Parapsychologist Lisa Puzo Strickland joins us for a wide-ranging, unrestrained conversation about the thread she sees running through everything: consciousness. From precognitive dreams she started having at fifteen, while attending a private Baptist school in the middle of Los Angeles, to a PhD in philosophy and parapsychology and a deep dive into the UAP/NHI field, Lisa makes the case that psi, nature, non-human intelligence, and even brain-computer interfaces are all wired to the same source. The through-line is fear, and what to do with it. Lisa's refrain, "you don't prepare someone for fear with fear", anchors a talk that moves from the amygdala hijack to the Minoans meeting the octopus, from biomimicry and Velcro to the overview effect, from Congressional disclosure to a lecture where the lights started dancing. It's optimistic without being naive: a call to open the aperture, keep your feet in the ground, choose credible sources, and meet whatever's coming together. (00:30) Welcome (01:00) Precognitive dreams at fifteen — and reconciling psi with a strict religious upbringing (04:00) Pastor Rasmussen's "God laid it on my heart" moment, and resolving conflicting beliefs as psychological blocks (05:30) Radio in LA, West Hills sightings, and mistaking the others for Hughes aircraft (07:30) Leaving the entertainment industry; the PhD, and finding the science behind the paranormal (08:00) Consciousness as "the train and the train tracks" — the connective tissue between humans, nature, UAP/NHI, and AI (13:00) Control, "othering," and divide-and-conquer as the oldest trick in the book (15:00) Nature as the model: collaboration over predation (16:00) The radio-station metaphor — nobody is a passive player (20:00) Biomimicry: Velcro from cockleburrs, and the vine that shelters instead of smothers (26:00) The amygdala hijack, mantises, and the "four types" (27:30) The Minoans and the octopus; eclipse fear; "you don't prepare someone for fear with fear" (31:00) The octopus as a genuinely alien consciousness (33:00) Telepathy, channeling, missing time, levitation, teleportation — the parapsychology inside the UAP experience (35:00) A VIP dinner with three very different guests, and how it all looped together (38:00) The "aliens.gov" debacle, gatekeeping, and advocates who become the apparatus (40:00) Humility as a neurological trigger, and the three most powerful words: "I don't know" (41:00) The lecture where the lights started dancing (43:00) Glimmers, awe, and the overview effect (45:30) Adaptability and belief — why "we're not ready" is insulting (48:00) Fear, done thoughtfully — horror as a way to war-game the unknown (50:00) Coming disclosure, Congress, and a deep respect for experiencers (55:00) Why there's no single "grail" file — and why decentralization might be the good news (57:00) Gratitude to the media, the local-news equalizer, and getting everyone to the same table Notable moments "Consciousness isn't just that bridge. Consciousness is the train itself. It's the train and the train tracks." "You do not prepare someone for fear with fear." "I've always thought that the three most powerful words in the universe were 'I don't know.'" People, places & references mentioned: Contact in the Desert — the UAP/UFO conference where this conversation was recorded Pastor Rasmussen — the pastor whose "precog dream" helped Lisa reconcile faith and psi Eric Davis — physicist, referenced re: the "four types" Travis Walton — cited for his multi-day missing-time account William Henry (Ancient Aliens), Travis Taylor (Skinwalker Ranch), and Rizwan Virk (author of The Simulation Hypothesis) — the three dinner guests Diana Walsh Pasulka — referenced on the overview effect Avi Loeb and Garry Nolan — named among the academics bringing rigor to the field Lue Elizondo — UAP researcher and author Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet — named among current disclosure voices Congressman Tim Burchett — referenced re: an upcoming meeting and his "wouldn't sleep at night" remark Mario Puzo (The Godfather) and James Connolly — Lisa's relatives, on her Italian and Irish sides Biomimicry, the amygdala hijack, and the overview effect — recurring frameworks throughout About the guest Lisa Puzo Strickland credits her inner voice for guiding a 30-year career across radio, records, and television. Her search to understand intuition ran through religion, psychology, philosophy, and spirituality, and a turn toward quantum physics surfaced the parallels between nature, science, and paradigm-shifting life principles that eventually led to a PhD in Philosophy and Parapsychology. Her work now spans AI, cryptocurrency, biomimicry, and the pending disclosure of non-human intelligence (NHI/UAP) — all of which, she argues, connect. Lisa lives in Franklin, TN, with her husband and two children. Find Lisa: Website: LisaPuzoStricklandPhD.com Facebook: Lisa Puzo Strickland, PhD
