Episode 14: Do Aliens Believe in Jesus?
(The magic of doubt.)

Welcome to the companion resources page for our episode, where we explore the beautiful tension between doubt and wonder, science and mystery, personal meaning-making and collective consciousness. We wrestle with ideas like precognitive physiological responses, the normalization of advanced stages of human development, the limits of scientific certainty, grief as a portal to signs from beyond, the subtle art of living in "flow," and those big, playful questions about aliens, telepathy, and what might lie outside our everyday reality.

Below, we've divided the conversation into chapters for easy navigation. Each chapter includes an in-depth explanation of the key ideas we discussed, reflections on our personal takes, and curated resources for further reading—books, papers, podcasts, and more. Our goal is to give you substantive places to dive deeper, without needing to "solve" anything. As we landed in the episode: Mystery doesn't have to be resolved to transform us.

Chapter 1: Presentiment Experiments: The Body Knowing Before the Mind

We opened by exploring studies on predictive anticipatory activity (PAA), also called "presentiment." These experiments measure unconscious physiological changes—like shifts in heart rate, skin conductance (electrodermal activity), or brain waves—that occur seconds before a randomly selected emotional stimulus (e.g., a shocking image of a snake or spider) versus a neutral one (e.g., a calm rainbow or kitten). The truly mind-bending part: the body's response anticipates the upcoming stimulus before the computer has even randomly generated which image will appear next. This rules out conventional explanations like conscious expectation or leakage from the experimenter.

The effect is subtle (small effect size around 0.21 in meta-analyses) but statistically robust across dozens of studies from independent labs. Physiological arousal ramps up before emotional images and stays calmer before neutral ones, mirroring (in a time-reversed way) what happens after the image appears. In the episode, we mentioned responses occurring "up to seven seconds" ahead—this aligns with the range reported in key meta-analyses (typically 1–10 seconds, with many studies using 3–5 second pre-stimulus windows). No single study reliably hits exactly 7 seconds as a maximum; it's a general upper bound observed across the literature. The randomness is computer-generated and truly unpredictable, making this a challenge to classical causality (cause must precede effect).

This phenomenon raises profound questions: Is time strictly linear for consciousness? Does the body access information from the "future" in some non-local way? We tied it to our theme of the supernatural feeling natural—it's replicated science, yet it stretches our understanding of reality.

Deeper Dive & Resources:

  • Original meta-analysis covering 26 studies (1978–2010): Mossbridge et al. (2012). "Predictive physiological anticipation preceding seemingly unpredictable stimuli: a meta-analysis." Frontiers in Psychology. Full open-access article

  • Updated meta-analysis (adding studies through 2018, confirming the effect): Mossbridge et al. (2018). PMC full text

  • Critical discussion and implications: Mossbridge et al. (2014). "Predicting the unpredictable: critical analysis and practical implications of predictive anticipatory activity." Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Full article

  • For a broader context on anomalies in time perception: Radin, D. (2006). Entangled Minds (chapters on presentiment).

Chapter 2: Pedestalizing Advanced Consciousness & Later Person Perspectives

A core thread here was recognizing (and releasing) the tendency to pedestalize or mystify later stages of cognitive and ego development—such as fifth-person perspective and beyond. We often project these as "super special," shrouded in mystery, or requiring extraordinary effort/enlightenment, when they can be understood as natural extensions of earlier developmental patterns, just applied to more complex, subtle, or collective content.

This insight came from contrasting older developmental literature (which sometimes elevates later stages as "enlightened" or unknowable) with earlier, more concrete descriptions from the 1990s that treat them as straightforward progressions. In the episode, this connected to frustration with training that implicitly creates an "us vs. them" hierarchy.

We explored this idea in much greater depth in the Episode 12 resources page ("Ego Development Part 5 - The Construct Aware & Transpersonal Stages"). There, we unpacked Terri O’Fallon’s STAGES model (MetAware tier: stages 5.0 Construct Aware and 5.5 Transpersonal), where fifth-person perspective involves meta-awareness of awareness itself—seeing thoughts, perspectives, and even the ego as constructed illusions (yet useful ones). We critiqued the Western habit of labeling these "mystical," arguing they're no more mystical than abstract thinking transcending concrete childhood views. Eastern traditions (e.g., Vedic, Buddhist) normalize them as part of human potential, supported by practices like meditation that act as "cultural amplifiers." Shadows include detachment or existential futility, but the overall message was de-mystification: higher stages unfold naturally with the right supports, not as elite attainment.

Deeper Dive & Resources:

  • Full Episode 12 resources page (highly recommended for the extended discussion we referenced): rememberingyou.life/episode-12

  • Susanne Cook-Greuter's foundational work (cited extensively): Cook-Greuter, S. R. (1999). Postautonomous Ego Development: A Study of Its Nature and Measurement. PDF overview and related papers

  • Classic anthology normalizing higher development: Alexander & Langer (Eds.). (1990). Higher Stages of Human Development. (References Vedic psychology and Transcendental Meditation research.)

Chapter 3: Meaning-Making, Patterns, Doubt, and Scientific Limits

We delved into pattern recognition as the foundation of human meaning-making—how we create stories and significance from experiences, even when patterns aren't obvious. This led to exploring received meanings (from family, culture, or faith) versus those derived from direct patterns in life. Doubt emerged as essential: unlike blind faith, healthy doubt allows us to question and refine our understandings.

A pivotal reference was cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman, whose work challenges the assumption that evolution favors veridical (truth-seeing) perceptions. In his Interface Theory of Perception (ITP), Hoffman argues that natural selection shapes perceptions not to reveal objective reality, but as a species-specific "user interface" (like a desktop on a computer) that hides complexity and guides adaptive behavior for survival and reproduction. Seeing "truth" could be maladaptive—e.g., we see a simplified icon of a snake to flee quickly, not its quantum-level reality. Evolutionary simulations show organisms perceiving fitness payoffs (not truth) outcompete truth-seers. This explains why good scientific theories admit limits: they describe within a "box" but can't access beyond (e.g., Newtonian physics works for everyday scales but fails at quantum/relativistic ones). Hoffman's ideas invite humility—our perceptions are tools, not windows to ultimate reality—bridging science and mystery.

Deeper Dive & Resources:

  • Hoffman's key book: The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes (2019). Author's site with summaries

  • Foundational paper: Hoffman et al. (2015). "The interface theory of perception." Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. Springer link

  • TED Talk: "Do we see reality as it is?" (Over 1.4M views).

Chapter 4: Grief, Signs from Loved Ones, and Capital-T Truth

Through stories like red birds appearing after loss (interpreted as messages or even incarnations of the deceased), we examined how grief opens us to meaning-making. The mind, vulnerable in loss, seeks patterns of connection for comfort, joy, and peace. We discussed projecting "capital-T Truth" onto these—believing them absolutely real—while holding space for doubt. Hitting a red bird would devastate such a truth, revealing its personal nature.

Ryan shared Ram Dass's metaphor (coined with Mirabai Bush): life is about "walking each other home." This frames existence as a shared journey toward awakening, love, and death—not as isolated struggles, but mutual companionship. In their book, they explore dying consciously: facing fear, cultivating gratitude/compassion, and seeing death as an opening to joy in living. Vulnerability becomes strength; loved ones remain woven into our being (soul persists beyond body). It's a call to presence: support each other through grief, illness, and transition with love, turning death into reunion with the One.

Deeper Dive & Resources:

  • Ram Dass & Mirabai Bush: Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying (2018). Excerpts & info

  • Key quotes: "We’re all just walking each other home"; "Death is an incredible opportunity to awaken."


Chapter 5: Flow, Ego, and Letting Go

"Flow" here means aligning with life's inherent structure—universal patterns or "laws" making existence easier when harmonized, harder when resisted. It's not passive drifting but subtle attunement: paddle to avoid rocks, yet surrender to the current. Material/cultural paths (e.g., career ladder) promise happiness but often lead to emptiness if misaligned. Signals like discomfort reveal misalignment.

Aligning to life's natural structure echoes many traditions: Taoism's wu wei (effortless action in harmony with Tao); Eckhart Tolle's surrender to "what is"; Michael Beckwith's consciousness levels (victim → by me → through me → as me, culminating in flow); Eastern impermanence teachings (let go of grasping, including ego). It means recognizing ego as developmental engine—fueling growth but needing deconstruction for freedom. Meditation streaks can feed ego/pride until released. True flow: life unfolds with ease, miracles normalize, as you're congruent with deeper reality.

Deeper Dive & Resources:

  • Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now (surrender to life's flow).

  • Michael A. Singer: The Untethered Soul (aligning with inner energy flow).

  • Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching (wu wei as natural alignment).


Chapter 6: Jesus, Aliens, Telepathy, and Collective Consciousness

We closed by questioning whether "supernatural" experiences like alien encounters or telepathic communication are purely external phenomena or partly shaped (or even co-created) by human collective consciousness—our shared beliefs, fears, and evolving awareness potentially influencing what manifests in reality.

Aliceanne mentioned a documentary she hadn’t seen yet, but didn’t give the title. She was referring to The Age of Disclosure. The film features direct testimony from 34 high-level U.S. government, military, and intelligence insiders—including figures like Luis Elizondo (former AATIP director), David Grusch (2023 congressional whistleblower), Jay Stratton (former UAP Task Force head), Christopher Mellon (former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence), Harold Puthoff (physicist and former CIA contractor), and bipartisan lawmakers such as Senators Marco Rubio, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Mike Rounds. These are not anonymous sources; many have testified under oath in congressional hearings.

The documentary argues for an 80-year global cover-up involving retrieved non-human craft, reverse-engineering programs, and a "secret arms race" among nations to exploit advanced technology. While physical evidence remains classified (a point of ongoing frustration), several claims are grounded in non-contested public records and sworn congressional testimony:

  • UAPs frequently intrude on restricted airspace (including nuclear sites), displaying capabilities far beyond known human technology—supported by the Pentagon's authenticated videos (e.g., Tic Tac, Gimbal) and multiple ODNI/AARO reports (2021–2025).

  • Secret multi-decade programs exist for crash retrieval and analysis, often bypassing congressional oversight—echoed in Grusch's 2023 testimony and bipartisan legislation like the UAP Disclosure Act.

  • Recovery of "non-human biologics" (biological remains) from crash sites—directly stated by Grusch under oath in the 2023 House hearing, based on interviews with program insiders. These points shift the question from existence to transparency, as the government has acknowledged unexplained UAPs posing flight/national security risks and mandated reporting.

The Telepathy Tapes podcast explores apparent telepathic abilities in nonspeaking autistic individuals, featuring the pioneering work of Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, a Johns Hopkins-trained psychiatrist and neuroscientist with additional training under luminaries like Sir Michael Rutter and Sir Roger Bannister. Powell's research—spanning over a decade—seeks to rigorously test reports of psi phenomena (telepathy, precognition) in autistic savants and nonverbal children, hypothesizing that profound autism may enhance alternative communication channels when verbal pathways are disrupted. She uses controlled experiments (e.g., hidden stimuli, independent typing/speaking) to rule out cueing, often with multiple witnesses and video documentation. Her goal: challenge materialist brain models by showing consciousness may operate non-locally, like a "field" rather than strictly localized in the brain. This builds on her book The ESP Enigma and collaborations exploring quantum models of mind.

Related historical context: The CIA's Stargate Project (1970s–1995) investigated remote viewing (psychically accessing distant information) for intelligence purposes, with declassified documents showing operational successes alongside inconsistencies—further illustrating how "paranormal" phenomena have been seriously studied by government, challenging strict materialist views of reality.

Deeper Dive & Resources: