Jean Walker tells her story in Family Secrets

Author and experiencer Jean Walker

Family Secrets is the true account of the strange paranormal events experienced by Jean Walker and her family. Jean, a retired science teacher and UFO investigator, has now bravely come forward to share her strange, often frightening, sometimes delightful, yet unexplainable encounters. These include everything from aliens, UFOs, portals, fairies, and Bigfoot.

This is a nice interview, but she shares a lot more in the book.

I recommend this short book, available HERE

Here is a funny little synchronicity, she tells an interesting owl story in her book, then mentions me by name and references my owl book—all on page 123! Anyone who has followed my work will know that I put a special emphasis on the number 123.

And a special thanks to UFO HUB for this beautifuly produced interview.

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Brendan Ring and owls

author and mystic, Brendan Ring

The Messengers features several powerful owl accounts from Brendan Ring. He was immersed in his Shamanic apprenticeship and practice while I was working on my book, and he was generous with his experiences. He has recently published his own book titled A Shamanic Kundalini Awakening.

Brendan is an Irish musician, visionary and mystic. I have not read the book in its entirety, but merely skimmed around. It is a delight to get a more Celtic set of insights as Brendan describes his journey. I can relate to his voice.

Here is a passage from the book that cleanly sums up the owl and UFO connection. That this account comes from a shamanic practitioner makes it all the more resonant—at least to me.

One night I dreamed I was standing with a white owl, high on a hill, overlooking a valley. Shortly after this, a tawny owl and a barn owl came together in a dream, the barn owl nuzzled my hand. The following night I awoke into a vision of the oak tree that stands in our field. Its leaves and branches were enveloping me, pulling at me urgently. I had the sense it wanted me to go outside, and even though it was about four o’clock in the morning, I pulled myself out of bed and answered the call. Outside, owls were calling, Orion was above me, and to the left, a planet shone as bright as a moon. I had only a few seconds to take in the glory of this, when what I’d thought was a star, flew upwards across the sky with a snake-like movement. I have no doubt that this was a UFO and that the tree had called me out to see it.   

From my own perspective however, it is the shaman and the tree that are intrinsically connected. The shaman is in essence the human embodiment of the tree, the shaman’s connection is very much to the Earth, and although I may look in wonder to the stars, I know that here, is home.

Excerpt from A Shamanic Kundalini Awakening by Brendan Ring. Brendan's site is linked HERE. And here's a link to the book on Amazon.

Brendan's first book, published in 2016

Brendan has been playing music since he was eleven years of age. He learned first from his grand-father and father, who came from Sliabh Luachra, a region of Ireland famous for its traditional music.

Brendan is an All Ireland champion piper and holds a Master Degree in Music from University College Cork. A virtuoso on the Uilleann pipes, he is also one of only a handful of people involved in bringing back to life, the Clairseach (historical Irish harp). He is one of the only musicians in the world (if not the only one) to play both those iconic Irish instruments. His low whistle playing is cited, by many players, as a ground breaking influence.

Brendan playing the harp

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Jim Marrs has died

Jim Marrs
1943 - 2017

Author and researcher Jim Marrs died today. This was one profoundly charismatic guy—a lost breed. The world is a less dynamic place without him.

__________________________

I walked into the hotel bar of a UFO conference in Tempe Arizona and saw Jim sitting alone at a table off in a corner. This was back in 2007, and I was nervous to do what I did next. I walked over and asked if I could join him. He smiled and said, “If you buy me a beer you sure can!” I asked what he was having, and he said Dos Equis. I went to the bar, ordered two of them and when I turned around I saw Anne and Whitley Strieber had joined him. I spent the next few hours saying very little and listening intently.

I had lunch with Jim a few years later at another conference, this time in Laughlin Nevada. I was waiting in line to get into the casino diner, and he was standing next to me with two women—one was researcher Paola Harris and the other was an investigator working on a book. We all stood together making small talk and he asked me to join them.

The one woman was researching a case that involved a murder she suspected was somehow connected to a military base. Jim was playing the role of mentor, offering his insights on how to proceed, what to look for, what to ask, what not to ask, and how to be careful. I was fascinated to sit and listen.

Jim cut his teeth in newspaper reporting in a bygone era of journalism. This was a writer who knew how to roll up his sleeves and get something done—and done well.

This is a 20-year old Jim Marrs dancing on stage at Jack Ruby's Carousel Club in Dallas Texas.  The photo was taken in October of 1963, a month before the Kennedy assassination.

But more than anything Jim exuded a folksy charisma. If he shared a beer with a witness at a bar, they would certainly fall under his spell. I can imagine the most tight-lipped government insider giving up juicy tidbits just because Jim was so disarming. He was a joy to be near.

I read Crossfire shortly after seeing Oliver Stone’s movie JFK. To say it blew me away would barely express the impact that book had on me.

Jim wrote about the JFK assassination, UFOs, 9-11, remote viewing, secret societies and more. He wrote a fictional book titled The Sisterhood of the Rose. A thriller set in during WWII. He said, “The problem with writing fiction is that it has to make sense!”

He also wrote a comic book titled Oswald’s Confession that fit the puzzle pieces together to help me understand what might have happened. This little gem is wonderful.

I am blessed to have know this amazing man.

________________________________________

Here's an interview I did with Jim back in 2013.

Yaphet Kotto tells of lifelong alien contact

American actor Yaphet Kotto

The actor Yaphet Kotto is 77 years old. He portrayed the main villain Mr. Big in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die (1973). He was a crew member in Alien (1979) and later worked with Robert De Niro in the comedy thriller Midnight Run (1988).

Kotto recently gave an interview where he talked about his UFO experiences. He said, "I've never talked to anyone about it man, this is the first time… I’ve only told my wife, my rabbi, and a psychologist. This is the first time I'm talking about it.”

He describes a list of events, some from when he was a young boy. What he shares will be familiar to anyone who had looked into the the contact experience. Here's an excerpt:

I went through my youth, however, not knowing what I was experiencing, therefore, I didn't talk about it. I would just experience something and file it away until something larger happened. This is the thing other UFO witnesses don't talk about. Every time I moved into a house, above it at some point, there would be a circle of what looked like smoke. I'd wonder where it came from because it sure as hell didn't look like clouds. Those sightings continued for a good ten to fifteen years. I've also had time loss. I have a big loss of time between some of these moments, and I'd often wonder if I was taken.

   Read the entire interview HERE.  

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James Clarkson leaves MUFON

former cop as UFO investigator

Until just a few days ago, James Clarkson had been Washington State Director for MUFON. He left in part, because of recent announcements concerning an "inner circle" of donors and their influence over the organization.

I met James and his wife in Arkansas last April when we were both speaking at the annual Ozark Mountain UFO Conference. He is enormously likeable and my impression was that he is exactly what MUFON should be. He came across as dedicated, hard working and open minded.

Here is the essay on his blog where he describes his reasons for leaving that organization.

  With Regret – Why I Must Leave MUFON Completely  

I am hoping that this letter may be a catalyst for real change in MUFON’s direction if it is not already too late. The influence of the money-worshipping corporate mentality is already damaging our country like cancer; what is happening to MUFON doesn’t seem much different.

After you read that, you can follow it up with another depressing essay from James. This one describes another longtime researcher leaving MUFON. James wrote:

The punch that knocked me out of my chair and on to the floor was when I opened my e-mail. I received an announcement from Robert Powell, MUFON Director of Scientific Research – He resigned and is leaving MUFON right before this year’s MUFON Symposium began.

Seems Robert Powell didn't agree with the circus that surrounds the present symposium in Las Vegas. Like the essay linked above, this one is also worth reading.

  Science has left the building:  

  The Historic MUFON 2017 Symposium
and How the Show Must Go On  

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Sean Pryor's UNIDENTIFIED

click on any image for a HI-Rez view

This is a comic of self exploration. It is an attempt to deal with some strange memories as well as the questions that arise out of these experiences. The images and ideas point to something beyond just UFO contact.

I spoke with the artist and author back in February of 2016, his name is Sean Pryor and we share a similar set of life experiences.

  View Sean’s entire hi-rez comic UNIDENTIFIED  

It was the kind of conversation I’ve had many times. We have a lot in common and one thing stood out—we are both cartoonists! I had toyed with the idea of penning a graphic novel back in 2011. I even did some test pages. But that project got lost in the obsessive madness that was to become The Messengers.

Home of the Little People

Also, Shawn’s last name ties into the Pryor Mounains of Southern Montana. This is the traditional home of the little people in the lore of the Crow nation. I spent two nights alone in those mountains, the culmination of a tangled mess of events on a map, and that long story is linked HERE.

Sean told me that my podcast and blog have helped him along his path. There are times I want to give it all up and walk away, but his kind words are the kind of thing that keep me pressing onward.

December 13 2009

Sean has had three UFO sightings, the first when he was eight years old, and the other two when he was in his twenties. The sightings as an adult were seen with other witnesses. These accounts are all dramatized in a 21-page long comic titled UNIDENTIFIED. He did the inks on speckled brown paper, a surface I dearly love.

When we spoke last year, he said he had started an autobiographical comic about his UFO experiences. This is an elusive thing to try to rein in, something I know all to well. He described himself as one of the 'maybe people' I’ve written about. That term was coined to describe myself.

Imagery form a vivid dream

I asked him why he did all the hard work to create this personal journal. 

He replied:

I created it for several reasons. The main reason is to hopefully achieve a better understanding of what I've experienced. The second would be to get it off my chest, considering that these experiences play a huge role in my life. Yet the strangeness inherent in said experiences makes it difficult to talk about. The third would be that hopefully other people who’ve had these types of things happen to them can relate to my story, it's helped me in the past so maybe I can return the favor.

Mythic symbolism in the dream realm

I asked if he planned to try to sell it.

I'm not sure if I would want to sell it. At the moment you can view the whole thing on my blog. I've been drawing autobio-comix off and on for several years and would like to eventually compile them into a book, perhaps my UFO comic will go in there too.

Also of note, Sean worked with the late great Harvey Pekar, drawing for American Splendor.

Single frame from American Splendor
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Curious orb moves through a photo

short video loop with a curious orb!

Andrea and I took this picture for author Ryan Sprague, he requested that people send him photos with his recently published book. I have it on my Kindle and Andrea has a paper copy.
Andrea, Spazzy (the cat) and myself are all featured in the book we are holding.
A few things about this picture. Ryan has sat on that very couch.

The book features this about Spazzy: "Her eyes were as deep as the night.” This photo shows Spazzy with crazy lit up eyes, unlike what Ryan wrote about her.

Click on imagefor a larger view

But more than anything, there is an orb in this photo, something Andrea and I noticed right away. It is positioned so it partially overlaps my bald head. We posted the image on Facebook and made sure to point out the orb. It’s sort of a blurry and poorly exposed picture, but gee-whiz, there’s an orb in it!

This picture was taken six months ago in January with my new iPhone. I didn’t know it at the time, but each photo comes with a few seconds of video. It was only recently that I saw that the orb was moving in the short video clip. Not sure what to make of this, January in the Adirondacks isn’t a time for little bugs flying around. Could be nothing at all, but there is a lot going on in this image. I am cautious to ring the “paranormal” bell, yet somethings in there!

Addendum as of June 25th 2017

Some comments have pointed out that this is merely lens flare or dust. To that I say: Quite probably! Actually, I am well versed in camera lenses so I feel that lens flare is unlikely, But a dust particle, perhaps. All I can say is that the image itself is "highly charged" — The living room itself is featured in the book! I am at the point where I factor these kinds of things in, yet I am making no grand declarations. 

More about Ryan’s book SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, can be found HERE.

My interview with him HERE.

The opening chapter from Somewhere in the Skies, read by the author.

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Owls as moderators in a debate!

presiding over the debate

A woman named Linda contacted me with a wonderful story. She's an experiencer and she had this to say about owls.

There was a correlation between the owls and some of the contact experiences. For instance, I'd be reading, suddenly think of the ET's and one of the owls would start hooting right over the house. Or I'd feel the ET presence outside, walk out the door and the owls would call to me from another part of the property. These events were so frequent in the beginning of my experiences that I have no doubt as to the synchronicity. It's been proven in my mind, so I'm was a believer in owls as ET's or messengers of the ET's before I ran into your work.

While in college Linda was engaged to a brilliant scientist named Ed. They eventually broke it off and went their separate ways. 30 years later they met up again, and Ed ended up moving in with Linda while looking for an apartment in her area. During this time they would sit together behind her house in a small meadow surrounded by longleaf pines and mature oaks. This was also a spot frequented by owls.

Linda said that Ed was heavily invested in the materialistic sciences. If something wasn't proven with scientific instruments, it didn't exist.

She said of their time in that meadow, “As you might expect there were quite a few very interesting 'discussions' between Ed and I. We were evenly matched in intellect, but I was right and I was well versed and had done my homework, so I was slowly but surely winning this battle. What follows is one day where the owls got the last word in one of our debates.”

Ed and Linda were in the back field arguing about the difference between proof and belief. She said, “It was getting heated as Ed and I could easily be described as intense when we got into this stuff. We were both convinced of our absolute ownership of 'the truth' as fact."

Linda wrote:

Ed and I were arguing about the existence of extraterrestrials. That was the crux of the belief vs proof debate. As an experiencer I of course believe, as a scientist Ed felt there had to be physical proof that had been examined by scientists and released to at least the scientific community.

He said that belief without scientific proof was as invalid as religion. You must be able to spit out the word religion with a significant amount of disdain to get the full import of his intent. For my part, I was frustrated with my ability to describe how once you've experienced the things that I had, belief wasn't something someone told me about or something I believed because another person recounted or duplicated an experiment, it was a reality.

I was becoming exhausted from the effort and after what seemed forever I finally found the words that hit the nail square on the head, I blurted, “Belief doesn't appear out of someone else's proof, Ed.”

I spoke the next line very emphatically, “Experience is belief!”

There was a microsecond of silence after my statement, but only a microsecond. Then a chorus of owls directly over our heads went into simultaneous tumult!

Up until then we had NO idea they were even in the vicinity. Four, maybe all five family members were perched on top of us and in that instant they all shouted together. Now, these great horned owls, and as you probably know, they're very large birds and very loud. We never saw them even though it was broad daylight, as they exploded in obvious agreement and applause to my concluding argument.

I didn't say another word, I didn't have to, choosing instead to let the experience stand on it's own. Adding anything to that stunningly synchronistic goose pimple moment couldn't have served any purpose.

I just looked at Ed and he looked at me. Neither one of us uttered a sound, we got up and left the field, walking silently toward the house. We never spoke of this event or had this discussion again.

That time the Owls got the last word! And with Ed and I that was pretty darn hard to do.

I love this story! It's playful and the punchline is perfect. Owls as the moderators in a debate between an experiencer and a scientist. Right on for those owls!

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minimal editing of Linda's letter for clarity 

UFOs Reframing the Debate, edited by Robbie Graham

An important new book, available now

Available now in paperback on Amazon and Kindle!

“Robbie Graham's UFO anthology reframes the UFO from facile tabloid fare into its real challenge—how to interpret strange experiences offering hints of an Underlying Fundamental Ontology. To tackle such a difficult and at times bewildering task, a deep multidisciplinary dive is required. And that's exactly what you'll find in this thoughtful and stimulating book.”

      —Dean Radin, Ph.D.
      Chief Scientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences
      Author of Supernormal

“Robbie Graham has assembled a set of essays with very subversive insights into the nature of UFO phenomena. If you intend to seriously study UFOs, you must read this book.”

     —George P. Hansen
     Author of The Trickster and the Paranormal

I am immensely proud to be a part of this important work. I wrote a whole chapter and I only mentioned owls once!

THE CONTRIBUTORS: 

   MJ Banias

   Greg Bishop

   Robert Brandsteatter

   Jack Brewer

   Mike Clelland

   Curt Collins

   Joshua Cutchin

   Lorin Cutts

   Susan Demeter-St. Clair

   Smiles Lewis

   Red Pill Junkie

   Chris Rutkowski

   Ryan Sprague

  foreword by Diana Pasulka

   ________________________________________________

MUFON update

One week after Jan Harzan's tepid statement on the MUFON website, John Ventre has been removed as State Director for Pennsylvania. For some context on this post, see HERE.

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follow up information

Facebook posting from author Lon Strickler, from Fri May 26 2017
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Public Statement from Race Hobbs, Program Director of the KGRA Digital Broadcasting Station:

As of 9am CST this morning, with a heavy heart, I have made the decision, after 10 years of service to the organization of MUFON, I have tendered my resignation...

It is my intent to express my appreciation and admiration for the MUFON organization, and for the fine people involved; many of whom I have truly cherished working alongside over the years.

However, it is my feeling that MUFON leadership has shown a lack of proactive engagement regarding a recent incident involving Pennsylvania State Director John Ventre, and his personal views as expressed via social media. Ventre’s sentiments do not, and cannot be allowed to be misconstrued as representative of this organization, due to a fundamental lack of action on part of its leaders.

This is my sole reason for choosing to leave MUFON, and I remain indebted for the experience and opportunities I have been afforded during my period of membership. Race Hobbs

NOTE: MUFON UFO Radio has been removed from the KGRA Roster and they have just been notified.

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Public relations nightmare at MUFON

NOTE: several addendums added at the end of this post: 

I need to chime in about this whole MUFON mess. For anyone out there who hasn’t followed the fiasco on social media, here is a brief run down.

On May 14 Lon Strickler, from the website Phantoms and Monsters, posted a screen-grab on Facebook. This is a weird racist rant by senior MUFON member John Ventre. (below) It is my understanding that this is not a stand alone statement, but is part of a long pattern of similar pronouncements by Ventre.

Please read this. Click on image for a HI-rez view

That posting lead to a flood of comments as well as a lot of other postings across the net. My sense is that pretty much everybody within this small pool of folks who take the UFO issue seriously had a similar reaction. There was a lot of anger in what was being posted.

On May 18th, Jan Harzan, the executive director at MUFON, put out an official statement on the MUFON website. It is linked HERE, and should be read. I feel Harzan was apathetic in his response. There were at least 23 comments posted below his statement. Nearly all expressing emotions from disappointment to outright disgust.

Roger Marsh, as the communications director at MUFON, wrote this in the comment thread:

Everyone in and out of MUFON feels the same pain. This is embarrassing. No one is defending Mr. Ventre. His words are appalling.

On May 24, all the comments were deleted and any option to respond was closed.

Here are two blog posts, both should be read. One from Regan Lee at The Orange Orb. The other from Lorin Cutts at High Strangeness. I consider both of these bloggers friends and comrades.

This morning (May 24) Nick Redfern posted this on his Facebook page:

Some of you may have seen all the controversy surrounding MUFON this past week or thereabouts. As a result of all this outrageous crap, I have told MUFON that I will no longer be writing my monthly column for their magazine, and I have severed ties with them. Period.

There is little I can add that hasn’t been said already. Racism and sexism have no place in an organization like MUFON. John Ventre is entitled to his beliefs, but I feel it’s unacceptable in his very public role at that organization. What happens when a black woman sees a UFO in Pennsylvania and calls MUFON for help?

Beyond all the stuff about racist comments within an organization run by old white men, here are my two complaints about MUFON.

One. 
MUFON is collecting sighting reports. and these are investigated by dedicated members. I am assuming that many of these are very good reports. These are then sent to MUFON where they are put in a filing cabinet and locked away. All the information collected for the last 48 years has been vacuumed up into a black hole—never to be seen again. Their data is neither shared or available. I don’t see them making any meaningful contribution to the subject of UFOs.

I feel that MUFON is not living up to its mission statement or stated goals.

Here is the mission statement of MUFON:

"The Scientific Study of UFOs for the Benefit of Humanity"

MUFON's stated Goals:

I. Investigate UFO sightings and collect the data in the MUFON Database for use by researchers worldwide.

II. Promote research on UFOs to discover the true nature of the phenomenon, with an eye towards scientific breakthroughs, and improving life on our planet.

III. Educate the public on the UFO phenomenon and its potential impact on society.

Two.
MUFON has, for the most part, ignored the abduction phenomenon. At best they are tepid. At worse they have dismissed the abduction reports with contempt. This has changed a bit in the last few years, but I see nothing emerging from MUFON to tell me they are dealing with abduction experiences seriously. I know and respect Kathleen Marden. She is noted as “Director of Experiencer Research” on the MUFON website. She is doing excellent work on her own, and I feel strongly that she is trying hard to create something more up-to-date and meaningful within MUFON. (see addendum below)

I had to grit my teeth writing this post. I wanted to say more, but I felt it was important not to feed the fires of emotion. Here is my three word summation of this post: MUFON is irrelevant.

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I have done audio interviews with five of the people mentioned in this article. 

Regan Lee  

Lorin Cutts

Kathleen Marden

Nick Redfern 

Lon Strickler interviews me on the Phantoms and Monsters podcast. 

Also of note:

I spoke with Jan Harzan on the phone shortly after he took on the role of Executive Director at MUFON. I just emailed him and he replied with his number so I called him. We spoke for about a half hour and he seemed happy to talk with me. He confirmed a few things to me in this conversation. Those are listed as points one and two above.


I have also spoken and corresponded with Roger Marsh, and I like him enormously. He is doing important work in his journalistic postings of UFO reports. These are archived on the Open Minds site.

_________________________________________

Addendum below added later the same day as the above post:

I contacted Kathleen Marden shortly after this essay was posted. She clarified her role at MUFON. She heads a 15 member team within that organization. She assures me that the people she is working with "take ET contact/ abduction very seriously and assist up to 100 experiencers a month in finding the help they have requested." I talked with her at length in the autumn of 2014, and she spoke plainly about her goals and challenges within MUFON. Hearing this two and a half years later is heartening. This is precisely the kind of change that I have been hoping to see at MUFON. Kathleen is dedicated to both this very challenging issue, and I am certain she will be sharing her findings. 

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Addendum: Statement from Kathleen Marden from Friday May 26, 2017

The public voiced their disapproval of the racist comments voiced by one of its high profile members and MUFON took action. Jan Harzan, MUFON's Executive Director has announced that "MUFON does not condone racial discrimination in any form and has always provided equal opportunity to all regardless of race, religion, sex, age or national origin and will proudly continue to do so." The offender has been removed from his position of power and will no longer have a public voice as a representative for MUFON. I can now proudly continue in my role as MUFON's Director of Experiencer Research knowing that racism will not be tolerated by MUFON. Congratulations MUFON for making the right decision.

______________________________________ 

Statement from Jan Harzan, Executive Director at MUFON

__________________________________________

Facebook posting from May 26, 2017 

Sadly, it seems that nobody was fired. Just that there was a change in his title. It is my understanding that Mr. Ventre has long been involved with organizing the conferences. Thank you Lon for sharing this.

__________________________________________

Rune Soup and 42 Minutes / recommended interviews

Gordon White of Rune Soup

I was honored to take part in two very good audio interviews, both are now up on line.

Douglas Bolles hosts a Sync Book Podcast

The first was with Gordon White from RUNE SOUP, the other was with Douglas Bolles from 42 MINUTES. These are two of the smartest, most insightful researchers in this field. Both are digging in areas that well below the waterline. Gordon's book Star Ships is amazing. It's a powerful experience to be asked questions that allow me to wrestle with these more challenging avenues of thought.

  Rune Soup and 42 Minutes linked here  

Both interviews are recommended, as are their entire catalog of other podcasts.

__________________________________________________

Below is a comment posted below the Rune Soup podcast. Seems someone is having exactly the experiences that I've been trying to make some sense of.

um freaky timing for this interview because I was hearing an owl hooting this past sunday afternoon and saw a ufo while it was happening. The ufo and hooting both ceased at the same time. I tried to take pictures of the ufo but it was so sunny I could not see if I was focused on it, too much glare. I got nuthin. Then I looked for the owl but never found it. I have not heard or seen an owl in the daytime in 25 years. It was most definitely an owl hooting, it was a sound I was more familiar with as a child where I grew up than where I live now. I learned how to call owls during some nature class as a kid and I used to go out in the woods and call and sometimes one would fly close.I have never felt that owls or ufos are signifying the presence of death so much as the presence of a reality that is not my known reality. I have never experienced owl hooting and a ufo sighting at the same time. It was really weird but I do love weird so it made my day. It just felt like a reminder that the world I am walking around in is not the whole picture.

yippee for this timely interview with Mike Clelland, it feels like my sunday afternoon just had an addendum.

This comment came from someone with whom I'd had some previously correspondence—and she shared the most wonderful owl dream! I even did a post about her funny dream HERE.

__________________________________________________

The visionary paintings of Shawn Thornton

self portrait, Shawn Thorton

All throughout my early adulthood, I struggled from the mental and physical effects of a slow growing tumor in my brain, the symptoms of which were repeatedly misdiagnosed by my doctors as purely psychological in origin, and it ultimately took over half a decade to get a proper diagnosis and treatment to shrink the tumor. I suffered immeasurably during this period from having repeatedly undergone a host of treatments meant to treat the symptoms of mental illness, and paradoxically, from a mental illness that ultimately could not be contained. The tumor was in the very center of my brain, in a small, mysterious organ at the top of the spinal column, the pineal gland. I didn’t have any prior reason to consider the actual material existence of the pineal before this. 

During his time at art school, Shawn Thornton unknowingly developed cancer of the pineal gland. As his condition progressed his art transformed into something awash in mythology and symbolism. His portfolio is astonishing. More HERE, and HERE.

click on image for a HI-Rez view

I suffered from a slow growing cancer in my pineal gland while I attended art school and during subsequent years while my paintings developed with an underlined mythology that alluded directly to the pineal years before I even know of its existence.

click on image for a HI-Rez view

Painting, for me, is largely an attempt to decrypt the mechanisms of illness through a disciplined medium. I feel, on some deep internal level, that through my painting practice I’m engaged in a psychic process to illuminate the intricate vessels and cogs of an insidious physic current that stems, in part, from having had a serious illness, and all the subtle and profound ways I was altered by this experience.

click on image for a HI-Rez view

  ____________________________________________

Robbie Graham is Re-Framing the Debate

exploring the complex issues of UFOs 

Imagine you are at a UFO convention, and you start a conversation with someone. They tell you their ideas and experiences, and it paints a nice clear picture of just what is going on with the big messy UFO mystery. After that, you talk to someone else, and they tell you about thier ideas and experiences, but everything they say is at odds with what the first person said. Yet, they are both very convincing and their analysis is intriguing. The same thing happens with the third conversation, and the forth.

This is how it plays out, everybody has differing ideas. Some opinions are in alignment and others are wildy divergent. It can be maddening, but this is how it is.

This book is a powerful collection of contrasting essays. Each chapter is a different exploration of the same subject. I am proud to be one of the contributors. The book is titled UFOs Re-framing the Debate.

These writers are not form the mainstream of UFO research. They are instead the the outlying thinkers in this field. Some are the young guns, and others are the voices crying in the wilderness.

     Also...  
Robbie Graham has compiled these stories, and also played the role of *my editor. I was grateful for his keen guidance. He ended up nixing a long section of my essay, and it was a good decision. What I wrote was good and I plan on adding that unused segment here on the blog. It is about the discouraging issues of UFO Disclosure.

     And this too... 
Get Robbie's other book too! I want to start up my podcast again just to talk with Robbie about SILVER SCREEN SAUCERS. I love this book!

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The New York Times has a remarkably balanced article on UFOs

Article title from the New York Times with the word "Proves" in it

The New York Times has recently published a remarkably even-keeled article about a recent UFO book. The article is linked HERE.

The book is titled UFO Sightings Desk Reference: United States of America 2001-2015, by Cheryl Costa and Linda Miller Costa. I haven't read the book, but it appears to be a thorough collection of statistical analysis of data collected by MUFON and NUFORC. The stats are broken down by state complete with graphs and year by year charts. What is remarkable is that the "paper of record" is treating this subject so blandly, as if it were a book detailing the annual facts and figures about car accidents.

This book is not any kind of sensationalistic expose, it's is a self published labor of love from two number crunchers.

typical page from the book full of facts and figure 

The article was penned by veteran journalist Ralph Blumenthal (right). A staff reporter for the NYTimes from from 1964 to 2009. He is now a free lance contributor to the paper, as well as the author of six non-fiction books mostly dealing with crime and police work. How this article made it into the pages of such a stoic paper leave me mystified.

Blumenthal is now in his mid-70's and maybe he's achieved the kind of standing at the paper where they'll just print whatever he drops on the editor's desk.

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Text added Wed April 26:

I sent an email to Ralph Blumenthal, the author of the recent UFO article in the NYTimes. Below is my letter to him, and his reply.

I read your recent article about the 'UFO Sightings Desk Reference’ book. It struck me as remarkably even-keeled for a subject that is consistently dismissed by the main stream press. My question: How did that article make it into the pages of the New York Times? I have been researching the subject of UFOs and found your article remarkably refreshing and unbiased. 

Thank you.
with regards,
Mike Clelland
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Thanks, I'm aware of the Times's record on the subject. I was a reporter there for many years and know the editorial mindset so was able to pitch it sensitively. Also I'm writing a book on John Mack. 

Best wishes,
Ralph Blumenthal

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Of note:
Blumenthal penned an excellent article about John Mack in Vanity Fair back in May of 2013—linked HERE. Like the article in the Times, this was also remarkably balanced.

self published cover image

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