In the first half, author and retired Colonel Dr. John Alexander shared with Connie Willis (info) a number of the intriguing phenomena he has encountered and studied on his travels around the globe. Certain places on Earth are particularly conducive to paranormal or unusual activity, he said, offering places like Brazil and West Africa as examples. The line between the physical and the spiritual worlds in such societies is typically blurred, which may cause incidences of phenomena like telekinesis, UFOs, cryptozoology, and near-death experiences to concentrate there. Precognitive sentient phenomena (PSP), a mysterious force that eludes observers, may also be at work, making uncanny connections between different conditions or events, he explained.

Alexander’s expeditions often include research into the practice of shamanism around the world. A shaman’s role and activities usually depend on the region and culture in question, he said. The use of the powerful psychoactive brew ayahuasca, for instance, can be found in shamanic rituals in South America, while some shamans in the jungles of Benin and Ghana handle burning logs as part of their ceremonies. At times shamanic practices conflict with local law enforcement, as in Papua, New Guinea, where shamans have been arrested for engaging in cannibalism, or in Uzbekistan, where shamanic healing runs counter to Islamic law. See images of Alexander’s visits with shamans here.

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In the latter half, Canadian Sasquatch researcher Mike Paterson discussed his extensive work observing and documenting the species he called “an ancient race of people” mainly in the Ontario province. For over a decade, he said, he has continued to expand his knowledge of Sasquatch through direct interaction with them individually and in groups. In fact, Paterson reported, in the last eight years he’s studied one family especially closely, even learning their names in some cases. Paterson shared several audio clips of field recordings of “Nef” and others in the Sasquatch family, speaking to him and to each other.

Paterson hopes his research calls attention to the impressive intelligence and emotional sophistication he’s observed in Sasquatch. Far from mere “apes” acting on base survival instincts, he asserted, Sasquatch are a playful, wise, family-oriented species that possess supernatural abilities. Paterson claimed that he has personally received marbles and coins “out of thin air” from Sasquatch, seen their footprints appear and disappear spontaneously, and established written communication with them. It may even be, he speculated, that Sasquatch are a human-ET hybrid. Go to Paterson’s collection of images here.