentally studied using his methods, should they happen in laboratory conditions.

As an Exo Study

Esjborn-Hargens (2020) applied integral theory to anomalous and weird events typically associated with UFOs, ETs, and paranormal realities to establish the framework for an integrative metascience. He presented the mutual enactment hypothesis of NHI, which suggests that NHI encounters may be explained through a complex interaction of various physical and subtle bodies according to many of other hypotheses of NHIs such as sleep paralysis, abduction, or fairy encounters.. For example, he suggests that some NHI events may be explained by the collective unconscious as Jung suggested of UFOs, some others by spiritualist phenomenon like thought forms, and yet others by physically real ETs. He emphasized the concept of ontological indeterminacy, which suggests that there is a spectrum of ontological status that is typically termed unreal to real, such as subtle to physical bodies, and that it may be difficult to place NHIs on only one point of the spectrum. Finally, Esbjörn-Hargens argued for integral pluralism along epistemological, methodological, and ontological dimensions.

The study of NHI body marks necessarily involves the study of NHIs. In establishing a new taxonomy of NHIs, Esbjörn-Hargens asked four questions: where do they come from, what do they look like, what do they want, and what are they. His taxonomy will be helpful in analyzing reports of NHI encounters associated with the marks. Addressing where they came from may be particularly interesting given the similarity of abduction and fairy marks. Addressing what they want may be particularly interesting given the intense and negative nature of some abduction narratives.

Another relevant principle of Exo Studies is doubleness. Esbjörn-Hargens introduced the term to explain how some UFOs are physical and psychical events, meaning that it occupied multiple stations on the spectrum of ontological reality. The geometric nature of the body marks demonstrates the principle. When the mark’s form may be described only using simple ruler and compass geometric construction techniques, we may consider the mark to be both a physical object and a mathematical object. The physical object is the mark upon the skin and therefore may be described by the “it” quadrant. The mathematical object is the construction apprehended in the mind and therefore may be described by the “we” quadrant insofar as geometry is culturally specific and the “it/its” quadrants insofar as geometry is objective. The practice of ruler and compass analysis of anomalous geometric body marks may therefore be considered an integral practice or method. The concept of doubleness explains why it may be meaningful to examine geometric body marks that are eventually explained through conventional means because a Euclidean construction for the mark would still demonstrate the mark is a real mathematical object, thus having its own psychical reality apart from its material causes.

Exo Studies is a multidisciplinary approach to study, which draws upon many disciplines and perspectives. Much like Wilber’s (2000) work in Integral Psychology that charted dozens of developmental psychologies, Esbjörn-Hargens charted dozens of studies, books, and hypotheses related to NHIs. Following their example, any study of anomalous body marks should span multiple categories and perspectives. In my research to date, I have exhaustively searched several academic databases for references to anomalous geometric body marks, which include the witch’s or devil’s mark, reincarnation marks, and abduction marks. I have looked through medical databases for similar examples such as ringworm, bed bugs, rashes in the form of concentric rings, and pool suction wounds. Finally, I have deeply scoured the internet for social media posts inquiring about NHI-associated body marks, cataloging several distinct types of body marks typically involving geometric patterns of red dots that either appear burned or punctured in the skin.

Research direction

The field of body mark research is extremely small. There are no published databases of images or formal studies of abduction marks. The use of the devil’s or witch’s mark is documented in literature (Darr, 2009). Around two dozen photos from Hopkins’s (1987 and 2004) research into abductions are available online, but there is little information about them. However, there are several online communities that share body mark documentation and hypotheses such as the Red Grid Mark Phenomenon Researchers and Experiencers Facebook Group or the Alien Abduction subreddit. The MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) database holds several dozen reports of anomalous body marks, which suggests that the experiencers intuited a connection with NHI or UAPs. 

I have personally experienced anomalous body marks and dreamlike NHI encounters. I have avoided making objective or “it” quadrant statements, in favor of subjective and transpersonal inquiry using dreamwork and ruler and compass geometry based upon research papers I wrote at CIHS (Rekshan, 2022 and 2023). One may argue that geometry is an integral or holistic practice that spans all quadrants. My research suggested that ruler and compass geometry may relate the mark to an archetypal circle, which in turn may be used as a mandala as a focus for transpersonal experiences such as Jungian active imagination or Tibetan mandala practice. Further, my research suggested that once congruence is demonstrated between a simple ruler and compass construction and the mark, we may conclude that the mark is both a mathematical object and a physical object. Geometry is embodied, imaginative, and intuitive. It is often connected to NHI encounters such as Socrates and his daemon or John Dee and his angels. One research direction may be the study of geometric intuition associated with NHI using the intuitive inquiry methodology (Anderson and Braud, 2011). One would interview experiencers to document their mark and intuition, then engage them in a co-participatory study of their marks using ruler and compass geometry, and finally interviewing them again for their insights.

However, the study of body marks simply requires adequate and accessible data to begin. I have worked with dozens of marks from social media posts, databases, and Hopkins’s lecture. Many of the marks have multiple photos, narrative accounts of the discovery, and documentation of the experiencer’s NHI intuition and their reasoning that the mark is anomalous. I will apply integral theory to my research topic by collecting data in all quadrants, address the questions within the Exo Studies NHI taxonomy, and include multiple marking types and perspectives, as listed in Figure 1. I will explore the use of ruler and compass geometry to produce constructions of the mark’s geometric design. Additionally, I will conduct inquiries using multiple means of knowledge such as personal dreamwork, channeling, and contemplative awareness in line with integral life practice.

In conclusion, I have defined the research topic of anomalous geometric body marks associated with NHI contact and demonstrated its cultural importance through analogy with marks associated with medieval witchcraft. I summarized integral theory, in particular the AQAL model, and have considered relevant integral perspectives such as Motoyama and Esbjörn-Hargens. Then, I outlined the application through mixed-methods research approaches. Finally, I established a list of questions that will guide my cataloging efforts of this phenomenon. It is my hope that an integral study of anomalous geometric body marks will facilitate the ontological study of and communication with nonhuman intelligences for our collective benefits.

References

Anderson, R., & Braud, W. (2011). Transforming self and others through research: Transpersonal research methods and skills for the human sciences and humanities. State University of New York Press. https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/Transforming-Self-and-Others-through-Research 

Bogzaran, F., & Deslauriers, D. (2012). Integral dreaming: A holistic approach to dreams. State University of New York Press. https://sunypress.edu/Books/I/Integral-Dreaming

Clancy, S. A. (2005). Abducted: How people come to believe they were kidnapped by aliens. Harvard University Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.4159/9780674029576 

Darr, O. A. (2009). The devil’s mark: a socio-cultural analysis of physical evidence. Continuity and change, 24(2), 361-387. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0268416009007218

Davis, S. (Host). (2020, June). Sean Esbjorn-Hargens Part 1 and 2 [Audio podcast episode]. In Aliens and Artists. The Liminal Muse. https://www.aliensandartists.com/  

Esbjörn-Hargens, (2020). An Exo Studies Exploration of the Ontological Status of Non-Human Intelligences [resource paper]. Exo Studies Institute. https://www.exostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Exo_Studies-Our_Wild_Kosmos.pdf 

Jacobs, D. M. (1993). Secret life: firsthand, documented accounts of UFO abductions. Simon and Schuster.

Harms, D. (2011). Geometry of the mandala. Jung Journal, 5(2), 84-101. https://doi.org/10.1525/jung.2011.5.2.84 

Hernandez, R., Davis, R., & Schild, R. (2018). A Study on Reported Contact with Non-Human Intelligence Associated with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 32(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.31275/2018.1282 

Hopkins, B. (1981). Missing time: A documented study of UFO abductions. Richard Marek Publishers.

Hopkins, B. (1987). Intruders: the incredible visitations at Copley Woods. Random House.

Hopkins, B. (2004). UFO Abduction Cases: The medical evidence [recorded lecture]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/5A2aGy_2u8c 

Lemarchand, G. A., & Lomberg, J. (2011). Communication among interstellar intelligent species. In Vakoch, D. A. (Ed.). Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence (CETI) (pp. 371-396). State University of New York Press. https://sunypress.edu/Books/C/Communication-with-Extraterrestrial-Intelligence-CETI 

Luke, D. (2011). Discarnate entities and dimethyltryptamine (DMT): Psychopharmacology, phenomenology and ontology. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 75(902). https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-04822-003 

Mack, J. E. (1995). Abduction: Human encounters with aliens. Ballantine Books.

Motoyama, H. (2009). Being and the logic of interactive function (S. Nagatomo & J. Krummel, Trans). Human Science Press.

Otgaar, H., Howe, M. L., & Patihis, L. (2022). What science tells us about false and repressed memories. Memory, 30(1), 16-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2020.1870699 

Patihis, L., Ho, L. Y., Tingen, I. W., Lilienfeld, S. O., & Loftus, E. F. (2014). Are the “memory wars” over? A scientist-practitioner gap in beliefs about repressed memory. Psychological science, 25(2), 519-530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613510718 

Rainey, C. (2011). The Priests of High Strangeness. Paratopia. http://johnemackinstitute.org/2011/01/the-priests-of-high-strangeness-a-warning-about-expectations/ 

Rekshan, D., (2022). Shamanic Dreamwork as a Precedent for Alien Abduction Experience (AAE) Hypnosis [student paper]. California Institute for Human Science. ttps://dseti.org/shamanic-dreamwork-as-a-precedent-for-alien-abduction-experience-hypnosis/ 

Rekshan, D., (2023). Geometry as Communication with Nonhuman Intelligences [student paper]. California Institute for Human Science. https://dseti.org/geometry-as-communication-with-nonhuman-intelligences/ 

Shenefelt, P. D., & Shenefelt, D. A. (2014). Spiritual and religious aspects of skin and skin disorders. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 201-212. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S65578 

Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Shambhala.

Wilber, K. (2007). The integral vision: A very short introduction to the revolutionary integral approach to life, God, the universe, and everything. Shambhala Publications.

Vallee, J. (1988). Dimensions: A casebook of alien contact. Contemporary Books.

Figures

Figure 1

AQAL inquiry into body mark phenomenon

Individual Interior - “I” - Who experienced the mark? - What was their experience of finding the mark? - What was their experience with NHI that caused the association and intuition of meaning?	Individual Exterior - “it” - What are the facts of the mark, like time, place, etc? - What does the mark look like on the body? - What do doctors say about the marks? - What medical precedents exist for the mark? - What are the mathematical properties of the mark?
Group Interior - “We” - What is the cultural history of the mark or similar marks? - What are the correspondences with its geometry? - Using Platonic terms, what myths arise during the recollection of the mathematical object that describes the mark?	Group Exterior - “its” - How is the mark used as physical evidence? - What are the precedents in literature?