UFOUFO SpiritualitiesSpiritualities UFOUFO  50% of North Americans believe in UFOs SpiritualitiesSpiritualities  Two main belief systems in broader UFO movement: •UFOS as alien technology – secret reconnaissance, biological/medical experiments, government conspiracy

•UFOs as space craft and/or psychic manifestation of alien spirit guides, visiting earth with spiritual agenda

• Most of those who believe in UFOs hold first belief system; both belief systems contribute to UFO spiritualities HistoricalHistorical InfluencesInfluences

 Seeing strange objects in the sky is a universal phenomenon  Carl Jung suggests UFOs = spiritual/ religious archetype - perfection  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 craft? 1919thth CenturyCentury SightingsSightings

Cigar-shaped UFO over race-track, 1910

 In 19th Century, precursors to both UFOs as technology camp, and aliens as spirit guides camp.  Nov. 1896- May 1997, Alabama to Michigan to California – “airships” sighted  Cigar-shaped, propellers and/or wings, brightly lit, with people glimpsed inside  Often landed to make repairs, asking witnesses for wrenches and water.  Powered by “condensed electricity”  Estimated speed = 150 miles per hour; could fly against direction of wind, stop and start at will.  These sightings set pattern for 20th century sightings 1919th CenturyCentury ExtraterrestrialExtraterrestrial spiritspirit guideguide

 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)  Communication with extraterrestrials via telepathy  Message of Extraterrestrials is metaphysical  These contacts set pattern for later 20th century contacts. KennethKenneth ArnoldArnold SightingSighting

 June 24, 1947.  Air rescue pilot, deputy sheriff, sees nine “metallic looking objects” while searching for downed plane over Mt. Rainier, Washington  Estimated their speed at (impossible for 1947) 1700 miles per hour  Reports sighting; reporters waiting to question him. He says they flew like “saucers Kenneth Arnold with skipping over water” – US President Dwight D. Eisenhower invention of term “flying saucer” KennethKenneth ArnoldArnold SightingSighting

 Arnold sighting important for three reasons:  First, respected witness – story considered reliable  Second, Invention of term “flying saucer” – gave believers and skeptics a label to put on UFOs – also, term implies “artificial”: saucers, after all, don’t skip without help  Third, encouraged other witnesses to report sightings – 850 sightings reported in 1947. Roswell,Roswell, NewNew MexicoMexico

 Most famous UFO sighting: July 2-3, 1947  Bright glowing disk spotted in sky on evening of July 2nd.  July 3rd, rancher William “Mac” Brazil finds “metallic” wreckage scattered 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 investigator, Major Jesse Marcel, who collects wreckage. Major Jesse Marcel with Roswell wreckage Roswell,Roswell, NewNew MexicoMexico

 Wreckage includes metallic foil that cannot be dented or burned; small beams with “hieroglyphic writing”  Commander of Roswell base, Colonel William Blanchard, issues press release stating Air Force had recovered wreckage of crashed flying disk.  Commander of 8th Air force, General Roger Ramey, issues a retraction: 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  BarneyBarney BarnettBarnett SightingSighting

 July 3, 1947  Barney Barnet was government geologist doing survey work.  Spotted crashed UFO about 120 miles from Roswell: 4 alien bodies inside  Aliens 3.5 – 4 ft tall, slim, hairless, big heads, 4 fingers – classic “grey” aliens  Group of people claiming to be anthropologists arrive, take Crashed UFO with Alien body – origin unknown charge of site, tell Barnet to keep quiet.  He tells only one person, best friend Vern Maltais.  Maltais later makes story public MJMJ 1212 DocumentDocument

 Reputedly a top secret government document prepared for President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower, informing him about “Operation Majestic-12” – a secret operation 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, Barnett sighting, MJ-12 Jaime Shandera documents all now linked to “prove” UFOs exist, aliens are here, government conspiracy of silence. MJ-12 Document UFOUFO SpiritualitiesSpiritualities

HistoricalHistorical Influences,Influences, IIII ContacteeContactee PhenomenonPhenomenon

 ContacteesContactees areare thosethose whowho claimclaim toto havehave met,met, andand spokenspoken with,with, extraterrestrialextraterrestrial visitorsvisitors toto earthearth

 TheThe threethree mostmost famousfamous are:are: GeorgeGeorge AdamskiAdamski,, DanielDaniel Fry,Fry, andand BillyBilly MeierMeier GeorgeGeorge AdamskiAdamski

Saw and photographed UFOs in 1947 Contact with extraterrestrials in 1952 Blond-haired ET from Venus Concerned about nuclear testing Flying Saucers have Landed (1953) Inside the Space Ships (1955) DanielDaniel FryFry

 Contacted by UFO July 4, 1950 at White Sands, New Mexico  A-lan, extraterrestrial on mothership  Concerned about Nuclear testing  White Sands Incident (1954) BillyBilly MeierMeier

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 OtherOther 19501950’’ss ContacteesContactees

 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  Howard Menger – first contact as a child, reincarnated being from Jupiter, here to help mankind ContacteeContactee PatternPattern

 TravelTravel viavia UFOsUFOs (not(not psychic,psychic, astralastral travel)travel)  AllAll extraterrestrialsextraterrestrials fromfrom planetsplanets withoutwithout war,war, poverty,poverty, prejudiceprejudice  AllAll herehere withwith messagemessage ofof cosmiccosmic lovelove  AllAll concernedconcerned aboutabout nuclearnuclear self-self- destructiondestruction  ClearClear precursorsprecursors toto channeling/contacteechanneling/contactee ““campcamp”” withinwithin UFOUFO movementmovement  19601960’’ss PhenomenonPhenomenon  MostMost famousfamous abducteesabductees BettyBetty andand BarneyBarney HillHill  SepSeptembertember 19,19, 19611961 –– 2.52.5 hourshours mimissingssing timetime  StressStress-related-related symptomssymptoms –– nightmares,nightmares, ulcersulcers BettyBetty andand BarneyBarney HillHill

 DecemberDecember 1963,1963, gogo toto (skeptical)(skeptical) hypnotist,hypnotist, recallrecall abductionabduction experienceexperience TelepathicTelepathic compulsioncompulsion MedicalMedical examsexams GreyGrey aliensaliens (Zeta(Zeta ReticulusReticulus))  DetailsDetails ofof abductionabduction notnot releasedreleased untiluntil 19661966 BettyBetty andand BarneyBarney HillHill

 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 BettyBetty HillHill InterviewInterview AncientAncient AstronautAstronaut TheoryTheory

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 ErichErich vonvon DanikenDaniken

 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 ErichErich vonvon DanikenDaniken

 Argues 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 ErichErich vonvon DanikenDaniken

 Does not intend theory to be “religious” – intends it as science  Attempt to dismantle “superstitions” of religion.  However, he has been hugely influential on UFO spirituality movement:  Prehistoric contact with extraterrestrials  Genetic link to extraterrestrials  Ongoing interest of aliens in our evolution