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