Nov. 2011: White House says no alien contact yet…
• 50% of Americans believe in UFOs • 5% of Americans have seen a UFO • 9.6% of Canadians have seen a UFO • UFO sighting reports for 2012 doubled from 2011 – almost 2000, 7.5%
(approx 150 cases) unexplained even after investigation. • June 2013, Canadian ex-Minister of National Defense speaks to informal US
congressional meetings re: reality of alien visitations • 80% of Americans believe that the US government is not telling all it knows
about UFOs
Ed Mitchell, 6th man on moon, asserts reality of alien visitations, government cover-up
UFO Spirituali-es • Two main belief systems in broader UFO movement: • UFOS as alien technology – secret reconnaissance, biological/medical experiments, government conspiracy
• UFOs as space craC and/or psychic manifesta-on of alien spirit guides, visi-ng earth with spiritual agenda
• Most of those who believe in UFOs hold first belief system; both belief systems contribute to UFO Spiritualities
Historical Influences
• Seeing strange objects in the sky is a universal phenomenon
• Carl Jung suggests UFOs = spiritual/ religious archetype -‐ perfec-on
• Objects in sky always interpreted within language & metaphors of the age – gods, demons, angels, space ships
• Today technology dominates our world: is that why we interpret UFOs as technological space craC?
19th Century Sigh-ngs
• In 19th Century, precursors to both UFOs as technology camp, and aliens as spirit guides camp.
• Nov. 1896-‐ May 1897, Alabama to Michigan to California – “airships” sighted • Cigar-‐shaped, propellers and/or wings, brightly lit, with people glimpsed inside • OCen landed to make repairs, asking witnesses for wrenches and water. • Powered by “condensed electricity” • Es-mated speed = 150 miles per hour; could fly against direc-on of wind, stop and
start at will. • These sigh-ngs set pa_ern for 20th century sigh-ngs
Cigar-shaped UFO over race-track, 1910
19th Century Extraterrestrial spirit guide
• Helene Smith • Traveled in trance to Mars • Points in common between Smith’s
experience and other 19th & early 20th c. contactee experiences: – Took place in our solar system (Mars,
Venus, Moon, etc.) – Took place via psychic means (trance,
astral travel, seances) – Communica-on with extraterrestrials
via telepathy – Message of Extraterrestrials is
metaphysical • These contacts set pa_ern for later
20th century contacts.
Kenneth Arnold Sigh-ng • June 24, 1947. • Air rescue pilot, deputy sheriff,
sees nine “metallic looking objects” while searching for downed plane over Mt. Rainier, Washington
• Es-mated their speed at (impossible for 1947) 1700 miles per hour
• Reports sigh-ng; reporters wai-ng to ques-on him. He says they flew like “saucers skipping over water” – inven-on of term “flying saucer”
Kenneth Arnold with
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Kenneth Arnold Sigh-ng – Arnold sigh-ng important for three reasons:
• First, respected witness – story considered reliable
• Second, Inven-on of term “flying saucer” – gave believers and skep-cs a label to put on UFOs – also, term implies “ar-ficial”: saucers, aCer all, don’t skip without help
• Third, encouraged other witnesses to report sigh-ngs – 850 sigh-ngs reported in 1947.
Roswell, New Mexico • Most famous UFO sigh-ng: July
2-‐3, 1947 • Bright glowing disk spo_ed in sky
on evening of July 2nd. • July 3rd, rancher William “Mac”
Brazil finds “metallic” wreckage sca_ered across his fields near town of Corona, New Mexico
• Reports finding to nearest military base: 509th Bomb Group Intelligence Office at Roswell Field. They send inves-gator, Major Jesse Marcel, who collects wreckage.
Major Jesse Marcel with Roswell wreckage
Roswell, New Mexico • Wreckage includes metallic foil that
cannot be dented or burned; small beams with “hieroglyphic wri-ng”
• Commander of Roswell base, Colonel William Blanchard, issues press release sta-ng Air Force had recovered wreckage of crashed flying disk.
• Commander of 8th Air force, General Roger Ramey, issues a retrac-on: it wasn’t flying saucer, it was a weather balloon.
• Weather balloon story revised by US Government in 1994: not just any balloon, a top secret weather balloon! (with nuclear blast detector)
Colonel William Blanchard with memo and wreckage
• Reconstructed July 8, 1947 Gen. Ramey Roswell Message • Copyright © 2001 by David Rudiak, All Rights Reserved • -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ • ARMY CABLE BELL CBL • 17:13 CST • A) URGENT • B) HQAAF • C) WASHINGTON • D) 8 JUL 1947 • E) VANDENBERG • F) FROM: HQ 8TH AAF • G) SUB: ROSWELL • 0) FWAAF ACKNOWLEDGES THAT A "DISK" IS NEXT NEW FIND WEST OF • • 1) THE CORDON. AT LOCATION WAS A WRECK NEAR OPERATION AT THE • IN ADDITION "POD" • 2) "RANCH" AND THE VICTIMS OF THE WRECK YOU FORWARDED TO THE • • 3) ??TEAM AT FORT WORTH, TEX. • • 4) AVIATORS IN THE "DISC" THEY WILL SHIP FOR A1-‐8TH ARMYAMHC • • 5) BY B29-‐ST OR C47. WRIGHT AF ASSESS AIRFOIL AT ROSWELL. ASSURE • ASSIST FLY-‐OUT • 6) THAT CIC/TEAM SAID THIS MISSTATE MEANING OF STORY AND THINK • • 7) LATE TODAY NEXT SENT OUT PR OF WEATHER BALLOONS WOULD FARE • 8) BETTER IF THEY ADD LAND DEMORAWIN CREWS. • stage •
Barney Barne_ Sigh-ng • July 3, 1947 • Barney Barnet was government
geologist doing survey work. • Spo_ed crashed UFO about 120
miles from Roswell: 4 alien bodies inside
• Aliens 3.5 – 4 C tall, slim, hairless, big heads, 4 fingers – classic “grey” aliens
• Group of people claiming to be anthropologists arrive, take charge of site, tell Barnet to keep quiet.
• He tells only one person, best friend Vern Maltais.
• Maltais later makes story public
Crashed UFO with Alien body – origin unknown
MJ 12 Document • Reputedly a top secret government
document prepared for President-‐elect Dwight D. Eisenhower, informing him about “Opera-on Majes-c-‐12” – a secret opera-on designed to study extraterrestrial contact.
• Reports on recovery of crashed Roswell UFO
• Delivered anonymously to documentary film producer Jaime Shandera in December 1984.
• Controversy regarding document mainly focuses on recipient rather than document
• Roswell crash, Barne_ sigh-ng, MJ-‐12 documents all now linked to “prove” UFOs exist, aliens are here, government conspiracy of silence.
Jaime Shandera
Contactee Phenomenon
• Contactees are those who claim to have met, and spoken with, extraterrestrial visitors to earth
• Four of the most famous are: George Adamski, Daniel Fry, Howard Menger and Billy Meier
George Adamski
• Saw and photographed UFOs in 1947
• Contact with extraterrestrials in 1952
• Blond-‐haired ET from Venus-‐ “Orthon”
• Concerned about nuclear tes-ng • Flying Saucers have Landed (1953) • Inside the Space Ships (1955)
George Adamski
“Now for the first time I fully realized that I was in the presence of a man from space - A HUMAN BEING FROM ANOTHER WORLD! The beauty of his form surpassed anything I had ever seen. And the pleasantness of his face freed me of all thought of my personal self. I felt like a little child in the presence of one with great wisdom and much love, and I became very humble within myself ... for from him was radiating a feeling of infinite understanding and kindness, with supreme humility." "He made me understand that their coming was friendly. Also, as he gestured, that they were concerned with the radiation going out from earth. I asked if this concern was due to the explosions of our bombs with their resultant vast radio-active clouds? He understood this readily and nodded his head in the affirmative.” Flying Saucers Have Landed.
Daniel Fry • Contacted by UFO July 4,
1950 at White Sands, New Mexico
• A-lan, extraterrestrial on mothership
• Concerned about Nuclear testing
• White Sands Incident (1954)
Daniel Fry • “There is one significant fact which we should always remember. The present series of extraterrestrial visitations began at the exact time when the thinking men of earth had begun to realize with terrible certainty that mankind had at last achieved the ability to destroy itself completely, without having acquired the understanding necessary to prevent itself from doing so. Scientists, philosophers, and statesmen were desperate. There seemed to be no way in which the holocaust could be prevented. During the last year (1955) however, a tremendous change has become apparent in international relationships. A change which makes it obvious that in spite of the disbelief and ridicule with which they were met, our visitors are accomplishing the purpose for which they come. If in future years, the present series of visitations should, in its turn, become reduced to mere legend, history will, nevertheless record that this era produced, not only the greatest danger which our civilization has ever faced, but also the greatest advance in our ability to understand ourselves and each other.” Daniel Fry, “Steps to the Stars”
Howard Menger
• Childhood contacts • Tour of the Moon • Reincarnation – reincarnated
being from Jupiter • Angelic beings, here to help • Wrote “From Outer Space to
You” (1959) and “The High Bridge Incident” (1991)
Billy Meier
• Famous for photos as well as contactee experiences: Billy Meier photo featured in Muldar’s “I want to Believe” poster in The X-Files
• Telepathic contact with extraterrestrials in 1975
• Semjase – pilot of UFO, Pleiadian, “nordic” (blonde, beautiful)
• Ptaah – father of Semjase, captain of mothership
• Pleiadians are our genetic ancestors, here to watch over us – responsible for birth of Adam, Jesus
Other 1950’s Contactees
Truman Bethurum – meets Aura Rhanes from planet Clarion, here to help stop our moral & physical self destruction Orfeo Angelucci – meets “space brother” here to document human spiritual evolution. Experiences missing time, past life memories
Contactee Pattern
Travel via UFOs (not psychic or astral travel) All extraterrestrials from planets without war, poverty, prejudice All here with message of cosmic love All concerned about nuclear self-destruction Clear precursors to channeling/contactee “camp” within UFO movement
1960’s Phenomenon Most famous abductees Betty and
Barney Hill September 19, 1961 – 2.5 hours
missing time Stress-related symptoms –
nightmares, ulcers
December 1963, go to (skeptical) hypnotist, recall abduction experience Telepathic
compulsion Medical exams Grey aliens (Zeta
Reticulus) Details of abduction
not released until 1966
Betty and Barney Hill
Well-respected, interracial couple Did not announce experience publicly – published by
researcher John Fuller in The Interrupted Journey (1966) Opened door for other abductees to come forward –
narratives all very similar Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms – never known
to be associated with imagined stress – something genuinely stressful happened to abductees
Ancient Astronaut
Theory
Erich von Daniken
Religions of the world tell stories of alien/human contact
Gods, angels, demons, etc. really just extraterrestrial beings
Evidence of these visitations to be found in archeological & sacred text sources
Paleo-SETI research
Erich von Daniken
• Born 1935 in Switzerland • Chariots of the Gods?
(1968) • Chariots of the Gods? (Film-1973) • The Return of the Gods
(1997) • Controversial figure –
criminal record for embezzling, accusations of misrepresentation of sources
Von Daniken’s thesis: Bible tells of Alien origins
• Extraterrestrials came to earth following battle elsewhere • They genetically engineered humans using own DNA • Set humans up in protected biosphere • Power struggle on mothership results in rebels being exiled to
earth, where they interbreed with humans – disrupt genetic experiment
• Captain of ship sends flood using meteor, wipes out tainted humans, saves “pure” humans by telling them how to build ship
• Alien ship remains in orbit, watching us
Erich von Daniken
Does not intend theory to be “religious” – intends it as science
A_empt to dismantle “supers--ons” of religion.
However, he has been hugely influen-al on UFO spirituality movement: – Prehistoric contact with extraterrestrials
– Gene-c link to extraterrestrials
– Ongoing interest of aliens in our evolu-on