Zetetics... OH, yes, I would be classified as a Zetetic.
I wouldn't say that lol
But I would definitely suggest it for you. I think you are in the right place for it to have a strong effect.
I believe the scientific method is incredibly important when investigating the paranormal/occult. The issue is that you need to move on from "empirical" data, and focus more on other data, because, like... how is Scooby Doo supposed to "measure ghosts"?
The moment you move on from empirical data, you move on from reality and you equate supposition with science. While a supposition is good to start with an hypothesis, if you use supposition and biases to judge reality, you will only end up on the side of the oppressors.
Always remember than conspiracy theorism is one of the weapon of the capitalist and white supremacist system to protect itself.
You seems to have a wish for wonder and stuff, which is usually why people seek conspiracy theorism. I completely understand that, as I explained, this is - with anger and confusion - what drived me to seek conspiracy and obcura theories in my youth.
But this is a form of lazyness.
Seeking conspiracy theories to explain the strangeness and horrors of our world is only done because we are to lazy and unwilling to accept the complexicity of the political system and society that are shaping us.
The world is complex and more whimsical than you think.
Looking at alien to explain something that is already studied is fun. But it is simplistic, lazy, unrealistic, unscientific and frankly not very original or even than interesting. Again, when you start looking at the complexity of the world, everything becomes a lot more interesting, even in the horror.
Even more so, you are opening your brain to reactionnarism and the system that is only waiting for one thing : to make you think that it is so much stranger, inaccessible and stronger than you. Often making people fall into racist theories to explain the world instead of looking at the evidences.
It is good to have an open mind, but "if you open you mind too much, your brain will fall off" - Tim Minchin.
The biggest issue with scientific study of the occult/paranormal is people want hard numbers, and in a lot of cases, they just don't exist.
The real question you should ask yourself should rather be this: Do you believe in ghosts and aliens.... or do you WANT ghost and aliens to exist and therefore trying to explain the world through these expectations the same lway a One Piece fan is trying to read One Piece with fallacious expectations?
Because trust me: As long as you will expect something from reality without proper evidences of it, you will end up dissapointed and you will always seek stranger and stranger explanation for the world.
The world is already magnificient and amazing, but the lack of scientificity will ALWAYS prevent you to see that mainly because what you are seeking are simple answers.
The world is not simple.
It's complex.
Capitalism needs for you to seek simplicity, transversality, the easiness of the mind, the admiration of the unchallenging idea, straight up and self explanatory answers, so if you look at the world this way, if you keep believing in simple answers that do not challenge what you believe in, what you are, what you do.....
...You will only fight on the side of capitalism.
As a former conspiracy theorist : Here is the rule that I suggest you should follow before it's too late:
ALWAYS SEEK WHAT CHALLENGES YOUR BELIEF IN AN ETHICAL WAY.
It's easy to believe in ghost or alien to explain the world, our mind has been fed by hundreds of years of stories about the strange and the fantastic, we will always seek the magical and strange to explain what we can't understand.
But it is much harder to accept that perhaps, what we believe to be strange or impossible to explain (
in front of an horrific event for example)... can be explained by social phenomenon that are far more complex than what our whimsical brain can conceive. An hypothesis can be both right AND be thoughts off for the wrong reasons. Just as as it can be wrong and be thoughts off for the right ones.
Allow me to repeat again:
Conspiracy theorism is beneficial to capitalism, it's a smoke screen that prevents you from looking at the reality of the system and challenge it with the RIGHT weapons. On top of that, systems of dominations uses this mindset to push their agenda (
the great replacement theory for example).
As such, the more you seek simple and easy answer that are charming for your brain (
like Aliens or big shadow conspiracies) the more you help capitalism and capitalists or any other form of domination system spread its wings.
To counter capitalism, we must question what feels good to believe in.
We must always challenge our ideologies. Only by doing that one can understand the friability of their world's vision and the fact that we all are the product of our material condition of existence.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF, SEEK THE UNCONFORTABLE. Do not seek the easy way out.