- Investigating a UFO EncounterContinue reading →

by Nomar Slevik
(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)
In my latest book, Otherworldly Encounters, I wrote about some of my expeditions into the UFO phenomena. There are four areas that I work through every time that I am on a case: research the event, contact witnesses for interviews, learn about the location, and if possible, attempt an investigation of the encounter and document the entire process. I conduct these onsite investigations so I can fully understand and immerse myself into the witness's encounter. By doing so, I have the potential to capture what they saw on video or to find some trace evidence, potentially confirming their experience. If nothing happens, at least I will know the conditions in which their encounter occurred; details are everything. The following information are the tried and true methods that I have used for interviewing witnesses, going on site of an encounter, and how I've managed to increase my chances in observing a UFO.
Research
This may seem obvious, but it really is about knowing as much as possible about an encounter before going out into the field. You always want to be prepared, and by conducting research into an extraterrestrial encounter, you'll set yourself up for as much success as possible. This includes finding and contacting witnesses, researching the area of the encounter, possible prior encounters in the area, and what you will need to bring with you should you go on site.If you are not sure of where to start there are a few places that you can check out. MUFON and NUFORC have extensive databases, you can check for your state's local MUFON chapter for in-person meetings, or simply Google, "UFO sightings near me."
Witness Interviews
When and where did the encounter occur? Who are the key witnesses? Are you able to contact them? If so, can you meet them in person? If not, that's okay; it is not always feasible to meet a witness in person. Some times the event happened years ago and they have since moved out of the area or they are not comfortable meeting with you and prefer to remain anonymous. If the latter happens, that's okay, too! Thank them for being willing to share their experience and ask what method of communication is preferred/would make them most comfortable. In one of my instances, a witness was most comfortable utilizing Facebook Messenger. Don't be discouraged, it is about their level of comfort and we need to respect that.The most important aspects to keep in mind before, during, and after interviewing a witness is to be kind and patient. Often, these encounters can be scary or confusing to people and it is essential to treat them with respect throughout the entire process. Give them time to answer and allow for them to describe it in their own way. Being pushy, asking leading questions, and not being empathetic to their situation can cause a witness to become uncomfortable and not want to share their experience.
Once you have their preferred method of communication, get as much detail as possible. If you are meeting them in person ask permission to record the conversation with an audio recorder as to not miss any detail. If you cannot, that's okay—take down as many notes as possible. For me, I try to essentially transcribe in the moment; simply do your best. Ask them about the initial encounter first. What happened, when did it occur, and what did they see? Details are essential here and it is okay, once they are done telling you about their experience, to ask follow up questions. Some examples, Lights: how many and what color? Were they blinking? If so, rhythmically or randomly? Brightness of the light, approximate distance from them, and was there anything in the witness's line of sight to measure size and distance, such as trees, houses, etc. Objects: Did it have lights? If so, locations of them on the object, and how many? What was the shape of the object? Also include approximate distance/items in line of sight for measurement. Ask about prior history of sightings for them and for their family. Ask about the days and weeks before the encounter for anything out of the ordinary. Glean information from the day of the encounter as well. Minute details are essential to truly understand what their day was like, state of mind, and what they were doing the day of the encounter. Ask how they felt during the encounter but leave it open ended because you are trying to understand the entire situation and scope of their encounter. Examples of this could be that they felt fear during the encounter (normal) or they might say that the air felt electrically charged (abnormal).
When you are finished with the interview, it is my opinion that you should provide your contact information to the witness (if you haven't already) in case they would like to contact you again in the future. Some reasons that they may want to contact you again is to possibly provide you with additional information that they did not remember at the time of the interview, they may have a new encounter that they want to share, they may want to refer someone else to you, or they may simply need someone to talk with to help them process their experience. Everyone is different, and if you can help them (within reason) it is my opinion that you do so.
Location
What type of location is it? Private or public property? Do you have permission or need a permit to be there? Even if it is public property, say a park, school field, or waterfront area, you may need permission from the local police/municipality to be onsite with equipment or to be there after hours as many public areas close at sundown. Once you have secured permission/permit, is it safe to get to? If it's a rugged area, do you have the means and are you physically able to get yourself there safely? If your investigation is slated for nighttime, make sure to scout the location during the daylight hours to familiarize yourself with the area. This is important because landscapes can look different at night and it is imperative that you stay safe.Equipment
When I go onsite for an investigation I make sure to have a few pieces of equipment with me to capture any possible evidence. First and foremost, I like to bring a video camera with night vision capabilities. I also bring a Full Spectrum Camera that can capture video/images that can "see" more light than regular cameras such as infrared images, ultraviolet light images, and more. Since we have no idea what UFOs are or what they are made of, it's important to capture the full light spectrum or as much as is possible. As stated previously, I also bring a digital audio recorder for interviewing witnesses but it could also prove useful during the investigation to capture any pertinent sounds emanating from a possible UFO or possible EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). With that said, recording audio outside can sometimes be problematic, especially if you find that your location is particularly windy, rainy, or otherwise noisy. Due to this, I have implemented use of a parabolic microphone. This type of microphone helps to pinpoint weaker sounds or to boost sounds so they can be clearly heard by the human ear. Lastly, I bring along an electromagnetic field detector and a Geiger counter to measure any possible electromagnetic signals or radiation potentially caused by a UFO. Again, we do not know what they are, what they are made, of or how they travel. If more than normal EMF or radiation readings are captured, it could show evidence that a UFO may have been in the area recently. You could also bring your data to an academic or expert to try and figure out why that particular area had higher than normal readings; a natural or mundane answer could be the explanation.Conclusion
As I previously mentioned, these are the methods that I use to conduct a UFO investigation. There have been researchers, investigators, members of MUFON, NUFORC, and many other people who have or continue to investigate claims of UFO activity and their methods may differ from mine. These methods have worked for me but I also continue to learn from my peers and pioneers in the field. And for you, you may find a different methodology that works for you and your witnesses, and that's okay, too! Maybe you can let me know what you do differently because it's all about treating witnesses with respect and to find out what's really happening in our skies.Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018. All rights reserved.
- Double Vision: Another Intriguing Baby Monitor ScenarioContinue reading →

Three nights ago, I awoke at 1:30 a.m. and heard what I thought was my 17-month-old coughing over the baby monitor. I went in to check on him but found him snuggled in his blankets, head on his pillow, apparently sound asleep. I waited and he never coughed, so I went back to bed. Immediately the coughing began again, about every 30 seconds. Five times I got up and checked on him, and he never once moved out of his sleeping position and never coughed when I was in the room. Finally, I went back to bed and the coughing started back up. I woke my husband up and said,
Honey, listen to Alec. His coughing won't stop.
My husband heard him too, and then we heard Alec callMama.
Matt said,He's calling you. Go in there.
Again I went into his room and he was sleeping heavily still. Puzzled, I happened to look up at the monitor and it was turned off! My jaw dropped. Frantic, I went back to my husband and told him the monitor was off. He said,You're kidding.
Matt had turned it off earlier that morning when he got up with the boys to let me sleep in. He thought I had turned it back on. What were we hearing? Was it feedback from some other house? We still can't figure this out. The sound and coughing was REAL. I'm so glad I woke my husband up to hear it too. What do you think about this? Thank you.- Karen
Astrea:
What an exciting but puzzling experience for you and your husband. Of course, running back and forth to the baby's room, worrying all night wasn't fun, but the sounds you heard weren't coming from your baby.
Before offering you what I feel was happening, I should mention that it's possible that what you heard was an Angelic Being who is crazy in love with your baby. This is not something to fear, but it is something to watch. Let's face it, Alec is an adorable baby, and it's natural for him to draw more love and adoration than many other babies do. She has probably appeared to him on a number of other occasions, and since he's used to her now, she can coo and make other sounds to him without startling him.
While this is possible, I feel something else was going on in your case. This baby you heard is someone in your future, a child who wants to come to you. Often when someone reincarnates, the soul coming back to the Earth plane will be enlightened enough to choose his or her parents.
This baby was
auditioning
you and your husband for that role. She will probably come again and again until you're pregnant with her, and then these mysterious sounds will stop altogether. Once she gets here as a living human baby, you'll recognize her voice as the mysterious baby you heard on the monitor.It's highly likely that she's been with you before and is part of your Karmic Family. Being born in human form is important to her in terms of her own goals as well as your well-being. When you and your husband were children, she may have been a spirit guide to one of you. As you grew up and formed a family, she changed and evolved into someone who wants to be one of your children.
No matter what her relationship was to you and/or your husband in a past life, this time around, she has lessons to give you as her parents. Your Karmic Family must be highly evolved because this doesn't happen all that often. This is very lucky, so you should welcome the opportunity to receive this divine blessing back into your lives.
If you and your husband aren't planning on having another baby, now is the time for the two of you to be extremely careful. The baby on the monitor you both heard was not your 17-month-old toddler. This is a child who is hoping to be born to you in the future. On the other hand, if you want to become pregnant again, now would be a super time to make that happen.
*****
Susyn:
The psychic connection between parents and their children is powerful; many times parents can sense problems with their children telepathically.
Baby monitors, receivers and other electrical sound devices can often store residual voices, so they can sometimes replay sounds that are actually coming from the past as well as what we might perceive to be the future.
I doubt that the sounds you heard were feedback coming from another house because instinctually, you recognized the coughing and cries as being your son's. The fact that both you and your husband heard the sounds emanating from the receiver affirms this.
This is a common occurrence in places that are believed to be haunted. After sweeping the home for EVP's with sensitive recorders, people will discover that they are hearing the same voice or conversation over and over, as if it has been trapped in time. If you have heard Alec cough over the monitor in the past, the device itself could have been repeating the incident.
Unless there are other unexplained incidents going on in your home, I don't believe that this is a sign of a haunting or other presence, so there is no need to worry about that. If you start hearing voices other than your son's coming through the receiver, that would be a different story.
It's interesting to note that the coughing ceased once you realized the monitor was off. Though you definitely heard your young son coughing and calling out to you, it's possible that what you heard was transmitted via the special psychic connection you possess with your child. Despite the appearance that he was sound asleep, he may have needed your attention or been experiencing a bad dream.
I had a similar experience with a friend many years ago. She lived a few blocks away at the time of this incident. I awoke in the middle of the night hearing her calling for help. I jumped out of bed and went outside where I had heard her cries but couldn't find her. When I spoke with her the next morning, we compared notes, and I discovered that she had been out at that exact time, and frightened because a man was following her. In her head, she was silently screaming for help, and I had heard her telepathically.
If this happens again, I recommend taking Alec back to bed with you so that he is nearby in case there is a problem during the night. Even if he appears to be sound asleep, you'll feel better if he is with you.
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.
