|
|
28 Nov 2003 @ 11:03, by craiglang. Articles
I just finished reading the neew book by Budd Hopkins and Carol Rainey entitled "Sight Unseen". It offers what is at once a concrete view into the scientific plausibility of the UFO/CE4 phenomenon, a chilling view of what the phenomenon seems to be doing, and a potential ray of understanding (and perhaps hope - though, this is MY take on it) at why this is perhaps being undertaken.
In "Sight Unseen" Hopkins and Rainey begin with an examination of several cases in Budd's case files. These are fascinating glimpses into the effect of the phenomenon on our consensus reality - specifically, the idea of temporary invisibility (spontaneous human invisibility). They remind me of several in MN MUFON's own case files (see "Spontaneous Invisibility: The Mystery We Can Not See").
These cases are fascinating enough, but they are just the beginning. Hopkins and Rainey then go on to explore another fascinating aspect of the phenomenon that has to-date been largely ignored in the UFO literature - that of human-appearing beings that seem to be moving about among us (See "Close Encounters Of the Third Kind In Our Everyday World").
In "Sight Unseen" Hopkins/Rainey present some fascinating cases in which apparently "transgenic" beings have appeared in the lives of experiencers. In one case, a character named "Mr Page" lived with an experiencer family for many years. The primary witness in the case, an experiencer with the psuedonym of "Anne-Marie" had a close familial relationship with him for nearly all of that time - about 15 years. It seems to be, on the surface, a very positive relationship. Yet it has it's definite undertones of non-positivity - especially when the would describe how "Mr Page" would take Anne-Marie on "nature hikes", of which she remembers very little. In hypnotic trance, references to these apparent missing-time periods engendered powerful emotional responses. This is similar to the emotional responses which experiencers often have when viewing their childhood "secret friend" in hypnotic trance. The positive veneer seems to become a very mixed bag - still positive in some sense, but with an underlying apparently-darker purpose.
Hopkins/Rainey then continue to develop the idea of transgenics. This is the apparent answer to the criticisms of the idea that the UFO/CE4 phenomenon seems to be centered around human-alien hybridization. The "hybridization" idea has been heavily criticized on the grounds that human and alien DNA - if E.T.s would have DNA at all - would be fundamentally incompatible. Hopkins/Rainey grant this point, and build a good case based upon current human medical technology, for gene transplantation from one species to another.
Possible purposes for which this might be done are both encouraging and chilling.
- There is the possibility that this is simple exploitation - the very dark side of the idea spectrum.
- At the lightest side of the spectrum is the idea that they are somehow here to enlighten us, to bring us - well, whatever they are here to bring to us...
- Somewhere in the middle is the idea that "They" are scientific explorers/researchers, doing to us what "We" would do to experimental animals. The purpose is unknown (but I have a few speculations in other posts - some to follow...).
In the end, they build a good case for possibility that the CE4 phenomenon represents an external biotechnological tinkering with humanity - for unknown purposes. They further build the case that the intermediate results of this project are (at times) present among us. Given some of the similarities between cases Budd Hopkins' case files and those in our own (though Hopkins' case files are nearly an order of magnitude thicker than ours), I can only suggest that he offers some very good arguments.
In the end, I can only suggest that you read "Sight Unseen" for yourself and tell me what you think.
|
|
|
|
2 Nov 2003 @ 14:49, by craiglang. Articles
Last night, as I was doing some late night channel surfing, I stumbled across a rerun of the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I had not seen this movie for awhile. And this time, I was struck by how accurately the movie captured the state of UFO studies during the mid to late 1970s.
It was 25 years ago, nearly this time of year, when I first saw the movie. It was a cold December evening, just after having taken my last final exam of that semester in engineering school.
At that time in life, for a variety of reasons, I had a resurgence of interest in UFOs. There had been a recent surge of sightings, a few of which had made the media (sorry, I don't remember where I read about them, but I do remember doing so). There had been a few fascinating news items about SETI, including the WOW signal, in 1977. Also, at the time, this secondary focus on the extraordinary served as a wonderful break from the rigors of engineering school. I did not yet know that this diversion would become my passion a quarter-century later.
Yet, while interested, I really didn't know much about the state of UFO studies at the time. And so, much of the symbology - the most meaningful dynamics of the movie were lost to me.
More historical perspective: This was not too long after the demise of NICAP. MUFON was a relatively young organization, with a bright future - but completely unknown to me. At that time, the abduction/experiencer phenomenon apparently had not yet emerged into the world of UFO research. And so it appears that the present picture had not yet begun to form.
Now, 25 years later, as I watched again, I noticed that many of the signs of the abduction phenomenon were actually depicted in the movie. But at that time, they were interpreted differently. Some of these were:
---> Repeated, close-up sightings of UFOs.
---> The compusion to go-to/return-to a particular location - somehow associated with a sighting or anomaly experience.
---> The sense of mission - knowing that there is something that one is supposed to do, but not sure what it means.
---> Hidden knowledge - knowing something that is just outside of the edge of awareness - with no obvious source.
---> The impact of the phenomenon on the family dynamics of the experiencer.
---> The coverup - the idea that there is a secret government effort to come to terms with the Visitors, in some way.
Other aspects of the abduction phenomenon were pretty much missed. Missing time, the actual abduction scenario, and the apparent genetic/reproductive aspects of the phenomenon had not yet emerged into the literature. In fact, they were actively denied by some researchers. I could not discern any references to the classic two-hour abduction event later described by Budd Hopkins, Whitley Streiber, etc...
As I understand it, at that time the working hypothesis among UFO reserachers was that the phenomenon was a nuts and bolts visitation by an extraterrestrial civilization. Perhaps they were preparing us for contact. And that at some point soon, there would be overt first contact. Such a build-up toward open contact seemed to be suggested by the UFO waves of the 1970s. This includes the 1973 "Year of the Humanoid". It also includes the 1979 wave, which seems to be emerging in old sighting reports being investigated by Minnesota MUFON.
Yet the overt contact never really happened. Instead, what emerged were increasingly common accounts of a covert/furtive abduction phenomenon. Instead of a Fourth-of-July-style landing at a specially constructed amphitheatre at Devil's Tower, Wyoming, we have small entities appearing to a small percentage of humanity, individually, in the dark of night. It is a massive, but secretive effort of an unknown - and perhaps incomprehensible - nature.
Another fascinating things which the movie captured, but which I had not yet understood until the present time was the idea of a universal language. I had not understood the apparent ideas behind this until nearly twenty years later, when I had begun to study Eastern Tradition Meditation. And at the core of this was the idea that there are universally-meaningful sounds. This is the idea behind mantras, chants, and some forms of prayer. In addition, the hand signs which were also depicted in the movie, and which accompanied these universal sounds, are also described in various forms in the eastern tradition.
Although I am not aware of this permeating UFO studies at that time, I suspect that there were accounts of this surfacing in reports. I further suspect that many such accounts were in some way, the surface manifestations of deeper interactions with the phenomenon - abductions, contacts and other encounters.
Twenty five years later Steven Speilberg has again made a movie which again captures the current state of thought in UFO studies. This is the miniseries "Taken" shown on the Sci-Fi channel this year. Again, I wonder - what will we notice 25 years from now? As I watch the movie at this remote time in the future, I can easilly imagine myself noticing details and saying "Oh, that's what that means... Now I understand".
I can only wonder what the state of UFO studies will be like 25 years from now. Will we have solved the mystery? Or will this phenomenon do as it has done so far - apparently evolving over time, leaving an ever-continuing trail of mystery and enigma. Read More
|
|
|
|
30 Oct 2003 @ 09:59, by craiglang. Articles
In the
October 16th, 2003 Edition of Whitley's Journal Whitley Strieber draws some very startling conclusions about the reality of the Visitor (a.k.a. CE4, Close Encounter, Contact, or UFO Abduction) phenomenon. He cites evidence both of his own experiences, and of those of others. He concludes from this that the phenomenon is very real, physical, and (at least in part) non-benevolent. In my view he builds an excellent argument for that reality.
Subsequently, he goes on to talk about the coverup. He discusses what he thinks the motives are behind it. What would prompt a government (indeed, most governments of the world) to clamp a lid on something that could be a true breakthrough in science? The possible conclusions he presents are for the most part, quite chilling.
The coverup motives he postulates are for the most part, not malevolent in themselves. However they are very much based upon fear. One class possible motives is that in 1947, those in the inner-circle of world governments (whatever that means) were warned - sharing knowledge of the Visitors will result in the destruction (deliberate or otherwise) - of your world.
Another class of possible coverup motives involves fear of the results of general exposure to the ultra-high technology of the Visitors. It is the fear that we will end up going the way of all lower-tech civilizations which are exposed to the higher technological advancement of the outside world - catastrope, collapse, colonization, and eventual absorption.
So, just what is the coverup covering up? Is there an inner circle that has the answers? Or do they just have more data? Are they, perhaps, just as confused about the true nature of the phenomenon as everybody else? My belief is that at least to some degree, the answer to this last question is "yes". Many researchers have built a good case that there is alot of excellent data, physical evidence and perhaps, even living entities in possession of those in power. But that does not mean that they understand the phenomenon. Indeed, the dynamics of the coverup as described in the UFO literature, suggest that they don't.
While Whitley claims that the phenomenon is real and physical, he does not claim that it is understood. And this is critical. At it's core, the phenomenon is ambiguous - a hall of mirrors. There is one loose end after another. One of the most prominent of these - at least according to what experiencers tell me - is the overlay of the physical and metaphysical.
More than one experiencer has described to me, while in deep hypnotic trance, how they were physically taken from their room, and into a nearby UFO. Yet in quite a few cases, at some point a metaphysical event occurrs. More than one person has described being met by a spirit guide. Others have described one or more events relating to previous lifetimes - in once case, as an E.T. And the list goes on - a continuum of spiritual/metaphysical events associated with nuts-and-bolts UFO encounters.
Another event is the reality anomaly. This has been written about extensively in the UFO literature, but will be summarized here in the words of Jenny Randles, as "The Oz Factor". During the time period immediately surrounding a close encounter, surroundings often seem to take a surreal character. The experiencer finds him/her-self on roads that apparently don't actually exist(?), or in places that seem to be non-physical in nature.
Other smaller anomalies abound. One such example is where one experiencer described to me looking through a window which was openned outward. On investigation we noted that the window does not open - it was framed glass, with no mechanism.
These are just some examples of how the phenomenon can manipulate reality to suit it's own ends. This is the reality-paradox behind the phenomenon - and there is so much more (Please feel free to check out my own site for more on this).
So what is the cover-up covering up? My bet is that they are covering up a very expensive, and highly organized research effort, which has had little more result than those of us in the civilian sector. They have a lot more data, but few if any answers. However they have assumed the self-appointed responsibility to protect their respective nations from all (potential) enemies. This implies control of the skies, etc. And if there is one thing that the phenomenon has demonstrated it is that the air forces of the Earth do not have that control - UFO's are able to zip around at will.
So in the end, the core of the coverup does not seem to necessarily be due to malevolence, but rather of fear. It is fear of the inability to protect it's citizenery, fear from lack of knowledge, and more generally fear of the consequences of acknowledging the reality of - well, of whetever the UFO/CE4 phenomenon really is. It is truly a cover up of the ambiguous. Read More
|
|
|
|
29 Aug 2003 @ 19:31, by craiglang. Articles
Ming's article on "Doing Things That Work" struck a chord in me. I, like many baby boomers, am at a crossroads of life - that time of transition called midlife crisis. The career and life path of the last 20 years may have been pretty successful, but there is the sense that it is time to move on. So the question: where to go from here?
In the hypnotherapy world, it is said that experience brings empathy. So perhaps my search for the next breadcrumb has made me all the more sensitive to this same issue in others. And recently I have had a number of hypnotherapy clients dealing with just that issue:
- What should I do next?
- I don't like where I am in life...
- But I don't know what my life path should really be, instead
- What is my calling in life?
- And how can I make money doing that which I am called to do?
Since thoughts are things, and thoughts create reality through action, perhaps there are some ways in which working with the subconscious can help us to manifest the reality we seek. Read More
|
|
|
|
 14 Jul 2003 @ 10:39, by craiglang. Articles
This is a copy of the review I just posted on Amazon, of Lisette Larkins new book: "Calling on Extraterrestrials" (I gave it 5 stars).
In this book Lisette larkins (LL) offers a whole new view of the experience that is the close encounter of the Fourth Kind (CE4). As a researcher and hypnotherapist, I have heard many of these same observations from other experiencers. LL describes the CE4 experience from the inside - in a unique way.
Many other books study the phenomenon from the outside, describe the experiencer as a victim, or simply try to debunk the phenomenon. However, this book views encounters from the perspective of the proactive experiencer - working with the phenomenon on its own terms.
To LL, being an experiencer means being in a relationship with the phenomenon. This is the first book to talk about how to take the initiative in the CE4 relationship. It helps you to understand how, and what this could mean in your life.
I noted a few minor issues with the book. One is that LL tends to gloss over the darker side of the phenomenon. Many abductees have much less positive experiences than what the book portrays. But LL simply says that you call the phenomenon to yourself, and experience what you called. So be careful what you wish for. All in all, I thought that she could have said much more about discernment.
Also, I wonder if some of the phenomena she depicts as being E.T. in origin might better be thought of as shamanic. Her examples of contact via nature symbols, shapeshifting, etc., might just as easily be thought of in that light. The question arose in my mind as to just who/what is being contacted. Her view of what an E.T. is seems to be pretty loose. Others may well disagree with her. I thought that this book could have taken a greater look at this.
Much about the book reminded me of many meditative/spiritual-growth paths. I wonder if what LL views as preparing for contact isn't simply a well rounded spiritual practice. Read the book and see for yourelf. Read More
|
|
|
|
 13 Jul 2003 @ 13:15, by craiglang. Articles
Here are some thoughts from the 2003 MUFON Symposium, held over the July 4th weekend in Detroit, MI.
1) The UFO phenomenon is just one of a whole series of interlocking mysteries:
- Mysteries of human origins and prehistoric(?) humanity
- Balls of light and crop circles
- Close Encounters and Reality-Transforming Experiences
- Parapsychology and the emerging human consciousness
- Hoaxes and other human hijinx
2) There is some excellent science being done in the UFO field.
- The lights in Hesdalen Norway are being subjected to some solid scientific analysis.
- Crop circle and ground trace analysis being done by W.C.Levengood and the BLT Research Team is producing some excellent results.
- Linda Moulton Howe's presentation on the Brazilian Abduction Evidence case showed some fascinating experimental evidence, which shows that some anomalous things may have occurred there (this is part of a major controversy in UFO studies at the moment)
Whether these results hold up over time will be interesting to see, but they are interesting, to say the least.
3) The presentation by Dan Wright on Close Encounters and the Human Psyche was another fascinating glimpse into the depth and mystery of the close encounter phenomenon. In follow up discussions many of us agreed that we haven't even begun to understand this mystery.
The Annual MUFON conference is one of those times when the widely scattered threads of research, mystery and community all come together to help update the fascinating picture of this strange phenomenon(a). Interesting things are happening in the field of anomaly studies - so stay tuned to the anomaly world, and keep a discerning and open mind. Read More
|
|
|
|
 13 Jul 2003 @ 12:40, by craiglang. Articles
Ray Powers just posted some fascinating questions about the big bang. Here is another item which captures the imagination. This hit the news a couple of days ago - but here is the excerpt from the space.com website: Primeval Planet: Oldest Known World Conjures Prospect of Ancient Life Read More
|
|
|
|
4 May 2003 @ 09:45, by craiglang. Articles
I got some interesting feedback from a reproduction of my article The Day the Earth Stood Still: Thoughts on Why They're Here in the May/June issue of the Minnesota MUFON Journal. One reply in particular was particularly eye-opening. This was an observation that we are already carrying our military activity into space. While we do not yet have star travel, we can cause a problem for any visitors who do come our way.
The respondent sent me a link to the U.S.Air Force Space Command website, where the US strategy for the control of space was presented. There, laid out in PDF format for all to see, is the U.S. Doctrine on the control of the high frontier.
In the Disclosure Project Briefing Points Dr. Stephen Greer makes the statement that the U.S. Militarization of space is a direct threat to the cosmic community, and that this could have trememdous consequences down the road.
While this exact scenario might or might-not have been envisioned by the author(s) of the "Day the Earth Stood Still", I am once again reminded of just how far-sighted, this movie was. And it is somewhat disconcerting to think that Klattu was probably right. We are indeed close to becoming a threat to the neighbors - perhaps earlier than I had initially imagined.
Namaste,
-Craig Read More
|
|
|
|
 1 May 2003 @ 14:29, by craiglang. Articles
Hi Folks,
We were discussing within the CE4 working group, that there must be a larger number of NCN'ers who have had anomaly and close-encounter experiences than we have learned about so far. We decided to re-issue an invite to anyone to write me if they are interested.
To maintain confidentiality, I keep the gate so that anyone who wants can confidentially request entry. We agree within the room that anything said in the room stays there. So we can discuss anything UFOlogical or phenomenological there, including personal experiences.
The room is intended for anyone who is an experiencer, or who has a serious research interest in the topic. And so I invite/encourage anyone to drop me a message if they are interested.
I welcome you to the group.
Namaste,
-Craig Read More
|
|
|
|
13 Apr 2003 @ 20:32, by craiglang. Articles
A few years ago, as several friends and I were talking about going to a rather popular restaurant, one friend quipped "Oh, nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded...". I smiled yesterday afternoon, as I was reminded of this remark during a discussion we had at the most recent Minnesota MUFON meeting.
On the second Saturday of each Minnesota MUFON holds our regular meeting, which is open to the public. During the last half-hour-or-so, of each meeting, we often have an open mike session - discussions where anyone can make comments. I had just given a talk on the topic of ET contact, and so, the general discussion centered around possible open ET contact at some time in the near future. I indicated that I didn't feel that this was likely. I suggested that humanity is not ready for contact, simply because it's single biggest endeavor is war (see the article "The Day the Earth Stood Still: Thoughts on Why They're Here" for some thoughts on this topic).
I indicated that at the present time "We" (meaning humanity) are very much dis-united. Individual humans give their allegiance to smaller units within our overall world civilization - nations, religions, individual leaders, etc. As long as we generally think in terms of "I", or a smaller-scoped "we" [and at times this author is certainly not immune to this thinking, either], then humanity will probably not be a very good neighbor.
As I was referring to "humanity", I casually used the term "We". And that's when the fun began...
As soon as I had made my comment, a person sitting in the back row jumped up and shouted angrily, "Who's this 'We'? Don't count me as part of this 'disunity' you're talking about!" At this point the person sitting in front of him replied that the responder had just proved my point. Like my friend's remark of a few years ago, this was one of those delghtful paradoxes in logic. And it just made me smile...
To me, it is plausible that humanity is not yet ready for membership in what I imagine is a "Galactic Club" out there. This will be the case until there is a deep, underlying shift in the global human consciousness. As a species, and for each human as an individual, there must come this shift in focus from I and small-we, to Global-WE [and just like this author, most of us probably still have alot to learn]. Until that time, very little overt contact will likely take place - and humanity will remain isolated from the rest of those "out there".
I offer the guess that if our civilization can survive the coming generation or two without destroying itself, we may well accomplish the needed shift in consciousness. And networks such as NCN, and other similar efforts pave the way to this paradigm shift - bringing us into coming Awakening.
In the mean time, while I suspect that there are many members of the "Club" out there, perhaps watching us closely - I would bet that few of them actually visit Earth. As long as we make comments such as "Who's WE? - Don't include ME in that!" - I suspect that the Visitors will probably limit their involvement to observation, abduction and other such covertness. There will be minimal contact with our overcrowded and dangerous world.
And so, maybe, my friend's comment takes on new meaning. Perhaps, indeed, almost nobody goes to Earth because it's too crowded... Read More
|
|
<< Newer entries Page: 1 2 3 4 5 Older entries >> |
|
