Even as our modern mainstream society begins to grapple with the notion that non-human intelligences of a sophisticated nature are in our midst, piloting remarkably unconventional, and beyond next-gen technological craft, there is still a key component of this cultural conversation that is missing: and that is the consideration of the testimony of those who’ve apparently already encountered these very intelligences. Now, if one were unfamiliar with experiencer lore, one might conclude that we have almost zero understanding as to the intent of these various non-human others. In fact, this is basically what some, otherwise well-meaning, pro-disclosure advocates, have publicly stated - that we have no idea as to why they’re here, or what they want.

But if and when one does pay attention to said experiencer lore, it quickly becomes evident that nothing could be further from the truth. Now, does that mean that we should take everything said in these circles at face value. Certainly not. We still want to apply standard witness credibility criteria to these statements. And we also want to look for the aspects of the testimony that represent the greatest consensus. But to ignore this testimony altogether is not only unwise - after all, wouldn’t we want to hear what has been reportedly said to those who’ve interacted with these beings? - but it’s also inaccurate/inauthentic, because it lets those new to the conversation believe that this is a complete unknown, which only adds to fear states that are already driving far too much of our contemporary societal dialogue.

When one does pay attention to experiencer testimony, it becomes clear that these beings have been speaking pretty pointedly to some very specific issues. One element that is brought up frequently is that we as a species have lost touch with our connection to the planet, and even more overarchingly, to the larger cosmic community of which we are all a part. Furthermore, not only is that disconnect unfortunate, but it is also highly consequential, because it is that misunderstanding that is giving rise to the very existential threats we are now facing as a collective.

But beyond even these clearly and regularly stated messages, part of the communication also frequently touches on how we’ve lost touch with our most essential nature: a nature that stretches beyond the parameters of this one individual lifetime. In fact, it’s made clear by many of these non-conventional beings that this loss of context is driving us into a kind of individual and collective madness, one where we let pursuits like materialism become the orienting principle of our lives, even when that dogged pursuit begins to devolve into disease in our collective consciousness, reflected in, among other things, ecological disaster and frayed human mental health.

Of course, much of this speaks to the notion of “journeys of souls” and even of “soul contracts”. And, if that’s the case, what does this say of the nature of these beings? Are they “spiritual” figures, or “biological ones”, just like us? Of course, that false dichotomy is at the very heart of our present conundrum. Just who are these beings? And how does their very nature, and even their technology, tend to collapse our present paradigm? And how does the potential of that very collapse serve as the seed for a new way of being; one that restores the relationships we’ve so deeply fallen out of alignment with? These are the ultimate matters, both technological and metaphysical in nature, that we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 106th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast. 

While modern ufology has been a component of our cultural zeitgeist for decades and decades now, during much of that time it has generally been seen as a matter for astrophysicists and aviation experts. While ground-breaking researchers such as Jacques Vallee, John Keel and J. Allen Hynek, as early as the 1970s, suggested the anomalous and highly strange nature of the data takes us well beyond that kind of conventional inquiry, even today, the mainstream still tends to think of UFOs (now monikered as UAP) and NHI - the fancy new name for what we use to call “aliens”, as involving interstellar travelers arriving at Earth in sophisticated spacecraft.

For many, especially in still physicalist-centric Western civilization, this kind of enterprise represents, at least in potentia, a new kind of contact, and a new possibility for communication that takes us beyond what we’ve been limited to amongst our own species over the millennia. But, here again, the data - when one actually looks squarely into them - take us well beyond that notion. And that’s because - contact - and specifically contact with apparently non-human and non-conventionally human intelligences - has supposedly already been happening. 

The varieties of contact technologies or modalities that have meditated this non-ordinary kind of communication include mediumship/channeling, shamanic journeying, CE-5/HICE, dreams, psychedelics, and even fever states.In other words, the issue seems to be not one of needing to wait for interstellar travelers to arrive to finally give us this opportunity, for it's been available to us all along, with some cultures and people groups being more privy to this fact than others. Interestingly, these various modalities of contact and communication also seem to be possible regardless of what would seem to be the expected language and even species-specific differences. And that’s because mind-to-mind communication, known in parapsychological circles as telepathy, seems to be the general rule rather than the exception in these endeavors, thus bypassing the need for translation of written and spoken languages altogether.

But of course, these startling revelations raise further questions: if the issue is not one of needing to wait for interstellar travelers to arrive via superliminal (that is, faster than light) travel, then how exactly is this contact and communication happening? Have they been here - in our so-called “physical” space – all along? Or does the nature of this contact suggest space, and for that matter, time, is simply not what we’ve long assumed? How is it that these various contact technologies are able to connect us with alternative forms of sophisticated sentience, and what do they have in common that makes them effective? These are the captivating and consequential matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 105th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

While the notion of extraterrestrial life has long captivated the public imagination, certain expectations regarding how such life might interact with us have also proven problematic. Primarily that’s because, being the stubborn species we are, when data doesn’t conform to our expectations, we tend to either ignore it, explain it away, or assume it has been gathered incorrectly, or is even the result of fraudulent reporting. This issue has been paramount in the matter of the modern UFO Phenomenon, because many elements of the reports that have arisen from eye-witness testimony contain elements that stretch our expectations - often to the breaking point and beyond.

A term that has been put forward to explain the various elements that stretch our expectations of how sophisticated non-terrestrial intelligence would interact with us – even to the point of defying rational understanding altogether – is “high strangeness”. Here we see crossover into another domain, that of general paranormality. Now while we modern Westerners would like to keep these bodies of data completely separate – after all, why would extraterrestrials act in ways that are reminiscent of apparitions and poltergeist phenomena, or so the conventional thinking goes -- the reality is that these two kinds of data seem to regularly co-arise in people’s experience. And that being the case, it would be unwise to let our pre-existing biases prevent us from seeing linkages that clearly exist in the raw data itself.

Speaking of crossover between domains that tend to be kept distinct in our modern notions of how reality works, we also see startling parallels between the UFO Phenomenon and humanity’s most ancient expressions of religion – collectively referred to as “Shamanism”. The most glaring similarities arise in the experience of reality people report in both Shamanistic journeys, and encounters with supposed “aliens” during contact experiences reported as part of the modern UFO Phenomenon. In both cases people report experiencing the encounter in a seemingly alternate realm or non-ordinary state of consciousness. The question then emerges, pertaining to the UFO Phenomenon, if these really are “space aliens” – that is, physical beings arising from some distant star system – then why would the encounters involve so much overlap with the visionquest encounters reported in Shamanism?

While one can certainly attempt to explain away these parallels in the bodies of data, a more open-minded, objective, and sincere perspective might very well land on the notion that these clues are telling us something fundamental about the nature of reality itself; something that seems to inevitably lead towards a reframing of what it means to be a sentient life form living in a supposedly “physical” universe, as defined under the dictates of scientific materialism. But what precisely is the nature of the overlap between domains/topics such as Shamanism and experiences that fall within the modern UFO Phenomenon, and where might the implications of these alignments lead us? These are the mind-stretching and paradigm-collapsing matters we’ll seek to delve more deeply into, in this, the 96th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the last 12 months or so, those associated with ufology have seen their excitement level around the matter of official disclosure reach a fevered pitch. Much of the optimism has been tied to the remarkable specificity of the language included in the Schumer amendment, which makes clear not only that sophisticated, non-human intelligences in our midst exist, but that various elements of the military industrial complex have constructed elaborate schemes to study this phenomenon while shielding this consequential reality not just from the American people, but also from Congress and the rest of government.

While much of that amendment was eventually gutted before being passed into law, in many ways the proverbial train has nevertheless left the station. There is just too much momentum heading into 2024 for this progress to reverse course. It may take longer than some within ufology would prefer, but this march towards an official acknowledgement of the reality of this phenomenon – and the various unconventional intelligences behind it – seems unstoppable at this point.

While this particular matter of when disclosure will actually happen has been front and center in the ufological dialogue over the last year, what has been discussed much less regularly is the matter of what will actually be disclosed. Many of us obsessed with this topic have been so focused on crossing this one particular threshold -- yes, this is real, and yes, so are they – that we’ve spent far less time pondering what might be disclosed, or commented upon, beyond this initial civilization-changing acknowledgement.

Truth be told, this is precisely where the challenge really arises for the powers that be. And, frankly, that’s because they really have no clear understanding of where this all leads. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s been present in our midst – even if in stealthy manner – for perhaps as long as we’ve been around as a species. But as to its ultimate nature, and how it changes our understanding of fundamental reality, that’s a matter of ongoing contention and confusion – even for the insiders who’ve spent decades studying this, with the highest security clearances available.

For those who take the most overarching view – considering not just the more contemporary manifestation and interpretation of this Phenomenon, but also ways that deep human history seems to point to interactions stretching back millenia - even if described in terms and frames much less familiar and comfortable to modern ears – it’s clear that these other intelligences have not only been with us all along, likely shaping our development across time in the process, but likely were responsible for our very seeding upon this blue pearl of a planet to begin with.

In today’s episode we’ll be taking a deep dive into the ways one can make a very solid case for the notion that ancient encounters with so-called “gods" were ultimately part of the very same enterprise as the more modern UFO/UAP and alien abduction/hybridization enigma. How has framing, and a poor understanding of the different cultural contexts that have tried to make sense of these phenomena over time, obscured the underlying truth of these reality-shaking revelations? These are the very daring, daunting, and highly disruptive matters we’ll be exploring in this, the 95th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

As our civilization continues to skate at the very edge of a new era of widespread public disclosure around the so-called UFO Phenomenon, there still exists a striking incongruence between what is being discussed in government and media, and what is understood to be the nature of the entire enterprise for those colloquially known as “experiencers”. At the public level, we are finally approaching a moment of reckoning around the fact that technology exists - and has existed - for decades if not centuries, if not since the dawn of humankind - that performs maneuvers we simply don’t understand - let alone are ready to replicate.

Of course, along with acknowledgement of this seemingly “otherworldly” technology, we are finally seeing mention of the supposed pilots of these said craft in the form of recovered “biologics”. That, of course, inevitably leads to questions of both where - and when - these so-called “pilots” are from. But even here politicians and the mainstream media are very careful to not fully land on the notion that “aliens are real”. There is a strange socio-psychological game being played here, where polite society still keeps this idea enough to the fringes that it doesn’t disturb our everyday routines.

Again, on the other hand, for experiencers, this part of the enterprise couldn’t be any more real. The interaction with the beings associated with this next-gen technology is actually the most central aspect of the matter. And while the public conversation is just beginning to approach the matter of their being one - or at most - a few - different kinds of intelligent entities to grapple with, what the body of the experiencer testimony over time makes clear is that the diversity of the various kinds of non-human and non-conventionally human intelligences in our midst is almost as extensive as the various craft that have been observed over time. That is to say, while the quintessential “grey alien” is a figure almost any modern human will recognize, that form is just the beginning of a dizzying array of many, many forms.

In today’s episode that point will be made paramount, as we explore a variety of encounters with beings described as blue humans, reptilians, and insectoids. And to be clear, rather than being a one-off, these encounters are also numerous, suggesting that these are distinct beings, beyond the greys, who also have been carrying on a relationship with human beings throughout time as well - that is to say, in addition to the more commonly perceived “greys”. But who and what are these beings? And are these forms permanent, or merely part of a shifting guise employed to communicate certain information to human beings at different times? These are the perplexing but intriguing matters we’ll seek to engage with, in this, the 94th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Anyone alive in the modern era is entitled to look at the startling conflux of transformational variables currently arising in our midst, and conclude that this is a time of truly unparalleled change; change so all-encompassing that it is virtually guaranteed that the world a decade from now will prove fundamentally different from the one we’re in now, and even more contrastingly different than the one any of us were born into.

The UFO Phenomenon, an ever-present specter in our midst, is a key element in this transformational stew. At this point not only is new information coming to light on a yearly basis pertaining to this topic, but even on a monthly - and sometimes even weekly - basis. That is to say, while the modern UFO Phenomenon traces its origins back 80 years or so - existing mostly in the fringes of polite society for that entire time - we are now in an era where it feels like at any moment this reality of mysterious others and their bewitching tech will be fully “mainstreamed”.

Of course, once we cross this threshold, a key collective moment of contemplation awaits us: one that presents overarchingly profound questions about not just who they are, but who we are. And at that point our entire civilization must endure a moment of deep, reflective reckoning; a reckoning that acknowledges that almost nothing we’ve confidently believed about our reality is quite what it has seemed. If nothing else, this dawning realization will help us see that we’ve been living in some version of the Truman Show - where what we’ve thought was real was more like a stage play.

Even as we face this comprehensive re-contextualization around our origins and our place in the Cosmos, we are seeing our own civilization approach an apex moment, referred to some as the Singularity, where spiraling technological growth becomes not only irreversible, but so all-encompassing that it constitutionally changes what it means to be human. The sudden rise of artificial intelligence over the course of the last 12 months is front and center in this discussion.

Of course, in addition to us approaching this moment of widespread acknowledgement of these Others in our midst, happening just as we approach an apparent technological point of no return, there is also the matter of the increased engagement by some of these Others with modern humanity. And of course this raises a couple of intriguing questions:

1.) Is the government shift towards disclosure happening because they recognize that if they don’t get “ahead of the curve” - in terms of embarking on some plan of controlled disclosure - that the matter will be taken out of their hands altogether, resulting in what some have called “catastrophic disclosure” - speaking to its potentially devastatingly destabilizing impact on human civilization?

2.) Are groups of these Others ramping up their engagement with humanity precisely because the point of no return we are presently approaching at break-neck speed is so consequential that they have determined that letting us pass that threshold of our own accord is simply not tenable - primarily because they perhaps see that - without intervention - that unaided crossing would inevitably ensure our own demise?

These questions are simultaneously as profound as they are perplexing - arousing excitement in some, and trepidation in others, and they are precisely the matters we’ll be diving head on into, in this, the 93rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the course of the 80 or so years that make up what is colloquially known as the modern UFO Phenomenon, various hypotheses have been generated to make sense of not only the remarkably sophisticated craft that seem to be leagues beyond the technology of any modern nation-state present on the planet, but also of the apparently non-human beings who occupy them, and of the high strangeness that seems so often to be part and parcel with these anomalous encounters.

Because mainstream Western civilization has been firmly in the clutches of reductionistic physicalism as a model of reality for the entire duration of the modern UFO Phenomenon, the vast majority of the hypotheses generated thus far have been based on this underlying materialist framework. What’s strange about this though is that physicalism has been dead in the water for quite some time now. Not only is it misguided in some of its claims, but it is demonstrably untenable based on modern research findings.

Bernardo Kastrup is a renowned contemporary philosopher who is one of the most vocal voices in the world today calling physicalism’s bluff. He counters the materialist delusion with a model he calls analytic idealism; arguing that reality is fundamentally a mental construct, a process of mentation, and we – along with all other sentient beings in the cosmos - are what he deems alters of Original Mind, or what others might call Source consciousness.

In this the second of my two-part interview with Bernardo, we cover a variety of topics, engaging with how idealism might present some very interesting and encouraging possibilities for further research. The issues addressed from the perspective of idealism include high strangeness and the peculiarly humanoid - almost neo-human - body type of many of the anomalous beings encountered across history.

While the UFO Phenomenon has undoubtedly proven to be one of, if not THE most enigmatic of modern topics, in this discussion we consider the insights that a metaphysical model like idealism might open up in our process of inquiry, in this, the 92nd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the course of 90+ episodes of Point of Convergence, save for one episode with James Iandoli, on the topic of CE-5, or HICE: human initiated contact events, this show has not followed the common podcast interview format. The reason for that is that there are already plenty of shows that follow the common interview pattern. My goal here has generally been to offer solo deep dives on various aspects of the UFO Phenomenon and associated topics that include, among others, NDEs, OBEs, and psi phenomena.

That said, as in the case of my interview with James Iandoli - who represents a wealth of wisdom on so-called “contact work” - I do find it helpful to include the thoughts of others when that person represents what I would deem a paragon in their field. This is true in today’s episode, which features my recent conversation with philosopher Bernardo Kastrup.

Bernardo’s work has been featured prominently in this podcast. His analytic idealism framework has been influential in my own aim to make sense of the dizzying and sometimes discombobulating array of phenomena associated with anomalous encounters with UFOs/UAP and apparent aliens. His book Meaning in Absurdity: What Bizarre Phenomena Can Tell Us About the Nature of Reality is especially pertinent to our overarching subject of interest, and I highly recommend it.

As an idealist, Bernardo’s view is that base reality is ultimately mental in nature; like a dream held in what he calls “Mind at Large”, or that others might call Source consciousness, or Original Mind. I have found that seeing not just the UFO Phenomenon and related paranormal encounters, but reality itself, in this light, is extremely helpful in making headway in these tricky, murky waters. With that introduction aside, let’s move to part 1 of my 2 part discussion with philosopher Bernardo Kastrup, in this, the 91st episode of the Point of Convergence podcast. 

For a long period of modern history the matter of the so-called UFO Phenomenon remained a topic cast to the fringes of discourse. While there has always been a committed community of people dedicated to getting to the bottom of this enduring, enigmatic mystery, that group has operated - for the most part - in the margins of polite society. And while the general public has long believed in the likely existence of extraterrestrial life in the cosmos – as have astrophysicists, for that matter – the subject of some of that sophisticated alien life already being in our midst has been a different matter altogether; one, for the most part, subjected to the conspiracy theory bin amongst the mainstream.That clear distinction between these two statements - that other life exists in the cosmos, and that some of that life is already visiting us - began to dissolve somewhat with the revelations brought forward by David Grusch; an insider who had come into contact with clear evidence not just of the presence of these “aliens” in our midst, but furthermore of contact, communication and even agreements being made between elements of the U.S. government and its military services and these factions of so-called non-human intelligence.For those subjected to the historic enterprise known as alien abduction, these revelations raised new and troubling questions about just how much human governments have not only known about this matter – despite their public denials – but may have been party to them. It is one thing to come to grips with the notion that sophisticated intelligences are able to take you from the comfort of your home with impunity. It is another matter altogether to learn that perhaps your own government has been privy to these activities; and that may have been part of an accord struck between these other intelligences and human governments.And yet, this is precisely what is on the table; not just as a result of the allegations brought forward by David Grusch, but also because of details that have been provided elsewhere, going into greater detail as to the nature of these accords as they pertain to the matter of abductions. In this week’s podcast we’re going to delve into once such account that purports to describe the nature of the cooperative aspect of these events; detailing how a deeply compartmented element of the U.S. air force was made aware of abductions via telepathic communication received by personnel who had been genetically altered to enhance their capacity to receive said messages from the faction of non-human intelligence who had made this accord. If true, the implications of this account are not only consequential, but, for many, they are also deeply disquieting. But of course such topics are not ones we shy away from on this podcast. Just how much have human governments – or segmented aspects of them – actually known about these historic abductions? And how exactly was intel passed from an alien faction to a group of human beings privy to this sweeping enterprise? These are precisely the matters we’ll be delving into in this, the 90th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast. 

Without question, 2023 has been a banner year in the decades-long endeavor to bring disclosure about the reality of the so-called UFO Phenomenon to public awareness. Ever since the mid 20th century there has been a dedicated push by a relatively small but growing contingent of die-hards to finally get the U.S. government to admit what it knows about these beings from “elsewhere”; beings who have apparently been at work in our civilization in very substantive albeit clandestine ways. Based on the political machinations that began churning soon after the dawn of the startling allegations brought forward by a former insider named David Grusch, that push seemed to finally be paying dividends.

That said, of late the startling progress seen earlier in the summer seems to have slowed. So much so, in fact, that some have begun to wonder aloud, with chagrin, if perhaps the historic secrecy/disinformation machine – which has been pushing back in its own dedicated way ever since these revelations came to light – might once again be about to turn this apparently irreversible progress into yet another mirage.

While on the one hand, such a feat seems more like wizardry – after all, how could these revelations not at the very least lead to a deep and broad congressional investigation? – it does indeed seem as if our society is carrying on with the same old, same old, in regards to what tends to garner public attention. Now that we’re just over a year away from a hotly contested federal election, perhaps not surprisingly the vast majority of public and media focus has turned to that epic showdown; one being seeded by near civil-war like stratifications within the national fabric.

The question now arising is this: can this push for disclosure hope to gain enough steam, and make enough noise, to be heard amongst this rising national clamor leading up to an historic moment in late 2024? At least, that’s the question some are asking; chiefly those concerned this might all come down to a monumental run of bad luck around timing.

From another point of view, however – one that I personally think is more robustly informed by the full scope of the matters in play here – these issues are not separable; and certainly not coincidental. I would argue that the what, when, and how of these matters again comes down – at least in part – to the clandestine actions of those mysterious actors; ones who seem to be both everywhere and everywhen, except for when you expressly go looking for them.

Is this seeming overarching orchestration humbling to our collective sense of agency, and even to our species’ perspective on planetary sovereignty? Certainly. Does it suggest that disclosure – however one defines that term – simply isn’t something that humanity alone can muster up enough momentum to bring to bear – at least, not at our current stage of development? Yes, without question. I think history makes this matter crystal clear.

Questions we should be asking include the following: What do they want in the midst of all of this? What is their overarching agenda? Is it singular or plural? Are they singular or plural? If they’ve shaped our history – to one degree or another – what do they intend for our future? And what role are they playing as the figures on the chessboard seemingly move about of their own volition? Considering the subject of disclosure from this much more panoptic vantage point is exactly the approach we will be taking in this particular discussion, as we aim to make sense of these intriguing yet imposing matters, in this, the 89th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

The modern so-called UFO Phenomenon stretches back to the mid-20th century. That means we have 75+ years of lore to draw from when reflecting on the subject matter in question. Of course, for the vast majority of that time this topic, colloquially referred to as “ufology”, has remained a somewhat “fringe” enterprise, discussed ad nauseam by enthusiasts of the notion of extraterrestrial intelligences visiting earth in sophisticated machines, but never gaining a truly legitimate foothold amongst the mainstream.That is, of course, up until recently. Since the advent of the revelations/allegations brought forward by a former insider named David Grusch, this topic has gained traction in the mainstream; at least, it has begun to. At this point, while decades-long ufologists have been shocked to see the kind of attention this topic has recently garnered in political circles, it’s still not truly penetrated the formidable iron gates of legacy mainstream media. Nevertheless, there are signs that this wall of impenetrability is perhaps beginning to crack and crumble. And without doubt, as more hearings are held, and more evidence is presented, along with a secondary wave of whistleblowers prepared to follow in David Grusch’s wake, that traction in the mainstream will eventually prove undeniable. And that will mark an inflection point for our civilization, as the conversation around this new reality we are collectively grappling with turns from “could it be?” to “how now shall we respond?”

All that said, as we’ve watched this topic, and the questions it inevitably begs, begin to become a noticeable “something” for those who’ve long ignored it, there is an aspect of the conversation that is still largely missing from the society-wide dialogue. Here I speak of the aims/intentions/agendas of the beings in question. It’s as if we’re talking about them either in the past tense, or as a force that is unconscious, like water running down a mountain towards the ocean.But, of course, they are not just another aspect of nature running its course like water returning to the ocean via the impartial force of gravity. They are a parallel intelligence; walking beside us, with their own history, species-specific norms, and collective aims to bring to the mix. And only a much, much smaller subset of the community are asking the relevant questions that arise from this aspect of the situation. Questions such as: who are they, and what are their aims? Some throw their hands in the air here, assuming that the intentions and, for that matter, even basic nature of a non-human intelligence would be impenetrable to homo sapien sapiens. But of course, a long history of interaction between these others and a subset of humanity known as experiencers casts serious doubt on such assumptions. That history suggests not only that we can engage in open contact with these other beings, but that that communication often involves very specific details about their aims amongst us, and their intentions towards us. How consistent are these messages? And to what degree should we trust them? Many see these as waters too murky to navigate. But that’s precisely what we’ll endeavor to do in this, the 88th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Throughout much of the 20th century there existed a narrative that ran in parallel, but also somewhat in shadow and away from plain sight, to the march of history that we all learned about in school. This parallel narrative spoke of remarkable technological craft, seemingly centuries ahead of our own cutting-edge marvels, and included whispers of encounters with the pilots of said craft, who often both looked somewhat like us: humanoid, bipedal, etc, but also distinctly different, that is to say: “alien”, with huge, wrap around eyes and skin the color and texture of mushrooms.

Within 20th century history, the period where we see these two parallel tracks most overlap, at least initially, was around the turn of what is commonly referred to as the atomic era. If you look at the history of the development and testing of atomic weapons, you will find these Others entering the fray, even if in ways that still didn’t make mention in mainstream news publications. Desert landscapes, mushroom clouds, and flying saucers; these all go hand in hand, when you consider these two parallel track of history.

Towards the latter half of the 20th century, another key intersection occurred; one that saw these others (or perhaps, another group of “others” altogether), entering the fray to embark upon some kind of vast, but secretive genetic program; a program that saw human beings taken aboard apparent craft, and having their reproductive material taken, apparently in the service of the creation of hybrid beings: that is to say, a new creation of humanoid creature that was very much a cross between us, and them.

These key historical developments have long been rumored about in the so-called backrooms of ufology. That said, they have historically been remarkably difficult to surface, for those who have endeavored to see these two parallel tracks considered as undeniably and inextricably connected to each other - which is to say, you cannot reconstruct the true history of the 20th century without seeing these two parallel tracks merged into one.

This difficulty is largely attributable to the remarkable success of an official suppression and disinformation program that was operated by the government of the American people, against the American people, as well as others around the world, throughout much of the 20th century, and stretching on into the 21st.

In light of events of the last several weeks and months, however, it’s now clear that this fight for legitimacy amongst the mainstream has taken a sharp turn. So much so, in fact, that those who’ve been investigating these matters for decades and decades have been left with their mouths agape; as they’ve seen these matters, seemingly overnight, being given true governmental attention, and on a bipartisan basis to boot.

To be clear, the surprising pace of recent events – which has seen each of the main governmental bodies in the United States, in recent weeks, publicly take up the challenge of endeavoring to be transparent about this enigmatic part of our history – has left many wondering if something more than meets the eye might be in play here. After all, finally beginning to move towards transparency is one thing. But what we’re apparently seeing is arguably much more than that. To be clear, we’re now seeing legislation being crafted, by some of the most powerful politicians in the nation, around what is officially being deemed a “disclosure plan”. The question is: Why? And, just as, if not more importantly, why now? These are the very compelling and complex matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 87th episode, of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Beginning with the revelations that arose in a now famous 2017 New York Times article titled “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program”, and further brought to light with the allegations made by former military insiders like Luis Elizondo and David Grusch, the general public is being slowly acclimated to a reality that those of us who are part of this community have long known to be the case: non-human intelligences and their technological marvels have been (and continue to be) in our very midst.

Still, for those of us who regularly dive deep into these murky (but often exhilarating) waters, we know that these revelations - as startling as they are to the average Joe and Jane on the street - are really just the beginning. And that’s because, simply put, there are numerous elements of human experience that simply don’t play well with the prevailing paradigm that rules in Western civilization - at least at present. These elements include out of body experiences, near death experiences, psi phenomena, synchronicity, contact with supposed deceased loved ones, and time slippages. And that’s just for starters.

Not only do these elements that have historically been forced to the fringes of polite conversation stretch the mainstream’s understanding of what’s possible, they also call into question the very maps we’ve so confidently crafted to make sense of what’s real altogether. For instance, when it comes to the matter of dealing with sophisticated, apparently non-human intelligences (ie. aliens), not only do we have the matter of the DoD allegedly housing the recovered craft and even the cadavers of non-human life forms - life forms that are decidedly biological, just like us -  also on the table are the credible accounts of a host of other kind of non-conventional encounters.

Truth be told, there is a considerable body of data pointing to encounters with beings that are better described as ethereal, though - importantly - no less “real”. These beings are described by people from different walks of life in such consistent ways that they seem to claim just as much “real” and independent existence as we do. Other life forms that people encounter are perhaps better described as quasi-physical, and still others seem to navigate between these different domains like we might move between different rooms of a house.

Furthermore, human beings sometimes find themselves acting outside of their own bodies - and even outside of this 3D “physical” construct altogether - interacting with alien beings of various sorts and sometimes even with their own supposedly deceased loved ones in the process. The beings encountered also seem capable of moving human consciousness in ways that sometimes include the physical body, and other times do not. In short, what’s being highlighted here is the untenable nature of the physicalist paradigm altogether.

But all this being the case, how are we to proceed? If our modern maps have been exposed as - at best - approximations reflecting only one tiny corner of a much more expansive territory, how are we to make our way forward? And how can we reconcile the seemingly illusory boundaries between the living and the dead, sleep and waking states, and physical and ethereal realms? This all amounts to some pretty ambitious inquiry. But these are exactly the matters that we’ll seek to engage with in this the 104th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Throughout the history of humankind we’ve been pushing the boundaries of exploration, determined to map and – often eventually, populate – every nook and cranny of physical space we come across. This has meant we’ve ventured into every corner of the earth, even those sporting the most inhospitable of environmental conditions.

When the modern-day UFO Phenomenon first exploded into public consciousness around the era of the 1940s through, not one, but a series of remarkable events, that orientation around frontier consciousness led almost everyone of the time – once it was clear these strange objects seen - designated UFOs – unidentified flying objects – were very unlikely to be of prosaic origin – to assume that these apparently intelligently controlled vehicles must be coming from the last of the frontiers we had yet to explore; namely: outer space - they greater expanse of the surrounding cosmos.

This of course suggested the existence of extraterrestrials; beings who had evolved on entirely different planets in entirely different star systems in far flung corners of the Milky Way Galaxy or beyond. This sparked our imagination, leading us to imagine what they might look like, and how they might behave. Would they look anything like us? Would they follow our behavior patterns? Would they want to conquer and colonize us the same way we’d done with each other?

As the 20th century marched on, many people around the planet began to report encounters with the very beings supposedly piloting these sophisticated vehicles. Interestingly, while modern science had long leaned towards extraterrestrial beings likely looking decidedly unlike us - because of their origin being tied to completely different evolutionary pressures in completely different home planet contexts, the reports arising from these encounters with “other-worldly beings” spoke to a remarkably humanoid form; and indeed on regular occasion, even a seemingly fully human form.

Furthermore, even the types less human in appearance still matched the general morphology of other forms of life from Earth: including reptilian and insectoid, including mantis beings - bearing a striking resemblance to 9 foot tall praying mantis insects found right here on our home planet. Of course, this raises an obvious question: why? Why were these encountered forms flying in the face of our expectations around what extraterrestrial beings would likely look like – and, more importantly, what they would NOT look like? I would suggest to you that perhaps the issue lies in one of our earlier assumptions: that the next frontier to be explored is always spatial in nature. But what if these others were not coming from elsewhere, but from some as yet poorly understood non-spatial dimension?

On that note, the notion of a multiverse opened up the interdimensional hypothesis to popular consideration. And that’s still in the running, suggesting these beings are arriving from planes of existence sitting in parallel to our physical existence. But there is another possibility that has long escaped the mainstream of our collective imagination around these beings; namely: time travel.  In other words, what if these beings are not so much coming from somewhere else, but rather some when else?

When one stops to consider this possibility, not only does it hold its own – in terms of serving as a potential theoretical explanatory mechanism – but it also fits remarkably well with key components of the historical data, not just around the appearance and behavior of these various beings, but also with other key elements arising from the historical experiencer literature. This possibility that time is a key variable in the overarching phenomenon is a fascinating one, one that will be our focus in this, the 86th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.  

The year 2017 saw what appeared at the time to be a sea change in ufology when a key piece published in the New York Times made clear that the U.S. military had footage of aerial vehicles of unknown origin. In other words, not only were UFOs - now referred to as UAP - a “thing”, something those intimately familiar with the topic had long known to be the case, but the U.S. government, to some degree or another, was now publicly acknowledging this fact.

Many within ufology assumed this was the turning point we’d all been waiting for; the historical event that would send this topic fully into hyperdrive, and not just in remote corners of the internet, but, more importantly, within the mainstream. In the end, that wasn’t what happened. The article made waves, to be sure, dragging the topic beyond X-files land, and tantalizingly closer to mainstream acceptance. Still, what many enthusiasts and researchers were left wondering was, why weren’t these revelations enough to really bring us past the threshold into widespread, conventional recognition of the validity of this topic?

That question has lingered, largely in a static status, until this past week, when a new article by the same authors has brought to light startling allegations that take this topic well beyond the matter of strange lights in the sky. According to an article by Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, a former intelligence official turned whistleblower named David Grusch has alleged that elements of the U.S. military are in possession of “intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin.”

Because Grusch has provided this information to Congress and the Intelligence Community inspector general, filing “a complaint alleging that he suffered illegal retaliation for his confidential disclosures,” and because officials have received these concerns as “credible” and “urgent”, once again we seem to be at the precipice of a word ufologists have been bandying about for decades: disclosure. True disclosure. Not hearsay. Not rumors; but true widespread acknowledgement by government officials and widespread acceptance by the populace of the world that not only are we not alone in the universe, but that various beings who represent vast, sophisticated intelligence are here, in our very midst, and, in a collective shock to the system, perhaps have been all along.

As things stand right now, this is a dynamic situation, evolving daily as the story makes its way across the media landscape, inevitably landing anew in the awareness of untold numbers of the general public, and on the desks of government officials all around the world. But where do things stand, really? Is there no turning back at this point? Have we crossed the proverbial event horizon? Is the end result, while still rolling out as we speak, already a foregone conclusion?

Put simply the question is this: will these remarkable recent events finally catapult us into a new era in human civilization, where we recognize we are part of a cosmic neighborhood teeming with life forms we’ve as of yet been largely unaware of? And, if so, what comes next? How will we be changed by these revelations? These are the very pressing and profound questions we’ll seek to find some clarity around on this, the 85th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Ever since the dawn of the modern UFO Phenomenon, a wide variety of terms have been used to describe people’s reactions to it. People have been fascinated, frustrated, shocked, perplexed, bewildered, frightened and inspired. And, because of the enigmatic nature of encounters with the beings associated with this Phenomenon, often several of these descriptors can and do apply for any given situation.

As has been pointed out numerous times on this podcast and elsewhere, when one widens the historical scope, it is not a stretch to wonder – even postulate – if beings from more distant folklore may be part and parcel of this same enterprise. And this is true not just because these events that come to us from the depth of recorded human history involve encounters with apparently non-human entities, but also because the nature of the encounters often involve similar elements.

That said, one could also argue that this might be an example of a brush simply applied too broadly. In other words, perhaps because of the very fact that these encounters across time do involve similar elements, we might be tempted to prematurely draw precise parallels where they perhaps do not exist. Were the creatures of faery lore the very same as our modern-day prototypical grey aliens? Or do we simply leap to this conclusion because they neither fit neatly within our tidy conventional zoological models?

In the 20th century, reaching a fevered pitch sometime in the 1990s, word of human abductions by these supposed grey aliens slowly became part of our cultural zeitgeist. The narrative around these more recent encounters involved apparent genetic experimentation and even full-on hybridization programs. Again though, if we widen the scope once more, one could postulate that some of the apparently anomalous leaps in our species’ cognitive capacity throughout hominin history were also the fruit of similar genetic intervention and augmentation programs.

People have also wondered aloud if the UFO Phenomenon marks the beginning of a new religious trend? Many postulated in the 20th century that visits by the space brothers - bearing an uncanny resemblance to ourselves - marked the beginning of a new frontier in spiritual discovery. But again, if we step back, adopting the 30,000 foot view, one can logically question if the very seed of religious belief and practice for our species, from our very earliest creeds on, were also the fruit, either directly or indirectly, of encounters with these same anomalous beings.Which leads us to some pressing questions: are these beings the same groups of entities interacting and shaping us over time? Or is our imagination simply so limited that we have inappropriately drawn parallels where they simply don’t exist - opening up the possibility that perhaps our ontological landscape is simply much more complex and diverse than we’ve yet been able to really fathom, let alone truly reckon with.

While the history of anomalous encounters seemingly goes right back to the dawn of our civilization, more recent events raise a particularly pressing question: Does the apparent increase in our species’ interaction with some of these non-conventional beings in recent history - paired with what one could argue is a seeming march towards a cataclysmic collapse of our own making - suggest that, while interactions with non-conventional entities have existed across the breadth of human history, that they are now nearing some kind of culmination point - where, as some of the experiencer narrative would suggest -this results in a situation where everything and everyone is left completely different afterwards? And furthermore, is this coming apex inflecion point terminal, or transformational for our civilization, and perhaps even both? These are the daunting, challenging and awe-inspiring matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 84th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Within the vast historical literature associated with the UFO Phenomenon there are references to numerous kinds of craft sighted and numerous kinds of entities encountered. Interestingly, even within a subset of a certain group of entities, distinct patterns sometimes emerge, suggesting specific enterprises have been undertaken at various points in history by these various groups. One such unique pattern took place between sometime in the late 20th century, stretching up until around the turn of millennium. This specific endeavor was concentrated around what have come to be known as “abductions”. In other words, this specific enterprise involved not just sightings, but people being abruptly physically taken from their homes to some “other place”, whether that be an apparent spacecraft or some alternate realm, where specific actions were undertaken, involving both physical examinations and what can only be described as activities pertaining to a large-scale reproductive program. This extensive reproductive program, involving, at minimum, untold thousands of human beings, saw men and women having reproductive material taken from them: eggs from women and sperm from men, as part of a scheme to produce what have come to be known as hybrid beings; entities part conventionally human and part “something-else”. The question around the nature of this “something else” is a matter of some debate, one that we’ll be delving into in this episode.Once the initial extraction of reproductive material had taken place, many abductees/contactees/experiencers (pick your designation of choice, and those involved have differences of opinion on what they prefer to be called) were later shown what, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be their very own hybrid offspring. Sometimes these “others” - most often colloquially referred to as “aliens” - would ask these human abductees to interact with said offspring, to fulfill some form of developmental bonding. Said abductees often mention feeling both a deep connection to these apparently hybrid children, while also sometimes feeling a sense of revolution arising from their atypical form.As I mentioned, this specific hybridization enterprise seemed to phase out around the time of the turn of millennium. At this point many of these abductees/contactees/experiencers were telepathically told that they wouldn’t be seeing the apparent aliens nearly as much anymore, indicating the enterprise had been successful enough that a page was now being turned. Of course the specificity of this entire enterprise raises many intriguing questions. What was the ultimate purpose of this hybridization program? What role, if any, do these apparently hybrid offspring play in the future of human civilization? And in what way might this enterprise serve as a kind of failsafe against the potential of a coming earth cataclysm that experiencers of this type were warned was bound to be our civilization’s fate, should we fail to turn from our misguided, erring ways? These are the profound, but mind-bending issues we’ll seek to find some clarity around in this, the 83rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

The enigma known as the UFO Phenomenon is compelling for numerous reasons. One of those reasons is that this phenomenon has been attested to by witnesses and experiencers over long periods of modern history. And, furthermore, once you get past the surface veneer of the way people have categorized/interpreted these phenomena differently over time because of different cultural expectations, one can make a convincing argument - as Jacques Vallee and others have in fact done - that this phenomenon has been with us since the beginning of time; sometimes interpreted as gods come down from the heavens to parade in front of we mere mortals, and more recently as advanced technological civilizations visiting us far from far flung destinations such as Zeta Reticuli and Alpha Centauri on scientific expeditions and the like.

Another of the key elements of data lending credence to the notion that this Phenomenon is as real as green grass in the spring and plasma erupting from the sun is that it is attested to across the world, even in cultures significantly divorced from the typical modernist and physicalist conceptions found in Western civilization. And whenever we can show cross-cultural support for this phenomenon we can more confidently conclude that this is not simply a construct based on the expectations of any particular people group. Indeed, the fact that the interpretation of sightings and interactions with “the Others” have differed somewhat in different parts of the world over time actually lends credence to the notion that, underlyingly, beyond that surface veneer of categorization/interpretation, something is really there; legitimately being encountered and interacted with.

Armchair skeptics will at times argue that this is simply a North American and European phenomenon. Now, while it is statistically true that we have more data from these locations, it’s important to point out that much of this can likely be attributed to the fact that the some data-gathering efforts haven’t happened to the same degree in other places, and that even the cultural expectations of some of those other continents are such that what is a paradigm-shaking moment for a modern North American or European might not be for someone from an indigenous population. After all, why make a big deal of an event that has been normalized in a particular culture for generations? And one can make the argument that this is indeed the case in various indigenous populations.

As I mentioned, some of the discrepancy in the regularity of reports from different parts of the globe can be reduced to the fact that the search simply hasn’t been conducted with equal dedication around the world. Furthermore, cultural differences and language issues have added to this challenge. As a Professor Emeritus at Montana State University and former Director of the Center for Bilingual/Multicultural Education, Clarke, who is Cherokee/Choctaw herself, has dedicated decades of her life to investigating sightings of UFOs and interactions with various forms of alien and non-conventionally human beings in parts of the globe long neglected.

In today’s episode we’re going to consider the astounding reports Clarke was able to gather during her trips through Mesoamerica. Not only do the accounts Clarke gathered make clear the fact that UFO sightings and interactions with actual beings are every much as common - perhaps even more so - there, as compared to here, but they also raise very interesting possibilities regarding the very origins of some of these people groups, and specifically the Maya. Could the Maya themselves not only be the recipients of the traditions of a so-called “ancient alien” civilization, but perhaps even their very descendants? These are the fascinating matters we’ll endeavor to engage with, head on, in this, the 82nd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When people are first introduced to the enigmatic topic known as the UFO Phenomenon, the working assumption is that this is a matter of determining whether or not aliens, i.e. extraterrestrials from some likely extrasolar source, have traversed the immense distances of outer space, to arrive at our blue pearl planet either to, A.) from a more positive view, study us, as in a scientific expedition, or, B.) from a less positive view, scope out our capabilities prior to some kind of invasion.Perhaps it should not be surprising that this is where the conversation begins for people; including those who’ve flocked to this topic since 2017, when the revelations of a now famous New York Times article first entered the public sphere, suggesting to many that, despite decades of scoff and ridicule and X-Files jokes, perhaps there really was a there there.Speaking of decades of scoff and ridicule, the decades leading up to the present one filled people’s minds with the very scenarios I just mentioned: that either these visitors from beyond are here as part of a scientific expedition, as in Star Trek, or as a prelude to a full-on invasion of our planet, as in War of the Worlds or Independence Day. These are familiar tropes in science fiction, and so it should not surprise us that this has worked its way into our cultural zeitgeist.But those initial, rather tame and predictable questions about what the so-called UFO Phenomenon represents are quickly supplanted by much more profound, far-reaching, and, for some, disturbing questions, once newcomers really begin to start poking around and considering the plethora of reports made by credible witnesses, going back decades and decades - and perhaps even millenia - discussing in-person encounters with the intelligences supposedly responsible for the piloting of these sophisticated aerial vehicles known as UFOs or UAP.Because, as I just mentioned, these encounters trace back deep into human history, and likely even pre-history, one could argue that these more recent “sci-fi” encounters are really in the same overarching category as what we might deem “religious” encounters from yester millenia, the questions around what this all means suddenly become much more broadly sweeping and all-encompassing. Without doubt, our religious traditions have shaped the development of our civilization. And if the encounters that inspired those very traditions didn’t actually involve gods, or angels or demons, after all - at least, not as they are typically portrayed, interpreted and understood in religious tradition - then perhaps this Phenomenon, and the intelligences that comprise it - has been much more intimately involved with our evolution than we first realized. And if that’s the case, then we’re suddenly a long way from merely Star Trek or Independence Day territory.Eventually, if one traces this back far enough, especially in light of more recent revelations suggesting these overarching intelligences can tweak our genetics and even partake in hybridization programs that lead to the emergence of entirely new species, one inevitably lands at a very striking query: could our very existence on this planet be a result of some earlier version of these same endeavors? And if that’s the case, how do popularly held beliefs in notions such as reincarnation play into this? Is that a “natural” process, or is something more akin to what we might call “technology” involved?These truly are not just mind-bending but also civilization-shaking matters to consider. And one wonders, if we truly are nearing some kind of so-called “disclosure” around the existence of this Phenomenon, then just how many of these startling revelations might be part of that mix? And how exactly will our civilization handle such acknowledgements? Tricky, nuanced matters to parse out, to be sure. But that’s precisely what we’ll endeavor to do in this, the 81st episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Generally speaking, with this podcast, each episode takes a different topic pertaining to the UFO Phenomenon and general paranormality and does a deep dive into it. That being the case, for the most part, Point of Convergence is not a current affairs kind of show. My aim is to make each episode relevant, regardless of when and where any particular listener happens to access and consume it.

That said, recent events are such that I think that, on this particular occasion, it makes sense to veer from that overarching strategy. And that’s because, simply put, I believe we are living through truly extraordinary times; times that speak to a key inflection point in the history of our civilization. While even our current era is the product of events that have been unfolding for decades now, I believe evidence suggests this particular period of the 2020s is particularly significant.

Now, even as I speak those words I’m aware of how problematic such statements can turn out to be. Having explored various religious and spiritual circles in great depth, both personally and academically, over the decades of my life, I’ve personally seen how many times various prognosticators have declared that a particular time was of special import - for the future of our civilization and the fate of the world - only to see various predictions and so-called prophecies tied to those prognostications fail to materialize, time and time again.

Now, certainly, our current state of affairs as it pertains to the UFO Phenomenon is undoubtedly built upon decisions and actions made over the course of getting on for 100 years now, but still, I see those decisions and actions coming to a head at this particular period in our history. As the saying goes, “History repeats itself… until it doesn’t”. While we can be bludgeoned into disinterest and apathy by the sheer repetition of certain themes over and over again, that historical trend is no guarantee that events will always proceed as they have done. Indeed, at some point, any and every historical trend comes to an end. I believe we’re nearing one of those key inflection points now.

But who and what is behind this shift? Is it one party of many? Are they human or non-human? How can we be sure that this is not just some kind of government psyop that will ultimately be revealed as another iteration of the “same old, same old”? And if something significant really is on the cusp of being revealed, how is it going to manifest, and in what kind of frame of time? These are the matters, both essential and particularly timely, that we’ll seek to engage with, in this, the 80th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Within the enigma known as the UFO Phenomenon, a few particularly troubling aspects have long existed as part of the experiencer literature. One specific aspect that has long been particularly concerning involves the knowledge of and cooperation in what are often deemed negative abduction encounters, by apparently human, terrestrial powers. In other words, our very own governments, or particular elements of them, willingly signing off on the abduction of and experimentation with innocent citizens.

These kinds of accounts and evidence streams are particularly difficult to swallow because they not only involve humans agreeing to let other humans be experimented with – though, of course, we’ve seen that before, for instance during the horrors of the Nazi regime in WW2 – but also because they involve communication and accord-making between human beings and various alien species.

For some this is a bridge too far. Strange, liminal creatures coming in and out of different dimensions is one thing. But grey aliens walking into a meeting room with government officials and negotiating treaties is something else entirely. And yet, that’s precisely what aspects of the experiencer literature, corroborated with additional historical evidence that has leaked out over time, is suggesting has indeed taken place as part of our relatively recent history.

Part of these agreed-upon accords involve not only the abduction of Earth humans, but also the introduction of apparently hybrid beings into the Earth population; entities who are part human and part alien, sometimes looking shockingly unlike us, and other times looking so much like terrestrial humans that they could pass by unnoticed. Here we are confronted with the notion of them “walking amongst us”, even as we speak.

In a case we’re going to review today we have all of the above taking place. First, evidence of accords being made with not just one alien group, but a consortium of different alien species, aligned – if only loosely – around various endeavors they are engaged with on our planet, with both Earth humans, and terrestrial animal populations. Furthermore, the accord discussed in this case actually involves the directing of ongoing interstellar traffic around a particular location in the American southwest, which, for all intents and purposes, serves as a spaceport hub for aliens coming from locations as far flung as Zeta Reticuli.

Finally, the case we’re going to discuss today involves the attempted introduction of a particular hybrid being: part human and part something else, into the terrestrial population. How that attempted socialization of a hybrid being goes, speaks to the challenges that arise in these kinds of experiments; not only because vastly different social context origins are in the mix, but also because the biological defaults are so different between the two species.

Is it true that Earth governments have made accords with interstellar, alien civilizations, and perhaps even with consortiums of various alien groups? And have these agreements included the experimentation with human beings, resulting in hybrid entities, who have then been introduced into the earth population? In this particular case, these are precisely the matters we’ll attempt to face head-on, seeking both for clarity and confirmation, in this, the 79th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

While the modern UFO era may have begun with the emergence of saucer sightings in the early to mid 20th century, that picture eventually grew to include not only those initial sightings, but also reported interactions with the supposed beings piloting these sophisticated, non-conventional craft. Yes, indeed “aliens” - or as they’re often called in modern ufology circles - non-human intelligences, often to clarify that we don’t actually know where they’re from, just that they’re not human - at least we’re pretty sure of that fact - if by “human” we mean beings akin to contemporary homo sapien sapiens. Of course, as we’ll see in today’s episode, that clear cut distinction between us and them might not be so easy to delineate after all, but we’ll get to that.From sightings of supposed alien beings - or, apparently non-human but very often “humanoid” beings - the picture filled out even more, to include the now infamous abduction phenomenon, where modern earth humans are taken aboard craft - often from the comfort and quiet of their bedrooms in the middle of the night - where they are then subjected to a wide variety of experiences, including - in some cases of a perhaps less apparently positive nature - invasive medical procedures and supposed hybridization programs, and - in more apparently positive reports - opportunities to see the cosmos and even, on occasion, to learn to maneuver the craft, often via mental intention alone, no less.In terms of the beings often seen, while there really is a broad spectrum of others, one particular form has come to represent the quintessential “alien” in our cultural zeitgeist. Here I speak of the proverbial “grey alien”. The emergence of this particular form had much to do, one could argue, with the front cover of Whitley Streiber’s ground-breaking and nerve-rattling book, Communion, published in 1987. Of course, that image wouldn't have made the waves it did if it were not for the fact that many thousands of people reportedly recognized that prototypical face - sometimes, much to their chagrin. After all, if they recognized the image, if it was somehow familiar to them, even if murkily so, did this mean they too were perhaps alien abductees? These were chilling questions for a plethora of human beings to contemplate.Of course, the fact that these beings were - if not exactly human-looking - then certainly humanoid, raised many questions. Why would an alien being look so much like us? Wouldn’t the evolutionary trajectory of their own home planet taken them in very different directions? The conventional thinking on these matters assumed this would be the case, and it’s partly this that led to so much ridicule and scoff. Many took these humanoid forms as a good reason to ignore the entire affair altogether. It’s as if these people decided that since aliens wouldn’t look like this, the entire affair must be reducible to make believe or delusion.And yet, the enigma of this particular form of “otherness” has endured, to the point where it’s now a mainstay in our cultural heritage, both for those who believe and don’t believe aliens are here, and are actually interacting with human beings on an ongoing basis. Of course another possibility that’s emerged more recently, and this would explain why these others look so much like us is they may actually be us - but us from the future; our descendants, who have been taken in some strange evolutionary directions based on future events.So what is it? Are greys from an extraplanetary source - i.e. are they extraterrestrials? Or are they future humans, what Michael Masters has aptly deemed “extratempestrials”? Or is it possible that both options exist? And, furthermore, could the prevalence of this form, and its evident ongoing connection to us, point towards an even deeper and and more primary construct - that might not only speak to common origins, but perhaps also to a common terminus - maybe in the form of the singularity that rushes to...

While the push towards government disclosure around its knowledge of UFOs – and even its knowledge of the attempted reverse engineering of apparently recovered craft of anomalous origin – really is kicking into a high gear of late, it’s still a far cry from the kinds of matters that the people known as experiencers are concerned with. Experiencers, those who have witnessed and interacted with anomalous phenomena personally, including those who’ve had actual encounters with beings of a decidedly non-conventionally human variety, are dealing with the way these experiences have changed them.

That is to say, the question of UFOs and aliens is no longer an open one for these people. That matter is settled, while the public debate rages on. What experiencers have largely moved onto is how to make sense of these experiences, and how to incorporate them into daily reality. No small task when one considers just how life-changing such experiences are.

One key aspect of the encounters experiencers report having has to do with messages; messages received from the beings coming from “elsewhere” – whether one sees that as an extraterrestrial, interdimensional, extratempestrial or extradimensional in nature. If there is one theme that arises more than any other in these reported encounters, it's one dealing with warnings and admonitions around a dawning cataclysm of some sort, supposedly arising in the not-too-distant future of human civilization.

Sometimes these warnings and admonitions are more symbolic in nature - such as when contactees/abductees are shown images of the earth on fire, or when, for insurance, one particular person saw an image of what looked like the earth as an organism experiencing labored breathing. Other times the message or vision is laid out more plainly, when, for instance, giant waves are seen engulfing the coasts, or when an extraplanetary object is seen smashing into the earth from outer space.

Taken alone, these messages and visions are concerning enough; so much so that some experiencers have historically started changing lifestyle, because they have expected this massive shift in Earth affairs to be imminent. But, the thing is, the UFO Phenomenon experiencers literature is not the only source for these kinds of messages and visions. One need look no further than our religious history to see that various scriptural texts - which are of course ultimately derived from the accounts of anomalous encounters from distant history - also attest to these same themes; both in terms of “beginnings”, such as in the Genesis account, and its older Babylonian and Sumerian sources, as well as in prophesied “endings”, like what we find in apocalyptic literature such as the New Testament’s Book of Revelation.

And then we have the geological and archaeological records, that leave similar tantalizing clues - perhaps even suggesting that this notion of cataclysm is actually part of a recurring cycle; perhaps even one who’s repeated arising is coming due again soon. Is this what ancient ruins and whisperings of former advanced civilizations like Atlantis are pointing towards? Many would suggest this is indeed the case; and that the writing is on the proverbial wall, even if that’s in the form of ancient cave paintings.

But what are we to make of all of this? Why are human beings shown images of seeming impending doom, without being given requisite knowledge regarding how to avoid it? And how does this repeated message of the need for us to “raise our vibration” come into play? Is this about advancing our level of collective consciousness so as to be able to avoid this apocalypse? Or is it about preparing ourselves for the dimensional shift that will happen - at least potentially - immediately afterwards? Tricky waters to navigate, to be sure. But that’s precisely what we’ll attempt in this, the 77th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When we take the time to look back at the history of the UFO phenomenon in popular culture, perhaps no book has had an impact greater than Whitley Strieber’s groundbreaking 1987 work Communion. This was a book that, on the one hand, caught the world by surprise, depicting shocking, discombobulating encounters with beings of a decidedly otherworldly nature, despite the fact that the experiences seemed to be happening – at least partially – very much in physical reality, and were experienced not just by Strieber, but also by his family and by guests to his cabin in upstate New York.

While shocking in its claims, one can easily make the argument that the reason the book had such an impact on popular culture is related to the fact that so many people resonated with the material within, and – even more pointedly – with the now iconic cover of the book, depicting what has since become known as the quintessential “grey alien”. The being depicted on the cover of Communion was not only provocative, but also – to many thousands of people around the world – strangely familiar. Of course, the question that inevitably arises from this fact is: why? Were these memory fragments suggestive of a reality where untold numbers of human beings were being abducted in a similar manner to Strieber? 

And, if so, what was the nature of the apparently extensive enterprise these beings were in the midst of conducting? Perplexingly, while elements of the encounters seemed to be happening in something like an alternate state of consciousness or in an alternate, ethereal realm, other elements, involving medical examinations and the extraction of reproductive, genetic material, seemed suggestive of a much more “down to earth” purpose, perhaps involving the hybridization program that has become such a lynch pin of our contemporary understanding of the Phenomenon.

These questions were of paramount importance in 1987 when this book was first unleashed upon the world. Since then, the significance of the material has only become even more pressing – as many of the future visions experiencers like Strieber had then have seemingly come to pass, suggesting we are even closer to some consequential turning point in human history; a moment these beings spoke so pointedly about. Because, to be clear, the encounters did involve warnings; warnings that seem particularly prescient in light of how things have unfolded in human civilization since the time of Strieber’s initial encounters.

But, we might ask, to what end? And in preparation for what? Who are these beings, and how are their efforts to not only interact with us, but perhaps even to chart a new evolutionary path forward, related to the events arising in our midst even as we speak; events that threaten our very place on the planet as we have known it? These are just a few of the questions we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 103rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

The so-called UFO Phenomenon is a tricky affair because, no matter when and from where you enter the discussion, you’ve inevitably going to face having your assumptions and expectations stretched. Indeed, to those really paying close attention to, for instance, the wealth of experiencer data that’s been amassed over decades, it’s clear that a discourse around the nature of potential UFOs and aliens in our midst eventually leads to a much deeper rabbit hole where our place in the universe and the very nature of reality are in play.

Of course, one of the biggest leap those who enter this discussion face is the notion not simply that aliens exist “out there” - somewhere, perhaps in some corner of the vast expanse of the Cosmos, but that they’re here, and perhaps have been for as long – and undoubtedly – even longer than we’ve been looking for them.

But if that’s true, skeptics ask, why aren’t we finding clear, undeniable evidence for their presence, and, for that matter, why don’t they simply land on the White House lawn to put the matter to rest once and for all? It’s absurd to think they’re here, these skeptics confidently assert, but then chose this bizarre stealthiness.

Absurdity you say? Indeed - we’ve got that, in spades even! Welcome to the UFO Phenomenon as it actually exists, rather than how you’d like it to be based on your 21st century Western expectations and assumptions - one of the largest and most questionable of which is the belief that if they were here, we’d be able to detect them with relative ease.

Another major deeper dive into the proverbial rabbit hole comes when one comes to grips that these various others are not only here, but are actually interacting with various human beings - and that this circumstance is much more commonplace than the mainstream media and present political set would have you believe.

And even once you’ve digested that interactions really are happening, you’re then confronted by just how diverse these interactions are. Indeed, they seem to cover the proverbial gamut: from positive encounters with supportive, inspirational entities, to frightening encounters with beings who conduct obtuse medical procedures and examinations that seem, on the face of it, to be much more invasive than is necessary - especially if these beings are as advanced as they purport to be.

Yet an even more paradigm-stretching matter arises when people hear of encounters with beings that humans come to find they recognize, and even feel a pre-incarnate familial connection to. And often these encounters involve the person being reminded of a particular mission they are here - in this incarnation as an earth human - to fulfill. Of course, this brings to mind for some people the religious notion of angels and demons - as old as human civilization itself.

But these beings often arrive in spacecraft and have their own home planets. Are these the same entities as are reported in religious traditions, or different ones altogether? And how are we to make sense of these particular encounters from within the dazzling complexity that is the UFO Phenomenon? These are the very matters we’ll seek to disentangle in this, the 76th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Many of the people who regularly tune into this podcast know that the UFO Phenomenon, general paranormality, and other so-called contact modalities such as NDEs, OBEs and psi phenomena are addictively fascinating matters. One could draw the conclusion that this is the case simply because the nature of the subject matter is seductive, and helps to distract people from the mundanity of their everyday existence.While the subject matter does indeed draw one deeper and deeper into the proverbial rabbit hole the longer one pays attention with a keen, discerning eye, I think there’s more than meets the eye going on here. I think partly what’s going on is a kind of “remembering the future”. What I mean by that is that our collective fascination with this subject matter reflects a kind of mental bookmark to what becomes a key inflection point in our civilization’s history. You could describe it as the experience of living through the arising of an interference pattern, where the present is equally impacted by events from our past AND our future. Particularly significant points in time can tend to feel like this, even if it is confusing to those living through it. Particularly thoughtful researchers, like the preeminent Jacques Vallee, have noted that what we are seeing take place with the modern UFO Phenomenon is simply the latest wrinkle in time of a larger phenomenon that has been manifesting since time immemorial. Here I speak of the interaction between human beings and other, sophisticated, bewitching non-human intelligences; intelligences so capable both in matters of the external AND internal sciences (manifesting in both the world and the mind) that they have undoubtedly played a key role in shaping the very meaning models that we currently shape our collective existence with and through.Former rock star and later founder of TTSA, Tom DeLonge, ended up uttering what I have found - in retrospect - to be apt words in describing the nature and origin of many of the Others of which we speak. In one interview DeLonge said “The evidence doesn't suggest it's interplanetary, so, people need to understand religion, ancient texts...the occult...esoteric stuff...they need to understand that time is not linear - it's parallel - & once you understand that all things - past, present, future - exist at one moment, which is what quantum mechanics is kinda figuring out, then they'll realize there can be parallel realities right here, with advanced civilizations that are popping over with frequency. Not linear… not coming from Alpha Centauri here. And I'm not even suggesting that that can't happen, too. But what *is* happening here is a little bit different." Indeed it is. And I would add to this insightful analysis - that I at first didn’t pay close enough attention to when I began this journey years ago - that it’s not that some of them are NOT extraterrestrial. In some very real ways some of the groups are. But, importantly, that’s only PART of the story. They are also interdimensional, but in a way that diverges from some of the ways that term has conventionally been used by astrophysicists, and is more inline with the way the term is applied, as DeLonge hints at, by enthusiasts of the occult and other forms of esotericism.Notice there that I said “groups” - plural. And I stand by this. I am more convinced than ever that the evidence suggests more than one group is involved; and that these groups cover the gamut in terms of their developmental consciousness. I speak in terms of degrees of evolution because I have found this is both a more helpful and a more accurate way of describing the situation than painting in polarities of black and white - i.e. good vs evil. Now, while DeLonge has seemed particularly concerned with the ways some of the less mature groups have been working their will in our collective lives, I personally have experienced what it’s like to be in contact with, and be inspired by, groups who are typical of the m

For those of us intimately familiar with the nuances of the so-called UFO Phenomenon, the question of if there is a “there” there or not is long settled. Those of us who’ve looked closely at the data gathered over the last 100 years or so - not to mention more ancient accounts that bear a striking resemblance to the descriptions of more modern encounters - have concluded that humanity is indeed being interacted with by intelligences that seem to arise from “elsewhere”. Now, whether the nature of that “elsewhere” is another solar system or another dimension of reality is a matter of some debate. Here I will argue, as I have for some time now, that these categories are generated from a perspective on reality that is limited and incomplete, better replaced by options that both include and transcend these outdated notions. But, nevertheless, the evidence points not only to them having been here for pretty much as long as we’ve been around, but also to the very distinct likelihood that they played a major role in our seeding and later development as a species on this planet. Beyond these often agreed upon notions comes the question regarding how many different groups of these others there are. Some will argue, based on a variety of factors, that what we may be observing is the actions of a single group or intelligence, merely presenting in different ways over time. John Keel, a very influential figure in this field, largely argued for this perspective. One of the key data points for this view is that high strangeness, psychic influence and elements of spacetime distortion are present in the vast majority of these cases. To some, startling overlap suggests a common source. Is this the only way to square this evidence though? I would argue it is not. I believe a better fit for the data is that the ways by which these various groups of Others are traversing domains to get here is what accounts for these common elements in experiencer accounts. Truth be told, I think it is our bias towards reducing complexity whenever and wherever we can that leads many to draw upon these somewhat superficial commonalities in order to leap to the conclusion that humanity is being manipulated by some singular overarching metaforce. Another reason why I think this being one group parading as many is not the best fit for the data is that the way these various Others interact with human beings is quite different. To speak in very broad terms, some of these groups seem to tread lightly, asking us not to fear them, and bringing messages of reconciliation and universal sibling-hood. On the other end of the spectrum are groups that seem to view human beings more like how we view animals - as commodities to use towards their own ends, regardless of how much discomfort we may experience in the process. To be sure there are many interactions with groups that also fall somewhere in between these two extremes. This variable treatment of human beings is a key data point demonstrating that these are different groups, often using similar means of “travel” - which, I will argue, is almost always interdimensional in nature. Does that mean so-called abductions are always conducted by groups of alien others who are malevolent - perhaps even the very source of evil described in ancient religious texts? Well, no I don’t think it’s quite that black and white. Nuance will be required throughout this discussion, because, as with so much of reality, the details are complex. That said, I do believe one can begin to parse out the actions of different groups, not only working towards different aims, but motivated by very different underlying levels of consciousness development, from within the totality of the data available. And that very goal, the identification of specific patterns of contact and communication from within the overarching complexity of the data associated with the UFO Phenomenon that will be the focus of this, the 74th episode, of the Point of Convergence.

As many of you may know, I recently had the opportunity to make a presentation at a very unique and powerful conference event held in the heart of Manhattan, titled “An Inquiry into Anomalous Experiences and the Phenomenon”. The event turned out to be a smashing success, both in terms of the inspiring quality of the presentations being made by a group of speakers that included yours truly, Garry Nolan, Mitch Horowitz, Tim Grieve-Calrson, and Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, but also - just as, if not more importantly - in terms of linking together a group of passionate researchers, experiencers and enthusiasts from all around the world. That feeling of a cosmic family coming together was palpable throughout.

The organizers of the event, James Iandoli of Engaging the Phenomenon, and Jay Christopher King of the Experiences Group - both good friends of mine - did a wonderful job in planning for and executing this unique event. In the end, I would say the event came off without a hitch. A great time was had by all, and - even more inspiringly - there is already a second event planned for December, and rumblings of other events of a similar nature to be held in places all across the country, and indeed overseas as well. I think this is exactly what many of us involved in the conference were hoping would happen- that this would be the catalyst for a movement, rather than just the hosting of a one-off event.

Speaking of my presentation at last weekend’s event in New York City, the event organizers have been kind enough to make the audio content of my presentation available so I can now share it with all of you, my regular audience on Point of Convergence. Much of the material will be familiar to many of you - based on previous podcast episodes. That said, this probably marks the occasion when I put it all together in the most comprehensive, overarching way yet, in terms of the implications for the ultimate nature of reality.

And with that said, let’s get to it: Here is the audio from my presentation at the “An Inquiry Into Anomalous Experiences and the Phenomenon” conference held last week in Manhattan, for this, the 73rd episode, of the Point of Convergence podcast.

If there’s one thing that becomes abundantly clear to those who endeavor to study the so-called UFO Phenomenon closely, it’s that it defies easy categorization. When you come across a researcher or enthusiast who claims they’ve made quick work of what’s actually going on – i.e. who’s involved, where they’re from, what their agenda is, etc, you can be sure that their conclusions have more to do with their own wish-fulfillment than with the data at hand.That isn’t to say there aren’t distinctive patterns that emerge within the totality of human experience with these various non-human others, giving clues as to the underlying reality – because I believe there are. But even amongst those distinct patterns, various elements of ambiguity still inevitably bubble to the surface, resisting simple classification and description. Indeed this ambiguity may be part and parcel of a Phenomenon that involves interaction with entities who seemingly come from domains of existence beyond our own, where perhaps even notions like space and time manifest very differently.One of the elements where this applies is in regards to how human beings interpret the nature of their experiences with these various non-human, alien others, along a spectrum ranging from positive, to neutral, to negative. This somewhat murky picture gets even murkier when one adds the element of time; for evidence seems to suggest that the longer people have to reflect on the nature of their encounters, the more they begin to see their interactions in either a positive light, or at least as a net neutral. To be sure, this is not always the case, but nevertheless, often enough to draw our attention.I already mentioned that sometimes contactees/abductees/experiencers find that their interpretation of the nature of their experiences evolves over time, given the advent of further perspective. Often this comes down to letting the ontological shock wear off a little – because, lest we forget, these are very often, at least initially, extremely traumatic experiences, where human beings encounter strange looking entities that they’ve been told their entire lives cannot possibly exist. That is not to say that trauma equals inherent negativity – in terms of the intentions of these various others. It just means that the physiological and neurological reaction to the event leaves clear evidence of PTSD for any trained therapist to find clear signs of.Beyond having perspectives change over the long haul, once in a while we find the interpretation of an experience can change almost in real-time, or, at least within a matter of days, to weeks, to months. That’s exactly what happened in a case we’re going to delve into in this episode. It involves the abduction of two teenage parents and their young infant son. Were they taken against their will? Well, that’s complicated. Were they initially traumatized by the shocking nature of the experience? Yes, absolutely so. Were they also permanently transformed for the better – to the point that their understanding of themselves and reality itself was expanded? Undeniably. And here again we see the overtones of the complexity of these situations.Why are these experiences initially so ontologically shocking, even when they can ultimately prove so positively transformative? And why and how is the element of personal sovereignty and personal agency so complicated when it comes to the subject of alien contact and/or abduction accounts? These are the very matters we’ll seek to engage with, by delving deeply into an astonishing real-world example, in this, the 72nd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Ever since human beings have had some sense of the immensity of the Cosmos, when we look up to the starry array above their heads in the dark of night, an enduring question emerges: How many other planets with sophisticated civilizations like ours are out there? With a thousand pinpricks of light coming through that black tapestry of the night sky, many of us logically assume the cosmos is likely teeming with life.

Of course, that initial impression, based more on a hunch perhaps than solid data, has only grown stronger and stronger as our understanding of the immense scope of the universe has come more fully into view. Dazzling as the earth, our home planet is, it is but one rock circling one star in one star system amongst hundreds of billions in our Milky Way galaxy alone. And likewise that galaxy is merely one of trillions scattered across the vast expanse of the cosmos.

The so-called Fermi paradox arises from the apparent conflict between the lack of clear, obvious signs of extraterrestrial life despite consistently high estimates for their probable existence. This paradox is named after Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, who, as the story goes, in the midst of a casual conversation with fellow physicists Edward Teller, Herbert York, and Emil Konopinski, in almost the precise middle of the 20th century, exclaimed, when thinking on these matters: “But where is everybody?”, or something to that effect.

It is indeed a perplexing matter. As time has gone on, we’ve gathered more and more evidence not just about how gargantuan the cosmos actually is, but how, as Dr. Ian Malcolm, a character in the original Jurassic Park movie played by Jeff Goldblum famously says, “Life finds a way”. In other words, life seems to spring up even in the most inhabitable of environments. That being the case, and considering how many goldilox-like planets must exist, even amongst the many planets that are perhaps not suited for life, where are all those civilizations? Why are we not finding clear evidence of their existence?

Of course the Fermi paradox makes certain assumptions, firstly about the nature and ultimate reality of the spacetime construct we find ourselves seemingly firmly embedded within. But also about the notion that civilizations that are perhaps out there – and perhaps much more advanced than we earthlings, would not choose to interfere with our ability to perceive their existence. When you really think about it: this is a rather strange assumption to make. After all, we manipulate our environment almost the moment we gain the ability to. Why would this not occur with interstellar civilizations that have mastered interstellar and perhaps even intergalactic travel in the same way we’ve mastered intercontinental travel?

And of course, last but certainly not least, there is the clear evidence, gathered not just over the course of what you might call the modern UFO era, reaching back to the early to mid 20th century, but even to our distant religious lore and early Creation myths, suggesting these Others have been here for a very long time, perhaps even predating us as beings walking this blue pearl of a planet.

So, all this being the case, what does this mean? Why are we simultaneously being visited and interacted with by these various non-conventionally human others, while also being presented with a visible universe that appears starkly devoid of life? These are the compelling and head-scratching matters that we’ll endeavor to make sense of in this, the 71st episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

For those who’ve spent decades searching for answers to the elusive yet seemingly ever-present enigma colloquially known as the UFO Phenomenon, the last several years have been a whirlwind of activity and revelations. It is well understood by those veteran to this field that elements within the U.S. government spent decades not only covering up details that made it abundantly clear that there really was a there there - that we were being visited by non-human intelligences operating craft of the most sophisticated nature - but they simultaneously sought to silence those who sought to proclaim this very fact to the masses.

Using a combination of scorn and ridicule, at minimum, and personal and professional tacks and even violence when necessary, at maximum, the U.S. government’s general approach to the matter of the UFO Phenomenon was to squelch public interest in this topic, while simultaneously doing it’s darnedest to understand it. Of course part of the reason why that approach remained static for so long is that the secret-keepers didn’t make much headway in terms of really getting to the bottom of the enigma.

Yes, there have been crashes and crash retrievals along the way, including of craft that evidence now seemingly suggests we did manage to bring down on occasion, and there apparently have been some major technological breakthroughs as a result. But the real root of this issue still remains elusive. And here I speak of the identity of the beings who are parading around our skies with impunity, and who are interacting with, and sometimes taking aboard their craft and into what appear to be other apparent domains of existence, civilians who the military is powerless to protect.

This is not to say that these so-called abductions are purely malevolent in intent, but merely to point out that, when you get down to it, part of the reason the government has kept this under wraps for so long is that they have zero ability to police the skies within our nation state borders, and thus they are failing in one of the core tenets of what makes a nation-state viable to begin with. In other words, why should a populace ascribe authority to a government when it is simply unable to ensure the smooth running of a society, with even the most basic guarantee as to citizen safety?

Not only is the notion of so-called “protected air space” rendered meaningless by these Others as they buzz in and around our skies, but so too are physical boundaries like locks, doors, walls and the like. When they want, these Others can appear in your room, in the middle of the night, and there’s nothing the government can do to prevent it. And here I really do mean literally nothing.

As I mentioned at the outset, the government’s about-face in recent years really has taken long term ufologists by surprise. For the first time in history, we really do seem to be on the verge of full-blown disclosure. And by that I mean, not only the acknowledgement that some of the craft and phenomena being spotted regularly in our skies are not the property of the U.S. military of any other known nation-state operator, but also that we are being visited by non-human entities, of a sophisticated nature, who seem to rank higher on the proverbial food chain than do we human beings.

But we again come to the real question at hand: who are these Others? Where are they coming from? How long have they been here? What are their intentions? How many of them are there? Are they one group, or many? These are the fascinating, yet daunting, matters we’ll seek to engage with, from the vantage point of a towering 30,000 foot view, overlooking the multidimensional landscape, if you will, in this, the 70th episode, of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the course of the history of this podcast, I have taken several opportunities to publish a special edition of the podcast, where I answer audience questions, in a feature I call The Inquiring Mind. This week’s episode mark’s the occasion where I do this for a 4th time. Now, since the 3rd edition of the Inquiring Mind, which launched several months ago, you could say a few things have changed.

Perhaps the most significant change came recently, when I posted an actual photo of myself to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. I followed that up this past week with my first two video interviews, first for James Iandoli’s Engaging the Phenomenon podcast and YouTube channel, and then for Kelly Chase’s The UFO Rabbit Hole YouTube channel. There are other interviews scheduled in the near future as well, which I will let people know about as they become available.

Part of the interest that has arisen lately relates to an event I attended at the Monroe Institute back at the end of May. Regular listeners to the podcast may recall that I discussed events from that multi-day retreat in Episode 67, which was titled Human Initiated Contact: On Proactive Communication with Non-Human Intelligence. That event marked a new season in my history as a researcher of the UFO Phenomenon and its intersection with other topics of interest, such as near death experiences, out of body experiences, and psi phenomena like telepathy, psychokinesis and precognition.

This new season involves me doing actual field research, where I travel to various locations to join with others in actively exploring these various points of convergence. As it turns out, at the time of the launch of this podcast, I will be away for a second time doing active field research. The fruit of that experience I hope to report on in future episodes of this podcast.

These new opportunities to connect with various players in this field, including both leading researchers and individuals Joseph Burkes has deemed, prime contactees, is yet another of the many profound opportunities that have arisen since I first started this podcast, some 18 months ago. It goes without saying that I really had no idea then, the many avenues this profound path of discovery would open up before me. Here’s to that journey of adventure and fascination, as it continues to manifest in each of our lives.

But for now, without further adieu, let’s get back to the matter at hand: which has to do with me answering more of the thoughtful and thought-provoking questions that you, the audience, have sent in, for this latest edition of the Inquiring Mind feature, in this, the 69th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

For those who look at the UFO Phenomenon as a primarily “nuts and bolts” enterprise, elements of this enigma that veer into the domains of the spiritual and the paranormal are often seen as superfluous to the main point of the exercise. From the point of view of traditional ufologists like this, the central point is that some kind of biologically-based alien intelligence is here, in our midst, buzzing in and around our skies - and apparently our most supposedly secure air space, for that matter - with impunity. From this perspective, the focus and the fascination lies in the sophisticated nature of the technology on display, and in the earthly presence of apparently bipedal alien life forms.

Interestingly, and, I would suggest, tellingly, researchers in the distinct field of hauntology have a similar tunnel-vision focus. For traditional hauntologists the assumption is often that deceased human beings are responsible for much of the paranormal experiences people report having. And when the dead are not responsible, the aim often turns towards the so-called “spirit realm”, where angels and demons reside.

For someone with only a cursory understanding of the two fields just described: namely ufology and hauntology, the assumption is largely that these are distinct and unrelated fields. The first has to do with extraterrestrials arriving from Zeta Reticuli, and the second has to do with ancestors who refuse to fade fully into the domain of the afterlife, and with spiritual entities who are meddling in the affairs of human beings, supposedly with the hopes of determining the ultimate destiny of human souls.

Again, this is how these matters appear to someone with only a shallow understanding of these two fields, with a correspondingly shallow understanding of the data arising in the literature of these two fields. For those who are intimately familiar with the full breadth of said data, however, the overlap between these two fields is startling. So much so, in fact, that those who really are attempting to look at these matters with objective eyes see that this is all part of some overarching category of inquiry. Why do mysterious balls of light - often referred to as “orbs” - often show up both in cases ascribed to ufology and hauntology? Why do UFOs and aliens sometimes appear right alongside deceased human beings? These overlapping data points seemingly demand we step back and look at this from a more overarching perspective.

Beyond these similarities, another fascinating and (for some) disturbing data point is shared by both ufology and hauntology. Here I speak of the so-called Hitchhiker Effect - where human beings seem to be “followed” by entities of various forms, after having had encounters of either ghosts and/or spirits, or aliens alongside sightings of UFOs. Startlingly, not only do these entities and phenomena follow people who’ve had such encounters, but they often are reported to “spread” - almost like a virus of some sort - into the lives of people who simply know the person initially “afflicted”. And this hitchhiker phenomena can then carry on the lives of such individuals for months, even years.

These overlapping data points of course raise profound questions. Who then are these entities appearing in both ufology and hauntology? Have we mistook them for the wrong types merely because our categories are based more in folklore and wishful thinking than in reality? And what of us? Who are we? In other words, what are we really composed of that would allow such seemingly energetic life forms and phenomena to attach to us? And, ultimately, what do these revelations suggest in terms of an overarching metaphysical understanding of reality itself? These perplexing, astonishing and mind-bending matters are the focus of this, the 68th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When we think back to the dawn of the modern UFO era in the 1940s, and the subsequent reports of sightings and interactions ever since - whether they be of the quintessential flying saucers, black triangles, tic tabs, or orbs, the focus has largely been on how these strange and sophisticated craft and/or phenomena seem to suddenly appear in our skies. Where are they coming from? Who are they? What is their agenda? All of these questions inevitably arise as we perceive them entering our reality.

It goes without saying that it is these Others, whoever and whatever they may ultimately prove to be - whether extraterrestrial, interdimensional, time traveling humans, ultraterrestrials, or all of the above - it is they who have been in charge of the interaction with us. And it is this revelation that has set many a human being on edge.

Why is this off-putting for some? Well, because we humans like to believe we’re in control of our daily lives. Of course, this fragile sense of control is only further perturbed when we learn of so-called “abductions”, where these Others, or at least a subset of them, reportedly take human beings from the comfort of their own homes and up into their craft and elsewhere.

While what I just outlined describes the typical narrative around UFOs and aliens, and our interaction with them, it is not the full story. For decades now there have existed groups of curious and bold people who have sought to take the front foot - as it were - in regards to the encounters with these apparently non-human intelligences. These groups have sought to define a series of protocols around which contact and ongoing communication with these - for lack of a better term - aliens, can take place.

While these attempts at human initiated contact may seem surprising to some, what is even more interesting is that the historical record has shown that these efforts have proven successful. Not always. But often enough so as to be considered effective. Of course, what this also suggests is that there really is an opportunity for a relationship here - a two-way dialog, so to speak: human to other, and vice versa.

But what are the nature of these protocols? And what makes them quote, unquote “work”? And who, really, are we contacting when these efforts do prove successful? Are we being deceived, perhaps even used? Are we opening ourselves up to manipulation? Or are these interactions exactly what they often appear to be: peaceful and cooperative? Are these Others our moral superiors? Or are they just technological giants with no qualms about using less advanced species? These have always been, and will continue to be, the pressing and pertinent questions in play when it comes to human contact with alien others.

Speaking of these matters, I personally had an opportunity recently to engage these very questions in a very direct, up close and personal manner, when I joined a special group of experiencers and researchers to both pursue contact, and explore consciousness, as part of a multi-day retreat. It is the nature of the experiences we had, as well as the lessons learned as a result, that are the topic of this, the 67th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Seeing the matter of UAP, or, as they have more traditionally been named: UFOs, unidentified flying objects, move through the halls of Congress, apparently towards some kind of official government disclosure, one might assume that what we’re dealing with is the rather clear cut matter of alien beings arising from elsewhere in our vast galaxy, visiting us in their sophisticated nuts and bolts spacecraft. Many assume this is the logical starting point based on what we think we know of the frontiers that are yet to be explored by our modern species.

However, if one pays close attention one notices the peculiar matter of the fact that these beings are referred to in official government documentation, specifically the so-called Schumer amendment, as “non-human intelligence”. No mention of the term “extraterrestrial” or “alien” can be found. Many have speculated that this is because the nature of these beings is perhaps more exotic than our sci-fi tropes would have us believe.

In truth, the exotic nature of this matter of the UFO Phenomenon goes far beyond simply the origin of the beings themselves. For if one spends any amount of time studying the nuances of this Phenomenon, it becomes clear that some very peculiar goings-on are seemingly baked-in to the entire enterprise. The term “high strangeness” has been coined to encapsulate the many aspects that are peculiar, mind-bending, and sometimes even apparently absurd.

In fact, the ways experiences with this Phenomenon tend to stretch - in cognitively uncomfortable ways - our very notions of what we think even can happen in a rational universe, are so frequent, and so seemingly impossible, that many have wondered if this is telling us that our conventional model of reality is, simply put, just wrong altogether. If these incidents of high strangeness are “real”, then how can our model be sufficient to account for what can arise in our material universe? And to that point, in light of the bizarre nature of these experiences, is it even accurate to see the stage we traipse upon as a “material universe”, at all? In other words, does the very mind-bending nature of these experiences suggest that perhaps this is exactly where we should look for the locus of reality itself: in mind? And are these events arising from the machinations of our individual minds, a collective mind, or some combination of the two? These are the matters we’ll seek to explore in this, the 102nd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In the long history of strange events occurring in the lives of human beings, the drive for understanding has been, not surprisingly, shaped by the model of reality prevalent at the time. Thus, while our distant ancestors saw the appearance of strange, awe-inspiring non-human intelligences as a manifestation of angels and demons: entities normally bound to the spiritual domain beyond this mortal coil, modern westerners have tended to see more recent appearances of these non-human entities as the arrival of extraterrestrial entities who’ve traversed the vast expanse of outer space to get here.

In both of these described kinds of encounters, the interpretation has less to do with the elements of the encounters themselves, and more to do with the overarching meaning-making model of a particular civilization. And, of course, this is not just a time-bound phenomenon. Because, even today, a Shamanistically-oriented culture is likely to see these Others in a very different light than a scientifically-minded society shaped by the values of the Enlightenment.

In fact, when the gatekeepers of a particular society are convinced that certain kinds of described encounters just simply cannot be - as in modern western societies - then when these encounters are cloaked in a particularly potent degree of what is often termed High Strangeness, the event is just suppressed altogether, lest the witness be deemed mentally unstable or of questionable credibility. This of course doesn’t mean that such events don’t happen, but merely that they have no place to be categorized and analyzed within a particular framework.

All this is to say, the annals of non-conventional encounters from across time serve as a kind of road map for our shifting collective attempt to describe reality itself. And to separate the understanding of these kinds of encounters from the overarching meaning model of a particular time and place in which they occurred is to miss a major point of the exercise; for these matters work hand in hand, in a coordinated and interwoven feedback loop of event and interpretation.

Typically, while a certain brave subset of pioneers are willing to question the meaning model of a particular time and place, the overarching metanarrative doesn’t begin to break down - making room for new and transcendent hypotheses - until the sheer volume of outlier data has created enough collective cognitive dissonance so as to make it clear that there is no other feasible way forward than to trail-blaze a new metanarrative.

Speaking of trailblazing new metanarratives, today we’re going to discuss the work of just such an individual. Donald Hoffman, an American cognitive psychologist and professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, with joint appointments in the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, the Department of Philosophy, and the School of Computer Science, is someone who - decades ago - became convinced that the reality model that western society has been living under over the last several centuries simply cannot stand. From his perspective - and he is one of a growing segment within the scientific establishment - the data arising from diverse fields of study has made it clear that physicalism - the metaphysical view that all mental phenomena are ultimately physical phenomena, or necessitated by physical phenomena - is simply incorrect.

As it pertains to the usual subject matter of this podcast, Hoffman’s work opens up new, tantalizing and explanatorily powerful ways of making sense of the strange encounters we’ve been discussing, while also offering a robust explanation to make sense of the so-called Fermi Paradox. It is the implications of Hoffman’s Conscious Realism as it pertains to the UFO Phenomenon and general paranormality that we’ll be doing a deep dive into in this, the 66th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In the long history of the modern UFO Phenomenon, a key and iconic moment stands out as of particular import. I speak of a rumored crash of a sophisticated aerial vehicle in the desert terrain near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. The event prompted an initial acknowledgement by the government that this was indeed a moment of the greatest significance: the crash of an actual alien craft, apparently not of this world, and piloted by beings of a decidedly non-human nature.

Of course, as many of us now know, that initial acknowledgement was quickly retracted, giving rise to a series of ever more mundane and suspect explanations, involving a downed weather balloon and the like. And when rumors spread that the crashed vehicle included actual entities, the cover story was that these were merely crash test dummies, mistaken for living, breathing beings of extraterrestrial origin.

While many deeply invested in ufological history long questioned the official account of what happened that night all those years ago in the American desert southwest, evidence to demonstrate that the prosaic explanations were propaganda aimed at covering up something more world-shaking was scant. That was, at least, until 1997 - some 50 years after the event in question - when a retired Colonel of the U.S. Army emerged to offer a new account of what he claimed really happened that night.

His claims provided sweet vindication for those long convinced that what slammed into the New Mexico desert in 1947 was anything but conventional. Colonel Philip Corso - the man making these claims - suggested not only that an alien craft really was recovered that night, but that indeed alien entities were also “at the wheel”, as it were. He even claimed to have laid eyes on one of these aliens in a later turn of fate while he was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.

And his claims didn’t stop there, he also stated that he came to be involved in a scheme to take technology recovered from the craft and farm it out to American industry, in order to jump-start the American advantage over adversaries of the time such as the Soviet Union. He also suggested this was done under the cover of a “foreign technology desk”, done in such a way as to cover the tracks of the true origin of this revolutionary tech.

It goes without saying that these claims are as bold as they come. If true, they are truly world-shaking - with implications that effectively rewrite not just the history of the 20th century, but once and for all settle the matter of our place in the universe. But how credible are these claims? And what historical lines of evidence exist to either support or refute them? These are the very matters we’ll seek to delve into in this, the 65th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When strange and sophisticated aerial vehicles were first spotted buzzing in and around our skies in a series of flaps during the period of the 1940s, many assumed these represented the visitation of an extraterrestrial species. The beyond next-gen characteristics of these advanced craft – where they could travel at incredible rates of speed, hover in place, and make 90 degree turns on a dime – suggested to most that these could not logically be the property of any known nation-state actor. The technological prowess of these so-called unidentified flying objects was simply too advanced to be of terrestrial origin.

It is therefore not surprising that the seemingly logical conclusion that many came to was that these simply must be visitors from beyond our planet. At first, when the barrenness of the planets of our own solar system was not yet fully realized, many assumed these to be visiting Martians or Venusians. And then as our surveying of the planets of our own solar neighborhood showed them to be lifeless, ufologists and the public alike began to wonder from which extra-solar source these beings were coming from. But again, the assumption was still that these must be visitors from “outer space”. After all, that seemed to be the only frontier we had yet to explore.

Since those early days of the flying saucer phenomenon, other – and to most, more exotic – hypotheses have arisen, suggesting these Others may be interdimensional in nature, or perhaps even time-traveling humans from our future. Some researchers suggest both extraterrestrials and interdimensionals may be in the mix.

In the course of that conversation, again, the assumption has been that these must be something non-terrestrial in nature, because the sophistication of the craft themselves suggest no known nation-state actor could have developed such beyond next-gen technology. However, there is one key assumption being made here: and that is that it is only the known nation-state actors: The United States, Russia, etc, that could possibly even get close to this level of technological prowess.

The pertinent question to ask here is: is that a fair assumption to make? Is it only nation-state actors that we need to account for? Or is it possible that some other human group, not usually accounted for, could actually be responsible for the design and development of these UFOs – or at least some of them?

Perhaps to many people’s surprise, there is a rather daunting amount of historical evidence suggesting the possibility that these craft – or again – at least some of them – could actually be the property of a rogue group of scientifically-oriented techno-military elites that may have broken off from conventional society sometime during the middle part of the 20th century, not long after, we should note, the first series of sightings of disk-like craft.

But what is the nature of this evidence? And does it get even close to passing muster in terms of suggesting that a truly sequestered society might exist, in our very midst? Is it possible that some of the beyond next-gen vehicles that have been spotted in our skies might actually be of terrestrial origin, after all – even if that terrestrial origin is of a non-conventional nature – one that exists beyond the scope of our nation-state global system? These are the very questions we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 64th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

2017 was the year that saw a sudden uptick of mainstream interest in the notion of UFOs following revelations arising from a groundbreaking article in the New York Times. This article described so-called “unidentified aerial phenomena” - modern nomenclature for what had traditionally been referred to as “unidentified flying objects” - UFOs. These revelations suggested these objects and/or phenomena had been documented and studied as part of an official Department of Defense program. This tacit acknowledgment of an official UFO program marked a sharp right turn when compared with the historical trend, where the government had traditionally sought to suppress, dismiss and even ridicule the notion of UFOs, as a part of official policy.

Ever since that trailblazing article was first published the interest in this topic has grown by leaps and bounds in the mainstream - even if it still feels painfully slow and incremental to those more familiar with the wealth of data suggesting there really is a there there, and that there has been for a long time. But nevertheless, the presence of these apparent vehicles, that appear to be under intelligence control, has led to inevitable questions around who might be behind them - either at the wheel - so to speak, or piloting them remotely from somewhere else. Industry insiders attest to the beyond next-gen capabilities of these craft, suggesting - startlingly - that they couldn’t possibly belong to any contemporary nation-state player.

And of course, in people’s minds that leaves open one enticing possibility: the notion that these may be the property of an extraterrestrial intelligence; a biological exo-planetary species who’ve come here to study us for reasons thus far largely unclear. For some people in our civilization this notion is most welcome, because the thinking is that these more sophisticated others may be able to help us address some of our most intractable problems. For others, it prompts feelings of fear, forcing a reckoning around the notion that we may not be the apex species on the block after all.

Of course, for those of us much more intimately familiar with the breadth and depth of the historical literature on this topic, these questions - while certainly profound - are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. And that’s because a deep dive into the actual data gathered over the decades suggests the presence of one or more extraterrestrial species in our midst may not be sufficient to explain the bizarreness of what has been observed and encountered by human beings around the world and across time.

In the 1970s trailblazing figures like Jacques Vallee and John Keel emerged, provocatively suggesting that the traditional nuts and bolts ET hypothesis was not the best fit for the events described in the literature. Vallee surprised many by drawing parallels between modern UFO encounters with supposed space aliens and encounters with the so-called faerie folk of deep human lore. By comparing and contrasting the nature of these various entities, Vallee forced a 20th century populace to wrestle with the notion that what we might be seeing is just a modern-day manifestation of a presence that had been with us since the very beginning.

While Vallee’s postulation is certainly a compelling one - after all, these striking parallels do exist - it’s also important not to prematurely leap to that conclusion based solely on fairly superficial similarities. And of course, this begs the question: how much overlap really exists between ancient faerie and even religious tradition, and the modern-day UFO Phenomenon? And how might we distinguish between a single intelligence with multiple manifestations, and the presence of multiple intelligences perhaps arising from very different source points? These are the very matters we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 63rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the course of the history of this podcast, we’ve covered events and experiences that are so bizarre, seemingly irrational and even absurd, that one can’t help but come away from an exhaustive examination of this data wondering how on Earth it fits into our notion of reality at all. Put simply, I don’t think it does. But not because the data is somehow in error.  After all, at this point, there’s simply too much of it, with too much cross-cultural, cross-temporal consistency for that to be the case, even allowing for a healthy dose of filtering for cases involving misrepresentation, misapprehension and/or mental instability. No, it being the case that this is a bonafide phenomenon - happening to real people, in real ways - and has been since time immemorial, the problems must lie not in the data, but in our very conceptions of reality.

In today’s episode we’ll be unwrapping this enigma even further, but not in the form of a new case we’ll be studying, but rather in the form of questions and answers. The questions submitted this time around for this Inquiring Mind feature were - again - of the highest caliber - and my thanks go out to all who took the time to submit a question. Since I don’t have the time to answer all of the questions submitted, I’ve chosen to engage with several that I think help us to keep our eye on this central question regarding the ultimate nature of reality. And with that in mind, let’s get right to it, in this, the 3rd installment of The Inquiring Mind, in this, the 62nd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In recent years numerous accounts involving the UFO Phenomenon have been made public that contain a broad assortment of bizarre, paradigm-stretching, and, for many, credibility-challenging, elements of so-called High Strangeness - i.e. elements that seem to contradict our consensus understanding of the possible. Recent books such as Skinwalkers at the Pentagon have helped to turn the spotlight on these co-arising elements of paranormality that tend to emerge alongside standard UFO sightings.

Some might look at these recent revelations and wonder if perhaps these elements are only now being presented because paranormality has become “in vogue”, so to speak. In other words, skeptics might look at these recent revelations and suggest ufology has become corrupted by the imagination of the time - as if people’s reports have become sprinkled with elements they internalized while watching too much Netflix, or something of the sort.

But the truth is, these elements of High Strangeness are not new. Not in the slightest. The truth is that the reason we see more reporting of these elements today is because there is less repression of these elements and these particular encounters by the ufological gatekeepers who, historically, wanted to present a cohesive nuts and bolts narrative so as to garner the attention and, they hoped, respect, of the scientific mainstream. In other words, historically, ufologists themselves often censored elements of high strangeness in the data that was collated.

But again, these reports have always existed. Paranormality and UFOs go together like the ocean and sand; in other words, not only do they simply co-exist together, but they seem to be directly linked in some kind of causal chain - even if the specifics have long eluded the grasp of researchers and theorists alike.

The curious encounters of a French man who, in order to maintain his privacy, came to be referred to simply as Dr. X, is a perfect case in point. This case is from the late 1960s, long before the current era’s focus on ufological high strangeness, and yet, it has it all: physical healing, the spontaneous appearance of triangular skin marks, memory manipulation, future-casting, poltergeist & hitchhiker effects, multi-generational impacts, etcetera.

What are we to make of this bizarre menu of elements that seem to - effectively - turn on their head almost all of our modern notions as to how reality is supposed to unfold? Do these elements merely demonstrate the impressive capabilities of a more sophisticated extraterrestrial intelligence, or do they perhaps provide hints regarding an origin for some of these mysterious others that flies in the face of the standard hypotheses put forth to make sense of this Phenomenon? These are the very matters we’ll seek to explore in this, the 61st episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When it comes to the so-called UFO Phenomenon, the levels of complexity go much deeper than the general public and the political and media mainstream generally realize. In other words, the conversation that’s – finally – being had in those circles, because of revelations arising primarily since 2017 – is still a far cry from the nature of the discussion being had by people really familiar with the nuances of this thorny but enthralling topic.

The first layer is the notion that sophisticated alien entities may be in our midst, supposedly piloting – or at least controlling, even if remotely – the strangely exotic craft that have been regularly spotted buzzing in and around our skies. That part of the conversation is finally being had – in at least some elements of the mainstream, though widespread acknowledgement of this fact is still a long way off.

Further inward from that surface layer of the proverbial onion is discussion regarding how these alien others seem to be both contacting and ongoingly interacting with human beings, as we speak, and most likely have been for as long as our species has been around to have such experiences.

Another layer deeper from that part of the narrative, which is already much more than the general public and the political and media mainstream are willing to even discuss, is a notion even more shocking: that being that some people are taking a proactive role – and are reaching out to these alien others; taking the front-foot, as it were, in the contact and communication process.

CE-5 – short for “close encounters of the 5th kind” is a term used to describe a certain form of this kind of interaction with alien others. CE-5 involves a series of general protocols designed to peacefully invite contact with sophisticated, non-human intelligence. A person may, for instance, communicate, via the aid of meditation and directed intention, a desire to see a craft – presumed by many, if not most, to be extraterrestrial in origin – to show itself in a particular place in the sky at a particular time.

Interestingly, while CE-5 is the most familiar form of proactive, human-initiated contact with apparently non-human, alien intelligence, it is not the only method that has, and is, being employed. Astral travel is another form of contact/communication/communion that is being used to reach out and bridge whatever divide separates us and “them”.

Of course, the fact that astral travel seems to – after the correct kind of training/preparation – be just as effective in achieving this close encounter contact as is CE-5, this only begs the question as to the nature of the divide that does actually separate us from them. Indeed, the fact that we seem to be able to travel, via consciousness, as it were, without “physically” going anywhere, and still not only contact these alien others, but even spend time aboard their in-orbit spacecraft, suggests that the nature of the contact (or at least, some if it) is perhaps not what many first assume it to be. And really, once you really think about it, it becomes clear that the implications here even call into question the very nature of what we call “reality”.

Without doubt these implications are as fascinating as they are mind-bending; and are – without question – as simultaneously bizarre as they are profound. And these are the very matters we’ll seek to delve deep into, in this, the 60th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the last several episodes we’ve been discussing some of the more bizarre, even absurd, elements of the UFO Phenomenon. For anyone who’s taken the time to do a truly deep dive into the data behind this Phenomenon, it is clear that there is much to make sense of here: much that doesn’t fit well with certain cookie-cutter, predetermined hypotheses meant to make sense of the data.

Two episodes ago we discussed Jacque Vallée’s groundbreaking, genre-stretching and controversial book Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers, where Vallée drew our attention to parallels between elements of the so-called UFO Phenomenon and events from both religious history and historic faerie lore. Beyond somewhat superficial differences, the overlap was clear.

And in our last episode we dove directly into an investigation of the absurd or ridiculous nature of many of these encounters with supposed aliens. While we should always be wary of anthropocentric notions of how supposed space aliens “should behave”, it is difficult to look past the overwhelming degree of absurdity in many of these encounters. Are they merely so strange because we cannot make heads or tails of the actions of a much more sophisticated intelligence or species whose rationality supersedes our own? Or are the events themselves simply absurd – full stop?

Following up on his exhaustive study of the data we’ve covered over the last couple of episodes, Vallée, along with his colleague, physicist Eric Davis published a position paper titled Incommensurability, Orthodoxy and the Physics of High Strangeness: A 6-layer Model for Anomalous Phenomena in which they lay out the challenges that confront us in trying to study a Phenomenon that is so rich in elements of High Strangeness and paranormality.

This paper, though only totaling 9 pages, is rich in detail – touching on many of the key elements that anyone studying this Phenomenon should be paying close attention to. Beyond presenting these elements in a clear and concise manner, this paper by Vallée and Davis also makes clear many of the misguided assumptions that various researchers make in trying to “pin down” the ultimate origin and nature of the apparent intelligence or intelligences behind the mind-bending activity associated with the UFO Phenomenon, while also proposing the broad brush strokes of a way forward, utilizing a multi-pronged and multidisciplinary approach.

A deep dive into the informative and insightful nature of this paper by Jacques Vallée and Eric Davis is the topic of this, the 59th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Last time on this podcast we discussed Jacque Vallée’s ground-breaking and genre-stretching book Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers, which highlights striking parallels between elements found within what’s commonly referred to as the UFO Phenomenon, and distant tales that come to us from so-called faerie lore.

That is to say, once you crack the veneer of more recent 20th and 21st century encounters with what are assumed to be spacecraft being piloted by alien beings who’ve supposedly traveled across the vast distances of the cosmos to get here, and the stories of our ancestor’s encounters with the likes of fawns, faeries and goblins from the annals of human history, the degree of overlap is as startling as it is, at least from Vallée’s perspective, potentially revealing.

Put succinctly, Vallée, and others since he first penned this book in the late 1960s, have wondered if perhaps some kind of intelligence has been interacting with human beings throughout the entire course of our history, and either that we’ve just interpreted them differently because of our changing assumptions about reality, or that the very manner in which they appear to us is partly determined by cultural constructs. Incidentally, this latter possibility may even explain some of the differences noticed, not only across time, but also between cultures existing contemporaneously.

When one peruses the full breadth of the history of these kinds of interactions with beings that appear to be decidedly non-human, one particular element stands out particularly. Here I speak of the degree of absurdity, elsewhere described as “ridiculousness”, that arises in many of these cases. And again, this is often as true of cases of what, at first glance, appear to be standard extraterrestrials flying spacecraft, as it does of faeries abducting human beings and then returning them only after having altered that individual’s relationship with spacetime, in one way or another, at least temporarily.

While we might ignore elements of absurdity apparent in historic cases of faerie lore because, after all, few modern people take those stories seriously to begin with. After all, they’re “fairy tales”: a genre many take to mean “made up” or “not real” or “fantastical. However, what is disconcerting to some who like to cling to a standard extraterrestrial hypothesis to explain modern incidents of the UFO Phenomenon, here too the accounts provided reveal elements of what appears to be pure absurdity: elements of ridiculousness that surely have no place if we’re speaking of sophisticated, technologically superior entities traveling from exo-planets to survey our blue pearl of a planet.

Why the absurdity? And why so often? What are we to make of this? Is this merely attributable to errors in translation or something equally banal? Or is this seeming ridiculousness pointing to something more central; something serving perhaps as a signpost pointing towards the murky origin of these various non-human Others? These are the very matters we’ll seek to explore in this, the 58th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Near the middle part of the 20th century, American society became obsessed with a newfangled fascination. This pastime that took the public’s imagination by storm, prompted serious and excited discussion around interplanetary visitors. The dawning of this new era in pubic life was fueled by a series of sightings of what quickly became known, colloquially, as
“flying saucers”.

More generally, the term adopted was that of UFOs – unidentified flying objects. This term described what was commonly assumed to be, sophisticated technological spacecraft being piloted by alien others – Martians or Venusians or something in that line of thinking; our neighbors from the surrounding planets of our solar system.

Now, while the public’s interest was peaking, the mainstream scientific establishment was much more cautious. All of this hoopla seemed too good to be true; too much like a radio drama depicting an H.G. Wells story, or something along those lines. For that reason, mainstream scientists largely steered clear of this topic. And of course, this bias was helped in large measure by what we understand now to be a dedicated disinformation campaign meant to quell public and academic interest, being perpetuated by the federal government.

However, that said, there were scientists who had not forgotten that their role was to investigate anything mysterious that seemed to be manifesting, without assuming – a priori – that such things simply couldn’t be. These rare pioneers of inquiry are the kinds of people determined to let data – not preexisting bias – lead the way.

One such pioneer was and is a scientist named Jacques Vallee – a living legend who has arguably done more for the field of ufology than any other person in the history of the world. What’s made Vallee so well regarded over time is that, looking back, he was always willing to go – again – wherever the data led him; letting it, rather than the “common sense” thinking of the day lead to the postulating of new hypotheses.

Now, speaking of that, one such data-driven shift that happened for Vallee came when he recognized that, 1.) These supposed encounters with alien beings flying sophisticated spacecraft seemed to regularly include elements of high strangeness more akin to what are commonly referred to as paranormal encounters, and 2.) That, when examined in close detail, these elements overlapped considerably with apparently religious or fairy-tale encounters from distant human history.

This inspired Vallee to do a deep dive, comparing modern-day UFO encounters with events from distant history, leading, eventually, to his controversial, consequential and ground-breaking book Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers. And It is the surprising and evocative revelations uncovered in that seminal book that is the topic of this, the 57th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

When it comes to the intelligences behind the UFO Phenomenon, a certain group of repeating players tend to draw most of the attention. These commonly referenced groups include the greys, the nordics, the reptilians and the mantis types. And while there are a considerable number of accounts that do indeed refer to these particular beings, this can sometimes lead to the erroneous conclusion that they represent the sum total of the NHI we are dealing with.

The truth is, when one peruses the full breadth of the experiencer literature, it becomes clear that a plethora of alien beings are actually encountered. And even within the types that resemble the most commonly referenced, there seem to be numerous nuances in their appearance and behavior, only further complicating the picture, suggesting perhaps both species, subspecies, as well as factioning.

While it is a human tendency to prefer concise - that is to say “manageable” - answers, especially when it comes to an exploration of the unknown reaches of our knowledge, we should be careful not to reduce the complexity encountered in order to simply lighten “cognitive load”. I would suggest a more helpful response would be to embrace the rich diversity represented in the many types of non-human intelligences that we, on occasion, seem to cross paths with, even if this does require a significant upgrade in our understanding of the complexity of our cosmic environment.

To this point, in today’s episode we’re going to be making our third trek into the stellar work of Ardy "Sixkiller" Clarke, an academic of Native American descent who’s contributed greatly to our collective awareness of these various forms of non-human intelligence. Our collective knowledge of the variety and nature of these beings has been greatly aided through Clarke’s dedicated, tireless, and methodical cataloging of the many kinds of beings encountered specifically amongst people of indigenous descent.

Do certain kinds of apparently alien beings tend to interact with specific types of human people groups? And, if so, do these data points perhaps represent overarching patterns - providing hints even in regards to differing human origins? To that point, how should we make sense of the claims of descent from such beings, which are so often part of indigenous cultural lore?

It is the expansive and unique work of people like Ardy "Sixkiller" Clarke that helps us to begin to address just such questions. Just how wide-ranging are the alien types encountered? And where do these various types fall within the spectrum of consciousness development, respectively? These are just a few of the questions we’ll seek to engage with in this, the 101st episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In the two previous episodes of the podcast we covered the key elements of the case of Terry Lovelace, a man who’s had a lifetime of experiences with apparently non-human, alien intelligences. Lovelace’s case is punctuated by events known as abductions, which involve human beings being visited by these alien others and then transported, by way of their technology, up into craft, either situated above a particular location, or orbiting the earth. In one instance Lovelace recounts being transported to a massive mothership, so large that it needed to be “parked” on the far side of the moon in order to not be visible to the naked eye of those on Earth.

As it turns out, a case such as Lovelace’s is not terribly unique. In fact, beyond certain fairly superficial differences, this case bears remarkable similarity to a host of other cases documented within the annals of the UFO Phenomenon literature. In fact, it is not a stretch to say that this particular kind of alien interaction is one of the most commonly reported. And of course that’s precisely why I picked Lovelace’s case to highlight: because it is so representative of a larger phenomenon that speaks to a group of alien others interacting with human beings all across the planet, and over the course of multiple generations.

So now that we’ve taken the time to highlight some of the specifics of Lovelace’s case, and how it played out over the course of his lifetime, in this episode I’d like to dive into the key elements of these particular kinds of cases that, again, are well attested throughout the UFO Phenomenon literature. What the data tells us is that, barring some massive disinformation campaign involving thousands of people all across the world, co-conspiring to enact some bizarre and unwieldy psy-op, these events really are happening in one way or another. This particular kind of human/alien interaction is going on, en-masse, as we speak.

This answers the “what’s happening” or “what is it” aspect of the UFO Phenomenon, or at least, in relation to one aspect of it – because again, as I keep trying to drive home, from my perspective what we conveniently call the UFO Phenomenon, is likely an amalgam of numerous phenomena arising from different intelligences with likely different origin stories, not to mention different agendas.

But in relation to this one key element of the larger Phenomenon, knowing what’s happening only serves to beg certain key questions, such as: Who’s involved? Why are they doing it? And how are they doing it? We might also ask, how is it that this is happening seemingly under the very noses of the world’s populace? Said differently, why the societal ignorance and/or disinterest? And to what degree are the governments of the world aware of this phenomenon, and to what degree might they actually be involved?

These are the very thorny but essential questions we’ll seek to find some clarity on in this, the 56th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

In last week’s episode we kicked off a discussion of a certain kind of alien interaction: the kind – well attested to in UFO Phenomenon literature – where human beings are repeatedly interacted with by non-human intelligences, and often from a very young age. As time goes on that interaction often includes abduction – that is, the taking of these people from their homes, up onto what appear to be spacecraft, either orbiting the earth in cloaked fashion, or existing in some kind of hyperspace or alternate realm of reality, where time and space seem to function differently.

The level of ontological shock that arises for these abductees/contactees – as we’ve said numerous times over the course of this podcast – cannot be overstated. These encounters shake these people to the core. And that’s true whether they ultimately come to see the experiences as positive, negative or neutral.

These meetings, whether you see them as intergalactic or interdimensional in nature – or some combination of the two, seem to very often include a biological element. That is to say, the people who are taken onboard these craft remember having had various medical experiments and procedures done to them; including the collecting of reproductive material, that seems to be part of a vast hybridization program of some kind. Furthering this narrative all the more, many of these experiencers also report having had contact with some of these very hybrid beings, including ones they are told, and believe to be, their very offspring.

The cast of Terry Lovelace fits all of the above criteria, to a tee. This case is fascinating for several different reasons: First, because it is told by a person who has had a distinguished professional career, and who seems to be credible in every measure one can reasonably apply. Secondly, because Terry Lovelace’s retelling of his experiences, extending over an entire lifetime, are so rich in vivid detail. And thirdly, because, as I already mentioned, this case is so typical of many such cases cataloged within the UFO Phenomenon literature.

In last week’s episode of Point of Convergence we discussed two key sequences of Lovelace’s lifelong encounters: a window of time from his childhood, when he encountered grey aliens he, at the time, called “the monkeymen”, and then a climactic event that occurred while he was a young man in the military, where he and a close friend encountered a massive black triangle UFO craft while camping in a remote area. This latter experience resulted in an abduction of both men, and a subsequent interrogation by the air force, upon their hasty return from that excursion.

This week we’ll pick up right where we left off, discussing the nature of that interrogation, and what that suggested the military already knew about this Phenomenon, as well as details about Lovelace’s experience while onboard the triangular craft, and then moving forward to events from later in his life, after his time in the military, in this, the 55th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

Over the last several months we’ve been discussing how the totality of the data behind the UFO Phenomenon may include different patterns that, perhaps, suggest that different actors and agendas serve as distinct parts of that whole. Distinguishing segments within the meta-category known as the UFO Phenomenon can, perhaps, help us to better understand what’s actually going on.

Within that totality, for instance, is a subsection of data involving apparent alien abduction. Here we’re speaking about human beings first encountering evidently non-human corporeal entities in their homes, as well as elsewhere, and subsequently being taken by these aliens onboard what appear to be spacecraft. Once onboard these apparent other worldly craft, these individuals often find that strange, invasive and frequently uncomfortable medical procedures are performed.

While medical treatment for various conditions that may be ailing these abductees is sometimes the goal, much more often the medical procedures seem to revolve around some kind of vast reproductive scheme; often as part of what appears to be a wide-reaching hybridization program – where offspring who are part human and part grey alien appear to be being bred and then raised by these non-human others.

The data we’ve gathered over the decades on these kinds of encounters also suggest that these interactions between these non-human, alien others and usually individual human beings, begin early in childhood – even though it’s sometimes only in adulthood that these early life memories are successfully retrieved – sometimes as a result of some kind of triggering, associative event, or via the aid of therapeutic tools such as hypnotic regression.

These particular kinds of experiencer accounts are widespread. The fact that these particular alien abduction experiences share so many common data points suggest we really can learn a lot by really embarking on a close examination of the evidence. And that’s precisely what we’ll be doing over the next several episodes.

To begin that process we’ll be delving into a specific case that fits well within the boundaries of this particular kind of experiencer account. Terry Lovelace is a man who’s encountered these alien greys since childhood. That ongoing but usually intermittent interaction took a shocking turn when he was a young man in the military. Events in one particular scenario, depicted in his book Incident at Devil’s Den, seem to suggest these alien greys have wielded an alarming and overarching control over his behavior, intentions, perception and memory.

A deep dive into the astonishing but revealing – and all too familiar – case of Terry Lovelace, alien abductee, is the topic of this, the 54th episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.

It was at this time last year that the inaugural edition of the Point of Convergence podcast was launched. In that very first edition I discussed some of the broad brush topics I planned to cover in the coming weeks and months. I didn’t know exactly what direction the podcast would take, but I had a strong sense that it would attempt to weave together topics that are often taken as distinct and disconnected: topics such as alien beings and the UFO Phenomenon, psi phenomena such as psychokinesis, telepathy and clairvoyance, and the mystery of life and death, revealed with growing clarity through phenomena such as out of body experiences, and even more so, near death experiences.

I also understood that central to our inquiry would be the underlying role that consciousness seems to play in connecting each of these subjects – which are often collectively referred to as “the contact modalities”, almost like spokes in a wheel. Over time it has become increasingly clear that, as I recently heard it put, it’s not so much that we possess consciousness, as that we, on the most fundamental of levels, are consciousness.

Somehow, despite the temporary sense of separation we often experience in this particular earthly iteration, we are actually part of capital “C” consciousness, which, as quantum physicist Erwin Schrodinger put it: “Consciousness is a singular of which the plural is unknown. There is only one thing and that which seems to be a plurality is merely a series of different aspects of this one thing, produced by a deception, the Indian maya, as in a gallery of mirrors.”

While the UFO Phenomenon, which has been our most central topic of inquiry, might at first seem like it doesn’t belong in such a conversation, I think it’s clear, based on the various cases of contact with non-human intelligence that we’ve covered over the last year, that nothing could be further from the truth.

Indeed, the connection between UFOs and aliens, with psi phenomena and out of body and near death experiences, is not even secondary and subtle, but often quite immediate and direct. In fact, we’ve come across cases where deceased relatives show up in the very same encounters where people meet and interact with apparently alien beings. We also know that the altered state of consciousness that experiencers of the UFO Phenomenon frequently describe involves striking overlap with elements of out of body and near death experiences.

Now, speaking of those various experiences of contact with apparently non-human, alien entities, it has been informative to see how different people have described different kinds of experiences in cases we’ve covered over the last year. While there are too many striking similarities to count, there have also been some striking differences, perhaps suggesting, as I’ve postulated for some time now, that we’re dealing with different elements within one totality we conveniently, colloquially title “the UFO Phenomenon”.

Now that we’ve reached the one year mark of this podcast, while also reaching the end of this calendar year, now seems like an apt time for a retrospective of sorts, looking back to compare and contrast the various elements of these otherworldly, anomalous experiences.

Over the last 365 days or so, we’ve covered nine specific cases of contact with alien intelligence. And now we’ll seek to take an overarching view of those cases, considering in what ways they’re similar, as well as distinct, and in what ways they did or didn’t somehow touch on the other “contract modalities” we discussed earlier, in this the 53rd episode of the Point of Convergence podcast.