Aesthetic impact indicates a sudden and dramatic widening of the aperture, and signals the transition from Stage II into Stage III. In normal session structure, it occurs only after two or more dimensionals occur in the signal line. On occasion, however, AI can occur more or less spontaneously in Stage II, especially when a site is involved with very pronounced Stage II elements, such as a particularly noisome chemical plant. AI is the viewer’s personal, emotional response to the site: “How the site makes you feel.” It can be a manifestation of sudden surprise, vertigo, revulsion, or pleasure. Though some sites seem to consistently elicit similar AI responses in any person who remote views them, it must still be borne in mind that an AI response is keyed directly to the individuals own personality and emotional/physical makeup, and that therefore AI responses can differ, sometimes dramatically so, from viewer to viewer. AI will be more fully discussed in the section of this paper dealing with Stage III.
As Stage II progresses the aperture opens dramatically wider than was the case with either Stages I or early Stage II. Dimensionals begin to emerge and the threshold is reached for the transition into Stage III. The shift into full Stage III is triggered by aesthetic impact (see below). It is after this point that the true dimensionality of the site may begin to be expressed.
As the aperture widens rapidly from Stage II, a virtual avalanche of site information begins to impact on the viewer’s unconscious. The cumulative effect of all this detail is to trigger a subjective response from the viewer. This opening of the aperture and subsequent subjective response is called Aesthetic Impact (AI) and is the viewer’s subjective emotional response to the site. It is best described as “how the site makes the viewer feel”. AI may immediately follow two Stage II dimensional responses, but it will certainly follow three or more. It may be experienced and expressed in a variety of ways. A simple exclamation of “Wow!” may be the A response when one is suddenly impressed by the immensity of some natural formation, such as the Grand Canyon or Yosemite’s Half Dome. On the other hand, such a site might just as easily spark a feeling of vertigo, or fear of falling, or cause one to remark, “This is really tall (or deep).” A pulp mill might trigger an AI reaction of revulsion because of the nauseating smells. Or a comprehension of the grandeur or squalor of a site might cause one to have a sudden appreciation of beauty or ugliness. Other examples of AI might be claustrophobia, loneliness, fright, pleasantness, relaxation, enjoyment, etc.
AI need not be pronounced to be present; in fact, it may often be quite subtle and difficult to recognize. It may sometimes be a sudden, mild cognitive recognition of the abrupt change in perspective, or a slight surprise or alteration of attitude about the site. Some viewers who in the past have had little experience with direct contact with their emotions may have difficulty recognizing that they experience AI, and may even be convinced it doesn’t happen to them. Such individuals must exercise a great deal of caution not to sublimate or suppress AI recognition, and require additional exposure to AI to help them learn to recognize and declare it appropriately.
The monitor also has a role to play in helping the viewer to recognize AI. Body language, eye movement, and specific speech patterns can all be cues to the experienced monitor that AI is present. The monitor must draw the viewer’s attention to the existence of an undeclared AI when he observes the “symptoms” of an AI unrecognizable to the viewer.
It is extremely important to properly recognize and declare (objectify) AI, since how one deals with it can determine the entire course of the session from that point on. The viewer may not work through AI. Aesthetic Impact must be recognized, declared, and allowed to thoroughly dissipate. Should the viewer err and attempt to work through AI, all information from that point on will be colored by the subjective filter of the emotional experience encountered, and AOL Drive and AOL “Peacocking” (discussed under AOL, below) can be expected to arise.
AI is dealt with in the following manner. Moving through Stage II, the viewer begins to debrief a cluster of two or more basic dimensionals. He suddenly realizes that the aperture is expanding, and that in conjunction he is having a subjective emotional reaction to the site – whether pronounced or mild. He then states aloud as he objectifies on his paper “AI Break”. He then briefly says aloud and writes on the paper what the AI is. Declarations can be everything from a simple “Wow!” to “Disgusting.” to “I like this place” to “Vertigo” to “I feel sick” to “This is boring” to “I’m impressed by how tall this is” to “Absolutely massive!”
The viewer by taking this “AI Break” effectively disengages himself temporarily from the signal line and allows the emotional response to dissipate. The time required for this can vary from a few brief seconds for a mild AI to hours for one that is especially emphatic. It is important to note that, though many sites elicit essentially the same response in every individual who remote views it, each person is different than every other and therefore under certain circumstances and with certain sites AI responses may differ significantly from viewer to viewer.
One example of this that has frequently been related is a small sandy spit off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. One viewer, a highly gregarious woman who enjoys social interactions, when given the site responded that it made her feel bleak, lonesome, depressed, abandoned. On the other hand, a viewer who had spent a great deal of his time in nature and away from large numbers of other humans experienced the site as beautiful and refreshing. Since AI is subjective, such variations are not unexpected, and under the right circumstances usually appropriate.
Aesthetic: Sensitivity of response to given site.
[Smith, Paul H. Coordinate Remote Viewing. May 1986, DIA Manual]
Aesthetic Impact (AI): An AI is the point where the viewer is so overwhelmed with his perceptions of the site that he is unable to report them. An AI occurs after three to four dimensional descriptors are reported in Stage II. An AI is indicated by a shift in the viewers’ mood or emotion. An AI is defined as a statement which describes how the site makes the viewer feel, or how the viewer feels about the site, i. e. lonely, magnificent, or “don’t like it here”. AI is one of the more difficult aspects of CRV to understand and express. Some Als can be very powerful, some very weak, and some very subtle. The AI must be recognized and declared as AI BREAK. If an AI goes undeclared it can produce AOL colored by AI, bringing about AOL-Drive or peacocking (see glossary). AI are produced after the viewer has reported dimensionals, which indicates a change in aperture has occurred. After the viewer gets four or more dimensionals, he should look for the AI, although it may occur after only two or three. Dimensionals will be forced from Stage II until an appropriate AI is declared. If the AI keeps coming back it has not been correctly resolved. The viewer must return to where the AI was first experienced and inspect it to see how it made them “feel”. This feeling should then be expressed as an AI Break. This corrected AI will produce better site contact and in turn lead to the other elements of Stage III.
In Stages I and II, data typically appear to emerge as fragmented data bits. In Stage III we observe the emergence of a broader concept of the site. With Stage I and II data forming a foundation, more detailed data and dimensional aspects such as length, height, and distances, begin to appear. This increased contact is known as a “widening of the aperture”. At this point contact with the site appears sufficiently strengthened that the viewer begins to have an overall appreciation of the site as a whole. This is known as an “aesthetic impact”. After the viewer experiences an “aesthetic impact” the urge to draw the site begins. These drawings are expressed in the form of sketches, trackers (outlines of the general configuration of the site), and additional spontaneous ideograms. The final product of Stage I through Stage III training is the recognition of the over all gestalt and physical configuration of the site.
Aesthetic: Keenly responsive to and appreciative of beauty in art, nature, etc.
Aesthetic Impact (AI): So keenly appreciative or aware of the site that the individual is unable to describe bis perceptions.
[McNear, Tom. Coordinate Remote Viewing Stages I–VI and Beyond. February 1985, DIA]