SUBJECT: LIGHTS IN THE SKIES & EARTHQUAKE'S FILE: UFO3295 by John Stepkowski For many years people have reported seeing strange lights in the skies before, during and after an earthquake. Dr John S. Derr, of the U.S. Geological Survey, recently said that the existence of earthquake lights is now well established and that the subject should no longer be ignored. The lights are more pronounced in the middle of the shock. Some people who have viewed them say they look like searchlights; others say they look like fireballs. Yutaka Yasui, of Japan, collected the only known photographs of earthquake lights during the Matsushiro earthquake swarm in Japan, between 1965 and 1967. He claimed that at least 18 of the 35 sightings reported during that period could not be explained by known lights, such as meteors or twilight. The strongest illumination came during the earthquake that hit China in 1976. One seismologist reported that the lights at the centre of the earthquake were bright enough to turn night into day. Even up to 320 kilometres from the epicenter of the quake, the lights were bright enough to wake people up, thinking their room lights had been turned on. Experts have come up with two possible causes: violent, low-level air oscillation and the piezoelectric effect in quartz-bearing rock. If the second possibility proves to be the cause, it may be possible to develop electrical monitoring methods for earthquake predictions. [1] Some researchers theorize that earth lights are produced by seismic stresses beneath the earth. These stresses are said to generate the high voltage that creates small masses of ionized gas, which are then released into the air near the fault line. Support for this theory can be found at several locations where earth lights have been reported. These include: seven of eight lochs in Scotland - sites of earth lights activity - which are on a major fault line; the remote valley of Hessdalen, near Norway's Swedish border, which is in a fault region that has been subjected to earth tremors; and the Brown Mountain lights of North Carolina, which could be linked to the nearby Grandfather Mountain fault. [2] Several investigators, and predominantly Paul Devereux in the United Kingdom, have made the link between tectonic, geophysical activity and anomalous sightings, suggesting strongly that at least some UFOs are the by-product of natural energies released from inside the Earth. Such analysis charts the association of reported UFOs with earthquake activity and other periods of tectonic strain. Experiments conducted in the 1980s have suggested that if certain types of rocks are brought under extreme pressure this can result in complex patterns of light emission, though the precise mechanism is not yet understood. [3] While study of earth lights is a modern phenomenon, early societies were apparently aware of them and incorporated them into their beliefs and practices. For example, The native American Snohomish of Washington State regarded them as doors to the worlds beyond; while the Yakima, another Washington tribe, believed they could help them to divine the future. The Australian Aborigines claim the spirits of the dead or evil beings manifest themselves as what they call _min-min_ lights. Earth lights also have been linked to locations where sacred shrines and monuments were erected by early societies. They have been seen around Viking burial sites, Himalayan temples, and other mystical or holy places, such as at England's Glastonbury Tor, the Castlerigg Stone Circle, and other Megalith sites. Not surprisingly, the earth lights phenomena have sparked debate among those who claim they are terrestrial in origin and others who feel they are convincing evidence of UFOs. Researcher Paul Devereux's theory that earth lights represent an unfamiliar, but terrestrial form of electromagnetic energy has played a prominent role in at least one controversial study that suggests energy given off by the lights could spark changes in the brain that might lead some individuals to imagine they've had an encounter with a UFO. In laboratory experiments electromagnetism has been shown to affect the brain's hippocampus region, causing a subject to undergo an altered state of consciousness. Researchers have been able to duplicate some kinds of visions and bodily sensations experienced by people who claim to have come in contact with extraterrestrials. [4] Another proponet of the earthlights theory is Michael Persinger. Persinger has developed what he calls the Tectonic Stress Theory (TST), which not only suggests that some UFOs are earthlights caused by seismic activity, but that accompanying EM fields may also be responsible for inducing hallucinations that might include "Alien" encounters... Biological effects of electromagnetic radiation? You may be interested that Michael Persinger at Laurentian University in Ontario has found that EM fields around 5-Hz can induce various alterations in consciousness ... Persinger also alludes to connexions between EM fields and transpersonal experiences. He finds these to be similar to the experiences reported by individuals with temporal lobe abnormalities. A sense of the "presence" of some kind of "significant being" is typical. Persinger finds reason to support the hypothesis that many anecdotal reports of UFO contact may in fact be hallucinations induced by exposure to EM fields. One could extend the hypothesis and enquire further regarding culturally accepted forms of religious experience. Persinger MA Increased geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of bereavement hallucinations: evidence for melatonin-mediated microseizuring in the temporal lobe? - Neurosci Lett 1988 Jun 7;88(3):271-4 This study was designed to test the hypothesis that common bereavement apparitions are hallucinatory experiences evoked by transient electrical instability within the (glucocorticoid) sensitized mesiobasal temporal lobes. All first hand reports of 'postmortem apparition' experiences were collected from a published data base. The days on which the experiences occurred displayed significantly greater (mean increase = 10 gamma) geomagnetic activity compared to the days before or afterwards. These results suggest that bereavement apparitions are situation-specific hallucinations evoked by microseizures within sensitized temporal lobe structures Gearhart L Persinger MA Geophysical variables and behavior: XXXIII. Onsets of historical and contemporary poltergeist episodes occurred with sudden increases in geomagnetic activity. - Percept Mot Skills 1986 Apr;62(2):463-6 (similar correlation found here as in article above) Persinger MA Geophysical variables and behavior: LV. Predicting the details of visitor experiences and the personality of experients: the temporal lobe factor. - Percept the Information Security Oversight Office. The Director shall determine the agency having primary subject matter interest and forward the information, with appropriate recommendations, to that agency for a classification determination. SEC. 1.3 Classification Categories. 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When it can be determined, a specific date or event for declassification shall be set by the original classification authority at the time the information is originally cli@well.sf.ca.us (Jack Sarfatti) Subject: Psychotronics Experiments [6] - The UFO Encyclopedia, pp 130-131, Edited by John Spencer, London: Headline Books, 1991. ISBN 0-7472-3494-9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ********************************************************************* * -------->>> THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo <<<------- * *********************************************************************