Documentary: Witness of Another World
My interest is more: what happens to these witnesses? How can we help them? The witnesses, when they grow up, will integrate their experience within their life, as Juan has done. That process is very interesting, and these people have something to teach us.
– Jacques Valleé in Witness of Another World, 59:04 – 59:24
I enjoyed Witness of Another World very much and also listening to some interviews with the director Alan Stivelman (Podcast UFO, Open Minds, Richard Dolan). It’s a deeply moving story of a young boy experiencing something inexplicable, being traumatized by some of the consequences (people not believing him, precognitive dreams), and finding some healing through the process of participating in this documentary and meeting shamans from his ancestral tribe.
I share Jacques Valleés interest in the witnesses and how the experience – close encounters with something or someone alien – transforms them. It’s similar to the transformations people often go through following space travel (overview effect), shamanic journeys, using some psychoactive drugs, near-death experiences, spiritual openings or awakenings, and so on. I would love to see a more systematic study done on this, and the similarities and differences between people and between the categories of experiences.
January 2020
A oneness view on UFOs, synchronicities, and psychic sensing
I am listening to Mike Clelland’s Stories from the Stories from the Messengers: Owl’s, UFOs, and a Deeper Reality. I like it very much as it explores the connections between UFOs, alien encounters, synchronicities, shamanism, spirituality, and the personal transformation that often takes place following UFO and alien encounters. (This is a follow-up to The Messengers: Owls, Synchronicity and the UFO Abductee which I equally enjoyed.)
One thing I notice is how puzzling these connection are to many people. Of course, there is something inherently puzzling and baffling in many of these stories. They definitely elude conventional explanations. They make sense more the way mythology and dreams make sense. And we don’t know much about what UFOs and the reports of alien encounters actually are about.
And yet, from a oneness view, these stories do make sense in a certain way.
Synchronicities are movements within oneness and within the seamless system of the universe that we are inherent parts of. The different parts of the synchronicities only appear to be separate because thoughts can make it look that way to us.
It’s the same with psychic sensing. We are part of the oneness of all of existence so, naturally, we’ll sometimes pick up information outside of our physical senses. I suspect we all do it, now and then, and some of us may be more tuned into it than others for whatever reason.
From a conventional science view, it’s very unlikely that this planet is the only living one in our galaxy or the universe. More likely, the universe has developed itself into life many place, including what we see as intelligent life. And if so, some of these civilizations will likely be far more advanced than ours and possibly able to travel across or even between galaxies. (Using an understanding of physics and technology that is beyond what we can currently imagine.)
And from a oneness view, these civilizations and galaxies happen within and as the same oneness as we do. They too are expressions of the same oneness. They too are expressions of Spirit. They too are Spirit exploring, expressing, and experiencing itself in always new and different ways.
If some humans encounter some of these aliens, and if or when we officially and collective encounter an alien civilization, that too will happen within and as this oneness. And that too will be Spirit exploring, expressing, and experiencing itself in that particular way.
Note: In his two books on owls, UFOs, and synchronicities, Mike Clelland wonders about the connection between synchronicities and aliens. Perhaps the aliens somehow create the synchronicities? This is, in some ways, a natural question if we live within a mostly materialistic worldview.
But when we begin to notice that all is Spirit, or the divine, or consciousness, and that it’s all One, then it looks a bit different. Then synchronicities becomes a natural expression and consequence of oneness.
It’s a bit like watching seaweed moving with the waves along the shore. If we are unaware of the water, we may wonder what makes the seaweed move in synchrony. It may seem very puzzling and we cannot find a reasonable mechanism. When we notice the water it’s all moving within, it makes more sense to us.
April 19, 2020
Finding an answer in our lifetime?
I keep hearing people say they hope to get an answer – about UFOs etc. – in their lifetime. It’s an understandable wish.
And it’s perhaps a bit unrealistic. We have lived for millennia without an answer so why should we get it now? There is some research, yes, but not much has come out of it – apart from confirming that something strange is going on – and it doesn’t seem reasonable that we’ll get an answer anytime soon.
Also, the UFO phenomenon seems to not just be about aliens visiting us in nuts-and-bolts ships. It seems much weirder than that. It seems more connected with archetypal and paranormal phenomena than alien anthropologist coming here to study us. That too suggests that we won’t get conclusive answers anytime soon.
April 30, 2020
Witnesses appear sincere?
I sometimes hear UFO-investigators say “I can tell if someone is telling the truth”, “the witness was completely sincere” and so on, and then go on taking the witness account as truth.
This is obviously a flawed approach. We are typically much worse in telling if someone tells the truth than we think. A lot of research has shown that. Haven’t you seen acting that seems completely real and convincing while you also know it’s acting? How is that different from real life? People act there too.
Another argument I sometimes hear is that witness testimony is an important part of court cases. Yes, and it’s hardly ever enough in itself. It needs to be supported by a range of other types of data.
It’s important to take witness testimony seriously. But it has to be backed up with something else. Otherwise, it’s just what someone said. It’s something to be held very lightly.
There is one UFO case where I would take the witness testimonies more seriously, and that’s the Ariel school UFO case in Zimbabwe. There were multiple witnesses, each telling the story from their own perspective, and now – when they are adults a quarter of a century later – they are all telling the same story as they did then although from an adult perspective. The numbers, the different perspectives, telling the same basic story now that they are adults, and the personal transformation many reports as a result of this encounter, makes it more compelling.
MAY 12, 2021
HOLDING BACK INFO BECAUSE DON’T WANT TO BE SEEN AS NOT IN CONTROL?
The folks who think governments hold back UFO information have several different ideas about why.
One of these is that governments then would have to admit they don’t know what they are, that they are in our skies, and that they are not in control of them.
For me, that would be a weird reason. We all know that nobody knows everything. We are just scratching the surface of exploring our reality and this universe. And we all know nobody is and cannot be in control of everything. Life is inherently out of control, as news stories remind us of daily. Governments are not in control of everything and can’t be. They just respond to what’s happening the best they can, as we all do.
A SHRUG?
What will happen if we get solid data of phenomena in the sky we can’t explain? And that perhaps displays intelligence? What will happen if this is accepted by the mainstream?
Probably not much. Depending on how spectacular the data is, the response may range from a shrug to mild interest to a brief fascination.
It will change our collective worldview to some extent, a few more scientists may start researching it, and some governments may even fund research into it. And that may be about it.
Humans are very adaptable, including to new information.
A few may get greatly interested, some will go into all sorts of speculations, and most will just go on with their life.
JUNE 5, 2021
HAVING A PERSPECTIVE ON THE CURRENT BLANK SLATE
It’s understandable that some humans today get fascinated with UFOs and what they may be.
A part of it is our natural curiosity and wanting to know more about the world.
And a part of it is that it’s a mostly blank slate and a perfect projection object. We can project our hopes and fears onto it without reality interfering and ruining our fearful or hopeful dreams.
That’s why it’s good to differentiate the two. What do we know? What do we project onto it?
And that’s also why it can be good to have some perspective.
These phenomena are natural phenomena. What seems mysterious to us now has a natural explanation. It may be an explanation we still don’t know. But it is knowable, and we may know what it is at some point in the future.
Also, IF some non-human beings are behind it, they are aliens only to us. To themselves, they are not aliens. We are the aliens. They know themselves as we know ourselves. And if or when we get to know them, they too will eventually become ordinary. They will become part of our life and history.
Thinking about it this way helps to make it a little less good projection object. It helps us see that much of the fascination comes from the blank slate quality of the phenomena.
If these are non-human beings, they are not a blank slate to themselves. And if or when we get to know them, they will no longer be a blank slate to us.
JUNE 14, 2021
UFOS AND THE ROLE OF SPECULATION
Why is the UFO topic ridiculed in some countries?
One answer is in how we balance what we know and speculation.
If we take a serious, scientific, and intellectually honest approach, are honest about what we know and don’t know, and avoid speculation – at least in public – what we do is far more likely to be taken seriously. Clas Svahn is a good example. He and the Swedish UFO organization take a grounded and reasoned approach to the phenomenon, and that means the topic is generally respected in Sweden. They are honest about what they find, that they don’t know what the unknowns are, and avoid speculation. They are serious in their approach, so they are taken seriously.
If we take a less grounded approach, we set ourselves up for ridicule, and that’s what we see in some other countries and perhaps especially in the US. A majority of the UFO investigators in the US seem to lack grounding and intellectual honesty. They often get caught up in speculation, and – for whatever reason – present it as if it’s something more than speculation. They are not serious in their approach, so they are not taken seriously.
It comes down to our priorities and intention. If our main priority is to gain information about the phenomenon and figure out what it is, we take a grounded and scientific approach and avoid speculation. If we engage in the topic mostly for entertainment reasons and to satisfy something at an emotional level, we may indulge in speculation and lose our ability to differentiate what we know (not much) from speculation.
In all science, there is a place for speculation. It gives us ideas for what to explore further and how to approach the topic. And yet, if we want to topic to be taken seriously in the mainstream, it’s important to be intellectually honest and avoid speculation. Our main focus is on gaining more information, and being honest about what we know and don’t know. In private, it may be fun and interesting to engage in a bit of speculation while keeping in mind its purpose and that it is speculation. And in public, it’s good to avoid speculation.
MAKING USE OF COMPLACENCY
The taboo in taking UFOs seriously – which we see among many scientists, reporters, and even in parts of the military, is illogical for several reasons.
There is something out there we don’t know what is, and we have the data to show us.
This could be a huge scientific breakthrough. At the very least, we could learn something about previously unknown natural phenomena and it could go far beyond that.
It’s a safety concern. These apparent crafts are in the airspace and we don’t know what they are.
And it’s a safety concern also because someone can take advantage of the complacency. If there is a taboo around UFOs, and people don’t report or don’t investigate, it means that someone could create a bizarre aircraft and do more or less what they want.