Written in Partnership with Amir Bakian
Mysterious lights in the sky, flying saucers, and other types of unexplainable sightings and experiences have long intrigued the public. In the seventy or so years since the days of the first flying saucer sightings, the world has become more accepting of the idea that UFOs are real and that they might be evidence of intelligent life outside of Earth. A Pew Research report found that 51% of adults in the United States — a country where 65% of adults believe in the existence of alien life — think that there’s at least some chance that the UFOs reported by military personnel are proof of extraterrestrial life. It also reports that the same percentage would say that these UFOs don’t present any threat to the country’s national security.
In the United States, the Pentagon has made giant leaps forward in declassifying and disclosing restricted information about UAPs (Unexplained Aerial Phenomena) and, this year, NASA decided to form an independent team for UAP study from a scientific perspective. The United Kingdom’s been releasing UFO-related files for a while now, and Canada’s been transparent with their data, too.
This newly established mainstream interest might also give hope to the often marginalized groups of people who claim to have had encounters with unexplained phenomena. Known as Experiencers, they often have a hard time finding an understanding and trusting ear.
“There’s a stigma associated with those who speak up about the events they’ve had,” explains Marie-Anne Bisson of The Doorway. “It can cause friction or breakdowns in their relationships. They may experience PTSD, difficulties sleeping, fears of the dark or going to bed in case ‘they’ come back.” A Certified Consulting Hypnotherapist and a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists, Marie-Anne Bisson has dedicated much of her professional career to helping Experiencers make sense of what they’ve witnessed, move on to a more understanding position, and heal (sessions are either in person or via Zoom). But, it also turns out that many of the claimed experiences are not necessarily negative.
“Many of my clients describe these experiences as being spiritual in nature,” explains Marie-Anne. “Despite the fear often associated with abductions, as described in the research by FREE, 70% of those researched found their experiences positive while 15-20% considered their experiences negative.” Speaking of the positive experiences described by the people she works with, Marie-Anne notes that “many obtain an understanding of their soul’s purpose with a profound knowledge of the connection between all lifeforms, while others have a spiritual awakening.”
Marie-Anne enlists her other skills to help people reach the best possible outcome from their experiences. For starters, listening skills are key to putting the client at ease and helping them understand that they’re being seen and listened to without judgment. “It’s essential that Experiencers feel safe and at ease with me,” Marie-Anne Bisson explains. “If a client is nervous, I might recommend that they try a Reiki session which I offer, to help balance and ground them before a session. Remaining grounded is important.”
The following steps include determining the client’s goals and then developing a plan to work through them. These sessions can be overwhelming, and Marie-Anne goes to great lengths to provide a guided path for Experiencers to figure out what happened to them. “I suggest to the client that it’s like they’re holding a remote control and can watch the scene, frame by frame. It can be in color or in black and white, and they can stop the scene at any time,” she explains. “They can see it as an observer watching a scene.” Once the session is done, everything that came up during the regression is reviewed. “It may take some time for the client to digest the information that surfaced, but generally, they are relieved to know they weren’t crazy,” Marie-Anne explains. “And that’s when they can start to heal and, hopefully, even thrive.”
With many experiences of her own, Marie-Anne Bisson published In Tune with Life, Love and the Divine Matrix in 2020, in hopes of helping others understand that they’re not alone.
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