About the Presentation

We who wish to comprehend the mysteries of the Universe and our own existence must at times suspend disbelief and enter into a real dialogue that dares to hold the impossible. In our listening, greater truth can be revealed to us all.

There are intelligent and gifted adults and children who are marginalized because our current paradigm has no place for them. These individuals report experiences of ET contacts, including abductions, that are both traumatizing and transformative, challenging our concepts of time, space, material existence and religious and/or spiritual beliefs. In the early 1990‚s, Dr. John Mack, an internationally respected Harvard psychiatrist was confronted by this ontological dilemma and chose to learn from these people instead of dismissing or pathologizing them.

This presentation will not attempt to prove or disprove that people have been abducted by aliens. Instead, it will focus on a list of gifts and challenges that are common among “abductees”, based on my work with Dr. Mack and subsequent contact with this extraordinary group of individuals. The list was written for those who report this phenomenon as well as those who wish to understand and appreciate this group more fully.

While the focus will be individuals reporting ET encounters, many characteristics will apply to other forms of spiritual emergence such as near-death and other out-of-body experiences, kundalini awakenings, and drug-related altered states. Suggestions for therapists and clergy helping people integrate extraordinary experiences will be included. One or more people reporting ET contact may be present.

Some of the questions for our discussion may include:

1. What is “ontological shock” and how can we “hold the impossible”?
2. People who are traumatized and/or transformed by extraordinary experiences typically live their reality in isolation even if they remain active in the world.  What new ways of relating, beyond counseling, need to be created that support the expression and exploration of radical shifts in consciousness for us as individuals and in community?
3. Why are we addressing this topic now?

About the Presenter

Dr. Shelley Tanenbaum, Psy.D is a clinical psychologist and senior Hakomi therapist in private practice in Boulder. She received her doctorate at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and did her post-doctoral work with Harvard psychiatrist, Dr. John Mack at PEER (the Program for Extraordinary Experience Research). She has been interested in the edges of consciousness since 1971 after her own life changing experience.

As a therapist, Shelley specializes in body-mind integration, health in relationships, and the treatment of trauma. She was co-founder and director of an east coast yoga center from 1979-99, and was a student of Swami Satchidananda and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. She is the creator of Intuitive Life Movement ®, a way of expressing our innate authenticity by releasing habitual patterns related to body tension and movement, identity, and relationships with others.

Additional Resources

Download Shelley’s Handout:
“GIFTS AND CHALLENGES OF INDIVIDUALS WHO REPORT E.T. ENCOUNTERS”