Lessons in Humility

     "I came away from my two trips to Gilroy with a feeling of anger 
  and frustration. Witnesses like Mrs. Victor and her family should 
  be helped, not thrown into further confusion by those who investigate 
  the UFO mystery. In their eagerness to obtain definite answers, or 
  simply to validate their own preconceptions about the extraterrestrial 
  nature of the phenomenon, many investigators rush in, demanding answers, 
  where they should first try to attend to the trauma and the stress
  surrounding the witness -- even if that means postponing the inquiry 
  itself by a few days of a few weeks. The most simple considerations of
  ethics demand this. Yet in the last few years, the number of untrained, 
  unqualified hypnotists roaming the countryside in the name of UFO
  research has greatly multiplied.
     In a case like the sighting by Mrs. Victor, hypnotic regression
  may be of considerable help. In the hands of a medical professional it
  could have relieved the mounting family crisis and provided useful 
  details blocked by the witness because they were terrifying or 
  challenged her sense of reality. Since future hypnotic sessions are
  generally conditioned by the very first regression, it is doubtful
  that the Victor case could be reopened. Although Mrs. Victor called me
  following my visit to say that she now felt ready to undergo hypnosis,
  my conclusion was that the shock of the first bungled attempt would
  bias and new results.
     The sequence of the sighting, the abduction, and the beating is a very
  interesting one. Naturally, the latter incident fits into no theory of
  extraterrestrial visitation: if UFOs are spacecraft piloted by beings 
  from another planet, why should the witnesses find themselves under
  unprovoked physical attacks by invisible entities? For this reason such
  incidents are generally withheld from publication by UFO enthusiasts. Yet 
  they are consistent with another paranormal domain. The literature of
  religious miracles and the lives of mystics abounds with well-documented
  accounts of physical manifestations, including beatings, that are usually
  classified as possession phenomena or manifestations of so-called evil
  powers, although they generally do not cause permanent harm to the
  person.
   This body of literature should be diligently studied by those who are
  serious about investigating UFO sightings.
     A case in point is found in the careful analysis of the life of
  Marie-Therese Noblet, a French nun and missionary who lived in the
  early part of the century. [...]
     The priest heard a violent punch at the same time the nun's body was
  projected forward, with the back bent by the assault. Such phenomena
  occurred throughout the life of Marie-Therese, who frequently suffered
  visible bruises from such attacks. Similar effects abound in the lives
  of saints, mystics, and of course, the subjects of exorcism.
     Having met Mrs. Victor and her family, I reached the conclusion that
  an anomalous event did happen to them and that the sighting was 
  authentic. The abduction experience, which took place one month later,
  could have been a source of extremely valuable insight if the data had
  been handled in a professional manner. Given the circumstances, however,
  this is another case in which the real truth may never be known."
  _Confrontations_ 1990 Jacques Vallee  ISBN: 0-345-36453-8