Exploring the Frontiers of Human Experience

The John E. Mack Institute is a non-profit home for independent projects dedicated to the evolution of human consciousness.

JEMI at a Glance

A snapshot of our institute and the current focus of our efforts

Legacy

JEMI was established in 1982 at Harvard University by Dr. John E Mack, Robert J Lifton, and other esteemed scholars. Today, we strive to meet standards of excellence commensurate with our organization’s roots and the many noteworthy accomplishments that defined Dr. Mack’s clinical, literary, and academic legacy.

Culture

Ours is animated by honesty, transparency, kindness, compassion, curiosity, tenacity and courage. We are open-minded about phenomena that operate beyond the limits of the physicalist worldview, even as we endeavor to suspend disbelief — or belief — for the purposes of scientific and academic inquiry.

Mission

JEMI projects foster the evolution of human consciousness and explore the ways in which perceptions and beliefs about the nature of reality influence the condition of all life on earth. Our work is fundamentally personal, intellectual, pro-science, paradigm challenging and, ultimately, dedicated to social change.

Research

Dr. Mack’s research into the “alien” abduction phenomenon is embedded within the DNA of our organization. Compelled by his work, we have resumed research and analysis of abduction experiencer accounts in order to further examine their implications for humankind’s expanding awareness of the universe in which we live.

Public Education

As a public education service, in response to growing mainstream interest in UAP and the abduction phenomenon, we will ongoingly curate our JEMI socials and website with the intent to develop dynamic, credible, multimedia content that both informs and challenges human thinking about the nature of reality.

Social Change

Through JEMI’s various iterations, the end game has always been about facilitating a global paradigm shift; one that awakens within all human beings a sense of interconnection between one another and the biosphere in which we live. We hope to realize this vision through efforts that actualize human potential.

For Experiencers

The world has changed in recent decades. Many experiencers have remained isolated and challenged to integrate the profundity of their encounters within a global context of increasing economic instability, a reemergent threat of nuclear war, and quickening climate change. If you are an experiencer in need of mental health support, we can connect you with a clinician whose professional training and personal worldview accommodate the high-strangeness of anomalous phenomena.

For experiencers seeking connection and community, you’re invited to apply here for a spot in one of our monthly focused roundtable groups hosted by Dr. Ben Medrano, Simon Bresler LCSW, and thought leader Darren King. We also expect our online community platform to go live in 2024. Keep an eye on this space for updates…

Thinking on the Phenomenon

Moving the cultural and academic conversations forward

Philosophy

We believe that intellectually courageous philosophers of the humanities and sciences will prove essential in helping humankind reckon with the possibility that that a primary relationship may exist between consciousness and matter; a connection often implied by the phenomenon’s peculiar qualities.

Anthropology

While the ontological status of the beings who have been interacting with humankind are unknown, compelling theories include extra-tempestrial, extraterrestrial, and ultra-dimensional hypotheses. Certain particularly interesting anomalies suggest that some of the visitors might actually be our future human descendants.

Physics

One of the most challenging obstacles we face in determining the phenomenon’s ontology, is the extent to which its characteristics defy the boundaries of physicalism. To help solve this complex problem, we are supporting physicist Michael Ibison’s work on DPI; a provocative but promising alternative to consensus field theory.