Introduction to Organized Spiritual UFO Groups Although the wider UFO movement has very little in the way of formal organizational structures, there are several groups within the UFO movement that have emerged with distinct histories, worldviews, beliefs and practices of their own. These groups are usually quite small, but are often also quite well known, because they become the more visible aspect of the spiritual UFO movement. These groups are usually organized like a school or a classroom, in which teachings communicated by extraterrestrial "teachers" are passed down to interested human "students." Invariably in these groups, the wisdom of extraterrestrial entities is understood to be far in advance of current human learning and knowledge. As a result, extraterrestrials become figures of reverence. It is NOT correct to say, however, that they become objects of worship. Within these organized spiritual UFO groups, extraterrestrial entities are seen to be more spiritually advanced than we are, but they are simply farther along the spiritual path to God than humans, they are not gods themselves. Most organized UFO spiritual groups also believe in the existence of less advanced, "evil" alien entities who work to oppose our continued learning and spiritual evolution. The spiritual task of believers is therefore to overcome the evil alien influence under the guidance of benevolent alien teachings, and sometimes with the direct assistance of the "good" aliens. The three best known UFO spiritual groups are the Aetherius Society, Unarius, and the Raelian Movement. The Aetherius Society One of the earliest organized UFO spiritual groups to be founded was The Aetherius Society. It was founded in 1955 by a man named George King. King was very interested in Theosophy and Spiritualism, both precursors to the New Age Movement as discussed previously. He was also very interested in Yoga, and was known to practice it for up to nine hours a day. He was known as both a psychic and a spiritual healer. In 1954, King was in a meditative trance when he heard a voice say "Prepare yourself, you are to become the voice of Interplanetary Parliament." i A few days later, a "man" walked through his closed and locked apartment door and told him he had been selected by the Cosmic Intelligences as their Primary Terrestrial Channel. He was to become the person through whom these "Cosmic Intelligences" could transmit their important spiritual messages to the people of the earth. The Cosmic Intelligences, or Masters, were beings from other planets in our solar system, and they were occasionally present here on earth in the flying saucers that had been reported since 1947. The Message of the Master Aetherius Following this initial contact, King worked to develop the yogic exercises that his mysterious visitor had taught to him. A few months later he succeeded in making telepathic contact with a Cosmic Master named Aetherius who lived on Venus. King's task, he learned, was to spread the teachings of the Cosmic Masters, initially those of Aetherius, and later those of the Master Jesus, who was also reportedly from Venus. He was also contacted by other Cosmic Masters, including members of the Great White Brotherhood, and alien entities called Mars Sector 6, Mars Sector 8, and Jupiter Sector 92. They also communicated spiritual messages to King. Most of these beings come from within our solar system. According to the Aetherius society, the fact that we cannot observe physical life on other planets in our solar system does not mean that these beings do not exist. Instead, they exist on different spiritual or astral levels. Their website states: A word here about life on other planets in this solar system. Many will say that there cannot be any life on other planets, but it is not life as we know it. When we die we go on to one of the subtle planes of existence around this Earth. We normally cannot see these planes because of their different vibratory nature compared to this physical level. Nevertheless the other planes of existence around Earth are very real, as we will all experience when we pass on.In a similar way people on Venus, Mars and the other planets in this solar system are living on higher vibratory planes and even if we go there we will not see anybody unless they decide to make themselves visible to us.ii In order to communicate these teachings, King began to give public lectures while in a trance state similar to that of some of the channelers discussed in our section on the New Age movement. George King's first public lecture was held in January 1955. He did not gain a lot of converts initially, but he persisted with his public talks, and gradually developed a devoted following. He travelled throughout England, the United States, and Canada giving these lectures. The teachings of the Master Aetherius that King talked about in these public lectures focused on health and healing, the friendliness of visiting "space people," the dangers of atomic experiments, and the nature of the other inhabitants of earth's solar system. These other inhabitants, King taught, were more spiritually advanced than the people of earth, and they were actively working, through the manipulation of spiritual energies, to prevent mankind from destroying ourselves in our greed and shortsightedness. The Message of the Master Jesus In 1958, the Master Jesus began to communicate with King. Jesus transmitted a new set of teachings which he suggested were suitable for the Aquarian Age. Jesus, who also comes from Venus, is believed to be an Avatar of cosmic consciousness. His teachings were published in a book titled The Twelve Blessings. According to the teachings of the Master Jesus, it is time for human beings to focus on our own spiritual development, which has been neglected for too long. We are, according to Jesus, divine beings, like Christ himself, and we exist in an unlimited universe of Oneness. We are not alone in this universe, however - there are many sentient races in the universe, who share in the oneness of the Universe, the oneness of God. Humans need to realize their oneness with the universe and their divine natures, as well as their place in the cosmic brotherhood of races. The way to facilitate this learning and growth is to practice spiritual prayer. Each of the twelve blessings is followed by a prayer, which acts to focus spiritual prayer power on specific desired goals. For example, one is designed to channel spiritual energy into Mother Earth. By studying the twelve blessings, and focusing our spiritual energy on desired spiritual goals, we help bring about our own and our planet’s spiritual evolution. In addition to this spiritual message, the Master Jesus also informed George King, however, that there are some evil invaders from outer space who are trying to take over our planet by capitalizing on the negative energies which we as earthlings generate. These evil forces are attempting to bring about our destruction with the aid of Black Magicians, who are the embodiment of the Forces of Evil. Earth falls easy prey to the forces of evil, because of all the bad Karma that we have accumulated over the years. Karma is the spiritual law of cause and effect, in which good deeds result in positive consequences, and bad deeds result in negative ones. The black magicians live on the lower astral planes, and have demonic powers. The forces of evil and the black magicians used to be forced to work through human beings, such as Hitler, but now they are stronger and can work directly. It is only through the intercession of the Cosmic Masters that life on earth has been saved. In order to help save the lives of earthlings and of Earth itself, the Master Aetherius and the Master Jesus and other Cosmic Masters wished to send transmissions of spiritual power to replenish Earth's depleted supply. According to the Aetherius society, a specific UFO called Satellite No. 3 has been visiting earth since 1955, sending us spiritual energy that the society collects and stores in Spiritual Energy Radiators. Anyone engaged in spiritual work can draw on the energies being sent by Satellite No. 3, and are encouraged by the Aetherius society to do so. According to the society, “during these Magnetization Periods the karmic effects of each spiritual action are enhanced approximately three thousand times, thereby speeding up the evolution of both the individual and humanity as a whole.”iii The dates during which Satellite No. 3 are in orbit around earth are: April 18 - May 23; July 5 - August 5; September 3 - October 9; November 4 - December 10. According to the Aetherius society, George King was directed to become the "essential link between Earth and the Higher Forces" so that this energy could be used to "charge" several mountains throughout the world.iv In order to "charge" these mountains, members of the Aetherius Society practice "spiritual pushes", in which prana is channeled into the earth through focused meditation and prayer. This prana comes from themselves, and also from the space ships of the Cosmic Masters as they orbit the earth. The project to spiritually charge nine of England's mountains was named Operation Starlight. Other operations have been carried out since then, including Operation Sunbeam, in which some of the stored spiritual energy was released to help restore Earth's Karmic balance, and Operation Karmalight, in which George King battled alongside the Cosmic Masters to prevent our enslavement by the alien forces of evil. Worldview: Aetherius Society The worldview of the Aetherius Society is clearly dualistic, hierarchical, evolutionary, monistic, nature-based and millenial.