A new foundation has been created to research ET contact called FREE (the Dr. Edgar Mitchell Foundation for Research into Extraterrestrial Encounters), acting as a support network for anomalous contact experiencers and researchers alike. In a special 4-hour program, George Knapp welcomed FREE members Robert Davis and Rey Hernandez to discuss the scientific study of the phenomenon and how FREE's efforts might change the way we view experiencers. FREE members and researchers Mary Rodwell and Rosemary Ellen Guiley also joined part of the conversation.

The current focus of their work, explained Hernandez, is to conduct an academic investigation, through surveys and interviews, into those that have had UFO-related contact experiences with non-human intelligent beings. "In the future, we want to...compare this UFO-related contact group with individuals that have had other types of paranormal contact experiences," including NDEs, OBEs, and mystical encounters, he continued. Davis described the diverse types of questions that are on their survey, including details about a person's background, and the nature of the contacts, and the non-human beings.

One of the most surprising aspects of the survey results was that the vast majority of respondents had a positive psychological transformation after their contact experiences, Davis reported. Rodwell noted that these results correlated with her research that most people appreciated their encounter experiences. She shared a recent Melbourne, Australia case in which a woman with chronic back degeneration was levitated onto an ET craft, and afterwards was pain free. An experiencer named Chris had Crohn's disease and was completely cured after being taken aboard a craft, Hernandez added.

There's a whole range of entities being encountered that go well beyond the "greys" and "reptilians," including energy, crystalline, and tall blue beings, as well as humanoid and spiritual types, Rodwell outlined, adding that most of these encounters could be characterized as deep level connections rather than abductions. Guiley talked about her research into what she calls "Trans-Reality Earth"-- how our consciousness is changing as a result of people's experiences with otherworldly intelligences. When it comes to more hostile encounters with ETs, she cited possible involvement of the clandestine Djinn beings, and the trickster element.